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diff --git a/13077-h/13077-h.htm b/13077-h/13077-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f85ee04 --- /dev/null +++ b/13077-h/13077-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,16438 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" +"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> +<title>Wild West Scenes: A Narrative of Adventures in the Western Wilderness, by J.B. Jones</title> +<link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> +<style type="text/css"> + + body {margin-left: 20%; + margin-right: 20%;} + +div.chapter {page-break-before: always; margin-top: 4em;} + +p {text-indent: 1em; + margin-top: 0.25em; + margin-bottom: 0.25em; } + + .ctr {text-align: center; + text-indent: 0em;} + + .noindent {text-indent: 0em; + text-align: justify;} + + .quote {text-align: justify; + margin-left: 2em; + margin-right: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + text-indent: 0em; + font-size: .96em;} + + .caption {text-align: center; + font-size: .82em; + margin-left: 2em; + margin-right: 2em; + margin-top: 0.5em; + margin-bottom: 1.5em;} + + .footnote {font-size: .92em; + margin-left: 5%; + margin-right: 4%; + text-indent: 0em;} + + ul {margin-left: -.5em; + text-align: left; + font-size: .96em;} + + h1,h2 {text-align: center; + margin-top: .5em; + margin-bottom: .5em;} + + h3,h4,h5,h6 {text-align: center; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em;} + + .h4 {text-align: center; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + font-weight: bold; + font-style: italic; + font-size: 1em;} + + hr.full {text-align: center; + width: 100%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 1.5em;} + + hr.half {text-align: center; + width: 60%; + margin-top: 2.5em; + margin-bottom: 1.5em;} + + hr.qtr {text-align: center; + width: 25%; + margin-top: 1.5em; + margin-bottom: 1.5em;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; + margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem p {margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem p.i4 {margin-left: 2em;} + + a:link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none;} + link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none;} + a:visited {color:blue; + text-decoration:none;} + a:hover {color:red;} + +div.fig { display:block; + margin:0 auto; + text-align:center; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em;} + +</style> +</head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Wild Western Scenes, by John Beauchamp Jones + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Wild Western Scenes + A Narrative Of Adventures In The Western Wilderness, Wherein The + Exploits Of Daniel Boone, The Great American Pioneer Are + Particularly Described + + +Author: John Beauchamp Jones + +Release Date: August 1, 2004 [EBook #13077] +Last updated: January 29, 2020 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WILD WESTERN SCENES *** + + + + +Produced by Curtis Weyant, the Online Distributed Proofreading Team +and The Making of America Project + + + + + + +</pre> + +<div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Wild Western Scenes" /> +</div> + +<h1> +WILD WESTERN SCENES: +</h1> +<h2> +A NARRATIVE OF ADVENTURES IN THE WESTERN WILDERNESS, +</h2> +<h3> +WHEREIN +</h3> +<h3> +THE EXPLOITS OF DANIEL BOONE, THE GREAT AMERICAN PIONEER ARE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED +</h3> +<h4> +ALSO, +</h4> + +<h4> +ACCOUNTS OF BEAR, DEER, AND BUFFALO HUNTS—DESPERATE CONFLICTS WITH THE SAVAGES—WOLF HUNTS—FISHING AND FOWLING ADVENTURES—ENCOUNTERS WITH SERPENTS, ETC. +</h4> + +<h5> +New Stereotype Edition, Altered, Revised, and Corrected +</h5> +<h4> +By +</h4> +<h3> +J.B. JONES. +</h3> +<h5> +Author of "The War Path," "Adventures of a Country Merchant," etc. +</h5> +<h4> +Illustrated with Sixteen Engravings from Original Designs +</h4> +<h5> +Philadelphia: +<br/> +J.B. Lippincott & Co. +</h5> +<h4> +1875 +</h4> +<h5> +Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by J.B. Jones, +<br/> +in the Clerk's Office of the District Court +<br/> +for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. +</h5> +<h5> +Stereotyped By L. Johnson & Co., +<br/> +Philadelphia. +</h5> +<hr /> + +<h4>PREFACE.</h4> + +<p> +When a work of fiction has reached its fortieth edition, one would suppose the +author might congratulate himself upon having contributed something of an +imperishable character to the literature of the country. But no such +pretensions are asserted for this production, now in its fortieth thousand. +Being the first essay of an impetuous youth in a field where giants even have +not always successfully contended, it would be a rash assumption to suppose it +could receive from those who confer such honors any high award of merit. It has +been before the public some fifteen years, and has never been reviewed. Perhaps +the forbearance of those who wield the cerebral scalpels may not be further +prolonged, and the book remains amenable to the judgment they may be pleased to +pronounce. +</p> + +<p> +To that portion of the public who have read with approbation so many thousands +of his book, the author may speak with greater confidence. To this class of his +friends he may make disclosures and confessions pertaining to the secret +history of the “Wild Western Scenes,” without the hazard of +incurring their displeasure. +</p> + +<p> +Like the hero of his book, the author had his vicissitudes in boyhood, and +committed such indiscretions as were incident to one of his years and +circumstances, but nevertheless only such as might be readily pardoned by the +charitable. Like Glenn, he submitted to a voluntary exile in the wilds of +Missouri. Hence the description of scenery is a true picture, and several +characters in the scenes were real persons. Many of the occurrences actually +transpired in his presence, or had been enacted in the vicinity at no remote +period; and the dream of the hero—his visit to the haunted +island—was truly a dream of the author’s. +</p> + +<p> +But the worst miseries of the author were felt when his work was completed; he +could get no publisher to examine it. He then purchased an interest in a weekly +newspaper, in the columns of which it appeared in consecutive chapters. The +subscribers were pleased with it, and desired to possess it in a volume; but +still no publisher would undertake it,—the author had no reputation in +the literary world. He offered it for fifty dollars, but could find no +purchaser at any price. Believing the British booksellers more accommodating, a +friend was employed to make a fair copy in manuscript, at a certain number of +cents per hundred words. The work was sent to a British publisher, with whom it +remained many months, but was returned, accompanied by a note declining to +treat for it. +</p> + +<p> +Undeterred by the rebuffs of two worlds, the author had his cherished +production published on his own account, and was remunerated by the sale of the +whole edition. After the tardy sale of several subsequent editions by houses of +limited influence, the book had the good fortune, finally, to fall into the +hands of the gigantic establishment whose imprint is now upon its title-page. +And now, the author is informed, it is regularly and liberally ordered by the +London booksellers, and is sold with an increasing rapidity in almost every +section of the Union. +</p> + +<p> +Such are the hazards, the miseries, and sometimes the rewards, of authorship. +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +J.B.J. +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +Burlington, N.J., <br/> <i>March</i>, 1856. +</p> + +<hr class="half"/> + +<h3>CONTENTS.</h3> + +<p> +<a href="#ChapterI"> +CHAPTER I. </a> +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +Glenn and Joe—Their horses—A storm—A black stump—A +rough tumble—Moaning—Stars—Light—A log +fire—Tents, and something to eat—Another stranger, who turns out to +be well known—Joe has a snack—He studies revenge against the black +stump—Boone proposes a bear hunt. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ChapterII"> +CHAPTER II. </a> +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +Boone hunts the bear—Hounds and terriers—Sneak Punk, the +hatchet-face—Another stump—The high passes—The bear +roused—The chase—A sight—A shot—A wound—Not yet +killed—His meditations—His friend, the bear—The bear +retreats—Joe takes courage—Joe fires—Immense +execution—Sneak—The last struggle—Desperation of the +bear—His death—Sneak’s puppies—Joe. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ChapterIII"> +CHAPTER III. </a> +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +Glenn’s castle—Mary—Books—A hunt—Joe and +Pete—A tumble—An opossum—A shot—Another tumble—A +doe—The return—They set out again—A mound—A +buffalo—An encounter—Night—Terrific +spectacle—Escape—Boone—Sneak—Indians. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ChapterIV"> +CHAPTER IV. </a> +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +The retreat—Joe makes a mysterious discovery—Mary—A +disclosure—Supper—Sleep—A cat—Joe’s +flint—The watch—Mary—The bush—The +attack—Joe’s musket again—The repulse—The starting +rally—The desperate alternative—Relief. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ChapterV"> +CHAPTER V. </a> +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +A strange excursion—A fairy scene—Joe is puzzled and +frightened—A wonderful discovery—Navigation of the upper +regions—A crash—No bones broken. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ChapterVI"> +CHAPTER VI. </a> +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +A hunt—A deer taken—The hounds—Joe makes a horrid +discovery—Sneak—The exhumation. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ChapterVII"> +CHAPTER VII. </a> +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +Boone—The interment—Startling intelligence—Indians +about—A skunk—Thrilling fears—Boone’s device. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ChapterVIII"> +CHAPTER VIII. </a> +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +Night—Sagacity of the hounds—Reflection—The sneaking +savages—Joe’s disaster—The approach of the foe under the +snow—The silent watch. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ChapterIX"> +CHAPTER IX. </a> +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +Sneak kills a sow that “was not all a swine”—The breathless +suspense—The match in readiness—Joe’s cool +demeanour—The match ignited—Explosion of the mine—Defeat of +the savages—The captive—His liberation—The repose—The +kitten—Morning. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ChapterX"> +CHAPTER X. </a> +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +The dead removed—The wolves on the river—The wolf hunt—Gum +fetid—Joe’s incredulity—His conviction—His +surprise—His predicament—His narrow escape. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ChapterXI"> +CHAPTER XI. </a> +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +Mary—Her meditations—Her capture—Her sad condition—Her +mental sufferings—Her escape—Her recapture. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ChapterXII"> +CHAPTER XII. </a> +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +Joe’s indisposition—His cure—Sneak’s +reformation—The pursuit—The captive Indian—Approach to the +encampment of the savages—Joe’s illness again—The +surprise—The terrific encounter—Rescue of Mary—Capture of the +young chief—The return. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ChapterXIII"> +CHAPTER XIII. </a> +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +The return—The young chief in confinement—Joe’s fun—His +reward—The ring—A discovery—William’s +recognition—Memories of childhood—A scene—Roughgrove’s +history—The children’s parentage. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ChapterXIV"> +CHAPTER XIV. </a> +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +William’s illness—Sneak’s strange house—Joe’s +courage—The bee hunt—Joe and sneak captured by the +Indians—Their sad condition—Preparations to burn them +alive—Their miraculous escape. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ChapterXV"> +CHAPTER XV. </a> +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +Glenn’s History. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ChapterXVI"> +CHAPTER XVI. </a> +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +Balmy Spring—Joe’s curious dream—He prepares to catch a +fish—Glenn—William and Mary—Joe’s sudden and strange +appearance—La-u-na, the trembling fawn—The fishing sport—The +ducking frolic—Sneak and the panther. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ChapterXVII"> +CHAPTER XVII. </a> +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +The bright morning—Sneak’s visit—Glenn’s +heart—The snake hunt—Love and raspberries—Joe is +bitten—His terror and sufferings—Arrival of Boone—Joe’s +abrupt recovery—Preparations to leave the West—Conclusion. +</p> + +<hr class="half"/> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3>WILD WESTERN SCENES: <br/> A NARRATIVE OF ADVENTURES.</h3> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="ChapterI"> +CHAPTER I. </a> +</h2> + +<p class="quote"> +Glenn and Joe—Their horses—A storm—A black stump—A +rough tumble—Moaning—Stars—Light—A log +fire—Tents, and something to eat—Another stranger, who turns out to +be well known—Joe has a snack—He studies revenge against the black +stump—Boone proposes a bear hunt. +</p> + +<p> +“Do you see any light yet, Joe?” +</p> + +<p> +“Not the least speck that ever was created, except the lightning, and +it’s gone before I can turn my head to look at it.” +</p> + +<p> +The interrogator, Charles Glenn, reclined musingly in a two-horse wagon, the +canvas covering of which served in some measure to protect him from the wind +and rain. His servant, Joe Beck, was perched upon one of the horses, his +shoulders screwed under the scanty folds of an oil-cloth cape, and his knees +drawn nearly up to the pommel of the saddle, to avoid the thumping bushes and +briers that occasionally assailed him, as the team plunged along in a stumbling +pace. Their pathway, or rather their direction, for there was no beaten road, +lay along the northern bank of the “Mad Missouri,” some two hundred +miles above the St. Louis settlement. It was at a time when there were no white +men in those regions save a few trappers, traders, and emigrants, and each new +sojourner found it convenient to carry with him a means of shelter, as houses +of any description were but few and far between. +</p> + +<p> +Our travellers had been told in the morning, when setting out from a temporary +village which consisted of a few families of emigrants, with whom they had +sojourned the preceding night, that they could attain the desired point by +making the river their guide, should they be at a loss to distinguish the +faintly-marked pathway that led in a more direct course to the place of +destination. The storm coming up suddenly from the north, and showers of hail +accompanying the gusts, caused the poor driver to incline his face to the left, +to avoid the peltings that assailed him so frequently; and the drenched horses, +similarly influenced, had unconsciously departed far from the right line of +march; and now, rather than turn his front again to the pitiless blast, which +could be the only means of regaining the road, Joe preferred diverging still +farther, until he should find himself on the margin of the river, by which time +he hoped the storm would abate. At all events, he thought there would be more +safety on the beach, which extended out a hundred paces from the water, among +the small switches of cotton-wood that grew thereon, than in the midst of the +tall trees of the forest, where a heavy branch was every now and then torn off +by the wind, and thrown to the earth with a terrible crash. Occasionally a +deafening explosion of thunder would burst overhead; and Joe, prostrating +himself on the neck of his horse, would, with his eyes closed and his teeth +set, bear it out in silence. He spoke not, save to give an occasional word of +command to his team, or a brief reply to a question from his master. +</p> + +<p> +It was an odd spectacle to see such a vehicle trudging along at such an hour, +where no carriage had ever passed before. The two young men were odd +characters; the horses were oddly matched, one being a little dumpy black pony, +and the other a noble white steed; and it was an odd whim which induced Glenn +to abandon his comfortable home in Philadelphia, and traverse such inclement +wilds. But love can play the “<i>wild</i>” with any young man. Yet +we will not spoil our narrative by introducing any of it here. Nor could it +have been love that induced Joe to share his master’s freaks; but rather +a rare penchant for the miraculous adventures to be enjoyed in the western +wilderness, and the gold which his master often showered upon him with a +reckless hand. Joe’s forefathers were from the Isle of Erin, and although +he had lost the brogue, he still retained some of their superstitions. +</p> + +<p> +The wind continued to blow, the wolves howled, the lightning flashed, and the +thunder rolled. Ere long the little black pony snorted aloud and paused +abruptly. +</p> + +<p> +“What ails you, Pete?” said Joe from his lofty position on the +steed, addressing his favourite little pet. “Get along,” he +continued, striking the animal gently with his whip. But Pete was as immovable +and unconscious of the lash as would have been a stone. And the steed seemed +likewise to be infected with the pony’s stubbornness, after the wagon was +brought to a pause. +</p> + +<p> +“Why have you stopped, Joe?” inquired Glen. +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t hardly know, sir; but the stupid horses won’t budge +an inch farther!” +</p> + +<p> +“Very well; we can remain here till morning. Take the harness off, and +give them the corn in the box; we can sleep in the wagon till daylight.” +</p> + +<p> +“But we have no food for ourselves, sir; and I’m vastly hungry. It +can’t be much farther to the ferry,” continued Joe, vexed at the +conduct of the horses. +</p> + +<p> +“Very well; do as you like; drive on, if you desire to do so,” said +Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Get along, you stupid creatures!” cried Joe, applying the lash +with some violence. But the horses regarded him no more than blocks would have +done. Immediately in front he perceived a dark object that resembled a stump +and turning the horses slightly to one side, endeavoured to urge them past it. +Still they would not go, but continued to regard the object mentioned with +dread, which was manifested by sundry restless pawings and unaccustomed snorts. +Joe resolved to ascertain the cause of their alarm, and springing to the +ground, moved cautiously in the direction of the dark obstruction, which still +seemed to be a blackened stump, about his own height, and a very trifling +obstacle, in his opinion, to arrest the progress of his redoubtable team. The +darkness was intense, yet he managed to keep his eyes on the dim outlines of +the object as he stealthily approached And he stepped as noiselessly as +possible, notwithstanding he meditated an encounter with nothing more than an +inanimate object. But his imagination was always on the alert, and as he often +feared dangers that arose undefinable and indescribable in his mind, it was not +without some trepidation that he had separated himself from the horses and +groped his way toward the object that had so much terrified his pony. He paused +within a few feet of the object, and waited for the next flash of lightning to +scrutinize the thing more closely before putting his hand upon it. But no flash +came, and he grew tired of standing. He stooped down, so as to bring the upper +portion of it in a line with the sky beyond, but still he could not make it +out. He ventured still nearer, and stared at it long and steadily, but to no +avail: the black mass only was before him, seemingly inanimate, and of a deeper +hue than the darkness around. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> +<img src="images/003.jpg" alt="A dark encounter." width="385" height="438"/> +</div> + +<p class="caption"> +A dark encounter. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ve a notion to try my whip on you,” said he, thinking if +it should be a human being it would doubtless make a movement. He started back +with a momentary conviction that he heard a rush creak under its feet. But as +it still maintained its position, he soon concluded the noise to have been only +imaginary, and venturing quite close gave it a smart blow with his whip. +Instantaneously poor Joe was rolling on the earth, almost insensible, and the +dark object disappeared rushing through the bushes into the woods. The noise +attracted Glenn, who now approached the scene, and with no little surprise +found his servant lying on his face. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s the matter, Joe?” demanded he. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, St. Peter! O preserve me!” exclaimed Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“What has happened? Why do you lie there?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, I’m almost killed! Didn’t you see him?” +</p> + +<p> +“See what? I can see nothing this dark night but the flying clouds and +yonder yellow sheet of water.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, I’ve been struck!” said Joe, groaning piteously. +</p> + +<p> +“Struck by what? Has the lightning struck you?” +</p> + +<p> +“No—no! my head is all smashed up—it was a bear.” +</p> + +<p> +“Pshaw! get up, and either drive on, or feed the horses,” said +Glenn with some impatience. +</p> + +<p> +“I call all the saints to witness that it was a wild bear—a great +wild bear! I thought it was a stump, but just as I struck it a flash of +lightning revealed to my eyes a big black bear standing on his hind feet, +grinning at me, and he gave me a blow on the side of the face, which has +entirely blinded my left eye, and set my ears to ringing like a thousand bells. +Just feel the blood on my face.” +</p> + +<p> +Glenn actually felt something which might be blood, and really had thought he +could distinguish the stump himself when the wagon halted; yet he did not +believe that Joe had received the hurt in any other manner than by striking his +face against some hard substance which he could not avoid in the darkness. +</p> + +<p> +“You only fancy it was a bear, Joe; so come along back to the horses and +drive on. The rain has ceased, and the stars are appearing.” Saying this, +Glenn led the way to the wagon. +</p> + +<p> +“I’d be willing to swear on the altar that it was a huge bear, and +nothing else!” replied Joe, as he mounted and drove on, the horses now +evincing no reluctance to proceed. One after another the stars came out and +shone in purest brightness as the mists swept away, and ere long the whole +canopy of blue was gemmed with twinkling brilliants. The winds soon lulled, and +the dense forest on the right reposed from the moaning gale which had disturbed +it a short time before; and the waves that had been tossed into foaming ridges +now spent their fury on the beach, each lashing the bank more gently than the +last, until the power of the gliding current swept them all down the turbid +stream. Soon the space between the water and the forest gradually diminished, +and seemed to join at a point not far ahead. Joe observed this with some +concern, being aware that to meander among the trees at such an hour was +impossible. He therefore inclined toward the river, resolved to defer his +re-entrance into the forest as long as possible. As he drove on he kept up a +continual groaning, with his head hung to one side, as if suffering with the +toothache, and occasionally reproaching Pete with some petulance, as if a +portion of the blame attached to his sagacious pony. +</p> + +<p> +“Why do you keep up such a howling, Joe? Do you really suffer much +pain?” inquired Glenn, annoyed by his man’s lamentations. +</p> + +<p> +“It don’t hurt as bad as it did—but then to think that I was +such a fool as to go right into the beast’s clutches, when even Pete had +more sense!” +</p> + +<p> +“If it was actually a bear, Joe, you can boast of the thrilling encounter +hereafter,” said Glenn, in a joking and partly consoling manner. +</p> + +<p> +“But if I have many more such, I fear I shall never get back to relate +them. My face is all swelled—Huzza! yonder is a light, at last! +It’s on this side of the river, and if we can’t get over the ferry +to-night, we shall have something to eat on this side, at all events. Ha! ha! +ha! I see a living man moving before the fire, as if he were roasting +meat.” Joe forgot his wound in the joy of an anticipated supper, and +whipping the horses into a brisk pace, they soon drew near the encampment, +where they discovered numerous persons, male and female, who had been prevented +from crossing the river that day, in consequence of the violence of the storm, +and had raised their tents at the edge of the woods, preferring to repose thus +until the following morning than to venture into the frail ferry-boat while the +waves yet ran so high. +</p> + +<p> +There was no habitation in the immediate vicinity, save a rude hovel occupied +by Jasper Roughgrove and his ferrymen, which was on the opposite shore in a +narrow valley that cleft asunder the otherwise uniform cliff of rocks. +</p> + +<p> +The creaking of the wheels, when the vehicle approached within a few hundred +paces of the encampment, attracted the watch-dogs, and their fierce and +continued barking drew the attention of the emigrants in the direction +indicated. Several men with guns in their hands came out to meet the young +travellers. +</p> + +<p> +“We are white men, friends, strangers, lost, benighted, and +hungry!” exclaimed Joe, stopping the horses, and addressing the men +before he was accosted. +</p> + +<p> +“Come on, then, and eat and rest with us,” said they, amused at +Joe’s exclamations, and leading the way to the encampment. +</p> + +<p> +When they arrived at the edge of the camp, Glenn dismounted from the wagon, and +directing Joe to follow when he had taken care of the horses, drew near the +huge log fire in company with those who had gone out to meet him. Several tall +and spreading elms towered in majesty above, and their clustering leaves, yet +partially green, notwithstanding the autumn was midway advanced, were +beautifully tinged by the bright light thrown upward from the glaring flames. +The view on one side was lost in the dark labyrinth of the moss-grown trunks of +the forest. On the other swept the turbid river, bearing downward in its rapid +current severed branches, and even whole trees, that had been swept away by the +continual falling in of the river bank, for the sandy soil was always subject +to the undermining of tho impetuous stream. A circle of tents was formed round +the fire, constructed of thin poles bent in the shape of an arch, and the ends +planted firmly in the earth. These were covered with buffalo skins, which would +effectually shield the inmates from the rain; and quantities of leaves, after +being carefully dried before the fire, were placed on the ground within, over +which were spread buffalo robes with the hair uppermost, and thus in a brief +space was completed temporary but not uncomfortable places of repose. The ends +of the tents nearest to the fire were open, to admit the heat and a portion of +light, that those who desired it might retire during their repast, or engage in +pious meditation undisturbed by the more clamorous portion of the company. +</p> + +<p> +Glenn paused when within the circle, and looked with some degree of interest on +the admirable arrangement of those independent and hardy people. A majority of +the emigrants were seated on logs brought thither for that purpose, and +feasting quietly from several large pans and well-filled camp-kettles, which +were set out for all in common. They motioned Glenn to partake with them; and +although many curious looks were directed toward him, yet he was not annoyed by +questions while eating. Joe came in, and following the example of the rest, +played his part to perfection, without complaining once of his wound. +</p> + +<p> +The feast was just finished, when the dogs again set up a furious yelping, and +ran into the forest. But they returned very quickly, some of them whining with +the hurts received from the strangers they encountered so roughly; and +presently they were followed by several enormous hounds, and soon after an +athletic woodsman was seen approaching. This personage was a tall muscular man, +past the middle age, but agile and vigorous in all his motions. He was habited +in a buck-skin hunting-shirt, and wore leggins of the same material. Although +he was armed with a long knife and heavy rifle, and the expression of his brow +and chin indicated an unusual degree of firmness and determination, yet there +was an openness and blandness in the expression of his features which won the +confidence of the beholder, and instantly dispelled every apprehension of +violence. All of the emigrants had either seen or heard of him before, for his +name was not only repeated by every tongue in the territory, but was familiar +in every State in the Union, and not unknown in many parts of Europe. He was +instantly recognised by the emigrants, and crowding round, they gave him a +hearty welcome. They led him to a conspicuous seat, and forming a circle about +him, were eager to catch every word that might escape his lips, and relied with +implicit confidence on every species of information he imparted respecting the +dangers and advantages of the locations they were about to visit. Boone had +settled some three miles distant from the ferry, among the hills, where his +people were engaged in the manufacture of salt. He had selected this place of +abode long before the general tide of emigration had reached so far up the +Missouri. It was said that he pitched his tent among the barren hills as a +security against the intrusion of other men, who, being swayed by a love of +wealth, would naturally seek their homes in the rich level prairies. It is true +that Boone loved to dwell in solitude. But he was no misanthrope. And now, +although questions were asked without number, he answered them with +cheerfulness; advised the families what would be necessary to be done when +their locations were selected, and even pressingly invited them to remain in +his settlement a few days to recover from the fatigue of travel, and promised +to accompany them afterward over the river into the rich plains to which they +were journeying. +</p> + +<p> +During the brisk conversation that had been kept up for a great length of time, +Glenn, unlike the rest of the company, sat at a distance and maintained a +strict silence. Occasionally, as some of the extraordinary feats related of the +person before him occurred to his memory, he turned his eyes in the direction +of the great pioneer, and at each time observed the gaze of the woodsman fixed +upon him. Nevertheless his habitual listlessness was not disturbed, and he +pursued his peculiar train of reflections. Joe likewise treated the presence of +the renowned Indian fighter with apparent unconcern, and being alone in his +glory, dived the deeper into the saucepan. +</p> + +<p> +Boone at length advanced to where Glenn was sitting, and after scanning his +pale features, and his costly though not exquisitely-fashioned habiliments, +thus addressed him:— +</p> + +<p> +“Young man, may I inquire what brings thee to these wilds?” +</p> + +<p> +“I am a freeman,” replied Glenn, somewhat haughtily, “and may +be influenced by that which brings other men hither.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, young man, excuse the freedom which all expect to exercise in this +comparative wilderness; but I am very sure there is not another emigrant on +this side of the Ohio who has been actuated by the same motives that brought +thee hither. Others come to fell the forest oak, and till the soil of the +prairie, that they may prepare a heritage for their children; but thy soft +hands and slender limbs are unequal to the task; nor dost thou seem to have +felt the want of this world’s goods; and thou bringest no family to +provide for. Thou hast committed that which banished thee from society, or +found in society that which disgusted thee—speak, which of these?” +said Boone, in accents, though not positively commanding, yet they produced a +sense of reverence that subdued the rising indignation of Glenn, and looking +upon the interrogator as the acknowledged host of the eternal wilds, and +himself as a mere guest, who might be required to produce his testimonials of +worthiness to associate with nature’s most honest of men, he replied with +calmness, though with subdued emotion— +</p> + +<p> +“You are right, sir—it was the latter. I had heard that you were +happy in the solitude of the mountain-shaded valley, or on the interminable +prairies that greet the horizon in the distance, where neither the derision of +the proud, the malice of the envious, nor the deceptions of pretended love and +friendship, could disturb your peaceful meditations: and from amid the wreck of +certain hopes, which I once thought no circumstances could destroy, I rose with +a determined though saddened heart, and solemnly vowed to seek such a +wilderness, where I could pass a certain number of my days engaging in the +pursuits that might be most congenial to my disposition. Already I imagine I +experience the happy effects of my resolution. Here the whispers of +vituperating foes cannot injure, nor the smiles of those fondly cherished +deceive.” +</p> + +<p> +“Your hand, young man,” said Boone, with an earnestness which +convinced Glenn that his tale was not imprudently divulged. +</p> + +<p> +“Ho! what’s the matter with <i>you</i>?” Boone continued, +turning to Joe, who had just arisen from his supper, and was stretching back +his shoulders. +</p> + +<p> +“I got a licking from a bear to-night—but I don’t mind it +much since I’ve had a snack. But if ever I come across him in the +daytime, I’ll show him a thing or two,” said Joe, with his fists +doubled up. +</p> + +<p> +“Pshaw! do you still entertain the ridiculous belief that it was really a +bear you encountered?” inquired Glenn, with an incredulous smile. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll swear to it!” replied Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Let me see your face,” remarked Boone, turning him to where there +was more light. +</p> + +<p> +“Hollo! don’t squeeze it so hard!” cried Joe, as Boone +removed some of the coagulated blood that remained or the surface. +</p> + +<p> +“There is no doubt about it—it was a bear, most certainly,” +said Boone; and examining the wound more closely, continued: “Here are +the marks of his claws, plain enough: he might easily be captured to-morrow. +Who will hunt him with me?” +</p> + +<p> +“I will!” burst from the lips of nearly every one present. +</p> + +<p> +“Huzza—revenge! I’ll have revenge, huzza!” cried Joe, +throwing round his hat. +</p> + +<p> +“You will join us?” inquired Boone, turning to Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” replied Glenn; “I came hither provided with the +implements to hunt; and as such is to be principally my occupation during my +sojourn in this region, I could not desire a more happy opportunity than the +present to make a beginning. And as it is my intention to settle near the ferry +on the opposite shore, I am pleased to find that I shall not be far from one +whose acquaintance I hoped to make, above all others.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you may not find me reluctant to cultivate a social intercourse, +notwithstanding men think me a crabbed old misanthrope,” replied Boone, +pressing the extended hand of Glenn. They then separated for the night, +retiring to the tents that had been provided for them. +</p> + +<p> +It was not long before a comparative silence pervaded the scene. The fierce +yelpings of the watch-dogs gradually ceased, and the howling wolf was but +indistinctly heard in the distance. The katydid and whippoorwill still sang at +intervals, and these sounds, as well as the occasional whirlpool that could be +heard rising on the surface of the gliding stream, had a soothing influence, +and lulled to slumber the wandering mortals who now reclined under the forest +trees, far from the homes of their childhood and the graves of their kindred. +Glenn gazed from his couch through the branches above at the calm, blue sky, +resplendent with twinkling stars; and if a sad reflection, that he thus lay, a +lonely being, a thousand miles from those who had been most dear to him, dimmed +his eye for an instant with a tear, he still felt a consciousness of innocence +within, and resolving to execute his vow in every particular, he too was soon +steeped in undisturbed slumber. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="ChapterII"> +CHAPTER II. </a> +</h2> + +<p class="quote"> +Boone hunts the bear—Hounds and terriers—Sneak Punk, the +Hatchet-face—Another stump—The high passes—The bear +roused—The chase—A sight—A shot—A +wound—Joe—His meditations—His friend, the bear—The bear +retreats—Joe takes courage—He fires—Immense +execution—Sneak—The last struggle—Desperation of the +bear—His death—Sneak’s puppies—Joe. +</p> + +<p> +By the time the first streaks of gray twilight marked the eastern horizon, +Boone, at the head of the party of hunters, set out from the encampment and +proceeded down the river in the direction of the place where Joe had been so +roughly handled by Bruin. All, with the exception of Glenn and his man, being +accustomed to much walking, were on foot. Glenn rode his white steed, and Joe +was mounted on his little black pony. The large hounds belonging to Boone, and +the curs, spaniels, and terriers of the emigrants were all taken along. As they +proceeded down the river, Boone proposed the plan of operations which was to +guide their conduct in the chase, and each man was eager to perform his part, +whatever it might be. It was arranged that a portion of the company should +precede the rest, and cross the level woodland about two miles in width, to a +range of hills and perpendicular cliffs that appeared to have once bounded the +river, and select such ravines or outlets as in their opinion the bear would be +most likely to pass through, if he were indeed still in the flat bottom-land. +At these places they were to station themselves with their guns well charged, +and either await the coming of the animal or the drivers; the first would be +announced by the yelping of the dogs, and the last by the hunters’ horns. +</p> + +<p> +Glenn and one or two others remained with Boone to hunt Bruin in his lair, +while Joe and the remainder of the company were despatched to the passes among +the hills. There was a narrow-featured Vermonter in this party, termed, by his +comrades, the Hatchet-face, and, in truth, the extreme thinness of his chest +and the slenderness of his limbs might as aptly have been called the +hatchet-handle. But, so far from being unfit for the hardy pursuits of a +hunter, he was gifted with the activity of a greyhound, and the swiftness and +bottom of a race-horse. His name was Sneak Punk, which was always abbreviated +to merely Sneak, for his general success in creeping up to the unsuspecting +game of whatsoever kind he might be hunting, while others could not meet with +such success. He had been striding along some time in silence a short distance +in advance of Joe, who, even by dint of sundry kicks and the free use of his +whip, could hardly keep pace with him. The rest were a few yards in the rear, +and all had maintained a strict silence, implicitly relying on the guidance of +Sneak, who, though he had never traversed these woods before, was made +perfectly familiar with the course he was to pursue by the instructions of +Boone. +</p> + +<p> +Although the light of morning was now apparent above, yet the thick growth of +the trees, whose clustering branches mingled in one dense mass overhead, made +it still dark and sombre below; and Joe, to divert Sneak from his +unconscionable gait, which, in his endeavours to keep up, often subjected him +to the rude blows of elastic switches, and many twinges of overhanging grape +vines, essayed to engage his companion in conversation. +</p> + +<p> +“I say, Mr. Sneak,” observed Joe, with an eager voice, as his pony +trotted along rather roughly through the wild gooseberry bushes, and often +stumbled over the decayed logs that lay about. +</p> + +<p> +“What do you want, stranger?” replied Sneak, slackening his gait +until he fell back alongside of Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“I only wanted to know if you ever killed a bear before,” said Joe, +drawing an easy breath as Pete fell into a comfortable walk. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod rot it, I hain’t killed this one yit,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“I didn’t mean any offence,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“What makes you think you have given any?” +</p> + +<p> +“Because you said <i>dod rot it</i>.” +</p> + +<p> +“I nearly always say so—I’ve said so so often that I +can’t help it. But now, as we are on the right footing, I can tell you +that I wintered once in Arkansaw, and that’s enough to let you know +I’m no greenhorn, no how you can fix it. And moreover, I tell you, if old +Boone wasn’t here hisself, I’d kill this bar as sure as a gun, and +my gun is as sure as a streak of lightning run into a barrel of +gunpowder;” and as he spoke he threw up his heavy gun and saluted the +iron with his lips. +</p> + +<p> +“Is your’s a rifle?” inquired Joe, to prolong the +conversation, his companion showing symptoms of a disposition to fall into his +habit of going ahead again. +</p> + +<p> +“Sartainly! Does anybody, I wonder, expect to do any thing with a +shot-gun in sich a place as this?” +</p> + +<p> +“Mine’s a shot-gun,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod—did you ever kill any thing better than a quail with +it?” inquired Sneak, contemptuously. +</p> + +<p> +“I never killed any thing in my life with it—I never shot a gun in +all my life before to-night,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod, you haven’t fired it to-night, to my sartain +knowledge.” +</p> + +<p> +“I mean I never went a shooting.” +</p> + +<p> +“Did you load her yourself?” inquired Sneak, taking hold of the +musket and feeling the calibre. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes—but I’m sure I did it right. I put in a handful of +powder, and paper on top of it, and then poured in a handful of balls,” +said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Ha! ha! ha! I’ll be busted if you don’t raise a fuss if you +ever get a shot at the bar!” said Sneak, with emphasis. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s what I am after.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why don’t you go ahead?” demanded Sneak, as Joe’s pony +stopped suddenly, with his ears thrust forward. “Dod! whip him up,” +continued he, seeing that his companion was intently gazing at some object +ahead, and exhibiting as many marks of alarm as Pete. “It’s nothing +but a stump!” said Sneak, going forwards and kicking the object, which +was truly nothing more than he took it to be. Joe then related to him all the +particulars of his nocturnal affair with the supposed stump, previous to his +arrival at the camp, and Sneak, with a hearty laugh, admitted that both he and +the pony were excusable for inspecting all the stumps they might chance to come +across in the dark in future. They now emerged into the open space which was +the boundary of the woods, and after clambering up a steep ascent for some +minutes, they reached the summit of a tall range of bluffs. From this position +the sun could be seen rising over the eastern ridges, but the flat woods that +had been traversed still lay in darkness below, and silent as the tomb, save +the hooting of owls as they flapped to their hollow habitations in the trees. +</p> + +<p> +The party then dispersed to their coverts under the direction of Sneak, who +with a practised eye instantly perceived all the advantageous posts for the +men, and the places where the bear would most probably run. Joe had insisted on +having his revenge, and begged to be stationed where he would be most likely to +get a shot. He was therefore permitted to remain at the head of the ravine they +had just ascended, through which a deer path ran, as the most favourable +position. After tying Pete some paces in the rear, he came forwards to the +verge of the valley and seated himself on a dry rock, where he could see some +distance down the path under the tall sumach bushes. He then commenced +cogitating how he would act, should Bruin have the hardihood to face him in the +daytime. +</p> + +<p> +Boone and his party drew near the spot where the bear had been seen the +previous night. The two large hounds, Ringwood and Jowler, kept at their +master’s heels, being trained to understand and perform all the duties +required of them, while the curs and terriers were running helter-skelter far +ahead, or striking out into the woods without aim, and always returning without +effecting any thing. At length the two hounds paused, and scented the earth, +giving certain information that they had arrived at the desired point. The curs +and terriers had already passed far beyond the spot, being unable to decide any +thing by the nose, and always relying on their swiftness in the chase when they +should be in sight of the object pursued. +</p> + +<p> +Now, Glenn perceived to what perfection dogs could be trained, and learned, +what had been a matter of wonder to him, how Boone could keep up with them in +the chase. The hounds set off at a signal from their master, not like an arrow +from the bow, but at a moderate pace, ever and anon looking back and pausing +until the men came up; while the erratic curs flew hither and thither, chasing +every hare and squirrel they could find. As they pursued the trail they +occasionally saw the foot-print of the animal, which was broad and deep, +indicating one of enormous size. Presently they came to a spot thickly +overgrown with spice-wood bushes and prickly vines, where he had made his lair, +and from the erect tails of Ringwood and Jowler, and the intense interest they +otherwise evinced, it was evident they were fast approaching the presence of +Bruin. Ere long, as they ran along with their heads up, for the first time that +morning, they commenced yelping in clear and distinct tones, which rang +musically far and wide through the woods. The curs relinquished their +unprofitable racing round the thickets, attracted by the hounds, and soon +learned to keep in the rear, depending on the unerring trailing of the old +hunters, as the object of pursuit was not yet in sight. The chase became more +animated, and the men quickened their pace as the inspiring notes of the hounds +rang out at regular intervals. Glenn soon found he possessed no advantage over +those on foot, who were able to run under the branches of the trees, and glide +through the thickets with but little difficulty, while the rush of his noble +steed was often arrested by the tenacious vines clinging to the bushes abreast, +and he was sometimes under the necessity of dismounting to recover his cap or +whip. +</p> + +<p> +It was not long before the notes of Ringwood and Jowler suddenly increased in +sharpness and quickness, and the curs and terriers, hitherto silent, set up a +confused medley of sounds, which reverberated like one continuous scream. They +had pounced upon the bear, and from the stationary position of the dogs for a +few minutes, indicated by their peculiar baying, it was evident Bruin had +turned to survey the enemy, and perhaps to give them battle; but it seemed that +their number or noise soon intimidated him, and that he preferred seeking +safety in flight. How Boone could possibly know beforehand which way the bear +would run, was a mystery to Glenn; but that he often abandoned the direction +taken by the dogs, turning off at almost right angles, and still had a sight of +him was no less true. No one had yet been near enough to fire with effect. The +bear, notwithstanding his many feints and novel demonstrations to get rid of +his persecutors, had continued to make towards the hills where the standers +were stationed. Boone falling in with Glenn, from whom he had been frequently +separated, they continued together some time, following the course of the +sounds towards the east. +</p> + +<p> +“This sport is really exciting and noble!” exclaimed Glenn, as the +deep and melodious intonations of Ringwood and Jowler fell upon his ear. +</p> + +<p> +“Excellent! excellent!” replied Boone, listening intently, and +pausing suddenly, as the discharge of a gun in the direction of the hills +sounded through the woods. +</p> + +<p> +“He has reached the standers,” remarked Glenn, reining up his steed +at Boone’s side. +</p> + +<p> +“No; it was one of our men who has not followed him in all his +deviations,” replied Boone, still marking the notes of the hounds. +</p> + +<p> +“I doubt not our company is sufficiently scattered in every direction +through the forest to force him into the hills very speedily, if, indeed, that +shot was not fatal,” remarked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“He is not hurt—perhaps it was not fired at him, but at a +bird—nor will he yet leave the woods,” said Boone, still listening +to the hounds. “He comes!” he exclaimed a moment after, with marks +of joy in his face; “he will make a grand circle before quitting the +lowland.” And now the dogs could be heard more distinctly, as if they +were gradually approaching the place from which they first started. +</p> + +<p> +“If you will remain here,” continued Boone, “it is quite +likely you will have a shot as he makes his final push for the hills.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then here will I remain,” replied Glenn; and fixing himself firmly +in the saddle, resolved to await the coming of Bruin, having every confidence +in the intimation of his friend. Boone selected a position a few hundred paces +distant, with a view of permitting Glenn to have the first fire. +</p> + +<p> +The bear took a wide circuit towards the river, pausing at times until the +foremost of the dogs came up, which he could easily manage to keep at bay; but +when all of them (and the curs did good service now) surrounded him, he found +it necessary to set forward again. When he had run as far as the river, and +turned once more towards the hills, his course seemed to be in a direct line +with Glenn, and the young man’s heart fluttered with anticipation as he +examined his gun, and turned his horse (which had been accustomed to firearms) +in a favourable position to give the enemy a salute as he passed. Nearer they +came, the dogs pursuing with redoubled fierceness, their blood heated by the +exercise, and their most sanguine passions roused by their frequent severe +skirmishes with their huge antagonist. As they approached, the strange and +simultaneous yelpings of the curs and terriers resembled an embodied roar, amid +which the flute-like notes of Ringwood and Jowler could hardly be heard. Glenn +could now distinctly hear the bear rushing like a torrent through the bushes, +almost directly towards the place where he was posted, and a moment after it +emerged from a dense thicket of hazel, and the noble steed, instead of leaping +away with affright, threw back his ears and stood firm, until Glenn fired. +Bruin uttered a howl, and halting with a fierce growl, raised himself on his +haunches, and displaying his array of white teeth, prepared to assail our hero. +Glenn proceeded to reload his rifle with as much expedition as was in his +power, though not without some tremor, notwithstanding he was mounted on his +tall steed, whose nostrils dilated, and eyes flashing fire, indicated that he +was willing to take part in the conflict. The bear was preparing for a dreadful +encounter, and on the very eve of springing towards his assailant, when the +hounds coming up admonished him to flee his more numerous foes, and turning +off, he continued his route towards the hills. Glenn perceived that he had not +missed his aim by the blood sprinkled on the bushes, and being ready for +another fire, galloped after him. Just when he came in sight, Boone’s gun +was heard, and Bruin fell, remaining motionless for a moment; but ere Glenn +arrived within shooting distance, or Boone could reload, he had risen and again +continued his course, as if in defiance of everything that man could do to +oppose him. +</p> + +<p> +“Is it possible he still survives!” exclaimed Glenn, joining his +companion. +</p> + +<p> +“There is nothing more possible,” replied Boone; “but I saw +by his limping that your shot had taken effect.” +</p> + +<p> +“And I saw him fall when you fired,” said Glenn; “but he +still runs.” +</p> + +<p> +“And he <i>will</i> run for some time yet,” remarked Boone, +“for they are extremely hard to kill, when heated by the pursuit of dogs. +But we have done our part, and it now remains for those at the passes to finish +the work so well begun.” +</p> + +<p> +Joe’s imagination had several times worked him into a fury, which had as +often subsided in disappointment, during the chase below, every particle of +which could be distinctly heard from his position. More than once, when a brisk +breeze swept up the valley, he was convinced that his enemy was approaching +him, and, every nerve quivering with the expectation of the bear coming in view +the next instant, he stood a spectacle of eagerness, with perhaps a small +portion of apprehension intermingled. At length, from the frequent deceptions +the distance practiced upon him, he grew composed by degrees, and resuming his +seat on the stone, with his musket lying across his knees, thus gave vent to +his thoughts: “What if an Indian were to pounce upon me while I’m +sitting here?” Here he paused, and looked carefully round in every +direction. “No!” he continued; “if there were any at this +time in the neighbourhood, wouldn’t Boone know it? To be sure he would, +and here’s my gun—I forgot that. Let them come as soon as they +please! I wonder if the bear <i>will</i> come out here? Suppose he does, +what’s the danger? Didn’t I grapple with him last night? And +couldn’t I jump on Pete and get away from him! But—pshaw! I keep +forgetting my gun—I wish he <i>would</i> come, I’d serve him worse +than he served me last night! My face feels very sore this morning. +There!” he exclaimed, when he heard the fire of Glenn’s gun, and +the report that succeeded from Boone’s, “they’ve floored him +as dead as a nail, I’ll bet. Hang it! I should like to have had a word or +two with him myself, to have told him I hadn’t forgotten his ugly grin. +The men must have known I would stand no chance of killing him when they placed +me up here. I should like to know what part of the sport <i>I’ve</i> +had—ough!” exclaimed he, his hair standing upright, as he beheld +the huge bear, panting and bleeding, coming towards him, and not twenty paces +distant! +</p> + +<p> +Bruin had eluded the dogs a few minutes by climbing a bending tree at the mouth +of the valley, from which he passed to another, and descending again to the +earth, proceeded almost exhausted up the ravine. Joe’s eyes grew larger +and larger as the monster approached, and when within a few feet of him he +uttered a horrible unearthly sound, which attracted the bear, and fearing the +fatal aim of man more than the teeth of the dogs, he whirled about, with a +determination to fight his way back, in preference to again risking the +murderous lead. No sooner was the bear out of sight, and plunging down the dell +amid the cries of the dogs, which assailed him on all sides, than Joe bethought +him of his gun, and becoming valorous, ran a few steps down the path and fired +in the direction of the confused melée. The moment after he discharged +his musket, the back part of his head struck the earth, and the gun made two or +three end-over-end revolutions up the path behind him. Never, perhaps, was such +a rebound from overloading known before. Joe now thought not of the bear, nor +looked to see what execution he had done. He thought of his own person, which +he found prostrate on the ground. When somewhat recovered from the blow, he +rose with his hand pressed to his nose, while the blood ran out between his +fingers. “Oh! my goodness!” he exclaimed, seating himself at the +root of a pecan tree, and rocking backwards and forwards. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s your gun doing up here?” exclaimed Sneak, coming down +the path. Joe made no answer, but continued to rock backwards and forwards most +dolefully. +</p> + +<p> +“Why don’t you speak? Where’s the bar?” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know. Oh!” murmured Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s the matter?” inquired Sneak, seeing the copious +effusion of blood. +</p> + +<p> +“I shot off that outrageous musket, and it’s kicked my nose to +pieces! I shall faint!” said Joe, dropping his head between his knees. +</p> + +<p> +“Faint? I never saw a <i>man</i> faint!” said Sneak, listening to +the chase below. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! can’t you help me to stop this blood?” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t you hear <i>that</i>, down there?” replied Sneak, his +attention entirely directed to that which was going on in the valley. +</p> + +<p> +“My ears are deafened by that savage gun! I can’t hear a bit, +hardly! Oh, what shall I do, Mr. Sneak?” continued Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod rot it!” exclaimed Sneak, leaping like a wild buck down the +path, and paying no further attention to the piteous lamentations of his +comrade. +</p> + +<p> +Ere the bear reached the mouth of the glen, the hunters generally had come up, +and poor Bruin found himself hemmed in on all sides. He could not ascend on +either hand, the loss of blood having weakened him too much to climb over the +almost precipitous rocks, and he made a final stand, determined to sell his +life as dearly as possible. The dogs sprang upon him in a body, and it was soon +evident that his desperate struggles were not harmless. He grasped one of the +curs in his deadly hug, and with his teeth planted in its neck, relinquished +not his hold until it fell from his arms a disfigured and lifeless object. He +boxed those that were tearing his hams with his ponderous claws, sending them +screaming to the right and left. He then stood up on his haunches, with his +back against a rock, and with a snarl of defiance resolved never to retreat +“from its firm base.” Never were blows more rabidly dealt. When +attacked on one side, he had no sooner turned to beat down his sanguine foe +than he was assailed on the other. Thus he fought alternately from right to +left, his mouth gaping open, his tongue hanging out, and his eyes gleaming +furiously as if swimming in liquid fire. At times he was charged simultaneously +in front and flank, when for an instant the whole group seemed to be one dark +writhing mass, uttering a medly of discordant and horrid sounds. But determined +to conquer or die on the spot he occupied, Bruin never relaxed his blows, until +the bruised and exhausted dogs were forced to withdraw a moment the combat, and +rush into the narrow rivulet. While they lay panting in the water, the bear +turned his head back against the rocks, and lapped in the dripping moisture +without moving from his position. But he was fast sinking under his wounds: a +stream of blood, which constantly issued from his body and ran down and +discoloured the water, indicated that his career was nearly finished. Yet his +spirit was not daunted; for while the canine assailants he had withstood so +often were bathing preparatory for a renewal of the conflict, Boone and Glenn, +who had approached the immediate vicinity, fired, and Bruin, echoing the howl +of death as the bullets entered his body, turned his eyes reproachfully towards +the men for an instant, and then, with a growl of convulsed, expiring rage, +plunged into the water, and, seizing the largest cur, crushed him to death. +Ringwood and Jowler, whose sagacity had hitherto led them to keep in some +measure aloof, knowing their efforts would be unavailing against so powerful an +enemy without the fatal aim of their master, now sprang forward to the rescue, +both seizing the prostrate foe by the throat. But he could not be made to +relinquish his victim, nor did he make resistance. Boone, advancing at the head +of the hunters, (all of whom, with the exception of Joe and Sneak, being there +assembled,) with some difficulty prevented his companions from discharging +their guns at the dark mass before them. He struck up several of their guns as +they were endeavouring to aim at the now motionless bear, fearing that his +hounds might suffer by their fire, and stooping down, whence he could +distinctly see the pale gums and tongue, as his hounds grappled the neck of the +animal, announced the death of Bruin, and the termination of the hunt. The +hounds soon abandoned their inanimate victim, and its sinewy limbs relaxing, +the devoted cur rolled out a lifeless body. +</p> + +<p> +“How like you this specimen of our wild sports?” inquired Boone, +turning to Glenn, as the rest proceeded to skin and dress the bear preparatory +for its conveyance to the camp. +</p> + +<p> +“It is exciting, if not terrific and cruel,” replied Glenn, musing. +</p> + +<p> +“None could be more eager than yourself in the chase,’ said Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“True,” replied Glenn; “and notwithstanding the uninitiated +may for an instant revolt at the spilling of blood, yet the chase has ever been +considered the noblest and the most innocent of sports. The animals hunted are +often an evil while running at large, being destructive or dangerous; but even +if they were harmless in their nature, they are still necessary or desirable +for the support or comfort of man. Blood of a similar value is spilt everywhere +without the least compunction. The knife daily pierces the neck of the swine, +and the kitchen wench wrings off the head of the fowl while she hums a ditty. +This is far better than hunting down our own species on the battle-field, or +ruining and being ruined at the gaming-table. I think I shall be content in +this region.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you will no doubt be an expert hunter, if I have any judgment in +such matters,” replied Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“I wonder that Joe has not yet made his appearance,” remarked +Glenn, approaching the bear; “I expected ere this to have seen him +triumphing over his fallen enemy.” +</p> + +<p> +“What kind of a gun had he?” inquired Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“A large musket,” said Glenn, recollecting the enormous explosion +that seemed to jar the whole woods like an earthquake; “it must have been +Joe who fired—he had certainly overcharged the gun, and I fear it has +burst in his hands, which may account for his absence.” +</p> + +<p> +“Be not uneasy,” replied Boone; “for I can assure you from +the peculiar sound it made that it did nothing more than rebound violently; +besides, those guns very rarely burst. But here comes Sneak, (I think they call +him so,) no doubt having some tidings of your man. It seems he has not been +idle. He has a brace of racoons in his hands.” +</p> + +<p> +The tall slim form of Sneak was seen coming down the path. Ever and anon he +cast his eyes from one hand to the other, regarding with no ordinary interest +the dead animals he bore. +</p> + +<p> +“I did not hear him fire,” remarked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“He may have killed them with stones,” said Boone; and as Sneak +drew near, he continued, with a smile, “they are nothing more than a +brace of his terriers, that doubtless Bruin dispatched, and which may well be +spared, notwithstanding Sneak’s seeming sorrow.” +</p> + +<p> +Sneak approached the place where Boone and Glenn were standing, with the +gravest face that man ever wore. His eyes seemed to be set in his head, for not +once did they wink, nor did his lips move for some length of time after he +threw down the dogs at the feet of Glenn, although several men addressed him. +He stood with his arms folded, and gazed mournfully at his dead dogs. +</p> + +<p> +“The little fellows fought bravely, and covered themselves with +glory,” said Glenn, much amused at the solemn demeanour of Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“If there ain’t more blood spilt on the strength of it, I wish I +may be smashed!” said Sneak, compressing his lips. +</p> + +<p> +“What mean you? what’s the matter?” inquired Boone, who best +understood what the man was meditating. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ve got as good a gun as anybody here! And I’ll have +revenge, or pay!” replied Sneak, turning his eyes on Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“If your remarks are intended for me,” said Glenn, “rely upon +it you shall have justice.” +</p> + +<p> +“Tell us all about it,” said Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“When I heard that fool up the valley shoot off his forty-four pounder, I +ran to see what he had done, and when I came near to where he was, his gun was +lying up the hill behind him, and he setting down whining like a baby, and a +great gore of blood hanging to his nose. I wish it had blowed his head off! I +got tired of staying with the tarnation fool, who couldn’t tell me a +thing, when I heard you shooting, and the horn blowing for the men; and knowing +the bar was dead, I started off full tilt. I hadn’t gone fifty steps +before I began to see where his bullets had spattered the trees and bushes in +every direction. Presently I stumbled over these dogs, my own puppies—and +there they lay as dead as door nails. I whistled, and they didn’t move; I +then stooped down to see how the bear had killed ’em, and I found these +bullet holes in ’em!” said Sneak, turning their limber bodies over +with his foot, until their wounds were uppermost. “I’ll be shot if +I don’t have pay, or revenge!” he continued, with tears in his +eyes. +</p> + +<p> +“What were they worth?” demanded Glenn, laughing. +</p> + +<p> +“I was offered two dollars a-piece for ’em as we came through +Indiana,” replied Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Here’s the money,” said Glenn, handing him the amount. After +receiving the cash, Sneak turned away perfectly satisfied, and seemed not to +bestow another thought upon his puppies. +</p> + +<p> +This affair had hardly been settled before Joe made his appearance on Pete. He +rode slowly along down the path, as dolefully as ever man approached the +graveyard. As he drew near, all eyes were fixed upon him. Never were any +one’s features so much disfigured. His nose was as large as a hen’s +egg, and as purple as a plum. Still it was not much disproportioned to the rest +of his swollen face; and the whole resembled the unearthly phiz of the most +bloated gnome that watched over the slumbers of Rip Van Winkle. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="ChapterIII"> +CHAPTER III. </a> +</h2> + +<p class="quote"> +Glenn’s castle—Mary—Books—A hunt—Joe and +Pete—A tumble—An opossum—A shot—Another tumble—A +doe—The return—They set out again—A mound—A +buffalo—An encounter—Night—Terrific +spectacle—Escape—Boone—Sneak—Indians. +</p> + +<p> +Some weeks had passed since the bear hunt. The emigrants had crossed the river, +and selected their future homes in the groves that bordered the prairie, some +miles distant from the ferry. Glenn, when landed on the south side of the +Missouri, took up his abode for a short time with Jasper Roughgrove, the +ferryman, while some half dozen men, whose services his gold secured, were +building him a novel habitation. And the location was as singular as the +construction of his house. It was on a peak that jutted over the river, some +three hundred feet high, whence he had a view eight or ten miles down the +stream, and across the opposite bottom-land to the hills mentioned in the +preceding chapter. The view was obstructed above by a sudden bend of the +stream; but on the south, the level prairie ran out as far as the eye could +reach, interrupted only by the young groves that were interspersed at +intervals. His house, constructed of heavy stones, was about fifteen feet +square, and not more than ten in height. The floor was formed of hewn timbers, +the walls covered with a rough coat of lime, and the roof made of heavy boards. +However uncouth this abode appeared to the eye of Glenn, yet he had followed +the instructions of Boone, (to whom he had fully disclosed his plan, and +repeated his odd resolution,) and reared a tenement not only capable of +resisting the wintry winds that were to howl around it, but sufficiently firm +to withstand the attacks of any foe, whether the wild beast of the forest or +the prowling Indian. The door was very narrow and low, being made of a solid +rock full six inches in thickness, which required the strength of a man to turn +on its hinges, even when the ponderous bolt on the inside was unfastened. There +was a small square window on each side containing a single pane of glass, and +made to be secured at a moment’s warning, by means of thick stone +shutters on the inside. The fire-place was ample at the hearth, but the flue +through which the smoke escaped was small, and ran in a serpentine direction up +through the northern wall; while the ceiling was overlaid with smooth flat +stones, fastened down with huge iron spikes, and supported by strong wooden +joists. The furniture consisted of a few trunks, (which answered for seats,) +two camp beds, four barrels of hard biscuit, a few dishes and cooking utensils, +and a quantity of hunting implements. Many times did Joe shake his head in +wonderment as this house was preparing for his reception. It seemed to him too +much danger was apprehended from without, and it too much resembled a solitary, +and secure prison, should one be confined within. Nevertheless, he was +permitted to adopt his own plan in the construction of a shelter for the +horses. And the retention of these animals was some relief to his otherwise +gloomy forebodings, when he beheld the erection of his master’s +suspicious tenement. He superintended the building of a substantial and +comfortable stable. He had stalls, a small granary, and a regular rack made for +the accommodation of the horses, and procured, with difficulty and no little +expense, a supply of provender. The space, including the buildings, which had +been cleared of the roots and stones, for the purpose of cultivating a garden, +was about one hundred feet in diameter, and enclosed by a circular row of posts +driven firmly in the ground, and rising some ten feet above the surface. These +were planted so closely together that even a squirrel would have found it +difficult to enter without climbing over them. Indeed, Joe had an especial eye +to this department, having heard some awful tales of the snakes that somewhat +abounded in those regions in the warm seasons. +</p> + +<p> +One corner of the stable, wherein a quantity of straw was placed, was +appropriated for the comfort of the dogs, Ringwood and Jowler, which had been +presented to Glenn by his obliging friend, after they had exhibited their skill +in the bear hunt. +</p> + +<p> +When every thing was completed, preparatory for his removal thither, Glenn +dismissed his faithful artisans, bestowing upon them a liberal reward for their +labour, and took possession of his castle. But, notwithstanding the strange +manner in which he proposed to spend his days, and his habitual grave demeanour +and taciturnity, yet his kind tone, when he uttered a request, or ventured a +remark, on the transactions passing around him, and his contempt for money, +which he squandered with a prodigal hand, had secured for him the good-will of +the ferrymen, and the friendship of the surrounding emigrants. But there was +one whose esteem had no venal mixture in it. This was Mary, the old +ferryman’s daughter, a fair-cheeked girl of nineteen, who never neglected +an opportunity of performing a kind office for her father’s temporary +guest; and when he and his man departed for their own tenement, not venturing +directly to bestow them on our hero, she presented Joe with divers articles for +their amusement and comfort in their secluded abode, among which were sundry +live fowls, a pet fawn, and a kitten. +</p> + +<p> +The first few days, after being installed in his solitary home, our hero passed +with his books. But he did not realize all the satisfaction he anticipated from +his favourite authors in his secluded cell. The scene around him contrasted but +ill with the creations of Shakspeare; and if some of the heroes of Scott were +identified with the wildest features of nature, he found it impossible to look +around him and enjoy the magic of the page at the same time. +</p> + +<p> +Joe employed himself in attending to his horses, feeding the fowls and dogs, +and playing with the fawn and a kitten. He also practiced loading and shooting +his musket, and endeavoured to learn the mode of doing execution on other +objects without committing violence on himself. +</p> + +<p> +“Joe,” said Glenn, one bright frosty morning, “saddle the +horses; we will make an excursion in the prairie, and see what success we can +have without the presence and assistance of an experienced hunter. I designed +awaiting the visit of Boone, which he promised should take place about this +time; but we will venture out without him; if we kill nothing, at least we +shall have the satisfaction of doing no harm.” +</p> + +<p> +Joe set off towards the stable, smiling at Glenn’s joke, and heartily +delighted to exchange the monotony of his domestic employment, which was +becoming irksome, for the sports of the field, particularly as he was now +entirely recovered from the effects of his late disasters, and began to grow +weary of wasting his ammunition in firing at a target, when there was an +abundance of game in the vicinity. +</p> + +<p> +“Whoop! Bingwood—Jowler!” cried he, leading the horses +briskly forth. The dogs came prancing and yelping round him, as well pleased as +himself at the prospect of a day’s sport; and when Glenn came out they +exhibited palpable signs of recognition and eagerness to accompany their new +master on his first deer-hunt. Glenn stroked their heads, which were constantly +rubbed against his hands, and his caresses were gratefully received by the +faithful hounds. He had been instructed by Boone how to manage them, so as +either to keep them at his side when he wished to approach the game stealthily, +or to send them forth when rapid pursuit was required, and he was now anxious +to test their sagacity. +</p> + +<p> +When mounted, the young men set forward in a southern direction, the valley in +which the ferryman’s cabin was situated on one hand, and one about the +same distance above on the other. But the space between them gradually widened +as they progressed, and in a few minutes both disappeared entirely, terminating +in scarcely perceptible rivulets running slowly down from the high and level +prairie. Here Glenn paused to determine what course he should take. The sun +shone brightly on the interminable expanse before him, and not a breeze ruffled +the long dry grass around, nor disturbed the few sear leaves that yet clung to +the diminutive clusters of bushes scattered at long intervals over the prairie. +It was a delightful scene. From the high position of our hero, he could +distinguish objects miles distant on the plain; and if the landscape was not +enlivened by houses and domestic herds, he could at all events here and there +behold parties of deer browsing peacefully in the distance. Ringwood and Jowler +also saw or scented them, as their attention was pointed in that direction; but +so far from marring the sport by prematurely running forward, they knew too +well their duty to leave their master, even were the game within a few paces of +them, without the word of command. +</p> + +<p> +“I see a deer!” cried Joe, at length, having till then been +employed gathering some fine wild grapes from a neighbouring vine. +</p> + +<p> +“I see several,” replied Glenn; “but how we are to get within +gun shot of them, is the question.” +</p> + +<p> +“I see them, too,” said Joe, his eyes glistening. +</p> + +<p> +“I have thought of a plan, Joe; whether right or wrong, is not very +material, as respects the exercise we are seeking; but I am inclined to believe +it is the proper one. It will at all events give you a fair opportunity of +killing a deer, as you will have to fire as they run, and the great number of +bullets in your musket will make you more certain to do execution than if you +fired a rifle. You will proceed to yon thicket, about a thousand yards distant, +keeping the bushes all the time between you and the deer. When you arrive at it +dismount, and after tying your pony in the bushes where he will be well hid, +select a position whence you can see the deer when they run; I think they will +go within reach of your fire. I will make a detour beyond them, and approach +from the opposite side.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’d rather not tie my pony,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Why? he would not leave you, even were he to get loose,” replied +Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t think he would—but I’d rather not leave him +yet awhile, till I get a little better used to hunting,” said Joe, +probably thinking there might be some danger to himself on foot in a country +where bears, wolves, and panthers were sometimes seen. +</p> + +<p> +“Can you fire while sitting on your pony?” inquired Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I suppose so,” said Joe; “though I never thought to try it +yet.” +</p> + +<p> +“Suppose you try it now, while I watch the deer, and see if what I have +been told is true, that the mere report of a gun will not alarm them.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I will,” said Joe. “I think Pete knows as well as the +steed, that shooting on him won’t hurt him.” +</p> + +<p> +“Fire away, then,” said Glenn, looking steadfastly at the deer. Joe +fired, and none of the deer ran off. Some continued their playful sports, while +others browsed along without lifting their heads; in all likelihood the report +did not reach them. But Glenn heard a tremendous thumping behind, and on +turning round, beheld his man quietly lying on the ground, and the pony +standing about ten paces distant, with his head turned towards Joe, his ears +thrust forwards, his nostrils distended and snorting, and his little blue eyes +ready to burst out of his head. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> +<img src="images/004.jpg" alt="Glenn heard a tremendous thumping behind." +width="369" height="438"/> +</div> + +<p class="caption"> +Glenn heard a tremendous thumping behind. +</p> + +<p> +“How is this, Joe?” inquired Glenn, scarce able to repress a smile +at the ridiculous posture of his man. +</p> + +<p> +“I hardly know myself,” replied Joe, casting a silly glance at his +treacherous pony; and after examining his limbs and finding no injury had been +sustained, continued, “I fired as you directed, and when the smoke +cleared away, I found myself lying just as you see me here. I don’t know +how Pete contrived to get from under me, but there he stands, and here I +lie.” +</p> + +<p> +“Load your gun, and try it again,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I’d rather not,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Then I will,” replied Glenn, whose horsemanship enabled him to +retain the saddle in spite of the straggles of Pete, who, after several +discharges, submitted and bore it quietly. +</p> + +<p> +Joe then mounted and set out for the designated thicket, while Glenn galloped +off in another direction, followed by the hounds. +</p> + +<p> +When Joe arrived at the hazel thicket, he continued in the saddle, and +otherwise he would not have been able to see over the prairie for the tall +grass which had grown very luxuriantly in that vicinity. There was a path, +however, running round the edge of the bushes, which had been made by the deer +and other wild animals, and in this he cautiously groped his way, looking out +in every direction for the deer. When he had progressed about halfway round, he +espied them feeding composedly, about three hundred paces distant, on a slight +eminence. There were at least fifteen of them, and some very large ones. +Fearful of giving the alarm before Glenn should fire, he shielded himself from +view behind a cluster of persimmon bushes, and tasted the ripe and not +unpalatable fruit. And here he was destined to win his first trophy as a +hunter. While bending down some branches over head, without looking up, an +opossum fell upon his hat, knocking it over his eyes, and springing on the neck +of Pete, thence leaped to the ground. But before it disappeared Joe had +dismounted, and giving it a blow with the butt of his musket it rolled over on +its side, with its eyes closed and tongue hanging out, indicating that the +stroke had been fatal. +</p> + +<p> +“So much for you!” said Joe, casting a proud look at his victim; +and then leaping on his pony, he gazed again at the deer. They seemed to be +still entirely unconscious of danger, and several were now lying in the grass +with their heads tip, and chewing the cud like domestic animals. Joe drew back +once more to await the action of Glenn, and turning to look at the opossum, +found to his surprise that it had vanished! +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I’m the biggest fool that ever breathed!” said he, +recollecting the craftiness imputed to those animals, and searching in vain for +his game. “If ever I come across another, he’ll not come the +’possum over me, I’ll answer for it!” he continued, somewhat +vexed. At this juncture Glenn’s gun was heard, and Joe observed a +majority of the deer leaping affrighted in the direction of his position. The +foremost passed within twenty yards of him, and, his limbs trembling with +excitement, he drew his gun up to his shoulder and pulled the trigger. It +snapped, perhaps fortunately, for his eyes were convulsively closed at the +moment; and recovering measurably by the time the next came up, this trial the +gun went off, and he found himself once more prostrate on the ground. +</p> + +<p> +“What in the world is the reason you won’t stand still!” he +exclaimed, rising and seizing the pony by the bit. The only answer Pete made +was a snort of unequivocal dissatisfaction. “Plague take your little +<i>hide</i> of you! I should have killed that fellow to a certainty, if you +hadn’t played the fool!” continued he, still addressing his pony +while he proceeded to load his gun. When ready for another fire, he mounted +again, in quite an ill humour, convinced that all chance of killing a deer was +effectually over for the present, when, to his utter astonishment, he beheld +the deer he had fired at lying dead before him, and but a few paces distant. +With feelings of unmixed delight he galloped to where it lay, and springing to +the earth, one moment he whirled round his hat in exultation, and the next +caressed Pete, who evinced some repugnance to approach the weltering victim, +and snuffed the scent of blood with any other sensation than that of pleasure. +Joe discovered that no less than a dozen balls had penetrated the doe’s +side, (for such it was,) which sufficiently accounted for its immediate and +quiet death, that had so effectually deceived him into the belief that his +discharge had been harmless. He now blew his horn, which was answered by a +blast from Glenn, who soon came up to announce his own success in bringing down +the largest buck in the party, and to congratulate his man on his truly +remarkable achievement. +</p> + +<p> +An hour was consumed in preparing the deer to be conveyed to the house, and by +the time they were safely deposited in our hero’s diminutive castle, and +the hunters ready to issue forth in quest of more sport, the day was far +advanced, and a slight haziness of the atmosphere dimmed in a great measure the +lustre of the descending sun. +</p> + +<p> +Animated with their excellent success, they anticipated much more sport, +inasmuch as neither themselves nor the hounds (which hitherto were not required +to do farther service than to watch one of the deer while the men were engaged +with the other) were in the slightest degree fatigued. The hours flew past +unnoticed, while the young men proceeded gayly outward from the river in quest +of new adventures. +</p> + +<p> +Glenn and his man rode far beyond the scene of their late success without +discovering any new object to gratify their undiminished zest for the chase. It +seemed that the deer which had escaped had actually given intelligence to the +rest of the arrival of a deadly foe in the vicinity, for not one could now be +seen in riding several miles. The sun was sinking low and dim in the west, and +Glenn was on the eve of turning homeward, when, on emerging from the flat +prairie to a slight eminence that he had marked as boundary of his excursion, +he beheld at no great distance an enormous mound, of pyramidical shape, which, +from its isolated condition, he could not believe to be the formation of +nature. Curious to inspect what he supposed to be a stupendous specimen of the +remains of former generations of the aborigines, he resolved to protract his +ride and ascend to the summit. The mound was some five hundred feet in diameter +at the base, and terminated at a peak about one hundred and fifty feet in +height. As our riders ascended, with some difficulty keeping in the saddle, +they observed the earth on the sides to be mixed with flint-stones, and many of +them apparently having once been cut in the shape of arrow-heads; and in +several places where chasms had been formed by heavy showers, they remarked a +great many pieces of bones, but so much broken and decayed they could not be +certain that they were particles of human skeletons. When they reached the +summit, which was not more than twenty feet in width and entirely barren, a +magnificent scene burst in view. For ten or fifteen miles round on every side, +the eye could discern oval, oblong, and circular groves of various dimensions, +scattered over the rich virgin soil. The gentle undulations of the prairie +resembled the boundless ocean entranced, as if the long swells had been +suddenly abandoned by the wind, and yet remained stationary in their rolling +attitude. +</p> + +<p> +“What think you of the view, Joe?” inquired Glenn, after regarding +the scene many minutes in silence. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ve been watching a little speck, way out toward the, sun, which +keeps bobbing up and down, and gets bigger and bigger,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“I mean the prospect around,” said Glenn. I can’t form an +opinion, because I can’t see the end of it,” replied Joe, still +intently regarding the object referred to. +</p> + +<p> +“That is an animal of some kind,” observed Glenn, marking the +object that attracted Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“And a wapper, too; when I first saw it I thought it was a rabbit, and +now it’s bigger than a deer, and still a mile or two off,” said +Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“We’ll wait a few minutes, and see what it is,” replied +Glenn, checking his steed, which had proceeded a few steps downward. The object +of their attention held its course directly towards them, and as it drew nearer +it was easily distinguished to be a very large buffalo, an animal then somewhat +rare so near the white man’s settlement, and one that our hero had often +expressed a wish to see. Its dark shaggy sides, protuberant back and bushy +head, were quite perceptible as it careered swiftly onward, seemingly flying +from some danger behind. +</p> + +<p> +“Down, Ringwood! Jowler!” exclaimed Glenn, preparing to fire. +</p> + +<p> +“Down, Joe, too,” said Joe, slipping down from his pony, preferring +not to risk another fall, and likewise preparing to fire. +</p> + +<p> +When the buffalo reached the base of the mound, it saw for the first time the +objects above, and halted. It regarded the men with more symptoms of curiosity +than alarm, but as it gazed, its distressed pantings indicated that it had been +long retreating from some object of dread. +</p> + +<p> +Meantime both guns were discharged, and the contents undoubtedly penetrated the +animal’s body, for he leapt upright in the air, and on descending, +staggered off slowly in a course at right angles from the one which he was +first pursuing. Glenn then let the hounds go forth, and soon overtaking the +animal, they were speedily forced to act on the defensive; for the enormous foe +wheeled round and pursued in turn. Finding the hounds were too cautious and +active to fall victims to his sharp horns, he pawed the earth, and uttered the +most horrific bellowings. As Glenn and Joe rode by the place where he had stood +when they fired, they perceived large quantities of frothy blood, which +convinced them that he had received a mortal wound. They rode on and paused +within eighty paces of where he now stood, and calling back the baying hounds, +again discharged their guns. The buffalo roared most hideously, and making a +few plunges towards his assailants, fell on his knees, and the next moment +turned over on his side. +</p> + +<p> +“Come back, Joe!” cried Glenn to his man, who had mounted and +wheeled when the animal rushed towards them, and was still flying away as fast +as his pony could carry him. +</p> + +<p> +“No—never!” replied Joe; “I won’t go nigh that +awful thing! Don’t you see it’s getting dark? How’ll we over +find the way home again?” +</p> + +<p> +The latter remark startled Glenn, for he had lost all consciousness of the +lateness of the hour in the excitement, and to his dismay had also lost all +recollection of the direction of his dwelling, and darkness had now overtaken +them! While pausing to reflect from which quarter they first approached the +mound, the buffalo, to his surprise and no little chagrin, rose up and +staggered away, the darkness seen obscuring him from view altogether. Glenn, by +a blast of his horn, recalled the dogs, and joining Joe, set off much +dispirited, in a course which he feared was not the correct one. Night came +upon them suddenly, and before they had gone a mile the darkness was intense. +And the breathless calm that had prevailed during the day was now succeeded by +fitful winds that howled mournfully over the interminable prairie. Interminable +the plain seemed to our benighted riders, for there was still no object to vary +the monotony of the cheerless scene, although they had paced briskly, and, as +they supposed, far enough to have reached the cliffs of the river. Nor was +there even a sound heard as they rode along, save the muffled strokes of their +horses’ hoofs in the dry grass that covered the earth, the low winds, and +an occasional cry of the dogs as they were trodden upon by the horses. +</p> + +<p> +Ere long a change came over the scene. About two-thirds of the distance round +the verge of the horizon a faint light appeared, resembling the scene when a +dense curtain of clouds hangs over head, and the rays of the morning sun steal +under the edge of the thick vapour. But the stars could be seen, and the only +appearance of clouds was immediately above the circle of light. In a very few +minutes the terrible truth flashed upon the mind of Glenn. The dim light along +the horizon was changed to an approaching flame! Columns of smoke could be seen +rolling upwards, while the fire beneath imparted a lurid glare to them. The +wind blew more fiercely, and the fire approached from almost every quarter with +the swiftness of a race horse. The darkened vault above became gradually +illuminated with a crimson reflection, and the young man shuddered with the +horrid apprehension of being burnt alive! It was madness to proceed in a +direction that must inevitably hasten their fate, the fire extending in one +unbroken line from left to right, and in front of them; and they turned in a +course which seemed to place the greatest distance between them and the furious +element. Ever and anon a frightened deer or elk leaped past. The hounds no +longer noticed them, but remained close to the horses. The leaping flames came +in awful rapidity. The light increased in brilliance, and objects were +distinguishable far over the prairie. A red glare could be seen on the sides of +the deer as they bounded over the tall, dry grass, which was soon to be no +longer a refuge for them. The young men heard a low, continued roar, that +increased every moment in loudness, and looking in the direction whence they +supposed it proceeded, they observed an immense, dark, moving mass, the nature +of which they could not divine, but it threatened to annihilate every thing +that opposed it. While gazing at this additional source of danger, the horses, +blinded by the surrounding light, plunged into a deep ditch that the rain had +washed in the rich soil. Neither men nor horses, fortunately, were injured; and +after several ineffectual efforts to extricate themselves, they here resolved +to await the coming of the fire. Ringwood and Jowler whined fearfully on the +verge of the ditch for an instant, and then sprang in and crouched trembling at +the feet of their master. The next instant the dark, thundering mass passed +over head, being nothing less than an immense herd of buffalo driven forwards +by the flames! The horses bowed their heads as if a thunderbolt was passing. +The fire and the heavens were hid from view, and the roar above resembled the +rush of mighty waters. When the last animal had sprung over the chasm, Glenn +thanked the propitious accident that thus providentially prevented him from +being crushed to atoms, and uttered a prayer to Heaven that he might by a like +means be rescued from the fiery ordeal that awaited him. It now occurred to him +that the accumulation of weeds and grass in the chasm, which saved them from +injury when falling in, would prove fatal when the flames arrived! And after +groping some distance along the trench, he found the depth diminished, but the +fire was not three hundred paces distant! His heart sank within him! But when +on the eve of returning to his former position, with a resolution to remove as +much of the combustible matter as possible, a gleam of joy spread over his +features, as, casting a glance in a direction from that they had recently +pursued, he beheld the identical mound he had ascended before dark, and from +which his unsteady and erratic riding in the night had fortunately prevented a +distant separation. They now led their horses forth, and mounting without +delay, whipped forward for life or death. Could the summit of the mound be +attained they were in safety—for there the soil was not encumbered with +decayed vegetation—and they spurred their animals to the top of their +speed. It was a noble sight to see the majestic white steed flying towards the +mound with the velocity of the wind, while the diminutive pony miraculously +followed in the wake like an inseparable shadow. The careering flames were not +far behind; and when the horses gained the summit and Glenn looked back, the +fire had reached the base! +</p> + +<p> +“I thank all the saints at once!” exclaimed Joe, dismounting and +falling on his knees. +</p> + +<p> +“Thank your pony’s legs, also,” remarked Glenn, smiling. +</p> + +<p> +“Was there ever such a blessed deliverance!” said Joe, panting. +</p> + +<p> +“Was there ever such a lucky tumble into a ditch!” replied Glenn, +with spirits more buoyant than usual. +</p> + +<p> +“Was there ever an old hunter so much deceived!” said a voice a few +paces down that side of the cone least exposed to the glare of the fire, and so +much in the shadow of the peak that the speaker was not perceived from the +position of the young men. But as soon as the words were uttered, Ringwood and +Jowler sprang from the horses’ heels where they had lain panting, and +rushed in the direction of the speaker, whom they accosted with marks of joyful +recognition. +</p> + +<p> +“It is Boone!” exclaimed Glenn, leaping from his horse, and running +forward to his friend, who was now seen to rise up, and a moment after his +horse, that had been prostrate and still, was likewise on his feet. +</p> + +<p> +“Ha! ha! ha! You have played me a fine trick, truly,” laughingly +remarked Boone, returning their hearty salutations. +</p> + +<p> +“How?” inquired Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“In the first place, to venture forth before my arrival; in the next to +inspire me with the belief that I was on the eve of encountering a brace of +Indians. But I will begin at the beginning. When I crossed the river and +reached your hut, (which is indeed impregnable,) I was astonished to find you +had gone forth to hunt without a guide; and not so much fearing you would be +lost, should night overtake you, as apprehending serious danger from the fire, +the approach of which I anticipated long before night, from the peculiar +complexion of the atmosphere, I set out on your trail, in hopes of overtaking +you before the shades of evening set in; but darkness coming on, I could trace +you no farther than to this mound. In vain did I endeavour to ascertain which +direction you then travelled; but resolving not to abandon the search, I +continued cruising about the prairie until the near approach of the fire forced +me to retreat hither. It was when urging my horse to his utmost speed that I +beheld you and your bear-hunter charging from another direction, and from the +partial view, as we were all under whip, (and knowing the Osages were not far +off,) I was instantly convinced that you were savages. Arriving first, I made +my sagacious horse lie down, and then concealed myself behind his body.” +</p> + +<p> +“I am not only rejoiced that we were not the savages you supposed, (for +then Joe and I must have perished in the flames somewhere,) on our own account, +but for the sake of the only man who can possibly extricate us from this +dilemma,” replied Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“You are somewhat wide of the mark as respects my jeopardy, my +lad,” said Boone; “for had you been hostile Osages, most assuredly +ere this you had both been killed.” +</p> + +<p> +“Good gracious!” exclaimed Joe, whose predicament suddenly flashed +upon his mind; “for Heaven’s sake let us get home as fast as +possible! He says the Indians are about! Do let us go, Mr. Glenn; we can travel +now out yonder where the grass has all been burnt.” +</p> + +<p> +“Pshaw! You seem more alarmed now, Joe, than when there really was +danger. Are the Osages truly hostile?” continued Glenn, addressing Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“They are not at war with the whites, as a nation,” replied Boone, +ever and anon looking towards the only point from which the fire now +approached; “but in thin settlements, where, they may easily be the +strongest party, as roving brigands, they may be considered extremely +dangerous. Your man’s advice is not bad.” +</p> + +<p> +“There! Don’t you hear that? Now, <i>do</i> let’s go +home!” continued Joe, with increased alarm. +</p> + +<p> +Fortunately, that portion of the plain over which the scathing element had +spent its fury was the direction the party should pursue in retracing their way +homeward. +</p> + +<p> +The light dry grass had been soon consumed, and the earth wore a blackened +appearance, and was as smooth as if vegetation had never covered the surface. +As the party rode briskly along, (and the pony now kept in advance,) the +horses’ hoofs rattled as loudly on the baked ground as if it were a plank +floor. The reflection of the fire in the distance still threw a lurid glare +over the extended heath. As the smoke gradually ascended, objects could be +discerned at a great distance, and occasionally a half-roasted deer or elk, was +seen plunging about, driven to madness by its tortures. And frequently they +found the dead bodies of smaller animals that could find no safety in flight. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s that?” cried Joe, reining up his pony, and gazing at +a huge dark object ahead. +</p> + +<p> +“A prize, to which we are justly entitled!” exclaimed Glenn, riding +forward, on discovering it to be the buffalo (now dead) that they had fired +upon early in the evening, and which circumstance he was relating to Boone at +the moment of the discovery by Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“You have not only been lucky as hunters,” said Boone, as they +dismounted to inspect the animal, (which was an enormous bull,) “but, +what is extraordinary indeed, when you find your fallen game, it is already +cooked!” +</p> + +<p> +“Huzza for us!” cried Joe, momentarily forgetting the Indians, in +his extravagant joy of having aided in killing the animal, and at the same time +leaping astride of it. +</p> + +<p> +“The wolves have been here before us,” observed Boone, seeing a +large quantity of the buffalo’s viscera on the ground, which he supposed +had been torn out by those ravenous animals. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! oh! oh! oh!” exclaimed Joe, leaping up, and running a few +steps, and then tumbling down and continuing his cries. +</p> + +<p> +“What has hurt the fellow so badly?” inquired Glenn, walking round +from the back of the animal to the front. The words were scarcely uttered +before he likewise sprang away, hastily, as he beheld a pronged instrument +thrust from the orifice in the body whence the bowels had been extracted! +</p> + +<p> +“Dod! I wonder if it’s wolves or Injins!” exclaimed a voice +within the cavity of the huge body. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ve heard that voice before—it must be +Sneak’s,” said Boone, laughing heartily. +</p> + +<p> +Now the buffalo was observed to quiver slightly, and after some exertion to +extricate himself, the long snake-like form of the redoubtable +“Hatchet-face” came forth and stood erect before the gaping mouth +and staring eyes of Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“If I didn’t hear a white man speak, I wish I may be singed!” +exclaimed Sneak, wiping the moisture from his face, and rolling his eyes round. +</p> + +<p> +“What did you stick that sharp thing in the calf of my leg for?” +demanded Joe, shaking his head threateningly and coming forward. +</p> + +<p> +“He! he! he! That’s revenge for shooting my pups,” replied +Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“But how came you here?” inquired Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“I was taking a hunt”—here Boone interrupted him by asking +where his gun was. “I had no gun,” said Sneak; and then stooping +down and running his arm into the body of the buffalo, he produced a pronged +spear, about four feet in length; “this,” he continued, “is +what I hunted with, and I was hunting after muskrats in the ponds out here, +when the fire came like blazes, and like to ’ave ketched me! I dropped +all the muskrats I had stuck, and streaked it for about an hour towards the +river. But it gained on me like lightning, and I’d ’ave been in a +purty fix if I hadn’t come across this dead bull. I out with my knife and +was into him in less than no time—but split me, if I didn’t feel +the heat of the fire as I pulled in my feet! I knew the Injins was about, by +the buffalo; and the tarnation wolves, too, are always everywhere, and that +accounts for my jobbing that feller’s leg when he sot down on top of +me.” +</p> + +<p> +Glenn’s laughter at the above narration was arrested by Boone, who placed +one hand on his shoulder, and with the other pointed out towards the fire about +a mile distant, before which and thrown in relief by the flames could be +distinctly discerned the flitting forms of a band of savages! A number were +mounted, and others could be seen on foot, and all moving about in various +directions round a large herd of buffalo, which occasionally made a stand to +resist the foe that harassed them on all sides, but were soon driven forward +again by the flames. Now a mounted chief could be seen to ride boldly up within +a few paces of the dark mass of animals, and drawing his arrow to the head, +discharge it, shaft and all, into the defenceless side of his victim. The +enraged animal thus pursued either fell or rushed furiously on its foe; but the +skilful savage, by a dexterous turn or sudden leap, seemed to avoid him with +ease, and flying round, sent forth another barbed messenger as he careered at +full speed. +</p> + +<p> +“As I’m afoot, I’ll go ahead!” cried Sneak, starting +off at a gait that verified his words. +</p> + +<p> +“Good gracious!” exclaimed Joe, leaping on his pony and whipping +after Sneak, while Boone and Glenn followed in a brisk gallop. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="ChapterIV"> +CHAPTER IV. </a> +</h2> + +<p class="quote"> +The retreat—Joe makes a mysterious discovery—Mary—A +disclosure—Supper—Sleep—A cat—Joe’s +flint—The watch—Mary—The bush—The +attack—Joe’s musket again—The repulse—The starting +rally—The desperate alternative—Relief. +</p> + +<p> +The guidance of Sneak was infallible. Ere long the party reached the vicinity +of the river, which was indicated by the tall trees and the valleys, and all +apprehensions of immediate danger subsiding, they slackened their pace. +</p> + +<p> +Sneak, though not so much distressed as the panting horses, fell back, and +entered into conversation with Boone relative to the probable operations of the +Indians, while Joe continued some little distance in advance, apparently +wrapped in contemplation of the recent scenes that had so much astonished him. +When he was within about a hundred paces of his long-wished for home, he +thought he saw an object moving about in front of the palisade. He checked his +pony for an instant; but convinced that the savages could not possibly have +arrived already, he again whipped onward, inclined to believe it to be nothing +more than a phantom of the brain. But when he proceeded a few stops farther, +his pony stopped suddenly and snorted, while a being, which he could not +exactly define, was distinctly seen to rise up and glide swiftly out of view +round the inclosure. +</p> + +<p> +“Who’s that!” shouted he, and at the same time looking +eagerly back at his companions, whose near approach induced him to maintain his +position. +</p> + +<p> +“Go on, Joe! What’s the matter?” remarked Glenn, the head of +his steed having passed over the back of the pony as he stood across the path +and blocked up the way. +</p> + +<p> +“I beg to be excused! As sure as I’m alive, I saw an Indian run +round towards the gate!” replied Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Foller me,” said Sneak, poising his spear in the air, and +advancing. +</p> + +<p> +“Thank Heaven, it’s you!” exclaimed the mysterious object, +coming forward fearlessly, on hearing the men’s voices. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod rot your cowardly skin!” said Sneak, after looking at the +approaching form and turning to Joe, “how dare you to be frightened at +sich a thing as that—a female woman!” +</p> + +<p> +“It was not me—it was my pony, you great—” +</p> + +<p> +“What?” asked Sneak, sharply, turning abruptly round, as they +paused at the gate. +</p> + +<p> +“You great long buffalo tapeworm!” said Joe, alighting on the side +of the pony opposite to his quarrelsome companion, and then going forward and +opening the gate in silence. +</p> + +<p> +“What brings thee hither at this late hour, Mary?” inquired Glenn, +on recognizing the ferryman’s daughter. +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing—only—I”—stammered the abashed girl, who +had expected only to see our hero and his man. +</p> + +<p> +“Speak out, lass, if you have any thing important to say,” remarked +Boone, when they entered the inclosure, placing his hand encouragingly on the +girl’s head. +</p> + +<p> +Mary still hesitated, and Boone was no little puzzled to conjecture rightly +what it was she intended to impart; but he was convinced it must be something +of no ordinary nature that would induce a maiden of reputed timidity to leave +her father’s hut at a late hour of the night. +</p> + +<p> +“Now tell me, Mary, what it was you wished to say,” remarked Glenn, +addressing her in a playful tone, when they were seated in the house, and a +lamp suspended against the wall was lighted. +</p> + +<p> +“I did not expect to find Mr. Boone and Sneak with you—and +now—” +</p> + +<p> +“What?” inquired Glenn, much moved by her paleness, and the +throbbing of her breast, which now seemed to be gradually subsiding. +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing—only you and Joe are both safe now,” she replied, +with her eyes cast down. +</p> + +<p> +“Were we in danger? How are we safe?” inquired Glenn, regarding her +words as highly mysterious. +</p> + +<p> +“Everybody is safe where Mr. Boone is,” replied Mary. +</p> + +<p> +“But what was the danger, my pretty lass?” inquired Boone, +playfully taking her hand. +</p> + +<p> +“Why Posin, one of father’s boatmen—” +</p> + +<p> +“Speak on, lass—I know Posin to be an unfeeling wretch, and a +half-blood Indian; but he is also known to be a great coward, and surely no +harm could have been feared from him,” said Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“But I heard him speaking to himself when I was filling my pitcher at the +spring, and he was standing behind some rocks, where he couldn’t see me, +and didn’t think any one was within hearing.” +</p> + +<p> +“What said he?” inquired Glenn, impatiently, and much interested in +the anticipated disclosure, for he had often remarked the satanic expression of +Posin’s features. +</p> + +<p> +“These were his words: ‘The Osages will be here before to-morrow +morning. If Raven, the chief, will go halves with me, I’ll tell him how +much money the young men have, and help to get it!’ Such were his very +words!” continued Mary, her dark eyes assuming a brightness, and her +voice a boldness unwonted on ordinary occasions, as she proceeded: “He +then started off towards the prairie with his rifle, and nobody has seen him +since. I told father about it but he wouldn’t believe there was any +danger; and when night came, he told me not to be uneasy, but to sleep like a +good girl. I did lie down, for I never like to disobey my father; but I +couldn’t sleep, and so I got up and came here to wait till you returned, +to tell you all about it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Thanks, Mary—I shall never forget your kindness,” said +Glenn, as much affected by her simplicity and gentleness as at the threatened +danger. +</p> + +<p> +“You’re a sweet lass; God bless you, Mary!” said Boone, +kissing her smooth forehead. “Now run home and go to sleep, child; we +will be on our guard. As for you, your father is respected by all the Indians, +and therefore your own safety will be best secured under his protection.” +</p> + +<p> +“I will accompany you to the hut,” said Glenn, as the girl bid them +good night, and was about departing. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh no—I’m used to going alone,” said Mary, promptly +declining the proposition. +</p> + +<p> +“She speaks truly, and it is unnecessary,” said Boone, as the +maiden bowed and disappeared. +</p> + +<p> +The party then fastened the gate and secured themselves within the stone house. +Joe petitioned Glenn to permit him to bring in the dogs, and Sneak seconded the +motion, proposing to lie with them before the fire. +</p> + +<p> +After a hearty repast, Boone and Glenn retired to their couches in quest of +repose, so much needed after the exercises of the day. Nor was it long before +they were steeped in that deep and solemn slumber which throws a mysterious +veil over the senses, obscuring from the vision all objects of an unpleasant +nature, relieving the mind of the cares that may have pressed heavily upon it +during the day, and at the same time by the gentlest process refreshing and +reinvigorating the weary faculties for renewed exertion. +</p> + +<p> +Silence brooded over the fireside scene. The lamp threw a dim ray around its +small flame unruffled by the confined and motionless air. The fawn was coiled +in a sleeping posture under its master’s bed, while the kitten purred +upon its velvet back. On one side of the hearth lay Sneak, his head pillowed +upon one of the hounds, while the other slept against his back. Joe was the +only one present who had not fallen under the magic influence of slumber. +Hitherto he had yielded to a more powerful impulse—that of the +appetite—and he now sat upon a low stool on the corner of the hearth +opposite to Sneak, his back leaning against the side of the fireplace, holding +in his left hand a pewter platter, and in his right a rib of the deer he had +killed, well cooked, which he raised to his mouth occasionally, and sometimes +at very long intervals, between the approaches of the sleep which was gradually +overpowering him. Once, when his eyelids sank heavily and closed, and the +platter rested on his lap, and his right hand, still clenching the savoury +bone, fell powerless at his side—Ringwood, in his hard breathing, chanced +to snuff up some ashes that caused him to sneeze. Joe started at the sound, and +after rolling his eyes round once or twice and finding all right, raised the +bone once more to his mouth and set his jaws again in motion. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod, man! are you going to chaw all night?” asked Sneak, awakened +by the motion of Ringwood, and looking up at the face of Joe in astonishment. +</p> + +<p> +“I had nothing to eat all day,” replied Joe, fishing for a cracker +floating in the greasy platter. +</p> + +<p> +“But ain’t you a-going to sleep some?” asked Sneak, half +unconsciously, the final utterance smothered in a guttural rumble as he again +sank back on his canine pillow. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, when I’ve got my supper,” replied Joe lazily, and +indistinctly, with one end of the bone in his mouth. But it was not long before +he again nodded, and his hand with the bone in it was once more lowered softly +down at his side. He was soon palpably fast asleep. And now the kitten, having +finished its nap, came with a noiseless tread to the comfortable fire, humming +its low unvaried song; and, rubbing its soft side against the head of Jowler, +finally crouched down before the embers, with its feet drawn under it, and its +eyes apparently watching the brilliant sparks that ever and anon flew up the +chimney. But ere long it scented the well-flavoured viand that dangled in the +vicinity, and after casting a glance at the face of Joe, and being satisfied +that he was insensible to all external objects, stealthily began to gnaw the +end of the bone that rested on the hearth. As long as it had in mind the fear +of interruption, it was permitted to feast moderately; but when its ravenous +propensity urged it to more active and vigorous operations, Joe once more +opened his eyes, and after looking slowly around, but not down, again attempted +to raise the rib to a is mouth. +</p> + +<p> +“Hello!—augh! scat!” he cried, leaping up violently. +</p> + +<p> +His first impression was that the Indians, about whom he had been dreaming, +were upon him; his next that a rattlesnake clung to his finger; and finally, +finding it to be the kitten bestowing some scratches on the hand that sought to +bereave it of its prize, he uttered the latter exclamation, first in rage; but +pleased that his condition was no worse, soon after called the poor frightened +pet to him, and with one or two caresses gave it the bone, and then resigned +himself to unrestrained slumber. +</p> + +<p> +They were all aroused in the morning by the snorting of the horses without, and +the growling and sharp yelping of the hounds within. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s the matter with the horses and dogs, Joe?” inquired +Glenn, rising from his couch. +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know what ails the foolish things. I know that I fed the +horses; and as for Ringwood and Jowler, I’ll soon kick them out. Let go +my ankle!” exclaimed he, turning to Sneak, who caught hold of him as he +rose to approach the door. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t open the door yet,” said Boone, who had been listening +to the sounds outside, and then continued in an under tone, addressing Glenn: +“They are certainly here; but whether or not with an evil intent I am +unable to determine.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh goodness! It’s the Indians!” exclaimed Joe, yielding to +sudden alarm, having momentarily forgotten the anticipated danger when he +proposed opening the door. +</p> + +<p> +“Keep your mouth shet!” said Sneak, listening with his ear placed +near the floor behind the door. +</p> + +<p> +“How many do you make them out to be?” inquired Boone, when Sneak +had occupied his position a few minutes. +</p> + +<p> +“It’s all right!” replied Sneak, eagerly; “there is +only two or three of ’em, and old Roughgrove’s out there talking to +’em! How do you open the door? Let me out!” +</p> + +<p> +The door was opened with reluctance and cautiously by Joe, and Sneak going +foremost all the party sallied out into the fresh air. A snow of several inches +in depth had fallen, and within the circle enclosed by the palisade not a +single track was to be seen. But when the gate was drawn back, several Osage +Indians were observed standing a few paces distant with their tomahawks hung in +their belts and instead of exhibiting any symptoms of hostility, they +approached smiling, and extended the hand of friendship to the whites. +</p> + +<p> +“How do!” exclaimed the leader, in imperfect English, grasping the +hands held out in salutation, while his actions were imitated by the others in +silence. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m very well, I thank you,” said Joe, bowing and retreating +backwards when they accosted him, unwilling to venture his hand within their +reach, as Glenn and the rest did. +</p> + +<p> +“Shake hands with them, you silly fellow,” said Boone, “or +they will think you are an enemy.” +</p> + +<p> +“Here, Mr. Osage!” said Joe, his teeth chattering as he extended +his hand; and the Indian, perceiving his alarm, squeezed it so tightly for +merriment that he was on the eve of crying out; and when liberated, he sprang +violently back, much inclined to run away, to their great amusement. +</p> + +<p> +“That is Raven, the chief,” remarked Roughgrove to Glenn, pointing +to the one that first addressed them, and who was now conversing with Boone, +whom he seemed to know, or to have been familiar with his character, from his +animated gestures and the excited expression of his features. Sneak stood in +silence, a convenient distance apart, apparently gleaning intelligence from the +conference. The chief (as are the members of this tribe generally) was +extremely dark, tall, athletic, and wore a ferocious aspect, while the few +followers with him manifested a curiosity to examine the apparel and +accoutrements of the whites, but without betraying any signs of an evil +disposition. +</p> + +<p> +“Are there not more of them in the vicinity?” inquired Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes—quite a large party,” said Roughgrove; “but Raven +said he did not wish to intimidate the whites by showing them, without first +extending the hand of friendship himself. They profess to entertain the kindest +feeling towards us, and propose through their chiefs to traffic their furs and +moccasins for such goods as we may be disposed to give them in return.” +</p> + +<p> +“I do not see your oarsman, Posin,” remarked Glenn, the disclosure +of Mary occurring to him—and then accosted Mary herself, who now joined +them with her eyes cast down in apparent bashfulness. +</p> + +<p> +“His absence is a mystery to me,” replied the old ferryman, +“though I do not attach the same importance to it that Mary does.” +</p> + +<p> +“Father”—uttered his daughter, and pausing in mingled +timidity and dread, as if some undefinable forebodings of harm oppressed her. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll be shot if I understand all this to my liking,” said +Sneak, staring at the great number of moccasin tracks that had been made round +the enclosure, which truly indicated that more than the four chiefs present had +been prowling there before daylight. +</p> + +<p> +“Hush, Mr. Sneak!” said Joe; “they hear every word you +say.” +</p> + +<p> +“Jest let me alone a minute,” replied Sneak, getting down on his +knees and examining the various foot-prints with great minuteness. When he rose +he made some signs to Boone, which the others did not comprehend. +</p> + +<p> +At this juncture several other Indians were seen to approach from the valley +above, where the party had encamped. These painted visitors likewise came +forward with sundry nods and gesticulations of friendship, at the same time +exhibiting several furred articles of curious workmanship, and a few precious +stones, as samples of what they wished to barter. A short conference then +ensued between them and the head chief, which terminated in a pressing +invitation for the whites to accompany them to their encampment. +</p> + +<p> +“You may all do as you like—I shall stay here,” said Joe, +stepping back towards the gate. +</p> + +<p> +“You are a coward, Joe!” said Glenn; “you may remain, +however, to prevent them from pilfering any thing while we are away,” and +he turned towards the Indians for the purpose of accompanying them. +</p> + +<p> +“Stay!” said Mary, in a distinct and startling tone. +</p> + +<p> +“Why should we not go? We are armed, and could as easily withstand an +attack in their encampment as elsewhere. If it be their determination to do us +harm, their numbers will enable them to accomplish their purpose +notwithstanding all the opposition we can offer,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“There is no danger,” said Roughgrove, endeavouring to extricate +his arm from the grasp of Mary, who strenuously held him back. +</p> + +<p> +“I have a secret for thee, child,” said Boone, beckoning the +trembling girl to him. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, what is it? You will not let him—I mean my father, go among +them, will you? <i>You</i> know that Posin is away—perhaps in some ambush +—” +</p> + +<p> +“Hush child!” said Boone, in a low tone, and employing gestures +that led the savages to believe he was quieting her fears, while he whispered a +message in her ear that had a singular effect. Though very pale, the girl now +smiled playfully, and returning to her father, said, in tones so low that no +one else could hear, “Father, he says you must instantly cross the river +for assistance—I will be safe, under <i>his</i> protection, till you +return.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll do it!” replied Roughgrove, setting off towards the +ferry. But when he departed, the chief evinced much anger, and was only +appeased by the assurance that the old ferryman was gone for some article +desired by his child, and would return ere long. +</p> + +<p> +The footprint which had so much attracted Sneak was recognized by some peculiar +marks to be that of Posin, and when the discovery was communicated to Boone, he +at once surmised that danger lurked in the vicinity; and the subsequent +impatience on the part of the Indians to urge the whites to visit their camp, +convinced him that some foul treachery had been concocted between the +half-breed and the savages. He had also caught a glimpse of several armed +Indians behind some bushes at no great distance from where he stood, +notwithstanding Raven had asserted that the rest of his party were in their +encampment; and when the chief grew angry, and almost menacing, on the +withdrawal of the old ferryman, he resolved to adopt the surest means of safety +without delay. No sooner was the ferry-boat seen to shoot out from the land +than Boone motioned the whites to enter the inclosure. As they turned towards +the gate, the chief made a movement to intercept them; but Boone drew forth a +brace of pistols that had been concealed under his hunting-shirt, one of which +he pointed at Raven, and with the other intimidated the rest who had advanced +likewise, until his friends were all within the palisade. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> +<img src="images/005.jpg" alt="Boone drew forth a brace of pistols." width="452" +height="404"/> +</div> + +<p class="caption"> +Boone drew forth a brace of pistols that had been concealed under his +hunting-shirt, one of which he pointed at Raven, and with the other intimidated +the rest who had advanced on himself, until his friends were all within the +palisade. +</p> + +<p> +Boone did not wish to be the first to shed blood, and in their own language +asserted as much to the savages; but at the same time he warned them not to +commit any violence in the settlement at their peril. The chief had not thought +there would be any necessity for bloodshed so soon, and perhaps not at all, if +Glenn could be enticed from his house, while Posin and his comrades might +obtain his money. +</p> + +<p> +Nor did he expect to meet with Boone, (renowned among all the tribes for his +wisdom and prowess,) much less to be anticipated on the very threshold of the +enterprise. His rage grew intense on finding himself outwitted and defied. He +drew forth his tomahawk, and though not venturing to throw it, (for he +perceived Glenn and Sneak behind, with their guns in readiness to fire,) he +shook it threateningly at Boone as he closed the gate, and then strode away +sulkily in the direction of the bushes, where some of his followers had been +seen partially concealed. +</p> + +<p> +When the gate was secured, the inmates of the little fort crowded about Boone +and overwhelmed him with questions. +</p> + +<p> +“Do you think they can get over the posts?” inquired Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Will they come before father returns?” asked Mary. +</p> + +<p> +“Do you think they will attack us at all?” interrogated Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“There can be no doubt of it,” replied Boone; “but if we do +our duty, I think we shall be able to resist them. We must be ready to defend +ourselves, at all events—and in the mean time we must watch through the +loopholes on every side to prevent a surprise.” This was hardly spoken +before an arrow whizzed over their heads, and, striking against the stone wall +of the house, fell at the feet of Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Ugh! look at that!” cried he, leaping some ten feet away. +</p> + +<p> +“Go in, child—and the rest to their posts!” remarked Boone, +first to Mary, and then addressing the men. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes—<i>do</i> go in, Miss!” cried Joe, forcing Mary into the +house, where he also seemed determined to remain himself. +</p> + +<p> +“Come out here!” cried Sneak, going to the door. +</p> + +<p> +“Wait till I screw a flint in my musket,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“You can see better out here,” replied Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“But I haven’t found the flint yet,” answered Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“He’s a coward!” said Sneak, turning away and going to his +post, whence he could watch the valley below. +</p> + +<p> +Boone’s station was on the opposite side, in the direction of the +supposed encampment of the Indians. But not a savage could now be seen, and the +arrow that fell among them had evidently been discharged from a great distance +above. +</p> + +<p> +“Shall we fire if any of them come within the range of our guns?” +inquired Glenn, from his position on the east, which overlooked the cliff. +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly,” replied Boone; “the arrow was their declaration +of war, and if they are again seen, it will be in a hostile attitude. Watch +close, Sneak!” he cried, as another shaft flew over the palisade from the +valley below, and penetrated the wood but a few feet above his head. +</p> + +<p> +“Come out to your post, Joe!” cried Glenn, impatiently. +</p> + +<p> +“I will presently—as soon as I get my gun fixed,” replied +Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“If you do not come forth instantly, I’ll thrust you out of the +inclosure!” continued Glenn, somewhat fiercely. +</p> + +<p> +“Here I am,” said Joe, coming out, and making an effort to assume a +bold bearing: “I’m ready now—I only wanted to fix my +gun—who’s afraid?” saying which, he strode in a stooping +posture to the loophole on the west of the inclosure. +</p> + +<p> +While the whole male force of the garrison was required to act as sentinels, +Mary, whose trepidation had been succeeded by deliberate resolution, was busily +employed moulding bullets. +</p> + +<p> +An hour passed, and no Indians had yet been seen, although an occasional arrow +assured the besieged party that the enemy still remained in the immediate +vicinity. They cleared away the snow at their posts, and placing dry straw to +stand upon, prepared to continue the watch throughout the day and night. Nor +were they to suffer for food; for Mary, though she had not been requested so to +do, ere long, to their joyful surprise, came forth with a dinner handsomely +provided, which she placed before them with a smile of satisfaction playing on +her lips, and entirely unmindful of the shafts that continued to fly overhead, +which either pierced the wood and remained stationary, or fell expended and +harmless at her feet. +</p> + +<p> +Affairs thus remained till night, when the arrows ceased to fly. There was not +a cloud in the heavens, and the moon rose up in purest brightness. A breathless +stillness pervaded the air, and no sound for a great length of time could be +heard but the hooting of owls on the opposite side of the river, and the +howling of wolves in the flats about a mile above. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m not a bit cold—are you?” said Joe, addressing +Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Dad! keep an eye out!” replied Sneak, in a low tone. +</p> + +<p> +“There’s nothing out this way but a bush. But I declare it seems to +be bigger and nigher than it was in the daytime,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t speak so loud,” remarked Boone, crossing to where Joe +stood, and looking through at the bush. +</p> + +<p> +“It’s nothing but a bush,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Do you wish to kill an Indian?” inquired Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“I wish they were all worms, and I could get my heel on them!” said +Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“That would be cruel—but as any execution we may now do, is in our +own defence, you may fire at that bush if you like,” continued Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“Well,” said Joe; and taking deliberate aim, discharged his musket +as directed, and was knocked down on his back in the snow by the rebound. +</p> + +<p> +“Plague take the gun!” said he, recovering his feet; “but I +remember it had two loads in—I forgot it was charged, and loaded it +again. Ha! ha! ha! but what’s become of the bush?” he continued +jocularly, not thinking he had fired at an Indian. +</p> + +<p> +“Look for yourself,” replied Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“Hang me if it ain’t gone!” exclaimed Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Ay, truly it is; but had you hit the mark, it would have fallen. It was +rather too far, however, even for your musket,” said Boone, returning to +his former position. +</p> + +<p> +“You are the poorest marksman that ever I saw, or you’d ’ave +killed that red rascal,” said Sneak, coming up to Joe, and finding where +the bush had been. +</p> + +<p> +“I didn’t know it was any thing but a bush—if I’d only +known it was an Indian—” +</p> + +<p> +“You be hanged!” replied Sneak, vexed that such a capital +opportunity should be lost, and petulantly resuming his own station. +</p> + +<p> +An intense silence succeeded the discharge of Joe’s gun, after the +tremendous report died away, in successive reverberations up and down the +river, and over the low wood land opposite. The owls and wolves were hushed; +and as the watchful sentinels cast their eyes over the snow, on which the calm +rays of the moon rested in repose, there was not the least indication of the +presence of a dangerous foe. +</p> + +<p> +Joe leant against the palisade, holding with one hand the breech of his gun, +while the barrel was thrust through the loophole, and seemed to be indulging in +a peculiar train of reflections. +</p> + +<p> +“Now, I’d much rather be in Philadelphia,” said he, in a +voice but little louder than a, whisper, and unconscious of giving utterance to +his thoughts—“a great deal rather be there—in some +comfortable oyster-cellar—than standing out here in the lone wilderness, +up to my knees in snow, and expecting every minute to have a poisoned arrow +shot through my head. Hang it all! I wonder what pleasure Mr. Glenn can enjoy +here? Suppose, now, while I’m standing here thinking, an arrow should +dart over the, other side, and stick five or six inches into me? I hope they +keep a careful look-out. And that reminds me that I ought to keep an eye out +myself, for fear some one may he pinked from my side.” He applied his eye +to the hole, and continued in the same strain: “I don’t see a +single living thing; maybe they’ve all gone off. If they have, I’ll +deserve all the credit, for I’m the only person that shot at them. And I +don’t think that long hatchet-face Sneak will think that I’m a +coward any more. But these savages are strange beings; I had no more idea that +the bush hid an Indian than that there’s one not ten feet off now, under +the snow. And if we hadn’t found him out he might have crawled up and +shot me in the eye through this hole. I won’t hold my eye here all the +time!” said he, rising, and to his astonishment Sneak stood at his elbow, +whither he had glided softly, his quick ear having caught the hum of +Joe’s soliloquy, and his curiosity leading him to find out the meaning of +the mysterious jargon of his companion-in-arms. +</p> + +<p> +“Of all the men I ever saw you are the dod-rottedest!” exclaimed +Sneak, after staring at him a few moments in silent wonderment, and then +striding back to his post. +</p> + +<p> +“I should like to hear that sentence parsed,” said Joe, looking +after him. +</p> + +<p> +The hours wore on in peace, until midnight, when a low chattering, like that of +a squirrel, was heard in the valley below; while a shrill whistling, resembling +that of quails was distinguished above. +</p> + +<p> +“Come hither!” exclaimed Boone in a whisper to Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Do you see any of them?” inquired Glenn, joining his friend. +</p> + +<p> +“Not yet—but we will see enough of them presently. The sounds in +the valleys are signals, and they will attack us on these sides. You may +abandon your watch on the east, and assist me here.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you may come and spell me,” said Sneak to Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“I must not desert my post,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“If you stay there, you’ll be dead sure to be shot!” replied +Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“You don’t think they’re coming back, do you?” inquired +Joe, gliding swiftly to Sneak’s side. +</p> + +<p> +“They’ll be on us in no time. Is your gun loaded? +</p> + +<p> +“I declare I have forgotten whether I loaded it again or not!” said +Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“You’re, a purty feller, to watch with an empty gun, now +ain’t you? Never mind blowing in her—run down a cartridge as quick +as you kin; it makes no odds how much you have in; a big noise will do as much +good as any thing else,” said Sneak, hurriedly, evidently expecting to +see the savage enemy every moment, while Joe did his bidding, asserting all the +time that he believed his musket was already loaded, and expressing a decided +dislike to being kicked over every day from overcharging. +</p> + +<p> +As Boone predicted, but a very short time elapsed before a series of startling +and frightful yells were heard below, which were answered by similar horrid +sounds above. Joe first ran towards Boone and Glenn, and then sprang back to +his place at the side of Sneak, fully convinced there were no means of retreat, +and, being effectually cornered, at length evinced an ardent desire to fire. +When the yells died away in the distance, a flight of arrows from the north +south poured upon the besieged party. Many of them pierced the outer side of +the palisade, while others, flying over, penetrated the opposite timbers, and +quivered above the heads of the men; and some rattled against the top of the +house, (the snow having melted from the roof,) and fell harmless to the earth. +</p> + +<p> +There having been no shot yet fired in the direction whence the arrows came, +(for such was the order of Boone,) the savages, emboldened by the absence of +any demonstrations of resistance, and thinking their foes were shut up in the +house, or killed by their numberless shafts, charged upon the premises +simultaneously from both sides, shooting their arrows and yelling as they came. +When they had approached within a hundred paces of the inclosure, Boone and +Sneak fired with deadly aim at the foremost of the party, and the next moment +Glenn followed the example, while Boone reloaded his gun. +</p> + +<p> +“Now fire!” exclaimed Sneak, shaking Joe by the shoulder, having +seen the savages pause when one of their party uttered the death-howl and fell. +</p> + +<p> +“Here goes!” said Joe, pulling the trigger and falling over on his +back in the snow from the rebound, for the musket had been truly twice charged. +</p> + +<p> +“Split me if you didn’t accidentally throw a handful of bullets +among their legs that crack!” said Sneak, observing the now discomfited +and retreating Indians, as they endeavoured to bear off their wounded, and then +firing on them again himself as they vanished down the valley. The like result +was witnessed above, and again in a very short time there was not a savage to +be seen. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s the matter? Why don’t you get up?” asked Sneak +turning to Joe, who still remained prostrate on the ground. +</p> + +<p> +“My mouth’s bleeding—I don’t know but I’m +wounded. Didn’t an arrow come through the hole when I was +shooting?” asked Joe, rising partially up and spitting out a quantity of +blood on the snow. +</p> + +<p> +“It was nothing but the gun kicking you like it did in the bear hunt. If +it was an arrow you must have swallered it, for I don’t see the shaft. +But maybe you did—you’re sech a gormandizer,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Hang it all, I don’t believe I’m much hurt!” exclaimed +Joe, jumping up suddenly. “Get from before the hole!” he continued, +ramming down a cartridge hastily, and thrusting out the muzzle of his gun. +</p> + +<p> +“Why don’t you blaze away?” asked Sneak, laughing, observing +that he hesitated. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, they’re, all gone!” cried Joe, joyfully, “and it +was my old cannon that swept them off, too.” +</p> + +<p> +Once more silence pervaded the scene. Boone, after the repeated solicitations +of Mary, partook of another bountiful repast, and the others in turn likewise +refreshed themselves, and then resumed the watch. +</p> + +<p> +Nor was it long before the Osages were once more heard to howl like fiends, and +the sound had hardly ceased to vibrate through the air before a singular and +unexpected assault terrified the besieged party for a moment. This was a shower +of <i>blazing arrows</i> coming from below, (where all the savages now seemed +to be collected,) which ignited the palisade in many places where the snow had +fallen off. But the fire was easily extinguished, and all, with the exception +of Boone, were disposed to attach but little importance to any further device +of the enemy. Boone, on the contrary, was unusually grave, and requested his +companions to be on the alert, or they would yet be the victims of the savages. +</p> + +<p> +“I like these kind of arrows the best,” said Joe, “for I can +see how to dodge them.” +</p> + +<p> +“But the wooden slabs can’t dodge—dod! they’re afire on +the outside now!” cried Sneak, truly discovering a flame reaching above +the inclosure from without. +</p> + +<p> +“Watch well from the loopholes!” cried Boone, throwing open the +gate and rushing out, and running round to where the fire was crackling. +“Come, Sneak!—I want your assistance—quick!” he +exclaimed, finding the flames making rapid progress. +</p> + +<p> +“Keep your eye skinned now!” said Sneak, as he left Joe alone to +watch for the Indians, and ran out to aid in subduing the fire. +</p> + +<p> +The savages could evidently see what was transacting, although unseen +themselves, for most of their arrows now seemed to be directed at those +without. +</p> + +<p> +“Look sharp!” said Boone to Joe, through the loophole. +</p> + +<p> +“Let me assist!” cried Glenn, imprudently leaving his post in his +eagerness to share the danger, and coming out with a spade. +</p> + +<p> +“Go in, my friend—we are sufficient here,” said Boone, +addressing Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Come in! come in! come in!” cried Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“I see no Indians,” remarked Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“The house is on fire! Fire! fire! fire!” screamed Joe, falling +into his old habit when in the city. +</p> + +<p> +Glenn ran back in this emergency, but when he arrived within the inclosure, he +found that this service had been anticipated by Mary, who had quietly thrust +her hands into the snow, and with balls thus made, easily extinguished the fire +on the roof. +</p> + +<p> +When Boone and Sneak had effected their purpose, they repaired to their former +positions, assured that the utmost caution must be observed to prevent a +surprise from some unexpected quarter, while their attention was naturally +directed to one particular point. But they had hardly resumed their stations +before their ears were saluted by the joyful report of rifles in the valley. +Relief was at hand. Roughgrove had recrossed the river, with a party of +recruits, and fallen upon the rear of the savages, at a moment when success +seemed to smile on their sanguinary purpose. Their shouts of exultation at the +prospect of firing the premises were now changed to howls of despair, and they +fled in all directions. But Roughgrove, aware of the impolicy of pursuit, led +his men directly to the gallant little garrison; and the victorious huzzas of +his band were answered in like manner by the besieged, who came forth and gave +them a cordial welcome. Never, perhaps, when they met, did hand grasp hand more +heartily. But Mary, who had hitherto cast aside all the weaker fears of the +woman, no sooner beheld her aged father in safety than she rushed into arms and +fainted on his breast. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="ChapterV"> +CHAPTER V. </a> +</h2> + +<p class="quote"> +A strange excursion—A fairy scene—Joe is puzzled and +frightened—A wonderful discovery—Navigation of the upper +regions—A crash—No bones broken. +</p> + +<p> +Several weeks had elapsed since the incidents recorded in the last chapter. The +repulse of the Osages was succeeded by the arrival of a war-party of Pawnees, +and a deadly feud existing between these tribes, the latter readily joined the +whites, and speedily chased the enemy far beyond the settlements. Boone had +returned to his family on the other side of the river; and Sneak, having made +peace with Joe, had likewise withdrawn to his own domicil, to pursue his +avocations of hunting and trapping in solitude. +</p> + +<p> +Glenn sat before a blazing fire in his little castle, his left hand clasping a +closed book he had been reading, while his dextral elbow was resting on the +rude arm of a chair which he had constructed and cushioned with furs, and his +palm supported his chin. He thus sat silently, looking steadfastly through one +of the little square windows at the snow-encrusted branches of the trees beyond +the inclosure, and apparently indulging a pleasing train of reflections. +</p> + +<p> +Joe, on the contrary, was engaged in boisterous and mirthful exercise on the +deep and frozen snow without. He was playing with the kitten, the fawn, and the +hounds, and occasionally ran into the stable to caress the horses. +</p> + +<p> +At length, with no other object than a dreamy impulse to wander among the wild +scenes in the vicinity, Glenn started up, and donning a warm overcoat and +seizing his rifle, set out along the cliff up the river, (a direction which he +had never yet traversed,) accompanied by Joe, who seemed to look upon his +master’s pale composed face, and determined though gentle motions, with +curiosity, if not mystery. +</p> + +<p> +“Why do you stare at me so often?” inquired Glenn, pausing, after +they had walked some distance in silence. +</p> + +<p> +“Because I don’t know what you’re after,” replied Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“You’ll see what I’m after,” said Glenn, setting +forward, and continuing his course along the cliff. +</p> + +<p> +A snow of several feet in depth rested on the earth, and the sun that shone +forth at noon had melted the surface so frequently, that the freezing nights +which had as often succeeded had formed an icy incrustation quite strong enough +to bear the weight of a man. Though it was a dreary waste, yet Glenn gleaned a +satisfaction in casting his eyes around where his glance beheld no one striving +to oppress his fellow being that he might acquire riches and power, to be again +snatched from his grasp by others, but a peaceful scene, fresh from the hand of +God, and unmarred by the workmanship of meaner creatures. The broad river far +below was covered with a massy plate of ice, and the snow that rested upon it +gave it the appearance of an immense plain, rather than an incrusted surface of +the most perturbed and erratic stream in the world. The geese and other fowl +that wandered over the frozen surface in quest of their native element, from +the great distance down, seemed to be no larger than sparrows. +</p> + +<p> +Ere long, Glenn and his man reached the valley above, and commenced a descent +through the timber in a diagonal direction, that would conduct them, after +numerous windings, to the edge of the frozen stream, along which a narrow +pathway ran northward about a mile. Glenn paused at an abrupt angle in his +descent, after having proceeded a few paces through the undergrowth, and stood +long in wonderment and admiration, gazing at the scene that suddenly burst in +view. His towering position overlooked the whole valley. The ten thousand trees +beneath, and their ten million branches and twigs all completely clothed in +crystal—while not the slightest breeze was stirring—presented a +view of fairyland, such as flits across the vision in dreams, that the memory +fain would cling to, but which is lost in the real and conflicting transactions +of returning day. The noonday sun was momentarily veiled by a listless cloud, +which seemed to be stationary in the heavens, as if designed to enhance the +effect of the beauty below, that outvied in brightness even the usual light +above. Not a squirrel was seen to leap from bough to bough, nor a bird to flit +across the opening between the lofty trees; but all was stillness, silence, and +beauty. As Glenn stood entranced, Joe seemed to be more struck with the +operation of the enchantment on his companion’s features and attitude, +than with any effect from the same source experienced on himself. +</p> + +<p> +“Ain’t you going down to the bottom of the valley?” asked +Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“It is a scene such as is beheld by infants in their slumbers, when they +dream of paradise!” said Glenn, paying no attention to Joe, his eyes +immovably riveted on the innumerable sprigs of alabaster which pointed out in +every direction in profuse clusters, while his pale lips seemed to move +mechanically, and his brow expressed a mournful serenity, as if entertaining a +regret that he should ever be separated from the pearly labyrinths before him, +amid which he would delight to wander forever. +</p> + +<p> +“I think you must be dreaming yourself,” said Joe, staring at him. +</p> + +<p> +“How composed is every object!” continued Glenn; “such must +be the abode of angels and departed spirits, who are not permitted longer to +behold the strifes of earth and its contaminations, but rove continually with +noiseless tread, or on self-poised wing, through devious and delightful paths, +surrounded by sedges of silver embroidery, and shielded above by mazy fretwork +spangled with diamonds, or gliding without effort through the pure and buoyant +air, from bower to bower of crystal” +</p> + +<p> +“Ugh—talking of the icy trees makes me chilly!” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“With life everlasting and unchangeable!” continued Glenn, after a +momentary pause from the interruption of his man, which he only noticed by a +significant motion of the hand for him to be silent. +</p> + +<p> +“But I wouldn’t like the eternal <i>frost-work</i>,” said +Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Pshaw!” replied Glenn, pursuing his way downwards. When they +reached the bottom of the valley, they were yet a hundred paces distant from +its junction with the river, which was obscured by the many intervening trees +that grew along the frozen rivulet. Here Glenn again paused to contemplate the +scene. The hills that rose abruptly on either hand, and the thick intertwining +branches above, combined to produce a dusky aspect scarce less dim than +twilight. Glenn folded his arms composedly, and looked thoughtfully round, as +if indulging the delightful fancies engendered when wandering forth on a +summer’s pleasant evening. “There seems to be a supernatural +influence pervading the air to-day,” he said, in a low-tone, “for I +sometimes imagine that flitting spirits become partially visible. On the +pendent icicles and jewelled twigs, me thinks I sometimes behold for an instant +the prismatic rays of elfins’ eyes—” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t believe it,” said Joe; “or if it is so, they are +weeping at the cold, and will soon be frozen up.” +</p> + +<p> +“And at each sudden turn,” continued Glenn, “they seem to +linger an instant in view, and then vanish sportively, as if amused at the +expense of impotent mortals.” +</p> + +<p> +“I can’t hear ’em laugh,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“And then,” continued Glenn, “although beyond human +consciousness, there may be heavenly sounds in the air—the melody of +aërial harps and fairy voices—to which our ears may be sealed, when, +perchance, our vicinity to their presence may inspire the peculiar sensation I +now experience.” +</p> + +<p> +“I heard a heap of curious sounds one warm sunshiny morning,” said +Joe; “but when I asked an old fellow jogging along the same road what +they meant, he said the day before had been so cold when the stage-driver went +by that his wind froze as it came out of the bugle, and was just then +thawing.” +</p> + +<p> +“If such beings do exist,” continued Glenn, paying no attention to +Joe, “it would delight me to commune with them face to face.” +</p> + +<p> +“I see a buck’s head!” cried Joe, looking down the dell, +where the object he mentioned was distinctly observable amid a cluster of +spicewood bushes, whence a slight jingling sound proceeded as the animal +plucked the nutritious buds bent down by the innumerable icicles. +</p> + +<p> +“Why should not the sylvan gods”—continued Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Hush! I’m going to fire!” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Why should they not resort hither,” said Glenn, unmindful of Joe, +“where no meaner beings abide?” +</p> + +<p> +Joe fired, and Glenn started in astonishment, as if he had had no intimation of +his companion’s intention. +</p> + +<p> +“Hang it all! Isn’t he going to die, I wonder?” said Joe, +after the buck had made one or two plunges in the snow, his sharp hoofs +piercing through the crust on the surface, and with much struggling extricated +himself and stood trembling, and looked imploringly at his foe. +</p> + +<p> +“What in the world are you about?” exclaimed Glenn, casting a +listless glance at the deer, and then staring his companion in the face. +</p> + +<p> +“Whip me if there was any lead in the gun!” said Joe. “I drew +the bullets out yesterday, and forgot to put them in again. But no +matter—he can’t run through the snow—I’ll kill him with +the butt of my musket.” +</p> + +<p> +“Move not, at your peril!” said Glenn, authoritatively, when Joe +was about to rush on the defenceless buck. +</p> + +<p> +“I do believe you are out of your head!” said Joe, staring Glenn in +the face, and glancing at the tempting prize, alternately. +</p> + +<p> +“At such an hour—in such an elysian place as this—no blood +shall be spilled. It were profanity to discolor these pearly walks with clotted +gore.” +</p> + +<p> +“The deuce take the pearls, say I!” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Perhaps,” continued Glenn, “a god may have put on the +semblance of a stag to tempt us.” +</p> + +<p> +“And hang me, if I wouldn’t pretty soon spoil his physiognomy, if +you would only say the word!” said Joe, shaking his head sullenly at the +buck. +</p> + +<p> +“Come,” said Glenn, sternly; and, leading the way, he passed within +a few feet of the terrified animal without turning his head aside, and directed +his steps down the valley towards the river. Joe said nothing when opposite the +buck, awed by the impressive tone and mysterious bearing of his master; but he +grinned defiance at him, and resolved to embrace the first opportunity to steal +out alone, and fully gratify his revenge; for such was the feeling he now +harboured against the animal. +</p> + +<p> +When they reached the margin of the river, they wandered along the narrow path +that turned to the left, and continued up the stream, with the ice but a few +feet distant on one hand, and the precipitous acclivity of rocks on the other. +They maintained a brisk pace for about thirty minutes, when the range of cliffs +terminating abruptly, they entered a low flat forest. +</p> + +<p> +“<i>Now</i>, what do you say to my firing?” exclaimed Joe, staring +at an enormous wolf, a short distance on the left, that seemed to be tearing +the flesh from the carcass of a deer. +</p> + +<p> +“You must not fire,” replied Glenn, viewing the scene with no +interest. +</p> + +<p> +“Why not? If the deer’s a sylvan god, the wolfs sure to be a black +devil, and it’s a duty to take the god’s part,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“No!” replied Glenn, still striding on. +</p> + +<p> +“Where are you going to, I should like to know? I hope you haven’t +any idea of going closer to the haunted island!” said Joe, following +reluctantly. +</p> + +<p> +“What haunted island?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Why that one right ahead of us!” replied Joe, pointing to a small +island a few hundred paces distant. +</p> + +<p> +“Who says it is haunted?” demanded Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, everybody in the country <i>knows</i> it’s haunted. +Didn’t you hear Miss Mary telling all about it?” +</p> + +<p> +“What did she tell about it?” +</p> + +<p> +“That several years ago a man flew up the river riding on a black cloud +of smoke, and after scaring all the Indians and everybody else away, took up +his abode in yonder island. Not a soul, from that day to this, has ever been +nearer to it than we are now. But strange sights have been seen there. Once a +great big swan, as large as our house, was seen to come out of the willows and +leap into the water. After seeing it paddle about an hour or two in every +direction, an old beaver trapper and deer hunter took it into his head that it +was nothing more than a water-fowl of some large species; and resolving to have +a crack at it anyhow, he crept behind the rocks at the end of the cliff, and +blazed away when it swam past the next time. Mercy on us! when he fired, they +say the thing turned his head towards him, and came at him in a straight line, +and as fast as lightning, blowing sparks of fire out of its nostrils, while the +poor man stood stock still, spell-bound, until it seized upon him, and he has +never been heard of since.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing more?” asked Glenn, lightly, and smiling. +</p> + +<p> +“Good gracious! what more would you want? But there <i>was</i> more; for +the very next day, when the people were looking at the island from a distance, +and wondering what had been the fate of old Odell, another large bird came out. +But this was like an eagle, and instead of going into the water, it flew up +into the air, and kept going higher and higher, until it was no bigger than a +sparrow, and soon vanished altogether! I declare we are too near the island +now, Mr. Glenn; let us go back; we have gone far enough!” said Joe, +beseechingly, his own tale having roused all the terrors which his nature was +capable of harboring. +</p> + +<p> +Glenn seemed to pay no attention to what his companion was saying, but strode +onward directly towards the island. +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. Glenn!” continued Joe, stepping ahead, and facing him by +turning round. “Oh, sir! you don’t certainly intend to venture any +closer to that fatal spot?” +</p> + +<p> +“Pshaw!” replied Glenn, pushing him aside, and continuing on. When +they were opposite the island, Joe, whose alarm had almost deprived him of the +power of motion, was now struck with horror as he beheld his master pause, and +then descend to the ice, and walk deliberately to the haunted ground! When +Glenn reached the bank, he turned to his pale and shivering companion, and +motioned him to follow. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, Heaven! we’ll never be seen any more!” cried Joe, +between his chattering teeth. +</p> + +<p> +“Come on, Joe! I’ll take care of you,” said Glenn, +encouragingly, as his man hesitated in doubt when midway on the ice. +</p> + +<p> +“The holy saints preserve me!” said Joe, gliding over, quaking with +fear, and clinging to Glenn’s hand. +</p> + +<p> +They walked up a gentle ascent from the water’s edge, whence Glenn +expected to see nothing more than a surface of snow, and the dense growth of +young timber incident to such a place. But what was his surprise, on beholding, +in the midst of the island, and obscured from view to the surrounding country +by an almost impenetrable grove of young willows, a round chimney-top rising +over a high circular granite wall! Nothing daunted, he continued his steps +directly towards the mysterious dwelling, notwithstanding the protestations and +prayers of Joe. When they drew near, a thin slightly coloured vapor could be +distinguished ascending from the chimney, indicating that the tenement was +certainly inhabited. When they reached the wall, they pursued their way round +it until they found a small iron gate. +</p> + +<p> +“Rap there, Joe,” said Glenn. Joe only turned his head, and looked +at him in silence. +</p> + +<p> +“Knock,” continued Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh!” exclaimed Joe, falling on his knees. “If ever you were +prevailed on not to do any thing you were doing, let me this one time persuade +you to leave this place.” +</p> + +<p> +“Knock!” repeated Glenn, emphatically. Joe struck the gate several +blows with his knuckles, but so gently that he could not hear them himself. +Glenn seemed to grow angry, and seizing his man’s musket, was in the act +of applying the end of it violently, when the gate flew open at one spring, and +a hoary porter stood bowing and beckoning before him. +</p> + +<p> +“Do not enter!” cried Joe, throwing his arms around Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“It is too late, now—you have knocked, and it is opened unto +you—your mission must be accomplished before you turn back. Mine is not +yet effected—I am the one who dared to face the magic swan—and like +me, all who come hither must remain until it shall be the pleasure of the +fire-wizard to release them,” said the old attendant. +</p> + +<p> +“Lead me to this fire-wizard!” said Glenn, firmly, stepping into +the inclosure. When they entered, the gate closed after them without any +apparent agency of the old hunter, and with such force that Joe sprang several +feet forward. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, goodness! we are nothing but poor rats in the trap, now!” +exclaimed he. +</p> + +<p> +“I pledged myself for your safety, and will keep my word,” said +Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“But what will the wizard care about your veracity?” asked Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Follow!” said the old porter, leading the way towards the house. +After passing several small buildings, Glenn found himself in a spacious area, +over which were scattered various and strange implements, and divers +nondescript machines. Some half dozen men were also observed, their sleeves +rolled up, and intently plying the chisel, the file and other tools. These men +cast a momentary and sullen glance at the visitors, like convicts in the +penitentiary, and resumed their labours in silence. The party soon arrived at +the door of the main building, when the old porter entered alone, and after +remaining a few moments within, came forth and announced his readiness to +conduct our hero into the presence of the fire-wizard. Glenn motioned him to +lead on, and after following through a short hall, and turning into a large +chamber, the mysterious lord of the island was confronted, reclining before +them on a couch of furs. He appeared to be an emaciated and decrepit old man, +his long white beard extending down to his breast; and when he motioned our +hero to a seat, his hand seemed to tremble with feebleness. Yet there was +something in his eye that indicated no ordinary spirit, and instantly impressed +Glenn with the respect that he conceived to be due to superior genius; for +notwithstanding all the miraculous things told of the fire-wizard, he rightly +conjectured the personage before him to be nothing more than a human being, a +recluse, perhaps, and, like himself, seeking in solitude the enjoyments which +(for peculiar reasons) could not be found among mankind. +</p> + +<p> +“What brings thee hither?” demanded the aged man, after a few +minutes’ silence, during which his brilliant eyes were closely fixed upon +the composed features of Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“That which induced thee to seek such a solitary abode,” replied +our hero. +</p> + +<p> +“Have you no fears?” continued the old man. +</p> + +<p> +“None!” replied Glenn, firmly. +</p> + +<p> +“Give me your hand!” exclaimed the old man; “you are the only +being that ever confronted the fire-wizard without feeling terror—and for +those who know not fear there is no danger. Instead of a menial, or a victim, I +will make you my companion.” +</p> + +<p> +“Thank him, Mr. Glenn,” whispered Joe, “and perhaps he +won’t hurt us.” +</p> + +<p> +“I am seeking amusement,” said Glenn; “and as long as I am +pleased, it matters not with whom or where shall be my abode. But the moment I +desire it, I will go hence.” +</p> + +<p> +The fire-wizard motioned the attendant to withdraw, who instantly obeyed, +leading Joe out at the same time, the poor fellow evincing great reluctance to +be separated from Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Before exhibiting to you the mysterious objects which have acquired for +me the name of magician,” said the old man, “I will briefly give +you my history. I was, in youth, they termed an idle dreamer—ever on the +alert for new discoveries—and was more laughed at than encouraged in my +pursuit of rare inventions. More than fifty years ago I ascertained that steam +might be made to propel machinery. I attempted to explain the principles of +this discovery to my fellow-men, and to convince them of the vast benefits that +might result from it. I was not heeded—nay, I was insulted by their +indifference—and made a solemn vow that its advantages should never be +reaped through my instrumentality. In secret I constructed a small steamboat, +and having placed on board such materials as might be required, and secured the +assistance of a requisite number of artisans, I came hither, resolved to +prosecute my experiments to my own satisfaction in solitude, where the taunts +of skeptics could not reach me. Follow, and you shall behold what has been the +result of my unrestrained researches.” The old man arose, and conducted +our hero across the yard to a curtained shelter on one side of the inclosure. +</p> + +<p> +“La! if that ain’t its foot!” exclaimed Joe, who joined our +hero, and observing a large foot, resembling in shape that of the swan, under +the folds of the curtain, while the old wizard paused a moment before unveiling +the curious object. It was as Joe surmised: when the canvas was withdrawn, an +artificial swan of monstrous dimensions, though perfect in all its proportions, +was revealed to their wondering gaze. A little beyond, another curtain was +drawn aside, and an eagle, holding in its beak a bloody crown, and in its +talons a silken banner of stripes and stars, stood before them in the attitude +of springing up in the air. +</p> + +<p> +“Which will you try first?” demanded the fire-wizard, while a proud +smile played on his lips. +</p> + +<p> +“Can <i>either</i> of them be set in motion by your art?” asked +Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Both!” exclaimed the wizard. “If you will tarry till the ice +is gone, the swan shall rush through the strongest current as swiftly as the +wild horse careers over the prairie; or the eagle shall even now dart beyond +the clouds, and transport you in a few brief hours to where you will see the +briny waves rolling against the distant Atlantic coast!” +</p> + +<p> +Glenn was incredulous, and his unbelief was betrayed by a smile, in spite of +his efforts to the contrary. +</p> + +<p> +“Bring hither a lamp!” said the wizard to the attendant and was +quickly obeyed. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, don’t make him mad! He’s going to do something +now!” whispered Joe to Glenn. The wizard touched a spring; the breast of +the eagle flew open, and within could be seen polished wheels and other +portions of a complicated machinery. The old man next applied the blaze of the +lamp to some spirits within, and in a very few minutes particles of steam could +be seen to escape from the eagle’s nostrils. The wizard touched another +spring, and the enormous bird strode out and paused in the centre of the area. +</p> + +<p> +“If you would behold the home of your youth, be it whithersoever it may, +so that you name it, follow me, and your eyes shall gaze upon that spot within +a few hours,” said the sage, as the wings of the stupendous eagle slowly +unfolded, and rising to a horizontal position, uncovered a transparency in the +side of the chest, through which could be seen a gorgeous couch within, +sufficiently ample to contain two men, and separate from the fire and machinery +by a partition of isinglass. +</p> + +<p> +“Come!” exclaimed the sage, opening the tortoise-shell door under +the wing, and stepping into the couch. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t do any such thing!” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Ha! ha! ha! Do you think it can fly, Joe?” remarked Glenn, +laughing. +</p> + +<p> +“It <i>will</i> fly!” said the old man, emphatically; “and I +charge you to be prepared to ascend beyond the clouds, if you have the courage +to occupy a portion of my couch.” +</p> + +<p> +“Though I cannot believe it will rise at your bidding,” replied +Glenn, “yet, should it do so, I must be permitted to regard you as being +only flesh and blood, and as such, I do not hesitate to venture as much as +another mortal will;” Baying which, our hero seated himself beside the +reputed fire-wizard. +</p> + +<p> +The old man closed the door, and drawing forth a small compass (his companion +intimating the course,) adjusted several screws within convenient reach, +accordingly; he then pressed a small lever with his foot, and the wings, after +quivering a moment, flapped quickly, and the great eagle darted almost +perpendicularly up in the air, and was beyond the reach of vision in a very few +seconds! +</p> + +<p> +When a certain height was attained, the wizard turned the bird in the course +indicated by his companion. +</p> + +<p> +“What think you now of the fire-wizard!” demanded the sage, with an +air of triumph. +</p> + +<p> +“Still that he is a man—but a great one—and this, the +perfection of his art, the greatest extent the Supreme Being has permitted the +mind of a man to attain!” replied Glenn, gazing in admiration at the +countries far below, which he was passing with the velocity of a hurricane. +</p> + +<p> +“And still you fear not!” demanded the wizard. +</p> + +<p> +“And shall not!” replied Glenn, “so long as your features are +composed.” The old man pressed his hand and smiled. +</p> + +<p> +“Yonder is St. Louis!” cried Glenn, running his eye along the +valley of the Missouri, down to its confluence with the Mississippi; and a +short distance beyond, descried the town in question, though it did not seem to +be larger than one ordinary mansion, with its garden and customary appendages. +</p> + +<p> +“We are far above the reach of vision from the earth,” said the +wizard, bounding forward to endeavour to regulate a part of the machinery that +had for some time attracted his attention, and which Glenn believed to be not +altogether right, from the abrupt movement of his companion. +</p> + +<p> +“How far above the earth are we?’ asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“About twenty-five miles—but should this screw give way, it may be +less very speedily!” exclaimed the old man, almost incoherently, and +applying all his strength to the loosened screw to keep it in its place. +</p> + +<p> +“Let me assist!” exclaimed Glenn, springing forward. +</p> + +<p> +“It’s gone!” cried the old man; “you have knocked it +out! we are falling—crushed!” +</p> + +<hr class="qtr"/> + +<p> +“That’s just what I expected,” said Joe, addressing the fawn, +which had been playing with the dogs, and at length ran against Glenn’s +chair so violently as to push it over. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! oh! oh!” exclaimed Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Goodness! Are you hurt?” asked Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Is it possible? Am I alive, and <i>here</i>?” exclaimed Glenn, +staring wildly round, and doubting his own identity. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I never heard a dead man talk, as I know of, before; and as to our +being <i>here</i>, if your own eyes don’t convince you, I’ll swear +to it,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Did I not go up to the island this morning?” inquired Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“No,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Did you not accompany me, and fire at the buck?” interrogated +Glenn, resuming his seat. +</p> + +<p> +“No—I’ll be hanged if I did!” said Joe somewhat warmly. +</p> + +<p> +“What have I been doing all day?” +</p> + +<p> +“You’ve been sitting there fast asleep, and I presume you were +dreaming.” +</p> + +<p> +“Thank Heaven, it was but a dream!” exclaimed Glenn, laughing. +</p> + +<p> +“A dream?” responded Joe, sitting down on his stool, and soliciting +Glenn to relate it to him. Glenn complied, and the narration was nothing more +than what the incredulous reader has been staring at all this time. But we will +make amends. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="ChapterVI"> +CHAPTER VI. </a> +</h2> + +<p class="quote"> +A hunt— A deer taken—The hounds—Joe makes a horrid +discovery—Sneak—The exhumation. +</p> + +<p> +“It beats all the dreams I ever heard,” said Joe, feeling his right +shoulder with his left hand.. +</p> + +<p> +“Why do you feel your shoulder, Joe?” asked Glenn, smiling, as he +recollected the many times his man had suffered by the rebound of his musket, +and diverted at the grave and thoughtful expression of his features. +</p> + +<p> +“It <i>was</i> a dream, wasn’t it?” asked Joe, with +simplicity, still examining his shoulder. +</p> + +<p> +“But you know there was no lead in the gun, and it could not rebound with +much violence,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll soon see all about it,” exclaimed Joe, springing up and +running to his gun. After a careful examination he returned to his stool beside +the fire, and sat some minutes, with the musket lying across his knees, and his +chin in his hand, plunged in profound meditation on the imaginary incidents +which had just been related to him. Had the dream been an ordinary one, and he +not an actor in it, it might have passed swiftly from his memory; but inasmuch +as the conduct imputed to him was so natural, and the expressions he was made +to utter so characteristic, he could not but regard it as a vision far more +significant and important than a mere freak of the brain during a moment of +slumber. +</p> + +<p> +“What are you studying about?” interrogated Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I can’t understand it,” replied Joe, shaking his head. +</p> + +<p> +“Neither can the most renowned philosopher,” said Glenn; “but +you can tell whether your musket has been discharged.” +</p> + +<p> +“It hasn’t been fired,” said Joe. “But what distresses +me is, that there should be only a charge of powder in it, just as you stated, +and when I drew out the shot you were fast asleep. You must have heard me say I +intended to do it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Not that I remember,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Then there must be a wizard about, sure enough,” said Joe, and he +crossed himself. +</p> + +<p> +“Suppose we take our guns and walk out in the direction mentioned?” +said Glenn; “I feel the want of exercise after my sleep, and have some +curiosity to test the accuracy of my dream by comparing the things described +with the real objects on the island.” +</p> + +<p> +“Not for the world!” cried Joe, lifting both hands imploringly; +“but I will gladly go anywhere else, just to see if the bushes are as +beautiful as you thought they were, and if the deer can’t run on the +snow-crust as well as the dogs.” +</p> + +<p> +“Come on, then—I care not which course we go,” said Glenn, +taking up his gun, and leading the way out of the inclosure. +</p> + +<p> +They pursued a westerly course until they reached nearly to the edge of the +prairie, when they paused in the midst of a cluster of hazel bushes, to admire +the beauty of the novel scene. The description had been perfect. Even Glenn +surveyed the emblazenry of magic “frost work,” around him with some +misgivings as to the fallacy of his vision. Joe stared at his master with a +curious and ludicrous expression. +</p> + +<p> +“I am not dreaming now, Joe,” said he, with a smile. +</p> + +<p> +“How do you know?” asked Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s well put,” said Glenn; “indeed, I am very sure +that many of my lively and spirited friends in Philadelphia and New York, could +they but see me, would swear that I have been dreaming every day for the last +three months. However, I have not now the same reverence for the sylvan gods I +was so much inclined to worship in my last sleep; and, moreover, I am the first +to see the deer this time. Yonder it stands. It is not a buck, though; capture +it as soon as you please.” +</p> + +<p> +“Where is it?” exclaimed Joe, his superstition vanishing as he +anticipated some sport; and, gliding quickly to Glenn’s side, he beheld, +under the branches of a low scrubby oak tree, the head and ears of a large doe. +It was intently watching our pedestrians, and stood motionless in the ambush, +on which it vainly relied to obscure it from the eyes of an enemy. +</p> + +<p> +“You must not fire,” said Glenn, placing his hand on the shoulder +of Joe. Joe lowered his musket reluctantly, and turning his eyes to his master, +seemed inclined to relapse into the belief that all was not right and natural +in their proceedings. +</p> + +<p> +“Now go to it,” said Glenn, gently taking the gun from Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“I’d rather not,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Why? A doe cannot hurt you—it has no horns.” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t fear it—I’m only afraid it will run +away,” said Joe, eager to secure the prize. +</p> + +<p> +“Try it, at all events; if it should run very fast, I think I shall be +able to arrest its career with the gun,” said Glenn, who prepared to +fire, provided the deer was likely to escape the clutches of Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Here goes!” cried Joe, leaping through the small bushes towards +the covert. The deer moved not until Joe reached within a few feet of it, when, +making a mighty spring, it bounded over the head of its assailant, and its +sharp feet running through the icy surface of the snow, penetrated so far down, +from the force of its weight, that it was unable to escape. It now lay quite +still, with its large blue eyes turned imploringly to its foe. Joe seized it by +the hind feet, and exultingly exclaimed that the prize was safely his own. The +trembling and unresisting animal appeared to be as perfectly submissive as a +sheep in the hands of the shearer. +</p> + +<p> +“You have it, sure enough!” said Glenn, coming up and viewing the +scene with interest. +</p> + +<p> +“Lash me if I haven’t!” said Joe, much excited. “Have +you got any sort of a string about you?” +</p> + +<p> +“No.” +</p> + +<p> +“Please cut down a hickory withe, and peel the bark off for me, while I +hold its legs.” +</p> + +<p> +Glenn drew out his hunting knife, but paused when in the act of executing his +man’s request, and turning, with a smile playing upon his lip, +said— +</p> + +<p> +“Perhaps, Joe, this is but another dream; and if so, it is folly to give +ourselves any unnecessary trouble.” +</p> + +<p> +“Lash me if it ain’t reality!” replied Joe, as the deer at +length began to struggle violently. +</p> + +<p> +Extricating its feet from his grasp, the doe bestowed a well directed kick on +its foe’s head, which tumbled him over on his back. The animal then +sprang up, but aware there was no chance of escape by running, faced about and +plied its bony head so furiously against Joe’s breast and sides that he +was forced to scamper away with all possible expedition. +</p> + +<p> +“Has it bruised you, Joe? If so, this is certainly no dream,” +remarked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, goodness! I’m battered almost to a jelly. I’ll take my +oath there’s no dreaming about this. Let me go after Ringwood and +Jowler.” +</p> + +<p> +“It would be too cruel to let the hounds tear the poor thing,” said +Glenn; “but after you have bound its feet together, you may bring out one +of the horses and a sled, and convey it home unhurt.” +</p> + +<p> +“The horses can’t go in this deep snow,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“True, I forgot that. Take your musket and shoot it,” said Glenn, +turning away, not wishing to witness the death of the deer. +</p> + +<p> +“I’d rather take him prisoner,” said Joe, lowering his musket +after taking a long aim. “I can drag it on the sled myself.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then go for it,” said Glenn; “and you may bring the hounds +along; I will exercise them a little after that fox which keeps such a +chattering in the next grove. But first let us secure the deer.” +</p> + +<p> +Joe charged upon the doe once more, and when it aimed another blow at him, he +threw himself under its body, and the animal falling over on its side, the +combined efforts of the men sufficed to bind its feet. Joe then went to the +house for the hounds and the sled, and Glenn leant against the oak, awaiting +his return. It was not long before the hounds arrived, which was soon succeeded +by the approach of Joe with the sled. Ringwood and Jowler evinced palpable +signs of delight on beholding the bound captive, but their training was so +perfect that they showed no disposition to molest it without the orders of +their master. One word from Glenn, and the deer would have been instantly torn +in pieces; but it was exempt from danger as long as that word was withheld. +</p> + +<p> +Joe soon came up, and in a very few minutes the doe was laid upon the sled. +When he was in the act of starting homewards with his novel burden, the hounds, +contrary to their usual practice, refused to accompany Glenn to the thicket +north of their position, where the fox was still heard, and strangely seemed +inclined to run in a contrary direction. And what was equally remarkable, while +snuffing the air towards the south, they gave utterance to repeated fierce +growls. Joe was utterly astonished, and Glenn was fast losing the equanimity of +his temper. +</p> + +<p> +“There’s something more than common down there; see how Ringwood +bristles up on the back,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Run there with the hounds, and see what it is,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“And I’ll take my musket, too,” said Joe, striding in the +direction indicated, with the hounds at his heels and his musket on his +shoulder. +</p> + +<p> +When he reached a narrow rivulet about one hundred paces distant, that +gradually widened and deepened until it formed the valley in which the +ferry-house was situated a half mile below, he paused and suffered the hounds +to lead the way. They ran a short distance up the ravine and halted at the edge +of a small thicket, and commenced barking very fiercely as they scented the air +under the bushes. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll bet it’s another bear,” said Joe, putting a fresh +priming in the pan of his musket, and proceeding after the hounds. “If it +is a bear, ought I to fool with him by myself?” said he, pausing at the +edge of the thicket. “I might get my other ear boxed,” he +continued, “and it’s not such a pleasant thing to be knocked down +by the heavy fist of a big black bear. If I don’t trouble him, +he’ll be sure to let me alone. What if I call the dogs off, and go back? +But what tale can I manufacture to tell Mr. Glenn? Pshaw! What should I fear, +with such a musket as this in my hand? I can’t help it. I really believe +I <i>am</i> a little touched with cowardice! I’m sorry for it, but I +can’t help it. It was born with me, and it’s not my fault. Confound +it! I <i>will</i> screw up courage enough to see what it is, anyhow.” +Saying this, he strode forward desperately, and urging the hounds onward, +followed closely in the rear in a stooping posture, under the hazel bushes. +</p> + +<p> +In a very few moments Joe reached the head of the ravine, but to his +astonishment and no little satisfaction, he beheld nothing but a shelving rock, +from under which a spring of clear smoking water flowed, and a large bank of +snow which had drifted around it, but through which the gurgling stream had +forced its way. Yet the mystery was not solved. Ringwood and Jowler continued +to growl and yelp still more furiously, running round the embankment of snow +repeatedly, and ever and anon snuffing its icy surface. +</p> + +<p> +“Whip me if I can figure out this,” said Joe; “what in the +world do the dogs keep sticking their noses in that snow for? There can’t +be a bear in it, surely. I’ve a notion to shoot into it. No I +won’t. I’ll do this, though,” and drawing out his long knife +he thrust it up to the handle in the place which seemed the most to attract the +hounds. +</p> + +<p> +“Freeze me if it hasn’t gone into something besides the +snow!” exclaimed he, conscious that the steel had penetrated some firm +substance below the frozen snow-crust. “What the deuce is it?” he +continued, pulling out the knife and examining it. “Ha! blood, by +jingo!” he cried, springing up; “but it can’t be a living +bear, or it would have moved; and if it had moved, the stab would have killed +it. I <i>won’t</i> be afraid!” said he, again plunging his knife +into it, “It don’t move yet—it must be dead—why, +it’s frozen. Pshaw! any thing would freeze here, in less than an hour. +I’ll soon see what it is.” Saying this, he knelt down on the +embankment, and commenced digging the snow away with all his might. The dogs +crouched down beside him, growling and whining alternately, and otherwise +exhibiting symptoms of restlessness and distress. +</p> + +<p> +“Be still, poor Ringwood, I’m coming to him; I see something dark, +but there’s no hair on it. Ugh! hallo! Oh goodness! St. Peter! Ugh! ugh! +ugh!” cried he, springing up, his face as pale as the snow, his hair +standing upright, his chin fallen, and his eyes almost straining out of their +sockets. Without taking his gun, or putting on his hat, he ran through the +bushes like a frightened antelope, leaping over ditches like a fox-chaser, +tearing through opposing grape vines, and not pausing until his course was +suddenly arrested by Glenn, who seized him by the skirt of the coat, and hurled +him on his back beside the sled on which the deer was bound. +</p> + +<p> +“What is the matter?” demanded Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +Joe panted painfully, and was unable to answer. +</p> + +<p> +“What ails you, I say?” repeated Glenn in a loud voice. +</p> + +<p> +“Peter”—panted Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Do you mean the pony?” +</p> + +<p> +“St. Peter!” ejaculated Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, what of St. Peter?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, let me be off!” cried he, endeavouring to scramble to his +feet. But he was most effectually prevented. For no sooner had he turned over +on his hands and knees, than Glenn leaped astride of him. +</p> + +<p> +“Now, if you <i>will</i> go, you shall carry me on your back, and I will +pelt the secret out of you with my heels, as we travel!” +</p> + +<p> +“Just let me get in the house and fasten the door, and I will tell you +every word,” said Joe imploringly. +</p> + +<p> +“Tell me now, or you shall remain in the snow all day long!” said +Glenn, with a hand grasping each side of Joe’s neck. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, what shall I do? I can’t speak!” yelled Joe, trying +outright, the large tear-drops falling from his nose and chin. +</p> + +<p> +“You have not lost your voice, I should say, at all events,” +implied Glenn, somewhat touched with pity at his man’s unequivocal +distress, though he could scarce restrain his laughter when he viewed his +grotesque posture. “What has become of your musket and hat?” he +added. +</p> + +<p> +“I left them both there,” said Joe, gradually becoming composed +under the weight of his master. +</p> + +<p> +“Where?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“At the cave-spring.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, what made you leave them there?” +</p> + +<p> +“Just get off my back and I’ll tell you. I’m getting over it +now; I’m going to be mad instead of frightened,” said Joe, with +real composure. +</p> + +<p> +“Get up, then; but I won’t trust you yet. You must still suffer me +to hold your collar,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“If you go to the cave-spring you will see a sight!” +</p> + +<p> +“What kind of a sight?” +</p> + +<p> +“Such a sight as I never dreamed of before!” +</p> + +<p> +“Then it has been nothing but a dream <i>this time</i>, after all your +foolery?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, I’ll be shot if there was any dreaming about it,” +replied Joe; and he related every thing up to the horrid discovery which caused +him to retreat so precipitately, and then paused, as if dreading to revert to +the subject. +</p> + +<p> +“What did you find there? Was it any thing that could injure you?” +</p> + +<p> +“No,” said Joe, shaking his head solemnly. +</p> + +<p> +“Why did you run, then?” demanded Glenn, impatiently. +</p> + +<p> +“The truth is, I don’t know myself, now I reflect about it. But +I’d rather not tell what I saw just yet. I was pretty considerably +alarmed, wasn’t I?” +</p> + +<p> +“Ridiculous! I will not be trifled with in this manner Tell me instantly +what you saw!” said Glenn, his vexation and anger overcoming his usual +indulgent nature. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll tell you now—it was a—Didn’t you see them +bushes move?” asked Joe, staring wildly at a clump of sumach bushes a few +paces distant. +</p> + +<p> +“What was it you saw at the cave-spring!” shouted Glenn, his face +turning red. +</p> + +<p> +“I—I”—responded Joe, his eyes still fixed on the +bushes. “It was a—Ugh!”—cried he, starting, as he +beheld the little thicket open, and a tall man rise up, holding in his hand a +bunch of dead muskrats. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod speak on—I want to hear what it was—I’ve been +laying here all this time waiting to know what great thing it was that skeered +you so much. I never laughed so in all my life as I did when he got a-straddle +of you. I was coming up to the sled, when I saw you streaking it through the +vines and briers, and then I squatted down awhile to see what would turn up +next.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ha! ha! ha! is it you, Sneak? I thought you was an Indian! Come on, +I’ll tell now. <i>It was a man’s moccasin</i>!” said Joe, in +a low, mysterious tone. +</p> + +<p> +“And you ran in that manner from an old moccasin!” said Glenn, +reproachfully. +</p> + +<p> +“But there was a <i>foot</i> in it!” continued Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“A <i>he</i> man’s foot?” inquired Sneak, quickly turning to +Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“How could I tell whether it was a he man’s foot, or a female +woman’s, as you call them?” replied Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Are you sure it was a human being’s foot?” demanded Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I never saw any other animal but a man wear a buckskin +moccasin!” replied Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“An Irishman can’t tell any thing right, nohow you can fix +it,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“They can’t tell how you make wooden nutmegs,” retorted Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Come,” said Glenn, “we will go and examine for +ourselves.” +</p> + +<p> +The party set off in a brisk walk, and soon reached the scene of Joe’s +alarm. Sure enough, there was the moccasin, and a man’s foot in it! +</p> + +<p> +“It’s somebody, after all,” said Sneak, giving the frozen +foot a kick. +</p> + +<p> +“Ain’t you ashamed to do that?” said Joe, knitting his brows. +</p> + +<p> +“He’s nothing more than a stone, now. Why didn’t he holler +when you stuck your knife into him?” replied Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Dig him up, that we may see who he is,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I’d rather not touch him,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“You’re a fool!” said Sneak. “Stand off, and let me at +him—I’ll soon see who he is.” Sneak threw down his maskrats, +and with his spear and knife soon extricated the body, which he handled as +unceremoniously as he would have done a log of wood. “Dod rot your +skin!” he exclaimed, when he brushed the snow from the man’s face. +He then threw down the body with great violence. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh don’t!” cried Joe, while the cold chills ran up his back. +</p> + +<p> +“Who is it?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“It’s that copper-snake, traitor, skunk, water-dog, lizard-hawk, +horned frog—” +</p> + +<p> +“Who do you mean?” interrupted Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“<i>Posin</i>, the maliverous rascal who collogued with the Injins to +murder us all! I’m glad he got his dose—and if he was alive now, +I’d make him swaller at least two foot of my spear,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“’Twas me—I killed him—look at the buck-shot holes in +his back!” exclaimed Joe, now recovering from his excitement and +affright. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, and you’re a nice chap, ain’t you, to run like flugins +from a dead man that you killed yourself!” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“How did I know that I killed him?” retorted Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Any fool might know he was dead,” replied Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll pay you for this, some of these times,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“How shall we bury him?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“That can be done real easy,” said Sneak, taking hold of the dead +man’s leg and dragging him along on the snow like a sled. +</p> + +<p> +“What are you going to do with him?” demanded Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m a going to cut a hole in the ice on the river, and push him +under,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“You shall do no such thing!” said Glenn, firmly; “he must be +buried in the earth.” +</p> + +<p> +“Just as you say,” said Sneak, submissively, throwing down the leg. +</p> + +<p> +“Run home and bring the spades, Joe,” said Glenn, “and call +for the ferrymen to assist us.” +</p> + +<p> +“And I’ll take the sled along and leave it in the yard,” said +Joe, starting in the direction of the deer and calling the hounds after him. +</p> + +<p> +“Let the hounds remain,” said Glenn. “I am resolved to have +my fox-hunt.” Joe soon disappeared. +</p> + +<p> +“If you want to hunt, you can go on; Roughgrove and me will bury this +robber,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Be it so,” said Glenn; “but remember that you are not to put +him in the river, nor must you commit any indecent outrage upon his person. Let +his body return to the earth—his soul is already in the hands of Him who +created it.” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s as true as gospel,” said Sneak; “and I would +rather be froze in this snow than to have his hot berth in the t’other +world. I don’t feel a bit mad at him now—he’s paying for his +black dagiverous conduct hard enough by this time, I’ll be bound. I say, +Mr. Glenn, it’ll be rather late when we get through with this +job—will there be any vacant room at your fireside to-night?” +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly, and something to eat—you will be welcome, provided you +don’t quarrel too much with Joe,” replied Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, Joe and me understand each other—the more we quarrel the more +we love one another. We’ll never fight—do you mind that—for +he’s a coward for one thing, and I won’t corner him too close, +because he’s broad-shouldered enough to <i>lick me</i>, if he was to take +it into his head to fight.” +</p> + +<p> +Glenn called the hounds after him and set out in quest of the fox, and Sneak +turned to the dead body and mused in silence. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="ChapterVII"> +CHAPTER VII. </a> +</h2> + +<p class="quote"> +Boone—The interment—Startling intelligence—Indians +about—A skunk—Thrilling fears—Boone’s device. +</p> + +<p> +Ere long Joe was on his way back to the cave-spring, with several spades on his +shoulder, accompanied by Boone, (who had just crossed the river on a visit to +Glenn,) and Roughgrove, with his two oarsmen. +</p> + +<p> +“Is Glenn at the spring with Sneak?” asked Boone, in a very +thoughtful and grave manner. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir, I left him there, and I now hear him with the hounds chasing a +fox,” replied Joe, in true native style. +</p> + +<p> +“If he is with the hounds, he is certainly not at the spring,” +remarked Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +“I meant that he was there, or <i>thereabouts</i>” replied Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Who found the dead man?” inquired Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“I did—that is, when the dogs scented him—and it almost +frightened me when I dug out his foot,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“No doubt!” observed Boone. +</p> + +<p> +The party now moved along in silence, still permitting Joe to lead the way, +until they suddenly emerged from the thicket in the immediate vicinity of the +spring, when an unexpected scene attracted their notice. Sneak was composedly +seated on the body of the dead man, and very deliberately searching his +pockets! +</p> + +<p> +“Well! that beats all the mean actions I ever beheld before!” said +Joe, pausing and staring indignantly at Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“You’re a fool!” replied Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“What for? because I wouldn’t rob the dead?” retorted Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Do you call this robbing the dead? Hain’t this traitor stoled this +lump of gold from the Injins?” said Sneak, displaying a rough piece of +the precious metal about the size of a crow’s egg. +</p> + +<p> +“Is it gold?” asked Joe, with some anxiety. +</p> + +<p> +“Sartainly it is,” answered Sneak, handing it to him to be +examined; “and what good could come of burying it agin? I’ll leave +it to Mr. Boone to say if I ain’t right in taking it myself.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, any thing worth this much ought to be taken,” said Joe, +depositing the lump of gold in his pocket. +</p> + +<p> +“See here, my chap,” said Sneak, rising up and casting a furious +glance at him, “if you don’t mean to hand that out again, one or +the t’other of us must be put in the ground with the traitorious +Posin—and if it is to be you, it’ll be a purty thing for it to be +said that you brought a spade to bury yourself with.” +</p> + +<p> +“Didn’t I find the body?” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“But burn me if you found the gold,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Shall I decide the matter?” interposed Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m willing,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“And so am I,” replied Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Then give it to me, and I’ll cut it in two, and give a half to +each of you,” said Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +The decision was final; and seizing the spades, Joe, Sneak, and the oarsmen +began to prepare a resting-place for the dead body. Boone continued silent, +with his eyes steadfastly gazing at the earth which the workmen began to throw +up. +</p> + +<p> +“Posin’s done ferrying now,” said Dan Rudder, one of the +defunct’s old companions in the service of Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +“No he ain’t,” said Sneak, throwing up a spadeful of flint +stones. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll keep some of these for my musket,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Why ain’t he?” demanded Dan. +</p> + +<p> +“Because he’s got to cross the river—the river—what do +they call it?—the river Poles,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Styx, you dunce,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, ’twas only a slip of the tongue—what’s the +difference between poles and sticks?” +</p> + +<p> +“<i>You</i> never read any thing about it; you only heard somebody say +so,” said Joe, pausing to listen to the hounds that ever and anon yelped +in the vicinity. +</p> + +<p> +“If I didn’t, I don’t believe the man that wrote that book +ever crossed, or even had a squint at the river himself,” replied Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Whereabouts is the river?” asked Dan. +</p> + +<p> +“In the lower regions,” said Joe, striking his spade against a hard +substance. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s that you’re scraping the dirt off of?” asked +Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, my goodness!” cried Joe, leaping out of the grave. +</p> + +<p> +“Let it remain!” said Boone, in a commanding tone, looking in and +discovering a skull; “I once buried a friend here—he was shot down +at my side by the Indians.” +</p> + +<p> +“Fill up the hole agin! Posin shan’t lay on top of any of your +friends!” exclaimed Sneak, likewise leaping out of the grave. +</p> + +<p> +“It matters not—but do as you please,” said Boone, turning +away and marking the distressed yelping of the hounds, which indicated, from +some unusual cause, that they did not enjoy the chase as much as was their +wont. +</p> + +<p> +“Split me if he shan’t be buried somewhere else, if I have to dig +the hole myself,” said Sneak, filling up the grave. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll stick by you, Sneak,” said Dan. +</p> + +<p> +“Dan and me ’ll finish the job; all the rest of you may go +off,” said Sneak, releasing the rest of the party from any further +participation in the depositing of the remains of Posin in the earth. +</p> + +<p> +“Glenn does not yet understand Ringwood and Jowler,” said Boone, +still listening to the chase. +</p> + +<p> +“I never heard the dogs bark that way before until to-day,” said +Joe; “only that night when we killed the buffalo.” +</p> + +<p> +“Something besides the buffalo caused them to do it then,” replied +Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, indeed—they must have known the fire was coming—but the +fire can’t come now.” +</p> + +<p> +“Sneak,” said Boone, “when you are done here, come to Mr. +Glenn’s house.” +</p> + +<p> +“I will, as soon as I go to my muskrat trap out at the lake and get my +rifle.” +</p> + +<p> +“Be in a hurry,” said Boone; and turning towards the chase, he +uttered a “Ya-ho!” and instantly the hounds were hushed. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod!” exclaimed Sneak, staring a moment at Boone, while his large +eyes seemed to increase in size, and then rolling up his sleeves, he delved +away with extraordinary dispatch. +</p> + +<p> +In a very short space of time, Ringwood and Jowler rushed from the thicket, and +leaping up against the breast of their old master, evinced a positive happiness +in once more beholding him. They were soon followed by Glenn, who dashed +briskly through the thicket to see who it was that caused his hounds to abandon +him so unceremoniously. No sooner did he discover his aged friend than he ran +forward and grasped his hand. +</p> + +<p> +“I thought not of you, and yet I could think of no one else who might +thus entice my noble hounds away. Return with me, and we will have the fox in a +few minutes—he is now nearly exhausted,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Molest him not,” said Boone. “Did you not observe how +reluctantly the hounds chased him?” +</p> + +<p> +“I did; what was the cause of it?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“The breeze is tainted with the scent of Indians!” whispered Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“Again thou art my preserver!” said Glenn, in a low tone. +</p> + +<p> +“I came to give you intelligence that the Osages would probably be upon +you in a few days,” said Boone; “but I did not think they were +really in the neighbourhood until I heard your unerring hounds. Col. Cooper, of +my settlement, made an excursion southward some ten days ago to explore a +region he had never visited; but observing a large war-party at a distance, +coming hitherward, he retreated precipitately, and reached home this morning. +Excessive fatigue and illness prevented him from accompanying me over the +river; and what is worse, nearly every man in our settlement is at present more +than a hundred miles up the river, trapping beaver. If we are attacked +to-night, or even within a day or two, we have nothing to depend upon but our +own force to defend ourselves.” +</p> + +<p> +“Should it be so, I doubt not we will be able to withstand them as +successfully as we did before,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Let us go with Roughgrove to his house, and take his daughter and his +effects to your little fortress,” said Boone, joining the old ferryman, +whom a single word sufficed to apprize of the state of affairs. +</p> + +<p> +“I must prepare for the worst, now,” said Roughgrove; “they +will never forget or forgive the part I acted on the night of their +defeat.” +</p> + +<p> +Boone, Glenn, and Roughgrove proceeded down the valley, while Joe seemed +disposed to loiter, undetermined what to engage in, having cast an occasional +curious glance at Boone and his master when engaged in their low conversation, +and rightly conjecturing that “something wrong was in the wind,” as +he expressed it. +</p> + +<p> +“Why don’t you go home?” asked Sneak, rolling the dead body +into the grave, and dashing the mingled earth and snow remorselessly upon it. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll go when I’m ready,” replied Joe; “but I +should like to know what all that whispering and nodding was about.” +</p> + +<p> +“I can tell you,” said Dan; but his speech was suddenly arrested by +a sign from Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“I wish you would tell me,” continued Joe, manifesting no little +uneasiness. +</p> + +<p> +“Have you got a plenty to eat at your house?” asked Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“To be sure we have,” said Joe; “now tell me what’s in +the wind.” +</p> + +<p> +“If I was to tell you, I bet you’d be frightened half to +death,” remarked Sneak, driving down a headstone, having filled up the +grave. +</p> + +<p> +“No! no—I—indeed but I wouldn’t, though!” said +Joe, trembling at every joint, the true cause, for the first time, occurring to +him. “Ain’t it Indians, Mr. Sneak?” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t call me <i>Mister</i> agin, if you please. There are more +moccasins than the one you found in these parts, that’s all.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll go home and tell Mr. Glenn!” said Joe, whirling round +quickly. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod rot your cowardly hide of you!” said Sneak, staring at him +contemptuously; “now don’t you <i>know</i> he knowed it before you +did?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes—but I was going home to tell him that some bullets must be +run—that’s what I meant.” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t you think he knows that as well as you do?” continued +Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“But I—I <i>must</i> go!” exclaimed Joe, starting in a half +run, with the hounds (which had been forgotten by their master) following at +his heels. +</p> + +<p> +“Let me have the hounds, to go after my gun—the red skins might +waylay me, if I go alone, in spite of all my cunning woodcraft,” said +Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Go back!” cried Joe, to the hounds. They instantly obeyed, and the +next moment Joe was scampering homeward with all the speed of which his legs +were capable. +</p> + +<p> +When he reached the house, his fears were by no means allayed on beholding the +most valuable articles of Roughgrove’s dwelling already removed thither, +and the ferryman himself, his daughter, Boone and Glenn, assembled in +consultation within the inclosure. Joe closed the gate hurriedly after him, and +bolted it on the inside. +</p> + +<p> +“Why did you shut the gate? Open it again,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Ain’t we besieged again? ain’t the Indians all around us, +ready to rush in and take our scalps?” said Joe, obeying the command +reluctantly. +</p> + +<p> +“They will not trouble us before night,” said Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +“No, we need not fear them before night,” remarked Boone, whose +continued thoughtful aspect impressed Glenn with the belief that he apprehended +more than the usual horrors of Indian warfare during the impending attack. +</p> + +<p> +“They will burn father’s house, but that is nothing compared to +what I fear will be his own fate!” murmured Mary, dejectedly. +</p> + +<p> +“We can soon build him another,” said Glenn, moved by the evident +distress of the pale girl; “and I am very sure that my little stone +castle will suffice to preserve not only your father and yourself, but all who +take shelter in it, from personal injury. So, cheer up, Mary.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, I will not complain; it pained me most when I first heard they were +coming once more; I will soon be calm again, and just as composed when they are +shooting at us, as I was the other time. But <i>you</i> will be in a great deal +more danger than you were that night. Yet Boone is with us again—he +<i>must</i> save us,” said Mary. +</p> + +<p> +“Why do you think there will be more danger, Mary?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, why do you think so?” interposed Joe, much interested in the +reply. +</p> + +<p> +“Because the snow is so deep and so firm, they will leap over the +palisade, if there be a great many of them,” replied Mary. Glenn felt a +chill shoot through his breast, for this fact had not before occurred to him. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, goodness!—let us all go to work and shovel it away on the +outside,” cried Joe, running about in quest of the spades. “Oh, St. +Peter!” he continued, “the spades are out at the +cave-spring!” +</p> + +<p> +“Run and bring them,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Never—not for the world! They’d take my scalp to a certainty +before I could get back again,” replied Joe, trembling all over. +</p> + +<p> +“There is no danger yet,” said Roughgrove, the deep snow having +occurred to him at the first announcement of the threatened attack, and +produced many painful fears in his breast, which caused a sadness to rest upon +his time-worn features; “but,” he continued, “it would not be +in our power to remove the snow in two whole days, and a few hours only are +left us to prepare for the worst.” +</p> + +<p> +“Let them come within the inclosure,” said Glenn, “and even +then they cannot harm us. The walls of my house are made of stone, and so is +the ceiling; they can only burn the roof—I do not think they can harm our +persons. We have food enough to last for months, and there is no likelihood of +the siege lasting a single week.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll make sure of the deer,” muttered Joe; and before any +one could interpose, he struck off the head of the doe with an axe, as it still +lay bound upon the sled. And he was brandishing the reeking steel over the neck +of the fawn, that stood by, looking on innocently, when a cry from Mary +arrested the blow. +</p> + +<p> +“If you injure a hair of Mary’s gift,” said Glenn, in anger, +“you shall suffer as severe a fate yourself.” +</p> + +<p> +“Pardon me,” said Joe to Mary; “I was excited—I +didn’t hardly know what I was doing. I thought as we were going to be +pent up by the Indians, for goodness only knows how long, that we’d +better provide enough food to keep from starving. I love the fawn as well as +you do, and Mr. Glenn loves it because you gave it to him; but its natural to +prefer our own lives to the lives of dumb animals.” +</p> + +<p> +“I forgive you,” said Mary, playing with the silken ears of the +pet. +</p> + +<p> +“Say no more about it,” said Glenn; “but as you are so +anxious to be well provided with comforts, if we are besieged, there is one +thing I had forgotten, that is absolutely necessary for our existence, which +you can procure.” +</p> + +<p> +“What is it? Be quick, for we havn’t a moment to lose,” said +Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Water,” replied Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s a fact—but—its way off at the spring, by the +ferry,” said Joe, disliking the idea of exposing himself without the +inclosure. +</p> + +<p> +“True, yet it must be had. If you can get it nearer to us, you are at +liberty to do so,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Here comes Sneak,” said Mary; “he will assist you.” +</p> + +<p> +Sneak readily agreed to the proposition, and he and Joe set out, each with a +large bucket, while the rest of the party, with the exception of Boone (who +desired to be left alone,) retired within the house. +</p> + +<p> +When Sneak and Joe were filling their buckets at the spring the second time, +the hounds (which attended them at Joe’s special request) commenced +barking. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s that?” cried Joe, dashing his bucket, water and all, +in Sneak’s lap, and running ten or fifteen feet up the hill. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod rot your cowardly heart!” exclaimed Sneak, rising up and +shaking the cold water from his clothes; “if I don’t pay you for +this, I wish I may be shot!” +</p> + +<p> +“I thought it was the Indians,” said Joe, still staring at the +small thicket of briers, where the hounds were yet growling and bounding about +in a singular manner. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll see what it is and then pay you for this ducking,” said +Sneak, walking briskly to the edge of the thicket, while the water trickled +down over his moccasins. +</p> + +<p> +“What is it?” cried Joe, leaping farther up the ascent with great +trepidation, as he saw the hounds run out of the bushes as if pursued, and even +Sneak retreating a few paces. But what seemed very unaccountable was a +<i>smile</i> on Sneak’s elongated features. +</p> + +<p> +“What in the world can it be?” repeated Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Ha! ha! ha! if that ain’t a purty thing to skeer a full-grown man +into fits!” said Sneak, retreating yet farther from the thicket. +</p> + +<p> +“What makes <i>you</i> back out, then?” inquired Joe. The hounds +now ran to the men, and the next moment a small animal, not larger than a +rabbit, of a dark colour, with long white stripes from the nose to the tail, +made its appearance, and moved slowly toward the spring. Sneak ran up the hill +beyond the position occupied by Joe, maintaining all the time a most provoking +smile. +</p> + +<p> +“Who’s scared into fits now, I should like to know?” retorted +Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“I wish I had my gun,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Hang me, if I’m afraid of that little thing,” said Joe. +Still the hounds ran round, yelping, but never venturing within thirty feet of +the animal. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll be whipped if I understand all this!” said Joe, in +utter astonishment, looking at Sneak, and then at the hounds. +</p> + +<p> +“Why don’t you <i>run</i>?” cried Sneak, as the animal +continued to advance. +</p> + +<p> +“I believe you’re making fun of me,” said Joe; “that +little thing can’t hurt anybody. Its a pretty little pet, and I’ve +a notion to catch it.” +</p> + +<p> +“What are you talking about? You know you’re afraid of it,” +said Sneak, tauntingly. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll show you,” said Joe, springing upon the animal. The +polecat (for such it was) gave its assailant a taste of its quality in a +twinkling. Joe grasped his nose with both hands and wheeled away with all +possible expedition, while the animal pursued its course towards the river. +</p> + +<p> +“My goodness, I’ve got it all over my coat!” exclaimed Joe, +rolling on the snow in agony. +</p> + +<p> +“Didn’t I say I’d pay you for spilling the cold water on +me?” cried Sneak, in a convulsion of laughter. +</p> + +<p> +“Why didn’t you tell me, <i>you rascal</i>?” cried Joe, +flushed in the face, and forgetting the Indians in his increasing anger. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, I’ll laugh myself sore—ha! ha! ha!” continued +Sneak, sitting down on the snow, and laughing obstreperously. +</p> + +<p> +“You long, lopsided scoundrel, you. My Irish blood is up now,” said +Joe, rushing towards Sneak with a resolution to fight. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll be whipt if you tech me with them hands,” said Sneak, +running away. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, what shall I do?” cried Joe, sinking down, his rage suddenly +subdued by his sickening condition. +</p> + +<p> +“If you’ll say all’s square betwixt us, I’ll tell you +what to do. If you don’t do something right quick, they won’t let +you sleep in the house for a month.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well. Now tell me quick!” +</p> + +<p> +“Pull off your coat before it soaks through.” +</p> + +<p> +“I didn’t think of that,” said Joe, obeying with alacrity, +and shivering in the cold air. +</p> + +<p> +“Now twist a stick into it, so you can carry it up to the house, without +touching it with your hands, that is, if none of it got on ’em,” +continued Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“There ain’t a bit anywhere else but on the shoulder of my +coat,” said Joe, acting according to Sneak’s instructions. Filling +their buckets, they at length started towards the house, Joe holding a bucket +in one hand, and a long pole, on which dangled his coat, in the other. When +they entered, the company involuntarily started; and Glenn, losing all control +over his temper, hurled a book at his man’s head, and commanded him not +to venture in his presence again until he could by some means dispense with his +horrid odor. +</p> + +<p> +“Foller me,” said Sneak, leading the way to the stable, and taking +with him one of the spades he had brought in from the burial; +“now,” he continued, when they were with the horses, “dig a +hole at this end of the stall, and bury your coat. If you hadn’t took it +in the house, like a dunce, they’d never ’ave known any thing about +it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, my goodness! I’m sick!” said Joe, urging the spade in +the earth with his foot, and betraying unequivocal signs of indisposition. +However, the garment was soon covered up, and the annoyance abated. +</p> + +<p> +But no sooner was Joe well out of this difficulty, than the dread of the +tomahawk and scalping knife returned in greater force than ever. +</p> + +<p> +Boone remained taciturn, his clear, eagle-eye scanning the palisade, and the +direction from which the savages would be most likely to come. +</p> + +<p> +Joe approached the renowned pioneer for the purpose of asking his opinion +respecting the chances of escaping with life from the expected struggle, but +was deterred by his serious and commanding glance. But soon a singular change +came over his stern features, and as sudden as strange. His countenance assumed +an air of triumph, and a half-formed smile played upon his lip. His meditations +had doubtless resulted in the resolution to adopt some decisive course, which, +in his opinion, would insure the safety of the little garrison. His brow had +been watched by the inmates of the house, and, hailing the change with joy, +they came forth to ascertain more certainly their fate. +</p> + +<p> +“How much powder have you, my young friend?” asked Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“Five kegs,” answered Glenn, promptly. +</p> + +<p> +“Then we are safe!” said Boone, in a pleasant and affable manner, +which imparted confidence to the whole party. +</p> + +<p> +“I thought—I almost <i>knew</i> that we were safe, with <i>you</i> +among us,” said Mary, playing with Boone’s hand. +</p> + +<p> +“But you must not venture out of the house as much as you did before, my +lass, when arrows begin to fly,” replied Boone, kissing the +maiden’s forehead. +</p> + +<p> +“But I’ll mould your bullets, and get supper for you,” said +Mary. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s a good child,” said Roughgrove; “go in, now, +and set about your task.” +</p> + +<p> +Mary bowed to her father, and glided away. The men then clustered round Boone, +to hear the plan that was to avail them in their present difficulty. +</p> + +<p> +“In times of peril,” said Boone, “my knowledge of the Indian +character has always served me. I first reflect what I would do were I myself a +savage; and, in taking measures to provide against the things which I imagine +would be done by myself, I have never yet been disappointed. The Indians will +not rashly rush upon us, and expose themselves to our bullets, as they storm +the palisade. Had they the resolution to do this, not one of us would escape +alive, for they would tear down the house. It is a very large war-party, and +they could begin at the top and before morning remove every stone. But they +shall not touch one of them—” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m so glad!” ejaculated Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Hush your jaw!” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“They will be divided into two parties,” continued Boone; +“one party will attack us from the west with their arrows, keeping at a +respectful distance from our guns, while the other will force a passage to the +palisade from the east without being seen, for they will come under the snow! +We must instantly plant a keg of powder, on the outside of the inclosure, and +blow them up when they come. Joe, bring out a keg of powder, and also the +fishing rods I saw in the house. The latter must be joined together, and a +communication opened through them. They must be filled with powder and one end +placed in the keg, while the other reaches the inclosure, passing through an +auger hole. You all understand now what is to be done—let us go to +work—we have no time to spare.” +</p> + +<p> +It was not long before every thing was executed according to the directions of +Boone, and at nightfall each man was stationed at a loophole, with gun in hand, +awaiting the coming of the savages. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="ChapterVIII"> +CHAPTER VIII. </a> +</h2> + +<p class="quote"> +Night—Sagacity of the hounds—Reflection—The sneaking +savages—Joe’s disaster—The approach of the foe under the +snow—The silent watch. +</p> + +<p> +The night was beautiful. The moon sailed through a cloudless sky, and the north +wind, which had whistled loudly among the branches of the trees in the valley +at the close of day, was hushed, and a perfect calm pervaded the scene. +</p> + +<p> +“What’re you leaving your post for?” asked Sneak, as Joe +suddenly abandoned his watch on the west side of the inclosure, and tripped +across to Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. Roughgrove—Mr. Roughgrove,” said Joe, in a low tone. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, what do you want with me?” responded the old ferryman. +</p> + +<p> +“I wanted to tell you that your two oarsmen are forgotten, and to ask you +if we hadn’t better call to them to come up here, where they’ll be +out of danger?” +</p> + +<p> +“They are <i>not</i> forgotten,” said Roughgrove; “I sent +them over the river to procure assistance, if possible.” +</p> + +<p> +“Thank you. I’m glad they’re out of danger. I couldn’t +rest till I found out something about them,” said Joe, retiring; but +instead of resuming his watch, he slipped into the house. +</p> + +<p> +“He’s at his old tricks agin,” said Sneak, when he observed +him stealthily enter the door. “Come out, I say!” he continued, in +a loud voice. +</p> + +<p> +“What is the matter?” interrogated Glenn, from his station on the +north. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, that feller’s crept into the house agin,” replied +Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, but he’s come out again,” said Joe, reappearing, and +walking reluctantly to his loophole. +</p> + +<p> +“What did you go in for?” demanded Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I just wanted to tell Miss Mary that the two oarsmen that helped us to +bury Posin were gone over the river, and were safe.” +</p> + +<p> +“Did she ask for this information?” inquired Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“No, not exactly,” responded Joe; “but I thought if I was +uneasy about the young men myself, that she, being more delicate than a man, +must be considerably distressed.” +</p> + +<p> +“A mere subterfuge! See that you do not leave your post in future, under +any circumstances, without permission to do so.” +</p> + +<p> +“I won’t,” replied Joe, peering through his loophole. +</p> + +<p> +Matters remained quiet for a great length of time, and Glenn began to hope that +even Boone had been mistaken. But Boone himself had no doubts upon the subject. +Yet he seemed far more affable and cheerful than he did before the plan of +resistance was formed in his mind. Occasionally he would walk round from post +to post, and after scanning the aspect without, direct the sentinels to observe +closely certain points, trees or bushes, where he thought the enemy might first +be seen. He never hinted once that there was a possibility of escaping an +attack, and the little party felt that the only alternative was to watch with +diligence and act with vigor and resolution when assailed. +</p> + +<p> +“Do you think they are now in this immediate neighbourhood?” +inquired Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“They are not far off, I imagine,” replied Boone; and calling the +hounds from the stable, he continued, “I can show you in which quarter +they are.” The hounds well understood their old master. At his bidding +they snuffed the air, and whining in a peculiar manner, with their heads turned +towards the west, the vicinity of the savages was not only made manifest, but +their location positively pointed out. +</p> + +<p> +“I was not aware, before, of the inestimable value of your gift,” +said Glenn, gazing at the hounds, and completely convinced that their conduct +was an unerring indication of the presence of the foe. +</p> + +<p> +“Eh! Ringwood!” exclaimed Boone, observing that his favorite hound +now pointed his nose in a northern direction and uttered a low growl. +“Indeed!” he continued, “they have got in motion since we +have been observing the hounds. I was not mistaken. Even while we were speaking +they divided their strength. One party is even now moving round to the east, +and at a given signal the other will attack us on the west, precisely as I +predicted. See! Ringwood turns gradually.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you think the greatest danger is to be apprehended from those on the +east?” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” said Boone, “for the others cannot approach near +enough to do much injury without exposing themselves to great peril.” +</p> + +<p> +“But how can you ascertain that they will cut a passage under the snow, +and the precise direction in which they will come?” +</p> + +<p> +“Because,” said Boone, “we are situated near the cliff on the +east, to the summit of which they can climb, without being exposed to our fire, +and thence it is likewise the shortest distance they can find to cut a passage +to us under the snow. Mark Ringwood!” he continued, as the hound having +made a semicircle from the point first noticed, became at length stationary, +and crouching down on the earth, (where the snow had been cleared away at +Boone’s post,) growled more angrily than before, but so low he could not +have been heard twenty paces distant. +</p> + +<p> +“This is strange—very strange,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +A sound resembling the cry of an owl was heard in the direction of the cliff. +It was answered on the west apparently by the shrill howl of a wolf. +</p> + +<p> +“The signal!” said Boone. “Now let us be on the alert,” +he continued, “and I think we will surprise <i>them</i>, both on and +under the snow. Let no one fire without first consulting me, even should they +venture within the range of your guns.” +</p> + +<p> +The party resumed their respective stations, and once more not a sound of any +description was heard for a considerable length of time. Roughgrove was at the +side of Boone, and the other three men were posted as before described. The +hounds had been sent back to their lair in the stable. Not a motion, animate or +inanimate, save the occasional shooting of the stars in the begemmed firmament, +could be observed. +</p> + +<p> +While Glenn rested upon his gun, attracted ever and anon by the twinkling host +above, a throng of unwonted memories crowded upon him. He thought of his +guileless youth; the uncontaminated days of enjoyment ere he had mingled with +the designing and heartless associates who strove to entice him from the path +of virtue; of the hopes of budding manhood; of ambitious schemes to win a name +by great and honourable deeds; of parents, kindred, home; of <i>her</i>, who +had been the angel of all his dreams of paradise below: and then he +contemplated his present condition, and notwithstanding his resolution was +unabated, yet in spite of all his struggles, a tear bedewed his cheek. He felt +that his fate was hard, but he <i>knew</i> that his course was proper, and he +resolved to fulfil his vow. But with his sadness, gloomy forebodings, and deep +and unusual thoughts obtruded. In the scene of death and carnage that was about +to ensue, it occurred to him more than once that it might be his lot to fall. +This was a painful thought. He was brave in conflict, and would not have +hesitated to rush reckless into the midst of danger; but he was calm now, and +the thought of death was appalling. He would have preferred to die on a nobler +field, if he were to fall in battle. He did not wish to die in his +<i>youth</i>, to be cut off, without accomplishing the many ends he had so +often meditated, and without reaping a few of the sweets of life as the reward +of his voluntary sacrifice. He also desired to appear once more in the busy and +detracting world, to vindicate the character that might have been unjustly +aspersed, to reward the true friendship of those whose confidence had never +been shaken, and to rebuke, perhaps forgive, the enemies who had recklessly +pursued him. But another, and yet a more stirring and important thought +obtruded upon his reflections. It was one he had never seriously considered +before, and it now operated upon him with irresistible power. It was a thought +of things <i>beyond</i> the grave. The stillness of midnight, the million stars +above him, the blue eternal expanse through which they were +distributed—the repose of the invisible winds, that late had howled +around him—the never-ceasing flow of the ice-bound stream before him, and +the continual change of hill and valley—now desolate, and clothed in +frosty vestments, and anon with verdure and variegated beauty—constrained +him to acknowledge in the secret portals of his breast that there was a great, +ever-existing Creator. He then called to mind the many impressive lessons of a +pious mother, which he had subsequently disregarded. He remembered the things +she had read to him in the book of books—the words of prayer she taught +him to utter every eve, ere he closed his eyes in slumber—and he +<i>now</i> repeated that humble petition with all the fervency of a chastened +spirit. He felt truly convinced of the fallacy of setting the heart and the +affections altogether on the things of this world, where mortals are only +permitted to abide but a brief space; and a hearty repentance of past errors, +and a firm resolve to obey the requisitions of the Omnipotent in future, were +in that hour conceived and engraven indelibly upon his heart. +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. Boone—Mr. Boone—Mr. Boone!” cried Joe, softly. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod! don’t make sich a fuss,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Be silent,” whispered Boone, gliding to Joe, and gazing out on the +snow, where he beheld about twenty savages standing erect and motionless, not +eighty paces distant. +</p> + +<p> +“I came within an ace of shooting,” said Joe, “before I +thought of what you had said. I pulled the trigger with all my might before I +remembered that you said I musn’t shoot till you told me, but as good +luck would have it, my musket wasn’t cocked.” Boone went to each of +the other loopholes, and after scrutinizing every side very closely, he +directed Sneak and Glenn to abandon their posts and join him at Joe’s +stand, for the purpose of discharging a deadly volley at the unsuspecting foe. +</p> + +<p> +“Does it not seem cruel to spill blood in this manner?” whispered +Glenn, when he viewed the statue-like forms of the unconscious Indians. +</p> + +<p> +“Had you witnessed the barbarous deeds that <i>I</i> have seen +<i>them</i> perform—had you beheld the innocent babe ruthlessly +butchered—your children—your friends maimed, tomahawked, scalped, +<i>burned</i> before your eyes—could you know the hellish horrors they +are <i>now</i> meditating—you would not entertain much pity for +them,” said Boone, in a low tone, evidently moved by terrible memories, +the precise nature of which the one addressed could not understand. But +Glenn’s scruples vanished, and as a matter of necessity he determined to +submit without reserve to the guidance of his experienced friend. +</p> + +<p> +“I should like to know how them yaller rascals got up here so close +without being eyed sooner,” said Sneak to Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s what’s been puzzling me, ever since I first saw +them,” said Joe, in scarce audible tones. +</p> + +<p> +“Split me if you havn’t been asleep,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“No indeed I havn’t,” said Joe. “I’ll +declare,” he continued, looking out, “I never should have thought +of <i>that</i>. I see now, well enough, how they got there without my seeing +them. They’ve got a great big ball of snow, half as high as a man’s +head, and they’ve been rolling it all the time, and creeping along behind +it. They’re all standing before it now, and just as I looked one moved +his leg, and then I saw what it was. This beats the old boy himself. It’s +a mercy they didn’t come all the way and shoot me in the eye!” +</p> + +<p> +“Hush!” said Boone. “They must have heard something, or +supposed they did, or else your neglect would have been fatal to you ere this. +They are now waiting to ascertain whether they were mistaken or not. Move not, +and speak no more, until I order you.” +</p> + +<p> +“I won’t,” said Joe, still gazing at the erect dark forms. +</p> + +<p> +“See how many there is—can’t you count ’em?” said +Sneak, in a whisper, leaning against Joe, and slyly taking a cartridge from his +belt, slipped it in the muzzle of the musket which was standing against the +palisade. +</p> + +<p> +“What’re you doing with my gun?” asked Joe, in a very low +tone, as he happened to turn his head and see Sneak take his hand away from the +muzzle of the musket. +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing—I was only feeling the size of the bore. It’s big +enough to kick down a cow.” +</p> + +<p> +“What are you tittering about? you think it’s a going to kick me +again, but you’re mistaken—it ain’t got two loads in this +time.” +</p> + +<p> +“Didn’t Mr. Boone jest tell you to keep quiet?” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t you speak—then I won’t,” responded Joe. +</p> + +<p> +The moon had not yet reached the meridian, and the dark shadow of the house +reaching to the palisade on the west, prevented the Indians from observing the +movements of the whites through the many slight apertures in the inclosure, but +through which the besieged party could easily observe them. +</p> + +<p> +After a long pause, during which neither party had uttered a word or betrayed +animation by the least movement, Glenn felt the weight of a hand laid gently on +his shoulder, and turning beheld Mary at his side. Without a motion of the +lips, she placed in his hand some bullets she had moulded, and then passing on +to the other men, gave each a like quantity. +</p> + +<p> +“Retire, now, my lass,” said Boone; and when she returned to the +house, he continued, addressing Glenn—“If they do not move one way +or the other very soon, we will give them a broadside where they are.” +</p> + +<p> +“And we could do execution at this distance,” observed Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I’d be dead sure to kill one, I know I would,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Let me see if I could take aim,” said Joe, deliberately pointing +his musket through the loophole. The musket had inadvertently been cocked, and +left in that condition, and no sooner did Joe’s finger gently press upon +the trigger, than it went off, making an astounding report, and veiling the +whole party in an immense cloud of smoke. +</p> + +<p> +“Who did that?” cried Boone, stamping with vexation. +</p> + +<p> +“Was that you, Joe?” demanded Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +Joe made no answer. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, dod! my mouth’s smashed all to pieces!” said Sneak, +crawling up from a prostrate position, caused by the rebound of the musket, for +he was looking over Joe’s shoulder when the gun went off. +</p> + +<p> +“Where’s Joe?” inquired Glenn, pushing Sneak aside. +</p> + +<p> +“He’s dead, I guess—I believe the gun’s busted,” +said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Now, sir! why did you fire?” cried Glenn, somewhat passionately, +stumbling against Joe, and seizing him by the collar. No answer was made, for +poor Joe’s neck was limber enough, and he quite insensible. +</p> + +<p> +“He’s dead in yearnest, jest as I told you,” said Sneak; +“for that gun kicked him on the shoulder hard enough to kill a +cow—and the hind side of his head struck my tooth hard enough to’ve +kilt a horse. He’s broke one of my upper fore-teeth smack in two.” +</p> + +<p> +“Every man to his post!” exclaimed Boone, as a shower of arrows +rattled about the premises. +</p> + +<p> +Sneak now occupied Joe’s station, and the first glance in the direction +of the savages sufficed to determine him how to act. Perhaps no one ever +discharged a rifle more rapidly than he did. And a brisk and well-directed fire +was kept up for some length of time, likewise, by the rest of the besieged. +</p> + +<p> +It was, perhaps, a fortunate thing that Joe <i>did</i> fire without orders, and +without any intention of doing so himself. It seemed that the savages had been +meditating a desperate rush upon the fort, notwithstanding Boone’s +prediction; for no sooner did Joe fire, than they hastily retreated a short +distance, scattering in every direction, and, without a moment’s +consultation, again appeared, advancing rapidly from every quarter. It was +evident that this plan had been preconcerted among them; and had all fired, +instead of Joe only, they might easily have scaled the palisade before the guns +could have been reloaded. Neither had the besiegers been aware of the strength +of the garrison. But they were soon made to understand that they had more than +Glenn and his man to contend against. The discharges followed in such quick +succession that they paused, when but a moment more would have placed them +within the inclosure. But several of them being wounded, and Boone and Glenn +still doing execution with their pistols, the discomfited enemy made a +precipitate retreat. An occasional flight of arrows continued to assail the +besieged, but they came from a great distance, for the Indians were not long in +scampering beyond the range of the loopholes. +</p> + +<p> +When Glenn could no longer see any of the dark forms of the enemy, he turned +round to contemplate the sad condition of Joe. Joe was sitting up, with his +hands locked round his knees. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, split me in two!” cried Sneak, staring at his companion. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s the matter, Sneak?” asked Joe, with much simplicity. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s a purty question for <i>you</i> to ask, after there for +dead this half-hour almost” +</p> + +<p> +“Have the Indians been here?” asked Joe, staring round wildly. +</p> + +<p> +“Hain’t you heard us shooting?” +</p> + +<p> +“My goodness,” cried Joe, springing up. “Oh! am I wounded? +say!” he continued, evincing the most lively alarm. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, if this don’t beat every thing that ever I saw in all my +life, I wish I may be shot!” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“What is it?” asked Joe, his senses yet wandering. +</p> + +<p> +“Jest feel the back of your head,” said Sneak. Joe put his hand to +the place indicated, and winced under the pain of the touch. He then looked at +his hand, and beholding a quantity of clotted blood upon it, fell down suddenly +on the snow. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s the matter now?” asked Glenn, who had seen his man +sitting up, and came swiftly to him when he fell. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m a dead man!” said Joe, mournfully. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s a lie!” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“What ails you, Joe?” asked Glenn, his tone much softened. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m dying—oh! I’m shot through the head!” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t believe him, Mr. Glenn—I’ll be smashed if its +any thing but my tooth,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh—I’m dying!” continued Joe, pressing his hand +against his head, while the pain and loss of blood actually produced a +faintness, and his voice became very weak. +</p> + +<p> +“Are you really much hurt?” continued Glenn, stooping down, and +feeling his pulse. +</p> + +<p> +“It’s all over!” muttered Joe. “I’m going fast. +Sancte Petre!—Pater noster, qui es in coelis, sanctificeter nomen tuum; +adveniat regnum tu—” +</p> + +<p> +Here Joe’s voice failed, and, falling into a syncope, Glenn and Sneak +lifted him up and carried him into the house. +</p> + +<p> +“Is he shot?” exclaimed Mary, instantly producing some lint and +bandages which she had prepared in anticipation of such an event. +</p> + +<p> +“I fear he has received a serious hurt,” said Glenn, aiding Mary, +who had proceeded at once to bind up the wound. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll be split if he’s shot!” said Sneak, going out and +returning to his post. Glenn did likewise when he saw the first indications of +returning consciousness in his man; and Mary was left alone to restore and +nurse poor Joe. But he could not have been in better hands. +</p> + +<p> +“I should like to know something about them curious words the feller was +speaking when he keeled over,” said Sneak, as he looked out at the now +quiet scene from the loophole, and mused over the events of the night. “I +begin to believe that the feller’s a going to die. I don’t believe +any man could talk so, if he wasn’t dying.” +</p> + +<p> +“Have you seen any of them lately?” inquired Boone, coming to +Sneak’s post and running his eye along the horizon through the loophole. +</p> + +<p> +“Not a one,” replied Sneak, “except that feller laying out +yander by the snowball.” +</p> + +<p> +“He’s dead,” said Boone, “and he is the only one that +we are sure of having killed to-night. But many are wounded.” +</p> + +<p> +“And smash me if Joe didn’t kill that one when his musket went off +before he was ready,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, I saw him fall when Joe fired; and that accident was, after all, a +fortunate thing for us,” continued Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“But I’m sorry for poor Joe,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Pshaw!” said Boone; “he’ll be well again, in an +hour.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, he’s a gone chicken.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why do you think so?” +</p> + +<p> +“Didn’t he say so himself? and didn’t he gabble out a whole +parcel of purgatory talk? He’s as sure gone as a stuck pig, I tell +you,” continued Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“He will eat as hearty a breakfast to-morrow morning as ever he did in +his life,” said Boone. “But let us attend to the business in hand. +I hardly think we will be annoyed any more from this quarter, unless yonder +dead Indian was a chief, and then it is more than probable they will try to +steal him away. However, you may remain here. I, alone, can manage the +others.” +</p> + +<p> +“Which others?” inquired Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Those under the snow,” replied Boone; “they are now within +twenty paces of the palisade.” +</p> + +<p> +“You don’t say so?” said Sneak, cocking his gun. +</p> + +<p> +“I have been listening to them cutting through the snow a long while, and +it will be a half hour yet before I spring the mine,” said Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“I hope it will kill ’em all!” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Watch close, and perhaps <i>you</i> will kill one yet from this +loophole,” said Boone, returning to his post, where the slow-match was +exposed through the palisade near the ground; and Roughgrove stood by, holding +a pistol, charged with powder only, in readiness to fire the train when Boone +should give the word of command. +</p> + +<p> +Boone applied his ear to a crevice between the timbers near the earth, where +the snow had been cleared away. After remaining in this position a few moments, +he beckoned Glenn to him. +</p> + +<p> +“Place your ear against this crevice,” said Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“It is not the Indians I hear, certainly!” remarked Glenn. The +sounds resembled the ticking of a large clock, differing only in their greater +rapidity than the strokes of seconds. +</p> + +<p> +“Most certainly it is nothing else,” replied Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“But how do they produce such singular sounds? Is it the trampling of +feet?” continued Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“It is the sound of many tomahawks cutting a passage,” replied +Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“But what disposition do they make of the snow, when it is cut +loose.” +</p> + +<p> +“A portion of them dig, while the rest convey the loose snow out and cast +it down the cliff.” +</p> + +<p> +While the above conversation was going on, a colloquy of a different nature +transpired within the house. Joe, after recovering from his second temporary +insensibility, had sunk into a gentle doze, which lasted many minutes. Mary had +bathed his face repeatedly with sundry restoratives, and likewise administered +a cordial that she had brought from her father’s house, which seemed to +have a most astonishing somniferous effect. When the contents of the bottle +were exhausted, she sat silently by, watching Joe’s apparent slumber, and +felt rejoiced that her patient promised a speedy recovery. Once, after she had +been gazing at the fawn, (that had been suffered to occupy a place near the +wall, where it was now coiled up and sleeping,) on turning her eyes towards the +face of Joe, she imagined for a moment that she saw him close his eyelids +quickly. But calling him softly and receiving no answer, she concluded it was a +mere fancy, and again resigned herself to her lonely watch. When she had been +sitting thus some minutes, watching him patiently, she observed his eyes open +slowly, and quickly smack to again, when he found that she was looking at him. +But a moment after, conscious that his wakefulness was discovered, he opened +them boldly, and found himself possessed of a full recollection of all the +incidents of the night up to his disaster. +</p> + +<p> +“Have they whipt all the Indians away that were standing out on the snow, +Miss Mary?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, long ago—and none have been seen, but the one you killed, for +some time,” she replied, encouragingly. +</p> + +<p> +“Did I kill one sure enough?” asked Joe, while his eyes sparkled +exceedingly. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, indeed,” replied she; “and I heard Mr. Boone say he was +glad it happened, and that the accident was, after all, a fortunate thing for +us.” +</p> + +<p> +“<i>Accident</i>!” iterated Joe; “who says it was an +accident?” +</p> + +<p> +“Wasn’t it an accident?” asked the simple girl. +</p> + +<p> +“No, indeed!” replied Joe. “But,” he continued, +“have they blown up the other Indians yet?” +</p> + +<p> +“Not yet—but I heard them say they would do it very soon. They can +be heard digging under the snow now, very plainly,” said Mary. +</p> + +<p> +“Indeed!” said Joe, with no little terror depicted in his face. +“I wish you’d go and ask Mr. Boone if he thinks you’ll be +entirely safe, if you please, Miss Mary,” said Joe beseechingly. +</p> + +<p> +“I will,” responded Mary, rising to depart. +</p> + +<p> +“And if they ask how I am,” continued Joe, “please say I am a +great deal better, but too weak yet to go out.” +</p> + +<p> +Mary did his bidding; and when she returned, what was her astonishment to find +her patient running briskly across the room from the cupboard, with a whole +roasted prairie-hen in one hand, or at least the body of it, while he tore away +the breast with his teeth, and some half dozen crackers in the other! In vain +did he attempt to conceal them under the covering of his bed, into which he +jumped as quickly as possible. Guilt was manifest in his averted look, his +trembling hand, and his greasy mouth! Mary gazed in silent wonder. Joe cowered +under her glance a few moments, until the irresistible flavour of the fowl +overcame him, and then his jaws were again set in motion. +</p> + +<p> +“I fear that eating will injure you,” remarked Mary, at length. +</p> + +<p> +“Never fear,” replied Joe. “When a sick person has a good +appetite, it’s a sure sign he’s getting better.” +</p> + +<p> +“If you think so you can eat as much as you please,” said Mary; +“and you needn’t hide any thing from me.” +</p> + +<p> +Joe felt a degree of shame in being so palpably detected, but his appetite soon +got the better of his scruples, and he gratified the demands of his stomach +without reserve. +</p> + +<p> +“But what did Mr. Boone say?” asked he, peeping out. +</p> + +<p> +“He says he thinks there is no danger. But the Indians are now within a +few feet of the palisade, and the explosion is about to take place.” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="ChapterIX"> +CHAPTER IX. </a> +</h2> + +<p class="quote"> +Sneak skills a sow that “was not all a swine”—The breathless +suspense—The match in readiness—Joe’s cool +demeanour—The match ignited—Explosion of the mine—Defeat of +the savages—The captive—His liberation—The repose—The +kitten—Morning. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t you think I know who you are, and what you’re +after?” said Sneak, as he observed a large black sow, or what seemed to +be one, rambling about on the snow within a hundred paces of him. “If +that ain’t <i>my</i> sow! She’s gone, that’s dead sure; and +if I don’t pepper the red rascal that killed her I wish I may be split. +That Indian ’ll find I’m not such a fool as he took me for. Just +wait till he gits close enough. I ain’t to be deceived by my own +sow’s dead skin, with a great big Osage in it, nohow you can fix +it.” Sneak’s conjecture was right. The Indian that Joe had killed +was a chief, and the apparent sow was nothing more than a savage enveloped in a +swine’s skin. The Indian, after reconnoitering the premises with some +deliberation, evidently believed that his stratagem was successful, and at +length moved in the direction of his dead comrade, with the manifest intention +of bearing the body away. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll let you have it now!” said Sneak, firing his rifle, +when the seeming sow began to drag the fallen chief from the field. The +discharge took effect; the savage sprang upright and endeavoured to retreat in +the manner that nature designed him to run; but he did not go more than a dozen +paces before he sank down and expired. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s tit for tat, for killing my sow,” said Sneak, gazing +at his postrate foe. +</p> + +<p> +“Come here, Sneak,” said Boone, from the opposite side of the +inclosure. +</p> + +<p> +“There was but one, and I fixed him,” said Sneak, when they asked +him how many of the enemy were in view when he fired. +</p> + +<p> +“They heard the gun,” said Glenn, applying his ear to the chink, +and remarking that the Indians had suddenly ceased to work under the snow. +</p> + +<p> +“Be quiet,” said Boone; “they will begin again in a minute or +two.” +</p> + +<p> +“They’re at it a’ready,” said Sneak, a moment after, +and very soon they were heard again, more distinctly than ever, cutting away +with increased rapidity. +</p> + +<p> +“Suppose the match does not burn?” observed Glenn, in tones +betraying a fearful apprehension. +</p> + +<p> +“In such an event,” said Boone, “we must retreat into the +house, and fasten the door without a moment’s delay. But I do not much +fear any such failure, for the dampness of the snow cannot so soon have +penetrated through the dry reeds to the powder. Still we should be +prepared—therefore, as there is no necessity that more than one of us +should be here now, and as I am that man, withdraw, all of you, within the +house, and remain there until your ears and eyes shall dictate what course to +pursue.” Boone’s command was promptly obeyed, and when they reached +the house and looked back, (the door was kept open,) they beheld the renowned +pioneer standing erect, holding a pistol in his right hand (which he pointed at +the cotton that connected with a train of powder running along a short plank to +the reed that reached the buried keg,) while the moon, now midway in the +heavens, “and beautifully bright,” revealed the stern and +determined expression of pale brow and fixed lip. Thus he stood many minutes, +and they seemed hours to those who gazed upon the breathless scene from the +house. Not a sound was heard, save the rapid ticking of tomahawks under the +snow outside of the inclosure, or the occasional hasty remark of those who were +looking on in painful and thrilling suspense. Once Boone bowed his head and +listened an instant to the operations of the savages, and when he rose erect +again, the party looking on confidently expected he would fire the train. But +the fatal moment had not yet arrived. Still he pointed the pistol at the +combustible matter, and his eye glanced along the barrel; but he maintained a +statue-like stillness, as if awaiting some preconcerted signal. +</p> + +<p> +“Why don’t he fire?” inquired Glenn, in a whisper. +</p> + +<p> +“It is not quite time yet,” responded Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod! they’ll crawl up presently, and jump over the fence,” +said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, goodness! I wish he’d shoot!” said Joe, in low, +sepulchral tones, his head thrust between Sneak’s legs, whither he had +crawled unobserved, and was now peering out at the scene. +</p> + +<p> +“Who are you?” exclaimed Sneak, leaping away from Joe’s +bandaged head, which he did not recognize at the first glance. +</p> + +<p> +“It’s nobody but me,” said Joe, turning his face upward, that +his friend might not suppose him an enemy. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, what are you doing here? I thought you was a dying.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m a good deal better, but I’m too weak to do any thing +yet,” said Joe, in piteous tones, as he looked fearfully at Boone, and +listened to the strokes of the Indians without, which became louder and louder. +</p> + +<p> +“Stand back a little,” said Boone to those in the door-way, +“that I may enter when I fire—the match may burn more briskly than +I anticipated.” +</p> + +<p> +A passage was opened for him to enter. He pulled the trigger—the pistol +missed fire—he deliberately poured in fresh priming from his horn, and +once more taking aim, the pistol was discharged, and, running to the house, and +entering a little beyond the threshold, he paused, and turned to behold the +realization of his hopes. The light combustible matter flashed up brightly, and +the blaze ran along the ground a moment in the direction of the end of the +reed; but at the instant when all expected to see the powder ignited, the +flames seemed to die away, and the darkness which succeeded impressed them with +the fear that the damp snow had, indeed, defeated their purpose. +</p> + +<p> +“Split me if it <i>shan’t</i> go off!” cried Sneak, running +out with a torch in his hand, that he snatched from the fireplace. When he +reached the trench that had been dug along the palisade, and in which the slow +match was placed, he looked down but once, and dashing his fire-brand behind +him, sprang back to the house, with all the celerity of which he was capable. +“Dod!” said he, “it’s burning yet, but we +couldn’t see it from here. It’ll set the powder off in less than no +time!” +</p> + +<p> +“I trust it will!” said Boone, with much anxiety. And truly the +crisis had arrived, beyond which, if it were delayed a single minute, it would +be too late! The <i>voices</i> of the Indians could now be heard, and the +sounds of the tomahawks had ceased. They were evidently on the eve of breaking +through the icy barrier, and rushing upon their victims. Boone, with a composed +but livid brow, placed his hand upon the ponderous door, for the purpose of +retreating within, and barring out the ruthless assailants. The rest +instinctively imitated his motions, but at the same time their eyes were yet +riveted on the dimly burning match. A small flash was observed to illumine the +trench—another and a larger one succeeded! The first train of powder was +ignited—the Indians were bursting through the snow-crust with direful +yells—the blaze ran quickly along the plank—it reached the end of +the reed—a shrill whizzing sound succeeded—a sharp crash under the +snow—and then all was involved in a tremendous chaotic explosion! An +enormous circular cloud of smoke enveloped the scene for a moment, and then +could be seen tomahawks, bows, and arrows, and even <i>savages</i>, sailing +through the air. The moon was darkened for the space of several minutes, during +which time immense quantities of snow poured down from above. The startling +report seemed to rend both the earth and the heavens, and rumbled far up and +down the valley of the Missouri, like the deep bellowing of a coruscant +thunder-cloud, and died away in successive vibrations until it finally +resembled the partially suppressed growling of an angry lion. +</p> + +<p> +When the inmates of the house sallied forth, the scene was again quiet. After +clearing away the enormous masses of snow from the palisade, they looked out +from the inclosure through the loophole on the east, and all was stillness and +silence. But the view was changed. Instead of the level and smooth surface, +they now beheld a concave formation of snow, beginning at the earth, which was +laid bare where the powder had been deposited, and widening, upward and +outward, till the ring of the extreme angle reached a height of fifteen or +twenty feet, and measured a circumference of fifty paces. But they did not +discover a single dead body. On the contrary, they soon distinguished the +sounds of the savages afar off, in fiendish and fearful yells, as they +retreated in great precipitation. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod! none of ’em’s killed!” exclaimed Sneak, looking +about in disappointment. +</p> + +<p> +“Hang it all, how could they expect to kill any, without putting in some +lead?” replied Joe, standing at his elbow, and evincing no symptoms of +illness. +</p> + +<p> +“What’re <i>you</i> a doing out here? You’d better go in and +finish dying,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“No, I thank you,” said Joe; “my time’s not come yet; +and when it does come, I’ll know what to do without your instructions. +I’m well now—I never felt better in my life, only when I was +eating.” +</p> + +<p> +“Go to the horses, Joe, and see if they have suffered any injury,” +said Glenn. “I don’t believe a single Indian was killed by the +explosion,” he continued, addressing Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“The snow may have preserved them,” replied Boone; “and +yet,” he continued, “I am sure I saw some of them flying up in the +air.” +</p> + +<p> +“I saw them too,” said Glenn, “but I have known instances of +the kind, when powder-mills have blown up, where men were thrown a considerable +distance without being much injured.” +</p> + +<p> +“It answered our purpose, at all events,” said Boone, “for +now, no inducement whatever can ever bring them back” +</p> + +<p> +“If I were sure of that,” replied Glenn, “I would not regret +the bloodless result of the explosion.” +</p> + +<p> +“You may rely upon it implicitly,” said Boone; “for it was a +surprise they can never understand, and they will attach to it some +superstitious interpretation, which will most effectually prevent them from +meditating another attack” +</p> + +<p> +“Goodness gracious alive!” exclaimed Joe, nimbly springing past +Boone and Glenn, and rushing into the house. +</p> + +<p> +“What can be the matter with the fellow, now?” exclaimed Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“He was alarmed at something in the stable—see what it is, +Sneak,” said Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ve got you, have I? Dod! come out here!” exclaimed Sneak, +when he had been in the stable a few moments. +</p> + +<p> +“Who are you talking to?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“A venimirous Osage smutty-face!” said Sneak, stepping out of the +stable door backwards, and dragging an Indian after him by the ears. +</p> + +<p> +“What is that?” demanded Glenn, staring at the singular object +before him. The question was by no means an unnatural one, for no being in the +human shape ever seemed less like a man. The unresisting and bewildered savage +looked wildly round, displaying a face as black as if he had just risen from +the bottom of some infernal lake. His tattered buckskin garments had shared the +same fate in the explosion; his eyebrows, and the hair of his head were singed +and crisped; and, altogether he might easily have passed for one of +Pluto’s scullions. He did not make resistance when Sneak led him forth, +seeming to anticipate nothing else than an instantaneous and cruel death, and +was apparently resigned to his fate. He doubtless imagined that escape and +longer life were utterly impossible, inasmuch as, to his comprehension, he was +in the grasp of evil spirits. If he had asked himself <i>how</i> he came +thither, it could not have occurred to him that any other means than the agency +of a supernatural power threw him into the hands of the foe. +</p> + +<p> +“I thought I saw one of them plunging through the air over the +inclosure,” said Boone, smiling. +</p> + +<p> +“Hanged if I didn’t think so too,” said Joe, who had at +length returned to gaze at the captive, when he ascertained that he was +entirely meek and inoffensive. +</p> + +<p> +“Have you got over your fright already?” asked Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“What fright?” demanded Joe, with affected surprise. +</p> + +<p> +“Now, <i>can</i> you say you weren’t skeered?” +</p> + +<p> +“Ha! ha! ha! I believe you really thought I <i>was</i> frightened. Why, +you dunce, you! I only ran in to tell Miss Mary about it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Now go to bed. Don’t speak to me agin to night,” said Sneak, +indignantly. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll go and get something to eat,” said Joe, retreating into +the house. +</p> + +<p> +“Tell Roughgrove to come here,” said Boone, speaking to Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“I will,” said Joe, vanishing through the door. +</p> + +<p> +When the old ferryman came out, Boone requested him (he being the most familiar +with the Osage language,) to ask the savage by what means he was enabled to get +inside of the inclosure. Roughgrove did his bidding; and the Indian replied +that the Great Spirit <i>threw</i> him over the palisade, because he once +killed a friend of Boone’s at the cave-spring, and was now attempting to +kill another. +</p> + +<p> +“Why did you wish to kill us?” asked Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +The Indian said it was because they thought Glenn had a great deal of money, +many fire weapons, and powder and bullets, which they (the savages) wanted. +</p> + +<p> +“Was it <i>right</i> to rob the white man of these things, and then to +murder him?” continued Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +The savage replied that the prophet (Raven) had told the war-party it was +right. Besides, they came a long and painful journey to get (Glenn’s) +goods, and had suffered much with cold in digging under the snow; several of +their party had been killed and wounded, and he thought they had a good right +to every thing they could get. +</p> + +<p> +“Did the whites ever go to your village to rob and murder?” +inquired the old ferryman. +</p> + +<p> +The Indian assumed a proud look, and replied that they <i>had</i>. He said that +the buffalo, the bear, the deer, and the beaver—the eternal prairies and +forests—the rivers, the air and the sky, all belonged to the red men. +That the whites had not been <i>invited</i> to come among them, but they had +intruded upon their lands, stolen their game, and killed their warriors. Yet, +he said, the Indians did not hate Boone, and would not have attacked the +premises that night, if they had known he was there. +</p> + +<p> +“Why do they not hate Boone? He has killed more of them than any one else +in this region,” continued Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +The Indian said that Boone was a great prophet, and was loved by the Great +Spirit. +</p> + +<p> +“Will the war-party return hither to-night?” asked Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +The Indian answered in the negative; and added that they would never attack +that place again, because the Great Spirit had fought against them. +</p> + +<p> +Boone requested Roughgrove to ask what would be done with the false prophet who +had advised them to make the attack. +</p> + +<p> +The savage frowned fiercely, and replied that he would be tied to a tree, and +shot through the heart a hundred times. +</p> + +<p> +“What do you think we intend to do to <i>you</i>?” asked +Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +The savage said he would be skinned alive and put under the ice in the river, +or burned to death by a slow fire. He said he was ready to die. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll be shot if he isn’t a spunky fellow!” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Do you desire such a fate?” continued the old ferry man. +</p> + +<p> +“The Indian looked at him with surprise, and answered without hesitation +that he <i>did</i>—and then insisted upon being killed immediately. +</p> + +<p> +“Would you attempt to injure the white man again if we were not to kill +you?” +</p> + +<p> +The Indian smiled, but made no answer. +</p> + +<p> +“I am in earnest,” continued Roughgrove, “and wish to know +what you would do if we spared your life.” +</p> + +<p> +The Indian said such talk was only trifling, and again insisted upon being +dispatched. +</p> + +<p> +After a short consultation with Boone and Glenn, Roughgrove repeated his +question. +</p> + +<p> +The savage replied that he did not believe it possible for him to escape +immediate death—but if he were not killed, he could never think of +hurting any of those, who saved him, afterwards. Yet he stated very frankly +that he would kill and rob any <i>other</i> pale-faces he might meet with. +</p> + +<p> +“Let me blow his brains out,” said Sneak, throwing his gun up to +his shoulder. The Indian understood the movement, if not the words, and turning +towards him, presented a full front, without quailing. +</p> + +<p> +“He speaks the truth,” said Boone; “he would never injure any +of us himself, nor permit any of his tribe to do it, so far as his influence +extended. Yet he will die rather than make a promise not to molest others. His +word may be strictly relied upon. It is not fear that extorts the promise never +to war against us—it would be his gratitude for sparing his life. Take +down your gun, Sneak. Let us decide upon his fate. I am in favour of liberating +him.” +</p> + +<p> +“And I,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“And I,” said Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +“I vote for killing him,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Hanged if I don’t, too,” said Joe, who had been listening +from the door. +</p> + +<p> +“Spare him,” said Mary, who came out, and saw what was passing. +</p> + +<p> +“We have the majority, Mary,” said Glenn; “and when innocence +pleads, the generous hand is stayed.” +</p> + +<p> +Roughgrove motioned the savage to follow, and he led him to the gate. The +prisoner did not understand what was to be done. He evidently supposed that his +captors were about to slay him, and he looked up, as he thought, the last time, +at the moon and the stars, and his lips moved in deep and silent adoration. +</p> + +<p> +Roughgrove opened the gate, and the savage followed him out, composedly +awaiting his fate. But seeing no indication of violence, and calling to mind +the many wild joys of his roving youth, and the horrors of a sudden death, he +spoke not, yet his brilliant eyes were dimmed for a moment with tears. His deep +gaze seemed to implore mercy at the hands of his captors. He would not utter a +petition that his life might be spared, yet his breast heaved to rove free +again over the flowery prairies, to bathe in the clear waters of running +streams, to inhale the balmy air of midsummer morning, to chase the panting +deer upon the dizzy peak, and to hail once more the bright smiles of his timid +bride in the forest-shadowed glen. +</p> + +<p> +“Go! thou art free!” said Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +The Indian stared in doubt, and looked reproachfully at the guns in the hands +of his captors, as if he thought they were only mocking him with hopes of +freedom, when it was their intention to shoot him down the moment he should +think his life was truly spared. +</p> + +<p> +“Go! we will not harm thee!” repeated Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +“And take this,” said Mary, placing some food in his yielding hand. +</p> + +<p> +The Indian gazed upon the maiden’s face. His features, by a magical +transition, now beamed with confidence and hope. Mary was in tears—not +tears of pity for his impending death, but a gush of generous emotion that his +life was spared. The savage read her heart—he knew that the white woman +never intercedes in vain, and that no victim falls when sanctified by her +tears. He clasped her hand and pressed it to his lips; and then turning away in +silence, set off in a stately and deliberate pace towards the west. He looked +not back to see if a treacherous gun was pointed at him. He knew that the +maiden had not trifled with him. He knew that she would not mock a dying man +with bread. He neither looked back nor quickened his step. And so he vanished +from view in the valley. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> +<img src="images/006.jpg" alt="He clapsed her hand, and pressed it to his lips." +width="379" height="459"/> +</div> + +<p class="caption"> +He clasped her hand, and pressed it to his lips. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod! he’s gone! We ought to’ve had his sculp!” said +Sneak, betraying serious mortification. +</p> + +<p> +“We must give it up, though—we were in the minority,” said +Joe, satisfied with the decision. +</p> + +<p> +“In the what?” asked Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“In the minority,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Let’s go in the house and git something to eat,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Hang me if I ain’t willing to be with you there,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +The whole party entered the house to partake of a collation prepared by the +dainty hands of Mary. Mary had frequently insisted upon serving them with +refreshments during the night, but hitherto all her persuasions had been +unavailing, for the dangers that beset them on every hand had banished all +other thoughts than those of determined defensive operations. +</p> + +<p> +Boone was so certain that nothing farther was to be apprehended from the enemy, +that he dispensed with the sentinels at the loopholes. He relied upon Ringwood +and Jowler to guard them through the remainder of the night; and when a hearty +meal was eaten he directed his gallant little band to enjoy their wonted +repose. +</p> + +<p> +Ere long Mary slumbered quietly beside her father, while Boone and Glenn +occupied the remaining couch. Sneak was seated on a low stool, near the blazing +fire, and Joe sat in Glenn’s large arm chair, on the opposite side of the +hearth. The fawn and the kitten were coiled close together in the centre of the +room. +</p> + +<p> +Save the grinding jaws of Sneak and Joe, a death-like silence reigned. +Occasionally, when Sneak lifted his eyes from the pewter platter that lay upon +his knees, and glanced at the bandages on his companion’s head, his jaws +would cease to move for a few moments, during which he gazed in astonishment at +the ravenous propensity of the invalid. But not being inclined to converse or +remonstrate, he endeavoured to get through with his supper with as much +expedition as possible, that he might enjoy all the comforts of refreshing +sleep. Yet he was often on the eve of picking a quarrel with Joe, when he +suffered a sudden twinge from his broken tooth, while striving to tear the +firmer portion of the venison from the bone. But when he reflected upon his +peculiar participation in the occurrence which had caused him so justly to +suffer, he repressed his rising anger and proceeded with his labour of eating. +</p> + +<p> +Joe, on the other hand, discussed his savoury dish with unalloyed satisfaction; +yet he, too, paused occasionally, and fixing his eyes upon the glaring fire, +seemed plunged in the deepest thought. But he did not glance at his companion. +At these brief intervals he was apparently reflecting upon the incidents of the +night. One thing in particular puzzled him; he could not, for the life of him, +conceive how his musket rebounded with such violence, when he was positively +certain that he had put but one charge in it, and that only a moderate one. He +was sometimes inclined to think the blow he received on the head was dealt by +Sneak; but when he reflected it would be unnatural for one man to strike +another with his <i>teeth</i>, and that Sneak had likewise sustained a serious +injury at the same time, conjectures were entirely at fault. +</p> + +<p> +“What are you a thinking about so hard?” asked Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m trying to think how I got that blow on the back of my +head,” said Joe, turning half abstractedly to Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, and I’d like to know how you come to mash my mouth so +dod-rottedly,” said Sneak, in well-affected ill nature. +</p> + +<p> +“Hang it, Sneak, you know well enough that I wouldn’t do such a +thing on purpose, when I was obliged to almost knock out my own brains to do +it,” said Joe, apologetically. +</p> + +<p> +“If I hadn’t thought of that,” replied Sneak, “I +don’t know but I should’ve shot you through when I got up.” +</p> + +<p> +“And I should never have blamed you for it,” said Joe, “if it +had been done on purpose. Does it hurt you much now?” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t you see how its bleeding?” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s gravy running out of your mouth, ain’t it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, but its bloody a little,” said Sneak, licking his lips. +</p> + +<p> +“I shall have to sit up and sleep,” said Joe; “for my +head’s so sore I can’t lie down.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m a going to lay my head on this stool and sleep; and I’m +getting so drowsy I can’t set much longer,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“All’ll be square between us, about breaking your tooth, +won’t it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, I can’t bear malice,” said Sneak, shaking Joe’s +extended hand. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh me!” said Joe, “I shan’t be able to doze a bit, +hardly, for trying to study out how the old musket came to kick me so.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ve got a notion to tell you, jest to see if you’ll sleep +any better, then.” +</p> + +<p> +“Do you know?” asked Joe, quickly; “if you do, I’ll +thank you with all my heart to tell me?” +</p> + +<p> +“Dod! if I don’t!” said Sneak; “but all’s square +betwixt us?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, if you’re willing.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, don’t you remember when I told you to count the Indians +standing out there, I leant agin you to look over your shoulder? I stole a +cartrich out of your shot-bag then, and slipt it in the muzzle of your musket. +Don’t you know it was leaning agin the post?” +</p> + +<p> +Joe turned round and looked Sneak full in the face for several moments, without +uttering a word. +</p> + +<p> +“When it went off,” continued Sneak, “it made the +tremendousest crack I ever heard in all my life, except when the keg of powder +busted.” +</p> + +<p> +“You confounded, blasted rascal you!” exclaimed Joe, doubling up +his fists, and preparing to assault his friend. +</p> + +<p> +“Now don’t go to waking up the folks!” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll be hanged if I hain’t got a great notion to wear out +the iron poker over your head!” continued Joe, his eyes gleaming with +rage. +</p> + +<p> +“Look at my tooth,” said Sneak, grinning in such manner that the +remaining fragment of the member named could be distinctly seen. The ludicrous +expression of his features was such as constrained Joe to smile, and his enmity +vanished instantaneously. +</p> + +<p> +“I believe you got the worst of the bargain, after all,” said Joe, +falling back in his chair and laughing quite heartily. +</p> + +<p> +“You know,” continued Sneak, “I didn’t mean it to turn +out as bad as it did. I jest thought it would kick you over in the snow, and +not hurt you any, hardly.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, let’s say no more about it,” said Joe; “but when +you do any thing of that kind hereafter, pause and reflect on the consequences, +and forbear.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll keep my mouth out of the way next time,” said Sneak; +“and now, as all’s square betwixt us, s’pose we agree about +how we are to do with them dead Indians. S’pose we go halves with all the +things they’ve got?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, I’ll be hanged if I do!” said Joe quickly. “The +one I shot was a chief, and he’s sure to have some gold about him.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, but you know you’d never a killed him if it hadn’t been +for me.” +</p> + +<p> +“But if it hadn’t been for you I wouldn’t have got +hurt,” replied Joe, reproachfully. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I don’t care much about the chief—the one I killed +maybe took all his silver and gold before I shot him. Anyhow, I know I can find +something out there in the snow where they were blowed up,” said Sneak, +arranging a buffalo robe on the hearth and lying down. +</p> + +<p> +“And we must hereafter let each other alone, Sneak,” said Joe, +“for the fact is, we are both too much for one another in our +tricks.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m willing,” replied Sneak, lazily, as his eyes gradually +closed. +</p> + +<p> +Joe placed his dish on the shelf over the fireplace, and folding his arms, and +leaning back in his great chair, likewise closed his eyes. +</p> + +<p> +But a few moments sufficed to place them both in the land of dreams. And now +the silence was intense. Even the consuming logs of wood seemed to sink by +degrees into huge livid coals, without emitting the least sparkling sound. The +embers threw a dim glare over the scene, such as Queen Mab delights in when she +leads her fairy train through the chambers of sleeping mortals. A sweet smile +rested upon the lips of Mary. A loved form flitted athwart her visions. +Roughgrove’s features wore a grave but placid cast. Boone’s face +was as passionless and calm as if he were a stranger to terrific strife. Perils +could now make no impression on him. There was sadness on the damp brow of +Glenn, and a tear was stealing through the corner of his lids. A scene of woe, +or the crush of cherished hopes, was passing before his entranced vision. +Sneak, ever and anon grasped the empty air, and motioned his arm, as if in the +midst of deadly conflict. And Joe, though his bruised face betrayed not his +cast of thought, still evinced a participation in the ideal transactions of the +night, by the frequent involuntary motions of his body, and repeated endeavours +to avoid visionary dangers. +</p> + +<p> +The kitten lay upon the soft neck of the fawn, and at intervals resumed its +low, humming song, which had more than once been hushed in perfect repose. At a +late hour, or rather an early one, just ere the first faint ray of morning +appeared in the distant east, puss purred rather harshly on the silken ears of +its companion, and its sharp claws producing a stinging sensation, the fawn +shook its head violently, and threw its little bed-fellow rather rudely several +feet away. The kitten, instead of being angry, fell into a merry mood, and +began to frisk about in divers directions, first running under the bed, then +springing upon some diminutive object on the floor as it would upon a mouse, +and finally pricking again the ear of the fawn. The fawn then rose up, and +creeping gently about the room, touched the cheeks or hands of the slumbering +inmates with its velvet tongue, but so softly that none were awakened. The +kitten, no longer able to annoy its companion by its mischievous pranks, now +paced up to the fire and commenced playing with a dangling string attached to +Joe’s moccasin. Once it jumped up with such force against his foot that +he jerked it quickly several inches away. But this only diverted puss the more. +Instead of being content with the palpable demonstration thus effected, it +followed up the advantage gained by applying both its claws and teeth to the +foot. While it confined its operations to the stout buckskin, but little +impression was made; but when it came in contact with the ankle, which was only +covered with a yarn stocking, the result was entirely different. +</p> + +<p> +“Ugh! Confound the fire!” exclaimed Joe, giving a tremendous kick, +which dashed puss most violently into Sneak’s face. +</p> + +<p> +“Hey! Dod! What is it?” cried Sneak, tearing the kitten (whose +briery nails had penetrated the skin of his nose) away, and throwing it across +the room. “I say! did you do that?” continued Sneak, wiping the +blood from his nose with his sleeve, and addressing Joe, who kept his eyes fast +closed, though almost bursting with suppressed laughter, and pretending to be +steeped in earnest slumber. “I won’t stand this!” said Sneak, +smarting with his wounds, and striking the chair in which Joe sat with his +foot. “Now,” continued Sneak, “if you done that, jest say so, +that’s all.” +</p> + +<p> +“Did what?” asked Joe, opening his eyes suddenly. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, throwed that ere pestiverous cat on me!” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“No. Goodness! is there a pole-cat in here?” exclaimed Joe, in such +well-counterfeited tones of anxiety and alarm, that the real encounter +occurring to Sneak, and his pain being now somewhat abated, he gave vent to a +hearty fit of laughter, which awoke every person in the house. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="ChapterX"> +CHAPTER X. </a> +</h2> + +<p class="quote"> +The lead removed—The wolves on the river—The wolf hunt—Gum +fetid—Joe’s incredulity—His conviction—His +surprise—His predicament—His narrow escape. +</p> + +<p> +When Sneak opened the door, the sun had risen and was shining brightly. In a +moment the inmates of the house were stirring. The horses neighed in the stable +for their accustomed food and water, and when Joe hastened to them, he embraced +the neck of each, in testimony of his joy that they were once more saved from +the hands of the Indians. The hounds pranced round Boone and Glenn, manifesting +their delight in being relieved of the presence of the enemy. The gate was +thrown open, and the scene of the explosion minutely examined. Fortunately the +channel cut under the snow by the savages ran a few feet apart from the powder, +or the whole of them must inevitably have perished. As it was, not a single one +lost his life, though many were blown up in the air to a considerable height. +Joe and Sneak found only a few spears, knives, and tomahawks, that had been +abandoned by the savages; and then they repaired to the west side of the +inclosure, where the two dead Indians were still lying. They had scarce +commenced searching their victims for booty, when a solitary Indian was seen +approaching from the upper valley. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> +<img src="images/007.jpg" alt="They had scarce commenced searching their +victim." width="437" height="377"/> +</div> + +<p class="caption"> +They had scarce commenced searching their victims for booty, when a solitary +Indian was seen approaching from the upper valley. +</p> + +<p> +“We hain’t got our guns!” exclaimed Sneak, pulling out his +knife. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll get mine!” cried Joe, running away with all his might. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s the matter?” inquired Boone, smiling, who had also +seen the approaching Indian, and was walking to where the dead savages lay, +accompanied by Glenn and Roughgrove, when he met Joe running swiftly towards +the house. +</p> + +<p> +“Hang me, if the Indians ain’t coming back again,” replied +Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“There is but one, and he has a white flag,” said Boone, who had +discovered a small rag attached to a pole borne by the Indian. +</p> + +<p> +“What can he want?” inquired Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“He wants permission to bury the dead,” replied Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +“He’s the very rascal we let loose last night,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +This was true. Although the singed savage had removed some of the black marks +produced by the explosion, yet so many palpable traces of that event were still +exhibited on his person, there could be no doubt of his identity. +</p> + +<p> +The Indian came for the purpose mentioned by Roughgrove, and his request was +granted. He made a sign to a comrade he had left some distance behind, who, in +a very few minutes, was seen to approach in a hasty though timorous pace. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t go to shooting out here!” exclaimed Sneak, hearing a +clicking sound, and the next moment observing Joe pointing his musket through +the loophole nearly in a line with the spot where he stood. +</p> + +<p> +“Come in! come in! come in!” cried Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Put your gun away, and be silent,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll be silent,” replied Joe, “but I’d rather +stand here and watch awhile. If they ain’t going to hurt any of us, +it’ll do no harm; and if they <i>do</i> try to kill any of you, it may do +some good.” +</p> + +<p> +When the second Indian arrived, he seized the body of the savage enveloped in +the swine-skin, (knowing that permission to do so had been obtained by his +comrade,) and bore him away with great expedition, manifesting no inclination +whatever to tarry at a place which had been so fatal to his brethren. But the +other had every confidence in the mercy of the whites, and lingered some length +of time, gazing at the corpse before him, as if hesitating whether to bear it +away. +</p> + +<p> +“Why do you not take him up?” inquired Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +The Indian said it was the false prophet Raven, and that he hardly deserved to +be buried. +</p> + +<p> +Sneak turned the dead Indian over, (he had been lying on his face,) and he was +instantly recognized by the whole party. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m glad its him,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“I think we will have peace now,” said Boone, “for Raven has +ever been the most blood-thirsty chief of the tribe.” +</p> + +<p> +“Where is the war-party encamped? When do they return to their own +country?” asked Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +The Indian replied that they were encamped in a small grove on the border of +the prairie, where they intended to bury their brothers, and then it was their +intention to set out immediately for their villages. He added that one of their +tribe, whom they had left at home, arrived that morning with intelligence that +a war-party of Pawnees had invaded their territories, and it was necessary for +them to hasten back with all possible dispatch to defend their wives and +children. +</p> + +<p> +Glenn asked Boone how the Indians managed to sleep in the cold prairie; and, +Roughgrove repeating the inquiry to the savage, they were informed that the +war-party carried with them a long but very light sled, in the shape of a +canoe, to which was tied a rope made of buckskins, by which they pulled it +along on the snow with great swiftness. This kept them warm with exercise +through the day. A quantity of furs and buffalo skins were packed in the canoe +that served to keep them warm at night. +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. Roughgrove! Mr. Roughgrove!” cried Joe, from his loophole. +</p> + +<p> +“What do you want with me?” responded the old man. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, Miss Mary’s gone down to your house to see if the Indians +have been there, and they may be there now, perhaps.” +</p> + +<p> +“There’s no danger now, you blockhead,” replied Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +“Keep your mouth shet!” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Your mouth’s mashed—recollect who did it,” retorted +Joe. +</p> + +<p> +The savage at length lifted up the dead body, and set off at a brisk pace +towards the prairie. The party then returned to the house and partook of a +plenteous repast that had been provided by Mary. +</p> + +<p> +When the breakfast was over, they repaired to the cliff, to examine the place +where the Indians had first penetrated the snow. They had commenced operations +at the very brow of the cliff, on a shelving rock, to attain which, without +being seen from the garrison, they must have crawled on their hands and knees a +considerable distance. Below could be seen an immense heap of snow, which had +been thrown down from the place of entrance, just as Boone had described. +</p> + +<p> +“Jest look yander!” cried Sneak, pointing up the river. The scene +was a remarkable one. They beheld a very small deer (the lightness of which +enabled it to run on the snow that covered the ice with great fleetness, +without breaking through the crust,) chased about on the river by a pack of +wolves! These hungry animals had evidently been racing after it a great length +of time, from the distressed appearance of the poor victim, and, having driven +it upon the ice, they seemed resolved to prevent it from ever again entering +the thickets. The plan they adopted was systematic, and worthy the imitation of +biped hunters. They dispersed in various directions, and formed themselves in a +circle of about a half mile in diameter, hemming the deer in on all sides, +while only one or two of their number at a time chased it. Round and round it +ran; and though its pursuers were left far in the rear, yet it remained +entirely surrounded by the enemy. Occasionally, when a chasing wolf became +exhausted, one of the guards (abandoning his post) would enter the ring, and, +not being fatigued, was able to carry on the pursuit with redoubled vigour. +Thus the chase was kept up with increasing fierceness by means of a succession +of fresh wolves, until the poor deer finally sank down and surrendered its +life. The voracious pack then rushed from their stations indiscriminately, and +coming in contact immediately over their prey, a most frightful contest ensued +among them. Horrific yells and screams could be heard by the men as they looked +on from their distant position. At times the wolves were so closely jumbled +together that nothing could be distinguished but one black, heaving, and +echoing mass. But the struggle was soon over. In a very few moments, they +became quiet, and started off in a comparatively peaceful manner towards the +island, whence their prize had been driven, in quest of others. When they +abandoned the spot where their victim had fallen, not so much as a bone +remained. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s making a clean business of it!” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Its no such thing!” said Joe; “it’s a nasty trick to +swallow hide, bones, and bowels, in that manner.” +</p> + +<p> +“Its clean for wolves,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, may be you’re part wolf,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Now, none of your gab, or I’ll play some other trick on you, worse +than that at the spring.” +</p> + +<p> +“You be hanged,” retorted Joe; “I’ll give you leave to +do it when you get a chance the next time.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is a great pity that the deer are subject to such destruction,” +remarked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“The wolves we saw are all on yonder island,” said Boone, +“and if you are disposed to have a hunt, I have no doubt we might kill +some of them.” +</p> + +<p> +“We are entirely dependent upon the deer for animal food,” said +Roughgrove; “and if we could only surround that party of wolves as they +did the deer, we might do the settlement much good service.” +</p> + +<p> +“I go in for it,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“I’d rather wait a day or two, till the Indians have gone clean +off,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“There is nothing to fear from them now,” said Boone, “unless +something they might steal should fall in their way. But it will not require an +hour to rout the wolves on the little island.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then let us hasten and get our guns, and be upon them before they leave +it,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +They returned to the house, and were all soon equipped for the onslaught, +except Joe, who made no preparation whatever. +</p> + +<p> +“Get ready, Joe,” said Glenn; “your redoubtable musket will +do good service.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’d rather not,” said Joe; “I’m hardly well +enough to walk so far. I’ll take care of Miss Mary. I wonder what’s +become of her? Mr. Roughgrove, Miss Mary hasn’t come back yet!” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes she has,” replied the old ferryman; “I saw her bring +this frozen flower up, while we were standing on the cliff, and she has only +returned for the other pots, I hear her singing down the valley now,” he +added, after stepping to the gate and listening a moment. +</p> + +<p> +“Have you any gum fetid?” asked Boone, addressing Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ve got lots of it,” interposed Joe, “that I brought +along for the horses, because an old man at St. Louis told me they would never +die so long as I kept a lump of it in the rack.” +</p> + +<p> +“What use do you make of it?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“The scent of it will at any time collect the wolves,” said Boone, +directing Joe to bring it along. +</p> + +<p> +The party set out at a brisk pace, Joe with the rest, for it was necessary to +station the men at as many points as possible. Boone, Roughgrove, and Glenn, +when they reached the upper valley, descended to the river, while Sneak and Joe +were directed to station themselves on the main-land opposite the upper and +lower ends of the island. The party of three advanced towards the island on the +ice, and Sneak and Joe pursued their way in a parallel direction through the +narrow skirt of woods that bordered the range of bluffs. +</p> + +<p> +Ere long the two on land descended from their high position and entered a +densely-timbered bottom, the upper part of which (a half mile distant) was only +separated from the island by a very narrow channel. +</p> + +<p> +Here, for the first time that day, the thought that the island he was +approaching was the haunted one of Glenn’s dream occurred to Joe, and he +paused suddenly. +</p> + +<p> +“What are you stopping for?” asked Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Because”—Joe hesitated, positively ashamed to tell the +reason; and after a moment’s reflection he was impressed with a thorough +conviction that his apprehensions and scruples were ridiculous. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t you hear me?” continued Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“I was thinking about going back for the dogs,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, and they would be torn to bits in a little less than no +time,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Come on, then,” said Joe, setting forward again, and dismissing +all fears of the fire-wizard from his mind. +</p> + +<p> +“Let me see how much asafoetida you’ve got,” said Sneak, +after they had walked a few moments in silence. +</p> + +<p> +“Here it is,” said Joe, unwrapping a paper containing several +ounces; “but hang me, if that ain’t rather too strong a joke of Mr. +Boone’s about its collecting the wolves. I can’t believe +that.” +</p> + +<p> +“Did you ever hear of Mr. Boone’s telling a lie?” asked +Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“No, I never did, and that’s a fact,” said Joe; “but +I’m afraid he’s got into a scrape this time—Jingo! look +yonder!” he continued, throwing his musket up to his face, and pointing +it at a very large black wolf that stood in the path before them. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t shoot! I put two loads in your gun,” cried Sneak, +hastily. +</p> + +<p> +“Confound your long-necked gourd-head, I say!” said Joe, throwing +down the muzzle of his musket in an instant, and the next moment the wolf +disappeared among the tall bushes. “Why, hang me, if you didn’t +tell a lie!” continued Joe, running down his ramrod. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t I know it?” replied Sneak. “I jest said so to +keep you from shooting; becaise if you had shot, you’d ’ave skeered +all the other wolves away, and we wouldn’t ’ave killed any.” +</p> + +<p> +“It’s well you didn’t put in another cartridge,” said +Joe, “for I wish I may be smashed if I stand this kicking business any +longer.” +</p> + +<p> +“Now, I guess you’ll believe there’s something in the +asafoetida, after all! and the wolves’ll come all round you and +won’t go off for shooting at ’em, if you’ll only rub it on +the soles of your boots.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll try it!” said Joe, suiting the action to the word, and +then striding onward, and looking in every direction for the wolves. +</p> + +<p> +“You’ll have to tree, if they come too thick.” +</p> + +<p> +“Pshaw!” replied Joe, “you can’t scare me in that way. +I don’t believe a hat full of it would make them stand and be shot +at.” +</p> + +<p> +They were now opposite the island. Joe selected a position even with the upper +end of it, and Sneak remained below. Boone, after stationing Roughgrove and +Glenn to the best advantage, walked out to the main-land, and taking some of +the gum fetid in Joe’s possession, returned to the island; and, ere long, +he, Roughgrove, and Glenn were heard discharging their guns with great +rapidity, and the cries of the wolves attested that they were labouring with +effect. But none of the beleaguered animals had yet retreated from the scene of +destruction. On the contrary, several were seen to run across from the +main-land and join those on the island. Presently Sneak commenced a brisk fire. +There seemed to be a whole army of wolves congregated in the vicinity. Joe at +first laughed, and then became confused and puzzled. He anxiously desired to +make the roar of his musket join the melée; but at times he thought the +ravenous enemy rather too numerous for him to be in perfect safety. The firing +on the island continued without abatement. Sneak’s gun was likewise still +heard at regular intervals, and what seemed an extraordinary matter to Joe was +that Sneak should yell out something or other about the +“asafoetida,” and “moccasin tracks,” after every +discharge. Joe was not long idle. He soon saw a huge black wolf trotting along +the little deer path he had just traversed, with its nose down to the ground. A +moment after, another, and then a third, were seen pursuing the same course, +some distance behind. Joe became uneasy. His first impulse was to scamper over +to the island: but, when he thought of the jeers and jests that would ensue +from Sneak, he resolved to stand his ground. When the foremost wolf had +approached within thirty paces of him, he leveled his musket and fired. The +wolf uttered a fierce howl and expired. +</p> + +<p> +“Hang me, if I haven’t floored you, any how,” said he, +exultingly, as he proceeded to reload his gun with as much expedition as +possible. But the other wolves, so far from being alarmed at the fate of their +comrade, seemed to quicken their pace towards the position of Joe. “Slash +me, if there ain’t too many of them!” ejaculated Joe, as he +perceived several others, and all advancing upon him. “I’ll settle +your hash, by jing!” he continued, firing at the foremost one, which was +not twenty paces distant. The leaden contents of the musket entered its breast, +and it fell dead without a growl. Still the others advanced. Joe had no time to +charge his gun again. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll make tracks!” said he, starting toward the frozen +channel that separated him from the island. But he had not gone ten paces +before he discovered two enormous wolves approaching from <i>that</i> +direction. “I’ll cut dirt back again!” he continued, whirling +suddenly around, and rushing back to his stand, where he stood not a moment, +but sprang up in a tree, and after attaining a large limb that put out from the +trunk, some fifteen feet above the snow, paused, and pantingly surveyed his +assailants. There were now no less than twenty wolves in sight, and several +were at the root of the tree yelping at him! “I’ll be hanged if I +half like this,” said he. “Snap me, if I don’t begin to +believe that the asafoetida does charm them, after all. Confound Sneak! +he’s always getting me into some hobble or other! Now, if it wasn’t +for this tree, I’d be in a nice fix. Hang it! all the wolves in the world +are broke loose to-day, surely—where the mischief could they all have +come from? Just hear the men, how they are shooting! And they are killing the +wild black dogs every crack—but still they won’t back out! +I’ll blaze away at ’em again!” Saying this, he reloaded his +musket as quickly as his peculiar position would allow, and, for the purpose of +ridding himself as soon as possible of his disagreeable visitors, he poured in +an additional charge of buckshot. “Now,” he continued, “what +if the gun should fly out of my hands? I’d be in a pretty condition then! +I wouldn’t mind the kick at all, if I was only on dry land—but if +the gun should kick me over here, I’d tumble right down into their +mouths! I wish I’d thought of that before I rammed down the wadding. I +haven’t got my screw along, or I might draw out the load again. +I’ll not shoot at all. I’ll just watch till somebody comes and +scares them away. Ugh! you black rascal! what’re you staring up here +for?” he continued, looking down at the largest wolf, which was standing +upright against the tree, and tearing the bark away furiously with his long +teeth. The number of Joe’s enemies continued to increase. There were now +perhaps twenty under the tree. And still the firing on the island was kept up, +though not so incessantly as at first, which inspired Joe with a hope that they +would either kill all the wolves in their vicinity very soon or force them to +join his flock under the tree, when the men would surely come to his relief. +Sneak’s fire abated somewhat, likewise, and Joe’s reliance upon +having their aid in a very short time caused his fears to subside in a great +measure. +</p> + +<p> +“If you’re so crazy after asafoetida,” said he, looking down +at the fiercely staring animals again, “I’ll give you a taste, just +to see what you’ll do.” He took a small portion of the gum which he +had retained, and rubbed it over a piece of paper that he found in his pocket. +He then dropped the paper in their midst. They sprang upon it simultaneously, +and in an instant it vanished, Joe knew not whither. “Hang me, if I +couldn’t pepper a half-dozen at a shot when they all rush up together so +close, if I wasn’t afraid of being kicked down. I’ll be teetotally +smashed if I don’t fix and try it, any how!” said he, pulling out a +strong leather string from his pocket, one end of which he attached firmly to a +small limb of the tree, and the other he tied as tightly round the wrist of his +left arm. He then pulled out his bandanna, and likewise made his musket fast to +a bough. “Now, my snapping beauties,” he continued, +“I’m mistaken if I don’t give you a dose of blue pills +that’ll do your business in short order.” Saying this, he tore off +another piece of paper, and rubbing on the gum, dropped it down as near as +possible to the spot where he wished the wolves to cluster together. No sooner +did it fall than the whole gang sprang upon it, and he fired with precision in +their midst. Joe did not look to see what execution was done. He was dangling +in the air and whirling round and round at a rapid rate, like a malefactor +suspended from the gallows, with the exception that his neck did not suffer, +and he cried out most lustily for assistance. When the cloud of smoke that +enveloped him cleared away a little, and he became better acquainted with his +critical situation, his yells increased in rapidity and violence. His condition +was truly perilous. The small bough to which he had attached himself had not +sufficient strength to bear him up when his feet slipped from the larger one +below, and it was now bent down a considerable distance, and that too in a +divergent direction from his recent foothold, and unfortunately there was no +limb of the tree of any strength within his reach. His legs hung within six +feet of the surface of the snow. The discharge had killed four or five of the +wolves, but, undismayed, the remainder assailed him the more furiously. The +most active of them could easily spring as far up as his feet! Never was terror +more strongly depicted in the human face than it was displayed in Joe’s +when he saw the whole pack rushing towards him! They sprang up with fearful +snarls and yells. Joe yelled likewise, and doubled his knees up to his chin. +They missed his feet by several inches, and were borne out fifteen or twenty +feet to one side by the impetus of the leap. It was by a mighty effort that he +thus avoided them, and no sooner had they passed under him than his legs again +dangled downward. In a moment they whirled round and were again rushing at +their victim. Once more Joe screamed, and drew up his legs while they passed +under him. “Help! help! for God’s sake!” cried he, when they +whirled round again. His cry was heard. Several sharp reports resounded from +the river bank, a few paces on the east. Three or four of the wolves howled and +fell. The rest hesitated, their eyes glistening, and fixed on Joe’s +suspended boots. “Come quick! for Heaven’s sake! I can’t pull +up my legs any more!” cried Joe. This was true, for his strength was fast +failing. The guns were again discharged with deadly effect, and all but one of +the largest of the wolves precipitately ran off, and disappeared among the +bushes. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> +<img src="images/008.jpg" alt="They sprang up with fearful snarls and yells." +width="373" height="468"/> +</div> + +<p class="caption"> +They sprang up with fearful snarls and yells. Joe yelled likewise, and doubled +his knees up to his chin. +</p> + +<p> +“Jerk up your leg! that feller’s a going to take one of your feet +along with him, if he kin!” cried Sneak. Joe saw the wolf charging upon +him, but he was altogether unable to avoid it in the manner he had done before. +It was now only a few feet distant, its mouth open, displaying a frightful set +of teeth, and springing towards him. Finding it impossible to prevent a +collision, Joe resolved to sell his foot as dearly as possible. As much as he +was able, he bent up his knee-joints, and when his assailant came, he bestowed +his heels upon his head with all his might. The wolf was stunned, and fell +under the blow. +</p> + +<p> +“Take that!” cried Sneak, running up and plunging his knife into +the animal’s side. The wolf groaned and died. +</p> + +<p> +“Ha! ha! ha! you were born to be hanged,” said Roughgrove, coming +forward with Boone and Glenn, and laughing heartily. +</p> + +<p> +“He has been hung,” said Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“And almost quartered,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, goodness! Jump up here, Sneak, and cut me loose,” said Joe, +beseechingly. +</p> + +<p> +“There’s no danger of you ever dying,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, please don’t laugh at me, Sneak, but cut me down; that’s +a good fellow. The string is beginning to cut my wrist like fury!” +</p> + +<p> +“How did you git in such a fix?” continued Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, hang it, Sneak, just get me out of the fix, and I’ll tell you +all about it.” +</p> + +<p> +“It’s hung <i>now</i>—didn’t you say ‘hang it, +Sneak?’” continued Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, come, now,” continued Joe; “if you were in this way, +don’t you think I’d help you?” +</p> + +<p> +“Cut him down, Sneak,” said Boone; and in a twinkling Sneak was up +in the tree, and the string was severed. Joe came down with great force, his +feet foremost, and running through the snow-crust to a great depth. +</p> + +<p> +“I wish some of you would help me out of this,” said he, after +struggling some time in vain to extricate himself. +</p> + +<p> +“You’ll want me to carry you home next, I s’pose,” said +Sneak, assisting him up. Joe made no reply; but as soon as he could cut the +string away from his wrist, seized Sneak by the throat, hurled him on his back, +and springing upon him, a violent struggle ensued for a few moments before they +could be separated. +</p> + +<p> +“What do you mean?” exclaimed Glenn, dragging Joe away from his +prostrate victim. +</p> + +<p> +“What did you do that for?” asked Sneak, rising up and brushing the +snow from his head and face, his fall having broken the icy surface. +</p> + +<p> +“You rascal, you! I’ll show you what for!” cried Joe, +endeavouring to get at him again. +</p> + +<p> +“Joe!” said Glenn, “if you attempt any further violence, you +shall not remain another day under my roof!” +</p> + +<p> +“He boxed my ear like thunder!” said Sneak; “I didn’t +think the fellow had so much pluck in him! I like him better now than ever I +did. Give us your paw, Joe.” Joe shook hands with him reluctantly, and +then wiped a flood of tears from his face. +</p> + +<p> +“He told me to put some asafetida on my hoots, and said I could then kill +more wolves,” said Joe; “and it came within an ace of making them +kill me.” +</p> + +<p> +“It was very wrong to do so, Sneak,” said Boone, “and the +boxing you got for it was not amiss.” +</p> + +<p> +“I believe I think so myself,” said Sneak. “But it did make +him kill more wolves after all—jest look at ’em all around +here!” +</p> + +<p> +Joe soon recovered entirely from the effects of his swing, his fright, and his +anger, and looked with something like satisfaction on his many trophies lying +round him; and when he disengaged his musket from the bough of the tree, he +regarded it with affection. +</p> + +<p> +They moved homeward, entirely content with the result of the excursion. Boone +explained the reason why so many of the wolves were congregated about the +island. He stated that the vines and bushes on which the deer feed in the +winter were abundant and nutritious in the low lands along the river, and that +great numbers of them repaired thither at that season of the year. The wolves +of course followed them, and having now destroyed all the large deer in the +vicinity of the island, and the small ones being enabled to run on the +snow-crust, they found it necessary to muster in the chase as great a number as +possible, and thus prevent their prey from escaping to the prairies. He said +that the wolves preferred the timber, being enabled to make more comfortable +lairs and dens among the fallen trees than out in the cold prairies. But their +guns had wrought a fearful destruction among them. Perhaps three-fourths of +them fell. +</p> + +<p> +The party soon reached Glenn’s house. As they entered the inclosure, they +were surprised to see Ringwood running wildly about, whining and snarling and +tearing the snow to pieces with his teeth. Jowler was more composed, but a low, +mournful whine issued continuously from his mouth. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod! what’s the dogs been after?” ejaculated Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Go in, Joe, and ask Mary what it means,” said Rough grove. +</p> + +<p> +“I’d rather not—the house may be full of Indians,” +replied Joe, relapsing into his natural cowardice. +</p> + +<p> +“Mary,” said Roughgrove, approaching the door and calling +affectionately. Receiving no reply, the old man entered and called again. A +silence succeeded. Roughgrove reappeared a moment after, with a changed +countenance. Boone gazed at his pale features, and asked the cause of his +distress by a look, not a word. +</p> + +<p> +“She’s gone! gone! gone!” exclaimed Roughgrove, covering his +face with both hands. +</p> + +<p> +Boone made no answer, but turning his face in the direction of the southern +valley, he called upon the name of Mary three times, in clear and loud tones. +He listened for her reply, in a motionless attitude, several minutes. But no +reply came. Now a change came over <i>his</i> features. It was a ferocity from +which even the blood-thirsty savages would have fled in horror! +</p> + +<p> +“My eternal curse upon them! They have seized her! I have been deceived! +I will have vengeance!” said he, in a low, determined tone. +</p> + +<p> +“Will they kill her, or keep her for a ransom?” inquired Glenn, in +extreme and painful excitement. +</p> + +<p> +“A ransom,” said Boone; “but they shall pay the weight of the +silver they demand in blood!” +</p> + +<p> +“May Heaven guard her!” said Roughgrove, in piteous agony. +</p> + +<p> +“Cheer up—we will get her again,” said Boone; and then giving +some hasty directions, preparations were made for pursuit. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="ChapterXI"> +CHAPTER XI. </a> +</h2> + +<p class="quote"> +Mary—Her meditations—Her capture—Her sad condition—Her +mental sufferings—Her escape—Her recapture. +</p> + +<p> +When the men departed for the island in quest of the wolves, Mary was singing +over her neglected flowers, at her father’s house in the valley, and her +clear ringing notes were distinctly heard by the whole party. After they were +gone she continued her song, and lingered long over every faded leaf and +withered blossom, with no thought of danger whatever, and none of pain, save +the regret that her long cherished plants had been forgotten in the +consternation of the previous day, and had fallen victims to the frost-king. +But nothing had been touched by the savages. The domestic fowls clustered about +her, and received their food from her hands as usual. The fawn was with her, +and evinced the delight afforded by the occasional caress bestowed upon it, by +frequently skipping sportively around her. Mary was happy. Her wants were few, +and she knew not that there was such a thing as a malicious enemy in the world, +save the wild savage. Her thoughts were as pure as the morning dew, and all her +delights were the results of innocence. She had never harmed any one, and her +guileless heart never conceived the possibility of suffering ill at the hands +of others. She smiled when the beautiful fawn touched her hand with its velvet +tongue, and a tear dimmed her eye for an instant when she looked upon her +stricken rose. +</p> + +<p> +While looking at one of the homely shelves in a corner of the deserted house, +Mary accidentally espied a small volume of poems, the gift of Glenn, that had +been neglected. She seized it eagerly, and after turning over the pages the +fiftieth time, and humming over many of the songs, she paused suddenly, and +lifting her eyes to the bright sun-beams that streamed through the window, long +remained in a listless attitude. Something unusual had startled her simple +meditations. At first a shade of painful concern seemed to pass across her +brow, and then glancing quickly at the book she still held in her hand, a sweet +smile animated her lips. But again and again, ever and anon, the abstracted +gaze was repeated, and as often succeeded by the smile when her eyes fell upon +the volume. Did her thoughts dwell upon the giver of that book? Undoubtedly. +Did she love Glenn? This she knew not herself, but she would have died for him! +She was ignorant of the terms courtship, love, and marriage. But nature had +given her a heart abounding with noble and generous impulses. +</p> + +<p> +At length she drew her shawl closely round her shoulders, and, closing the door +of the hut, was in the act of returning up the hill, when she was startled by +the furious and sudden barking of the hounds, which she had left confined in +the inclosure on the cliff. She paused, and looked steadily in every direction, +and was not able to discover, or even conjecture, what it was that had roused +the hounds. Yet an undefinable fear seized upon her. The fawn at her side +likewise partook of the agitation, for the hair stood upright on its back, and +it often snuffed the air with great violence, producing, at each time, a +shrill, unnatural sound. +</p> + +<p> +Mary started briskly up the path, determined to shut herself up in +Glenn’s house until her father returned from the island. When she had +proceeded about twenty paces, and was just passing a dense thicket of hazel +that bordered the narrow path, she heard a slight rustling on the left, and the +next moment she was clasped in the arms of a brawny savage! +</p> + +<p> +“Oh me! who are you?” demanded she, struggling to disengage +herself, and unable to see the swarthy features of her captor, who stood behind +her. No answer being made, she cast her eyes downwards, and beheld the colour +of the arms that encircled her. “Father! Mr. Glenn! Mr. Boone!” she +exclaimed, struggling violently. Her efforts were unavailing, and, overcome +with exhaustion and affright, she fainted on the Indian’s breast. The +savage then lifted her on his shoulder, ran down to the rivulet that flowed +through the valley, and fled outwards to the prairie. When he reached the +cave-spring, a confederate, who had been waiting for him, seized the burden and +bore it onwards, in a westerly direction, with increased rapidity. Thus they +continued the retreat, bearing the insensible maiden alternately, until they +came to a small grove some distance out in the prairie, when they slackened +their pace, and, after creeping a short time under the pendent boughs of the +trees, halted in the camp of the war-party. +</p> + +<p> +The Indians gathered round the pale captive, some with rage and deadly passions +marked upon their faces, and others with expressions of triumph and +satisfaction. They now made preparations for departing. Mary was wrapped in a +large buffalo robe, enveloping her body and face, and placed in the snow-canoe. +The party then deposited their tomahawks and other cumbersome articles at the +feet of their captive, and, grasping the leather rope attached to the canoe, +set off rapidly in a southerly direction. +</p> + +<p> +Ere long, Mary partially awoke from her state of insensibility, when all was +dark and strange to her confused senses. She pulled aside the long hair of the +buffalo skin that obscured her face, and looked out from her narrow place of +confinement. The blue heavens alone met her view above. The incident of the +seizure was indistinct in her memory, and she could not surmise the nature of +her present condition. She turned hastily on her side, and the occasional bush +she espied in the vicinity indicated that she was rushing along by some means +with an almost inconceivable rapidity. She could scarce believe it was reality. +How she came thither, and how she was propelled over the snow, for several +moments were matters of incomprehensible mystery to the trembling girl. At +first, she endeavoured to persuade herself that it was a dream; but, having a +consciousness that some terrible thing had actually occurred, all the painful +fears of which the mind is capable were put in active operation. The suspense +was soon dispelled. Hearing human voices ahead, and not readily comprehending +the language, she hastily rose on her elbow. The party of Indians dragging her +fleetly over the smooth prairie met her chilled view. But she was now +comparatively collected and calm. Instantly her true condition was apparent. +She watched the swarthy forms some moments in silence, meditating the means of +escape. Presently one of the savages turned partly round, and she sank back to +escape his observation. Again she rose up a few inches, and their faces were +all turned away from her. She gradually acquired resolution to encounter any +hardship or peril that might be the means of effecting her escape. But what +plan was she to adopt? The almost interminable plain of which she was in the +midst afforded no hiding-place. Then, the speed of the flying snow-canoe, were +she to leap out, would not only produce a hurtful collision with the hard +snow-crust, but certainly cause her detection. The poor girl’s heart sank +within her, and, for a time, she reclined submissively in the canoe, and gave +way to a flood of tears. She thought of her gray-haired father, and a piercing +agony thrilled through her breast. And she thought, too, of others—of +Boone, of <i>Glenn</i>, and her pangs were hopelessly poignant. Thus she lay +for several long hours, a prey to grief and despair. But some pitying angel +hovered over her, and kindly lessened her sufferings. By degrees, her mind +became possessed of the power of deliberate and rational reflection; and she +was inspired with the belief that the savages only designed to exact a heavy +contribution from the whites by her capture, and would then surrender her up +without outrage or injury. Another hope, likewise, sprang up in her breast: it +was, that the Indian she had been instrumental in releasing from captivity +might protect her person, and, perhaps restore her to her father. She also felt +convinced that Boone and Glenn would join her father in the pursuit, and she +entertained a lively hope that they would overtake her. But, again, when she +looked out on the surface of the snow, and beheld the rapidity of the +savages’ pace, this hope was entertained but for a moment. She then +resolved to make an effort herself to escape. If she was not successful, it +would, at all events, retard the progress of her captors, and she might also +ascertain, with some degree of certainty, their purposes with regard to her +fate. She rose as softly as possible and sprang upon the snow. The Indians, as +she feared, instantly felt the diminution of weight, and halted so abruptly +that every one of them was prostrated on the slippery snow-crust. Mary +endeavoured to take advantage of this occurrence, and, springing quickly to her +feet, fled rapidly in the opposite direction. But before she had run many +minutes, she heard the savages in close pursuit and gaining upon her at every +step. It was useless to fly. She turned her head, and beheld the whole party +within a few paces of her. The foremost was a tall athletic savage, bearing in +his hand a tomahawk he had snatched from the snow-canoe, and wearing a demoniac +scowl on his lip. Mary scanned his face and then turned her eyes to heaven. She +felt that her end was near, and she breathed a prayer taught her by her buried +mother. The savage rushed upon her, entwining his left hand in her flowing +hair, and waving his tomahawk aloft with the other, was in the act of sinking +the steel in the fair forehead before him, when the blow was arrested by a mere +stripling, who came up at the head of the rest of the Indians. The Herculean +savage whirled round and scowled passionately at the youth. The young Indian +(the chief just elected in the place of Raven) regarded him a moment with +gleaming eyes, and a determined expression of feature, and then with much +dignity motioned him away. The huge savage was strangely submissive in a +moment, and obeyed without a murmur. Mary was conducted back to the snow-canoe +by the young chief, who led her by the hand, while the rest walked behind. Once +the young warrior turned and looked searchingly in the face of his fair prize, +and she returned the gaze with an instantaneous conviction that no personal +harm was intended her. The chief was not half so dark as the rest of his tribe, +and his countenance was open, generous, and noble. (It may seem improbable to +the unthinking reader that a timid and alarmed maiden should be able to read +the character of a foe by his features under such circumstances. But those very +circumstances tended to produce such acuteness. And this is not only the case +with human beings, but even with dumb brutes—for, at the moment they are +about to be assailed, they invariably and instinctively look the assailant in +the eye, mercy being the only remaining hope.) Again the young warrior turned +to behold his captive’s face, and Mary was in tears. He paused abruptly, +and, after gazing some moments in silence and deep thought, resumed his pace. +When they reached the snow-canoe, and while in the act of lifting his captive +into her couch, the young chief observed for the first time a massive ring of +curious workmanship on her finger (the glove she had hitherto worn being +partially torn from her hand in the recent struggle,) and seemed to regard it +with much interest. Mary saw that his eyes were riveted on the jewel, and +notwithstanding it possessed a hallowed value in having been worn by her +mother, yet she felt that she could resign it to the one who had saved her +life, and whose noble bearing, so different from that of the rest, promised to +shield her from future harm. But he neither asked it as a gift nor tore it from +her, but turned away in silence, and ordered the party to proceed. The command +was instantly obeyed. +</p> + +<p> +There was another Indian that had attracted the notice of Mary—one who +studiously avoided her glance by constantly enveloping his face in his hairy +robe whenever she turned towards him. This he continued to do until she was +again seated in the snow-canoe, and the order was given to proceed on the +journey. He then lingered behind the rest, and throwing aside his mask, she saw +before her the savage that had been thrown within the inclosure by the +explosion. He pointed to the north, the direction of her home, and, by sundry +signs and grimaces, made Mary understand that he had not been a party to her +capture, and that he would endeavour to effect her escape. He then joined the +others, and the poor girl was once more coursing over the prairie more rapidly +than ever. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> +<img src="images/009.jpg" alt="The savage rushed upon her." width="397" +height="356"/> +</div> + +<p class="caption"> +The savage rushed upon her, entwined his left hand in her flowing hair, and, +waving his tomahawk aloft with the other, was in the act of sinking the steel +in the fair forehead before him, when the blow was arrested by a mere +stripling, who came up at the head of the rest of the Indians. +</p> + +<p> +There was now mingled with the captive maiden’s thoughts another subject +of contemplation. It was the young chief. His image seemed to be familiar to +her dreamy visions, and she often thought that they had really met before. But +when or where, her memory failed to designate. She was glad to find herself so +unexpectedly under the protection of one so brave and generous, and she hoped +when her father and his friends should overtake them, he might not be hurt in +the conflict that must inevitably ensue. +</p> + +<p> +The Indians long continued their flight in silence. Scarce a word was uttered, +until the sun was sinking low in the west. And then Mary heard them speaking +about the place of encampment; for her frequent intercourse With the savages, +before the arrival of Glenn in the vicinity, had enabled her, as well as her +father, to acquire an imperfect knowledge of their language. But they still +swept onward, without any diminution of speed. The chief had probably objected +to their making, a halt by a shake of the head, for Mary did not hear him reply +to those who desired to stop. +</p> + +<p> +When the shades of night fell around, and the broad red face of the moon peeped +over the eastern horizon, the party still careered over the prairie. More than +thirty miles had been traversed. The Indian is more distinguished for bottom +than speed, and has been known to pursue a victim, or fly in the retreat, more +than twenty-four hours without resting. But this band had suffered much from +fatigue before they set out with their captive. The attempt to surprise the +fort had cost them both blood and labour, and when the moon had risen midway up +in the heavens, they again became clamorous for food and rest. The chief then +told them to turn from their course, and in a few minutes Mary saw that they +were approaching a grove of towering trees. Ere long they halted under an +enormous beech, whose spreading and clustering branches not only greatly +obscured the light from above, but had in a great measure prevented the snow +from covering the earth at its roots. It was not long before a fire was struck, +and the savages having scattered in every direction in quest of dry wood and +bark, in a very short space of time a large bright blaze flashed up in their +midst, around which they spread their buffalo robes and commenced preparing +their venison. Each one cooked for himself, save the chief, who was provided +proportionably by all. He offered Mary a part of his food, but she declined it. +He then proffered to lift her from the snow-canoe, and place her nearer the +fire. This too she declined, stating that she was warm enough. She was likewise +influenced in this determination by the gestures of the Indian whom she had +befriended the preceding night, who sat by in apparent unconcern, but at every +opportunity, by looks and signs, endeavoured to cheer and encourage the captive +maiden. +</p> + +<p> +After a hearty repast the savages, with the exception of the chief, rolled +themselves in their warm, hairy robes before the glowing fire, and were soon +steeped in profound slumber. The chief long reclined in a half-recumbent +attitude on the couch that had been prepared for him, and fixing his eyes on +the glaring flame, and sometimes on the pale sad features of Mary, seemed to be +under the influence of deep and painful meditations. At times his features +assumed a ferocity that caused Mary to start and tremble; but at others they +wore a mournful expression, and ever and anon a tear rose up and glistened in +his eye. Thus he sat for more than an hour after all the rest were sunk in +motionless slumber. Finally his bedecked head, adorned with a profusion of rich +and rare feathers, sunk by degrees on the rude pillow, and he too was soon +wandering in the land of dreams. +</p> + +<p> +But sleep brooded not upon the watchful lids of Mary. She gazed in silence at +the wild savage scene before her. The uncouth beings who had so recently hooted +and yelled like sanguinary demons, with intent to slay and pillage, around her +father, her friends and herself, now lay motionless, though free and still +hostile, within a few feet of her, and she was their captive! She thought of +her humble but peaceful home, and sighed bitterly. And she thought, too, of her +distressed friends, and she was the more distressed from the consciousness that +they sympathized with her sufferings. Poor girl! She looked at the dark brows +and compressed lips of her captors as the fitful flashes of the flames threw a +bright ray upon them, and, in despite of the many hopes she had entertained, +she was horror-stricken to contemplate the reality of her sad predicament. +</p> + +<p> +At a late and solemn hour, the Indian who had been the captive the night +before, suddenly ceased his snoring, which had been heard without intermission +for a great length of time; and when Mary instinctively cast her eyes towards +him, she was surprised to see him gently and slowly raise his head. He enjoined +silence by placing his hand upon his mouth. After carefully disengaging himself +from his comrades, he crept quietly away, and soon vanished entirely from sight +on the northern side of the spreading beech. Mary expected he would soon return +and assist her to escape. Although she was aware of the hardships and perils +that would attend her flight, yet the thought of again meeting her friends was +enough to nerve her for the undertaking, and she waited with anxious impatience +the coming of her rescuer. But he came not. She could attribute no other design +in his conduct but that of effecting her escape, and yet he neither came for +her nor beckoned her away. She had reposed confidence in his promise, for she +knew that the Indian, savage as he was, rarely forfeited his word; but when +gratitude inspired a pledge, she could not believe that he would use deceit. +The fire was now burning quite low, and its waning light scarce cast a beam +upon the branches over head. It was evidently not far from morning, and every +hope of present escape entirely fled from her bosom. But just as she was +yielding to despair, she saw the Indian returning in a stealthy pace, bearing +some dark object in his arms. He glided to her side, and beckoned her to leave +the snow-canoe, and also to take with her all the robes with which she had been +enveloped. She did his bidding, and then he carefully deposited the burden he +bore in the place she had just occupied. A portion of the object becoming +unwrapped, Mary discovered it to be a huge mass of snow, resembling, in some +respects, a human form, and the Indian’s stratagem was at once apparent +to her. Relinquishing herself to his guidance, she was led noiselessly through +the bushes about a hundred paces distant from the fire, to a large fallen tree +that had yielded to some furious storm, when her conductor paused. He pointed +to a spot where a curve caused the huge trunk to rise about a foot from the +present surface, under which was a round hole cut through the drifted snow down +to the earth, and in which were deposited several buffalo robes, and so +arranged that a person could repose within without coming in contact with the +frozen element around. Mary looked down, and then at her companion, to +ascertain his intentions. He spoke to her in a low tone, enough of which she +comprehended to understand that he desired her to descend into the pit without +delay. She obeyed, and when he had carefully folded the robes and divers furs +about her body, he stepped a few paces to one side, and gently lifting up a +round lid of snow-crust, placed it over the aperture. It had been so smoothly +cut, and fitted with such precision when replaced, that no one would have been +able to discover that an incision had been made. He then bade Mary a “Dud +by” in bad English, and set off in a run in a northern direction for the +purpose of joining the whites. +</p> + +<p> +Long and interminable seemed Mary’s confinement to her, but she was +entirely comfortable in her hiding-place, as respected her body. Yet many +dreadful apprehensions oppressed her still. She feared that the Indians would +soon ascertain that she had left the canoe, and return and discover her place +of concealment. At times she thought of the wild beasts prowling around, and +feared they would devour her before assistance came. But the most harrowing +fear was that the friendly Indian would abandon her to her fate or perhaps be +<i>killed</i>, without making known her locality and helpless condition! Thus +was she a prey to painful apprehensions and worrying reflections, until from +exhaustion she sank into an unquiet and troubled slumber. +</p> + +<p> +With the first light of morning, the war-party sprang to their feet, and +hastily dispatching a slight repast, they set out on their journey with renewed +animation and increased rapidity. Before starting, the chief called to Mary, +and again offered some food; but no reply being returned, or motion discovered +under the robe which he imagined enveloped her, he supposed she was sleeping, +and directed the party to select the most even route when they emerged in the +prairie, that she might as much as possible enjoy her repose. +</p> + +<p> +The Indian who had planned and executed the escape of Mary, with the +well-devised cunning for which the race is proverbial, had told his companions +that he would rise before day and pursue the same direction they were going in +advance of them, and endeavour to kill a deer for their next night’s +meal. Thus his absence created no suspicion, and the party continued their +precipitate retreat. +</p> + +<p> +But, about noon, after casting many glances back at the supposed form of the +captive reclining peacefully in the snow-canoe, the chief, with much +excitement, betrayed by his looks, which seemed to be mingled with an +apprehension that she was dead, abruptly ordered the party to halt. He sprang +to the canoe, and convulsively tearing away the skins discovered only the roll +of snow! He at first compressed his lips in momentary rage, and then burst into +a fit of irrepressible laughter. But the rest raved and stamped, and uttered +direful imprecations and threats of vengeance. Immediately they were aware of +the treachery of the absent Indian, and resolved with one voice that his blood +should be an atonement for the act. Their thoughts had dwelt too fondly on the +shining gold they were to get in exchange for the maiden, for them ever to +forgive the recreant brother who had snatched the prize from them. The chief +soon recovered his usual grave expression, and partook in some measure the +general disappointment and chagrin. His motives were not of the same mercenary +cast which actuated his tribe, nor did he condemn the conduct of the one who +had rescued the maid, being aware of the clemency extended him when in the +power of the enemy; but the thought of being outwitted and thwarted roused his +anger, and he determined to recover the lost captive, if possible. +</p> + +<p> +The snow was quickly thrown out, and the war-party adjusted their +weapon’s, with the expectation of encountering the whites; and then +whirling about they retraced their steps even more swiftly than they had been +advancing. Just as the night was setting in, they came in sight of the grove +where they had encamped. They slackened their pace, and looking eagerly +forward, seemed to think it not improbable that the whites had arrived in the +vicinity, and might be lying in ambush awaiting their return in search of the +maid. They then abandoned the canoe, after having concealed it under some low +bushes, and entered the grove in a stooping and watchful posture. Ere long the +chief attained the immediate neighbourhood of the spreading tree, and with an +arrow drawn to its head, crept within a few paces of the spot where he had lain +the preceding night. His party were mostly a few feet in the rear, while a few +were approaching in the same manner from the opposite direction. Hearing no +sound whatever, he rose up slowly, and with an “Ugh” of +disappointment, strode carelessly across the silent and untenanted place of +encampment. +</p> + +<p> +Vexation and anger were expressed by the savages in being thus disappointed. +They hoped to wreak their vengeance on the whites, and had resolved to +recapture the maiden. Where they expected to find them, the scene was silent +and desolate. And they now sauntered about under the trees in the partial light +of the moon that struggled through the matted branches, threatening in the most +horrid manner the one who had thus baffled them. Some struck their tomahawks +into the trunks of trees, while others brandished their knives, and uttered +direful yells. The young chief stood in silence, with his arms folded on his +breast. A small ray of light that fell upon his face exhibited a meditative +brow, and features expressing both firmness and determination. He had said that +the captive should be regained, and his followers ever and anon regarded his +thoughtful attitude with the confidence that his decision would accelerate the +accomplishment of their desires. Long he remained thus, motionless and +dignified, and no one dared to address him. [He had been elected chief by +acclamation, after the death of Raven. He was not an Osage by birth, but had +been captured from one of the neighbouring tribes (the Pawnee) when only six +years old. His bravery, as he grew up, had elicited the admiration of the whole +tribe, and it had long been settled that he should succeed Raven. His +complexion was many degrees lighter than that of the Osages, or even that of +the Pawnees, and had it not been for the paint and stains with which the +warriors decorate their faces, he might have passed, if properly attired, for +an American. When taken in battle he was saved from the torture by a young +Indian maiden. She procured his release and he refused to return to his own +nation. He said that he was no Pawnee, and when asked to what nation he +belonged, he either could not or would not reply, but said he was satisfied to +hunt and fight with any tribe, and if the chief would give him his daughter +(the one that saved his life,) he would be an Osage. It was done, and his brave +exploits soon won for him the title of the “Young Eagle.”] +</p> + +<p> +The young chief called one of the oldest of the party, who was standing a few +paces distant absorbed in thought, to his side, and after a short conference +the old savage prostrated himself on the snow, and endeavoured like a hound to +scent the tracks of his recreant brother. At first he met with no success, but +when making a wide circuit round the premises, still applying his nose to the +ground occasionally, and minutely examining the bushes, he paused abruptly, and +announced to the party that he had found the precise direction taken by the +maid and her deliverer. Instantly they all clustered round him, evincing the +most intense interest. Some smelt the surface of the snow, and others examined +the bushes. Small twigs, not larger than pins, were picked up and closely +scrutinized. They well knew that any one passing through the frozen and +clustered bushes must inevitably sever some of the twigs and buds. Their +progress was slow, but unerring. The course they pursued was the direction +taken by Mary and her rescuer. It was not long before they arrived within a few +feet of the place of the maiden’s concealment. But now they were at +fault. There were no bushes immediately around the fallen tree. They paused, +the chief in the van, with their bows and arrows and tomahawks in readiness for +instant use. They knew that the maiden could not return to her friends on foot, +or the treacherous savage be able to bear her far on his shoulder. They thought +that one or both must be concealed somewhere in the neighbourhood, and the +fallen tree, were it hollow, was the place most likely to be selected for that +purpose. After scanning the fallen trunk a few minutes in silence, and +discovering nothing to realize their hopes, they uttered a terrific yell, and +commenced striking their tomahawks in the wood, and ripping up the bark in +quest of some hiding-place. But their search was in vain. The fallen trunk was +sound and solid throughout, and the young chief sat down on it within three +paces of Mary! Others, in passing about, frequently trod on the very verge of +the concealed pit. +</p> + +<p> +Mary was awakened by the yell but knew not that the sound came from her +enemies. The Indian had told her that he would soon return, and her heart now +fluttered with the hope that her father and her friends were at hand. Yet she +prudently determined not to rush from her concealment until she was better +assured of the fact. She did not think the savages would suspect that she was +hid under the snow, but yet she thought it very strange that her father did not +come to her at once. Several minutes had elapsed since she had been startled by +the sounds in the immediate vicinity. She heard the tramp of men almost +directly over her head, and the strokes against the fallen trunk. She was +several times on the eve of rising up, but was as often withheld by some +mysterious impulse. She endeavoured to reflect calmly, but still she could not, +by any mode of conjecture realize the probability of her foes having returned +and traced her thither. Yet an undefinable fear still possessed her, and she +endeavoured with patience to await the pleasure of her friends. But when the +chief seated himself in her vicinity, and fell into one of his fits of +abstraction, and the whole party became comparatively still and hushed, the +poor girl’s suspense was almost insufferable. She knew that human beings +were all around her, and yet her situation was truly pitiable and lonely. She +felt assured that if the war-party had returned in pursuit of her, the same +means which enabled them to trace their victim to the fallen trunk would +likewise have sufficed to indicate her hiding-place. Then why should she +hesitate? The yells that awakened her had not been heard distinctly, and under +the circumstances she could not believe that she was surrounded by savages. On +the other hand, if they were her friends, why did they not relieve her? Now a +sudden, but, alas! erroneous thought occurred to her. She was persuaded that +they were her friends, but that the friendly Indian was not with them—he +had perhaps directed them where she could be found, and then returned to his +home. Might not her friends, at that moment, be anxiously searching for her? +Would not one word suffice to dispel their solicitude, and restore the lost one +to their arms? She resolved to speak. Bowing down her head slightly, so that +her precise location might not instantly be ascertained, she uttered in a soft +voice the word “FATHER!” The chief sprang from his seat, and the +party was instantly in commotion. Some of the savages looked above, among the +twining branches, and some shot their arrows in the snow, but fortunately not +in the direction of Mary, while others ran about in every direction, examining +all the large trees in the vicinity. The chief was amazed and utterly +confounded. He drew not forth an arrow, nor brandished a tomahawk. While he +thus stood, and the rest of the party were moving hurriedly about a few paces +distant, Mary again repeated the word “FATHER!” As suddenly as if +by enchantment every savage was paralyzed. Each stood as devoid of animation as +a statue. For many moments an intense silence reigned, as if naught existed +there but the cheerless forest trees. Slowly, at length, the tomahawk was +returned to the belt, and the arrow to the quiver. No longer was a desire to +spill blood manifested. The dusky children of the forest attributed to the +mysterious sound a supernatural agency. They believed it was a voice from the +perennial hunting-grounds. Humbly they bowed their heads, and whispered +devotions to the Great Spirit. The young chief alone stood erect. He gazed at +the round moon above him, and sighs burst from his breast, and burning tears +ran down his stained cheek. Impatiently, by a motion of the hand, he directed +the savages to leave him, and when they withdrew he resumed his seat on the +fallen trunk, and reclined his brow upon his hand. One of the long feathers +that decked his head waved forward, after he had been seated thus a few +minutes, and when his eye rested upon it he started up wildly, and tearing it +away, trampled it under his feet. At that instant the same +“FATHER!” was again heard. The young chief fell upon his knees, +and, while he panted convulsively, said, in ENGLISH, “<i>Father! Mother! +I’m your poor William—you loved me much—where are you? Oh +tell me—I will come to you—I want to see you!</i>” He then +fell prostrate and groaned piteously. “Father! oh! where are you? Whose +voice was that?” said Mary, breaking through the slight incrustation that +obscured her, and leaping from her covert. +</p> + +<p> +The young chief sprang from the earth—gazed a moment at the +maid—spoke rapidly and loudly in the language of his tribe to his party, +who were now at the place of encampment, seated by the fire they had +kindled—and then, seizing his tomahawk, was in the act of hurling it at +Mary, when the yells of the war-party and the ringing discharges of firearms +arrested his steel when brandished in the air. The white men had arrived! The +young, chief seized Mary by her long flowing hair—again prepared to level +the fatal blow—when she turned her face upwards, and he again hesitated. +Discharges in quick succession, and nearer than before, still rang in his ears. +Mary strove not to escape. Nor did the Indian strike. The whites were heard +rushing through the bushes—the chief seized the trembling girl in his +arms—a bullet whizzed by his head—but, unmindful of danger, he +vanished among the dark bushes with his burden. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="ChapterXII"> +CHAPTER XII. </a> +</h2> + +<p class="quote"> +Joe’s indisposition—His cure—Sneak’s +reformation—The pursuit—The captive Indian—Approach to the +encampment of the savages—Joe’s illness again—The +surprise—The terrific encounter—Rescue of Mary—Capture of the +young chief—The return. +</p> + +<p> +We return to the white men. The grief of Roughgrove, and of all the party, when +it was ascertained beyond a doubt that Mary had been carried off by the +savages, was deep and poignant. The aged ferryman sat silent and alone, and +would not be comforted, while the rest made the necessary arrangements to +pursue the foe. The sled was so altered that blankets, buffalo robes, and a +small quantity of food could be taken in it. Bullets were moulded and the guns +put in order. Joe was ordered to give the horses water, and place a large +quantity of provender within their reach. The hounds were fed and then led back +to their kennel, and Glenn announced, after Roughgrove declared his +determination to go along, that Ringwood and Jowler alone would be left to +guard the premises. +</p> + +<p> +“My goodness!” said Joe, when he understood that he was expected to +make one of the pursuing party, “I can’t go! My head’s so +sore, and aches so bad, I couldn’t go ten miles before I’d have to +give up. Let me stay, Mr. Glenn, and take care of the house.” +</p> + +<p> +“Do you forget that <i>Mary</i> is in the hands of the Indians? Would you +hesitate even to <i>die</i>, while striving to rescue a poor, innocent, +helpless maiden? For shame!” replied Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I’d spill my heart’s blood for her,” said Joe, +“if it would do any good. But you know how I was crippled last night, and +I didn’t sleep a bit afterwards, hardly.” +</p> + +<p> +“Dod”—commenced Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Joe,” said Boone, “from the vigorous manner in which you +fought the wolves, I am induced to believe that your present scruples are not +well founded. We will need every man we can obtain.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, I wouldn’t mind it at all,” said Joe, “if it +wasn’t that you’re a going to start right off now. If I only had a +little sleep—” +</p> + +<p> +“You shall have it,” said Boone. Both Glenn and Roughgrove looked +inquiringly at the speaker. “We will not start to-night,” continued +he. “It would be useless. We could not overtake them, and if we did, it +would cause them to put Mary to death, that they might escape our vengeance the +more easily. I have duly considered the matter. We must rest here to-night, and +rise refreshed in the morning. We will then set out on their trail, and I +solemnly pledge my word never to return without bringing the poor child back +unharmed.” +</p> + +<p> +“I <i>hope</i> my head’ll be well by morning,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“I <i>know</i> it will be well enough,” said Glenn; “so you +need entertain no hope of being left behind.” +</p> + +<p> +“Now, Sneak, a word with you,” said Boone. “I think you would +do almost <i>any thing</i> for my sake—” +</p> + +<p> +“If I wouldn’t, I wish I may be dod—” +</p> + +<p> +“Stop!” continued Boone, interrupting him. +</p> + +<p> +“Jest ax me to cut off my little finger,” said Sneak, “and if +I don’t do it, I wish I may be dod—” +</p> + +<p> +“Stop!” again interposed Boone. “My first request is one that +poor <i>Mary</i> asked me to make. I know it will be a severe trial.” +</p> + +<p> +“Name it,” cried Sneak, “and if it’s to job out one of +my eyes, dod rot me if I don’t do it!” +</p> + +<p> +“<i>Hear</i> me,” continued Boone; “she desired me to ask you +not to use that ugly word <i>dod-rot</i> any more.” +</p> + +<p> +“Hay!” exclaimed Sneak, his eyes dilating, and his mouth falling +wide open. +</p> + +<p> +“I know it will be a hard matter,” said Boone; “but Mary +thinks you have a good and brave heart, and she says you are the only one among +us that uses bad words.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’d go my death for that gal, or any other female woman in the +settlement, any day of my life. And as she wants me to swaller them words, that +was born with me, dod—I mean, I wish I may be—<i>indeed</i>, +I’ll be starved to death if I don’t do it! only when I’m +raven mad at something, and then I can’t help it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Very well,” said Boone. “Now I have a request of my own to +make.” +</p> + +<p> +“Sing it out! dod—no—nothing! I didn’t say it—but +I’ll <i>do</i> what you want me to,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“I think <i>you</i> will not suffer for the want of sleep,” +continued Boone; “and I wish you to go out and get as many of the +neighbours to join us as possible. You can go to three or four houses by +midnight, sleep a little, and meet us here, or in the prairie, in the +morning.” +</p> + +<p> +“I shall cut stick—if I don’t I wish I may be +do—I—<i>indeed</i> I will!” and before he ceased speaking he +was rushing through the gate. +</p> + +<p> +The little party then took a hasty repast, and, throwing themselves on the +couches, endeavoured to sleep. Boone and Joe were soon wrapped in slumber; but +neither Roughgrove nor Glenn, for a great length of time, could find repose. +</p> + +<p> +“Strive to be composed, my friend; all will be well,” said Glenn, +when the disconsolate old ferryman gave vent to numerous heart-rending sighs. +</p> + +<p> +“If you only knew”—commenced Roughgrove, in reply, and the +words he was about to utter died upon his lips. +</p> + +<p> +“I can well imagine the extent of your bereavement,” said Glenn; +“but at the same time I am sure she will be returned to you +unharmed.” +</p> + +<p> +“It was not Mary alone I alluded to,” said Roughgrove; “but +to lose two children—all that we had—so cruelly—Oh! may we +all meet in heaven!” +</p> + +<p> +“Then you had <i>two</i> children, and lost them both? I never heard the +other mentioned,” said Glenn, now evincing a most lively interest in the +subject. +</p> + +<p> +“No—it was my request that it should never be mentioned. Mary and +he were twins—only six years old, when he was lost. I wished Mary to +forget entirely that she ever had a brother—it could do no good for her +to know it, and would distress her. But now, Heavenly Father! both are +gone!” added the old man, in tears. +</p> + +<p> +“Was he, too, taken by the Indians? the Osages?” inquired Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“No,” said Roughgrove. “He had been playing on the margin of +the river, and we were compelled to believe that he fell in the stream and was +drowned—at a time when no eye was upon him. Mary was near at hand, but +she did not see him fall, nor could she tell how he disappeared. His poor +mother believed that an Indian stole him away. But the only Indians then in the +neighbourhood were the Pawnees, and they were at that time friendly. He was +surely drowned. If the Pawnees had taken him, they would soon have proposed a +ransom. Yet his mother continually charged them with the deed. In her dreams +she ever saw him among the savages. In all her thoughts it was the same. She +pined away—she never knew a happy moment afterwards—and when she +died, the same belief was uttered in her last words. I am now alone!” The +old man covered his face with his hands, and sobbed audibly. +</p> + +<p> +“Bear with patience and resignation,” said Glenn, “the +dispensations of an all-wise Providence. All may yet be well. The son, whom you +thought lost forever, may be living, and possibly reclaimed, and Mary shall be +restored, if human efforts can accomplish it. Cheer up. Many a happy day may +still be reserved for you.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! my dear young friend! if you but knew <i>all</i>!” said +Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +“Do I not now know all?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“No,” replied the old man; “but the rest must remain a +secret—it should, perhaps, be buried in my breast forever! I will now +strive to sleep.” They ceased to speak, and silence reigned till morning. +</p> + +<p> +Joe was roused from his couch in the morning by a tremendous +“Ya-hoy!” outside of the inclosure. +</p> + +<p> +“Run and open the gate,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I’d rather not,” said Joe, rubbing his eyes. +</p> + +<p> +“Why?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Hang it, it’s the Indians again!” replied Joe, seizing his +musket. +</p> + +<p> +“It is Sneak and his men,” observed Boone, when another shout was +uttered. +</p> + +<p> +“Hang me, if I don’t have a peep at ’em first, anyhow,” +said Joe, approaching the gate cautiously, and peering through a small crevice. +</p> + +<p> +“Ya-hoo!” repeated those without. +</p> + +<p> +“Who are you? why don’t you speak out?” said Joe, still +unable to see their faces. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod—I mean—plague take it! Joe, is Mr. Boone standing there +with you?” asked Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“No,” replied Joe, opening the gate. +</p> + +<p> +“Then dod <i>rot</i> your hide! why didn’t you let us in?” +said Sneak, rushing through the gate, and followed by five of the neighbours. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, Sneak, how could I tell that you wern’t Indians?” said +Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“You be dod—never mind!” continued Sneak, shaking his head, +and passing to where Boone stood, near the house. +</p> + +<p> +“I am glad to see you all,” said Boone, extending his hand to each +of the hardy pioneers. “But let us not waste a moment’s time. I see +you are all armed. Seize hold of the sled-rope, and let us be off.” The +command was instantly obeyed, and the party were soon passing out of the +inclosure. The gate was scarce fastened before another “Ya-hoo!” +came from the valley below, and a moment after they were joined by Col. Cooper +and Dan. The other oarsman had been sent up the river for reinforcements, and +Col. Cooper and Dan having heard the great explosion, finally resolved to cross +over the river, and not await the arrival of the trappers. +</p> + +<p> +The party now amounted to twelve, and no time was lost in commencing the march, +or rather the chase; for when they reached the prairie and found the trail of +the snow-canoe, their progress equalled that of the savages. But they had not +gone far before Joe was taken suddenly ill, and begged to be permitted to +return. +</p> + +<p> +“I declare I can hardly hold my head up!” said he still holding on +to the rope, and keeping pace with the rest, though his head hung down. +</p> + +<p> +“Possomin’—dod—I mean he’s jest +‘possomin’,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“No indeed I ain’t—plague it, don’t <i>you</i> say any +thing, Sneak,” Joe, added, in an undertone. +</p> + +<p> +“I am something of a physician,” said Boone, whose quick ear had +caught the words addressed to Sneak. “Let me feel your pulse,” he +added, ordering the party to halt, and turning to Joe, whose wrist he seized. +</p> + +<p> +“I feel something better,” said Joe, alarmed at the mysterious and +severe expression of Boone’s face. +</p> + +<p> +“I hope you will be entirely well in <i>two minutes</i>,” said +Boone; “and then it will not be necessary to apply my remedy.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m about well now,” said Joe: “I think I can go +ahead.” +</p> + +<p> +“I believe your pulse is good now; and I think you will hardly have +another attack to-day. If you do, just let me know it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, now I feel perfectly well,” responded Joe; and, seizing the +rope, they were all soon again flying along on the trail of the savages. +</p> + +<p> +A little before noon, while casting his eyes along the dim horizon in advance, +Sneak abruptly paused, causing the rest to do likewise, and exclaimed, +“Dod rot it.” +</p> + +<p> +“What’s the matter, Sneak? Remember the promise you made,” +said Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh,” replied Sneak, “in sich an extronary case as this, I +can’t help saying that word yet awhile. But look yander!” he +continued, pointing to a slight eminence a great distance in advance. +</p> + +<p> +“True!” said Boone, “that is an Indian—but it is the +only one hereabouts.” +</p> + +<p> +“He is coming to meet us,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes! my goodness! he’s looking at us now,” cried Joe, +retreating a few steps. +</p> + +<p> +“If there are more of them watching us,” said Col. Cooper, +“they are somewhere in our rear.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! we’re surrounded!” cried Joe, leaping forward again. +</p> + +<p> +“Come on,” said Boone; “we’ll soon learn what he wants +with us.” +</p> + +<p> +When they were within a few hundred yards of the solitary Indian, they again +halted, and Joe ran to the sled and seized his musket, which he cocked and +threw up to his shoulder. +</p> + +<p> +“Take down your gun!” said Boone; “that is the Indian whose +life we spared. I was not deceived in his integrity. He was not the one that +stole away Mary. I doubt not he brings intelligence of her.” +</p> + +<p> +“God grant she may still be unharmed!” said Roughgrove, advancing +to meet the Indian, who, being now within gunshot, raised his small white flag. +“Tell me! tell me all about her!” exclaimed Roughgrove, in the +Osage language, when he met the Indian. When the Indian informed him of the +condition of Mary, the old man could not repress his raptures, his gratitude, +or his tears. “She’s safe! she’s safe! Heaven be +praised!” he exclaimed, turning to his companions, who now came up, and +experienced almost as much joy at the announcement as himself. +</p> + +<p> +“Hang me, if you ain’t a right clever fellow,” said Joe, +shaking the Indian’s hand quite heartily. “Now,” he +continued, when all the particulars of Mary’s escape were made known, +“there won’t be any use in fighting; we can just get Miss Mary out +of the snow, and then go home again.” +</p> + +<p> +“You don’t know—keep your mouth shet—dod—,” +said Sneak, suppressing the last word. +</p> + +<p> +“We are not sure of that,” said Boone; “on the contrary, I +think it is very probable we shall have fighting yet. When the war-party +discover the deception, (as they must have done ere this,) they will retrace +their steps. If it was early in the day when they ascertained that the captive +had escaped, we may expect to see them very soon. If it was late, we will find +them in the grove where they encamped. In either event we must expect to +fight—and fight hard too—for they outnumber us considerably.” +</p> + +<p> +Joe sighed, but said nothing. +</p> + +<p> +“Are you getting ill again?” inquired Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“No—I was only blowing—I got a little tired,” said Joe, +in scarce articulate tones. +</p> + +<p> +“And I feel weak—very weak—but it is with joy!” said +Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +“And I have observed it, too,” said Boone. “Get in the sled; +we will pull you along till your strength returns.” +</p> + +<p> +“I will be able to use my gun when I meet the foe,” said the old +man, getting into the sled. +</p> + +<p> +The party set forward again, guided by the Indian, and in high spirits. The +consciousness that Mary was in safety removed a weight from the breasts of all; +and, as they ran along, many a light jest and pleasant repartee lessened the +weariness of the march. Even Joe smiled once or twice when Boone, in a mock +heroic manner alluded to his exploits among the wolves. +</p> + +<p> +“Blast me,” said Joe, when Sneak mentioned a few cases of equivocal +courage as an offset to Boone’s compliments, “blast me, if I +haven’t killed more Indians than any of you, since I have been in this +plagued country.” +</p> + +<p> +“True—that is, your musket has,” said Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“Joe can fight sometimes,” said Glenn, smiling. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll be hanged if I haven’t always fought, when there was +any fighting going on,” said Joe, reproachfully. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, and he’ll fight again, as manfully as any of us,” said +Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod—why, what are you holding back for so hard?” said Sneak, +remarking that Joe at that instant seemed to be much excited, and, instead of +going forward, actually brought the whole party to a model ate walk by his +counter exertion. +</p> + +<p> +“What do you mean?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Are you going to be ill?” asked Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“No, goodness, no! Only listen to me a minute. An idea struck me, which I +thought it was my duty to tell. I thought this Indian might be deceiving us. +Suppose he leads us right into an ambush when we’re talking and laughing, +and thinking there’s no danger. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod—you’re a cowardly fool!” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“I have likewise a remedy for interruptions—I advise rot to stop +again,” said Boone, when Joe once more started forward. +</p> + +<p> +Just as night was setting in, the party came in sight of the grove where Mary +was concealed. They slackened their pace and drew near the dark woods quite +cautiously. When they entered the edge of the grove, they heard the war-party +utter the yell which had awakened Mary. It was fully understood by Boone, and +the friendly Indian assured them from the sound, that the Osages had just +returned, and were at that moment leaving the encampment on his trail. But he +stated that they could not find the pale-faced maiden. And he suggested to the +whites a plan of attack, which was to station themselves near the place where +he had emerged from the grove, after hiding Mary; so that when they followed on +his trail they could thus be surprised without difficulty. This advice was +adopted by Boone. The Indian then asked permission to depart, saying he had +paid the white men for sparing his life. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh no!” cried Joe, when Roughgrove interpreted the Indian’s +request, “keep him as a hostage—he may be cheating us.” +</p> + +<p> +“I do not see the impropriety of Joe’s remark this time,” +said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Ask him where he will go, if we suffer him to depart,” said Boone. +To Roughgrove’s interrogation, the Indian made a passionate reply. He +said the white men were liars. They were now quits. Still the white men were +not satisfied. He had risked his life (and would probably be tortured) to pay +back the white men’s kindness. But they would not believe his words. He +was willing to die now. The white men might shoot him.. He would as willingly +die as live. If suffered to depart, it was his intention to steal his squaw +away from the tribe, and join the Pawnees. He would never be an Osage again. +</p> + +<p> +“Go!” said Boone, perceiving by a ray of moonlight that reached the +Indian’s face through the clustering branches of the trees above, that he +was in tears. The savage, without speaking another word, leaped out into the +prairie, and from the circuitous direction he pursued, it was manifest that +nothing could be further from his desire than to fall in with the war-party. +</p> + +<p> +Boone directed the sled to be abandoned, and, obedient to his will, the party +entered a small covert in the immediate vicinity of the spot where their guide +said he had emerged from the grove on his return to meet the whites. Here the +party long remained esconced, silent and listening, and expecting every moment +to see the foe. At length Boone grew impatient, and concluding they would +encamp that night under the spreading tree, (the locality of which he was +familiar with,) he resolved to advance and surprise them. He was strengthened +in this determination by the repeated and painful surmises of Roughgrove +respecting Mary’s piteous condition. Glenn, and the rest, with perhaps +one or two exceptions, likewise seemed disposed to make an instantaneous +termination of the torturing suspense respecting the fate of the poor girl. +</p> + +<p> +Boone and Sneak led the way. The party were compelled to proceed with the +utmost caution. Sometimes they were forced to crawl many paces on their hands +and knees under the pendent snow-covered bushes. They drew near the spreading +tree. A fire was burning under it, the flickering rays of which could be +occasionally seen glimmering through the branches. A stick was heard to break a +little distance on one side, and Boone and Sneak sank down on the snow, and +whispered to the rest to follow their example. It was done without a repetition +of the order. Joe was the hindmost of all, but after lying a few minutes in +silence, he crept softly forward, trembling all the while. When he reached the +side of Boone, the aged woodman did not chide him, but simply pointed his +finger towards a small decayed log a few paces distant. Joe looked but a +moment, and then pulling his hat over his eyes, laid down flat on his face, in +silence and submission. An Indian was seated on the log, and very composedly +cutting off the dry bark with his tomahawk. Once or twice he paused and +remained a moment in a listening attitude. But probably thinking the sounds he +heard (if he heard any) proceeded from some comrade like himself in quest of +fuel, he continued to cut away, until an armful was obtained, and then very +deliberately arose and walked with an almost noiseless step to the fire, which +was not more than fifty yards distant. Boone rose softly and whispered the rest +to follow. He was promptly obeyed by all except Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Come, sir! prepare your musket to fire,” said Boone, stooping down +to Joe, who still remained apparently frozen to the snow-crust. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! I’m so sick!” replied Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“If you do not keep with us, you will lose your scalp to a +certainty,” said Boone. Joe was well in a second. The party were now +about midway between the fallen trunk where Mary was concealed, and the great +encampment-tree. Boone rose erect for an instant, and beheld the former, and +the single Indian (the chief) who was there. One of the Indians again started +out from the fire, in the direction of the whites for more fuel. Boone once +more passed the word for his little band to lie down. The tall savage came +within a few feet of them. His tomahawk accidentally fell from his hand, and in +his endeavour to catch it, he knocked it within a few feet of Sneak’s +head. He stepped carelessly aside, and stooped down for it. A strangling and +gushing sound was heard, and falling prostrate, he died without a groan. Sneak +had nearly severed his head from his body at one blow with his hunting-knife. +</p> + +<p> +At this juncture Mary sprang from her hiding-place. Her voice reached the ears +of her father, but before he could run to her assistance, the chiefs loud tones +rang through the forest. Boone and the rest sprang forward, and fired upon the +savages under the spreading tree. At the second discharge the Indians gave way, +and while Col. Cooper, the oarsmen, and the neighbours that had joined the +party in the morning, pursued the flying foe, Boone and the remainder ran +towards the fallen trunk where Mary had been concealed, but approaching in +different directions. Glenn was the first to rush upon the chief, and it was +his ball that whizzed so near the Indian’s head when he bore away the +shrieking maiden. The rest only fired in the direction of the log, not thinking +that Mary had left her covert. They soon met at the fallen tree, under which +was the pit, all except Glenn, who sprang forward in pursuit of the chief, and +Sneak, who had made a wide circuit for the purpose of reaching the scene of +action from an opposite direction, entirely regardless of the danger of being +shot by his friends. +</p> + +<p> +“She’s gone! she’s gone!” exclaimed Roughgrove, looking +aghast at the vacated pit under the fallen trunk. “But we will have her +yet,” said Boone, as he heard Glenn discharge a pistol a few paces apart +in the bushes. The report was followed by a yell, not from the chief, but +Sneak, and the next moment the rifle of the latter was likewise heard. Still +the Indian was not dispatched, for the instant afterwards his tomahawk, which +was hurled without effect, came sailing over the bushes, and penetrated a tree +hard by, some fifteen or twenty feet above the earth, where it entered the wood +with such force that it remained firmly fixed. Now succeeded a struggle—a +violent blow was heard—the fall of the Indian, and all was comparatively +still. A minute afterwards, Sneak emerged from the thicket, bearing the +inanimate body of Mary in his arms, and followed by Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Is she dead? Oh, she’s dead!” cried Roughgrove, snatching +her from the arms of Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“She has only fainted!” exclaimed Glenn, examining the body of the +pale girl, and finding no wounds. +</p> + +<p> +“She is recovering!” said Boone, feeling her pulse. +</p> + +<p> +“God be praised!” exclaimed Roughgrove, when returning animation +was manifest. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! I know you won’t kill me! For pity’s sake spare +me!” said Mary. +</p> + +<p> +“It is your father, my poor child!” said Roughgrove, pressing the +girl to his heart. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> +<img src="images/010.jpg" alt="It is your father, my poor child!" width="372" +height="465"/> +</div> + +<p class="caption"> +“It is your father, my poor child!” said Roughgrove, pressing the +girl to his heart. +</p> + +<p> +“It is! it is!” cried the happy girl, clinging rapturously to the +old man’s neck, and then, seizing the hands of the rest, she seemed to be +half wild with delight. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod—I—I mean that none of the black noctilerous savages +shall ever hurt you as long as Sneak lives,” said Sneak, looking down at +his gun, which had been broken off at the breech. +</p> + +<p> +“How did you break that?” asked Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“I broke it over the yaller feller’s head,” said he, +“and I’d do it agin, before he should hurt Miss Mary, if it +<i>is</i> the only one I’ve got.” +</p> + +<p> +“I have an extra rifle at home,” said Glenn, “which shall be +yours, as a reward for your gallant conduct.” +</p> + +<p> +“Where is the chief? Is he dead?” asked Mary. +</p> + +<p> +“If he ain’t dead, his head’s harder than my gun, +that’s all,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, I’m so sorry!” said Mary. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, my child?” asked Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +“Because,” said Mary, “he’s a good-hearted Indian, and +never would have harmed me. When he heard you coming, and raised his tomahawk +to kill me, I looked in his face, and he could not strike, for there were tears +in his eyes! I know he never would have thought of killing me, when calm, for +he treated me very kindly before I escaped.” +</p> + +<p> +“Maybe he ain’t dead—I’ll go and see,” said +Sneak, repairing to the late scene of conflict. When he arrived he found the +young chief sitting upright, having been only stunned; a gold band that +confined his head-dress prevented the blow from fracturing his skull. He was +now unresisting and sullen. Sneak made him rise up, and after binding his hands +behind him with a strong cord, led him forth. +</p> + +<p> +“You did not intend to kill me, did you?” asked Mary, in soothing +tones. The chief regarded her not, but looked steadfastly downwards. +</p> + +<p> +“He don’t understand you, Mary,” said Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, yes he does,” continued Mary; “and he can speak our +language, too, for I heard him talking, and thought it was you, and that was +the reason why I came out of the pit.” Roughgrove addressed him in his +own language, but with no better success. The captured chief resolved not to +plead for his life. He would make no reply whatever to their questions, but +still gazed downwards in reckless sullenness. +</p> + +<p> +“What shall we do with him?” asked Glenn, when the rest of the +party, (with the exception of Joe,) who had chased the savages far away, came +up and stared at the prisoner. +</p> + +<p> +“Let us set him free!” said Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +“Kill him!” cried several. +</p> + +<p> +“No!” exclaimed Mary, “what do <i>you</i> say, Mr. +Boone?” +</p> + +<p> +“It would be useless to kill him,” said Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“Let him go, then,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“No!” said Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“Why?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Because,” replied Boone, “he is a chief, and we may make him +the means of securing the settlement against future attacks. We will confine +him in your garrison as a hostage, and send some friendly Indian to the Osages +announcing his capture, and informing them that his life will be spared +provided they keep away from the settlement for a certain length of time, at +the expiration of which he shall be restored to them.” +</p> + +<p> +“I am glad of that,” said Mary, “for I don’t believe he +is a bad Indian. We will treat him kindly, and then I think he will always be +our friend.” +</p> + +<p> +“Take him along, and bind him fast in the sled, Sneak,” said Boone; +“but see that you do not injure him in the least.” +</p> + +<p> +“I will. Oh, me and him are purty good friends now. Gee-whoa-haw,” +continued he, taking hold of the string behind, and endeavouring to drive the +silent captive like an ox. The young chief whirled round indignantly, and with +such force as to send Sneak sprawling several paces to one side. He rose amid +the laughter that ensued, and remembering the words of Boone, conducted his +prisoner away in a more respectful manner. +</p> + +<p> +“Where’s Joe?” at length inquired Glenn, seeing that he alone +was missing. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! I’m afraid he’s dead,” said Mary. +</p> + +<p> +“If he is, I shall mourn his loss many a day,” said Glenn; +“for with all his defects, I would not be without him for the +world.” +</p> + +<p> +“Give yourself no uneasiness,” said Boone; “for he is as well +at this moment as you or I.” +</p> + +<p> +“I hope so,” said Glenn; “but I have not seen him since we +first fired at the Indians.” +</p> + +<p> +“Let us repair to that spot, and there we will find him, for I saw him +fall down when he discharged his musket. I venture to say he has not moved an +inch since.” +</p> + +<p> +The party repaired to the place mentioned, and there they found him, sure +enough, lying quite still on his face beside the Indian that Sneak had killed. +</p> + +<p> +“He <i>is</i> dead!” said Glenn, after calling to him and receiving +no answer. +</p> + +<p> +“We’ll soon see,” said Boone, turning him over on his back. +“I will open a vein in his arm.” +</p> + +<p> +“Bring a torch from the fire,” said Col. Cooper to one of the men. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh!” sighed Joe, lifting his hands to his head. +</p> + +<p> +“I thought he would soon come to life again,” said Boone, examining +his face with the torch that was brought, and then laughing outright. The +spectacle was ludicrous in the extreme. Joe was besmeared with blood, and, when +he opened his eyes and stared at the flaming light, he resembled some +sanguinary demon. +</p> + +<p> +“Where in the world did all this blood come from?” exclaimed Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m recovered now,” said Joe, rising up and assuming an air +of importance. +</p> + +<p> +“What have you been doing?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ve been doing as much as any of you, I’ll be bound,” +replied Joe, very gravely. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, what have you done?” repeated Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ve been fighting the last half hour, as hard as anybody ever +fought in this world. Only look at the stabs in that Indian!” said he, +pointing to the savage. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, you scoundrel! Sneak killed this Indian,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Sneak thought he did,” replied Joe, “but he only wounded +him. After a while he got up and clinched me by the throat, and we had it over +and over on the snow, till we both got so exhausted we couldn’t do any +thing. When we rested, we went at it again, and it hasn’t been five +minutes since I stuck my knife in his breast. When he fell, I stuck him four or +five times, and then fainted myself.” +</p> + +<p> +“Here is a wound in the savage’s breast,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“But here’s another in the throat,” said Boone, showing where +the arteries had been severed by Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Joe,” said Glenn, “you must abandon this habit of lying, if +indeed it is not a portion of your nature.” +</p> + +<p> +“Hang it all, I ain’t lying—I know Sneak did cut his throat, +but he didn’t cut it deep—I cut it deeper, myself, after the Indian +got up again!” persisted he. +</p> + +<p> +The party hastily glanced at the four or five dead savages under the trees, +that had fallen victims to their fire, and then returned to the sled. Mary was +placed beside the captive chief, and they set out on their return, well +satisfied with the result of the expedition. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="ChapterXIII"> +CHAPTER XIII. </a> +</h2> + +<p class="quote"> +The return—The young chief in confinement—Joe’s fun—His +reward—The ring—A discovery—William’s +recognition—Memories of childhood—A scene—Roughgrove’s +history—The children’s parentage. +</p> + +<p> +The party on their return did not travel so rapidly as they had advanced. They +moreover halted in a grove which they espied about midnight, and finding a +spreading tree that had entirely shielded a small space of ground from the +snow, they kindled a fire, arranged their robes, and reposed a few hours. The +captive chief was still sullen and unresisting. He was suffered to recline in +the sled enveloped in skins, with his hands and feet yet bound, and an extra +cord passed round his body, the end of which Sneak held in his hand while he +slept. When daylight appeared, they set forward again in a moderate pace, and +arrived at Glenn’s domicil at evening twilight. The neighbours that Sneak +had enlisted departed for their homes, and Boone and Col. Cooper, after bidding +our hero, Roughgrove, and Mary, a hearty adieu, without entering the inclosure, +recrossed the river to their own settlement. +</p> + +<p> +The remainder of the party, except the oarsmen, accepted Glenn’s +invitation to remain with him till morning. When the gate was thrown open, the +faithful hounds manifested great delight to behold their master again, and also +Mary, for they pranced so much in the path before them that it was almost +impossible to walk. They barked in ecstasy. The poor fawn had been forgotten, +neglected, and had suffered much for food. Mary placed her arm round its neck +and wept. Glenn ordered Joe, who was in the stable caressing the horses, to +feed the drooping pet instantly. +</p> + +<p> +The party then entered the house, leading in the chief, and soon after Sneak +had a bright fire blazing on the hearth. +</p> + +<p> +The food that remained from the last repast amply sufficed, the captive +refusing to partake with them, and Joe having dined during the last twelve +miles of the journey on the way. +</p> + +<p> +“How we’ll be able to keep this Indian here, when we go out, I +should like to know,” said Joe, regarding the manly and symmetrical form +of the young chief, who was now unbound, and sat silent and thoughtful by the +fire. +</p> + +<p> +“I think he ought to be killed,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, no!” said Mary; “he is not bad like the other +Indians.” The Indian, for the first time since his capture, raised his +head while she spoke, and looked searchingly in her face. “Oh!” +continued Mary, thinking of the horrors of savage warfare, and bursting into +tears, “you will never attempt to kill any of us again, will you?” +</p> + +<p> +“No!” said the chief, in a low but distinct tone. Every one in the +house but Mary started. +</p> + +<p> +“You understand our language, do you? Then why did you not answer my +questions?” asked Roughgrove, turning to the captive. The young chief +made no answer, but sat with his arms folded, and still regarding the features +of Mary. +</p> + +<p> +“He’s a perfect fool!” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“He’s a snake in the grass, and’ll bite some of us some of +these times, before we know any thing about it,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Be silent,” said Glenn. “If the hope that fills my breast +should be realized, the young chief will cause more rejoicing than sorrowing +among us. The wisdom of Providence surpasses all human understanding. Events +that bear a frightful import to the limited comprehensions of mortals, may +nevertheless be fraught with inestimable blessings. Even the circumstance of +your capture, Mary, however distressing at the time to yourself and to all your +friends, may some day be looked upon as a happy and fortunate +occurrence.” +</p> + +<p> +“I hope so,” said Mary. +</p> + +<p> +“God is great—is present everywhere, and governs every +thing—let us always submit to his just decrees without murmuring,” +said the old ferryman, his eyes brightening with fervent devotion. +</p> + +<p> +“They’ve a notion to preach a little, I believe,” whispered +Sneak to Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Let ’em go ahead, then,” replied Joe, who was busily engaged +with a long switch, that he occasionally thrust in the fire, and when the end +was burnt to a coal, slyly applied it to the heel of the young chiefs moccasin. +</p> + +<p> +“You’d better not let him ketch you at that,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“He’ll think its a tick biting him—I want to see if the +Indians scratch like other people,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +Mary, being so requested by her father, began to relate every thing that +transpired up to her rescue, while she was in the possession of the savages. +The Indian riveted his eyes upon her during the recital, and seemed to mark +every word. Whether he understood all she said, or was enchanted with her soft +and musical tones, could not be ascertained; but the listeners more than once +observed with astonishment his gleaming eyes, his attentive attitude, and the +intense interest exhibited in his face. It was during a moment when he was thus +absorbed that he suddenly sprang erect. Joe threw down his switch, convulsed +with internal laughter. Sneak leaned back against the wall, and while he +grinned at the amusing scene, seemed curious to know what would be the result. +Mary paused, and Glenn inquired the cause of the interruption. +</p> + +<p> +“Its nothing, hardly,” said Sneak: “only a spark of fire got +agin the Indian’s foot. He ain’t as good pluck as the other one we +had—he could stand burning at the stake without flinching.” +</p> + +<p> +“Did either of you <i>place</i> the fire against his foot?” +demanded Glenn, in something like anger. But before he could receive an answer, +the young chief, who had whirled round furiously, and cast a fierce look at his +tormentor, relaxing his knit brows into an expression of contempt, very +deliberately took hold of Joe’s ear, and turning on his heel like a +pivot, forced him to make many circles round him on the floor. +</p> + +<p> +“Let go my ear!” roared Joe, pacing round in pain. +</p> + +<p> +“Hold your holt, my snarvilerous yaller prairie dog!” cried Sneak, +inexpressibly amused. +</p> + +<p> +“Let go my ear, I say!” cried Joe, still trotting round, with both +hands grasping the Indian’s wrist. “Mr. Glenn! Mr. Glenn!” +continued Joe, “he’s pinching a hole through my ear! Shoot him +down, shoot him down. There’s my gun, standing against the wall—but +its not loaded! Take my knife—oh, he’s tearing my ear off!” +When the Indian thought he was sufficiently punished, he led him back to his +seat, and relinquished his hold. He then resumed his own seat, and composedly +turning his eyes to Mary, seemed to desire her to proceed with the narration. +She did so, but when she spoke of her attempt to escape in the prairie, of the +young chief’s noble conduct, and his admiration of her ring (and she +pulled off her glove and exhibited it as she spoke,) he again rose from his +seat, and walking, apparently unconsciously, to where she reclined upon her +father’s knees, fixed his eyes upon the jewel in a most mysterious +manner. He no longer dwelt upon the maiden’s sweet tones. He did nothing +but gaze at the ring. +</p> + +<p> +“He’s got a notion to steal that ring!” said Joe, with a +sneer. +</p> + +<p> +“Shot your mouth!” said Sneak, observing that Mary looked +reproachfully at Joe, and paused. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t talk that way, Joe!” said the offended girl. “If +he wanted it, why did he not take it when I was his prisoner? I will freely let +him have it now,” she continued, slipping it off from her finger. +</p> + +<p> +“No! keep it, child—it is a family ring,” said Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +“I will lend it to him—I know he will give it me again,” she +continued, placing it in the extended hand of the young chief, who thanked her +with his eyes, and resumed his seat. He now seemed to disregard every thing +that was said or done, and only gazed at the ring, which he held first in one +hand and then in the other, with the sparkling diamond uppermost. Sometimes he +would press his forehead with his hand and cover his eyes, and then gaze at the +ring again. Then staring wildly around, and slightly starting, he would bite +his fingers to ascertain whether the scene was reality or a dream. Finally, +giving vent to a piteous sigh, while a tear ran down his stained cheek, he +placed his elbows upon his knees, and, bending forward, seemed to muse over +some event of the past, which the jewel before him had called to remembrance. +</p> + +<p> +Glenn narrowly watched every look and motion of the young chief, and when Mary +finished the account of her capture, he introduced the subject of the lost +child, Mary’s brother, that Roughgrove had spoken about before starting +in pursuit of the war-party. +</p> + +<p> +“I can remember him!” said Mary, “and mother, too—they +are both in heaven now—poor brother! poor mother!” +</p> + +<p> +The young chief raised his head quickly, and staring at the maiden’s +face, seemed to regard her tears and her features with an interest similar to +that of a child when it beholds a rare and curious toy. +</p> + +<p> +“Has it not occurred to you,” said Glenn, addressing Roughgrove, +“that this young chief might possibly be your own son?” +</p> + +<p> +“No!” replied the old man, promptly, and partially rising, +“<i>he</i> my son—<i>he</i> Mary’s brother—and once in +the act of plunging the tomahawk—” +</p> + +<p> +“But, father,” interrupted Mary, “he would never have harmed +me—I know he would not—for every time he looked me in the face he +seemed to pity me, and sometimes he almost wept to think I was away from my +friends, among savages, cold and distressed. But I don’t think he can be +my brother—my little brother I used to love so much—yet I could +never think how he should have fallen in the river without my knowing it. +Sometimes I remember it all as if it were yesterday. He was hunting wild +violets—” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! oh!” screamed the young chief, springing from his seat towards +Mary. Fear, pain, apprehension, joy and affection, all seemed to be mingled in +his heaving breast. +</p> + +<p> +“He’s crazy, dod”—the word died upon Sneak’s lip. +</p> + +<p> +“I should like to know who burnt his foot then,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Silence! both of you,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“What does he mean?” at length asked Roughgrove, staring at the +young chief. +</p> + +<p> +“Let us be patient, and see,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +Ere long the Indian turned his eyes slowly downward, and resumed his seat +mournfully and in silence. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh!” said Mary, “if he <i>is</i> my poor brother, my heart +will burst to see him thus—a wild savage.” +</p> + +<p> +“How old are you, Mary?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Nineteen,” said she. +</p> + +<p> +“Your brother, then, has been lost thirteen years. He may yet be restored +to you—re-taught our manners and speech—bless his aged +father’s declining years, and merit sister’s affection.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! Mr. Glenn! is he then alive? is this he?” cried Mary. +</p> + +<p> +“No, child!” said Roughgrove, “do not think of such a thing, +for you will be most bitterly disappointed. Your brother was +<i>white</i>—look at this Indian’s dark face!” +</p> + +<p> +Glenn approached the chief, extending his hand in a friendly manner. It was +frankly grasped. He then gently drew the furs aside and exposed the young +man’s shoulder. It was as white as his own! Roughgrove, Mary, and all, +looked on in wonder. The young chief regarded it with singular emotions +himself. He seemed to associate it in some manner with the ring he held, for he +glanced from one to the other alternately. +</p> + +<p> +“Did Mary wear that ring before the child was lost?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“No,” replied Roughgrove, “but her mother did.” +</p> + +<p> +“I believe he is your son!” said Glenn. “Mary,” he +continued, “have you any trinkets or toys you used to play with?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes. Oh, let me get them!” she replied, and running to a corner of +the room where her father’s chests and trunks had been placed, she +produced a small drum and a brass toy cannon. “He used to play with these +from morning till night,” she continued, placing them on the floor. She +had not taken her hand away from them, before the young chief sprang to her +side and cried out— +</p> + +<p> +“They’re mine! they’re mine! they’re +William’s!” +</p> + +<p> +“What was the child’s name?” asked Glenn, quickly. +</p> + +<p> +“William! William!” cried Mary. “It is my brother! it is my +poor brother William!” and without a moment’s hesitation she threw +her arms round his neck, and sobbed upon his breast! +</p> + +<p> +“The poor, poor child!” said Roughgrove, in tremulous tones, +embracing them both, his eyes filled with tears. +</p> + +<p> +“Sister! sister!” said the youth, gazing in partial bewilderment at +Mary. +</p> + +<p> +“Brother, brother! I am your sister!” said Mary, in tones of +thrilling tenderness. +</p> + +<p> +“But mother! where’s mother?” asked the youth. The father and +sister bowed their heads in silence. The youth, after clinging fondly to Mary a +few minutes, started up abruptly and looked amazed, as if waking from a sweet +dream to the reality of his recent dreadful condition. +</p> + +<p> +“Brother, why do you look so coldly at us? Why don’t you press us +to your heart?” said Mary, still clinging to him. The youth’s +features gradually assumed a grave and haughty cast, and, turning away, he +walked to the stool he had occupied, and sat down in silence. +</p> + +<p> +“I will win him from the Indians,” said Mary, running after him, +and sitting down at his side. +</p> + +<p> +“Ugh!” exclaimed the youth in displeasure, and moved a short +distance away. +</p> + +<p> +“He’s not true grit—I ’most wish I had killed +him,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, and pinch me if I don’t burn him again, if I get a +chance,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Silence!” said Glenn, sternly. For many minutes not a word was +spoken. At length Mary, who had been sobbing, raised her head and looked +tenderly in the face of her brother. Still he regarded her with indifference. +She then seized the toy-drum, which with the other articles had been thrust out +of view, and placed them before him. When his eyes rested upon them; the severe +and wild expressions of his features again relaxed. The young war-chief was a +child again. He abandoned his seat and sat down on the floor beside his sister. +Looking her guilelessly in the face, an innocent and boyish smile played upon +his lips. +</p> + +<p> +“You won’t go away again and leave your poor sister; will you, +William?” said Mary. +</p> + +<p> +“No, indeed. And when the Indians come we’ll run away and go to +mother, won’t we, Mary?” said the youth, in a complete abandonment +of time and condition. +</p> + +<p> +“He <i>is</i> restored—restored at last!” exclaimed +Roughgrove, walking across the room to where the brother and sister sat. The +youth sprang to his feet, and darted a look of defiance at him. “Oh! +wretched man that I am! the murderous savages have converted the gentle lamb +into a wolf!” Roughgrove then repeated his words to the youth in the +Osage language. The youth replied in the same language, his eyes flashing +indignantly. He said it was not true; that the red man was great and noble, and +the pale face was a beast—and added that he had another tomahawk and bows +and arrows in his own country, and might see the day when this insult would be +terribly resented. The old man sank down on his rude seat, and gave way to +excruciating grief. +</p> + +<p> +“Brother William!” cried Mary, tapping the drum. The youth cast +down his eyes to where she sat, and their fierceness vanished in a twinkling. +She placed the toy in his possession, and rose to bring some other plaything +she remembered. +</p> + +<p> +“Sister, don’t go—I’ll tell mother!” cried the +youth, in infantile earnestness. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll come back presently, brother,” said Mary, tripping +across the room and searching a trunk. +</p> + +<p> +“Make haste—but I’m not afraid—I’ll frighten all +the Indians away.” Saying this, he rattled the drum as rapidly as +possible. +</p> + +<p> +“See what I’ve got, brother,” said Mary, returning with a +juvenile book, and sitting down close at his side. He thrust the drum away, +and, laughing heartily, placed his arm round his sister and said: +“Mother’s got <i>my</i> book; but you’ll let me look at +yours, won’t you, sister?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes that I will, brother—see, this is the little old woman, and +there’s her dog—” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, and there’s the peddler,” cried the youth, pointing at +the picture. +</p> + +<p> +“Now can’t you read it, brother?” +</p> + +<p> +“To be sure I can—let me read: +</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + +<p> +“‘There was a little woman +</p> + +<p> +As I have heard tell, +</p> + +<p> +She went to market +</p> + +<p> +Her eggs for to sell.’ +</p> +</div> +</div> + +<p> +“See! there she goes, with a basket on her arm and a cane in her +hand.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, and here she is again on this side, fast asleep, and her basket of +eggs sitting by her,” said Mary; “now let me read the next: +</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + +<p> +“‘She went to market, +</p> + +<p> +All on a market day, +</p> + +<p> +And she fell asleep +</p> + +<p> +On the king’s highway.” +</p> +</div> +</div> + +<p> +Now do you read about the peddler, brother. Mother used to say there was a +naughty word in it.” +</p> + +<p> +“I will,” cried the youth, eagerly; but he paused and looked +steadfastly at the picture before him. +</p> + +<p> +“Why don’t you read?” asked Mary, endeavouring to confine his +thoughts to the childish employment. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s a pretty <i>skin</i>, ain’t it?” said he, +pointing to the red shawl painted on the picture. +</p> + +<p> +“<i>Skin</i>!” said Mary; “why, that’s her shawl, +brother.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll steal one for my squaw,” said he. +</p> + +<p> +“<i>Steal</i>, brother!” said the trembling girl. +</p> + +<p> +“No I won’t, either, sister—don’t you know mother says +we must never steal, nor tell stories, nor say bad words.” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s right, brother. But you haven’t got an ugly +<i>squaw</i>, have you?” +</p> + +<p> +“No indeed, sister, that I haven’t!” +</p> + +<p> +“I thought you wouldn’t have any thing to do with the ugly +squaws.” +</p> + +<p> +“That I wouldn’t—mine’s a pretty one.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, heaven!” cried the weeping girl, throwing herself on her +brother’s bosom. He kissed her, and strove to comfort her, and turned to +the book and continued to turn over the leaves, while Mary sat by in sadness, +but ever and anon replying to his childish questions, and still striving to +keep him thus diverted. +</p> + +<p> +“Have you any of the clothes you wore when he was a child?” asked +Glenn, addressing Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” replied the old man; and seizing upon the thought, he +unlocked the trunk that contained them, and put them on. +</p> + +<p> +“Where’s mother?” suddenly asked the young chief. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, she’s dead!” said Mary. +</p> + +<p> +“Dead? I know better!” said he, emphatically. +</p> + +<p> +“Indeed she is, brother,” repeated Mary, in tears. +</p> + +<p> +“When did she die?” he continued, in a musing attitude. +</p> + +<p> +“A long time ago—when you were away,” said she. +</p> + +<p> +“I wasn’t gone away long, was I?” he asked, with much +simplicity. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, very long—we thought you were dead.” +</p> + +<p> +“He was a very bad Indian to steal me away without asking mother. But +where’s father? Is he dead, too?” he continued, lifting his eyes +and beholding Roughgrove attired in a suit of velvet, and wearing broad silver +knee buckles. “Father! father!” he cried, eagerly clasping the old +man in his arms. +</p> + +<p> +“My poor boy, I will be your father still!” said Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +“I know you will,” said the youth, “for you always loved me a +great deal, and now that my poor mother’s dead, I’m sure you will +love sister and me more than ever.” +</p> + +<p> +“Indeed I will, poor child! But you must not go back to the naughty +savages any more.” +</p> + +<p> +The youth gazed round in silence, and made no reply. He was evidently awakening +to a consciousness of his condition. A frown of horror darkened his brow as he +contemplated the scenes of his wild abode among the Indians; and, when he +contrasted his recent mode of life with the Elysian days of his childhood, now +fresh in his memory, mingled emotions of regret, fear, and bliss seemed to be +contending in his bosom. A cold dampness settled upon his forehead, his limbs +trembled violently, and distressful sighs issued from his heaving breast. +Gradually he sank down on a couch at his side, and closed his eyes. +</p> + +<p> +When some minutes had elapsed, during which a death-like silence was +maintained, Mary approached lightly to where her father stood, and inquired if +her brother was ill. +</p> + +<p> +“No,” said Roughgrove, in a whisper; “he only sleeps; but it +is a very sound slumber.” +</p> + +<p> +“Now let us take off his Indian dress,” said Glenn, “and put +on him some of my clothes.” This was speedily effected, and without +awaking the youth, whose senses were benumbed, as if by some powerful opiate. +</p> + +<p> +“Now, Mary,” said Roughgrove, “you must likewise have repose. +You are almost exhausted in body and mind. Sleep at your brother’s side, +if you will, poor girl.” Mary laid her head on William’s pillow, +and was soon in a deep slumber. +</p> + +<p> +For several moments Roughgrove stood lost in thought, gazing alternately at the +reposing brother and sister, and Glenn. He looked also at Sneak and Joe +reclining by the fire; both were fast asleep. He then resumed his seat, and +motioned Glenn to do likewise. He bowed his head a brief length of time in +silence, apparently recalling to mind some occurrence of more than ordinary +import. +</p> + +<p> +“My young friend,” said he, at length, while he placed his withered +hand upon Glenn’s knee, “do you remember that I said there was +<i>another</i> secret connected with my family?” +</p> + +<p> +“Distinctly,” replied Glenn; “and I have since felt so much +anxiety to be acquainted with it that I have several times been on the eve of +asking you to gratify my curiosity; but thinking it might be impertinent, I +have forborne. It has more than once occurred to me that your condition in life +must have been different from what it now is.” +</p> + +<p> +“It has been different—far different. I will tell you all. I am a +native of England—a younger brother, of an ancient and honourable family, +but much decayed in fortune. I was educated for the ministry. Our residence was +on the Thames, a few miles distant from London, and I was early entered in one +of the institutions of the great city. While attending college, it was my +practice twice a month to visit my father’s mansion on foot. I was fond +of solitary musings, and the exercise was beneficial to my weak frame. It was +during one of those excursions that I rescued a young lady from the rude +assaults of two ruffians. After a brief struggle, they fled. I turned to the +one I had so opportunely served, and was struck with her unparalleled beauty. +Young; a form of symmetrical loveliness; dark, languishing eyes, a smooth +forehead of lily purity, and auburn hair flowing in glossy ringlets—it +was not strange that an impression should be made on the heart of a young +student. She thanked me for my generous interposition in such sweet and musical +tones, that every word thrilled pleasantly through my breast. She prevailed +upon me to accompany her to her mother’s cottage, but a few hundred paces +distant; and during our walk thither, she hung confidingly on my arm. Her aged +mother overwhelmed me with expressions of gratitude. She mildly chid her +daughter for wandering so far away in quest of flowers, and then withdrawing, +left us alone. Again my eyes met those of the blushing maiden—but it is +useless to dwell upon the particulars of our mutual passion. Suffice it to say +that she was the only child of her widowed mother, in moderate but independent +circumstances, and being hitherto secluded from the society of the other sex, +soon conceived (for my visits were frequent) an affection as ardent as my own. +At length I apprized my father of the attachment, and asked his consent to our +union. He refused to sanction the alliance in the most positive terms, and +commanded me never to mention the subject again. He said that I was poor, and +that he would not consent to my marriage with any other than an heiress. I +returned to London, resolved to disobey his injunction, for I felt that my +happiness entirely depended upon my union with the lovely Juliet. But I had +never yet definitely expressed my desire to her. Yet there could be no doubt +from her smiles that my wishes would willingly be acceded to. I determined to +arrange every thing at our next interview, and a few weeks afterwards I +repaired to the cottage for that purpose. Instead of meeting me with her ever +blissful face, I found my Juliet in tears! She was alone; but in the adjoining +chamber I heard a man’s voice, and feared that it was my father. I was +mistaken. Juliet soon brushed away her tears, and informed me that she had been +<i>again</i> assailed by the same ruffians, and on the lawn within sight of the +cottage. She said that the gentleman in the next room was her deliverer. I +seized her hand, and when about to propose a plan to secure her against such +annoyances for ever, her mother entered and introduced the stranger to me. His +name was Nicholson, and he stated that he was a partner in a large banking +establishment in Lombard Street. He was past the bloom of youth, but still his +fine clothes and his reputed wealth were displeasing to me. I was especially +chagrined at the marked attention shown him by Juliet’s mother. And my +annoyance was increased by the frequent lascivious glances he cast at the +maiden. The more I marked him, the more was my uneasiness. It soon occurred to +me that I had seen him before! He resembled a person I had seen driving rapidly +along the highway in a chariot, on the morning that I first beheld my Juliet. +But my recollection of his features was indistinct. There was a condescending +suavity in his manners, and sometimes a positive and commanding tone in his +conversation, that almost roused my enmity in spite of my peaceful calling and +friendly disposition. It was my intention to remain at the cottage, and propose +to Juliet after he had departed. But my purpose was defeated, for he declared +his intention to enjoy the country air till evening, and I returned, +disappointed and dispirited, to the city. +</p> + +<p> +“A few days afterwards I visited the cottage again. What was my surprise +and vexation to behold Mr. Nicholson there! He was seated, with his patronizing +smile, between Juliet and her mother, and presenting them various richly bound +books, jewels, &c., which seemed to me to be received with much +gratification. I was welcomed with the usual frankness and pleasure by Juliet, +but I thought her mother’s reception was less cordial, and Mr. Nicholson +regarded me with manifest indifference. I made an ineffectual effort at +vivacity, and after an hour’s stay, during which my remarks gradually +narrowed down to monosyllables, (while Mr. Nicholson became excessively +loquacious,) I rose to depart. Juliet made an endeavour to accompany me to the +door, where I hoped to be assured of her true affection for me by her own lips, +but some pointed inquiry (I do not now recollect what) from Nicholson, which +was seconded in a positive manner by her mother, arrested her steps, and while +she hesitated, I bad her adieu, and departed for the city, resolved never to +see her again. +</p> + +<p> +“It was about a month after the above occurrence that my resolution gave +way, and I was again on the road to the cottage, with my mind made up to +forgive and forget every thing that had offended me, and to offer my hand where +my heart seemed to be already irrevocably fixed. When I entered who should I +see but the eternal thwarter of my happiness, the ever-present Nicholson! But +horror! he was now the wedded lord of Juliet! The ceremony was just over. There +were but two or three strangers present besides the clergyman. Bride, groom, +guests, and all were hateful to my sight. The minister, particularly, I thought +had a demoniac face, similar to that of one of the ruffians who had tested the +quality of my cane. Juliet cast a look at me with more of sadness than joy in +it. She offered me her hand in silent salutation, and it trembled in my grasp. +The deed was done. Pity for the maiden who had been thus sacrificed to secure a +superabundance of wealth which could never be enjoyed, and sorrow at my own +forlorn condition, weighed heavily, oh, how heavily! on my heart. I returned to +my lonely and desolate lodgings without a malicious feeling for the one who had +robbed me of every hope of earthly enjoyment. I prayed that he might make +Juliet happy. +</p> + +<p> +“But, alas! her happiness was of short duration. Scarce six months had +passed before Mr. Nicholson began to neglect his youthful and confiding bride. +She had still remained at her mother’s cottage, while, as she stated, his +establishment was being fitted up in town for their reception. He at first +drove out to the cottage every evening; but soon afterwards fell into the habit +of visiting his bride only two or three times a week. He neither carried her +into society nor brought home any visitors. Yet he seemed to possess immense +wealth, and bestowed it upon Juliet with a liberal, nay, profuse hand. My young +friend, what kind of a character do you suppose this Mr. Nicholson to have +been?” said the old man, pausing, and turning to Glenn, who had been +listening to the narrative with marked attention. +</p> + +<p> +“He was an impostor—a gambler,” replied Glenn, promptly. +</p> + +<p> +“He <i>was</i> an impostor! but no adventurous gambler, as you suppose. I +will proceed. About seven months after his marriage, he abandoned Juliet +altogether! Yet he did not forget her entirely. He may have felt remorse for +the ruin he had wrought—or perhaps a slight degree of affection for his +unborn—; and costly presents, and many considerable sums of money, were +sent by him to the cottage. But neither the aged mother nor the deserted wife +found the consolation they desired in his prodigal gifts. They sent me a note, +informing me of their distressful condition, and requesting me to ascertain the +locality of Mr. Nicholson’s establishment, and, if possible, to find out +the cause of his unnatural conduct. I did all in my power to accomplish what +they desired. I repaired to the cottage, unable to give the least intelligence +of Mr. Nicholson. I had not been able to find any one who had ever heard of +him. Juliet became almost frantic. She determined to seek him herself. At her +urgent solicitation, I accompanied her to the city in an open curricle. A +pitying Providence soon terminated her insupportable suspense. While we were +driving through Hyde Park, we were forcibly stopped to permit, among the +throng, the passage of a splendid equipage. The approaching carriage was +likewise an open one. Juliet glanced at the inmates, and uttering a wild +piercing shriek, fainted in my arms. I looked, and saw her quondam husband! He +was decked in the magnificent insignia of ROYALTY. Nobles were bowing, +high-born ladies smiling, and the multitude shouted, ‘There comes his +royal highness, the Prince of—’ +</p> + +<p> +“Man cannot punish him,” continued Roughgrove, “but God can. +HE will deal justly, both with the proud and the oppressed. But to return. He +saw Juliet. A few minutes after the gorgeous retinue swept past, one of the +prince’s attendants came with a note. Juliet was insensible. I took it +from the messenger’s hand, and started when I looked the villain in the +face. He had been the parson! He smiled at the recognition! I hurled my cane at +his head, and hastened back to the cottage with a physician in attendance. +Juliet soon recovered from her swoon. But a frenzied desperation was manifest +in her pale features. I left her in her mother’s charge, and returned in +agony to my lodgings. That night a raging fever seized upon my brain, and for +months I was the victim of excruciating disease. When convalescent, but still +confined to my room, I chanced to run my eye over one of the daily papers, and +was petrified to see the name of Mrs. Nicholson, in the first article that +attracted my attention, in connection with an attempt upon the life of the +king! She had been seized with a fit of temporary insanity, and driving to +town, sought her betrayer with the intention of shedding his blood. She waited +at the gate of St. James’s palace until a carriage drove up in which she +expected to find the prince. It was the king—yet she did not discover her +error until the blow was made. The steel did not perform its office, as you are +aware from the history of England, in which this event is recorded. The king +humanely pardoned her on the spot. A single word she uttered acquainted him +with her history, and her piteous looks made an extraordinary impression on his +mind. He too, had, perhaps, sported with innocent beauty. And now the spectre +of the weeping maniac haunted his visions. Soon he became one himself. The name +of Juliet fortunately was not published in the journals. It was by some means +incorrectly stated that the woman who attacked the king was named +<i>Margaret</i> Nicholson, and so it remains on the page of history. +</p> + +<p> +“As soon as I was able to leave my chamber, I repaired to the cottage. +Juliet was a <i>mother</i>. Reason had returned, and she strove to submit with +Christian humility to her pitiable lot. She received me with the same sweet +smile that had formerly beamed on her guileless face. Her mother, the promoter +of the fancied advantageous alliance, now seemed to suffer most. They both +clung to me as their only remaining friend, and in truth I learned that all +other friends had forsaken them. I looked upon the deceived, outraged, but +still innocent Juliet, with pity. Her little cherub twins—” +</p> + +<p> +“Twins!” echoed Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Ay, twins,” replied Roughgrove, “and they lie behind you +now, side by side, on yonder bed.” +</p> + +<p> +Glenn turned and gazed a moment in silence on the sleeping forms of William, +and Mary. +</p> + +<p> +“Her poor little ones excited my compassion. They were not blamable for +their father’s crime, nor could they enjoy the advantages of his exalted +station. They were without a protector in the world. Juliet’s mother was +fast sinking under the calamity she had herself in a great measure wrought. My +heart melted when I contemplated the sad condition of the only female I had +ever loved. It was not long before the fires of affection again gleamed +brightly in my breast. Juliet had committed no crime, either in the eyes of man +or God. She did not intend to err. She had acted in good faith. She had never +designed to transgress either the laws of earth or heaven, and although the +disguised prince did not wholly possess her heart, yet she deemed it a duty to +be governed by the advice of her parent. These things I explained to her, and +when her conscience was appeased by the facts which I demonstrated, her peace +in some measure returned, but she was still subject to occasional melancholy +reflections. Perhaps she thought of me—how my heart had suffered (for, +young as I was, the occurrence brought premature gray hairs; and even now, +although my head is white, I have seen but little more than forty +years)—and how happy we might have travelled life’s journey +together. I seized such a moment to renew my proposals. She declined, but +declined in tears. I returned to the city with the intention to repeat the +offer the next time we met. Not many weeks elapsed before her aged mother was +consigned to the tomb. Poor Juliet’s condition was now immeasurably +lamentable. She had neither friend nor protector. I again urged my suit, and +was successful. But she required of me a promise to retire from the world for +ever. I cheerfully agreed, for I was disgusted with the vanity and wickedness +of my species. We came hither. You know the rest.” +</p> + +<p> +When Roughgrove ceased speaking, the night was far advanced, and a perfect +silence reigned. Without uttering another word, he and Glenn rose from their +seats, and repairing to the remaining unoccupied couch, ere long yielded to the +influence of tranquil slumber. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="ChapterXIV"> +CHAPTER XIV. </a> +</h2> + +<p class="quote"> +William’s illness—Sneak’s strange house—Joe’s +courage—The bee hunt—Joe and Sneak captured by the +Indians—Their sad condition—Preparations to burn them +alive—Their miraculous escape. +</p> + +<p> +Just before the dawn of day, Roughgrove and Glenn were awakened by Mary. She +was weeping at the bed-side of William. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s the matter, child?” asked Roughgrove, rising up and +lighting the lamp. +</p> + +<p> +“Poor brother!” said she, and her utterance failed her. +</p> + +<p> +“He has a raging fever!” said Glenn, who had approached the bed and +placed his hand upon the young man’s temples. +</p> + +<p> +“True—and I fear it will be fatal!” said Roughgrove, in +alarm, as he held the unresisting wrist of the panting youth. +</p> + +<p> +“Fear not,” said Glenn; “God directs all things. This violent +illness, too, may in the end be a blessing. Let us do all in our power to +restore him to health, and leave the rest to Him. I was once an ardent student +of medicine, and the knowledge I acquired may be of some avail.” +</p> + +<p> +“I will pray for his recovery,” said Mary, bowing down at the foot +of the bed. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> +<img src="images/011.jpg" alt="I will pray for his recovery." width="372" +height="449"/> +</div> + +<p class="caption"> +“I will pray for his recovery,” said Mary, bowing down at the foot +of the bed. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod—I mean—Joe, it’s most daylight,” said Sneak, +rising up and rubbing his eyes. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, what if it is? what are you waking me up for?” replied Joe, +turning over on his rude pallet. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, I’m going home.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, clear out them.” +</p> + +<p> +“But you’ll have to get up and shut the gate after me” +</p> + +<p> +“Plague take it all, I believe you’re just trying to spoil my +nap!” said Joe, much vexed. +</p> + +<p> +“No I ain’t, Joe; I’m in earnest, indeed I am,” +continued Sneak; “bekaise I hain’t been inside of my house, now, +for three or four days, and who knows but the dod—mean the—Indians +have been there and stole all my muskrat skins?” +</p> + +<p> +“If they have, then there’s no use in looking for them now.” +</p> + +<p> +“If they have, dod—I mean, <i>burn</i> me if I don’t foller +em to the other end of creation but I’ll have ’em back agin. But I +ain’t much afeard that they saw my house—they might rub agin it +without knowing it was a house.” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s a pretty tale,” said Joe, now thoroughly awakened, +and staring incredulously in his companion’s face. +</p> + +<p> +“It’s a fact.” +</p> + +<p> +“Whereabouts is your house?” +</p> + +<p> +“Why, it’s in the second valley we crossed when we went after the +wolves on the island.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then your skins are gone,” said Joe, “for the Indians have +been in that valley.” +</p> + +<p> +“I know they was there well enough,” said Sneak; “but +didn’t I say they couldn’t find the house, even if they was to +scratch their backs agin it?” +</p> + +<p> +“What kind of a house is it?” +</p> + +<p> +“’Spose you come along and see,” said Sneak, groping about in +the dim twilight for his cap, and the gun Glenn bad given him. +</p> + +<p> +“I should like to see it, just out of curiosity,” replied Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Then go along with Sneak,” said Glenn, who approached the fire to +prepare some medicine; “it is necessary that every thing should be quiet +and still here.” +</p> + +<p> +“If you’ll help me to feed and water the horses. Sneak, I’ll +go home with you,” said Joe. Sneak readily agreed to the proposition, and +by the time it was quite light, and yet before the sun rose, the labour was +accomplished, and they set out together for the designated valley. Their course +was somewhat different from that pursued when in quest of the wolves, for +Sneak’s habitation was about midway between the river and the prairie, +and they diverged in a westerly direction. But their progress was slow During +the night there had been a change in the atmosphere, and a constant breeze from +the south had in a great measure softened the snow-crust, so that our +pedestrians frequently broke through. +</p> + +<p> +“This is not the most agreeable walking I ever saw,” said Joe, +breaking through and tumbling down on his face. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s jest as much like swimming as walking,” said Sneak, +smiling at the blunder of his companion. +</p> + +<p> +“Smash it, Sneak,” continued Joe, rising up with some difficulty, +“I don’t half like this breaking-through business.” +</p> + +<p> +“You must walk lighter, and then you won’t break through,” +said Sneak; “tread soft like I do, and put your feet down flat. I +hain’t broke in once—” But before the sentence was uttered, +Sneak had broken through himself, and stood half-submerged in the snow. +</p> + +<p> +“Ha! ha! ha! you musn’t count your chickens before they’re +hatched,” said Joe, laughing; “but you may score one, now you have +broken the shell.” +</p> + +<p> +“I got in that time,” said Sneak, now winding through the bushes +with much caution, as if it were truly in his power to diminish the weight of +his body by a peculiar mode of walking. +</p> + +<p> +“This thaw ’ll be good for one thing, any how,” said Joe, +after they had progressed some time in silence. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s that?” asked Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, it ’ll keep the Indians away; they can’t travel through +the slush when the crust is melted off.” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s as true as print,” replied Sneak; and if none of +’em follered us back to the settlement, we needn’t look for +’em agin till spring.” +</p> + +<p> +“I wonder if any of them <i>did</i> follow us?” asked Joe, pausing +abruptly. +</p> + +<p> +“How can anybody tell till they see ’em?” replied Sneak. +“What’re you stopping for?” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m going back,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod—you’re a fool—that’s jest what you are. +Hain’t We got our guns? and if there <i>is</i> any about, ain’t +they in the bushes close to Mr. Glenn’s house? and hain’t we passed +through ’em long ago? But I don’t keer any thing about your +cowardly company—go back, if you want to,” said Sneak, striding +onward. +</p> + +<p> +“Sneak, don’t go so fast. I haven’t any notion of going +back,” said Joe, springing nimbly to his companion’s side. +</p> + +<p> +“I believe you’re afeard to go back by yourself,” said Sneak, +laughing heartily. +</p> + +<p> +“Pshaw, Sneak, I don’t think any of ’em followed us, do +you?” continued Joe, peering at the bushes and trees in the valley, which +they were entering. +</p> + +<p> +“No,” said Sneak; “I only wanted to skeer you a bit.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ve killed too many savages to be scared by them now,” said +Joe, carelessly striding onward. +</p> + +<p> +“What was you a going back for, if you wasn’t skeered?” +</p> + +<p> +“I wonder what always makes you think I’m frightened when I talk of +going into the house! Sneak, you’re <i>always</i> mistaken. I +wasn’t thinking about myself—I only wanted to put Mr. Glenn on his +guard.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then what made you tell that wapper for, the other night, about cutting +that Indian’s throat?” +</p> + +<p> +“How do you know it was a wapper?” asked Joe, somewhat what +embarrassed by Sneak’s home-thrust. +</p> + +<p> +“Bekaise, don’t I know that I cut his juggler-vein myself? +Didn’t the blood gush all over me? and didn’t he fall down dead +before he had time to holler?” continued Sneak, with much warmth and +earnestness. +</p> + +<p> +“Sneak,” said Joe, “I’ve no doubt you thought he was +dead—but then you must know it’s nearly as hard to kill a man as a +cat. You might have been mistaken; every body is liable to be +deceived—even a person’s eyes deceive him sometimes. I don’t +pretend to say that I haven’t been mistaken before now, myself. It +<i>may</i> be possible that I was mistaken about the Indian as well as +you—I might have just <i>thought</i> I saw him move. But I was there +longer than you, and the inference is that I didn’t stand as good a +chance to be deceived.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I can’t answer all that,” said Sneak; “but +I’ll swear I felt my knife grit agin his neck-bone.” +</p> + +<p> +Joe did not desire to pursue the subject any further, and they proceeded on +their way in silence, ever and anon breaking through the snow-crust. The +atmosphere became still more temperate when the bright sun beamed over the +horizon. Drops of water trickled down from the snow-covered branches of the +trees, and a few birds flitted overhead, and uttered imperfect lays. +</p> + +<p> +“Here we are,” said Sneak, halting in the midst of a clump of +enormous sycamore trees, over whose roots a sparkling rivulet glided with a +gurgling sound. +</p> + +<p> +“I know we’re here,” said Joe; “but what are you +stopping <i>here</i> for?” +</p> + +<p> +“Here’s where I live,” replied Sneak, with a comical smile +playing on his lips. +</p> + +<p> +“But where’s your house?” asked Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Didn’t I say you couldn’t find it, even if you was to rub +your back agin it?” +</p> + +<p> +“I know I’m not rubbing against your house now,” replied Joe, +turning round and looking up in the huge tree he had been leaning against. +</p> + +<p> +“But you have been leaning agin my house,” continued Sneak, amused +at the incredulous face of his companion. +</p> + +<p> +“I know better,” persisted Joe; “this big sycamore is the +only thing I’ve leant against since we started.” +</p> + +<p> +“Jest foller me, and I’ll show you something,” said Sneak, +stepping round to the opposite side of the tree, where the ascent on the north +rose abruptly from the roots. Here he removed a thin flat stone of about four +feet in height, that stood in a vertical position against the tree. +</p> + +<p> +“You don’t live in there, Sneak, surely; why that looks like a +wolf’s den,” said Joe, perceiving a dark yawning aperture, and that +the immense tree was but a mere shell. +</p> + +<p> +“Keep at my heels,” said Sneak, stooping down and crawling into the +tree. +</p> + +<p> +“I’d rather not,” said Joe; “there may be a bear in +it.” +</p> + +<p> +Soon a clicking sound was heard within, and the next moment Joe perceived the +flickering rays of a small lamp that Sneak held in his hand, illuminating the +sombre recesses of the novel habitation. +</p> + +<p> +“Why don’t you come in?” asked Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Sneak, how do you know there ain’t a bear up in the hollow?” +asked Joe, crawling in timidly and endeavouring to peer through the darkness +far above, where even the rays of the lamp could not penetrate. +</p> + +<p> +“I wonder if you think I’d let a bear sleep in my house,” +continued Sneak, searching among a number of boxes and rude shelves, to see if +any thing had been molested during his absence. Finding every thing safe, he +handed Joe a stool, and began to kindle a fire in a small stone furnace. Joe +sat down in silence, and looked about in astonishment. And the scene was enough +to excite the wonder of an Irishman. The interior of the tree was full eight +feet in diameter, while the eye was lost above in undeveloped regions. Below, +there was a surface of smooth stones, which were comfortably carpeted over with +buffalo robes. At one side was a diminutive fireplace, or furnace, constructed +of three flat stones about three inches in thickness. The largest was laid +horizontally on the ground, and the others placed upright on it, and attached +to a clay chimney, that was by some means confined to the interior side of the +tree, and ran upward until it was lost in the darkness. After gazing in +amazement several minutes at this strange contrivance, Joe exclaimed: +</p> + +<p> +“Sneak, I don’t understand this! Where does that smoke go +to?” +</p> + +<p> +“Go out doors and see if you can’t see,” replied Sneak, +placing more fuel on the blazing fire. +</p> + +<p> +“Go out of the <i>hole</i> you mean to say,” said Joe, creeping +out. +</p> + +<p> +“You may call it jest what you like,” said Sneak; “but +I’ll be switched if many folks lives in <i>higher</i> houses than I +does.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I’ll declare!” cried Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“What ails you now?” asked Sneak, thrusting his head out of the +aperture, and regarding the surprise of Joe with much satisfaction. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, I see the smoke pouring out of a hole in a <i>limb</i> not much +bigger than my thigh!” cried Joe. This was true. Sneak had mounted up in +the tree before building his chimney, and finding a hollow bough that +communicated directly with the main trunk had cut through into the cavity, and +thus made a vent for the escape of the smoke. +</p> + +<p> +“Come in now, and get something to eat,” said Sneak. This was an +invitation that Joe was never known to decline. After casting another admiring +glance at the blue vapour that issued from the bough some ninety feet from the +ground, he passed through the cavity with alacrity. +</p> + +<p> +“Where are you?” cried Joe, upon entering and looking round in vain +for his host, who had vanished in a most inexplicable manner. Joe stared in +astonishment. The lighted lamp remained on a box, that was designed for the +breakfast-table, and on which there was in truth an abundance of dried venison +and smoking potatoes. But where was Sneak? +</p> + +<p> +“Sneak, what’s become of you?” continued Joe, eagerly +listening for a reply, and anxiously scanning the tempting repast set before +him. “I know you’re at some of your tricks,” he added, and +sitting down at the table, commenced in no indifferent manner to discuss the +savoury venison and potatoes. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m only up stairs,” cried Sneak, in the darkness above; and +throwing down a rope made of hides, the upper end of which was fastened to the +tree within, he soon followed, slipping briskly down, and without delay sprang +to Joe’s assistance. +</p> + +<p> +When the meal was finished, or rather, when every thing set before them had +vanished, Sneak rose up and thrust his long neck out of the aperture. +</p> + +<p> +“What are you looking at?” asked Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m looking at the warm sun shining agin yonder side of the +hill,” said Sneak; “how’d you like to go a +bee-hunting?” +</p> + +<p> +“A bee-hunting!” iterated Joe. “I wonder if you think we +could find a bee at this season of the year? and I should like to know what +it’d be worth when we found it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Plague take the bee—I mean the <i>honey</i>—don’t you +like wild honey?” continued Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” said Joe; “but how can you find any when there’s +such a snow as this on the ground?” +</p> + +<p> +“When there’s a snow, that’s the time to find +’em,” said Sneak; “peticuly when the sun shines warm. Jest +come out here and look,” he continued, stepping along, and followed by +Joe; “don’t you see yander big stooping limb?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” replied Joe, gazing at the bough pointed out. +</p> + +<p> +“Well,” continued Sneak, “there’s a bee’s nest in +that. Look here,” he added, picking from the snow several dead bees that +had been thrown from the hive; “now this is the way with all wild bees +(but these are tame, for they live in my house), for when there comes a warm +day they’re sartin as fate to throw out the dead ones, and we can find +where they are as easy as any thing in the world.” +</p> + +<p> +“Sneak, my mouth’s watering—suppose we take the axe and go +and hunt for some honey.” +</p> + +<p> +“Let’s be off, then,” said Sneak, getting his axe, and +preparing to place the stone against the tree. +</p> + +<p> +“Stop, Sneak,” said Joe; “let me get my gun before you shut +the <i>door</i>.” +</p> + +<p> +“I guess we’d better leave our guns, and then we won’t be so +apt to break through,” replied Sneak, closing up the aperture. +</p> + +<p> +“The bees won’t sting us, will they?” asked Joe, turning to +his companion when they had attained the high-timbered ridge that ran parallel +with the valley. +</p> + +<p> +“If you chaw ’em in your mouth they will,” replied Sneak, +striding along under the trees with his head bent down, and minutely examining +every small dark object he found lying on the surface of the snow. +</p> + +<p> +“I know that as well as you do,” continued Joe, “because that +would thaw them.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, if they’re froze, how <i>kin</i> they sting you?” +</p> + +<p> +“You needn’t be so snappish,” replied Joe. “I just +asked for information. I know as well as anybody they’re frozen or +torpid.” +</p> + +<p> +“Or what?” asked Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Torpid,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll try to ’member that word,” continued Sneak, +peeping under a spreading oak that was surrounded by a dense hazel thicket. +</p> + +<p> +“Do,” continued Joe, contemptuously, “and if you’ll +only recollect all you hear me say, you may get a tolerable education after a +while.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll be shivered if this ain’t the edication I +wan’t,” said Sneak, turning round with one or two dead bees in his +hand, that he had found near the root of the tree. +</p> + +<p> +“Huzza!” cried Joe, “we’ll have a mess of honey now. I +see the hole where they are—its in a limb, and we won’t have to cut +down the tree,” and before Sneak could interpose, Joe mounted up among +the branches, and asked for the axe, saying he would have the bough off in five +minutes. Sneak gave it to him, and when he reached the place, (which was not +more than fifteen feet from the ground,) he commenced cutting away with great +eagerness. The cavity was large, and in a few minutes the bough began to give +way. In spite of Sneak’s gesticulations and grimaces below, Joe did not +bethink him that one of his feet still rested on the bough beyond the place +where he was cutting, but continued to ply the axe with increasing rapidity. +Presently the bough, axe, and Joe, all fell together. Sneak was convulsed with +laughter. Joe sprang to his feet, and after feeling his limbs and ribs, +announced that no bones were broken, and laughed very heartily himself. They +began to split open the severed bough without loss of time. But just when they +were in the act of lifting out the honeycomb, four stalwart savages rose softly +from the bushes behind, and springing nimbly forward, seized them both before +they could make any resistance. The surprised couple yelled and struggled to no +purpose. Their hands were soon bound behind them, and they were driven forward +hastily in a southerly direction. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! for goodness sake, Mr. Chief, please let me go home, and I’ll +pay you whatever you ask!” said Joe, to the tallest of the savages. +</p> + +<p> +The Indian, if he did not understand his captive’s words, seemed to +comprehend his terrors, and was much diverted at his ludicrous expression of +features. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh pray! good Mr. Chief—” +</p> + +<p> +“Keep your mouth shet! They’ll never git through torturing us, if +you let ’em know you’re afraid,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s just what I want,” said Joe; “I don’t +want them to ever quit torturing us—because they’ll never quit till +we’re both dead. But as long as they laugh at they’ll be sure to +let me live.” +</p> + +<p> +Ere long, the savages with their captives, entered the dense grove where Mary +had been taken, before they set out with her over the prairie. But it was +evidently not their intention to conduct their present prisoners to their +villages, and demand a ransom for them. Nor were they prepared to convey them +away in the same dignified and comfortable manner, over the snow-clad plains. +They anticipated a gratification of a different nature. They had been +disappointed in all their attempts to obtain booty from the whites. The maid +they had taken had been recaptured, and their chief was in the possession of +the enemy. These, to say nothing of the loss of a score of their brethren by +the fire-weapons of the white men, stimulated them with unerring precision to +compass the destruction of their prisoners. Blood only could satiate their +vengeful feelings. And the greater and longer the sufferings of their victims +the more exquisite would be the luxury of revenge. And this caused them to +smile with positive delight when they witnessed the painful terrors of poor +Joe. +</p> + +<p> +When they reached their place of encampment, which was in the midst of a +cluster of small slim trees that encircled an old spreading oak of huge +dimensions, the savages made their prisoners stand with their backs against two +saplings that grew some fifteen paces apart. They were compelled to face each +other, that they might witness every thing that transpired. Their arms were +bound round the trees behind them, and a cord was likewise passed round their +legs to confine them more securely. The savages then seemed to consult about +the manner of despatching them. The oldest and most experienced, by his hasty +gestures and impatient replies, appeared to insist on their instantaneous +death. And from his frequent glances northward, through the trees, he doubtless +feared some interruption, or dreaded the arrival of an enemy that might inflict +an ample retaliation. During a long pause, while the Indians seemed to +hesitate, and the old crafty savage drew his steel tomahawk from his belt, +Sneak sighed deeply, and said, in rather mournful tones— +</p> + +<p> +“The jig’s up with us, Joe. If I was only loose seven seconds, you +wouldn’t ketch me dying like a coon here agin a tree.” Joe made no +other response than a blubbering sound, while the tears ran down and dropped +briskly from his chin. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> +<img src="images/012.jpg" alt="Joe and Sneak in difficulty." width="367" +height="402"/> +</div> + +<p class="caption"> +Joe and Sneak in difficulty. +</p> + +<p> +The savages gave vent to a burst of laughter when they beheld the agony of fear +that possessed their captive. The three that were in favour of the slow torture +now turned a deaf ear to the old warrior, and advanced to Joe. They held the +palms of their hands under his chin, and caught the tears as they fell. They +then stroked his head gently, and appeared to sympathize with the sufferer. +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. Indian, if you’ll let me go, I’ll give you my gun and +twenty dollars,” said Joe, appealing most piteously to the one that +placed his hand on his head. The Indian seemed to understand him, and held his +hand out for the money, while a demoniac smile played on his dark lips. +</p> + +<p> +“Just untie my hands,” said Joe, endeavouring to look behind, +“and I’ll go right straight home and get them.” +</p> + +<p> +“You rascal—you want to run away,” replied the old Indian, +who not only understood Joe’s language, but could himself speak English +imperfectly. +</p> + +<p> +“Upon my sacred word and honour, I won’t!” replied Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“You lie!” said the savage, bestowing a severe smack on Joe’s +face. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, Lord! Come now, Mr. Indian, that hurts!” +</p> + +<p> +“No—don’t hurt—only kill musketer,” replied the +savage, laughing heartily, and striking his prisoner on the other side of the +face. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! hang your skin!” cried Joe, endeavouring to break away, +“if ever I get you in my power, I’ll smash—” Here his +sudden courage evaporated, and again the tears filled his eyes. +</p> + +<p> +“Poor fellow!” said the savage, patting his victim on the head. +“How much you give for him?” he continued, pointing to Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“If you’ll only let <i>me</i> go, I’ll give you every thing +I’ve got in the world. He don’t want to live as bad as I do, and +I’ll give you as much for me alone as I will for both.” +</p> + +<p> +“You’re a purty white man, now, ain’t you?” said Sneak. +“But its all the same. My chance is jest as good as your’n. +They’re only fooling you, jest to laugh. I’ve made up my mind to +die, and I ain’t a going to make any fun for ’em. And you might as +well say your prayers fust as last; they’re only playing with you now +like a cat with a mice.” +</p> + +<p> +The old Indian moved towards Sneak, followed by the others. +</p> + +<p> +“How much you give?” asked the savage. +</p> + +<p> +“Not a coon’s tail,” replied Sneak, with firmness. +</p> + +<p> +“Now how much?” continued the Indian, slapping the thin lank cheek +of his prisoner. +</p> + +<p> +“Not a dod-rotted cent! Now jest take your tomahawk and split my skull +open as quick as you kin!” said Sneak; and he bowed down his head to +receive the fatal blow. +</p> + +<p> +“You brave rascal,” said the Indian, looking his captive in the +eye, and hesitating whether to practice his petty annoyances any further. At +length they turned again to Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“That wasn’t fair, Sneak,” cried Joe, when the savages +abandoned his fellow-prisoner; “you ought to have kept them away from me +as long as I did from you.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m gitting sick of this tanterlizing business,” said Sneak. +“I want ’em to git through the job, without any more fooling about +it. If you wasn’t sich a coward, they’d let you alone, and kill us +at once.” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t want them to kill us—I’d rather they’d +do any thing in the world than to kill us,” replied Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Me won’t hurt you,” said the old savage, again placing his +hand on Joe’s head; but instead of gently patting it, he wound a lock of +hair round one of his fingers, and with a sudden jerk tore it out by the roots. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, my gracious! Oh, St. Peter! Oh, Lord! Mr. Indian, I beg and pray of +you not to do that any more. If you’ll only untie me, I’ll get down +on my knees to you,” exclaimed poor Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Poor fellow, me won’t hurt him any more—poor head!” +said the Indian, tearing off another lock. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! oh! goodness gracious. <i>Dear</i> Mr. Indian, don’t do that! +You can have no idea how bad it hurts—I can’t stand it. I’ll +faint presently!” said Joe, trembling at every joint. +</p> + +<p> +“You’re a fool,” said Sneak, “to mind ’em that +way. If you wasn’t to notice ’em, they wouldn’t do it. See +how they’re laughing at you.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, Sneak, I can’t help it, to save my life, indeed I can’t. +Oh, my good Lord, what would I give to be away from here!” said Joe, his +eyes fit to burst from their sockets. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ve killed many a deer in a minit—it don’t hurt a man +to die more than a deer. I wish the snarvilorous copper-skinned rascals would +git through quick!” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Me try you agin,” said the savage, again going to Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, now, what’re you a going to do? I’m not afraid of +you!” said Sneak, grinding his teeth. +</p> + +<p> +“Me rub your head,” said the savage, seizing a tuft of hair and +tearing it out. +</p> + +<p> +“Take some more,” said Sneak, bowing down his head. +</p> + +<p> +“A little more,” iterated the savage, grasping a handful, which, +with much exertion, he severed from the head, and left the white skin exposed +to view. +</p> + +<p> +“Won’t you have some more?” continued Sneak, without evincing +the least pain. “Jest take as much as you please; if you tear it off till +my head’s as bald as an egg, I won’t beg you to let me +alone.” +</p> + +<p> +“You brave fellow—won’t pull your hair any more,” said +the chief. +</p> + +<p> +“You be dod rot!” said Sneak, contemptuously. +</p> + +<p> +“You mighty brave, shake hands!” continued the laughing savage, +holding his hand out in mockery. +</p> + +<p> +“If you’ll untie my foot a minit, I’ll bet I kick some of the +ribs out of your body. Why don’t you knock our brains out, and be done at +once, you black wolves you!” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, Sneak! for my sake—your poor friend’s sake, don’t +put such an idea as that into their heads!” said Joe, imploringly. +</p> + +<p> +“You’re a purty friend, ain’t you? You’d give so +<i>much</i> to ransom me! They aint a going to quit us without killin’ +us, and I want it all over jest as soon as it kin be done.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, no, Sneak! Maybe they’ll take pity on us and spare our +lives,” said Joe, assuming a most entreating look as the savage once more +approached him. +</p> + +<p> +“You make good big Osage; you come with us, if we let you live?” +demanded the old Indian. +</p> + +<p> +“I pledge you my most sacred word and honour I will!” +</p> + +<p> +“You run away, you rascal,” said the savage, plucking another tuft +of hair from Joe’s head. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll be hanged if I stand this any longer!” said Joe, +striving to break the cord that confined him. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t notice the black cowards,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“How can I help noticing them, when they’re pulling out my hair by +the roots!” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Look where they pulled mine out,” said Sneak, turning that part of +his head in view which had been made literally bald. +</p> + +<p> +“Didn’t it hurt you?” asked Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Sartinly it did,” said Sneak, “but I grinned and bore it. +And now I wish they’d pull it all off, and then my scalp wouldn’t +do ’em any good.” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s a fact,” said Joe. “Here, Mr. Osage,” he +continued, “pull as much hair off the top of my head as you want.” +The savages, instead of paying any attention to him, seemed to be attracted by +some distant sound. They stooped down and placed their ears near the earth, and +listened intently for some time. At length they sprang up, and then ensued +another dispute among them about the manner in which the prisoners should be +disposed of. The old savage was yet in favour of tomahawking the captives and +retreating without delay. But the others would not consent to it. They were not +satisfied with the small amount of suffering yet endured by the prisoners. They +were resolved to glut their savage vengeance. And the prisoners now observed +that all traces of mirth had vanished from their faces. Their eyes gleamed with +fiendish fury, and drawing forth their glittering tomahawks, they vanished in +the thicket, and were soon heard chopping off the small boughs of the trees. +</p> + +<p> +“What are they doing Sneak?” asked Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t you know what they’re doing? ain’t they cutting +wood as fast as they kin?” replied Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I’m not sorry for that.” said Joe. “because its +almost dark, and I’m getting chilly. If they’d only give me +something to eat, I’d feel a heap more comfortable.” +</p> + +<p> +“You varasherous fool you, they’re cutting wood to burn us up with. +Oh, I wish I was loose!” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, goodness gracious!” cried Joe, “I never thought of that! +Oh, I’m gone!” +</p> + +<p> +“Are you?” cried Sneak, eagerly; “I’d like to be off +too, and we’d give them a race for it yit.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! Sneak, I mean I’m ruined, lost for ever! Oh! St. Peter, pity +my helpless condition!” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t think about pity now,” said Sneak; “nothing of +that sort is going to do us any good. We must git loose from these trees and +run for it, or we’ll be roasted like wild turkeys in less than an hour. +I’ve got one hand loose!”. +</p> + +<p> +“So have I almost!” cried Joe, struggling violently. +</p> + +<p> +“One of ’em’s coming!—shove your hand back, and pertend +like you’re fast, till he goes away agin!” said Sneak, in a hurried +undertone. +</p> + +<p> +The savage emerged from the bushes the next moment, and after depositing an +armful of billets of wood at the feet of Joe, and walking round behind the +prisoners to see if they were still secure, returned for more fuel. +</p> + +<p> +“Now work for your life!” said Sneak, extricating his wrist from +the cord, and striving to get his feet loose. +</p> + +<p> +“Hang it, Sneak, I can’t get my hand out, though the string’s +quite loose! Make haste, Sneak, and come and help me,” said Joe, in a +tone that indicated his earnestness. +</p> + +<p> +“Let every man look out for himself,” replied Sneak, tugging away +at the cord that bound his feet to the tree. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, Sneak, don’t leave me here, to be burnt by myself!” said +Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“You wouldn’t promise to give any thing to ransom me, a while +ago—I’ll cut stick as quick as I kin.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, Sneak, I can’t untie my hands! If you won’t help me, +I’ll call the Indians.” But Joe was saved the trouble. He had +scarce uttered the word when all four of the Indians suddenly appeared, and +throwing down their wood, proceeded with much haste to put their horrid purpose +in execution. They heaped up the fagots around their victims, until they +reached half way to their chins, and when all was ready, they paused, before +applying the fire, to enjoy the terrors of their captives. +</p> + +<p> +“You cold—me make some fire to warm—huh,” said the old +Indian, addressing Joe, while the others looked on with unmixed satisfaction. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! my dear Mr. Osage, if you only knew how much money you’d lose +by killing me, I know you’d let me go!” said Joe, in tremulous but +supplicating tones. +</p> + +<p> +“You lie—you got no money,” replied the savage; and, stooping +down, he began to split some dry wood into very small pieces to kindle with. +Joe looked on in despair, and seemed to anticipate a blister from every +splinter he saw. It was different with Sneak. Almost hid by the wood heaped +around him, he embraced every opportunity, when the eyes of the savages were +turned away, to endeavour to extricate himself from the cords that bound him to +the tree. Hope had not yet forsaken him, and he resolved to struggle to the +last. When the old savage had split off a large quantity of splinters and +chips, he gathered them up and began to arrange them in various parts of the +pile of green timber preparatory for a simultaneous ignition. While he was thus +engaged, Sneak remained motionless, and assumed a stoical expression of +features. But when he turned to Joe, Sneak again began to tug at the cord. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh pray, Mr. Indian!” exclaimed Joe, when he saw the savage +carefully placing the combustible matter in all the crevices of the pile around +him—“just only let me off this time, and I’ll be your best +friend all the rest of your life.” +</p> + +<p> +“Me warm you little—don’t cry—poor fellow!” +replied the Indian, striking a light with flint and steel. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, Sneak, if you’ve got a knife, run here and cut me loose, +before I’m burnt to death!” said Joe, in the most heart-moving +manner. +</p> + +<p> +“Keep your mouth shet!” said Sneak; “jest wait till they go +to put some fire here, and I’ll show you a thing or two,” he +continued, pouring a handful of <i>powder</i> among the dry splinters. The +effect of the explosion when the Indians attempted to surprise Glenn’s +premises occurring to Sneak, and recollecting that he had a quantity of powder +in his pockets, he resolved in his extremity to try its virtue on this +occasion. +</p> + +<p> +“But they’re going to burn me first! Oh, Lord!” exclaimed +Joe, as he beheld the savage applying the fire to the splinters near his feet. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t say nor do nothing—jest wait till they come to +me,” said Sneak, with great composure. “Do you jess keep your mouth +shet—it’ll be a long while a kindling—it won’t begin to +burn your legs for an hour.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, goodness gracious! My knees begin to feel warm now. Oh, pray have +mercy on me, good Mr. Osage!” cried Joe, before the flame was as large as +his hand, and yet full three feet distant from him. The greater portion of the +fagots being green, the fire made very slow progress, and it was necessary for +the savages to procure a constant supply of dry splinters to prevent it from +going out. +</p> + +<p> +At length, after the combustible material had burned out, and been replenished +several times, the more substantial billets of Joe’s pile began to ignite +slowly, and the old Indian then took up a flaming brand and moved towards +Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Come on! you snarvilerous rattlesnake you, I’ll show you sights +presently!” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“You brave fellow—me burn you <i>quick</i>,” said the savage, +applying the torch, and, stooping down, placed his face within a few inches of +the crackling blaze, and began to blow it gently. Sneak twisted his head round +the tree as far as possible, and the next moment the powder exploded, throwing +down the pile of wood, and dashing the savage several paces distant violently +on the ground, and blackening and scorching his face and hair in a terrible +manner. The other Indians instantly prostrated themselves on their faces, and +uttered the most doleful lamentations. Thus they remained a few minutes, +evidently impressed with the belief that the Great Spirit had interfered to +prevent the destruction of the prisoners. Hastily gathering up their arms, they +fled precipitately in the direction of their distant home, and their yells of +disappointment and defeat rang in the ears of their captives until they died +away in the distance. +</p> + +<p> +“Sneak! make haste! they may come back again!” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“They’ve tied my feet so tight I’m afraid I can’t undo +it in a hurry,” replied Sneak, endeavouring to break the cord by +thrusting a stick (that he had slipped from the pile to knock out the brains of +one of the Indians should his gun-powder plot not succeed,) between it and the +tree, and forcing it out until the pain produced became insufferable. By this +means the cord was loosened gradually, and moving it a little higher up where +the muscles had not yet been bruised, he repeated the process. In this manner +he laboured with certain but tardy success. But while he was thus engaged, +Joe’s predicament became each moment more critical. The wood being by +this time pretty well seasoned, began to burn more freely. The blaze was making +formidable advances, and the heat was becoming intolerable. +</p> + +<p> +“For heaven’s sake, Sneak!” cried Joe, “make haste and +come here, or I’ll be roasted alive!” +</p> + +<p> +“Wait till I get away from my own tree,” replied Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh Lord! I can’t wait a minute more! My shins are getting +blistered!” cried Joe, writhing under the heat of the blaze, which now +reached within a few inches of him, and increased in magnitude with awful +rapidity. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, if you won’t wait till I git there, just go ahead +yourself,” said Sneak, at last extricating his feet by a violent effort, +and hopping to Joe’s assistance, with some difficulty, for his nether +limbs were considerably bruised. +</p> + +<p> +“Hang it, Sneak, pull these burning sticks away from my knees!” +said Joe, his face flushed with pain. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll be bursted with powder, if you didn’t like to git into +a purty tight fix,” said Sneak, dashing down the consuming billets of +wood. +</p> + +<p> +“Now, Sneak, cut me loose, and then let’s run home as soon as +possible.” +</p> + +<p> +“I hain’t got my knife with me, or I wouldn’t ’ave been +so long gitting loose myself,” said Sneak, slowly untying Joe’s +hands. +</p> + +<p> +“My goodness, how my arms ache!” said Joe, when his hands were +released. “Now, Sneak, undo my feet, and then we’ll be off in a +hurry.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll be slit if your feet ain’t tied like mine was, in rich +a hard knot that no mortal being can git it undone. I’ll take a chunk, +and burn the tarnation string in two,” said Sneak, applying the fire. +</p> + +<p> +“Take care you don’t burn <i>me</i>,” said Joe, looking at +the operation with much concern. +</p> + +<p> +Sneak’s plan of severing his companion’s bonds was successful. Joe +sprang in delight from his place of confinement, and, without uttering another +word, or pausing a single moment, the liberated companions retreated from grove +with all possible expedition. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="ChapterXV"> +CHAPTER XV. </a> +</h2> + +<p class="quote"> +Glenn’s History. +</p> + +<p> +The young chief, or rather the restored youth, awoke in a few days from the +delirium into which the fever had plunged him, to a state of convalescence and +a consciousness of his altered condition. He now uttered with earnest +tenderness the endearing terms of “sister” and +“father,” when he addressed Mary and Roughgrove. He spoke freely of +the many things he had witnessed while living with the Indians, expressing his +abhorrence of their habits and nature, and declared it was his intention never +to have any further intercourse with them. He promised, when he should be able +to leave his bed, to read and study with Mary and Glenn, until he had made +amends for the neglect of his education. These symptoms, and the tractable +disposition accompanying them, caused Mary and Roughgrove to rejoice over the +return of the long-lost youth, and to bow in humble thankfulness to the +Disposer of events for the singular and providential circumstances attending +his restoration. +</p> + +<p> +Joe had arrived in due course of time, (which was brief,) after his almost +miraculous escape from the savages and the flames, and told his story with +various embellishments. The Indians were hunted the next day by Sneak and a few +of the neighbours, but they had doubtless abandoned the settlement, for no +traces of them remained after their mysterious flight from the grove. +</p> + +<p> +A few mild days, during which frequent showers had fallen, had in a great +measure removed the snow from the earth. And Joe having soon forgotten his late +perilous adventure, amused himself with the horses. He resolved to make some +amends for their long confinement in the stable, and to effect it he galloped +them several hours each day over the grounds in the vicinity. The hounds, too, +seemed delighted to place their feet once more on the bare earth, and they were +permitted to accompany the horses in all their excursions. +</p> + +<p> +One night, when William, Mary, and Joe were all quietly sleeping, Roughgrove +took occasion to express his gratitude to Glenn for the many and important +services rendered his family. +</p> + +<p> +“Whatever good may have attended my efforts,” said Glenn, +“you may rest assured that I have been amply repaid in the satisfaction +enjoyed myself.” +</p> + +<p> +“I am sure of it!” exclaimed Roughgrove; “and it was a +conviction that you harboured such sentiments that induced me to confide in +you, and to disclose things which I intended should remain for ever locked +within my own breast.” +</p> + +<p> +“Your confidence shall not be abused,” said Glenn; and to prove +that I am not averse to an exchange of secrets, if you will listen to my +recital, I will endeavour briefly to give you a sketch of <i>my</i> +history.” +</p> + +<p> +“I will listen attentively, my young friend, even were it as sad a tale +as mine, which can hardly be the case,” said Roughgrove, drawing his +chair close to Glenn’s side, and placing more fuel on the fire. +</p> + +<p> +“Would to Heaven it had not been!” said Glenn, after reclining his +head on his hands a few minutes, and recalling transactions which he could have +wished to be blotted from his memory for ever. “I am a native of New +York,” he continued, heaving a sigh and folding his arms, “and was +left an orphan at a very early age. My father was once reputed one of the +wealthiest merchants in Broadway; but repeated and enormous losses, necessarily +inexplicable to one of my age, suddenly reduced him to comparative poverty. +Neither he nor my mother survived the blow many months, and before I was ten +years old, I was left (with the exception of an uncle in Philadelphia) alone in +the world, possessed of only a few hundred dollars. My uncle placed me with an +eminent physician, who had been my father’s friend, after my education +was completed. He told me that he was rich, and would see that I should not +suffer for means until I had acquired a profession, which, with energy and +diligence, would enable me to procure an honourable support. But he informed me +that he had a family of his own, and that I must not depend upon his assistance +further than to accomplish a profession. +</p> + +<p> +“It was during my studies, and when about seventeen years old, that my +misfortunes began. My preceptor had another student, named Henry Wold, several +years my senior, whose parents were wealthy. Wold and I entertained the highest +esteem for each other. But our circumstances being different, I could not +indulge in all the excesses of extravagance that he did, but made better +progress in my studies. He attended all the gay parties and fashionable places +of amusement, while I seldom spent an evening from home. He was tall, manly, +and possessed of regular and beautiful features—these, with his unlimited +wealth, made him a welcome guest in every circle, and extremely popular with +the ladies. +</p> + +<p> +“One Sabbath morning, while sitting in church, (which I attended +regularly,) I was struck with the appearance of a stranger in an opposite pew +across the aisle that belonged to a family with whom I was on the most intimate +terms. The stranger was the most beautiful young lady I ever beheld. Dark, +languishing eyes, glossy ringlets, pale, smooth forehead—oh! I will not +describe her—let it suffice that she was an angel in my eyes! It was +impossible to remove my gaze from her, and I fancied that she sometimes +returned an approving glance. Before the service was over, I was delighted to +observe that she whispered something to Mrs. Arras, (the name of the lady whose +pew she was in,) for this assured me that they were acquainted, and that I +might obtain some information about the fair being who had made such a sudden +and deep impression on my heart, and perhaps procure an introduction to her. +When I retired to my couch that night, it was not to sleep. The image of the +fair stranger haunted my restless and imperfect slumbers. Nor could I study by +day, for my thoughts wandered continually from the page to the same bright +vision. Such was my condition throughout the week. The next Sunday I found her +seated in the same pew. Our eyes met, and a slight blush that mantled her fair +face encouraged me to hope that she might likewise have bestowed some thoughts +on me during the preceding week. It was in vain that I uttered the responses +during the service, or knelt down when the clergyman offered up his prayers. I +could think of nothing but the angelic stranger. I resolved that another week +should not pass without my calling at Mrs. Arras’s. But my object was +obtained sooner than I expected. When the congregation was dismissed, Mrs. +Arras beckoned me across the aisle to her. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Charles,’ whispered she, ‘don’t you want an +introduction to my niece? I saw your eyes riveted on her several times.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘I—if you please,’ I replied, with feelings of mingled +delight and embarrassment. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Laura,’ she continued, turning to the young lady who +lingered behind, but seemed to be conscious of what was passing, ‘let me +introduce you to my young friend, Charles Glenn.’ The bland and +accomplished Mrs. Arras then moved onward, while I attended at the side of +Laura, and continued with her until I assisted her up, the marble steps of her +aunt’s stately mansion. +</p> + +<p> +“I then bowed, and strode rapidly onward, I knew not whither, (completely +bewildered with the enchanting spell that the fair Laura had thrown over me,) +until I reached the extremity of Broadway, and found myself in Castle Garden, +gazing like a very maniac at the bright water below me. I wandered about alone, +enjoying the exhilarating fancies of my teeming brain, until the sun sunk +beneath the horizon, and the bright stars twinkled in the blue vault above. Oh! +the thoughts, the hopes, the bliss of that hour! The dark curtain that veils +the rankling corruptions of mortality had not yet been lifted before my staring +eyes, and I felt as one gazing at a beautiful world, and regarded the fair maid +as the angel destined to unfold all its brilliance to my vision, and to hold +the chalice to my lips while I sipped the nectar of perennial felicity. Alas, +that such moments are brief! They fly like the dreams of a startled slumberer, +and when they vanish once, they are gone forever! +</p> + +<p> +“Without calling at my lodgings for the usual refreshments, I hovered +about the mansion of Mrs. Arras till lights were gleaming in the parlour, and +then entered. Laura received me with a smile, and the complaisant matron gave +me an encouraging welcome. +</p> + +<p> +“‘You are pale this evening, Mr. Glenn,’ said Mrs. Arras, in +a good-humoured, though bantering manner. ‘Are you subject to sudden +attacks of illness?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘I assure you I never enjoyed better health in my life, and feel +no symptoms of indisposition whatever,’ I replied, but at that moment I +chanced to gaze at a mirror, and was startled at my haggard appearance. But +when Mrs. Arras withdrew, (which she did soon after my arrival,) the affable +and lovely Laura banished every thought of my condition. My wan cheek was soon +animated with the flush of unbounded admiration, and my sunken eye sparkled +with the effervescence of enraptured delight. Deep and ineradicable passion was +engendering in my bosom. And from the pleasure indicated in the glitter of +Laura’s lustrous eyes, the exquisite smile that dwelt upon her coral +lips, and the gentle though unconscious swellings of her breast, a conviction +thrilled through my soul that my sudden affection was reciprocated. Hours flew +like minutes, and I was surprised by the clock striking ONE before it occurred +to me that it was time to depart. Again I traversed the streets at that solemn +hour, insensible to every feeling, and regardless of every object but the +flaming torch lit up in my heart and the seraphic image of Laura. At length I +was warned by the scrutinizing gaze of a watchman to repair to my lodgings. But +my pillow afforded no rest. All night long I pondered on the exhilarating +events of the day. Many were the endearing accents that escaped my lips as I +addressed in fancy my beloved Laura. I resolved to declare my passion ere many +weeks should pass. I began to settle in my mind the plans of life, and then, +for the first time, the future presented a dark spot to my view. I was poor! +Laura was rich and her family proud and aristocratic. Her father was a +distinguished judge. And the most high-born and haughty of the land would +doubtless (if they had not already) sigh at her feet! I sprang upright on my +couch when this discordant thought passed across my mind. But the next moment I +was consoled with the belief that I already possessed her heart. And with a +determination to have her, in spite of every obstacle, should this be the case, +I sank back through weariness, and was soon steeped in deep, though unquiet +slumber. +</p> + +<p> +“The two next succeeding Sundays I attended Laura to church. The evenings +of both days, and nearly all the intervening ones, I was with her at the +mansion of Mrs. Arras. But the evening of the last Sunday was to me a memorable +one. That evening I opened all my heart to Laura, and found that every +pulsation met a responding throb in hers—such, at least, I believed to be +the case—and so she asserted. During the short time she remained in New +York, I was her accredited lover, and ever, when together, the attachment she +manifested was as ardent as mine. Indeed, at times, her passion seemed +unbounded, and I was more than once tempted to propose a clandestine and +immediate union. I was the more inclined to this, inasmuch as her father (who +had now returned from a trip to Washington) began to regard my visits with +displeasure. But he soon passed on to Boston to attend to the duties of his +office, and again I had unrestrained access to Laura. But I am dwelling too +long on this part of my story. +</p> + +<p> +“One day Henry Wold, my fellow-student, inquired the cause of the +palpable change in my bearing and disposition. Would that my lips had been +sealed to him forever! I knew that he was honest and generous by nature, but I +knew not to what extent his dissolute habits (gradually acquired by having +ample means, and yielding by degrees to the temptations of vice) had perverted +his good qualities. I told him of my love, and while describing the charms of +Laura, I was pleased to attribute the interest he evinced at the recital to his +disinterested friendship for me, without the thought that <i>he</i> could be +captivated himself with the bare description. He begged me to introduce him. +This, too, gratified my pride, for I knew he would admire her. The perfect +form, rare beauty, intelligence, and wealth of Wold did not startle an +apprehension in my breast. But I knew not—alas! who can know?—the +impulses that govern woman. Wold accompanied me that night to Mrs. +Arras’s. He seated himself at Laura’s side, and poured forth a +flood of flattery. They smiled in unison and returned glance for glance. Wold +exhibited his fine person and exerted all his captivating powers of intellect. +Laura scanned the one and listened attentively to the other. Still I sat by in +satisfaction, and strove to repress every rising fear that my supremacy in +Laura’s heart might be endangered. That evening, as we returned homeward, +in answer to my questions, Wold stated that my ‘intended’ was +<i>pretty enough</i> for any young man, and would, without doubt, make a +<i>very good wife</i>. So far from exhibiting the extravagant admiration I +expected, he seemed to speak of the object of my adoration with comparative +indifference. But a few evenings afterwards, I found him with Laura when I +arrived! I started back on beholding them seated on the same sofa as I entered +the parlour. Mrs. Arras was present, and wore a thoughtful expression of +features. Laura smiled on me, but I thought it was not a happy smile. It did +not render me happy. Wold bowed familiarly, and made some witty remark about +taking time by the forelock. I sat down in silence, with a compressed lip, and +an icy chillness in my breast. An embarrassing pause ensued. At length Mrs. +Arras rose, and opening a folding-door, beckoned me into the adjoining room. +After we had been seated a few moments, during which her brow assumed a more +grave and thoughtful cast, she observed— +</p> + +<p> +“‘You seem to be excited to-night, Charles.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘I have cause to be so,’ I replied. +</p> + +<p> +“‘I cannot deny it,’ said she, ‘when I consider every +thing that has transpired. You doubtless have an attachment for Laura—I +have <i>seen</i> it—and I confess it was and <i>would</i> be with my +goodwill had I control of the matter. I was acquainted with your family, and +acted with the best of motives when I permitted, perhaps encouraged, the +intimacy. But I thought not of the austere and passionate nature of my +brother-in-law. Neither did I think that any man could object to your addresses +to his daughter. But I was mistaken. Judge ____ has written that your +interviews with Laura must terminate.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Has he given any reason why?’ I asked, in tremulous tones. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Yes,’ she replied, ‘but such as mortify me as much as +they must pain you. He says that your fortune and family connections are not +sufficient to permit the alliance. Oh, I implore you not to suppose these to be +my sentiments. I know your family is devoid of ignoble stain, and that your +fortune was once second to none. Had I the disposal of Laura’s hand it +should be yours!’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘I believe it, Mrs. Arras!’ said I. ‘But do you net +think these objections of Judge ____ may be overcome?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Alas, never!’ she replied; ‘he is immovable when any +thing of moment is decided in his mind.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘But,’ I continued, while the pulsations of my heart were +distinctly audible, ‘what says Laura?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Would I had been spared this question! You saw her a few minutes +since. HE who sees all things knows how my heart ached while I sat by. I can +only tell you she had just finished reading her father’s letter when Mr. +Wold was announced. Spare me, now, I beseech you!’ I folded my arms and +gazed, I know not how long, at the flame ascending from the hearth. Oh! the +agony described of the dying were bliss to that moment. What could I think or +do? I sat like one whose heart has been rudely torn from his breast, and who +was yet debarred the relief of death. Existence to me at that moment was a +hell, and my sufferings were those of the damned! I thank God I have survived +them. +</p> + +<p> +“I was aroused from my lethargy by hearing the street door close after +Wold, and I desired Mrs. Arras to permit me to have an interview with Laura +alone. It was granted, and I was soon in the presence of the lovely maid. She +was aware of my perturbation and its cause. She sat with her eyes cast down in +silence. I looked upon her form and her features of perfect beauty, and oh! +what tongue can describe the mingled and contending emotions that convulsed my +breast! I repressed every violent or boisterous inclination of my spirits, +however, and taking her unresisting hand, sat down in sorrow at her side. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Laura,’ said I, with difficulty finding utterance, +‘do we thus part, and for ever?’ She made no answer, but gazed +steadfastly at the rich carpet, while her face, though somewhat paler than +usual, betrayed no change of muscle. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Laura,’ I repeated, in tones more distinct, ‘are we +<i>now</i> to part, and <i>for ever</i>?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Father says so,’ she replied. Her hand fell from my grasp. +The unmoved, <i>indifferent</i> manner of her reply froze my blood in my veins! +I again stared at her composed features in astonishment allied to contempt. +</p> + +<p> +“‘But what do <i>you</i> say?’ I asked, with a bluntness that +startled her. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Father knows best, perhaps!’ she replied, turning her eyes +to mine, I thought, with calmness. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Laura,’ said I, again taking her hand, for I was once more +subdued by her beauty, ‘I love you with my whole soul, and must continue +to love you. Ay, were you even to spurn me with your foot, so indissolubly have +my affections grown to your image, that my bleeding heart would turn in +adoration to the smiter. And I fondly hoped and believed that the passion was +returned—indeed, I had your assurance of the fact; nay, think not I +design to reproach you. It were bootless, had I the heart to do it. Be assured +that were you not only cruel to me, but steeped in crime and guilty of +injustice to the whole human race, I would still be your friend were all others +to forsake you. Deem me never your foe, or capable of ever becoming such. May +heaven bless you! We part—but, under <i>any</i> circumstances, should +adverse fortune overtake you and I can be of service, I beg you not to hesitate +to apply to me. You will find me still your friend. I will not attempt to +reverse the decision which you have made. However humiliating and poignant the +thought may be that I was unconsciously the means of introducing the +<i>object</i> that influenced your decision, yet I will not murmur, neither +will I become <i>his</i> enemy, for your sake. I hope you will be happy. I pray +that heaven may incline your heart to be true and <i>constant</i> to +Wold.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘I hope so,’ said she in a low tone. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Laura,’ said I, rising, ‘you confess, then, that Wold +possesses your love?’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Yes,’ said she; ‘but I cannot help it!’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Farewell!’ said I, kissing her yielding hand, and turning +deliberately away, though with the sensation of one stunned by a thunderbolt. I +returned home, and threw myself like a loathsome carcass upon my couch. I could +not even think. My mind seemed like some untenanted recess in the unfathomable +depths below. Instantaneous death, and even eternal perdition afterwards, could +have presented no new horrors then. It was haply the design of Providence that +the thought of self-destruction should not occur to me. With the means in my +reach, I would in all probability have rushed, uncalled and unprepared, into +the presence of an offended Creator. +</p> + +<p> +“A fever and delirium, such as possessed the poor youth lying there, +ensued. Under the kind care of my preceptor, my malady abated in a few weeks; +and, as I recovered, a change took place in my sentiments regarding the events +that produced my illness. My pride rose up to my relief, and I resolved to +overcome the effects of my disappointment. Yet my heart melted in tenderness +when I recalled the blissful moments I had known with Laura. But I determined +to prosecute my plans of life as if no such occurrence had transpired. +</p> + +<p> +“A few days after bidding Laura adieu, she returned to Boston, +accompanied by Wold. Wold obtained his diploma while I was writhing with +disease. Even the loss of my degree was now borne with patience and +resignation. I forgave Wold, and implored him to make Laura happy. He promised +faithfully to do so when on the eve of setting out with her. I did not desire +to see her myself, but sent my forgiveness and blessing. +</p> + +<p> +“In a few months my diploma was obtained, and I commenced the practice +under the most favourable circumstances. My late preceptor was now my partner. +Nearly a year elapsed before Wold returned to New York. But a rumor preceded +him which again opened all the fountains of bitterness in my heart. It was said +(and only two or three were possessed of the secret) that he had betrayed and +ruined the lovely Laura! I sought him, to ascertain from his own lips if he had +truly committed the act imputed to him. I resolved to avenge her! But Wold +avoided me. I could not obtain his ear, and all my notes to him remained +unanswered. Despairing of getting an immediate answer from him, I repaired to +Mrs. Arras. Her house was in gloom and sorrow. When she appeared, my heart sank +within me to behold her sad and mournful brow. She pressed my extended hand, +while a flood of tears gushed from her eyes. +</p> + +<p> +“I knew by the disconsolate aspect of the aunt that the niece had been +dragged down from her high estate of virtue, fortune, and fame. I sat down, and +bowed my head in sorrow many minutes before the first word was spoken. I still +loved Laura. What could I say? how begin? +</p> + +<p> +“‘It is true!’ I at length exclaimed, rising up, and pacing +the floor rapidly, while many a tear ran down my cheek. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Alas! it is too true,’ iterated Mrs. Arras. +</p> + +<p> +“‘The black-hearted villain!’ I continued. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Ah, Mr. Glenn, her fate would have been different, if your +addresses had not been so cruelly spurned! God knows I was not to blame!’ +said she. +</p> + +<p> +“‘No, Mrs. Arras,’ said I; ‘had your will been done, I +had not been made miserable by the bereavement, nor the beautiful, the +innocent—the—Laura, with all her errors, dishonoured, ruined, +crushed! But the betrayer, the viper that stung her, still breathes. I loved +her—I love her yet—and I will be her avenger!’ Saying this, I +rushed away, heedless of the matron’s half-uttered entreaties to remain +and to desist from my plan of vengeance. +</p> + +<p> +“There was a young student of my acquaintance, a brave, chivalrous, noble +Virginian, to whom I imparted Laura’s sad story. He frankly agreed with +me that the venomous reptile in the human shape that could beguile an +unsuspecting and lovely girl to minister to his unhallowed desires, and then, +without hesitation or remorse, abandon her to the dark, despairing shades of a +frowning world, while he crawled on to insinuate his poison into the breasts of +new victims, should be pursued, hunted down, and exterminated. Yet there was +but one way for me to punish Wold. The ignominy of the act, and the indignation +of a virtuous community were to him matters of indifference. The circle in +which he moved would smile at the misfortune of his victim, and applaud his +address, were the affair published. I resolved that he should answer it to me +alone. I had sworn in my heart to be Laura’s avenger. +</p> + +<p> +“I penned a message which was delivered by my young Virginian friend in +person. Wold said he had no quarrel with me, and strove to evade the subject. +He sent me a note, demanding wherein he had ever wronged me, and stating that +he was ready and willing to <i>explain</i> any thing that might have offended +me. I returned his note, with a line on the same sheet, informing him that I +was the friend of Laura; and that he must either meet me in the manner +indicated in my message, or I would publicly brand him as a dastardly +scoundrel. He bit his lip, and referred my friend to one of his companions in +iniquity, a Mr. Knabb, who lived by the <i>profession</i> of cards and dice. It +was arranged that we should meet on one of the islands near the city, and that +it should be the next morning. This was what I desired, and I had urged my +friend to effect as speedy a consummation of the affair as possible. All the +tumult and perturbation that raged in my bosom on parting with Laura had +returned, and the throbbing of my brain was almost insufferable. It was with +difficulty that my young friend prevailed upon me to embrace the few +intermediate hours before the meeting to practice with the pistol. I heeded not +his declaration that Wold was an excellent shot, because I felt convinced that +justice was on my side. I thought that the criminal must inevitably fall. +However, I consented to practice a little to quiet his importunity. Truly, it +seemed that his urgent solicitation was reasonable enough, for the first fire +my ball was several feet wide of the mark. I had never fired a pistol before in +my life. But there was no quivering of nerve, no misgiving as to my fate; for +notwithstanding I was aware of being a novice, yet I entertained a conviction, +a presentiment, that the destroyer of my Laura’s innocence would fall +beneath my hand. The next fire I did better, and soon learned to strike the +centre. +</p> + +<p> +“We were all on the ground at the hour appointed. While the seconds were +arranging the necessary preliminaries, Wold, finding that my eyes rested +steadily upon him, endeavoured to intimidate me. There was a bush some thirty +paces distant, from which a slim, solitary sprout ran up several feet above the +rest of the branches. He gazed an instant at it while I was marking him, and +then raised his pistol, and fired in the direction. The sprout fell. Turning, +his eyes met mine, while a slight smile was visible on his lip. The effect did +not realize his hopes. I looked upon the act with such cold indifference that +he at first betrayed surprise at my calmness, and then exhibited palpable signs +of trepidation himself. He beckoned Knabb to him, and, after a brief conference +in a low tone, his second returned to my friend, and inquired if no amends, no +reconciliation, could avert the exchange of shots. My friend reported his words +to me, and my reply was that nothing but the restitution of the maiden’s +honour—instant marriage—would be satisfaction. Wold +protested—marriage was utterly impossible under existing +circumstances—but he would do any thing else. But nothing else would +answer; and I insisted on proceeding to business without further delay. Wold +heard me, and became pale. When we were placed at our respective stations, and +while the final arrangements were being adjusted, I thought his replies to his +friend’s observations betrayed much alarm. But there was no retreat. I +was never calmer in my life, I even smiled when my careful friend told me that +he had detected and prevented a concerted plan that would have given Wold the +advantage. The word was given. Wold’s ball struck the earth before me, +and threw some sand in my face. Mine entered the seducer’s side! I saw +him gasp, reel, and fall, while the blood gushed out on the beach. My friend +hurried me away, and paused not until he had placed me in a stage just starting +for Philadelphia. I clasped his hand in silence, and the next moment the horses +plunged away at the crack of the driver’s whip, and we were soon far on +the road. Reflection ere long convinced me that I had been guilty of an +unjustifiable act. If it was no crime in the estimation of men, it was +certainly a grievous transgression in the eyes of God! I then trembled. The +bleeding form and reproachful stare of Wold haunted my vision when the darkness +set in. Oh, the errors, in act and deed, of an impetuous youth thrown upon the +world with no considerate friend to advise him! The pity I felt for Laura was +soon forgotten in the horrible thought that I was a MURDERER! Oh, the anguish +of that night! Why did I not leave Wold to the judgment of an offended God? Why +did I not permit him to suffer the gnawing of the canker that must ever abide +in his heart, instead of staining my hands with his blood? Freely would I have +abandoned every hope of pleasure in the world to have washed his blood away! +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> +<img src="images/001.jpg" alt="I saw him gasp, reel, and fall." width="392" +height="494"/> +</div> + +<p class="caption"> +“I saw him gasp, reel, and fall.” +</p> + +<p> +“When I arrived in Philadelphia, with a heavy heart, I sought a quiet +hotel, not daring to confront my uncle with such a tale of woe and crime. For +several days I remained in my chamber without seeing any one but the servant +that brought my food. At length I asked for a New York paper. For more than an +hour after it was brought I could not summon courage to peruse the hated +tragedy. Finally I snatched up the sheet convulsively and glanced along the +columns. When my eyes rested upon the paragraph I was in quest of, I sprang to +my feet in ecstasy. The wound had not been fatal! Wold still lived! +</p> + +<p> +“In a twinkling I was dressed and on my way to my uncle’s +residence. Notwithstanding there was a dreadful epidemic in the city, and +hearses and mourners were passing every few minutes, I felt within a buoyancy +that defied the terrors of disease and death. +</p> + +<p> +“But it seemed that disaster and desolation were fated to attend me +whithersoever I turned. A gloom brooded upon my heart when I approached my +uncle’s mansion, and found the badge of mourning at the door. I paused +and asked the servant who was dead. He informed me that my uncle alone +remained. His wife and children, all had been consigned to the tomb the day +before, and he himself now lay writhing with the fell disease. I rushed in and +entered the sick chamber. It was the chamber of death. My uncle pressed my hand +and died. I followed him to the grave, the chief and almost only mourner. +</p> + +<p> +“I returned and shut myself up in the mansion, bewildered and stupefied. +I was now the possessor of immense wealth. But I was unhappy. I knew not what +to do to enjoy life. Gradually the pestilence abated and disappeared, and by +degrees the gloom that oppressed me subsided. At the end of a few months, I was +informed by my young Virginian friend that Wold had entirely recovered. I +likewise received a letter from Mrs. Arras, stating that Judge ____ had sought +out Laura, (who had been enticed to an obscure part of the city,) and, as her +misfortune had been kept a profound secret among the few, he forgave the +offence, and once more extended to her a father’s love and a +father’s protection. I need not say that a blissful thrill bounded +through my veins. Wold was living, and Laura not irrecoverably lost. Yet I did +not then deem it possible that I could, under such circumstances, ever desire +to possess the once adored, but since truly fallen, Laura. But I experienced a +sweet gratification to be thus informed of the prospect of her being reinstated +in society. My love was not yet wholly extinguished! +</p> + +<p> +“When it was generally known that I possessed great riches, a crowd of +flatterers and sycophants hovered around me. I was a distinguished guest at the +mansions of the fashionable and great, and had in turn many brilliant parties +at my residence. But among the tinsel and glitter of the gay world I sought in +vain for peace and happiness. Many beautiful and bewitching belles lavished +their sweetest smiles upon me, but they could not re-ignite the smothered flame +in my bosom. Wine could only exhilarate for a moment, to be succeeded by a +gnawing nausea. Cards could only excite while I lost, to be succeeded by +irritability and disgust. +</p> + +<p> +“Thus my time was spent for twelve months, when I suddenly conceived the +resolution to seek a union with the ill-fated Laura, notwithstanding all the +obloquy the world might attach to the act. I still loved her in spite of +myself. I could not live in peace without her, and I determined without delay +to offer her my hand, heart, and fortune. I set out for Boston, and on my +arrival instantly proceeded to the residence of Judge ____. Again my evil star +was in the ascendant. Desolation and death presided in Judge ____’s +family. The ominous badge of mourning greeted me at the threshold; +Laura’s mother had just been consigned, broken-hearted, to the cold +grave. The venerable Judge bowed his hoary head to the blows that Providence +inflicted. He could not speak to me. His reply to my offer in relation to his +child was only a flood of tears. He then retreated into his library and locked +the door. An aged domestic told me all. Laura had abandoned her parental roof, +and voluntarily entered one of those sinks of pollution that so much degrade +human nature! I stood upon an awful abyss. The whirlpools of deceit, +ingratitude, indifference, and calumny, howled around me, and the dark floods +of sensual corruption roared below. Turn whithersoever I might (alas, I thought +not of heaven!) gloom, discord, and misery seemed to be my portion. +</p> + +<p> +“I hurried back to Philadelphia, and strove to mitigate my grief in the +vortex of unrestrained dissipation. I lavished my gold on undeserving and +unthankful objects. I cared not for life, much less for fortune. I was the +victim of a frenzy that rendered me reckless, and bereft me of calm meditation. +My frantic laughter was heard at the gaming-table, and my plaudits were +boisterous at the theatre, but I was a stranger to enjoyment. There was no +pleasure for me. My brawling companions swore I was the happiest and noblest +being on earth. But I knew too well there was not a more miserable fiend in +hell. +</p> + +<p> +“At length disease fortunately arrested my demoniac career before my +wealth was expended. It was my good fortune to secure the services of a +distinguished and skillful physician. He was a benevolent and universally +esteemed <i>Quaker</i>. His attention was not only constant, but soothing and +parental. His earnest and tender tones often made me weep. When I recovered, I +resolved to amend my life. This <i>friend</i> had applied a healing balm to my +aching heart. I determined to prosecute my profession, and before a year +elapsed my exertions began to be crowned with success. +</p> + +<p> +“I was a frequent attendant at the lectures, and on terms of the closest +intimacy with the professors. Indeed, I had a prospect of a professorship +myself. I devoted my attention particularly to the anatomical department of my +studies, which I preferred; and it was in this department of the institution +that I would probably be installed in a few months. The gentleman who occupied +that chair was about to resign, and, being my friend, used his influence to +procure my election. +</p> + +<p> +“My medical friend invited me one evening to be present at a dissection, +which promised to be one of extreme interest. He described the subject as one +that had elicited the admiration of the class. He said it was a female of +perfect proportions, but who had recently been an inmate of a brothel of the +lowest description. She had, in a state of beastly inebriation, fallen into the +fire. Yet, with the exception of a small but fatal orifice in the side, her +form and features remained unaltered. I consented to meet him at the hour +appointed, and made my arrangements accordingly. +</p> + +<p> +“That evening there were many more persons in the dissecting-room than +usual. I had now become much more cheerful, and enjoyed the frank greetings of +my many friends with a relish and an ardour that had hitherto been unknown to +me. Many flippant remarks and careless observations were exchanged in relation +to the business before us. We had become accustomed to such scenes, and habit +had rendered us callous to the reflections and impressions generally produced +when gazing upon the cold lineaments of the dead. Dissection was an +indispensable act. It had been resorted to under the deliberate conviction that +it was necessary to the perfection of science, and in a great degree redounded +to the welfare and preservation of the living. To us the pale inanimate limbs, +and the attenuated, insensible bodies of the dead brought no disagreeable +sensations. We cut and sawed them with the same composed indifference with +which the sculptor hews the marble. +</p> + +<p> +“‘This is a beautiful subject we have to-night, Glenn,’ +observed one of my friends, as we approached the dead body. He then threw up +the white cloth, and exposed the corpse, the head being still obscured. A +breathless silence reigned, while all gazed at the lifeless form in admiration. +She was a perfect Venus! Not having been wasted and shrivelled by disease, the +symmetry of her lineaments was preserved in all the exactness of life and +health. Her bust was full, plump, and the skin of the most exquisite whiteness, +except where it had been marred by the fire that caused her death. Her limbs +surpassed any model I had ever beheld, round and tapering, smooth and white as +ivory. Her ankles were most admirably turned, and her feet of the smallest +dimensions. Her handsome and gently swelling arms were covered with a slight +gauze of short, dark hair, through which the snowy whiteness of her skin was +displayed to greater advantage. Her hands were extremely delicate, and +indicated that she had been accustomed to ease and luxury. +</p> + +<p> +“I was requested to open her breast and exhibit to the students the +formation and functions of the heart. She was lying on her back, on a long +narrow table, around which the students stood gazing at her fair proportions. +Some reflected in sorrow that so beautiful and lovely a being should die and be +conveyed to the dissecting-room; while others joked and laughed in a light +unfeeling manner. When about to make an incision with the sharp glittering +steel in my hand, for the first time since I had graduated, I confessed that my +nerves were too much affected by the sight of the subject to proceed, and I +begged my friends to be patient a few minutes, during which I would doubtless +regain my accustomed composure. +</p> + +<p> +“‘What was her name?’ I inquired of the friend who had +accosted me on my entrance. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Haven’t you heard?’ said he, smiling—‘I +thought you all knew her. Nearly every person in the city has heard of her, for +she was the most celebrated and notorious “fallen angel” in the +city—celebrated for her unrivalled beauty and many triumphs, and +notorious for her heartless deceit and reckless disregard of her own welfare. +She has led captive many an unguarded swain by a passing smile in the street, +and then unceremoniously deserted him to join some drunken and beastly party in +an obscure and degraded alley.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘Her name—what was her name?’ I again asked, once more +taking up the knife, my nerves sufficiently braced by the above recital. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Anne R____,’ he replied; ‘I thought,’ he +continued, ‘no one could be ignorant of her name, after hearing a +description of her habits.’ +</p> + +<p> +“‘<i>All</i> of us,’ I continued, rallying, ‘are not +familiar with the persons and names of the “fallen angels” about +town. But let us look at her face.’ Saying this, I endeavoured to lift +the white cloth from her head, but finding that the resurrectionist had tied a +cord tightly round the muslin enclosing her neck and head, I desisted. +</p> + +<p> +“‘Her face is in keeping with her body and limbs,’ said my +merry friend; ‘she was a perfect beauty. I have seen her in Chestnut +Street every fair day for the last six months, until she got drunk and fell in +the fire.’ +</p> + +<p> +“I now proceeded to business, but my flesh quivered as my knife +penetrated the smooth fair breast of the subject. Soon the skin and the flesh +were removed, and the saw grated harshly as it severed the ribs. When the heart +was exposed, all bent forward instinctively, scanning it minutely, and +seemingly with a curiosity to ascertain if it differed from those of others +whose lives were different. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> +<img src="images/013.jpg" alt="It was Laura, the loved, adored Laura!" +width="372" height="464"/> +</div> + +<p class="caption"> +It was Laura, the loved, adored Laura! +</p> + +<p> +“When the operation was over, my anxiety to see her face returned. After +an ineffectual effort to untie the cord, I became impatient, and seizing the +knife that lay on the table, ripped open the muslin that hid her features! My +God! The knife dropped from my hand, and penetrating the floor, quivered +upright at my feet, while every member of my body trembled in unison with it! I +raised my hands with my fingers spread out to the utmost tension. My mouth fell +open, and my eyes felt as if they were straining to leap from my head. <i>It +was Laura</i>—the loved, adored Laura—<i>my</i> Laura! My friends +heard me repeat the name, and marked with surprise and concern my inexplicably +miserable condition. They gathered round me, and endeavoured to divert my +attention from the dead and now gory body. It was in vain. I heeded not their +words, but gazed steadfastly at the sad features of Laura, with my hands still +uplifted. I was speechless, deaf, and immovable. No tear moistened my eyes, but +burning thoughts rushed through my brain. My heart was cold, cold. Ah, I +remembered how I had loved her once! I thought of the time when I was happy to +bow down at her feet, and in good faith attribute to her many of the pure +qualities pertaining to <i>risen</i> angels. And this was her end! The +beautiful and innocent—the loving and beloved—the high born and +wealthy—the light and joy of fond and indulgent parents—had been +beguiled by the infernal tempter to make one step aside from the straight and +narrow-path of duty—and this was the result! The sensitive and guileless +girl became an incarnate fiend, callous to every modest and virtuous +impulse—scorned by the honest and good, and hating and undermining the +redeeming principles of her species—rushing from the high station which +her ancestors had arduously laboured for generations to attain, and voluntarily +taking up her abode in the dens of squalid misery and indelible +pollution—closing her eyes to the might and majesty of a merciful God, +beckoning her to his eternal throne in heaven, and giving heed to the fatal +devices of the enemy of mankind, till she was dragged down, down to the +innermost depths of a raging and roaring hell! Such was the fate of Laura. Such +is the fate of thousands who willingly err, though it be ever so slight, for +the sake of enjoying an impious gratification. Poor Laura! Oh, how I loved her! +But it is bootless to think of her now. +</p> + +<p> +“I was gently forced from the dissecting-room by my friends, and +conducted to my home in silence—in silence, because I had no words for +any one. I pressed their hands at the door of my mansion, and bowing, they +departed for their homes to muse over the incidents of the evening. I entered +my silent chamber, but not to rest. I threw open the casement and gazed out at +the genial rays of the moon. The dark green leaves of the linden trees were +motionless, and the silvery rays struggling through them cast a checkered and +faint tint of mingled light and shade on the pavement beneath. The cool fresh +air soothed my throbbing temples. I sank back in my seat and gazed up at the +innumerable stars in the boundless sky. I thought the stellar host glittered +with unusual brilliance, as if there were a joyous and holy revelry going on in +heaven. My heart grew calm. I felt a conviction that true happiness, and purity +of thought and purpose were inseparable. I knew that the contaminations of the +world had overthrown many a righteous resolve, and linked the noblest minded +with infamy. I thought of Laura. The seductions of the world had literally +prostrated an angel before my eyes. I determined to <i>leave</i> the world, if +not for ever, at least as long as its temptations to err, in the remotest +degree, were liable to beset my path. I came hither.” +</p> + +<p> +When Glenn finished his narrative, Roughgrove rose in silence, and producing a +small Bible that he always carried about his person, read in a low, but +distinct and impressive tone, several passages which were peculiarly applicable +to the state of their feelings. Glenn then approached the couch where William +slumbered peacefully. A healthful perspiration rested on his forehead, and a +sweet smile played upon his lips, indicating that his dreams were not among the +savage scenes in which he had so lately mingled. Mary, who had fallen asleep +while seated at his side, overcome with silent watching, yet rested with her +head on the same pillow, precisely in the same attitude she reclined when Glenn +began his recital. Roughgrove took her in his arms, and placing her softy at +her brother’s feet, bestowed a kiss upon her brow, and retired with Glenn +to rest. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="ChapterXVI"> +CHAPTER XVI. </a> +</h2> + +<p class="quote"> +Balmy spring—Joe’s curious dream—He prepares to catch a +fish—Glenn—William and Mary—Joe’s sudden and strange +appearance—La-u-na—The trembling fawn—The fishing +sport—The ducking frolic—Sneak and the panther. +</p> + +<p> +It was now the first week in May. Every vestige of winter had long since +disappeared, and the verdure of a rich soil and mild temperature was fast +enrobing the earth with the freshest and most pleasing of colours. Instead of +the dreary expanse of ice that had covered the river, its waters now murmured +musically by in the early morn—its curling eddies running along the sedgy +shore, while the rising sun slowly dissipated the floating mists; and the +inspiring notes of all the wild variety of birds, contributed to invest the +scene with such charms as the God of nature only can impart, and which may only +be fully enjoyed and justly appreciated by guileless and unsophisticated +mortals. +</p> + +<p> +Glenn rambled forth, and, partaking the harmony that pervaded the earth, air, +and waters, his breast swelled with a blissful exultation that can never be +known amid the grating voices of contending men, or experienced in crowded +cities, where many confused sounds vibrate harshly and distracting on the ear. +He stood in his little garden among the flowers that Mary had planted, and +watched the humming-birds poised among the trembling leaves, their tiny wings +still unruffled by the dew, while their slender beaks inhaled the sweet +moisture of the variegated blossoms. Long he regarded the enchanting scene, +unconscious of the flight of time, and alike regardless of the past and the +future in his all-absorbing admiration of the present, wherein he deemed he was +not far remote from that Presence to which time and eternity are +obedient—when his phantasm was abruptly and unceremoniously put to flight +by his man Joe, who rushed out of the house with a long rod in his hand; +yawning and rubbing his eyes, as if he had been startled from his morning +slumber but a moment before. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s the matter?” demanded Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“It was a wapper!” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“What was?” +</p> + +<p> +“The fish.” +</p> + +<p> +“Where?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll tell you. I dreamt I was sitting on a rock, down at the +ferry, with this rod in my hand, fishing for perch, when a thundering big +catfish, as long as I am, took hold. I dreamt he pulled and I +pulled—sometimes he had me in the water up to my knees, and sometimes I +got him out on dry land. But he always flounced and kicked back again. Yet he +couldn’t escape, because the hook was still in his mouth, and when he +jumped into the river I jumped to the rod, and so we had it over and +over—” +</p> + +<p> +“And now have done with it,” said Glenn, interrupting him. +“What are you holding the rod now for?” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m going to try to catch him,” said Joe, with unaffected +simplicity. +</p> + +<p> +“Merely because you had this dream!” continued Glenn, his features +relaxing into a smile. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes—I believe in dreams,” said Joe. “Once, when we +were living in Philadelphia, I had one of these same dreams. It was just about +the same hour—” +</p> + +<p> +“How do you know what hour it was you dreamt about the fish?” again +interrupted Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Why—I—,” stammered Joe, “I’m sure it was +about daybreak, because the sun rose a little while after I got out.” +</p> + +<p> +“That might be the case,” said Glenn, “if you were to dream +about the same thing from sun-down till sun-up. And I believe the fish was +running in your head last night before I went to bed, for you were then snoring +and jerking your arms about.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I’ll tell you my other dream, anyhow. I dreamt I was walking +along Spruce Street wharf with my head down, when all at once my toe struck +against a red morocco pocket-wallet; I stooped down and picked it up and put it +in my pocket, and went home before I looked to see what was in it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, what was in it when you did look?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“There was a one thousand dollar note on the Bank of the United States, +with the president’s and cashier’s names on it, all genuine. Oh, I +was so happy! I put it in my vest-pocket and sewed it up.” +</p> + +<p> +“But what have you done with it since?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I—Hang it! it was only a dream!”<a +href="#fn1"><sup>[1]</sup> </a> said Joe, unconsciously feeling in his empty +pocket. +</p> + +<p> +“But what has that dream to do with the fish?” pursued Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll tell you,” said Joe. “When I got up in the +morning and discovered it was a dream, I slipped on my clothes as quickly as +possible and set off for the wharf. When I got there, I walked along slowly +with my head down till at length my toe struck against an oyster-shell. I +picked it up, and while I was looking at it, the captain of a schooner invited +me on board of his vessel to look at his cargo of oysters, just stolen from +Deep Creek, Virginia. He gave me at least six dozen to eat!” +</p> + +<p> +“And this makes you have faith in such dreams?” asked Glenn, +striving in vain to repress his laughter. +</p> + +<p> +“I got <i>something</i> by the dream,” said Joe. “I had a +first rate oyster-breakfast.” +</p> + +<p> +“But what has all this to do with the fish?” continued Glenn; +“perhaps, instead of the fish, you expect to catch a <i>frog</i> this +time. You will still be an Irishman, Joe. Go and try your luck.” +</p> + +<p> +“St. Patrick forbid that I should be any thing else but an Irishman! I +should like to know if an Irishman ain’t as good as anybody else, +particularly when he’s born in America, as I was? But the dream in +Philadelphia <i>did</i> have something to do with a fish. Didn’t I catch +a fish? Isn’t an oyster a fish? And it had something to do with +<i>this</i> fish, too. I’ve been bothering my head ever since I got up +about what kind of <i>bait</i> to catch him with, and I’m sure I never +would have thought of the right kind if you hadn’t mentioned that +<i>frog</i> just now. I recollect they say that’s the very best thing in +the world to bait with for a catfish. I’ll go straight to the brook and +hunt up a frog!” Saying this, Joe set out to execute his purpose, while +Glenn proceeded to Roughgrove’s house to see how William progressed in +his studies. +</p> + +<p> +The intelligent youth, under the guidance of Roughgrove, Glenn, and his +unwearying and affectionate sister, was now rapidly making amends for the long +neglect of his education while abiding with the unlettered Indians. He had +already gone through the English grammar, and was entering the higher branches +of study. The great poets of his own country, and the most approved novelists +were his companions during the hours of relaxation; for when the illimitable +fields of intellect were opened to his vision, he would scarce for a moment +consent to withdraw his admiring gaze. Thus, when it was necessary for a season +to cease his toil in the path of learning, he delighted to recline in some cool +shade with a pleasing book in his hand, and regale his senses with the flowers +and refreshing streams of imaginative authors. And thus sweetly glided his +days. Could such halcyon moments last, it were worse than madness to seek the +wealth and honours of this world! In that secluded retreat, though far from the +land of his nativity, with no community but the companionship of his three or +four friends and the joyous myriads of birds—no palaces but the eternal +hills of nature, and no pageantry but the rays of the rising and setting sun +streaming in prismatic dies upon them, the smiling youth was far happier than +he would have been in the princely halls of his fathers, where the sycophant +only bent the knee to receive a load of gold, and the friend that might protect +him on the throne would be the first to stab him on the highway. +</p> + +<p> +A spreading elm stood near the door of Roughgrove’s house, and beneath +its clustering boughs William and Mary were seated on a rude bench, entirely +screened from the glaring light of the sun. A few paces distant the brook +glided in low murmurs between the green flags and water violets over its pebbly +bed. The morning dew yet rested on the grass in the shade. The soft sigh of the +fresh breeze, as it passed through the motionless branches of the towering elm, +could scarce be heard, but yet sufficed ever and anon to lift aside the glossy +ringlets that hung pendent to the maiden’s shoulders. The paroquet and +the thrush, the bluebird and goldfinch, fluttered among the thick foliage and +trilled their melodies in sweetest cadence. Both the brother and sister wore a +happy smile. Happy, because the innocence of angels dwelt in the bosom of the +one, and the memory of his guileless and blissful days of childhood possessed +the other. Occasionally they read some passages in a book that lay open on +Mary’s lap, describing the last days of Charles I., and then the bright +smile would be dimmed for a moment by a shade of sadness. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! poor man!” exclaimed Mary, when William read of the axe of the +executioner descending on the neck of the prostrate monarch. +</p> + +<p> +“It is far better to dwell in peace in such a quiet and lonely place as +this, than to be where so many cruel men abide,” said William, pondering. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah me! I did not think that Christian men could be so cruel,” said +Mary, a bright tear dropping from her long eyelash. +</p> + +<p> +“But the book says he was a tyrant and deserved to die,” continued +the youth, his lips compressed with firmness. +</p> + +<p> +“He’s coming!” exclaimed Mary, suddenly, and the pitying +thought of the unfortunate Charles vanished from her mind. But as she steadily +gazed up the path a crimson flush suffused her smooth brow and cheek, and she +rose gracefully, and with a smile of delight, welcomed Glenn to the cool and +refreshing shade of the majestic elm. +</p> + +<p> +“You have come too late. William has already said his lesson, and +I’m sure he knew it perfectly,” said Mary, half-reproachfully and +half-playfully. +</p> + +<p> +“Mary don’t know, Mr. Glenn; because I am now further advanced than +she is,” said William. +</p> + +<p> +“But what kept you away so long this beautiful morning?” continued +the innocent girl. “Don’t you see the dew is almost dried away in +the sun, and the morning-glories are nearly all closed?” +</p> + +<p> +“I was lingering in the garden among the delicate flowers you gave me +Mary; and the green and golden humming-birds charmed me so that I could not +tear myself away,” replied our hero, as he sat down between the brother +and sister. +</p> + +<p> +“I shall go with brother William on the cliff and get some wild roses and +hare-bells, and then all your humming-birds will leave you and stay here with +me,” said Mary, smiling archly. +</p> + +<p> +“But you will be the prettiest bird among them, and flower too, to my +eyes,” said Glenn, gazing at the clear and brilliant though laughing eyes +of the pleased girl. +</p> + +<p> +“If that were the case, why did you linger so long in the garden?” +asked the maid, with some seriousness. +</p> + +<p> +“I should not have done so, Mary, but for Joe, who, you know, will always +be heard when he has any thing to say; and this morning he had a ludicrous +dream to tell me.” +</p> + +<p> +“I like Joe a great deal—he makes me laugh every time I see him. +And you must tell me what he said, and how he looked and acted, that I may know +whether you did right to stay away so long,” said the thoughtless and +happy girl, eager to listen to the accents of the one whose approach had +illumined her features with the mystical fires of the heart. +</p> + +<p> +Glenn faithfully repeated every word and gesture of his dialogue with Joe, and +the unsophisticated girl’s joyous laugh rang merrily up the echoing vale +in sweet accompaniment with the carols of the feathered songsters. +</p> + +<p> +When the narration ended, they both turned with surprise to William, who, +instead of partaking their hilarity as usual, sat perfectly motionless in deep +thought, regarding with apparent intensity the straggling spears of grass that +grew at his feet. The book he had taken up, which had dropped from Mary’s +lap when she hastily rose at the approach of Glenn, now fell unobserved by him +from his relaxed hand. His face became unusually pale. His limbs seemed to be +strangely agitated, and the pulsations of his heart were audible. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s the matter, dear brother?” cried Mary, in alarm. +</p> + +<p> +“La-u-na—LA-U-NA!” he exclaimed, and, sinking softly down on +his knees, applied his ear close to the ground in a listening attitude. +</p> + +<p> +“Dear brother William! <i>do</i> tell Mary what ails you! What is +La-u-na!” said the startled and distressed girl, with affectionate +concern. +</p> + +<p> +“<i>La-u-na</i>—THE TREMBLING FAWN!” cried William, +pantingly. +</p> + +<p> +“Listen” said Glenn, checking Mary when she was about to repeat her +inquiry. A plaintive flute-like sound was heard at intervals, floating on the +balmy and almost motionless air down the green-fringed vale. At times it +resembled the mournful plaint of the lonely dove, and then died away like the +last notes of the expiring swan. +</p> + +<p> +Before many minutes elapsed another sound of quite a different character +saluted their ears. This was a rustling among the bushes, heard indistinctly at +first, while the object was far up the valley, but as it approached with +fearful rapidity, the rushing noise became tremendous, and a few moments after, +when the trembling sumachs parted in view, they beheld Joe! He dashed through +the briers interspersed among the undergrowth, and plunged through the winding +brook that occasionally crossed his path, as if all surrounding obstacles and +obstructions were contemptible in comparison with the danger behind! Leaping +over intervening rocks, and flying through dense clusters of young trees that +ever and anon threatened to impede his progress, he at length reached the spot +where the little group still remained seated. Without hat or coat, and panting +so violently that he was unable to explain distinctly the cause of his alarm, +poor Joe threw himself down on the earth in the most distressed and pitiable +condition. +</p> + +<p> +“What have you seen? What is the cause of this affright?” asked +Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I—oh—they—coming!” cried Joe, incoherently. +</p> + +<p> +“What is coming?” continued Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I—Indians!” exclaimed he, springing up and rushing into the +house. +</p> + +<p> +“They are friendly Indians, then,” said Mary; “because the +hostile ones never come upon us at this season of the year.” +</p> + +<p> +“So I have been told,” said Glenn; “but even the sight of a +friendly Indian would scare Joe.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is La-u-na!” said William, still attentively listening. +</p> + +<p> +“What is <i>La-u-na</i>?” interrogated Mary, again. +</p> + +<p> +“The <i>Trembling Fawn</i>!” repeated William, with emphasis, in a +mysterious and abstracted manner. Presently he stood up and intently regarded +the dim path over-shadowed by the luxuriant foliage that Joe had so recently +traversed, and an animated smile played upon his lips, and dark, clear eyes +sparkled with a thrill of ecstasy. +</p> + +<p> +A slight female form, emerged from the dark green thicket, and glided more like +a spirit of the air than a human being towards the wondering group. Her light +steps produced no sound. In each hand she held a rich bouquet of fresh wild +flowers, and leaves and blossoms were fantastically, though tastefully, +arranged in her hair and on her breast. A broad, shining gold band decked her +temples, but many of her raven ringlets had escaped from their confinement, and +floated out on the wind as she sped towards her beloved. +</p> + +<p> +“La-u-na! La-u-na!” cried William, darting forward frantically and +catching the girl in his arms. He pressed her closely and fondly to his heart, +and she hid her face on his breast. Thus they clung together several minutes in +silence, when they were interrupted by Roughgrove, whose attention had been +attracted by the sudden affright of Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“William, my dear boy,” said the grieved old man, “you must +not have any thing to do with the Indians—you promised us that you would +not—” +</p> + +<p> +“Leave us!” said the youth, sternly, and stamping impatiently. +</p> + +<p> +“Do, father!” cried Mary, who looked on in tears, a few paces +apart; “brother won’t leave us again—I’m sure he +won’t—will you, William?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, I will not!” exclaimed the youth. The Indian girl comprehended +the meaning of his words, and, tearing, away from his embrace, stood with +folded arms at his side, with her penetrating and reproachful eyes fixed full +upon him, while her lips quivered and her breast heaved in agitation. All now +regarded her in silence and admiration. Her form was a perfect model of beauty. +Her complexion was but a shade darker than that of the maidens of Spain. Her +brows were most admirably arched, and her long silken lashes would have been +envied by an Italian beauty. Her forehead and cheeks were smooth, and all her +features as regular as those of a Venus. The mould of her face was strictly +Grecian, and on her delicate lips rested a half-formed expression of sad regret +and firm resolution. Her vestments were rich, and highly ornamented with pearls +and diamonds. She wore a light snowy mantle made of swan skins, on which a +portion of the fleecy down remained. Beneath, the dress was composed of skins +of the finest finish, descending midway between her knees and ankles, where it +was met by the tops of the buckskin moccasins, that confined her small and +delicately-formed feet. Her arms, which were mostly concealed under her mantle, +were bare from the elbows down, and adorned at the wrists with silver bands. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, hang it all! Was there nothing running after me but this +squaw?” asked Joe, who had ventured forth again unobserved, and now stood +beside Glenn and Mary. +</p> + +<p> +“Silence!” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, don’t call <i>her</i> a squaw, Joe—she’s more like +an angel than a squaw,” said Mary, gazing tenderly at the lovers, while +tears were yet standing in her eyes. +</p> + +<p> +“I won’t do so again,” said Joe, “because she’s +the prettiest wild thing I ever saw; and if Mr. William don’t marry her, +I will.” +</p> + +<p> +“Keep silent, Joe, or else leave us,” again interposed Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll go catch my fish. I had just found a frog, and was in the act +of catching it, when I saw the sq—the—<i>her</i>—and I +thought then that I would just run home and let you know she was coming before +I took it. But I remember where it was, and I’ll have it now in less than +no time.” Saying this, Joe set off up the valley again, though not very +well pleased with himself for betraying so much alarm when there was so little +danger. +</p> + +<p> +“La-u-na, I am no Indian,” said William, at length, in the language +of her tribe, and much affected by her searching stare. +</p> + +<p> +“But you were once the young chief that led our warriors to battle, and +caught La-u-na’s heart. I heard you were a pale-face after you were taken +away from us; and I thought if you would not fly back to La-u-na, like the +pigeon that escapes from the talons of the eagle and returns to its mate, then +I would lose you—forget you—hate you. I tried, but I could not do +it. When the white moon ran up to the top of the sky, and shone down through +the tall trees in my face, I would ever meet you in the land of dreams, with +the bright smile you used to have when you were wont to put your arm around me +and draw me so gently to your breast. I was happy in those dreams. But they +would not stay. The night-hawk flew low and touched my eyes with his wings as +he flapped by, and I awoke. Then my breast was cold and my cheeks were wet. The +katydids gathered in the sweet rose-bushes about me and sung mournfully. +La-u-na was unhappy. La-u-na must see her Young Eagle, or go to the land of +spirits. She called her wild steed to her side, and, plucking these flowers to +test his fleetness, sprang upon him and flew hither. He is now grazing in the +prairie at the head of the valley; and here are the blossoms, still alive, +fresh and sweet.” The trembling and tearful girl then gently and sadly +strewed the flowers over the grass at her feet. +</p> + +<p> +“Sweet La-u-na!” cried William, snatching up the blossoms and +pressing them to his lips, “forgive the young chief; he will still love +you and never leave you again.” +</p> + +<p> +“No—no—no!” said the girl, shaking her head in despair; +“the pale face youth will not creep through the silent and shady forest +with La-u-na any more. He will gather no more ripe grapes for the Trembling +Fawn. He will not bathe again in the clear waters with La-u-na. He will give +her no more rings of roses to put on her breast. The Trembling Fawn is wounded. +She must find a cool shade and lie down. The dove will perch over her and wail. +She will sing a low song. She will close her eyes and die.” +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> +<img src="images/014.jpg" alt="Oh, no! cried William, placing his arms around +her tenderly." width="381" height="423"/> +</div> + +<p class="caption"> +“Oh, no!” cried William, placing his arms around her tenderly; +“La-u-na must not die; or, if she does, she shall not die alone. Why will +not La-u-na dwell with me, among my friends?” The girl started, and +exhibited signs of mingled delight and doubt. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, no!” cried William, placing his arms around her tenderly, +“La-u-na must not die, or if she does, she shall not die alone. Why will +not La-u-na dwell with me among my friends?” The girl started and +exhibited signs of mingled delight and doubt, and then replied— +</p> + +<p> +“The pale maiden would hate La-u-na, and the gray-head would drive her +away.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, La-u-na,” said William; “they would all love you, and we +would be so happy! Say you will stay with me here, and you shall be my wife, +and I will have no other love. My sister is sweet and mild as La-u-na, and my +father will always be kind.” +</p> + +<p> +The dark eyes of the girl assumed an unwonted lustre, and she turned +imploringly to Mary, Glenn, and Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh!” cried William, in his native tongue, addressing his white +friends; “let La-u-na dwell with us! She is as innocent as the lily by +the brook, and as noble as a queen. Father,” he continued, stepping +forward and taking Roughgrove’s hand, “you won’t refuse my +request! And you, sister Mary, I know you will love her as dearly as you do me. +And you, my friend,” said he, turning to Glenn, “will soon hear her +speak our own language, and she will cull many beautiful flowers for you that +the white man never yet beheld. Grant this,” added the youth, after +pausing a few moments, while his friends hung their heads in silence, +“and I will remain with you always; but if you refuse, I must fly to the +forest again.” +</p> + +<p> +“Stay! Oh, brother, you shall not go!” cried Mary, and rushing +forward, she threw her arms round his neck. The Indian girl kissed her pale +brow, and smiled joyfully, when the youth told her that Mary was his dear +sister. +</p> + +<p> +“He loves her, and her affection for him is imperishable!” said +Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“And why may they not be happy together, if they dwell with us?” +asked Roughgrove, pondering. +</p> + +<p> +“There is no reason why they should not be. Let us tell them to remain +and be happy,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +When fully informed that she might abide with them and still love her Young +Eagle, La-u-na was almost frantic with ecstasy. She looked gratefully and +fondly on her new friends, and pressed their hands in turn. She seemed to be +more especially fond of Mary, and repeatedly wound her smooth and soft arms +affectionately about her waist and neck. +</p> + +<p> +William led his Indian bride to the seat under the spreading green tree, and +signified a desire to commune with her alone. When seated together on the rude +bench, the maiden’s hand clasped in William’s, Mary fondly kissed +them both and withdrew in company with Roughgrove and Glenn. Roughgrove +prostrated himself in prayer when within the house. Mary ran up to the top of +the beetling cliff to cull flowers, and Glenn directed his steps down the +valley towards the river, whither Joe had preceded him with the frog he had +succeeded in capturing. +</p> + +<p> +Glenn was met about midway by Joe, who was returning slowly, with peculiar +marks of agitation on his face. He had neither frog, rod, nor fish in his hand. +</p> + +<p> +“I thought you were fishing,” remarked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“So I am,” replied Joe; “and I’ve had the greatest luck +you ever heard of.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, tell me your success.” +</p> + +<p> +“I had a bite,” continued he, “in less than three minutes +after I threw in my hook. It was a wapper! When he took hold I let him play +about awhile with a slack line, to be certain and get it well fixed in his +mouth. But when I went to draw up, the monster made a splash or two, and then +whizzed out into the middle of the river!” +</p> + +<p> +“Where was the hook?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“In his mouth, to be sure,” replied Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“And the line?” +</p> + +<p> +“Fast to the rod.” +</p> + +<p> +“And the rod?” +</p> + +<p> +“Fast to the line!” said Joe, “and following the fish at the +rate of ten knots, while I stood on the bank staring in utter +astonishment.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then, where was your great success?” demanded Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“It was a noble <i>bite</i>,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“But you were the <i>bitten</i> one,” remarked Glenn, scanning +Joe’s visage, which began to assume a disconsolate cast. +</p> + +<p> +“If I’d only been thinking about such a wapper, and had been on my +guard,” said Joe, “splash me if he should ever have got my rod away +in that manner—I’d have taken a ducking first!” +</p> + +<p> +“Have you no more lines?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“No,” replied Joe, “none but your’s.” +</p> + +<p> +“You are welcome to it—but be quick, and I will look on while you +have your revenge.” +</p> + +<p> +Joe sprang nimbly up the hill, and in a few minutes returned with fresh tackle +and another frog that he found on his way. They then repaired to the margin of +the river; but before Joe ventured to cast out his line again he made the end +of the rod fast to his wrist by means of a strong cord he had provided for that +purpose. But now his precaution seemed to have been unnecessary, for many +minutes elapsed without any symptoms of success. +</p> + +<p> +Glenn grew impatient and retired a few paces to the base of the cliff, where he +reclined in an easy posture on some huge rocks that had tumbled down from a +great height, and lay half-imbedded in the earth. Here he long remained with +his eyes fixed abstractedly on the curling water, and meditated on the +occurrence he had recently witnessed. While his thoughts were dwelling on the +singular affection and constancy of the Indian girl, and the probable future +happiness of her young lord, his reflections more than once turned upon his +<i>own</i> condition. The simple pleasantries that had so often occurred +between Mary and himself never failed to produce many unconscious smiles on his +lips, and being reciprocated and repeated day after day with increased delight, +it was no wonder that he found himself heaving tender sighs as he occasionally +pictured her happy features in his mind’s eye. He now endeavoured to +bestow some grave consideration on the tender subject, and to think seriously +about the proper mode of conducting himself in future, when he heard the +innocent maiden’s clear and inspiring voice ringing down the valley and +sinking in soft murmuring echoes on the gliding stream. Soon his quick ear +caught the words, which he recognised to be a short ballad of his own +composing, that had been written at Mary’s request. He then listened in +silence, without moving from his recumbent position. +</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + +<p> +THE CRUEL MAIDEN. +</p> + +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> + +<p> +I. +</p> + +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> + +<p> +She heard his prayer and sweetly smiled, +</p> + +<p> +Then frown’d, and laughing fled away; +</p> + +<p> +But the poor youth, e’en thus beguiled, +</p> + +<p class="i4"> +Still would pray. +</p> + +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> + +<p> +II. +</p> + +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> + +<p> +He’d won her heart, but still she fled, +</p> + +<p> +And laugh’d and mock’d from dell and peak +</p> + +<p> +While his sad heart, that inward bled, +</p> + +<p class="i4"> +Was fit to break! +</p> + +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> + +<p> +III. +</p> + +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> + +<p> +Where the bright waters lead adown +</p> + +<p> +The moss-green rocks and flags among, +</p> + +<p> +He paused—and on his brow a frown +</p> + +<p class="i4"> +Darkly hung! +</p> + +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> + +<p> +IV. +</p> + +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> + +<p> +A shriek came down the peaceful vale, +</p> + +<p> +Full soon the maid was at his side, +</p> + +<p> +Her ringlets flowing, and cheeks all pale, +</p> + +<p class="i4"> +A <i>willing</i> bride! +</p> +</div> +</div> + +<p> +Glenn long remained motionless after the sounds died away, as if endeavouring +to retain the soothing effect of the ringing notes that had so sweetly +reverberated along the jutting peaks of the towering cliff! +</p> + +<p> +“I’ve got a bite!” exclaimed Joe, bending over the verge of +the bank and stretching his arms as far as possible over the water, while his +line moved about in various directions, indicating truly that a fish had taken +the hook. +</p> + +<p> +“Hold fast to the rod this time, Joe,” remarked Glenn, who became +interested in the scene. +</p> + +<p> +“Won’t I? Its tied fast to my wrist.” +</p> + +<p> +“Is it not time to pull him up?” asked Glenn, seeing that the fish, +so far from being conscious of peril, inclined towards the shore with the line +in quest of more food. +</p> + +<p> +“Here goes!” said Joe, jerking the rod up violently with both +hands. No sooner did the fish feel the piercing hook in his mouth than he rose +to the surface, and splashing the water several feet round in every direction, +darted quickly downwards, in spite of the strenuous efforts of Joe to the +contrary. +</p> + +<p> +Nevertheless, Joe entertained no fears about the result; and the fish, as if +apprized of the impossibility of capturing the rod, ran along parallel with the +shore, gradually approaching the brink of the water, and seemingly with the +intention to surrender himself at the feet of the piscator. But this was not +his purpose. When Joe made another strong pull, in the endeavour to strand him +in the shallow water, the fish again threw up the spray (some of which reached +his adversary’s face,) and, turning his head outwards, ran directly away +from the shore. +</p> + +<p> +“Pull him back, Joe!” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I am trying with all my might,” replied Joe, “but he’s +so plaguy strong he won’t come, hang him!” +</p> + +<p> +“He’ll get away if you don’t mind!” continued Glenn, +evincing much animation in his tones and gestures. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll be drenched if he does!” said Joe, with his arm, to +which the rod was lashed, stretched out, while he endeavoured to plant his feet +firmly in the sand. +</p> + +<p> +“He’ll have you in the water—cut the rod loose from your +wrist!” cried Glenn, as Joe’s foothold gave way and he was truly +drawn into the water. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, good gracious! I’ve got no knife! Give me your hand!” +cried Joe, vainly striving to untie the cord. “Help me! Oh, St. +Peter!” he continued, imploringly, as the fish drew him on in the water, +in quick but reluctant strides. “Oh! I’m gone!” he cried, +when the water was midway to his chin, and the fish pulling him along with +increasing rapidity. +</p> + +<p> +“You are a good swimmer, Joe—be not alarmed, and you will not be +hurt,” said Glenn, half inclined to laugh at his man’s +indescribable contortions and grimaces, and apprehending no serious result. +</p> + +<p> +“Ugh!” cried Joe, the water now up to his chin, and the next +moment, when in the act of making a hasty and piteous entreaty, his head +quickly dipped under the turbid surface and disappeared entirely. Glenn now +became alarmed; but, when in the act of divesting himself of his clothing for +the purpose of plunging in to his rescue, Joe rose again some forty paces out +in the current, and by the exertion of the arm that was free he was enabled to +keep his head above the water. The current was very strong, and the fish, in +endeavouring; to run up the stream with his prize in tow, made but little +headway, and a very few minutes sufficed to prove that it was altogether +unequal to the attempt. After having progressed about six rods, Joe’s +head became quite stationary like a buoy, or a cork at anchor, and then, by +degrees, was carried downward by the strong flow as the fish at length became +quite exhausted. +</p> + +<p> +“Now for it, Joe—swim towards the shore with him!” cried +Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“He’s almost got my shoulder out of place!” replied Joe, +blowing a large quantity of water out of his mouth. +</p> + +<p> +“I see his fin above the water,” said Glenn; “struggle +manfully, Joe, and you will capture him yet!” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll die but I’ll have him now—after such a ducking as +this!” said Joe, approaching the shore with the almost inanimate fish, +that was no longer able to contend against his superior strength. When he drew +near enough to touch the bottom, he turned his head and beheld his prize +floating close behind, and obedient to his will. +</p> + +<p> +It required the strength of both Glenn and Joe to drag the immense catfish (for +such it proved to be) from its native element. It was about the length and +weight of Joe, and had a mouth of sufficient dimensions to have swallowed a +man’s head. It was given to the ferrymen, who had witnessed the +immersion, and were attracted thither to render assistance. +</p> + +<p> +“I suppose you have now had enough of the fish?” remarked Glenn, as +they retraced their steps homeward. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll acknowledge that I’m satisfied for the present; but I +was resolved to have satisfaction!” replied Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, but you have had it with a vengeance; and I doubt not that your +apparent contentment is but cold comfort,” continued Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m not a bit cold—I shan’t change my clothes, and +I’m ready for any other sport you like,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“If you really suffer no inconvenience from the wet—and this fine +warm day inclines me to believe you—we will take our guns and walk out to +the small lakes on the borders of the prairie.” +</p> + +<p> +“Splash it”—began Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“No—<i>duck</i> it,” interrupted Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I should like to know exactly what you mean—whether you are +in earnest about going to the ponds, or whether you are joking me for getting +<i>ducked</i>—as there’s nothing in them now to shoot but +<i>ducks</i>, and it may have popped into your head just because I had the +<i>ducking</i>,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“I am in earnest,” said Glenn; “I do not wish to annoy +William, or to meet Roughgrove and Mary until their domestic arrangements are +all completed.” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s strange,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s strange?” asked Glenn, quickly. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, your not wanting to meet Miss Mary. I say it is most mysteriously +strange,” replied Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Say nothing more about it, and think less,” said Glenn, striding +in advance, while a smile played upon his lip. +</p> + +<p> +“But I can’t help dreaming about it—and my dreams all come +true,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“What have you been dreaming—but never mind—bring out the +guns,” said Glenn, pausing at the gate of the inclosure, and not +venturing to hear Joe recite the dream about himself and Mary. +</p> + +<p> +When possessed of the necessary implements, they set out towards the groves +that bordered the prairie, among which were several lakes of clear water, not +more than fifty or sixty paces in diameter, where the various wild fowl, as +well as the otter and the muskrat, usually abounded. Our hero had previously +anticipated some sport of this nature, and constructed blinds on the verge of +the lakes, and cut paths through the clustering bushes to reach them +stealthily. The lake they now approached was bounded on one side by the green +meadow-like prairie, and fringed on the other by hazel thickets, with an +occasional towering elm that had survived the autumnal fires. +</p> + +<p> +The morning breeze had subsided, and a delightful calm prevailed. A thousand +wild flowers, comprising every hue, filled the air with delicious fragrance, +while no sound was heard but the melody of happy birds. +</p> + +<p> +“I think I see a duck!” whispered Joe, as they moved slowly along +the path in a stooping posture. +</p> + +<p> +“Where?” asked Glenn, as they crept softly to the blind and cast +their eyes over the clear unruffled water. +</p> + +<p> +“I thought I saw one on the muskrat house; but he must have gone to the +other side,” responded Joe, now looking in vain for it, and closely +scanning the little hillocks that had been thrown up in the lake by the +muskrats. +</p> + +<p> +“You must have been mistaken,” said Glenn; “suppose we go to +the other lakes.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, I wasn’t mistaken—I’d swear to it—be quiet +and keep a bright look-out, and we’ll see him again in a minute or +two,” replied Joe, who stood in an attitude of readiness to fire at an +instant’s warning. +</p> + +<p> +“What is that?” asked Glenn, just then actually observing a small +brown object moving behind the hillock. +</p> + +<p> +“Wait till I see a little more of it,” said Joe, with his finger on +the trigger. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t fire, Joe! its a man’s <i>cap</i>!” exclaimed +Glenn, detecting under the dark brim the large staring eyes of a human being, +apparently evincing a sense of imminent peril; and the next moment the muzzle +of a gun pointing above their heads came in view. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod rot it, look up that tree!” +</p> + +<p> +The smile that began to play on our hero’s features on recognizing the +voice of Sneak was quickly dispelled and succeeded by horror when he cast his +eyes upward and beheld an enormous panther, stooping, and on the eve of +springing upon him! +</p> + +<p> +“Oh!” exclaimed Joe, letting his gun fall, and falling down +himself, bereft alike of the power of escape and the ability to resist. +</p> + +<p> +“Be quiet!” said Glenn, endeavouring to raise his gun, which had +become entangled in the bushes; but before he could execute his purpose Sneak +fired, and the ferocious animal came tumbling down through the branches and +fell at his feet. +</p> + +<p> +“Ugh! Goodness!” exclaimed Joe, his hat striken down over his eyes +by the descending panther, and, leaping over the frail barrier of bushes into +the water, he plunged forward and executed a series of diving evolutions, as if +still endeavouring to elude the clutches of the carnivorous beast, which he +imagined was after him. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> +<img src="images/015.jpg" alt="He plunged forward." width="361" height="462"/> +</div> + +<p class="caption"> +He plunged forward, and executed a series of diving evolutions. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod—come out of the pond! Its dead—didn’t you hear +<i>me</i> shoot?” said Sneak, who had by this time paddled a little canoe +in which he had been seated to the shore. But Joe continued his exercises, his +crushed hat not only depriving him of sight, but rendering him deaf to the +laughter that burst from Glenn and Sneak. Sneak ran round to the opposite side +of the lake to a point that Joe was approaching, (though all unconscious of his +destination,) and remained there till the poor fellow pushed his half-submerged +head against the grass, when he seized him furiously and bore him a few paces +from the water, in spite of his cries and struggles. +</p> + +<p> +“<i>I</i> ain’t the painter!” said Sneak, at length weary of +the illusion, and dragging Joe’s hat from his head. +</p> + +<p> +“Ha! hang it! ha!” cried Joe, staring at Sneak and Glenn in +bewilderment. “Where is it?” he cried, when in some degree +recovered from his great perturbation. +</p> + +<p> +“Didn’t you hear <i>me</i> shoot? Of course its dead!” +replied Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Which do you prefer, Joe, <i>ducking</i> or <i>fishing</i>?” asked +Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I never saw a feller <i>duck</i> his head so,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Ha! ha! ha! you thought I was frightened, and trying to get away from +the panther! But you were <i>much</i> mistaken. I was chasing a muskrat—I +got wet in the river, and was determined to see—” +</p> + +<p> +“You couldn’t see your own nose!” interrupted Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“If I couldn’t see, I suppose I could hear him run!” replied +Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“You couldn’t ’ave heard thunder!” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Did you ever try it?” asked Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“No,” replied Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Then you don’t know,” replied Joe; “and now I’m +ready to kill a duck,” he continued, looking up at a number of water-fowl +sailing round and awaiting their departure to dip into the water. +</p> + +<p> +“I will leave you here, Joe. When you hear me fire at the other lake, you +may expect the ducks that escape me to visit you,” observed Glenn, and +immediately after disappeared in the bushes. +</p> + +<p> +“And I’ll take the painter’s hide off,” said Sneak, +going with Joe to the blind, where he quietly commenced his labour, that +Joe’s sport might not be interrupted. +</p> + +<p> +Several flocks of geese and ducks yet flew round above, and gradually drew +nearer to the earth, but still fearful of danger and cautiously reconnoitering +the premises. +</p> + +<p> +“Suppose I pink one of them on the wing?” said Joe, looking up. +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t believe you <i>kin</i>,” said Sneak, as he tugged at +the panther’s hide. +</p> + +<p> +“Wait till they come round the next time, and I’ll show +you—so look out,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll not look—there’s no occasion for my +seeing—<i>I’m</i> not after a muskrat,” responded Sneak, +stripping the skin from the animal, and laughing at his own remark. When the +ducks came round again, Joe fired, and sure enough one of them +fell—descending in a curve which brought it directly on Sneak’s +cap, knocking it over his eyes. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod rot it! hands off, or I’ll walk into you!” exclaimed +Sneak, rising up in a hostile attitude. +</p> + +<p> +“Good! that’s tit for tat,” cried Joe, laughing, as he loaded +his gun. +</p> + +<p> +“You didn’t do it a purpose,” said Sneak, “nor I +won’t jump into the water nother.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes I did!” continued Joe, much pleased at the occurrence. +</p> + +<p> +“You didn’t do any sich thing—or we’d have to fight; +but nobody could do sich a thing only by accident. You’d better load your +gun, and be ready by the time the next comes,” added Sneak, again tearing +asunder the panther’s skin. +</p> + +<p> +“I thought I <i>had</i> loaded,” said Joe, forgetting he had +performed that operation, and depositing another charge in his old musket. +</p> + +<p> +Presently Glenn’s gun was heard, and in a few minutes an immense flock of +geese and ducks, mingled together, flew over the bushes and covered the face of +the lake. Joe very deliberately fired in the midst of them, and the rebound of +his gun throwing him against Sneak, who was still in a stooping posture, they +both fell to the ground. +</p> + +<p> +“I did that on purpose, I’ll take my oath—I knew you had put +in two loads,” said Sneak, rising up. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, but I ain’t hurt—falling over you saved me, or else +I’d a thrashed you or got a thrashing,” replied Joe, his good +humour recovered on beholding some fifteen or twenty dead and wounded ducks and +geese on the surface of the water. By the time he had collected his birds, by +means of Sneak’s canoe, Glenn, who had met with the like success, emerged +from the bushes on the opposite verge of the lake, bearing with him his game. +Being well satisfied with the sport, he and Joe retraced their steps homeward. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="ChapterXVII"> +CHAPTER XVII. </a> +</h2> + +<p class="quote"> +The bright morning—Sneak’s visit—Glenn’s +heart—The snake hunt—Love and raspberries—Joe is +bitten—His terror and sufferings—Arrival of Boone—Joe’s +abrupt recovery—Preparations to leave the west—Conclusion. +</p> + +<p> +The sun rose the next morning in unusual glory. Not a breath of air stirred the +entranced foliage of the dark green trees in the valleys, and the fresh flowers +around exhaled a sweet perfume that remained stationary over them. The fawn +stood perfectly still in the grassy yard, and seemed to contemplate the +grandeur of the enchanting scene. The atmosphere was as translucent as fancy +paints the realms of the blest, and quite minute objects could be distinctly +seen far over the river many miles eastward. Nor were any sounds heard save the +occasional chattering of the paroquet in the dense forest across the river, a +mile distant, and yet they appeared to be in the immediate vicinity. The hounds +lay extended on the ground with their eyes open, more in a listless than a +watchful attitude. The kitten was couched on the threshold (the door having +been left open to admit the pure air,) and looked thoughtfully at the rising +sun. The large blue chanticleer was balanced on one foot with an eye turned +upwards as if scanning the heavens to guard against the sudden attack of the +far-seeing eagle. Nature seemed to be indulging in a last sweet morning +slumber, if indeed not over-sleeping herself, while the sun rose stealthily up +and smiled at all her charms exposed! +</p> + +<p> +“Hillo! ain’t you all up yit? Git up, Joe, and feed your +hosses,” cried Sneak, approaching the gate on the outside, and thus most +unceremoniously dispelling the charm that enwrapped the premises. +</p> + +<p> +“Who’s there?” cried Joe, springing up and rubbing his eyes. +</p> + +<p> +“It’s me—dod, you know who I am. Come, open the gate and let +me in.” +</p> + +<p> +“What’s the matter, Sneak? Are the Indians after you?” said +Joe, running out, but pausing at the gate for an answer before he drew back the +bolt. +</p> + +<p> +“No—I thought-you had sense enough by this time to know no Indians +ain’t going to come this time a-year. Let me in!” added he, +impatiently. +</p> + +<p> +“What are you doing with them long sticks?” asked Joe, opening the +gate and observing two hickory poles in Sneak’s hand. “Are you +going to try your luck fishing?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, nor <i>ducking</i> nother,” replied he, sarcastically. +</p> + +<p> +“Plague it, Sneak,” said Joe, deprecatingly, “never mind that +affair; you were mistaken about my being frightened. The next chance I get +I’ll let you see that I’m not afraid of any thing.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I want you to go with me on a spree this morning that’ll try +you.” +</p> + +<p> +“What are you going to do?” asked Joe, with some curiosity in his +looks. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m going a <i>snaking</i>,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +At this juncture the dialogue was arrested by the appearance of Glenn, whose +brow was somewhat paler than usual, and wore an absent and thoughtful cast; yet +his abstract meditations did not seem altogether of a painful nature. +</p> + +<p> +“Joe,” said he, “I want you to exercise the horses more in +the prairie. They are getting too fat and lazy. If they cannot be got on the +boat when we leave here, we will have to send them by land to St. Louis.” +</p> + +<p> +“Dod—you ain’t a going to leave us?” cried Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I thought something was in the wind,” said Joe, pondering, +“but it’ll break Miss Mary’s—” +</p> + +<p> +“Pshaw!” replied Glenn, quickly interrupting him; “you +don’t know what you are talking about.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I can’t say I do exactly,” said Joe; “but I know +its a very mysterious matter.” +</p> + +<p> +“<i>What</i> is such a mysterious matter?” asked Glenn, smiling. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, you—Miss Mary”—stammered Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, what is there mysterious about us?” +</p> + +<p> +“Hang it, <i>you</i> know!” replied Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Pshaw!” repeated Glenn, striding out of the inclosure, and +descending the path leading to Roughgrove’s house, whither he directed +Joe to follow when he had galloped the horses. +</p> + +<p> +“Have you got any licker in the house?” asked Sneak, staring at the +retreating form of Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“No—its all gone. Why do you ask?” returned Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Becaise that feller’s drunk,” said Sneak, with a peculiar +nod. +</p> + +<p> +“No he ain’t—he hasn’t drunk a drop for a month.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then he’s going crazy, and you’d better keep a sharp +look-out.” +</p> + +<p> +“I know what’s the matter with him—he’s in love!” +said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Then why don’t he take her?” asked Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know,” replied Joe; “maybe he will, some day. +Now for a ride—how are you, Pete?” he continued, opening the stable +door and rubbing the pony’s head that was instantly thrust out in +salutation. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll ride the hoss,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Will you? I’m glad of it,” said Joe, “for +that’ll save me the trouble of leading him.” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s jest what I come for,” said Sneak, “becaise +this hot morning the snakes are too thick to fight ’em on foot.” +</p> + +<p> +“Can you see many of them at a time?” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I reckon you kin.” +</p> + +<p> +“Won’t they bite the horses?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, the hosses knows what a snake is as well as a man, and they’ll +keep a bright eye for ’emselves, while we stave out their brains with our +poles,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +In a few minutes the companions were mounted, and with the fawn skipping in +advance, and the hounds in the rear, they proceeded gayly out toward the +prairie on a <i>snaking</i> expedition. +</p> + +<p> +The sunlight was now intensely brilliant, and the atmosphere, though laden with +the sweet perfume of the countless millions of wild flowers, began to assume a +sultriness that soon caused the horses and hounds to loll out their tongues and +pant as they bounded through the rank grass. Ere long the riders drew near a +partially barren spot in the prairie, where from some singular cause the grass +was not more than three inches high. This spot was circular, about fifty paces +in diameter, and in the centre was a pool of bright water, some fifty feet in +circumference. The grass growing round this spot was tall and luxuriant, and +terminated as abruptly at the edge of the circle as if a mower had passed along +with his sharp scythe. +</p> + +<p> +“Sneak, I never saw that before,” said Joe, as they approached, +while yet some forty paces distant. “What does it mean?” +</p> + +<p> +“You’ll see presently,” said his companion, grasping more +firmly the thick end of his rod, as if preparing to deal a blow. “When I +was out here this morning,” he continued, “they were too thick for +me, and I had to make tracks.” +</p> + +<p> +“What were too thick for you?” asked Joe, with a singular anxiety, +and at the same time reining in his pony. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, the <i>snakes</i>,” said Sneak with much deliberation. +“I was a-foot then, and from the style in which they whizzed through the +grass, I was afraid too many might git on me at a time and choke me to death. +But now I’m ready for ’em; they can’t git us if we manage +korect.” +</p> + +<p> +“I won’t go!” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod, they ain’t pisen!” said Sneak; “they’re +nearly all <i>black racers</i>, and they don’t bite. Come on, don’t +be such a tarnation coward; the rattlesnakes, and copper-heads, and wipers, +won’t run after us; and if they was to, they couldn’t reach up to +our legs. This is a glorious day for <i>snaking</i>—come on, Joe!” +</p> + +<p> +Joe followed at a very slow and cautious pace a few steps farther, and then +halted again. +</p> + +<p> +“What’re you stopping for agin?” asked Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Sneak, the pony ain’t tall enough!” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s all the better,” replied Sneak; “you can whack +’em easier as they run—and then they can’t see you as fur as +they kin me. I’ll swap hosses with you.” +</p> + +<p> +“No you won’t!” replied Joe, whipping forward again. But he +had not advanced many seconds before he drew up once more. This time he was +attracted by the unaccountable motions of the fawn, a short distance ahead. +That animal was apparently striking some object on the ground with its feet, +and ever and anon springing violently to one side or the other. Its hair stood +erect on its back, and it assumed a most ferocious aspect. Now it would run +back toward the men a moment, and, wheeling suddenly, again leap upon the foe, +when its feet could be heard to strike against the ground; then it plunged +forward, and after making a spring beyond, would return to the attach. +</p> + +<p> +“Here, Ringwood! Jowler!” cried Joe, and the hounds ran forward to +the spot pointed out to them. But no sooner had they gone far enough to see the +nature of the enemy that the fawn was attacking, than they turned away +affrighted, and with their tails hanging down retreated from the scene of +action. +</p> + +<p> +They rode up and surveyed more closely the strange battle. The fawn, becoming +more and more enraged, did not suspend hostilities at their approach. They +paused involuntarily when, within a few feet of the object, which proved to be +a tremendous rattlesnake, some five feet in length, and as thick as a +man’s arm. It was nearly dead, its body, neck, and head, exhibited many +bloody gashes cut by the sharp hoofs of the fawn. Every time the fawn sprang +upon it, it endeavoured in vain to strike its fangs into its active foe, which +sprang away in a twinkling, and before it could prepare to strike again, the +fatal hoofs would inflict another wound on its devoted head. It grew weaker and +weaker, and finally turned over on its back, when the infuriated deer, no +longer compelled to observe cautionary measures, soon severed its head entirely +from the body and stood over it in triumph. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> +<img src="images/016.jpg" alt="It grew weaker and weaker, and finally turned +over on its back." width="375" height="449"/> +</div> + +<p class="caption"> +It grew weaker and weaker, and finally turned over on its back. +</p> + +<p> +“Pete can do that if a deer can!” said Joe, somewhat emboldened at +the death of so formidable a reptile, and beholding the fixed though composed +gaze of the pony as he stood with his head turned sideways towards the +weltering snake. +</p> + +<p> +“Sartinly he kin,” said Sneak, standing up in his stirrups, and +stretching his long neck to its utmost tension to see if any snakes were in the +open area before them. +</p> + +<p> +“Do you see any, Sneak?” asked Joe, now grasping his rod and +anxious for the fray. +</p> + +<p> +“I see a few—about forty, I guess, lying in the sun at the edge of +the water.” +</p> + +<p> +“Sneak, there’s too many of them,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod—you ain’t a going to back out now, I hope. Don’t +you see your pony snuffing at ’em? He wants to dash right in among +’em.” +</p> + +<p> +“No he don’t,” said Joe—“he don’t like the +smell, nor I either—faugh!” +</p> + +<p> +“Why, it smells like May-apples—I like it,” said Sneak; +“but there ain’t more than one or two copper-heads +there—they’re most all racers. Come on, Joe—we must gallop +right through and mash their heads with our sticks as we pass. Then after a +little while we must turn and dash back agin—that’s the way to fix +’em.” +</p> + +<p> +“You must go before,” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +The number that Sneak mentioned was not exaggerated. On the contrary, additions +were constantly made to the number. The surface of the pool was continually +agitated by the darting serpents striking at the tadpoles and frogs, while on +the margin many were writhing in various fantastic contortions in their sports. +Nearly all of them were large, and some could not have been less than eleven +feet long. They were evidently enjoying the warm rays of the sun, and at times +skipped about with unwonted animation. Now one of the largest would elevate his +black head some four feet from the ground, while the others wrapped themselves +around him, and thus formed the dark and horrid spectacle of a pyramid of +snakes! Then falling prostrate with their own weight, in less than a twinkling +they were dispersed and flying over the smooth short grass in every direction, +their innumerable scales all the time emitting a low buzzing sound as they ran +along. Every moment others glided into the area from the tall grass, and those +assembled thither rushed towards them in a body to manifest a welcome. +</p> + +<p> +“Now’s the time!” cried Sneak, rushing forward, followed by +Joe. When Joe’s eyes fell upon the black mass of serpents, he made a +convulsive grasp at the reins with an involuntary resolution to retreat without +delay from such a frightful scene. But the violence of his grasp severed the +reins from the bit, and the pony sprang forward after the steed, being no +longer subject to his control! There was no retreating now! Sneak levelled his +rod at a cluster just forming in a mass two feet above the ground, and crushed +the hydra at a blow! Joe closed his eyes, and struck he knew not what—but +Sneak knew, for the blow descended on his head—though with feeble force. +In an instant the horsemen had passed to the opposite side of the area and +halted in the tall grass. Looking back, they beheld a great commotion among the +surviving snakes. Some glided into the pool, and with bodies submerged, +elevated their heads above the surface and darted out their tongues fiercely. +Others raced round the scene of slaughter with their heads full four feet high, +or gathered about the dead and dying, and lashed the air with their sharp +tails, producing sounds like the cracking of whips. The few copper-heads and +rattlesnakes present coiled themselves up with their heads in the centre in +readiness to strike their poison into whatever object came within their reach. +</p> + +<p> +So sudden had been the onset of the horsemen that the surprised serpents seemed +to be ignorant of the nature of the foe, and instead of flying to the long +grass to avoid a recurrence of bloodshed, they continued to glide round the +pool, while their number increased every moment. +</p> + +<p> +“What’d you hit me on the head for?” asked Sneak, after +regarding the snakes a moment, and then turning to Joe, the pony having still +kept at the heels of the steed in spite of his rider’s efforts to the +contrary. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, Sneak,” cried Joe, in tones somewhat tremulous, “do, for +goodness’ sake, let us go away from here!” +</p> + +<p> +“I sha’n’t do any such thing—what’d you hit me on +the head for?” +</p> + +<p> +“I thought I was a killing a snake,” replied Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Do I look like a snake?” continued Sneak, turning round, when for +the first time he discovered the condition of his companion’s bridle. +</p> + +<p> +“Sneak, let’s ride away!” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“And leave all them black sarpents yander poking out their tongues at us? +I won’t go till I wear out this pole on ’em. Ha! ha! ha! I thought +you hadn’t spunk enough to gallup through ’em on your own +accord,” said Sneak, looking at the pony, and knowing that he would +follow the steed always, if left to his own inclination. +</p> + +<p> +“Come, Sneak, let’s go home!” continued Joe, in a +supplicating tone. +</p> + +<p> +“Come! let’s charge on the snakes agin!” said Sneak, raising +the rod, and fixing his feet in the stirrups. +</p> + +<p> +“Hang me if I go there again!” said Joe, throwing down his rod. +</p> + +<p> +“You’re a tarnation coward, that’s what you are! But you +can’t help yourself,” replied Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll jump off and run!” said Joe, preparing to leap to the +ground. +</p> + +<p> +“You jest do now, and you’ll have forty sarpents wrapped round you +in less than no time.” +</p> + +<p> +At that moment two or three racers swept between them with their heads elevated +as high as Joe’s knees, and entered the area. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh goodness!” cried Joe, drawing up his legs. +</p> + +<p> +“Git down and git your pole,” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“I wouldn’t do it if it was made of gold!” +</p> + +<p> +“If you say you’ll fight the snakes, I’ll git it for +you—I’m a going to stay here till they’re all killed,” +continued Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Give it to me, then—I’ll smash their brains out the next +time!” said Joe, with desperate determination. +</p> + +<p> +“But you musn’t hit me agin!” said Sneak, dismounting and +handing up the weapon to Joe, and then leaping on the steed again. +</p> + +<p> +“Sneak, you’re no better than a snake, to bring me into such a +scrape as this!” said Joe, leaning forward and scanning the black mass of +serpents at the pool. +</p> + +<p> +In a few minutes they whipped forward, Sneak in advance, and again they were +passing through the army of snakes. This time Joe did good service. He +massacred one of the coiled rattlesnakes at a blow, and his pony kicked a +puffing viper to atoms. Sneak paused a moment at the pool, and dealt his blows +with such rapidity that nearly all the black racers that survived glided +swiftly into the tall grass, and one of the largest was seen by Joe to run up +the trunk of a solitary blasted tree that stood near the pool, and enter a +round hole about ten feet from the ground. +</p> + +<p> +But if the serpents were mostly dispersed from the area around the pool, they +were by no means all destroyed; and when the equestrians were again in the tall +grass, they found them whizzing furiously about the hoofs of their horses. Once +or twice Sneak’s horse sprang suddenly forward in pain, being stung on +the ham or shoulder by the tails of the racers as they flew past with almost +inconceivable rapidity. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! St. Peter! Sneak!” cried Joe, throwing back his head, and +lifting up his knees nearly to his chin. +</p> + +<p> +“Ha! ha! ha! did one of ’em cut you, Joe? They hurt like fury, but +their tails ain’t pisen. Look what a whelk they’ve made on the +hoss.” +</p> + +<p> +“Sneak, why don’t you get away from this nasty place! One of them +shot right over the pony’s neck a while ago, and came very near hitting +me on the chin.” +</p> + +<p> +“You must hit ’em as they come. Yander comes one—now watch +me!” Saying this, Sneak turned the steed so as to face a tremendous racer +about forty paces distant, that was approaching with the celerity of the wind +with its head above the tall grass. When it came within reach of his rod, he +bestowed upon it a blow that entirely severed the head, and the impetus with +which it came caused the body to fly over the steed, and falling upon the neck +of the pony, with the life yet remaining (for they are constrictors,) instantly +wrapped in a half dozen folds around it! Pete snorted aloud, and, springing +forward, ran a hundred paces with all the fleetness of which he was capable. +But being unable to shake off the terrible incumbrance, with his tongue hanging +out in agony, he turned back and ran directly for the horse. When he came up to +the steed, he pushed his head under his neck, manifesting the greatest +distress, and stamping and groaning as if becoming crazed. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod! let me git hold of him!” cried Sneak, bending forward and +seizing the snake by the tail. The long head-less body gave way gradually, and +becoming quite relaxed fell powerless and dead to the earth. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, Sneak, let’s go!” said Joe, trembling, his face having +turned as pale as death while Pete was dashing about in choking agony under the +tight folds of the serpent. +</p> + +<p> +“Smash me if I go as long as there’s a snake left!” replied +Sneak, striking down another huge racer; but this one, having its back broken, +remained stationary. +</p> + +<p> +Thus he continued to strike down the snakes as long as any remained on the +field; and, as they became scarce, Joe grew quite valorous, and did signal +service. At length the combat ceased, and not a living serpent could be seen +running. +</p> + +<p> +“Sneak, we’ve killed them all—huzza!” cried Joe, +flourishing his rod. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, but you didn’t do much—you’re as big a coward as +ever.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, I wasn’t <i>afraid</i> of them, Sneak,” said Joe; +“I was only a little cautious, because it was the first time I ever went +a snaking.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, you was mighty cautious! if your bridle hadn’t broke, +you’d have been home long ago.” +</p> + +<p> +“Pshaw, Sneak!” said Joe; “you’re much mistaken. But +how many do you think we’ve killed?” +</p> + +<p> +“I suppose about a quarter of a cord—but I’ve heard tell of +men’s killing a cord a day, easy.” +</p> + +<p> +“You don’t say so! But how does it happen so many are found +together? When I go out I can never find more than a dozen or so.” +</p> + +<p> +“There’s a <i>snake den</i> under that clear place,” said +Sneak, “where they stay all winter—but its not as big a den as some +I’ve seen.” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t want to see more than I have to-day!” said Joe, +whipping past the steed as they started homewards, having mended his bridle. +But as he paced along by the decayed tree mentioned above, he saw the +glistening eyes of the large racer peering from the hole it had entered, and he +gave it a smart blow on the head with his rod and spurred forward. The next +moment, when Sneak came up, the enraged serpent sprang down upon him, and in a +twinkling wound himself tightly round his neck! Sneak’s eyes started out +of his head, and being nearly strangled he soon fell to the earth. Joe looked +on in amazement, but was too much frightened to assist him. And Sneak, unable +to ask his aid, only turned his large eyes imploringly towards him, while in +silence he vainly strove to tear away the serpent with his fingers. He thrust +one hand in his pocket for his knife, but it had been left behind! He then held +out his hand to Joe, and in this dumb and piteous manner begged him to lend him +his knife. Joe drew it from his pocket, but could not brace his nerves +sufficiently to venture within the suffocating man’s reach. At length he +bethought him of his pole, and opening the blade thrust it in the end of it and +cautiously handed it to Sneak. Sneak immediately ran the sharp steel through +the many folds of the snake, and it fell to the ground in a dozen pieces! The +poor man’s strength then completely failed him, and he rolled over on his +back in breathless exhaustion. Joe rendered all the assistance in his power, +and his companion soon revived. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod rot your skin!” exclaimed Sneak, getting up and seizing Joe by +the collar. +</p> + +<p> +“Hang it, it wasn’t <i>me</i>! it was the <i>snake!</i>” said +Joe, extricating his neck from his companion’s grasp. +</p> + +<p> +“What’d you <i>hit</i> the sarpent for?” +</p> + +<p> +“Why, I wanted to kill him.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then why didn’t you help me to get it away from my neck?” +</p> + +<p> +“You didn’t <i>ask</i> me,” said Joe, with something like +ingenuousness, though with a most provoking application. +</p> + +<p> +“I couldn’t speak! The tarnation thing was squeezing my neck so +tight I couldn’t say a word. But I <i>looked</i> at you, and you might +’ave understood me. Never mind, you’ll git a snake hold of you some +of these days.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll keep a sharp look out after this,” said Joe. “But +Sneak, I’ll swear now you were not born to be hung.” +</p> + +<p> +“You be dod rot!” replied Sneak, leaping on the steed, and turning +towards the river. +</p> + +<p> +“I would have cut him off myself, Sneak,” said Joe, musing on the +odd affair as they rode briskly along, “if I hadn’t been afraid of +cutting your throat. I knew you wasn’t born to be hung.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ha! ha! ha! that was the tightest place that ever I was in,” said +Sneak, regaining his good humour, and diverted at the strange occurrence. +</p> + +<p> +“Didn’t he bite you?” asked Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“No, a black snake can’t bite—they havn’t got any +fangs. If it had been a rattlesnake or a viper, I’d been a gone chicken. +I don’t think I’ll ever leave my knife behind again, even if I +wasn’t to go ten steps from home. Dod—my neck’s very +sore.” +</p> + +<p> +The companions continued the rest of the way in silence. When they reached +home, and returned the horses to the stable, they proceeded down the path to +Roughgrove’s house to report their adventure. +</p> + +<p> +Glenn and Mary, William and La-u-na, were seated under the spreading elm-tree, +engaged in some felicitous conference, that produced a most pleasing animation +in their features. +</p> + +<p> +Mary immediately demanded of Joe a recital of his adventures that morning. He +complied without reluctance, and his hearers were frequently convulsed with +laughter as he proceeded, for he added many embellishments not narrated by the +author. Sneak bore their merriment with stoical fortitude, and then laughed as +heartily as themselves at his own recent novel predicament. +</p> + +<p> +La-u-na asked Sneak if he had been bitten by any of the poisonous snakes. Sneak +of course replied in the negative, but at the same time desired to know the +name of the plant that was used by the Indians with universal success when +wounded by the fangs of the rattlesnake. The girl told him it was the <i>white +plantain</i> that grew in the prairies. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll go and get some right straight,” said Joe, +“because I don’t know what moment I may be bitten.” +</p> + +<p> +“Never mind it, Joe,” said Glenn, rising. “We are now going +to gather wild raspberries on the cliff south of and we want you and Sneak to +assist us.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well—I like raspberries, and they must be ripe by this time, if +the chickens havn’t picked them all before us.” +</p> + +<p> +“Dod—if the chickens have ett ’em can that make ’em +<i>green</i> agin?” replied Sneak to Joe’s Irishism. +</p> + +<p> +“You’d better learn how to read before you turn critic,” said +Joe, taking up the baskets that had been brought out of the house. He then led +the way, quarrelling all the time with Sneak, while Glenn, placing Mary’s +arm in his, and William imitating the example, followed at a distance behind. +</p> + +<p> +When the party reached the raspberry thicket, they found truly that the fowls +were there before them, though quite an abundance of the delicious berry still +remained untouched. A few moments sufficed to drive the feathered gatherers +away, and then without delay they began to fill their baskets. +</p> + +<p> +Many were the hearty peals of joyous laughter that rang from the innocent +lovers while momentarily obscured by the green clustering bushes. Ere long they +were dispersed in various parts of the thicket, and Glenn and Mary being +separated from the rest, our hero seized the opportunity to broach a tender +subject. +</p> + +<p> +“Mary,” said he, and then most unaccountably paused. +</p> + +<p> +“Well,” said she turning her glorious dark blue eyes full upon him. +</p> + +<p> +“I have something of moment to say to you, if you will listen +attentively—and I know not a more fitting time and place than this to +tell it. Here is a natural bower surrounded by sweet berries, and shielded from +the sun by the fragrant myrtle. Let us sit on this mossy rock. Will you +listen?” he continued, drawing her close to his side on the seat in the +cool retreat. +</p> + +<p> +“Have I ever refused to listen to you? do I not love to hear your +voice?” said the confiding and happy girl. +</p> + +<p> +“Bless you, Mary—my whole heart is yours!” exclaimed our +hero, seizing a rapturous kiss from the coral lips of the maiden. Mary resisted +not, nor replied; while tears, but not of grief, glistened on her dark lashes. +</p> + +<p> +“You will not reject my love, Mary? Why do you weep?” +</p> + +<p> +“It is with joy—my heart is so happy that tears gush out in spite +of me!” +</p> + +<p> +“Will you then be mine?” continued Glenn, winding his arm round her +yielding waist. +</p> + +<p> +“Forever!” she replied, and, bowing her head slightly, a shower of +dark silken tresses obscured her blushing face, and covered our hero’s +panting breast. Thus they remained many moments in silence, for their feelings +were too blissful for utterance. +</p> + +<p> +“Are you always happy, Mary?” said Glenn, at length, taking her +little white hand in his. +</p> + +<p> +“No!” she replied, with a sigh. +</p> + +<p> +“Why?” +</p> + +<p> +“When you are away, I sometimes fear the Indians—or a +snake—or—or something may harm you,” said she, falteringly. +</p> + +<p> +“I thank thee, Mary, for thinking of me when I am away.” +</p> + +<p> +“I always think of thee!” said she. +</p> + +<p> +“Always, Mary?” +</p> + +<p> +“Ay, by day—and thou art ever with me in my dreams.” +</p> + +<p> +“And I <i>will</i> be with thee always!” +</p> + +<p> +“Do!” said she. +</p> + +<p> +“But dost thou not sometimes repine that thy life is thus spent in the +wilderness far from the busy world?” +</p> + +<p> +“I sometimes wish I could see the beautiful cities I read of—but +when I think of the treacheries and miseries of the world, I look at the pure +fresh flowers, and list to the sweet birds around me, and then I think there is +more happiness to be enjoyed here than anywhere else.” +</p> + +<p> +“And such is truly the case,” said Glenn, pondering “But +then, Mary, we all have obligations to discharge. We were created for +society—to associate with our species, and while mingling with kindred +beings, it is our duty to bestow as many benefits on them as may be within the +scope of our power.” +</p> + +<p> +“You think, then, we should leave our western home?” she asked, +with undisguised interest. +</p> + +<p> +“Wilt thou not consent to go?” +</p> + +<p> +“If you go, I will go!” said she. +</p> + +<p> +“And now I declare I will not go unless thou art willing.” +</p> + +<p> +“But is it a <i>duty</i>?” she asked. +</p> + +<p> +“Your fa—Mr. Roughgrove says so.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then let us go! But why did you not say <i>father</i>?” +</p> + +<p> +“He is not your father.” +</p> + +<p> +“No!” exclaimed the maid, turning pale. +</p> + +<p> +“I will tell thee all, Mary.” And Glenn related the story of the +maiden’s birth. “Now, Mary,” he continued, “thou +knowest thine own history. Thou art of a noble race, according to the rules of +men—nay, thy blood is royal—if thou wouldst retract thy plighted +faith (I should have told thee this before,) speak, and thy will shall be +done!” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! Charles! I am thine, THINE ONLY, were I born an angel!” she +cried, throwing herself into his arms. At this juncture a violent rustling was +heard in the bushes not far distant, and the next moment Joe’s voice rang +out. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh me! Oh St. Peter! Oh murder! murder! murder!” cried he. +Instantly all the party were collected round him. He lay in a small open space +on the grass, with his basket bottom upward at his side, and all the berries +scattered on the ground. +</p> + +<p> +“What is the matter?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, I’m snake-bitten! I’m a dead man! I’m +dying!” cried he, piteously. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s a fib,” said Sneak, “bekaise a dead man +can’t be a dying.” +</p> + +<p> +“Let me see,” said William, stooping down to examine the place on +which Joe’s hands were convulsively pressed. With some difficulty he +pulled them away, and tearing down the stocking, actually saw a small bleeding +puncture over the ankle bone! +</p> + +<p> +“What kind of a snake was it?” asked Glenn in alarm. “A +rattlesnake—Oh!” +</p> + +<p> +“Did you <i>see</i> it?” continued Glenn, knowing Joe’s +foible, though it was apparent he suffered from some kind of a wound. +</p> + +<p> +“I heard it rattle. Oh, my goodness! I’m going fast! I’m +turning blind!” +</p> + +<p> +La-u-na told him to run to the house and cover the wound with salt, and remain +quiet till Sneak could obtain some plantain leaves from the prairie. Joe sprang +up and rushed down the hill. Sneak set out in quest of the antidote, and the +rest directed their steps homeward. +</p> + +<p> +When they reached Roughgrove’s house, they found Joe lying in the middle +of the floor on his back, and groaning most dolefully. He had applied the salt +to the wound as directed, and covered it and his whole leg so plentifully with +bandages that the latter seemed to be as thick as his body. +</p> + +<p> +“How do you feel now, Joe?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m a dead man!” said he. +</p> + +<p> +La-u-na told him not to be alarmed, and assured him there was no danger. +</p> + +<p> +“But I’ll die before Sneak can get back!” +</p> + +<p> +“Your voice is too strong to fear that,” said William; “but +do you suffer much pain?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, I’m in agony!” said he, rolling back his eyes. +</p> + +<p> +“Where does the pain lie?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, St. Peter! all over me! In my toes, ankles, legs, arms, heart, +throat, mouth, nose, and eyes! Oh, I’m in tortures! I’m +blind—I can’t see any of you!” +</p> + +<p> +At this moment Roughgrove, who had been over the river on a visit to Boone, +entered the apartment with the renowned hunter at his side. When fully informed +of the circumstances, Boone stooped down and felt Joe’s pulse. +</p> + +<p> +“The strokes are irregular,” said Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh heaven!” exclaimed Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“But that may be caused by fright,” continued Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh goodness! it ain’t that—I’m a dying man!” +</p> + +<p> +“Is the leg much swollen?” asked Boone, endeavouring to ascertain +without taking off the bandages. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! oh! don’t do that! it’ll kill me in a minute—for +its swelled fit to burst!” cried Joe, shrinking from Boone’s grasp. +</p> + +<p> +“All the cases of snake-bite that I have seen differ from this. I have +always found the swollen limb nearly devoid of feeling. Did you kill the +snake?” +</p> + +<p> +“No—Oh!” +</p> + +<p> +“Tell me precisely the place where you were standing when it bit +you—there is a mystery about it that I must solve.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh—it was—I can’t speak! my breath’s going fast! +Oh! Paternoster—” +</p> + +<p> +William then described the spot to Boone in such precise terms that the old +woodman declared he would immediately repair thither and endeavour to find the +snake. He accordingly set out in the direction indicated without further delay; +while Roughgrove, believing that poor Joe was really on the verge of eternity, +strove to comfort his departing spirit with the consolation that religion +affords. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! that ain’t the right one!” exclaimed Joe, pushing away +the Episcopal prayer-book held by Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +“Then here is one you cannot object to,” said Roughgrove, opening +the Bible. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, that’s not it, either!” cried Joe, in great distress. +“Is there no priest in this region? I’m a Roman +Catholic—oh!” +</p> + +<p> +“Can you not confess your sins <i>directly</i> to God—the God who +is everywhere, and governs all things?” said the aged man, impressively, +and with animation. +</p> + +<p> +“I have prayed,” said Joe; “but now I want the +ointment!” +</p> + +<p> +“Your body, which must be placed in the damp cold earth, needs no oil. It +is far better to purify the soul, which perishes not,” said Roughgrove, +in fervent and tremulous tones. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh!—Oh! Ugh!” cried Joe, in a deep guttural voice, and +turning over on his face. His fears had evidently been increased by the solemn +tone and look of Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t be alarmed, Joe,” said Glenn, turning him again on his +back. “Sneak will soon be here, and La-u-na says the plantain will be +sure to cure you. William tells me that he has seen the Indians permit the +snakes to bite them for a mere trifle in money, so certain were they of being +restored by the plant. And indeed he never knew a bite to terminate +fatally.” +</p> + +<p> +“But I’m afraid Sneak won’t come in time,” replied Joe, +somewhat comforted. +</p> + +<p> +“Pshaw! he won’t loiter in a case of this kind—he knows it is +no joke,” continued Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“But suppose he can’t <i>find</i> any plantain—then I’m +dead to a certainty! Oh me!” +</p> + +<p> +“Does the pain increase much?” asked Mary. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, yes! its ten times worse than it was ten minutes ago! I’m +going fast—I can’t move either leg now,” he continued, in a +weak utterance. +</p> + +<p> +Glenn grew uneasy. Joe was pale—very pale, and breathed hard. +</p> + +<p> +Boone entered, with a smile on his lip. +</p> + +<p> +“Have you got the plantain?” asked Joe, in feeble accents, with his +languid eyes nearly closed, thinking it was Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Sit up and tell me how you feel,” said Boone, in vain striving to +repress his smile. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, St. Peter! I haven’t strength enough to lift my hand,” +said Joe, his eyes still closed. +</p> + +<p> +“Did you find the snake?” asked Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” replied Boone. Joe groaned audibly. “I will tell you +all about it,” he continued; “I found the spot where Joe had been +gathering the berries, and tracked him without difficulty to every bush he +visited by the bruised grass under his foot-prints. At length I came to the +cluster of bushes where he received the wound. I stood in his cracks and saw +where he had plucked the raspberries. When about to cast down my eyes in quest +of the snake, suddenly I felt a blow on my own ankle!” +</p> + +<p> +“Did the same snake bite you?” asked Mary, quickly. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” replied Boone, still smiling. Joe opened his eyes, and after +gazing a moment at Boone, asked him if he did not suffer much pain. +</p> + +<p> +“Fully as much as you do—but hear me through. I sprang back with +some violence, I admit, but I did not run away. Lifting my cane, I returned +with a determination to kill the snake. I stooped down very low to ascertain +the precise position of its head, which was concealed by a large mullen +leaf—I saw its eyes and its <i>bill</i>—” +</p> + +<p> +“What!” exclaimed Joe, rising up on his elbow with unwonted vigour, +and his eyes riveted on the speaker. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, its <i>bill</i>”, continued Boone. “And while my cane +was brandished in the air and about descending on its devoted head, a low +clucking arrested my arm, and approaching closer to it than before, and gazing +steadfastly a moment, I lowered my cane to its usual position, and fell back +laughing on the grass among the raspberries you had dropped.” +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. Boone—Mr. Boone!” cried Joe, springing up in a sitting +attitude, and seizing the hand of the veteran, “for Heaven’s sake +tell me what it was?” +</p> + +<p> +“It was an old SITTING HEN!” said Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“Upon your honour?” continued Joe, leaping upon his feet, and +staring the aged hunter in the face, while his eyes gleamed with irrepressible +hope and anxiety. +</p> + +<p> +“It was nothing else, upon my honour,” replied Boone, laughing in +concert with the rest. +</p> + +<p> +“Huzza! huzza!! huzza!!!” shouted Joe, casting the bandages hither +and thither, and dancing nimbly over the floor. +“Fal-de-lal—tider-e-i— tider-e-o— tider-e-um!” he +continued, in frenzied delight, and, observing Sneak at the door with an armful +of plantain (who had returned in time to witness his abrupt recovery, and now +continued to regard him with wonder and doubt—at times thinking he was +delirious,) skipped up and held out both hands, as if inviting him to dance. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod rot it, your leg ain’t swelled a bit!” said Sneak. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t use that bad word, Sneak,” said Mary. +</p> + +<p> +“I won’t—but dod—he’s had me running all +over—” +</p> + +<p> +“Tider-e-i—tider-e-um!” continued Joe, still dancing, while +the perspiration streamed over his face. +</p> + +<p> +“Have done with this nonsense, Joe!” said Glenn, “or else +continue your ridiculous exercises on the grass in the yard. You may rejoice +now, but this affair will be sport for others all your life. You will not +relish it so much to-morrow.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’d rather all the world would laugh at me alive and kicking, than +that one of you should mourn over my dead body,” replied Joe, leaping +over Sneak, who was sitting in the door, and striding to the grass plot under +the elm, where he continued his rejoicings. Sneak followed, and, sitting down +on the bench in the shade, seemed to muse with unusual gravity at the strange +spectacle presented by Joe. +</p> + +<p> +This was Joe’s last wild western adventure. The incident was soon +forgotten by the party in the house. Serious and sad thoughts succeeded the +mirthful scene described above. Roughgrove had brought Boone thither to receive +their last farewell! The renowned woodman and warrior wore marks of painful +regret on his pale features. The rest were in tears. +</p> + +<p> +“William,” said Roughgrove, “listen to a tale concerning thy +birth and parentage, which I feel it to be my duty to unfold. Your sister has +already learned the story from your friend, who sits beside her. But I will +repeat it to all present. You who are the most interested can then determine +whether it shall ever be disclosed to other ears. The secret was long locked in +my bosom, and it was once my purpose to bury it with my body in the grave. I +pondered long on the subject, and prayed to Heaven to be instructed. I have +satisfactory evidence in my own heart that I have acted correctly.” He +then related the history of the twins, as we have given it to the reader. When +he concluded, La-u-na, who had betrayed much painful interest during the +recital, threw her arms round William’s neck, and wept upon his breast. +</p> + +<p> +“Why do you weep, La-u-na?” asked the youth. +</p> + +<p> +“La-u-na must die!” said she; “her William will leave her and +forget her. The wild rose will bend over her grave—the brook will murmur +low at her cold feet—the rabbit will nip the tender grass by her +tombstone at night-fall—the katydid will chirp over her, and the +whippor-will will sing in vain. William will forget her! Poor La-u-na!” +</p> + +<p> +“No—La-u-na! no! Thou shalt go with me and be my bride, or else I +will remain with thee! Death only shall separate us!” said the youth, +drawing the slight form of the Indian maiden closer to his heart, and +imprinting a rapturous kiss on her smooth forehead. +</p> + +<p> +“We will all go together,” continued Roughgrove, “save our +beloved friend here, who tells me that no earthly consideration could induce +him to dwell in cities among civilized men.” +</p> + +<p> +“True,” said Boone; “I would not exchange my residence in the +western wilds for the gorgeous palaces of the east. Yet I think you do right in +returning to the society which you were destined to adorn. I shall grieve when +I miss you, but I will not persuade you to remain. Every one should act +according to the dictates of his conscience. It is my belief that Providence +guides our actions. You, my friends, were fitted and designed to move in +refined society, and by your example and influence to benefit the world around +you. The benefits bestowed by <i>me</i> will not be immediate, nor altogether +in my day. I am a PIONEER, formed by nature. Where I struggle with the savage +and the wild beast, my great grandchildren will reside in cities, I must fulfil +my mission.” +</p> + +<p> +At this moment Joe and Sneak appeared at the door. +</p> + +<p> +“There’s a covered flat-boat just landed down at the ferry,” +said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“It is from the island above,” said Roughgrove, “and the one +I have had constructed for our voyage down the river.” +</p> + +<p> +“Are we going, sure enough?” asked Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes; to-morrow,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“Dod—are you <i>all</i> going off?” asked Sneak, rolling +round his large eyes, and stretching out his neck to an unusual length. +</p> + +<p> +“All but me, Sneak,” said Boone. +</p> + +<p> +“And you won’t be any company for me. Dod—I’ve a notion +to go too! If I could foller any thing to make a living in +Fillydelfa—” +</p> + +<p> +“If you go with us, you shall never want—I will see that you are +provided for,” said Glenn. +</p> + +<p> +“It’s a bargain!” said Sneak, with the eager emphasis +characteristic of the trading Yankee. +</p> + +<p> +“But poor Pete—the horses!” said Joe. +</p> + +<p> +“There are stalls in the boat for them,” said Roughgrove. +</p> + +<p> +“Huzza! I’m glad. Huzza!” cried Joe. +</p> + +<hr class="qtr"/> + +<p> +The next morning beamed upon them in beauty—and in sadness. The sun rose +in majesty, and poured his brilliant and inspiring rays on peak and valley and +plain. But the hearts of the peaceful wanderers throbbed in sorrow as they +gazed for the last time on the scene before them. Though it had been identified +with the many perilous and painful encounters with savages, yet the quivering +green leaves above, the sparkling brook below, and the soft melody of happy +birds around, were intimately associated with some of the most blissful moments +of their lives. +</p> + +<p> +La-u-na retired to a lonely spot, and poured forth a farewell song to the +whispering spirits of her fathers. Long her steadfast gaze was fixed on the +blue sky, as if communing with the departed kings from whom she descended. At +length her tears vanished like a shower in the sunshine, and a bright smile +rested upon her features, as if her prayer had been heard and all she asked +were granted! Prophetic vision! While the race from which she separated is +doomed to extinction in the forest, the blood she mingled with the Anglo-Saxon +race may yet be destined to sway the councils of a mighty empire. +</p> + +<p> +William mused in silence, guarding at a distance the bride of his heart, and +not venturing to intrude upon her devotions. The past was like a dream to +him—the present a bright vision—the future a paradise! +</p> + +<p> +Glenn and Mary were seated together, regarding with impatience the brief +preparations to embark. Boone, Roughgrove, Sneak, and Joe were busily engaged +lading the vessel. Sneak had hastily brought thither his effects, and without a +throe of regret abandoned his <i>house</i> for ever to the owls. Joe succeeded +with but little difficulty in getting the horses on board. The fawn, the +kitten, the hounds, and the chickens were likewise taken along. +</p> + +<p> +And now all was ready to push out into the current. All were on board. Boone +bid them an affectionate adieu in silence—in silence, but in tears. The +cable was loosened, and the boat was wafted down on its journey eastward. +William and La-u-na sat upon the deck, and gazed at the receding shore, +rendered dear by hallowed recollections. Glenn and Mary stood at the prow, and +as they marked the fleeting waters, their thoughts dwelt on the happy future. +Roughgrove was praying. Joe was caressing the pony. Sneak was counting his +muskrat skins. And thus we must bid them adieu. +</p> + +<p> + +</p> + +<p> +THE END. +</p> + +<hr class="full"/> + +<p class="noindent"> +Footnote: +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> Thousands have had similar dreams about +similar notes since Joe’s dream.—<i>Printer’s Devil</i>. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Wild Western Scenes, by John Beauchamp Jones + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WILD WESTERN SCENES *** + +***** This file should be named 13077-h.htm or 13077-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/0/7/13077/ + +Produced by Curtis Weyant, the Online Distributed Proofreading Team +and The Making of America Project + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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