-iTPd 
 
 
--.-- 
 
"The bushes that formed the thicket were moved aside, and a human 
 visage, as fiercely wild as unbridled passions could make it, peered out 
 on the retiring footsteps of the travellers." 
 
 The Last of the Mohicans, page 34. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 
 
 BY 
 
 J. FENIMORE COOPER 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THE DEERSLAYER," "THE PATHFINDER," "THE PIONEERS," "THE 
 
 PRAIRIE," " THE PILOT," " THE WATERWITCH," " THE SPY," 
 
 "THE HEADSMAN," ETC., ETC. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 JOHN W. LOVELL COMPANY 
 150 WORTH STREET, CORNER MISSION PLACE 
 
Unto Library, UGbartaOuz 1985 
 
 TROWS 
 
 PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANl, 
 NEW YORK. 
 
A/ 
 
 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 
 
 UN f RODUCTION. 
 
 IT is Deneved that the scene of this tale, and most or thl 
 information necessary to understand its allusions, are rendered 
 sufficiently obvious to the reader in the text itself, or in the 
 accompanying notes. Still there is so much obscurity in the 
 Indian traditions, and so much confusion in the Indian names, 
 as to render some explanation useful. 
 
 Few men exhibit greater diversity, or, if we may so express 
 it, greater antithesis of character, than the native warrior of 
 North America. In war, he is daring, boastful, cunning, 
 ruthless, self-denying, and self-devoted ; in peace, just, gener- 
 ous, hospitable, revengeful, superstitious, modest, and com- 
 monly chaste. These are qualities, it is true, which do not 
 distinguish all alike ; but they are so far the predominating 
 traits of these remarkable people, as to be characteristic. 
 
 It is generally believed that the Aborigines of the Ameri- 
 can continent have an Asiatic origin. There are many physi- 
 cal as well as moral facts which corroborate this opinion, and 
 some few that would seem to weigh against it. 
 
 The color of the Indian, the writer believes, is peculiar to 
 himself, and while his cheek-bones have a very striking indi- 
 cation of a Tartar origin, his eyes have not. Climate may 
 have had great influence on the former, but it is difficult to 
 see how it can have produced the substantial difference 
 which exists in the latter. The imagery of the Indian, both 
 in his poetry and in his oratory, is Oriental ; chastened, and 
 perhaps improved, by the limited range of practical knowl- 
 edge. He draws his'metaphors from the clouds, the seasons, 
 the birds, the beasts, and the vegetable world. In this, per- 
 haps, he does no more than any ofher energetic and imagina* 
 
4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tive race would do, being compelled to set bounds to fancy by 
 experience ; but the North American Indian clothes his ideas 
 in a dress which is different from that of the African, and is 
 Oriental in itself. His language has the richness and senten* 
 tious fulness of the Chinese. He will express a phrase in a 
 word, and he will qualify the meaning of an entire sentence 
 by a syllable ; he will even convey different significations by 
 the simplest inflexions of the voice. 
 
 Philologists have said that there are but two or three lan- 
 guages, properly speaking, among all the numerous tribes 
 which formerly occupied the country that now composes the 
 United States.- They ascribe the known difficulty one people 
 have to understand another to corruptions and dialects. The 
 writer remembers to have been present at an interview between 
 two chiefs of the Great Prairies west of the Mississippi, and 
 when an interpreter was in attendance who spoke both their 
 languages. The warriors appeared to be on the most friendly 
 terms, and seemingly conversed much together ; yet, accord- 
 ing to the account of the interpreter, each was absolutely ig- 
 norant of what the other said. They were of hostile tribes, 
 bi ought together by the influence of the American government; 
 and it is worthy of remark, that a common policy led them 
 both to adopt the same subject. They mutually exhorted 
 each other to be of use in the event of the chances of war 
 throwing either of the parties into the hands of his enemies. 
 Whatever may be the truth, as respects the root and genius of 
 the Indian tongues, it is quite certain they are now so distinct 
 in their words as to possess most of the disadvantages of 
 strange languages ; hence much of the embarrassment that 
 has arisen in learning their histories, and most of the uncer 
 tainty which exists in their traditions. 
 
 Like nations of higher pretensions, the American Indian 
 gives a very different account of his own tribe or race from 
 that which is given by other people. He is much addicted 
 to overestimating his own perfections, and to undervalue 
 those of his rival or his enemy ; a trait which may possibly 
 be thought corroborative of the Mosaic account of the crea- 
 tion. 
 
 The Whites have assisted greatly in rendering the traditions 
 of the Aborigines more obscure by their own manner of cor- 
 rupting names. Thus the term used in the title of this book 
 has undergone the changes of Mahicanni, Mohicans, and Mo- 
 hegans ; the latter being the word commonly used by the 
 Whites. When it is remembered that the Dutch (who 
 
INTRODUCTION. | 
 
 settled New York), the English, and the French, all gave ap- 
 pellations to the tribes that dwelt within the country which is 
 the scene of this story, and that the Indians not only gave 
 different names to their enemies, but frequently to themselves 
 the cause of the confusion will be understood. 
 
 In these pages, Lenni-Lenape, Lenope, Delawares, Wapan- 
 achki, and Mohicans, all mean the same people, or tribes oi 
 the same stock. The Mengwe, the Maquas, the Mingoes, 
 and the Iroquois, though not all strictly the same, are identi 
 rled frequently by the speakers, being politically confederated 
 and opposed to those just named. Mingo was a term of 
 peculiar reproach as were Mengwa and Maqua in a less 
 degree. 
 
 The Mohicans were the possessors of the country first oc- 
 cupied by the Europeans in this portion of the continent. 
 They were, consequently, the first dispossessed; and the 
 seemingly inevitable fate of all these people, who disappear 
 before the advances, or it might be termed the inroads of 
 civilization, as the verdure of their native forests fall before 
 the nipping frosts, is represented as having already befallen 
 them. There is sufficient historical truth in the picture to 
 justify the use that has been made of it. 
 
 In point of fact, the country which is the scene of the fol- 
 lowing tale has undergone as little change, since the historical 
 events alluded to had place, as almost any other district of 
 equal extent within the whole limits of the United States. 
 There are fashionable and well-attended watering-places at 
 and near the spring where Hawk-eye halted to drink, and 
 roads traverse the forests where he and his friends were com- 
 pelled to journey without even a path. Glenn's has a large 
 village ; and while William Henry, and even a fortress of 
 later date, are only to be traced as ruins, there is another vil- 
 lage on the shores of the Horican. But, beyond this, the 
 enterprise and energy of a people who have done so much in 
 other places have done little here. The whole of that wilder- 
 ness, in which the latter incidents of the legend occurred, is 
 nearly a wilderness still, though the red man has entirely de- 
 serted this part of the state. Of all the tribes named in these 
 pages, there exists only a few half-civilized beings of the 
 Oneidas, on the reservations of their people in New York. 
 The rest have disappeared, either from the regions in which 
 their fathers dwelt, or altogether from the earth. 
 
 There is one point on which we would wish to say a word 
 before closing this preface. Hawk-eye calls the Lac du Sainl 
 
6 INTR OD UC TION. 
 
 Sacrement, the " Horican." As we believe this to be an ap- 
 propriation of the name that has its origin with ourselves, the 
 time has arrived, perhaps, when the fact should be frankly 
 admitted. While writing this book, fully a quarter of a cen- 
 tury since, it occurred to us that the French name of this lake 
 was too complicated, the American too common-place, and 
 the Indian too unpronouncable, for either to be used famil- 
 iarly in a work of fiction. Looking over an ancient map, it 
 was ascertained that a tribe of Indians, called " Les Hori- 
 cans " by the French, existed in the neighborhood of this 
 beautiful sheet of water. As every word uttered by Natty 
 Bumppo was not to be received as rigid truth, we took the 
 liberty of putting the " Horican " into his mouth, as the sub- 
 stitute for " Lake George." The name has appeared to find 
 favor, and all things considered, it may possibly be quite as 
 well to let it stand, instead of going back to the House of 
 Hanover for the appellation of our finest sheet of water. We 
 relieve our conscience by the confession, at all events, leav- 
 ing it to exercise its authority as it may see fit 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Mine ear is open, and my heart prepared : 
 The worst is worldly loss thou canst unfold : 
 Say, is my kingdom lost ? 
 
 SHAKESPEARE. 
 
 -IT was a feature peculiar to the colonial wars of North 
 America, that the toils and dangers of the wilderness were to 
 be encountered before the adverse hosts could meet. A wide 
 and apparently an impervious boundary of forests severed the 
 possessions of the hostile provinces of France and England. 
 The hardy colonist, and the trained European who fought at 
 his side, frequently expended months in struggling against 
 the rapids of the streams, or in effecting the rugged passes of 
 the mountains, in quest of an opportunity to exhibit their 
 courage in a more martial conflict. But, emulating the 
 patience and self-denial of the practised native warriors, they 
 learned to overcome every difficulty ; and it would seem that, 
 in time, there was no recess of the woods so dark, nor any 
 secret place so lovely, that it might claim exemption from the 
 inroads of those who had pledged their blood to satiate their 
 vengeance, or to uphold the cold and selfish policy of the dis- 
 tant monarchs of Europe. 
 
 Perhaps no district throughout the wide extent of the intei- 
 mediate frontiers can furnish a livelier picture of the cruelty 
 and fierceness of the savage warfare of those periods than 
 the country which lies between the head waters of the Hud- 
 son and the adjacent lakes. 
 
 The facilities which nature had there offered to the march 
 of the combatants were too obvious to be neglected. The 
 lengthened sheet of the Champlain stretched from the fron 
 
^ THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 tiers of Canada, deep within the borders of the neighboring 
 province of New York, forming a natural passage across half 
 the distance that the French wre compelled to master in 
 order to strike their enemies. Near its southern termination, 
 it received the contributions of another lake, whose waters 
 were so limpid as to have been exclusively selected by the 
 Jesuit missionaries to perform the typical purification of 
 baptism, and to obtain for it the title of lake " du Saint Sac- 
 rement." The less zealous English thought they conferred a 
 sufficient honor on its unsullied fountains, when they be- 
 stowed the name of their reigning prince, the second of the 
 house of Hanover. The two united to rob the untutored 
 possessors of its wooded scenery of their native right to per- 
 petuate its original appellation of " Horican." * 
 
 Winding its way among count/ess islands, and imbedded 
 in mountains; the " holy lake " extended a dozen leagues still 
 further to the south. With the high plain that there inter- 
 posed itself to the further passage of the water, commenced a 
 portage of as many miles, which conducted the adventurer to 
 the banks of the Hudson, at a point where, with the usual 
 obstructions of the rapids or rifts, as they were then termed 
 in the language of the country, the river became navigable to 
 the tide. 
 
 While in the pursuit of their daring plans of annoyance, 
 the restless enterprise of the French even attempted the dis- 
 tant and difficult gorges of the Alleghany, it may easily be 
 imagined that their proverbial acuteness would not over- 
 look the natural advantages of the district we have just de- 
 scribed. It became, emphatically, the bloody arena, in which 
 most of the battles for the mastery of the colonies were con- 
 tested. Forts were erected at the different points that com- 
 manded the facilities of the route, and were taken and re- 
 taken, razed and rebuilt, as victory alighted on the hostile 
 banners. While the husbandman shrank back from the dan- 
 gerous passes, within the safer boundaries of the more ancient 
 settlements) armies larger than those that had often disposed 
 of the sceptres of the mother countries, were seen to bury 
 themselves in these forests, whence they rarely returned but 
 
 * As each nation of the Indians had either its language or its dialect, they 
 usually gave different names to the same places, though nearly all of their appella- 
 tions were descriptive of the object. Thus a literal translation of the name of this 
 beautiful sheet of water, used by the tribe that dwelt on its banks, would be " The 
 Tail of the Lake." Lake George, as it is vulgarly, and now indeed legally, called, 
 forms a sort of tail to Lake Champlain, when viewed on the map. Hence the 
 name. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. g 
 
 in skeleton bands, that were haggard with care, or dejected 
 by defeat. Though the arts of peace were unknown to this 
 fatal region, its forests were alive with men ; its shades and 
 glens rang with the sounds- of martial music, and the echoes 
 of its mountains threw back the laugh, or repeated the wan- 
 ton cry, of many a gallant and reckless youth, as he hurried 
 by them, in the noontide of his spirits, to slumber in a long 
 night of forgetfulness. 
 
 It was in this scene of strife and bloodshed that the inci- 
 dents we shall attempt to relate occurred, during the third 
 year of the war which England and France last waged for the 
 possession of a country that neither was destined to retain. 
 
 The imbecility of her military leaders abroad, and the 
 fatal want of energy in her councils at home, had lowered the 
 character of Great Britain from the proud elevation on which 
 it had been placed, by the talents and enterprise of her former 
 warriors and statesmen. No longer dreaded by her enemies, 
 her servants were fast losing the confidence of self-respect. 
 In this mortifying abasement, the colonists, though innocent 
 of her imbecility, and too humble to be the agents of her blun- 
 ders, were but the natural participators. They had recently 
 seen a chosen army from that country, which, reverencing as 
 a mother, they had blindly believed invincible an army led 
 by a chief who had been selected from a crowd of trained 
 warriors, for his rare military endowments, disgracefully 
 routed by a handful of French and Indians, and only saved 
 from annihilation by the coolness and spirit of a Virginian 
 boy, whose riper fame has since diffused itself, with the steady 
 influence of moral truth, to the uttermost confines of Chris- 
 tendom.* A wide frontier had been laid naked by this unex- 
 pected disaster, and more substantial evils were preceded by 
 a thousand fanciful and imaginary dangers. The alarmed 
 colonists believed that the yells of the savages mingled with 
 every fitful gust of wind that issued from the interminable 
 forests of the west. The terrific character of their merciless 
 enemies increased immeasurably the natural horrors of war- 
 
 * Washington : who, after uselessly admonishing the European generaj of the 
 danger into which he was heedlessly running, saved the remnants of the British 
 army, on this occasion, by his decision and courage. The reputation earned by 
 Washington in this battle was the principal cause of his being selected to command 
 the American armies at a later day. It is a circumstance worthy of observation, 
 that while all America rang with his well-merited reputation, his name does not 
 occur in any European account of the battle ; at least the author has searched foi 
 it without success. In this manner does the mother country absorb even 
 under that system of rule. 
 
TO THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 fare= Numberless recent massacres were still vivid in theil 
 recollections ; nor was "here any ear in the provinces so deaf 
 as not to have drunk in with avidity the narrative of some 
 fearful tale of midnight murder, in which the natives of the 
 forests were the principle and barbarous actors. As the 
 credulous and excited traveller related the hazardous chances 
 of the wilderness, the blood of the timid curdled with terror, 
 and mothers cast anxious glances even at those children 
 which slumbered within the security of the largest towns. In 
 short, the magnifying influence of fear began to set at naught 
 the calculations of reason, and to render those who should 
 have remembered their manhood, the slaves of the basest of 
 passions. Even the most confident and the stoutest hearts 
 began to think the issue of the contest was becoming doubt- 
 ful ; and that abject class was hourly increasing in numbers, 
 who thought they foresaw all the possessions of the English 
 crown in America subdued by their Christian foes, or laid 
 waste by the inroads of their relentless allies. 
 
 When, therefore, intelligence was received at the fort 
 which covered the southern termination of the portage be- 
 tween the Hudson and the lakes, that Montcalm had been 
 seen moving up the Champlain, with an army " numerous as 
 the leaves on the trees," its truth was admitted with more of 
 the craven reluctance of fear than with the stern joy that a 
 warrior should feel, in finding an enemy within reach of his 
 blow. The news had been brought, towards the decline of a 
 day in midsummer, by an Indian runner, who also bore an 
 urgent request from Munro, the commander of a work on the 
 shore of the " holy lake," for a speedy and powerful reinforce 
 ment. It has already been mentioned that the distance be- 
 tween these two posts was less than five leagues. The rude 
 path, which originally formed their line of communication, 
 had been widened for the passage of wagons ; so that the 
 distance which had been travelled by the son of the forest in 
 two hours, might easily be effected by a detachment of troops, 
 with their necessary baggage, between the rising and setting 
 of a summer sun. The loyal servants of the British crown 
 had given to one of these forest fastnesses the name of 
 William Henry, and to the other that of Fort Edward call- 
 ing each after a favorite prince of the reigning family. The 
 veteran Scotchman just named held the first, with a regiment 
 of regulars and a few provincials ; a force really by far too 
 small to make head against the formidable power that Mont- 
 calm was leading to the foot of his earthen mounds. At the 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. jr x 
 
 latter, however, lay General Webb, who commanded the 
 armies of the king in the northern provinces, with a body of 
 more than five thousand men. By uniting the several de- 
 tachments of his command, this officer might have arrayed 
 nearly double that number of combatants against the enter- 
 prising Frenchman, who had ventured so far from his rein* 
 forcements, with an army but little superior in numbers. 
 
 But under the influence of their degraded fortunes, both 
 officers and men appeared better disposed to await- the ap- 
 proach of their formidable antagonists, within their works, than 
 to resist the progress of their march, by emulating the success 
 ful example of the French at Fort du Quesne, and striking a 
 blow on their advance. 
 
 After the first surprise of the intelligence had a little abated, 
 a rumor was spread through the entrenched camp, which 
 stretched along the margin of the Hudson, forming a chain of 
 outworks to the body of the fort itself, that a chosen detach- 
 ment of fifteen hundred men was to depart, with the dawn, for 
 William Henry, the post at the northern extremity of the port- 
 age. That which at first was only rumor, soon became certainty, 
 as orders passed from the quarters of the commander-in-chief 
 to the several corps he had selected for this service, to prepare 
 for their speedy departure. All doubts as to the intention of 
 Webb now vanished, and an hour or two of hurried footsteps 
 and anxious faces succeeded. The novice in the military art 
 flew from point to point, retarding his own preparation by the 
 excess of his violent and somewhat distempered zeal ; while 
 the more practised veteran made his arrangements with a de- 
 liberation that scorned every appearance of haste ; though his 
 sober lineaments and anxious eye sufficiently betrayed that he 
 had no very strong professional relish for the, as yet, untried 
 and dreaded warfare of the wilderness. At length the sun set 
 in a flood of glory behind the distant western hills, and as 
 darkness drew its veil around the secluded spot the sounds of 
 preparation diminished ; the last light finally disappeared from 
 the log cabin of some officer; the trees cast their deeper 
 shadows over the mounds and the rippling stream, and a 
 silence soon pervaded the camp, as deep as that which reignecl 
 in the vast forest by which it was environed. 
 
 According to the orders of the preceding night, the heavy 
 sleep of the army was broken by the rolling of the warning 
 drums, whose rattling echoes were heard issuing, on the damp 
 morning air, out of every vista of the woods, just as day began 
 to draw the shaggy outlines of some tall pines of the vicinity, 
 
12 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 on the opening brightness of a soft and cloudless eastern sky. 
 In an instant the whole camp was in morion ; the meanest 
 soldier arousing from his lair to witness the departure of his 
 comrades, and to share in the excitement and incidents of the 
 hour. Thesimple array of the chosen band was soon completed. 
 While the regular and trained hirelings of the king marched 
 with haughtiness to the right of the line, the less pretending 
 colonists took their humble position on its left, with a docility 
 that long practise had rendered easy. The scouts departed ; 
 strong guards preceded and followed the lumbering vehicles 
 thatbore the baggage ; and before the gray light of the morning 
 was mellowed by the rays of the sun, the main body of the 
 combatants wheeled into column, and left the encampment 
 with a show of high military bearing, that served to drown the 
 slumbering apprehensions of many a novice, who was now 
 about to make his first essay in arms. While in view of their 
 admiring comrades, the same proud front and ordered array 
 was observed, until the notes of their fifes growing fainter in 
 distance, the forest at length appeared to swallow up the liv- 
 ing mass which had slowly entered its bosom. 
 
 The deepest sounds of the retiring and invisible column had 
 ceased to be borne on the breeze to the listeners, and the lat- 
 est straggler had already disappeared in pursuit ; but there still 
 remained the signs of another departure, before a log cabin 
 of unusual size and accommodations, in front of which those 
 sentinels paced their rounds, who were known to guard the per- 
 son of the English general. At this spot were gathered some 
 half dozen horses, caparisoned in a manner which showed 
 that two, at least, were destined to bear the persons of females, 
 of a rank that it was not usual to meet so far in the wilds of the 
 country. A third wore the trappings and arms of an officer 
 of the staff ; while the rest, from the plainness of the housings, 
 and the travelling mails with which they were encumbered, 
 were evidently fitted for the reception of as many menials, 
 who -were, seemingly, already awaiting the pleasure of those 
 they served. At a respectful distance from this unusual show, 
 were gathered divers groups of curious idlers ; some admiring 
 the blood and bone of the high-mettled military charger, and 
 others gazing at the preparations, with the dull wonder of vul- 
 gar curiosity. There was one man, however, who, by hi* 
 countenance and actions, formed a marked exception to those 
 who composed the latter class of spectators, being neither idle, 
 nor seemingly very ignorant. 
 
 The person of this individual was to the last degree ur* 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. j^ 
 
 gainly without being in any particular manner deformed. He 
 had all the bones and joints of other men, without any of their 
 proportions. Erect, his stature surpassed that of his fellows \ 
 though, seated, he appeared reduced within the ordinary limits 
 of the race. The same contrariety in his members seemed to 
 exist throughout the whole man. His head was large, his 
 shoulders narrow, his arms long and dangling, while his hands 
 were small, if not delicate. His legs and thighs were thin, 
 nearly to emaciation, but of extraordinary length ; and his 
 knees would have been considered tremendous, had they not 
 been outdone by the broader foundations on which this false 
 superstructure of blended human orders was so profanely reared 
 The ill-assorted and injudicious attire of the individual, only 
 served to render his awkwardness more conspicuous. A sky- 
 blue coat, with short and broad skirts, and low cape, exposed 
 a long, thin neck, and longer and thinner legs, to the worst 
 animadversions of the evil disposed. His nether garment was 
 of yellow nankeen, closely fitted to the shape, and tied at his 
 bunches of knees by large knots of white ribbon, a good deal 
 sullied by use. Clouted cotton stockings, and shoes, on one 
 of the latter of which was a plated-spur, completed the costume 
 of the lower extremity of this figure, no curve or angle of which 
 was concealed, but, on the other hand, studiously exhibited, 
 through the vanity or simplicity of its owner. From beneath 
 the flap of an enormous pocket of a soiled vest of embossed 
 silk, heavily ornamented with tarnished silver lace, projected 
 an instrument, which, from being seen in such martial company, 
 might have been easily mistaken for some mischievous and un- 
 known implement of war. Small as it was, this uncommon 
 engine had excited the curiosity of most of the Europeans in 
 the camp, though several of the provincials were seen to handle 
 it, not only without fear, but with the utmost familiarity. A 
 large, civil cocked hat, like those worn by clergymen within 
 the last thirty years, surmounted the whole, furnishing dignity 
 to a good-natured and somewhat vacant countenance, that 
 apparently needed such artifical aid, to support the gravity of 
 some high and extraordinary trust. 
 
 While the common herd stood aloof, in deference to the 
 quarters of Webb, the figure we have described stalked into 
 the centre of the domestics, freely expressing his censures or 
 commendations on the merits of the horses, as by chance they 
 displeased or satisfied his judgment. 
 
 " This beast, I rather conclude, friend, is not of home rais- 
 ing, but is from foreign lands, or perhaps from the little island 
 
I4 . . THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 itself, over the blue water ? " he said, in a voice as remarkable 
 for the softness and sweetness of its tones, as was his person 
 for its rare proportions : " I may speak of these things, and 
 be no braggart ; for I have been down at both havens ; that 
 which is situate at the mouth of Thames, and is named after 
 the capital of Old England, and that which is called * Haven, 
 with the addition of the word ' New ; ' and have seen the snows 
 and brigantines collecting their droves, like the gathering to 
 the ark, being outward bound to the Island of Jamaica, for 
 the purpose of barter and traffic in four-footed animals ; but 
 never before have I beheld a beast which verified the true scrip* 
 true war-horse like this, ' He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth 
 in his strength ; he goeth on to meet the armed men. He 
 saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha ; and he smelleth the battle 
 afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.' It 
 would seem that the stock of the horse of Israel has descended 
 to our own time ; would it not, friend ? " 
 
 Receiving no reply to this extraordinary appeal, which, in 
 truth, as it was delivered with the vigor of full and sonorous 
 tones, merited some sort of notice, he who had thus sung forth 
 the language of the holy book turned to the silent figure to 
 whom he had unwittingly addressed himself, and found a new 
 and more powerful subject of admiration in the object that 
 encountered his gaze. His eyes fell on the still, upright, and 
 rigid form of the " Indian runner," who had borne to the camp 
 the unwelcome tidings of the preceding evening. Although 
 in a state of perfect repose, and apparently disregarding, with 
 characteristic stoicism, the excitement and bustle around him, 
 there was a sullen fierceness mingled with the quiet of the 
 savage, that was likely to arrest the attention of much more 
 experienced eyes than those which now scanned him, in uncon- 
 cealed amazement. The native bore both the tomahawk and 
 knife of his tribe ; and yet his appearance was not altogether 
 that of a warrior. On the contrary, there was an air of neglect 
 about his person, like that which might have proceeded from 
 great and recent exertion, which he had not yet found leisure 
 to repair. The colors of the war-paint had blended in dark 
 confusion about his fierce countenance, and rendered his 
 swarthy lineaments still more savage and repulsive, than if 
 art had attempted an effect, which had been thus produced by 
 chance. His eye, alone, which glistened like a fiery star amid 
 lowering clouds, was to be seen in its state of native wildness. 
 For a single instant, his searching and yet wary glance, met 
 the wondering look of the other, and then, changing its direc?- 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. !j 
 
 tion, partly in cunning, and partly in disdain, it remained fixed, 
 as if penetrating the distant air. 
 
 It is impossible to say what unlooked-for remark this short 
 and silent communication, between two such singular men, 
 might have elicited from the white man, had not his active 
 curiosity been again drawn to other objects. A general move' 
 ment amongst the domestics, and a low sound of gentle voices, 
 announced the approach of those whose presence alone was 
 wanted to enable the cavalcade to move. The simple admirer 
 of the war-horse instantly fell back to a low, gaunt, switch- 
 tailed mare, that was unconsciously gleaning the faded her- 
 bage of the camp nigh by ; where, leaning with one elbow on 
 the blanket that concealed an apology for a saddle, he became 
 a spectator of the departure, while a foal was quietly making 
 its morning repast, on the opposite side of the same animal. 
 
 A young man, in the dress of an officer, conducted to their 
 steeds two females, who, as it was apparent by their dresses, 
 were prepared to encounter the fatigues of a journey in the 
 woods. One, and she was the most juvenile in her appearance, 
 though both were young, permitted glirripses of her dazzling 
 complexion, fair golden hair, and bright blue eyes, to be caught 
 as she artlessly suffered the morning air to blow aside the 
 green veil which descended low from her beaver. The flush 
 which still lingered above the pines in the western sky, was 
 not more bright nor delicate than the bloom on her cheek ; 
 nor was the opening day more cheering than the animated 
 smile which she bestow'ed on the youth, as he assisted her 
 into the saddle. The other, who appeared to share equally 
 in the attentions of the young officer, concealed her charms 
 from the gaze of the soldiery with a care that seemed better 
 fitted to the experience of four or five additional years. It 
 could be seen, however, that her person, though moulded with 
 the same exquisite proportions, of which none of the graces 
 were lost by the travelling dress she wore, was rather fuller 
 and more mature than that of her companion. 
 
 No sooner were these females seated, than their attendant 
 sprang lightly into the saddle of the war-horse, when the 
 whole three bowed to Webb, who in courtesy awaited their 
 parting on the threshold of his cabin, and turning their horses' 
 heads, they proceeded at a slow amble, followed by their train, 
 towards the northern entrance of the encampment. .As they 
 traversed that short distance, not a voice was heard amongst 
 them ; but a slight exclamation proceeded from the younger 
 of the females, as the Indian runner glided by her, unexpect 
 
6 THE LAST OP THE MOHICANS. 
 
 edly, and led the way along the military road in her front, 
 Though this sudden and startling movement of the Indian 
 produced no sound from the other, in the surprise, her veil 
 alsrwas allowed to open its folds, and betrayed an indescrib 
 able look of pity admiration, and horror, as her dark eye 
 followed the easy motions of the savage. The tresses of this* 
 lady were shining and black, like the plumage of the raven. 
 Her complexion was not brown, but it rather appeared charged 
 with the color of the rich blood, that seemed ready to burst 
 its bounds. And yet there was neither coarseness nor want 
 of shadowing in a countenance that was exquisitely regular 
 and dignified, and surpassingly beautiful. She smiled, as if in 
 pity at her own momentary forgetful ness, discovering by the 
 act a row of teeth that would have shamed the purest ivory ; 
 when, replacing the veil, she bowed her face, and rode in 
 silence, like one whose thoughts were abstracted from the 
 scene around her. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Sola, sola, wo ha, ho, sola I 
 
 SHAKESPEARE. 
 
 WHILE one of the lovely beings we have so cursorily pre- 
 sented to the reader was thus lost in thought, the other quickly 
 recovered from the alarm which induced the exclamation, and, 
 laughing at her own weakness, she inquired of the youth who 
 rode by her side, 
 
 " Are such spectres frequent in the woods, Heyward ; or 
 is this sight an especial entertainment ordered on our behalf? 
 If the latter, gratitude must close our mouths ; but if the 
 former, both Cora and I shall have need to draw largely on 
 that stock of hereditary courage which we boast, even before 
 we are made to encounter the redoutable Montcalm." 
 
 "Yon Indian is a 'runner' of the army; and, after the 
 fashion of his people, he may be accounted a hero," returned 
 the officer. " He has volunteered to guide us to the lake, by 
 a path but little known, sooner than if we followed the tardy 
 movements of the column j and, by consequence, more agreea' 
 bly," 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. l j 
 
 " I like him not," said the lady, shuddering, partly in 
 assumed, yet more in real terror. " You know him, Duncan, 
 or you would not trust yourself so freely to his keeping ? " 
 
 "Say, rather, Alice, that I would not trust you. I do 
 know him. or he would not have my confidence, and least of 
 all at this moment. He is said to be a Canadian, too ; and 
 yet he served with our friends the Mohawks, who, as you 
 know, are one of the six allied nations.* He was brought 
 amongst us, as I have heard, by some strange accident in 
 which your father was interested, and in which the savage was 
 rigidly dealt by ; but I forget the idle tale ; it is enough, that 
 he is now our friend." 
 
 * If he has been my father's enemy, I like him still less ! " 
 exclaimed the now really anxious girl. " Will you not speak 
 to him, Major Heyward, that I may hear his tones ? Foolish 
 though it may be, you have often heard me avow my faith in 
 the tones of the human voice ! " 
 
 " It would be in vain ; and answered most probably, by an 
 ejaculation. Though he may understand it, he affects, like 
 most of his people, to be ignorant of the English ; and least 
 of all will he condescend to speak it now, that the war demands 
 the utmost exercise of his dignity. But he stops ; the private 
 path by which we are to journey, is, doubtless, at hand." 
 
 The conjecture of Major Heyward was true. When they 
 reached the spot where the Indian stood, pointing into the 
 thicket that fringed the military road, a narrow and blind 
 path, which might, with some little inconvenience, receive one 
 person at a time, became visible. 
 
 " Here, then, lies our way," said the young man in a low 
 voice. " Manifest no distrust, or you may invite the danger 
 you appear to apprehend." 
 
 " Cora, what think you ? " asked the reluctant fair one. 
 " If we journey with the troops, though we may find their 
 presence irksome, shall we not feel better assurance of our 
 safety?" 
 
 * There existed for a long time a confederation among the Indian tribes which, 
 occupied the north-westein part of the colony of New York, which was at first known 
 as the " Five Nations." At a later day it admitted another tribe, when the appella- 
 tion was changed to that of the " Six Nations." The original confederation con 
 sisted of the Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Senecas, the Cayugas, and the Onondagoes 
 The sixth tribe was the Tuscaroras. There are remnants of all these people still 
 Jiving on lands secured to them by the state ; but they are daily disappearing, 
 either by deaths, or by removals to scenes more congenial to their habits. In a 
 short time there will be no remains of these extraordinary people, in those regions 
 in which they dwelt for centuries, but their names. The state of New York has 
 eounties named after all of them but the >lohawks and the Tuscaroras, Thf 
 ccond river of that state is Qalledi the Mohawk. 
 
l8 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 " Being little accustomed to the practices of the savages, 
 Alice, you mistake the place of real danger," said Heyward. 
 " If enemies have reached the portage at all, a thing by no 
 means probable, as our scouts are abroad, they will surely be 
 found skirting the columns, where scalps abound the most. 
 The route of the detachment is known, while ours, having 
 been determined within the hour, must still be secret." 
 
 ** Should we distrust the man because his manners are not 
 our manners, and that his skin is dark ? " coldly asked 
 Cora. 
 
 Alice hesitated no longer ; but giving her Narraganset * a 
 smart cut of the whip, she was the first to dash aside the 
 ""slight branches of the bushes, and to follow the runner 
 along the dark and tangled pathway. The young man re- 
 garded the last speaker in open admiration, and even per- 
 mitted her fairer, though certainly not more beautiful com- 
 panion, to proceed unattended, while he sedulously opened 
 the way himself for the passage of her who has been called Cora. 
 It would seem that the domestics had been previously in- 
 structed ; for, instead of penetrating the thicket, they followed 
 the route of the column ; a measure which Heyward stated 
 had been dictated by the sagacity of their guide, in order to 
 diminish the marks of their trail, if, haply, the Canadian sav- 
 ages should be lurking so far in advance of their army. For 
 many minutes the intricacy of the route admitted of no fur- 
 ther dialogue ; atfter which they emerged from the broad bor- 
 der of under-brush which grew along the line of the highway, 
 and entered under the high but dark arches of the forest. 
 Here their progress was less interrupted ; and the instant 
 the guide perceived that the females could command their 
 steeds, he moved on, at a pace between a trot and a walk, and 
 at a rate which kept the sure-footed and peculiar animals they 
 rode, at a fast yet easy amble. The youth had turned to 
 speak to the dark-eyed Cora, when the distant sounds of 
 horses' hoofs, clattering over the roots of the broken way in 
 his rear, caused him to check his charger ; and, as his com- 
 
 * In the state of Rhode Island there is a bay called Narraganset, so named after 
 a powerful tribe of Indians which formerly dwelt on its banks. Accident, or one of 
 those unaccountable freaks which nature sometimes plays in the animal world, gave 
 rise to a breed of horses which were once well known in America by the name of the 
 Narragansets. They were small, commonly of the color called sorrel in America, 
 and distinguished by their habit of pacing. Horses of this race were, and are still, 
 in ranch request as saddle horses, on account of their hardiness and the ease of their 
 movements. As they were also sure of foot, the Narragansets were greatly sought 
 for by females who were obliged to travel over the roots and holes in the"!!".* 
 countries " 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. x g 
 
 / 
 
 panions drew their reins at the same instant, the whole party 
 tame to a halt, in order to obtain an explanation of the un- 
 looked-for interruption. 
 
 In a few moments a colt was seen gliding, like a fallow 
 deer, amongst the straight trunks of the pines, and, in another 
 instant, the person of the ungainly man, described in the pre- 
 ceding chapter, came into view, with as much rapidity as he 
 could excite his meagre beast to endure without coming to 
 an open rupture. Until now this personage had escaped the 
 observation of the travellers. If he possessed the power to 
 arrest any wandering eye when exhibiting the glories of his 
 altitude on foot, his equestrian graces were still more likely 
 to attract attention. Notwithstanding a constant application 
 of his one armed heel to the flanks of the mare, the most con- 
 firmed gait that he could establish was a Canterbury gallop 
 with the hind legs, in which those more forward assisted for 
 doubtful moments, though generally content to maintain a 
 lopeing trot. Perhaps the rapidity of the changes from one 
 of these paces to the other created an optical illusion, which 
 might thus magnify the powers of the beast ; for it is.certain 
 that Heyward, who possessed a true eye for the merits of a 
 horse, was unable, with his utmost ingenuity, to decide by 
 what sort of movements his pursuer worked his sinuous way 
 on his footsteps with such presevering hardihood. 
 
 . The industry and movement of the rider were not less re- 
 markable than those of the ridden. At each change in the 
 evolutions of the latter, the former raised his tall person in 
 the stirrups ; producing, in this manner, by the undue elon- 
 gation of his legs, such sudden growths and diminishings of 
 the stature, as baffled every conjecture that might be made as 
 to his dimensions. If to this be added the fact that, in con- 
 sequence of the ex parte application of the spur, one side of 
 the mare appeared to journey faster than the other ; and that 
 the aggrieved flank was resolutely indicated by unremitted 
 flourishes of a bushy tail, we finish the picture of both horse 
 and man. 
 
 The frown which had gathered around the handsome, open, 
 and manly brow of Heyward, gradually relaxed, and his lips 
 curled into a slight smile, as he regarded the stranger. Alice 
 made no very powerful effort to control .her merriment ; and 
 even the dark thoughtful eye of Cora lighted with a humor 
 that, it would seem, the habit, rather than the nature, of its 
 mistress repressed. 
 
 " Seek you any here ? " demanded Heyward, when the 
 
2o THE LAST OF THE MOHICAKS. 
 
 ether had arrived sufficiently nigh to abate his speed ; " \ 
 trust you are no messenger of evil tidings." 
 
 " Even so," replied the stranger, making diligent use of 
 his triangular castor, to produce a circulation in the close 
 air of the woods, and leaving his hearers in doubt to which of 
 the young man's questions he responded ; when, however, he 
 had cooled his face, and recovered his breath, he continued : 
 " I hear you are riding to William Henry ; as I am journeying 
 thitherward myself, I concluded good company would seem 
 consistent to the wishes of both parties." 
 
 " You appear to possess the privilege of a casting vote," re- 
 turned Heyward : " we are three, whilst you have consulted 
 no one but yourself." 
 
 " Even so. The first point to be obtained is to know one's 
 own mind. Once sure of that, and where women are con- 
 cerned it is not easy, the next is, to act up to the decision. 
 I have endeavored to do both, and here I am." 
 
 " If you journey to the lake, you have mistaken the route," 
 said Heyward, haughtily ; " the highway thither is at least 
 half a mile behind you." 
 
 "Even so," returned the stranger, nothing daunted by this 
 cold reception ; " I have tarried at ' Edward ' a week, and I 
 should be dumb not to have inquired the road I was to journey; 
 and if dumb there would be an end to my calling." After 
 simpering in a small way, like one whose modesty prohibited 
 a more open expression of his admiration of a witticism that 
 was perfectly unintelligible to his hearers, he continued, " It is 
 not prudent for any one of my profession to be too familiar 
 with those he has to instruct ; for which reason I follow not 
 the line of the army ; besides which, I conclude that a gentle- 
 man of your character has the best judgment in matters of 
 wayfaring; I have therefore decided to join company, in order 
 that the ride may be made agreeable, and partake of social 
 communion." 
 
 " A most arbitrary, if not a hasty decision ! " exclaimed 
 Heyward, undecided whether to give vent to his growing 
 anger, or to laugh in the other's face. "But you speak of 
 instruction, and of a profession ; are you an adjunct to the 
 provincial corps, as a master of the noble science of defence 
 and offence ; or, perhaps, you are one who draws lines and 
 angles, under the pretence of expounding the mathematics ? " 
 
 The stranger regarded his interrogator a moment in won 
 der ; and then, losing every mark of self-satisfaction in an ea 
 pression of solemn humility, he answered : 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. j t 
 
 " Of offence, I hope there is none to either party : of defence, 
 I make none by God's good mercy, having committed no 
 palpable sin since last entreating his pardoning grace. I 
 understand not your allusions about lines and angles ; and I 
 leave expounding to those who have been called and set 
 apart for that holy office. I lay claim to no higher gift than 
 a small insight into the glorious art of petitioning and thanks- 
 giving, as practised in psalmody." 
 
 " The man is, most manifestly, a disciple of Apollo," cried 
 the amused Alice, " and I take him under my own especial 
 protection. Nay, throw aside that frown, Hey ward, and in 
 pity to my longing ears, surfer him to journey in our train. 
 Besides," she added, in a low and hurried voice, casting a 
 glance at the distant Cora, who slowly followed the footsteps 
 of their silent but sullen guide, " it may be a friend added to 
 our strength, in time of need." 
 
 " Think you, Alice, that I would trust those I love by this 
 secret path, did I imagine such need could happen ? " 
 
 " Nay, nay, I think not of it now ; but this strange man 
 amuses me; and if he * hath music in his soul,' let us not 
 churlishly reject his company." She pointed persuasively 
 along the path with her riding-whip, while their eyes met in a 
 look which the young man lingered a moment to prolong ; then, 
 yielding to her gentle influence, he clapped his spurs into his 
 charger, and in a few bounds was again at the side of Cora. 
 
 " I am glad to encounter thee, friend," continued the maiden, 
 waving her hand to the stranger to proceed, as she urged her 
 Narraganset to renew its amble. " Partial relatives hav al- 
 most persuaded m* that I am not entirely worthless in a duet 
 myself ; and we may enliven our wayfaring by indulging in our 
 favorite pursuit. It might be of signal advantage to one, ig- 
 norant as I, to hear the opinions and experience of a master 
 in the art." 
 
 . " It is refreshing both to the spirits and to the body to in- 
 dulge in psalmody, in befitting seasons," returned the master 
 of song, unhesitatingly complying with her intimation to follow, 
 * and nothing would relieve the mind more than such a consol- 
 ng communion. But four parts are altogether necessary to 
 the perfection of melody. You have all the manifestations of 
 ft soft and rich treble ; I can, by especial aid, carry a full tenor 
 to the highest letter ; but we lack counter and bass ! You 
 officer of the king, who hesitated to admit me to his company, 
 might fill the latter, if one may judge from che intonations of 
 his voice in common dialogue." 
 
22 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 " Judge not too rashly from hasty and deceptive appear- 
 ances," said the lady smiling ; " though Major Hey ward can 
 assume such deep notes on occasion, believe me, his natural 
 tones are better fitted for a mellow tenor than the bass you 
 heard." 
 
 " Is he, then, much practised in the art of psalmody ? " de- 
 manded her simple companion. 
 
 Alice felt disposed to laugh, though she succeeded in sup- 
 pressing her merriment, ere she answered 
 
 " I apprehend that he is rather addicted to profane song, 
 The chances of a soldier's life are but little fitted for the en- 
 couragement of more sober inclinations." 
 
 " Man's voice is given to him, like his other talents, to be 
 used, and not to be abused. None can say they have ever 
 known me neglect my gifts ! I am thankful that, though my 
 boyhood may be said "to have been set apart, like the youth of 
 the royal David, for the purposes of music, no syllable of rude 
 verse has ever profaned my lips." 
 
 " You have, then, limited your efforts to sacred song ? " 
 
 " Even so. As the psalms of David exceed all other lan- 
 guage, so does the psalmody that has been fitted to them by the 
 divines and sages of the land, surpass all vain poetry. Happily, 
 I may say that I utter nothing but the thoughts and the wishes 
 of the King of Israel himself ; for though the times may call 
 for some slight changes, yet does this version which we use 
 in the colonies of New England so much exceed all other 
 versions, that, by its richness, its exactness, and its spiritual 
 simplicity, it approacheth, as near as may be, to the great 
 work of the inspired writer. I never abide in any place, 
 sleeping or waking, without an example of this gifted work. 
 ,Tis the six-and-twentieth edition, promulgated at Boston, 
 Anno Domini 1744 ; and is entitled, * The Psalms, Hymns and 
 Spiritual Songs of the Old and New Testaments ; faithfully 
 translated into English Metre, for the Use, Edification, and 
 Comfort of the Saints, in Public and Private, especially in 
 New England.' ' 
 
 During this eulogium on the rare production of his native 
 poets, the stranger had drawn the book from his pocket, and 
 fitting a pair of iron-rimmed spectacles to his nose, opened 
 the volume with a care and veneration suited to its sacred 
 purposes. Then, without circumlocution or apology, first pro 
 nouncing the word " Standish," and placing the unknown 
 engine, already described, to his mouth, from which he drew 
 a high, shrill sound, that was followed by an octave below, 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 23 
 
 from his own voice, he commenced singing the following words v 
 in full, sweet, and melodious tones, that set the music, the 
 poetry, and everi the uneasy motion of his ill-trained beast at 
 defiance : 
 
 " How good it is, O see, 
 
 And how it pleaseth well, 
 Together, e'en in unity, 
 
 For brethren so to dwell. 
 It's like the choice ointment, 
 
 From the head to th' beard did go : 
 Down Aaron's beard, that downward went, 
 His garment's skirts u.ito." 
 
 The delivery of these skilful rhymes was accompanied, on 
 the part of the stranger, by a regular rise and fall of his right 
 hand, which terminated at the descent, by suffering the fin- 
 gers to dwell a moment on the leaves of the little volume ; 
 and on the ascent, by such a flourish of the member as none 
 but the initiated may ever hope to imitate. It would seem 
 that long practice had rendered this manual accompaniment 
 necessary ; for it did not cease until the preposition which the 
 poet had selected for the close of his verse, had been duly 
 delivered like a word of two syllables. 
 
 Such an innovation on the silence and retirement of the 
 forest could not fail to enlist the ears of those who journeyed 
 at so short a distance in advance. The Indian muttered a 
 few words in broken English to Heyward, who, in his turn, 
 spoke to the stranger ; at once interrupting, and, for the time, 
 closing his musical efforts. 
 
 " Though we are not in danger, common prudence would 
 teach us to journey through this wilderness in as quiet a man- 
 ner as possible. You will, then, pardon me, Alice, should I 
 diminish your enjoyments, by requesting this gentleman to 
 postpone his chant until a safer opportunity." 
 
 " You will diminish them, indeed," returned the arch girl j 
 ''* for never did 1 hear a more unworthy conjunction of ex- 
 ecution and language, than that to which I have been listen- 
 ing and I was far gone in a learned inquiry in the causes of 
 such an unfitness between sound and sense, when you broke 
 the charm of my musings by that bass of yours, Duncan ! " 
 
 " I know not what you call my bass," said Heyward, 
 piqued at her remark, " but I know that your safety, and that 
 of Cora, is far dearer to me than could be any orchestra of 
 Handel's music." He paused and turned his head quickly 
 towards a thicket, and then bent his eyes suspiciously on their 
 guide, who continued his steady pace, in undisturbed gravity 
 
2 4 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 The young man smiled to himself, for he believed he had mis- 
 taken some shining berry of the woods for the glistening eye- 
 balls of a prowling savage, and he rode forward, continuing 
 the conversation which had been interrupted by the passing 
 thought. 
 
 Major Heyward was mistaken only in suffering his youth- 
 ful and generous pride to suppress his active watchfulness. 
 The cavalcade had not long passed, before the branches of the 
 bushes that formed the thicket were cautiously moved asunder, 
 and a human visage, as fiercely wild as savage art and unbridled 
 passions could make it, peered out on the retiring footsteps of the 
 travellers. A gleam of exultation shot across the darkly-painted 
 lineaments of the inhabitant of the forest, as he traced the route 
 of his intended victims, who rode unconsciously onward : the 
 light and graceful forms of the females waving among the 
 trees, in the curvatures of their path, followed at each bend 
 by the manly figure of Heyward, until, finally, the shapeless 
 person of the singing master was concealed behind the num- 
 berless trunks of trees, that rose, in dark lines, in the inter- 
 mediate space. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Before these fields were shorn and tilW 
 
 Full to the brim our rivers flow'd ; 
 The melody of waters fill'd 
 
 The fresh and boundless wood ; 
 And torrents dash'd, and rivulets play'd, 
 
 And fountains spouted in the shade. 
 
 BRYANT. 
 
 LEAVING the unsuspecting Heyward and his confiding 
 companions to penetrate still deeper into a forest that con- 
 tained such treacherous inmates, we must use an author's 
 privilege, and shift the scene a few miles to the westward of 
 the place where we have last seen them. 
 
 On that day, two men were lingering on the banks of a 
 small but rapid stream, within an hour's journey of the encamp- 
 ment of Webb, like those who awaited the appearance of an 
 absent person, or the approach of some expected event 
 The vast canopy of woods spread itself to the margin of the 
 river over-hanging the water, and shadowing its dark current 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 5 
 
 with a deeper hue. The rays of the sun were beginning to 
 grow less fierce, and the intense heat of the day was lessened, 
 as the cooler vapors of the springs and fountains rose above 
 their leafy beds, and rested in the atmosphere. Still that 
 breathing silence, which marks the drowsy sultriness of an 
 American landscape in July, pervaded the secluded spot, in- 
 terrupted only by the low voices of the men, the occasional 
 and lazy tap of a woodpecker, the discordant cry of some 
 gaudy jay, or a swelling on the ear, from the dull roar of a 
 distant waterfall. 
 
 These feeble and broken sounds were, however, too familial 
 to the foresters, to draw their attention from the more inter- 
 esting matter of their dialogue. While one of these loiterers 
 showed the red skin and wild accoutrements of a native of the 
 woods, the other exhibited, through the mask of his rude and 
 nearly savage equipments, the brighter, though sun-burnt and 
 long-faded complexion of one who might claim descent from 
 a European parentage. The former was seated on the end of 
 a mossy log, in a posture that permitted him to heighten the 
 effect of his earnest language, by the calm but expressive 
 gestures of an Indian engaged in debate. His body, which 
 was nearly naked, presented a terrific emblem of death, drawn 
 in intermingled colors of white and black. His closely-shaved 
 head, on which no other hair than the well known and chival- 
 rous scalping tuft * was preserved, was without ornament of 
 any kind, with the exception of a solitary eagle's plume, that 
 crossed his crown, and depended over the left shoulder. A 
 tomahawk and scalping-knife, of English manufacture, were 
 in his girdle ; while a short military rifle, of that sort with 
 which the policy of the whites armed their savage allies, lay 
 carelessly across his bare and sinewy knee. The expanded 
 chest, full formed limbs, and grave countenance of this war- 
 rior, would denote that he had reached the vigor of his days, 
 though no symptoms of decay appeared to have yet weakened 
 his manhood. 
 
 The frame of the white man, judging by such parts as 
 were not concealed by his clothes, was like that of one who 
 had known hardships and exertion from his earliest youth. 
 
 * The North American warrior caused the hair to be plucked from his whole 
 body ; a small tuft, only, was left on the crown of his head, in order that his enemy 
 might avail himself of it, in wrenching off the scalp in the event of his fall. The 
 scalp was the only admissible trophy of victory. Thus, it was deemed more imp 
 portant to obtain the scalp, than to kill the man. Some tribes lay great stress on 
 the honor of striking a dead body. These practices have nearly disappeared among 
 the Indians of the Atlantic states. 
 
26 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 His person, though muscular, was rather attenuated than full ; 
 but every nerve and muscle appeared strung and indurated by 
 unremitted exposure and toil. He wore a hunting-shirt of 
 forest-green, fringed with faded yellow,* and a summer cap 
 of skins which had been shorn of their fur. He also bore a 
 knife in a girdle of wampum, like that which confined the 
 scanty garments of the Indian, but no tomahawk. His moc- 
 casins were ornamented after the gay fashion of the natives, 
 while the only part of his under -dress which appeared below 
 the hunting frock, was a pair of buckskin leggings, that laced 
 at the sides, and which were gartered above the knees, with 
 the sinews of a deer. * A pouch and horn completed his per- 
 sonal accoutrements, though a rifle of great length, f which 
 the theory of the more ingenious whites had taught them was 
 the most dangerous of all fire-arms, leaned against a neighbor- 
 ing sapling. The eye of the hunter, or scout, whichever he 
 might be, was small, quick, keen, and restless, roving while he 
 spoke, on every side of him, as if in quest of game, or distrust- 
 ing the sudden approach of some lurking enemy. Notwith- 
 standing these symptoms of habitual suspicion, his countenance 
 was not only without guile, but at the moment at which he is 
 introduced, it was charged with an expression of sturdy hon- 
 esty. 
 
 " Even your traditions make the case in my favor, Chin- 
 gachgook," he said, speaking in the tongue which was known 
 to all the natives who formerly inhabited the country between 
 the Hudson and the Potomac, and of which we shall give a 
 free translation for the benefit of the reader ; endeavoring, at 
 the same time, to preserve some of the peculiarities, both of 
 the individual and of the language. " Your fathers came from 
 the setting sun, crossed the big river, | fought the people of 
 the country, and took the land ; and mine came from the red 
 sky of the morning, over the salt lake, and did their work 
 much after the fashion that had been set them by yours ; then 
 let God judge the matter between us, and friends spare their 
 words ! " 
 
 * The hunting-shirt is a picturesque smock-frock, being shorter, and ornamented 
 with fringes and tassels. The colors are intended to imitate the hues of the wood, 
 with a view to concealment. Many corps of American riflemen have been thus 
 attired ; and the dress is one of the most striking of modern times. The hunting- 
 thirt is frequently white. 
 
 f The rifle of the army is short ; that of the hunter is always long. 
 
 j The Mississippi. The scout alludes to a tradition which is very popular among 
 the tribes of the Atlantic states. Evidence of their Asiatic origin is deduced from 
 the circumstances, though great uncertainty hangs over the vrhole history of thf 
 Indians. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 37 
 
 " My fathers fought with the naked red man ! " returned 
 the Indian, sternly, in the same language. " Is there no 
 difference, Hawk-eye, between the stone-headed arrow of the 
 warrior, and the leaden bullet with which you kill ? " 
 
 " There is reason in an Indian, though nature has made 
 him with a red skin ! " said the white man, shaking his head 
 like one on whom such an appeal to his justice was not thrown 
 away. For a moment he appeared to be conscious of having 
 the worst of the argument, then rallying again, he answered 
 the objection of his antagonist in the best manner his limited 
 information would allow : " I am no scholar, and I care not 
 who knows it ; but, judging from what I have seen, at deer 
 chases and squirrel hunts, of the sparks below, I should think 
 a rifle in the hands of their grandfathers was not so dangerous 
 as a hickory bow and a good flint-head might be, if drawn 
 with Indian judgment, and sent by an Indian eye." 
 
 " You have the story told by your fathers," returned the 
 other, coldly waving his hand. " What say your old men ? do 
 they tell the young warriors, that the pale faces met the red 
 men, painted for war and armed with the stone hatchet and 
 wooden gun ? " 
 
 " I am not a prejudiced man, nor one who vaunts himself 
 on his natural privileges, though the worst enemy I have on 
 earth, and he is an Iroquois, daren't deny that I am genuine 
 white," the scout replied, surveying, with secret satisfaction, 
 the faded color of his bony and sinewy hand ; " and I am 
 willing to own that my people have many ways, of which, as 
 an honest man, I can't approve. It is one of their customs 
 to write in books what they have done and seen, instead of 
 telling them in their villages, where the lie can be given to 
 the face of a cowardly boaster, and the brave soldier can call 
 on his comrades to witness for the truth of his words. In 
 consequence of this bad fashion, a man, who is too conscien- 
 tious to misspend his days among the women, in learning the 
 names of black marks, may never hear of the deeds of his 
 fathers, nor feel a pride in striving to outdo them. For myself, 
 I conclude all the Bumppos could shoot ; for I have a natural 
 turn with a rifle, which must have been handed down from 
 generation to generation, as our holy commandments tell us 
 all good and evil gifts are bestowed ; though I should be loth 
 to answer for other people in such a matter. But every story 
 has its two sides : so I ask you, Chingachgook, what passed, 
 according to the traditions of the red men, when om fathers 
 first met?" 
 
28 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 A silence of a minute succeeded, during which the Indiat 
 sat mute ; then, full of the dignity of his office, he commenced 
 his brief tale, with a solemnity that served to heighten its ap- 
 pearance of truth. 
 
 " Listen, Hawk-eye, and your ear shall drink no lie. 'Tis 
 what my fathers have said, and what the Mohicans have done." 
 He hesitated a single instant, and bending a cautious glance to 
 wards his companion, he continued, in a manner that was di- 
 vided between interrogation and assertion. "Does not this 
 stream at our feet run towards the summer, until its waters 
 grow salt, and the current flows upward ? " 
 
 " It can't be denied that your traditions tell you true in both 
 these matters," said the white man ; " for I have been there, 
 and have seen them ; though, why water, which is so sweet in 
 the shade, should become bitter in the sun, is an alteration for 
 which I have never been able to account." 
 
 " And the current ! " demanded the Indian, who expected 
 his reply with that sort of interest that a man feels in the con- 
 firm ation of testimony, at which he marvels even while he 
 respects it ; " the fathers of Chingachcook have not lied ! " 
 
 "The holy Bible is not more true, and that is the truest 
 thing in nature. They call this up-stream current the tide, 
 which is a thing soon explained, and clear enough. Six hours 
 the waters run in, and six hours they run out, and the reason is 
 this : when there is higher water in the sea than in the river, 
 they run in until the river gets to be highest, and then it runs 
 out again." 
 
 " The waters in the woods, and on the great lakes, run 
 downward until they lie like my hand," said the Indian, 
 stretching the limb horizontally before him, " and then they run 
 no more." 
 
 " No honest man will deny it," said the scout a little nettled 
 at the implied distrust of his explanation of the mystery of the 
 tides ; " and I grant that it is true on the small scale, and, 
 where the land is level. But everything depends on what scale 
 you look at things. Now, on the small scale, the 'arth is level ; 
 but on the large scale, it is round. In this manner, pools and 
 ponds, and even the great fresh-water lakes, may be stagnant, 
 as you and I both know they are, having seen them ; but when 
 you come to spread water over a great tract, like the sea, where 
 the earth is round, how in reason can the water be quiet ? 
 You might as well expect the river to lie still on the brink of 
 those black rocks a mile above us, though your own ears teU 
 you that it is tumbling over them at this very moment." 
 
THE LAST OF Tff.G MOHICANS- 2 <) 
 
 If unsatisfied by the philosophy of his companion, the 
 Indian was far too dignified to betray his unbelief. He listened 
 like one who was convinced, and resumed his narrative in his 
 former solemn manner. 
 
 "We came from the place where the sun is hid at night, 
 over great plains where the buffaloes live, until we reached the 
 big river. There we fought the Alligewi, till the ground was 
 red with their blood. From the banks of the big river to the 
 shores of the salt lake, there was none to meet us. The 
 Maquas followed at a distance. We said the country should 
 be ours from the place where the water runs up no longer on 
 this stream to a river twenty sun's journey toward the summer. 
 The land we had taken like warriors we kept like men. We 
 drove the Maquas into the woods with the bears. They only 
 tasted salt at the licks ; they drew no fish from the great lake ; 
 we threw them the bones." 
 
 " All this I have heard and believe," said the white man, 
 observing that the Indian paused ; " but it was long before the 
 English came into the country." 
 
 " A pine grew then where this chestnut now stands. The 
 first palefaces who came among us spoke no English. They 
 came in a large canoe, when my fathers had buried the 
 tomahawk with the red men around them. Then, Hawk-eye," 
 he continued, betraying his deep emotion, only by permitting 
 his voice to fall to those low, guttural tones, which render his 
 language, as spoken at times, so very musical ; " then, Hawk- 
 eye, we were one people, and we were happy. The salt lake 
 gave us its fish, the wood its deer, and the air its birds. We 
 took wives who bore us children ; we worshipped the Great 
 Spirit ; and we kept the Maquas beyond the sound of our songs 
 of triumph." 
 
 " Know you anything of your own family at that time ? " 
 demanded the white. " But you are a just man, for an Indian ; 
 and as I suppose you hold their gifts, your fathers must have 
 been brave warriors, and wise men at the council-fire." 
 
 "My tribe is the grandfather of nations, but I am an un- 
 mixed man. The blood of chiefs is in my veins, where it must 
 stay forever. The Dutch landed, and gave my people the fire- 
 water ; they drank until the heavens and the earth seemed to 
 meet, and they foolishly thought they had found the Great 
 Spirit. Then they parted with their land. Foot by foot, they 
 were driven back from the shores, until I, that am a chief and a 
 Sagamore, have never seen the sun shine but through the trees> 
 and have never visited the graves of my fathers." 
 
^o THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 " Graves bring solemn feelings over the mind," returned 
 the scout, a good deal touched at the calm suffering of his 
 companion : " and they often aid a man in his good inten- 
 tions ; though, for myself, I expect to leave my own bones 
 unburied, to bleach in the woods, or to be torn asunder by the 
 wolves. But where are to be found those of your race who 
 came to their kin in the Delaware country, so many summers 
 since ? " 
 
 44 Where are the blossoms of those summers ! fallen one 
 by one ; so all of my family departed, each in his turn, to the 
 (and of spirits. I am on the hill-top and must go down into 
 the valley ; and when Uncas follows in my footsteps, there 
 will no longer be any of the blood of the Sagamores, for my 
 boy is the last of the Mohicans." 
 
 " Uncas is here," said another voice, in the same soft 
 guttural tones, near his elbow ; " who speaks to Uncas ? " 
 
 The white man loosened his knife in his leathern sheath, 
 and made an involuntary movement of the hand towards his 
 rifle, at this sudden interruption ; but the Indian sat composed, 
 and without turning his head at the unexpected sounds. 
 
 At the next instant, a youthful warrior passed between 
 them, with a noiseless step, and seated himself on the bank 
 of the rapid stream No exclamation of surprise escaped the 
 father, nor was any question asked, or reply given, for several 
 minutes, each appearing to await the moment when he might 
 speak, without betraying womanish curiosity or childish im- 
 patience. The white man seemed to take counsel from their 
 customs, and, relinquishing his grasp of the rifle, he also re- 
 mained silent and reserved. At length Chingachgook turned 
 his eyes slowly towards his son, and demanded 
 
 " Do the Miiquas dare to leave the print of their moc- 
 casins in these woods ? " 
 
 " I have been on their trail," replied the young Indian, 
 " and know that they number as many as the fingers of my two 
 hands ; but they lie hid like cowards." 
 
 " The thieves are out-lying for scalps and plunder," said 
 the white man, whom we shall call Hawk-eye, after the 
 manner of his companions. " That busy Frenchman, Mont- 
 calm, will send his spies into our very camp, but he will know 
 what road we travel." 
 
 " Tis enough," returned the father, glancing his eye to- 
 wards the setting sun ; " they shall be driven like deer from 
 their bushes. Hawk-eye, let us eat to-night, and show the 
 Maquas that we are men to-morrow " 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 31 
 
 "I am as ready to do the one as the other; but to fight 
 the Iroquois 'tis necessary to find the skulkers ; and to eat, 
 'tis necessary to get .the game talk of the devil and he witt 
 come ; there is a pair of the biggest antlers I have seen this 
 season, moving the bushes below the hill! Now, Uncas he 
 continued in a half whisper, and laughing with a kind of in- 
 ward sound, like one who had learnt to be watchful, I will 
 bet my charger three times full of powder, against a foot of 
 wampum, that I take him atwixt the eyes, and nearer to the 
 right than to the left." 
 
 <; It cannot be ! " said the young Indian, springing to his 
 feet with youthful eagerness ; " all but the tips of his horns 
 ire hid!" 
 
 " He's a boy ! " said the white man, shaking his head 
 while he spoke, and addressing the father. " Does he think 
 when a hunter sees a part of the creatur', he can't tell where 
 the rest of him should be ! " 
 
 Adjusting his rifle, he was about to make an exhibition of 
 that skill on which he so much valued himself, when the 
 warrior struck up the piece with his hand, saying, 
 
 " Hawk-eye ! will you fight the Maquas ? " 
 
 " These Indians know the nature of the woods, as it might 
 be by instinct ! " returned the scout, dropping his rifle, and 
 turning away like a man who was convinced of his error. " I 
 must leave the buck to your arrow, Uncas, or we may kill a 
 deer for them thieves, the Iroquois, to eat." 
 
 The instant the father seconded this intimation by an ex- 
 pressive gesture of the hand, Uncas threw himself on the 
 ground, and approached the animal with wary movements. 
 When within a few yards of the cover, he fitted an arrow to 
 his bow with the utmost care, while the antlers moved, as if 
 their owner snuffed an enemy in the tainted air. In another 
 moment the twang of the cord was heard, a white streak was 
 seen glancing into the bushes, and the wounded buck 
 plunged from the cover, to the very feet of his hidden 
 enemy. Avoiding the horns of the infuriated animal, Uncas 
 darted to his side, and passed his knife across the throat, 
 when bounding to the edge of the river it fell, dyeing the 
 waters with its blood. 
 
 " 'Twas done with Indian skill," said the scout, laughing 
 inwardly, but with vast satisfaction-; " and 'twas a pretty 
 sight to behold ! Though an arrow is a near shot, it needs 
 a knife to finish the work." 
 
 " Hugh ! " ejaculated his companion, turning quickly, like 
 a houn4 who scented game. 
 
j* THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 " By the Lord, there is a drove of them ! " exclaimed the 
 scout, whose eyes began to glisten with the ardor of his 
 usual occupation ; " if they come within range of a bullet I 
 will drop one, though the whole Six Nations should be lurk- 
 ing within sound ! What do you hear, Chingachgook ? for to 
 my ears the woods are dumb." 
 
 " There is but one deer, and he is dead," said the Indian, 
 bending his body till his ear nearly touched the earth. " I 
 hear the sounds of feet ! " 
 
 " Perhaps the wolves have driven the buck to shelter, and 
 are following on his trail." 
 
 " No. The horses of white men are coming ! " returned 
 the other, raising himself with dignity, and resuming his seat 
 on the log with his former composure. " Hawk-eye, they are 
 your brothers ; speak to them." 
 
 " That will I, and in English that the king needn't be 
 ashamed to answer," returned the hunter, speaking in the 
 language of which he boasted ; " but I see nothing, nor do I 
 hear the sounds of man or beast ; 'tis strange that an Indian 
 should understand white sounds better than a man who, his 
 very enemies will own, has no cross in his blood, although he 
 may have lived with the red skins long enough to be sus- 
 pected ! Ha ! there goes something like the crackling of a dry 
 stick, too now I hear the bushes move yes, yes, there is 
 a trampling that I mistook for the falls and but here they 
 come themselves ; God keep them from the Iroquois I " 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Well, go thy way ; thou shalt not from this grove 
 ./ Till I torment thee for this injury. 
 
 MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, 
 
 THE words were still in the mouth of the scout, when the 
 leader of the party, whose approaching footsteps had caught 
 the vigilant ear of the Indian, came openly into view. A 
 beaten path, such as those made by the periodical passage 
 of the deer, wound through a little glen at no great distance, 
 and struck the river at the point where the white man and 
 his red companions had posted themselves. Along this track 
 the travellers, who had produced a surprise so unusual i *he 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 33 
 
 depths of the forest, advanced slowly towards the hunter, who 
 was in front of his associates, in readiness to receive them. 
 
 " Who comes ? " demanded the scout, throwing his rifle 
 carelessly across his left arm, and keeping the fore-finger of 
 his right hand on the trigger, though he avoided all appearance 
 of menace in the act "Who come hither, among the 
 beasts and dangers of the wilderness ? " 
 
 " Believers in religion, and friends to the law and to the 
 king," returned he who rode foremost. "Men who have 
 journeyed since the rising sun, in the shades of this forest, 
 without nourishment, and are sadly tired of their wayfaring." 
 
 "You are, then, lost," interrupted the hunter, "and have 
 found how helpless 'tis not to know whether to take the right 
 hand or the left ? " 
 
 " Even so ; sucking babes are not more dependent on 
 those who guide them than we who are of larger growth, and 
 who may now be said to possess the stature without the 
 knowledge of men. Know you the distance to a post of the 
 crown called William Henry ? " 
 
 " Hoot ! " shouted the scout, who did not spare his open 
 laughter, though, instantly checking the dangerous sounds, 
 he indulged his merriment at less risk of being overheard by 
 any lurking enemies. " You are as much off the scent as 
 a hound would be with Horican atwixt him and the deer ! 
 William Henry, man ! if you are friends to the king, and have 
 business with the army, your better way would be to follow 
 the river down to Edward, and lay the matter before Webb, 
 who tarries there, instead of pushing into the defiles, and 
 driving this saucy Frenchman back across Champlain, into 
 his den again." 
 
 Before the stranger could make any reply to this unex- 
 pected proposition, another horseman dashed the bushes aside, 
 and leaped his charger into the pathway, in front of his com- 
 panion. 
 
 " What then may be our distance from Fort Edward ? " 
 demanded the new speaker; " the place you advise us to seek 
 we left this morning, and our destination is the head of the 
 lake." 
 
 " Then you must have lost your eyesight afore losing your 
 way, for the road across the portage is cut to a good two rods, 
 and is as grand a path, I calculate, as any that runs into 
 London, or even before the palace of the king himself/' 
 
 "We w ; .ll not dispute concerning the excellence of the 
 passage," returned Hevward, smiling ; for, as the reader has 
 
34 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 anticipated, it was he. " It is enough, for the present, that 
 we trusted to an Indian guide to take us by a nearer though 
 blinder path, and that we are deceived in his knowledge. In 
 plain words, we know not where we are." 
 
 " An Indian lost in the woods ! " said the scout, shaking 
 his head doubtingly ; "when the sun is scorching the tree 
 tops, and the water courses are full ; when the moss on ever) 
 beech he sees, will tell him in which quarter the north stai 
 will shine at night ! The woods are full of deer-paths which 
 run to the streams and licks, places well known to every- 
 body ; nor have the geese done their flight to the Canada 
 waters altogether ! 'Tis strange that an Indian should be 
 lost atwixt Horican and the bend in the river ! Is he a Mo- 
 hawk.?" 
 
 " Not by birth, though adopted in that tribe j I think his 
 birthplace was further north, and he is one of those you call 
 a Huron." 
 
 " Hugh ! " exclaimed the two companions of the scout, 
 who had continued until this part of the dialogue, seated im- 
 movable, and apparently indifferent to what passed, but who 
 now sprang to their feet with an activity and interest that 
 had evidently got the better of their reserve, by surprise. 
 
 " A Huron ! " repeated the sturdy scout, once more shak- 
 ing his head in open distrust ; " they are a thievish race, nor 
 do I care by whom they are adopted ; you can never make 
 anything of them but skulks and vagabonds. Since you 
 trusted yourself to the care of one of that nation, I only 
 wonder that you have not fallen in with more." 
 
 " Of that there is little danger, since William Henry is so 
 many miles in our front. You forget that I have told you 
 our guide is now a Mohawk, and that he serves with our forces 
 ts a friend." 
 
 " And I tell you that he who is born a Mingo will die a 
 Mingo," returned the other, positively. " A Mohawk ! No, 
 give me a Delaware or a Mohican for honesty ; and when 
 they will fight, which they won't all do, having suffered their 
 cunning enemies, the Maquas, to make them women but 
 when they will fight at all, look to a Delaware, or a Mohican, 
 for a warrior ! " 
 
 " Enough of this," said Heyward, impatiently ; " I wish 
 not to inquire into the character of a man that I know, and to 
 whom you must be a stranger. You have not yet answered 
 my question ; what is our distance from the main army a/ 
 Edward?" 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 35 
 
 " It seems that may depend on who is your guide. One 
 would think such a horse as that might get over a good deal 
 of ground atwixt sun-up and sun-down." 
 
 " I wish no contention of idle words tvith you, friend," 
 said Heyward, curbing his dissatisfied manner, and speaking 
 in a more gentle voice ; " if you will tell me the distance to 
 Fort Edward, and conduct me thither, your labor shall not go 
 without its reward." 
 
 " And in so doing, how know I that I don't guide an enemy 
 and a spy of Montcalm, to the works of the army ? It is 
 not every man who can speak the English tongue that is an 
 honest subject." 
 
 " If you serve with the troops, of whom I judge you to be 
 a scout, you should know of such a regiment of the king as 
 the 6oth." 
 
 " The 6oth ! you can tell me little of the Royal Americans 
 that I don't know, though I do wear a hunting-shirt instead 
 of a scarlet jacket." 
 
 " Well, then, among other things, you may know the name 
 of its major ? " 
 
 ' Its major ! " interrupted the hunter, elevating his body 
 like one who was proud of its trust. " If there is a man in the 
 country who knows Major Effingham, he stands before you." 
 
 " It is a corps which has many majors ; the gentleman you 
 name is the scenior, but I speak of the junior of them all; he 
 who commands the companies in garrison at William Henry." 
 
 " Yes, yes, I have heard that a young gentleman of vast 
 riches, from one of the provinces far south, has got the place. 
 He is over young, too, to hold such rank, and to be put above 
 men whose heads are beginning to bleach ; and yet they say 
 he is a soldier in his knowledge, and a gallant gentleman ! " 
 
 "Whatever he may be, or however he may be qualified for 
 his rank, he now speaks to you, and of course can be no enemy 
 to dread." 
 
 The scout regarded Heyward in surprise, and then lifting 
 his cap, he answered, in a tone less confident than before 
 though still expressing doubt 
 
 " I have heard a party was to leave the encampment this 
 morning, for the lake shore ? " 
 
 " You have heard the truth ; but I preferred a nearer route, 
 trusting to the knowledge of the Indian I mentioned." 
 
 " And he deceived you, and then deserted ? " 
 
 " Neither, as I believe ; certainly not the latter, for he is 
 to be found in the rear." 
 
j6 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 * I should like to look at the creatur* ; if it is a truft 
 Iroquois I can tell him by his knavish look, and by his 
 paint," said the scout, stepping past the charger of Heyward, 
 and entering the path behind the mare of the singing master, 
 whose foal had taken advantage of the halt to exact the ma- 
 ternal contribution. After shoving aside the bushes, and pro- 
 ceeding a few paces, he encountered the females, who awaited 
 the result of the conference with anxiety, and not entirely with- 
 out apprehension. Behind these, the runner leaned against a 
 tree, where he stood the close examination of the scout with 
 an air unmoved, though with a look so dark and savage, that 
 it might in itself excite fear. Satisfied with his scrutiny, 
 the hunter soon left him. As he repassed the females, he 
 paused a moment to gaze upon their beauty, answering to the 
 .smile and nod of Alice with a look of open pleasure. Thence 
 lie went to the side of the motherly animal, and spending a 
 minute in a fruitless inquiry into the character of her rider, he 
 shook his head and returned to Heyward. 
 
 "A Mingo is a Mingo, and God having made him so, nei- 
 ther the Mohawks nor any other tribe can alter him," he said, 
 when he had regained his former position. " If we were alone, 
 and you would leave that noble horse at the mercy of the 
 wolves to-night, I could show you the way to Edward, myself, 
 within an hour, for it lies only about an hour's journey hence ; 
 but with such ladies in your company 'tis impossible ! " 
 
 " And why ? they are fatigued, but they are quite equal to 
 a ride of a few more miles." 
 
 " 'Tis a natural impossibility ! " repeated the scout ; " I 
 wouldn't walk a mile in these woods after night gets into 
 them, in company with that runner, for the best rifle in the 
 colonies. They are full of outlying Iroquois, and your mon- 
 grel Mohawk knows where to find them too well, to be my 
 companion." 
 
 "Think you so?" said Heyward, leaning forward in the 
 saddle, and dropping his voice nearly t' a whisper ; " I con 
 fess I have not been without my owr suspicions, though I 
 have endeavored to conceal them, and iffected a confidence I 
 have not always felt, on account of m / companions. It was 
 because I suspected him that I would follow no longer ; mak- 
 ing him, as you see, follow me." 
 
 " I knew he was one of the cheats as soon as I laid eyes 
 on him ! " returned the scout, placing a finger on his nose, in 
 sign of caution. " The thief is leaning against the foot oi 
 the sugar sapling, that you can see over them bu^; his 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 37 
 
 right leg is in a line with the bark of the tree, and," tapping his 
 rifle, " I can take him from where I stand, between the ankle 
 and the knee, with a single shot, putting an end to his tramp- 
 ing through the woods, for at least a month to come. If I 
 -hould go back to him, the cunning varmint would suspect 
 -omething, and be dodging through the trees like a frightened 
 deer." 
 
 " It will not -do. He may be innocent, and I dislike the 
 act Though if I felt confident of his treachery " 
 
 " Tis a safe thing to calculate on the knavery of an Iro- 
 quois," said the scout, throwing his rifle forward, by a sort of 
 instinctive movement. 
 
 " Hold ! " interrupted Hey ward, " it will not do we 
 must think of some other scheme ; and yet, I have much 
 reason to believe the rascal has deceived me." 
 
 The hunter, who had already abandoned his intention of 
 maiming the runner, mused a moment and then made a ges 
 ture, which instantly brought his two red companions to his 
 side. They spoke together earnestly in the Delaware lan- 
 guage, though in an undertone ; and by the gestures of the 
 white man, which were frequently directed towards the top 
 of the sapling, it was evident he pointed out the situation of 
 their hidden enemy. His companions were not long in com- 
 prehending his wishes, and laying aside their fire-arms, they 
 parted, taking opposite sides of the path, and burying them- 
 selves in the thicket, with such cautious movements, that their 
 steps were inaudible. 
 
 " Now, go you back," said the hunter, speaking again to 
 Heyward, " and hold the imp in talk ; these Mohicans here 
 will take him without breaking his paint." 
 
 " Nay," said Heyward proudly, " I will seize him myself." 
 
 " Hist ! what could you do mounted, against an Indian 
 in the bushes ? " 
 
 " I will dismount." 
 
 " And, think you, when he saw one of your feet cut of the 
 stirrup, he would wait for the other to be free ? Whoever 
 comes into the woods to deal with the natives, must use In 
 dian fashions, if he would wish to prosper in his undertakings. 
 Go, then ; talk openly to the miscreant, and seem to believe 
 him the truest friend you have on 'arth." 
 
 Heyward prepared to comply, though with strong disgust 
 at the nature of the office he was compelled to execute. Each 
 moment, however, pressed upon him a conviction of the criti- 
 cal situation in which he had suffered his invaluable trust to 
 
3 g THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 be involved through his own confidence. The sun had already 
 disappeared, and the woods, suddenly deprived of his light,* 
 were assuming a dusky hue, which keenly reminded him that 
 the hour the savage usually chose for his most barbarous and 
 remorseless acts of vengeance or hostility, was speedily draw- 
 ing near. Stimulated by apprehension, he left the scout, who 
 immediately entered into a loud conversation with the stran 
 ger that had so unceremoniously enlisted himself in the part) 
 s>f travellers that morning. In passing his gentler companions 
 Heyward uttered a few words of encouragement, and was 
 pleased to find, that, though fatigued with the exercise of the 
 day, they appeared to entertain no suspicion that their present 
 embarrassment was other than the result of accident. Giving 
 them reason to believe he was merely employed in a consulta- 
 tion concerning the future route, he spurred his charger, and 
 drew the reins again, when the animal had carried him with- 
 in a few yards of the place where the sullen runner still stood, 
 leaning against a tree. 
 
 " You may see, Magua," he said, endeavoring to assume 
 an air of freedom and confidence, " that the night is closing 
 around us, and yet we are no nearer to William Henry than 
 when we left the encampment of Webb with the rising sun. 
 You have missed the way, nor have I been more fortunate, 
 But, happily, we have fallen in with a hunter, he whom you 
 hear talking to the singer, that is acquainted with the deer- 
 paths and by-ways of the woods, and who promises to lead us 
 to a place where we may rest securely till morning." 
 
 The Indian riveted his glowing eyes on Heywatxi as he 
 asked, in his imperfect English, " Is he alone ? " 
 
 " Alone ! " hesitatingly answered Heyward, to whom de- 
 ception was too new to be assumed without embarrassment. 
 " Oh ! not alone, surely, Magua, for you know that we are 
 with him." 
 
 " Then le Renard Subtil will go," returned the runner, 
 coolly raising his little wallet from the place where it had lain 
 at his feet ; " and the pale faces will see none but their own 
 color." 
 
 " Go ! Whom call you le Renard ? " 
 
 " 'Tis the name his Canada fathers have given to Magua,' 5 
 returned the runner, with an air that manifested his pride at 
 the distinction. Night is the same as day to le Subtil, when 
 Munro waits for him." 
 
 * The scene of this tale was in the 4^d degree of latitude, where the twilight is 
 never of long continuance. 
 
THE LAST OF 7W MOHICANS. 
 
 39 
 
 " And what account will le Renard give the chief of William 
 Henry concerning his daughters ? Will he dare to tell thfe 
 hot-blooded Scotsman that his children are left without a 
 guide, though Magua promised to be one ? " 
 
 " Though the gray head has a loud voice, and a long arm 
 le Renard will not hear him, nor feel him, in the woods." 
 
 " But what will the Mohawks say ? They will make him 
 petticoats, and bid him stay in the wigwam with the women, 
 for he is no longer to be trusted with the business of a 
 man." 
 
 " Le Subtil knows the path to the great lakes, and he can 
 find the bones of his fathers," was the answer of the unmoved 
 runner. 
 
 " Enough, Magua," said Heyward ; " are we not friends ? 
 Why should there be bitter words between us ? Munro has 
 promised you a gift for your services when performed, and I 
 shall be your debtor for another. Rest your weary limbs, then, 
 and open your wallet to eat. We have a few moments to 
 spare ; let us not waste them in talk like wrangling women. 
 When the ladies are refreshed we will proceed." 
 
 " The pale faces make themselves dogs to their women, 
 muttered the Indian, in his native language, " and when they 
 want to eat, their warriors must lay aside the tomahawk to 
 feed their laziness." 
 
 " What say you, Renard ? " 
 
 " Le Subtil says it is good." 
 
 The Indian then fastened his eyes keenly on the open 
 countenance of Heyward, but meeting his glance, he turned 
 them quickly away, and seating himself deliberately on the 
 ground, he drew forth the remnant of some former repast, 
 and began to eat, though not without first bending his looks 
 slowly and cautiously around him. 
 
 "This is well," continued Heyward ; "and le Renard wilj 
 nave strength and sight to find the path in the morning ; " 
 he paused, for sounds like the snapping of a dried stick, and 
 the rustling of leaves, rose from the adjacent bushes, but rec- 
 ollecting himself instantly, he continued " we must be mov- 
 ing before the sun is seen, or Montcalm may lie in our path, 
 and shut us out from the fortress." 
 
 The- hand of Magua dropped from his mouth to his side, 
 and though his eyes were fastened on the ground, his head 
 was turned aside, his nostrils expanded, and his ears seemed 
 even to stand more erect than usual, giving to him the 
 
40 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 appearance of a statue that was made to represent intense 
 attention. 
 
 Heyward, who watched his movements with a vigilant eye, 
 carelessly extricated one of his feet from the stirrup, while he 
 passed a hand towards the bear-skin covering of his holsters. 
 Every effort to detect the point most regarded by the runner^ 
 was completely frustrated by the tremulous glances of his 
 organs, which seemed not to rest a single instant on any par- 
 ticular object, and which, at the same time, could be hardly 
 said to move. While he hesitated how to proceed, le Subtil 
 cautiously raised himself to his feet, though with a motion so 
 slow and guarded, that not the slightest noise was produced 
 by the change. Heywarcl felt it had now become incumbent 
 on him to act. Throwing his leg over the saddle, he dis- 
 mounted, with a determination to advance and seize his 
 treacherous companion, trusting the results to his own man- 
 hood. In order, however, to prevent unnecessary alarm, he 
 still preserved an air of calmness and friendship. 
 
 " Le Renard Subtil does not eat," he said, using the appel- 
 lation he had found most flattering to the vanity of the Indian. 
 " His corn is not well parched, and it seems dry. Let me 
 examine ; perhaps something may be found among my own 
 provisions that will help his appetite." 
 
 Magua held out the wallet to the proffer of the other. He 
 even suffered their hands to meet, without betraying the least 
 emotion, or varying his riveted attitude of attention. But 
 when he felt the fingers of Heyward moving gently along his 
 own naked arm, he struck up the limb of the young man, arid 
 uttering a piercing cry as he darted beneath it, plunged, at a 
 single bound, into the opposite thicket. At the next instant 
 the form of Chingachgook appeared from the bushes, looking 
 like a spectre in his paint, and glided across the path in swift 
 pursuit. Next followed the shout of Uncas, when the woods 
 were lighted by a sudden flash, that was accompanied by thf 
 sharp report of the hunter's rifle. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 " In such a night 
 
 Did Thisbe fearfully o'ertrip the dew ; 
 And saw the lion's shadow ere himself." 
 
 MERCHANT OF VENICE. 
 
 f H suddenness & Sfte ^i^ht & bis gaide, and the wild 
 tries of the pursuers, caused Heyward to remain fixed, for 4 
 few moments, in inactive surprise. Then recollecting the 
 importance of securing the fugitive, he dashed aside the sur- 
 rounding bushes, and pressed eagerly forward to lend his aid 
 in the chase. Before he had, however, proceeded a hundred 
 yards, he met the three foresters already returning from their 
 unsuccessful pursuit. 
 
 " Why so soon disheartened ! " he exclaimed, " the scoun- 
 drel must be concealed behind some of these trees, and may 
 yet be secured. We are not safe while he goes at large." 
 
 " Would you set a cloud to chase the wind ? " returned the 
 disappointed scout ; " I heard the imp, brushing over the dry 
 leaves, like a black snake, and blinking a glimpse of him, just 
 over ag'in yon big pine, I pulled as it might be on the scent ; 
 but 'twouldn't do ! and yet for a reasoning aim, if anybody 
 but myself had touched the trigger, I should call it a quick 
 sight ; and I may be accounted to have experience in these 
 matters, and one who ought to know. Look at this sumach ; 
 its leaves are red, though everybody knows the fruit is in the 
 yellow blossom, in the month of July ! " 
 
 " 'Tis the blood of le Subtil ! he is hurt, and may yet 
 fall!" 
 
 " No, no," returned the scout, in decided disapprobation 
 of this opinion, " I rubbed the bark off a limb, perhaps, but 
 the creature leaped the longer for it. A rifle bullet acts on 
 a running animal, when it barks him, much the same as one 
 of your spurs on a horse, that is, it quickens motion, and puts 
 life into the flesh, instead of taking it away. But when it cuts 
 the ragged hole, after a bound or two, there is, commonly, a 
 stagnation of further leaping, be it Indian or be it deer ! " 
 
 "We are four able bodies, to one wounded man ! " 
 
 " Is life grievous to you ? " interrupted the scout. " Yon- 
 der red devil would draw you within swing of the tomahawks 
 of his comrades, before you were heated in the chase. It was 
 
dU THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 an unthoughtful act in a man who has so often slept with Int 
 war-whoop ringing in the air, to let off his piece within sound 
 of an ambushment ! But then it was a natural temptation ! 
 'twas very natural ! Come, friends, let us move our station, 
 and in such a fashion, too, as will throw the cunning of a 
 Mingo on a wrong scent, or our scalps will be drying in the 
 wind in front of Montcalm's marquee, ag'in this hour to< 
 morrow." 
 
 This appalling declaration, which the scout uttered with 
 the cool assurance of a man who fully comprehended, while 
 he did not fear to face the danger, served to remind Heyward 
 of the importance of the charge with which he himself had 
 been intrusted. Glancing his eyes around, with a vain effort 
 to pierce the gloom that was thickening beneath the leafy 
 arches of the forest, he felt as if, cut off from human aid, his 
 unresisting companions would soon lie at the entire mercy of 
 those barbarous enemies, who, like beasts of prey, only waited 
 till the gathering darkness might render their blows more 
 fatally certain. His awakened imagination, deluded by the 
 deceptive light, converted each waving bush, or the fragment 
 of some fallen tree, into human forms, and twenty times he 
 fancied he could distinguish the horrid visages of his lurking 
 foes, peering from their hiding places, in never ceasing watch- 
 fulness of the movements of his party. Looking upward }X he 
 found that the tiny fleecy clouds, which evening had painted 
 on the blue sky, were already losing their faintest tints of 
 rose-color, while the imbedded stream, which glided past the 
 spot where he stood, was to be traced only by the dark bound- 
 ary of its wooded banks. 
 
 " What is to be done ? " he said, feeling the utter helpless- 
 ness of doubt in such a pressing strait ; "desert me not, for 
 God's sake ! remain to defend those I escort, and freely name 
 your own reward ! " 
 
 His companions, who conversed apart in the language of 
 their tribe, heeded not this sudden and earnest appeal. 
 Though their dialogue was maintained in low and cautious 
 sounds, but little above a whisper, Heyward, who now ap- 
 proached, could easily distinguish the earnest tones of the 
 younger warrior from the more deliberate speeches of his 
 seniors. It was evident, that they debated on the propriety 
 of some measure, that nearly concerned the welfare of the 
 travellers. Yielding to his powerful interest in the subject, 
 and impatient of a delay that seemed fraught with so much 
 additional danger, Heyward drew still nigher to the dusky 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 43 
 
 group> with an intention of making his offers of compensation 
 more definite, when the white man, motioning with his hand, 
 as if he conceded the disputed point, turned away, saying in 
 a sort of soliloquy, and in the English tongue : 
 
 " Uncas is right ! it would not be the act of men to leave 
 such harmless things to their fate, even though it breaks up 
 the harboring place forever. If you would save these tendei 
 blossoms from the fangs of the worst of sarpents, gentleman, 
 you have neither time to lose nor resolution to throw away !" 
 
 " How can such a wish be doubted ! have I not already 
 offered" 
 
 " Offer your prayers to Him, who can give us wisdom to 
 circumvent the cunning of the devils who fill these woods," 
 calmly interrupted the scout, "but spare your offers of 
 money, which neither you may live to realize, nor I to profit 
 by. These Mohicans and I will do what man's thoughts can 
 invent, to keep such flowers, which, though so sweet, were 
 never made for the wilderness, from harm, and that without 
 hope of any other recompense but such as God always gives 
 to upright dealings. First, you must promise two things, 
 both in your own name and for your friends, or without serv 
 ing you, we shall only injure ourselves!" 
 
 " Name them." 
 
 " The one is, to be still as these sleeping woods, let what 
 will happen ; and the other is, to keep the place where we 
 shall take you forever a secret from all mortal men." 
 
 " I will do my utmost to see both these conditions ful- 
 filled." 
 
 " Then follow, for we are losing moments that are as 
 precious as the heart's blood to a stricken deer." 
 
 Heyward could distinguish the impatient gesture of the 
 scout, through the increasing shadows of the evening, and he 
 moved in his footsteps, swiftly, towards the place where he 
 had left the remainder of his party. When they rejoined the 
 expecting and anxious females, he briefly acquainted them 
 with the conditions of their new guide, and with the necessity 
 that existed for their hushing every apprehension, in instant 
 and serious exertion. Although his alarming communication 
 was not received without much secret terror by the listeners, 
 his earnest and impressive manner, aided perhaps by the 
 nature of the danger, succeeded in bracing their nerves to 
 undergo some unlooked-for and unusual trial. Silently, ano 
 without a moment's delay, they permitted him to assist them 
 from their saddles, when they descended quick* / to the water's 
 
*A THE LAST Of THE MOHICANS. 
 
 T^ 
 
 edge where the scout had collected the rest of the party, 
 more by the agency of expressive gestures than by any use of 
 words. 
 
 " What to do with these dumb creatures ! " uttered tha 
 white man, on whom the sole control of their future move- 
 ments appeared to devolve ; " it woOd be time lost to cut 
 their throats, and cast them into the river ; and to leave them 
 here, would be to tell the Mingoes that they have not far to 
 seek to find their owners ! " 
 
 " Then give them their bridles, and let them range the 
 woods," Heyvvard ventured to suggest. 
 
 " No ; it would be better to mislead the imps, and make 
 them believe they must equal a horse's speed to run down 
 their chase. Aye, aye, that will blind their fire-balls of eyes I 
 Chingach Hist ! what stirs the bush ? " 
 
 " The colt." 
 
 " That colt, at least, must die," muttered the scout, grasp- 
 ing at the mane of the nimble beast, which easily eluded his 
 hand ; " Uncas, your arrows ! " 
 
 " Hold ! " exclaimed the proprietor of the condemned 
 animal aloud, without regard to the whispering tones used by 
 the others ; " spare the foal of Miriam ! it is the comely off- 
 spring of a faithful dam, and would willingly injure naught ! "- 
 
 " When men struggle for the single life God has given 
 them," said the scout sternly, " even their own kind seem no 
 more than the beasts of the wood. If you speak again, I 
 shall leave you to the mercy of the Maquas ! Draw to youi 
 arrow's head, Uncas ; we have no time for second blows." 
 
 The low, muttering sounds of his threatening voice were 
 still audible, when the wounded foal, first rearing on its 
 hinder legs, plunged forward to its knees. It was met by 
 Chingachgook, whose knife passed across its throat quicker 
 than thought, and then precipitating the motions of the 
 struggling victim, he dashed it into the river, down whose 
 stream it glided away, gasping audibly for breath with its ebb- 
 ing life. This deed of apparent cruelty, but of real necessity, 
 fell upon the spirits of the travellers like a terrific warning of 
 the peril in which they stood, heightened as it was by the 
 calm though steady resolution of the actors in the scene, 
 The sisters shuddered and clung closer to each other, while 
 Heyward instinctively laid his hand on one of the pistols he 
 had just drawn from their holsters, as he placed himself be- 
 *ween his charge and those dense shadows that seemed to 
 draw an impenetrable veil before the bosom of the forest. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 45 
 
 The Indians, however, hesitated not a moment, but taking 
 the bridles, they led the frightened and reluctant horses into 
 Ihe bed of the river. 
 
 At a short distance from the shoie, they turned, and were 
 soon' concealed by the projection of the bank, under the brow 
 of which they moved, in a direction opposite to the course of 
 the waters. In the mean time, the scout drew a canoe of bark 
 from its place of concealment beneath some low bushes, 
 whose branches were waving with the eddies of the current 
 into which he silently motioned for the females to enter They 
 complied without hesitation, though many a fearful and anx 
 ious glance was thrown behind them, towards the thickening 
 gloom, which now lay like a dark barrier along the margin oi 
 the stream. 
 
 So soon as Cora and Alice were seated, the scout, without 
 regarding the element, directed Heyward to support one side 
 of the frail vessel, and posting himself at the other, they bore 
 it up against the stream, followed by the dejected owner of the 
 dead foal. In this manner they proceeded, for many rods, in 
 a silence that was only interrupted by the rippling of the 
 water, as its eddies played around them, or the low dash made 
 by their own cautious footsteps. Heyward yielded the guid- 
 ance of the canoe implicitly to the scout, who approached oi 
 receded from the shore, to avoid the fragments of rocks, oi 
 deeper parts of the river, with a readiness that showed his 
 knowledge of the route they held. Occasionally he would 
 stop ; and in the midst of a breathing stillness, that the dull 
 but increasing roar of the waterfall only served to render 
 more impressive, he would listen with painful intenseness, to 
 catch any sounds that might arise from the slumbering forest. 
 When assured that all was still, and unable to detect, even by 
 the aid of his practised senses, any sign of his approaching 
 foes, he would deliberately assume his slow and guarded pro- 
 gress. At length they reached a point in the river, where the 
 roving eye of Heyward became riveted on a cluster of black 
 objects, collected at a spot where the high bank threw a 
 deeper shadow than usual on the dark waters. Hesitating to 
 advance, he pointed out the place to the attention of his com- 
 panion. 
 
 " Aye," returned the composed scout, " the Indians have 
 hid the beasts with the judgment of natives ! Water leaves 
 no trail, and an owl's eye would be blinded by the darkness 
 of such a hole." 
 
 The whole party was soon reunited, and anothei consult* 
 
^6 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, 
 
 tion was held between the scout and his new comrades, during 
 which, they, whose fates depended on the faith and ingenuity 
 of these unknown foresters, had a little leisure to observe 
 their situation more minutely. 
 
 The river was confined between high and cragged rocks> 
 one of which impended above the spot where the canoe rested, 
 As these, again, were surmounted by tali trees, which appeared 
 to totter on the brows of the precipice, it gave the stream the 
 appearance of running through a deep and narrow dell. All 
 beneath the fantastic limbs and ragged tree tops, which were, 
 here and there, dimly painted against the starry zenith, lay 
 alike in shadowed obscurity. Behind them, the curvature of 
 the banks soon bounded the view, by the same dark and 
 "wooded outline ; but in front, and apparently at no great dis- 
 tance, the water seemed piled against the heavens, whence it 
 tumbled into caverns, out of which issued those sullen sounds 
 that had loaded the evening atmosphere. It seemed, in truth, 
 to be a spot devoted to seclusion, and the sisters imbibed a 
 soothing impression of security, as they gazed upon its roman- 
 tic, though not unappalling beauties. A general movement 
 among their conductors, however, soon recalled them from a 
 contemplation of the wild charms that night had assisted to 
 end the place, to a painful sense of their real peril. 
 
 The horses had been secured to some scattering shrubs 
 that grew in the fissures of the rocks, where, standing in the 
 water, they were left to pass the night. The scout directed 
 Heyward and his disconsolate fellow travellers to seat them- 
 selves in the forward end of the canoe, and took possession 
 of the other himself, as erect and steady as if he floated in a 
 vessel of much firmer materials. The Indians warily retraced 
 their steps towards the place they had left, when the scout, 
 placing his pole against a rock, by a powerful shove, sent his 
 frail bark directly into the centre of the turbulent stream. 
 P'or many minutes the struggle between the light bubble in 
 which they floated, and the swift current was severe and 
 doubtful. Forbidden to stir even a hand, and almost afraid 
 to breathe, lest they should expose the frail fabric to the fury 
 of the stream, the passengers watched the glancing waters in 
 feverish suspense. Twenty times they thought the whirling 
 eddies were sweeping them to destruction, when the master- 
 hand of their pilot would bring the bows of the canoe to stem 
 the rapid. A long, a vigorous, and, as it appeared to the 
 females, a desperate effort, closed the struggle. Just as Alice 
 veiled her eyes n horror, under the impression that they were 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 47 
 
 about to be swept within the vortex at the foot of the cata- 
 ract, the canoe floated, stationary, at the side of a flat rock, 
 that lay on a level with the water. 
 
 " Where are we ? and what is next to be done ? " demand* 
 ed Heyward, perceiving that the exertions of the scout had 
 ceased. 
 
 "You are at the foot of Glenn's," returned the other s 
 speaking aloud, without fear of consequences within the roai 
 of the cataract ; " and the next thing is to make a steady 
 landing, lest the canoe upset, and you should go down again 
 the hard road we have travelled faster than you came up ; 'tis 
 a hard rift to stem, when the river is a little swelled ; and five 
 is an unnatural number to keep dry, in a hurry-skurry, with a 
 little birchen bark and gum. There, go you all on the rock, 
 and I will bring up the Mohicans with the venison. A man 
 had better sleep without his scalp, than famish in the midst 
 of plenty." 
 
 His passengers gladly complied with these directions. As 
 the last foot touched the rock, the canoe whirled from its sta 
 tion, when the tall form of the scout was seen, for an instant, 
 gliding above the waters, before it disappeared in the impen- 
 etrable darkness that rested on the bed of the river. Left by 
 their guide, the travellers remained a few minutes in helpless 
 ignorance, afraid even to move along the broken rocks, lest 
 a false step should precipitate them down some one of the 
 many deep and roaring caverns, into which the water seemed 
 to tumble, on every side of them. Their suspense, however, 
 was soon relieved ; for aided by the skill of the natives, the 
 canoe shot back into the eddy, and floated again at the side 
 of the low rock, before they thought the scout had even time 
 to rejoin his companions. 
 
 " We are now fortified, garrisoned, and provisioned,'' cried 
 Heywood, cheerfully, " and may set Montcalm and his allies 
 at defiance. How, now, my vigilant sentinel, can you see any 
 thing of those you call the Iroquois on the main land ? " 
 
 " I call them Iroquois, because to me every native, who 
 speaks a foreign tongue, is accounted an enemy, though he 
 may pretend to serve the king ! If Webb wants faith and 
 honesty in an Indian, let him bring out the tribes of the Del- 
 aware^, and send these greedy and lying Mohawks and Onei 
 das, with their six nations of varlets, where in nature they 
 belong, among the French ! " 
 
 " We should then exchange a warlike for a useless friend 1 
 I have heard that the Delawares have laid aside the hatchet 
 and are content to be called women 1 " 
 
jS THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 " Aye, shame on the Hollanders * and Iroquois, who cif 
 cum vented them by their deviltries, into such a treaty ! But 
 I have known them for twenty years, and I call him liar, that 
 says cowardly blood runs in the veins of a Delaware. You 
 have driven their tribes from the sea-shore, and would now 
 believe what their enemies say, that you may sleep at night 
 upon an easy pillow. No, no ; to me every Indian who speaks 
 a foreign tongue is an Iroquois, whether the castle f of his 
 tribe be in Canada, or be in York." 
 
 Heywood, perceiving that the stubborn adherence of the 
 scout to the cause of his friends the Delawares, or Mohicans, 
 for they were branches of the same numerous people, was 
 likely to prolong a useless discussion, changed the subject. 
 
 " Treaty or no treaty, I know full well that your two com- 
 panions are brave and cautious warriors. Have they heard or 
 seen anything of our enemies ? " 
 
 " An Indian is a mortal to be felt afore he is seen," re- 
 turned the scout, ascending the rock, and throwing the deer 
 carelessly down. " I trust to other signs than such as come in 
 at the eye, when I am outlying on the trail of the Mingoes." 
 
 " Do your ears tell you that they have traced our re- 
 treat ? " 
 
 *' I should be sorry to think they had, though this is a spot 
 that stout courage might hold for a smart skrimmage. I wilf 
 not deny, however, but the horses cowered when I passes 
 them, as though they scented the wolves \ and a wolf is a 
 beast that is apt to hover about an Indian ambushment, crav- 
 ing the offals of the deer the savages kill." 
 
 " You forget the buck at your feet! or, may we not owe 
 their visit to the dead colt ? Ha ! what noise is that ? " 
 
 " Poor Miriam ! " murmured the stranger ; " thy foal was 
 foreordained to become a prey to ravenous beasts ! " Then, 
 suddenly lifting up his voice, amid the eternal din of the 
 waters, he sang aloud 
 
 " First born of Egypt, smite did he, 
 Of mankind, and of beast also ; 
 O, Egypt ! wonders sent 'midst thee, 
 On Pharaoh and his servants to ! " 
 
 " The aeath of the colt sits heavy on the heart of its 
 
 * The reader will remember that New York was originally a colony of th 
 Dutch. 
 
 t The principle villages of the Indians are still called " castles " by the whites 
 f New York. " Oneida castle " is no more than a scattered hamlet ; but the name 
 fc m general DM. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICAN*. 49 
 
 owner," said the scout; "but it's a good sign to see a man 
 account upon his dumb friends. He has the religion of the 
 matter, in believing what is to happen will happen ; and with 
 such a consolation, it wont be long afore he submits to the 
 rationality of killing a four-footed beast, to save the lives of 
 human men. It may be as you say," he continued, reverting 
 to the purport of Heyward's last remark ; " and the greater 
 the reason why we should cut our steaks, and let the carcase 
 drive down the stream, or we shall have the pack howling 
 along the cliffs, begrudging every mouthful we swallow. Be- 
 sides, though the Delaware tongue is the same as a book to 
 the Iroquois, the cunning varlets are quick enough at under- 
 standing the reason of a wolf's howl." 
 
 The scout, whilst making this remark, was busied in collect- 
 ing certain necessary implements ; as he concluded, he moved 
 silently by the group of travellers, accompanied by the Mohi- 
 cans, who seemed to comprehend his intentions with instinc- 
 tive readiness, when the whole three disappeared in succes- 
 sion, seeming to vanish against the dark face of a perpendicular 
 rock, that rose to the height of a few yards, within as many 
 feet of the water's edge. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 " Those strains that once did sweet in Zion glide ; 
 He wales a portion with judicious care ; 
 And ' let us worship God/ he says, with solemn air." 
 
 BURNS, 
 
 HEYWARD, and his female companions, witnessed this mys- 
 terious movement with secret uneasiness ; for, though the con- 
 duct of the white man had hitherto been above reproach, his 
 rude equipments, blunt address, and strong antipathies, to- 
 gether with the character of his silent associates, were all causes 
 for exciting distrust in minds that had been so recently 
 alarmed by Indian treachery. 
 
 The stranger alone disregarded the passing incidents. He 
 seated himself on a projection of the rocks, whence he gave 
 no other signs of consciousness than by the struggles of his 
 spirit, as manifested in frequent and heavy sighs. Smothered 
 
go THE LAST OF THE MOHICAN'S. 
 
 voices were next heard, as though men called to each othel 
 in the bowels of the earth, when a sudden light flashed upon 
 those without, and laid bare the much-prized secret of the 
 place. 
 
 At the further extremity of a narrow, deep cavern in the 
 rock, whose length appeared much extended by the per 
 spective and the nature of the light by which it was seen, was 
 seated the scout, holding a blazing knot of pine. The strong 
 glare of the fire fell full upon his sturdy, weather-beaten coun- 
 tenance and forest attire, lending an air of romantic wildness 
 to the aspect of an individual, who, seen by the sober light of 
 day, would have exhibited the peculiarkies of a man remarkable 
 for the strangeness of his dress, the iron-like inflexibility of 
 his frame, and the singular compound of quick, vigilant 
 sagacity, and of exquisite simplicity, that by turns usurped the 
 possession of his muscular features. At a little distance in 
 advance stood Uncas, his whole person thrown powerfully 
 into view. The travellers anxiously regarded the upright, 
 flexible figure of the young Mohican, graceful and unrestrained 
 in the attitudes and movements of nature. Though his person 
 was more than usually screened by a green and fringed hunt- 
 ing-shirt, like that of the white man, there was no concealment 
 to his dark, glancing, fearless eye, alike terrible and calm ; 
 the bold outline of his high, haughty features, pure in tfieir 
 native red, or to the dignified elevation of his receding fore- 
 head, together with all the finest proportions of a noble head, 
 bared to the generous scalping tuft. It was the first oppor- 
 tunity possessed by Duncan and his companions, to view the 
 marked lineaments of either of their Indian attendants, and 
 each individual of the party felt relieved from a burden of 
 doubt, as the proud and determined, though wild expression 
 of the features of the young warrior forced itself on their notice. 
 They felt it might be a being partially benighted in the vale 
 of ignorance, but it could not be one who would willingly 
 devote his rich natural gifts to the purposes of wanton, 
 treachery. The ingenuous Alice gazed at his free air and 
 proud carriage, as she would have looked upon some precious 
 relic of the Grecian chisel, to which life had been imparted 
 by the intervention of a miracle ; while Heyward, though 
 accustomed to see the perfection of form which abounds 
 among the uncorrupted natives, openly expressed his admira- 
 tion at such an unblemished specimen of the noblest propor- 
 tions of man. 
 
 " I could sleep in peace," whispered Alice, in reply, " witb 
 
THE LAST OP THE MOHICANS. $ } 
 
 such a fearless and generous-looking youth for my sentinel. 
 Surely, Duncan, those cruel murders, those terrific scenes of 
 torture, of which we read and hear so much, are never acted 
 in the presence of such as he ? " 
 
 " This, certainly, is a rare and brilliant instance of those 
 natural qualities, in which these peculiar people are said to 
 excel," he answered. " I agree with you, Alice, in thinking 
 that such a front and eye were formed rather to intimidate 
 than to deceive ; but let us not practise a deception upon our- 
 selves, by expecting any other exhibition of what we esteem 
 virtue than according to the fashion of a savage. As bright 
 examples of great qualities are but too uncommon among 
 Christians, so are they singular and solitary with the Indians; 
 though, for the honor of our common nature, neither are 
 incapable of producing them. Let us then hope that this 
 Mohican may not disappoint our wishes, but prove, what his 
 looks assert him to be, a brave and constant friend." 
 
 " Now Major Heyward speaks as Major Heyward should," 
 said Cora ; " who that looks at this creature of nature, 
 remembers the shade of his skin ? " 
 
 A short, and apparently an embarrassed silence succeeded 
 this remark, which was interrupted by the scout Calling to 
 them, aloud, to enter. 
 
 " This fire begins to show too bright a flame," hf continued, 
 as they complied, " and might light the Mingoes to our un- 
 doing. Uncas, drop the blanket, and show thfe knaves its 
 dark side. This is not such a supper as a major uf the Royal 
 Americans has a right to expect, but I've known s^out detach- 
 ments of the corps glad to eat their venison raw, and without 
 a relish, too.* Here, you see, we have plenty of salt, and can 
 make a quick broil. There's fresh sassafras boughs for the 
 ladies to sit on, which may not be as proud as their my-hog- 
 guinea chairs, but which sends up a sweeter flavor than the 
 skin of any hog can do, be it of Guinea, or be it of any other 
 land. Come, friend, don't be mournful for the colt ; 'twas an 
 innocent thing, and had not seen much hardship. Its death 
 will save the creature many a sore back and weary foot." 
 
 Uncas did as the other had directed, and when the voice 
 
 * In vulgar parlance the condiments of a repast are called by the American " a 
 relish," substituting the thing for its effect. These provincial terms are frequently 
 put in the mouths of the speakers, according to their several conditions in life. 
 Most of them are of local use, and others quite peculiar to the particular class of 
 men to which the character belongs. In the present Instance, the scout uses the 
 word with immediate reference to the " salt," with y/fr,'cU 5fis own party wa so 
 fortunate as to be provided 
 
5 2 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 of Hawk-eye ceased, the roar 01 the cataract sounded like tht 
 r umb]ing of distant thunder. 
 
 " Are we quite safe in this cavern ? " demanded Heyward. 
 " Is there no danger of surprise ? A single armed man, at its 
 entrance, would hold us at his mercy." 
 
 A spectral-looking figure stalked from out the darkness 
 behind the scout, and seizing a blazing brand, held it towards 
 the further extremity of their place of retreat. Alice uttered a 
 faint shriek, and even Cora rose to her feet, as this appalling 
 object moved into the light ; but a single word from Heyward 
 calmed them, with the assurance it was only their attendant, 
 Chingachgook, who, lifting another blanket, discov. red that 
 the cavern had two outlets. Then, holding the brand, he 
 crossed a deep, narrow chasm in the rocks, which ran at right 
 angles with the passage they were in, but which, unlike that, 
 was open to the heavens, and entered another cave, answering 
 to the description of the first, in every essential particular. 
 
 " Such old foxes as Chingachgook and myself are not often 
 caught in a burrow with one hole," said Hawk-eye, laughing ; 
 " you can easily see the cunning of the place the rock is black 
 limestone, which everybody knows is soft ; it makes no uncom- 
 fortable pillow, where brush and pine wood is scarce ; well, 
 the fall was once a few yards below us, and I dare to say was, 
 in its time, as regular and as handsome a sheet of water as 
 any along the Hudson. But old age is a great injury to good 
 looks, as these sweet young ladies have yet to Tarn ! The 
 place is sadly changed ! These rocks are full of cracks, and 
 in some places they are softer than at othersome, and the 
 water has worked out deep hollows for itself, until it has fallen 
 back, aye, some hundred feet, breaking here and wearing there, 
 until the falls have neither shape nor consistency." 
 
 " In what part of them are we ? " asked Heyward. 
 
 " Why, we are nigh the spot that Providence first placed 
 them at, but where, it seems, they were too rebellious to stay. 
 The rock proved softer on each side of us, and so they left 
 the centre of the river bare and dry, first working out these 
 two little holes for us to hide in." 
 
 ' 'We are then on an island ? " 
 
 " Aye ! there are the falls on two sides of us and the river 
 above and below. If you had daylight, it would be worth the 
 trouble to step up on the height of this rock and look at the 
 perversity of the water. It falls by no rule at all ; sometimes it 
 leaps, sometimes it tumbles ; there, it skips ; here, it shoots ; in 
 one place 'tis white as snow, and in another 'tis green as grass ; 
 
THE LAST OF THJS MOH2CANS. 
 
 53 
 
 Hereabouts, it pitches into deep hollows, that rumble and 
 quake the 'arth ; and thereaway, it ripples and sings like 9 
 brook, fashioning whirlpools and gulleys in the old stone, as 
 if 'twas no harder than trodden clay. The whole design of 
 the river seems disconcerted. First it runs smoothly, as if 
 meaning to go down the descent as things were ordered ; then 
 it angles about and faces the shores ; nor are there places 
 wanting where it looks backward, as if unwilling to leave the 
 wilderness, to mingle with the salt ! Aye, lady, the fine cob- 
 web looking cloth you wear at your throat, is coarse, and like 
 a fish-net, to little spots I can show you, where the river fab- 
 ricates all sorts of images, as if, having broke loose from order 
 it would try its hand at everything. And yet what does it 
 amount to ! After the water has been suffered to have its will, 
 for a time, like a headstrong man, it is gathered together by 
 the hand that made it, and a few rods below you may see it 
 all, flowing on steadily towards the sea, as was foreordained 
 from the first foundation of the 'arth ! " 
 
 While his auditors received a cheering assurance of the 
 security of their place of concealment from this untutored 
 description of Glenn's,* they were much inclined to judge 
 differently from Hawk-eye, of its wild beauties. But they were 
 not in a situation to suffer their thoughts to dwell oft the charms 
 of natural objects ; and, as the scout had k not found it necessary 
 to cease his culinary labors while he spoke, unless to point 
 out, with a broken fork, the direction of some particularly 
 obnoxious point in the rebellious stream, they now suffered 
 their attention to be drawn to the necessary though more vul- 
 gar consideration of their supper. 
 
 The repast, which was greatly aided by the addition of a 
 few delicacies that Heyward had the precaution to bring with 
 him when they left their horses, was exceedingly refreshing 
 to the wearied party. Uncas acted as attendant to the fe- 
 males, performing all the little offices within his power, with a 
 mixture of dignity and anxious grace, that served to amuse 
 
 * Glenn's Falls are on the Hudson, some forty or fifty miles above the head of 
 tide, or the place where that river becomes navigable for sloops. The description 
 of this picturesque and remarkable little cataract, as given by the scout, is suffi- 
 s'.ently correct, though the application of the water to the uses of civilized life has 
 materially injured its beauties. The rocky island and the two caverns are well 
 known to every traveller, since the former sustains a pier of a bridge which is now) 
 thrown across the river, immediately above the fall. In explanation of the taste of 
 Hawk-eye, it should be remembered that men always prize that most which is least 
 enjoyed. Thus, in a new country, the woods and other objects, which in an old 
 country would be maintained at great cost, are got rid of, simply with a view of 
 M improving " as it is called. 
 
54 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 Heyward, who well knew that it was an utter innovation on 
 the Indian customs, which forbid their warriors to descend to 
 any menial employment, especially in favor of their women, 
 As the rights of hospitality were, however, considered sacred 
 among them, this little departure from the dignity of manhood 
 excited no audible comment. Had there been one there 
 sufficiently disengaged to become a close observer, he might 
 have fancied that the services of the young chief were not en- 
 tirely impartial. That while he tendered to Alice the gourd 
 of sweet water, and the venison in a trencher, neatly carved 
 from the knot of the pepperidge, with sufficient courtesy, in 
 performing the same offices to her sister, his dark eye lingered 
 on her rich speaking countenance. Once or twice he was 
 compelled to speak, to command the attention of those he 
 served. In such cases, he made use of English, broken and 
 imperfect, but sufficiently intelligible, and which he rendered 
 so mild and musical, by his deep * guttural voice, that it never 
 failed to cause both ladies to look up in admiration and aston- 
 ishment. In the course of these civilities, a few sentences 
 were exchanged, that served to establish the appearance of an 
 amicable intercourse between the parties. 
 
 In the mean while, the gravity of Chingachgook remained 
 immovable. * He had seated himself more within the circle of 
 light, where the frequent uneasy glances of his guests were bet- 
 ter enabled to separate the natural expression of his face from 
 the artificial terrors of the war-paint. They found a strong 
 resemblance between father and son, with the difference that 
 might be expected from age and hardships. The fierceness 
 of his countenance now seemed to slumber, and in its place 
 was to be seen the quiet, vacant composure, which distinguishes 
 an Indian warrior, when his faculties are not required for any 
 of the greater purposes of his existence. It was, however, 
 easy to be seen, by the occasional gleams that shot across his 
 swarthy visage, that it was only necessary to arouse his pas- 
 sions, in order to give full effect to the terrific device which he 
 had adopted to intimidate his enemies. On the other hand, the 
 quick roving eye of the scout seldom rested. He ate and drank 
 with an appetite that no sense of danger could disturb, but his 
 vigilance seemed never to desert him. Twenty times the gourd 
 or th venison was suspended before his lips, while his head 
 was turned aside, as though he listened to some distant and 
 distrusted sounds a movement that never failed to recall his 
 
 * The meaning of Indian words is much governed by the emphasis and tones 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. ^ 
 
 guests from regarding the novelties of t^eir situation, to a rec- 
 ollection of the alarming reasons that had driven them to 
 seek it. As these frequent pauses were never followed by any 
 remark, the momentary uneasiness they created quickly passed 
 away, and for a time was forgotten. 
 
 "Come, friend," said Hawk-eye, drawing out a keg from 
 beneath a cover of leaves, toward's the close of the repast, and 
 addressing the stranger who sat at his elbow, doing great 
 justice to his culinary skill, "try a little spruce; 'twill wash 
 away all thoughts of the colt, and quicken the life in your 
 bosom. I drink to our better friendship, hoping that a little 
 horseflesh may leave no heartburnings atween us. How do 
 you name yourself ? " 
 
 "Gamut David Gamut," returned the singing-master, 
 preparing to wash down his sorrows in a powerful draught of 
 the woodman's high-flavored and well-laced compound. 
 
 " A very good name, and, I dare say, handed clown from 
 honest forefathers. I'm an admirer of names, though the 
 Christian fashions fall far below savage customs in this par- 
 ticular. The biggest coward I ever knew was called Lyon ; 
 and his wife, Patience, would scold you out of hearing in less 
 time than a hunted deer would run a rod. With an Indian 
 'tis a matter of conscience ; what he calls himself, he gener- 
 ally is not that Chingachgook, which signifies big sarpent, 
 is really a snake, big or little; but that he understands the 
 windings and turnings of human natur', and is silent, and 
 strikes his enemies when they least expect him. What may 
 be your calling? " 
 
 " I am an unworthy instructor in the art of psalmody." 
 
 " Anan ! " 
 
 " I teach singing to the youths of the Connecticut levy." 
 
 " You might be better employed. The young hounds go 
 laughing and singing too much already through the woods, 
 when they ought not to breathe louder than a fox in his cover. 
 Can you use the smooth bore, or handle the rifle ? " 
 
 " Praised be God, I have never had occasion to meddle 
 with murderous implements ! " 
 
 " Perhaps you understand the compass, and lay down the 
 water-courses and mountains of the wilderness on paper, in 
 order that they who follow may find places by their given 
 names ? " 
 
 " I practise no such employment." 
 
 " You have a pair of legs that might make a long path 
 seem short ! you journey sometimes, I fancy, with tidings fol 
 the general." 
 
$6 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, 
 
 " Never; I follow no other than my own high vocation, 
 which is instruction in sacred music ! " 
 
 " 'Tis a strange calling ! " muttered Hawk-eye, with an in- 
 ward laugh, " to go through life, like a cat-bird, mocking all 
 the ups and downs that may happen to come out of other 
 men's throats. Well, friend, I suppose it is your gift, and 
 musn't be denied any more than if 'twas shooting, or some 
 other better inclination. Let us hear what you can do in that 
 way ; 'twill be a friendly manner of saying good-night, for 'tis 
 time that these ladies should be getting strength for a hard 
 and a long push, in the pride of the morning, afore the 
 Maquas are stirring." 
 
 "With joyful pleasure do I consent," said David, adjust 
 ing his iron-rimmed spectacles, and producing his beloved 
 little volume, which he immediately tendered to Alice. 
 " What can be more fitting and consolatory, than to offer up 
 evening praise, after a day of such exceeding jeopardy ! " 
 
 Alice smiled \ but regarding Heyward, she blushed and 
 hesitated. 
 
 "Indulge yourself," he whispered: "ought not the sug 
 gestion of the worthy namesake of the Psalmist to have its 
 weight at such a moment ? " 
 
 Encouraged by his opinion, Alice did what her pious in- 
 clinations and her keen relish for gentle sounds, had before 
 so strongly urged. The book was opened at a hymn not iK 
 adapted to their situation, and in which the poet, no longer 
 goaded by his desire to excel the inspired King of Israel, had 
 discovered some chastened and respectable powers. Cora 
 betrayed a disposition to support her sister, and the sacred 
 song proceeded, after the indispensable preliminaries of the 
 pitch-pipe and the tune had been duly attended to by the 
 methodical David. 
 
 The air was solemn and slow. At times it rose to the 
 fullest compass of the rich voices of the females, who hung 
 over their little book in holy excitement, and again it sank so 
 low, that the rushing of the waters ran through their melody, 
 like a hollow accompaniment. The natural taste and true ear 
 of David governed and modified the sounds to suit the con- 
 fined cavern, every crevice and cranny of which was filled 
 with the thrilling notes of their flexible voices. The Indians 
 riveted their eyes on the rocks, and listened with an attention 
 that seemed to turn them into stone. But the scout, who had 
 placed his chin in his hand, with an expression of cold in 
 difference, gradually suffered his rigid features to relax* until 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 57 
 
 as verse succeeded verse, he felt his iron nature subdued, 
 while his recollection was carried back to boyhood, when his 
 ears had been accustomed to listen to similar sounds of 
 praise, in the settlements of the colony. His roving eyes 
 began to moisten, and before the hymn was ended, scalding 
 tears rolled out of fountains that had long seemed dry, and 
 followed each other down those cheeks, that had oftener felt 
 the storms of heaven than any testimonials of weakness. The 
 singers were dwelling on one of those low, dying chords, 
 which the ear devours with such greedy rapture, as if con- 
 scious that it is about to lose them, when a cry, that seemed 
 neither human nor earthly, rose in the outward air, penetra- 
 ting not only the recesses of the cavern, but to the inmost 
 hearts of all who heard it. It was followed by a stillness ap- 
 parently as deep as if the waters had been checked in their 
 furious progress, at such a horrid and unusual interruption. 
 
 " What is it ? " murmured Alice, after a few moments of 
 terrible suspense. 
 
 " What is it ? " repeated Heyward, aloud. 
 
 Neither Hawk-eye nor the Indians made any reply. They 
 listened, as if expecting the sound would be repeated, with a 
 manner that expressed their own astonishment. At length, 
 they spoke together, earnestly, in the Delaware language, 
 when Uncas, passing by the inner and most concealed 
 aperture, cautiously left the cavern. When he had gone, the 
 scout first spoke in English. 
 
 " What it is, or what it is not, none here can tell, though 
 two of us have ranged the woods for more than thirty years. 
 I did believe there was no cry that Indian or beast could make, 
 that my ears had not heard ; but this has proved that I was 
 only a vain and conceited mortal." 
 
 " Was it not, then, the shout the warriors make when vhey 
 wish to intimidate their enemies ? " asked Cora, who stood 
 drawing her veil about her person, with a calmness to which 
 her agitated sister was a stranger. 
 
 " No, no ; this was bad, and shocking, and had a sort of 
 anhuman sound ; but when you once hear the war-whoop, you 
 will never mistake it for anything else. Well, Uncas 1 " 
 speaking in Delaware to the young chief as he re-entered, 
 " what see you ? do our lights shine through the blankets ? " 
 
 The answer was short, and apparently decided, being given 
 in the same tongue. 
 
 " There is nothing to be seen without," continued Hawk 
 eye, shaking his head in discontent ; " and our hiding-place is 
 
5 g THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 still in darkness. Pass into the other cave you that need it; 
 and seek for sleep ; we must be afoot long before the sun, 
 and make the most of our time to get to Edward, while the 
 Mingoes are taking their morning nap." 
 
 Cora set the example of compliance, with a steadiness that 
 taught the more timid Alice the necessity of obedience. Be 
 fore leaving the place, however, she whispered a request tc 
 Duncan, that he would follow. Uncas raised the blanket fot 
 their passage, and as the sisters turned to thank him for this 
 act of attention, they saw the scout seated again before the 
 dying embers, with his face resting on his hands, in a manner 
 which showed how deeply he brooded on the unaccountable 
 interruption which had broken up their evening devotions. 
 
 Heyward took with him a blazing knot, which threw a dim 
 light through the narrow vista of their new apartment. Pla- 
 cing it in a favorable position, he joined the females, who now 
 found themselves alone with him for the first time since they 
 had left the friendly ramparts of Fort Edward. 
 
 " Leave us not, Duncan," said Alice ; " we cannot sleep 
 in such a place as this, with that horrid cry still ringing in 
 our ears." 
 
 " First let us examine into the security of your fortress," 
 he answered, " and then we will speak of rest." 
 
 He approached the further end of the cavern, to an outlet 
 which, like the others, was concealed by blankets ; and re 
 moving the thick screen, breathed the fresh and reviving ah 
 from the cataract. One arm of the river flowed through a 
 deep, narrow ravine, which its current had worn in the soft 
 rock, directly beneath his feet, forming an effectual defence,, 
 as he believed, against any danger from that quarter ; the 
 water, a few rods above them, plunging, glancing, and sweep- 
 ing along, in its most violent and broken manner. 
 
 " Nature has made an impenetrable barrier on this side," 
 he continued, pointing down the perpendicular declivity into 
 the dark current, before he dropped the blanket ; " and as 
 you know that good men and true are on guard in front, I 
 see no reason why the advice of our honest host should be 
 disregarded. I am certain Cora will join me in saying, thai 
 sleep is necessary to you both." 
 
 " Cora may submit to the justice of your opinion, though 
 she cannot put it in practice," returned the elder sister, who 
 had placed herself by the side of Alice, on a couch of sassa- 
 fras ; " there would be other causes to chase away sleep, 
 though we had been spared the shock of this mysterious noise 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOfflCAWS. 59 
 
 A.sk yourself, Heyward, can daughters forget the anxiety * 
 father must endure, whose childrer lodge, he knows not 
 where or how, in such a wilderness, and in the midst of so 
 many perils." 
 
 " He is a soldier, and knows how to estimate the chances 
 of the woods." 
 
 " He is a father, and cannot deny his nature." 
 
 " How kind has he ever been to all my follies ! how ten 
 der and indulgent to all my wishes ! " sobbed Alice. " We 
 have been selfish, sister, in urging our visi( at such hazard." 
 
 " I may have been rash in pressing his consent in a 
 moment of so much embarrassment, but I would have proved 
 to him, that however others might neglect him in his strait; 
 his children at least were faithful." 
 
 " When he heard of your arrival at Edward," said Hey 
 ward, kindly, " there was a powerful struggle in his bosom be- 
 tween fear and love ; though the latter, heightened, if pos- 
 sible, by. so long a separation, quickly prevailed. 'It is the 
 spirit of my noble-minded Cora that leads them, Duncan,' he 
 said, * and I will not balk it. Would to God, that he who 
 holds the honor of our royal master in his guardianship, would 
 show but half her firmness ! ' ' 
 
 " And did he not speak of me, Heyward ? " demanded 
 Alice, with jealous affection. " Surely, he forgot not alto- 
 gether his little Elsie ? " 
 
 " That were impossible," returned the young man ; " he 
 called you by a thousand endearing epiihets. that I may not 
 presume to use, but to the justice of which I can warmly 
 testify. Once, indeed, he said " 
 
 Duncan ceased speaking ; for while his eyes were riveted 
 on those of Alice, who had turned towards him with the eager- 
 ness of filial affection, to catch his words, the same strong, 
 horrid cry, as before, filled the air, and rendered him mute. 
 A long, breathless silence succeeded, during which, each 
 looked at the others in fearful expectation of hearing the 
 sound repeated. At length, the blanket was slowly raised, 
 and the scout stood in the aperture with a countenance whose 
 firmness evidently began to give way, before a mystery that 
 seemed to threaten some danger, against which all his 
 ning and experience might prove of no avail. 
 
fe THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 " They do not sleep. 
 On yonder cliffs, a grisly band, 
 I see them sit." GRAY. 
 
 " 'TWOULD be neglecting a warning that is given for oui 
 good, to lie hid any longer," said Hawk-eye, " when such sounds 
 are raised in the forest. These gentle ones may keep close, 
 but the Mohicans and I will watch upon the rock, where J 
 suppose a major of the sixtieth would wish to keep us com* 
 pany." 
 
 " Is then our danger so pressing ? " asked Cora. 
 
 " He who makes strange sounds, and gives them out for 
 man's information, alone knows our danger. I should think 
 myself wicked, unto rebellion against his will, was I to bur- 
 row with such warnings in the air. Even the weak soul who 
 passes his days in singing, is stirred by the cry, and, as he 
 says, is ' ready to go forth to the battle.' If 'twere only a 
 battle, it would be a thing understood by us all, and easily 
 managed ; but I have heard that when such shrieks are 
 atween heaven and 'arth, it betokens another sort of war- 
 fare." 
 
 " If all our reasons for fear, my friend, are confined to 
 such as proceed from supernatural causes, we have but little 
 occasion to be alarmed," continued the undisturbed Cora ; 
 " are you certain that our enemies have not invented some 
 new and ingenious method to strike us with terror, that their 
 conquest may become more easy ? " 
 
 " Lady," returned the scout solemnly, " I have listened tc 
 all the sounds of the woods for thirty years, as a man will lis 
 ten, whose life and death depend on the quickness of his ears 
 There is no whine of the panther, no whistle of the cat-bird : 
 nor any invention of the devilish Mingoes, that can cheat me. 
 I have heard the forest moan like mortal men in their af 
 fliction ; often, and again, have I listened to the wind playing 
 its music in the branches of the girdled trees ; and I have 
 heard the lightning cracking in the air, like the snapping of 
 blazing brush as it spitted forth sparks and forked flames ; 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 6i 
 
 but never have I thought that I heard more than the pleasure 
 of him who sported with the things of his hand. But neithei 
 the Mohicans, nor I, who am a white man without a cross, 
 can explain the cry just heard. We, therefore, believe it a 
 sign given for our good." 
 
 " It is extraordinary," said Heyward, taking his pistols 
 from the place where he had laid them on entering ; " be it a 
 sign of peace or a signal of war, it must be looked to. Lead 
 the way, my friend ; I follow." 
 
 On issuing from their place of confinement, the whole 
 party instantly experienced a grateful renovation of spirits, 
 by exchanging the pent air of the hiding-place for the cool 
 and invigorating atmosphere which played around the whirl- 
 pools and pitches of the cataract. A heavy evening breeze 
 swept along the surface of the river,' and seemed to drive the 
 roar of the falls into the recesses of their own caverns, whence 
 it issued heavily and constant, like thunder rumbling beyond 
 the distant hills. The moon had risen, and its light was al- 
 ready glancing here and there on the waters above them \ but 
 the extremity of the rock where they stood, still lay in shadow. 
 With the exception of the sounds produced by the rushing 
 waters, and an occasional breathing of the air, as it murmured 
 past them in fitful currents, the scene was as still as night 
 and solitudf* could make it. In vain were the eyes of each 
 individual bent along the opposite shores, in quest of some 
 signs of life, that might explain the nature of the interruption 
 they had heard. Their anxious and eager looks were baffled 
 by the deceptive light, or rested only on naked rocks, and 
 straight and immovable trees. 
 
 " Here is nothing to be seen but the gloom and quiet of a 
 lovely evening," whispered Duncan ; " how much should we 
 prize such a scene, and all this breathing solitude, at any 
 other moment, Cora. Fancy yourself in security, and what 
 now, perhaps, increases your terror, may be made conducive 
 to enjoyment " 
 
 " Listen ! " interrupted Alice. 
 
 The caution was unnecessary. Once more the same sound 
 arose, as if from the bed of the river, and having broken out 
 of the narrow bounds of the cliffs, was heard undulating 
 through the forest, in distant and dying cadences. 
 
 " Can any here give a name to such a cry ? " demanded 
 Hawk-eye, when the last echo was lost in the woods ; " if so, 
 let him speak ; for myself, I judge it not to belong to 'arth ! " 
 
 " Here, then, is one who can undeceive you," said Durv 
 
62 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 can. : " I know the sound full well, for often have I heard it 
 on the field of battle, and in situations which are frequent in 
 a soldier's life. 'Tis the horrid shriek that 3. horse will give 
 in his agony ; oftener drawn from him in pain, though some- 
 times in terror. My charger is either a prey to the beasts of 
 the forest, or he sees his danger, without the power to avoid 
 it. The sound might deceive me in the cavern, but in the 
 open air I know it too well to be wrong." 
 
 The scout and his companions listened to this simple ex 
 planation with the interest of men who imbibe new ideas, 
 at the same time that they get rid of old ones, which had 
 proved disagreeable inmates. The two latter uttered their 
 usual and expressive exclamation, " hugh ! " as the truth first 
 glanced upon their minds, while the former, after a short 
 musing pause, took upon himself to reply. 
 
 "I cannot deny your words," he said; "for I am littb 
 skilled in horses, though born where they abound. The 
 wolves must be hovering above their heads on the bank, and 
 the timorsome creatures are calling on man for help, in the, 
 best manner they are able. Uncas " he spoke in Delaware 
 " Uncas, drop down in the canoe, and whirl a brand among 
 the pack ; or fear may do what the wolves can't get at to per- 
 form, and leave us without horses in the morning, when we 
 shall have so much need to journey swiftly ! " 
 
 The young native had already descended to the water, to 
 comply, when a long howl was raised on the edge of the river, 
 and was borne swiftly off into the depths of the forest, as 
 though the beasts, of their own accord, were abandoning theii 
 prey in sudden terror. Uncas, with instinctive quickness, 
 receded, and the three foresters held another of their low, 
 earnest conferences. 
 
 " We have been like hunters who have lost the points of 
 the heavens, and from whom the sun has been held for days," 
 said Hawk-eye, turning away from his companions ; " now we 
 begin again to know the signs of our course, and the paths 
 are cleared from briers ! Seat yourselves in the shade which 
 the moon throws from yonder beach 'tis thicker than that 
 of the pines and let us wait for that which the Lord may 
 choose to send next. Let all your conversation be in whis 
 pers ; though it would be better, and perhaps, in the end, 
 wiser, if each one held discourse with his own thoughts, foi 
 a time." 
 
 The manner of the scout was seriously impressive, though 
 no longer distinguished by any signs of unmanly appreheiv 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 63 
 
 sion. It was evident that his momentary weakness had van- 
 ished with the explanation of a mystery which his own experi- 
 ence had not served to fathom ; and though he now felt all 
 the realities of their actual condition, that he was prepared 
 to meet them with the energy of his hardy nature. This feel- 
 ing seemed also common to the natives, who placed" them- 
 selves in positions which commanded a full view of both 
 shores, while their own persons were effectually concealed 
 from observation. In such circumstances, common prudence 
 dictated that Heyward and his companions should imitate a 
 caution that proceeded from so intelligent a source. The 
 young man drew a pile of the sassafras from the cave, and 
 placing it in the chasm which separated the two caverns, it 
 was occupied by the sisters ; who were thus protected by the 
 rocks from any missiles, while their anxiety was relieved by 
 the assurance that no clanger could approach without a warn- 
 ing. Heyward himself was posted at hand, so near that he 
 might communicate with his companions without raising his 
 voice to a dangerous elevation ; while David in imitation of 
 the woodsmen, bestowed his person in such a manner among 
 the fissures of the rocks, that his ungainly limbs were no 
 longer offensive to the eye. . 
 
 In this manner, hours passed by without further interrup- 
 tion. The moon reached the zenith, and shed its mild light 
 perpendicularly on the lovely sight of the sisters slumbering 
 peacefully in each other's arms. Duncan cast the wide shawl 
 of Cora before a spectacle he so much loved to contemplate, 
 and then suffered his own head to seek a pillow on the rock. 
 David began to utter sounds that would have shocked his 
 delicate organs in more wakeful moments ; in short, all but 
 Hawk-eye and the Mohicans lost every idea of consciousness, 
 in uncontrollable drowsiness. But the watchfulness of these 
 vigilant protectors neither tired nor slumbered. Immovable 
 as that rock, of which each appeared to form a part, they lay, 
 with their eyes roving, without intermission, along the dark 
 margin of trees that bounded the adjacent shores of the nar- 
 row stream. Not a sound escaped them ; the most subtle 
 Examination could not have told they breathed. It was evi- 
 dent that this excess of caution proceeded from an experience 
 that no subtlety on the part of their enemies could deceive. 
 It was, however, continued without any apparent conse- 
 quences, until the moon had set, and a pale streak above the 
 tree-tops, at the bend of the river a little below, announced 
 the approach of day. 
 
64 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 Then, for the first time, Hawk-eye was seen to stir. H 
 crawled along the rock, and shook Duncan from his heavj 
 slumbers. 
 
 " Now is the time to journey," he whispered j "awake th< 
 gentle, ones, and be ready to get into the canoe when I bring 
 it to the landing-place." 
 
 " Have you had a quiet night ? " said Heyward ; " for my 
 self, I believe sleep has got the better of my vigilance." 
 
 " All is yet still as midnight. Be silent, but be quick." 
 
 By this time Duncan was thoroughly awake, and he imme- 
 diately lifted the shawl from the sleeping females. The 
 motion caused Cora to raise her hand as if to repulse him, 
 while Alice murmured, in her soft gentle voice, " No, no, 
 dear father, we were not deserted ; Duncan was with us ! " 
 
 " Yes, sweet innocence," whispered the youth ; " Duncan 
 is here, and while life continues or danger remains, he will 
 never quit thee. Cora ! Alice ! awake I The hour has come 
 to move ! " 
 
 A loud shriek from the younger of the sisters, and the 
 form of the other standing upright before him, in bewildered 
 horror, was the unexpected answer he received. While the 
 words were still on the lips of Heyward, there had arisen 
 such a tumult of yells and cries as served to drive the swift 
 currents of his own blood back from its bounding course into 
 the fountains of his heart. It seemed, for near a minute, as 
 if the demons of hell had possessed themselves of the air 
 about them, and were venting their savage humors in barbar- 
 ous sounds. The cries came from no particular direction, 
 though it was evident they filled the woods, and, as the ap- 
 palled listeners easily imagined, the caverns of the falls, the 
 rocks, the bed of the river, and the upper air. David raised 
 his tall person in the midst of the infernal din, with a hand 
 on either ear, exclaiming, 
 
 " Whence comes this discord ! Has hell broke loose, that 
 man should utter sounds like these ! " 
 
 The bright flashes and the quick reports of a dozen rifles. 
 from the opposite banks of the stream, followed this incau- 
 tious exposure of his person, and left the unfortunate singing 
 master senseless on that rock where he had been so long slum- 
 bering. The Mohicans boldly sent back the intimidating yell 
 of their enemies, who raised a shout of savage triumph at the 
 fall of Gamut. The flash of rifles was then quick and close 
 between them, but either party was too well skilled to leave 
 even a limb exposed to the hostile aim. Duncan listened with 
 intense anxiety for the strokes of the paddle, believing that 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 65 
 
 flight was now their only refuge. The river glanced Dy with 
 its ordinary velocity but the canoe was nowhere to be seen on 
 its dark waters. He had just fancied they were cruelly de- 
 serted by the scout, as a stream of flame issued from the rock 
 beneath him, and a fierce yell, blended with a shriek of agony, 
 announced that the messenger of death, sent from the fatal 
 weapon of Hawk-eye, had found a victim. At this slight 
 repulse the assailants instantly withdrew, and gradually the 
 place became as still as before the sudden tumult. 
 
 Duncan seized the favorable moment to spring to the body 
 of Gamut, which he bore within the shelter of the narrow 
 chasm that protected the sisters. In another minute the 
 whole party was collected in this spot of comparative safety. 
 
 " The poor fellow has saved his scalp, ?J said Hawk-eye, 
 coolly passing his hand over the head of David ; "but he is a 
 proof that a man may be born with too long a tongue ! 'Twas 
 downright madness to show six feet of flesh and blood, on a 
 naked rock, to the raging savages, I only wonder he ha* 
 escaped with life." 
 
 " Is he not dead ! " demanded Cora, in a voice whose 
 husky tones showed how powerfully natural horror struggled 
 with her assumed fir rrness. " Can we do aught to assist the 
 wretched man ? " 
 
 " No, no ! the life is in his heart yet, and after he has 
 slept awhile he will come to himself, and be a wiser man for 
 it, till the hour of his real time shall come," returned Hawk- 
 eye, casting another oblique glance at the insensible body, 
 while he filled his charger with admirable nicety. " Carry him 
 in, Uncas, and lay him on the sassafras. The longer his nap 
 lasts the better it will be for him, as I doubt whether he can 
 find a proper cover for such a shape on these rocks ; and sing- 
 ing won't do any good with the Iroquois." 
 
 " You believe, then, the attack will be renewed ? " asked 
 Heyward. 
 
 " Do I expect a hungry wolf will satisfy his craving with 
 a mouthful ! They have lost a man, and 'tis their fashion, 
 when they meet a loss, and fail in the surprise, to fall back ; 
 but we shall have them on again, with new expedients to cir- 
 cumvent us, and master our scalps. Our main hope," he con- 
 tinued, raising his rugged countenance, across which a shade 
 of anxiety just then passed like a darkening cloud, " will be 
 to keep the rock until Munro can send a party to our help ! 
 God send it may be soon, and under a leader that knows the 
 Indian customs ! " 
 
66 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 " You hear our probable fortunes, Cora," said Duncan -, 
 '* and you know we have everything to hope from the anxiety 
 and experience of your father. Come, then, with Alice, into 
 this cavern, where you, at least, will be safe from the murder- 
 ous rifles of our enemies, and where you may bestow a care 
 suited to your gentle natures on our unfortunate comrade." 
 
 The sisters followed him into the outer cave, where David 
 was beginning, by his sighs, to give symptoms of returning 
 consciousness ; and then commending the wounded man to 
 their attention, he immediately prepared to leave them. 
 
 " Duncan ! " said the tremulous voice of Cora, when he 
 had reached the mouth of the cavern. He turned and beheld 
 the speaker, whose color had changed to a deadly paleness, 
 and whose lip quivered, gazing after him, with an expression 
 of interest which immediately recalled him to her side. " Re- 
 member, Duncan, how necessary your safety is to our own 
 how you bear a father's sacred trust now much depends on 
 your discretion and care in short," she added, while the 
 tell-tale blood stole over her features, crimsoning her very 
 temples, " how very deservedly dear you are to all of the name 
 of Munro." 
 
 " If anything could add to my own base love of life," said 
 Heyward, suffering his unconscious eyes to wander to the 
 youthful form of the silent Alice, " it would be so kind an as- 
 surance. As major of the 6oth, our honest host will tell you 
 I must take my share of the fray ; but our task will be easy ; 
 it is merely to keep these blood-hounds at bay for a few 
 hours." 
 
 Without waiting for reply, he tore himself from the pres- 
 ence of the sisters, and joined the scout and his companions, 
 who still lay within the protection of the little chasm between 
 the two caves 
 
 " I tell you, Uncas," said the former, as Heyward joined 
 them, " you are wasteful rf your powder, and the kick of the 
 rifle disconcerts your aim ! Little powder, light lead, and a 
 long arm, seldom fail of bringing the death screech from a 
 Mingo ! At least, such has been my experience with the 
 creaturs. Come, friends ; let us to our covers, for no man 
 can tell when or where a Maqua * will strike his blow." 
 
 The Indians silently repaired to their appointed stations, 
 
 * It will be observed that Hawk-eye applies different names to his enemies. 
 Mingo and Maqua are terms of contempt, and Iroquois is a name given by th 
 French. The Indians rarely use the same name when different trices soeak of 
 iach other. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 67 
 
 /vhich were fissures in the rocks, whence they could command 
 the approaches to the foot of the falls. In the centre of the 
 little island, a few short and stunted pines had found root, 
 forming a thicket, into which Hawk-eye darted with the swift- 
 ness of a deer, followed by the active Duncan. Here they 
 secured themselves, as well as circumstances would permit, 
 among the shrubs and fragments of stone that were scattered 
 about the place. Above them was a bare, rounded rock, on 
 each side of which the water played its gambols, and plunged 
 into the abysses beneath, in the manner already described. 
 As the day had now dawned, the opposite shores no longer 
 presented a confused outline, but they were able to look into 
 the woods, and distinguish objects beneath a canopy of gloomy 
 pines. 
 
 A long and anxious watch succeeded, but without any 
 further evidence of a renewed attack ; and Duncan began to 
 hope that their fire had proved more fatal than was supposed, 
 and that their enemies had been effectually repulsed. When 
 he ventured to utter this impression to his companion, it was 
 met by Hawk-eye with an incredulous shake of the head. 
 
 " You know not the nature of a Maqua, if you think he is 
 so easily beaten back without a scalp ! " he answered. " If 
 there was one of the imps yelling this morning, there were 
 forty ! and they know our number and quality too well to give 
 up the chase so soon. Hist ! look into the water above, just 
 where it breaks over the rocks. I am no mortal, if the risky 
 devils haven't swam down upon the very pitch, and, as bad 
 luck would have it, they have hit the head of the island. Hist ! 
 man, keep close ! or the hair will be off your crown in the. 
 turning of a knife ! " 
 
 Heyward lifted his head from the cover, and beheld what 
 he justly considered a prodigy of rashness and skill. The 
 river had worn away the edge of the soft rock in such a man- 
 ner, as to render its first pitch less abrupt and perpendicular 
 than is usual at waterfalls. With no other guide than tjie 
 ripple of the stream where it met the head of the island, a 
 party of their insatiable foes had ventured into the current, 
 and swam down upon this point, knowing the ready access it 
 would give, if successful, to their intended victims. As Hawk- 
 eye ceased speaking, four human heads could be seen peering 
 above a few logs of drift wood that had lodged on these naked 
 rocks, and which had probably suggested the idea of the prac- 
 ticability of the hazardous undertaking. At the next moment, 
 a fifth form was, seen floating over the green edge of the fall 
 
68 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 a little fiom the line of the island. The savage struggled 
 powerfully to gain the point of safety, and, favored by the 
 glancing water, he was already stretching forth an arm to 
 meet the grasp of his companions, when he shot away again 
 with the whirling current, appeared to rise in the air, with up- 
 lifted arms and starting eyeballs, and fell, with a sudden 
 plunge, into that deep and yawning abyss over which he 
 hovered. A single, wild, despairing shriek rose from the 
 cavern, and all was hushed again, as the grave. 
 
 The first generous impulse of Duncan was to rush to the 
 rescue of the hapless wretch ; but he felt himself bound to 
 the spot by the iron grasp of the immovable scout. 
 
 " Would ye bring certain death upon us, by telling the 
 Mingoes where we lie ? " demanded Hawk-eye, sternly ; " 'tis 
 a charge of powder saved, and ammunition is as precious now 
 as breath to a worried deer ! Freshen the priming of your 
 pistols the mist of the falls is apt to dampen the brimstone 
 and stand firm for a close struggle, while I fire on their 
 rush." 
 
 He placed a finger in his mouth, and drew a long, shrill 
 whistle, which was answered by the rocks that were guarded 
 by the Mohicans. Duncan caught glimpses of heads above 
 the scattered drift wood, as this signal rose on the air, but 
 they disappeared again as suddenly as they had glanced upon 
 his sight. A low, rustling sound, next drew his attention be- 
 hind him, and turning his head, he beheld Uncas within a 
 few feet, creeping to his side. Hawk-eye spoke to him in 
 Delaware, when the young chief took his position with singu- 
 lar caution and undisturbed coolness. To Heyward this was 
 a moment of feverish and impatient suspense ; though the 
 scout saw fit to select it as a fit occasion to read a lecture to 
 his more youthful associates on the art of using fire-arms with 
 discretion. 
 
 " Of all we'pons," he commenced, " the long-barrelled, 
 true-grooved, soft-metaled rifle, is the most dangerous in skil- 
 ful hands, though it wants a strong arm, a quick eye and great 
 judgment in charging, to put forth all its beauties. The gun- 
 smiths can have but little insight into their trade, when they 
 make their fowling-pieces and short horsemen's " 
 
 He was interrupted by the low but expressive " hugh " of 
 Uncas. 
 
 " I see them, boy, I see them ! " continued Hawk-eye ; 
 |s they are gathering for the rush, or they would keep theil 
 dingy backs below the logs. Well, let them," he added, ex 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 69 
 
 amining his flint ; " the leading man certainly comes on to his 
 death, though it should be Montcalm himself ! " 
 
 At that moment the woods were filled with another burst 
 of cries, and at the signal four savages sprang from the cover 
 of the drift wood. Heyward felt a burning desire to rush for- 
 ward to meet them, so intense was the delirious anxiety of the 
 moment ; but he was restrained by the deliberate examples of 
 the scout and Uncas. 
 
 When their foes, who leaped over the black rocks that 
 divided them, with long bounds, uttering the wildest yells, 
 were within a few rods, the rifle of Hawk-eye slowly rose 
 among the shrubs, and poured out its fatal contents. The 
 foremost Indian bounded like a stricken deer, and fell head- 
 long among the clefts of the island. 
 
 " Now, Uncas ! " cried the scout, drawing his long knife, 
 while his quick eyes began to flash with ardor, " take the last 
 of the screeching imps ; of the other two we are certain ! " 
 
 He was obeyed ; and but two e jemies remained to be 
 overcome. Heyward had given on his pistols to Hawk- 
 eye, and together they rushed down a little declivity towards 
 their foes ; they discharged their weapons at the same in- 
 stant, and equally without success. 
 
 "I know'd it ! and I said it ! " muttered the scout, whirl- 
 ing llio despised little implement over the falls with bitter 
 disdain. " Come on, ye bloody minded hell-hounds ! ye meet 
 a man without a cross ! " 
 
 The words were barely uttered, when he encountered a 
 savage of gigantic stature, and of the fiercest mien. At the 
 same moment, Duncan found himself engaged with the other, 
 in a similar contest of hand to hand. With ready skill, Hawk- 
 eye and his antagonist each grasped that uplifted arm of the 
 other which held the dangerous knife. For near a minute 
 they stood looking one another in the eye, and giadually ex- 
 erting the power of their muscles for the mastery. At length, 
 the toughened sinews of the white man prevailed over the less 
 practised limbs of the native. The arm of thft latter slowly 
 gave way before the increasing force of the scout, who, sud- 
 denly wresting his armed hand from his foe, drove the sharp 
 weapon through his naked bosom to the heart. In the mean 
 time, Heyward had been pressed in a more deadly struggle. 
 His slight sword was snapped in the first encounter. As he 
 was destitute of any other means of defence, his safety nowde* 
 pended entirely on bodily strength and resolution. Though de- 
 ficient in neither of these qualities, he had met an enemy every 
 
7 o 
 
 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 way his equal. Happily, he soon succeeded in disarming his 
 adversary, whose knife fell on the rock at their feet ; and 
 from this moment it became a fierce struggle who should cast 
 the other over the dizzy height into a neighboring cavern of 
 the falls. Every successive struggle brought them nearer to 
 the verge, where Duncan perceived the final and conquering 
 effort must be made. Each of the combatants threw all his 
 energies into that effort, and the result was, that both tottered 
 on the brink of the precipice. Heyward felt the grasp of the 
 other at his throat, and saw the grim smile the savage gave, 
 under the revengeful hope that he hurried his enemy to a fate 
 similar to his own, as he felt his body slowly yielding to a re- 
 sistless power, and the young man experienced the passing 
 agony of such a moment in all its horrors. At that instant of 
 extreme danger, a dark hand and glancing knife appeared be- 
 fore him ; the Indian released his hold, as the blood flowed 
 freely from around the severed tendons of his wrist ; and 
 while Duncan was drawn backward by the saving arm of 
 Uncas, his charmed eyes were still riveted on the fierce and 
 disappointed countenance of his foe, who fell sullenly and dis- 
 appointed down the irrecoverable precipice. 
 
 " To cover ! to cover ! " cried Hawk-eye, who just then 
 had despatched his enemy ; " to cover, for your lives ! the 
 work is but half ended ! " 
 
 The young Mohican gave a shout of triumph, and, followed 
 by Duncan, he glided up the acclivity they had descended to 
 the combat, and sought the friendly shelter of the rocks and 
 shrubs. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 They linger yet, 
 Avengers of their native land, 
 
 GRAY. 
 
 THE warning call of the scout was not uttered without oc 
 casion. During the occurrence of the deadly encounter just 
 related, the roar of the falls was unbroken by any human 
 sound whatever. It would seem that interest in the result 
 had kept the natives on the opposite shores in breathless sus- 
 pense, while the quick evolutions and swift changes in the 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 7 i 
 
 positions of the combatants, effectually prevented a fire that 
 might prove dangerous alike to friend and enemy. But the 
 moment the struggle was decided, a yell rose as fierce and 
 savage as wild and revengeful passions could throw into the 
 air. It was followed by the swift flashes of the rifles, whicn 
 sent their leaden messengers across the rock in volleys, as 
 though the assailants would pour out their impotent fury on 
 the insensible scene of the fatal contest. 
 
 A steady, though deliberate return was made from the rifle 
 of Chingachgook, who had maintained his post throughout 
 the fray with unmoved resolution. When the triumphant 
 shout of Uncas was borne to his ears, the gratified father 
 raised his voice in a single responsive cry, after which his 
 busy piece alone proved that he still guarded his pass with 
 unwearied diligence. In this manner many minutes flew by 
 with the swiftness of thought : the rifles of the assailants 
 speaking, at times, in rattling volleys, and at others, in occa- 
 sional, scattering shots. Though the rocks, the trees, and the 
 shrubs, were cut and torn in a hundred places around the be 
 sieged, their cover was so close, and so rigidly maintained, 
 that, as yet, David had been the only sufferer in their little 
 band. 
 
 " Let them burn their powder," said the deliberate scout, 
 while bullet after bullet whizzed by the place where he securely 
 lay ; " there will be a fine gathering of lead when it is over, 
 and I fancy the imps will tire of the sport, afore these old 
 stones cry out for mercy ! Uncas, boy, you waste your kernels 
 by overcharging : and a kicking rifle never carries a true 
 bullet. I told you to take that loping miscreant under the 
 line of white paint ; now, if your bullet went a hair's breadth, 
 it went two inches above it. The life lies low in a Mingo, and 
 humanity teaches us to make a quick end of the sarpents." 
 
 A quiet smile lighted the haughty features of the young 
 Mohican, betraying his knowledge of the English language, as 
 well as of the other's meaning ; but he suffered it to pass 
 away without vindication or reply. 
 
 " I cannot permit you to accuse Uncas of want of judg- 
 ment or of skill," said Duncan ; " he saved my life in the 
 coolest and readiest manner, and he has made a friend who 
 never will require to be reminded of the debt he owes." 
 
 Uncas partly raised his body, and offered his hand to the 
 grasp of Heyward. During this act of friendship, the two 
 young men exchanged looks of intelligence which caused 
 Duncan to forget the character and condition of his wild a* 
 
74 THE LAS's- OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 sociate. In the mean while, Hawk-eye, who looked on this 
 burst of youthful feeling with a cool but kind regard, made the 
 following reply : 
 
 " Life is an obligation which friends often owe to each 
 other in the wilderness. I dare say I may have served Uncas 
 some such turn myself before now ; and I very well remember 
 that he has stood between me and death five different times ; 
 three times from the Mingoes, once in crossing Horican, 
 and" 
 
 " That bullet was better aimed than common ! " exclaimed 
 Duncan, involuntarily shrinking from a shot which struck the 
 rock at his side with a smart rebound. 
 
 Hawk-eye laid his hand on the shapeless metal, and 
 shook his head, as he examined it, saying, " Falling lead is 
 never flattened ! had it come from the clouds this might have 
 happened." 
 
 But the rifle of Uncas was deliberately raised towards the 
 heavens, directing the eyes of his companions to a point, where 
 the mystery was immediately explained. A ragged oak grew 
 on the right bank of the river, nearly opposite to their posi- 
 tion, which, seeking the freedom of the open space, had 
 inclined so far forward, that its upper branches overhung 
 that arm of the stream which flowed nearest to its own shore. 
 Among the topmost leaves, which scantily concealed the 
 gnarled and stunted limbs, a savage was concealed by the 
 trunk of the tree, and partly exposed, as though looking down 
 upon them to ascertain the effect produced by his treacherous 
 aim. 
 
 " These devils will scale heaven to circumvent us to our 
 ruin," said Hawk-eye ; " keep him in play, boy, until I can 
 bring ' kill-deer ' to bear, when we will try his metal on each 
 side'of the tree at once." 
 
 Uncas delayed his fire until the scout uttered the word. 
 Th* rifles flashed, the leaves and bark of the oak flew into the 
 air, and were scattered by the wind, but the Indian answered 
 their assault by a taunting laugh, sending down upon them 
 another bullet in return, that struck the cap of Hawk-eye from 
 his head. Once more the savage yells burst out of the woods, 
 and the leaden hail whistled above the heads of the besieged, 
 as if to confine them to a place where they might become easy 
 victims to the enterprise of the warrior who had mounted the 
 tree. 
 
 " This must be looked to," said the scout, glancing about 
 him with an anxious eye. " Uncas, call up your father ; we 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 73 
 
 have need of all our we'pons to bring the cunning varment from 
 his roost/' 
 
 The signal was instantly given ; and, before Hawk-eye had 
 reloaded his rifle, they were joined by Chingachgook. When 
 his son pointed out to the experienced warrior the situation oi 
 their dangerous enemy, the usual exclamatory " hugh " burst 
 from his lips; after which, no further expression of surprise 
 or alarm was suffered to escape him. Hawk-eye and the 
 Mohicans conversed earnestly together in Delaware for a few 
 moments, when each quietly took his post, in order to execute 
 the plan they had speedily devised. 
 
 The warrior in the oak had maintained a quick, though in- 
 effectual fire, from the moment of his discovery. But his aim 
 was interrupted by the vigilance of his enemies, whose rifles 
 instantaneously bore on any part of his person that was left 
 exposed. Still his bullets fell in the centre of the crouching 
 party. The clothes of Heyward, which rendered him pecu- 
 liarly conspicuous, were repeatedly cut, and once blood was 
 drawn from a slight wound in his arm. 
 
 At length, emboldened by the long and patient watchful- 
 ness of his enemies, the Huron attempted a better and more 
 fatal aim. The quick eye of the Mohicans caught the dark 
 line of his lower limbs incautiously exposed through the thin 
 foliage, a few inches from the trunk of the tree. Their rifles 
 made a common report, when, sinking on his wounded limb, 
 part of the body of the savage came into view. Swift as 
 thought, Hawk-eye seized the advantage, and discharged his 
 fatal weapon into the top of the oak. The leaves were un- 
 usually agitated ; the dangerous rifle fell from its commanding 
 elevation, and after a few moments of vain struggling, the form 
 of the savage was seen swinging in the wind, while he still 
 grasped a ragged and naked branch of the tree, with hands 
 clenched in desperation. 
 
 "Give him. in pity give him, the contents of another rifle,'' 
 cried Duncan, turning away his eyes in horror from the spec 
 "acle of a fellow creature in such awful jeopardy. 
 
 " Not a karnel ! " exclaimed the obdurate Hawk-eye ; " his 
 death is certain, and we have no powder to spare, for Indian 
 fights sometimes lasts for days ; 'tis their scalp or ours ! and 
 God, who made us, has put into our nature the craving to 
 keep the skin on the head." 
 
 Against this stern and unyielding morality, supported as it 
 was by such visible policy, there was no appeal. From tha; 
 moment the yells in the forest once more ceased, the fire waa 
 
7 4 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 suffered to decline, and all eyes, those of friends as well as 
 enemies, became fixed on the hopeless condition of the wretch 
 who was dangling between heaven and earth. The body 
 yielded to the currents of air, and though no murmur or groan 
 escaped the victim, there were instants when he grimly faced 
 his foes, and the anguish of cold despair might be traced, 
 through the intervening distance, in possession of his swarthy 
 lineaments. Three several times the scout raised his piece 
 in mercy, and as often, prudence getting the better of his in- 
 tention, it was again silently lowered. At length one hand of 
 the Huron lost its hold, and dropped exhausted to his side. 
 A desperate and fruitless struggle to recover the branch suc- 
 ceeded, and then the savage was seen for a fleeting instant, 
 grasping wildly at the empty air. The lightning is not quicker 
 than was the flame from the rifle of Hawk-eye ; the limbs of 
 the victim trembled and contracted, the head fell to the bosom, 
 and the body parted the foaming waters like lead, when the 
 element closed above it, in its ceaseless velocity, and every 
 vestige of the unhappy Huron was lost forever. 
 
 No shout of triumph succeeded this important advantage, 
 but even the Mohicans gazed at each other in silent horror. 
 A single yell burst from the woods, and all was again still. 
 Hawk-eye, who alone appeared to reason on the occasion, 
 shook his head at his own momentary weakness, even utter- 
 ing his self-disapprobation aloud. 
 
 " 'Twas the last charge in my horn, and the last bullet in 
 my pouch, and 'twas the act of a boy," he said ; " what mat- 
 tered it whether he struck the rock living or dead ; feeling would 
 soon be over. Uncas, lad, go down to the canoe, and bring 
 up the bighorn ; it is all the powder we have left, and we shall 
 need it to the last grain, or I am ignorant of the Mingo nature." 
 The young Mohican complied, leaving the scout turning 
 over the useless contents of his pouch, and shaking the empty 
 horn with renewed discontent. From this unsatisfactory ex- 
 amination, however, he was soon called by a loud and pierc- 
 ing exclamation from Uncas, that sounded, even to the un- 
 practised ears of Duncan, as the signal of some new and 
 unexpected calamity. Every thought filled with apprehension 
 for the precious treasure he had concealed in the cavern, the 
 young man started to his feet, totally regardless of the hazard 
 he incurred by such an exposure. As if actuated by a com- 
 mon impulse, his movement was imitated by his companionSj 
 and together they rushed down the pass to the friendly chasm, 
 with a rapidity that rendered the scattering fire of their ene 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS y^ 
 
 rries perfectly harmless. The unwonted cry had brought the 
 sisters, together with the wounded David, from their place of 
 refuge ; and the whole party, at a single glance, was made ac- 
 quainted with -the nature of the disaster that had disturbed 
 even the practised stoicism of their youthful Indian protector. 
 
 At a short distance from the rock, their little bark was to 
 be seen floating across the eddy, towards the swift current of 
 the river, in a manner which proved that its course was di- 
 rected by some hidden agent. The moment this unwelcome 
 sight caught the eye of the scout, his rifle was levelled, as by 
 instinct, but the barrel gave no answer to the bright sparks of 
 the flint. 
 
 " Tis too late, 'tis too late ! " Hawk-eye exclaimed, drop- 
 ping the useless piece in bitter disappointment ; the miscre- 
 ant has' struck the rapid ; and had we powder, it could hardly 
 send the lead swifter than he now goes." 
 
 The adventurous Huron raised his head above the shelter 
 of the canoe, and while it glided swiftly down the stream, he 
 waved his hand, and gave forth the shout, which was the 
 known signal of success. His cry was answered by a yell and 
 a laugh from the woods, as tauntingly exulting as if fifty de- 
 mons were uttering their blasphemies at the fall of some 
 Christian soul. 
 
 " Well may you laugh, ye children of the devil," said the 
 scout, seating himself on a projection of the rock, and suffer- 
 ing his gun to fall neglected at his feet, " for the three quickest 
 and truest rifles in these woods are no better than so many 
 stalks of mullen, or the last year's horns of a buck." 
 
 ** What is to be done ? " demanded Duncan, losing the 
 first feeling of disappointment in a more manly desire for ex- 
 ertion ; what will become of us ? " 
 
 Hawk-eye made no other reply than by passing his finger 
 around the crown of his head, in a manner so significant, that 
 none who witnessed the action could mistake its meaning. 
 
 " Surely, surely, our case is not so desperate ! " exclaimed 
 the youth ; " the Hurons are not here ; we may make good 
 the caverns ; we may oppose their landing." 
 
 " With what ? " coolly demanded the scout. " The arrows 
 of Uncas, or such tears as women sfied ! No, no ; you are 
 young, and rich, and have friends, and at such an age I 
 know it is hard to die ; but," glancing his eyes at the Mohi- 
 cans, " let us remember we are men without a cross, and let 
 us teach these natives of the forest, that white blood can rup 
 as freely as red, when the appointed hour is come." 
 
y 6 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 Duncan turned quickly in the direction indicated by the 
 other's eyes, and read a confirmation of his worst apprehensions 
 in the conduct of the Indians. Chingachgook, placing him- 
 self in a dignified posture on another fragment of the rock, 
 had already laid aside his knife and tomahawk, and was in 
 the act of taking the eagle's plume from his head and smooth- 
 ing the solitary tuft of hair in readiness to perform its las! 
 and revolting office. His countenance was composed, though 
 thoughtful, while his dark, gleaming eyes were gradually losing 
 the fierceness of the combat in an expression better suited to 
 the change he expected momentarily to undergo. 
 
 " Our case is not, cannot be so hopeless," said Duncan ; 
 " even at this very moment succor may be at hand. I see no 
 enemies ! they have sickened of a struggle in which they risk 
 so much with so little prospect of gain." 
 
 " It may be a minute, or it may be an hour, afore the why 
 sarpents steal upon us, and it is quite in natur' for them .to be 
 lying within hearing at this very moment," said Hawk-eye j 
 " but come they will, and in such a fashion as will leave us 
 nothing to hope. Chingachgook," he spoke in Delaware 
 " my brother, we have fought our last battle together, and the 
 Maquas will triumph in the death of the sage man of the Mo- 
 hicans, and of the pale face, whose eyes can make night as 
 day, and level the clouds to the mists of the springs." 
 
 " Let the Mingo women go weep over their slain ! " re- 
 turned the Indian, with characteristic pride and unmoved 
 firmness ; " the Great Snake of the Mohicans has coiled him- 
 self in their wigwams, and has poisoned their triumph with 
 the wailings of children, whose fathers have not returned ! 
 Eleven warriors lie hid from the graves of their tribes since the 
 snows have melted, and none will tell where to find them when 
 the tongue of Chingachgook shall be silent ! Let them draw 
 the sharpest knife, and whirl the swiftest tomahawk, for their 
 bitterest enemy is in their hands. Uncas, topmost branch of 
 a noble trunk, call on the cowards to hasten or their hearts 
 will soften, and they will change to women ! " 
 
 " They look among the fishes for their dead ! " returned 
 the low, soft voice of the youthful chieftain ; " the Hurons 
 float with the slimy eels i They drop from the oaks like fruit 
 that is ready to be eaten ! and the Delawares laugh ! " 
 
 " Ay, ay," muttered the scout, who had listened to this 
 peculiar burst of the natives with deep attention ; " they have 
 warmed their Indian feelings, and they'll soon provoke the 
 Maquas to give them a speedy end. As for me, who am ol 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 77 
 
 the whole blood of the whites, it is befitting that I should 
 die as becomes my color, with no words of scoffing in my 
 mouth, and without bitterness at the heart ! " 
 
 " Why die at all ! " said Cora, advancing from the place 
 where natural horror had, until the moment, held her riveted 
 to the rock ; " the path is open on every side ; fly, then, to 
 the woods, and call on God for succor ! Go, brave men, we 
 owe you too much already ; let us no longer involve you in 
 our hapless fortunes ! " 
 
 "You but little know the craft of the Iroquois, lady, if you 
 judge they have left the path open to the woods ! " returned 
 Hawk-eye, who, however, immediately added in his simplicity : 
 " the down stream current, it is certain, might soon sweep us 
 beyond the reach of their rifles or the sound of their voices." 
 
 " Then try the river. W 7 hy linger, to add to the number 
 of the victims of our merciless enemies ? " 
 
 " Why," repeated the scout, looking about him proudly, 
 " because it is better for a man to die at peace with himself 
 than to live haunted by an evil conscience ! What answer 
 could we give Munro, when he asked us where and how we 
 Jeft his children?" 
 
 " Go to him, and say, that you left them with a message 
 to hasten to their aid," returned Cora, advancing nigher to 
 the scout, in her generous ardor; "that the Hurons bear them 
 into the northern wilds, but that by vigilance and speed they 
 may yet be rescued ; and if, after all, it should please heaven 
 that his assistance come too late, bear to him," she. continued, 
 her voice gradually lowering, until it seemed nearly choked, 
 " the blessings, the final prayers of his daughters, and bid him 
 not mourn their early fate, but to look forward with humble 
 confidence to the Christian's goal to meet his children." 
 
 The hard, weather-beaten features of the scout began to 
 work, and when she had ended, he dropped his chin to his 
 hand, like a man musing profoundly on the nature of the 
 proposal. 
 
 " There is reason in her words ! " at length broke from 
 his compressed and trembling lips ; " ay, and they bear the 
 spirit of Christianity ; what might be right and proper in a 
 red skin, may be sinful in a man who has not even a cross in 
 blood to plead for his ignorance. Chingachgook ! Uncas ! 
 hear you the talk of the dark-eyed woman ? " 
 
 He now spoke in Delaware to his companions, and his 
 address, though calm and deliberate, seemed very decided, 
 The elder Mohican heard him with deep gravity, and appeared 
 
j% THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 to ponder on his words, as though he felt the important oi 
 their import. After a moment of hesitation, he waved his 
 hand in assent, and uttered the English word " Good," with 
 the peculiar emphasis of his people. Then, placing his knife 
 and tomahawk in his girdle, the warrior moved silently to the 
 edge of the rock which was most concealed from the banks 
 of the river. Here he paused a moment, pointing significantly 
 to the woods below, and saying a few words in his own Ian 
 guage, as if indicating his intended route, he dropped into the 
 water, and sank from before the eyes of the witnesses of his 
 movements. 
 
 The scout delayed his departure to speak to the generous 
 girl, whose breathing became lighter as she saw the success 
 of her remonstrance. 
 
 " Wisdom is sometimes given to the young, as well as to 
 the old," he said ; " and what you have spoken is wise, not 
 to call it by a better word. If you are led into the woods, 
 that is such of you as may be spared for a while, break the 
 twigs on the bushes as you pass, and make the marks of your 
 trail as broad as you can, when, if mortal eyes can see them, 
 depend on having a friend who will follow to the ends of the 
 'arth afore he desarts you." 
 
 He gave Cora an affectionate shake of the hand, lifted his 
 rifle, and after regarding it a moment with melancholy solic- 
 itude, laid it carefully aside, and descended to the place 
 where Chingachgook had just disappeared. For an instant 
 he hung suspended by the rock ; and looking about him, with 
 a countenance of peculiar care, he added, bitterly, " Had the 
 powder held out, this disgrace could never have befallen ! " 
 then, loosening his hold, the water closed above his head, 
 and he also became lost to view. 
 
 All eyes were now turned on Uncas, who stood leaning 
 against the ragged rock, in immovable composure. After 
 waiting a short time, Cora pointed down the river, and 
 said : 
 
 "Your friends have not been seen, and are now, mostprob 
 ably, in safety ; is it not time for you to follow ? " 
 
 " Uncas will stay," the young Mohican calmly answered 
 in English. 
 
 "To increase the horror of our capture, and to diminish 
 the chances of our release ! Go, generous young man," Cora, 
 continued, lowering her eyes under the gaze of the Mohican, 
 and, perhaps, with an intuitive consciousness of her power ; 
 4 * go to my father, as I have said, and be the most confidential 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 79 
 
 of my messengers. Tell him to trust you with the means to 
 buy the freedom of his daughters. Go ! 'tis my wish, 'tis my 
 prayer, that you will go ! " 
 
 The settled, calm look of the young chief changed to an 
 expression of gloom, but he no longer hesitated. With a 
 noiseless step he crossed the rock, and dropped into the 
 troubled stream. Hardly a breath was drawn by those he 
 left behind, until they caught a glimpse of his head emerging 
 for air, far down the current, when he again sank, and was 
 seen no more. 
 
 These sudden and apparently successful experiments had 
 all taken place in a few minutes of that time which had now 
 become so precious. After the last look at Uncas, Cora 
 turned, and, with a quivering lip, addressed herself to Hey 
 ward : 
 
 " I have heard of your boasted skill in the water, too, 
 Duncan," she said ; " follow, then, the wise example set you 
 by these simple and faithful beings." 
 
 " Is such the faith that Cora Munro would exact from her 
 protector ? " said the young man, smiling mournfully, but with 
 bitterness. 
 
 " This is not a time for idle subtleties and false opinions," 
 she answered ; " but a moment when every duty should be 
 equally considered. To us you can be of no further service 
 here, but your precious life may be saved for other and nearer 
 friends." 
 
 He made no reply, though his eyes fell wistfully on the 
 beautiful form of Alice, who was clinging to his arm with the 
 dependency of an infant. 
 
 " Consider," continued Cora, after a pause, during which 
 she seemed to struggle with a pang even more acute than any 
 that her fears had excited, " that the worst to us can oe but 
 death ; a tribute that all must pay at the good time of God's 
 appointment." 
 
 " There are evils worse than death," said Duncan, speaking 
 hoarsely, and as if fretful at her importunity, " but which the 
 presence of one who would die in your behalf may avert." 
 
 Cora ceased her entreaties ; and, veiling her face in her 
 shawl, drew the nearly insensible Alice after her into the 
 deepest recess of the inner cavern. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICAN& 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 " Be gay securely ; 
 
 spel, my fair, with smiles, the tim'rous donds, 
 That hang on thy clear brow." 
 
 DEATH OF AGRIPPIMA. 
 
 THE sudden and almost magical change, from the stirring 
 incidents of the combat to the stillness that now reigned 
 around him, acted on the heated imagination of Heyward like 
 some exciting dream. While all the images and events he 
 had witnessed remained deeply impressed on his memory, he 
 felt a difficulty in persuading himself of their truth. Still ig- 
 norant of the fate of those who had trusted to the aid of the 
 swift current, he at first listened intently to any signal, or 
 sounds of alarm, which might announce the good or evil for 
 tune of their hazardous undertaking. His attention was ; 
 however, bestowed in vain ; for, with the disappearance of 
 Uncas, every sign of the adventurers had been lost, leaving 
 him in total uncertainty of their fate. 
 
 In a moment of such painful doubt, Duncan did not hes- 
 itate to look about him, without consulting that protection 
 from the rocks which just before had been so necessary to 
 his safety. Every effort, however, to detect the least evi- 
 dence of the approach of their hidden enemies, was as fruit- 
 less as the inquiry after his late companions. The wooded 
 banks of the rivers seemed again deserted by everything pos- 
 sessing animal life. The uproar which had so lately echoed 
 through the vaults of the forest was gone, leaving the rush 
 of the waters to swell and sink on the currents of the air, in 
 the unmingled sweetness of nature. A fish-hawk, which, 
 secure on the topmost branches of a dead pine, had been a 
 distant spectator of the fray, now stooped from his high and 
 ragged perch, and soared, in wide sweeps, above his prey ; 
 while a jay, whose noisy voise had been stilled by the 
 hoarser cries of the savages, ventured again to open his dis- 
 cordant throat, as though once more in undisturbed possession 
 of his wild domains. Duncan caught from these natural ac- 
 companiments of the solitary scene a glimmering of hope , 
 and he began to rally his faculties to renewed exertions, with 
 something like a reviving confidence of success. 
 
 " The Huions are not to be seen," he said, addressing 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 8l 
 
 David, who had by no means recovered trom the effects of 
 the stunning blow he had received ; " let us conceal ourselves 
 in the cavern, and trust the rest to Providence." 
 
 " I remember to have united with two comely maidens, in 
 lifting up our voices in praise and thanksgiving," returned the 
 bewildered singing-master ; " since which time I have been 
 visited by a heavy judgment for my sins. I have been 
 mocked with the likeness of sleep, while sounds of discord 
 have rent my ears, such as might manifest the fulness of time, 
 and that nature had forgotten her harmony." 
 
 " Poor fellow ! thine own period was, in truth, near its ac- 
 complishment ! But arouse, and come with me ; I will lead 
 you where all other sounds but those of your own psalmody 
 shall be excluded." 
 
 " There is melody in the fall of the cataract, and the 
 rushing of many waters is sweet to the senses. " said David, 
 pressing his hand confusedly on his brow. " Is not the air 
 yet filled with shrieks and cries, as though the departed 
 spirits of the damned " 
 
 " Not now, not now," interruputed the impatient Heyward. 
 " they have ceased, and they who raised them, I trust in God, 
 they are gone, too ; everything but the water is still and at 
 peace ; in, then, where you may create those sounds you love 
 so well to hear." 
 
 David smiled sadly, though not without a momentary 
 gleam of pleasure, at this allusion to his beloved vocation. 
 He no longer hesitated to be led to a spot which promised 
 such unalloyed gratification to his wearied senses ; and, 
 leaning on the arm of his companion he entered the narrow 
 mouth of the cave. Duncan seized a pile of the sassafras, 
 which he drew before the passage, studiously concealing every 
 appearance of an aperture. Within this fragile barrier he ar- 
 ranged the blankets abandoned by the foresters, darkening 
 the inner extremity of the cavern, while its outer received a 
 chastened light from the narrow ravine, through which one 
 arm of the river rushed, to form the junction with its sistei 
 branch, a few rods below. 
 
 " I like not that principle of the natives, which teaches 
 them to submit without a struggle, in emergencies that appear 
 desperate," he said, while busied in this employment ; " oui 
 own maxim, which says, ' while life remains there is hope,' ia 
 more consoling, and better suited to a soldier's temperament. 
 To, you, Cora, I will urge no words of idle encouragement ; 
 your own fortitude and undisturbed reason will teach you all 
 
 6 
 
2 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 that may become your sex, but cannot we dry the tears of that 
 trembling weeper on your bosom ? " 
 
 " I am calmer, Duncan," said Alice, raising herself from 
 the arms of her sister, and forcing an appearance of composure 
 through her tears ; " much calmer, now. Surely in this hidden 
 spot we are safe, we are secret, free from injury ; we will hope 
 everything from those generous men who have risked so much 
 already in our behalf." 
 
 " Now does our gentle Alice speak like a daughter of 
 Munro ! " said Heyward, pausing to press her hand as he 
 passed towards the outer entrance of the cavern. " With two 
 such examples of courage before him, a man would be ashamed 
 to prove other than a hero." He then seated himself in the 
 centre of the cavern, grasping his remaining pistol with a hand 
 convulsively clenched, while his contracting and frowning eye 
 announced the sullen desperation of his purpose. " The 
 Hurons, if they come, may not gain our position so easily as 
 they think," he lowly muttered ; and dropping his head back 
 against the rock, he seemed to await the result in patience, 
 though his gaze was unceasingly bent on the open avenue to 
 their place of retreat. 
 
 With the last sound of his voice, a deep, along, and almost 
 breathless silence succeeded. The fresh air of the morning 
 had penetrated the recess, and its influence was gradually felt 
 on the spirits of its inmates. As minute after minute passed 
 by, leaving them in undisturbed security, the insinuating feel- 
 ing of hope was gradually gaining possession of every bosom, 
 though each one felt reluctant to give utterance to expecta- 
 tions that the next moment might so fearfully destroy. 
 
 David alone formed an exception to these varying emo- 
 tions. A gleam of light from the opening crossed his wan 
 countenance, and fell upon the pages of the little volume, 
 whose leaves he was again occupied in turning, as if searching 
 for some song more fitted to their condition than any that had 
 yet met his eye. He was, most probably, acting all this time 
 under a confused recollection of the promised consolation of 
 Duncan. At length, it would seem, his patient industry found 
 its reward ; for, without explanation or apology, he pronounced 
 aloud the words " Isle of Wight," drew a long, sweet sound 
 from his pitch-pipe, and then ran through the preliminary 
 modulations of the air, whose name he had just mentioned, 
 with the sweeter tones of his own musical voice. 
 
 " May not this prove dangerous ? " asked Cora, glancing 
 her dark ye at Major Heyward. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 83 
 
 !< Poor fellow ! his voice is too feeble to be heard amid the 
 din of the falls," was the answer ; " besides the cavern will 
 prove his friend. Let him indulge his passion, since it may 
 be done without hazard." 
 
 " Isle of Wight ! " repeated David, looking about him 
 with that dignity with which he had long been wont to silence 
 the whispering echoes of his school ; " 'tis a brave tune, and 
 set to solemn words ; let it be sung with meet respect ! " 
 
 After allowing a moment of stillness to enforce his dis- 
 cipline, the voice of the singer was heard, in low, murmuring 
 syllables, gradually stealing on the ear, until it filled the nar- 
 row vault with sounds rendered trebly thrilling by the feeble 
 and tremulous utterance produced by his debility. The mel- 
 ody, which no weakness could destroy, gradually wrought its 
 sweet influence on the senses of those who heard it. It even 
 prevailed over the miserable travesty of the song of David 
 which the singer had selected from a volume of similar effu- 
 sions, and caused the sense to be forgotten in the insinuating 
 harmony of the sounds. Alice unconsciously dried her tears, 
 and bent her melting eyes on the pallid features of Gamut, 
 with an expression of chastened delight that she neither af- 
 fected nor wished to conceal. Cora bestowed an approving 
 smile on the pious efforts of the namesake of the Jewish 
 prince, and Heyward soon turned his steady, stern look from 
 the outlet of the cavern, to fasten it, with a milder character, 
 on the face of David, or to meet the wandering beams which 
 at moments strayed from the humid eyes of Alice. The open 
 sympathy of the listeners stirred the spirit of the votary of 
 music, whose voice regained its richness and volume, without 
 losing that touching softness which proved its secret charm. 
 Exerting his renovated powers to their utmost, he was yet fill- 
 ing the arches of the cave with long and full tones, when a 
 yell burst into the air without, that instantly stilled his pious 
 strains, choking his voice suddenly, as though his heart had 
 literally bounded into the passage of his throat. 
 
 u We are lost ! " exclaimed Alice throwing herself into the 
 arms of Cora. 
 
 "Not yet, not yet," returned the agitated but undaunted 
 Heyward ; " the sound came from the centre of the island, 
 and it has been produced by the sight of their dead compan- 
 ions. We are not yet discovered, and there is still hope." 
 
 Faint and almost despairing as was the prospect of escape, 
 tne words of Duncan were not thrown away, for it awakened 
 the powers of the sisters in such a manner, that they awaited 
 
LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 the result in silence. A second yell soon followed the first 
 when a rush of voices was heard pouring down the island, 
 from its upper to its lower extremity, until they reached the 
 naked rock above the caverns, where, after a shout of savage 
 triumph, the air continued full of horrible cries and screams, 
 such as man alone can utter, and he only when in a state o* 
 the fiercest barbarity. 
 
 The sounds quickly spread around them in every direction 
 Some called to their fellows from the water's edge, and were 
 answered from the heights above. Cries were heard in the 
 startling vicinity of the chasm between the two caves, which 
 mingled with hoarser yells that arose out of the abyss of the 
 deep ravine. In short, so rapidly had the savage sounds dif 
 fused themselves over the barren rock, that it was not diffi- 
 cult for the anxious listeners to imagine they could be heard 
 beneath, as in truth they were above, and on every side of 
 them. 
 
 In the midst of this tumult, a triumphant yell was raised 
 within a few yards of the hidden entrance to the cave. Hey- 
 ward abandoned every hope, with the belief that it was the 
 signal that they were discovered. Again the impression 
 passed away, as he heard the voices collect near the spot 
 where the -white man had so reluctantly abandoned his rifle. 
 Amid the jargon of the Indian dialects that he now plainly 
 heard, it was easy to distinguish not only words, but sen- 
 tences, in the patois of the Canadas. A burst of voices had 
 shouted simultaneously, " La longue Carabine ! " causing the 
 opposite woods to re-echo with a name which, Heyward well 
 remembered, had been given by his enemies to a celebrated 
 hunter and scout of the English camp, and who he now learnt 
 for the first time, had been his late companion. 
 
 " La longue Carabine ! la longue Carabine ! " passed from 
 mouth to mouth, until the whole band appeared to be collected 
 around a trophy which would seem to announce the death of 
 its formidable owner. After a vociferous consultation, which 
 was, at times, deafened by bursts of savage joy, they again 
 separated, filling the air with the name of a foe, whose body, 
 Heyward could collect from their expressions, they hoped to 
 find concealed in some crevice of the island. 
 
 " Now," he whispered to the trembling sisters. " now is 
 the moment of uncertainty ! if our place of retreat escape this 
 scrutiny, we are still safe ! In every event, we are assured, 
 by what has fallen from our enemies, that our friends have 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 85 
 
 escaped, and in two short hours we may look for succor from 
 Webb." 
 
 There were now a few minutes of fearful stillness, during 
 which Heyward well knew that the savages conducted their 
 search with greater vigilance and method. More than once 
 he could distinguish their footsteps, as they brushed the sas- 
 safras, causing the faded leaves to rustle, and the branches to 
 snap. At length the pile yielded a little, a corner of a 
 blanket fell, and a faint ray of light gleamed into the innei 
 part of the cave. Cora folded Alice to her bosom in agony, 
 and Duncan sprang to his feet. A shout was at that moment 
 heard, as if .issuing from the centre of the rock, announcing 
 that the neighboring cavern had at length been entered. In 
 a minute, the number and loudness of the voices indicated 
 that the whole party was collected in and around that secret 
 place. 
 
 As the inner passages of the two caves were so close 
 to each other, Duncan, believing that escape was no longer 
 possible, passed David and the sisters, to place himself be- 
 tween the latter and the first onset of the terrible meeting. 
 Grown desperate by his situation, he drew nigh the slight 
 barrier which separated him only by a few feet from his re- 
 lentless pursuers, and placing his face to the casual opening, 
 he even looked out, with a sort of desperate indifference, on 
 their movements. 
 
 Within reach of his arm was the brawny shoulder of a 
 gigantic Indian, whose deep and authoritative voice appeared 
 to give directions to the proceedings of his fellows. Beyond 
 him again, Duncan could look into the vault opposite, which 
 was filled with savages, upturning and rifling the humble 
 furniture of the scout. The wound of David had died the leaves 
 of sassafras with a color that the natives well knew was antici- 
 pating the season. Over this sign of their success, they set 
 up a howl, like an opening from so many hounds who had re- 
 covered a lost trail. After this yell of victory, they tore up 
 the fragrant bed of the cavern, and bore the branches into 
 the chasm, scattering the boughs, as if they suspected them 
 of concealing the person of the man they had so long hated 
 and feared. One fierce and wild-looking warrior approached 
 the chief, bearing a load of the brush, and pointing, exultingly, 
 to the deep red stains with which it was sprinkled, uttered his 
 joy in Indian yells, whose meaning Heyward was only enabled 
 to comprehend by the frequent repetition of the name of " La 
 longue Carabine ! " When his triumph had ceased, he cast 
 
86 THE LAST OF THE MOHICAN'S. 
 
 the brush on the slight heap that Duncan had made before 
 the entrance of the second cavern, and closed the view. His 
 example was followed by others, who, as they drew the 
 branches from the cave of the scout, threw them into one pile, 
 adding, unconsciously, to the security of those they sought. 
 The very slightness of the defence was its chief merit, for no 
 one thought of disturbing a mass of brush, which all of them 
 believed, in that moment of hurry and confusion, had been ac- 
 cidentally raised by the hands of their own party. 
 
 As the blankets- yielded before the outward pressure, and 
 the branches settled in the fissure of the rock by their own 
 weight, forming a compact body, Duncan once more breathed 
 freely. With a light step, and lighter heart, he returned to 
 the centre of the cave, and took the place he had left, where 
 he could command a view of the opening next the river. 
 While he was in the act of making this movement, the Indians, 
 as if changing their purpose by a common impulse, broke 
 away from the chasm in a body, and were heard rushing up 
 the island again, towards the point whence they had origi- 
 nally descended. Here another wailing cry betrayed that they 
 were again collecting around the bodies of their dead com- 
 rades. 
 
 Duncan now ventured to look at his companions \ for, during 
 the most critical moments of their danger, he had been ap- 
 prehensive that the anxiety of his countenance might commu- 
 nicate some additional alarm to those who were so little able 
 to sustain it. 
 
 " They are gone, Cora," he whispered ; " Alice, they are 
 returned whence they came, and we are saved. To heaven, 
 that has alone delivered us from the grasp of so merciless an 
 enemy, be all the praise ! " 
 
 " Then to heaven will I return my thanks," exclaimed the 
 younger sister, rising from the encircling arms of Cora, and 
 casting herself with enthusiastic gratitude on the naked rock 
 " to that heaven who has spared the tears of a gray-headed 
 father, has saved the lives of those I so much love " 
 
 Both Heyward and the more even-tempered Cora witnessed 
 the act of involuntary emotion with powerful sympathy, the 
 former secretly believing that piety had never worn a form so 
 lovely as it had now assumed in the youthful person of Alice. 
 Her eyes were radiant with the glow of grateful feelings ; the 
 flush of her beauty was again seated on her cheeks, and her 
 whole soul seemed ready and anxious to pour out its thanks- 
 givings, through the medium of her eloquent features. But 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 87 
 
 when her lips moved, the words they should have utteied ap- 
 peared frozen by some new and sudden chill. Her bloom 
 gave place to the paleness of death ; her soft melting eyes 
 grew hard, and seemed contracting with horror ; while those 
 hands which she had raised, clasped in each other, towards 
 heaven, dropped in horizontal lines before her, the fingers 
 pointed forward in convulsed motion. Heyward turned, the 
 instant she gave a direction to his suspicions, and, peering 
 just above the ledge which formed the threshold of the open 
 outlet of the cavern, he beheld the malignant, fierce, and 
 savage features of Le Renard Subtil. 
 
 In that moment of surprise, the self-possession of Hey- 
 ward did not desert him. He observed by the vacant expres- 
 sion of the Indian's countenance, that his eye, accustomed to 
 the open air, had not yet been able to penetrate the dusky 
 light which pervaded the depth of the cavern. He had even 
 thought of retreating beyond a curvature in the natural wall, 
 which might still conceal him and his companions, when, by 
 the sudden gleam of intelligence that shot across the features 
 of the savage, he saw that it was too late, and that they were 
 betrayed. 
 
 The look of exultation -and brutal triumph which an- 
 nounced this terrible truth was irresistibly irritating. Forget- 
 ful of everything but the impulses of his hot blood, Duncan 
 levelled his pistol and fired. The report of the weapon made 
 the cavern bellow- like an eruption from a volcano ; and when 
 the smoke it vomited had been driven away before the cur 
 rent of air which issued from the ravine, the place so lately 
 occupied by the features of his treacherous guide was vacant. 
 Rushing to the outlet, Heyward caught a glimpse of his dark 
 figure stealing around a low and narrow ledge, which soon 
 hid him from sight. 
 
 Among the savages, a frightful stillness succeeded the ex- 
 plosion, which had just been heard bursting from the bowels 
 of the rock. But when Le Renard raised his voice in a long 
 and intelligible whoop, it was answered by a spontaneous yell 
 from the mouth of every Indian within hearing of the sound. 
 The clamorous noises again rushed down the island ; and be- 
 fore Duncan had time to recover from the shock, his feeble 
 barrier of brush was scattered to the winds, the cavern was 
 entered at both extremities, and he and his companions were 
 dragged from their shelter and borne into the day, where they 
 stood surrounded by the whole band of the triumphant 
 Hurons. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 I fear we shall outsleep the coming morn, 
 
 As much as we this night have overwatched ! " 
 
 MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. 
 
 THE instant the shock of this sudden misfortune had 
 abated, Duncan began to make his observations on the ap- 
 pearance and proceedings of their captors. Contrary to th* 
 usages of the natives in the wantonness of their success, the) 
 had respected, not only the persons of the trembling sisters, 
 but his own. The rich ornaments of his military attire had 
 indeed bvien repeatedly handled by different individuals of the 
 iribe with eyes expressing a savage longing to possess the 
 baubles ; but before the customary violence could be resorted 
 to, a mandate, in the authoritative voice of the large warrior 
 already mentioned, stayed the uplifted hand, and convinced 
 Heyward that they were to be reserved for some object of par- 
 ticular moment. 
 
 While, however, these manifestations of weakness were 
 exhibited by the yonng and vain of the party, the more ex- 
 perienced warriors continued their search throughout both 
 caverns, with an activity that denoted they were far from being 
 satisfied with those fruits of their conquest which had already 
 been brought to light. Unable to discover any new victim, 
 these diligent workers of vengeance soon approached their 
 malt prisoners, pronouncing the name of "La longue Cara- 
 bine," with a fierceness that could not easily be mistaken. 
 Duncan affected not to comprehend the meaning of their re- 
 peated and violent interrogatories, while his companion was 
 spared the effort of a similar deception by his ignorance of 
 French. Wearied, at length, by their importunities, and ap- 
 prehensive of irritating his captors by too stubborn a silence, 
 the former looked about him in quest of Magua, who might 
 interpret his answer to questions which were, at each moment, 
 becoming more earnest and threatening. 
 
 The conduct of this savage had formed a solitary excep- 
 tion to that of all his fellows. While the others were busily 
 occupied in seeking to gratify their childish passion for finery, 
 b, plundering even the miserable effects of the scout, or had 
 
TJ/ LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 89 
 
 been searching, with such blooodthirsty vengeance in their 
 looks, for their absent owner, Le Renard had stood a little 
 distance from the prisoners, with a demeanor so quiet and 
 satisfied, as to betray that he had already effected the grand 
 purpose of his treachery. When the eyes of Heyward first met 
 those of his recent guide, he turned them away in horror at 
 the sinister, though calm look he encountered. Conquering 
 his disgust, however, he was able, with an averted face, to 
 address his successful enemy. 
 
 " Le Renard Subtil is too much of a warrior," said the re- 
 luctant Heyward, " to refuse telling an unarmed man what his 
 conquerors say." 
 
 " They ask for the hunter who knows the path through 
 the woods," returned Magua, in his broken English, laying 
 his hand, at the same time, with a ferocious smile, on the 
 bundle of leaves with which a wound on his own shoulder was 
 bandaged. " La longue Carabine ! his rifle is good, and his 
 eye never shut ; but, like the short gun of the white chief, it 
 is nothing against the life of Le Subtil." 
 
 " Le Renard is too brave to remember the hurts received 
 in war, or the hands that gave them." 
 
 " Was it war, when the tired Indian rested at the sugar- 
 tree to taste his corn ? who filled the bushes with creeping 
 enemies, who drew the knife ? whose tongue was peace, while 
 his heart was covered with blood ? Did Magua say that the 
 hatchet was out of the ground, and that his hand had dug 
 it up ? " 
 
 As Duncan dared not retort upon his accuser by remind- 
 ing him of his own premeditated treachery, and disdained to 
 deprecate his resentment by any words of apology, he re- 
 mained silent. Magua seemed also content to rest the con- 
 troversy as well as all further communication there, for he 
 resumed the leaning attitude against the rock, from which, in 
 momentary energy, he had arisen. But the cry of " La longue 
 Carabine " was renewed the instant the impatient savages per- 
 ceived that the short dialogue was ended. 
 
 " You hear," said Magua, with stubborn indifference \ 
 " the red Hurons call for the life of ' The Long Rifle,' or they 
 will have the blood of them that keep him hid." 
 
 " He is gone escaped ; he is far beyond their reach/' 
 
 Renard smiled with cold contempt as he answered 
 
 " When the white man dies, he thinks he is at peace ; but 
 the red men know how to torture even the ghosts of their 
 enemies. Where is his bodv ? Let the Hurons see his scalo/ 
 
LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 " He is not dead, but escaped." 
 
 Magua shook his head incredulously. 
 
 " Is he a bird, to spread his wings ; or is he a fish, ta 
 swim without air? The white chief reads in his books, <ind 
 he believes the Hurons are fools." 
 
 " Though no fish, * the long Rifle ' can swim. He floated 
 down the stream when the powder was all burnt, and when 
 the eyes of the Hurons were behind a cloud." 
 
 " And why did the white chief stay ? " demanded the still 
 incredulous Indian. " Is he a stone that goes to the bottom, 
 or does the scalp burn his head ? " 
 
 " That I am not a stone, your dead comrade, who fell into 
 the falls, might answer, were the life still in him," said the 
 provoked young man, using, in his anger, that boastful lan- 
 guage which was most likely to excite the admiration of an 
 Indian. " The white man thinks none but cowards desert 
 their women." 
 
 Magua uttered a few words, inaudibly, between his teeth, 
 before he continued, aloud, 
 
 " Can the Delawares swim, too, as well as crawl in the 
 bushes ? Where is ' Le gros Serpent ? ' ' 
 
 Duncan, who perceived by the use of these Canadian ap- 
 pellations, that his late companions were much better known 
 to his enemies than to himself, answered reluctantly, " He also 
 is gone down with the water." 
 
 " ' Le Cerf agile ' is not here ! " 
 
 " I know not whom you call c The nimble Deer,' " said 
 Duncan, gladly profiting by any excuse to create delay. 
 
 " Uncas," returned Magua, pronouncing the Delaware 
 name with even greater difficulty than he spoke his English 
 words. " ' Bounding Elk ' is what the white man says, when 
 he calls to the young Mohican." 
 
 " Here is some confusion in names between us, Le Re- 
 nard," said Duncan, hoping to provoke a discussion. " Daim 
 is the French for deer, and cerf for stag ; elan is the true 
 term, when one would speak of an elk." 
 
 " Yes," muttered the Indian, in his native tongue ; " the 
 pale faces are prattling women ! they have two words for 
 each thing, while a red skin will make the sound of his voice 
 speak for him." Then changing his language, he continued, 
 adhering to the imperfect nomenclature of his provincial 
 instructors, " The deer is swift, but weak ; the elk is swift, 
 but strong; and the son of 'Le Serpent 1 is 'Le Cerf agile,' 
 Has he leaped the river to the woods ? " 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. g r 
 
 "If you mean the younger Delaware, he too is gone down 
 with the water." 
 
 As there was nothing improbable to an Indian in the 
 manner of the escape, Magua admitted the truth of what he 
 had heard, with a readiness that afforded additional evidence 
 how little he would prize such worthless captives. With his 
 companions, however, the feeling was manifestly different. 
 
 The Hurons had awaited the result of this short dialogue 
 with characteristic patience, and with a silence that increased 
 until there was a general stillness in the band. When Hey- 
 ward ceased to speak, they turned their eyes as one man on 
 Magua, demanding, in this expressive manner, an explana^ 
 tion of what had been said. Their interpreter pointed to the 
 river and made them acquainted with the result, as much by 
 the action as by the few words he uttered. When the fact 
 was generally understood, the savages raised a frightful yell, 
 which declared the extent of their disappointment. Some ran 
 furiously to the water's edge, beating the air with frantic ges- 
 tures, while others spat upon the element, to resent the sup- 
 posed treason it had committed against their acknowledged 
 rights as conquerors. A few, and they not the least power- 
 ful and terrific of the band, threw lowering looks, in which 
 the fiercest passion was only tempered by habitual self-com- 
 mand, at those captives who still remained in their power \ 
 while one or two even gave vent to their malignant feelings 
 by the most menacing gestures, against which neither the sex 
 nor the beauty of the sisters was any protection. The young 
 soldier made a desperate, but fruitless effort, to spring to the 
 side of Alice, when he saw the dark hand of a savage twisted 
 in the rich tresses which were flowing in volumes over her 
 shoulders, while a knife was passed around the head from 
 which they fell, as if to denote the horrid manner in which it 
 was about to be robbed of its beautiful ornament. But his 
 hands were bound ; and at the first movement he made, he 
 felt the grasp of the powerful Indian who directed the band, 
 pressing his shoulder like a vice. Immediately conscious 
 how unavailing any struggle against such an overwhelming 
 force must prove, he submitted to his fate, encouraging his 
 gentle companions by a few low and tender assurances, that 
 the natives seldom failed to threaten more than they per- 
 formed. 
 
 But, while Duncan resorted to these words of consolation to 
 quiet the apprehensions of the sisters, he was not so weak as 
 to deceive himself. He well knew that the authority of a 
 
,^2 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 Indian chief was so little conventional, that it was oftene* 
 maintained by physical superiority than by any moral su 
 premacy he might possess. The danger was, therefore, mag- 
 nified exactly in proportion to the number of the savage spirits 
 by which they were surrounded. The most positive mandate 
 from him who seemed the acknowledged leader, was liable to 
 be violated at each moment, by any rash hand that might 
 chose to sacrifice a victim to the manes of some dead friend 
 or relative. While, therefore, he sustained an outward ap- 
 pearance of calmness and fortitude, his heart leaped into his 
 throat, whenever any of their fierce captors drew nearer than 
 common to the helpless sisters, or fastened one of tneir sullen 
 wandering looks on those fragile forms which were so little able 
 to resist the slightest assault. 
 
 His apprehensions were, however, greatly relieved, when he 
 saw that the leader had summoned his warriors to himself in 
 council. Their deliberations were short, and it would seem, 
 by the silence of most of the party, the decision unanimous. 
 By the frequency with which the few speakers pointed in the 
 direction of the encampment of Webb, it was apparent they 
 dreaded the approach of danger from that quarter. This con- 
 sideration probably hastened their determination, and quick- 
 ened the subsequent movements. 
 
 During this short conference, Heyward, finding a respite 
 from his greatest fears, had leisure to admire the cautious 
 manner in which the Hurons had made their approaches, even 
 after hostilities had ceased. 
 
 It has already been stated, that the upper half of the island 
 was a naked rock, and destitute of any other defences than a 
 few scatteied logs of drift-wood. They had selected this point 
 to make their descent, having borne the canoe through the 
 wood around the cataract for that purpose. Placing their 
 arms in the little vessel, a dozen men, clinging to its sides, 
 had trusted themselves to the direction of the canoe, which 
 was controlled by two of the most skilful warriors, in attitudes 
 that enabled them to command a view of the dangerous pas- 
 sage. Favored by this arrangement, they touched the head 
 of the island at that point which had proved so fatal to their 
 first adventure, but with the advantages of superior numbers 
 and the possession of fire-arms. That such had been the 
 manner of their descent was rendered quite apparent ttf 
 Duncan ; for they now bore the light bark from the upper end 
 of the rock, and placed it in the water, near the mouth of the 
 outer cavern. As soon as this change was made, the leadei 
 made signs to the prisoners to descend and enter. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. ' 93 
 
 As resistance was useless, Heyward set the example of sub- 
 mission, by leading the way into the canoe, where he was soon 
 seated with the sisters, and the still wondering David. Not- 
 withstanding the Hurons were necessarily ignorant of the little 
 channels among the eddies and rapids of the stream, they 
 knew the common signs of such a navigation too well to 
 commit any material blunder. When the pilot chosen for the 
 task of guiding the canoe had taken his station, the whole 
 band plunged again into the river, the vessel glided down the 
 current, and in a few moments the captives found themselves on 
 the south bank of the stream, nearly opposite to the point 
 where they had struck it the preceding evening. 
 
 Here was held another short but earnest consultation, 
 during which the horses, to whose panic their owners ascribed 
 their heaviest misfortune, were led from the cover of the woods, 
 and brought to the sheltered spot. The band now divided. 
 The great chief so often mentioned, mounting the charge/ 
 of Heyward, led the way directly across the river, followed b) 
 most of his people, and disappeared in the woods, leaving the 
 prisoners in charge of six savages, at whose head was Le 
 Renard Subtil. Duncan witnessed all their movements with 
 renewed uneasiness. 
 
 He had been fond of believing, from the uncommon for- 
 bearance of the savages, that he was reserved as a prisoner to 
 be delivered to Montcalm. As the thoughts of those who are 
 in misery seldom slumber, and the invention is never more 
 lively than when it is stimulated by hope, however feeble and 
 remote, he had even imagined that the parental feelings of 
 Munro were to be made instrumental in seducing him from his 
 duty to the king. For though the French commander bore a 
 high character for courage and enterprise, he was also thought 
 to be expert in those political practices which do not always 
 respect the nicer obligations of morality, and which so gener- 
 ally disgraced the European diplomacy of that period. 
 
 All those busy and ingenious speculations were now an- 
 nihilated by the conduct of his captors. That portion of the 
 band who had followed the huge warrior took the route towards 
 the foot of the Horican, and no other expectation was left 
 for himself and companions, than that they were to be retained 
 as hopeless captives by their savage conquerors. Anxious to 
 know the worst, and willing, in such an emergency, to try the 
 potency of gold, he overcame his reluctance to speak to Magua. 
 Addressing himself to his former guide, who had now as* 
 sumed the authority and manner of one who was to direct the 
 
94 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 future movements of the party, he said, in tones as friendlj 
 and confident as he could assume, 
 
 " I would speak to Magua, what is fit only for so great a 
 chief to hear." 
 
 The Indian turned his eyes on the young soldier scorn 
 fully, as he answered 
 
 " Speak ; trees have no ears ! " 
 
 " But the red Hurdns are not deaf ; and counsel that is 
 fit for the great men of a nation would make the young war- 
 riors drunk. If Magua will not listen, the officer of the king 
 knows how to keep silent." 
 
 The savage spoke carelessly to his comrades, who were 
 busied, after their awkward manner, in preparing the horses 
 for the reception of the sisters, and moved a little to one side, 
 whither, by a cautious gesture, he induced Heyward to follow. 
 
 " Now speak," he said ; " if the words are such as Magua 
 should hear." 
 
 "Le Renard Subtil has proved himself worthy of the 
 honorable name given to him by his Canada fathers," com- 
 menced Heyward ; " I see his wisdom and all that he has 
 done for us, and shall remember it, when the hour to reward 
 him arrives. Yes ! Renard has proved that he is not only a 
 great chief in council, but one who knows how to deceive his 
 enemies ! " 
 
 " What has Renard done ? " coldly demanded the Indian. 
 
 " What ! has he not seen that the woods were filled with 
 outlying parties of the enemies, and that the serpent could 
 not steal through them without being seen ? Then, did he 
 not lose his path to blind the eyes of the Hurons ? Did he 
 not pretend to go back to his tribe, who had treated him ill, 
 and driven him from their wigwams like a dog ? And, when 
 we saw what he wished to do, did we not aid him, by making 
 a false face, that the Hurons might think the white man 
 believed that his friend was his enemy ? Is not all this true ? 
 And when Le Subtil had shut the eyes and stopped the ears 
 of his nation by his wisdom, did they not forget that they had 
 once done him wrong, and forced him to flee to the Mohawks ? 
 And did they not leave him on the south side of the river, 
 with their prisoners, while they have gone foolishly on the 
 north ? Does not Renard mean to turn like a fox on his foot' 
 steps, and carry to the rich and gray-headed Scotchman his 
 daughters ? Yes, Magua, I see it all, and I have already 
 been thinking how so much wisdom and honesty should be 
 repaid. First, the chief of William Henry will give as 9 
 
THE LAST O& THE MOHICANS. ^ 
 
 great chief should for such a service. The medal * of Magua 
 will no longer be of tin, but of beaten gold ; his horn will run 
 over with powder ; dollars will be as plenty in his pouch as 
 pebbles on the shores of Horican ; and the deer will lick his 
 hand, for they will know it to be vain to fly from the rifle he 
 will carry! As for myself, I know not how to exceed the 
 gratitude of the Scotchman, but I yes, I will '' 
 
 ' What will the young chief, who comes from towards the 
 sun, give ? " demanded the Huron, observing that Heyward 
 hesitated in his desire to end the enumeration of benefits 
 with that which might form the climax of an Indian's wishes. 
 
 " He will make the fire-water from the Islands in the salt 
 lake flow before the wigwam of Magua, until the heart of the 
 Indian shall be lighter than the feathers of the humming-bird, 
 and his breath sweeter than the wild honey-suckle." 
 
 Le Renard had listened gravely as Heyward slowly pro-, 
 ceeded in this subtle speech. When the young man men- 
 tioned the artifice he supposed the Indian to have practiced 
 on his own nation, the countenance of the listener was veiled 
 in an expression of cautious gravity. At the allusion to the 
 injury which Duncan affected to believe had driven the Huron 
 from his native tribe, a gleam of such ungovernable ferocity 
 flashed f: om the other's eyes, as induced the adventurous 
 speaker to believe that he had struck the proper chord. And 
 by the time he reached the part where he so artfully blended 
 the thirst of vengeance with the desire of gain, he had, at 
 least, obtained a command of the deepest attention of the 
 savage. The question put by Le Renard had been calm, and 
 with all the dignity of an Indian ; but it was quite apparent, 
 by the thoughtful expression of the listener's countenance) 
 that the answer was most cunningly devised. The Huron 
 mused a few moments, and then, laying his hand on the rude 
 bandages of his wounded shoulder, he said, with some en- 
 ergy, 
 
 " Do friends make such marks ? " 
 
 " Would * La longue Carabine ' cut one so light on an 
 enemy ? " 
 
 "Do the Delawares crawl upon those they love like 
 snakes, twisting themselves to strike ! " 
 
 " Would * Le gros Serpent ' have been heard by the ears 
 of one he wished to be deaf ? " 
 
 * It has long been a practice with the whites, to conciliate the important men o! 
 the Indians, by presenting medals, which are worn in the place of their own rucfc 
 oraaments. Those given by the English generally bear the impression of the reiga 
 l nsr kin?, and those given bv th* Americans, that of the president 
 
06 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 " Does the white chief burn his powder in the faces of his 
 brothers ? " 
 
 " Does he ever miss his aim, when seriously bent to kill ? M 
 returned Duncan, smiling with well-acted sincerity. 
 
 Another long and deliberate pause succeeded these sen* 
 tentious questions and ready replies. Duncan saw that th 
 Indian hesitated. In order to complete his victory, he was 
 in the act of recommencing the enumeration of the rewards, 
 when Magua made an expressive gesture, and said 
 
 " Enough ; Le Renard is a wise chief, and what he does 
 will be seen. Go, and keep the mouth *hut. When Magua 
 speaks, it will be the time to answer." 
 
 Heyward, perceiving that the eyes of his companion were 
 warily fastened on the rest of the band, fell back immediately, 
 in order to avoid the appearance of any suspicious confeder- 
 acy with their leader. Magua approached the horses, and 
 affected to be well pleased with the diligence and ingenuity 
 of his comrades. He then signed to Heyward to assist the 
 sisters into the saddles, for he seldom deigned to use the 
 English tongue, unless urged by some motive of more than 
 usual moment. 
 
 There was no longer any plausible pretext for delay ; and 
 Duncan was obliged, however reluctantly, to comply. As he 
 performed this office, he whispered his reviving hopes in the 
 ears of the trembling females, who, through dread of encoun- 
 tering the savage countenances of their captors, seldom raised 
 their eyes from the ground. The mare of David had been 
 taken with the followers of the large chief ; in consequence, 
 its owner, as well as Duncan, were compelled to journey on 
 foot. The latter did not, however, so much regret this cir- 
 cumstance, as it might enable him to retard the speed of the 
 party ; for he still turned his longing looks in the direction of 
 Fort Edward, in the vain expectation of catching some sound 
 from that quarter of the fortst, which might denote the ap- 
 proach of succor. 
 
 When all were prepared, Magua made the signal to pro- 
 ceed, advancing in front to lead the party in person. Next 
 followed David, who was gradually coming to a true sense of 
 his condition, as the effects of the wound became less and 
 less apparent. The sisters rode in his rear, with Heyward at 
 their side, while the Indians flanked the party, and brought 
 up the close of the march, with a caution that seemed nevei 
 to tire. 
 
 In this manner they proceeded in uninterrupted silence, 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 9} 
 
 except when Heyward addressed some solitary word ot com* 
 fort to the females, or David gave vent to the meanings of 
 his spirit, in piteous exclamations, which he intended should 
 express the humility of resignation. Their direction lay to- 
 wards the south, ancl in a course nearly opposite to the road 
 to William Henry. Notwithstanding the apparent adherence 
 in Magua to the original determination of his conquerors, 
 Heyward could not believe his tempting bait was so soon for- 
 gotten ; and he knew the windings of an Indian path too well, 
 to suppose that its apparent course led directly to its object, 
 when artifice was at all necessary. Mile after ^mile was, how- 
 ever, passed through the boundless woods, in this painful 
 manner, without any prospect of a termination to their journey. 
 Heyward watched the sun, as he darted his meridian rays 
 through the branches of the trees, and pined for the moment 
 when the policy of Magua should change their route to one 
 more favorable to his hopes. Sometimes he fancied the wary 
 savage, despairing of passing the army of Montcalm in safety, 
 was holding his way towards a well known border settlement, 
 where a distinguished officer of the crown, and a favored 
 friend of the Six Nations, held his large possessions, as well 
 as his usual residence. To be delivered, into the hands of 
 Sir William Johnson, was far preferable to being led into the 
 wilds of Canada ; but in order to effect even the former, it 
 would be necessary to traverse the forest for many weary 
 leagues, each step of which was carrying him further from the 
 scene of the war, and, consequently, from the post, not only oi 
 honor, but of duty. 
 
 Cora alone remembered the parting injunctions of the 
 scout, and whenever an opportunity offered, she stretched forth 
 her arm to bend aside the twigs that met her hands. But the 
 vigilance of the Indians rendered this act of precaution both 
 difficult and dangerous. She was often defeated in her pur- 
 pose, by encountering their watchful eyes, when it became 
 necessary to feign an alarm she did not feel, and occupy the 
 limb by some gesture of feminine apprehension. Once and 
 once only was she completely successful ; when she broke 
 down the bough of a large sumach, and, by a sudden thought, 
 l;t her glove fall at the same instant. This sign, intended 
 for those that might follow, was observed by one of her con- 
 ductors, who restored the glove, broke the remaining branches 
 of the bush in such a manner that it appeared to proceed from 
 the struggling of some beast in its branches, and then laid 
 his hand on his tomahawk, with a look so significant, that it 
 
08 THE LAST OF THE MOHICAN*. 
 
 put an effectual end to these stolen memorials of their pas 
 sage. 
 
 As there were horses to leave the prints of their footsteps, 
 in both bands , of the Indians, this interruption cut off any 
 probable hopes of assistance being conveyed through the 
 means of their trail. 
 
 Heyward would have ventured a remonstrance, had there 
 been anything encouraging in the gloomy reserve of Magua, 
 But the savage during all this time, seldom turned to look at 
 his followers, and never spoke. With the sun for his only 
 guide, or aided by such blind marks as are only known to the 
 sagacity of a native, he held his way along the barrens of pine, 
 through occasional little fertile vales, across brooks and rivu- 
 lets, and over undulating hills, with the accuracy of instinct, 
 and nearly with the directness of a bird. He never seemed 
 to hesitate. Whether the path was hardly distinguishable, 
 whether it disappeared, or whether it lay beaten and plain 
 before him, made no sensible difference in his speed or cer- 
 tainty. It seemed as if fatigue could not affect him. When- 
 ever the eyes of the wearied travellers arose from the decayed 
 leaves over which they trod, his dark form was to be seen 
 glancing among the stems of the trees in front, his head im- 
 movably fastened in a forward position, with the light plume 
 on his crest fluttering in a current of air, made solely by the 
 swiftness of his own motion. 
 
 But all this diligence and speed were not without an ob- 
 ject. After crossing a low vale, through which a gushing 
 brook meandered, he suddenly ascended a hill, so steep and 
 difficult of ascent that the sisters were compelled to alight, in 
 order to follow. When the summit was gained, they found 
 themselves on a level spot, but thinly covered with trees, under 
 one of which Magua had thrown his dark form, as if willing 
 and ready to seek that rest which was so much needed by thf 
 whole party. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 " Cursed be my tribe 
 
 If I forgive him." 
 
 SHYLOCX. 
 t 
 
 THE Indian had selected, for this desirable purpose, one 
 of those steep, pyramidcial hills, which bear a strong resem- 
 blance to artificial mounds, and which so frequently occur in 
 the valleys of America. The one in question was high and 
 precipitous ; its top flattened, as usual ; but with one of its 
 sides more than ordinarily irregular. It possessed no other 
 apparent advantage, for a resting-place, than in its elevation 
 and form, which might render defence easy, and surprise 
 nearly impossible. As Heyward, however, no longer ex- 
 pected that rescue which time and distance now rendered so 
 improbable, he regarded these little peculiarities with an eye 
 devoid of interest, devoting himself entirely to the comfort 
 and condolence of his feebler companions. The Narragan- 
 sets v/ere suffered to browse on the branches of the trees and 
 shrubs that were thinly scattered over the summit of the hill, 
 .while the remains of their provisions were spread under the 
 shade of a beech, that stretched its horizontal limbs like a 
 canopy above them. 
 
 Notwithstanding the swiftness of their flight, one of the 
 Indians had found an opportunity to strike a straggling fawn 
 with an arrow, and had borne the more preferable fragments 
 of the victim patiently, on his shoulders, to the stopping-place. 
 Without any aid from the science of cookery, he was imme 
 diately employed, in common with his fellows, in gorging him- 
 self with this digestible sustenance. Magua alone sat apart, 
 without participating in the revolting meal, and apparently 
 buried in the deepest thought. 
 
 This abstinence, so remarkable in an Indian when he 
 possessed the means of satisfying hunger, at length attracted 
 the notice of Heyward. The young man willingly believed 
 that the Huron deliberated on the most eligible manner of 
 eluding the vigilance of his associates. With a view to assist 
 his plans, by any suggestion of his own, and to strengthen the 
 temptation, he left the beech, and straggled, as if without an 
 object, ta the *pot where Le Renard was seated. 
 
,00 
 
 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 " Has not Magua kept the sun in his face long enough to 
 escape all danger from the Canadians ? " he asked, as though 
 no longer doubtful of the good intelligence established between 
 them ; " and will not the chief of William Henry be better 
 pleased to see his daughters before another night may have 
 hardened his heart to their loss, to make him less liberal in 
 his reward ? " 
 
 u Do the pale-faces love their children less in the morning 
 than at night ? " asked the Indian, coldly. 
 
 " By no means," returned Hey ward, anxious to recall his 
 error, if he had made one ; " the white man may, and does 
 often, forget the burial-place of his fathers ; he sometimes 
 ceases to remember those he should love and has promised 
 to cherish ; but the affection of a parent for his child is never 
 permitted to die." 
 
 " And is the heart of tlie white-headed chief soft, and will 
 he think of the babes that his squaws have given him ? He 
 is hard to his warriors, and his eyes are made of stone ! " 
 
 " He is severe to the idle and wicked, but to the sober 
 and deserving he is a leader, both just and humane. I have 
 known many fond and tender parents, but never have I seen 
 a man whose heart was softer towards his child. You have 
 seen the gray-head in front of his warriors, Magua ; but I 
 seen his eyes swimming in water, when he spoke of those 
 children who are now in your power." 
 
 Heyward paused, for he knew not how to construe the 
 remarkable expression that gleamed across the swarthy feat 
 ures of the attentive Indian. At first it seemed as if the 
 remembrance of the promised reward grew vivid in his mind, 
 while he listened to the sources of parental feeling, which 
 were to assure its possession ; but as Duncan proceeded, the 
 expression of joy became so fiercely malignant that it was 
 impossible not to apprehend it proceeded from some passion 
 more sinister than avarice. 
 
 *" Go," said the Huron, suppressing the alarming exhibi- 
 tion in an instant, in a death-like calmness of countenance - } 
 5: go to the dark-haired daughter, and say, Magua waits to 
 speak. The father will remember what the child promises." 
 
 Duncan, who interpreted this speech to express a wish for 
 some additional pledge that the promised gifts should not be 
 withheld, slowly and reluctantly repaired to the place where 
 the sisters were now resting from their fatigue, to communi- 
 cate its purport to Cora. 
 
 " You understand the nature of an Indian's wishes," ho 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. Ic , 
 
 concluded, as he led her towards the place where she was ej* 
 pected, " and must be prodigal of your offers of powder and 
 blankets. Ardent spirits are, however, the most prized by 
 such as he ; nor would it be amiss to add some boon from 
 your own hand, with that grace you so well know how to 
 practise. Remember, Cora, that on your presence of miiid 
 and ingenuity even your life, as welZ. as that of Alice, may IK 
 some measure depend." 
 
 " Heyward, and yours." 
 
 " Mine is of little moment ; it is already sold to my kh-g, 
 and is a prize to be seized by any enemy who may possess Uie 
 power. I have no father to expect me, and but few friends to 
 lament a fate which I have courted with the unsatiable logg- 
 ings of youth after distinction. But hush ; we approach tne 
 Indian. Magua, the lady with whom you wish to speak, is 
 here." 
 
 The Indian rose slowly from his seat, and stood for near 
 a minute silent and motionless. He then signed with his 
 hand for Heyward to retire, saying coldly, 
 
 " When the Huron talks to the woman, his tribe shut their 
 ears." 
 
 Duncan, still lingering, as if refusing to comply, Cora said, 
 with a calm smile, 
 
 11 You hear, Heyward, and delicacy at least should urge 
 you to retire. Go to Alice, and comfort her with our reviving 
 prospects." 
 
 She waited until he had departed, and then turning to the 
 native, with the dignity of sex in her voice and manner, sha 
 added, " What would Le Renard say to the daughter of 
 Munro ? " 
 
 "Listen," said the Indian, laying his hand firmly upon her 
 arm, as if willing to draw her utmost attention to his words ; 
 a movement that Cora as firmly but quietly repulsed, by ex- 
 tricating the limb from his grasp " Magua was born a chief 
 and a warrior among the red Hurons of the lakes ; he saw 
 the sun of twenty summers make the snows of twenty winters 
 run off in the streams, before he saw a pale face ; and he was 
 happy ! Then his Canada fathers came into the wopds, and 
 taught him to drink the fire-water, and he became a rascal. 
 The Hurons drove him from the graves of his fathers, as they 
 would chase the hunted buffalo. He ran down the shores 
 of the lakes, and followed their outlet to the ' city of cannon.' 
 There he hunted and fished, till the people chased him again 
 through the woods into the arms; of his enemies. The o' w ^ 
 
/02 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 wno was born a Huron, was at last a warrior among the 
 
 Mohawks ! " 
 
 " Something like this I had heard before," said Cora, ob 
 serving that he paused to suppress those passions which began 
 to burn with too bright a flame, as he recalled the recollec- 
 tion of his supposed injuries. 
 
 " Was it the fault of Le Renard that his head was not 
 made of rock ? Who gave him the fire-water ? who made him 
 a villain ? 'Twas the pale-faces, the people of your own color." 
 
 " And am I answerable that thoughtless and unprincipled 
 men exist, whose shades of countenance may resemble mine ? " 
 Cora calmly demanded of the excited savage. 
 
 " No ; Magua is a man, and not a fool ; such as you never 
 open their lips to the burning stream ; the Great Spirit has 
 given you wisdom ! " 
 
 " What then have I to do, or say, in the matter of youi 
 misfortunes, not to say of your errors ? " 
 
 " Listen," repeated the Indian, resuming his earnest atti- 
 tude ; " when his English and French fathers dug up the 
 hatchet, Le Renard struck the war-post of the Mohawks, and 
 went out against his own nation. The pale-faces have driven 
 the red-skins from their hunting grounds, and now, when the} 
 fight, a white man leads the way. The old chief at Horican, 
 your father, was the great captain of our war-party. He said 
 to the Mohawks do this, and do that, and he was minded. 
 He made a law, that if an Indian swallowed the fire-water, 
 and came into the cloth wigwams of his warriors, it should 
 not be forgotten. Magua foolishly opened his mouth, and 
 the hot liquor led him into the cabin of Munro. What did 
 the gray-head ? let his danghter say." 
 
 " He forgot not his words, and did justice, by punishing 
 the offender," said the undaunted daughter. 
 
 " Justice ! " repeated the Indian, casting an oblique glance 
 of the most ferocious expression at her unyielding counte- 
 nance; "is it justice to make evil, and then punish for it? 
 Magua was not himself ; but it was the fire-water that spoke 
 and acted for him ! but Munro did not believe it. The Huron 
 chief was tied up before all the pale-faced warriors, and whip, 
 ped like 'a dog." 
 
 Cora remained silent, for she knew not how to palliate this 
 i-nprudent severity' on the part of her father, in a manner to 
 suit the comprehension of an Indian. 
 
 "See .'" continued Magua, tearing aside the slight calico 
 that very imperfectly concealed his painted breast ; " here 
 
TffB, LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 103 
 
 are scars given by knives and bullets of these a warrior 
 may boast before his nation ; but the gray-head has left marks 
 on the back of the Huron chief, that he must hide, like a 
 squaw, under this painted cloth of the whites." 
 
 " I had thought," resumed Cora, " that an Indian warrior 
 was patient, and that his spirits felt not, and knew not, the 
 rain his body suffered ? " 
 
 " When the Chippewas tied Magua to the stake, and cut 
 this gash,"' said the other, laying his finger on a deep scar, 
 " the Huron laughed in their faces, and told them, Women 
 struck so light ! His spirit was then in the clouds ! But 
 when he felt theblows of Munro, his spirit lay under the birch. 
 The spirit of a Huron is never drunk ; it remembers forever ! " 
 
 " But it may be appeased. If my father has done you this 
 injustice, show him how an Indian can forgive an injury, and 
 take back his daughters. You have heard from Major Hey- 
 ward " 
 
 Magua shook his head, forbidding the repetition of offers 
 he so much despised. 
 
 "What would you have? " continued Cora, after a most 
 painful pause, while the conviction forced itself on her mind, 
 that the too sanguine and generous Duncan had been cruelly 
 deceived by the cunning of the savage. 
 
 " What a Huron loves good for good ; bad for bad ! 
 
 " You would then revenge the injury inflicted by Munro 
 on his helpless daughters. Would it not be more like a man 
 to go before his face, and take the satisfaction of a warrior ? " 
 
 " The arms of the pale-faces are long, and their knives 
 sharp ! " returned the savage, with a maligant laugh : " why 
 should Le Renard go among the muskets of his warriors, when 
 he holds the spirit of the gray-head in his hand ? " 
 
 " Name your intention, Magua," said Cora, struggling with 
 herself to speak with steady calmness. " Is it to lead us 
 prisoners to the woods, or do you contemplate even some 
 greater evil ? Is there no reward, no means of palliating the 
 injury and of softening your heart ? At least, release my 
 gentle sister, and pour out all your malace on me. Purchase 
 wealth by her safety and satisfy your revenge with a single 
 victim. The loss of both his daughters might bring the aged 
 man to his grave, and where would then be the satisfaction 
 of Le Renard ? " 
 
 " Listen," said the Indian again. " The light eyes can go 
 back to the Horican, and tell the old chief what has been 
 done, if the dark-haired woman will swear by the Great Spirit 
 of her fathers to tell no lie." 
 
|04 THE LAST OP '1 HE MOHtvAAfo 
 
 " What must I promise ;" demanded Cora, still maintaining 
 a secret ascendancy over the fierce native, by the collected and 
 feminine dignity of her presence. 
 
 " When Magua left his people, his wife was given to anothel 
 chief ; he has now made friends with the Hurons, and will go 
 back to the graves of his tribe, on the shores of the great 
 lake. Let the daughter of the English chief follow, and live 
 in his wigwam forever." 
 
 However revolting a proposal of such a character might 
 prove to Cora, she retained, notwithstanding her powerful 
 disgust, sufficient self-command to reply, without betraying 
 the weakness. 
 
 " And what pleasure would Magua find in sharing his cabin 
 with a wife he did not love ; one who would be of a nation 
 and color different from his own? It would be better to take 
 the gold of Munro, and buy the heart of some Huron maid 
 with his gifts." 
 
 The Indian made no reply for near a minute, but bent his 
 fierce looks on the countenance of Cora, in such wavering 
 glances, that her eyes sank with shame, under an impression 
 that, for the first time, they had encountered an expression, 
 that no chaste female might endure. While she was shrinking 
 within herself, in dread of having her ears wounded by some 
 proposal still more shocking than the last, the voice of Magua 
 answered, in its tones of deepest malignancy, 
 
 " When the blows scorched the back of the Huron, he 
 would know where to find a woman to feel the smart. The 
 daughter of Munro would draw his water, hoe his corn, and 
 cook his venison. The body of the gray-head would sleep 
 among his cannon, but his heart would lie within the reach of 
 the knife of Le Subtil." 
 
 " Monster ! well dost thou deserve thy treacherous name ! " 
 cried Cora in an ungovernable burst of filial indignation. 
 " None but a fiend could meditate such a vengeance ! But 
 thou overratest thy power ! You shall find it is, in truth, the 
 heart of Munro you hold, and that it will defy your utmost 
 malice ! " 
 
 The Indian answered this bold defiance by a ghastly smile, 
 that showed an unaltered purpose, while he motioned hei 
 away, as if to close the conference forever. Cora, already re 
 gretting her precipitation, was obliged to comply ; for Magua 
 instantly left the spot, and approached his gluttonous com- 
 rades. Heyward flew to the side of the agitated female, and 
 demanded the result of a dialogue, that he had watched at a 
 
THE LAST OF THE. MOHICANS. 105 
 
 distance with so much interest. But unwilling to alarm the 
 fears of Alice, she evaded a direct reply, betraying only by her 
 countenance her utter want of success, and keeping her anxious 
 looks fastened on the slightest movements of their captors. 
 To the reiterated and earnest questions of her sister, concern- 
 ing their probable destination, she made no other answer than 
 by pointing towards the dark group with an agitation she 
 could not contpol, and murmuring as she folded Alice to hei 
 bosom, 
 
 " There, there ; read our fortunes in their faces ; we shall 
 see ; we shall see ! " 
 
 The action, and the choked utterance of Cora, spoke more 
 impressively than any words, and quickly drew the attention 
 of her companions on that spot, where her own was riveted 
 with an intenseness that nothing but the importance of the 
 stake could create. 
 
 When Magua reached the duster of lolling savages, who, 
 gorged with their disgusting meal, lay stretched on the earth 
 in brutal indulgence, he commenced speaking with the dignity 
 of an Indian chief. The first syllables he uttered had the 
 effect to cause his listeners to raise themselves in attitudes of 
 respectful attention. As the Huron used his native language, 
 the prisoners, notwithstanding the caution of the natives had 
 kept them within the swing of their 1 tomahawks, could only 
 conjecture the substance of his harangue, from the nature of 
 those significant gestures with which an Indian always illus- 
 trates his eloquence. 
 
 At first, the language, as well as the action of Magua, ap- 
 peared calm and deliberate. When he succeeded in sufficient- 
 ly awakening the attention of his comrades, Heyward fancied, 
 by his pointing so frequently towards the direction of the 
 great lakes, that he spoke of the land of their fathers, and of 
 their distant tribe. Frequent indications of applause escaped 
 the listeners, who, as they uttered the expressive " Hugh ! " 
 looked at each other in commendation of the speaker. Le 
 Renard was too skilful to neglect his advantage. He now 
 spoke of the long and painful route by which they had left 
 those spacious grounds and happy villages, to come and battle 
 against the enemies of their Canadian fathers. He enumer- 
 ated the warriors of the party ; their several merits ; their 
 frequent services to the nation ; their wounds ; and the number 
 of the scalps they had taken. Whenever he alluded to air? 
 present (and the subtle Indian neglected none ), the dark 
 countenance of the flattered individual gleamed with exults 
 
I0 6 THE LAST OF TffE MOB 1C AW*. 
 
 tion, nor did he even hesitate to assert the truth of the words, 
 by gestures of applause and confirmation. Then the voice ol 
 the speaker fell, and lost the loud, animated tones of triumph 
 with which he nacl enumerated their deeds of success and 
 victory. He described the cataract of Glenn's ; the impregna- 
 ble position of its rocky island, with its caverns, and its nu- 
 merous rapids and whirlpools ; he named the name of " L,$ 
 bngue Carabine," and paused until the forest beneath them 
 had sent up the last echo of a loud and long yell, with which 
 the hated appellation was received- He pointed toward the 
 youthful military captive, and described the death of a favorite 
 warrior, who had been precipitated into the deep ravine by his 
 hand. He not only mentioned the fate of him who, hanging 
 between heaven and earth, had presented such a spectacle of 
 horror to the whole band, but he acted anew the terrors of his 
 situation, his resolution, and his death, on the branches of a 
 sapling ; and, finally, he rapidly recounted the manner in 
 which each of their friends had fallen, never failing to touch 
 upon their courage and their most acknowledged virtues. 
 When this recital of events was ended, his voice once more 
 changed, and became plaintive, and even musical, in its low 
 guttural sounds. He now spoke of the wives and children 
 of the slain ; their destitution ; their misery, both physical and 
 moral ; their distance ; and, at last, of their unavenged wrongs. 
 Then, suddenly lifting his voice to a pitch of terrific energy, 
 he concluded, by demanding, 
 
 " Are the Hurons dogs to bear this ? Who shall say to 
 the wife of Menowgua that the fishes have his scalp, and that 
 his nation have not taken revenge i Who will dare meet the 
 mother of Wassawattimie, that scornful woman, with his hands 
 clean ! What shall be said to the old men when they ask us 
 for scalps, and we have not a hair from a white head to give 
 them ! The women will point their fingers at us. There is a 
 dark spot on the names of the Hurons, and it must be hid in 
 blood ! " 
 
 His voice was no longer audible in the burst of rage which 
 now broke into the air, as if the wood, instead of containing 
 so small a band, was filled with the nation. During the fore- 
 going address the progress of the speaker was too plainly 
 read by those most interested in his success, through the me- 
 dium of the countenances of the men he addressed. They 
 had answered his melancholy and mourning by sympathy and 
 sorrow ; nis assertions, by gestures of confirmation ; and his 
 boastings, with the exultation of savages. When he spoke of 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, Io j 
 
 courage, their looks were firm and responsive ; when he allud- 
 ed to their injuries, their eyes kindled with fury ; when he 
 mentioned the taunts of the women, they dropped their heads 
 in shame ; but when he pointed out their means of vengeance, 
 he struck a chord which never failed to thrill in the breast of 
 an Indian. With the first intimation that it was within theif 
 reach, the whole band sprung upon their feet as one man ,* 
 giving utterance to their rage in the most frantic cries, they 
 rushed upon their prisoners in a body with drawn knives and 
 uplifted tomahawks. Heyward threw himself between the 
 sisters and the foremost, whom he grappled with a desperate 
 strength that for a moment checked his violence. This un- 
 expected resistance gave Magua time to interpose, and with 
 rapid enunciation and animated gesture, he drew the atten- 
 tion of the band again to himself. In that language he knew 
 so well how to assume, he diverted his comrades from that 
 instant purpose, and invited them to prolong the misery of 
 their victims. His proposal was received with acclamations, 
 and executed with the swiftness of thought. 
 
 Two powerful warriors cast themselves on Heyward, while 
 another was occupied in securing the less active singing-mas- 
 ter. Neither of the captives, however, submitted without a 
 desperate though fruitless struggle. Even David hurled his 
 assailant to the earth ; nor was Heyward secured until the 
 victory over his companion enabled the Indians to direct their 
 united force to that object. He was then bound and fastened 
 to the body of a sapling, on whose branches Magua had acted 
 the pantomime of the falling Huron. When the young soldier 
 regained his recollection, he had the painful certainty before 
 his eyes that a common fate was intended for the whole party. 
 On his right was Cora, in a durance similar to his own, pale 
 and agitated, but with an eye, whose steady look still read 
 the proceedings of their enemies. On his left, the withes 
 which bound her to a pine, performed that office for Alice 
 which her trembling limbs refused, and alone kept her fragile 
 form from sinking. Her hands were clasped before her in 
 prayer, but instead of looking upwards towards that power 
 which alone could rescue them, her unconscious looks wan- 
 dered to the countenance of Duncan with infantile depen- 
 dency. David had contended, and the novelty of the circum- 
 stance held him silent, in deliberation on the propriety of the 
 unusual occurrence. 
 
 The vengeance of the Hurons had now taken a new direc 
 tion, and they prepared to execute it with that barbarous in 
 
toS THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 genuity \vith which they were familiarized by the practice o\ 
 centuries. Some sought knots, to raise the blazing pile ; one 
 was riving the splinters of pine, in order to pierce the flesh 
 of their captives with the burning fragments ; and others bent 
 the tops .of two saplings to the earth, in order to suspend 
 Heyward by the arms between the recoiling branches. But 
 the vengeance of Magua sought a deeper and a more majig 
 nant enjoyment. 
 
 While the less refined monsters of the band prepared, be- 
 fore the eyes of those who were to suffer, these well-known 
 and vulgar means of torture, he approached Cora, and pointed 
 out, with the most malign expression of countenance, the 
 speedy fate that awaited her 
 
 " Ha ! " he added, " what says the daughter of Munro ? 
 Her head is too good to find a pillow in the wigwam of Le 
 Renard ; will she like it better when it rolls about this hill a 
 plaything for the wolves ? Her bosom cannot nurse the 
 children of a Huron ; she will see it spit upon by Indians ! " 
 
 " What means the monster ! " demanded the astonished 
 Heyward. 
 
 " Nothing ! " was the firm reply. " He is a savage, a bar- 
 barous and ignorant savage, and' knows not what he does. 
 Let us find leisure, with our dying breath, to ask for him peni- 
 tence and pardon." 
 
 " Pardon ! " echoed the fierce Huron, mistaking, in his 
 anger, the meaning of her words ; " the memory of an Indian 
 is longer than the arm of the pale faces ; his mercy shorter 
 than their justice ! Say , shall I send the yellow hair to her 
 father, and will you follow Magua to the great lakes, to carry 
 his water, and feed him with corn ? " 
 
 Cora beckoned him away, with an emotion of disgust she 
 could not control. 
 
 fc Leave me," she said, with a solemnity that for a moment 
 checked the barbarity of the Indian; "you mingle bitterness 
 in my prayers ; you stand between me and my God ! " 
 
 The slight impression produced on the savage was, how 
 ever, soon forgotten, and he continued pointing, with taunt 
 ing irony, towards Alice. 
 
 " Look ! the child weeps ! She is too young to die ! Send 
 her to Munro, to comb his gray hairs, and keep life in the 
 heart of the old man." 
 
 Cora could not resist the desire to look upon her youthful 
 sister, in whose eyes she met an imploring glance that be* 
 frayed the longings of nature. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. ro^ 
 
 "What says he, dearest Cora? " asked the trembling voice 
 of Alice. " Did he speak of sending me to our father ? " 
 
 For many moments the elder sister looked upon the 
 younger, with a countenance that wavered with powerful and 
 contending emotions. At length she spoke, though her tones 
 had lost their rich and calm fulness in an expression of ten- 
 derness that seemed maternal. 
 
 " Alice," she said, " the Huron offers us both life nay. 
 more than both \ he offers to restore Duncan our invaluable 
 Duncan, as well as you, to our friends to our father to our 
 heart-stricken, childless father, if I will bow down this rebel- 
 lious, stubborn pride of mine and consent " 
 
 Her voice became choked, and clasping her hands, she 
 looked upward, as if seeking, in her agony, intelligence from 
 a wisdom that was infinite. 
 
 *' Say on," cried Alice ; " to what, dearest Cora ? Oh ! 
 that the proffer were made to me ! to save you, to cheer our 
 aged father ! to restore Duncan, how cheerful could I die ! " 
 % " Die ! " repeated Cora, with a calmer and a firmer voice, 
 11 that were easy ! Perhaps the alternative may not be less 
 so. He would have me," she continued, her accents sinking 
 under a deep consciousness ; go to the habitations of the 
 Hurons ; to remain there : in short, to become his wife ! 
 Speak, then, Alice ; child of my affections ! sister of my love ! 
 And you, too, Major Heyward, aid my weak reason with your 
 counsel. Is life to be purchased by such a sacrifice ? Will 
 you, Alice, receive it at my hands at such a price ? And you, 
 Duncan ; guide me ; control me between you ; for I am wholly 
 yours." 
 
 " Would I ! " echoed the indignant and astonished youth, 
 " Cora ! Cora ! you jest with our misery ! Name not the 
 horrid alternative again ; the thought itself is worse than a 
 thousand deaths." . 
 
 " That such would be your answer, I well knew ! " ex- 
 claimed Cora, her cheeks flushing, and her dark eyes once 
 more sparkling with the lingering emotions of a woman. 
 " What says my Alice ? for her will I submit without another 
 murmur." 
 
 Although both Heyward and Cora listened with painful 
 suspense and the deepest attention, no sounds were heard in 
 reply. It appeared as if the delicate and sensitive form of 
 Alice would shrink into itself, as she listened to this proposal. 
 Her arms had fallen lengthwise before her, the fingers mov- 
 ing in slight convulsions ; her head dropped upon her bosom, 
 
TIO 
 
 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 and her whole person seemed suspended against the 
 looking like some beautiful emblem of the wounded delicacy 
 of her sex, devoid of animation, and y<et keenly conscious. 
 In a few moments, however, her head began to move slowly, 
 in a sign of deep, unconquerable disapprobation. 
 
 " No, no, no ; better that we die as we have lived, to- 
 gether ! " 
 
 " Then die ! " shouted Magua, hurling his tomahawk with 
 violence at the unresisting speaker, and gnashing his teeth 
 with a rage that could no longer be bridled, at this sudden 
 exhibition of firmness in the one he believed the weakest ofc 
 the party. The axe cleaved the air in front of Hey warn, and 
 cutting some of the flowing ringlets of Alice, quivered in the 
 tree above her head. The sight maddened Duncan to des- 
 peration. Collecting all his energies in one effort, he snapped 
 the twigs which bound him, and rushed upon another savage, 
 who was preparing, with loud yells, and a more deliberate 
 aim, to repeat the blow. They encountered, grappled, and 
 fell to the earth together. The naked body of his antagonist 
 afforded Heyward no means of holding his adversary, who 
 glided from his grasp, and rose again with one knee on his 
 chest, pressing him down with the weight of a giant. Duncan 
 already saw the knife gleaming in the air, when a whistling 
 sound swept past him, and was rather accompanied, than fol- 
 lowed, by the sharp crack of a rifle. He felt his breast re- 
 lieved from the load it had endured ; he saw the savage ex- 
 pression of his adversary's countenance change to a look of 
 vacant wildness, when the Indian fell deaci of the faded 
 leaves by his side. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Clo. I am gone, sir, 
 And anon, sir, 
 I'll be with you again. 
 
 TWELFTH NIGHT. 
 
 THE Hurons stood aghast at this sudden visitation ot 
 death on one of their band. But, as they regarded the fatal 
 accuracy of an aim which had dared to immolate an enemy at 
 so much hazard to a friend, the name of "La longue Cara- 
 bine " burst simultaneously from every lip, and was succeeded 
 by a wild and a sort of plaintive howl. The cry was answered 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. m 
 
 by a loud shout from a little thicket, where the incautious 
 party had piled their arms ; and, at the next moment, Hawk- 
 eye, too eager to load the rifle he had regained, was seen ad 
 vancing upon them, brandishing the clubbed weapon, and 
 cutting the air with wide and powerful sweeps. Bold and 
 rapid as was the progress of the scout, it was succeeded by~ 
 that of a light and vigorous form, which, bounding past him 
 leaped, with incredible activity and daring, into the very cen- 
 tre of the Hurons, where it stood, whirling a tomahawk, and 
 flourishing a glittering knife, with fearful menaces, in front of 
 Cora. Quicker than the thoughts could follow these unex- 
 pected and audacious movements, an image, armed in the 
 emblematic panoply of death, glided before their eyes, and 
 assumed a threatening attitude at the other side. The savage 
 tormenters recoiled before these warlike intruders, and uttered 
 as they appeared in such quick succession, the often repeated 
 and peculiar exclamation of surprise, followed by the well 
 known and dreaded appellations of 
 
 " Le Cerf agile ! Le gros Serpent ! " 
 
 But the wary and vigilant leader of the Hurons was not 
 so easily disconcerted. Casting his keen eyes around the 
 little plain, he comprehended the nature of the assault at a 
 glance, and encouraging his followers by his voice as well as 
 by his example, he unsheathed his long and dangerous knife, 
 and rushed with a loud whoop upon the expecting Chingach- 
 gook. It was the signal for a general combat. Neither party 
 had fire-arms, and the contest was to be decided in the 
 deadliest maaner ; hand to hand, with weapons of offence, 
 and none of defence. 
 
 Uncas answered the whoop, and leaping on an enemy, 
 with a single, well-directed blow of his tomahawk, cleft him 
 to the brain. Heyward tore the weapon of Magua from the 
 sapling, and rushed eagerly towards the fray. As the com- 
 batants were now equal in number, each singled an opponent 
 from the adverse band. The rush and blows passed with the 
 fury of a whirlwind, and the swiftness of lightning. Hawk- 
 eye soon got another enemy within reach of his arm, and with 
 one sweep of his formidable weapon he beat down the slight 
 and inartificial defences of his antagonist, crushing him to 
 the earth with the blow. Heyward ventured to hurl the 
 tomahawk he had seized, too ardent to await the moment of 
 closing. It struck the Indian he had selected on the forehead, 
 and checked for an instant his onward rush. Encouraged by 
 this slight advantage, the impetuous young man continued his 
 
1I2 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 onset, and sprang upon his enemy with naked hands. A 
 single instant was sufficient to assure him of the rashness of 
 the measure, for he immediately found himself fully engaged, 
 with ail his activity and courage, in endeavoring to ward the 
 desperate thrusts made with the knife of the Huron. Unable 
 longer to foil an enemy so alert and vigilant, he threw his 
 arms about him, and succeeded in pinning the limbs of the 
 other to his side, with an iron grasp, but one that was far too 
 sxhausting to himself to continue long. In this extremity he 
 heard a voice near him, shouting, 
 
 " Extarminate the varlets ! no quarter to an accursed 
 Mingo ! " 
 
 At the next moment, the breech of Hawk-eye's rifle fell 
 on the naked head of his adversary, whose muscles appeared 
 to wither under the shock, as he sank from the arms o* 
 Duncan, flexible and motionless. 
 
 When Uncas had brained his first antagonist, he turned, 
 like a hungry lion, to seek another. The fifth and only Huron 
 disengaged at the first onset had paused a moment, and then 
 seeing that all around him were employed with the deadly 
 strife, he had sought, with hellish vengeance, to complete the 
 baffled work of revenge. Raising a shout of triumph, he sprang 
 towards the defenceless Cora, seeding his keen axe, as the 
 dreadful precursor of his approach. The tomahawk grazed her 
 shoulder, and cutting the withes which bound her to the tree, 
 left the maiden at liberty to fly. She eluded the grasp of the 
 savage, and reckless of her own safety, threw herself on the 
 bosom of Alice, striving, with convulsed and ill directed fingers, 
 to tear asunder the twigs which confined the person of her sister. 
 Any other than a monster would have relented at such an act of 
 generous devotion to the best and purest affection ; but the 
 breast of the Huron was a stranger to sympathy. Seizing Cora 
 by the rich tresses which fell in confusion about her f orm, he 
 tore her from her frantic hold, and bowed her down with brutal 
 violence to her knees. The savage drew the flowing curls 
 through his hand, and raising them on high with an out- 
 stretched arm, he passed the knife around the exquisitely 
 moulded head of his victim, with a taunting and exulting laugh. 
 But he purchased this moment of fierce gratification with the 
 loss of the fatal opportunity. It was just then the sight caught 
 the eye of Uncas. Bounding from his footsteps he appeared 
 for an instant darting through the air, and descending in a 
 ball he fell on the chest of his enemy, driving him many yards 
 from the spot, headlong and prostrate. The violence ofc the 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. , 1 3 
 
 exertion cast the. young Mohican at his side. They arose 
 together, fought and bled, each in his turn. But the conflict 
 was soon decided ; the tomahawk of Heyward and the rifle of 
 Hawk-eye descended on the skull of the Huron, at the same 
 moment that the knife of Uncas reached his heart. 
 
 The battle was now entirely terminated, with the exception 
 of the protracted struggle between " Le Renard Subtil " and 
 " Le gros Serpent." Well did these barbarous warriors prove 
 that they deserved those significant names which had been 
 bestowed for deeds in former wars. When they engaged, 
 some little time was lost in eluding the quick and vigorous 
 thrusts which had been aimed at their lives. Suddenly dart- 
 ing on each other, they closed and came to the earth, twisted 
 together like twining serpents, in pliant and subtle folds. 
 At the moment when the victors found themselves unoccupied, 
 the spot where these experienced and desperate combatants 
 lay, could only be distinguished by a cloud of dust and leaves 
 which moved from the centre of the little plain towards its 
 boundary, as if raised by the passage of a whirlwind. Urged 
 by the different motives of filial affection, friendship, and 
 gratitude, Heyward and his companions rushed with one 
 accord to the place, encircling the little canopy of dust which 
 hung above the warriors. In vain did Uncas dart around the 
 cloud, with a wish to strike his knife into the heart of his 
 father's foe ; the threatening rifle of Hawk-eye was raised 
 and suspended in vain, while Duncan endeavored to seize the 
 limbs of the Huron with hands that appeared to have lost 
 their power. Covered as they were, with dust and blood, the 
 swift evolutions of the combatants seemed to incorporate 
 their bodies into one. The death-like looking figure of the 
 Mohican, and the dark form of the Huron, gleamed before 
 their eyes in such quick and confused succession, that the 
 friends of the former knew not where nor when to plant the 
 succoring blow. It is true, there were short and fleeting 
 moments, when the fiery eyes of Magua were seen glittering, 
 like the fabled organs of the basilisk, through the dusty wreath 
 by which he was enveloped, and he read by those short and 
 deadly glances the fate of the combat in the presence of his 
 enemies ; ere, however, any hostile hand could descend on 
 his devoted head, its place was filled by the scowling visage 
 of Chingachgook. In this manner the scene of the combat 
 was removed from the centre of the little plain to its verge. 
 The Mohican now found an opportunity to make a powerful 
 thrust with his knife ; Magua suddenly relinquished his grasps 
 
ii 4 THE LAST Of THE MOHICANS. 
 
 and fell backward without motion, and seemingly without life. 
 His adversary leaped from his feet, making the arches of the 
 forest ring with the sounds of triumph. 
 
 " Well done for the Delawares ! victory to the Mohican ! " 
 cried Hawk-eye, once more elevating the butt of the long and 
 fatal rifle ; " a finishing blow from a man without a cross will 
 never tell against his honor, nor rob him of his right to the 
 scalp." 
 
 But, at the very moment when the dangerous weapon was 
 in the act of descending, the subtle Huron rolled swiftly from 
 beneath the danger, over the edge of the precipice, and falling 
 on his feet, was seen leaping, with a single bound, into the 
 centre of a thicket of low bushes, which clung along its sides. 
 The Delawares who had believed their enemy dead, uttered 
 their exclamation of surprise, and were following with speed 
 and clamor, like hounds in open view of the deei, when a 
 shrill and peculiar cry from the scout instantly changed their 
 purpose, and recalled them to the summit of the hill. 
 
 * 'Twas like himself," cried the inveterate forester, whose 
 prejudices contributed so largely to veil his natural sense of 
 justice in all matters which concerned the Mingoes, " a lying 
 and deceitful varlet as he is. An honest Deleware now, being 
 fairly vanquished, would have lain still, and been knocked on 
 the head, but these knavish Maquas cling to life like so many 
 cats-o'-the-mountain. Let him go let him go; 'tis but one 
 man, and he without rifle or bow, many a long mile from his 
 French comrades ; and, like a rattler that has lost his fangs, 
 he can do no farther mischief, until such time as he, and we 
 too, may leave the prints of our moccasins over a long reach 
 of sandy plain. See, Uncas," he added, in Delaware, "your 
 father is flaying the scalps already. It may be well to go 
 round and feel the vagabonds that are left, or we may have 
 another of them loping through the woods, and screeching 
 like a jay that has been winged." 
 
 So saying, the honest, but implacable scout, made the cir- 
 cuit of the dead, into whose senseless bosoms he thrust his 
 long knife, with as much coolness as though they had been so 
 many brutal carcasses. He had, however, been anticipated 
 by the elder Mohican, who had already torn the emblems of 
 victory from the unresisting heads of the slain. 
 
 But Uncas, denying his habits, he had almost said his 
 nature, flew with instinctive delicacy, accompanied by Hey- 
 ward, to the assistance of the females, and quickly releasing 
 Alice, placed her in the arms of Cora. We shall not attempt 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. n^ 
 
 to describe the gratitude to the Almighty Disposer of events - 
 which glowed in the bosoms of the sisters, who were thus un- 
 expectedly restored to life and to each other. Their thanks^ 
 givings were deep and silent ; the offerings of the gentle spirits, 
 burning brightest and purest on the secret altars of their 
 hearts ; and their renovated and more earthly feeling exhibit- 
 ing themselves in long and fervent, though speechless caresses c 
 As Alice rose from her knees, where she had sunk by the side 
 of Cora, she threw herself on the bosom of the latter, and 
 sobbed aloud the name of their aged father, while her soft, 
 dove-like eyes, sparkled with the rays of hope. 
 
 " We are saved ! we are saved ! " she murmured ; " to re- 
 turn to the arms of our dear, dear father, and his heart will 
 not be broken with grief. And you too, Cora, my sister ; my 
 more than sister, my mother; you too are spared. And Dun- 
 can," she added, looking round upon the youth with a smile 
 of ineffable innocence, " even our own brave and noble Dun- 
 can has escaped without a hurt." 
 
 To these ardent and nearly incoherent words, Cora made 
 no other answer than by straining the youthful speaker to her 
 heart, as she bent over her in melting tenderness. The man- 
 hood of Heyward felt no shame in dropping tears over this 
 spectacle of affectionate rapture ; and Uncas stood, fresh and 
 blood-stained from the combat, a calm, and, apparently, an 
 unmoved looker-on, it is true, but with eyes that had already 
 lost their fierceness, and were beaming with a sympathy that 
 elevated him far above the intelligence, and advanced him 
 probably centuries before the practices of his nation. 
 
 During this display of emotion so natural in their situa- 
 tion, Hawk-eye, whose vigilant distrust had satisfied itself that 
 the Hurons, who disfigured the heavenly scene, no longer pos- 
 sessed the power to interrupt its harmony, approached David, 
 and liberated him from the bonds he had, until that moment, 
 endured with the most exemplary patience. 
 
 " There," exclaimed the scout, casting the last withe be- 
 hind him, u you are once more master of your own limbs, 
 though you seem not to use them with much greater judgment 
 than that in which they were first fashioned. If advice from 
 one who is not older than yourself, but who, having lived most 
 of his time in the wilderness, may be said to have experience 
 beyond his years, will give no offence, you are welcome to my 
 thoughts ; and those are, to part with the little tooting instru- 
 ment in your jacket to the first fool you meet with, and buy 
 some useful we'pon with the money, if it be only the barrel 
 
tl $ THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 cf a horseman's pistol. By industry and care, you might thu* 
 come to some preferment ; for by this time, 1 should thin*, 
 your eyes would plainly tell you that a carrion crow is a bet 
 ter bird than a mocking thresher. The one will, at least, re- 
 move foul sights from before the face of man, while the other 
 is only good to brew disturbances in the woods, by cheating 
 the ears of all that hear them." 
 
 " Arms and the clarion for the battle, but the song of 
 thanksgiving to the victory!" answered the liberated David. 
 " Friend," he added, thrusting forth his lean, delicate hand 
 towards Hawk-eye, in kindness, while his eyes twinkled and 
 grew moist, "I thank thee that the hairs of my head still grow 
 where they were first rooted by Providence ; for, though those 
 of other men may be more glossy and curling, I have ever 
 found mine own well suited to the brain they shelter. That I 
 did not join myself to the battle, was less owing to disinclina- 
 tion, than to the bonds of the heathen. Valiant and skilful 
 hast thou proved thyself in the conflict, and I hereby thank 
 thee, before proceeding to discharge other and more important 
 duties, because thou hast proved thyself well worthy of a 
 Christian's praise." 
 
 " The thing is but a trifle, and what you may often see, 
 if you tarry long among us," returned the scout, a good deal 
 softened towards the man of song, by this unequivocal ex 
 pression of gratitude. " I have got back my old companion, 
 'kill-deer,'" he added, striking his hand on the breech of 
 rifle ; " and that in itself is a victory. These Iroquois are 
 cunning, but they outwitted themselves when thy placed their 
 fire-arms out of reach ; and had Uncas or his father been 
 gifted with only their common Indian patience, we should 
 have come in upon the knaves with three bullets instead of 
 one, and that would have made a finish of the whole pack ; 
 yon loping varlet, as well as his comrades. But 'twas all 
 fore-ordered, and for the best." 
 
 " Thou sayest well," returned David, " and hast caught 
 the true spirit of Christianity. He that is to be saved will be 
 saved, and he that is predestined to be damned will be damned. 
 This is the doctrine of truth, and most consoling and refresh- 
 ing it is to the true believer." 
 
 The scout, who by this time was seated, examining into the 
 state of his rifle with a species of parental assiduity, now 
 looked up at the other in a displeasure that he did not affect 
 to conceal, roughly interrupting further speech. 
 
 " Doctrine or no doctrine," said the sturdy woodsman 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. U 7 
 
 'tis the belief of knaves, and the curse of an honest man. 
 I can credit that yonder Huron was to fall by my hand, for 
 with my own eyes I have seen it ; but nothing short of being 
 a witness, will cause me to think he has met with any reward, 
 or that Chingachgook, there, will be condemned at the final 
 day.'' 
 
 " You have no warranty for such an audacious doctrine, 
 nor any covenant to support it," cried David, who was deeply- 
 tinctured with the subtle distinctions which, in his time, and 
 more especially in his province, had been drawn around the 
 beautiful simplicity of revelation, by endeavoring to penetrate 
 the awful mystery of the divine nature, supplying faith by self- 
 sufficiency, and by consequence, involving those who reasoned 
 from such human dogmas in absurdities and doubt ; " your 
 temple is reared on the sands, and the first tempest will wash 
 away its foundation. I demand your authorities for such an 
 uncharitable assertion." Like other advocates of a system, 
 David was not always accurate in his use of terms. " Name 
 chapter and verse ; in which of the holy books do you find 
 language to support you ? " 
 
 "Book!" repeated Hawk-eye, with singular and ill-con- 
 cealed disdain ; " do you take me for a whimpering boy at 
 the apron string of one of your old gals ; and this good rifle 
 on my knee for the feather of a goose's wing, my ox's horn for 
 a bottle of ink, and my leathern pouch for a cross-barred 
 handkerchief to carry my dinner? Book ! what have such as 
 I who am a warrior of the wilderness, though a man without 
 a cross, to do with books ? I never read but one, and the 
 words that are written there are too simple and too plain to 
 need much schooling ; though I may boast that of forty long 
 and hard-working years." 
 
 " What call you the volume ? " said David, misconceiving 
 the other's meaning. 
 
 " 'Tis open before your eyes," returned the scout ; " and 
 he who owns i f is not a niggard of its use. I have heard it 
 said that there are men who read in books to convince them- 
 selves there is a God. I know not but man may so deform 
 his works in the settlements, as to leave that which is so clear 
 in the wilderness a matter of doubt among traders and priests. 
 If any such there be, and he will follow me from sun to sun. 
 through the windings of the forest, he shall see enough to 
 teach him that he is a fool, and that the greatest of his folly 
 lies in striving to rise to the level of one he can never equal, 
 be it in goodness, or be it in power." 
 
. T 8 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 The instant David discovered that he battled with a dis 
 putant who imbibed his faith from the lights of nature, eschew- 
 ing all subtleties of doctrine, he willingly abandoned a corv 
 troversy, from which he believed neither profit nor credit was 
 to be derived. While the scout was speaking, he had also 
 seated himself, and producing the ready little volume and the 
 iron -rimmed spectacles, he prepared f o discharge a duty, which 
 nothing but the unexpected assault he had received in his* 
 orthodoxy could have so long suspended. He was, in truth 
 a minstrel of the western continent of a much later day, cer- 
 tainly, than those gifted .bards, who formerly sang the profane 
 renown of baron and prince, but after the spirit of his own 
 age and country ; and he was now prepared to exercise the 
 cunning of his craft, in celebration of. or rather in thanks- 
 giving for the recent victory. He waited patiently for Hawk- 
 eye to cease, then lifting his eyes f together with his voice, he 
 said, aloud.- - 
 
 " I invite you, friends, to join in praise for this signal de- 
 liverance from the hands of barbarians and infidels, to the 
 comfortable and solemn tones of the tune, called * North- 
 ampton,' y ' 
 
 He next named the page and verse where the rhymes 
 selected were to be found, and applied the pitch-pipe to his 
 lips, with the decent gravity that he had been wont to use in the 
 temple. This time he was, however, without any accompani 
 ment, for the sisters were just then pouring o' t those tender 
 effusions of affection which have been already alluded to. 
 Nothing deterred by the smallness of his audiences ; which, in 
 truth, consisted only of the discontented scout, he raised his 
 voice, commencing and ending the sacred song without ac- 
 cident or interruption of any kind. 
 
 Hawk-eye listened, while he coolly adjusted his flint and 
 reloaded his rifle ; but the sounds, wanting the extraneous 
 assistance of scene and sympathy, failed to awaken his 
 slumbering emotions. Never minstrel, or by whatever more 
 suitable name David should be known, drew upon his 
 talents in the presence of more insensible auditors ; though, 
 considering the singleness and sincerity of his motive, it is 
 " probable that no bard of profane song ever uttered notes that 
 ascended so near to that throne where all homage and praise 
 i.> due. The scout shook his head, and muttering some unin< 
 telligible words, among which " Throat " and " Iroquois," 
 were alone audible, he walked away, to collect, and to ex- 
 amine into the state of the captured arsenal of the Hurons, 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. j t j 
 
 in this office he was now joined by Chingachgook. who founo 
 his own, as well as the rifle of his son, among the arms. 
 Even Heyward and David were furnished with weapons ,- 
 nor was ammunition wanting to render them all effectual 
 
 When the foresters had made their selection, and dis 
 tributed their prizes, the scout announced that the hour had 
 arrived when it was necessary to move. By this time the 
 song of Gamut had ceased, and the sisters had learned to 
 still the exhibition of their emotions. Aided by Duncan and 
 the younger Mohican, the two latter descended the precipitous 
 sides of that hill which they had so lately ascended under so 
 very different auspices 5 and whose summit had so nearly 
 proved the scene of their massacre. At the foot, they found 
 the Narragansets browsing the herbage of the bushes ; and 
 having mounted they followed the movements of the guide, 
 who 5 in the most deadly straits, had so often proved himself 
 their friend. The journey was, however 5 short. Hawk-eye^ 
 leaving the blind path that the Hurons had followed, turned 
 shvrt tc his right, and entering the thicket, he crossed a 
 babb''ng brook 5 and halted in a narrow dell, under the shade 
 of a %w water ^Ims. Their distance from the base of the 
 fatal hill was but a few rod^, -M- :l the steeds had been service- 
 ,abL only n crossing the shallow stream. 
 
 The sco it and the Indians appeared to be familiar with 
 the sequestered place where they now were , for, leaning their 
 rifles agaaist the trees, they commenced throwing aside the 
 dried leaves, and opening the blue clay> Dut of which a clear 
 and sparkling spring of bright, glancing water, quickly bubbled. 
 The white man then looked about him, as though seeking for 
 some object which was not to be found as readily as he ex- 
 pected. 
 
 ' Them earless imps, the Mohawks, with their Tuscarora 
 and Onondaga brethren, have been here slaking their thirst,'' 
 he 'nuttered; "and the vagabonds have thrown away the 
 gourd ! This is the way with benefits, when they are bestowed 
 on such disremembering hounds ! Here has the Lord laid 
 his band, in the midst of the howling wilderness, or .their 
 good- acid raised a fountain of water from the bowels of the 
 'arth, that might laugh at the richest shop of apothecary's 
 ware in all the colonies; and see! the knaves have trodden 
 in the clay, and deformed the cleanliness of the place, as 
 though they were brute beasts, instead of human men. ' 
 
 Uncas silently extended towards; him the desired gourd, 
 which the spleen of Hawk-eyo had hitherto ;>reven'ed him 
 
t2 THE LAS! Ob THE MOHICANS*. 
 
 from observing, on a branch ot an elm. Filling "twithwatei 
 he retired a short distance, to a pjace where the ground was 
 more firm and dry ; here he coolly seated himself, and after 
 taking a long and apparently a grateful draught, he corn 
 menced a very strict examination of the fragments of food left 
 by the Hurons, which had hung in a wallet on his arm. 
 
 " Thank you, lad," he continued, returning the ^mpty 
 gourd to Uncas ; "now we will see how these rampaging 
 Hurons lived, when outlying in ambushments. Look at this ! 
 The varlets know the better pieces of the deer ; and one 
 would think they might carve and roast a saddle, equal to 
 the best cook in the land. But everything is raw, for the 
 Iroquois are thorough savages. Uncas, take my steel, and 
 kindle a fire ; a mouthfu. of a tender broil will give natur' a 
 helping hand, after so long a trail." 
 
 Heyward, perceiving that their guides now set about their 
 repast in sober earnest, assisted the ladies to alight, and 
 placed himself at their side, not unwilling to enjoy a few 
 moments of grateful rest, after the bloody scene he had just 
 gone through. While the culinary process was in hand, 
 curiosity induced him to inquire into the circumstances which 
 had led to their timel and unexpected rescue 
 
 J * How is i that we see you so soon, my generous friend," 
 he asked, " and without aid from the garrison of Edward ? " 
 
 "Had we gone to the bend in the river, we might have 
 been in time to rake the leaves over your bodies, but loo late 
 to have saved your scalps," coolly answered the scout. ' No, 
 no: instead of throwing away strength and opportunity by 
 crossing to the fort, we lay by, under the bank of the Hudson, 
 waiting to watch the movements of the Hurons." 
 
 ' l You were, then, witnesses of all that passed ? " 
 
 " Not of all ; for Indian sight is too keen to be easily 
 cheated, and we kept close. A difficult matter it was, too, to 
 keep this Mohican boy snug in the ambushment. Ah ! Ureas, 
 Uncas, your behavior was more like that of a curious woman 
 than of a warrior on his scent." 
 
 Uncas permitted his eyes to turn for an instant on the 
 sturdy countenance of the speaker, but he neither spoke nor 
 gave any indication of repentance. On the contrary, Hey* 
 ward thought the manner of the young Mohican was disdain- 
 ful, if not a little fierce, and that he suppressed passions that 
 were ready to explode, as much in compliment to the lis- 
 ten ersTas from the deference he usually paid to his white 
 associate. 
 
THE LAS? OF THE MOHICANS, I2 k 
 
 saw our capture ? " Hey ward next demanded, 
 
 " We heard it.' was the significant answer '' An Indian 
 yell is plain language to men whc have passed their days in 
 the woodSc But when you landed, we were driven to crawl, 
 like sarpents, beneath the leaves; and then we lost sight of 
 you entirely, until we placed eyes on you again, trussed A o the 
 trees, and ready bound for an Indian massacre/' 
 
 " Our rescue was the deed of Providence. It was nearly 
 a miracle that you did not mistake the path, for the Hurons 
 divided, and each band had its horses " 
 
 " Ay ! there we were thrown off the scent, and might, in 
 deed, have lost the trail, had it not been for Uncas ; we took 
 the path, however, that led into the wilderness ; for we judged, 
 and judged rightly, that the savages would hold that course 
 with their prisoners. But when we had followed it for many 
 miles, without finding a single twig broken, as I had advised, 
 my mind misgave me : especially as all the footsteps had the 
 prints of moccasins,'' 
 
 " Our captors had the precaution to see us shod like 
 themselves,'' said Duncan, raising a foot, and exhibiting the 
 buckskin he wore. 
 
 " Ay ! 'twas judgmatical, and like themselves : though we 
 were too expart to be thrown from a trail bv so common an 
 invention." 
 
 "To what, then> are we indebted tor our safety ? ' 
 
 " To what, as a white man who has no taint of Indian 
 blood, I should be ashamed to own ; to the judgment of the 
 young Mohican, in matters which I should know better than 
 he, but which I can now hardly believe to be true, though my 
 own eyes tell me it is so.' 
 
 " 'Tis extraordinary ! will you not name the reason ? ' 
 
 " Uncas was bold enough to say, that the Deasts ridden 
 by the gentle ones,'-' continued Hawk-eye, glancing his- eyes, 
 not without curious interest, on the fillies of the ladies, 
 " planted the legs of one side on the ground at the same 
 time, which is contrary to the movements of all trotting four- 
 footed animals of my knowledge 5 except the bear. And yet 
 here are horses that always journey in this manner, as my 
 own eyes have seen, and as their trail has shown for twenty 
 long miles." 
 
 " 'Tis the merit of the animal ! They come from the 
 shores of Narragansett Bay, in the small province of Provi- 
 dence plantations, and are celebrated for*their hardihood, and 
 the ease of this peculiar movement ; though other horses are 
 Mot unfrequently trained to the same." 
 
122 THE LAST OP THE MOHICANS. 
 
 ' It may be it may be/' said Hawk-eye, who had listened 
 with singular attention to this explanation f " though I am a 
 man who has the full blood of the whites, my judgment in 
 deer and beaver is greater than in beasts of burden. Major 
 Effingham has many noble chargers, but I have never seen 
 one travei after such a sideling gait." 
 
 " True tor he would value the animals foi very different 
 properties Still is this a breed highly esteemed, and, as you 
 witness, much honored with the burdens it is often destined 
 to bear.'' 
 
 The Mohicans had suspended their operations about the 
 glimmering fire, to listen ; and when Duncan had done, they 
 looked at each other significantly, the father uttering the 
 never-failing exclamation of surprise. The scout ruminated 
 like a man digesting his newly-acquired knowledge, and once 
 more stole a curious glance at the horses, 
 
 " I dare to say there are even stranger sights to be seen 
 in the settlements,'' he said, at length ; " natur is sadly 
 abused by man. when he once gets the mastery. But, go 
 sidelong or go straight, Uncas had seen the movement, and 
 their trail led us on to the broken bush. The outer branch, 
 near the prints of one of the horses, was bent upward, as a 
 lady breaks a flower from its stem, but all the rest were ragged 
 and broken down, as if the strong hand of a man had been 
 tearing them ! So I concluded, that the cunning varments 
 had seen the twig bent, and had torn the rest, to make us be- 
 lieve a buck had been feeling the boughs with his antlers. 5 ' 
 
 " I do believe your sagacity did not deceive you ; for some 
 such thing occurred; ' 
 
 " That was easy to see,' added the scout, in no degree 
 conscious of having exhibited any extraordinary sagacity 
 " and a very different matter it was from a waddling horse. 
 It then struck me the Mingoes would push for this spring, for 
 the knaves well know the vartue of its waters.' 
 
 " Is it then, so famous ? " demanded Heyward, examining, 
 with a more curious eye 5 the secluded dell, with its bubbling 
 fountain, surrounded, as it was, by earth of a deep, dingy brown, 
 
 " Few red-skins, who travel south and east of the great 
 Jakes, but have heard of its qualities. Will you taste for 
 yourself ? ' 
 
 Heyward took the gourd, and after swallowing a little of 
 the water, threw it aside with grimaces of discontent. The 
 scout laughed in his*silent, but heartfelt manner^ and shook 
 his head with vast satisfaction. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS* 12 , 
 
 " Ah ! you want the flavor that one gets by habit ; the 
 time was when I liked it as little as yourself ; but 1 have 
 come to my taste, and I now crave it, as the deer does the 
 licks.* Your high-spiced wines are not better liked than the 
 red-skin relishes this water ; especially when his nature is ail- 
 ing. But Uncas has made his fire, and it is time we think of 
 eating, for our journey is long, and all before us." 
 
 Interrupting the dialogue by his abrupt transition, the 
 scout had instant recourse to the fragments of food which had 
 escaped the voracity of the Hurons. A very summary pro- 
 cess completed the simple cookery, when he and the Mohicans 
 commenced their humble meal, with the silence and charac- 
 teristic diligence of men, who ate in order to enable them- 
 selves to endure great and unremitting toil. 
 
 When this necessary, and, happily, grateful duty had been 
 performed, each of the foresters stooped and took a long and 
 parting draught at that solitary and silent spring, f around 
 which and its sister fountains, within fifty years, the wealth, 
 beauty, and talents, of a hemisphere, were to assemble in 
 throngs, in pursuit of health and pleasure. Then Hawk-eye 
 announced his determination to proceed. Tha sisters resumed 
 their saddles ; Duncan and David grasptd their rifles, and 
 followed on their footsteps j the scout leading the advance, 
 and the Mohicans bringing up the rear. The whole party 
 moved swiftly through the narrow path, towards the north, 
 leaving the healing waters to mingle unheeded with the ad- 
 jacent brook, and the bodies of the dead to fester on the 
 neighboring mount, without the rites of sepulture ; a fate but 
 toe common to the warriors of the woods, to excite either 
 commiseration or comment. i 
 
 * Many of the animals ot the American forests resort to those spots where salt 
 springs are found. These are called " licks," or "salt licks'' in the language of the 
 country, from the circumstance that the quadruped is often obliged to lick the earth, 
 in order to obtain the saline particles. These licks are great places of resort with 
 the hunters, who waylay their game near the paths that lead to them. 
 
 | The scene of the foregoing incidents is on the spot where the village of BaJls* 
 ton now stands ; one of the two principal watering-places of America, 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 I'll seek a readier path. 
 
 PARNELL. 
 
 THE route taken by Hawk-eye lay across those sandy 
 plains, relieved by occasional valleys and swells of land, which 
 had been traversed by their party on the same morning of the 
 day, with the baffled Magua for their guide. The sun had 
 now fallen low towards the distant mountains ; and as theit 
 journey lay through the interminable forest, the heat was no 
 longer oppressive. Their progress, in consequence, was pro- 
 portionate ; and long before the twilight gathered about them, 
 they had made a good many toilsome miles on their return. 
 
 The hunter, like the savage whose place he filled, seemed to 
 select among the blind signs of their wild route, with a species 
 of instinct, seldom abating his speed, and never pausing to 
 deliberate. A rapid and oblique glance at the moss OK the 
 trees, with an occasional upward gaze towards the setting sun, 
 or a steady but passing look at the direction of the numerous 
 watercourses through which he waded, were sufficient to de- 
 termine his path, and remove his greatest difficulties. In the 
 mean time, the forest began to change its hues, losing that 
 lively green which had embellished its arches, in the graver 
 light which is the usual precursor of the close of day. 
 
 While the eyes of the sisters were endeavoring to catch 
 glimpses through the trees, of the flood of golden glory which 
 formed a glittering halo around the sun, tinging here and there 
 with ruby streaks, or bordering with narrow edgings of shin- 
 ing yellow, a mass of clouds that lay piled at no great distance 
 above the western hills, Hawk-eye turned suddenly, and, 
 pointing upwards towards the gorgeous heavens, he spoke. 
 
 " Yonder is the signal given to man to seek his food and 
 natural rest," he said; "better and wiser would it be, if he 
 could understand the signs of nature, and take a lesson from 
 the fowls of the air and the beasts of the fields ! Our night, 
 however, will soon be over ; for, with the moon, we must be 
 up and moving again. I remember to have fou't the Maquas, 
 hereaways, in the first war in which I ever drew blood from 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHKANS. 125 
 
 man ; and we threw up a work of blocks to keep the ravenous 
 varments from handling our scalps. If my'marks do not fail 
 me, we shall find the place a few rods further to our left." 
 
 Without waiting for an assent, or, indeed, for any reply, 
 the sturdy hunter moved boldly into a dense thicket of young 
 chestnuts, shoving aside the branches of the exuberant shoots 
 which nearly covered the ground, like a man who expected, 
 at each step, to discover some object he had formerly known. 
 The recollection of the scout did not deceive him. After 
 penetrating through the brush, matted as it was with briers, 
 for a few hundred feet, he entered an open space that sur- 
 rounded a low, green hillock, which was crowned by the de- 
 cayed block-house in question. This rude and neglected 
 building was one of those deserted works, which having been 
 thrown up on an emergency, had been abandoned with the 
 disappearance of danger, and was now quietly crumbling in 
 the solitude of the forest, neglected and nearly forgotten, like 
 the circumstances which had caused it to be reared. Such 
 memorials of the passage and struggles of man are yet fre- 
 quent throughout the broad barrier of wilderness which once 
 separated the hostile provinces, and form a species of ruins 
 that are intimately associated with the recollections of colonial 
 history, and which are in appropriate keeping with the gloomy 
 character of the surrounding scenery.* The roof of bark had 
 long since fallen, and mingled with the soil ; but the huge 
 logs of pine, which had been hastily thrown together, still 
 preserved their relative positions, though one angle of the 
 work had given way under the pressure, and threatened a 
 speedy downfall to the remainder of the rustic edifice. While 
 Heyward and his companions hesitated to approach a building 
 so decayed, Hawk-eye and the Indians entered within the low 
 walls, not only without fear, but with obvious interest. While 
 the former surveyed the ruins, both internally and externally, 
 
 * Some years since, the writer was shooting in the vicinity of th? ruins of Fort 
 Oswego, which stands on the shores of Lake Ontario. His game was deer, an<3 
 his chase a forest that stretched, with little interruption, fifty miles inland. Unex- 
 pectedly he came upon six or eight ladders lying in the woods within a short distance 
 of each other. They were rudely made, and much decayed. Wondering what 
 could have assembled so many of these instruments in such a place, he sought an 
 old man who resided near for the explanation. 
 
 During the war of 1776 Fort Oswego was held by the British. An expedition 
 had been sent two hundred miles through the wilderness to surprise the fort. It 
 appears that the Americans, on reaching the spot named, which was within a mile 
 or two of the fort, first learned that they were expected, and in great danger of 
 being cut off. They threw away their scaling ladders, and made a rapid retreat. 
 These ladders had lain unmolested thirty years, in the spot where they had 
 tfus been cast. 
 
I2 6 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 with the curiosity of one whose recollections were reviving at 
 each moment, Chingachgook related to his son, in the lan- 
 guage of the Delawares, and with the pride of a conqueror, 
 the brief history of the skirmish which had been fought in his 
 youth, in that secluded spot. A strain of melancholy, how- 
 ever, blended with his triumph, rendering his voice, as usual 
 soft and musical. 
 
 In the meantime the sisters gladly dismounted, and pre 
 pared to enjoy their halt in the coolness of the evening, and 
 in a security which they believed nothing but the beasts of the 
 forest could invade. 
 
 " Would not our resting-place have been more retired, my 
 worthy friend," demanded the more vigilant Duncan, perceiv- 
 ing that the scout had already finished his short survey, " had 
 we chosen a spot less known, and one more rarely visited than 
 this ? " 
 
 " Few live who know the block-house was ever raised," 
 was the slow and musing answer ; " 'tis not often that books 
 are made, and narratives written, of such a skrimage as was 
 here fout atween the Mohicans and the Mohawks, in a war of 
 their own waging. I was then a younker, and went out with 
 the Delawares, because I know'd they were a scandalized and 
 wronged race. Forty days and forty nights did the imps crave 
 our blood around this pile of logs, which I designed and partly 
 reared, being, as you'll remember, no Indian myself, but a 
 man without a cross. The Delawares lent themselves to the 
 work, and we made it good, ten to twenty, until our numbers 
 were nearly equal, and then we sallied out upon the hounds, 
 and not a man of them ever got back to tell the fate of his 
 party. Yes, yes ; I was then young, and new to the sight of 
 blood ; and not relishing the thought that creatures who had 
 spirits like myself should lay on the naked ground, to be torn 
 asunder by beasts, or to bleach in tfce rains, I buried the dead 
 with my own hands, under that very little hillock where you 
 have placed yourselves ; and no bad seat does it make neither, 
 though it be raised by the bones of mortal men." 
 
 Heyward and the sisters arose, on the instant, from the 
 grassy sepulchre ; nor could the two latter, notwithsanding the 
 terrific scenes they had so recently passed through, entirely 
 suppress an emotion of natural horror, when they found them- 
 selves in such familiar contact with the grave of the dead 
 Mohawks. The gray light, the gloomy little area of dark 
 grass, surrounded by its border of brush, beyond which the 
 pines rose, in breathing silence, apparently, into the very 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, 127 
 
 clouds, and the deathlike stillness of the vast forest, were all 
 in unison to deepen such a sensation. 
 
 " They are gone, and they are harmless," continued Hawk- 
 eye, waving his hand, with a melancholy smile, at their mani- 
 fest alarm : *' they'll never shout the war-whoop nor strike a 
 blow with the tomahawk again ! And of all those who aided 
 in placing them where they lie, Chingachgook and I only are 
 living ! The brothers and family of the Mohican formed our 
 war-party ; and you see before you all that are now left of his 
 race." 
 
 The eyes of the listeners involuntarily sought the forms of 
 the Indians, with a compassionate interest in their desolate 
 fortune. Their dark persons were still to be seen within the 
 shadows of the block-house, the son listening to the relation 
 of his father with that sort of intenseness which would be 
 created by a narrative that redounded so much to the honor 
 of those whose names he had long revered for their courage 
 and savage virtues. 
 
 " I had thought the Delawares a pacific people," said Dun- 
 can, " and that they never waged war in person ; trusting the 
 defence of their lands to those very Mohawks that you slew ! " 
 
 " 'Tis true in part," returned the scout, " and yet, at the 
 bottom, u is a wicked lie. Such a treaty was made in ages 
 gone by, dirough the deviltries of the Butchers, who wished 
 to disarm the natives that had the best right to the country, 
 where they had settled themselves. The Mohicans, though a 
 part of the same nation, having to deal with the English, 
 never entered into the silly bargain, but kept to their man- 
 hood ; as in truth did the Delawares, when their eyes were 
 opened to their folly. You see before you a chief of the great 
 Mohican Sagamores ! Once his family could chase their deer 
 over tracts of country wider than that which belongs to the 
 Albany Patterroon, without crossing brook or hill that was not 
 (heir own ; but what is left to their descendant ! He may find 
 his six feet of earth when God chooses, and keep it in peace, 
 perkaps, if he has a friend who will take the pains to sink 
 his head so low that the ploughshares cannot reach it ! " 
 
 " Enough ! " said Heyward, apprehensive that the subject 
 might lead to a discussion that would interrupt the harmony 
 so necessary to the preservation of his fair companions : " we 
 have journeyed far, and few among us are blessed with forms 
 like that of yours, which seems to know neither fatigue nor 
 Weakness." 
 
 "The sinews and bones of a man carry me through it all," 
 
2 S THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 said 'he hunter, surveying his muscular limbs with a simplicity 
 that betrayed the honest pleasure the compliment afforded 
 him : " there are larger and heavier men to be found in the 
 settlements, but you might travel many days in a city before 
 you could meet one able to walk fifty miles without stopping 
 to take breath, or who has kept the hounds within hearing 
 during a chase of hours. However, as flesh and blood are 
 not always the same, it is quite reasonable to suppose that the 
 gentle ones are willing to rest, after all they have seen and 
 done this day. Uncas, clear out the spring, while your fathei 
 and I make a cover for their tender heads of these chestnut 
 shoots, and a bed of grass and leaves." 
 
 The dialogue ceased, while the hunter and his companions 
 busied themselves in preparations for the comfort and protec- 
 tion of those they guided. A spring, which many long years 
 before had induced the natives to select the place for their 
 temporary fortification, was soon cleared of leaves, and a 
 fountain of crystal gushed from the bed, diffusing its waters 
 over the verdant hillock. A corner of the building was then 
 roofed in such a manner as to exclude the heavy dew of the 
 climate, and piles of sweet shrubs and dried leaves were laid 
 beneath it for the sisters to repose on. 
 
 While the diligent woodsmen were employed in this man- 
 ner, Cora and Alice partook of that refreshment which duty 
 required much more than inclination prompted them to ac- 
 cept. They then retired within the walls, and first offering up 
 their thanksgivings for past mercies, and petitioning for a con- 
 tinuance of the Divine favor throughout the coming night, 
 they laid their tender forms on the fragrant couch, and, in 
 spite of recollections and forebodings, soon sank into those 
 slumbers which nature so imperiously demanded, and which 
 were sweetened by hopes for the morrow. Duncan had pre- 
 pared himself to pass the night in watchfulness near them, 
 just without the ruin, but the scout, perceiving his intentions, 
 pointed towards Chingachgook, as he coolly disposed his own 
 person on the grass, and said, 
 
 " The eyes of a white man are too blind for such a watch 
 as this ! The Mohican will be our sentinel, therefore let us 
 sleep." 
 
 " I proved myself a sluggard on my post during the past 
 night," said Heyward, "and have less need of repose than 
 you, who did more credit to the character of a soldier. Let 
 all the party seek their rest, then, while I hold the guard." 
 
 " If we lay among the white tents of the 6oth, and in front 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 129 
 
 of an enemy like the French, I could not ask for a bettw 
 watchman," returned the scout ; " but in the darkness and 
 and among the signs of the wilderness your judgment would 
 be like the folly of a child, and your vigilance thrown away. 
 Do then, like Uncas and myself, sleep, and sleep in safety." 
 
 Heyward perceived, in truth, that the younger Indian had 
 thrown his form on the side of the hillock while they were 
 talking, like one who sought to make the most of the time 
 allotted to rest, and that his example had been followed by 
 David, whose voice literally "clove to his jaws" with the 
 fever of his wound, heightened as it was by their toilsome 
 march. Unwilling to prolong a useless discussion, the young 
 man affected to comply, by posting his back against the logs 
 of the block-house, in a half-recumbent posture, though reso- 
 lutely determined, in his own mind, not to close an eye until 
 he had delivered his precious charge into the arms of Munro 
 himself. Hawk-eye, believing he had prevailed, soon fell 
 asleep, and a silence as deep as the solitude in which they had 
 found it, pervaded the retired spot. 
 
 For many minutes Duncan succeeded in keeping his senses 
 on the alert, and alive to every moaning sound that arose 
 from the forest. His vision became more acute as the shades 
 of evening settled on the place \ and even after the stars were 
 glimmering above his head, he was able to distinguish the re- 
 cumbent forms of his companions, as they lay stretched on 
 the grass, and to note the person of Chingachgook, who sat 
 upright and motionless as one of the trees which formed the 
 dark barrier on every side of them. He still heard the gentle 
 breathings of the sisters, who lay within a few feet of him, and 
 not a leaf was ruffled by the passing air, of which his ear did 
 not detect the whispering sound. At length, however, the 
 mournful notes of a whip-poor-will became blended with the 
 moanings of an owl ; his heavy eyes occasionally sought the 
 bright rays of the stars, and then he fancied he saw them 
 through the fallen lids. At instants of momentary wakeful- 
 ness he mistook a bush for his associate sentinel ; his head 
 next sank upon his shoulder, which, in its turn, sought the 
 support of the ground ; and, finally, his whole person became 
 relaxed and pliant, and the young man sank into a deep sleep, 
 dreaming that he was a knight of ancient chivalry 7 , holding his 
 midnight vigils before the tent of a recaptured princess, whose 
 favor he did not despair of gaining, by such a proof of devo- 
 tion and watchfulness. 
 
 How long the tired Duncan lay in this insensible state he 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 never knew himself, but his slumbering visions had been long 
 lost in total forgetfulness, when he was awakened by a light 
 tap on the shoulder. Aroused by this signal, slight as it was, 
 he sprang upon his feet with a confused recollection of the 
 self-imposed duty he had assumed with the commencement of 
 the night 
 
 " Who comes ? " he demanded, feeling for his sword, at 
 the place where it was usually suspended. " Speak ! friend 
 or enemy ? " 
 
 " Friend," replied the low voice of Chingachgook ; who, 
 pointing upwards at the luminary which was shedding its mild 
 light through the opening in the trees, directly on their 
 bivouac, immediately added in his rude English, "mooq 
 comes, and white man's fort far far off ; time to move when 
 sleep shuts both eyes of the Frenchman ! " 
 
 " You say true ! call up your friends, and bridle the horses, 
 while I prepare my own companions for the march ! " 
 
 " We are awake, Duncan," said the soft, silvery tones of 
 Alice within the building, " and ready to travel very fast, after 
 so refreshing a sleep ; but you have watched through the 
 tedious night in our behalf, after having endured so much 
 fatigue the livelong day ! " 
 
 " Say, rather, I would have watched, but my treacherous 
 eyes betrayed me ; twice have I proved myself unfit for the 
 trust I bear." 
 
 " Nay, Duncan, deny it not," interrupted the smiling 
 Alice, issuing from the shadows of the' building into the light 
 of the moon, in all the loveliness of her freshened beauty ; 
 " I know you to be a heedless one, when self is the object of 
 your care, and but too vigilant in favor of others. Can we 
 not tarry here a little longer, while you find the rest you need ? 
 Cheerfully, most cheerfully, will Cora and I keep the vigils, 
 while you, and all these brave men, endeavor to snatch a little 
 sleep!" 
 
 " If shame could cure me of my drowsiness, I should never 
 close an eye again," said the uneasy youth, gazing at the in- 
 genuous countenance of Alice, where, however, in its sweet 
 solicitude, he read nothing to confirm his half awakened sus- 
 picion. " It is but too true, that after leading you into dan- 
 ger by my heedlessness, I have not even the merit of guard* 
 ing your pillows as should become a soldier." 
 
 " No one but Duncan himself should accuse Duncan of 
 such a weakness. Go, then, and sleep ; believe me, neithei 
 of us, weak girls as we are, will betray our watch." 
 
THE LAST OF TffE MOfffCANS. 13! 
 
 The young man was relieved from the awkwardness ol 
 making any further protestations of his own demerits, by an 
 exclamation from Chingachgook, and the attitude of riveted 
 attention assumed by his son. 
 
 " The Mohicans hear an enemy ! " whispered Hawk-eye, 
 who, by this time, in common with the whole party, was 
 awake and stirring. " They scent danger in the wind ! " 
 
 " God forbid ! " exclaimed Heyward. " Surely we have 
 had enough of bloodshed ! " 
 
 While he spoke, however, the young soldier seized his 
 rifle, and advancing towards the front, prepared to atone for 
 his venial remissness, by freely exposing his life in defence of 
 those he attended. 
 
 " 'Tis some creature of the forest prowling around us in 
 quest of food," he said, in a whisper, as soon as the low, and 
 apparently distant sounds, which had startled -the Mohicans, 
 reached his own ears. 
 
 " Hist ! " returned the attentive scout ; " 'tis man ; even I 
 can now tell his tread, poor as my senses are when compared 
 to an Indian's ! That scampering Huron has fallen in with 
 one of Montcalm's outlaying parties, and they have struck 
 upon our trail ! I shouldn't like, myself, to spill more human 
 blood in this spot," he added, looking around with anxiety 
 in his features, at the dim objects by which he was surround- 
 ed ; " but what must be, must ! Lead the horses into the 
 block house Uncas, and, friends, do you follow to the same 
 shelter. Poor and old as it is, it offers a cover, and has rung 
 with the crack of a rifle afore to-night ! " 
 
 He was instantly obeyed, the Mohicans leading the Nar- 
 ragansets within the ruin, whither the whole party repaired, 
 with the most guarded silence. 
 
 The sounds of approaching footsteps were now too dis- 
 tinctly audible, to leave any doubts as to the nature of the 
 interruption. They were soon mingled with voices calling to 
 each other in an Indian dialect, which the hunter, in a whis 
 per, affirmed to Heyward, was the language of the Hurons. 
 When the party reached the point where the horses had 
 entered the thicket which surrounded the block-house, they 
 were evidently at fault, having lost those marks which, until 
 that moment, had directed their pursuit. 
 
 It would seem by the voices that twenty men were soon 
 collected at that one spot mingling their different opinion! 
 and advice in noisy clamor. 
 
 " The knaves know our weakness," whispered Hawk-ey 
 
I 3 2 TfTE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 who stood by the side of Heyward, in deep shade, looking 
 through an opening in the logs, " or they wouldn't indulge 
 their idleness in such a squaw's march. Listen to the rep- 
 tiles ! each man among them seems to have two tongues, and 
 but a single leg." 
 
 Duncan, brave as he was in the combat, could not, in such 
 a moment of painful suspense, make any reply to the cool 
 and characteristic remark of the scout. He only grasped his 
 rifle more firmly, and fastened his eyes upon the narrow 
 opening, through which he gazed upon the moonlight view 
 with increasing anxiety. The deeper tones of one who spoke 
 of having authority were next heard, amid a silence that de- 
 noted the respect with which his orders, or rather advice, 
 was received. After which, by the rustling of leaves, and 
 cracking of dried twigs, it was apparent the savages were sep- 
 arating in pursuit of the lost trail. Fortunately for the pur- 
 sued, the light of the moon, while it shed a flood of mild 
 lustre upon the little area around the ruin, was not sufficiently 
 strong to penetrate the deep arches of the forest, where the 
 objects still lay in deceptive shadow. The search proved 
 fruitless \ for so short and sudden had been the passage from 
 the faint path the travellers had journeyed into the thicket, 
 that every trace of their footsteps was lost in the obscurity of 
 the woods. 
 
 It was not long, however, before the restless savages were 
 heard beating the brush, and gradually approaching the innei 
 edge of that dense border of young chestnuts which encircled 
 the little area. 
 
 " They are coming," muttered Heyward, endeavoring to 
 thrust his rifle through the chink in the logs ; " let us fire on 
 their approach.' 
 
 " Keep everything in the shade," returned the scout ; " the 
 snapping of a flint, or even the smell of a single kernel of the 
 brimstone, would bring the hungry varlets upon us in a body. 
 Should it please God that we must give battle for the scalps, 
 trust to the experience of men who know the ways of the 
 savages, and who are not often backward when the war-whoop 
 is howled." 
 
 Duncan cast his eyes behind him, and saw that the trem- 
 bling sisters were cowering in the far corner of the building, 
 while the Mohicans stood in the shadow, like two upright 
 posts, ready, and apparently willing, to strike, when the blow 
 should be needed. Curbing his impatience, he again looked 
 out upon the area, and awaited the result in silence. At that 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 133 
 
 instant the thicket opened, and a tall and armed Huron ad- 
 vanced a few paces into the open space. As he gazed upon 
 the silent block- house, the moon fell full upon his swarthy 
 countenance, and betrayed its surprise and curiosity. He 
 made the exclamation which usually accompanies the formel 
 emotion in an Indian, and, calling in a low voice, soon drew 
 a companion to his side. 
 
 These children of the woods stood together for several 
 moments pointing at the crumbling edifice, and conversing in 
 the unintelligible language of their tribe. They then ap- 
 proached, though with slow and cautious steps, pausing every 
 instant to look at the building, like startled deer, whose curi- 
 osity struggled powerfully with their awakened apprehensions 
 for the mastery. The foot of one of them suddenly rested on 
 the mound, and he stooped to examine its nature. At this 
 moment, Heyward observed that the scout loosened his knife 
 in its sheath, and lowered the muzzle of his rifle. Imitating 
 these movements, the young man prepared himself for the 
 struggle, which now seemed inevitable. 
 
 The savages were so near, that the least motion in one of 
 the horses, or even a breath louder than common, would have 
 betrayed the fugitives. But, in discovering the character of 
 the mound, the attention of the Hurons appeared directed to 
 a different object. They spoke together, and the sounds of 
 their voices were low and solemn, as if influenced by a rev- 
 erence that was deeply blended with awe. Then they drew 
 warmly back, keeping their eyes riveted on the ruin, as if 
 they expected to see the apparations of the dead issue from its 
 silent walls, until having reached the boundary of the area, 
 they moved slowly into the thicket and disappeared. 
 
 Hawk-eye dropped the breech of his rifle to the earth, 
 and drawing a long, free breath, exclaimed in an audible 
 whisper 
 
 " Ay ! they respect the dead, and it has this time saved 
 their own lives, and it may be the lives of better men too." 
 
 Heyward lent his attention, for a single moment, to his 
 companion, but without replying, he again turned towards 
 those who just then interested him more. He heard the two 
 Hurons leave the bushes, and it was soon plain that all the 
 pursuers were gathered about them, in deep attention to their 
 report. After a few minutes of earnest and solemn dialogue, 
 altogether different from the noisy clamor with which they 
 had first collected about the spot, the sounds grew fainter 
 and more distant^ and finally were lost in the depths of thtj 
 forest 
 
134 
 
 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 Hawk-eye waited until a signal from the listening Chir* 
 gachgook assured him that every sound from the retiring 
 party was completely swallowed by the distance, when he 
 motioned to Heyward to lead forth the horses, and to assist 
 the sisters into their saddles. The instant this was done 
 they issued through the broken gateway, and stealing out by 
 a direction opposite to the one by which they had entered, 
 they quitted the spot, the sisters casting furtive glances at 
 the silent grave and crumbling ruin, as they left the soft light 
 of the moon to bury themselves in the gloom of the woods. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Guard, Quiestla? 
 
 Puc. Paisans, pauvres gens de France. 
 
 KING HENRY VL 
 
 DURING the rapid movement from the block-house, and 
 until the party was deeply buried in the forest, each individual 
 was too much interested in the escape, to hazard a word even 
 in whispers. The scout resumed his post in the advance, 
 though his steps, after he had thrown a safe distance between 
 himself and his enemies, were more deliberate than in their 
 previous march, in consequence of his utter ignorance of the 
 localities of the surrounding woods. More than once he 
 halted to consult with his confederates, the Mohicans, point- 
 ing upwards at the moon, and examining the barks of the 
 trees with care. In these brief pauses, Heyward and the 
 sisters listened, with senses rendered doubly acute by the 
 danger, to detect any symptoms which might announce the 
 proximity of their foes. At such moments, it seemed as if 
 a vast range of country lay buried in eternal sleep, not the 
 least sound arising from the forest, unless it was the distant 
 and scarcely audible rippling of a water-course. Bird, beasts, 
 and man, appeared to slumber alike, if, indeed, any of the 
 latter were to be found in that wide tract of wilderness. But 
 the sounds of the rivulet, feeble and murmuring as they were, 
 relieved the guides at once from no trifling embarrassment, and 
 towards it they immediately held their way. 
 
 When the banks of the little stream were gained, Hawk 
 eye made another halt ; and, taking the moccasins from his 
 feet, he invited Heyward and Gamut to follow his example, 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 135 
 
 He then entered the water, and for near an hour they travelled 
 in the bed of the brook, leaving no trail. The moon had 
 already sunk into an immense pile of black clouds, which lay 
 impending above the western horizon, when they issued from 
 the low and devious water-course to rise again to the light 
 and level of the sandy but wooded plain. Here the scout 
 seemed to be once more at home, for he held on his way with 
 the certainty and diligence of a man who moved in the se- 
 curity of h^s own knowledge. The path soon became more 
 uneven, and the travellers could plainly perceive that the 
 mountains drew nigher to them on each hand, and that they 
 were, in truth, about entering one of their gorges. Suddenly, 
 Hawk-eye made a pause, and waiting until he was joined by 
 the whole party, he spoke, though in tones so low and cau- 
 tious, that they added to the solemnity of his words, in the 
 quiet and darkness of the place. 
 
 " It is easy to know the pathways, and to find the licks 
 and water-courses of the wilderness," he said ; " but who 
 that saw this spot could venture to say, that a mighty army 
 was at rest among yonder silent trees and barren moun- 
 tains ? " 
 
 "We are then at no great distance from William Henry ?.*' 
 said Heyward, advancing nigher to the scout. 
 
 " It is yet a long and weary path, and when and where to 
 strike it, is now our greatest difficulty. See," he said, point- 
 ing through the trees towards a spot where a little basin of 
 water reflected the stars from its placid bosom, " here is the 
 4 bloody pond ; ' and I am on ground that I have not only often 
 travelled, but over which I have fou't the enemy, from the 
 rising to the setting sun." 
 
 " Ha ! that sheet of dull and dreary water, then, is the 
 sepulchre of the brave men who fell in the contest. I have 
 heard it named, but never have I stood on its banks before." 
 
 "Three battles did we make with the Dutch-Frenchman <* 
 in a day," continued Hawk-eye, pursuing the train of his own 
 thoughts, rather than replying to the remark of Duncan. 
 " He met us hard by, in our outward march to ambush his 
 advance, and scattered us, like driven deer, through the defile 
 to the shores of Horican. Then we rallied behind our fallen 
 trees, and made head against him, under Sir William who 
 was made Sir William for that very deed ; and well did we 
 
 * Baron Dieskau, a German, in the service of France. A few years previously 
 lo the period of the tale, this officer was defeated by Sir William Johnson, of John* 
 own, New York, on the shores of Lake George. 
 
136 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 pay him for the disgrace of the morning. Hundreds o! 
 Frenchmen saw the sun that day for the last time ; and eveu 
 their leader, Dieskau himself, fell into our hands, so cut and 
 torn with the lead, that he has gone back to his own country, 
 unfit for further acts in war." 
 
 " 'Twas a noble repulse ! " exclaimed Heyward in the heat 
 of his youthful ardor ; " the fame of it reached us early, in 
 our southern army " 
 
 " Ay ! but it did not end there. I was sent by Major Ef 
 fingham, at Sir William's own bidding, to outflank the French, 
 and carry the tidings of their disaster across the portage, to 
 the fort on the Hudson. Just hereaway, where you see the 
 trees rise into a mountain swell, I met a party coming down 
 to our aid, and I led them where the enemy were taking their 
 meal, little dreaming that they had not finished the bloody 
 work of the day." 
 
 " And you surprised them ? " 
 
 " If death can be a surprise to men who are thinking only 
 of the cravings of their appetites. We gave them but little 
 breathing time, for they had borne hard upon us in the fight 
 of the morning, and there were few in our party who had not 
 lost friend or relative by their hands. When all was over, the 
 dead, and some say the dying, were cast into that little pond. 
 These eyes have seen its waters colored with blood, as nat- 
 ural water never yet flowed from the bowels of the 'arth." 
 
 " It was a convenient, and, I trust, will prove a peaceful 
 grave for a soldier. You have, then, seen much service on 
 this frontier ? " 
 
 " I ! " said the scout, erecting his tall person with an air 
 of military pride ; " there are not many echoes among these 
 hills that haven't rung with the crack of my rifle, nor is there 
 the space of a square mile atwixt Horican and the river, that 
 * Kill Deer ' hasn't dropped a living body on, be it an enemy 
 or be it a brute beast. As for the grave there being as quiet 
 as you mention, it is another matter. There are them in the 
 camp who say and think, man, to lie still, should not be 
 buried while the breath is in the body ; and certain it is that 
 in the hurry of that evening, the doctors had but little time to 
 say who was living and who was dead. Hist ! see you 
 nothing walking on the shore of the pond ? " 
 
 " 'Tis not probable that any are as houseless as ourselves, 
 in this dreary forest." 
 
 " Such as he may care but little for house or shelter, and 
 night dew can never wet a body that passes its days in th 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS ^7 
 
 water," returned the scout, grasping the shoulder of Hey 
 ward with snch convulsive strength as to make the young 
 soldier painfully sensible how much superstitious terror had 
 got the mastery of a man usually so dauntless. 
 
 " By heaven ! there is a human form, and it approaches. 
 Stand to your arms, my friends j for we know not whom we 
 encounter." 
 
 " Qui vive ? " demanded a stern, quick voice, which sound- 
 ed like a challenge from another world, issuing out of that 
 solitary and solemn place. 
 
 " What says it ? " answered the scout ; " it speaks neither 
 Indian nor English." 
 
 " Qui vive ? " repeated the same voice, which was quickly 
 followed by the rattling of arms, and a menacing attitude. 
 
 " France ! " cried Hey ward, advancing from the shadow of 
 the trees to the shore of the pond, within a few yards of the 
 sentinel. 
 
 " D'ou venez-vous ou allez-vous, d'aussi bonne heure ? " 
 demanded the grenadier, in the language and with the accent 
 of a man from old France. 
 
 Je viens de la decouverte, et je vais me coucher." 
 
 "Etes-vous officier du roi ? " 
 
 Sans doute, mon camarade ; me prends-tu pour un pro- 
 vincial. Je suis capitaine de chasseurs (Heyward well knew 
 that the other was of a regiment in the line) j'ai ici, avec moi, 
 les filles du commandant de la fortification. Aha ! tu en as 
 entendu parler ! je les ai fait prisonnieres pres de 1'autre fort, 
 et je les conduis au ge'ne'ral." 
 
 " Ma foi ! mesdames ; j'en suis fache* pour vous," ex- 
 claimed the young soldier, touching his cap with grace ; " mais 
 fortune de guerre ! vous trouverez notre general un brave 
 homme, et bien poli avec les dames." 
 
 " C'est le caractere des gens de guerre," said Cora, with 
 admirable self-possession. " Adieu, mon ami ; je vous sou- 
 haiterais un devoir plus agre'able a remplir." 
 
 The soldier made a low and humble acknowledgment for 
 her civility ; and Heyward adding a " bonne nuit, mon cam- 
 arade," they moved deliberately forward, leaving the sentinel 
 pacing the banks of the silent pond, little suspecting an enemy 
 of so much effrontery, and humming to himself those words, 
 which were recalled to his mind by the sight of women, and 
 perhaps by recollections of his own distant and beautiful 
 France 
 
 " Vive le vin, vive 1'araour," etc., etc. 
 
1 38 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 ' 'Tis well you understood the knave," whispered th 
 4Cout, when they had gained a little distance from the place^ 
 and letting his rifle fall into the hollow of his arm again ; " I 
 soon saw that he was one of them uneasy Frenchers ; and 
 well for him it was that his speech was friendly and his wishes 
 kind, or a place might have been found for his bones amongst 
 those of his countrymen." 
 
 He was interrupted by a long and heavy groan which 
 arose from the little basin, as though, in truth, the spirits of 
 the departed lingered about their watery sepulchre. 
 
 " Surely, it was of flesh," continued the scout ; " no spirit 
 could handle its arms so steadily." 
 
 " It was of flesh ; but whether the poor fellow still belongs 
 to this world may well be doubted," said Heyward, glancing 
 his eyes around him, and missing Chingachgook from their 
 little band. Another groan more faint than the former was 
 succeeded by a heavy and sullen plunge into the water, and all 
 was as still again as if the borders of the dreary pool had 
 never been awakened from the silence of creation. While 
 they yet hesitated in uncertainty, the form of the Indian was 
 seen gliding out of the thicket. As the chief rejoined them, 
 with one hand he attached the reeking scalp of the unfortu- 
 nate young Frenchman to his girdle, and with the other he 
 replaced the knife and tomahawk that had drunk his blood. 
 He then took his wonted station, with the air of a man who 
 believed he had done a deed of merit. 
 
 The scout dropped one end of his rifle to the earth, and 
 leaning his hands on the other, he stood musing in profound 
 silence. Then, shaking his head in a mournful manner, he 
 muttered 
 
 " 'Twould have been a cruel and an inhuman act for a white- 
 skin ; but 'tis the gift and natur' of an Indian, and I suppose 
 it should not be denied. I could wish, though, it had befallen 
 an accursed Mingo, rather than that gay young boy from the 
 old countries." 
 
 u Enough," said Heyward, apprehensive the unconscious 
 sisters might comprehend the nature of the detention, and 
 conquering his disgust by a train of reflections very much like 
 that of the hunter ; " 'tis done ; and though better it were left 
 undone, cannot be amended. You see we are, too obviously, 
 within the sentinels of the enemy ; what course do you pro- 
 pose to follow ? " 
 
 " Yes," said Hawk-eye, rousing himself again, "'tis as you 
 say, too late to harbor further thoughts about it. Ay, the 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 '39 
 
 French have gathered around the fort in good earnest, and we 
 have a delicate needle to thread in passing them." 
 
 " And but little time to do it in," added Heyward, glan 
 cing his eyes upwards, towards the bank of vapor that con- 
 cealed the setting moon. 
 
 " And little time to do it in," repeated the scout. "The 
 thing may be done in two fashions, by the help of Providence, 
 without which it may not be done at all." 
 
 " Name them quickly, for time presses." 
 
 " One would be to dismount the gentle ones, and let theii 
 beasts range the plain ; by sending the Mohicans in front, we 
 might then cut a lane through their sentries, and enter the 
 fort over the dead bodies." 
 
 " It will not do it will not do ! " interrupted the generous 
 Heyward ; " a soldier might force his way in this manner, but 
 never with such a corivoy." 
 
 " Twould be, indeed, a bloody path for such tender feet 
 to wade in," returned the equally reluctant scout; "but I 
 thought it befitting my manhood to name it. We must then 
 turn on our trail, and get without the line of their look-outs, 
 when we will bend short to the west, and enter the mountains ; 
 where I can hide you, so that all the devil's hounds in Mont- 
 calm's pay would be thrown off the scent for months to come." 
 
 " Let it be done and that instantly." 
 
 Further words were unnecessary; for Hawk-eye, merely 
 uttering the mandate to " follow," moved along the route 
 by which they had just entered their present critical and even 
 dangerous situation. Their progress, like their late dialogue, 
 was guarded, and without noise ; for none knew at what mo- 
 ment a passing patrol, or a crouching picket, of the enemy, 
 might rise upon their path. As they held their silent way 
 along the margin of the pond, again Heyward and the scout 
 stole furtive glances at its appalling dreariness. They looked 
 in vain for the form they had so recently seen stalking along 
 its silent shores, while a low and regular wash of the little 
 waves, by announcing that the waters were not yet subsided, 
 furnished a frightful memorial of the deed of blood they had 
 just witnessed. Like all that passing and gloomy scene, the 
 low basin, however quickly melted in the darkness, and be- 
 came blended with the mass of black objects, in the rear of. 
 the travellers. 
 
 Hawk-eye soon deviated from the line of their retreat, and 
 striking off towards the mountains which form the western 
 boundary of the narrow plain, he led his followers, with swift 
 
1 4 o TffE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 steps, deep within the shadows that were cast from their higll 
 and broken summits. The route was now painful; lying ovei 
 ground ragged with rocks, and intersected with ravines, and 
 their progress proportionately slow. Bleak and black hills 
 lay on every side of them, compensating in some degree for 
 trie additional toil of the march, by the sense of security they 
 imparted. At length the party began slowly to rise a steep 
 and rugged ascent, by a path that curiously wound among rocks 
 and trees, avoiding the one, and supported by the other, in a 
 manner that showed it had been devised by men long practised 
 in the arts of the wilderness. As they gradually rose from the 
 level of the valleys, the thick darkness which usually precedes 
 the approach of day began to disperse, and objects were seen 
 in the plain and palpable colors with which they had been 
 gifted by nature. When they issued from the stunted woods 
 which clung to the barren sides of the mountain, upon a flat 
 and mossy rock that formed its summit, they met the morning 
 as it came blushing above the green pines of a hill that lay on 
 the opposite side of the valley of the Horican. 
 
 The scout now told the sisters to dismount ; and taking 
 the bridles from the mouths, and the saddles off the backs of 
 the jaded beasts, he turned them loose, to glean a scanty 
 subsistence among the shrubs and meagre herbage of that 
 elevated region. 
 
 " Go," he said, " and seek your food where natur' gives it 
 you ; and beware that you become not food to ravenous wolves 
 yourselves among these hills." 
 
 " Have we no further need of them ? "demanded Heyward. 
 
 " See, and judge with your own eyes," said the scout, ad- 
 vancing towards the eastern brow of the mountain, whither he 
 beckoned for the whole party to follow : " if it was as easy to 
 look into the heart of man as it is to spy out the nakedness 
 of Montcalm's camp from this spot, hypocrites would grow 
 scarce, and the cunning of a Mingo might prove a losing 
 game, compared to the honesty of a Delaware." 
 
 When the travellers reached the verge of the precipice, 
 they saw at a glance, the truth of the scout's declaration, and 
 the admirable foresight with which he bad led them to their 
 commanding station. 
 
 The mountain on which they stood, elevated, perhaps, a 
 thousand feet in the air, was a high cone that rose a little in 
 advance of that range which stretches for miles along the 
 western shores of the lake, until meeting its sister piles, 
 beyond the water, it ran off towards the Canadas, in confused 
 
THE LAST Of THE MOHICANS. 
 
 141 
 
 And broken masses of rocks, thinly sprinkled with evergreen 
 Immediately at the feet of the party, the southern shore ot 
 the Horican swept in a broad semicircle, from mountain tc 
 mountain, marking a wide strand, that soon rose into an un- 
 even and somewhat elevated plain. To the north, stretched 
 the limpid, and, as it appeared from that dizzy height, the 
 narrow sheet of the " holy lake," indented with numberless 
 bays, embellished by fantastic headlands, and dotted with 
 countless islands. At the distance of a few leagues, the bed 
 of the waters became lost among mountains, or was wrapped 
 in the masses of vapor that came slowly rolling along their 
 bosom, before a light morning air. But a narrow opening 
 between the crests of the hills pointed out the passage by 
 which they found their way still further north, to spread their 
 pure and ample sheets again, before pouring out their tribute 
 to the distant Champlain. To the south stretched the defile, 
 or rather broken plain, so often mentioned. For several 
 miles in this direction, the mountains appeared reluctant to 
 yield their dominion, but within reach of the eye they 
 diverged, and finally melted into the level and sandy lands, 
 across which we have accompanied our adventurers in their 
 double journey. Along both ranges of hills, which bounded 
 the opposite sides of the lake and valley, clouds of light 
 vapor were arising in spiral wreaths from the uninhabited 
 woods, looking like the smokes of hidden cottages \ or rolled 
 lazily down the declivities, to mingle with the fogs of the 
 lower land. A single, solitary, snow-white cloud floated 
 above the valley, and marked the spot beneath which lay the 
 silent pool of the " bloody pond." 
 
 Directly on the shore of the lake, and nearer to its western 
 than to its eastern margin, lay the extensive earthen ram- 
 parts and low buildings of William Henry. Two of the 
 sweeping bastions appeared to rest on the water which washed 
 their bases, while a deep ditch and extensive morasses 
 guarded its other sides and angles. The land had been 
 cleared of wood for a reasonable distance around the work, 
 but every other part of the scene lay in the green livery of 
 nature, except where the limpid water mellowed the view, or 
 the bold rocks thrust their black and naked heads above the 
 undulating outline of the mountain ranges. In its front 
 might be seen the scattered sentinels, who held a weary watch 
 against their numerous foes ; and within the walls themselves, 
 the travellers looked down upon men still drowsy with a night 
 of vigilance. Towards the south-east, but in immediate COR 
 
I4 2 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 tact with the fort, was an entrenched camp, posted on a rockj 
 eminence that would have been far more eligible for the work 
 itself, in which Hawk-eye pointed out the presence of those 
 auxiliary regiments that had so recently left the Hudson in 
 their company. From the woods, a little further to the south, 
 rose numerous dark and lurid smokes, that were easily to be 
 distinguished from the purer exhalations of the springs, and 
 which the scout also showed to Heyward, as evidence that 
 the enemy lay in force in that direction. 
 
 But the spectacle which most concerned the young soldiel 
 was on the western bank of the lake, though quite near to its 
 southern termination. On a strip of land, which appeared, 
 from his stand, too narrow to contain such an army, but 
 which, in truth, extended many hundreds of yards from the 
 shores of the Horican to the base of the mountain, were to be 
 seen the white tents and military engines of an encampment 
 of ten thousand men. Batteries were already thrown up in 
 their front, and even while the spectators above them were 
 looking down, with such different emotions, on a scene which 
 lay like a map beneath their feet, the roar of artillery rose 
 from the valley, and passed off in thundering echoes, along 
 the eastern hills. 
 
 " Morning is just touching them below," said the deliber- 
 ate and musing scout, "and the watchers have a mind to 
 wake up the sleepers by the sound of cannon. We are a few 
 hours too late ! Montcalm has already filled the woods with 
 his accursed Iroquois." 
 
 " The place is, indeed, invested," returned Duncan, "but 
 is there no expedient by which we may enter ? Capture in the 
 works would be far preferable to falling again into the hands 
 of roving Indians." 
 
 " See ! " exclaimed the scout, unconsciously directing the 
 attention of Cora to the quarters of her own father, " how that 
 shot has made the stones fly from the side of the commandant's 
 house ! Ay ! these Frenchers will pull it to pieces faster than 
 it wa3 put together, solid and thick though it be." 
 
 " Heyward, I sicken at the sight of danger that I cannot 
 share," said the undaunted, but anxious daughter. " Let us 
 go to Montcalm, and demand admission ; he dare not deny a 
 child the boon." 
 
 " You would scarce find the tent of the Frenchman with 
 the hair on your head," said the blunt scout. "If I had but 
 one of the thousand boats which lie empty along that shorCj 
 it might be done. Ha ! here will soon be an end of the firing 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 143 
 
 for yonder comes a fog that will turn day into night, and make 
 an Indian arrow more dangerous than a moulded cannon. 
 Now, if you are equal to the work, and will follow, I will make 
 a push ; for I long to get down into that camp, if it be only 
 to scatter some Mingo dogs that I see lurking in the skirts of 
 yonder thicket of birch." 
 
 " We are equal," said Cora firmly; "on such an errand 
 we will follow to any danger." 
 
 The scout turned to her with a smile of honest and cordial 
 approbation, as he answered, 
 
 " I would I had a thousand men, of brawny limbs and 
 quick eyes, that feared death as little as you ! I'd send them 
 jabbering Frenchers back into their den again, afore the week 
 was ended, howling like so many fettered hounds or hungry 
 wolves. But stir," he added, turning from her to the rest of 
 the party, " the fog comes rolling down so fast, we shall have 
 but just the time to meet it on the plain, and use it as a cover. 
 Remember, if any accident should befall me, to keep the air 
 blowing on your left cheeks or, rather, follow the Mohicans; 
 they'd scent their way, be it in day or be it at night." 
 
 He then waved his hand for them to follow, and threw him- 
 self down the steep declivity, with free but careful footsteps. 
 Heyward assisted the sisters to descend, and in a few minutes, 
 they were all far down a mountain whose sides they had 
 climbed with so much toil and pain. 
 
 The direction taken by Hawk-eye soon brought the trav- 
 ellers to the level of the plain, nearly opposite to a sally-port 
 in the western curtain of the fort, which lay, itself, at the dis- 
 tance of about half a mile from the point where he halted to 
 allow Duncan to come up with his charge. In their eager- 
 ness, and favored by the nature of the ground, they had an- 
 ticipated the fog, which was rolling heavily down to the lake, 
 and it became necessary to pause, until the mists had wrapped 
 the camp of the enemy in their fleecy mantle. The Mohicans 
 profited by the delay, to steal out of the woods, and to make 
 a survey of . surrounding objects. They were followed at a 
 distance by the scout, with a view to profit early by their re- 
 port, and to obtain some faint knowledge for himself of the 
 more immediate localities. 
 
 In a very few moments he returned, his face reddened 
 with vexation, while he muttered his disappointment in words 
 of no very gentle import. 
 
 " Here has the cunning Frenchman been posting a picket 
 directly in our path," he said ; " red-skins and whites ; and 
 
1 44 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 wfe shall be as likely to fall into their midst as to pass them 
 in the fog ! " 
 
 " Cannot we make a circuit to avoid the danger," asked 
 Heyward, " and come into our path again when it is passed ? " 
 
 " Who that once bends from the line of his march in a fog 
 can tell when or how to turn to find it again ! The mists of 
 Horican are not like the curls from a peace-pipe, or the smoke 
 which settles above a mosquito fire." 
 
 He was yet speaking, when a crashing sound was heard, 
 and a cannon ball entered the thicket, striking the body of a 
 sapling, and rebounding to the earth, its force being much 
 expended by previous resistance. The Indians followed in- 
 stantly like busy attendants on the terrible messenger, and 
 Uncas commenced speaking earnestly, and with much action, 
 in the Delaware tongue. 
 
 " It may be so, lad," muttered the scout, when he had 
 ended ; " for desperate fevers are not to be treated like a 
 toothache. Come then, the fog is shutting in." 
 
 " Stop ! " cried Heyward ; " first explain your expecta- 
 tions." 
 
 " Tis soon done, and a small hope it is ; but it is better 
 than nothing. This shot that you see," added the scout, 
 kicking the harmless iron with his foot, " has ploughed the 
 'arth in its road from the fort, and we shall hunt for the fur- 
 row it has made, when all other signs may fail. No more 
 words, but follow, or the fog may leave us in the middle of 
 our path, a mark for both armies to shoot at." 
 
 Heyward perceiving that, in fact, a crisis had arrived, when 
 acts were more required than words, placed himself between 
 the sisters, and drew them swiftly forward, keeping the dim 
 figure of their leader in his eye. It was scon apparent that 
 Hawk-eye had not magnified the power of , >e fog, for before 
 they had proceeded twenty yards, it was dih'cult for the dif- 
 ferent individuals of the party to distinguish each other, in 
 the vapor. 
 
 They had made their little circuit to the left, and were 
 already inclining again towards the right, having, as Heyward 
 thought, got over nearly half the distance to the friendly works, 
 when his ears were saluted with the fierce summons, appar- 
 ently within twenty feet of them, of 
 
 "Qui vala?" 
 
 " Push on ! " whispered the scout, once more bending to 
 the left. 
 
 " Push on ! " repeated Heyward ; when the summons was 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 '45 
 
 renewed by a dozen voices, each of which seemed charged 
 with menace. 
 
 " C'est moi," cried Duncan, dragging, rather thau leading 
 those he supported, swiftly onward. 
 
 " Bote ! qui ? moi I " 
 
 ** Ami de la France." 
 
 " Tu m'as plus 1'air d'un ennemi de la France ; arrete ! ou 
 pardieu je te ferai ami du diable. Non ! feu, camarades ! 
 feu ! " 
 
 The order was instantly obeyed, and the fog was stirred 
 by the explosion of fifty muskets. Happily, the aim was bad, 
 and the bullets cut the air in a direction a little different from 
 that taken by the fugitives ; though still so nigh them, that 
 to the unpractised ears of David and the two females, it ap- 
 peared as if they whistled within a few inches of the organs. 
 The outcry was renewed, and the order, not only to fire again, 
 but to pursue, was too plainly audible. When Heyward 
 briefly explained the meaning of the words they heard Hawk' 
 eye halted, and spoke with quick decision and great firmness. 
 
 " Let us deliver our fire," he said " they will believe it 
 a sortie, and give way, or they will wait for reinforcements." 
 
 The scheme was well conceived, but failed in its effect. 
 The instant the French heard the pieces, it seemed as if the 
 plain was alive with men, muskets rattling along its whole ex- 
 tent, from the shores of the lake to the furthest boundary of 
 the woods. 
 
 " We shall draw their entire army upon us, and bring on 
 a general assault," said Duncan : " lead on, my friend, for 
 your life, and ours." 
 
 The scout seemed willing to comply ; but, in the hurry of the 
 moment, and in the change of position, he had lost the direc- 
 tion. In vain he turned either cheek towards the light air ; 
 they felt equally cool. In this dilemma, Uncas lighted oh the 
 furrow of the cannon ball, where it had cut the ground in 
 three adjacent ant-hills. 
 
 " Give me the range ! " said Hawk-eye, bending to catch 
 a glimpse of the direction, and then instantly moving onward. 
 
 Cries, oaths, voices calling to each other, and the reports 
 of muskets, were now quick and incessant, and, apparently, on 
 every side of them. Suddenly, a strong glare of light flashed 
 across the scene, the fog rolled upwards in thick wreaths, and 
 several cannon belched across the plain, and the roar was 
 thrown heavily back from the bellowing echoes of the mountain. 
 
 " 'Tis from the fort 1 " exclaimed Hawk-eye, turning short 
 
1 4 6 THE LAST OF THE MOfflCAWS. 
 
 on his tracks ; " and we, like stricken fools, were rushing ta 
 the woods, under the very knives of the Maquas." 
 
 The instant their mistake was rectified, the whole partj 
 retraced the error with the utmost diligence. Duncan will- 
 ingly relinquished the support of Cora to the arm of Uncas, 
 and Cora as readily accepted the welcome assistance. Men, 
 hot and angry in pursuit, were evidently on their footsteps, 
 and each instant threatened their capture, if not their de- 
 struction. 
 
 " Point de quartier aux coquins ! " cried an eager pursuer, 
 who seemed to direct the operations of the enemy. 
 
 " Stand firm, and be ready, my gallant 6oths ! " suddenly 
 exclaimed a voice above them ; " wait to see the enemy ; fire 
 low, and sweep the glacis." 
 
 " Father ! father ! " exclaimed a piercing cry from out the 
 mist ; " it is I ! Alice ! thy own Elsie ! spare, O, save your 
 daughters ! " 
 
 " Hold ! " shouted the former speaker, in the awful tones 
 of parental agony, the sound reaching even to the woods, and 
 rolling back in solemn echo. "'Tis she ! God has restored me 
 my children ! Throw open the sally-port; to the field, 6oths, 
 to the field j pull not a trigger, lest ye kill my lambs ! Drive 
 off these dogs of France with your steel." 
 
 Duncan heard the grating of the rusty hinges, and darting 
 to the spot, directed by the sound, he met a long line of dark- 
 red warriors, passing swiftly towards the glacis. He knew 
 them for his own battalion of the royal Americans, and flying 
 to their head, soon swept every trace of his pursuers from 
 before the works. 
 
 For an instant, Cora and Alice had stood trembling and 
 bewildered by this unexpected desertion but, before either 
 had leisure for speech, or even thought, an officer of gigantic 
 frame, whose locks were bleached with years and service, 
 but whose air of military grandeur had been rather softened 
 than destroyed by time, rushed out of the body of the mist, 
 and folded them to his bosom, while large scalding tears 
 rolled down his pale and wrinkled cheeks, and he exclaimed, 
 in the peculiar accent of Scotland, 
 
 " For this I thank thee, Lord ! Let danger come as i? 
 will, thy servant is now perpared 1 " 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Then go we in, to know his embassy ; 
 Which I could, with ready guess, declare, 
 Before the Frenchmen speak a word of it 
 
 KING HENRY V. 
 
 A FEW succeeding days were passed amid the privation^ 
 the uproar, and the dangers of the siege, which was vigor* 
 ously pressed by a power, against whose approaches Munro 
 possessed no competent means of resistance. It appeared as 
 if Webb, with his army, which lay slumbering on the banks of 
 the Hudson, had utterly forgotten the strait to which his 
 countrymen were reduced. Montcalm had rilled the woods 
 of the portage with his savages, every yell and whoop from 
 whom rang through the British encampment, chilling the 
 hearts of men who were already but too much disposed to 
 magnify the danger. 
 
 Not so, however, with the besieged. Animated by the 
 words, and stimulated by the examples, of their leaders, they 
 had found their courage, and maintained their ancient rep 
 utation, with a zeal that did justice to the stern character 
 of their commander. As if satisfied with the toil of march- 
 ing through the wilderness to encounter his enemy, the French 
 general, though of approved skill, had neglected to seize the 
 adjacent mountains, whence the besieged might have been 
 exterminated with impunity, and which, in the more modern 
 warfare of the country, would not have been neglected for 
 a single hour. This sort of contempt for eminences, or 
 rather dread of the labor of ascending them, might have 
 been termed the besetting weakness of the simplicity of the 
 Indian contests, in which, from the nature of the combats, 
 and the density of the forests, fortresses were rare, and 
 artillery next to useless. The carelessness engendered by 
 these usages descended even to the war of the revolution, and 
 lost the States the important fortress of Ticonderoga, opening 
 the way for the army of Burgoyne into what was then the b som 
 of the country. We look back at this ignorance, or infatuation, 
 whichever it may be called, with wonder, knowing that the neg- 
 lect of an eminence, whose difficulties, like those of Mou..t Defi- 
 ance, have been so greatly exaggerated, would, at the present 
 
148 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 time, prove fatal to the reputation of the engineer who had 
 planned the works at their base, or to that of the general 
 whose lot it was to defend them. 
 
 The tourist, the valetudinarian, or the amateur of the 
 beauties of nature, who, in the train of his four-in-hand, now 
 /oils through the scefces we have attempted to describe, in 
 quest of information, health, or pleasure, or floats steadily to- 
 wards his object on those artificial waters which have sprung 
 up under the administration of a statesman * who has dared to 
 stake his political character on the hazardous issue, is not to 
 suppose that his ancestors traversed those hills, or struggled 
 with the same currents with equal facility. The transportation 
 of a single heavy gun was often considered equal to a victory 
 gained ; if, happily, the difficulties of the passage had not so 
 far separated it from its necessary concomitant, the ammuni- 
 tion, as to render it no more than a useless tube of unwieldy 
 iron. 
 
 The evils of this state of things pressed heavily on the 
 fortunes of the resolute Scotsman who now defended William 
 Henry. Though his adversary neglected the hills, he had 
 planted his batteries with judgment on the plain, and caused 
 them to be served with vigor and skill. Against this assault, 
 the beseiged could only oppose the imperfect and hasty pre- 
 parations of a fortress in the wilderness. 
 
 It was in the afternoon of the fifth day of the siege, and 
 the fourth of his own service in it, that Major Heyward prof- 
 ited by a parley that had just been beaten, by repairing to 
 the ramparts of one of the water bastions, to breathe the 
 cool air from the lake, and to take a survey of the progress 
 of the siege. He was alone, if the solitary sentinel who 
 paced the mound be excepted ; for the artillerists, had 
 hastened also to profit by the temporary suspension of their 
 arduous duties. The evening was delightfully calm, and the 
 light air from the limpid water fresh and soothing. It seemed 
 as if, with the termination to the roar of artillery and the 
 plunging of shot, nature had also seized the moment to assume 
 her mildest and most captivating form. The sun poured 
 down his parting glory on the scene, without the oppression 
 of those fierce rays that belong to the climate and the season 
 The mountains looked green, and fresh, and lovely ; tempered 
 with the milder light, or softened in shadow, as thin vapors 
 floated between them and the sun. The numerous islands 
 rested on the bosom of the Horican, some low and sunken, 
 * Evidently the late De Witt Clinton, who died governor of New York, in 1828. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. I49 
 
 as if imbedded in the waters, and others appearing to hover 
 above the element, in little hillocks of green velvet ; among 
 which the fishermen of the beleaguering army peacefully 
 rowed their skiffs, or floated at rest on the glassy mirror, in 
 quiet pursuit of their employment. 
 
 The scene was at once animated and still. All that per- 
 tained to nature, was sweet, or simply grand ; while those 
 parts which depended on the temper and movements of man 
 were lively and playful. 
 
 Two little spotless flags were abroad, the one on a salient 
 angle of the fort, and the other on the advanced battery of 
 the besiegers ; emblems of the truce which existed, not only 
 to the acts, but it would seem, also, to the enmity of the 
 combatants. 
 
 Behind these, again, swung, heavily opening and closing 
 in silken folds, the rival standards of England and France. 
 
 A hundred gay and thoughtless young Frenchmen were 
 drawing a net to the pebbly beach, within dangerous prox- 
 imity to the sullen but silent cannon of the fort, while the 
 eastern mountain was sending back the loud shouts and gay 
 merriment that attended their sport. Some were rushing 
 eagerly to enjoy the aquatic games of the lake, and others 
 were already toiling their way up the neighboring hills, with 
 the restless curiosity of their nation. To all these sports and 
 pursuits, those of the enemy who watched the besieged, and 
 the besieged themselves, were, however, merely the idle, 
 though sympathizing spectators. Here and there a picket 
 had, indeed, raised a song, or mingled in a dance, which had 
 drawn the dusky savages around them, from their lairs in the 
 forest. In short, everything wore rather the appearance of a 
 day of pleasure, than of an hour stolen from the dangers and 
 toil of a bloody and vindictive warfare. 
 
 Duncan had stood in a musing attitude, contemplating 
 this scene a few minutes, when his eyes were directed to the 
 glacis in front of the sally-port already mentioned, by the 
 sounds of approaching footsteps. He walked to an angle 
 of the bastion, and beheld the scout advancing, under the 
 custody of a Fiench officer, to the body of the fort. The 
 countenance of Hawk-eye was haggard and careworn, and 
 his air dejected, as though he felt the deepest degradation at 
 having fallen into the power of his enemies. He was without 
 his favorite weapon, and his arms were even bound behind him, 
 with thongs, made of the skin of a deer. The arrival of flags to 
 cover the messengers of summons, had occurred so often 
 
150 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 of late, that when Heyward first threw his careless glance 
 on this group, he expected to see another of the officers of 
 the enemy, charged with a similar office ; but the instant he 
 recognized the tall person, and still sturdy, though downcast, 
 features of his friend, the woodsman, he started with surprise, 
 and turned to descend from the bastion into the bosom of the 
 work. 
 
 The sounds of other voices, however, caught his attention, 
 and for a moment caused him to forget his purpose. At the 
 inner angle of the mound he met the sisters, walking along 
 the parapet, in search, like himself, of air and relief from 
 confinement. They had not met since that painful moment 
 when Jie deserted them on the plain, only to assure thei' 
 safety. He had parted from them, worn with care and jadecl 
 with fatigue ; he now saw them refreshed and blooming, 
 though timid and anxious. Under such an inducement, it 
 will cause no surprise that the young man lost sight, for a 
 time, of other objects in order to address them. He was, 
 however, anticipated by the voice of the ingenuous and youth- 
 ful Alice. 
 
 " Ah ! thou truant ! thou recreant knight ! he who aban- 
 dons his damsels in the very lists ! " she cried ; " here have 
 we been days, nay, ages, expecting you at our feet, imploring 
 mercy and forgetfulness of your craven backsliding ; or, I 
 should rather say, back-running, for verily you fled in a 
 manner that no stricken deer, as our worthy friend the scout 
 would say, could equal ! " 
 
 " You know that Alice means our thanks and our bless- 
 ings," added the grave and more thoughtful Cora. " In truth, 
 we have a little wondered why you should so rigidly absent 
 yourself from a place where the gratitude of the daughters 
 might receive the support of a parent's thanks." 
 
 " Your father himself could tell you, that though absent 
 from your presence, I have not been altogether forgetful 
 of your safety," returned the young man ; " the mastery of 
 yonder village of huts," pointing to the neighboring entrenched 
 camp, " has been keenly disputed ; and he who holds it is 
 sure to be possessed of this fort, and that which it contains. 
 My days and my nights have all been passed there since we 
 separated, because I thought that my duty called me thither. 
 But, he added with an air of chagrin, which he endeavored, 
 though unsuccessfully, to conceal, " had I been aware that 
 what I then believed a soldier's conduct could be so con 
 strued, shame would have been added to the list of reasons." 
 
THE LAST OF. THE MOHICANS. I ^ 1 
 
 " Heyward ! Duncan ! " exclaimed Alice, bending for 
 ward to read his half-averted countenance, until a lock of hei 
 golden hair rested on her flushed cheek, and nearly con- 
 cealed the tear that had started to her eye ; " did I think this 
 idle tongue of mine had pained you, I would silence it forever. 
 Cora can say, if Cora would, how justly we have prized your 
 services, and how deep I had almost said how fervent is 
 our gratitude." 
 
 " And will Cora attest the truth of this ? " cried Duncan, 
 suffering the cloud to be chased from his countenance by a 
 smile of open pleasure. " What says our graver sister ? Will 
 she find an excuse for the neglect of the knight in the duty of 
 a soldier ? " 
 
 Cora made no immediate answer, but turned her face to- 
 wards the water, as if looking on the sheet of the Horican. 
 When she did bend her dark eyes on the young man, they 
 were yet filled with an expression of anguish that at once 
 drove every thought but that of kind solicitude from his 
 mind. 
 
 " You are not well, dearest Miss Munro ! " he exclaimed f 
 "we have trifled while you are in suffering." 
 
 " Tis nothing," she answered, refusing his offered support 
 with feminine reserve. " That I cannot see the sunny side of 
 the picture of life, like this artless but ardent enthusiast," she 
 added, laying her hand lightly, but affectionately, on the arm 
 of her sister, " is the penalty of experience, and, perhaps, the 
 misfortune of nature. See," she continued, as if determined 
 to shake off infirmity, in a sense of duty ; *' look around you, 
 Major Heyward, and tell me what a prospect is this for the 
 daughter of a soldier whose greater happiness is his honor and 
 bis military renown." 
 
 " Neither ought nor shall be tarnished by circumstances 
 over which he has had no control," Duncan warmly replied. 
 " But your words recall me to my own duty. I go now to 
 your gallant father, to hear his determination in matters of 
 the last moment to the defence. God bless you in every for. 
 tune, noble Cora I may, and must call you." She frankly 
 gave him her hand, though her lip quivered, and her cheeks 
 gradually became of an ashy paleness. " In every fortune, I 
 know you will be an ornament and honor to your sex. Alice, 
 adieu," his tone changed from admiration to tenderness 
 " adieu, Alice ; we shall soon meet again ; as conquerors, I 
 trust, and amid rejoicings ! " 
 
 Without waiting for an answer from either, the young man 
 
I5 2 THE LAST Of THE MOHICANS. 
 
 threw himself down the grassy steps of the bastion, and mov 
 ing rapidly across the parade, he was quickly in the presence 
 of their father. Munro was pacing his narrow apartment, 
 with a disturbed air and gigantic strides, as Duncan entered. 
 
 " You have anticipated my wishes, Major Heyward r " he 
 said ,* " I was about to request this favor." 
 
 " I am sorry to see, sir, that the messenger I so warmly 
 recommended has returned in custody of the French ! I hopo 
 there is no reason to distrust his fidelity ? " 
 
 " The fidelity of ' The Long Rifle ' is well known to me," 
 returned Munro, " and is above suspicion ; though his usual 
 good fortune seems, at last, to have failed. Montcalm has 
 got him, and with the accursed politeness of his nation, he 
 has sent him in with a doleful tale, of * knowing how I valued 
 the fellow, he could not think of retaining him.' A Jesuitical 
 way, that, Major Duncan Heyward, of telling a man of his 
 misfortunes ! " 
 
 " But the general and his succor ! " 
 
 " Did ye look to the south as ye entered, and could ye not 
 see them ? " said the old soldier, laughing bitterly. " Hoot! 
 hoot ! you're an impatient boy, sir, and cannot give the gen- 
 tlemen leisure for their march." 
 
 " They are coming then ? The scout has said as much ? " 
 
 " When ? and by what path ? for the dunce has omitted to 
 tell me this. There is a letter, it would seem, too, and that is 
 the only agreeable part of the matter. For the customary at- 
 tentions of your Marquis of Montcalm I warrant me, Dun- 
 can, that he of Lothian would buy a dozen such marquisates 
 but, if the news of the letter were bad, the gentility of 
 this French monsieur would certainly compel him to let us 
 know it." 
 
 " He keeps the letter, then, while he releases the nes- 
 senger ? " 
 
 " Ay, that does he, and all for the sake of what you call 
 your ' bonhommie.' I would venture, if the truth was known, 
 the fellow's grandfather taught the noble science of dancing." 
 
 " But what says the scout ? he has eyes and ears, and a 
 tongue : what verbal report does he make ? " 
 
 " Oh ! sir, he is not wanting in natural organs, and he is 
 free to tell all that he has seen and heard. The whole amount 
 is this ; there is a fort of his majesty's on the banks on the 
 Hudson, called Edward, in honor of his gracious highness of 
 York, you'll know ; and it is well filled with armed men, as 
 such a work should be." 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. ^3 
 
 " But was there no movement, no signs of any intentions 
 TO advance to our relief ? " 
 
 " There were the morning and evening parades ; and 
 when one of the provincial loons you'll know, Duncan, 
 you're half a Scotsman yourself when one of them dropped 
 his powder over his porretch, if it touched the coals, it just 
 burnt ! " Then suddenly changing his bitter, ironical man- 
 ner, to one more grave and thoughtful, he continued " and 
 yet there might, and must be something in that letter which it 
 would be well to know 1 " 
 
 " Our decision should be speedy," said Duncan, gladly 
 availing himself of this change of humor, to press the more 
 important objects of their interview. " I cannot conceal from 
 you, sir, that the camp will not be much longer tenable ; and 
 I am sorry to add, that things appear no better in the fort; 
 more than half the guns are bursted." 
 
 " And how should it be otherwise ? Some were fished 
 from the bottom of the lake ; some have been rusting in the 
 woods since the discovery of the country ; and some were 
 never guns at all mere privateersmen's playthings ! Do you 
 think, sir, you can have Woolwich Warren in the midst of a 
 wilderness, three thousand miles from Great Britain ? " 
 
 " The walls are crumbling about our ears, and provisions 
 begin to fail us," continued Heyward, without regarding this 
 new burst of indignation ; " even the men show signs of dis- 
 content and alarm." 
 
 "Major Heyward," said Munro, turning to his youthful 
 associate with the dignity of his years and superior rank ; " I 
 should have served his majesty for half a century, and earned 
 these gray hairs in vain, were I ignorant of all you say, and 
 of the pressing nature of our circumstances ; still, there is 
 everything due to the honor of the king's arms and something 
 to ourselves. While there is hope of succor, this fortress will 
 I defend, though it be to be done with pebbles gathered on 
 the lake shore. It is a sight of the letter, therefore, that we 
 want, that we may know the intentions of the man the Earl of 
 Loudon has left among us as his substitute." 
 
 " And can I be of service in the matter? " 
 
 " Sir, you can ; the Marquis of Montcalm has, in addition 
 to his other civilities, invited me to a personal interview be- 
 tween the works and his own camp ; in order, as he says, to 
 impart some additional information. Now, I think it would 
 not be wise to show any undue solicitude to meet him, and I 
 would employ you, an officer of rank, as my substitute ; for it 
 
I S 4 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 would but ill comport with the honor of Scotland to let it be 
 said one of her gentlemen was outdone in civility by a native 
 of any other country on earth." 
 
 Without assuming the supererogatory task of entering into 
 a discussion of the comparative merits of national courtesy; 
 Duncan cheerfully assented to supply the place of the veteran 
 in the approaching interview. A long and confidential com- 
 munication now succeeded, during which the young man re- 
 ceived some additional insight into his duty, from the expe- 
 rience and native acuteness of his commander, and then the 
 former took his leave. 
 
 As Duncan could only act as the representative of the 
 commandant of the fort, the ceremonies which should have 
 accompanied a meeting between the heads of the adverse 
 forces were, of course, dispensed with. The truce still 
 existed, and with a roll and beat of the drum, and covered by 
 a little white flag, Duncan left the sally-port, within ten min- 
 utes after his instructions were ended. He was received by 
 the French officer in advance with the usual formalities, and 
 immediately accompanied to a distant marquee of the re- 
 nowned soldier who led the forces of France. 
 
 The general of the enemy received the youthful messenger, 
 surrounded by his principal officers, and by a swarthy band 
 of the native chiefs, who had followed him to the field, with 
 the warriors of their several tribes. Hey ward paused short, 
 when, in glancing his eyes rapidly over the dark group of the 
 latter, he beheld the malignant countenance of Magua, re- 
 garding him with the calm but sullen attention which marked 
 the expression of that subtle savage. A slight exclamation 
 of surprise even burst from the lips of the young man ; but, 
 instantly recollecting his errand, and the presence in which 
 he stood, he suppressed every appearance of emotion, and 
 turned to the hostile leader, who had already advanced a step 
 to receive him. 
 
 The Marquis of Montcalm was, at the period of which we 
 write, in the flower of his age, and, it may be added, in the 
 zenith of his fortunes. But, even in that enviable situation, 
 he was affable, and distinguished as much for his attention 
 to the forms of courtesy, as for that chivalrous courage which, 
 only two short years afterwards, induced him to throw away 
 his life on the plains of Abraham. Duncan, in turning his 
 eyes from the malign expression of Magua, suffered them to 
 rest with pleasure on the smiling and polished features, and 
 the noble military air, of the French general. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 '55 
 
 " Monsieur," said the latter, " j'ai beaucoup de piaisir a 
 bah ! oil est cet interprete ? " 
 
 " Je crois, monsieur, qu'il ne sera pas necessaire," Hey- 
 ward modestly replied ; " je parle un peu Franc,ais." 
 
 " Ah ! j'en suis bien aise," said Montcalm, taking Duncan 
 familiarly by the arm, and leading him deep into the marquee, 
 a little out of ear-shot ; " je deteste ces fripons-la ; on ne sait 
 ^amais sur quel pie on est avec eux. Eh, bien ! monsieur," 
 he continued, still speaking in French ; " though I should 
 have been proud of receiving your commandant, I am very 
 happy that he has seen proper to employ an officer so distin- 
 guished, and who, I am sure, is so amiable as yourself." 
 
 Duncan bowed low, pleased with the compliment, in spite 
 of a most heroic determination to suffer no artifice to allure 
 him into forgetfulness of the interest of his prince ; and Mont- 
 calm, after a pause of a moment, as if to collect his thoughts, 
 proceeded, 
 
 " Your commandant is a brave man, and well qualified to 
 repel my assault. Mais, monsieur, is it not time to begin to 
 take more council of humanity, and less of your courage? 
 The one as strongly characterizes the hero as the other." 
 
 " We consider the qualities as inseparable," returned 
 Duncan, smiling ; <* but while we find in the vigor of your ex< 
 cellency every motive to stimulate the one, we can, as yet, see 
 no particular call for the exercise of the other." 
 
 Montcalm, in his turn, slightly bowed, but it was with the 
 air of a man too practised to remember the language of flat- 
 tery. After musing a moment, he added, 
 
 " It is possible my glasses have deceived me, and that 
 your works resist our cannon better than I had supposed. 
 You know our force ? " 
 
 "Our accounts vary," said Duncan, carelessly; "the 
 highest, however, has not exceeded twenty thousand men." 
 
 The Frenchman bit his lip, and fastened his eyes keenly 
 on the other as if he read his thoughts ; then, with a readi- 
 ness peculiar to himself, he continued, as if assenting to the 
 truth of an enumeration which quite doubled his army, 
 
 " It is a poor compliment to the vigilance of us soldiers, 
 monsieur, that, do what we will, we never can conceal our 
 numbers. If it were to be done at all, one would believe it 
 might succeed in these woods. Though you think it too soon 
 to listen to the calls of humanity," he added, smiling archly, 
 " I may be permitted to believe that gallantry is not forgot- 
 ten by one so young as yourself. The daughters of the 
 
I S 6 THE LAST OP THE MOHICANS. 
 
 commandant, I learn, have passed into the fort since it wa 
 invested ? " 
 
 " It is true, monsieur ; but, so far from weakening oui 
 efforts, they set us an example of courage in their own for- 
 titude. Were nothing but resolution necessary to repel so 
 accomplished a soldier as M. de Montcalm, I would gladly 
 trust the defence of William Henry to the elder of those 
 ladies." 
 
 " We have a wise ordinance in our Salique laws, which 
 says, * the crown of France shall never degrade the lance to 
 the distaff,' " said Montcalm, dryly, and with a little hauteur ; 
 but instantly adding, with his former frank and easy air, " as 
 all the nobler qualities are hereditary, I can easily credit you ; 
 though, as I said before, courage has its limits, and humanity 
 must not be forgotten. I trust, monsieur, you come author- 
 ized to treat for the surrender of the place ? " 
 
 " Has your excellency found our defence so feeble as to 
 believe the measure necessary ? " 
 
 " I should be sorry to have the defence protracted in such 
 a manner as to irritate my red friends there," continued 
 Montcalm, glancing his eyes at the group of grave and at- 
 tentive Indians, without attending to the other's question ; 
 " I find it difficult, even now, to limit them to the usages of. 
 war." 
 
 Heyward was silent ; for a painful recollection of the dan- 
 gers he had so recently escaped came over his mind, and re- 
 called the images of those defenceless beings who had shared 
 in all his sufferings. 
 
 " Ces messieurs-Id," said Montcalm, following up the ad- 
 vantage which he conceived he had gained, " are most for- 
 midable, when baffled j and it is unnecessary to tell you with 
 what difficulty they are restrained in their anger. Eh bierj^ 
 monsieur ! shall we speak of the terms ? " 
 
 " I fear your excellency has been deceived as to the 
 strength of William Henry, and the resources of its gar 
 rison I " 
 
 " I have not sat down before Quebec, but an earthen work, 
 that is defended by twenty-three hundred gallant men," was 
 the laconic reply. 
 
 " Our mounds are earthen, certainly nor are they seated 
 on the rocks of Cape Diamond ; but they stand on that shore 
 which proved so destructive to Dieskau and his army. There 
 is also a powerful force within a few hours' march of us, which 
 we account upon as part of our means." 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 '57 
 
 "Some six or eight thousand men," returned Montcalm, 
 with much apparent indifference, "whom their leader wisely 
 judges to be safer in their works than in the field." 
 
 It was now Heyward's turn to bite his lip with vexation. 
 AS the other so coolly alluded to a force which the young man 
 knew to be overrated. Both mused a little while in silence, 
 when Montcalm renewed the conversation, in a way that 
 showed he believed the visit of his guest was solely to pro- 
 pose terms of capitulation. On the other hand, Heyward 
 began to throw sundry inducements in the way of the French 
 general, to betray the discoveries he had made through the 
 intercepted letter. The artifice of neither, however, suc- 
 ceeded-; and after a protracted and fruitless interview, Dun- 
 can took his leave, favorably impressed with an opinion of 
 the courtesy and talents of the enemy's captain, but as ignor 
 ant of what he come to learn as when he arrived. Montcalm 
 followed him as far as the entrance of the marquee, renewing 
 his invitations to the commandant of the fort to give him an 
 immediate meeting in the open ground, between the two 
 armies. 
 
 There they separated, and Duncan returned to the ad- 
 vanced post of the French, accompanied as before; whence 
 he instantly proceeded to the fort, and to the quarters of hi* 
 own commander. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Edg. Before you fight the battle, ope this letter. 
 
 LEAR. 
 
 MAJOR HEYWARD found Munro attended only by his 
 daughters. Alice sate upon his knee, parting the gray hairs 
 on the forehead of the old man with her delicate fingers ; and, 
 whenever he affected to frown on her trifling, appeasing his 
 assumed anger by pressing her ruby lips fondly on his wrink 
 led brow. Cora was seated nigh them, a calm and amused 
 looker-on : regarding the wayward movements of her more 
 youthful sister, with that species of maternal fondness which 
 characterized her love for Alice. Not only the dangers 
 through which they had passed, but those which still im 
 
! 8 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, 
 
 pended above them, appeared to be momentarily forgotten, 
 in the soothing indulgence of such a family meeting. It 
 seemed as if they had profited by the short truce, to devote 
 an instant to the purest and best affections ; the daughters 
 forgetting their fears, and the veteran his cares, in the security 
 of the moment. Of this scene, Duncan, who in his eagerness 
 to report his arrival had entered unannounced, stood many 
 moments an unobserved and a delighted spectator. But the 
 quick and dancing eyes of Alice soon caught a glimpse of 
 his figure reflected from a glass, and she sprang blushing from 
 her father's knee, exclaiming aloud, 
 
 " Major Heyward ! " 
 
 " What of the lad ? " demanded her father ; " I have sent 
 him to crack a little with the Frenchman. Ha ! sir, you are 
 young, and you're nimble ! Away with you, ye baggage ; as 
 if there were not troubles enough for a soldier, without having 
 his camp filled with such prattling hussies as yourself ! " 
 
 Alice laughingly followed her sister, who instantly led the 
 way from an apartment where she perceived their presence 
 was no longer desirable. Munro, instead of demanding the 
 result of the young man's mission, paced the room for a few 
 moments, with his hands behind his back, and his head in- 
 clined towards the floor, like a man lost in thought. At 
 length he raised his eyes, glistening with a father's fondness, 
 and exclaimed, 
 
 " They are a pair of excellent girls, Heyward, and such as 
 any one may boast of." 
 
 " You are not now to learn my opinion of your daughters, 
 Colonel Munro." 
 
 "True, lad, true," interrupted the impatient old man; 
 " you were about opening your mind more fully on that matter 
 the day you got in ; but I did not think it becoming in an old 
 soldier to be talking of nuptial blessings and wedding jokes 
 when the enemies of his king were likely to be unbidden 
 guests at the feast ! But I was wrong, Duncan, boy, I was 
 wrong there ; and I am now ready to hear what you have to 
 say." 
 
 " Notwithstanding the pleasure your assurance gives me, 
 dear sir, I have, just now, a message from Montcalm, " 
 
 " Let the Frenchman and all his host go to the devil, sir ! " 
 exclaimed the hasty veteran. " He is not yet master of 
 William Henry, nor shall he ever be, provided Webb proves 
 himself the man he should. No, sir ! thank heaven, we are 
 not yet in such a strait that it can be said Munro is too much 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 '59 
 
 pressed to discharge the little domestic duties of his own 
 family. Your mother was the only child of my bosom friend, 
 Duncan ; and I'll just give you a hearing, though all the 
 knights of St. Louis were in a body at the sally-port, with the 
 French saint at their head, craving to speak a word under 
 favor. A pretty degree of knighthood, sir, is that which can 
 be bought with sugar-hogsheads ! and then your two-penny 
 marquisates ! The thistle is the order for dignity and an- 
 tiquity ; the veritable ' nemo me impune lacessit ' of chivalry ! 
 Ye had ancestors in that degree, Duncan, and they were an 
 ornament to the nobles of Scotland." 
 
 Heyward, who perceived that his superior took a malicious 
 pleasure in exhibiting his contempt for the message of the 
 French general, was fain to humor a spleen that he knew 
 would be short-lived ; he therefore replied with as much in- 
 difference as he could assume on such a subject, 
 
 " My request, as you know, sir, went so far as to presume 
 to the honor of being your son." 
 
 " Ay, boy, you found words to make yourself very plainly 
 comprehended. But, let me ask ye, sir, have ye been as in- 
 telligible to the girl ? " 
 
 " On my honor, no," exclaimed Duncan, warmly ; " there 
 would have been an abuse of a confided trust, had I taken 
 advantage of my situation for such a purpose." 
 
 " Your notions are those of a gentleman, Major Heyward, 
 and well enough in their place. But Cora Munro is a maiden 
 too discreet, and of a mind too elevated and improved, to 
 need the guardianship even of a father " 
 
 "Cora!" 
 
 " Ay Cora ! we are talking of your pretensions to Miss 
 Munro, are we not, sir ? " 
 
 " I I I was not conscious of having mentioned her 
 name," said Duncan, stammering. 
 
 " And to marry whom, then, did you wish my consent, 
 Major Heyward ? " demanded the old soldier, erecting him- 
 self in the dignity of offended feeling. 
 
 " You have another, and not less lovely child." 
 
 " Alice ! " exclaimed the father, in an astonishment equal 
 to that with which Duncan had just repeated the name of her 
 sister. 
 
 " Such was the direction of my wishes, sir."' 
 
 The young man waited in silence the result of the extra- 
 ordinary effect produced by a communication which, as it now 
 appeared, was so unexpected. For several minutes Munro 
 
!6o THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 paced the chamber with long and rapid strides, his rigid 
 features working convulsively, and every faculty seemingly 
 absorbed in the musings of his own mind. At length, ht 
 paused directly in front of Heyward, and riveting his eyes 
 upon those of the other, he said, with a lip that quivered 
 violently, 
 
 " Duncan Heyward, I have loved you for the sake of him 
 whose blood is in your veins ; I have loved you for your own 
 good qualities ; and I have loved you, because I thought you 
 would contribute to the happiness of my child. But all this 
 love would turn to hatred, were I assured that what I so much 
 apprehend is true." 
 
 " God forbid that any act or thought of mine should lead 
 to such a change ! " exclaimed the young man, whose eye 
 never quailed under the penetrating look it encountered. 
 Without adverting to the impossibility of the other's compre- 
 hending those feelings which were hid in his own bosom, 
 Munro suffered himself to be appeased by the unaltered coun- 
 tenance he met, and with a voice sensibly softened, he con- 
 tinued 
 
 " You would be my son, Duncan, and you're ignorant ot 
 the history of the man you wish to call your father. Sit yfe 
 down, young man, and I will open to you the wounds of a 
 seared heart, in as few words as may be suitable." 
 
 By this time, the message of Montcalm was as much for- 
 gotten by him who bore it as by the man for whose ears it 
 was intended. Each drew a chair, and while the veteran 
 communed a few moments with his own thoughts, apparently 
 in sadness, the youth suppressed his impatience in a look 
 and attitude of respectful attention. At length the former 
 spoke 
 
 "You know, already, Major Heyward, that my family 
 was both ancient and honorable," commenced the Scotsman j 
 " though it might not altogether be endowed with that amount 
 of wealth that should correspond with its degree. I was, 
 maybe, such an one as yourself when I plighted my faith to 
 Alice Graham, the only child of a neighboring laird of some 
 estate. But the connection was disagreeable to her father, 
 on more accounts than my poverty. I did, therefore, what 
 an honest man should restored the maiden her troth, and 
 departed the country in the service of my king. I had seeo 
 many regions, and had shed much blood in different lands, 
 before duty called me to the islands of the West Indies. 
 There it was my lot to form a connection with one who in 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 161 
 
 time became my wife, and the mother of Cora. She was the 
 daughter of a gentleman of those isles, by a lady whose mis- 
 fortune it was, if you will," said the old man, proudly, "to be 
 descended, remotely, from that unfortunate class who are so 
 basely enslaved to administer to the wants of a luxurious 
 people. Ay, sir, that is a curse entailed on Scotland by her 
 unnatural union with a foreign and trading people. But could 
 I find a man among them who would dare to reflect on my 
 shild, he should feel the weight of a father's anger! Ha! 
 Majoi Heyward, you are yourself born at the south, where 
 these unfortunate beings are considered of a race inferior to 
 your own." 
 
 " Tis most unfortunately true, sir," said Duncan, unable 
 any longer to prevent his eyes from sinking to the floor in 
 embarrassment. 
 
 " And you cast it on my child as a reproach ! You scorn 
 to mingle the blood of the Heywards with one so degraded- 
 lovely and virtuous though she be ? " fiercely demanded the 
 jealous parent. 
 
 " Heaven protect me from a prejudice so unworthy of my 
 reason ! " returned Duncan, at the same time conscious oi 
 such a feeling, and that as deeply rooted as if it had been 
 ingrafted in his nature. "The sweetness, the beauty, the 
 witchery of your younger daughter, Colonel Munro, might 
 explain my motives, without imputing to me this injustice." 
 
 " Ye are right, sir," returned the old man, again changing 
 his tones to those of gentleness, or rather softness ; " the girl 
 is the image of what her mother was at her years, and before 
 she had become acquainted with grief. When death deprived 
 me of my wife I returned to Scotland, enriched by the mar- 
 riage ; and would you think it, Duncan ! the suffering angel 
 had remained in the heartless state of celibacy twenty long 
 years, and that for the sake of a man who could forget her ! 
 She did more, sir; she overlooked my want of faith, and all 
 difficulties being now removed, she took me for her hus- 
 band." 
 
 " And became the mother of Alice ? " exclaimed Duncan, 
 with an eagerness that might have proved dangerous at a 
 moment when the thoughts of Munro were less occupied than 
 at present. 
 
 " She did, indeed," said the old man, " and dearly did 
 she pay for the blessing she bestowed. But she is a saint in 
 heaven, sir ; and it rti becomes one whose foot rests on the 
 grave to mourn a lot so blessed. I had her but a single year, 
 
162 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 though ; a short term of happiness for one who had seen hei 
 youth fade in hopeless pining." 
 
 There was something so commanding in the distress of 
 the old man, that Heyward did not dare to venture a syllable 
 of consolation. Munro sat utterly unconscious of the other's 
 presence, his features exposed and working with the anguish 
 of 'his regrets, while heavy tears fell from his eyes, and rolled 
 unheeded from his cheeks to the floor. At length he moved, 
 as if suddenly recovering his recollection ; when he arose, 
 and taking a single turn across the room, he approached 
 his companion with an air of military grandeur, and de- 
 manded, 
 
 "Have you not, Major Heyward, some communication 
 that I should hear from the Marquis de Montcalm ? " 
 
 Duncan started, in his turn, and immediately commenced, 
 in an embarrassed voice, the half-forgotten message. It is 
 unnecessary to dwell upon the evasive, though polite manner, 
 with which the French, general had eluded every attempt of 
 Heyward to worm from him the purport of the communication 
 he had proposed making, or on the decided, though still 
 polished message, by which he now gave his enemy to under- 
 stand, that unless he chose to receive it in person, he should 
 not receive it at all. As Munro listened to the detail of Dun- 
 can, the excited feelings of the father gradually gave way before 
 the obligations of his station, and when the other was done, 
 he saw before him nothing but the veteran, swelling with the 
 wounded feelings of a soldier. 
 
 " You have said enough, Major Heyward I " exclaimed 
 the angry old man ; " enough to make a volume of commen- 
 tary on French civility. Here has this gentleman invited me 
 to a conference, and when I send him a capable substitute, 
 for ye're all that, Duncan, though your years are but few, he 
 answers me with a riddle." 
 
 "He may have thought less favorably of the substitute, my 
 dear sir ; and you will remember that the invitation, which he 
 now repeats, was to the commandant of the works, and not 
 to his second." 
 
 " Well, sir, is not a substitute clothed with all the power 
 and dignity of him who grants the commission ? He wishes 
 to confer with Munro ! Faith, sir, I have much inclination to 
 indulge the man, if it should only be to let him behold the 
 firm countenance we maintain in spite of his numbers and 
 his summons. There might be no bad policy in such a strok^ 
 young man." 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 163 
 
 Duncan, who believed it of the last importance that they 
 should speedily come at the contents of the letter borne by 
 the scout, gladly encouraged this idea. 
 
 "Without doubt, he could gather no confidence by witness* 
 ing our indifference," he said. 
 
 " You never said truer word. I could wish, sir, that he 
 would visit the works in open day, and in the form of a storm- 
 ing party : that* is the least failing method of proving the 
 countenance of an enemy, and would be far preferable to the 
 battering; system he has chosen. The beauty and manliness 
 of warfare have been much deformed, Major Heyward, by the 
 arts of your Monsieur Vauban. Our ancestors were far above 
 such scientific cowardice." 
 
 "It may be very true, sir ; but we are now obliged to 
 repel art by art. What is your pleasure in the matter of the 
 interview ? " 
 
 "I will meet 'the Frenchman, and that without fear or 
 delay ; promptly, sir, as becomes a servant of my royal mas- 
 ter. Go, Major Heyward, and give them a flourish of the 
 music ; and send out a messenger to let them know who is 
 coming. We will follow with a small guard, for such respect 
 is due to one who holds the honor of his king in keeping ; 
 hark'ee, Duncan," he added, in a half whisper, though they 
 were alone, " it may be prudent to have some aid at hand, in 
 case there should be treachery at bottom of it all." 
 
 The young man availed himself of this order to quit the 
 apartment ; and, as the day was fast coming to a close, he 
 hastened, without delay, to make the necessary arrangements. 
 A very few minutes only were necessary to parade a few files, 
 and to despatch an orderly with a flag to announce the ap- 
 proach of the commandant of the fort. When Duncan had 
 done both these he led the guard to the sally port, near which 
 he found his superior ready, waiting his appearance. As soon 
 as the usual ceremonials of a military departure were observed 
 the veteran and his more youthful companion left the fortress, 
 attended by the escort. 
 
 They had proceeded only a hundred yards from the works, 
 when the little array which attended the French general to 
 the conference, was seen issuing from the hollow way, which 
 formed the bed of a brook that ran between the batteries of 
 the besiegers and the fort. From the moment that Munro 
 left his own works to appear in front of his enemies, his air 
 had been grand, and his step and countenance highly military 
 The instant he caught a glimpse of the white plume that 
 
1 64 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 waved in the hat of Montcalm, his eye lighted, and age no 
 longer appeared to possess any influence over his vast and 
 still muscular person. , 
 
 " Speak to the boys to be watchful, sir," he said, in an 
 undertone, to Duncan ; " and to look well to their flints and 
 steel, for one is never safe with a servant of these Louis ; at 
 the same time, we will show them the front of men in deep 
 security. Ye'll understand me, Major Heyward ! " 
 
 He was interrupted by the clamor of a drum from the 
 approaching Frenchmen, which was immediately answered, 
 when each party pushed an orderly in advance, bearing a 
 white flag, and the wary Scotsman halted, with his guard close 
 at his back. As soon as this slight salutation had passed, 
 Montcalm moved towards them with a quick but grace- 
 ful step, baring his head to the veteran, and dropping his 
 spotless plume nearly to the earth in courtesy. If the ail 
 of Munro was more commanding and manly, it wanted both 
 the ease and insinuating polish of that of the Frenchman. 
 Neither spoke for a few moments, each regarding the other 
 with curious and interested eyes. Then, as became his supe- 
 rior rank and the nature of the interview, Montcalm broke 
 :!>** silence. After uttering the usual words of greeting, he 
 mrned to Duncan, and continued, with a smile of recognition, 
 speaking always in French. 
 
 " I am rejoiced, monsieur, that you have given us the 
 pleasure of your company on this occasion. There will be 
 no necessity to employ an ordinary interpreter; for, in your 
 hands, I feel the same security as if I spoke your language 
 myself." 
 
 Duncan acknowledged the compliment, when Montcalm, 
 turning to his guard, which, in imitation of that of their en* 
 emies, pressed close upon him, continued, 
 
 "En arriere, mes enfans il fait chaud; retirez-vous un 
 peu." 
 
 Before Major Heyward would imitate his proof of confi- 
 dence, he glanced his eyes around the plain, and beheld with 
 uneasiness the numerous dusky groups of savages, who looked 
 out from the margin of the surrounding woods, curious specta- 
 tors of the interview. 
 
 * Monsieur de Montcalm will readily acknowledge the 
 difference in our situation," he said, with some embarrass- 
 ment, pointing at the same time towards those dangerous 
 foes, who were to be seen in almost every direction. " Were 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 '65 
 
 we to dismiss our guard, we should stand here at the mercy of 
 our enemies." 
 
 " Monsieur, you have the plighted faith of ' un gentilhomme 
 Fran9ais,' for your safety," returned Montcalm, laying his 
 hand impressively on his heart ; ." it should suffice." 
 
 " It shall. Fall back," Duncan added to the officer who 
 led the escort ; " fall back, sir, beyond hearing, and wait foi 
 orders." 
 
 Munro witnessed this movement with manifest uneasiness \ 
 nor did he fail to demand an instant explanation. 
 
 " Is it not our interest, sir, to betray no distrust ? " retorted 
 Duncan. " Monsieur de Montcalm pledges his word for our 
 safety, and I have ordered the men to withdraw a little, in 
 order to prove how much we depend on his assurance." 
 
 " It may be all right, sir, but I have no overweening reli- 
 ance on the faith of these marquesses, or marquis, as they call 
 themselves. Their patents of nobility are too common to be 
 certain that they bear the seal of true honor." 
 
 " You forget, dear sir, that we confer with an officer, dis- 
 tinguished alike in Europe and America for his deeds. From 
 a soldier of his reputation we can have nothing to appre- 
 hend." 
 
 The old man made a gesture of resignation, though his 
 rigid features still betrayed his obstinate adherence to a dis- 
 trust, which he derived from a sort of hereditary contempt of 
 his enemy, rather than from any present signs which might 
 warrant so uncharitable a feeling. Montcalm waited patiently 
 until this little dialogue in demi-voice was ended, when he 
 drew nigher, and opened the subject of their conference. 
 
 " I have solicited this interview from your superior, mon- 
 sieur," he said, " because I believe he will allow himself to 
 be persuaded, that he has already done everything which is 
 necessary for the honor of his prince, and will now listen to 
 the admonitions of humanity. I will forever bear testimony 
 that his resistance has been gallant, and was continued as 
 long as there was hope." 
 
 When this opening was translated to Munro, he answered 
 with dignity, but with sufficient courtesy, 
 
 " However I may prize such testimony from Monsieuj 
 Montcalm, it will be more valuable when it shall be bettei 
 merited." 
 
 The French general smiled, as Duncan gave him the pur 
 port of this reply, and observed 
 
 " What is now so freely accorded to approved courage, may 
 
!66 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 be refused to useless obstinacy. Monsieur would wish to see 
 my camp, and witness for himself our numbers, and the im* 
 possibility of his resisting them with success ? " 
 
 " I know that the king of France is well served," returned 
 the unmoved Scotsman, as soon as Duncan ended his trans- 
 lation ; " but my own royal master has as many and as faith- 
 ful troops." 
 
 " Though not at hand, fortunately for us," said Montcalm, 
 without waiting, in his raclor, for the interpreter. " There is 
 a destiny in war, to which a brave man knows how to submit 
 with the same courage that he faces his foes." 
 
 " Had I been conscious that Monsieur Montcalm was 
 master of the English, I should have spared myself the 
 trouble of so awkward a translation," said the vexed Duncan, 
 dryly ; remembering instantly his recent by-plav with Munro. 
 
 "Your pardon, monsieur," rejoined the Fienchman, suffer- 
 ing a slight color to appear on his dark cheek. " There is a 
 vast difference between understanding and speaking a foreign 
 tongue ; you will, therefore, please to assist me still." Then 
 after a short pause, he added, " These hills afford us every 
 opportunity of reconnoitring your works, messieurs, and I 
 am, possibly, as well acquainted with their weak conditon as 
 you can be yourselves." 
 
 " Ask the French general if his glasses can reach to the 
 Hudson," said Munro, proudly ; " and if he knows when and 
 where to expect the army of Webb." 
 
 " Let General Webb be his own interpreter," returned the 
 politic Montcalm, suddenly extending an open letter towards 
 Munro as he spoke. " You will there learn, monsieur, that 
 his movements are not likely to prove embarrassing to my 
 army." 
 
 The veteran seized the offered paper, without waiting for 
 Duncan to translate the speech, and with an eagerness that 
 betrayed how important he deemed its contents. As his eye 
 passed hastily over the words, his countenance changed from 
 its look of military pride to one of deep chagrin ; his lip be- 
 gan to quiver, and, suffering the paper to fall from his hand, 
 his head dropped upon his chest, like that of a man whose 
 hopes were withered at a single blow. Duncan caught the 
 letter from the ground, and without apology for the liberty he 
 took, he read at a glance its cruel purport. Their common 
 superior, so far from encouraging them to resist, advised a 
 speedy surrender, urging in the plainest language as a reason, 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 167 
 
 the utter impossibility of his sending a single man to their 
 rescue. 
 
 " Here is .no deception ! " exclaimed Duncan, examining 
 the billet both inside and out ; " this is the signature of Webb, 
 and must be the captured letter." 
 
 " The man has betrayed me ! " Munro at length bitterly 
 exclaimed : " he has brought dishonor to the door of one 
 where disgrace was never before known to dwell, and shame 
 has he heaped heavily on my gray hairs." 
 
 " Say not so," cried Duncan ; " we are yet masters of the 
 fort, and of our honor. Let us then sell our lives at such a 
 rate as shall make our enemies believe the purchase too 
 dear." 
 
 " Boy, I thank thee," exclaimed the old man, rousing him- 
 self from his stupor ; " you have, for once, reminded Munro 
 of his duty. We will go back, and dig our graves behind 
 those ramparts." 
 
 " Messieurs," said Montcalm, advancing towards them a 
 step, in generous interest, "you little know Louis de St. 
 Veran. if you believe him capable of profiting by this letter to 
 humble brave men, or to build up a dishonest reputation for 
 himself. Listen to my terms before you leave me." 
 
 " What says the 'Frenchman ? " demanded the veteran, 
 sternly ; " does he make a merit of having captured a scout, 
 with a note from head-quarters ? Sir, he had better raise this 
 siege, to go and sit down before Edward if he wishes to 
 frighten his enemy with words." 
 
 Duncan explained the other's meaning. 
 
 " Monsieur de Montcalm, we will hear you," the veteran 
 added, more calmly, as Duncan ended. 
 
 "To retain the fort is now impossible," said his liberal 
 enemy ; " it is necessary to the interests of my master that it 
 should be destroyed ; but, as for yourselves, and your brave 
 comrades, there is no privilege dear to a soldier that shall 
 be denied." 
 
 " Our colors? " demanded Heyward. 
 
 " Carry them to England, and show them to your king." 
 
 " Our arms ? " 
 
 " Keep them ; none can use them better." 
 
 " Our march ; the surrender of the place ? " 
 
 " Shall all be done in a way most honorable to your- 
 selves." 
 
 Duncan now turned to explain these proposals to his com- 
 mander, who heard him with amazement, and a sensibility 
 
1 68 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 that was deeply touched by so unusual and unexpected gen- 
 erosity. 
 
 " Go you, Duncan," he said ; "go with this marquess, as 
 indeed marquess he should be ; go to his marquee, and 
 arrange it all. I have lived to see two things in my old age, 
 that never did I expect to behold, an Englishman afraid tc 
 support a friend, and a Frenchman too honest to profit by his 
 advantage." 
 
 So saying, the veteran again dropped his head to his chest, 
 and returned slowly towards the fort, exhibiting, by the de- 
 jection of his air, to the anxious garrison, a harbinger of evil 
 tidings. 
 
 From the shock of this unexpected blow the haughty feel- 
 ings of Munro never recovered ; but from that moment there 
 commenced a change in his determined character, which ac- 
 companied him to a speedy grave. Duncan remained to 
 settle the terms of the capitulation. He was seen to re-enter 
 the works during the first watches of the night, and immediate- 
 ly after a private conference with the commandant, to leave 
 them again. It was then openly announced, that hostilities 
 must cease Munro having signed a treaty, by which the 
 place was to be yielded to the enemy, with the morning; the 
 garrison to retain their arms, their colors, and their baggage, 
 and consequently, according to military opinion, their honor. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Weave we the woof. The thread is spun. 
 The web is wove. The work is done. 
 
 GRAY. 
 
 THE hostile armies, which lay in the wilds of the Horican, 
 passed the night of the ninth of August, 1757, much in the 
 manner they would had they encountered on the fairest field 
 of Europe. While, the conquered were still, sullen, and de- 
 jected, the victors triumphed. But there are limits alike to 
 grief and joy ; and long before the watches of the morning 
 came, the stillness of those boundless woods was only broken 
 by a gay call from some exulting young Frenchman of the ad- 
 vanced pickets, or a menacing challenge from the fort, which 
 sternly forbade the approach of any hostile footsteps before 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. X 6g 
 
 the stipulated moment. Even these occasional threatening 
 sounds ceased to be heard in that dull hour which precedes 
 the day, at which period a listener might have sought in vain 
 any evidence of the presence of those armed powers that then 
 slumbered on the shores of the " holy lake." 
 
 It was during these moments of deep silence, that the 
 canvas which concealed the entrance to a spacious marquee 
 in the French encampment was shoved aside, and a man 
 issued from beneath the drapery into the open air. He was 
 enveloped in a cloak that might have been intended as a pro- 
 tection from the chilling damps of the woods, but which 
 served equally well as a mantle, to conceal his person. He 
 was permitted to pass the grenadier, who watched over the 
 slumbers of the French commander, without interruption, the 
 man making the usual salute which betokens military defer- 
 ence, as the other passed swiftly through the little city of 
 tents, in the direction of William Henry. Whenever this un- 
 known individual encountered one of the numberless sentinels 
 who crossed his path, his answer was prompt and, as it ap- 
 peared, satisfactory ; for he was uniformly allowed to proceed, 
 without further interrogation. 
 
 With the exception of such repeated, but brief inter- 
 ruptions, he had moved, silently, from the centre of the camp, 
 to its most advanced outposts, when he drew nigh the soldier 
 who held his watch nearest to the works of the enemy. As 
 he approached he was received with the usual challenge, 
 
 " Qui vive ? " 
 
 " France," was the reply. 
 
 " Le mot d'ordre ? " 
 
 " La victoire," said the other, drawing so nigh as to be 
 heard in a loud whisper. 
 
 " C'est bien," returned the sentinel, throwing his musket 
 from the charge to his shoulder ; " vous vous promenez bien 
 matin, monsieur ! " 
 
 " II est necessaire d'etre vigilant, mon enfant," the other 
 observed, dropping a fold of his cloak, and looking the soldier 
 close in the face, as he passed him, still continuing his way 
 towards the British fortification. The man started ; his arms 
 rattled heavily, as he threw them forward, in the lowest and 
 most respectful salute ; and when he had again recovered his 
 piece, he turned to walk his post, muttering between his 
 teeth 
 
 " II faut etre vigilant, en ve'rite ! je crois que nous avons 
 14, un caporal qui ne dort jamais ! " 
 
I7 o THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 The officer proceeded, without affecting to hear the word* 
 which escaped the sentinel in his surprise ; nor did he again 
 pause until he had reached the low strand, and in a somewhat 
 dangerous vicinity to the western water bastion of the fort. 
 The light of an. obscure moon was just sufficient to render 
 objects, though dim, perceptible in their outlines. He, there 
 fore, took the precaution to place himself against the trunk 
 of a tree, where he leaned for many minutes, and seemed to 
 contemplate the dark and silent mounds of the English works 
 in profound attention. His gaze at the ramparts was not 
 that of a curious or idle spectator ; but his looks wandered 
 from point to point, denoting his knowledge of military usages, 
 and betraying that his search was not unaccompanied by dis- 
 trust. At length he appeared satisfied ; and having cast his 
 eyes impatiently upward towards the summit of the eastern 
 mountain, as if anticipating the approach of the morning, he 
 was in the act of turning on his footsteps, when a light sound 
 on the nearest angle of the bastion caught his ear and induced 
 him to remain. 
 
 Just then a figure was seen to approach the edge of the 
 rampart, where it stood, apparently contemplating in its turn 
 the distant tents of the French encampment. Its head was 
 then turned towards the east, as though equally anxious for 
 the appearance of light, when the form leaned against the 
 mound, and seemed to gaze upon the glassy expanse of the 
 waters, which, like a submarine firmament, glittered with its 
 thousand mimic stars. The melancholy air, the hour, together 
 with the vast frame of the man who thus leaned, in musing, 
 against the English ramparts, left no doubt as to his person, 
 in the mind of the observant spectator. Delicacy, no less 
 than prudence, now urged him to retire ; and he had moved 
 cautiously round the body of the tree for that purpose, when 
 another sound drew his attention, and once more arrested 
 his footsteps. It was a low, and almost inaudible movement 
 of the water, and was succeeded by a grating of pebbles one 
 against the other. In a moment he saw a dark form rise, as 
 it were out of the lake, and steal without further noise to the 
 land, within a few feet of the place where he himself stood. 
 A rifle next slowly rose between his eyes and the watery 
 mirror ; but before it could be discharged his own hand was 
 on the lock. 
 
 " Hugh ! " exclaimed the savage, whose treacherous aim 
 was so singularly and so unexpectedly interrupted. 
 
 Without making any reply, the French officer laid his 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. I7l 
 
 on the shoulder of the Indian, and led him in profound 
 silence to a distance from the spot, where their subsequent 
 dialogue might have proved dangerous and where it seemed 
 that one of them, at least, sought a victim. Then, throwing 
 open his cloak, so as to expose his uniform and the cross 
 of St. Louis which was suspended at his breast, Mont* 
 calm sternly demanded, 
 
 " What means this ! does not my son know that the 
 hatchet is buried between the English and his Canadian 
 Father ? " 
 
 " What can the Hurons do ? " returned the savage, speaking 
 also, though imperfectly, in the French language. " Not a 
 warrior has a scalp, and the pale faces make friends ! " 
 
 " Ha ! Le Renard Subtil ! Methinks this is an excess of 
 zeal for a friend who was so late an enemy ? How many suns 
 have set since Le Renard struck the war post of the English ? " 
 
 " Where is that sun ? " demanded the sullen savage 
 " Behind the hill ; and it is dark and cold. Birt when he 
 comes again, it will be bright and warm. Le Subtil is the sun 
 of his tribe. There have been clouds, and many mountains 
 between him and his nation ; but now he shines, and it is a 
 clear sky ! " 
 
 " That Le Renard has power with his people, I well 
 know," said Montcalm; "for yesterday he hunted for their 
 scalps, and to-day they hear him at the council fire." 
 
 " Magua is a great chief." 
 
 " Let him prove it, by teaching his nation how to conduct 
 towards our new friends." 
 
 " Why did the chief of the Canadas bring his young men 
 into the woods, and fire his cannon at the earthen house ? " 
 demanded the subtle Indian. 
 
 " To subdue it. My master owns the land, and your 
 father was ordered to drive off these English squatters. They 
 have consented to go, and now he calls them enemies no 
 longer." 
 
 " 'Tis well. Magua took the hatchet to color it with blood. 
 It is now bright ; when it is red, it shall be buried. " 
 
 " But Magua is pledged not to sully the lilies of France. 
 The enemies of the great king across the salt lake are his 
 enemies : his friends, the friends of the Hurons." 
 
 " Friends ! " repeated the Indian, in scorn. " Let his 
 father give Magua a hand." 
 
 Montcalm, who felt that his influence over the warlike 
 tribes he had gathered was to be maintained by concession 
 
172 THE LAST OF THE MOHICAN'S. 
 
 rather than by power, complied reluctantly with the other's 
 request. The savage placed the finger of the French com- 
 mander on a deep scar on his bosom, and then exultingly de- 
 manded, 
 
 " Does my father know that ? " 
 
 " What warrior does not ? 'tis where a leaden bullet has 
 cut." 
 
 " And this ? " continued the Indian, who had turned his 
 naked back to the other, his body being without its usual 
 calico mantle. 
 
 " This, my son, has been sadly injured, here ; who ha 
 done this ? " 
 
 " Magua slept hard in the English wigwams, and the 
 sticks have left their mark," returned the savage with a hoi 
 low laugh, which did not conceal the fierce temper that nearly 
 choked him. Then recollecting himself, with sudden and 
 native dignity, he added " Go ; teach your young men it is 
 peace. Le Renard Subtil knows how to speak to a Huron 
 warrior." 
 
 Without deigning to bestow further words, or to wait for 
 any answer, the savage cast his rifle into the hollow of his 
 arm, and moved silently through the encampment towards 
 the woods where his own tribe was known to lie. Every few 
 yards as he proceeded he was challenged by the sentinels ; 
 but he stalked sullenly onward, utterly disregarding the sum- 
 mons of the soldiers, who only spared his life because they 
 knew the air and tread no less than the obstinate daring of 
 an Indian. 
 
 Montcalm lingered long and melancholy on the strand 
 where he had been left by his companion, brooding deeply on 
 the temper which his ungovernable ally had just discovered. 
 Already had his fair fame been tarnished by one horrid scene, 
 and in circumstances fearfully resembling those under which 
 he now found himself. As he mused he became keenly sen- 
 sible of the deep responsibility they assume, who disregard 
 the means to attain their end, and of all the danger of setting 
 in motion an engine which it exceeds human power to control. 
 Then shaking off a train of reflections, that he accounted a 
 weakness in such a moment of triumph^, he retraced his steps 
 towards his tent, giving the order as he passed, to make the 
 signal that should arouse the army from its slumbers. 
 
 The first tap of the French drums was echoed from the 
 bosom of the fort, and presently the valley was filled with the 
 strains of martial music, rising long, thrilling, and lively abova 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 173 
 
 the rattling accompaniment. The horns of the victors sounded 
 merry and cheerful flourishes, until the last laggard of the 
 camp was at his post ; but the instant the British fifes had 
 blown their shrill signal, they became mute. In the mean- 
 time the day had dawned, and when the line of the French 
 army was ready to receive its general the rays of a brilliant 
 sun were glancing along the glittering array. Then that 
 success, which was already so well known, was officially an- 
 nounced ; the favored band who were selected to guard the 
 gates of the fort were detailed, and defiled before their chief 
 the signal of their approach was given, and all the usual prep- 
 arations for a change of masters were ordered and executed 
 directly under the guns of the contested works. 
 
 A very different scene presented itself within the lines of 
 the Anglo-American army. As soon as the warning signal 
 was given, it exhibited all the signs of a hurried and forced 
 departure. The sullen soldiers shouldered their empty tubes 
 and fell into their places, like men whose blood had been 
 heated by the past contest, and who only desired the oppor- 
 tunity to revenge an indignity which was still wounding to 
 their pride, concealed as it was under all the observances of 
 military etiquette. Women and children ran from place to 
 place, some bearing the scanty remants of their baggage, and 
 others searching in the ranks for those countenances they 
 looked up to for protection. 
 
 Munro appeared among his silent troops firm but dejected. 
 It was evident that the unexpected blow had struck deep into 
 his heart, though he struggled to sustain his misfortune with 
 the port of a man. 
 
 Duncan was touched at the quiet and impressive exhibi- 
 tion of his grief. He had discharged his own duty, and he 
 now pressed to the side of the old man, to know in what 
 particular he might serve him. 
 
 " My daughters," was the brief but expressive reply. 
 
 " Good heavens ! are not arrangements already made for 
 their convenience ? " 
 
 " To-day I am only a soldier, Major Heyward," said the 
 veteran. " All that you see here, claim alike to be my chil- 
 dren." 
 
 Duncan had heard enough. Without losing one of those 
 moments which had now become so precious, he flew towards 
 the quarters of Munro, in quest of the sisters. He found 
 them on the threshold of the low edifice, already prepared to 
 depart, and surrounded by a clamorous and weeping assem- 
 
1^4 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 blage of their own sex, that had gathered about the place, vitn 
 a sort of instinctive consciousness that it was the point most 
 likely to be protected. Though the cheeks of Cora were pale, 
 and her countenance anxious, she had lost none of her firm- 
 ness ; but the eyes of Alice were inflamed, and betrayed how 
 long and bitterly she had wept. They both, however received 
 the young man with undisguised pleasure ; the former, for a 
 novelty, being the first to speak. 
 
 " The fort is lost," she said, with a melancholy smile ; 
 " though our good name, I trust, remains." 
 
 " ' Tis brighter than ever. But, dearest Miss Munro, it is 
 time to think less of others, and to make some provision for 
 yourself. Military usage pride that pride on which you so 
 much value yourself, demands that your father and I should 
 for a little while continue with the troops. Then where to 
 seek a proper protector for you against the confusion and 
 chances of such a scene ? " 
 
 " None is necessary," returned Cora ; " who will dare to 
 injure or insult the daughter of such a father, at a time like 
 this ? " 
 
 " I would not leave you alone," continued the youth, look- 
 ing about him in a hurried manner, " for the command of the 
 best regiment in the pay of the king. Remember, our Alice 
 is not gifted with all your firmness, and God only knows the 
 terror she might endure." 
 
 " You may be right," Cora replied, smiling again, but far 
 more sadly than before. " Listen ; chance has already sent 
 us a friend' when he is most needed." 
 
 Duncan did listen, and on the instant comprehended her 
 meaning. The low and serious sounds of the sacred music, 
 so well known to the eastern provinces, caught his ear, and 
 instantly drew him to an apartment in an adjacent building, 
 which had already been deserted by its customary tenants. 
 There he found David, pouring out his pious feelings, through 
 the only medium in which he ever indulged. Duncan waited, 
 until, by the cessation of the movement of the hand, he be- 
 lieved the strain was ended, when, by touching his shoulder, 
 he drew the attention of the other to himself, and in a few 
 words explained his wishes. 
 
 '" Even so," replied the single-minded disciple of the King 
 of Israel, when the young man had ended ; " I have found 
 much that is comely and melodious in the maidens, and it is 
 fitting that we who have consorted in so much peril, should 
 together in peace. I will attend them, when I have 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 175 
 
 completed my morning praise, to which nothing is now want- 
 ing but the doxology. Wilt thou bear a part, friend ? The 
 metre is common, and the tune ' Southwell.' ' 
 
 Then extending the little volume, and giving the pitch of 
 the air anew with considerate attention, David recommenced 
 and finished his strains, with a fixedness of manner that it 
 was not easy to interrupt. Heyward was fain to wait until 
 the verse was ended ; when, seeing David relieving himself 
 from the spectacles, and replacing the book, he continued, 
 
 " It will be your duty to see that none dare to approach 
 the ladies with any rude intention, or to offer insult or taunt 
 at the misfortune of their brave father. In this task you will 
 be seconded by the domestics of their household." 
 
 " Even so." 
 
 " It is possible that the Indians and stragglers of the 
 enemy may intrude, in which case you will remind them of 
 the terms of the capitulation, and threaten to report their 
 conduct to Montcalm. A word will suffice." 
 
 " If not I have that here which shall," returned David, 
 exhibiting his book with an air in which meekness and confi- 
 dence were singularly blended. " Here are words which, 
 uttered, or rather thundered, with proper emphasis, and in 
 measured time, shall quiet the most unruly temper : 
 
 1 Why rage the heathen furiously ^ ' " 
 
 " Enough," said Heyward, interrupting the burst of his 
 musical invocation : " we understand each other ; it is time 
 that we should now assume our respective duties." 
 
 Gamut cheerfully assented, and together they sought the 
 females. Cora received her new, and somewhat extraordi- 
 nary protector, courteously at least ; and even the pallid feat- 
 ures of Alice lighted again with some of their native archness 
 as she thanked Heyward for his care. Duncan took occasion 
 to assure them he had done the best that circumstances per- 
 mitted, and, as he believed, quite enough for the security of 
 their feelings ; of danger there was none. He then spoke 
 gladly of his intention to rejoin them the moment he had led 
 the advance a few miles towards the Hudson, and immedi- 
 ately took his leave. 
 
 By this time the signal of departure had been given, and 
 the head of the English column was in motion. The sisters 
 started at the sound, and glancing their eyes around, they 
 saw the white uniforms of the French grenadiers, who had 
 already taken possession of the gates of the fort. At that 
 moment, an enormous cloud seemed to pass suddenly above 
 
t 7 6 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 their heads, and looking upward, they discovered that the$ 
 Stood beneath the white folds of the standard of France. 
 
 " Let us go," said Cora ; " this is no longer a fit place fol 
 the children of an English officer." 
 
 Alice clung to the arm of her sister, and together they left 
 the parade, accompanied by the moving throng that sur- 
 rounded them. 
 
 As they passed the gates, the French officers, who had 
 learned their rank, bowed often and low, forbearing, however, 
 to intrude those attentions, which they saw, with peculiar 
 tact, might not be agreeable. As every vehicle and each 
 beast of burden was occupied by the sick and wounded, Cora 
 had decided to endure the fatigues of a foot march, rather 
 than interfere with their comforts. Indeed, many a maimed 
 and feeble soldier was compelled to drag his exhausted limbs 
 in the rear of the columns, for the want of the necessary means 
 of conveyance, in that wilderness. The whole, however, was 
 in motion : the weak and wounded, groaning, and in suffering ; 
 their comrades, silent and sullen ; and the women and children 
 in terror, they knew not of what. 
 
 As the confused and timid throng left the protecting 
 mounds of the fort, and issued on the open plain, the whole 
 scene was at once presented to their eyes. At a little distance 
 on the right, and somewhat in the rear, the French army stood 
 to their arms, Montcalm having collected his parties, so soon 
 as his guards had possession of the works. They were atten- 
 tive but silent observers of the proceedings of the vanquished, 
 failing in none of their stipulated military honors, and offering 
 no taunt or insult, in their success, to their less fortunate 
 foes. Living masses of the English, to the amount, in the 
 whole, of near three thousand, were moving slowly across the 
 plain, towards the common centre, and gradually approached 
 each other, as they converged to the point of their march, a 
 vista cut through the lofty trees, where the road to the Hudson 
 entered the forest. Along the sweeping borders of the woods, 
 hung a dark cloud of savages, eyeing the passage of their 
 enemies, and hovering at a distance, like vultures, who were 
 only kept from swooping on their prey, by the presence and 
 restraint of a superior army. A few had straggled among 
 the conquered columns, where they stalked in sullen discon. 
 tent ; attentive, though, as yet, passive observers of the mov 
 ing multitude. 
 
 The advance, with Heyward at its head, had already 
 reached the defile, and was slowly disappearing, when the at- 
 tention of Cora was drawn to a collection o stragglers, by the 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 177 
 
 sounds of contention. A truant provincial was paying the 
 forfeit of his disobedience, by being plundered of those very 
 effects which had caused him to desert his place in the ranks. 
 The man was of powerful frame, and too avaricious to part 
 with his goods without a struggle. Individuals from either 
 party interfered ; the one side to prevent, and the other to 
 aid in the robbery. Voices grew loud and angry, and a hun< 
 dred savages appeared, as it were by magic, where a dozen 
 only had been seen a minute before. It was then that Cora 
 saw the form of Magua gliding among his countrymen, and 
 speaking with his fatal and artful eloquence. The mass of 
 women and children stopped, and hovered together like 
 alarmed and fluttering birds. But the cupidity of the Indian 
 was soon gratified, and the different bodies again moved 
 slowly onward. 
 
 The savages now fell back, and seemed content to let their 
 enemies advance without further molestation. But as the 
 female crowd approached them, the gaudy colors of a shawl 
 attracted the eyes of a wild and untutored Huron. He ad- 
 vanced to seize it, without the least hesitation. The woman, 
 more in terror than through love of the ornament, wrapped 
 her child in the coveted article, and folded both more closely 
 to her bosom. Cora was in the act of speaking, with an in- 
 tent to advise the woman to abandon the trifle, when the 
 savage relinquished his hold of the shawl, and tore the scream- 
 ing infant from her arms. Abandoning everything to the 
 greedy grasp of those around her, the mother darted, with 
 distraction in her mien, to reclaim her child. The Indian 
 smiled grimly, and extended one hand, in sign of a willing- 
 ness to exchange, while with the other, he flourished the baSe 
 over his head, holding it by the feet as if to enhance the valus 
 of the ransom. 
 
 " Here here there all any everything ! " exclaimed 
 the breathless woman ; tearing the lighter articles of dress 
 from her person, with ill-directed and trembling fingers, 
 '* take all, but give me my babe.' 
 
 " The savage spurned the worthless rags and perceiving 
 that the shawl had already become a prize to another, his 
 bantering but sullen smile changing to a gleam of ferocity, he 
 dashed the head of the infant against a rock, and cast its 
 quivering remains to her very feet. For an instant, the 
 mother stood, like a statue of despair, looking wildly down at 
 the unseemly object, which had so lately nestled in her bosom 
 and smiled in her face ; and then she raised her eyes and 
 
 !3 
 
1 78 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 countenance towards heaven, as if calling on God to curse the. 
 perpetrator of the foul deed. She was spared the sin of such 
 a prayer ; for, maddened at his disappointment, and excited 
 at the sight of blood, the Huron mercifully drove his toma- 
 hawk into her own brain. The mother sank under the blow, 
 and fell, grasping at her child, in death, with the same en- 
 grossing love that had caused her to cherish it when living. 
 
 At that dangerous moment, Magua, placed his hands to 
 his mouth, and raised the fatal and appalling whoop. The 
 scattered Indians started at the well known cry, as coursers 
 bound at the signal to quit the goal ; and, directly, there arose 
 such a yell along the plain, and through the arches of the 
 wood, as seldom burst from human lips before. They who 
 heard it, listened with a curdling horror at the heart, little 
 inferior to that dread which may be expected to attend the 
 blasts of the final summons. 
 
 More than two thousand raving savages broke from the 
 forest at the signal, and threw themselves across the fatal 
 plain with instinctive alacrity. We shall not dwell on the 
 revolting horrors that succeeded. Death was everywhere, 
 and in his most terrific and disgusting aspects. Resistance 
 only served to inflame the murderers, who inflicted their 
 furious blows long after their victims were beyond the power 
 of their resentment. The flow of blood might be likened to 
 the outbreaking of a torrent, and as the natives became heated 
 and maddened by the sight, many among them even kneeled 
 to the earth, and drank freely, exultingly, hellishly, of the 
 crimson tide. 
 
 The trained bodies of the troops threw themselves quickly 
 into solid masses, endeavoring to awe their assailants by the 
 imposing appearance of a military front. The experiment in 
 some measure succeeded, though far too many suffered their 
 unloaded muskets to be torn from their hands, in the vain 
 hope of appeasing the savages. 
 
 In such a scene none had leisure to note the fleeting 
 moments. It might have been ten minutes (it seemed an age), 
 that the sisters had stood riveted to one spot, horror-stricken, 
 and nearly helpless. When the first blow was struck, their 
 screaming companions had pressed upon them in a body, 
 rendering flight impossible ; and now that fear or death had 
 scattered most, if not all, from around them, they saw no avenue 
 open, but such as conducted to the tomahawks of their foes. 
 On every side arose shrieks, groans, exhortations, and curses. 
 At this moment, Alice caught a glimpse of the vast form </ 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 179 
 
 her father, moving rapidly across the plain, in the direction of 
 the French army. He was, in truth, proceeding to Montcalm, 
 fearless of every danger, to claim the tardy escort, for which 
 he had before conditioned. Fifty glittering axes and barbed 
 spears were offered unheeded at his life, but the savages 
 respected his rank and calmness, even in their fury. The 
 dangerous weapons were brushed aside by the still nervous 
 arm of the veteran, or fell of themselves, after menacing an 
 act that it would seem no one had courage to perform. For- 
 tunately, the vindictive Magua was searching for his victim in 
 the very band the veteran had just quitted. 
 
 " Father father we are here ! " shrieked Alice, as he 
 passed, at no great distance, without appearing to heed them. 
 " Come to us, father, or we die ! " 
 
 The cry was repeated, and in terms and tones that might 
 have melted a heart of stone, but it was unanswered. Once, 
 indeed, the old man appeared to catch the sounds, for he 
 paused and listened but Alice had dropped senseless on the 
 earth, and Cora had sunk at her side, hovering in untiring 
 tenderness over her lifeless form. Munro shook his head in 
 disappointment, and proceeded, bent on the high duty of his 
 station. 
 
 "Lady," said Gamut, who, helpless and useless as he was, 
 had not yet dreamed of deserting his trust, " it is the jubilee 
 of the devils, and this is not a meet place for Christians to 
 tarry in. Let us up and fly." 
 
 " Go," said Cora, still gazing at her unconscious sistei \ 
 " save thyself. To me thou canst not be of further use." 
 
 David comprehended the unyielding character of her 
 resolution, by the simple but expressive gesture that accom- 
 panied her words. He gazed, for a moment, at the dusky 
 forms that were acting their hellish rites on every side of him, 
 and his tall person grew more erect, while his chest heaved, 
 and every feature swelled, and seemed to speak with the power 
 of the feelings by which he was governed. 
 
 " If the Jewish boy might tame the evil spirit ot Saul by 
 the sound of his harp, and the words of sacred song, it may 
 not be amiss," he said, " to try the potency of music here." 
 
 Then raising his voice to its highest tones, he poured out 
 a strain so powerful as to be heard even amid the din of that 
 bloody rield. More than one savage rushed towards them, 
 thinking to rifle the unprotected sisters of their attire and bear 
 away their scalps \ but when they found this strange and un 
 moved figure riveted to his post, they paused to listen. Aston- 
 ishment soon changed to admiration, and they passed on to 
 
l8o THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 other, and less courageous victims, openly expressing thell 
 satisfaction at the firmness with which the white warrior sang 
 his death song. Encouraged and deluded by his success, David 
 exerted all his powers to extend what he believed so holy <m 
 influence. The unwonted sounds caught the ears of a distant 
 savage, who flew raging from group to group, like one who, 
 scorning to touch the vulgar herd, hunted for some victim more 
 worthy of his renown. It was Magua, who -ittered a yell of 
 pleasure when he beheld his ancient prisoners again at his 
 mercy. 
 
 " Come," he said, laying his soiled hands on the dress of 
 Cora, " the wigwam of the Huron is brill open. Is it not 
 better than this place ? " 
 
 " Away ! " cried Cora, Ceiling her eyes from his revolting 
 aspect. 
 
 The Indian laughed tauntingly, as he held up his reeking 
 hand, and answered, " It is red, but it comes from white 
 veins ! " 
 
 " Monster ! there is blood, oceans of blood, upon thy 
 soul : thy spirit has moved this scene/' 
 
 "Magua is a great chief! " returned the exulting savage: 
 " will the dark hair go to his tribe ? " 
 
 " Never ! strike, if thou wilt, and complete thy revenge." 
 
 He hesitated a moment ; and then catching the light and 
 senseless form of Alice in his arms, the subtle Indian moved 
 swiftly across the plain towards the woods. 
 
 " Hold ! " shrieked Cora, following wild lyon his footsteps ; 
 " release the child ! wretch ! what is't you do ? " 
 
 But Magua was deaf to her voice ; or, rather, he knew his 
 power, and was determined to maintain it. 
 
 " Stay lady stay," called Gamut, after the unconscious 
 Cora. " The holy charm is beginning to be felt, and soon 
 shall thou see this horrid tumult stilled." 
 
 Perceiving that, in his turn, he was unheeded, che faithful 
 David followed the distracted sister, raising his voice again in 
 sacred song, and sweeping the air to the measure, with his 
 long arm, in diligent accompaniment. In this manner they 
 traversed the plain, through the flying, the wounded and the 
 dead. The fierce Huron was, at any time, sufficient for him- 
 self and the victim that he bore ; though Cora would have 
 fallen, more than once, under the blows of her savage ene- 
 mies, but for the extraordinary being who stalked in her rear 
 and who now appeared to the astonished native gifted with the 
 protecting spirit of madness. 
 
 Magua, who knew how to <*void the more pressing dangera 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. jg, 
 
 and also to elude pursuit, entered the woods through a low 
 ravine, where he quickly found the Narragansetts, which the 
 travellers had abandoned so shortly before, awaiting his ap- 
 pearance, in custody of a savage as fierce and as malign in 
 his expression as himself. Laying Alice on one of the horses, 
 he made a sign to Cora to mount the other. 
 
 Notwithstanding the horror excited by the presence of her 
 captor, there was a present relief in escaping from the bloody 
 scene enacting on the plain, to which Cora could not be 
 altogether insensible. She took her seat, and held forth her 
 arms for her sister, with an air of entreaty and love that even 
 the Huron could not deny. Placing Alice, then, on the same 
 animal with Cora, he seized the bridle, and commenced his 
 route by plunging deeper into the forest. David, perceiv- 
 ing that he was left alone, utterly disregarded as a subject too 
 worthless even to destroy, threw his long limb across the sad- 
 dle of the beast they had deserted, and made such progress 
 in the pursuit as the difficulties of the path permitted. 
 
 They soon began to ascend but as the motion had a ten- 
 dency to revive the dormant faculties of her sister, the atten- 
 tion of Cora was too much divided between the tenderest 
 solicitude in her behalf, and in listening to the cries which 
 were still too audible on the plain, to note the direction in 
 which they journeyed. When, however, they gained the flat- 
 tened surface of the mountain-top, and approached the east- 
 ern precipice, she recognized the spot to which she had once 
 before been led under the more friendly auspices of the scout. 
 Here Magua suffered them to dismount ; and, notwithstand- 
 ing their own captivity the curiosity which seems insepara- 
 ble from horror, induced them to gaze at the sickening sight 
 below. 
 
 The cruel work was still unchecked. On every side the 
 captured were flying before their relentless persecutors, while 
 the armed columns of the Christian king stood fast in an 
 apathy which has never been explained, and which has left 
 an immovable blot on the otherwise fair escutcheon of their 
 leader. Nor was the sword of death stayed until cupidity got 
 the mastery of revenge. Then, indeed, the shrieks of the 
 wounded and the yell of their murderers grew less frequent 
 until, finally, the cries of horror were lost to their ear, or were 
 drowned in the loud, long, and piercing whoops of the trium- 
 phant savages.* 
 
 * The accounts of the number who fell in this unhappy affair, vary between five and 
 fifteen hundred 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Why, anything ; 
 
 An honorable murderer, if you will ; 
 For naught I did in hate, but all in honor. 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 THE bloody and inhuman scene, rather incidentally men 
 tioned than described in the preceding chapter, is conspicu- 
 ous in the pages of colonial history, by the merited title of 
 "The Massacre of William Henry." Ir so far deepened the 
 stain which a previous and very similar event had left upon ' 
 the reputation of the French commander, that it was not en- 
 tirely erased by his early and glorious death. It is now be- 
 coming obscured by time ; and thousands, who know that 
 Montcalm died like a hero on the plains of Abraham, have 
 yet to learn how much he was deficient in that moral courage 
 without which no man can be truly great. Pages might be 
 written to prove, from this illustrious example, the defects of 
 human excellence ; to show how easy it is for generous senti- 
 ments, high courtesy, and chivalrous courage, to lose their in- 
 fluence beneath their chilling blight of selfishness, and to ex- 
 hibit to the world a man who was great in all the minor attri- 
 butes of character, but who was found wanting when it be- 
 came necessary to prove how much principle is superior to 
 policy. But the task would exceed our prerogatives ; and, as 
 history, like love, is so apt to surround her heroes with an at- 
 mosphere of imaginary brightness, it is probable that Louis 
 de Saint Veran will be viewed by posterity only as the gallant 
 defender of his country, while his cruel apathy on the shores 
 of the Oswego and of the Horican will be forgotten. Deeply 
 regretting this weakness on the part of a sister muse, we shall 
 At once retire from her sacred precincts, within the proper 
 limits of our humble vocation. 
 
 The third day from the capture of the fort was drawing to 
 a close, but the business of the narrative must still detain the 
 reader on the shores of the " holy lake." When last seen, 
 the environs of the works were filled with violence and uproar 
 They were now possessed by stillness and death. The blood 
 
THE LAST OF TEE MOHICANS. 183 
 
 stained conquerors had departed ; and their camp, which had 
 so lately rung with the merry rejoicings of a victorious army, 
 yay a silent and deserted city of huts. The fortress was a 
 smouldering ruin ; charred rafters, fragments of exploded 
 artillery, and rent mason-work, covering its earthen mounds 
 in confused disorder. 
 
 A frightful change had also occurred in the season. The 
 sun had hid its warmth behind an impenetrable mass of vapor, 
 and hundreds of human forms, which had blackened beneath 
 the fierce heats of August, were stiffening in their deformity, 
 before the blasts of a premature November. The curling and 
 spotless mists, which had been seen sailing above the hills 
 towards the north, were now returning in an interminable 
 dusky sheet, that was urged along by the fury of a tempest. 
 The crowded mirror of the Horican was gone ; and, in its 
 place, the green and angry waters lashed the shores, as if in- 
 dignantly casting back its impurities to the polluted strand. 
 Still the clear fountain retained a portion of its charmed in- 
 fluence, but it reflected only the sombre gloom that fell from 
 the impending heavens. That humid and congenial atmos- 
 phere which commonly adorned the view, veiling its harsh- 
 ness, and softening its asperities, had disappeared, and the 
 northern air poured across the waste of water so harsh and 
 unmingled, that nothing was left to be conjectured by the eye 
 or fashioned by the fancy. 
 
 The fiercer element had cropped the verdure of the plain, 
 which looked as though it were scathed by the consuming 
 lightning. But, here and there, a dark green tuft rose in the 
 midst of the desolation ; the earliest fruits of a soil that had 
 been fattened with human blood. The whole landscape, 
 which, seen by a favoring light, and in a genial temperature, 
 had been found so lovely, appeared now like some pictured 
 allegory of life, in which objects were arrayed in their harsh- 
 est but truest colors, and without the relief of any shadowing. 
 
 The solitary and arid blades of grass arose from the pass- 
 ing gusts fearfully perceptible ; the bold and rocky mountains 
 were too distinct in their barrenness, and the eye even sought 
 relief in vain, by attempting to pierce the illimitable void of 
 heaven, which was shut to its gaze by the dusky sheet of 
 ragged and driving vapor. 
 
 The wind blew unequally; sometimes sweeping heavily 
 along the ground, seeming to whisper its meanings in the cold 
 ears of the dead, then, rising in a shrill and mournful whist- 
 ling, it entered the forest with a rush that filled the air witj? 
 
T 8 4 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 the leaves and branches it scattered in its path. Amid the 
 unnatural shower, a few hungry ravens struggled with the 
 gale ; but no sooner was the green ocean of woods which 
 stretched beneath them, passed, than they gladly stopped, at 
 random, to their hideous banquet. 
 
 In short, it was a scene of wildness and desolation, and it 
 appeared as if all who had profanely entered it had been 
 stricken, at a blow, by the relentless arm of death. But the 
 prohibition had ceased ; and, for the first time since the pei 
 petrators of those foul deeds which had assisted to disfigure 
 the scene, were gone, living human beings had now presumed 
 to approach the place. 
 
 About an hour before the setting of the sun, on the day 
 already mentioned, the forms of five men might have been 
 seen issuing from the narrow vista of trees, where the path to 
 the Hudson entered the forest, and advancing in the direction 
 of the ruined works. At first their progress was slow and 
 guarded, as though they entered with reluctance amid the 
 horrors of the spot, or dreaded the renewal of its frightful 
 incidents. A light figure preceded the rest of the party, with 
 the caution and activity of a native ; ascending every hillock 
 to reconnoitre, and indicating by gestures, to hte companions, 
 the route he deemed it most prudent to pursue. Nor were 
 those in the rear wanting in every caution and foresight 
 known to forest warfare. One among them he also was an 
 Indian moved a little on one flank, and watched the margin 
 of the woods, with eyes long accustomed to read the smallest 
 sign of danger. The remaining three were white, though clad 
 in vestments adapted, both in quality and color, to their 
 present hazardous pursuit, that of hanging on the skirts of a 
 retiring army in the wilderness. 
 
 The effects produced by the appalling sights that constantly 
 arose in their path to the lake shore, were as different as the 
 characters of the respective individuals who composed the 
 party. The youth in front threw serious but furtive glances 
 at the mangled victims, as he stepped lightly across the 
 plain, afraid to exhibit his feelings, and yet too inexperi- 
 enced to quell entirely their sudden and powerful influ- 
 ence. His red associate, however, was superior to such a 
 weakness. He passed the groups of dead with a steadiness 
 of purpose, and an eye so calm, that nothing but long and in- 
 veterate practice could enable him to maintain. The sen- 
 dations produced in the minds of even the white men were 
 srfferent, though uniformly sorrowful. One, whose gray lock* 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 185 
 
 |nd furrowed lineaments, blending with a martial air and 
 Jread, betrayed, in spite of the disguise of a woodman's dress, 
 S* man long experienced in scenes of war, was not ashamed to 
 groan aloud, whenever a spectacle of more than usual horror 
 came under his view. The young man at his elbow shud 
 dered, but seemed to suppress his feelings in tenderness to 
 his companion. Of them all, the straggler who brought up 
 the rear, appeared alone to betray his reaf thoughts, without 
 fear of observation or dread of consequences. He gazed at 
 the most appalling sight with eyes and muscles that knew not 
 how to waver, but with execrations so bitter and deep as to 
 denote how much he denounced the crime of his enemies. 
 
 The readers will perceive at once, in these respective 
 characters, the Mohicans, and their white friend, the scout, 
 together with Munro and Heyward. It was, in truth, the 
 father in quest of his children, attended by the youth who 
 felt so deep a stake in their happiness, and those brave and 
 trusty foresters, who had already proved their skill and fidelity 
 through the trying scenes related. 
 
 When Uncas, who moved in front, had reached the centre 
 of the plain, he raised a cry that drew his companions in a 
 body to the spot. The young warrior had halted over a 
 group of females who lay in a cluster, a confused mass of 
 dead. Notwithstanding the revolting horror of the exhibi- 
 tion, Munro and Heyward flew towards the festering heap, 
 endeavoring, with a love that no unseemliness could extin- 
 guish, to discover whether any vestiges of those they sought 
 were to be seen among the tattered and many-colored gar- 
 ments. The father and the lover found instant relief in the 
 search ; though each was condemned again to experience the 
 misery of an uncertainty that was hardly less insupportable 
 than the most revolting truth. They were standing, silent 
 and thoughtful, around the melancholy pile, when the scout 
 approached. Eying the sad spectacle with an angry coun- 
 tenance, the sturdy woodsman, for the first time since his 
 entering the plain, spoke intelligibly and aloud, 
 
 " I have been on many a shocking-field, and have followed 
 a trail of blood for weary miles," he said, "but never have I 
 found the hand of the devil so plain as it is here to be seen ! 
 Revenge is an Indian feeling, and all who know me know 
 that there is no cross in my veins ; but this much will I say, 
 here, in the face of heaven, and with the power of the 
 Lord so manifest in this howling wilderness, that should 
 these Frenchers ever trust themselves again within the range 
 
86 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 of a ragged bullet, there is one rifle shall play its part, so 
 long as flint will fire or powder burn ! I leave the tomahawk 
 and knife to such as have a natural gift to use them. What 
 say you, Chingachgook," he added in Delaware ; " shall {.he 
 Hurons boast of this to their women when the deep snows 
 come ? " 
 
 A gleam of resentment flashed across the dark lineaments 
 of the Mohican chief ; he loosened his knife in his sheath 
 and then, turning calmly from the sight, his countenance 
 settled into a repose as deep as if he never knew the instiga 
 tion of passion. 
 
 " Montcalm ! Montcalm ! " continued the deeply resentful 
 and self-restrained scout \ " they say a time must come, when 
 all the deeds done in the flesh will be seen at a single look ; 
 and that by eyes cleared from mortal infirmities. Woe betide 
 the wretch who is born to behold this plain, with the judg- 
 ment hanging about his soul ! Ha as I am a man of white 
 blood, yonder lies a red-skin, without the hair of his head 
 where nature rooted it ! Look to him, Delaware ; it may be 
 one of yt)ur missing people ; and he should have burial like a 
 stout warrior. I see it in your eye, Sagamore ; a Huron pays 
 for this, afore the fall winds have blown away the scent of the 
 blood ! " 
 
 Chingachgook approached the mutilated form, and turning 
 it over, he found the distinguished marks of one of those six 
 allied tribes, or nations, as they were called, who, while they 
 fought in the English ranks, were so deadly hostile to his 
 own people. Spurning the loathsome object with his foot, 
 he turned from it with the same indifference he would have 
 quitted a brute carcass. The scout comprehended the action, 
 and very deliberately pursued his own way, continuing, how- 
 ever, his denunciations against the French commander in the 
 same resentful strain. 
 
 " Nothing but vast wisdom and unlimited power should 
 dare to sweep off men in multitudes," he added ; " for it is 
 only the one that can know the necessity of the judgment j 
 and what is there short of the other that can replace the 
 creatures of the Lord ? I hold it a sin to kill the second buck 
 afore the first is eaten, unless a march in the front, or an 
 ambushment, be contemplated. It is a different matter with 
 a few warriors in open and rugged fight, for 'tis their gift to 
 die with the rifle or the tomahawk in hand, according as their 
 natures may happen to be white or red. Uncas, come this 
 svay, lad, and let the ravens settle upon the Mingo. I know. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 187 
 
 ;rom often seeing it, that they have a craving for the flesh of 
 an Oneida ; and it is as well to let the bird follow the gift of 
 its natural appetite." 
 
 " Hugh ! " exclaimed the young Mohican, rising on the 
 extremities of his feet, and gazing intently in his front, fright- 
 ening the raven to some other prey, by the sound and the 
 action. 
 
 " What is it, boy ? " whispered the scout, lowering his 
 tall form into a crouching attitude, like a panther about to 
 take his leap. " God send it be a tardy Frencher, skulking 
 for plunder. I do believe * Killdeer ' would take an uncom- 
 mon range to-day ! " 
 
 Uncas, without making any reply, bounded away from the 
 -spot, and in the next instant he was seen tearing from a bush, 
 and waving in triumph, a fragment of the green riding veil of 
 Cora. The movement, the exhibition, and the cry, which 
 again burst from the lips of the young Mohican, instantly 
 drew the whole party about him. 
 
 " My child ! " said Munro, speaking quick and wildly ; 
 " give me my child ! " 
 
 " Uncas will try," was the short and touching answer. 
 
 The simple but meaning assurance was lost on the father, 
 who seized the piece of gauze, and crushed it in his hand, 
 while his eyes roamed fearfully among the bushes, as if he 
 equally dreaded and hoped for the secrets they might reveal. 
 
 " Here are no dead," said Heyward ; "the storm seems 
 not to have passed this way." 
 
 " That's manifest ; and clearer than the heavens above 
 our heads," returned the undisturbed scout ; " but either she 
 or they that have robbed her, have passed the bush ; for I re- 
 member the rag she wore to hide a face that all did love to 
 look upon. Uncas, you are right ; the dark-hair has been 
 here, and she has fled, like a frightened fawn, to the wood ; 
 none who could fly would remain to be murdered. Let us 
 search for the marks she left ; for to Indian eyes, I some- 
 times think even a humming-bird leaves his trail in the air." 
 
 The young Mohican darted away at the suggestion, and 
 the scout had hardly done speaking, before the former raised 
 a cry of success from the margin of the forest. On reaching 
 the spot, the anxious party perceived another portion of the 
 veil fluttering on the lower branch of the beech. 
 
 "Softly, softly," said the scout, extending his long rifle in 
 front of the eager Heyward ; " we now know our work, but 
 the beauty of the trail must not be deformed. A step too 
 
iSS THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 soon may give us hours of trouble. We have them though $ 
 that much is beyond denial." 
 
 " Bless ye, bless ye, worthy man ! " exclaimed Munro ? 
 " whither, then, have they fled, and where are my babes ? " 
 
 " The path they have taken depends on many chances, 
 If they have gone alone, they- are quite as likely to move in a 
 circle as straight, and they may be within a dozen miles of us t 
 but if the Hurons, or any of the French Indians, have laid 
 hands on them, 'tis probable they are now near the borders 
 of the Canadas. But what matters that ? " continued the de- 
 liberate scout, observing the powerful anxiety and disappoint- 
 ment the listeners exhibited ; " here are the Mohicans and I 
 on one end of the trail, and rely on it, we find the other, 
 though they should be a hundred leagues asunder ! Gently, 
 gently, Uncas, you are as impatient as a man in the settle- 
 ments ; you forget that light feet leave but faint marks ! " 
 
 " Hugh ! " exclaimed Chingachgook, who had been occu- 
 pied in examining an opening that had been evidently made 
 through the low underbrush which skirted the forest ; and who 
 now stood erect, as he pointed downwards, in the attitude and 
 with the air of a man who beheld a disgusting serpent. 
 
 " Here is the palpable impression of the footstep of a man," 
 cried Heyward, bending over the indicated spot : " he has 
 trod in the margin of this pool, and the mark cannot be mis- 
 taken. They are captives." 
 
 " Better so than left to starve in the wilderness," returned 
 the scout ; " and they will leave a wider trail. I would wager 
 fifty beaver skins against as many flints, that the Mohicans 
 and I enter their wigwams within the month ! Stoop to it, 
 Uncas, and try what you can make of the moccasin j for 
 moccasin it plainly is, and no shoe." 
 
 The young Mohican bent over the track, and removing 
 the scattered leaves from around the place, he examined it 
 with much of that sort of scrutiny, that a money-dealer, in 
 these days of pecuniary doubts, would bestow on a suspected 
 due-bill. At length he arose from his knees, satisfied with 
 the result of the examination. 
 
 " Well, boy/' demanded the attentive scout, " what does it 
 say ? can you make anything of the tell-tale ? " 
 
 "Le Renard Subtil!" 
 
 " Ha ! that rampaging devil again 1 there never will be an 
 end of his loping, till : Kill-deer ' has said a friendly word to 
 him." 
 
 Heyward reluctantly admitted the truth of this intelligence, 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. jgg 
 
 and now expressed rather his hopes than his doubts by 
 saying, 
 
 " One moccasin is so much like another, it is probable 
 there is some mistake." 
 
 ' ; One moccasin like another ! you may as well say that 
 one foot is like another ; though we all know that some are 
 long, and others short ; some broad, and others narrow ; some 
 with high, and some with low insteps ; some in-toed, and some 
 out. One moccasin is no more like another than one book is 
 like another ; though they who can read in one are seldom 
 able to tell the marks of the other. Which is all ordered for 
 the best, giving to every man his natural advantages. Let me 
 get down to it, Uncas ; neither book nor moccasin is the 
 worse for having two opinions, instead of one." The scout 
 stooped to the task, and instantly added, " You are right, boy \ 
 here is the patch we saw so often in the other chase. And the 
 fellow will drink when he can get an opportunity : your drink- 
 ing Indian always learns to walk with a wider toe than the 
 natural savage, it being the gift of a drunkard to straddle, 
 whether of white or red skin. Tis just the length and breadth, 
 too ! look at it, Sagamore : you measured the prints more than 
 once, when we hunted the varments from Glenn's to the 
 health-springs." 
 
 Chingachgook comphed ; and after finishing his short ex- 
 amination, he arose, and with a quiet demeanor, he merely 
 pronounced the word, 
 
 "Magua." 
 
 " Ay, 'tis a settled thing ; here then have passed the dark- 
 hair and Magua " 
 
 " And not Alice ? " demanded Heyward. 
 
 " Of her we have not yet seen the signs," returned the 
 scout, looking closely around at the trees, the bushes, and the 
 ground. " What have we there ? Uncas, bring hither the 
 thing you see dangling from yonder thorn-bush." 
 
 When the Indian had complied, the scout received the 
 prize, and holding it on high, he laughed in his silent but 
 heartfelt manner. 
 
 " 'Tis the tooting we'pon of the singer ! now we shall have 
 a trail a priest might travel," he said. " Uncas, look for the 
 marks of a shoe that is long enough to uphold six feet two 
 of tottering human flesh. I begin to have some hopes of 
 the fellow, since he has given up squalling to follow some 
 better trade." 
 
 " At least, he has been faithful to his trust," said Heyward ; 
 ** and Cora and Alice are not without a friend." 
 
19 > THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 "Yes," said Hawk-eye, dropping his rifle, and leaning on it 
 with an -air of visible contempt, " he will do their singing 1 
 Can he slay a buck for their dinner ; journey by the moss on the 
 beeches, or cut the throat of a Huron ? If not, the first cat- 
 bird * he meets is the cleverest of the two. Well, boy, any 
 signs of such a foundation ? " 
 
 " Here is something like the footstep of one who has worn 
 a shoe ; can it be that our friend ? " 
 
 " Touch the leaves lightly, or you'll disconsart the forma- 
 tion. That ! that is the print of a foot, but 'tis the dark-hair's ; 
 and small it is, too, for one of such a noble height and grand 
 appearance. The singer would cover it with his heel." 
 
 " Where ! let me look on the footsteps of my child,'' said 
 Munro, shoving the bushes aside, and bending fondly over 
 the nearly obliterated impression. Though the tread, which 
 had left the mark, had been light and rapid, it was stilt plainly 
 visible. The aged soldier examined it with eyes that grew 
 dim as he gazed ; nor did he rise from his stooping posture 
 until Heyward saw that he had watered the trace of his daugh- 
 ter's passage with a scalding tear. Willing to divert a distress 
 which threatened each moment to break through the restraint 
 of appearance, by giving the veteran something to do, the 
 young man said to the scout, 
 
 " As we now possess these infallible signs, let us commence 
 our march. A moment, at such a time, will appear an age to 
 the captives." 
 
 " It is not the swiftest leaping deer that gives the longest 
 chase," returned Hawk-eye, without moving his eyes from 
 the different marks that had come under his view ; " we know 
 that the rampaging Huron has passed and the dark-hair 
 and the singer but where is she of the yellow locks and blue 
 e/yes ? Though little, and far from being as bold as her sister, 
 she is fair to the view, and pleasant in discourse. Has she 
 no friend, that none care for her ? " 
 
 " God forbid she should ever want hundreds ! Are we 
 not now in her pursuit ? for one, I will never cease the search 
 Uli she be found." 
 
 " In that case we may have to journey by different paths \ 
 
 * The powers of the American mocking-bird are generally known. But the 
 true mocking-bird is not found so far north as the State of New York, where it has, 
 however, two substitutes of inferior excellence ; the cat-bird, so often named by the 
 scout, and the bird vulgarly called ground-thresher. Either of these two last birds is 
 Miperior to the nightingale, or the lark, though, in general, the American birds ar 
 ess musical than those of Europe. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MQHICANS. 
 
 191 
 
 for here she has not passed, light and little as her footstep 
 would be." 
 
 Heyward drew back, all his ardor to proceed seeming to 
 vanish on the instant. Without attending to this sudden change 
 in the other's humor, the scout, after musing a moment, con- 
 tinued, 
 
 " There is no woman in this wilderness could leave such 
 a print as that, but the dark-hair or her sister. We know that 
 the first has been here, but where are the signs of the other ? 
 Let us push deeper on the trail, and if nothing offers, we must 
 go back to the plain and strike another scent. Move on, Un- 
 cas, and keep your eyes on the dried leaves. I will watch the 
 bushes, while your father shall run with a low nose to the 
 ground. Move on, friends ; the sun is getting behind the 
 hills." 
 
 " Is there nothing that I can do ? " demanded the anxious 
 Heyward. 
 
 " You ! " repeated the scout, who, with his red friends, 
 was already advancing in the order he had prescribed ; " yes, 
 you can keep in our rear, and be careful not to cross the 
 trail." 
 
 Before they had proceeded many rods, the Indians stopped, 
 and appeared to gaze at some signs on the earth, with more 
 than their usual keenness. Both father and son spoke quick 
 and loud, now looking at the objects of their mutual admira- 
 tion, and now regarding each other with the most unequivocal 
 pleasure. 
 
 " They have found the little foot ! " exclaimed the scout, 
 moving forward, without attending further to his own portion 
 of the duty. " What have we here ? An ambushment has 
 been planted in the spot ! No, by the truest rifle on the frontier, 
 here have been them one-sided horses again ! Now the whole 
 secret is out, and all is plain as the north star at midnight. 
 Yes, here they have mounted. There the beasts have been 
 bound to a sapling, in waiting ; and yonder runs the broad 
 path away to the north, in full sweep for the Canadas." 
 
 " But still there are no signs of Alice of the younger Miss 
 Munro," said Duncan. 
 
 " Unless the shining bauble Uncas has just lifted from the 
 ground should prove one. Pass it this way, lad, that we may 
 look at it." 
 
 Hey wood instantly knew it for a trinket that Alice was 
 fond of wearing, and which he recollected, with the tenacious 
 memory of a lover, to have seen, on the fatal morning of the 
 
LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 massacre, dangling from the fair neck of his mistress. K^ 
 seized the highly prized jewel ; and as he proclaimed the fact, it 
 vanished from the eyes of the wondering scout, who in vain 
 looked for it on the ground, long after it was warmly pressed 
 against the beating heart of Duncan. 
 
 " Pshaw ! " said the disappointed Hawk-eye, ceasing to 
 rake the leaves with the breech of his rifle ; " 'tis a certain 
 sign of age, when the sight begins to weaken. Such a glitter- 
 ing gewgaw, and not to be seen ! Well, well, I can squint 
 along a clouded barrel yet, and that is enough to settle all 
 disputes between me and the Mingoes. I should like to find 
 the thing, too, if it were only to carry it to the right owner, 
 and that would be bringing the two ends of what I call a long 
 trail together ; for by this time the broad St. Lawrence, or 
 perhaps the Great Lakes themselves, are atwixt us." 
 
 " So much the more reason why we should not delay our 
 march," returned Heyward ; " let us proceed." 
 
 " Young blood and hot blood, they say, are much the same 
 thing. We are not about to start on a squirrel hunt, or to 
 drive a deer into the Horican, but to outlie for days and nights, 
 and to stretch across a wilderness where the feet of men sel- 
 dom go, and where no bookish knowledge would carry you 
 through harmless. An Indian never starts on such an expe- 
 dition without smoking over his council fire ; and though a 
 man of white blood, I honor their customs in this particular, 
 seeing that they are deliberate and wise. We will, therefore, 
 go back and light our fire to-night in the ruins of the old fort, 
 and in the morning we shall be fresh, and ready to undertake 
 our work like men, and not like babbling women and eager 
 boys." 
 
 Heyward saw, by the manner of the scout, that altercation 
 would be useless. Munro had again sunk into that sort of 
 apathy which had beset him since his late overwhelming mis- 
 fortunes, and from which he was apparently to be roused only 
 by some new and powerful excitment. Making a merit of 
 necessity, the young man took the veteran by the arm, and 
 followed in the footsteps of the Indians and the scout, who had 
 already begun to retrace the path which conducted them to 
 the plain. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 .alar. Why, I am sure, if he forfeit, thou wilt not take his flesh? What's thai 
 good for ? 
 
 Sfry. To bait fish withal : if it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge. 
 
 SHAKESPEARE. 
 
 THE shades of evening had come to increase the dreari- 
 ness of the place, when the party entered the ruins of William 
 Henry. The scout and his companions immediately made 
 their preparations to pass the night there ; but with an 
 earnestness and sobriety of demeanor that betrayed how much 
 the unusual horrors they had just witnessed worked on even 
 their practised feelings. A few fragments of rafters were 
 reared against a blackened wall ; and when Uncas had covered 
 them slightly with brush, the temporary accommodations were 
 deemed sufficient. The young Indian pointed towards his 
 rude hut, when his labor was ended ; Hey ward, who under- 
 stood the meaning of the silent gesture, gently urged Munro 
 to enter. Leaving the bereaved old man alone with his sor- 
 rows, Duncan immediately returned into the open air, too much 
 excited himself to seek the repose he had recommended to 
 his veteran friend. 
 
 While Hawk-eye and the Indians lighted their fire, and 
 took their evening's repast, a frugal meal of dried bear's meat, 
 the young man paid a visit to that curtain of the dilapidated 
 fort which looked out on the sheet of the Horican. The wind 
 had fallen, and the waves were already rolling on the sandy 
 beach beneath him, in a more regular and tempered succes- 
 sion. The clouds, as if tired of their furious chase, were 
 breaking asunder; the heavier volumes, gathering in black 
 masses about the horizon, while the lighter scud still hurried 
 above the water, or eddied among the tops of the mountains, 
 like broken flights of birds, hovering around their roosts. 
 Here and there a red and fiery star struggled through the 
 drifting vapor, furnishing a lurid gleam of brightness to the 
 dull aspect of the heavens. Within the bosom of the encir- 
 cling hills, an impenetrable darkness had already settled ; and 
 the plain lay like a vast and deserted charnel-house, without 
 omen or whisper to disturb the slumbers of its numerous and 
 hapless tenants. 
 
,94 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 Of this scene, so chillingly in accordance with the past 
 Duncan stood for many minutes a rapt observer. His eyes 
 wandered from the bosom of the mound, where the foresters 
 were seated around their glimmering fire, to the fainter light 
 which still lingered in the skies, and then rested long and 
 anxiously on the embodied gloom, which lay like a dreary 
 void on that side of him where the dead reposed. He soon 
 fancied that inexplicable sounds arose from the place, though 
 so indistinct and stolen, as to render not only their nature 
 but even their existence uncertain. Ashamed of his apprehen* 
 sions the young man turned towards the water, and strove to 
 divert his attention to the mimic stars that dimly glimmered 
 on its moving surface. Still, his too conscious ears performed 
 their ungrateful duty, as if to warn him of some lurking dan- 
 ger. At length a swift trampling seemed, quite audibly, to rush 
 athwart the darkness. Unable any longer to quiet his uneasi- 
 ness, Duncan spoke in a low voice to the scout, requesting 
 him to ascend the mound to the place where he stood. Hawk 
 eye threw his rifle across an arm and complied, but with an 
 air so unmoved and calm as to prove how much he counted 
 on the security of their position. 
 
 "Listen," said Duncan, when the other placed himself 
 deliberately at his elbow ; " there are suppressed noises on 
 the plain which may show that Mon-tcalm has not yet entirely 
 deserted his conquest." 
 
 " Then ears are better than eyes," said the undisturbed 
 scout, who having just deposited a portion of a bear between 
 his grinders, spoke thick and slow, like one whose mouth was 
 doubly occupied. " I, myself, saw him caged in Ty, with all 
 his host ; for your Frenchers when they have done a clever 
 thing, like to get back and have a dance, or a merry-making 
 with the women over their success." 
 
 "I know not. An Indian seldom sleeps in war, and 
 plunder may keep a Huron here after his tribe has departed 
 It would be well to extinguish the fire and have a watch. 
 Listen ! you hear the noise I mean ! " 
 
 " An Indian more rarely lurks about the graves. Though 
 ready to slay, and not over regardful of the means, he is com- 
 monly content with the scalp, unless when blood is hot and 
 temper up ; but after the spirit is once fairly gone, he forgets 
 his enmity and is willing to let the dead find their natural 
 rest. Speaking of spirits, major, are you of opinion that the 
 heaven of a red-skin and of us whites will be one and th 
 same?" 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. ^ 
 
 " No doubt no doubt. I thought I neard it again ! oc 
 was it the rusting of the leaves in the top of the beech ? " 
 
 " For my own part," continued Hawk-eye, turning his facs 
 for a moment in the direction indicated by Heyward, but 
 with a vacant and careless manner, " I believe that paradise 
 is ordained for happiness ; and that men will be indulged 
 in it according to their dispositions and gifts. I therefore 
 judge that a red-skin is not far from the truth when he believes 
 he- is to find them glorious hunting-grounds of which his 
 traditions tell ; nor, for that matter, do I think it would be 
 any disparagement to a man without a cross to pass his 
 time" 
 
 " You hear it again ? " interrupted Duncan. 
 
 " Ay, ay, when food is scarce, and when food is plenty, a 
 wolf grows bold," said the unmoved scout. "There would 
 be picking, too, among the skins of the devils, if there was 
 light and time for the sport. But, concerning the life that is 
 to come, major : I have heard preachers say in the settlements, 
 that Heaven was a place of rest. Now men's minds differ as 
 to their ideas of enjoyment. For myself, and I say it with 
 reverence to the ordering of Providence, it would be no great 
 indulgence to be kept shut up in those mansions of which they 
 preach, having a natural longing for motion and the chase." 
 
 Duncan, who was now made to understand the nature of 
 the noises he had heard, answered, with more attention to the 
 subject which the humor of the scout had chosen for discus- 
 sion, by saying, 
 
 " It is difficult to account for the feelings that may attend 
 the last great change." 
 
 " It would be a change indeed for a man who has passed his 
 days in the open air," returned the single-minded scout ; " and 
 who has so often broken his fast on the head waters of the 
 Hudson, to sleep within sound of the roaring Mohawk. But 
 it is a comfort to know we serve a merciful master, though we 
 do it each after his fashion, and with great tracts of wilderness 
 atween us What goes there ? " 
 
 " Is it not the rushing of the wolves you have men- 
 tioned ? " 
 
 Hawk-eye slowly shook his head, and beckoned for Duncan 
 to follow him to a spot, to which the glare from the fire did 
 not extend. When he had taken this precaution, the scout 
 placed himself in an attitude of intense attention, and listened 
 long and keenly for a repetition of the low sound that had so 
 unexpectedly startled him. His vigilance, however, seemed 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICAN'S. 
 
 exercised in vain ; for, after a fruitless pause, he whispered 
 to Duncan, 
 
 " We must give a call to Uncas. The boy has Indian 
 senses, and may hear what is hid from us ; for, being a white- 
 skin, I will not deny my nature." 
 
 The young Mohican, who was conversing in a low voice 
 with his father, started as he heard the moaning of an owl, 
 and springing on his feet, he looked towards the black mounds, 
 as if seeking the place whence the sounds proceeded. The 
 scout repeated the call, and in a few moments, Duncan saw 
 the figure of Uncas stealing cautiously along the rampart, to 
 the spot where they stood. 
 
 Hawk-eye explained his wishes in a very few words, which 
 were spoken in the Delaware tongue. So soon as Uncas was 
 in possession of the reason why he was summoned, he threw 
 himself flat on the turf ; where, to the eyes of Duncan, he ap- 
 peared to lie quiet and motionless. Surprised at the im- 
 movable attitude of the young warrior, and curious to observe 
 the manner in which he employed his faculties to obtain the 
 desired information, Heyward advanced a few steps, and bent 
 over the dark object, on which he had kept his eyes riveted. 
 Then it was that he discovered that the form of Uncas had 
 vanished, and that he beheld only the dark outline of an ine- 
 quality in the embankment. 
 
 " What has become of the Mohican ? " he demanded of 
 the scout stepping back in amazement ; " it was here that I 
 saw him fall, and I could have sworn that here he yet re- 
 mained." 
 
 " Hist ! speak lower ; for we know not what ears are open, 
 and the Mingoes are a quick-witted breed. As for Uncas, he 
 is out on the plain, and the Maquas, if any such are about us, 
 will find their equal." 
 
 " You think that Montcalm has not called off all his In- 
 dians ? Let us give the alarm to our companions, that we may 
 stand to our arms. Here are five of us, who are not unused 
 to meet an enemy." 
 
 " Not a word t Cither, as you value your life. Look at the 
 Sagamore, how like , grand Indian chief he sits by the fire. 
 If there are any skulkers out in the darkness, they will never 
 discover, by his ountenance, that we suspect danger at 
 hand/' 
 
 " But they may discover him, and it will prove his death. 
 His pers n can be too plainly seen by the light of that fire, 
 and h: will become the first and most certain victim." 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 197 
 
 " It is undeniable that now you speak the truth," returned 
 the scout, betraying more anxiety than usual ; " yet what can 
 be done ? A single suspicious look might bring on an attack 
 before we are ready to receive it. He knows, by the call 1 
 gave to Uncas, that we have struck a scent : I will tell him 
 that we are on the trail of the Mingoes ; his Indian nature will 
 teach him how to act." 
 
 The scout applied his fingers to his mouth, and raised a 
 low hissing sound, that caused Duncan, at first, to start aside, 
 believing that he heard a serpent. The head of Chingachgook 
 was resting on a hand, as he sat musing by himself ; but the 
 moment he heard the warning of the animal whose name he 
 bore it rose to an upright position, and his dark eyes glanced 
 swiftly and keenly on every side of him. With this sudden 
 and perhaps involuntary movement, every appearance of sur- 
 prise or alarm ended. His rifle lay untouched, and appar- 
 ently unnoticed, within reach of his hand. The tomahawk 
 that he had loosened in his belt for the sake of ease, was even 
 suffered to fall from its usual situation to the ground, and his 
 form seemed to sink, like that of a man whose nerves and 
 sinews were suffered to relax for the purpose of rest. Cun- 
 ningly resuming his former position, though with a change of 
 hands, as if the movement had been made merely to relieve 
 the limb, the native awaited the result with a calmness and 
 fortitude that none but an Indian warrior would have known 
 how to exercise. 
 
 But Heyward saw, that while to a less instructed eye the 
 Mohican chief appeared to slumber, his nostrils were expanded, 
 his head was turned a little to one side, as if to assist the or- 
 gans of hearing, and that his quick and rapid glances ran 
 incessantly over every object, within the power of his vision. 
 
 " See the noble fellow ! " whispered Hawk-eye pressing the 
 arm of Heyward "he knows that a look or a motion might 
 disconsart our schemes, and put us at the mercy of them 
 imps " 
 
 He was interrupted by the flash and report of a rifle. The 
 air was filled with sparks of fire around that spot where the 
 eyes of Heyward were still fastened with admiration and 
 wonder. A second look told him, that Chingachgook had dis- 
 appeared in the confusion. In the meantime, the scout had 
 thrown forward his rifle, like one prepared for service, and 
 awaited impatiently the moment when an enemy might rise to 
 view. But with the solitary and fruitless attempt made on the 
 life of Chingachgook, the attack appeared to have terminated. 
 
jgg THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 Once or twice the listeners thought they could distinguish the 
 distant rustling of bushes, as bodies of some unknown descrip- 
 tion rushed through them ; nor was it long before Hawk-eye 
 pointed out the " scampering of the wolves," as they fled pre- 
 cipitately before the passage of some intruder on their proper 
 domains. After an impatient and breathless pause, a plunge 
 was heard in the water, and it was immediately followed by 
 the report of another rifle. 
 
 " There goes Uncas!" said the scout ; " the boy bears a 
 smart piece ! I know its crack, as well as a father knows the 
 language of his child, for I carried the gun myself until a 
 better offered." 
 
 " What can this mean ? " demanded Duncan ; " we are 
 watched, and, as it would seem, marked for destruction." 
 
 " Yonder scattered brand can witness that no good was 
 intended, and this Indian will testify that no harm has been 
 done," returned the scout, dropping his rifle' across his arm 
 again, and following Chingachgook, who just then re-appeared 
 within the circle of light, into the bosom of the works. 
 " How is it, Sagamore ? Are the Mingoes upon us in earnest, 
 or is it only one of those reptiles who hang upon the skirts 
 of a war party, to scalp the dead, go in, and make their boasts 
 among the squaws of the valiant deeds done on the pale- 
 faces ? " 
 
 Chingachgook very quietly resumed his seat ; nor did he 
 make any reply, until after he had examined the firebrand 
 which had been struck by the bullet, that had nearly proved 
 fatal to himself. After which, he was content to reply, hold- 
 ing a single finger up to view, with the English monosyllable 
 
 "One." 
 
 " I thought as much," returned Hawk-eye, seating himself ; 
 " and as he had got the cover of the lake afore Uncas pulled 
 upon him, it is more than probable the knave will sing his 
 lies about some great ambushment, in which he was outlying 
 on the trail of two Mohicans and a white hunter for the 
 officers can be considered as little better than idlers in such 
 a skrimmage. Well, let him let him. There are always 
 some honest men in every nation, though heaven knows too, 
 that they are scarce among the Maquas, to look down an up- 
 start when he brags ag'in the face of reason. The varlet sent 
 his lead within whistle of your ears, Sagamore." 
 
 Chingachgook turned a calm and incurious eye toward 
 the place where the ball had struck, and then resumed his 
 former attitude, with a composure that could not be disturbed 
 
THE LAST OF THE 
 
 ~ 79 
 
 by so trifling an incident. Just then Uncas glided into th 
 circle, and seated himself at the fire, with the same appear- 
 ance of indifference as was maintained by his father. 
 
 Of these several morements Heyward was a deeply inter* 
 ested and wondering observer. It appeared to him as though 
 the foresters had some secret means of intelligence, which had 
 escaped the vigilance of his own faculties. In place of that 
 eager and garrulous narration with which a white youth would 
 have endeavored to communicate, and perhaps exaggerate, 
 that which had passed out in the darkness of the plain, the 
 young warrior was seemingly content to let his deeds speak 
 for themselves. It was, in fact, neither the moment nor the 
 occasion for the Indian to boast of his exploits ; and it is 
 probable, that had Heyward neglected to inquire, not another 
 syllable would, just then, have been uttered on the subject. 
 
 "What has become of our enemy, Uncas?" demanded 
 Duncan \ " we heard your rifle, and hoped you had not fired 
 in vain." 
 
 The young chief removed a fold of his hunting shirt, and 
 quietly exposed the fatal tuft of hair, which he bore as the 
 symbol of victory. Chingachgook had his hand on the scalp, 
 and considered it for a moment with deep attention. Then 
 dropping it, with disgust depicted in his strong features, he 
 ejaculated 
 
 " Oneida ! " 
 
 " Oneida ! " repeated the scout, who was fast losing his 
 interest in the scene, in an apathy nearly assimulated to that 
 of his red associates, but who now advanced with uncommon 
 earnestness to regard the bloody badge. " By the lord if 
 the Oneidas are outlying upon the trail, we shall be flanked by 
 devils on every side of us ! Now, to white eyes there is no 
 difference between this bit of skin and that of any other 
 Indian, and yet the Sagamore declares it came from the poll 
 of a Mmgo ; nay, he even names the tribe of the poor devil 
 with as much ease as if the scalp was a leaf of a book and 
 each hair a letter. What right have Christian whites to boasf 
 of their learning, when a savage can read a language that 
 would prove too much for the wisest of them all 1 What say 
 you, lad ; of what people was the knave ? " 
 
 Uncas raised his eyes to the face of the scout, and an- 
 swered, in his soft voice, 
 
 * Oneida." 
 
 " Oneida, again 1 when one Indian makes a declaration j> 
 
200 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 is commonly true ; but when he is supported by his people, 
 set it down as gospel ! " 
 
 " The poor felbw has mistaken us for French," said Hey 
 ward ; "or he would not have attempted the life of a friend." 
 
 " He mistake a Mohican in his paint for a Huron ! You 
 would be as likely to mistake the white coated grenadiers of 
 Montcalm for the scarlet jackets of the * Royal Americans,' " 
 returned the scout. " No, no, the sarpent knew his errand ; 
 nor was there any great mistake in the matter, for there is 
 but little love atween a Delaware and a Mingo, let their 
 tribes go out to fight for whom they may, in a white quarrel. 
 For that matter, though the Oneidas do serve his sacred 
 Majesty, who is my own sovereign lord and master, I should 
 not have deliberated long about letting off 'Kill-deer' at the 
 imp myself, had luck thrown him in my way." 
 
 " That would have been an abuse of our treaties, and un- 
 worthy of your character." 
 
 " When a man consorts much with a people " continued 
 Hawk-eye, " if they are honest and he no knave, love will 
 grow up atwixt them. It is true that white cunning has man- 
 aged to throw the tribes into great confusion, as respects 
 friends and enemies ; so that the Hurons and the Oneidas, 
 who speak the same tongue, or what may be called the same, 
 take each other's scalps, and the Delawares are divided among 
 themselves ; a few hanging about their great council fire on 
 their own river, and fighting on the same side with the Min- 
 goes, while the greater part are in the Canadas, out of natural 
 enmity to the Maquas thus throwing everything into disorder, 
 and destroying all the harmony of warfare. Yet a red natur' 
 is not likely to alter with every shift of policy ; so that the 
 love atwixt a Mohican and a Mingo is much like the regard 
 between a white man and a sarpent." 
 
 " I regret to hear it ; for I had believed those natives who 
 dwelt within our boundaries had found us too just and liberal, 
 not to identify themselves fully with our quarrels." 
 
 " Why, I believe it is natur' to give a preference to one's 
 own quarrels before those of strangers. Now, for myself, I 
 do love justice ; and therefore I will not say I hate a Mingo, 
 k for that may be unsuitable to my color and my religion, 
 though I will just repeat, it may have been owing to the night 
 that ' Kill-deer ' had no hand in the death of this skulking 
 <)neida." 
 
 Then, as if satisfied with the force of his own reasons, 
 whatever might be their effect on the opinions of the othef 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 2OI 
 
 disputant, the honest but implacable woodsman turned from 
 the fire, content to let the controversy slumber. Hey ward with- 
 drew to the rampart, too uneasy and too little accustomed to 
 the warfare of the woods, to remain at ease under the pos- 
 sibility of such insidious attacks. Not so, however, with the 
 scout and the Mohicans. Those acute and long practised 
 senses, whose powers so often exceed the limits of all ordinary 
 credulity, after having detected the danger, had enabled them 
 to ascertain its magnitude and duration. Not one of the three 
 appeared in the least to doubt their perfect security, as was 
 indicated by the preparations that were soon made to sit in 
 council -over their future proceedings. 
 
 The confusion of nations, and even of tribes, to which 
 Hawk-eye alluded, existed at that period in the fullest force. 
 The great tie of language, and, of course, of a common origin, 
 was severed in many places ; and it was one of its consequences, 
 that the Delaware and the Mingo (as the people of the Six 
 Nations were called) were found fighting in the same ranks, 
 while the latter sought the scalp of the Huron, though believed 
 to be the root of his own stock. The Delawares were even 
 divided among themselves. Though love for the soil which 
 had belonged to his ancestors kept the Sagamore of the 
 Mohicans with a small band of followers who were serving at 
 Edward, under the banners of the English king, by far the 
 largest portion of his nation were known to be in the field as 
 allies of Montcalm. The reader probably knows, if enough 
 has not already been gleaned from this narrative, that the 
 Delaware, or Lenape, claimed to be the progenitors of that 
 numerous people, who once were masters of most of the east- 
 ern and northern states of America, of whom the community 
 of the Mohicans was an ancient and highly honored member. 
 
 It was, of course, with a perfect understanding of the mi- 
 nute and intricate interests which had armed friend against 
 friend, and brought natural enemies to combat by each other's 
 side, that the scout and his companions now disposed them- 
 selves to deliberate on the measures that were to govern their 
 future movements, amid so many jarring and savage races of 
 men. Duncan knew enough of Indian customs to understand 
 the reason that the fire was replenished, and why the warriors, 
 not excepting Hawk-eye, took their seats within the curl of its 
 smoke with so much gravity and decorum. Placing himself at 
 an angle of the works, where he might be spectator of the scene 
 within, while he kept a watchful eye against any danger from 
 without, he awaited theresult with as much patience as he could 
 summon. 
 
202 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 After a short and impressive pause, Chingachgook lighted 
 a pipe whose bowl was curiously carved in one of the soft 
 stones of the country, and whose stem was a tube of wood, 
 and commenced smoking. When he had inhaled enough of 
 the fragrance of the soothing weed, he passed the instrument 
 into the hands of the scout. In this manner the pipe had made 
 its rounds three several times, amid the most profound silence, 
 before either of the party opened his lips. Then the Sagamore, 
 as the oldest and highest in rank, in a few calm and dignified 
 words, proposed the subject for deliberation. He was answered 
 by the scout ; and Chingachgook rejoined, when the other 
 objected to his opinions. But the youthful Uncas continued 
 a silent and respectful listener, until Hawk-eye, in com- 
 plaisance, demanded his opinion. Heyward gathered from 
 the manners of the different speakers, that the father and son 
 espoused one side of a disputed question, while the white man 
 maintained the other. The contest gradually grew warmer, 
 until it was quite evident the feelings of the speakers began 
 to be somewhat enlisted in the debate. 
 
 Notwithstanding the increasing warmth of the amicable 
 contest, the most decorous Christian assembly, not even ex- 
 cepting those in which its reverend ministers are collected, 
 might have learned a wholesome lesson of moderation from 
 the forbearance and courtesy of the disputants. The words 
 of Uncas were received with the same deep attention as those 
 which fell from the maturer wisdom of his father ; and so far 
 from manifesting any impatience, neither spoke in reply, until 
 a few moments of silent meditation were, seemingly, bestowed 
 in deliberating on what had already been said. 
 
 The language of the Mohicans was accompanied by gestures 
 so direct and natural, that Heyward had but little difficulty in 
 following the thread of their argument. On the other hand, 
 the scout was obscure ; because, from the lingering pride of 
 color, he rather affected the cold and artificial manner which 
 characterizes all classes of Anglo-Americans, when unexcited. 
 By the frequency with which the Indians described the marks 
 of a forest trail, it was evident they urged a pursuit by land, 
 while the repeated sweep of Hawk-eye's arm towards the 
 Horican denoted that he was for a passage across its waters. 
 
 The latter was, to every appearance, fast losing ground, 
 and the point was about to be decided against him, when he 
 arose to his feet and shaking off his apathy, he suddenly as- 
 sumed the manner of an Indian, and adopted all the arts of 
 native eloquence. Elevating an arm, he pointed out the track 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOfflCAtfS. 
 
 201 
 
 of the sun, repeating the gesture for every day that was ne- 
 cessary to accomplish their object. Then he delineated a 
 long and painful path, amid rocks and watercourses. The age 
 and weakness of the slumbering and unconscious Munro were 
 indicated by signs too palpable to be mistaken. Duncan pen 
 ceived that even his own powers were spoken lightly of, as the 
 scout extended his palm, and mentioned him by the appellation 
 of the " Open Hand," a name his liberality had purchased 
 of all the friendly tribes. Then came a representation of the 
 light and graceful movements of a canoe, set in forcible con- 
 trast to the tottering steps of one enfeebled and lired. He 
 concluded by pointing to the scalp of the Oneida, and ap- 
 parently urging the necessity of their departing speedily, and in 
 a manner that should leave no trail. 
 
 The Mohicans listened gravely, and with countenances that 
 reflected the sentiments of the speaker. Conviction gradually 
 wrought its influence, and towards the close of Hawk-eye's 
 speech, his sentences were accompanied by the customary ex- 
 clamation of commendation. In short, Uncas and his father 
 became converts to his way of thinking, abandoning their own 
 previously expressed opinions with a liberality and candor, 
 that, had they been the representatives of some great and civ- 
 ilized people, would have infallibly worked their political ruin, 
 by destroying, forever, their reputation for consistency. 
 
 The instant the matter in discussion was decided, the de- 
 bate, and everything connected with it, except the result, ap- 
 peared to be forgotten. Hawk-eye, without looking round to 
 read his triumph in applauding eyes, very composedly stretched 
 his tall frame before the dying embers, and closed his own or- 
 gans in sleep. 
 
 Left now in a measure to themselves, the Mohicans, whose 
 time had been so much devoted to the interests of others, 
 seized the moment to devote some attention to themselves. 
 Casting off, at once, the grave and austere demeanor of an 
 Indian chief, Chingachgook commenced speaking to his son 
 in the soft and playful tones of affection. Uncas gladly met 
 the familiar air of his father, and before the hard breathing of 
 the scout announced that he slept, a complete change was 
 effected in the manner of his two associates. 
 
 It is impossible to describe the music of their language, 
 while thus engaged in laughter and endearments, in such a 
 way as to render it intelligible to those whose ears have nevef 
 listened to its melody. The compass of their voices, particu 
 larly that of the youth, was wonderful, -extending from the 
 
204 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 deepest bass to tones that were even feminine in softness 
 The eyes of the father followed the plastic and ingenious 
 movements of the son with open delight, and he never failed 
 to smile in reply to the other's contagious, but low laughter. 
 While under the influence of these gentle and natural feelings, 
 no trace of ferocity was to be seen in the softened features of 
 the Sagamore. His figured panolpy of death looked more 
 like a disguise assumed in mockery, than a fierce annunciation 
 of a desire to carry destruction and desolation in his footsteps. 
 
 After an hour passed in the indulgence of their better 
 feelings, Chingachgook abruptly announced his desire to sleep, 
 by wrapping his head in his blanket, and stretching his form 
 on the naked earth. The merriment of Uncas instantly 
 ceased ; and carefully raking the coals in such a manner that 
 they should impart their warmth to his father's feet, the youth 
 sought his own pillow among the ruins of the place. 
 
 Imbibing renewed confidence from the security of these' 
 experienced foresters, Heyward soon imitated their example ; 
 and long before the night had turned, they who lay in the 
 bosom of the ruined work, seemed to slumber as heavily as 
 the unconscious multitude whose bones were already beginning 
 to bleach on the surrounding plain. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Land of Albania I let me bend mine eyes 
 On thee, thou rugged nurse of savage men! 
 
 CHILDB HAROLD. 
 
 THE heavens were still studded with stars, when Hawk- 
 eye came to rouse the sleepers. Casting aside their cloaks, 
 Munro and Heyward were on their feet, while the woodsman 
 was still making his low calls, at the entrance of the rude 
 shelter where they had passed the night. When they issued 
 from beneath its concealment, they found the scout awaiting 
 their appearance nigh by, and the only salutation between 
 them was the significant gesture for silence, made by their sa 
 gacious leader. 
 
 " Think over your prayers," he whispered, as they ar> 
 preached him ; " for he, to whom you make them, knows all 
 tongues ; that of the heart, as well as those of the mouth 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 20 5 
 
 But speak not a syllable \ it is rare for a white voice to pitch 
 itself properly in the woods, as we have seen by the example 
 of that miserable devil, the singer. Come," he continued, 
 turning towards a curtain of the works ; " let us get into the 
 ditch on this side, and be regardful to step on the stones and 
 fragments of wood as you go." 
 
 His companions complied, though to two of them the rea 
 sons of this extraordinary precaution were yet a mystery. When 
 they were in the low cavity that surrounded the earthen fort 
 on three of its sides, they found the passage nearly choked by 
 the ruins. With care and patience, however, they succeeded 
 in clambering after the scout, until they reached the sandy 
 shore of the Horican. 
 
 " That's a trail that nothing but a nose can follow," said 
 the satisfied scout looking back along their difficult way; 
 " grass is a treacherous carpet for a flying party to tread on, 
 but wood and stone take no print from a moccasin. Had you 
 worn your armed boots, there might, indeed, have been some- 
 thing to fear ; but with the deer-skin suitably prepared, a man 
 may trust himself, generally, on rocks with safety. Shove in 
 the canoe nigher to the land, Uncas ; this sand will take a 
 stamp as easily as the butter of the Jarmans on the Mohawk. 
 Softly, lad, softly, it must not touch the beach, or the knaves 
 will know by what road we have left the place." 
 
 The young man observed the precaution ; and the scout, 
 laying a board from the ruins to the canoe, made a sign for 
 the two officers to enter. When this was done, everything 
 was studiously restored to its former disorder ; and then 
 Hawk-eye succeeded in reaching his little birchen vessel, 
 without leaving behind him any of those marks which he ap- 
 peared so much to dread. Heyward was silent, until the 
 Indians had cautiously paddled the canoe some distance from 
 the fort, and within the broad and dark shadow that fell from 
 the eastern mountain, on the glassy surface of the lake ; then 
 he demanded 
 
 " What need have we for this stolen and hurried .de- 
 parture ? " 
 
 " If the blood of an Oneida could stain such a sheet of 
 pure water as this we float on," returned the scout, " your two 
 eyes would answer your own question. Have you forgotten 
 the skulking reptyle that Uncas slew ? " 
 
 " By no means. But he was said to be alone, and dead 
 men give no cause for fear." 
 
 " Ay, he was alone in his deviltry I but an Indian, whose 
 
206 THE LAST OP THE MOHICANS. 
 
 tribe counts so many warriors, need seldom fear his blood 
 will run, without the death-shriek coming speedily from some 
 of his enemies." 
 
 " But our presence the authority of Colonel Munro would 
 prove a sufficient protection against the anger of our allies, 
 especially in a case where the wretch so well merited his fate. 
 I trust in Heaven you have not deviated a single foot from 
 the direct line of our course, with so slight a reason." 
 
 " Do you think the bullet of that varlet's rifle would have 
 turned aside, though his sacred Majesty the King had stood 
 in its path ?" returned the stubborn scout. " Why did not 
 the grand Frencher, he who is captain-general of the Canadas, 
 bury the tomahawks of the Hurons, if a word from a white 
 can work so strongly on the natur' of an Indian ? " 
 
 The reply of Heyward was interrupted by a groan from 
 Munro ; but after he had paused a moment, in deference to 
 the sorrow of his aged friend, he resumed the subject. 
 
 " The Marquis of Montcalm can only settle that error 
 with his God," said the young man solemnly. 
 
 "Ay, ay, now there is reason in your words, for they are 
 bottomed on religion and honesty. There is a vast difference 
 between throwing a regiment of white coats atwixt the tribes 
 and the prisoners, and coaxing an angry savage to forget he 
 carries a knife and a rifle, with words that must begin with 
 calling him ' your son.' No, no," continued the scout, looking 
 back at the dim shore of William Henry, which was now fast 
 receding, and laughing in his own silent but heartfelt man- 
 ner ; " I have put a trail of water atween us ; and unless the 
 imps can make friends with the fishes, and hear wfio has pad- 
 dled across their basin, this fine morning, we shall throw the 
 length of the Horican behind us, before they have made up 
 their mind which path to take." 
 
 " With foes in front, and foes in our rear, our journey is 
 like to be one of danger." 
 
 " Danger ! ' repeated Hawk-eye calmly ; " no, not abso- 
 lutely of danger ; for, with vigilant ears, and quick eyes, we 
 can manage to keep a few hours ahead of the knaves ; or, if 
 we must try the rifle, there are three of us who understand its 
 gifts as well as any you can name on the borders. No, not 
 of danger ; but that we shall have what you may call a brisk 
 push of it, is probable ; and it may happen a brush, a skrim- 
 mage, or some such divarsion, but always where covers are 
 good, and ammunition abundant." 
 
 It is possible that Heyward's estimate of danger differed 
 
THE RAST OF THE MOHICANS. 207 
 
 in some degree from that of the scout, for, instead of replying, 
 he now sat in silence while the canoe glided over several 
 miles of water. Just as the day dawned, they entered the 
 narrows of the lake,* and stole swiftly and cautiously among 
 their numberless little islands. It was by this road that 
 Montcalm had retired with his army, and the adventurers 
 knew not but he had left some of his Indians in ambush, to 
 protect the rear of his forces, and collect the stragglers. 
 They therefore approached the passage with the customary 
 Silence of their guarded habits. 
 
 Chingachgook laid aside his paddle ; while Uncas and the 
 scout urged the light vessel through crooked and intricate 
 channels, where every foot that they advanced exposed tham 
 to the danger of some sudden rising on their progress. The 
 eyes of the Sagamore moved warily from islet to islet and 
 and copse to copse, as the canoe proceeded ; and when a 
 clearer sheet of water permitted, his keen vision was bent 
 along the bold rocks and impending forests, that frowned 
 upon the narrow strait. 
 
 Heyward who was a doubly interested spectator, as well 
 from the beauties of the place as from the apprehension natural 
 to his situation, was just believing that he had permitted the 
 latter to be excited without sufficient reason, when the paddle 
 ceased moving, in obedience to a signal from Chingachgook. 
 
 " Hugh ! " exclaimed Uncas, nearly at the moment that 
 the light tap his father had made on the side of the canoe 
 notified them of the vicinity of danger. 
 
 " What now ? " asked the scout ; " the lake is as smooth 
 as if the winds had never blown, and I can see along its sheet 
 for miles ; there is not so much as the black head of a loon 
 dotting the water." 
 
 The Indian gravely raised his paddle, and pointed in the 
 direction in which his own steady look was riveted. Dun- 
 
 * The beauties of Lake George are well known to every American tourist. In 
 the height of the mountains which surround it, and in artificial accessories it is in- 
 ferior to the finest of the Swiss and Italian lakes, while in outline and purity of 
 water it is fully their equal ! and in the number and disposition of its isles and 
 islets, much superior to them altogether. There are said to be some hundreds of 
 islands in a sheet of water less than thirty miles long. The narrows which connect 
 what may be called, in truth, two lakes, are crowded with islands to such a degree as 
 to leave passages between them, frequently of only a few feet in width. The lake, 
 itself, varies in breadth from one to three miles. 
 
 The state of New York is remarkable for the number and beauty of its lakes. 
 One of its frontiers lies on the vast sheet of Ontario, while Champlain stretches 
 nearly a hundred miles along another. Oneida, Cayuga, Canadaigua, Seneca, and 
 George, are all lakes of thirty miles in length, while those of a size smaller are with- 
 out number. On most of these lakes there are now beautiful villages, and oo 
 many of them steamboats. 
 
io 8 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 can's eyes followed the motion. A few rods in their front laj 
 another of the low wooded islets, but it appeared as calm and 
 peaceful as if its solitude had never been disturbed by the 
 foot of man. 
 
 " I see nothing," he said, " but land and water ; and a 
 lovely scene it is." 
 
 " Hist ! " interrupted the scout. " Ay, Sagamore, there is 
 always a reason for what you do. 'Tis but a shade, and yet 
 it is not natural. You see the mist, Major, that is rising above 
 the island ; you can't call it a fog, for it is more like a streak 
 of thin cloud, " 
 
 " It is vapor from the water." 
 
 " That a child could tell. But what is the edging of blackef 
 smoke that hangs along its lower side, and which you may 
 trace down into the thicket of hazel ? 'Tis from a fire ; but 
 one that, in my judgment, has been suffered to burn low." 
 
 " Let us then push for the place, and relieve our doubts," 
 said the impatient Duncan " the party must be small that 
 can lie on such a bit of land." 
 
 " If you judge of Indian cunning by the rules you find in 
 books, or by white sagacity, they will lead you astray, if not to 
 your death," returned Hawk-eye, examining the signs of the 
 place with that acuteness which distinguished him. " If 1" 
 may be permitted to speak in this matter, it will be to say, 
 that we have but two things to choose between : the one is, to 
 return, and give up all thoughts of following the Huron " 
 
 " Never! " exclaimed Heyward, in a voice far too ioud for 
 their circumstances. 
 
 " Well, well," continued Hawk-eye, making a hasty sign 
 to repress his impatience ; " I am much of your mind myself ; 
 though I thought it becoming my experience to tell the whole. 
 We must then make a push, and if the Indians or Frenchers 
 are in the narrors, run the gauntlet through these toppling 
 mountains. Is there reason in my words, Sagamore ? " 
 
 The Indian made no other answer than by dropping his 
 paddle into the water, and urging forward his canoe. As he 
 held the office of directing its course, his resolution was suf- 
 ficiently indicated by the movement. The whole party now 
 plied their paddles vigorously, and in a very few moments 
 they had reached a point whence they might command an en- 
 tire view of the northern shore of the island, the side that had 
 hitherto been concealed. 
 
 "There they are, by all the truth of signs," whispered the 
 scout ; " two canoes and a smoke. The knaves haven't yet 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 2*9 
 
 got their eyes out of the mist, or we should hear the accursed 
 whoop. Together, friends, we are leaving them, aud are 
 already nearly out of whistle of a bullet." 
 
 The well known crack of a rifle, whose ball came skipping 
 along the placid surface of the strait, and a shrill yell from the 
 island, interrupted his speech, and announced that their pas- 
 sage was discovered. In another instant several savages were 
 seen rushing into the canoes, which were soon dancing ovei 
 the water, in pursuit. These fearful precursors of a coming 
 struggle produced no change in the countenances and move- 
 ments of his three guides, so far as Duncan could discover, 
 except that the strokes of their paddles were longer and more 
 in unison, and caused the little bark to spring forward like a 
 creature possessing life and volition. 
 
 " Hold them there, Sagamore," said Hawk-eye, looking 
 coolly backward over his left shoulder, while he still plied his 
 paddle ; " keep them just there. Them Hurons have never 
 a piece in their nation that will execute at this distance ; but 
 * Kill-deer ' has a barrel on which a man may calculate." 
 
 The scout having ascertained that the Mohicans were suf- 
 ficient of themselves to maintain the requisite distance, de- 
 liberately laid aside his paddle and raised the fatal rifle. 
 Three several times he brought the piece to his shoulder, and 
 when his companions were expecting its report, he as often 
 lowered it to request the Indians would permit their enemies 
 to approach a little nigher. At length his accurate and fastid- 
 ious eye seemed satisfied, and throwing out his left arm on 
 the barrel, he was slowly elevating the muzzle, when an ex- 
 clamation from Uncas, who sat in the bow, once more caused 
 him to suspend the shot. 
 
 "What now, lad!" demanded Hawk-eye ; "you saved a 
 Huron from the death-shriek by that word ; have you reason 
 for what you do ? " 
 
 Uncas pointed towards the rocky shore a little in their 
 front, whence another war canoe was darting directly across 
 their course. It was too obvious now that their situation was 
 imminently perilous, to need the aid of language to confirm it. 
 The scout laid aside his rifle, and resumed the paddle, while 
 Chingachgook inclined the bows of the canoe a little towards 
 the western shore, in order to increase the distance between 
 them and this new enemy. In the mean time they were re- 
 minded of the presence of those who pressed upon their rear, 
 by wild and exulting shouts. The stirring scene awakened 
 even Munro from his apathy. 
 
f 10 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 " Let us make for the rocks on the main," he said, witk 
 the mien of a tried soldier, " and give battle to the savages. 
 God forbid that I, or those attached to me and mine, should 
 ever trust again to the faith of any servant of the Louises ! " 
 
 " He who wishes to prosper in Indian warfare," returned 
 the scout, " must not be too proud to learn from the wit of a 
 native. Lay her more along the land, Sagamore ; we are 
 doubling on the varlets, and perhaps they may try to strike 
 our trail on the long calculation." 
 
 Hawk-eye was not mistaken ; for when the Hurons found 
 their course was likely to throw them behind their chase, they 
 rendered it less direct until, by gradually bearing more and 
 more obliquely, the two canoes were, ere long, gliding on 
 parallel lines, within two hundred yards of each other. It 
 now became entirely a trial of speed. So rapid was the prog- 
 ress of the light vessels, that the lake curled in their front, 
 in miniature waves, and their motion became undulating by 
 its own velocity. It was, perhaps, owing to this circumstance, 
 in addition to the necessity of keeping every hand employed 
 at the paddles, that the Hurons had not immediate recourse 
 to their fire-arms. The exertions of the fugitives were too 
 severe to continue long, and the pursuers had the advantage 
 of numbers. Duncan observed, with uneasiness, that the 
 scout began to look anxiously about him, as if searching for 
 some further means of assisting their flight. 
 
 "Edge her a little more from the sun, Sagamore," said the 
 stubborn woodsman ; " I see the knaves are sparing a man to 
 the rifle. A single broken bone might lose us our scalps. 
 Edge more from the sun and we will put the island be- 
 tween us." 
 
 The expedient was not without its use. A long, low island 
 lay at a little distance before them, and as they closed with it, 
 the chasing canoe was compelled to take a side opposite to 
 that on which the pursued passed. The scout and his com- 
 panions did not neglect this advantage, but the instant they 
 were hid from observation by the bushes, they redoubled 
 efforts that before had seemed prodigious. The two canoes 
 came round the last low point, like two coursers at the top of 
 their speed, the fugitives taking the lead. This change had 
 brought them nigher to each other, however, while it altered 
 their relative positions. 
 
 "You showed knowledge in the shaping of birchen bark, 
 Uncas, when you choose this from among the Huron canoes," 
 said the scout, smiling, apparently more in satisfaction at their 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. S i I 
 
 superiority in the race, than from that prospect of final escape 
 
 which now began to open a little upon them. "The imps 
 have put all their strength again at the paddles, and we are 
 to struggle for our scalps with bits of flattened wood, instead 
 of clouded barrels and true eyes. A long stroke, and togethei 
 friends." 
 
 " They are preparing for a shot," said Heyward j " and at 
 we are in a line with them, it can scarcely fail." 
 
 " Get you then into the bottom of the canoe," returned 
 the scout ; " you and the colonel ; it will be so much taken 
 from the size of the mark." 
 
 Heyward smiled, as he answered, 
 
 " It would be but an ill example for the highest in rank 
 to dodge, while the warriors were under fire ! " 
 
 " Lord ! Lord ! that is now a white man's courage ! " ex- 
 claimed the scout ; " and like too many of his notions, not to 
 be maintained by reason. Do you think the Sagamore, or 
 Uncas, or even I, who am a man without a cross, would delib- 
 erate about finding a cover in the skrimmage, when an open 
 body would do good ? For what have the Frenchers reared 
 up their Quebec, if fighting is always to be done in the clear- 
 ings ? " 
 
 " All that you say is very true, my friend," replied Hey- 
 ward ; " still, our customs must prevent us from doing as you 
 wish." 
 
 A volley from the Hurons interrupted the discourse, and 
 as the bullets whistled about them, Duncan saw the head of 
 Uncas turned, looking back at himself and Munro. Not- 
 withstanding the nearness of the enemy, and his own great 
 personal danger, the countenance of the young warrior ex- 
 pressed no other emotion, as the former was compelled to 
 think, than amazement at finding men willing to encounter 
 so useless an exposure. Chingachgook was probably better 
 acquainted with the notions of white men, for he did not even 
 cast a glance aside from the riveted look his eye maintained 
 on the object by which he governed their course. A ball soon 
 struck the light and polished paddle from the hands of the 
 chief, and drove it through the air, far in the advance. A 
 shout arose from the Hurons, who seized the opportunity to 
 fire another volley. Uncas described an arc in the water with 
 his own blade, and as the canoe passed swiftly on, Chingach- 
 gook recovered his paddle, and flourishing it on high, he gave 
 the vrarwhoop of the Mohicans, and then lent his strength and 
 skill again to the important task. 
 
2I2 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 The clamorous sounds of " Le gros Serpent 1 " " La longua 
 Carabine ! " " Le Cerf agile ! " burst at once from the canoes 
 behind, and seemed to give new zeal to the pursuers. The 
 scout seized " Kill-deer " in his left hand, and elevating it 
 above his head, he shook it in triumph at his enemies. The 
 savages answered the insult with a yell, and immediately 
 another volley succeeded. The bullets pattered along the 
 lake, and one even pierced the bark of their little vessel. No 
 perceptible emotion could be discovered in the Mohicans 
 during this critical moment, their rigid features expressing 
 neither hope nor alarm ; but the scout again turned his head, 
 and laughing in his own silent manner, he said to Heyward, 
 
 " The knaves love to hear the sound of their pieces ; but 
 the eye is not to be found among the Mingoes that can calcu- 
 late a true range in a dancing canoe ! You see the dumb 
 devils have taken off a man to charge, and by the smallest 
 measurement that can be allowed, we move three feet to their 
 two ! " 
 
 Duncan, who was not altogether as easy under this nice 
 estimate of distance as his companions, was glad to find, how- 
 ever, that owing to their superior dexterity, and the diversion 
 among their enemies, they were very sensibly obtaining the 
 advantage. The Hurons soon fired again, and a bullet struck 
 the blade of Hawk-eye's paddle without injury. 
 
 " That will do," said the scout, examining the slight 
 indentation with a curious eye ; " it would not have cut the 
 skin of an infant, much less of men, who, like us, have been 
 blown upon by the Heavens in their anger. Now, Major, if 
 you will try to use this piece of flattened wood, I'll let * Kill- 
 deer * take a part in the conversation." 
 
 Heyward seized the paddle, and applied himself to the 
 work with an eagerness that supplied the place of skill, while 
 Hawk-eye was engaged in inspecting the priming of his rifle. 
 The latter then took a swift aim, and fired. The Huron in 
 the bows of the leading canoe had risen with a similar object, 
 and he now fell backward, suffering his gun to escape from 
 his hands into the water. In an instant, however, he recov- 
 ered his feet, though his gestures were wild and bewildered. 
 At the same moment his companions suspended their efforts, 
 and the chasing canoes clustered together, and became sta 
 tionary. Chingachgook and Uncas profited by the interval 
 to regain their wind, though Duncan continued to work with 
 the most persevering industry. The father and son now cast 
 calm but inquiring glances at each other, to learn if eithe/ 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 213 
 
 had sustained any injury by the fire ; for both well knew that 
 no cry or exclamation would, in such a moment of necessity, 
 have been permitted to betray the accident. A few large 
 drops of blood were trickling down the shoulder of the Saga- 
 more, who, when he perceived that the eyes of Uncas dwelt 
 too long on the sight, raised some water in the hollow of his 
 hand, and washing off the stain, was content to manifest, in 
 this simple manner, the slightness of the injury. 
 
 " Softly, softly, Major," said the scout, who by this time 
 had reloaded his rifle ; " we are a little too far already for a 
 rifle to put forth its beauties, and you see yonder imps are 
 holding a council. Let them come up within striking dis- 
 tance my eye may well be trusted in such a matter and I 
 will trail the varlets the length of the Horican, guaranteeing 
 that not a shot of theirs shall, at the worst, more than break 
 the skin, while ' Kill-deer ' shall touch the life twice in three 
 times." 
 
 " We forget our errand," returned the diligent Duncan. 
 " For God's sake let us profit by this advantage, and increase 
 our distance from the enemy." 
 
 " Give me my children," said Munro, hoarsely ; "trifle no 
 longer with a father's agony, but restore me my babes." 
 
 Long and habitual deference to the mandates of his su- 
 perior had taught the scout the virtue of obedience. Throw- 
 ing a last and lingering glance at the distant canoes, he laid 
 aside his rifle, and relieving the wearied Duncan, resumed 
 the paddle, which he wielded with sinews that never tired. 
 His efforts were seconded by those of the Mohicans, and a 
 very few minutes served to place such a sheet of water be- 
 tween them and their enemies, that Heyward once more 
 breathed freely. 
 
 The lake now began to expand, and their route lay along 
 9. wide reach, that was lined, as before, by high and ragged 
 mountains. But the islands were few, and easily avoided. 
 The strokes of the paddles grew more measured and regular, 
 while they who plied them continued their labor, after the 
 close and deadly chase from which they had just relieved 
 themselves, with as much coolness as though their speed had 
 been tried in sport, rather than under such pressing, nay, 
 almost desperate circumstances. 
 
 Instead of following the western shore whither their 
 errand led them, the wary Mohican inclined his course more 
 towards those hills behind which Montcalm was known to 
 have led his army into the formidable fortress of Ticonderoga 
 
t j 4 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 As the Huions, to every appearance, had abandoned the 
 pursuit, there was no apparent reason for this excess of cau- 
 tion. It was, however, maintained for hours, until they had 
 reached a bay, nigh the northern termination of the lake. 
 Here the canoe was driven upon the beach, and the whole 
 party landed. Hawk-eye and Heyward ascended an adjacent 
 bluff, where the former, after considering the expanse of 
 water beneath him, pointed out to the latter a small black 
 object, hovering under a headland, at the distance of several 
 miles. 
 
 " Do you see it ? " demanded the scout. '' Now, what 
 would you account that spot, were you left alone to white 
 experience to find your way through this wilderness ? " 
 
 " But for its distance and its magnitude, I should suppose 
 it a bird. Can it be a living object ? " 
 
 " Tis a canoe of good birchen bark, and paddled by 
 fierce and crafty Mingoes. Though Providence has lent to 
 those who inhabit the woods eyes that would be needless to 
 men in the settlements, where there are inventions to assist 
 the sight, yet no human organs can see all the dangers which 
 at this moment circumvent us. These varlets pretend to be 
 bent chiefly on their sun-down meal, but the moment it is 
 dark they will be on our trail, as true as hounds on the scent. 
 We must throw them off, or our pursuit of Le Renard Subtil 
 may be given up. These lakes are useful at times, especially 
 when the game takes the water," continued the scout, gazing 
 about him with a countenance of concern , " but they give 
 no cover, except it be to the fishes. God knows what the 
 country would be, if the settlements should ever spread far 
 from the two rivers. Both hunting and war would lose their 
 beauty." 
 
 " Let us not delay a moment, without some good and ob- 
 vious cause." 
 
 " I little like that smoke, which you may see worming up 
 along the rock above the canoe," interrupted the abstracted 
 scout. " My life on it, other eyes than ours see it, and know 
 its meaning. Well, words will not mend the matter, and it is 
 time that we were doing." 
 
 Hawk-eye moved away from the look-out, and descended, 
 musing profoundly, to the shore. He communicated the re- 
 sult of his observations to his companions, in Delaware, and 
 a short and earnest consultation succeeded. When it termi 
 nated, the three instantly set about executing their new reso 
 lutions. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 215 
 
 The canoe was lifted from the water, and borne on the 
 shoulders Qf the party. They proceeded into the wood, 
 making as broad and obvious a trail as possible. They soon 
 reached a water-course, which they crossed, and continued 
 onward, until they came to an extensive and naked rock. At 
 this point, where their footsteps might be expected to be no 
 longer visible, they retraced their route to the brook, walking 
 backwards, with the' utmost care. They now followed the 
 bed of the little stream to the lake, into which they immedi- 
 ately launched their canoe again. A low point concealed 
 them from the headland, and the margin of the lake was 
 fringed for some distance with dense and over-hanging bushes. 
 Under the cover of these natural advantages, they toiled their 
 way, with patient industry, until the scout pronounced that he 
 believed it would be safe once more to land. 
 
 The halt continued until evening rendered objects in- 
 distinct and uncertain to the eye. Then they resumed their 
 route, and, favored by the darkness, pushed silently and vig- 
 orously towards the western shore. Although the rugged out- 
 line of mountain, to which they were steering, presented no 
 distinctive marks to the eyes of Duncan, the Mohican en- 
 tered the little haven he had selected with the confidence and 
 accuracy of an experienced pilot. 
 
 The boat faas again lifted and borne into th woods, 
 where it was carefully concealed under a pile of brush. The 
 adventurers assumed their arms and packs, and the scout 
 announced to Munro and Heyward that he and the Indians 
 were at last in readiness to proceed. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 If you find a man there, he shail die a flea's death. 
 
 MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR. 
 
 THE party had landed on the border of a region that is, 
 even to this day, less known to the inhabitants of the states, 
 than the deserts of Arabia, or the steppes of Tartary. It 
 was the sterile and rugged district which separates the tribu- 
 taries of Champlain from those of the Hudson, the Mohawk, 
 
2i6 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 and the St. Lawrence. Since the period of our tale, the 
 active spirit of the country has surrounded it with a belt of 
 rich and thriving settlements, though none but the hunter or 
 the savage is ever known, even now, to penetrate its wild re- 
 cesses. 
 
 As Hawk-eye and the Mohicans had, however, often trav- 
 ersed the mountains and valleys of this vast wilderness, they 
 did not hesitate to plunge into its depth's, with the freedom 
 of men accustomed to its privations and difficulties. For 
 many hours the travellers toiled on their laborious way, guided 
 by a star, or following the direction of some water-course, 
 until the scout called a halt, and holding a short consultation 
 with the Indians, they lighted their fire, and made the usual 
 preparations to pass the remainder of the night where they 
 then were. 
 
 Imitating the example, and emulating the confidence, of 
 their more experienced associates, Munro and Duncan slept 
 without fear, if not without uneasiness. The dews were 
 suffered to exhale, and the sun had dispersed the mists, and 
 was shedding a strong and clear light in the forest, when the 
 travellers resumed their journey. 
 
 After proceeding a few miles, the progress of Hawk-eye, 
 who led the advance, became more deliberate and watchful. 
 He often stopped to examine the trees ; not did he cross 
 a rivulet, without attentively considering the quantity, the 
 velocity, and the color of its waters. Distrusting his own 
 judgment, his appeals to the opinion of Chingachgook were 
 frequent and earnest. During one of these conferences, 
 Heyward observed that Uncas stood a patient and silent, 
 though, as he imagined, an interested listener. He was 
 strongly attempted to address the young chief, and demand 
 his opinion of their progress ; but the calm and dignified 
 demeanor of the native induced him to believe that, like him- 
 self, the other was wholly dependent on the sagacity and in- 
 telligence of the seniors of the party. At last, the scout spoke 
 in English, and at once explained the embarrassment of their 
 situation. 
 
 " When I found that the home path of the Hurons run 
 north," he said, "it did not need the judgment of many long 
 years to tell that they would follow the valleys, and keep 
 atween the waters of the Hudson and the Horican, until they 
 might strike the springs of the Canada streams, which would 
 lead them into the heart of the country of the Frenchers. 
 Yet here are we, within a short range of the Scaroon, and 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 217 
 
 not a sign of a trail have we crossed ! Human natur' is 
 weak, and it is possible we may not have taken the proper 
 scent." 
 
 " Heaven protect us from such an error 1 " exclaimed 
 Duncan. " Let us retrace our steps, and examine as we go 
 with keener eyes. Has Uncas no council to offer in such a 
 strait ? " 
 
 The young Mohican cast a glance at his father, but main- 
 taining his quiet and reserved mien, he continued silent. 
 Chingachgook had caught the look, and motioning with his 
 hand, he bade him speak. The moment this permission was 
 accorded, the countenance of Uncas changed from its grave 
 composure to a gleam of intelligence and joy. Bounding 
 forward like a deer, he sprang up the side of a little acclivity, 
 a few rods in advance, and stood, exultingly, over a spot of 
 fresh earth, that looked as though it had been recently up- 
 turned by the passage of some heavy animal. The eyes of 
 the whole party followed the unexpected movement, and read 
 their success in the air of triumph that the youth assumed. 
 
 " 'Tis the trail," exclaimed the scout, advancing to the 
 spot ; " the lad is quick of sight and keen of wit for his 
 years." 
 
 "'Tis extraordinary that he should have withheld his 
 knowledge so long," muttered Duncan, at his elbow. 
 
 " It would have been more wonderful had he spoken with- 
 out a bidding. No, no ; your young white, who gathers his 
 learning from books and can measure what he knows by the 
 page, may conceit that his knowledge, like his legs, outruns 
 that of his father ; but where experience is the master, the 
 scholar is made to know the value of years, and respects them 
 accordingly." 
 
 "See!"" said Uncas, pointing north and south, at the 
 evident marks of the broad trail on either side of him ; " the 
 dark -hair has gone towards the frost." 
 
 " Hound never ran on a more beautiful scent," responded 
 the scout, dashing forward, at once, on the indicated route j 
 " we are favored, greatly favored, and can follow with high 
 noses. Ay, here are both your waddling beasts ; this Huron 
 travels like a white general. The fellow is stricken with a 
 judgment, and is mad ! Look sharp for wheels, Sagamore," 
 he continued, looking back, and laughing in his newly awak- 
 ened satisfaction ; " we shall have the fool journeying in a 
 coach, and that with three of the best pair of eyes on the bor 
 ders, in his rear." 
 
218 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 The spirits of the scout, and the astonishing success of the 
 chase, in which a circuitous distance of more than forty miles 
 had been passed, did not fail to impart a portion of hope to 
 the whole party. Their advance was rapid ; and made with 
 as much confidence as a traveller would proceed along a wide 
 highway. If a rock, or a rivulet, or a bit of earth harder than 
 common, severed the links of the clue they followed, the true 
 eye of the scout recovered them at a distance, and seldom 
 rendered the delay of a single moment necessary. Their prog- 
 ress was much facilitated by the certainty that Magua had 
 found it necessary to journey through the valleys ; a circum- 
 stance which rendered the general direction of the route sure. 
 Nor had the Huron entirely neglected the arts uniformly 
 practised by the native when retiring in front of an enemy. 
 False trails, and sudden turnings, were frequent, wherever a 
 brook, or the formation of the ground, rendered them feasible , 
 but his pursuers were rarely deceived, and never failed to de- 
 tect their error, before they had lost either time or distance 
 on the deceptive track. 
 
 By the middle of the afternoon they had passed the Sca- 
 roon, and were following the route of the declining sun. After 
 descending an eminence to a low bottom, through which a swift 
 stream glided, they suddenly came to a place where the party 
 of Le Renard had made a halt. Extinguished brands were 
 lying around a spring, the offals of a deer were scattered 
 about the place, and the trees bore evident marks of having 
 been browsed by the horses. At a little distance, Heyward 
 discovered, and contemplated with tender emotion, the small 
 bower under which he was fain to believe that Cora and Alice 
 had reposed. But while the earth was trodden, and the foot- 
 steps of both men and beasts were so plainly visible around 
 the place, the trail appeared to have suddenly ended. 
 
 It was easy to follow the tracks of the Narragansetts, but 
 they seemed only to have wandered without guides, or any 
 other object than the pursuit of food. At length Uncas, who, 
 with his father, had endeavored to trace the route of the 
 horses, came upon a sign of their presence that was quite 
 recent. Before following the clue, he communicated his suc- 
 cess to his companions ; and while the latter were consulting 
 on the circumstance, the youth reappeared, leading the two 
 fillies, with their saddles broken, and the housings soiled, 
 as though they had been permitted to run at will for several 
 days. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 219 
 
 "What should this prove? "said Duncan, turning pale, 
 and glancing his eyes around him, as if he feared the brush 
 and leaves were about to give up some horrid secret. 
 
 " That our march is come to a quick end, and that we are 
 in an enemy's country," returned the scout. " Had the 
 knaves been pressed, and the gentle ones wanted horses to 
 keep up with the party, he might have taken their scalps ; 
 but without an enemy at his heels, and with such ragged 
 beasts as these, he would not hurt a hair of their heads. I 
 know your thoughts, and shame be it to our color, that you 
 have reason for them ; but he who thinks that even a Mingo 
 would ill-treat a woman, unless it be to tomahawk her. knows 
 nothing of Indian natur', or the law of the woods. No, no \ 
 I have heard that the French Indians had come into these 
 hills, to hunt the moose, and we are getting within scent of 
 their camp. Why should they not ? the morning and evening 
 guns of Ty may be heard any day among these mountains \ 
 for the Frenchers are running a new line atween the prov- 
 inces of the King and the Canadas. It is true that the horses 
 are here, but the Hurons are gone ; let us hunt for the path 
 by which they departed." 
 
 Hawk-eye and the Mohican now applied themselves to 
 their task in good earnest. A circle of a few hundred feet in 
 circumference was drawn, and each of the party took a seg- 
 ment for his portion. The examination, however, resulted in 
 no discovery. The impressions of footsteps were numerous, 
 but they all appeared like those of men who had wandered 
 about the spot, without any design to quit it. Again the scout 
 and his companions made the circuit of the halting-place, each 
 slowly following the other, until they assembled in the centre 
 once more, no wiser than when they started. 
 
 " Such cunning is not without its deviltry," exclaimed 
 Hawk-eye, when he met the disappointed looks of his assist- 
 ants. 
 
 ** We must get down to it, Sagamore, beginning at the 
 spring, and going over the ground by inches. The Huron 
 shall never brag in his tribe that he has a foot which leaves no 
 print." 
 
 Setting the example himself, the scout engaged in the 
 scrutiny with renewed zeal. Not a leaf was left unturned. 
 The sticks were .removed, and the stones lifted for Indian 
 cunning was known frequently to adopt these objects as covers, 
 labor" ig with the utmost patience and industry, to conceal 
 (ootstep as they proceeded. Still no discovery was 
 
1 20 THE LAST OF THE MOHICAN'S. 
 
 made. At length Uncas, whose activity had enabled him to 
 achieve his portion of the task the soonest, raked the earth 
 across the turbid little rill which ran from the spring, and di- 
 verted its course into another channel. So soon as its narrow 
 bed below the dam was dry, he stooped over it with keen and 
 curious eyes. A cry of exultation immediately announced the 
 success of the young warrior. The whole party crowded to 
 the spot, where Uncas pointed out the impression of a moo 
 casin in the moist alluvium. 
 
 " The lad will be an honor to his people," said Hawk-eye, 
 regarding the trial with as much admiration as a naturalist 
 would spend on the tusk of a mammoth, or the rib of a mas- 
 todon ; " ay, and a thorn in the sides of the Hurons. Yet 
 that is not the footstep of an Indian ! the weight is too much 
 on the heel, and the toes are squared, as though one of the 
 French dancers had been in, pigeon-winging his tribe ! Run 
 back, Uncas, and bring me the size of the singer's foot. You 
 will find a beautiful print of it just opposite yon rock, ag'in 
 the hill-side." 
 
 While the youth was engaged in this commission, the 
 scout and Chingachgook were attentively considering the im- 
 pressions. The measurements agreed, and the former unhesi- 
 tatingly pronounced that the footstep was that of David, who 
 had, once more, been made to exchange his shoes for moc- 
 casins. 
 
 " I can now read the whole of it, as plainly as if I had 
 seen the arts of Le Subtil," he added ; " the singer being a 
 man whose gifts lay chiefly in his throat and feet, was made 
 to go first, and the others have trod in his steps, imitating 
 their formation." 
 
 " But," cried Duncan, " I see no signs of " 
 " The gentle ones,"" interrupted the scout ; " the varlet 
 has found a way to carry them, until he supposed he had 
 thrown any followers off the scent. My life on it, we see 
 their pretty little feet again, before many rods go by." 
 
 The whole party now proceeded, following the course ol 
 the rill, keeping anxious eyes on the regular impressions. 
 The water soon flowed into its bed again, but watching the 
 ground on either side, the foresters pursued their way, content 
 with knowing that the trail lay beneath. More than half a 
 mile was passed before the rill rippled close around the base 
 of an extensive and dry rock. Here they paused to make 
 sure that the Hurons had not quitted the water.- 
 
 It was fortunate they did so. For the quick and active 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. ui 
 
 Uncas soon found the impression of a foot on a bunch ot 
 moss, where it would seem an Indian had inadvertently trod- 
 den. Pursuing the direction given by this discovery he en- 
 tered the neighboting thicket, and struck the trail, as fresh and 
 obvious as it had been before they reached the spring. 
 Another shout announced the good fortune of the youth to 
 his companions, and at once terminated the search. 
 
 " Ay, it has been planned with Indian judgment," said the 
 scout, when the party was assembled around the place ; " and 
 would have blinded white eyes." 
 
 " Shall we proceed ? " demanded Heyward. 
 
 " Softly, softly ! we know our path ; but it is good to ex- 
 amine the formation of things. This is my schooling, major ; 
 and if one neglects the book, there is little chance of learning 
 from the open hand of Providence. All is plain but one thing, 
 which is the manner that the knave contrived to get the gentle 
 ones along the blind trail. Even a Huron would be too 
 proud to let their tender feet touch the water." 
 
 "Will this assist in explaining the difficulty ? " said Hey 
 ward, pointing towards the fragments of a sort of handbarrow, 
 that had been rudely constructed of boughs, and bound to- 
 gether with withes, and which now seemed carelessly cast 
 aside as useless. 
 
 " Tis explained ! " cried the delighted Hawk-eye. " If 
 them varlets have passed a minute, they have spent hours in 
 striving to fabricate a lying end to their trail ! Well, I've 
 known them waste a day *n the same manner, to as little pur- 
 pose. Here we have three pair of moccasins, and two of 
 little feet. It is amazing that any mortal beings can journey 
 on limbs so small ! Pass me the thong of buckskin, Uncas, 
 and let me take the length of this foot. By the Lord, it is no 
 longer than a child's, and yet the maidens are tall and comely. 
 That Providence is partial in its gifts, for its own wise reasons, 
 the best and most contented of us must allow." 
 
 ** The tender limbs of my daughters are unequal to these 
 hardships," said Munro, looking at the light footsteps of his 
 children, with a parent's love: "we shall find their fainting 
 forms in this desert." 
 
 " Of that there is little cause of fear," returned the scout, 
 slowly shaking his head ; " this is a firm and straight, though a 
 light step, and not over long. See, the heel has hardly touched 
 the ground ; and there the dark-hair has made a little jump, 
 from root to root. No, no ; my knowledge for it, neither of 
 them was nigh fainting, hereaway. Now, the singer was be^ 
 
222 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 ginning to be foot-sore and leg-weary, as is plain by his trail. 
 There, you see, he slipped ; here he has travelled wide, and 
 tottered ; and there, again, it looks as though he journeyed on 
 snow-shoes. Ay, ay, a man who uses his .throat altogether, 
 can hardly give his legs a proper training." 
 
 From such undeniable testimony, did the practised woods- 
 man arrive at the truth, with nearly as much certainty and 
 precision as if he had been a witness of all those events, which 
 his ingenuity so easily elucidated. Cheered by these assur- 
 ances, and satisfied by a reasoning that was so "obvious, while 
 it was so simple, the party resumed its course, after making a 
 short halt, to take a hurried repast. 
 
 When the meal was ended, the scout cast a glance upwards 
 at the setting sun, and pushed forward with a rapidity which 
 compelled Heyward and the si ill vigorous Munro to exert all 
 their muscles to equal. Their route, now, lay along the bottom 
 which has already been mentioned. As the Hurons had made 
 no further efforts to conceal their footsteps, the progress of 
 the pursuers was no longer delayed by uncertainty. Before 
 an hour had elapsed, however, the speed of Hawk-eye sensibly 
 abated, and his head, instead of maintaining its former direct 
 and forward look, began to turn suspiciously from side to side, 
 as if he were conscious of approaching danger. He soon 
 stopped again and waited for the whole party to come up. 
 
 " I scent the Hurons," he said, speaking to the Mohicans ; 
 " yonder is open sky through the tree-tops, and we are getting 
 too nigh their encampment. Sagamore, you will take the 
 hill-side, to the right ; Uncas will bend along the brook to the 
 left, while I will try the trail. If anything should happen, the 
 call will be three croaks of a crow. I saw one of the birds 
 fanning himself in the air, just beyond the dead oak an- 
 other sign that we are touching an encampment." 
 
 The Indians departed their several ways without reply, 
 while Hawk-eye cautiously proceeded with the two gentlemen. 
 Heyward soon pressed to the side of their guide, eager to 
 catch an early glimpse of those enemies he had pursued with 
 so much toil and anxiety. His companion told him to steal 
 to the edge of the wood, which, as usual was fringed with a 
 thicket, and wait his coming, for he wished to examine certain 
 suspicious signs a little on one side. Duncan obeyed, and 
 soon found himself in a situation to command a view which 
 he found as extraordinary as it was novel. 
 
 The trees of many acres had been felled, and the glow of 
 a mild summer's evening had fallen on the clearing, in beau< 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 223 
 
 tiful contrast to the gray light of the forest. A short distance 
 from the place where Duncan stood, the stream had seemingly 
 expanded into a little lake, covering most of the low land, 
 from mountain to mountain. The water fell out of this wide 
 basin, in a cataract so regular and gentle, that it appeared 
 rather to be the work of human hands, than fashioned by 
 nature. A hundred earthen dwellings stood on the margin of 
 the lake, and even in its water, as though the latter had over- 
 flowed its usual banks. Their rounded roofs, admirably 
 moulded for defence against the weather, denoted more of in- 
 dustry and foresight than the natives were wont to bestow on 
 their regular habitations, much less on those they occupied 
 for the temporary purposes of hunting and war. In short, the 
 whole village or town, whichever it might be termed, possessed 
 more of method and neatness of execution than the white 
 men had been accustomed to believe belonged, ordinarily, to 
 the Indian habits. It appeared, however, to be deserted. 
 At least, so thought Duncan for many minutes ; but at length 
 he fancied he discovered several human forms advancing 
 towards him on all-tours, and apparently dragging in their 
 train some heavy, and as he was quick to apprehend, some 
 formidable engine. Just then a few dark-looking heads 
 gleamed out of the dwellings, and the place seemed suddenly 
 alive with beings, which, however, glided from cover to cover 
 so swiftly as to allow no opportunity of examining their 
 humors or pursuits. Alarmed at these suspicious and inex- 
 plicable movements, he was about to attempt the signal of 
 the crows, when the rustling of leaves at hand drew his eyes 
 in another direction. 
 
 The young man started, and recoiled a few paces instinc- 
 tively, when he found himself within a hundred yards of a 
 stranger Indian. Recovering his recollection on the instant, 
 instead of sounding an alarm, which might prove fatal to 
 himself, he remained stationary, an attentive observer of the 
 other's motions. 
 
 An instant of calm observation served to assure Duncan 
 that he was undiscovered. The native, like himself, seemed 
 occupied in considering the low dwellings of the village, and 
 the stolen movements of its inhabitants. It was impossible 
 to discover the expression of his features, through the grotesque 
 mask of paint under which they were concealed ; though 
 Duncan fancied it was rather melancholy than savage. His 
 head was shaved as usual, with the exception of the crown, 
 from whose tuft three or four faded feathers from a hawk's 
 
224 THE LAST OP THE MOHICANS. 
 
 wing were dangling. A ragged calico mantle half encircled 
 his body, while his nether garment was composed of an ordi- 
 nary shirt, the sleeves of which were made to perform the 
 office that is usually executed by a much more commodious 
 arrangement. His legs were bare, and sadly cut and torn by 
 briers. The feet were, however, covered with a pair of good 
 deer-skin moccasins. Altogether the appearance of the indi 
 vidual was forlorn and miserable. 
 
 Duncan was still curiously observing the person of his 
 neighbor, when the scout stole silently and cautiously to his 
 side. 
 
 " You see we have reached their settlement or encamp- 
 ment," whispered the young man ; and here is one of the 
 savages himself, in a very embarrassing position for our fur- 
 ther movements." 
 
 Hawk-eye started, and dropped his rifle, when directed by 
 the finger of his companion, the stranger came under his 
 view. Then lowering the dangerous muzzle, he stretched 
 forward his long neck, as if to assist a scrutiny that was 
 already intensely keen. 
 
 " The imp is not a Huron," he said, " nor of any of the 
 Canada tribes ; and yet you see by his clothes the knave has 
 been plundering a white. Ay, Montcalm has raked the weeds 
 for his inroad, and a whooping, murdering set of varlets has 
 he gathered together. Can you see where he has put his rifle 
 or his bow ? " 
 
 " He appears to have no arms \ nor does he seem to be 
 viciously inclined. Unless he communicates the alarm to his 
 fellows, who, as you see, are dodging about the water, we have 
 but little to fear from him." 
 
 The scout turned to Heyward, and regarded him a moment 
 with unconcealed amazement. Then opening wide his mouth, 
 he indulged in unrestrained and heartfelt laughter, though in 
 that silent and peculiar manner which danger had so long 
 taught him to practice. 
 
 Repeating the words, " fellows who are dodging about the 
 Water," he added, " so much for schooling and passing a boy- 
 hood in the settlements ! The knave has long legs, though, 
 and shall not be trusted. Do you keep him under your rifle 
 while I creep in behind, through the bush, and take him alive, 
 Fire on no account." 
 
 Heyward had already permitted his companion to bury 
 part of his person in the thicket, when, stretching forth an arm, 
 he arrested him, in order to ask, 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 315 
 
 " If I see you in danger, may I not risk a shot ? ' 
 
 Hawk-eye regarded him a moment, like one who knew not 
 how to take the question ; then nodding his head, he an- 
 swered, still laughing, though inaudibly, 
 
 " Fire a whole platoon, Major." 
 
 In the next moment he was concealed by the leaves. 
 Duncan waited several minutes in feverish impatience, before 
 he caught another glimpse of the scout. Then he re-appeared, 
 creeping along the earth, from which his dress was hardly 
 distinguishable, directly in the rear of his intended captive. 
 Having reached within a few yards of the latter, he arose to 
 his feet, silently and slowly. At that instant, several loud 
 blows were struck on the water, and Duncan turned his eyes 
 just in time to perceive that a hundred dark forms were plung- 
 ing, in a body, into the troubled little sheet. Grasping his 
 rifle, his looks were again bent on the Indian near him. 
 Instead of taking the alarm, the unconscious savage stretched 
 forward his neck, as if he also watched the movements about 
 the gloomy lake, with a sort of silly curiosity. In the mean 
 time, the uplifted hand of Hawk-eye was above him. But, 
 without any apparent reason, it was withdrawn, and its owner 
 indulged in another long, though still silent, fit of merriment. 
 When the peculiar and hearty laughter of Hawk-eye was 
 ended, instead of grasping his victim by the throat, he 
 tapped him lightly on the shoulder, and exclaimed aloud 
 
 " How now, friend, have you a mind to teach the beavers 
 to sing ? " 
 
 " Even so," was the ready answer. " It would seem that 
 the Being that gave them power to improve his gifts so well, 
 would not deny them voices to proclaim his praise." 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Bof. Are we all met ? 
 Qui. Pat pat; and here's a marvellous 
 Convenient place for our rehearsal. 
 
 SHAKSPEAKK. 
 
 THE reader may better imagine, than we describe, the 
 surprise of Heyward. His lurking Indians were suddenly 
 converted into four-footed beasts ; his lake into a beaver 
 oond ; his cataract into a dam, constructed by those in* 
 
22 6 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 dustrious and ingenious quadrupeds ; and a suspected enemy 
 into his tried friend, David Gamut, the master of psalmody. 
 The presence of the latter created so many unexpected hopes 
 relative to the sisters that, without a moment's hesitation, the 
 young man broke out of his ambush, and sprang forward to 
 join the two principal actors in the scene. 
 
 The merriment of Hawk-eye was not easily appeased,. 
 Without ceremony, and with a rough hand, he twirled the 
 supple Gamut around on his heel, and more than once affirmed 
 that the Hurons had done themselves great credit in the 
 fashion of his costume. Then seizing the hand of the other, 
 he squeezed it with a gripe that brought the tears into the eyes 
 of the placid David, and wished him joy on his new con- 
 dition. 
 
 " You were about opening your throat-practysings among 
 the beavers, were ye ? " he said. " The cunning devils know 
 half the trade, already, for they beat the time with their tales, 
 as you heard just now ; and in good time it was too, or * Kill- 
 deer ' might have sounded the first note among them. I have 
 known greater fools, who could read and write, than an ex- 
 perienced old beaver ; but as for squalling, the animals are 
 born dumb ! What think you of such a song as this ? " 
 
 David shut his sensitive ears, and even Heyward, apprised 
 as he was of the nature of the cry, looked upwards in quest 
 of the bird, as the cawing of a crow rang in the air about 
 them. 
 
 " See," continued the laughing scout, as he pointed towards 
 the remainder of the party, who, in obedience to the signal, 
 were already approaching : " this is music which has its 
 natural virtues ; it brings two good rifles to my elbow, to 
 say nothing of the knives and tomahawks. But we see 
 that you are safe ; now tell us what has become of the maid- 
 ens." 
 
 " They are captives to the heathen," said David, "and 
 though greatly troubled in spirit, enjoying comfort and safetj 
 in the body." 
 
 " Both ? " demanded the breathless Heyward. 
 
 " Even so. Though our wayfaring has been sore and our 
 sustenance scanty, we have had little other cause for com- 
 plaint, except the violence done our feelings, by being thus 
 led in captivity into a far land." 
 
 " Bless ye for these very words ! " exclaimed the trembling 
 Munro ; " I shall then receive my babes, spotless and angcF 
 like, as I lost them 1 " 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 22J 
 
 " I know not that their delivery is at hand," returned the 
 doubting David ; " the leader of these savages is possessed of 
 an evil spirit that no power short of Omnipotence can tame. 
 I have tried him sleeping and waking, but neither sounds not 
 language seem to touch his soul." 
 
 " Where is the knave ? " bluntly interrupted the scout. 
 
 " He hunts the moose to-day, with his young men ; and 
 to-morrow, as I hear, they pass further into these forests, and 
 nigher to the borders of Canada. The elder maiden is con- 
 veyed to a neighboring people, whose lodges are situate 
 beyond yonder black pinnacle of rock ; while the younger is 
 detained among the women of the Hurons, whose dwellings 
 are but two short miles hence, on a table land, where the fire 
 has done the office of the axe, and prepared the place for their 
 reception." 
 
 " Alice, my gentle Alice ! " murmured Heyward ; " she 
 has lost the consolation of her sister's presence ! " 
 
 " Even so. But so far as praise and thanksgiving in 
 psalmody can temper the spirit in affliction, she has not 
 suffered." 
 
 " Has she then a heart for music ? " 
 
 " Of the graver and more solemn character ; though it 
 must be acknowledged that, in spite of all my endeavors, the 
 maiden weeps oftener than she smiles. At such moments I 
 forbear to press the holy songs ; but there are many sweet 
 and comfortable periods of satisfactory communication, when 
 the ears of the savages are astounded with the upliftings of 
 our voices." 
 
 " And why are you permitted to go at large, unwatched ? " 
 
 David composed his features into what he intended should 
 express an air of modest humility, before he meekly replied, 
 
 " Little be the praise to such a worm as I. But, though 
 the power of psalmody was suspended in the terrible business 
 of that field of blood through which we passed, it has re- 
 covered its influence even over the souls of the heathen, and 
 I am suffered to go and come at will." 
 
 The scout laughed, and tapping his own forehead signifi- 
 cantly, he perhaps explained the singular indulgence more 
 satisfactorily when he said, 
 
 " The Indians never harm a non-composser. But why, 
 when the path lay open before your eyes, did you not strike 
 back on your own trail (it is not so blind as that which 
 quirrel would make), and bring in the tidings to Edward ? " 
 
 The scout, remembering only his own sturdy and iroa 
 
228 TffE LAST OF THE MOfflCANS. 
 
 nature, had probably exacted a task that David, under no 
 circumstances, could have performed. But, without entirely 
 losing the meekness of his air, the latter was content to 
 answer 
 
 " Though my soul would rejoice to visit the habitations of 
 Christendom once more, my feet would rather follow the 
 tender spirits intrusted to my keeping, even into the idol- 
 atrous province of the Jesuits, than take one step backward, 
 while they pined in captivity and sorrow." 
 
 Though the figurative language of David was not very 
 intelligible, the sincere and steady expression of his eye, and 
 the glow on his honest countenance, were not easily mistaken. 
 Uncas pressed closer to his side, and regarded the speaker 
 with a look of commendation, while his father expressed his 
 satisfaction by the ordinary pithy exclamation of approbation. 
 The scout shook his head as he rejoiced, 
 
 " The Lord never intended that the man should place all 
 his endeavors in his throat, to the neglect of other and better 
 gifts ! But he has fallen into the hands of some silly woman, 
 when he should have been gathering his education under a 
 blue sky, among the beauties of the forest. Here, friend ; I 
 did intend to kindle a fire with this tooting whistle of thine ; 
 but as you value the thing, take it, and blow your best on it ! " 
 
 Gamut received his pitch-pipe with as strong an expression 
 of pleasure as he believed compatible with the grave functions 
 he exercised. After essaying its virtues repeatedly, in con- 
 trast with his own voice, and satisfying himself that none of 
 its melody was lost, he made a very serious demonstration 
 towards achieving a few stanzas of one of the longest effusions 
 in the little volume so often mentioned. 
 
 Heyward, however, hastily interrupted his pious purpose, 
 by continuing questions concerning the past and present con- 
 dition of his fellow-captives, and in a manner more methodi- 
 cal than had been permitted by his feelings in the opening of 
 their interview. David, though he regarded his treasure with 
 longing eyes, was constrained to answer : especially as the 
 venerable father took a part in the interrogatories, with an 
 interest too imposing to be denied. Nor did the scout fail to 
 throw in a pertinent inquiry, whenever a fitting occasion pre- 
 sented. In this manner, though with frequent interruptions, 
 which were filled with certain threatening sounds from the 
 recovered instrument, the pursuers was put in possession of 
 such leading circumstances as were likely to prove useful in 
 accomplishing their great and engrossing object the reco* 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS* 
 
 229 
 
 ery of the sisters. The narrative of David was simple, and 
 the facts but few. 
 
 Magua had waited on the mountain until a safe moment 
 to retire presented itself, when he had descended, and taken 
 the route along the western side of the Horican, in the direc- 
 tion of the Canadas. As the subtle Huron was familiar with 
 the paths, and well knew there was no immediate danger of 
 pursuit, their progress had been moderate, and far from 
 fatiguing. It appeared, from the unembellished statement of 
 David, that his own presence had been rather epdured than 
 desired ; though even Magua had not been entirely exempt 
 from that veneration with which the Indians regard those 
 whom the Great Spirit has visited in their intellects. At 
 night, the utmost care had been taken of the captives, both 
 to prevent injury from the damps of the woods, and to guard 
 against an escape. At the spring, the horses were turned 
 loose, as has been seen ; and notwithstanding the remoteness 
 and length of their trail, the artifices already named were re- 
 sorted to, in order to cut off every clue to their place of re- 
 treat. On their arrival at the encampment of his people, 
 Magua, in obedience to a policy seldom departed from, sepa- 
 rated his prisoners. Cora had been sent to a tribe that 
 temporarily occupied an adjacent valley, though David was 
 far too ignorant of the customs and history of the natives, to 
 be able to declare anything satisfactory concerning their name 
 or character. He only knew that they had not engaged in 
 .he late expedition against William Henry ; that, like the 
 Harons themselves, they were allies of Montcalm ; and that 
 they maintained an amicable, though a watchful intercourse 
 with the warlike and savage people, whom chance had, for a 
 time, brought in such close and disagreeable contact with 
 themselves. 
 
 The Mohicans and the scout listened to his interrupted 
 and imperfect narrative with an interest that obviously in- 
 creased as he proceeded ; and it was while attempting to 
 explain the pursuits of the community in which Cora was 
 detained, that the latter abruptly demanded, 
 
 " Did you see the fashion of their knives ? were they of 
 English or French formation ? " 
 
 " My thoughts were bent on no such vanities, but rather 
 mingled in consolation with those of the maidens." 
 
 " The time may come when you will not consider the 
 knife of a savage such a despisable vanity," returned the 
 scout, with a strong expression of contempt for the other's 
 
'230 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 dulness. " Had they held their corn-feast, or can you saj 
 anything of the totems of their tribe ? " 
 
 " Of corn, we had many and plentiful feasts ; for the grain, 
 being in the milk, is both sweet to the mouth and comfortable 
 to the stomach. Of totem, I know not the meaning ; but if it 
 appertaineth in any wise to the art of Indian music, it need 
 not be inquired after at their hands. They never join theif 
 voices in praise, and it would seem that they are among the 
 profanest of the idolatrous." 
 
 " Therein you belie the nature of an Indian. Even the 
 Mingo adores but the true and living God. 'Tis a wicked 
 fabrication of the whites, and I say it to the shame of my 
 color, that would make the warrior bow down before images 
 of his own creation. It is true, they endeavor to make truces 
 with the wicked one as who would not with an enemy he 
 cannot conquer ! but they look up for favor and assistance 
 to the Great and Good Spirit only." 
 
 " It may be so," said David ; " but I have seen strange 
 and fantastic images drawn in their paint, of which their ad- 
 miration and care savored of spiritual pride ; especially one, 
 and that, too, a foul and loathsome object." 
 
 " Was it a sarpent ? " quickly demanded the scout. 
 
 " Much the same. It was in the likeness of an abject and 
 creeping tortoise." 
 
 " Hugh ! " exclaimed both the attentive Mohicans in a 
 breath ; while the scout shook his head with the air of one 
 who had made an important, but by no means a pleasing dis 
 covery. Then the father spoke, in the language of the Del- 
 awares, and with a calmness and dignity that instantly ar- 
 rested the attention even of those to whom his words were 
 unintelligible. His gestures were impressive, and at times 
 energetic. Once he lifted his arm on high ; and as it de- 
 scended, the action threw aside the folds of his light mantle, a 
 ringer resting on his breast, as if he would enforce his mean- 
 ing by the attitude. Duncan's eyes followed the movement, 
 and he perceived that the animal just mentioned was beauti- 
 fully, though faintly, worked in a blue tint, on the swarthy 
 breast of the chief. All that he had ever heard of the violent 
 separation of the vast tribes of the Delawares rushed across 
 his mind, and he awaited the proper moment to speak, with a 
 suspense that was rendered nearly intolerable by his interest 
 in the stake. His wish, however, was anticipated by the scout, 
 who turned from his friend, saying, 
 
 " We have found that which may be good or evil to qs, as 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 231 
 
 Heaven disposes. The Sagamore is of the high blood of tht 
 Delawares, and is the great chief of their Tortoises ! That 
 some of this stock are among the people of whom the singer 
 tells us, is plain by his words ; and had he but spent half the 
 breath in prudent questions, that he has blown away in mak- 
 ing a trumpet of his throat, we might have known how many 
 warriors they numbered. It is, altogether, a dangerous path 
 we move in ; for a friend whose face is turned from you often 
 bears a bloodier mind than the enemy who seeks your scaJp." 
 
 "Explain," said Duncan. 
 
 " 'Tis a long and melancholy tradition, and one I little like 
 to think of ; for it is not to be denied, that the evil has been 
 mainly done by men with white skins. But it has ended in 
 turning the tomahawk of brother against brother, and brought 
 the Mingo and the Delaware to travel in the same path." 
 
 " You then suspect it is a portion of that people among 
 whom Cora resides ? " 
 
 The scout nodded his head in assent, though he seemed 
 anxious to waive the further discussion of a subject that ap- 
 peared painful. The impatient Duncan now made several 
 hasty and desperate propositions to attempt the release of 
 the sisters. Munro seemed to shake off his apathy, and lis- 
 tened to the wild schemes of the young man with a deference 
 that his gray hairs and reverend years should have denied. 
 But the scout, after suffering the ardor of the lover to expend 
 itself a little, found means to convince him of the folly of pre- 
 cipitation, in a matter that would require their coolest judg- 
 ment and utmost fortitude. 
 
 " It would be well," he added, " to let this man go in 
 again, as usual, and for him to tarry in the lodges, giving no- 
 tice to the gentle ones of our approach, until we call him out, 
 by signal, to consult. You know the cry of a crow, friend, 
 from the whistle of the whip-poor-will ? " 
 
 " 'Tis a pleasing bird," returned David, " and has a soft 
 and melancholy note ! though the time is rather quick and ill 
 measured." 
 
 " He speaks of the wish-ton-wish," said the scout ; " well, 
 since you like his whistle, it shall be your signal. Remember, 
 then, when you hear the whip-poor-will's call three times re< 
 peated, you are to come into the bushes where the bird might 
 be supposed " 
 
 " Stop," interrupted Heyward ; " I will accompany him." 
 
 " You ! " exclaimed the astonished Hawk-eye ; " are you 
 tired of seeing the sun rise and set ? " 
 
232 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 " David is a living proof that the Huron can be merciful.* 
 
 " Ay, but David can use his throat, as no man in his senses 
 would pervart the gift." 
 
 "I too can play the madman, the fool, the hero; in short, 
 any or everything to rescue her I love. Name your objections 
 no longer ; I am resolved." 
 
 Hawk-eye regarded the young man a moment in speech- 
 less amazement. But Duncan, who in deference to the other's 
 skill and services, had hitherto submitted somewhat implicitly 
 to his dictation, now assumed the superior, with a manner 
 that was not easily resisted. He waved his hand, in sign of 
 his dislike to all remonstrance, and then, in more tempered 
 language, he continued, 
 
 " You have the means of disguise ; change me ; paint me 
 too, if you will . in short, alter me to anything a fool." 
 
 ' It is not for one like me to say that he who is already 
 formed by so powerful a hand as Providence, stands in need of 
 change," muttered the discontented scout. " When you send 
 your parties abroad in war, you find it prudent, at least, to ar- 
 range the marks and places of encampment, in order that they 
 who fight on your side may know when and where to expect 
 a friend." 
 
 " Listen," interrupted Duncan ; " you have heard from this 
 faithful follower of the captives, that the Indians are of two 
 tribes, if not of different nations. With one, whom you think 
 to be a branch of the Delawares, is she you call the ' dark 
 hair ; * the other, and younger of the ladies, is undeniably with 
 our declared enemies, the Hurons. It becomes my youth 
 and rank to attempt the latter adventure. While you, there- 
 fore, are negotiating with your friends for the release of one 
 of the sisters, I will effect that of the other, or die." 
 
 The awakened spirit of the young soldier gleamed in his 
 eyes, and his form became imposing under its influence. 
 Hawk-eye, though too much accustomed to Indian artifices 
 not to foresee the danger of the experiment, knew not well 
 how to combat this sudden resolution. 
 
 Perhaps there was something in the proposal that suited 
 his own hardy nature, and that secret love of desperate ad- 
 venture, which had increased with his experience, until hazard 
 and danger had become* in some measure, necessary to the 
 enjoyment of existence. Instead of continuing to oppose the 
 scheme of Duncan, his humor suddenly altered, and he lent 
 himself to its execution. 
 
 " Come," he said, with a good-humored smile ; " the buck 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 233 
 
 that will take to the water must be headed, and not followed. 
 Chingachgook has as many different paints as the engineer 
 officer's wife, who takes down natur' on scraps of paper, mak- 
 ing the mountains look like cocks of rusty hay, and placing 
 the blue sky in reach of your hand. The Sagamore can use 
 them too. Seat yourself on the log, and my life on it, he 
 can soon make a natural fool of you, and that well to your 
 liking." 
 
 Duncan complied ; and the Mohican, who had been an at- 
 tentive listener to the discourse, readily undertook the office. 
 Long practised in all the subtle arts of his race, he drew, with 
 great dexterity and quickness, the fantastic shadow that the 
 natives were accustomed to consider as the evidence of a 
 friendly and jocular disposition. Every line that could possi- 
 bly be interpreted into a secret inclination for war, was care^ 
 fully avoided ; while, on the other hand, he studied those con- 
 ceits that might be construed into amity. 
 
 In short, he entirely sacrificed every appearance of the 
 warrior to the masquerade of a buffoon. Such exhibitions 
 were not uncommon among the Indians, and as Duncan was 
 already sufficiently disguised in his dress, there certainly did 
 exist some reason for believing that, with his knowledge of 
 French, he might pass for a juggler from Ticonderoga, strag- 
 gling among the allied and friendly tribes. 
 
 When he was thought to be sufficiently painted, the scout 
 gave him much friendly advice, concerted signals, and ap- 
 pointed the place where they should meet, in the event of 
 mutual success. The parting between Munro and his young 
 friend was more melancholy ; still, the former submitted to 
 the separation with an indifference that his warm and honest 
 nature would never have permitted in a .more healthful state 
 of mind. The scout led Heyward aside, and acquainted him 
 with his intention to leave the veteran in some safe encamp- 
 ment, in charge of Chingachgook, while he and Uncas pursued 
 their inquiries among the people they had reason to believe 
 were Delawares. Then renewing his cautions and advice, he 
 concluded by saying, with a solemnity and warmth of feeling 
 with which Duncan was deeply touched 
 
 ' And now God bless you ! You have shown a spirit that 
 I like ; for it is the gift of youth, more especially one of warm 
 blood and a^tout heart But believe the warning of a man 
 who has reason to know all he says to be true. You will 
 have occasion for your best manhood, and for a sharper wit 
 than what is to be gathered in books, afore you outdo the cu- 
 
THE LAST OP THE MOHICANS. 
 
 ning, or get the better of the courage of a Mingo. God b^esa 
 you ! if the Hurons master your scalp, rely on the promise of 
 one who has two stout warriors to back him. They shall pay 
 for their victory, with a life for every hair it holds. I say, 
 young gentleman, may Providence bless your undertaking, 
 which is altogether for good ; and remember, that to outwit 
 the knaves it is lawful to practise things that may not be 
 naturally the gift of a white skin." 
 
 Duncan shook his worthy and reluctant associate warmly 
 by the hand, once more recommended his aged friend to his 
 care, and returning his good wishes, he motioned to David to 
 proceed. Hawk-eye gazed after the high-spirited and adven- 
 turous young man for several moments, in open admiration \ 
 then shaking his head doubtingly, he turned and led his own 
 division of the party into the concealment of the forest. 
 
 The route taken by Duncan and David lay directly across 
 the clearing of the beavers, and along the margin of their 
 pond. 
 
 When the'former found himself alone with one so simple, 
 and so little qualified to render any assistance in desperate 
 emergencies, he first began to be sensible of the difficulties of 
 the task he had undertaken. The fading light increased the 
 gloominess of the bleak and savage wilderness that stretched 
 so far on every side of him ; and there was even a fearful 
 character in the stillness of those little huts, that he knew was 
 so abundantly peopled. It struck him, as he gazed at the ad- 
 mirable structures and the wonderful precautions of their 
 sagacious inmates, that even the brutes of these vast wilds 
 were possessed of an instinct nearly commensurate with his 
 own reason ; and he could not reflect, without anxiety, on the 
 unequal contest that he had so rashly courted. Then came 
 the glowing image of Alice ; her distress ; her actual danger ; 
 and all the peril of his situation was forgotten. Cheering 
 David, he moved on with the light and vigorous step of youth 
 and enterprise. 
 
 After making nearly a semicircle around the pond, they 
 diverged from the water-course, and began to ascend to the 
 level of a slight elevation in that bottom land, over which 
 they journeyed. Within half an hour they gained the margin 
 of another opening that bore all the signs of having been also 
 made by the beavers, and which those sagaciou% animals had 
 probably been induced, by some accident, to abandon, for the 
 more eligible position they now occupied. A very natural 
 sensation caused Duncan to hesitate a moment, unwilling to 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 2 ,-5 
 
 leave the cover of their bushy path, as a man pauses to col- 
 Ject his energies before he essays any hazardous experiment, 
 in which he is secretly conscious they will all be needed. He 
 profited by the halt, to gather such information as might be 
 obtained from his short and hasty glances. 
 
 On the opposite side of the clearing, and near the point 
 where the brook tumbled over some rocks, from a still higher 
 level, some fifty or sixty lodges, rudely fabricated of logs, 
 brush, and earth intermingled, were to be discovered. They 
 were arranged without any order, and seemed to be con- 
 structed with very little attention to neatness or beauty- 
 Indeed, so very inferior were they in the two latter particu' 
 lars to the village Duncan had just seen, that he began to ex 
 pect a second surprise, no less astonishing than the former. 
 This expectation was in no degree diminished, when, by the 
 doubtful twilight, he beheld twenty or thirty forms rising 
 alternately from the cover of the tall, coarse grass, in front of 
 the lodges, and then sinking again from the sight, as it were 
 to burrow in the earth. By the sudden and hasty glimpses 
 that he caught of these figures, they seemed more like dark 
 glancing spectres, or some other unearthly beings, than crea- 
 tures fashioned with the ordinary -and vulgar materials of 
 flesh and blood. A gaunt, naked form was seen, for a single 
 instant, tossing its arms wildly in the air, and then the spot 
 it had filled was vacant ; the figure appearing suddenly in 
 some other and distant place, or being succeeded by another 
 possessing the same mysterious character. David observing 
 that his companion lingered, pursued the direction of his 
 gaze, and in some measure recalled the recollection of Hey- 
 ward, by speaking. 
 
 " There is much fruitful soil uncultivated here," he said j 
 "and I may add, without the sinful leaven of self-commenda- 
 tion, that since my short sojourn in these heathenish abodes, 
 much good seed has been scattered by the way-side." 
 
 "The tribes are fonder of the chase than of the arts of 
 men of labor," returned the unconscious Duncan, still gazing 
 at the objects of his wonder. 
 
 " It is rather joy than labor to the spirit, to lift up the 
 voice in praise ; but sadly do these boys abuse their gifts. 
 Rarely have I found any of their age, on whom nature has so 
 freely bestowed the elements of psalmody ; and surely, surely, 
 there are none who neglect them more. Three nights have 
 I now tarried here, and :hree several times have I assembled 
 the urchins to join in sacred song ; and as often have the^f 
 
236 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 responded to my efforts with whooping and howlings that 
 have chilled my soul ! " 
 
 " Of whom speak you ? " 
 
 " Of those children of the devil, who waste the precious 
 moments in yonder idle antics. Ah ! the wholesome restraint 
 of discipline is but little known among this self-abandoned 
 people. In a country of birches, a rod is never seen ; and it 
 ought not to appear a marvel in my eyes, that the choicest 
 blessings of Providence are wasted in such cries as these." 
 
 David closed his ears against the juvenile pack, whose 
 yell just then rang shrilly through the forest; and Duncan, 
 suffering his lip to curl, as in mockery of his own superstition, 
 said firmly, 
 
 " We will proceed." 
 
 Without removing the safeguards from his ears, the mas- 
 ter of song complied, and together they pursued their way 
 towards what David was sometimes wont to call " the tents 
 of the Philistines." 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 But though the beast of game 
 
 The privilege of chase may claim ; 
 Though space and law the stag we lend, 
 Ere hound we slip, or bow we bend ; 
 Who ever recked, where, how, or when 
 The prowling fox was trapped or slain ? 
 
 LADY OF THE LAKE. 
 
 IT is unusual to find an encampment of the natives, like 
 those of the more instructed whites, guarded by the presence 
 of armed men. Well informed of the approach of every 
 danger, while it is yet at a distance, the Indian generally 
 rests secure under his knowledge of the signs of the forest, 
 and the long and difficult paths that separate him from those 
 he has most reason to dread. But the enemy who, by any lucky 
 concurrence of accidents, has found means to elude the vig- 
 ilance of the scouts, will seldom meet with sentinels nearer 
 home to sound the alarm. In addition to this general usage, 
 the tribes friendly to the French knew too well the weight of 
 the blow that had just been struck, to apprehend any imme- 
 diate danger from the hostile nations that were tributary to 
 the crown of Britain. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 237 
 
 When Duncan and David, therefore, . found themselves 
 in the centre of the children, who played the antics already 
 mentioned, it was without the least previous intimation of 
 their approach. But so soon as they were observed, the 
 whole of the juvenile pack raised, by common consent, a 
 shrill and warning whoop ; and then sank, as it were, by 
 magic, from before the sight of their visitors. The naked, ' 
 tawny bodies of the crouching urchins blended so nicely, at 
 that hour, with the withered herbage, that at first it seemed 
 as if the earth had, in truth, swallowed up their forms ; though 
 when surprise permitted Duncan to bend his look more curi- 
 ously about the spot, he found it everywhere met by dark, 
 quick, and rolling eye-balls. 
 
 Gathering no encouragement from this startling presage 
 of the nature of the scrutiny he was likely to undergo from 
 the more mature judgments of the men, there was an in- 
 stant when the young soldier would have retreated. It was, 
 however, too late to appear to hesitate. The cry of the chil- 
 dren had drawn a dozen warriors to the door of the nearest 
 lodge, where they stood clustered in a dark and savage group, 
 gravely awaiting the nearer approach of those who had un- 
 expectedly come among them. 
 
 David, in some measure familiarized to the scene, led the 
 way, wkh a steadiness that no slight obstacle was likely to 
 disconcert, into this very building. It was the principal 
 edifice of the village, though roughly constructed of the bark 
 and branches of trees ; being the lodge in which the tribe 
 held its councils and public meetings during their temporary 
 residence on the borders of the English province. Duncan 
 found it difficult to assume the necessary appearance of un- 
 concern, as he brushed the dark and powerful frames of the 
 savages who thronged its threshold ; but, conscious that his 
 existence depended on his presence of mind, he trusted to 
 the discretion of his companion, whose footsteps he closely 
 followed, endeavoring, as he proceeded, to rally his thoughts 
 for the occasion. His blood curdled when he found himself 
 in absolute contact with such fierce and implacable enemies ; 
 but he so far mastered his feelings as to pursue his way into 
 the centre of the lodge, with an exterior that did not betray 
 the weakness. Imitating the example of the deliberate 
 Gamut, he drew a bundle of fragrant brush from beneath a 
 pile .that filled a corner of the hut, and seated himself ic 
 silence. 
 
238 TUX LAST OF TffE M\)HCAN3. 
 
 So soon as their visitor had passed, the observant war. 
 riors fell back from the entrance, and arranging themselves 
 about him, they seemed patiently to await the moment 
 when it might comport with the dignity of the stranger to 
 speak. By far the greater number stood leaning, in lazy, 
 lounging attitudes, against the upright posts that supported 
 the crazy building, while three or four of the oldest and most 
 distinguished of the chiefs placed themselves on the earth a 
 little more in advance. 
 
 A flaring torch was burning in the place, and set its red 
 glare from face to face and figure to figure, as it waved in the 
 currents of air. Duncan profited by its light to read the 
 probable character of his reception in the countenances of 
 his hosts. But his ingenuity availed him little against the 
 cold artifices of the people he had encountered. The chiefs 
 in front scarce cast a glance at his person, keeping their eyes 
 on the ground with an air that might have been intended for 
 respect, but which it was quite easy to construe into distrust. 
 The men in shadow were less reserved. Duncan soon 
 detected their searching, but stolen looks, which, in truth, 
 scanned his person and attire inch by inch ; leaving no emo- 
 tion of the countenance, no gesture, no line of the paint, nor 
 even the fashion of a garment, unheeded, and without com- 
 ment. 
 
 At length one whose hair was beginning to be sprinkled 
 with gray, but whose sinewy limbs and firm tread announced 
 that he was still equal to the duties of manhood, advanced 
 out of the gloom of a corner, whither he had probably posted 
 himself to make his observations unseen, and spoke. He 
 used the language of the Wyandots, or Hurons ; his words 
 were, consequently, unintelligible to Heyward, though they 
 seemed, by the gestures that accompanied them, to be uttered 
 more in courtesy than anger. The latter shook his head, 
 and made a gesture indicative of his inability to reply. 
 
 " Do none of my brothers speak the French or the Eng- 
 lish ? " he said, in the former language, looking about him 
 from countenance to countenance, in hopes of finding a nod 
 of assent. 
 
 Though more than one had turned, as if to catch the 
 meaning of his words, they remained unanswered. 
 
 " I should be grieved to think," continued Duncan, speak 
 ing slowly, and using the simplest French of which he was 
 the master, " to believe that none of this wise and brave na- 
 tion understand the language that the 'Grand Monarqtie' 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 239 
 
 uses whei? he talks to his children. His heart would be heavy 
 did he believe his red warriors paid him so little respect ! " 
 
 A long and grave pause succeeded, during which no 
 movement of a limb, nor any expression of an eye, betrayed 
 the impression produced by his remark. Duncan who knew 
 that silence was a virtue amongst his hosts, gladly had re- 
 source to the custom, in order to arrange his ideas. At 
 length the same warrior who had before addressed him re- 
 plied, by dryly demanding, in the language of the Canadas, 
 
 " When our Great Father speaks to his people, is it with 
 the tongue of a Huron ? " 
 
 " He knows no difference in his children, whether the 
 color of the skin be red, or black, or white," returned Duncan, 
 evasively ; " though chiefly is he satisfied with the brave 
 Hurons." 
 
 " In what manner will he speak," demanded the wary 
 chief, " when the runners count to him the scalps which five 
 nights ago grew on the heads of the Yengeese ? " 
 
 " They were his enemies," said Duncan, shuddering in- 
 voluntarily ; "and, doubtless, he will say, It is good my 
 Hurons are very gallant." 
 
 " Our Canada father does not think it. Instead of looking 
 forward to reward his Indians, his eyes are turned backward. 
 He sees the dead Yengeese, but no Huron. What can this 
 mean ? " 
 
 " A great chief like him has more thoughts than tongues. 
 He looks to see that no enemies are on his trail." 
 
 " The canoe of a dead warrior will not float on the Hori- 
 can," returned the savage gloomily. " His ears are open to 
 the Delawares, who are not our friends, and they will fill them 
 with lies." 
 
 " It cannot be. See ; he has bid me, who am a man that 
 knows the art of healing, to go to his children, the red Hurons 
 of the great lakes, and ask if any are sick ! " 
 
 Another silence succeeded this annunciation of the char- 
 acter Duncan had assumed. Every eye was simultaneously 
 bent on his person, as if to inquire into the truth or falsehood 
 of the declaration, with an intelligence and keenness that 
 caused the subject of their scrutiny to tremble for the result. 
 He was, however, relieved again by the former speaker. 
 
 " Do the cunning men of the Canadas paint their skins ? " 
 the Huron coldly continued ; " we have heard them boast 
 that their faces were pale." 
 
 " When an Indian chief comes among his white fathers," 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 returned Duncan, with great steadiness, "he lays aside hit 
 buffalo robe, to carry the shirt thac is offered him. My 
 brothers have given me paint, and I wear it." 
 
 A low murmur of applause announced that the compliment 
 to the tribe was favorably received. The elderly chief made 
 a gesture of commendation, which was answered by rnost of 
 his companions, who each threw forth a hand, and uttered a 
 brief exclamation of pleasure. Duncan began to breathe 
 more freely, believing that the weight of his examination was 
 past ; and as he had already prepared a simple and probable 
 tale to support his pretended occupation, his hopes of ulti- 
 mate success grew brighter. 
 
 After a silence of a few moments, as if adjusting his 
 thoughts, in order to make a suitable answer to the declar- 
 ation their guests had just given, another warrior arose and 
 placed himself in an attitude to speak. While his lips were 
 yet in the act of parting, a low but fearful sound arose from 
 the forest, and was immediately succeeded by a high, shrill 
 yell, that was drawn out, until it equalled the longest and 
 most plaintive howl of the wolf. The sudden and terrible in- 
 terruption caused Duncan to start from his seat, unconscious 
 of everything but the effect produced by so frightful a cry. 
 At the same moment, the warriors glided in a body from the 
 lodge, and the outer air was filled with loud shouts, that 
 nearly drowned those awful sounds, which were still ringing 
 beneath the arches of the woods. Unable to command him- 
 self any longer, the youth broke from the place, and presently 
 stood in the centre of a disorderly throng, that included 
 nearly everything having life, within the limits of the encamp- 
 ment. Men, women, and children ; the aged, the infirm, the 
 active, and the strong, were alike abroad, some exclaiming 
 aloud, others clapping their hands with a joy that seemed 
 frantic, and all expressing their savage pleasure in some un- 
 expected event. Though astounded at first by the uproar, 
 Hey ward was soon enabled to find its solution by the scene 
 that followed. 
 
 There yet lingered sufficient light in the heavens to ex- 
 hibit those bright openings among the tree-tops, where differ- 
 ent paths left the clearing to enter the depths of the wilder- 
 ness. Beneath one of them, a line of warriors issued from 
 the woods and advanced slowly towards the dwellings. One 
 in front bore a short pole, on which, as it afterwards ap- 
 peared, were suspended several human scalps. The startling 
 sounds that Duncan had heard, were what the whites have, 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 241 
 
 not inappropriately called the " death-hallo ; " and each repe- 
 tition of the cry was intended to announce to the tribe the 
 /ate of an enemy. Thus far the knowledge of Heyward 
 assisted him in the explanation ; and as he knew that the 
 interruption was caused by the unlooked-for return of a 
 successful war-party, every disagreeable sensation was quieted 
 in inward congratulations, for the opportune relief and insig- 
 nificance it conferred on himself. 
 
 When at the distance of a few hundred feet from the 
 lodges, the newly arrived warriors halted. The plaintive and 
 terrific cry, which was intended to represent equally the wail- 
 ings of the dead and the triumph of the victors, had entirely 
 ceased. One of their number now called aloud, in words that 
 were far from appalling, "though not more intelligible to those 
 for whose ears they were intended, than their expressive 
 yells. It would be difficult to convey a suitable idea of the 
 savage ecstasy with which the news, thus imparted, was 
 received. The whole encampment, in a moment, became a 
 scene of the most violent bustle and commotion. The war 
 riors drew their knives, and flourishing them, they arranged 
 themselves in two lines, forming a lane that extended from 
 the war-party to the lodges. The squaws seized clubs, axes, 
 or whatever weapon of offence first offered itself to their 
 hands, and rushed eagerly to act their part in the cruel game 
 that was at hane. Even the children would not be excluded ; 
 but boys, little able to wield the instruments, tore the toma- 
 hawks from the belts of their fathers, and stole into the ranks, 
 apt imitators of the savage traits exhibited by their parents. 
 
 Large piles of brush lay scattered about the clearing, and 
 a wary and aged squaw was occupied firing as many as might 
 serve to light the coming exhibition. As the flame arose, its 
 power exceeded that of the parting day, and assisted to render 
 objects at the same time more distinct and more hideous. 
 The whole scene formed a striking picture, whose frame was 
 composed of the dark and tall border of pines. The warriors 
 just arrived were the most distant figures. A little in advance 
 stood two men, who were apparently selected from the rest, as 
 the principal actors in what was to follow. The light was not 
 strong enough to render their features distinct, though it was 
 quite evident that they were governed by very different emo- 
 tions. While one stood erect and firm, prepared to meet his fate 
 like a hero, the other bowed his head, as if palsied by terror or 
 stricken with shame. The high-spirited Duncan felt a power- 
 fuHmpulse of admiration and pity towards the former, though 
 
2 42 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 no opportunity could offer to exhibit his generous emotion^ 
 He watched his slightest movement, however, with eagel 
 eyes ; and as he traced the fine outline of his admirably pro* 
 portioned and active frame, he endeavored to persuade him* 
 self that if the powers of man, seconded by such noble reso- 
 lution, could bear one harmless through so severe a trial, the 
 youthful captive before him might hope for success in the 
 hazardous race he was about to run. Insensibly the young 
 man drew nigher to the swarthy lines of the Hurons, and 
 scarcely breathed, so intense became his interest in the spec- 
 tacle. Just then the signal yell was given, and the momen" 
 tary quiet which had preceded it was broken by a burst of 
 cries, that far exceeded any before heard. The most abject 
 of the two victims continued motionless ; but the other 
 bounded from the place at the cry, with the activity and 
 swiftness of a deer. Instead of rushing through the hostile 
 lines, as had been expected, he just entered the dangerous 
 defile, and before time was given for a single blow, turned 
 short, and leaping the heads of a row of children, he gained 
 at once the exterior and safer side of the formidable array. 
 The artifice was answered by a hundred voices raised in im- 
 precations ; and the whole of the excited multitude broke 
 from their order, and spread themselves about the place in 
 wild confusion. 
 
 A dozen blazing piles now shed their lurid brightness on 
 the place, which resembled some unhallowed and supernatural 
 arena, in which malicious demons had assembled to act their 
 bloody and lawless rites. The forms in the background 
 looked like unearthly beings, gliding before the eye, and cleav- 
 ing the air, with frantic and unmeaning gestures ; while the 
 savage passions of such as passed the flames, were rendered 
 fearfully distinct by the gleams that shot athwart their inflamed 
 visages. 
 
 It will easily be understood, that amid such a concourse 
 of vindictive enemies, no breathing time was allowed the fugi- 
 tive. There was a single moment when it seemed as if he 
 would have reached the forest, but the whole body of his cap- 
 tors threw themselves before him, and drove him back into 
 the centre of his relentless persecutors. Turning like a 
 headed deer, he shot, with the swiftness of an arrow, through 
 a pillar of forked flame, and passing the whole multitude 
 harmless, he appeared on the opposite side of the clearing. 
 Here, too, he was met and turned by a few of the older and 
 more subtle of the Hurons. Once more he tried the throng, 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. $43 
 
 as If seeking safety in its blindness, and then several momenta 
 succeeded, during which Duncan believed the active and 
 courageous young stranger was lost. 
 
 Nothing could be distinguished but a dark mass of human 
 forms tossed and involved in inexplicable confusion. Arms, 
 gleaming knives, and formidable clubs, appeared above them, 
 but the blows were evidently given at random. The awful 
 effect was heightened by the piercing shrieks of the women 
 and the fierce yells of the warriors. Now and then Duncan 
 caught a glimpse of a light form cleaving the air in some des- 
 perate bound, and he rather hoped than believed that the 
 captive yet retained the command of his astonishing powers 
 of activity. Suddenly the multitude rolled backward, and ap- 
 proached the spot where he himself stood. The heavy body 
 in the rear pressed upon the women and children in front, and 
 bore them to the earth. The stranger reappeared in the con- 
 fusion. Human power could not, however, much longer endure 
 so severe a trial. Of this the captive seemed- conscious. 
 Profiting by the momentary opening, he darted from among 
 the warriors, and made a desperate, and, what seemed to Dun- 
 can, a final effort to gain the wood. As if aware that no 
 danger was td be apprehended from the young soldier, the 
 fugitive nearly brushed his person in his flight. A tall and 
 powerful Huron, who had husbanded his forces, pressed close 
 upon his heels, and w?.th an uplifted arm menaced a fatal 
 blow. Duncan thrust forth a foot, and the^shock precipitated 
 the eager savage headlong, many feet in advance of his in- 
 tended victim. Thought itself is not quicker than was the 
 motion with which the latter profited by the advantage ; he 
 turned, gleamed like a meteor again before the eyes of Dun- 
 can, and at the next moment, when the latter recovered his 
 recollection, and gazed around in quest of the captive, he saw 
 him quietly leaning against a small painted post, which stood 
 before the door of the principal lodge. 
 
 Apprehensive that the part he had taken in the escape 
 might prove fatal to himself, Duncan left the place without 
 delay. He followed the crowd, which drew nigh the lodges, 
 gloomy and sullen, like any other multitude that had been 
 disappointed in an execution. Curiosity, or perhaps a better 
 feeling, induced him to approach the stranger. He found 
 him standing with one arm cast about the protecting post, 
 and breathing thick and hard, after his exertions, but disdain- 
 ing *;o permit a single sign of suffering to escape. His perso^ 
 was now protected by immemorial and sacred usage, until the 
 
244 
 
 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 tribe in council had deliberated and determined on his fate, 
 It was not difficult, however, to foretell the result, if any pre- 
 sage could be drawn from the feelings of those who crowded 
 the place. 
 
 There was no term of abuse known to the Huron vocabu-. 
 lary that the disappointed women did not lavishly expend on 
 the successful stranger. They flouted at his efforts and told 
 him, with bitter scoffs, that his feet were better than his hands, 
 and that he merited wings, while he knew not the use of an 
 arrow or a knife. To all this the captive made no reply, but 
 was content to preserve an attitude in which dignity was sin- 
 gularly blended with disdain. Exasperated as much by his 
 composure as by his good fortune, their words became unin- 
 telligible, and were succeeded by shrill piercing yells. Just 
 then the crafty squaw, who had taken the necessary precau- 
 tions to fire the piles, made her way through the throng, and 
 cleared a place for herself in front of the captive. The squalid 
 and withered person of this hag might well have obtained for 
 her the character of possessing more than human cunning. 
 Throwing back her light vestment, she stretched forth her long 
 skinny arm, in derision, and using the language of the Lenape, 
 as more intelligible to the subject of her jibes, she commenced 
 aloud, 
 
 " Look you, Delaware ! " she said, snapping her ringers in 
 his face ; " your nation is a race of women, and the hoe is 
 better fitted to your hands than the gun. Your squaws are 
 the mothers of deer ; but if a bear, or a wild cat, or a serpent, 
 were born among you, ye would flee. The Huron girls shall 
 make you petticoats, and we will find you a husband." 
 
 A burst of savage laughter succeeded this attack, during 
 which the soft and musical merriment of the younger females 
 strangely chimed with the cracked voice of their older and 
 more malignant companion. But the stranger was superior to 
 all their efforts. . His head was immovable ; nor did he betray 
 the slightest consciousness that any were present, except when 
 his haughty eye rolled tov/ards the dusky forms of the war- 
 riors, who stalked in the background, silent and sullen obser- 
 vers of the scene. 
 
 Infuriated at the self-command of the captive, the woman 
 placed her arms akimbo, and throwing herself into a posture 
 of defiance, she broke out anew, in a torrent of words that no 
 art of ours could commit successfully to paper. Her breath 
 was, however, expended in vain ; for, although distinguished 
 in her nation as a oroficient in the art of abuse, she was per 
 
THE LAST OF 7 HE MOHICANS. 245 
 
 mitted to work herself into such a fury as actually to foam a* 
 the mouth, without causing a muscle to vibrate in the motion- 
 less figure of the stranger. The effect of his indifference 
 began to extend itself to the other spectators, and a youngster, 
 who was just quitting the condition of a boy, to enter the 
 state of manhood, attempted to assist the termagant, by flour- 
 ishing his tomahawk before their victim, and adding his empty 
 boasts to the taunts of the woman. Then, indeed, the captive 
 turned his face towards the light, and looked down on the 
 stripling with an expression that was superior to contempt. 
 At the next moment he resumed his quiet and reclining atti- 
 tude against the post. But the change of posture had per- 
 mitted Duncan to exchange glances with the firm and pierc- 
 ing eyes of Uncas. 
 
 Breathless with amazement, and heavily oppressed with 
 the critical situation of his friend, Heyward recoiled before 
 the look, trembling lest its meaning might, in some unknown 
 manner, hasten the prisoner's fate. There was not however, 
 any instant cause for such an apprehension. Just then a 
 warrior forced his way into the exasperated crowd. Motioning 
 the women and children aside with a stern gesture, he took 
 Uncas by the arm, and led him towards the door of the council 
 lodge. Thither all the chiefs, and most of the distinguished 
 warriors followed, among whom the anxious Heyward found 
 means to enter without attracting any dangerous attention to 
 himself. 
 
 A few minutes were consumed in disposing of those present 
 in a manner suitable to their rank and influence in the tribe. 
 An order very similar to that adopted in the preceding inter- 
 view was observed ; the aged and superior chiefs occupying the 
 area of the spacious apartment, within the powerful light of a 
 glaring torch, while their juniors and inferiors were arranged 
 in the background, presenting a dark outline of swarthy 
 and marked visages. In the very centre of the lodge, im- 
 mediately under an opening that admitted the twinkling light 
 of one or two stars, stood Uncas, calm, elevated, and collected. 
 His high and haughty carriage was not lost on his captors, 
 who often bent their looks on his person, with eyes which, 
 while they lost none of their inflexibility of purpose, plainly 
 betrayed their admiration of the stranger's daring. 
 
 The case was different with the individual whom Duncan 
 had observed to stand forth with his friend, previously to the 
 desperate trial of speed ; and who, instead of joining in the 
 chase, had remained throughout its turbulent uproar like a 
 
246 THE LAST OF TIf MOHICANS. 
 
 cringing statue, expressive of shame and disgrace. Though 
 not a hand had been extended to greet him, nor yet an eye 
 had condescended to watch his movements, he had also 
 entered the lodge, as though impelled by a fate to whose d& 
 crees he submitted, seemingly, without a struggle. Heyward 
 profited by the first opportunity to gaze in his face, secretly 
 apprehensive he might find the features of another acquaint 
 ance ; but they proved to be those of a stranger, and, what 
 was still more inexplicable, of one who bore all the distinctive 
 marks of a Huron warrior. Instead of mingling with his 
 tribe, however, he sat apart, a solitary being in a multitude, 
 his form shrinking into a crouching and abject attitude, as if 
 anxious to fill as little space as possible. When each in- 
 dividual had taken his proper station, and silence reigned in 
 the place, the gray-haired chief already introduced to the 
 reader spoke aloud, in the language of the Lenni Lenape. 
 
 " Delaware," he said, " though one of a nation of women, 
 you have proved yourself a man. I would give you food ; 
 but he who eats with a Huron should become his friend. 
 Rest in peace till the morning sun, when our last words shall 
 be spoken." 
 
 " Seven nights, and as many summer days, have I fasted 
 on the trail of the Hurons," Uncas coldly replied ; " the 
 children of the Lenape know how to travel the path of the 
 just without lingering to eat." 
 
 " Two of my young men are in pursuit of your companion," 
 resumed the other, without appearing to regard the boast of 
 his captive ; " when they get back, then will our wise men 
 say to you ' live or die.' ' 
 
 " Has a Huron no ears ? " scornfully exclaimed Uncas ; 
 " twice, since he has been your prisoner, has the Delaware 
 heard a gun that he knows. Your young men will never 
 come back." 
 
 A short and sullen pause succeeded this bold assertion. 
 Duncan, who understood the Mohican to allude to the fatal 
 rifle of the scout, bent forward in earnest observation of the 
 effect it might produce on the conquerors ; but the chief was 
 content with simply retorting, 
 
 " If the Lenape are so skilful, why is one of their bravest 
 warriors here ? " 
 
 " He followed in the steps of a flying coward, and fell 
 into a snare. The cunning beaver may be caught." 
 
 As Uncas thus replied, he pointed with his finger towards 
 the solitary Huron, but without deigning to bestow any other 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 247 
 
 notice on so unworthy an object. The words of the answer 
 and the air of the speaker produced a strong sensation among 
 his auditors. Every eye rolled sullenly towards the individ- 
 ual indicated by the simple gesture, and a low,' threatening 
 murmur passed through the crowd. The ominous sounds 
 reached the outer door, and the women and children pressing 
 into the throng, no gap had been left, between shoulder and 
 shoulder, that was not now filled with the dark lineaments of 
 some eager and curious human countenance. 
 
 In the mean time the more aged chiefs, in the centre, com- 
 muned with each other in short and broken sentences. Not 
 a word was uttered that did not convey the meaning of the 
 speaker, in the simplest and most energetic form. Again, a 
 long and deeply solemn pause took place. It was known, 
 by all present, to be the grave precurser of a weighty and 
 important judgment. They who composed the outer circle of 
 faces were on tiptoe to gaze ; and even the culprit for an in- 
 stant forgot his shame in a deeper emotion, and exposed his 
 abject features, in order to cast an anxious and troubled 
 glance at the dark assemblage of chiefs. The silence was 
 finally broken by the aged warrior so often named. He arose 
 from the earth, and moving past the immovable form of Uncas, 
 placed himself in a dignified attitude before the offender. 
 At that moment, the withered squaw already mentioned moved 
 into the circle, in a slow, sideling sort of a dance, holding 
 the torch, and muttering the indistinct words of what might 
 have been a species of incantation. Though her presence 
 was altogether an intrusion, it was unheeded. 
 
 Approaching Uncas, she held the blazing brand in such 
 a manner as to cast its red glare on his person, and to expose 
 the slightest emotion of his countenance. The Mohican 
 maintained his firm and haughty attitude ; and his eye, so far 
 from deigning to meet her inquisitive look, dwelt steadily on 
 the distance, as though it penetrated the obstacles which im- 
 peded the view, and looked into futurity. Satisfied with her 
 examination, she left him, with a slight expression of pleasure, 
 and proceeded to practise the same trying experiment on her 
 delinquent countrymen. 
 
 The young Huron was in his war paint, and very little of 
 a finely moulded form was concealed by his attire The light 
 rendered every limb and joint discernible, and Duncan turned 
 away in horror when he saw they were writhing in inexpres- 
 sible agony. The woman was commencing a low and plaintive 
 howl at the sad and shameful spectacle, when the chief put 
 forth his hand and gently pushed her aside. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 " Reed-that-bends," he said, addressing the young culprit 
 by name, and in his proper language, " though the Great 
 Spirit has made you pleasant to the eyes, it would have been 
 better that you had not been born. Your tongue is loud in 
 the village, but in battle it is till. None of my young men 
 strike the tomahawk deeper into the war-post none of them 
 so lightly on the Yengeese. The enemy know the shape of 
 your back, but they hav never seen the color of your eyes, 
 Three times have they called on you to come, and as often 
 did you forget to answer. Your name will never be mentioned 
 again in your tribe it is already forgotten." 
 
 As the chief slowly uttered these words, pausing impres- 
 sively between each sentence, the culprit raised his face, in 
 deference to the other's rank and years. Shame, horror, and 
 pride struggled in its lineaments. His eye, which was con- 
 tracted with inward anguish, gleamed on the persons of those 
 whose breath was his fame ; and the latter emotion for an in- 
 stant predominated. He arose to his feet, and baring his 
 bosom, looked steadily on the keen, glittering knife, that 
 was already upheld by his inexorable judge. As the weap- 
 on passed slowly into his heart he even smiled, as if in joy at 
 having found death less dreadful than he had anticipated, and 
 fell heavily on his face, at the feet of the rigid and unyielding 
 form of Uncas. 
 
 The squaw gave a loud and plaintive yell, dashed the 
 torch to the earth, and buried everything in darkness. The 
 whole shuddering groups of spectators glided from the lodge, 
 like troubled sprites ; and Duncan thought that he anc the 
 yet throbbing body of the victim of an Indian judgment, had 
 now become its only tenan 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV, 
 
 Thus spoke the sage : the kings without delay 
 Dissolve the council, and their chief obey. 
 
 POPE'S ILIAD, 
 
 A SINGLE moment served to convince the youth that he 
 was mistaken. A hand was laid, with a powerful pressure, on 
 his arm, and the low voice of Uncas muttered in his ears, 
 
 "The Hurons are dogs. The sight of a coward's blood 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 24) 
 
 can never make a warrior tremble. The ' Grey Head ' and 
 the Sagamore are safe, and the rifle of Hawk-eye is not asleep. 
 Go Uncas and the * Open Hand ' are now strangers. It is 
 enough." 
 
 Heyward would gladly have heard more, but the gentle 
 push from his friend urged him towards the door, and admon- 
 ished him of the danger that might attend the discovery of 
 their intercourse. Slowly and reluctantly yielding to the ne- 
 cessity, he quitted the place, and mingled with the throng that 
 hovered nigh. The dying fires in the clearing cast a dim and 
 uncertain light on the dusky figures that were silently stalk- 
 ing to and fro ; and occasionally a brighter gleam than com- 
 mon glanced into the lodge, and exhibited the figure of Uncas 
 still maintaining his upright attitude near the dead body of 
 the Huron. 
 
 A knot of warriors soon entered the place again, and re- 
 issuing they bore the senseless remains into the adjacent 
 woods. After this termination of the scene, Duncan wandered 
 among the lodges, unquestioned and unnoticed, endeavoring 
 to find some trace of her in whose behalf he incurred the risk 
 he ran. In the present temper of the tribe, it would have 
 been easy to have fled and rejoined his companions, had such 
 a wish crossed his mind. But, in addition to the naver-ceas- 
 ing anxiety on account of Alice, a fresher, though feebler, in- 
 terest in the fate of Uncas assisted to chain him to the spot. 
 He continued, therefore, to stray from hut to hut, looking 
 into each only to encounter additional disappointment, until 
 he had made the entire circuit of the village. Abandoning a 
 species of inquiry that proved so fruitless, he retraced his steps 
 to the council lodge, resolved to seek and question David, in 
 order to put an end to his doubts. 
 
 On reaching the building which had proved alike the seat 
 of judgment and the place of execution, the young man found 
 that the excitement had already subsided. The warriors had 
 re-assembled, and were now calmly smoking, while they con- 
 versed gravely on the chief incidents of their recent expedi- 
 tion to the head of the Horican. Though the return of Dun- 
 can was likely to remind them of his character, and the sus- 
 picious circumstances of his visit, it produced no visible sen- 
 sation. So far, the terrible scene that had just occurred 
 proved favorable to his views, and he required no other 
 prompter than his own feelings to convince him of the expedi- 
 ency of profiting by so unexpected an advantage. 
 
 Without seeming to hesitate, he walked into the lodge 
 
* S THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 and took his seat with a gravity that accorded admirably with 
 the deportment of his hosts. A hasty but searching glance 
 sufficed to tell him that, though Uncas still remained where 
 he had left him, David had not reappeared. No other re- 
 straint was imposed on the former than the watchful looks of 
 a young Huron, who had placed himself at hand ; though an 
 armed warrior leaned against the post that formed one side 
 of the narrow door-way. In every other respect, the captive 
 seemed at liberty ; still he was excluded from all participation 
 in the discourse, and possessed much more of the air of some 
 finely moulded statue than a man having life and volition. 
 
 Hey ward had too recently witnessed a frightful instance oi 
 the prompt punishments of the people into whose hands he 
 had fallen, to hazard an exposure by any officious boldness. 
 He would greatly have preferred silence and meditation to 
 speech, when a discovery of his real condition might prove 
 so instantly fatal. Unfortunately for this prudent resolution, 
 his entertainers appeared otherwise disposed. He had not 
 long occupied the seat wisely taken a little in the shade, when 
 another of the elder warriors, who spoke the French language, 
 addressed him : 
 
 " My Canada father does not forget his children," said the 
 chief ; " I thank him. An evil spirit lives in the wife of one 
 of my young men. Can the cunning stranger frighten him 
 away ? " 
 
 Heyward possessed some knowledge of the mummery 
 practised among the Indians, in the cases of such supposed 
 visitations. He saw at a glance, that the circumstances might 
 possibly be improved to further his own ends. It would, 
 therefore, have been difficult, just then, to have uttered a pro- 
 posal that would have given him more satisfaction. Aware 
 of the necessity of preserving the dignity of his imaginary 
 character, however, he repressed his feelings, and answered 
 with suitable mystery, 
 
 " Spirits differ ; some yield to the power of wisdom, while 
 others are too strong." 
 
 " My brother is a great medicine," said the cunning 
 savage ; " he will try ? " 
 
 A gesture of assent was the answer. The Huron was con* 
 tent with the assurance, and resuming his pipe, he awaited 
 the proper moment to move. The impatient Heyward, in^ 
 wardly execrating the cold customs of the savages, which re- 
 quired such sacrifices to appearance, was fain to assume an 
 air of indifference, equal to that maintained by the chief, who 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 35. 
 
 was, in truth, a near relative of the afflicted woman. The 
 minutes lingered, and the delay had seemed an hour to the 
 adventurer in empiricism, when the Huron laid aside his pipe, 
 and drew his robe across his breast, as if about to lead the 
 way to the lodge of the invalid. Just then a warrior of power- 
 ful frame darkened the door, and stalking silently among the 
 attentive group, he seated himself on one end of the low pile 
 of brush which sustained Duncan. The latter cast an im- 
 patient look at his neighbor, and felt his flesh creep with un- 
 controllable horror when he found himself in actual contact 
 with Magua. 
 
 The sudden return of this artful and dreaded chief caused 
 a delay in the departure of the Huron. Several pipes, that 
 had been extinguished, were lighted again, while the new^ 
 comer, without speaking a word, drew his tomahawk from his 
 girdle, and filling the bowl on its head, began to inhale the 
 vapors of the weed through the hollow handle, with as much 
 indifference as if he had not been absent two weary days on a 
 long and toilsome hunt. Ten minutes, which appeared so 
 many ages to Duncan, might have passed in this manner ; and 
 the warriors were fairly enveloped in a cloud of white smoke 
 before any of them spoke. 
 
 " Welcome ! " one at length uttered ; " has my friend 
 found the moose ? " 
 
 " The young men stagger under their burdens," returned 
 Magua. " Let ' Reed-that-bends ' go on the hunting path ; 
 he will meet them." 
 
 A deep and awful silence succeeded the utterance of the 
 forbidden name. Each pipe dropped from the lips of its 
 owner as though all had inhaled an impurity at the same in- 
 stant. The smoke wreathed above their heads in little eddies, 
 and curling in a spiral form, it ascended swiftly through the 
 opening in the roof of the lodge, leaving the place beneath 
 clear of its fumes, and each dark visage distinctly visible. 
 The looks of most of the warriors were riveted on the earth ; 
 though a few of the younger and less gifted of the party suf- 
 fered their wild and glaring eye-balls to roll in the direction 
 of a white-headed savage, who sat between two of the most 
 venerated chiefs of the tribe. There was nothing in the air 
 or attire of this Indian that would seem to entitle him to such 
 a distinction. The former was rather depressed, than re- 
 markable for the bearing of the natives ; and the latter was 
 such as was commonly worn by the ordinary men of the 
 nation. Like, most around him, for more than a minute hi 
 
2 5 2 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 look too was on the ground ; but, trusting his eyes at length 
 to steal a glance aside, he perceived he was becoming an ob 
 ject of general attention. Then he arose and lifted his voice 
 in the general silence. 
 
 " It was a lie," he said ; " I had no son. He who was 
 called by that name is forgotten ; his blood was pale, and it 
 came not from the veins of a Huron ; the wicked Chippewas 
 cheated my squaw. The Great Spirit has said, that the family 
 of Wiss-en-tush should end he is happy who knows that the 
 evil of his race dies with himself. I have done." 
 
 The speaker, who was the father of the recreant young 
 Indian, looked round and about him, as if seeking commenda- 
 tion of his stoicism in the eyes of his auditors. But the 
 stern customs of his people had made too severe an exaction 
 of the feeble old man. The expression of his eye contradicted 
 his figurative and boastful language, while every muscle in his 
 wrinkled visage was working with anguish. Standing a single 
 minute to enjoy his bitter triumph, he turned away, as if 
 sickening at the gaze of men, and veiling his face in his 
 blanket, he walked from the lodge with the noiseless step of 
 an Indian, seeking, in the privacy of his own abode, the sym- 
 pathy of one like himself, aged, forlorn, and childless. 
 
 The Indians, who believe in the hereditary transmission 
 of virtues and defects in character, suffered him to depart in 
 silence. Then, with an elevation of breeding that many in a 
 more cultivated state of society might profitably emulate, one 
 of the chiefs drew the attention of the young men from the 
 weakness they had just witnessed, by saying in a cheerful 
 voice, addressing himself in courtesy to Magua, as the newest 
 comer, 
 
 " The Delawares have been like bears after the honeypots, 
 prowling around my village. But who has ever found a Huron 
 asleep ? " 
 
 The darkness of the impending cloud which precedes a 
 burst of thunder was not blacker than the brow of Magua as 
 he exclaimed, 
 
 " The Delawares of the Lakes ! " 
 
 " Not so. They who wear the petticoats of squaws, on 
 their own river. One of them has been passing the tribe." 
 
 " Did my young men take his scalp ? " 
 
 " His legs were good, though his arm is better for the hoe 
 than the tomahawk," returned the other, pointing to the im- 
 movable form of Uncas. 
 
 Instead of manifesting any womanish curiosity to feast his 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICAN'S. 
 
 2 S3 
 
 eyes with the sight of a captive from a people he was known 
 to have so much reason to hate, Magua continued to smoke, 
 with the meditative air that he usually maintained, when thert 
 was no immediate call on his cunning or his eloquence. 
 Although secretly amazed at the facts communicated by the 
 speech of the aged father, he permitted himself to ask no 
 questions, reserving his inquiries for a more suitable moment. 
 It was only after a sufficient interval that he shook the ashes 
 from his pipe, replaced the tomahawk, tightened his girdle, 
 and arose, casting for the first time a glance in the direction 
 of the prisoner, who stood a little behind him. The wary, 
 though seemingly abstracted Uncas, caught a glimpse of the 
 movement, and turning suddenly to the light their looks met. 
 Near a minute these two bold and untamed spirits stood re- 
 garding one another steadily in the eye, neither quailing in 
 the least before the fierce gaze he encountered. The form of 
 Uncas dilated, and his nostrils opened like those of a tiger at 
 bay ; but so rigid and unyielding was his posture, that he 
 might easily have been converted by the imagination into an 
 exquisite and faultless representation of the warlike deity of 
 his tribe. The lineaments of the quivering features of Magua 
 proved more ductile ; his countenance gradually lost its char- 
 acter of defiance in an expression of ferocious joy, and heav- 
 ing a breath from the very bottom of his chest, he pronounced 
 aloud the formidable name of, 
 
 " Le Cerf agile ! " 
 
 Each warrior sprang upon his feet at the utterance of the 
 well-known appellation, and there was a short period during 
 which the stoical constancy of the natives was completely 
 conquered by surprise. The hated and yet respected name 
 was repeated as by one voice, carrying the sound even beyond 
 the limits of the lodge. The women and children who lingered 
 around the entrance, took up the words in an echo, which was 
 succeeded by another shrill and plaintive howl. The latter 
 was not yet ended, when the sensation among the men had 
 entirely abated. Each one in presence seated himself, as 
 though ashamed of his precipitation ; but it was many minutes 
 before their meaning eyes ceased to roll towards their captive, 
 in curious examination of a warrior who had so often proved 
 his prowess on the best and proudest of their nation. Uncas 
 enjoyed his victory, but was content with merely exhibiting 
 his triumph by a quiet smile an emblem of scorn which be- 
 longs to all time and every nation. 
 
 Magua caught the expression, and raising his arm, he 
 
254 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, 
 
 shook it at the captive the light silver ornaments attached 
 to his bracelet rattling with the trembling agitation of the limb 
 as, in a tone of vengeance, he exclaimed, in English, 
 
 " Mohican, you die ! " 
 
 " The healing waters will never bring the dead Hurons to 
 life," returned Uncas, in the music of the Delawares ; " the 
 tumbling river washes their bones ; their men are squaws ; 
 their women owls. Go call together the Huron dogs, that 
 they may look upon a warrior. My nostrils are offended; 
 they sent the blood of a coward." 
 
 The latter allusion struck deep, and the injury rankled. 
 Many of the Hurons understood the strange tongue in which 
 the captive spoke, among which number was Magua. This 
 cunning savage beheld, and instantly profited by his ad- 
 vantage. Dropping the light robe of skin from his shoulder, he 
 stretched forth his arm, and commenced a burst of his danger- 
 ous and artful eloquence. However much his influence among 
 his people had been impaired by his occasional and besetting 
 weakness, as well as by his desertion of the tribe, his courage 
 and his fame as an orator were undeniable. He never spoke 
 without auditors, and rarely without making converts to his 
 opinions. On the present occasion, his native powers were 
 stimulated by the thirst of revenge. 
 
 He again recounted the events of the attack on the Island 
 at Glenn's ; the death of his associates ; and the escape of their 
 most formidable enemies. Then he described the nature and 
 position of the mount whither he had led such captives as had 
 fallen into their hands. Of his own bloody intentions towards 
 the maidens, and of his baffled malice he made no mention, 
 but passed rapidly on to the surprise of the party by " La 
 longue Carabine," and its fatal termination. Here he paused 
 and looked about him, in affected veneration for the departed, 
 but, in truth, to note the effect of his opening narrative. As 
 usual, every eye was riveted on his face. Each dusky figure 
 seemed a breathing statue, so motionless was the posture, so 
 intense the attention of the individual. 
 
 Then Magua dropped his voice, which had hitherto been 
 clear, strong, and elevated, and touched upon the merits of 
 the dead. No quality that was likely to command the sym 
 pathy of an Indian escaped his notice. One had never been 
 known to follow the chase in vain ; another had been inde- 
 fatigable on the trail of their enemies. This was brave, that 
 generous. In short, he so managed his allusions, that in a 
 nation which was composed of so few families he contrived to 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 255 
 
 strike every chord that might find, in its turn, some breast in 
 which to vibrate. 
 
 " Are the bones of my young men," he concluded, " in 
 the burial place of the Hurons ? You know they are not. 
 Their spirits are gone towards the setting sun, and are ai 
 ready crossing the great waters, to the happy hunting-grounds. 
 But they departed without food, without guns or knives, with- 
 out moccasins, naked and poor as they were born. Shall 
 this be ? Are their souls to enter the land of the just like 
 hungry Iroquois or unmanly Delawares ; or shall they meet 
 their friends with arms in their hands and robes on their 
 backs ? What will our fathers think the tribes of the Wyan- 
 dots have become ? They will look on their children with a 
 dark eye, and say, Go ; a Chippewa has come hither with 
 the name of a Huron. Brothers, we must not forget the dead ; 
 a red-skin never ceases to remember. We will load the back 
 of this Mohican until he staggers under our bounty, and dis- 
 patch him after my young men. They call to us for aid, 
 though our ears are not open; they say, Forget us not. 
 When they see the spirit of this Mohican toiling after them 
 with his burden, they will know we are of that mind. Then 
 will they go on happy; and our children will say, 'So did 
 our fathers to their friends, so must we do to them.' What 
 is a Yengee ? we have slain many, but the earth is still pale. 
 A stain on the name of a Huron can only be hid by blood 
 that comes from the veins of an Indian. Let this Delaware 
 die." 
 
 The effect of such an harangue, delivered in the nervous 
 language and. with the emphatic manner of a Huron orator, 
 could scarcely be mistaken. Magua had so artfully blended 
 the natural sympathies with the religious superstition of his 
 auditors, that their minds, already prepared by custom to 
 sacrifice a victim to the manes of their countrymen, lost every 
 vestige of humanity in a wish for revenge. One warrior in 
 particular, a man of wild and ferocious mien, had been con- 
 spicuous for the attention he had given to the words of the 
 speaker. His countenance had changed with each passing 
 emotion, until it settled into a look of deadly malice. As 
 Magua ended he arose, and uttering the yell of a demon, his 
 polished little axe was seen glancing in the torchlight as he 
 whirled it above his head. The motion and the cry were too 
 sudden for words to interrupt his bloody intention. It ar> 
 peared as if a bright gleam shot from his hand, which was 
 crossed at the same moment by a dark and powerful li 
 
256 THE LAST OP THE MOHICANS. 
 
 The former was the tomahawk in its passage ; the latter the 
 arm that Magua darted forward to divert its aim. The quick 
 and ready motion of the chief was not entirely too late. The 
 keen weapon cut the war-plume from the scalping tuft of 
 Uncas, and passed through the frail wall of the lodge as 
 though it were hurled from some formidable engine. 
 
 Duncan had seen the threatening action, and sprang upon 
 his feet, with a heart which, while it leaped into his throat, 
 swelled with the most generous resolution in behalf of his 
 friend. A glance told him that the blow failed, and terror 
 changed to admiration. Uncas stood still, looking his enemy 
 in the eye with features that seemed superior to emotion. 
 Marble could not be colder, calmer, or steadier than the 
 countenance he put upon this sudden and vindictive attack. 
 Then, as if pitying a want of skill which had proved so for- 
 tunate to himself, he smiled, and muttered a few words of 
 contempt in his own tongue. 
 
 " No ! " said Magua, after satisfying himself of the safety 
 of the captive ; " the sun must shine on his shame ; the 
 squaws must see his flesh tremble, or our revenge will be like 
 the play of boys. Go take him where there is silence ; let 
 us see if a Delaware can sleep at night, and in the morning 
 die." 
 
 The young men whose duty it was to guard the prisoner 
 instantly passed their ligaments of bark across his arms, and 
 led him from the lodge, amid a profound and ominous silence. 
 It was only as the figure of Uncas stood in the opening of 
 the door that his firm step hesitated. .There he turned, and, 
 in the sweeping and haughty glance that he threw around the 
 circle of his enemies, Duncan caught a look, which he was 
 glad to construe into an expression that he was not entirely 
 deserted by hope. 
 
 Magua' was content with his success, or too much occupied 
 with his secret purposes to push his inquiries any further. 
 Shaking his mantle, and folding it on his bosom, he also 
 quitted the place, without pursuing a subject which might 
 have proved so fatal to the individual at his elbow. Notwith- 
 standing his rising resentment, his natural firmness, and his 
 anxiety in behalf of Uncas, Heyward felt sensibly relieved by 
 the absence of so dangerous and so subtle a foe. The ex. 
 citement produced by the speech gradually subsided. The 
 warriors resumed their seats, and clouds of smoke once more 
 filled the lodge. For near half an hour, not a syllable was 
 uttered, or scarcely a look cast aside a grave and meditative 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICAN'S. 257 
 
 silence being in the ordinary succession to every scene o. 1 
 violence and commotion amongst those beings, who were 
 alike so impetuous and yet so self-restrained. 
 
 When the chief who had solicited the aid of Duncan 
 finished his pipe, he made a final and successful movement 
 towards departing. A motion of a finger was the intimation 
 he gave the supposed physician to follow ; and passing 
 through the clouds of smoke, Duncan was glad, on more ac- 
 counts than one, to be able, at last, to breathe the pure air of 
 a cool and refreshing summer evening. 
 
 Instead of pursuing his way among those lodges where Hey- 
 ward had already made his unsuccessful search, his companion 
 turned aside, and proceeded directly towards the base of an ad- 
 jacent mountain, which overhung the temporary village. A 
 thicket of brush skirted its foot, and it became necessary to 
 proceed through a crooked and narrow path. The boys had 
 resumed their sports in the clearing, and were enacting a mimic 
 chase to the post among themselves. In order to render their 
 games as like the reality as possible, one of the boldest of their 
 number had conveyed a few brands into some piles of tree tops 
 that had hitherto escaped the burning. The blaze of one of 
 these fires lighted the way of the chief and Duncan, and gave 
 a character of additional wildness to the rude scenery. At a 
 little distance from a bald rock, and directly in its front, they 
 entered a grassy opening, which they prepared to cross. Just 
 then fresh fuel was added to the fire, and a powerful light pen- 
 etrated even to that distant spot. It fell upon the white surface 
 of the mountain and was reflected downwards upon a dark and 
 mysterious-looking being that arose unexpectedly in their path. 
 
 The Indian paused, as if doubtful whether to proceed, and 
 permitted his companion to approach his side. A large black 
 ball, which at first seemed stationary, now began to move in a 
 manner that to the latter was inexplicable. Again the fire 
 brightened, and its glare fell more distinctly on the object. 
 Then, even Duncan knew it by its restless and sideling atti 
 tudes, which kept the upper part of its form in constant motion 
 while the animal itself appeared seated to be a bear. Though 
 it growled loudly and fiercely, and there were instants when its 
 glistening eyeballs might be seen, it gave no other indications 
 of hostility. The Huron, at least, seemed assured that the in- 
 tuitions of this singular intruder were peaceable, for, after giv- 
 ing it an attentive examination, he quietly pursued his course. 
 
 Duncan, who knew that the animal was often domesticated 
 among the Indians, followed the example of his companion, b^. 
 
258 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 lieving that some favorite of the tribe had found its way mta 
 the thicket, in search of food. They passed it unmolested. 
 Though obliged to come nearly in contact with the monster, 
 the Huron, who had at first so warily determined the character 
 of his strange visitor, was now content with proceeding without 
 wasting a moment in further examination ; but Heyward wai 
 unable to prevent his eyes from looking backward, in salutary 
 watchfulness against attacks in the rear. His uneasiness was 
 in no degree diminished when he perceived the beast rolling 
 along their path and following their footsteps. He would have 
 spoken, but the Indian at that moment shoved aside a door of 
 bark, and entered a cavern in the bosom of the mountain. 
 
 Profiting by so easy a method of retreat, Duncan stepped 
 after him, and was gladly closing the slight cover to the open- 
 ing when he felt it drawn from his hand by the beast, whose 
 shaggy form immediately darkened the passage. They were 
 now in a straight and long gallery, in a chasm of the rocks 
 where retreat without encountering the animal was impossible. 
 Making the best of the circumstances, the young man pressed 
 forward, keeping as close as possible to his conductor. The 
 bear growled frequently at his heels, and once or twice its 
 enormous paws were laid on his person, as if disposed to pre- 
 vent his further passage into the den. 
 
 How long the nerves of Heyward would have sustained him 
 in this extraordinary situation, it might be difficult to decide ; 
 for, happily, he soon found relief. A glimmer of light had con- 
 stantly been in their front, and they now arrived at the place 
 whence it proceeded. 
 
 A large cavity in the rock had been rudely fitted to answer 
 the purposes of many apartments. The subdivisions were sim- 
 ple but ingenious, being composed of stone, sticks, and bark 
 intermingled. Openings above admitted the light by day, and 
 at night fires and torches supplied the place of the sun. Hither 
 the Hurons had brought most of their valuables, especially 
 those which more particularly pertained to the nation ; and 
 hither, as it now appeared, the sick woman, who was believed 
 to be the victim of supernatural power, had been transported 
 also, under an impression that her tormentor would find more 
 difficulty in making his assaults through walls of stone than 
 through the leafy coverings of the lodges. The apartment into 
 which Duncan and his guide first entered had been exclusively 
 devoted to her accommodation. The latter approached iet 
 bedside, which was surrounded by females, in the centre --*.* 
 
TftE LAS? OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 259 
 
 whom Heyward was surprised to find his missing friend 
 David. 
 
 A single look was sufficient to apprise the pretended leech 
 that the invalid was far beyond his powers of healing. She 
 lay in a sort of paralysis,indifferent to the objects which crowded 
 before her sight, and happily unconscious of suffering. Hey- 
 ward was far from regretting that his mummeries were to be 
 performed on one who was much too ill to take an interest in 
 their failure or success. The slight qualm of conscience which 
 had been excited by the intended deception was instantly ap- 
 peased, and he began to collect his thoughts, in order to enact 
 his part with suitable spirit, when he found he was about to be 
 anticipated in his skill by an attempt to prove the power of 
 music. 
 
 Gamut, who had stood prepared to pour forth his spirit in 
 song when the visitors entered, after delaying a moment, drew a 
 strain from his pipe, and commenced a hymn that might have 
 worked a miracle, had faith in its efficacy been of much avail. 
 He was allowed to proceed to the close, the Indians respecting 
 his imaginary infirmity, and Duncan too glad of the delay to 
 hazard the slightest interruption. As the dying cadence of his 
 strains was falling on the ears of the latter, he started aside at 
 hearing them repeated behind him, in a voice half human and 
 half sepulchral. Looking round, he beheld the shaggy monster 
 seated on end in a shadow of the cavern, where, while his rest- 
 less body swung in the uneasy manner of the animal, it re- 
 peated, in a sort of low growl, sounds, if not words, which bore 
 some slight resemblance to the melody of the singer. 
 
 The effect of so strange an echo on David may better be 
 imagined than described. His eyes opened as if ^ he doubted 
 their truth ; and his voice became instantly mute in excess ol 
 wonder. A deep-laid scheme, of communicating some impor- 
 tant intelligence to Heyward. was driven from his recollection 
 by an emotion which very nearly resembled fear, but which he 
 was fain to believe was admiration. Under its influence, he 
 exclaimed aloud " She expects you and is at hand ; " and 
 precipitately left the cavern. 
 
t6o THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Snug. Have you the lion's part written ? Pray you, if it be, give it me, for I a* 
 slow of study. 
 
 ince. You may do it extempore, for it is nothing but roaring. 
 
 MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. 
 
 THERE was a strange blending of the ridiculous with that 
 which was solemn in this scene. Trie beast still continued 
 its rolling, and apparently untiring movements, though its lu- 
 dicrous attempt to imitate the melody of David ceased the 
 instant the latter abandoned the field. The words of Gamut 
 were, as has been seen, in his native tongue ; and to Duncan 
 they seemed pregnant with some hidden meaning, though noth- 
 ing present assisted him in discovering the object of their 
 allusion. A speedy end was, however, put to every conjecture 
 on the subject, by the manner of the chief, who advanced to 
 the bedside of the invalid, and beckoned away the whole 
 group of female attendants that had clustered there to wit- 
 ness the skill of the stranger. He was implicitly, though re- 
 luctantly, obeyed ; and when the low echo which rang along 
 the hollow, natural gallery, from the distant closing door, had 
 ceased, pointing towards his insensible daughter, he said, 
 
 " Now let my brother show his power." 
 
 Thus unequivocally called on to exercise the functions of 
 his assumed character, Heyward was apprehensive that the 
 smallest delay might prove dangerous. Endeavoring then to 
 collect his ideas, he prepared to perform that species of incan- 
 tation, and those uncouth rites under which the Indian con- 
 jurers are accustomed to conceal their ignorance and impo* 
 tency. It is more than probable that, in the disordered state 
 of his thoughts, he would soon have fallen into some suspi- 
 cious, if not fatal error, had not his incipient attempts been 
 interrupted by a fierce growl from the quadruped. Three sev- 
 eral times did he renew his efforts to proceed, and as often 
 was he met by the same unaccountable opposition, each in- 
 terruption seeming more savage and threatening than the 
 preceding. 
 
 " The cunning ones are jealous," said the Huron ; " I go, 
 
*'2>4 LA2 31' TH. MOHICAN*. -_ 
 
 brother, the woman is the wife of one ot my bravest young 
 men : deal justly by her. Peace ! " he added, beckoning to 
 the discontented beast to be quiet : " I go." 
 
 The chief was as good as his word, and Duncan now found 
 himself alone in that wild and desolate abode, with the help- 
 less invalid, and the fierce and dangerous brute. The latter 
 listened to the movements of the Indian with that air of saga 
 city that a bear is known to possess until another echo an- 
 nounced that he had also left the cavern, when it turned and 
 oam*. waddling up to Duncan, before whom it seated itself, 
 in its natural attitude, erect like a man. The youth looked 
 anxiously about him for some weapon with which he might 
 make a resistance against the attack he now seriously ex- 
 pected. 
 
 It seemed, however, as if the humor of the animal had 
 suddenly changed. Instead of continuing its discontented 
 growls, or manifesting any further signs of anger, the whole 
 of its shaggy body shook violently, as if agitated by some 
 strange internal convulsion. The huge and unwieldly talons 
 pawed stupidly about the grinning muzzle, and while Heyward 
 kept his eyes riveted on its movements with jealous watchful- 
 ness, the grim head fell on one side, and in its place appeared 
 the honest, sturdy countenance of the scout, who was indulg 
 ing, from the bottom of his soul, in his own peculiar expres- 
 sion of merriment. " Hist ! " said the wary woodsman, inter- 
 rupting Heyward's exclamation of surprise : " the varlets are 
 about the place, and any sounds that are not natural to witch- 
 craft would bring; them back upon us in a body/' 
 
 "Tell me the meaning of this masquerade, and vvfcy r /or 
 have attempted so desperate an adventure ? " 
 
 ** Ah ! reason any calculation are often o one oy acci- 
 dent," returned the scout. " But as a story should always 
 commence at the beginning, I will tell you the whole in order. 
 After we parted I placed the commandant and the Sagamore 
 in an old beaver lodge, wher~ lliey are afer from the Hurons 
 than they would be in the garrison of Edward ; for your high 
 northv/est Indians, not having as yet got the traders among 
 them, continue to venerate the beaver. After which Uncas 
 and I pushed for the other encampment, as was agreed ; have 
 you seen the lad ? " 
 
 " To my great grief ! he is captive, and condemned to 
 die at the rising of the sun." 
 
 a I had misgivings that such would be his fate," resumed 
 the scout, in a less confident and joyous tone. But, soon r* 
 
262 TffE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 gaining his naturally firm voice again, he continued, His 
 bad fortune is the true reason of my being here, for it would 
 never do to abandon such a boy to the Hurons. A rare time 
 the knaves would have of it, could they tie ' The bounding Elk' 
 and 'The long Carabine,' as they call me, to the same stake! 
 Though why they have given me such a name I never knew, 
 there being as little likeness between the gifts of ' Kill-deer y 
 and the performance of one of your real Canada carabynes, as 
 there is between the natur' of a pipe-stone and a flint ! " 
 
 " Keep to your tale," said the impatient Heyward ; " we 
 know not at what moment the Hurons may return." 
 
 " No fear of them. A conjurer must have his time, like 
 a straggling priest in the settlements. We are as safe from 
 interruption as a missionary would be at the beginning of a 
 two hours' discourse. Well, Uncas and I fell in with a return 
 party of the varlets ; the lad was much too forward for a scout ; 
 nay, for that matter, being of hot blood, he was not so much 
 to blame ; and, after all, one of the Hurons proved a coward, 
 and in fleeing led him into an ambushment." 
 
 " And dearly has he paid for the weakness ! " 
 
 The scout significantly passed his hand across his own 
 throat, and nodded, as if he said, " I comprehend your mean- 
 ing." After which he continued, in a more audible though 
 scarcely more intelligible language, 
 
 " After the loss of the boy I turned upon the Hurons, as 
 you may judge. There have been skrimmages atween one or 
 two of their outlyers and myself ; but that is neither here nor 
 there. So, after I had shot the imps, I got in pretty nigh to 
 the lodges without further commotion. Then what should 
 luck do in my favor, but lead me to the very spot where one 
 of the most famous conjurers of the tribe was dressing him- 
 self, as I well knew, for some great battle with Satan though 
 why should I call that luck, which it now seems was an es- 
 pecial ordering from Providence. So a judgmatical rap over 
 ihe head stiffened the lying impostor for a time, and leaving 
 him a bit of walnut for his supper, to prevent an uproar, and 
 stringing him up atween two saplings, I made free with his 
 finery, and took the part of the bear on myself, in order that 
 the operations might proceed." 
 
 " And admirably did you enact the character ; the animal 
 itself might have been shamed by the representation." 
 
 " Lord, major," returned the flattered woodsman, " I 
 should be but a poor scholar for one who has studied so long 
 in the wilderness, did I not know how to set forth the move 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 263 
 
 ments and natur' of such a beast. Had it been now a cata- 
 mount or even a full-sized panther, I would have embellished 
 a performance for you worth regarding. nit it is no such 
 marvellous feat to exhibit the feats of so dull a beast ; though, 
 for that matter, too, a bear may be over-acted. Yes, yes ; if 
 is not every imitator that knows natur' may be outdone easier 
 than she is equalled. But all our work is yet before us 
 Where is the gentle one ? " 
 
 " Heaven knows ; I have examined every lodge in the vil 
 lage, without discovering the slightest trace of her presence 
 in the tribe." 
 
 " You heard what the singer said, as he left us, * She is 
 at hand, and expects you.' ' 
 
 " I have been compelled to believe he alluded to this un- 
 happy woman." 
 
 " The simpleton was frightened, and blundered through 
 his message ; but he had a deeper meaning. Here are walls 
 enough to separate the whole settlement. A bear ought to 
 climb ; therefore will I take a look above them. There may 
 be honey-pots hid in these rocks, and I am a beast, you know, 
 that has a hankering for the sweets." 
 
 The scout looked behind him. laughing at his own conceit, 
 while he clambered up the partition, imitating, as he went, 
 the clumsy motions of the beast he represented ; but the 
 instant the summit was gained he made a gesture for silence, 
 and slid down with the utmost precipitation. 
 
 " She is here," he whispered, " and by that door you will 
 find her. I would have spoken a word of comfort to the af- 
 flicted soul ; but the sight of such a monster might upset her 
 reason. Though for that matter, major, you are none of the 
 most inviting yourself in your paint." 
 
 Duncan, who had already sprung eagerly forward, drew 
 instantly back on hearing these discouraging words. 
 
 " Am I, then, so very revolting ? " he demanded with an 
 air of chagrin. 
 
 " You might not startle a wolf, or turn the Royal Ameri 
 cans from a charge ; but I have seen the time when you had 
 a better-favored look. Your streaked countenances are not ill- 
 judged of by the squaws, but young women of white blood give 
 the preference to their own color. See," he added, pointing 
 to a place where the water trickled from a rock, forming a 
 little crystal spring before it found an issue through the ad- 
 jacent crevice ; " you may easily get rid of the Sagamore's 
 daub, and when you come back I will try my hand at a new 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 embellishment. It's as common for a conjurer to alter nil 
 paint as for a buck in the settlements to change his finery." 
 
 The deliberate woodsman had little occasion to hunt foi 
 arguments to enforce his advice. He was yet speaking when 
 Duncan availed himself of the water. In a moment every 
 frightful or offensive mark was obliterated, and the youth ap< 
 peared again in the lineaments with which he had been gifted 
 by nature. Thus prepared for an interview with his mistress, 
 he took a hasty leave of his companion, and disappeared 
 through the indicated passage. The scout witnessed his de- 
 parture with complacency, nodding his head after him, and 
 muttering his good wishes ; after which he very coolly set 
 about an examination of the state of the larder, among the 
 Hurons the cavern, among other purposes, being used as 
 a receptacle for the fruits of their hunts. 
 
 Duncan had no other guide than a distant glimmering 
 light, which served, however, the office of a polar star to the 
 lover. By its aid he was able to enter the haven of his hopes, 
 which was merely another apartment of the cavern, that had 
 been solely appropriated to the safe-keeping of so important 
 a prisoner as a daughter of the commandant of William 
 Henry. It was profusely strewed with the plunder of that 
 unlucky fortress. In the midst of this confusion he found 
 her he sought, pale, anxious, and terrified, but lovely. David 
 had prepared her for such a visit. 
 
 " Duncan ! " she exclaimed, in a voice that seemed to 
 tremble at the sounds created by himself. 
 
 " Alice ! " he answered, leaping carelessly among trunks, 
 boxes, arms, and furniture, until he stood at her side. 
 
 " I knew that you would never desert me," she said, looking 
 up with a momentary glow on her otherwise dejected counte- 
 nance. " But you are alone ! grateful as it is to be thus re- 
 membered, I could wish to think you are not entirely alone." 
 
 Duncan observing that she trembled in a manner which 
 betrayed her inability to stand, gently induced her to be 
 seated while he recounted those leading incidents which it 
 has been our task to record. Alice listened with breathless 
 interest ; and though the young man touched lightly on the 
 sorrows of the stricken father, taking care, however, not to 
 Wound the self-love of his auditor, the tears ran as freely 
 down the cheeks of the daughter as though she had never wept 
 before. The soothing tenderness of Duncan, however, soon 
 quieted the first bur^t of her emotions, and she then heard 
 him to the close with undivided attention, if not with com- 
 posure. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 2 6 
 
 "And" now, Alice," he added, "you will see how much is 
 allll expected of you. By the assistance of our experienced 
 and invaluable friend, the scout, we may find our way from 
 this savage people, but you will have to exert your utmost 
 fortitude. Remember that you fly to the arms of your vener- 
 able parent, and how much his happiness, as well as your 
 own, depends on those exertions." 
 
 " Can I do otherwise for a father who has done so much 
 for me ? " 
 
 " And for me too," continued the youth, gently pressing 
 the hand he held In both his own. 
 
 The look 01 innocence ana surprise wmcn he received m 
 eturn convinced Duncan of the necessity of being more ex- 
 plicit;^ 
 
 " This is neither the place nor the occasion to detain you 
 with selfish wishes," he added ; " but what heart loaded like 
 mine would not wish to cast its burden ? They say misery is 
 the closest of all ties ; our common suffering in your behalf 
 left but little to be explained between vour father and my- 
 self." 
 
 " And dearest Cora, Duncan ; surely, Cora was not for 
 gotten?" 
 
 " Not forgotten ! no ; regretted, as woman was seldom 
 mourned before. Your venerable father knew no difference 
 between his children ; but I Alice, you will not be offended 
 when I say, that to me, her worth was in a degree obscured " 
 
 "Then you knew not the merit of my sister," said Alice, 
 Withdrawing her hand ; " of you she ever speaks as of one 
 who is her dearest friend." 
 
 c ' I would gladly believe her such," returned Duncan, 
 .hastily ; " I could wish her to be even more ; but with you, 
 Alice, I have the permission of your father to aspire to a still 
 icarer and dearer tie." 
 
 Alice trembled violently, and there was an instant during 
 >i/hich she bent her face aside, yielding to the emotions com- 
 mon to her sex ; but they quickly passed away, leaving her 
 Bistress of her deportment, if not of her affections. 
 
 " Hayward," she said, looking him full in the face with * 
 xmching expression of innocence and dependency, " give me 
 .lie sacred presence and the holy sanction of that parent 
 lefore you urge me further." 
 
 "Though more I should not, less I could not say/' ihe 
 h was about, to answer, when he was interrupted by a 
 tap or? his shoulder. Starting to his feet he turned and 
 
2 66 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 confronting the intruder, his looks fell on the dark form and 
 malignant visage of Magua. The deep, guttural laugh of the 
 savage sounded, at such a moment, to Duncan like the hellish 
 taunt of a demon. Had he pursued the sudden and fierce im- 
 pulse of the instant, he would have cast himself on the Huron, 
 and committed their fortunes to the issue of a deadly struggle, 
 But, without arms of any description, ignorant of what succoi 
 his subtle enemy could command, and charged with the safety 
 of one who was'just then dearer than ever to his heart, he no 
 sooner entertained than he abandoned the desperate inten- 
 tion. 
 
 " What is your purpose ? " said Alice, meekly folding her 
 arms on her bosom, and struggling to conceal an agony oi 
 apprehension in behalf of Heyward, in the usual cold and 
 distant manner with which she received the visits of her captor. 
 
 The exulting Indian had resumed his austere countenance, 
 though he drew warily back before the menacing glance of 
 the young man's fiery eye. He regarded both his captives 
 for a moment with a steady look, and then stepping aside, he 
 dropped a log of wood across a door different from that by 
 which Duncan had entered. The latter now comprehended 
 the manner of his surprise, and believing himself irretrievably 
 lost, he drew Alice to his bosom, and stood prepared to meet 
 a fate which he hardly regretted, since it was to be suffered 
 in such company. But Magua meditated no immediate vio- 
 lence. His first measures were very evidently taken to secure 
 his new captive ; nor did he even bestow a second glance at 
 the motionless form in the centre of the cavern, until he had 
 completely cut off every hope of retreat through the private 
 outlet he had himself used. He was watched in all his move- 
 ments by Heyward, who, however, remained firm, still hold- 
 ing the fragile form of Alice to the heart, at once too proud 
 and too hopeless to ask favor of an enemy so often foiled. 
 When Magua had effected his object he approached his prison- 
 ers, and said in English 
 
 " The pale-faces trap the cunning beavers ; but the red* 
 skins know how to take the Yengeese." 
 
 " Huron, do your worst ! " exclaimed the excited Heyward, 
 forgetful that a double stake was involved in his life ; " you 
 and your vengeance are alike despised." 
 
 " Will the white man speak these words at the stake ? " 
 asked Magua, manifesting at the same time how little faith 
 he had in the other's resolution by the sneer that accow 
 parried his words. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 267 
 
 " Here, singly to your face, or in the presence of youi 
 nation ? " 
 
 " Le Renard Subtil is a great chief ! " returned the Indian ; 
 " he will go and bring his young men, to see how bravely a 
 pale-face can laugh at the tortures." 
 
 He turned away while speaking, and was about to leave 
 the place through" the avenue by which Duncan had ap- 
 proached, when a growl caught his ear, and caused him to 
 hesitate. The figure of the bear appeared in the door, where 
 it sat, rolling from side to side in its customary restlessness. 
 Magua, like the father of the sick woman, eyed it keenly for a 
 moment, as if to ascertain its character. He was far above 
 the more vulgar superstitions of his tribe, and so soon as he 
 recognized the well-known attire of the conjurer, he prepared 
 to pass it in cool contempt. But a louder and more threat- 
 ening growl caused him again to pause. Then he seemed as 
 if suddenly resolved to trifle no longer, and moved resolutely 
 forward. The mimic animal, which had advanced a little, re- 
 tired slowly in his front, until it arrived again at the pass, 
 when rearing on its hinder legs it beat the air with its paws, 
 in the manner practised by its brutal prototype. 
 
 "Fool!" exclaimed the chief, in Huron, "go play with 
 the children and squaws ; leave men to their wisdom." 
 
 He once more endeavored to pass the supposed empiric, 
 scorning even the parade of threatening to use the &nife, or 
 tomahawk, that was pendent from his belt. Suddenly the 
 beast extended its arms, or rather legs, and enclosed him in a 
 grasp, tharmight have vied with the far-famed power of the 
 bear's " hug " itself. Heyward had watched the whole pro- 
 cedure, on the part of Hawk-eye, with breathless interest. At 
 first he relinquished his hold of Alice ; then he caught up a 
 thong of buckskin, which had been used around some bundle, 
 and when he beheld his enemy with his two arms pinned to 
 his side by the iron muscles of the scout, he rushed upon him, 
 and effectually secured them there. Arms, legs, and feet were 
 encircled in twenty folds of the thong, in less time than we 
 have taken to record the circumstance. When the formid- 
 able Huron was completely pinioned, the scout released his 
 hold, and Duncan laid his enemy on his back, utterly helpless. 
 
 Throughout the whole of this sudden and extraordinary 
 operation Magua, though he had struggled violently, until 
 assured he was in the hands of one whose nerves were far 
 better ^strung than his own, had not uttered the slightest ex- 
 clamation. But when Hawk-eye, by way of making a sum- 
 
68 THh LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 mary explanation of his conduct, removed the shaggy jaws of 
 the beast, and exposed his own rugged and earnest counte- 
 nance to the gaze of the Huron, the philosophy of the latter 
 was so far mastered as to permit him to utter the never* 
 failing 
 
 " Hugh ! " 
 
 " Ay ! you've found your tongue," said his undisturbed 
 conqueror ; " now, in order that you shall not use it to our 
 ruin, I must make free to stop your mouth." 
 
 As there was no time to be lost, the scout immediately set 
 about' effecting so necessary a precaution ; and when he had 
 gagged the Indian, his enemy might safely have been con- 
 sidered as " hors de combat." 
 
 " By what place did the imp enter ? " asked the industri- 
 ous scout, when his work was ended. " Not a soul has passed 
 my way since you left me." 
 
 Duncan pointed out the door by which Magua had come, 
 and which now presented too many obstacles to a quick 
 retreat. 
 
 " Bring on the gentle one then," continued his friend ; " we 
 must make a push for the woods by the other outlet," 
 
 " Tis impossible ! " said Duncan , " fear has overcome her, 
 and she is helpless. Alice I my sweet, my own Alice, arouse 
 yourself ! now is the moment to fly. Tis'in vain ! she hears, 
 but is unable to follow. Go, noble and worthy friend ; save 
 youiseif, and leave me to my fate ! " 
 
 " Every trail has its end, and every calamity brings its 
 essor " returned the scout. " There, wrap her in them In- 
 dian cloths Conceal all of her little form. Nay, that foot 
 ha;" ,o tellow in the wilderness ; it will betray her. All, every 
 part Now take her in your arms, and follow. Leave the 
 
 rest to me." 
 
 Duncan, as may be gathered from the words of his com- 
 panion, was eagerly obeying ; and as the other finished speak- 
 ing, he took the light person of Alice in his arms, and fol- 
 lowed on the footsteps of the scout. They found the sick 
 woman as they had left her, still alone, and passed swiftly on, 
 by the natural gallery, to the place of entrance. As they ap- 
 proached the little door of bark, a murmur of voices without 
 announced that the friends and relatives of the invalid were 
 gathered about the place, patiently awaiting a summons to re- 
 
 n "If I open my lips to speak," Hawk-eye whispered " my 
 English, which is the genuine tongue of a white-skin, will teU 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICAN'S, 269 
 
 the varlets that an enemy is among them. You mustgive 'em 
 your jargon, major ; and say that we have shut the evil spirit 
 in the cave, and are taking the woman to the woods in order 
 to find strengthening roots. Practyse all your cunning, for it 
 is a lawful undertaking." 
 
 The door opened a little, as if one without was listening to 
 the proceedings within, and compelled the scout to cease his 
 directions. A fierce growl repelled the eaves-dropper, and 
 then the scout boldly threw open the covering of bark, and 
 left the place, enacting the character of the bear as he pro- 
 ceeded. Duncan kept close at his heels, and soon found him- 
 self in the centre of a cluster of twenty anxious relatives and 
 friends. 
 
 The crowd fell back a little, and permitted the father, and 
 one who appeared to be the husband of the woman to ap- 
 proach. 
 
 " Has my brother driven away the evil spirit ? " demanded 
 the former. " What has he in his arms ? " 
 
 "Thy child," returned Duncan, gravely ; " the disease 'has 
 gone out of her ; it is shut up in the rocks. I take the woman 
 to a distance, where I will strengthen her against any further 
 attacks. She shall be in the wigwam of the young man when 
 the sun comes again." 
 
 When the father had translated the meaning of the 
 stranger's words into the Huron language, a suppressed mur- 
 mur announced the satisfaction with which this intelligence 
 was received. The chief himself waved his hand for Duncan 
 to proceed, saying aloud, in a firm voice, and with a lofty 
 manner, 
 
 " Go I am a man, and I will enter the rock and fight the 
 wicked one." 
 
 Heyward had gladly obeyed, and was already past the 
 little group, when these startling words arrested him. 
 
 " Is my brother mad ! " he exclaimed ; " is he cruel ! He 
 will meet the disease, and it will enter him ; or he will drive 
 out the disease, and it will chase his daughter into the woods. 
 Nolet my children wait without, and if the spirit appears 
 beat him down with clubs. He is cunning, and will bury him- 
 self in the mountain when he sees how many are ready to fight 
 him," 
 
 This singular warning had the desired effect. Instead of 
 entering the cavern the father and husband drew their toma- 
 hawks and posted themselves in readiness to deal their ven- 
 geance on the imaginary tormentor of their sick relative, whil* 
 the women and children broke branches from the bushes, or 
 
2 70 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS'. 
 
 seized fragments of the rock, with a similar intention. Al 
 this favorable moment the counterfeit conjurers disappeared 
 
 Hawk-eye, at the same time that he had presumed so fat 
 on the nature of the Indian superstitions, was not ignorant 
 that they were rather tolerated than relied on by the wisest 
 of the chiefs. He well knew the value of time in the present 
 emergency. Whatever might be the extent of the self-delu- 
 sions of his enemies, and however it had tended to assist his 
 schemes, the slightest cause of suspicion, acting on the subtle 
 nature of an Indian, would be likely to prove fatal. Taking 
 the path, therefore, that was most likely to avoid observation, 
 he rather skirted than entered the village. The warriors were 
 still to be seen in the distance, by the fading light of the fires, 
 stalking from lodge to lodge. But the children had aban- 
 doned their sports for their beds of skin, and the quiet of 
 night was already beginning to prevail over the turbulence 
 and excitement of so busy and important an evening. 
 
 Alice revived under the renovating influence of the open 
 air, and as her physical rather than her mental powers had 
 been the subject of weakness, she stood in no need of any 
 explanation of that which had occurred. 
 
 " Now let me make an effort to walk," she said, when they 
 had entered the forest, blushing, though unseen, that she had 
 not been sooner able to quit the arms of Duncan ; " I am in- 
 deed restored." 
 
 " Nay, Alice, you are yet too weak." 
 
 The maiden struggled gently to release herself, and Hey- 
 ward was compelled to part with his precious burden. The 
 representative of the bear had certainly been an entire stranger 
 to the delicious emotions of the lover while his arms encircled 
 his mistress ; and he was, perhaps, a stranger also to the 
 nature of that feeling of ingenuous shame that oppressed the 
 trembling Alice. But when he found himself at a suitable 
 distance from the lodges he made a halt, and spoke on a sub- 
 ject of which he was thoroughly the master. 
 
 "This path will lead you to the brook," he said : "follow 
 its northern bank until you come to a fall ; mount the hill on 
 your right, and you will see the fires of the other people. 
 There you must go, and demand protection ; if they are true 
 Delawares, you will be safe. A distant flight with that gentle 
 one, just now, is ir/ipossible. The Hurons would follow up 
 our trail, and master our scalps before we had got a dozen 
 miles. Go, and Providence be with you." 
 
 '* And you ! " demanded Heyward, ii> surprise ; " surety 
 We part not here ? " 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOfffCAJVS. ?T 
 
 "The Hurons hold the pride of the Delawares : the last 
 of the high blood of the Mohicans is in their power," returned 
 their scout ; " I go to see what can be done in his favor. Had 
 they mastered your scalp, major, a knave should have fallen 
 for every hair it held, as I promised ; but if the young Saga- 
 more is to be led to the stake, the Indians shall see, also, how 
 a man without a cross can die." 
 
 Not in the least offended with the decided preference that 
 the sturdy woodsman gave to one who might, in some degree, 
 be called the child of his adoption, Duncan still continued to 
 urge such reasons against so desperate an effort a* presented 
 themselves. He was aided by Alice, who mingled her entreat- 
 ies with those of Heyward that he would abandon a resolu- 
 tion that promised so much danger, with so little hope of 
 success. Their eloquence and ingenuity were expended in 
 vain. The scout heard them attentively, but impatiently, 
 and finally closed the discussion by answering, in a tone that 
 instantly silenced Alice, while it told Heyward how fruitless 
 any further remonstrances would be. 
 
 I have heard,'*' he said, " that there is a feeling in youth 
 which binds man to woman closer than the father is tied to 
 the son. It may be so. I have seldom been where women 
 of my color dwell ; but such may be the gifts of nature in the 
 settlements. You have risked life and all that is dear to you 
 to bring off this gentle one, and I suppose that some such 
 disposition is at the bottom of it all. As for me, I taught 
 the lad the real character of a rifle ; and well has he paid me 
 for it. I have fou't at his side in many a bloody skrimmage ; 
 and so long as I could hear the crack of his piece in one ear 
 and that of the Sagamore in the other, I knew no enemy was 
 on my back. Winters and summers, nights and days, have 
 we roved the wilderness in company, eating of the same dish, 
 one sleeping while the other watched ; and afore it shall be 
 said that Uncas was taken to the torment, and I at hand- 
 There is but a single ruler of us all, whatever may be the 
 color of the skin ; and him I call to witness that before the 
 Mohican boy shall perish for the want of a friend, good faith 
 shall depart the 'arth, and ' Kill-deer ' become as harmless as 
 the tooting we'pon of the singer ! " 
 
 Duncan released his hold on the arm of the scout, who 
 turned and steadily retraced his steps towards the lodges. 
 After passing a moment to gaze at his retiring form, the suc- 
 cessful and yet sorrowful Heyward and Alice took their way 
 together towards the distant village of the Delawares. 
 
OF THE MOHICANS 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Bot. Let me play the lion, too. 
 
 MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. 
 
 NOTWITHSTANDING the high resolution of Hawk-eye, he fully 
 comprehended all the difficulties and dangers he was about 
 to incur. In his return to the camp, his acute and practised 
 intellects were intently engaged in devising means to counter- 
 act a watchfulness and suspicion on the part of his enemies, 
 that he knew were in no degree inferior to his own. Nothing 
 but the color of his skin had saved the lives of Magua and 
 the conjurer, who would have been the first victims sacrificed 
 to his own security, had not the scout believed such an act, 
 however congenial it might be to the nature of an Indian, 
 utterly unworthy of one who boasted a descent from men 
 that knew no cross of blood. Accordingly, he trusted to the 
 withes and ligaments with which he had bound his captives, 
 and pursued his way directly towards the centre of the 
 Jodges. 
 
 As he approached the buildings, his steps became more 
 deliberate, and his vigilant eye suffered no sign, whether 
 friendly or hostile, to escape him. A neglected hut was a 
 little in advance of the others, and appeared as if it had been 
 deserted when half completed most probably on account of 
 failing in some of the more important requisites ; such as 
 wood or water. A faint light glimmered through its cracks, 
 however, and announced that, notwithstanding its imperfect 
 structure, it was not without a tenant. Thither, then, the 
 scout proceeded like a prudent general, who was about to feel 
 the advance positions of his enemy, before he hazarded the 
 main attack. 
 
 Thr wing himself into a suitable posture for the beast he 
 represented, Hawk-eye crawled to a little opening, where he 
 might command a view of the interior. It proved to be the 
 abiding-place of David Gamut. Hither the faithful singing- 
 master had now brought himself, together with all his sorrows, 
 his apprehensions, and his meek dependence en the protection 
 of Providence. At the precise moment when his ungainly 
 person came under the observation of the scout, in the man- 
 ner just mentioned, the woodsman himself, though in his 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 273 
 
 assumed character, was, the subject of the solitary being's 
 profoundest reflections. 
 
 However implicit the faith of David was in the performance 
 of ancient miracles, he eschewed the belief of any direct 
 supernatural agency in the management of modern morality. 
 In other words, while he had implicit faith in the ability of 
 Balaam's ass to speak, he was somewhat skeptical on the 
 subject of a bear's singing ; and yet he had been assured of 
 the latter, on the testimony of his own exquisite organs. 
 There was something in his air and manner that betrayed to 
 the scout the utter confusion of the state of his mind. He 
 was seated on a pile of brush, a few twigs from which occasion- 
 ally fed his low fire, with his head leaning on his arm, in a 
 posture of melancholy musing. The costume of the votary of 
 music had undergone no other alteration from that so lately 
 described, except that he had covered his bald head with the 
 triangular beaver, which had not proved sufficiently alluring 
 to excite the cupidity of any of his captors. 
 
 The ingenious Hawk-eye, who recalled the hasty manner 
 in which the other had abandoned his post at the bedside of 
 the sick woman, was not without his suspicions concerning 
 the subject of so much solemn deliberation. First making the 
 circuit of the hut, and ascertaining that it stood quite alone, 
 and that the character of its inmate was likely to protect it 
 from visitors, he ventured through its low door, into the very 
 presence of Gamut. The position of the latter brought the 
 fire between them ; and when Hawk-eye had seated himself 
 on end, near a minute elapsed, during which the two re- 
 mained regarding each other without speaking. The sudden- 
 ness and the nature of the surprise had nearly proved too 
 much for we will not say the philosophy but for the faith 
 and resolution of David. He fumbled for his pitch-pipe, and 
 arose with a confused intention of attempting a musical ex* 
 orcism. 
 
 " Dark and mysterious monster ! " he exclaimed, while 
 with trembling hands he disposed of his auxiliary eyes, and 
 sought his never-failing resource in trouble, the gifted version 
 of the Psalms ; " I know not your nature nor intents ; but if 
 aught you meditate against the person and rights of one of 
 the humblest servants of the temple, listen to the inspired 
 language of the youth of Israel, and repent." 
 
 The bear shook his shaggy sides, and then a well-known 
 voice replied, 
 
 " Put up the tooting we'pon, and teach your throat modesty. 
 
4 y 4 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 .Five words of plain and comprehendible English are worth, 
 just now, an hour of squalling." 
 
 " What art thou ? " demanded David, utterly disqualified 
 to pursue his original intention, and nearly gasping for 
 breath. 
 
 " A man like yourself ; and one whose blood is as little 
 tainted by the cross of a bear, or an Indian, as your own. 
 Have you so soon forgotten from whom you received the 
 foolish instrument you hold in your hand ? " 
 
 " Can these things be ? " returned David, breathing more 
 freely, as the truth began to dawn upon him. " I have found 
 many marvels during my sojourn with the heathen, but surely 
 nothing to excel this!" 
 
 " Come, come," returned Hawk-eye, uncasing his honest 
 countenance, the better to assure the wavering confidence of 
 his companion \ " you may see a skin, which, if it be not as 
 white as one of the gentle ones, has no tinge of red to it that 
 the winds of the heaven and the sun have not bestowed. Now 
 let us to business." 
 
 " First, tell me of the maiden, and of the youth who so 
 bravely sought her," interrupted David. 
 
 " Ay, they are happily freed from the tomahawks of these 
 varlets. But can you put me on the scent of Uncas ? " 
 
 " The young man is in bondage, and much I fear his death 
 is decreed. I greatly mourn that one so well-disposed should 
 die in his ignorance, and I have sought a goodly hymn " 
 
 " Can you lead me to him ? " 
 
 " The task will not be difficult," returned David, hesita- 
 ting ; " though I greatly fear your presence would rather in- 
 crease than mitigate his unhappy fortunes." 
 
 " No more words, but lead on," returned Hawk-eye, con- 
 cealing his face again, and setting the example in his own 
 person by instantly quitting the lodge. 
 
 As they proceeded, the scout ascertained that his com- 
 panion found access to Uncas, under privilege of his imagin- 
 ary infirmity, aided by the favor he had acquired with one of 
 the guards who, in consequence of speaking a little English, 
 had been selected by David as the subject of a religious con- 
 version. How far the Huron comprehended the intentions 
 of his new friend, may well be doubted ; but as exclusive 
 attention is as flattering to a savage as to a more civilized 
 individual, it had produced the effect we have mentioned. It 
 is unnecessary to repeat the shrewd manner with which the 
 scout extracted these particulars from the simple David; 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 275 
 
 neither shall we dwell, in this place, on the nature of the in- 
 structions he delivered, when completely master of all the 
 necessary facts ; as the whole will be sufficiently explained to 
 the reader in the course of the narrative. 
 
 The lodge in which Uncas was confined was in the very 
 centre of the village, and in a situation, perhaps, more diffi- 
 cult than any other to approach, or leave, without observation. 
 But it was not the policy of Hawk-eye to affect the least con- 
 cealment. Presuming on his disguise, and his ability to 
 sustain the character he had assumed, he took the most plain 
 and direct route to the place.. The hour, however, afforded 
 him some little of that protection which he appeared so much 
 to despise. The boys were already buried in sleep, and all 
 the women and most of the warriors had retired to the lodges 
 for the night. Four or five of the latter only lingered about 
 the door of the prison of Uncas, wary but close observers of 
 the manner of their captive. 
 
 At the sight of Gamut, accompanied by one in the well 
 known masquerade of their most distinguished conjurer, they 
 readily made way for them both. Still they betrayed no in- 
 tention to depart. On the other hand, they were evidently 
 disposed to remain bound to the place by an additional inter- 
 est in the mysterious mummeries that they of course expected 
 from such a visit 
 
 From the total inability of the scout to address the Hurons 
 in their own language, he was compelled to trust the con- 
 versation entirely to David. Notwithstanding the simplicity 
 of the latter, he did ample justice to the instructions he had 
 received, more than fulfilling the strongest hopes of his 
 teacher. 
 
 "The Delawares are women ! " he exclaimed, addressing 
 himself to the savage who had a slight understanding of the 
 language in which he spoke ; " the Yengeese, my foolish 
 countrymen, have told them to take up the tomahawk, and 
 strike their fathers in the Canadas, and they have forgotten 
 their sex. Does my brother wish to hear * Le Cerf agile ' ask 
 for his petticoats, and see him weep before the Hurons at the 
 stake ? " 
 
 The exclamation " hugh ! " delivered in a strong tone of 
 assent, announced the gratification the savage would receive 
 in witnessing such an exhibition of weakness in an enemy so 
 long hated and so much feared. 
 
 " Then let him step aside, and the cunning man will blew 
 upon the dog J Tell it to my brothers." 
 
4 7 6 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 The Huron explained the meaning of David to his fellows, 
 who, in their turn, listened to the project with that sort oi 
 satisfaction that their untamed spirits might be expected to 
 find in such a refinement in cruelty. They drew back a 
 Kttle from the entrance, and motioned to the supposed con- 
 jurer to enter. But the bear, instead of obeying, maintained 
 the seat it had taken, and growled. 
 
 " The cunning man is afraid that his breath will blow upon 
 his brothers, and take away their courage too," continued 
 David, improving the hint he had received ; " they must stand 
 further off." 
 
 The Hurons, who would have deemed such a misfortune 
 the heaviest calamity that could befall them, fell back in a 
 body, taking a position where they were out of earshot, though 
 at the same time they could command a view of the entrance 
 of the lodge. Then, as if satisfied of their safety, the scout 
 left his position, and slowly entered the place. It was silent 
 and gloomy, being tenanted solely by the captive, and lighted 
 by the dying embers of a fire, which had been used for the 
 purposes of cookery. 
 
 Uncas occupied a distant corner, in a reclining attitude, 
 being rigidly bound, both hands and feet, by strong and pain- 
 ful withes. When the frightful object first presented itself to 
 the young Mohican, he did not deign to bestow a single glance 
 on the animal. The scout, who had left David at the door, 
 to ascertain they were not observed, thought it prudent to 
 preserve his disguise until assured of their privacy. Instead 
 of speaking, therefore, he exerted himself to enact one of the 
 antics of the animal he represented. The young Mohican, 
 who at first believed his enemies had sent in a real beast to 
 torment him, and try his nerves, detected, in those perform- 
 ances that to Heyward had appeared so accurate, certain 
 blemishes, that at once betrayed the counterfeit. Had Hawk- 
 eye been aware of the low estimation in which the more skil- 
 ful Uncas held his representations, he would probably have 
 prolonged the entertainment a little in pique. But the scorn* 
 ful expression of the young man's eye admitted of so many 
 constructions, that the worthy scout was spared the mortifi- 
 cation of such a discovery. As soon, therefore, as David 
 gave the preconcerted signal, a low hissing sound was heard 
 in the lodge, in place of the fierce growlings of the bear. 
 
 Uncas had cast his body back against the wall of the hut, 
 and closed his eyes, as if willing to exclude so contemptible 
 and disagreeable an object from his sight. But the momenj 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 277 
 
 the noise of the serpent was heard, he arose, and cast his 
 looks on each side of him, bending his head low, and turning 
 it inquiringly in every direction, until his keen eye rested on 
 the shaggy monster where it remained riveted, as though fixed 
 by the power of a charm. Again the same sounds were repeated, 
 evidently proceeding from the mouth of the beast. Once 
 more the eyes of the youth roamed over the interior of the 
 lodge, and returning to their former resting-place, he uttered, 
 in a deep, suppressed voice, 
 
 " Hawk-eye ! " 
 
 " Cut his bands," said Hawk-eye to David, who just then 
 approached them. 
 
 The singer did as he was ordered, and Uncas found his 
 limbs released. At the same moment the dried skin of the 
 animal rattled, and presently the scout arose to his feet, in 
 proper person. The Mohican appeared to comprehend the 
 nature of the attempt his friend had made, intuitively ; neither 
 tongue nor feature betraying another symptom of surprise. 
 When Hawk-eye had cast his shaggy vestment, which was 
 done by simply loosing certain thongs of skin, he drew a long 
 glittering knife, and put it in the hands of Uncas. 
 
 " The red Hurons are without," he said ; " let us be 
 ready " 
 
 At the same time he laid his ringer significantly on another 
 similar weapon, both being the fruits of his prowess among 
 their enemies during the evening. 
 
 " We will go," said Uncas. 
 
 " Whither ? " 
 
 " To the tortoises ; they are the children of my grand- 
 fathers." 
 
 " Ay, lad," said the scout in English a language he was 
 Apt to use when a little abstracted in mind ; ' l the same blood 
 runs in your veins, I believe ; but time and distance has a 
 little changed its color. What shall we do with the Mingoes 
 at the door ? They count six, and this singer is as good as 
 nothing." 
 
 " The Hurons are boasters," said Uncas scornfully ; 
 " their ' totem ' is a moose, and they run like snails. The 
 Delawares are children of the tortoise, and they outstrip the 
 deer." 
 
 " Ay, lad, there is truth in what you say ; and I doubt not, 
 on a rush, you would pass the whole nation ; and in a straight 
 race of two miles, would be in, and get your breath again, 
 afore a knave of them all was within hearing of the other 
 
* 7 g Tff-E LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 village. But the gift of a white man lies more in his armi 
 than in his legs. As for myself, I can brain a Huron as well 
 as a better man ; but .when it comes to a race, the knaves 
 would prove too much for me." 
 
 Uncas, who had already approached the door, in readiness 
 to lead the way, now recoiled and placed himself, once more 3 
 in the bottom of the lodge. But Hawk-eye, who was too 
 much occupied with his own thoughts to note the movement, 
 continued speaking more to himself than to his companion. 
 
 " After all," he said, " it is unreasonable to keep one man 
 in bondage to the gifts of another. So, Uncas, you had 
 better take the leap, while I put on the skin again, and trust 
 to cunning for want of speed." 
 
 The young Mohican made no reply, but quietly folded his 
 arms, and leaned his body against one of the upright posts 
 that supported the wall of the hut. 
 
 "Well," said the scout, looking up at him, "why do you 
 tarry ? There will be time enough for me, as the knaves will 
 give chase to you at first." 
 
 "Uncas will stay," was the calm reply. 
 
 " For what ? " 
 
 " To fight with his father's brother, and die with the friend 
 of the Delawares." 
 
 "Ay, lad," returned Hawk-eye, squeezing the hand of 
 Uncas between his own iron fingers ; " 'twould have been 
 more like a Mingo than a Mohican had you left me. But I 
 thought I would make the offer, seeing that youth commonly 
 loves life. Well, what can't be done by main courage in war, 
 must be done by circumvention. Put on the skin ; I doubt 
 not you can play the bear nearly as well as myself." 
 
 Whatever might have been the private opinion of Uncas 
 of their respective abilities in this particular, his grave counte- 
 nance manifested no opinion of his own superiority. He 
 silently and expeditiously encased himself in the covering of 
 the beast, and then awaited such other movements as his more 
 aged companion saw fit to dictate. 
 
 " Now, friend," said Hawk-eye, addressing David, "an 
 exchange of garments will be a great convenience to you, 
 inasmuch as you are but little accustomed to the make-shifts of 
 the wilderness. Here, take my hunting shirt and cap, and 
 give me your blanket and hat. You must trust me with the 
 book and spectacles, as well as the tooter, too ; if we evet 
 meet again, in better times, you shall have all back again, 
 with many thanks into the bargain." 
 
LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 279 
 
 David parted with the several articles named with a readi- 
 ness that would have clone great credit to his liberality, had 
 he not certainly profited, in many particulars, by the exchange. 
 Hawk-eye was not long in assuming his borrowed garments ; 
 and when his restless eyes were hid behind the glasses, and 
 his head was surmounted by the triangular beaver, as their 
 statures were not dissimilar, he might readily have passed for 
 the singer by star-light. As soon as these dispositions were 
 made, the scout turned to David, and gave him his parting 
 instructions. 
 
 " Are you much given to cowardice ? " he bluntly asked, 
 by way of obtaining a suitable understanding of the whole 
 case before he ventured a prescription. 
 
 ' ' My pursuits are peaceful, and my temper, I humbly 
 trust, is greatly given to mercy and love, ' returned David, a 
 little nettled at so direct an attack on his manhood ; " but 
 there are none who can say that I have ever forgotten my faith 
 in the Lord, even in the greatest straits." 
 
 " Your chiefest danger will be at the moment when the 
 savages find out that they have been deceived. If you are 
 not then knocked in the head, your being a non-composser 
 will protect you ; and you'll then have good reason to expecl 
 to die in your bed. If you stay, it must be to sit down here 
 .n the shadow, and take the part of Uncas, until such times as 
 -he cunning of the Indians discover the cheat, when, as I have 
 already said, your time of trial will come. So choose for your- 
 self, to make a rush or tarry here." 
 
 " Even so," said David, firmly ; " I will abide in the place 
 of the Delaware. Bravely and generously has he battled in 
 my behalf ; and this, and more, will I dare in his service." 
 
 " You have spoken as a man, and like one who, under 
 wiser schooling, would have been brought to better things. 
 Hold your head down, and draw in your legs ; their formation 
 might tell the truth too early. Keep silent as long as may 
 be ; and it would be wise when you do speak, to break out sud- 
 denly in one of your shoutings, which will serve to remind the 
 Indians that you are not altogether as responsible as men 
 should be. If, however, they take your scalp, as I trust and 
 believe they will not, depend on it, Uncas and I will not forget 
 the deed, but revenge it as becomes true warriors and trusty 
 friends." 
 
 " Hold ! " said David, perceiving that with this assurance 
 they were about to leave him ; " I am an unworthy and hum* 
 ble follower of one who taught not the damnable principle of 
 
2 So THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 revenge. Should I fall, therefore, seek no victims to my 
 manes, but rather forgive my destroyers ; and if you remembei 
 them at all, let it be in prayers for the enlightening of theii 
 minds and for their eternal welfare." 
 
 The scout hesitated, and appeared to muse. 
 
 " There is a principle in that," he said, " different from the 
 law of the woods ; and yet it is fair and noble to reflect upon." 
 Then, heaving a heavy sigh, probably among the last he ever 
 drew in pining for a condition he had so long abandoned, he 
 added, " it is what I would wish to practise myself, as one 
 without a cross of blood, though it is not always easy to deal 
 with an Indian as you would with a fellow-Christian. God 
 bless you, friend ; I do believe your scent is not greatly wrong, 
 when the matter is duly considered, and keeping eternity be- 
 fore the eyes, though much depends on the natural gifts, and 
 the force of temptation." 
 
 So saying, the scout returned and shook David cordially 
 by the hand ; after which act of friendship he immediately left 
 the lodge, attended by the new representative of the beast. 
 
 The instant Hawk-eye found himself under the observation 
 of the Hurons, he drew up his tall form in the rigid manner 
 of David, threw out his arm in the act of keeping time, and 
 commenced what he intended for an imitation of his psalmody. 
 Happily for the success of this delicate adventure, he had to 
 deal with ears but little practised in the concord of sweet 
 sounds, or the miserable effort would infallibly have been de- 
 tected. It was necessary to pass within a dangerous proximity 
 of the dark group of the savages, and the voice of the scout 
 grew louder as they drew nigher. When at the nearest point, 
 the Huron who spoke the English thrust out an arm, and 
 stopped the supposed singing master. 
 
 " The Delaware dog ! " he said, leaning forward, and 
 peering through the dim light to catch the expression of the 
 other's features ; " is he afraid ? will the Hurons hear his 
 groans ? " 
 
 A growl so exceedingly fierce and natural proceeded from 
 the beast, that the young Indian released his hold and started 
 aside, as if to assure himself that it was not a veritable bear, 
 and no counterfeit, that was rolling before him. Hawk-eye, 
 who feared his voice would betray him to his subtle enemies, 
 gladly profited by the interruption, to break out anew in such 
 a burst of musical expression as would probably, in a more 
 refined state of society, have been termed " a grand crash." 
 Among his actual auditors, however, it merely gave him an 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 2 8^ 
 
 additional claim to that respect which they never withhold 
 from such as are believed to be the subjects of mental aliena- 
 tion. The little knot of Indians drew back in a body and 
 suffered, as they thought, the conjurer and his inspired assist- 
 ant to proceed. 
 
 It required no common exercise of fortitude in Uncas and 
 the scout, to continue the dignified and deliberate pace they 
 had assumed in passing the lodges \ especially as they imme- 
 diately perceived that curiosity had so far mastered fear, as to 
 induce the watchers to approach the hut, in order to witness 
 the effect of the incantations. The least injudicious or im- 
 patient movement on the part of David might betray them, 
 and time was absolutely necessary to insure the safety of the 
 scout. The loud noise the latter conceived it politic to con 
 tinue, drew many curious gazers to the doors of the different 
 huts as they passed and once or twice a dark-looking warrior 
 stepped across their path, led to the act by superstition or 
 watchfulness. They were not, however, interrupted ; the 
 darkness of the hour and the boldness of the attempt, prov- 
 ing their principal friends. 
 
 The adventurers had got clear of the village, and were now 
 swiftly approaching the shelter of the woods, when a loud and 
 long cry arose from the lodge where Uncas had been confined. 
 The Mohican started on his feet, and shook his shaggy cover- 
 ing, as though the animal he counterfeited was about to make 
 some desperate effort. 
 
 " Hold ! " said the scout, grasping his friend by the 
 shoulder, " let them yell again. 'Twas nothing but wonder- 
 ment." 
 
 He had no occasion to delay, for at the next instant a 
 burst of cries filled the outer air, and ran along the whole ex- 
 tent of the village. Uncas cast his skin, and stepped forth in 
 his own beautiful proportions. Hawk-eye tapped him lightly 
 on the shoulder, and glided ahead. 
 
 " Now let the devils strike our scent," said the scout, tear- 
 ing two rifles, with all their attendant accoutrements, from 
 beneath a bush, and flourishing "kill-deer" as he handed 
 Uncas his weapon ; " two at least, will find it to their deaths." 
 
 Then throwing their pieces to a low trail, like sportsmen 
 in readiness for their game, they dashed forward, and were 
 soon buried in the sombre darkness of the forest. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICAN'S 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Ant. I shall remember : 
 
 When Caesar says, do (/its, it is performed. 
 
 JULIUS 
 
 THE impatience of the savages who lingered about the 
 prison of Uncas, as has been seen, had overcome their dread 
 of the conjurer's breath. They stole cautiously, and with 
 beating hearts, to a crevice, through which the faint light of 
 the fire was glimmering. For several minutes they mistook 
 the form of David for that of their prisoner ; but the very 
 accident which Hawk-eye had foreseen occurred. Tired of 
 keeping the extremities of his long person so near together, 
 the singer gradually suffered the lower limbs to extend them- 
 selves, until one of his misshapen feet actually came in con- 
 tact with and shoved aside the embers of the fire. At first 
 the Hurons believed the Delaware had been thus deformed 
 by witchcraft. But when David, unconscious of being ob- 
 served, turned his head, and exposed his simple, mild coun- 
 tenance, in place of the haughty lineaments of their prisoner, 
 it would have exceeded the credulity of even a native to have 
 doubted any longer. They rushed together into the lodge, 
 and laying their hands, with but little ceremony, on their cap- 
 tive, immediately detected the imposition. Then arose the 
 cry first heard by the fugitives. It was succeeded by the 
 most frantic arid angry demonstrations of vengeance. David, 
 however firm in his determination to cover the retreat of his 
 friends, was compelled to believe that his own final hour had 
 come. Deprived of his book and his pipe, he was fain to 
 trust to a memory that rarely failed him on such subjects : 
 and breaking forth in a loud and impassioned strain, he en- 
 deavored to smooth his passage into the other world, by sing- 
 ing the opening verse of a funeral anthem. The Indians 
 were seasonably reminded of his infirmity, and rushing into 
 the open air, they aroused the village in the manner de- 
 scribed. 
 
 A native warrior fights as he sleeps, without the protec* 
 don of anything defensive. The sounds of the alarm were, 
 therefore, hardly uttered, before two hundred men were afoot, 
 and ready for the battle or the chase, as either might be re' 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 283 
 
 quired. The escape was soon known ; and the whole tribe 
 crowded, in a body, around the council lodge, impatiently 
 awaiting the instruction of their chiefs. In such a sudden 
 demand on their wisdom, the presence of the cunning Magua 
 could scarcely fail of being needed. His name was men- 
 tioned, and all looked round in wonder that he did not ap 
 pear. Messengers were then despatched to his lodge, requir- 
 ing his presence. 
 
 In the mean time, some of the swiftest and most discreet 
 of the young men were ordered to make the circuit of the 
 clearing, under cover of the woods, in order to ascertain that 
 their suspected neighbors, the Delawares, designed no mis- 
 chief. Women and children ran to and fro ; and, in short, 
 the whole encampment exhibited another scene of wild and 
 savage confusion. Gradually, however, these symptoms of 
 disorder diminished ; and in a few minutes the oldest and 
 most distinguished chiefs were assembled in the lodge, in 
 grave consultation. 
 
 The clamor of many voices soon announced that a party 
 approached, who might be expected to communicate some 
 intelligence that would explain the mystery of the novel sur- 
 prise. The crowd without gave way, and several warriors 
 entered the place, bringing with them the hapless conjurer, 
 who had been left so long by the scout in duress. 
 
 Notwithstanding this man was held in very unequal esti- 
 mation among the Hurons, some believing implicitly in his 
 power, and others deeming him an impostor, he was now 
 listened to by all with the deepest attention. When his brief 
 story was ended, the father of the sick woman stepped forth, 
 and, in a few pithy expressions, related, in his turn, what he 
 knew. These two narratives gave a proper direction to the 
 subsequent inquiries, which were now made with the charac- 
 teristic cunning of savages. 
 
 Instead of rushing in a confused and disorderly throng to 
 the cavern, ten of the wisest and firmest among the chiefs 
 were selected to prosecute the investigation. As no time was 
 to be lost, the instant the choice was made the individuals 
 appointed arose in a body, and left the place without speak- 
 ing. On reaching the entrance, the younger men in advance 
 made way for their seniors ; and the whole proceeded along 
 the low, dark gallery, with the firmness of warriors ready to 
 devote themselves to the public good, though, at the same 
 time, secretly doubting the nature of the power with which 
 they were about to contend. 
 
484 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 The outer apartment of the cavern was silent ana gloomy. 
 The woman lay in her usual place and posture, though there 
 were those present who affirmed that they had seen her borne 
 to the woods, by the supposed " medicine of the white man." 
 Such a direct and palpable contradiction of the tale related 
 by the father, caused all eyes to be turned on him. Chafed 
 by the silent imputation, and inwardly troubled by so unac- 
 countable a circumstance, the chief advanced to the side of the 
 bed, and stooping, cast an incredulous look at the features, 
 as if distrusting their reality. His daughter was dead. 
 
 The unerring feeling of nature for a moment prevailed, 
 and the old warrior hid his eyes in sorrow. Then recovering 
 his self-possession, he faced his companions, and pointing 
 towards the corpse, he said, in the language of his people, 
 
 " The wife of my young man has left us ! the Great Spirit 
 is angry with his children." 
 
 The mournful intelligence was received in solemn silence. 
 After a short pause, one of the elder Indians was about to 
 speak, when a dark-looking object was seen rolling out of an 
 adjoining apartment, into the very centre of the room where 
 they stood. Ignorant of the nature of the beings they had to 
 deal with, the whole pa.Cy drew back a little, and gazed in 
 admiration, until the object fronted the light, and rising on 
 end, exhibited the distorted, but still fierce and sullen, feat- 
 ures of Magua. The discovery was succeeded by a general 
 exclamation of amusement. 
 
 As soon, however, as the true situation of the chief was 
 understood, several ready knives appeared, and his limbs and 
 tongue were quickly released. The Huron arose, and shook 
 himself like a lion quitting his lair. Not a word escaped him, 
 though his hand played convulsively with the handle of his 
 knife, while his lowering eyes scanned the whole party, as if 
 they sought an object suited to the first burst of his vengeance. 
 
 It was happy for Uncas and the scout, and even David, 
 that they were all beyond the reach of his arm at such a mo 
 ment ; for, assuredly, no refinement in cruelty would then 
 have deferred their death, in opposition to the promptings oi 
 the fierce temper that nearly choked him. Meeting every- 
 where faces that he knew as friends, the savage grated his 
 teeth together like rasps of iron, and swallowed his passion 
 for want of a victim on whom to vent it. This exhibition of 
 anger was noted by all present and, from an apprehension 
 of exasperating a temper that was already chafed nearly to 
 madness, several minutes were suffered to pass before anothe/ 
 
, THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 385 
 
 word was uttered. When, however, suitable time had elapsed, 
 the oldest of the party spoke. 
 
 " My friend has found an enemy," he said. " Is he nigh, 
 that the Hurons may take revenge ? " 
 
 *' Let the Delaware die ! " exclaimed Magua, in a voice of 
 thunder. 
 
 Another long and expressive silence was observed, and 
 was broken, as before, with due precaution, by the same in- 
 dividual. 
 
 " The Mohican is swift of foot, and leaps far," he said ; 
 " but my young men are on his trail." 
 
 " Is he gone ? " demanded Magua in tones so deep and 
 guttural, that they seemed to proceed from his inmost chest. 
 
 " An evil spirit has been among us, and the Delaware has 
 blinded our eyes." 
 
 " An evil spirit ! " repeated the other mockingly ; " 'tis the 
 spirit that has taken the lives of so many Hurons. The spirit 
 that slew my young men at ' the tumbling river ; ' that took 
 their scalps at the * healing spring ; ' and who has, now, bound 
 the arms of Le Renard Subtil ! " 
 
 " Of whom does my friend speak ? " 
 
 " Of the dog who carries the heart and cunning of a Huron 
 under a pale skin La longue Carabine." 
 
 The pronunciation of so terrible a name produced the 
 usual effect among his auditors. But when time was given foi 
 reflection, and the warriors remembered that their formidable 
 and daring enemy had even been in the bosom of their en- 
 campment, working injury, fearful rage took the place of 
 wonder, and all those fierce passions with which the bosom of 
 Magua had just been struggling were suddenly transferred to 
 his companions. Some among them gnashed their teeth in 
 anger, others vented their feelings in yells, and some, again, 
 beat the air as frantically as if the object of their resentment 
 were suffering under their blows. But this sudden outbreak- 
 ing of temper as quickly subsided in the still and sullen 
 restraint they most affected, in their moments, of inaction. 
 
 Magua, who had, in his turn, found leisure for reflection, 
 now changed his manner, and assumed the air of one who 
 knew how to think and act with a dignity worthy of so grave 
 a subject. 
 
 " Let us go to my people," he said ; " they wait for us." 
 
 His companions consented in silence, and the whole of the 
 savage party left the cavern and returned to the council 
 lodge. When they were seated, all eyes turned on Magua, 
 
j86 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 who understood, from such an indication, that, by common 
 consent, they had devolved the duty of relating what had 
 passed on him. He arose, and told his tale, without duplicity 
 or reservation. The whole deception practised by both Dun- 
 can and Hawk-eye was, of course, laid naked ; and no room 
 was found, even for the most superstitious of the tribe, any 
 longer to affix a doubt on the character of the occurrences. It 
 was but too apparent that they had been insultingly, shame- 
 fully, disgracefully, deceived. When he had ended, and re- 
 sumed his seat, the collected tribe for his auditors, in sub- 
 stance, included all the fighting men of the party sat regard- 
 ing each other like men astonished equally at the audacity 
 and the success of their enemies. The next consideration, 
 however, was the means and opportunities for revenge. 
 
 Additional pursuers were sent on the trail of the fugi- 
 tives ; and then the chiefs applied themselves, in earnest, to 
 the business of consultation. Many different expedients 
 were proposed by the elder warriors, in succession, to all of 
 which Magua was a silent and respectful listener. That subtle 
 savage had recovered his artifice and self-command, and now 
 proceeded towards his object with his customary caution and 
 skill. It was only when each one disposed to speak had ut- 
 tered his sentiments, that he prepared to advance his own 
 opinions. They were given with additional weight from the 
 circumstance, that some of the runners had already returned, 
 and reported, that their enemies had been traced so far as to 
 leave no doubt of their having sought safety in the neighbor- 
 ing camp of their suspected allies the Delawares. With the 
 advantage of possessing this important intelligence, the chief 
 warily laid his plans before his fellows, and, as might have 
 been anticipated from his eloquence and cunning, they were 
 adopted without a dissenting voice. They were, briefly, as 
 follows, both in opinions and in motives. 
 
 It has been already stated that, in obedience to a policy 
 rarely departed from, the sisters were separated as soon as 
 they 'reached the Huron village. Magua had early discovered, 
 that in retaining the person of Alice, he possessed the most 
 effectual check on Cora. When they parted, therefore, he 
 kept the former within reach of his hand, consigning the one 
 he most valued to the keeping of their allies. The arrange- 
 ment was understood to be merely temporary, and was made 
 as much with a view to flatter his neighbors as in obedience to 
 the invariable rule of Indian policy. 
 
 While goaded incessantly by those revengeful impulses 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 287 
 
 that in a savage seldom slumber, the chief was still attentive 
 to his more permanent personal interests. The follies and 
 disloyalty committed in his youth were to be expiated by a 
 long and painful penance ere he could be restored to the full 
 enjoyment of the confidence of his ancient people, and without 
 confidence there could be no authority in an Indian tribe. In 
 this delicate and arduous situation, the crafty native had neg- 
 lected no means of increasing his influence ; and one of the 
 liappiest of his expedients had been, the success with which 
 he had cultivated the favor of their powerful and dangerous 
 neighbors. The result of his experiment had answered all 
 the expectations of his policy ; for the Hurons were in no de- 
 gree exempt from that governing principle of nature, which 
 induces man to value his gifts precisely in the degree that 
 they are appreciated by others. 
 
 But while he was making this ostensible sacrifice to gen- 
 eral considerations, Magua never lost sight of his individual 
 motives. The latter had been frustrated by the unlooked-for 
 events which had placed all his prisoners beyond his control , 
 and he now found himself reduced to the necessity of suing 
 for favors to those whom it had so lately- been his policy to 
 oblige. 
 
 Several of the chiefs had proposed deep and treacherous 
 schemes to surprise the Delawares, and, by gaining posses* 
 sion of their camp, to recover their prisoners by the same blow; 
 for all agreed that their honor, their interest, and the peace 
 and happiness of their dead countrymen, imperiously required 
 them speedily to immolate some victims to their revenge. 
 But plans so dangerous to attempt, and of such doubtful issue, 
 Magua found little difficulty in defeating. He exposed their 
 risk and fallacy with his usual skill ; and it was only after he 
 had removed every impediment, in the shape of opposing 
 advice, that he ventured to propose his own projects. 
 
 He commenced by flattering the self-love of his auditors ; 
 a never-failing method of commanding attention. When he 
 had enumerated the many different occasions on which the 
 Hurons had exhibited their courage and prowess, in the punish- 
 ment of insults, he digressed in a high encomium on the virtue 
 of wisdom. He painted the quality, as forming the great point 
 of difference between the beaver and other brutes ; between 
 brutes and men ; and, finally, between the Hurons, in partic- 
 ular, and the rest of the human race. After he had sufri 
 ciently extolled the property of discretion, he undertook to 
 exhibit in what manner its use was applicable to the present 
 
238 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 situation of their tribe. On the one hand, he said, was theit 
 great pale father, the governor of the Canadas, who had 
 looked upon his children with a hard eye, since their toma- 
 hawks had been so red ; on the other, a people as numerous as 
 themselves, who spoke a different language, possessed different 
 interests, and loved them not, and who would be glad of any 
 pretence to bring them in disgrace with the great white chief. 
 Then he spoke of their necessities ; of the gifts they had a 
 right to expect for their past services ; of their distance from 
 their proper hunting-grounds and native villages ; and of the 
 necessity of consulting prudence more, and inclination less, in 
 so critical circumstances. When he perceived that, while the 
 old men applauded his moderation, many of the fiercest and 
 most distinguished of the warriors listened to these politic 
 plans with lowering looks, he cunningly led them back to the 
 subject which they most loved. He spoke openly of the fruits 
 of their wisdom, which he boldly pronounced would be a com- 
 plete and final triumph over their enemies. He even darkly 
 hinted that their success might be extended, with proper cau- 
 tion, in such a manner as to include the destruction of all 
 whom they had reason to hate. In short, he so blended the 
 warlike with the artful, the obvious with the obscure, as to 
 flatter the propensities of both parties, and to leave to each 
 subject of hope, while neither could say it clearly compre- 
 hended his intentions. 
 
 The orator, or the politician, who can produce such a state 
 of things, is commonly popular with his contemporaries, how- 
 ever he may he treated by posterity. All perceived that more 
 was meant than was uttered, and each one believed that the 
 hidden meaning was precisely such as his own faculties 
 enabled him to understand, or his own wishes led him to 
 anticipate. 
 
 In this happy state of things, it is not surprising that the 
 management of Magua prevailed. The tribe consented to 
 act with deliberation, and with one voice they committed the 
 direction of the whole affair to the government of the chief 
 who had suggested such wise and intelligible expedients. 
 
 Magua had now attained one great object of all his cun- 
 ning and enterprise. The ground he had lost in the favor of 
 his people was completely regained, and he found himself 
 even placed at the head of affairs. He was in truth their 
 ruler ; and so long as he could maintain his popularity, no 
 monarch could be more despotic, especially while the tribo 
 continued in a hostile country. Throwing off, therefore, th* 
 
THE L4ST OP THE MOHICANS. 289 
 
 appearance of consultation, he assumed the grave air of au- 
 thority necessary to support the dignity of his office. 
 
 Runners were despatched for intelligence in different 
 directions ; spies were ordered to approach and feel the 
 encampment of the Delawares ; the warriors were dismissed 
 to their lodges, with an intimation that their services would 
 soon be needed ; and the women and children were ordered 
 to retire, with a warning that it was their province to be silent. 
 When these several arrangements were made, Magua passed 
 through the village, stopping here and there to pay a visit 
 where he thought his presence might be flattering to the indi- 
 vidual. He confirmed his friends in their confidence, fixed 
 the wavering, and gratified all. Then he sought his own 
 lodge. The wife the Huron chief had abandoned, when he 
 was chased from among his people, was dead. Children he 
 had none ; and he now occupied a hut, without companion of 
 any sort. It was, in fact, the dilapidated and solitary structure 
 in which David had been discovered, and whom he had toler- 
 ated in his presence, on those few occasions when they met, 
 with the contemptuous indifference of a haughty superiority. 
 
 Hither, then, Magua retired, when his labors of policy 
 were ended. While others slept, however, he neither knew 
 nor sought repose. Had there been one sufficiently curious 
 to have watched the movements of the newly-elected chief, he 
 would have seen him seated in a corner of his lodge, musing 
 on the subject of his future plans, from the hour of his retire- 
 ment to the time he had appointed for the warriors to as- 
 semble again. Occasionally the air breathed through the 
 crevices of the hut, and the low flames that fluttered about 
 the embers of the fire threw their wavering light on the person 
 of the sullen recluse. At such moments it would not have 
 been difficult to have fancied the dusky savage the Prince of 
 Darkness, brooding on his own fancied wrongs, and plotting 
 evil. 
 
 Long before the day dawned, however, warrior after war- 
 rior entered the solitary hut of Magua, until they had collected 
 to the number of twenty. Each bore his rifle, and all the 
 other accoutrements of war, though the paint was uniformly 
 peaceful. The entrance of these fierce-looking beings was 
 unnoticed ; some seating themselves in the shadows of the 
 place, and others standing like motionless statues, until the 
 whole of the designated band was collected. 
 
 Then Magua arose and gave the signal to proceed, maich* 
 ing himself in advance. They followed their leader singly, 
 
290 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 and in that well-known order which has obtained the di 
 tinguishing appellation of " Indian file." Unlike other men 
 engaged in the spirit-stirring business of war, they stole from 
 their camp unostentatiously and unobserved, resembling a 
 band of gliding spectres, more than warriors seeking the 
 bubble reputation by deeds of desperate daring. 
 
 Instead of taking the path which led directly towards the 
 camp of the Delawares, Magua led his party for some distance 
 down the windings of the stream, and along the little artificial 
 lake of the beavers. The day began to dawn as they entered 
 the clearing which had been formed by those sagacious and 
 industrious animals. Though Magua, who had resumed his 
 ancient garb, bore the outline of a fox on the dressed skin 
 which formed his robe, there was one chief of his party who 
 carried the beaver as his peculiar symbol, or " totem." There 
 would have been a species of profanity in the omission, had 
 this man passed so powerful a community of his fancied kin- 
 dred, without bestowing some evidence of his regard. Accord- 
 ingly, he paused, and spoke in words as kind and friendly as if 
 he were addressing more intelligent beings. He called the 
 animals his cousins, and reminded them that his protecting 
 influence was the reason they remained unharmed, while so 
 many avaricious traders were prompting the Indians to take 
 their lives. He promised a continuance of his favors, and 
 admonished them to be grateful. After which he spoke of 
 the expedition in which he was himself engaged, and in- 
 timated, though with sufficient delicacy and circumlocution, 
 the expediency of bestowing on their relatives a portion of 
 that wisdom for which they were so renowned.* 
 
 During the utterance of this extraordinary address, the 
 companions of the speaker were as grave and as attentive to 
 his language as though they were all equally impressed with 
 its propriety. Once or twice black objects were seen rising 
 to the surface of the water, and the Huron expressed pleasure, 
 conceiving that his words were not bestowed in vain. Just 
 as he had ended his address, the head of a large beaver was 
 thrust from the door of a lodge, whose earthen walls had been 
 much injured, and which the party had believed, from its 
 situation, to be uninhabited. Such an extraordinary sign of 
 confidence was received by the orator as a highly favorable 
 omen ; and though the animal retreated a little precipitately, 
 he was lavish of his thanks and commendations. 
 
 * These harangues to the beasts are frequent among the Indians. They often 
 address their victims in this way, reproaching them for cowardice, or commending 
 their resolution, as they may happen to exhibit fortitude, or the reverse, in suffering. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. tyi 
 
 When Magua thought sufficient time had been lost in 
 gratifying the family affection of the warrior, he again made 
 the signal to proceed. As the Indians moved away in a body, 
 and with a step that would have been inaudible to the ears 
 of any common man, the same venerable-looking beaver once 
 more ventured his head from its cover. Had any of the 
 Hurons turned to look behind them, they would have seen 
 the animal watching their movements with an interest and 
 sagacity that might easily have been mistaken for reason. 
 Indeed, so very distinct and intelligible were the devices of 
 the quadruped, that even the most experienced observer 
 would have been at a loss to account for its actions, until the 
 moment when the party entered the forest, when the whole 
 would have been explained, by seeing the entire animal issue 
 from, the lodge, uncasing, by the act, the grave features of 
 Chingachgook from his mask of fur. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Brief, I pray you ; for you see, 'tis a busy time with me. 
 
 MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. 
 
 THE tribe, or rather half tribe, of Delawares, which has 
 been so often mentioned, and whose present place of encamp- 
 ment was so nigh the temporary village of the Hurons, could 
 assemble about an equal number of warriors with the latter 
 people. Like their neighbors, they had followed Montcalm 
 into the territories of the English crown, and were making 
 heavy and serious inroads on the hunting grounds of the 
 Mohawks ; though they had seen fit, with the mysterious re- 
 serve so common among the natives, to withhold their assist- 
 ance at the moment when it was most required. The French 
 had accounted for this unexpected defection on the part of 
 their ally in various ways. It was the prevalent opinion, 
 however, that they had been influenced by veneration for the 
 ancient treaty, that had once made them dependent on the 
 Six Nations for military protection, and now rendered them 
 reluctant to encounter their former masters. As for the tribe 
 itself, it had been content to announce to Montcalm, through 
 his emissaries, witn Indian brevity, that their hatchets were 
 
292 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 dull, and time was necessary to sharpen them. The politic 
 Captain of the Canadas had deemed it wiser to submit to en- 
 tertain a passive friend, than by any acts of ill-judged severity 
 to convert him into an open enemy. 
 
 On that morning when Magua led his silent party from 
 the settlement of the beavers into the forest, in the manner 
 described, the sun rose upon the Delaware encampment, as if 
 it had suddenly burst upon a busy people, actively employed 
 in all the customary avocations of high noon. The women 
 ran from lodge to lodge, some engaged in preparing their 
 morning's meal, a few earnestly bent on seeking the comforts 
 necessary to their habits, but more pausing to exchange hasty 
 and whispered sentences with their friends. The warriors 
 were lounging in groups, musing more than they conversed ; 
 and when a few words were uttered, speaking like men who 
 deeply weighed their opinions. The instruments of the chase 
 were to be seen in abundance among the lodges ; but none 
 departed. Here and there a warrior was examining his arms, 
 with an attention that is rarely bestowed on the implements, 
 when no other enemy that the beasts of the forest is expected 
 to be encountered. And, occasionally, the eyes of a whole 
 group were turned simultaneously towards a large and silent 
 lodge, in the centre of the village, as if it contained the sub- 
 ject of their common thoughts. 
 
 During the existence of this scene, a man suddenly ap- 
 peared at the furthest extremity of a platform of rock which 
 formed the level of the village. He was without arms, and 
 his paint tended rather to soften than increase the natural 
 sternness of his austere countenance. When in full view of 
 the Delawares he stopped, and made a gesture of amity, by 
 throwing his arm upward towards heaven, and then letting it 
 fall impressively on his breast. The inhabitants of the vil- 
 lage answered his salute by a low murmur of welcome, and 
 encouraged him to advance by similar indications of friend- 
 ship. Fortified by these assurances, the dark figure left the 
 brow of the natural rocky terrace, where it had stood a mo- 
 ment, drawn in a strong outline against the blushing morning 
 sky, and moved with dignity into the very centre of the huts. 
 As he approached, nothing was audible but the rattling of the 
 light silver ornaments that loaded his arms and neckband the 
 tinkling of the little bells that fringed his deer skin moccasins. 
 He made, as he advanced, many courteous signs of greeting 
 to the men he passed, neglecting to notice the women, how- 
 ever, like one who deemed their favor, in the present enter* 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. ^93 
 
 prise, of no importance. When he had reached the group in 
 which it was evident, by the haughtiness of their common 
 mien, that the principal chiefs were collected, the strangei 
 paused, and then the Delawares saw that the active and erect 
 form that stood before them was that of the well-known Huron 
 chief, Le Renard Subtil. 
 
 His reception was grave, silent, and wary. The warriors 
 in front stepped aside/opening the way to their most approved 
 orator by the action ; one who spoke all those languages that 
 were cultivated among the northern aborigines. 
 
 " The wise Huron is welcome," said the Delaware, in the 
 language of the Maquas ; " he is come to eat his * succa 
 tash,' * with his brothers of the lakes." 
 
 " He is come," repeated Magua, bending his head with 
 the dignity of an eastern prince. 
 
 The chief extended his arm, and taking the other by the 
 wrist, they once more exchanged friendly salutation's. Then 
 the Delaware invited his guest to enter his own lodge, and 
 share his morning meal. The invitation was accepted ; and 
 the two warriors, attended by three or four of the old men, 
 walked calmly away, leaving the rest of the tribe devoured by 
 a desire to understand the reasons of so unusual a visit, and 
 yet not betraying the least impatience by sign or word. 
 
 During the short and frugal repast that followed, the con- 
 versation was extremely circumspect, and related entirely to 
 the events of the hunt, in which Magua had so lately been 
 engaged. It would have been impossible for the most 
 finished breeding to wear more of the appearance of consider- 
 ing the visit as a thing of course, than did his hosts, notwith- 
 standing every individual present was perfectly aware that it 
 must be connected with some secret object, and that probably 
 of importance to themselves. When the appetites of the 
 whole were appeased, the squaws removed the trenchers and 
 gourds, and the two parties began to prepare themselves for 
 a subtle trial of their wits. 
 
 " Is the face of my great Canada father turned again to- 
 wards his Huron children ? " demanded the orator of the 
 Delawares. 
 
 "When was it ever otherwise ?" returned Magua. "He 
 calls my people 'most beloved.' " 
 
 The Delaware gravely bowed his acquiescence to what he 
 knew to be false, and continued, 
 
 * A dish composed of cracked corn and beans. It is much used also by the 
 whites. By corn is meant maize. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 
 
 " The tomahawks of your young men have been very 
 red ! " 
 
 " It is so ; but they are now bright and dull ; for the 
 Vengeese are dead, and the Delawares are our neighbors," 
 
 The other acknowledged the pacific compliment by a 
 gesture of the hand, and remained silent. Then Magua, as if 
 recalled to such a recollection, by the allusion to the massacre, 
 demanded, 
 
 " Does my prisoner give trouble to my brothers? " 
 
 " She is welcome.'' 
 
 " The path between the Hurons and the Delawares is 
 short, and it is open ; let her be sent to my squaws, if she 
 gives trouble to my brother." 
 
 " She is welcome," returned the chief of the latter nation 
 still more emphatically. 
 
 The baffled Magua continued silent several minutes, ap- 
 parently indifferent, however, to the repulse he had received 
 in this his opening effort to regain possession of Cora. 
 
 " Do my young men leave the Delawares room on the 
 mountains for their hunts ? " he at length continued. 
 
 " The Lenape are rulers of their own hills," returned the 
 other a little haughtily. 
 
 " It is well. Justice is the master of a red-skin ! Why 
 should they brighten their tomahawks, and sharpen their knives 
 against each other ? Are not the pale-faces thicker than the 
 swallows in the season of flowers ? " 
 
 " Good ! " exclaimed two or three of his auditors at the 
 same time. 
 
 Magua waited a little, to permit his words to soften the 
 feelings of the Delawares, before he added, 
 
 " Have there not been strange moccasins in the woods ? 
 Have not my brothers scented the feet of white men ? " 
 
 "Let my Canada father come," returned the other, 
 evasively ; " his children are ready to see him." 
 
 " When the great chief comes, it is to smoke with the 
 Indians in their wigwams. The Hurons say, too, he is wel- 
 come. But the Yengeese have long arms, and legs that never 
 tire ! My young men dreamed they had seen the trail of the 
 Yengeese nigh the village of the Delawares." 
 
 " They will not find the Lenape asleep." 
 " It is well. The warrior whose eye is open can see his 
 enemy," said Magua, once more shifting his ground, when he 
 found himself unable to penetrate the caution of his com- 
 panion. " I have brought gifts to my brother. His nation 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 295 
 
 would not go on the war-path, because they did not think 
 it well ; but their friends have remembered where they 
 lived." 
 
 When he had thus announced his liberal intention, the 
 crafty chief arose, and gravely spread his presents before the 
 dazzled eyes of his hosts. They consisted principally of 
 trinkets of little value, plundered from the slaughtered females 
 of William Henry. In the division of the baubles the cun- 
 ning Huron discovered no less art than in their selection. 
 While he bestowed those of greater value on the two most 
 distinguished warriors, one of whom was his host, he seasoned 
 his offerings to their inferiors with such well-timed and 
 apposite compliments, as left them no grounds for complaint. 
 In short, the whole ceremony contained such a happy blending 
 of the profitable with the flattering, that it was not difficult 
 for the donor immediately to read the effect of a generosity 
 so aptly mingled with praise, in the ^yes of those he ad- 
 dressed. 
 
 This well-judged and politic stroke on the part of Magua 
 was not without instantaneous results. The Delawares lost 
 their gravity in a much more cordial expression ; and the host, 
 in particular, after contemplating his own liberal share of the 
 spoil for some moments with peculiar gratification, repeated 
 with strong emphasis, the words, 
 
 " My brother is a wise chief. He is welcome." 
 
 "The Hurons love their friends the Delawares," returned 
 Magua. " Why should they not ? they are colored by the 
 same sun, and their just men will hunt in the same grounds 
 after death. The red-skins should be friends, and look with 
 open eye on the white men. Has not my brother scented 
 spies in the woods ? " 
 
 The Delaware whose name in English signified " Hard 
 heart," an appellation that the French had translated into 
 " Le cceur-dur," forgot that obduracy of purpose, which had 
 probably obtained him so significant a title. His countenance 
 grew very sensibly less stern, and he now deigned to answer 
 more directly. 
 
 "There have been strange moccasins about my camp. 
 They have been tracked into my lodges." 
 
 " Did rny brother beat out the dogs ? " asked Mugua, 
 without adverting in any manner to the former equivocation 
 of the chief. 
 
 " It would not do. The stranger is always welcome to 
 the children of the Lenape," 
 
296 
 
 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 " The stranger, but not the spy." 
 
 " Would the Yengeese send their women as spies ? 
 not the Huron chief say he took women in the battle ? " 
 
 " He told no lie. The Yengeese have sent out their scouts. 
 They have been in my wigwams, but they found no one to say 
 welcome. Then they fled to the Delawares for, say they, 
 the Delawares are our friends ; their minds are turned from 
 their Canada father." 
 
 This insinuation was a home thrust, and one that in a 
 more advanced state of society, would have entitled Magua 
 to the reputation of a skilful diplomatist. The recent defection 
 of the tribe had, as they well knew themselves, subjected the 
 Delawares to much reproach among their French allies ; and 
 they were now made to feel that their future actions were to 
 be regarded with jealousy and distrust. There was no deep 
 insight into causes and effects necessary to foresee that such a 
 situation of things was likely to prove highly prejudicial to 
 their future movements. Their distant villages, their hunting 
 grounds, and hundreds of their women and children, together 
 with a material part of their physical force, were actually within 
 the limits of the French territory. Accordingly, this alarming 
 annunciation was received, as Magua intended, with manifest 
 disapprobation, if not with alarm. 
 
 " Let my father look in my face," said Le-cceur-dur ; " he 
 will see no change. It is true, my young men did not go out 
 on the war-path ; they had dreams for not doing so. But they 
 love and venerate the great white chief." 
 
 "Will he think so when he hears that his greatest enemy 
 is -fed in the camp of his children ? When he is told a bloody 
 Yengee smokes at your fire ? That the pale-face who has 
 slain so many of his friends goes in and out among the Dela- 
 wares ? Go ; my great Canada father is not a fool ! " 
 
 " Where is the Yengee that the Delawares fear ? " returned 
 the other ; " who has slain my young men ? who is the mortal 
 enemy of my Great Father ? " 
 
 " La longue Carabine." 
 
 The Delaware warriors started at the well known name, 
 betraying, by their amazement, that they now learnt, for the 
 first time, one so famous among the Indian allies of France 
 was within their power. 
 
 " What does my brother mean ? " demanded Le-cceur-dur, 
 in a tone that, by its wonder, far exceeded the usual apathy of 
 \iis race. 
 
 "A Huron never lies," returned Magua, coldly, leaning his 
 
THE LAST OP THE MOHICANS. 2 gf 
 
 head against the side of the lodge, and drawing his slight robe 
 across his tawny breast. " Let the Delawares count their 
 prisoners ; they will find one whose skin is neither red no/ 
 pale." ' 
 
 A long and musing pause succeeded. The chief consulted 
 apart with his companions, and messengers were despatched 
 to collect certain others of the most distinguished men of the 
 tribe. 
 
 As warrior after warrior dropped in, they were each made 
 acquainted, in turn, with the important intelligence that 
 Magua had just communicated. The air of surprise, and the 
 usual low, deep, guttural exclamation, were common to them 
 all. The news spread from mouth to mouth, until the whole 
 encampment became powerfully agitated. The women sus- 
 pended their labors, to catch such syllables as unguardedly 
 fell from the lips of the consulting warriors. The boys 
 deserted their sports, and walking fearlessly among their 
 fathers, looked up in curious admiration, as they heard the 
 brief exclamations of wonder they so freely expressed at the 
 temerity of their hated foe. In short, every occupation was 
 abandoned for the time, and all other pursuits seemed dis- 
 carded, in order that the tribe might freely indulge, after their 
 own peculiar manner, in an open expression of feeling. 
 
 When the excitement had a little abated, the old men 
 disposed themselves seriously to consider that which it became 
 the honor and safety of their tribe to perform, under circum- 
 stances of so much delicacy and embarrassment. During all 
 these movements, and in the midst of the general commotion, 
 Magua had not only maintained his seat but the very attitude 
 he had originally taken, against the side of the lodge, where 
 he continued as immovable, and, apparently, as unconcerned, 
 as if he had no interest in the result. Not a single indication of 
 the future intentions of his hosts, however, escaped his vigilant 
 eyes. With his consummate knowledge of the nature of the 
 people with whom he had to deal, he anticipated every measure 
 on which they decided ; and it might almost be said, that, in 
 many instances, he knew their intentions, even before they 
 became known to themselves. 
 
 The council of the Delawares was short. When it was 
 ended, a general bustle announced that it was to be immedi- 
 ately succeeded by a solemn and formal assemblage of the 
 nation. As such meetings were rare, and only called on 
 occasions of the last importance, the subtle Huron, who still 
 eat apart, a wily and dark observer of the proceedings, novf 
 
298 THE LAST Ot> THE MOHICANS. 
 
 knew that all his projects must be brought to their final issue. 
 He, therefore, left the lodge, and walked silently forth to the 
 place, in front of the encampment, whither the warriors were 
 already beginning to collect. 
 
 It might have been half an hour before each individual, 
 including even the women and children, was in his place. The 
 delay had been created by the grave preparations that were 
 deemed necessary to so solemn and unusual a conference. 
 But when the sun was seen climbing above the tops of that 
 mountain, against whose bosom the Delawares had constructed 
 their encampment, most were seated ; and as his bright rays 
 darted from behind the outline of trees that fringed the 
 eminence, they fell upon as grave, as attentive, and as deeply 
 interested a multitude, as was probably ever before lighted by 
 his morning beams. Its number somewhat exceeded a thou- 
 sand souls. 
 
 In a collection of so serious savages, there is never to be 
 found any impatient aspirant after premature distinction, 
 standing ready to move his auditors to some hasty, and, per- 
 fiaps, injudicious discussion, in order that his own reputation 
 may be the gainer. An act of so much precipitancy and pre- 
 sumption would seal the downfall of the precocious intellect 
 forever. It rested solely with the oldest and most expe- 
 rienced of the men to lay the subject of the conference before 
 the people. Until such a one chose to make some movement, 
 no deeds in arms, no natural gifts, nor any renown as an 
 orator, would have justified the slightest interruption. On 
 the present occasion, the aged warrior whose privilege it was 
 to speak, was silent, seemingly oppressed with the magnitude 
 of his subject. The delay had already continued long beyond 
 the usual deliberative pause that always precedes a conference \ 
 but no sign of impatience or surprise escaped even the 
 youngest boy. Occasionally, an eye was raised from the earth, 
 where the looks of most were riveted, and strayed towards a 
 particular lodge, that was, however, in no manner distinguished 
 from those around it, except in the peculiar care that had 
 been taken to protect it against the assaults of the weather.. 
 
 At length, one of those low murmurs that are so apt to 
 disturb a multitude, was heard, and the whole nation arose to 
 their feet by a common impulse. At that instant the door of 
 the lodge in question opened, and three men issuing from it. 
 iilowly approached the place of consultation. They were alL 
 aged, even beyond that period to which the oldest present 
 had reached ; but one in the centre, who leaned on his com- 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 299 
 
 panions for support, had numbered an amount of years to 
 which the human race is seldom permitted to attain. His 
 frame, which had once been tall and erect, like the cedar, was 
 now bending under the pressure of more than a century. 
 The elastic, light step of an Indian was gone, and in its place 
 he was compelled to toil his tardy way over the ground, inch 
 by inch. His dark, wrinkled countenance was in singular 
 and wild contrast with the long white locks which floated on 
 his shoulders, in such thickness, as to announce that gener- 
 ations had probably passed away since they had last been 
 shorn. 
 
 The dress of this patriarch for such, considering his vast 
 age, in conjunction with his affinity and influence with his 
 people, he might very properly be termed was rich and im- 
 posing, though strictly after the simple fashions of the tribe. 
 His robe was of the finest skins, which had been deprived of 
 their fur, in order to admit of a hieroglyphical representation 
 of various deeds in arms, done in former ages. His bosom 
 was loaded with medals, some in massive silver, and one or 
 two even in gold, the gifts of various Christian potentates 
 during the long period of his life. He also wore armlets, and 
 cinctures above the ankles, of the latter precious metal. 
 His head, on the whole of which the hair had been permitted 
 to grow, the pursuits of war having so long been abandoned, 
 was encircled by a sort of plated diadem, which, in its turn, 
 bore lesser and more glittering ornaments, that sparkled amid 
 the glossy hues of three drooping ostrich feathers, dyed a 
 deep black, in touching contrast to the color of his snow-white 
 locks. His tomahawk was nearly hid in silver, and the 
 handle of his knife shone like a horn of solid gold. 
 
 So soon as the first hum of emotion and pleasure, which 
 the sudden appearance of this venerated individual created, 
 had a little subsided, the name of "Tamenund" was whis- 
 pered from mouth to mouth. Magua had often heard the 
 fame of this wise and just Delaware ; a reputation that even 
 proceeded so far as to bestow on him the rare gift of holding 
 secret communion with the Great Spirit, and which has since 
 transmitted his name, with some slight alteration, to the 
 white usurpers of his ancient territory, as the imaginary tute- 
 lar saint * of a vast empire. The Huron chief, therefore, 
 stepped eagerly out a little from the throng, to a spot whence 
 
 * The Americans sometimes call their tutelar saint Tamenay, a corruption of 
 the name of the renowned chief here introduced. There arc many traditions which 
 speak of the character and power of Tamenund. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 he might catch a nearer glimpse of the features of the man, 
 whose decision was likely to produce so deep an influence on 
 his own fortunes. 
 
 The eyes of the old man were closed, as though the 
 organs were wearied with having so long witnessed the selfish 
 workings of the human passions. The color of his skin dif- 
 fered from that of most around him, being richer and darker, 
 the latter hue having been produced by certain delicate and 
 mazy lines of complicated and yet beautiful figures, which had 
 been traced over most of his person by the operation of tat 
 tooing. Notwithstanding the position of the Huron, he 
 passed the observant and silent Magua without notice, and 
 leaning on his two venerable supporters proceeded to the 
 high place of the multitude, where he seated himself in the 
 centre of his nation, with the dignity of a monarch and the 
 air of a father. 
 
 Nothing could surpass the reverence and affection with 
 which this unexpected visit from one who belonged rather to 
 another world than to this was received by his people. After 
 a suitable and decent pause, the principal chiefs arose ; and 
 approaching the patriarch, they placed his hands rever- 
 ently on their heads, seeming to entreat a blessing. Tht 
 young men were content with touching his robe, or even 
 drawing nigh his person, in order to breathe in the atmos 
 phere of one so aged, so just, and so valiant. None but the 
 most distinguished among the youthful warriors even pre- 
 sumed so far as to perform the latter ceremony ; the great 
 mass of the multitude deeming it a sufficient happiness to 
 look upon a form so deeply venerated, and so well beloved. 
 When these acts of affection and respect were performed, the 
 chiefs drew back again to their several places, and silence 
 reigned in the whole encampment. 
 
 After a short delay, a few of the young men, to whom 
 instructions had been whispered by one of the aged attend- 
 ants of Tamenund, arose, left the crowd, and entered the 
 lodge which has already been noted as the object of so much 
 attention throughout that morning. In a few minutes they 
 reappeared, escorting the individual who had caused all these 
 solemn preparations towards the seat of judgment. The 
 crowd opened in a lane ; and when the party had re-entered, 
 it closed in again, forming a large and dense belt of humaa 
 bodies, arranged in an open circle. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 The assembly seated, rising o'er the rest, 
 Achilles thus the king of men addressed. 
 
 POPE'S HOME*. 
 
 CORA stood foremost among the prisoners, entwining hei 
 arms in those of Alice, in the tenderness of sisterly love, 
 Notwithstanding the fearful and menacing array of savages 
 on every side of her, no apprehension on her own account 
 could prevent the noble-minded maiden from keeping her 
 eyes fastened on the pale and anxious features of the trem- 
 bling Alice. Close at their side stood Heyward, with an 
 interest in both, that, at such a moment of intense uncertainty, 
 scarcely knew a preponderance in favor of her whom he most 
 loved. Hawk-eye had placed himself a little in the rear, 
 with a deference to the superior rank of his companions, that 
 no similarity in the state of their present fortunes could in- 
 duce him to forget. Uncas was not there. 
 
 When perfect silence was again restored, and after the 
 usual long, impressive pause, one of the two aged chiefs who 
 sat at the side of the patriarch arose, and demanded aloud, 
 in very intelligible English, 
 
 " Which of my prisoners is La longue Carabine ? " 
 
 Neither Duncan nor the scout answered. The former, 
 however, glanced his eyes around the dark and silent assem- 
 bly, and recoiled a pace, when they fell on the malignant 
 visage of Magua. He saw, at once, that this wily savage had 
 some secret agency in their present arraignment before the 
 nation, and determined to throw every possible impediment 
 in the way of the execution of his sinister plans. He had 
 witnessed one instance of the summary punishments of the 
 Indians, and now dreaded that his companion was to be se- 
 lected for a second. In this dilemma, with little or no time 
 for reflection, he suddenly determined to cloak his invaluable 
 friend, at any or every hazard to himself. Before he had 
 time, however, to speatc, the question was repeated in a loudei 
 voice, and with a clearer utterance. 
 
302 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 " Give us arms," the young man haughtily replied, "and 
 place us in yonder woods. Our deeds shall speak for us ! " 
 
 " This is the warrior whose name has filled our ears ! " 
 returned the chief, regarding Heyward with that sort of cu- 
 rious interest which seems inseparable from man, when first 
 beholding one of his fellows to whom merit or accident, virtue 
 or crime, has given notoriety. " What has brought the white 
 man into the camp of the Delawares ? " 
 
 " My necessities. I come for food, shelter, and friends." 
 
 " It cannot be. The woods are full of game. The head 
 of a warrior needs no other shelter than a sky without clouds \ 
 and the Delawares are the enemies, and not the friends, of the 
 Yengeebe. Go the mouth lias spoken, while the heart said 
 nothing." 
 
 Duivcan, a little at a loss in what manner to proceed, re- 
 mained silent ; but the scout, who had listened attentively to 
 all that passed, now advanced steadily to the front. 
 
 " That I did not answer to the call for La longue Cara- 
 bine, was not owing either to shame or fear," he said; "for 
 neither one nor the other is the gift of an honest man. But 
 I do not admit the right of the Mingoes to bestow a name on 
 one whose friends have been mindful of his gifts, in this par- 
 ticular ; especially as their title is a lie, ' kill-deer ' being a 
 grooved barrel and no carabyne. I am the man, however, 
 that got the name of Nathaniel from my kin ; the compliment 
 of Hawk-eye from the Delawares, who live on their own river , 
 and whom the Iroquois have presumed to style the * Long 
 Rifle,* without any warranty from him who is most concerned 
 in the matter." 
 
 The eyes of all present, which had hitherto been gravely 
 scanning the person of Duncan, were now turned, on the in- 
 stant, towards the upright, iron frame of this new pretender to 
 the distinguished appellation. It was in no degree remarkable 
 that there should be found two who were willing to claim so 
 great an honor, for impostors, though rare, were not unknown 
 amongst the natives ; but it was altogether material to the 
 just and severe intentions of the Delawares, that there should 
 be no mistake in the matter. Some of their old men con- 
 sulted together in private, and then, as it would seem, they 
 determined to interrogate their visitor on the subject. 
 
 " My brother has said that a snake crept into my camp,* 
 said the chief to Magua ; " which is he ? " 
 
 The Huron pointed to the scout. 
 
 " Will a wise Delaware believe the barking of a wolf. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. ^03 
 
 exclaimed Duncan, still more confirmed in the evil intentions 
 of his ancient enemy ; " a dog never lies, but when was a wolf 
 known to speak the truth ? " 
 
 The eyes of Magua flashed fire ; but suddenly recollect- 
 ing the necessity of maintaining his presence of mind, he 
 turned away, in silent disdain, well assured that the sagacity 
 of the Indians would not fail to extract the real merits of the 
 point in controversy. He was not deceived ; for, after another 
 short consultation, the wary Delaware turned to him again, 
 and expressed the determination of the chiefs, though in the 
 most considerate language. 
 
 " My brother has been called a liar," he said, " and his 
 friends are angry. They will show that he has spoken the 
 truth. Give my prisoners guns, and let them prove which is 
 the man." 
 
 Magua affected to consider the expedient, which he well 
 knew proceeded from distrust of himself, as a compliment, 
 and made a gesture of acquiescence, well content that his 
 veracity should be supported by so skilful a marksman as the 
 scout. The weapons were instantly placed in the hands of the 
 friendly opponents, and they were bid to fire, over the heads 
 of the seated multitude, at an earthen vessel, which lay by 
 accident on a stump, some fifty yards from the place where 
 they stood. 
 
 Heyward smiled to himself at the idea of a competition 
 with the scout, though he determined to persevere in the de- 
 ception, until apprised of the real designs of Magua. Raising 
 his rifle with the utmost care, and renewing his aim three sev- 
 eral times, he fired. The bullet cut the wood within a few 
 inches of the vessel ; and a general exclamation of satisfac- 
 tion announced that the shot was considered a proof of great 
 skill in the use of the weapon. Even Hawk-eye nodded his 
 head, as if he would say, it was better than he had expected. 
 But, instead of manifesting an intention to contend with the 
 iuccessful marksman, he stood leaning on his rifle for more 
 ihan a minute, like a man who was completely buried in 
 Thought. From this reverie he was, however, awakened by 
 one of the young Indians who had furnished the arms, and 
 who now touched his shoulder, saying in exceedingly broken 
 English, 
 
 " Can the pale-face beat it ? " 
 
 " Yes, Huron ! " exclaimed the scout, raising the short 
 rifle in his right hand, and shaking it at Magua, with as much 
 apparent ease as \i it were a reed- yes, Huron, I could 
 
$04. THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 strike you now, and no power of earth could prevent the 
 deed ! The soaring hawk is not more certain of the dove 
 than I am this moment of you, did I choose to send a bullet 
 to your heart ! Why should I not ? Why because the gifts 
 of my color forbid it, and I might draw down evil on tendel 
 and innocent heads ! If you know such a being as God, 
 thank him, therefore, in your inward soul for you have 
 reason ! " 
 
 The flushed countenance, angry eye, and swelling figure 
 of the scout, produced a sensation of secret awe in all that 
 heard him. The Delawares held their breath in expectation ; 
 but Magua himself, even while he distrusted the forbearance 
 of his enemy, remained immovable arid calm, where he stood 
 wedged in by the crowd, as one who grew to the spot. 
 
 "Beat it," repeated the young Delaware at the elbow of 
 the scout. 
 
 "Beat whet! fool ! what ! "exclaimed Hawk-eye, still 
 flourishing the weapon angrily above his head, though his eye 
 no longer sought the person of Magna. 
 
 " If the white man is the warrior he pretends," said the 
 aged chief, " let him strike nigher to the mark." 
 
 The scout laughed aloud a noise that produced the 
 startling effect of an unnatural sound on Heyward then 
 dropping the piece, heavily, into his extended left hand, it 
 was discharged, apparently by the shock, driving the frag- 
 ments of the vessel into the air, and scattering them on every 
 side. Almost at the same instant, the rattling sound of the 
 rifle was heard, as he suffered it to fall, contemptuously, to 
 the earth. 
 
 The first impression of so strange a scene was engrossing 
 admiration. Then a low, but increasing murmur, ran through 
 the multitude, and finally swelled into sounds that denoted a 
 lively opposition in the sentiments of the spectators. While 
 some openly testified their satisfaction at so unexampled 
 dexterity, by far the larger portion of the tribe were inclined 
 to believe the success of the shot was the result of the acci- 
 dent. Heyward was not slow to confirm an opinion that was 
 so favorable to his own pretensions. 
 
 " It was chance ! " he exclaimed \ " none can shoot with- 
 out an aim ! " 
 
 u Chance ! " echoed the excited woodsman, who was now 
 itubbornly bent on maintaining his identity at every hazard, 
 and on whom the secret hints of Heyward to acquiesce in 
 the deception were entirely lost. " Does yonder lying Huron, 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 305 
 
 too, think it chance ? Give him another gun, and place us 
 face to face, without cover or dodge, and let Providence, and 
 our own eyes, decide the matter atween us ! I do not make 
 the offer to you, major ; for our blood is of a color, and we 
 serve the same master." 
 
 " That the Huron is a liar, is very evident," returned Hey- 
 ward, coolly ; " you have yourself heard him assert you to be 
 La longue Carabine." 
 
 It were impossible to say what violent assertion the stub- 
 born Hawk-eye would have next made, in his headlong wish 
 to vindicate his identity, had not the aged Delaware once 
 more interposed. 
 
 " The hawk which comes from the clouds can return when 
 he will," he said j "give them the guns." 
 
 This time the scout seized the rifle with avidity ; nor had 
 Magua, though he watched the movement of the marksman 
 with jealous eyes, any further cause for apprehension. 
 
 " Now let it be proved, in the face of this tribe of Dela- 
 wares, which is the better man," cried the scout, tapping the 
 butt of his piece with that finger which had pulled so many 
 fatal triggers. " You see the gourd hanging against yonder 
 tree, major ; if you are a marksman fit for the borders, let me 
 see you break its shell." 
 
 Duncan noted the object, and prepared himself lo renew 
 the trial. The gourd was one of the usual little vessels used 
 by the Indians, and it was suspended from a dead branch of 
 a small pine, by a thong of deer-skin, at the full distance of 
 a hundred yards. So strangely compounded is the feeling of 
 self-love, that the young soldier, while he knew the utter 
 worthlessness of the suffrages of his savage umpires, forgot 
 the sudden motives of the contest in a wish to excel. It has 
 been seen, already, that his skill was far from being con- 
 temptible, and he now resolved to put forth its nicest qualities. 
 Had his life depended on the issue, the aim of Duncan could 
 not have been more deliberate or guarded. He fired ; and 
 three or four young Indians, who sprang forward at the report, 
 announced with a shout, that the ball was in the tree, a very 
 little on one side of the proper object. The warriors uttered 
 a common ejaculation of pleasure, and then turned their eyes 
 inquiringly on the movements of his rival. 
 
 " It may do for the Royal Americans ! " said Hawk-eye, 
 laughing once more in his own silent, heartfelt manner; 
 " out had my gun often turned so much from the true line, 
 many a marten, whose skin is now in. a lady's muff, would 
 
 20 
 
,jo6 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 still be in the woods ; ay, and many a bloody Mingo, wh6 
 has departed to his final account, would be acting his devil 
 tries at this very day, atween the provinces. I hope the squaw 
 who owns the gourd has more of them in her wigwam, for 
 this will never hold water again ! " 
 
 The scout had shook his priming, and cocked his piece, 
 while speaking ; and, as he ended, he threw back a foot, and 
 slowly raised the muzzle from the earth ; the motion was 
 steady, uniform, and in one direction. When on a perfect 
 level, it remained for a single moment, without tremor or 
 variation, as though both man and rifle were carved in stone. 
 During that stationary instant, it poured forth its contents, in 
 a bright glancing sheet of flame. Again the young Indians 
 bounded forward ; but their hurried search and disappointed 
 looks announced that no traces of the bullet were to be 
 seen. 
 
 " Go," said the old chief to the scout, in a tone of strong 
 disgust ; " thou art a wolf in the skin of a dog. I will talk 
 to the ' Long Rifle ' of the Yengeese." 
 
 " Ah ! had I that piece which furnished the name you use, 
 I would obligate myself to cut the thong, and drop the 
 gourd without breaking it ! " returned Hawk-eye, perfectly 
 undisturbed by the other's manner. "Fools, if you would 
 find the bullet of a sharpshooter of these woods, you must 
 look in the object and not around it ! " 
 
 The Indian youths instantly comprehended his meaning 
 for this time he spoke in the Delaware tongue and tearing 
 the gourd from the tree, they held it on high with an exulting 
 shout, displaying a hole in its bottom, which had been cut 
 by the bullet, after passing through the usual orifice in the 
 centre of its upper side. At this unexpected exhibition, a 
 loud and vehement expression of pleasure burst from the 
 mouth of every warrior present. It decided the question, 
 and effectually established Hawk-eye in the possession of his 
 dangerous reputation. Those curious and admiring eyes, 
 which had been turned again on Heyward, were finally directed 
 to the weather-beaten form of the scout, who immediately 
 became the principal object of attention to the simple and 
 unsophisticated beings by whom he was surrounded. When 
 the sudden and noisy commotion had a little subsided, the 
 aged chief resumed his examination. 
 
 " Why did you wish to stop my ears ? " he said, addressing 
 Duncan ; " are the Delawares fools, that they could not knovf 
 the young panther from the cat ? " 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 307 
 
 " They will yet find the Huron a singing bird," said 
 Duncan, endeavoring to adopt the figurative language of the 
 natives. 
 
 " It is good. We will know who can shut the ears of 
 men. Brother," added the chief, turning his eyes on Magua, 
 " th Delawares listen." 
 
 Thus singled, and directly called on to declare his object, 
 the Huron arose ; and advancing with great deliberation and 
 dignity, into the very centre of the circle, where he stood con- 
 fronted to the prisoners, he placed himself in an attitude to 
 speak. Before opening his mouth, however, he bent his eyes 
 slowly along the whole living boundary of earnest faces, as if 
 to temper his expression to the capacities of his audience. 
 On Hawk-eye he cast a glance of respectful enmity ; on 
 Duncan, a look of inextinguishable hatred ; the shrinking 
 figure of Alice he scarcely deigned to notice ; but when his 
 glance met the firm, commanding, and yet lovely form of 
 Cora, his eyes lingered a moment, with an expression that it 
 might have been difficult to define. Then, filled with his own 
 dark intentions, he spoke in the language of the Canadas, a 
 tongue that he well knew was comprehended by most of his 
 auditors. 
 
 " The Spirit that made men colored them differently," 
 commenced the subtle Huron. "Some are blacke : than the 
 sluggish bear. These he said should be slaves ; and he 
 ordered them to work forever like the beaver. You may hear 
 them groan, when the south wind blows louder than the low- 
 ing buffaloes, along the shores of the great salt lake, where 
 the big canoes come and go with them in droves. Some he 
 made with faces paler than the ermine of the forests : and 
 these he ordered to be traders ; dogs to their women, and 
 wolves to their slaves. He gave this people the nature of 
 the pigeon ; wings that never tire; young, more plentiful than 
 the leaves on the trees, and appetites to devour the earth. 
 He gave them tongues like the false call of the wild-cat; 
 hearts like rabbits ; the cunning of the hog (but none of the 
 fox), and arms longer than the legs of the moose. With his 
 tongue, he stops the ears of the Indians ; his heart teaches 
 him to pay warriors to fight his battles ; his cunning tells him 
 how to get together the goods of the earth ; and his arms in- 
 close the land from the shores of the salt-water to the islands of 
 the great lake. His gluttony makes him sick, God gave him 
 enough, and yet he wants all. Such are the pale-faces. 
 
 ""Some the Great Spirit made with skins brighter and 
 
308 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 redder than yonder sun," continued Magua, pointing impres- 
 sively upwards to the lurid luminary, which was struggling 
 through the misty atmosphere of the horizon ; " and these 
 did he fashion to his own mind. He gave them this island 
 as he had made it, covered with trees, and filled with game. 
 The wind made their clearings ; the sun and rains ripened 
 their fruits ; and the snows came to tell them to be thankful. 
 What need had they of roads to journey by ! They saw 
 through the hills ! When the beavers worked, they lay in the 
 shade and looked on. The winds cooled them in summer ; 
 in winter, skins kept them warm. If they fought among them- 
 selves, it was to prove that they were men. They were brave ; 
 they were just ; they were happy." 
 
 Here the speaker paused, and again looked around him, 
 to discover if his legend had touched the sympathies of his 
 listeners. He met everywhere with eyes riveted on his own, 
 heads erect, and nostrils expanded, as if each individual 
 present felt himself able and willing, singly, to redress the 
 wrongs of his race. 
 
 " If the Great Spirit gave different tongues to his red 
 children," he continued, in a low, still melancholy voice, "it 
 was that all animals might understand them. Some he 
 placed among the snows, with their cousin the bear. Some 
 he placed near the setting sun, on the road to the happy hunt- 
 ing-grounds. Some on the lands around the great fresh 
 waters ; but to his greatest, and most beloved, he gave the 
 sands of the salt lake. Do my brothers know the name of 
 this favored people ? " 
 
 " It was the Lenape ! " exclaimed twenty eager voices, in 
 A breath. 
 
 " It was the Lenni Lenape ! " returned Magua, affecting 
 to bend his head in reverence to their former greatness. " It 
 was the tribe of the Lenape ! The sun rose from water that 
 was salt, and set in water that was sweet, and never hid him- 
 self from their eyes. But why should I, a Huron of the 
 woods, tell a wise people their own traditions ? Why remind 
 them of their injuries ; their ancient greatness ; their deeds ; 
 their glory ; their happiness : their losses ; their defeats \ 
 their misery ? Is there not one among them who has seen it 
 all, and who knows it to be true ? I have done. My tongue 
 is still, for my heart is of lead. I listen." 
 
 As the voice of the speaker suddenly ceased, every face 
 and all eyes turned, by a common movement, towards the ven- 
 erable Tamenund. From the moment that he took his seat, 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 309 
 
 until the present instant, the lips of the patriarch had not sev- 
 ered, and scarcely a sign of life had escaped him. He sat 
 bent in feebleness, and apparently unconscious of the pres- 
 ence he was in, during the whole of that opening scene, in 
 which the skill of the scout had been so clearly established. 
 At the nicely graduated sounds of Magua's voice, however, he 
 betrayed some evidence of consciousness, and once or twice 
 he even raised his head, as if to listen. But when the crafty 
 Huron spoke of his nation by name, the eyelids of the old 
 man raised themselves, and he looked out upon the multitude 
 with that sort of dull unmeaning expression which might be 
 supposed to belong to the countenance of a spectre. Then 
 he made an effort to rise, and being upheld by his supporters, 
 he gained his feet, in a posture commanding by its dignity, 
 while he tottered with weakness. 
 
 " Who calls upon the children of the Lenape ? " he said, 
 in a deep guttural voice, that was rendered awfully audible by 
 the breathless silence of the multitude ; " who speaks of things 
 gone ? Does not the egg become a worm the worm a fly, 
 and perish ? Why tell the Delawares of good that is past ? 
 Better thank the Manitto for that which remains." 
 
 " It is a Wyandot," said Magua, stepping nigher to the 
 rude platform on which the other stood ; " a friend of Ta- 
 menund." 
 
 " A friend ! " repeated the sage, on whose brow a dark 
 frown settled, imparting a portion of that severity which had 
 rendered his eye so terrible in middle age, " Are the Min- 
 goes rulers of the earth ? What brings a Huron here ? " 
 
 " Justice. His prisoners are with his brothers, and he 
 comes for his own." 
 
 Tamenund turned his head towards one of his supporters, 
 and listened to the short explanation the man gave. Then 
 facing the applicant, he regarded him a moment, with deep 
 attention ; after which he said, in a low and reluctant voice, 
 
 " Justice is the law of the great Manitto. My children, 
 give the stranger food. Then, Huron, take thine own and 
 depart." 
 
 On the delivery of this solemn judgment, the patriarch 
 seated himself, and closed his eyes again, as if better pleased 
 with the images of his own ripened experience than with the 
 visible objects of the world. Against such a decree there 
 was no Delaware sufficiently hardy to murmur, much less op- 
 pose himself. The words were barely uttered when four or 
 6ve of the younger warriors stepping behind Heyward and 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICAN'S. 
 
 the scout, passed thongs so dexterously and rapidly around 
 their arms, as to hold them both in instant bondage. The 
 former was too much engrossed with his precious and nearly 
 insensible burden, to be aware of their intentions before they 
 were executed ; and the latter, who considered even ths hos- 
 tile tribes of the Delawares a superior race of beings, sub- 
 mitted without resistance. Perhaps, however, the manner of 
 the scout would not have been so passive, had he fully com- 
 prehended the language'in which the preceding dialogue had 
 been conducted. 
 
 Magua cast a look of triumph around the whole assembly 
 before he proceeded to the execution of his purpose. Perceiv- 
 ing that the men were unable to offer any resistance, he turned 
 his looks on her he valued most. Cora met his gaze with an 
 eye so calm and firm, that his resolution wavered. Then rec- 
 ollecting his former artifice, he raised Alice from the arms 
 of the warrior against whom she leaned, and beckoning Hey- 
 ward to follow, he motioned for the encircling crowd to open. 
 But Cora, instead of obeying the impulse he had expected, 
 rushed to the feet of the patriarch, and raising her voice, ex- 
 claimed aloud, 
 
 " Just and venerable Delaware, on thy wisdom and power 
 we lean for mercy ! Be deaf to yonder artful and remorseless 
 monster, who poisons thy ears with falsehoods to feed his 
 thirst for blood. Thou that hast lived long, and that hast seen 
 the evil of the world, should know how to temper its calami- 
 ties to the miserable." 
 
 The eyes of the old man opened heavily, and he once 
 more looked upwards at the multitude. As the piercing tones 
 of the supplicant swelled on his ears, they moved slowly in 
 the direction of her person, and finally settled there in a 
 steady gaze. Cora had cast herself to her knees ; and, with 
 hands clenched in each other and pressed upon her bosom, 
 she remained like a beauteous and breathing model of her 
 sex, looking up in his faded, but majestic countenance, with 
 a species of holy reverence. Gradually the expression of Ta- 
 menund's features changed, and losing their vacancy in admi- 
 ration, they lighted with a portion of that intelligence *whic~, 
 a century before, had been wont to communicate his youthful 
 fire to the extensive bands of the Delawares. Rising without 
 assistance, and seemingly without an effort, he demanded, in 
 a voice that startled its auditors by its firmness, 
 
 " What art thou ? " 
 
 " A woman. One of a hated race, if thou wilt a Yengee, 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 311 
 
 But one who has never harmed thee, and who cannot harm 
 thy people, if she would ; who asks for succor." 
 
 "Tell me, my children," continued the patriarch, hoarsely, 
 motioning to those around him, though his eyes still dwelt 
 upon the kneeling form of Cora, " where have the Delawares 
 camped ? " 
 
 " In the mountains of the Iroquois, beyond the clear springs 
 of the Horican." 
 
 "Many parching summers are come and gone," continued 
 the sage, " since I drank of the waters of my own river. The 
 children of Minquon * are the justest white men ; but they 
 were thirsty, and they took it to themselves. Do they follow 
 us so far ? " 
 
 "We follow none ; we covet nothing," answered Cora 
 " Captives against our wills, have we been brought amongst 
 you and we ask but permission to depart to our own in peace. 
 Art thou not Tamenund the father the judge I had almost 
 said, the prophet of this people ? " 
 
 " I am Tamenund of many days.' 
 
 " Tis now some seven years that one of thy people was 
 at the mercy of a white chief on the borders of this province. 
 He claimed to be of the blood of the good and just Tame- 
 nund. * Go,' said the white man, ' for thy parent's sake thou 
 art free.' Dost thou remember the name of that English 
 warrior ? " 
 
 " I remember, that when a laughing boy," returned the 
 patriarch, with the peculiar recollection of vast age, " I stood 
 upon the sands of the sea-shore, and saw a big canoe with 
 wings whiter than the swan's, and wider than any eagles, come 
 from the rising sun." 
 
 " Nay, nay ; I speak not of a time so very distan^ but of 
 favor shown to thy kindred by one of mine, within the memory 
 of thy youngest warrior." 
 
 " Was it when the Yengeese and Dutchmanne fought for 
 the hunting-grounds of the Delawares ? Then Tamenund was 
 a chief, and first laid aside the bow for the lightning of the 
 pale-faces " 
 
 " Nor yet then," interrupted Cora, " by many ages ; I 
 
 * William Penn was termed Minquon by the Delawares, and, as he never used 
 violence or injustice in his dealings with them, his reputation for probity passed into 
 a proverb. The American is justly proud of the origin of his nation, which is, per- 
 haps, unequalled in the history of the world ; but the Pennsylvanian and Jerseyman 
 have more reason to value themselves in their ancestors, than the natives of anj 
 other states, since no wrong was done the original owners of the soil. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 speak of a thing of yesterday. Surely, surely, you forget it 
 not." 
 
 " It was but yesterday," rejoined the aged man with touch- 
 ing pathos, " that the children of the Lenape were masters of 
 the world. The fishes of the salt lake, the birds, the beasts, 
 and the Mengwee of the woods, owned them for Sagamores." 
 ' Cora bowed her head in disappointment, and for a bitter 
 moment struggled with her chagrin. Then elevating hei 
 rich features and beaming eyes, she continued, in tones scarcely 
 less penetrating than the unearthly voice of the patriarch him- 
 self 
 
 " Tell me, is Tamenund a father ? " 
 
 The old man looked down upon her from his elevated 
 stand, with a benignant smile on his wasted countenance, and 
 then casting his eyes slowly over the whole assemblage, he 
 answered, 
 
 " Of a nation." 
 
 " For myself I ask nothing. Like thee and thine, venera- 
 ble chief," she continued, pressing her hands convulsively on 
 her heart, and suffering her head to droop until her burning 
 cheeks were nearly concealed in the maze of dark glossy tresses 
 that fell in disorder upon her shoulders, " the curse of my an- 
 cestors has fallen heavily on their child. But yonder is one 
 who has never known the weight of Heaven's displeasure 
 until now. 3he is the daughter of an old and failing man, 
 whose days are near their close. She has many, very many, 
 to love her, and delight in her ; and she is too good, much too 
 precious to become the victim of that villain." 
 
 " I know that the pale-faces are a proud and hungry race. 
 I know that they claim not only to have the earth, but that 
 the meanest of their color is better than the Sachems of the 
 red man. The dogs and crows of their tribes," continued the 
 earnest old chieftain, without heeding the wounded spirit of 
 his listener, whose head was nearly crushed to the earth in 
 shame, as he proceeded. " would bark and caw before they 
 would take a woman to their wigwams whose blood was not 
 of the color of snow. But let them not boast before the face 
 of the Manitto too loud. They entered the land at the rising, 
 and may yet go off at the setting sun. I have often seen the 
 locusts strip the leaves from the trees, but the season of blos- 
 soms has always come again." 
 
 " It is so," said Cora, drawing a long breath, as if reviving 
 from a trance, raising her face, and shaking back her shining 
 veil, with a kindling eye, that contradicted the death-like pale- 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 ness of her countenance ; " but why it is not permitted us to 
 inquire. There is yet one of thine own people who has not 
 been brought before thee ; before thou lettest the Huron de- 
 part in triumph, hear him speak." 
 
 Observing Tamenund to look about him doubtingly, one of 
 his companions said, 
 
 " It is a snake a red-skin in the pay of the Yengeese. 
 We keep him for the torture." 
 
 " Let him come," returned the sage. 
 
 Then Tamenund once more sank into his seat, and a si- 
 lence so deep prevailed, while the young men prepared to obey 
 his simple mandate, that the leaves which fluttered in the 
 draught of the light morning air, were distinctly heard rustling 
 in the surrounding forest. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 If you deny me, fie upon your law ! 
 There is no force in the decrees of Venice : 
 I stand for judgment ; answer, shall I have it ? 
 
 SHAKSPEARE. 
 
 THE silence continued unbroken by human sounds for 
 many anxious minutes. Then the waving multitude opened 
 and shut again, and Uncas stood in the living circle. All 
 those eyes, which had been curiously studying the lineaments 
 of the sage as the source of their own intelligence, turned on 
 the instant, and were now bent in secret admiration on the 
 erect, agile, and faultless person of the captive. But neither 
 the presence in which he found himself, nor the exclusive at- 
 tention that he attracted, in any manner disturbed the self- 
 possession of the young Mohican. He cast a deliberate and 
 observing look on every side of him, meeting the settled ex- 
 pression of hostility that lowered in the visages of the chiefs, 
 with the same calmness as the curious gaze of the attentive 
 children. But when, last in his haughty scrutiny, the person 
 of Tamenund came under his glance, his eye became fixed, as 
 though all other objects were already forgotten. Then ad- 
 vancing with a slow and noiseless step up the area, he placed 
 himself immediately before the footstool of the sage. Here 
 he stood unnoted, though keenly observant himself, until one 
 of the chiefs apprised the latter of his presence. 
 
314 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 '' With what tongue does the prisoner speak to the Mar> 
 itto ? " demanded the patriarch, without unclosing his eyes. 
 
 " Like his fathers," Uncas replied ; " with the tongue of a 
 Delaware." 
 
 At this sudden and unexpected annunciation, a low, fierce 
 yell ran through the multitude, that might not inaptly be com- 
 pared to the growl of the lion, as his choler is first awakened 
 a fearful omen of the weight of his future anger. The 
 effect was equally strong on the sage, though differently ex- 
 hibited. He passed a hand before his eyes, as if to exclude 
 the least evidence of so shameful a spectacle, while he re- 
 peated, in his low, guttural tones, the words he had just 
 heard. 
 
 " A Delaware ! I have lived to see the tribes of the 
 Lenape driven from their council fires, and scattered, like 
 broken herds of deer, among the hills of the Iroquois ! I 
 have seen the hatchets of a strange people sweep woods from 
 the valleys, that the winds of Heaven had spared ! The 
 beasts that run on the mountains, and the birds that fly above 
 the trees, have I seen living in the wigwams of men ; but 
 never before have I found a Delaware so base as to creep, like 
 a poisonous serpent, into the camps of his nation. 
 
 "The singing-birds have opened their bills," returned 
 Uncas, in the softest notes of his own musical voice ; " and 
 Tamenund has heard their song." 
 
 The sage started, and bent his head aside, as if to catch 
 the fleeting sounds of some passing melody. 
 
 " Does Tamenund dream ! " he exclaimed. " What voice 
 is at his ear ! Have the winters gone backward ! Will sum- 
 mer come again to the children of the Lenape ! " 
 
 A solemn and respectful silence succeeded this incoherent 
 burst from the lips of the Delaware prophet. His people 
 readily construed his unintelligible language into one of those 
 mysterious conferences he was believed to hold so frequently 
 with a superior intelligence, and they awaited the issue of the 
 revelation in awe. After a patient pause, however, one of the 
 aged men, perceiving that the sage had lost the recollection 
 of the subject before them, ventured to remind him again of 
 the presence of the prisoner. 
 
 " The false Delaware trembles lest he should hear the 
 words of Tamenund," he said. " Tis a hound that howls, 
 when the Yengeese show him a trail." 
 
 " And ye," returned Uncas, looking sternly around him, 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 3IS 
 
 "are dogs that whine, when the Frenchman casts ye the 
 offals of his deer ! " 
 
 Twenty knives gleamed in the air, and as many warriors 
 sprang to their feet, at this biting, and perhaps merited, re- 
 tort ; but a motion from one of the chiefs suppressed the out- 
 breaking of their tempers, and restored the appearance of 
 quiet. The task might probably have been more difficult, 
 had not a movement made by Tamenund indicated that he 
 was again about to speak. 
 
 " Delaware ! " resumed the sage, " little art thou worthy of 
 thy name. My people have not seen a bright sun in many 
 winters ; and the warrior who deserts his tribe when hid in 
 clouds is doubly a traitor. The law of the Manitto is just. It 
 is so ; while the rivers run and the mountains stand, while 
 the blossoms come and go on the trees, it must be so. He is 
 thine, my children ; deal justly by him." 
 
 Not a limb was moved, nor was a breath drawn louder and 
 longer than common, until the closing syllable of this final 
 decree had passed the lips of Tamenund. Then a cry of 
 vengeance burst at once, as it might be, from the united lips 
 of the nation ; a frightful augury of their ruthless intentions. 
 In the midst of these prolonged and savage yells, a chief pro- 
 claimed, in a high voice, that the captive was condemned to 
 endure the dreadful trial of torture by fire. The circle broke 
 its order, and screams of delight mingled with the bustle and 
 tumult of preparation. Heyvvard struggled madly with his 
 captors ; the anxious eyes of Hawk-eye began to look around 
 him, with an expression of peculiar earnestness ; and Cora 
 again threw herself at the feet of the patriarch, once more a 
 suppliant for mercy. 
 
 Throughout the whole of these trying moments, Uncas 
 had alone preserved his serenity. He looked on the prepa- 
 rations with a steady eye, and when the tormentors came to 
 seize him, he met them with a firm and upright attitude. One 
 among them, if possible more fierce arid savage than his fel- 
 lows, seized the hunting shirt of the young warrior, and at a 
 single effort tore it from his body. Then, with a yell of frantic 
 pleasure, he leaped towards his unresisting victim, and pre- 
 pared to lead him to the stake. But at that moment, when he 
 appeared most a stranger to the feelings of humanity, the 
 purpose of the savage was arrested as suddenly as if a super- 
 natural agency had interposed in the behalf of Uncas. The 
 eye-balls of the Delaware seemed to start from their sockets ; 
 his mouth opened, and his whole form became frozen in an 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICAN'S. 
 
 attitude of amazement. Raising his hand with a slow and 
 regulated motion, he pointed with a finger to the bosom of 
 the captive. His companions crowded about him in wonder, 
 and every eye was, like his own, fastened intently on the 
 figure of a small tortoise, beautifully tattooed on the breast of 
 the prisoner, in a bright blue tint. 
 
 For a single instant Uncas enjoyed his triumph, smiling 
 calmly on the scene. Then motioning the crowd away with a 
 high and haughty sweep of his arm, he advanced in front of 
 the nation with the air of a king, and spoke in a voice louder 
 than the murmur of admiration that ran through the multi- 
 tude. 
 
 " Men of the Lenni Lenape ! " he said, "my race upholds 
 the earth ! Your feeble tribe stands on my she'll ! What fire 
 that a Delaware can light would burn the child of my fathers," 
 he added, pointing proudly to the simple blazonry on his skin ; 
 " the blood that came from such a stock would smother your 
 flames ! My race is the grandfather of nations! " 
 
 " Who art thou ? " demanded Tamenund, rising at the 
 startling tones he heard, more than at any meaning conveyed 
 by the language of the prisoner. 
 
 " Uncas, the son of Chingacbgook," answered the captive 
 modestly, turning from the nation, and bending his head in 
 reverence to the other's character and years ; " a son of the 
 great Unamis." * 
 
 "The hour of Tamenund is nigh ! " exclaimed the sage ; 
 " the day is come, &t last, to the night ! I thank the Manitto, 
 that one is here to fill my place at the council-fire. Uncas, 
 the child of Uncas, is found ! Let the eyes of a dying eagle 
 gaze on the rising sun." 
 
 The youth stepped lightly, but proudly, on the platform, 
 where he became visible to the whole agitated and wondering 
 multitude. Tamenund held him long at the length of his 
 arm, and read every turn in the fine lineaments of his coun- 
 tenance, with the untiring gaze of one who recalled days of 
 happiness. 
 
 " Is Tamenund a boy ? " at length the bewildered prophet 
 exclaimed. " Have I dreamt of so many snows that my 
 people were scattered like floating sands of Yengeese, more 
 plenty than the leaves on the trees ! The arrow of Tamenund 
 would not frighten the fawn ; his arm is withered like the 
 branch of a dead oak ; the snail would be swifter in the race : 
 yet is Uncas before him as they went to battle against the 
 
 Turtle. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 3x7 
 
 pale-faces ! Uncas, the panther of his tribe, the eldest son 
 of the Lenape, the wisest Sagamore of the Mohicans 1 Tell 
 me, ye Delawares, has Tamenund been a sleeper for a 
 hundred winters?" 
 
 The cairn and deep silence which succeeded these words, 
 sufficiently announced the awful reverence with which his 
 people received the communication of the patriarch. None 
 dared to answer, though all listened in breathless expectation 
 of what might follow. Uncas, however, looking in his face 
 with the fondness and veneration of a favored child, pre- 
 sumed on his own high and acknowledged rank to reply. 
 
 " Four warriors of his race have lived, and died," he said, 
 " since the friend of Tamenund led his people in battle. 
 The blood of the turtle has been in many chiefs, but all have 
 gone back into the earth from whence they came except 
 Chingachgook and his son." 
 
 " It is true it is true," returned the sage a flash of 
 recollection destroying all his pleasing fancies, and restoring 
 him at once to a consciousness of the true history of his 
 nation. " Our wise men have often said that two warriors of 
 the unchanged race were in the hills of the Yengeese ; why 
 have their seats at the council fires of the Dela wares been so 
 long empty ? " 
 
 At these words the young man raised his head, which he 
 had still kept bowed a little in reverence ; and lifting his 
 voice so as to be heard by the multitude, as if to explain at 
 once and forever the policy of his family, he said aloud 
 
 " Once we slept where we could hear the salt lake speak 
 in its anger. Then we were rulers and Sagamores over the 
 land. But when a pale-face was seen on every brook, we 
 followed the deer back to the river of our nation. The Dela- 
 wares were gone. Few warriors of them all stayed to drink 
 of the stream they loved. Then said my fathers, * Here will 
 we hunt. The waters of the rivers go into the salt lake. If 
 we go towards the setting sun, we shall find streams that run 
 into the great lakes of sweet water ; there would a Mohi- 
 can die, like fishes of the sea, in the clear springs. When 
 the Manitto is ready, and shall say, " Come," we will follow 
 the river to the sea, and take our own again.' Such, Dela- 
 wares, is^the belief of the children of the Turtle. Our eyes are 
 on the rising, and not towards the setting sun. We know 
 whence he comes, but we know not whither he goes. It is 
 enough." 
 
 The men of the Lenape listened to his words with all the 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 respect that superstition could lend, finding a secret charra 
 even in the figurative language with which the young Saga- 
 more imparted his ideas. Uncas himself watched the effect 
 of his brief explanation with intelligent eyes, and gradually 
 dropped the air of authority he had assumed as he perceived 
 that his auditors were content. Then permitting his looks to 
 wander over the silent throng that crowded around the ele 
 vated seat of Tamenund, he first perceived Hawk-eye in his 
 bonds. Stepping eagerly from his stand, he made way for 
 himself to the side of his friend ; and cutting his thongs with 
 a quick and angry stroke of his own knife, he motioned to 
 the crowd to divide. The Indians silently obeyed, and 
 once more they stood ranged in their circle, as before his 
 appearance among them. Uncas took the scout by the hand, 
 and led him to the feet of the patriarch. 
 
 " Father," he said, " look at this pale-face ; a just man 
 and the friend of the Delawares." 
 
 " Is he a son of Miquon ? " 
 
 " Not so a warrior known to the Yengeese, and feared 
 by the Maquas." 
 
 "What name has he gained by his deeds? " 
 
 " We call him Hawk-eye," Uncas replied, using the Dela- 
 ware phrase ; " for his sight never fails. The Mingoes know 
 him better by the death he gives their warriors ; with them he 
 is c The long rifle.' " 
 
 "La longue Carabine!" exclaimed Tamenund, opening 
 his eyes, and regarding the scout sternly. " My son has not 
 done well to call him friend." 
 
 " I call him so who proves himself such," returned thfc 
 young chief, with great calmness, but with a steady mien. 
 " If Uncas is welcome among the Delawares, then is Hawk* 
 eye with his friends." 
 
 *' The pale face has slain my young men ; his name is 
 great for the blows he has struck the Lenape." 
 
 "If a Mingo has whispered that much in the ear of the 
 Delaware, he has only shown that he is a singing-bird," said 
 the scout, who now believed that it was time to vindicate 
 himself from such offensive charges, and who spoke in the 
 tongue of the man he addressed, modifying his Indian figures, 
 however, with his own peculiar notions. " That I have slain 
 the Maquas I am not the man to deny, even at their own 
 council-fires ; but that, knowingly, my hand has ever harmed 
 ft Delaware, is opposed to the reason of my gifts, which i< 
 friendly to them, and all that belongs to their nation." 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 A low exclamation of applause passed among the warriors, 
 who exchanged looks with each other like men that first began 
 to perceive their error. 
 
 " Where is the Huron ? " demanded Tamenund. " Has 
 he stopped my ears ? " 
 
 Magua, whose feelings during that scene in which Uncas 
 had triumphed may be much better imagined than described, 
 answered to the call by stepping boldly in front of the pa- 
 triarch. 
 
 " The just Tamenund," he said, " will not keep what a 
 Huron has lent." 
 
 " Tell me, son of my brother," returned the sage, avoiding 
 the dark countenance of Le Subtil, and turning gladly to the 
 more ingenious features of Uncas, " has the stranger a con' 
 queror's right over you ? " 
 
 " He has none. The panther may get into snares set by 
 the women ; but he is strong, and knows how to leap through 
 them." 
 
 " La longue Carabine ? " 
 
 " Laughs at the Mingoes. Go, Huron, ask your squawe 
 the color of a bear." 
 
 " The stranger and the white maiden that came into my 
 camp together ? " 
 
 " Should journey on an open path." 
 
 " And the woman that the Huron left with my warriors ? " 
 
 Uncas made no reply. 
 
 " And the woman that the Mingo has brought into my 
 camp," repeated Tamenund, gravely. 
 
 " She is mine," cried Magua, shaking his hand in triumph 
 at Uncas. " Mohican, you know that she is mine." 
 
 " My son is silent," said Tamenund, endeavoring to read 
 the expression of the face that the youth turned from him in 
 sorrow. 
 
 " It is so," was the low answer. 
 
 A short and impressive pause succeeded, during which it 
 was very apparent with what reluctance the multitude ad- 
 mitted the justice of the Mingo's claim. At length the sage, 
 on whom alone the decision depended, said, in a firm voice, 
 
 " Huron, depart." 
 
 " As he came, just Tamenund," demanded the wily Magua , 
 " or with hands filled with the faith of the Delawares ? The 
 wigwam of Le Renard Subtil is empty. Make him strong 
 with his own." 
 
 The aged man mused with himself for a time; and then 
 
3*0 
 
 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 bending his head towards one of his venerable companion^ 
 he asked, 
 
 ** Are my ears open ? " 
 
 " It is true." 
 
 " Is this Mingo a chief ? " 
 
 " The first in his nation." 
 
 " Girl, what wouldst thou ? A great warrior takes thee to 
 wife. Go ; thy race will not end." 
 
 " Better, a thousand times, it should," exclaimed the horror 
 struck Cora, " than meet with such a degradation ! " 
 
 " Huron, her mind is in the tents of her fathers. An un- 
 willing maiden makes an unhappy wigwam." 
 
 " She speaks with the tongue of her people," returned 
 Magua, regarding his victim with a look of bitter irony. " She 
 is of a race of traders, and will bargain for a bright look. Let 
 Tamenund speak the words." 
 
 " Take you the wampum, and our love. ?> 
 
 " Nothing hence but what Magua brought hither." 
 
 " Then depart with thine own. The great Manitto forbids 
 that a Delaware should be unjust." 
 
 Magua advanced, and seized his captive strongly by the 
 arm ; the Delawares fell back, in silence ; and Cora, as if 
 conscious that remonstrance would be useless, prepared to 
 submit to her fate without resistance. 
 
 " Hold, hold ! " cried Duncan, springing forward ; " Hu- 
 ron, have mercy ! her ransom shall make thee richer than any 
 of thy people were ever yet known to be." 
 
 " Magua is a red-skin ; he wants not the beads of the pale- 
 feces." 
 
 " Gold, silver, powder, lead all that a warrior needs shall 
 6e in thy wigwam ; all that becomes the greatest chief." 
 
 " Le Subtil is very strong," cried Magua, violently shak- 
 ing the hand which grasped the unresisting arm of Cora ; " he 
 has his revenge ! " 
 
 " Mighty ruler of providence ! " exclaimed Heyward, clasp- 
 ing his hands together in agony, "can this be suffered I To 
 you, just Tamenund, I appeal for mercy." 
 
 " The words of the Delaware are said," returned the sage, 
 closing his eyes, and dropping back into his seat, alike wearied 
 with his mental and his bodily exertion. " Men speak not 
 twice." 
 
 " That a chief should not misspend his time in unsaying 
 what has once been spoken, is wise and reasonable," said 
 Hawk-eye, motioning to Duncan to be silent ; " but it is also 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 32 1 
 
 prudent in every warrior to consider well before he strikes his 
 tomahawk into the head of his prisoner. Huron, I love you 
 not ; nor can I say that any Mingo has ever received much 
 favor at my hands. It is fair to conclude, that, if this war 
 does not soon end, many more of your warriors will meet me 
 in the woods. Put it to your judgment, then, whether you 
 would prefer taking such a prisoner as that into your encamp- 
 ment, or one like myself, who am a man that it would greatly 
 rejoice your nation to see with naked hands." 
 
 " Will ' The long Rifle ' give his life for the woman ? " 
 demanded Magua, hesitatingly ; for he had already made a 
 motion towards quitting the place with his victim. 
 
 " No, no ; I have not said so much as that," returned 
 Hawk-eye, drawing back with suitable discretion, when he 
 noted the eagerness which Magua listened to his proposal. 
 " It would be an unequal exchange, to give a warrior, in the 
 prime of his age and usefulness, for the best woman on the 
 frontiers. I might consent to go into winter quarters, now- 
 at least six weeks afore the leaves will turn on condition you 
 will release the maiden." 
 
 Magua shook his head, and made an impatient sign for 
 the crowd to open. 
 
 " Well, then," added the scout, with the musing air of a 
 man who had not half made up his mind, " I will throw * Kill- 
 deer ' into the bargain. Take the word of an experienced 
 hunter, the piece has not its equal atween the provinces." 
 
 Magua still disdained to reply, continuing his efforts to 
 disperse the crowd. 
 
 " Perhaps," added the scout, losing his dissembled cool' 
 ness, exactly in proportion as the other manifested an indiff- 
 erence to the exchange, " if I should condition to teach your 
 young men the real virtue of the we'pon, it would smooth the 
 little differences in our judgments." 
 
 Le Renard fiercely ordered the Delawares, who still lingered 
 in an impenetrable belt around him, in hopes he would listen 
 to the amicable proposal, to open his path, threatening, by 
 the glance of his eye, another appeal to the infallible justice 
 of their " prophet." 
 
 " What is ordered must sooner or later arrive," continued 
 Hawk eye, turning with a sad and humbled look to Uncas. 
 " The varlet knows his advantage, and will keep it 1 God 
 bless you, boy ; you have found friends among your natural 
 kin, and I hope they will prove as true as some you have met 
 who had no Indian cross. As for me, sooner or later, I must 
 
3 22 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 die ; it is therefore fortunate there are but few to make my 
 death-howl. After all, it is likely the imps would have 
 managed to master my scalp, so a day or two will make no 
 great difference in the everlasting reckoning of time. God 
 bless you," added the rugged woodsman, bending his head 
 aside, and then instantly changing its direction again, with a 
 wistful look towards the youth ; " I loved both you and your 
 father, Uncas, though our skins are not altogether of a color, 
 and our gifts are somewhat different. Tell the Sagamore I 
 never lost sight of him in my greatest trouble ; and, as for 
 you, think of me sometimes when on a lucky trail ; and depend 
 on it, boy, whether there be one heaven or two, there is a path 
 in the other world by which honest men may come together 
 again. You'll find the rifle in the place where we hid it ; 
 take it, and keep it for my sake ; and harkee, lad, as your 
 natural gifts don't deny you the use of vengeance, use it a 
 little freely on the Mingoes ; it may unburden grief at my 
 loss, and ease your mind. Huron, I accept your offer ; release 
 the woman. I am your prisoner." 
 
 A suppressed, but still distinct murmur of approbation, lan 
 through the crowd at this generous proposition ; even the 
 fiercest among the Delaware warriors manifesting pleasure at 
 the manliness of the intended sacrifice. Magua paused, and 
 for an anxious moment, it might be said, he doubted ; then 
 casting his eyes on Cora, with an expression in which ferocity 
 and admiration were strangely mingled, his purpose became 
 fixed forever. 
 
 He intimated his contempt of the offer with a backward 
 motion of his head, and said, in a steady and settled voice- 
 
 " Le Renard Subtil is a great chief ; he has but one mind. 
 Come," he added, laying his hand too familiarly on the 
 shoulder of his captive to urge her onward ; " a Huron is no 
 tattler; we will go." 
 
 The maiden drew back in lofty womanly reserve, and her 
 dark eye kindled, while the rich blood shot, like the passing 
 brightness of the sun, into her very temples, at the indignity. 
 
 " I am your prisoner, and at a fitting time shall be ready 
 to follow, even to my death. But violence is unnecessary," 
 she coldly said ; and immediately turning to Hawk-eye, added, 
 " Generous hunter, from my soul I thank you. Your offer is 
 vain, neither could it be accepted ; but still you may serve me, 
 even more than in your own noble intention. Look at that 
 drooping, humbled child ! Abandon her not until you leave 
 her in the habitations of civilized men. I will not say,' 1 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. , 323 
 
 wringing the hard hand of the scout, " that her father wil* 
 reward you for such as you are above the rewards of men 
 but he will thank you and bless you. And, believe me, th* 
 blessing of a just and aged man has virtue in the sight ol 
 Heaven. Would to God, I could hear one from his lips al 
 this awful moment ! " Her voice became choked, and, for an 
 instant, she was silent ; then advancing a step nigher to 
 Duncan, who was supporting her unconscious sister, she 
 continued, in more subdued tones, but in which feeling and 
 the habits of her sex maintained a fearful struggle, " I need 
 not tell you to cherish the treasure you will possess. You 
 love her Heyward ; that would conceal a thousand faults, 
 though she had them. She is kind, gentle, sweet, good, as 
 mortal may be. There is not a blemish in mind or person at 
 which the proudest of you all would sicken. She is fair Oh ! 
 how surpassingly fair," laying her own beautiful, but less 
 brilliant hand, in melancholy affection on the alabaster fore- 
 head of Alice, and parting the golden hair which clustered 
 about her brows ; " and yet her soul is pure and spotless as 
 her skin. I could say much more perhaps than cooler reason 
 would, approve; but I will spare you and myself " Her 
 voice became inaudible, and her face was bent over the form 
 of her sister. After a long and burning kiss, she arose, and 
 with features of the hue of death, but without even a tear in 
 her feverish eye, she turned away, and added, to the savage, 
 with all her former elevation of manner, "Now, sir. if it be 
 your pleasure, I will follow." 
 
 " Ay, go," cried Duncan, placing Alice in the arms of an 
 Indian girl ; " go, Magua, go. These Delawares have their 
 laws, which forbid them to detain you ; but I I have no 
 such obligation. Go, malignant monster why do you de- 
 lay ? " 
 
 It would be difficult to describe the expression with which 
 Magua listened to this threat to follow. There was at first a 
 fierce and manifest display of joy, and then it was instantly 
 subdued in a look of cunning coldness. 
 
 "The woods are open," he was content with answering. 
 *' The Open Hand ' can come." 
 
 "Hold," cried Hawk-eye, seizing Duncan by the arm, 
 and detaining him by violence ; " you know not the craft of 
 the imp. He would lead you to an ambushment and your 
 death" 
 
 " Huron," interrupted Uncas, who, submissive to the scern 
 customs of his people, had been an attentive and grave lis- 
 
24 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 tener to all that passed ; " Huron, the justice of the Delawares 
 comes from the Manitto. Look at the sun. He is now in 
 the upper branches of the hemlock. Your path is short and 
 open. When he is seen above the trees, there will be men 
 on your trail." 
 
 " I hear a crow," exclaimed Magua, with a taunting laugh. 
 " Go," he added, shaking his hand at the crowd, which had 
 slowly opened to admit his passage. " Where are the petti- 
 coats of the Delawares ? Let them send their arrows and 
 their guns to the Wyandots ; they shall have venison to eat, 
 and corn to hoe. Dogs, rabbits, thieves I spit on you." 
 
 His parting gibes were listened to in a dead, boding 
 silence, and, with these biting words in his mouth, the trium- 
 phant Magua passed unmolested into the forest followed by 
 his passive captive, and protected by the inviolable laws of 
 Indian hospitality. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 Flue. Kill the poys and the luggage ! 'Tis expressly against the law of arms, 
 tis as arrant a piece of knavery, mark you now, as can be offered in the 'orld. 
 
 KING HENRY V. 
 
 So long as their enemy and his victim continued in sight, 
 the multitude remained motionless as beings charmed to the 
 place by some power that was friendly to the Hurons ; but 
 the instant he disappeared, it became tossed and agitated by 
 fierce and powerful passion. Uncas maintained his elevated 
 stand, keeping his eyes on Cora, until the colors of her dress 
 were blended with the foliage of the forest ; when he descended, 
 and moving silently through the throng, he disappeared in 
 that lodge from which he had so recently issued. A few of 
 the graver and more attentive warriors, who caught the gleams 
 of anger that shot from the eyes of the young chief in passing, 
 followed him to the place he had selected for his meditations. 
 After which, Tamenund and Alice were removed, and the 
 women and children were ordered to disperse. During the 
 momentous hour that succeeded, the encampment resembled 
 a hive of troubled bees, who only awaited the appearance and 
 example of their leader to take some distant and momentous 
 flight. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 325 
 
 A young warrior at length issued from the lodge of Uncas ; 
 and moving deliberately, with a sort of grave march, towards 
 'a dwarf pine that grew in the crevices of the rocky terrace, he 
 tore the bark from its body, and then returned whence he 
 came without speaking. He was soon followed by another, 
 who stripped the sapling of its branches, leaving it a naked 
 and blazed 5 * trunk. A third colored the post with stripes of 
 a dark red paint ; all which indications of a hostile design in 
 the leaders of the nation were received by the men without in 
 a gloomy and omnious silence. Finally, the Mohican him- 
 self reappeared, divested of all his attire except his girdle and 
 leggings, and with one-half of his fine features hid under a 
 cloud of threatening black. 
 
 Uncas moved with a slow and dignified tread towards the 
 post, which he immediately commenced encircling with a 
 measured step, not unlike an ancient dance, raising his voice, 
 at the same time, in the wild and irregular chant of his war- 
 song. The notes were in the extremes of human sounds ; 
 being sometimes melancholy and exquisitely plaintive, even 
 rivalling the melody of birds and then, by sudden and start- 
 ling transitions, causing the auditors to tremble by their depth 
 and energy. The words were few and often repeated, pro- 
 ceeding gradually from a sort of invocation, or hymn to the 
 Deity, to an intimation of the warrior's objects, and terminating 
 as they commenced with an acknowledgment of his own de- 
 pendence on the Great Spirit. If it were possible to translate 
 the comprehensive and melodious language in which he 
 spoke, the ode might read something like the following : 
 
 " Manitto ! Manitto ! Manitto ! 
 Thou art great, thou art good, thou art wise 
 Manitto ! Manitto ! 
 Thou art just. 
 
 " In the heavens, in the clouds, oh ! I see 
 Many spots many dark, many red : 
 In the heavens, oh I I see 
 Many clouds. 
 
 * In the woods, in the air, oh I I hear 
 The whoop, the long yell, and the cry : 
 In the woods, ah ! I hear 
 The loud whoop. 
 
 * A tree which has been partially or entirely stripped of its bark is said in the 
 i^n^uage of the country, to be "blazed." The term is strictly English for a 
 horse is said to be blazed when it has a white mark. 
 
326 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 " Manitto ! Manitto! Manitto! 
 I am weak thou art strong ; I am slow 
 Manitto ! Manitto ' 
 Give me aid." 
 
 At the end of what might be called each verse, he made a 
 pause, by raising a note loude-r and longer than common, that 
 was peculiarly suited to the sentiment just expressed. The 
 first close was solemn, and intended to convey the idea of 
 veneration ; the second descriptive, bordering on the alarm- 
 ing ; and the third was the well-known and terrific war-whoop, 
 which burst from the lips of the young warrior, like a combi- 
 nation of all the frightful sounds of battle. The last was like 
 the first, humble and imploring. Three times did he repeat 
 this song, and as often did he encircle the post in his dance. 
 
 At the close of the first turn, a grave and highly esteemed 
 chief of the Lenape followed his example, singing words of 
 his own, however, to music of a similar character. Warrior 
 after warrior enlisted in the dance, until all of any renown 
 and authority were numbered in its mazes. The spectacle 
 now became wildly terrific ; the fierce-looking and menacing 
 visages of the chiefs receiving additional power from the ap- 
 palling strains in which they mingled their guttural tones. 
 Just then Uncas struck his tomahawk deep into the post, and 
 raised his voice in a shout, which might be termed his own 
 battle-cry. The act announced that he had assumed the chief 
 authority in the intended expedition. 
 
 It was a signal that awakened all the slumbering passions 
 of the nation. A hundred youths, who had hitherto been re- 
 strained by the diffidence of their years, rushed in a frantic 
 body on the fancied emblem of their enemy, and severed it 
 asunder, splinter by splinter, until nothing remained of the 
 trunk but its roots in the earth. During this moment of tumult, 
 the most ruthless deeds of war were performed on the frag- 
 ments of the tree, with as much apparent ferocity as if they 
 were the living victims of their cruelty. Some were scalped'; 
 some received the keen and trembling axe ; and others suf- 
 fered by thrusts from the fatal knife. In short, the manifesta- 
 tions of zeal and fierce delight were so great and unequivocal, 
 that the expedition was declared to be a war of the nation. 
 
 The instant Uncas had struck the blow, he moved out of 
 the circle, and cast his eyes up to the sun, which was just 
 gaining the point, when the truce with Magua was to end. 
 The fact was soon announced by a significant gesture, accom- 
 panied by a corresponding cry ; and the whole of the excited 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS- 
 
 327 
 
 multitude abandoned their mimic warfare, with shrill yells of 
 pleasure, to prepare for the more hazardous experiment of 
 die reality. 
 
 The whole face of the encampment was instantly changed. 
 The warriors, who were already armed and painted, became 
 as still as if they were incapable of any uncommon burst of 
 emotion. On the other hand, the women broke out of the 
 lodges, with the songs of joy and those of lamentation so 
 Strangely mingled, that it might have been difficult to have said 
 which passion preponderated. None, however, were idle. 
 
 Some bore their choicest articles, others their young, and 
 some their aged and infirm, into the forest, which spread itself 
 like a verdant carpet of bright green against the side of the 
 mountain. Thither Tamenund also retired, with calm com- 
 posure, after a short and touching interview with Uncas ; from 
 whom the sage separated with the reluctance that a parent 
 would quit a long lost and just recovered chitd. In the mean 
 time, Duncan saw Alice to a place of safety, and then sought 
 the scout, with a countenance that denoted how eagerly ha 
 also panted for the approaching contest. 
 
 But Hawk-eye was too much accustomed to the war-song 
 and the enlistments of the natives, to betray any interest in 
 the passing scene. He merely cast an occasional look at the 
 number and quality of the warriors, who, from time to time, 
 signified their readiness to accompany Uncas to the field. In 
 this particular he was soon satisfied ; for, as has been already 
 seen, the power of the young chief quickly embraced every fight- 
 ing man in the nation. After this material point was so satis- 
 factorily decided, he despatched an Indian boy in quest of 
 " Kill-deer " and the rifle of Uncas, to the place where they had 
 deposited the weapons on approaching the camp of the Dela- 
 wares ; a measure of double policy, inasmuch as it protected 
 the arms from their own fate, if detained as prisoners, and 
 gave them the advantage of appearing among the strangers 
 rather as sufferers than as men provided with the means of 
 defence and subsistence. In selecting another to perform 
 the office of reclaiming his highly-prized rifle, the scout had 
 lost sight of none of his habitual caution. He knew that 
 Magua had not come unattended, and he also knew that Huron 
 spies watched the movements of their new enemies, along the 
 whole boundary of the woods. It would, therefore, have been 
 fatal to himself to have attempted the experiment ; a warrior 
 would have fared no better; but the danger of a boy would 
 not be likely to commence until after his object was discov- 
 
32 S THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 ered. When Heyward joined him, the scout was coolly await* 
 ing the result of this experiment. 
 
 The boy, who had been well instructed, and was sufn> 
 ciently crafty, proceeded, with a bosom that was swelling with 
 the pride of such a confidence, and all the hopes of young 
 ambition, carelessly across the clearing to the wood, which he 
 entered at a point at some little distance from the place where 
 the guns were secreted. The instant, however, he was con- 
 cealed by the foliage of the bushes, his dusky form was to be 
 seen gliding, like that of a serpent, towards the desired treasure. 
 He was successful ; and in another moment he appeared flying 
 across the narrow opening that skirted the base of the terrace 
 on which the village stood, with the velocity of an arrow, and 
 bearing a prize in each hand. He had actually gained the 
 crags, and was leaping up their sides with incredible activity, 
 when a shot from the woods showed how accurate had been 
 the judgment of the scout. The boy answered it with a feeble 
 but contemptuous shout ; and immediately a second bullet was 
 sent after him from another part of the cover. At the next 
 instant he appeared on the level above, elevating his guns in 
 triumph while he moVed with the air of a conqueror towards 
 the renowned hunter who had honored him by so glorious a 
 commission. 
 
 Notwithstanding the lively interest Hawk-eye had taken 
 in the fate of his messenger, he received " Kill-deer " with a 
 satisfaction that, momentarily, drove all other recollections 
 from his mind. After examining the piece with an intelligent 
 eye, and opening and shutting the pan some ten or fifteen 
 times, and trying sundry other equally important experiments 
 on the lock, he turned to the boy, and demanded with great 
 manifestations of kindness, if he was hurt. The urchin 
 looked proudly up in his face, but made no reply. 
 
 " Ah ! I see, lad, the knaves have barked your arm 1 " 
 added the scout, taking up the limb of the patient sufferer, 
 across which a deep flesh wound had been made by one of 
 the bullets ; " but a little bruised alder will act like a charm,, 
 In the mean time I will wrap it in a badge of wampum. You 
 have commenced the business of a warrior early, my brave 
 boy, and are likely to bear a plenty of honorable scars to your 
 grave. I know many young men that have taken scalps who 
 cannot show such a mark as this. Go," having bound up the 
 arm ; " you will be a chief ! " 
 
 The lad departed, prouder of his flowing blood than the 
 vainest courtier could be of his blushing ribbon ; and stalked 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 329 
 
 among the fellows of his age, an object of general admiration 
 and envy. 
 
 But in a moment of so many serious and important duties, 
 this single act of juvenile fortitude did not attract the general 
 notice and commendation it would have received under milder 
 auspices. It had, however, served to apprise the Delawares 
 of the position and the intentions of their enemies. Ac- 
 cordingly a party of adventurers, better suited to the task 
 than the weak though spirited boy, was ordered to dislodge 
 the skulkers. The duty was soon performed ; for most of 
 the Hurons retired of themselves when they found they had 
 been discovered. The Delawares followed to a sufficient dis- 
 tance from their own encampment, and then halted for orders, 
 apprehensive of being led into an ambush. As both parties 
 secreted themselves, the woods were again as still and quiet 
 as a mild summer morning and deep solitude could render 
 them. 
 
 The calm but still impatient Uncas now collected his 
 chiefs, and divided his power. He presented Hawk-eye as 
 a warrior, often tried, and always found deserving of confi- 
 dence. When he found his friend met with a favorable recep- 
 tion, he bestowed on him the command of twenty men, like 
 himself, active, skilful, and resolute. He gave the Delawares 
 to understand the rank of Heyward among the troops of the 
 Yengeese, and then tendered to him a trust of equal author- 
 ity. But Duncan declined the charge, professing his readi- 
 ness to serve as a volunteer by the side of the scout. After 
 this disposition, the young Mohican appointed various native 
 chiefs to fill the different situations of responsibility, and the 
 time pressing, he gave forth the word to march. He was 
 cheerfully, but silently, obeyed by more than two hundred 
 men. 
 
 Their entrance into the forest was perfectly unmolested ; 
 nor did they encounter any living objects, that could either 
 give the alarm, or furnish the intelligence they needed, until 
 they came upon the lairs of their own scouts. Here a halt 
 was ordered, and the chiefs were assembled to hold a " whisper- 
 ing council." At this meeting divers plans of operation 
 were suggested, though none of a character to meet the 
 wishes of their ardent leader. Had Uncas followed the 
 prompting of his own inclinations, he would have led his 
 followers to the charge without a moment's delay, and put 
 the conflict to the hazard of an instant issue ; but such a 
 course would have been in opposition to all the received 
 
330 
 
 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 practices and opinions of his countrymen. He was> there* 
 fore, fain to adopt a caution that in the present temper of his 
 mind he execrated, and to listen to advice at which his fiery 
 spirit chafed, under the vivid recollection of Cora's danger 
 and Magua's insolence. 
 
 After an unsatisfactory conference of many minutes, a 
 solitary individual was seen advancing from the side of the 
 enemy, with such apparent haste, as to induce the belief he 
 might be a messenger charged with pacific overtures. Wheo 
 within a hundred yards, however, of the cover behind which 
 the Delaware council had assembled, the stranger hesitated, 
 appeared uncertain what course to take, and finally halted. 
 All eyes were now turned on Uncas, as if seeking directions 
 how to proceed. 
 
 " Hawk-eye," said the young chief, in a low voice, " he 
 must never speak to the Hurons again." 
 
 "His time has come," said the laconic scout, thrusting the 
 long barrel of his rifle through the leaves, and taking his de- 
 liberate and fatal aim. But, instead of pulling the trigger, he 
 lowered the muzzle again, and indulged himself in a fit of his 
 peculiar mirth. " I took the imp for a Mingo, as I'm a mis- 
 erable sinner ! " he said ; " but when my eye ranged along 
 his ribs for a place to get the bullet in would you think it, 
 Uncas I saw the musicianer's blower ! and so, after all, it 
 is the man they call Gamut, whose death can profit no one, 
 and whose life, if his tongue can do anything but sing, may 
 be made serviceable to our own ends. If sounds have not 
 tost their virtue, I'll soon have a discourse with the honest 
 fellow, and th&t in a voice he'll find more agreeable than the 
 speech of * Kill-cleer.' " 
 
 So saying, Hawk-eye laid aside his rifle ; and crawling 
 through the bushes until within hearing of David, he at- 
 tempted to repeat the musical effort, which had conducted 
 himself with so much safety and eclat through the Huron 
 encampment. The exquisite organs of Gamut could not 
 readily be deceived (and to say the truth, it would have been 
 difficult for any other than Hawk-eye to produce a similat 
 noise), and consequently, having once before heard the 
 sounds, he now knew whence they proceeded. The poor 
 fellow appeared relieved from a state of embarrassment; for 
 pursuing the direction of the voice a task that to him was 
 not much less arduous than it would have been to have gone 
 up in the face of a battery he soon discovered the hidden 
 songster 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 33! 
 
 " I wonder what the Hurons will think of that ! " said the 
 scout, laughing, as he took his companion by the arm, and 
 urged him towards the rear. " If the knaves lie within ear- 
 shot, they will say there are two non-compossers instead ot 
 one ! But here we are safe," he added, pointing to Uncas 
 &nd his associates. " Now give us the history of the Mingo 
 inventions in natural English, and without any ups and dowcs 
 of voice." 
 
 David gazed about him, at the fierce and wild-looking 
 chiefs, in mute wonder ; but assured by the presence of faces 
 that he knew, he soon rallied his faculties so far as to make 
 an intelligent reply. 
 
 " The heathen are abroad in goodly numbers," said 
 David ; " and, I fear, with evil intent. There has been much 
 howling and ungodly revelry, together with such sounds as it 
 is profanity to utter, in their habitations within the past hour ; 
 so much so, in truth, that I have fled to the Delawares in 
 search of peace." 
 
 " Your ears might not have profited much by the exchange, 
 had you been quicker of foot," returned the scout a little 
 drily. " But let that be as it may ; where are the Hurons ? " 
 
 " They lie hid in the forest, between this spot and their 
 village, in such force, that prudence would teach you instantly 
 to return." 
 
 Uncas cast a glance along the range of trees which con- 
 cealed his own band and mentioned the name of, 
 
 " Magua ? " 
 
 " Is among them. He brought in the maiden that had so- 
 journed with the Delawares, and leaving her in the cave, has 
 put himself, like a raging wolf, at the head of his savages. I 
 know not what has troubled his spirit so greatly ! " 
 
 " He has left her, you say, in the cave ! " interrupted 
 Heyward ; " tis well that we know its situation 1 May not 
 something be done for her instant relief ? " 
 
 Uncas looked earnestly at the scout, before he asked, 
 
 "What says Hawk-eye?" 
 
 " Give me my twenty rifles, and I will turn to the right, 
 along the stream ; and passing by the huts of the beaver, will 
 join the Sagamore and the colonel. You shall then hear the 
 whoop from that quarter ; with this wind one may easily send 
 it a mile- Then, Uncas, do you drive in their fron' ; when 
 they come within range of our pieces, we will give them a 
 blow that, I pledge the good name of an old frontiersman, 
 snail make their line bend like an ashen bow. After which, 
 
33 2 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 4P 
 
 we will carry their village, and take the women from the cave \ 
 when the affair may be finished with the tribe, according to a 
 white man's battle, by a blow and a victory ; or in the Indian 
 fashion, with dodge and cover. There may be no great learn- 
 ing, major, in this plan, but with courage and patience it can 
 all be done." 
 
 " I like it much," cried Duncan, who saw that the release 
 of Cora was the primary object in the mind of the scout ; " I 
 like it much. Let it be instantly attempted." 
 
 After a short conference, the plan was matured, and ren- 
 dered more intelligible to the several parties; the different 
 signals were appointed, and the chiefs separated, each to his 
 allotted station. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 But plagues shall spread, and funeral fires Increase, 
 Till the great king, without a ransom paid, 
 To her own Chrysa send the black-eyed maid. 
 
 POPE. 
 
 DURING the time Uncas was making this disposition of 
 his forces, the woods were as still, and, with the exception of 
 those who had met in council, apparently as much unten- 
 anted, as when they came fresh from the hands of their 
 Almighty Creator. The eye could range, in every direction, 
 through the long and shadowed vistas of the trees ; but 
 nowhere was any object to be seen that did not properly be- 
 long to the peaceful and slumbering scenery. Here and 
 there a bird was heard fluttering among the branches of the 
 beeches, and occasionally a squirrel dropped a nut, drawing 
 the startled looks of the party, for a moment, to the place ; 
 but the instant the casual interruption ceased, the passing air 
 was heard murmuring above their heads, along that verdant 
 and undulating surface of forest, which spread itself unbroken, 
 unless by stream or lake, over such a vast region of country. 
 Across the track of wilderness, which lay between the 
 Delawares and the village of their enemies, it seemed as if 
 the foot of man had never trodden, so breathing and deep 
 was the silence in which it lay. But Hawk-eye, whose duty led 
 him foremost in the adventure, knew the character of those \vitl 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 333 
 
 whom he was about to contend too well to trust the treacher- 
 ous quiet. 
 
 When he saw his little band collected, the scout threw 
 " Kill-deer " into the hollow of his arm, and making a silent 
 signal that he would be followed, he led them many rods 
 towards the rear, into the bed of a little brook which they 
 had crossed in advancing. Here he halted, and after waiting 
 for the whole of his grave and attentive warriors to close 
 about him, he spoke in Delaware, demanding, 
 
 " Do any of my young men know whither this run will 
 lead us?" 
 
 A Delaware stretched forth a hand, with the two ringers 
 separated, and indicating the manner in which they were 
 joined at the root, he answered, 
 
 " Before the sun could go his own length, the little water 
 will be in the big." Then he added, pointing in the direction 
 of the place he mentioned, " the two make enough for the 
 beavers." 
 
 " I thought as much," returned the scout, glancing his eye 
 upwards at the opening in the tree-tops, " from the course it 
 takes, and the bearings of the mountains. Men, we will keep 
 within the cover of its banks till we scent the Hurons." 
 
 His companions gave the usual brief exclamation of assent, 
 but perceiving that their leader was about to lead the way in 
 person, one or two made signs that all was not as it should 
 be. Hawk-eye, who comprehended their meaning glances, 
 turned, and perceived that his party had been followed thus 
 far by the singing-master. 
 
 " Do you know, friend," asked the scout gravely, and per- 
 haps with a little of the pride of conscious deserving in his 
 manner, " that this is a band of rangers chosen for the most 
 desperate service, and put under the command of one who, 
 though another might say it with a better face, will not be 
 apt to leave them idle. It may not be five, it cannot be 
 thirty minutes before we tread on the body of a Huron, living 
 or dead." 
 
 " Though not admonished of your intentions in words," 
 returned David, whose face was a little flushed, and whose 
 ordinarily quiet and unmeaning eyes glimmered with an ex- 
 pression of unusual fire, " your men have reminded me of the 
 children of Jacob going out to battle against the Shechemites, 
 for wickedly aspiring to wedlock with a woman of a race that 
 was favored of the Lord. Now, I have journeyed far, and 
 sojourned much in good and evil with the maiden ye seek. 
 
334 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 and though not a man of war, with my loins girded and my 
 sword sharpened, yet would I gladly strike a blow in hei 
 behalf." 
 
 The scout hesitated, as if weighing the chances of such a 
 strange enlistment in his mind before he answered, 
 
 " You know not the use of any we'pon. You carry' no 
 rifle ; and believe me, what the Mingoes take they will freely 
 give again." 
 
 " Though not a vaunting and bloodily-disposed Goliah," 
 returned David, drawing a sling from beneath his parti-colored 
 and uncouth attire, " I have not forgotten the example of the 
 Jewish boy. With this ancient instrument of war have I 
 practised much in my youth, and peradventure the skill has 
 not entirely departed from me." 
 
 " Ay ! " said Hawk-eye, considering the deer-skin thong 
 and apron with a cold and discouraging eye ; " the thing 
 might do its work among arrows, or even knives ; but these 
 Mengwe have been furnished by the Frenchers with a good 
 grooved barrel a man. However, it seems to be your gift to 
 go unharmed amid fire ; and as you have hitherto been fa- 
 vored major, you have left your rifle at a cock ; a single shot 
 before the time would be just twenty scalps lost to no pur- 
 pose singer, you can follow ; we may find use for you in the 
 shoutings." 
 
 " I thank you, friend," returned David, supplying himself 
 like his royal namesake, from among the pebbles of the brook ,- 
 " though not given to the desire to kill, had you sent me away 
 my spirit would have been troubled." 
 
 " Remember," added the scout, tapping his own head 
 significantly on that spot where Gamut was yet sore, " we 
 come to fight, and not to musikate. Until the general whoop 
 is given, nothing speaks but the rifle." 
 
 David nodded, as much as to signify his acquiescence with 
 the terms; and then Hawk-eye, casting another observant 
 glance over his followers, made the signal to proceed. 
 
 Their route lay, for the distance of a mile, along the bed 
 of the water-course. Though protected from any great danger 
 of observation by the precipitous banks, and the thick shrub- 
 bery which skirted the stream, no precaution known to an 
 Indian attack was neglected. A warrior rather crawled than 
 walked on each flank, so as to catch occasional glimpses into 
 the forest ; and every few minutes the band came to a halt, 
 and listened for hostile sounds, with an acuteness of organs 
 that would be scarcely conceivable to a man in a less natural 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 335 
 
 state. Their march was, however, unmolested, and thej 
 reached the point where the lesser stream was lost in the 
 greater, without the smallest evidence that their progress had 
 been noted. Here the scout again halted, to consult the signs 
 of the forest. 
 
 " We are likely to have a good day for a fight," he said 
 in English, addressing Heywarcl, and glancing his eye up- 
 wards at the clouds, which began to move in broad sheets 
 across the firmament ; " a bright sun and a glittering barrel 
 are no friends to true sight. Everything is favorable ; they 
 have the wind, which will bring down their noises and their 
 smoke too, no little matter in itself ; whereas, with us it will 
 be first a shot, and then a clear view. But here is an end of 
 our cover ; the beavers have had the range of this stream for 
 hundreds of years, and what atween their food and their 
 dams, there is, as you see, many a girdled stub, but few living 
 trees." 
 
 Hawk-eye had, in truth, in these few words, given no bad 
 description of the prospect that now lay in their front. The 
 brook was irregular in its width, sometimes shooting through 
 narrow fissures in the rocks.- and at others spreading over 
 acres of bottom land, forming little areas that might be termed 
 ponds. Everywhere along its banks were the mouldering 
 relics of dead trees, in all the stages of decay, from those that 
 groaned on their tottering trunks to such as had recently been 
 robbed of those rugged coats that so mysteriously contain 
 their principle of life. A few long, low, and moss-covered 
 piles were scattered among them, like the memorials of a for- 
 mer and long-departed generation. 
 
 All these minute particulars were noted by the scout, 
 with a gravity and interest that they probably had never before 
 attracted. He knew that the Huron encampment lay a short 
 half mile up the brook ; and, with the characteristic anxiety 
 of one who dreaded a hidden danger, he was greatly troubled 
 at not finding the smallest trace of the presence of his enemy. 
 Once or twice he felt induced to give the order for a rush, and to 
 attempt the village by surprise ; but his experience quickly 
 admonished him of the danger of so useless an experiment. 
 Then he listened intently, and with painful uncertainty, for 
 the sounds of hostility in the quarter where Uncas was left - 
 but nothing was audible except the sighing of the wind, that 
 began to sweep over the bosom of the forest in gusts which 
 threatened a tempest. At length, yielding rather to his 
 unusual impatience than taking counsel from his knowledge, 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICAN*. 
 
 he determined to bring matters to an issue, by unmasking his 
 force, and proceeding cautiously, but steadily up the stream. 
 
 The scout had stood, while making his observations, shel- 
 tered by a brake, and his companions still lay in the bed of 
 the ravine, through which the smaller stream debouched ; but 
 on hearing his low, though intelligible signal, the whole party 
 stole up the bank, like so many dark spectres, and silently 
 arranged themselves around him. Pointing in the direction 
 he wished to proceed, Hawk-eye advanced, the band breaking 
 off in single files, and following so accurately in his footsteps, 
 as to leave it, if we except Heyward and David, the trail of 
 but a single man. 
 
 The party was, however, scarcely uncovered before a volley 
 from a dozen rifles was heard in their rear ; and a Delaware, 
 leaping high into the air, like a wounded deer, fell at his whole 
 length, perfectly dead. 
 
 " Ah ! I feared some deviltry like this ! " exclaimed the 
 Scout, in English ; adding with the quickness of thought, in 
 his adopted tongue, " To cover, men, and charge ! " 
 
 The band dispersed at the word, and before Heyward had 
 well recovered from his surprise, he found himself standing 
 alone with David. Luckily, the Hurons had already fallen 
 back, and he was safe from their fire. But this state of things 
 was evidently to be of short continuance ; for the scout set the 
 example of pressing on their retreat, by discharging his rifle, 
 2nd darting from tree to tree, as his enemy slowly yielded 
 ground. 
 
 It would seem that the assault had been made by a very 
 small party of the Hurons, which, however, continued to in- 
 crease in numbers, as it retired on its friends, until the return 
 fire was very nearly, if not quite, equal to that maintained by 
 the advancing Delawares. Heyward threw himself among 
 the combatants, -ind imitating the necessary caution of his 
 companions, he made quick discharges with his own rifle. 
 The contest now grew warm and stationary. Few were injured, 
 as both parties kept their bodies as much protected as possible 
 by the trees ; never, indeed, exposing any part of their persons 
 except in the act of taking aim. But the chances were grad- 
 ually growing unfavorable to Hawk-eye and his band. The 
 quick-sighted scout perceived his danger, without knowing 
 how to remedy it. He saw it was more dangerous to retreat 
 than to maintain his ground ; while he found his enemy throw* 
 ing out men on his flank, which rendered the task of keeping 
 themselves covered so very difficult to the Delawares, as nearly 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 237 
 
 to silence their Jire. At this embarrassing moment, when they 
 began to think the whole of the hostile tribe was gradually 
 encircling them, they heard the yell of combatants, and the 
 rattling of arms, echoing under the arches of the wood, at the 
 place where Uncas was posted ; a bottom which, in a manner, 
 lay beneath the ground on which Hawk-eye and his party were 
 contending. 
 
 The effects of this attack were instantaneous, and to the 
 scout and his friends greatly relieving. It would seem that, 
 while his own surprise had been anticipated, and had con- 
 sequently failed, the enemy, in their turn, having been deceived 
 in its object and in his numbers, had left too small a force to 
 resist the impetuous onset of the young Mohican. This fact . 
 was doubly apparent, by the rapid manner in which the battle 
 in the forest rolled upwards towards the village, and by an 
 instant falling off in the number of their assailants, who rushed 
 to assist in maintaining the front, and, as it now proved to be, 
 the principal point of defence. 
 
 Animating his followers by his voice, and his own example l? 
 Hawk-eye then gave the word to bear down upon their foes. 
 The charge, in that rude species of warfare, consisted merely 
 in pushing from cover to cover, nigher to the enemy ; and in 
 this manoeuvre he was instantly and successfully obeyed. The 
 Hurons were compelled to withdraw, and the scene of the con- 
 test rapidly changed from the more open ground on which it 
 had commenced, to the spot where the assailed found a thicket 
 to rest upon. Here the struggle was protracted, arduous, and, 
 seemingly, of doubtful issue ; the Delawares, though none of 
 them fell, beginning to bleed freely, in consequence of the 
 disadvantage at which they were held. 
 
 In this crisis, Hawk-eye found means to get behind the 
 same tree as that which served for a cover to Heyward ; most 
 of his own combatants being within call, a little on his right, 
 where they maintained sapid, though fruitless discharges on their 
 sheltered enemies. 
 
 " You are a young man, major," said the scout, dropping 
 the butt of " Kill-deer " to the earth, and leaning on the 
 barrel, a little fatigued with his previous industry ; " and it 
 may be your gift to lead armies, at some future day, ag'in 
 these imps, the Mingoes. You may here see the philosophy 
 of an Indian fight. It consists, mainly, in a ready hand, a quick 
 eye, and a good cover. Now, if you had a company of the Royal 
 Americans here, in what manner would you set them to work 
 in this business ? " 
 
 99 
 
338 
 
 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 " The bayonet would made a road." 
 
 " Ay, there is white reason in what you say ; but a man 
 must ask himself, in this wilderness, how many lives he can 
 spare. No horse," * continued the scout, shaking his head, 
 like one who mused ; " horse, I am ashamed to say, must, 
 sooner or later, decide these skrimmages. The brutes are 
 better than men, and to horse must we come at last. Put a 
 shodden hoof on the moccasin of red-skin ; and if his rifle 
 be once emptied, he will never stop to load it again." 
 
 "This is a subject that might better be discussed another 
 time," returned Heyward ; " shall we charge ? " 
 
 " I see no contradiction to the gifts of any man, in passing 
 his breathing spells in useful reflections," the scout replied. 
 " As to a rush I little relish such a measure ; for a scalp or 
 two must be thrown away in the attempt. And yet," he added, 
 bending his head aside, to catch the sounds of the distant 
 combat, " if we are to be of use to Uncas, these knaves in 
 our front must be got rid of ! " 
 
 Then turning, with a prompt and decided air, he called 
 aloud to his Indians, in their own language. His words were 
 answered by a shout ; and, at a given signal, each warrior 
 made a swift movement around his particular tree. The sight 
 of so many dark bodies glancing before their eyes at the same 
 instant, drew a hasty, and consequently an ineffectual, fire 
 from the Hurons. Without stopping to breathe, the Dela- 
 wares leaped, in long bounds, towards the woods, like so 
 many panrhers springing upon their prey. Hawk-eye was 
 in front, brandishing his terrible rifle, and animating his fol- 
 lowers by his example. A few of the older and more cun- 
 ning Hurons, who had not been deceived by the artifice which 
 had been practised to draw their fire, now. made a close and 
 deadly discharge of their pieces, and justified the apprehen- 
 sions of the scout, by felling three of his foremost warriors. 
 But the shock was insufficient to repel the impetus of the 
 charge. The Delawares broke into the cover with the feroc- 
 ity of their natures, and swept away every trace of resistance 
 by the fury of the onset. 
 
 * The Amercan forest admits of the passage of horse, there being little under- 
 brush, and few tangled brakes. The plan of Hawk-eye is the one which has always 
 proved the most successful in the battles between the whites and the Indians. 
 Wayne, in his celebrated campaign on the Miami, received the fire of his enemies 
 in line ; and then causing his dragoons to wheel round his flanks, the Indians were 
 driven from their covers before they had time to load. One of the most conspicuous 
 of the chiefs who fought in the battle of Miami, assured the writer that the red men 
 could not fight the warriors with " long knives and leather-stockings ; '' meaning 
 the dragoons with their sabres and boots. 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, 339 
 
 The combat endured only for an instant, hand to hand, and 
 then the assailed yielded ground rapidly, until they reached 
 the opposite margin of^the thicket, where they clung to the 
 cover, with the sort of obstinacy that is so often witnessed in 
 hunted brutes. At this critical moment, when the success of 
 the struggle was again becoming doubtful, the crack of a 
 rifle was heard behind the Hurons, and a bullet came whiz- 
 zing from among some beaver lodges, which were situated in 
 the clearing, in their rear, and was followed by the fierce and 
 appalling yell of the war-whoop. 
 
 ' There speaks the Sagamore ! " shouted Hawk-eye, an- 
 swering the cry with his own stentorian voice ; " we have them 
 now in face and back ! " 
 
 The effect on the Hurons was instantaneous. Discour- 
 aged by an assault from a quarter that left them no opportu- 
 nity for cover, their warriors uttered a common yell of disap- 
 pointment, and breaking off in a body, they spread them- 
 selves across the opening, heedless of every consideration but 
 flight. Many fell, in making the experiment, under the 
 bullets and blows of the pursuing Delawares. 
 
 We shall not pause to detail the meeting between the 
 scout and Chingachgook, or the more touching interview that 
 Duncan held with Munro. A few brief and hurried words 
 served to explain the state of things to both parties ; and 
 then Hawk-eye pointing out the Sagamore to his band, re- 
 signed the chief authority into the hands of the Mohican 
 chief. Chingachgook assumed the station to which his birth 
 and experience gave him so distinguished a claim, with the 
 grave dignity that always gives force to the mandates of a 
 native warrior. Following the footsteps of the scout, he led 
 the party back through the thicket, his men scalping the fallen 
 Hurons, and secreting the bodies of their own dead as they 
 proceeded, until they gained a point where the former was 
 content to make a halt. 
 
 The warriors, who had breathed themselves freely in the 
 preceding struggle, were now posted on a bit of level ground, 
 sprinkled with trees in sufficient numbers to conceal them. 
 The land fell away rather precipitately in front, and beneath 
 their eyes stretched, for several miles, a narrow, dark, and 
 wooded vale. It was through this dense and dark forest 
 that Uncas was still contending with the main body of the 
 Hurons. 
 
 The Mohican and his friends advanced to the brow of the 
 hill, and listened, with practised ears, to the sounds of the 
 
340 TffE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 vcombat. A few birds hovered over the leafy bosom of the 
 valley, frightened frorh their secluded nests ; and here and 
 there a light vapory cloud, which seemed already blending 
 with the atmosphere, arose above the trees, and indicated some 
 spot where the struggle had been fierce and stationary. 
 
 ''The fight is coining up the ascent," said Duncan, point- 
 ing in the direction of a new explosion of fire-arms ; . " we are 
 too much in the centre of their line to be effective." 
 
 "They will incline into the hollow, where the cover is 
 thicker," said the scout, "and that will leave us well on their 
 flank. Go, Sagamore; you will hardly be in time to give the 
 whoop, and lead on the young men. I will fight the skrim, 
 "mage with warriors of my own color. You know me, Mohi- 
 can ; not a Huron of them all shall cross the swell, into your 
 rear, without the notice of ' Kill-deer.' " 
 
 The Indian chief paused another moment to consider the 
 signs of the contest, which was now rolling rapidly up the as- 
 cent, a certain evidence that the Delawares triumphed ; nor 
 did he actually quit the place until admonished of the proxim- 
 ity of his friends, as well as enemies, by the bullets of the for- 
 mer, which began to patter among the dried leaves on the 
 ground, like the bits of falling hail which precede the burst- 
 ing of the tempest. Hawk-eye and his three companions 
 withdrew a pace to a shelter, and awaited the issue with 
 calmness, that nothing but great practice could impart in such 
 a scene. 
 
 It was not long before the reports of the rifles began to 
 lose the echpes of the woods, and to sound like weapons 
 discharged in the open air. Then a warrior appeared, here 
 and there, driven to the skirts of the forest, and rallying as 
 he entered the clearing, as at the place where the final stand 
 was to be made. These were soon joined by others, until a 
 long line of swarthy figures was to be seen clinging to the 
 cover with the obstinacy of desperation. Heyward began to 
 grow impatient, and turned his eyes anxiously in the direction 
 of Chingachgook. The chief was seated on a rock, with 
 nothing visible but his calm visage, considering the spectacle 
 with an eye as deliberate as if he were posted there merely to 
 view the struggle. 
 
 " The time is come for the Delaware to strike 1 " said Dun* 
 can. 
 
 "Not so, not so," returned the scout; "when he scents 
 
 his friends, he will let them know that he is here. See, see ; 
 
 ^ the knaves are getting in that clump of pines, like bees set- 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 34^ 
 
 tling after their flight. By the Lord, a squaw might put a 
 bullet into the centre of such a knot of dark skins ! " 
 
 At that instant the whoop was given, and a dozen Hurons 
 fell by a discharge from Chingachgook and his band. The 
 shout that followed was answered by a single war-cry from 
 the forest, and a yell passed through the air that sounded as 
 if a thousand throats were united in a common effort. The 
 Hurons staggered, deserted the centre of their line, and Un- 
 cas issued from the forest through the opening they left, at the 
 head of a hundred warriors. 
 
 Waving his hands right and left, the young chief pointed 
 out the enemy to his followers, who separated in pursuit. 
 The war now divided, both wings of the broken Hurons seek- 
 ing protection in the woods again, hotly pressed by the vic- 
 torious, warriors of the Lenape. A minute might have passed, 
 but the sounds were already receding in different directions, 
 and gradually losing their distinctness beneath the echoing 
 arches of the woods. One little knot of Hurons, however, 
 had disdained to seek a cover, and were retiring, like lions at 
 bay, slowly and sullenly up the acclivity, which Chingachgook 
 and his band had just deserted to mingle more closely in the 
 fray. Ma^ua was conspicuous in this party, both by his fierce 
 and savage mien, and by the air of haughty authority he yet 
 maintained. 
 
 In his eagerness to expedite the pursuit, Uncas had left 
 himself nearly alone ; but the moment his eye caught the fig- 
 ure of Le Subtil, every other consideration was forgotten. 
 Raising his cry of battle, which recalled some six or seven 
 warriors, and reckless of the disparity of their numbers, he 
 rushed upon his enemy. Le Renard, who watched the move- 
 ment, paused to receive him with secret joy. But at the mo- 
 ment when he thought the rashness of his impetuous young 
 assailant had left him at his mercy, another shout was given, 
 and La longue Carabine was seen rushing to the rescue, at- 
 tended by all his white associates. The Huron instantly 
 turned, and commenced a rapid retreat up the ascent. 
 
 There was no time for greetings or congratulations ; for 
 Uncas, though unconscious of the presence of his friends, con- 
 tinued the pursuit with the velocity of the wind. In vain 
 Hawk-eye called to him to respect the covers ; the young Mo- 
 hican braved the dangerous fire of his enemies, and sqon 
 compelled them to a flight as swift as his own headlong speed. 
 It was fortunate that the race was of short continuance, and 
 that the white men were much favored by their position, of 
 
342 
 
 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 the Delaware would soon have outstripped all his companion^ 
 And fallen a victim to his own temerity. But ere such a ca 
 lamity could happen, the pursuers and pursued entered tha 
 Wyandot village, within striking distance of each other. 
 
 Excited by the presence of their dwellings, and tired of 
 the chase, the Hurons now made a stand, and fought around 
 their council lodge with the fury of despair. The onset and 
 the issue were like the passage and destruction of a whirlwind. 
 The tomahawk of Uncas, the blows of Hawk-eye, and even 
 the still nervous arm of Munro, were all busy for that passing 
 moment, and the ground was quickly strewed with their ene- 
 mies. Still Magua, though daring and much exposed, escaped 
 from every effort against his life, with that sort of fabled pro- 
 tection that was made to overlook the fortunes of favored 
 heroes in the legends of ancient poetry. Raising a yell that 
 spoke volumes of anger and disappointment, the subtle chief, 
 when he saw his comrades fallen, darted away from the place, 
 attended by his two only surviving friends, leaving the Dela- 
 wares engaged in stripping the dead of the bloody trophic? 
 of their victory. 
 
 But Uncas, who had vainly sought him in the melee, 
 bounded forward in pursuit ; Hawk-eye, Heyward, and David 
 still pressing on his footsteps. The utmost that the scout 
 could effect was to keep the muzzle of his rifle a little in ad- 
 vance of his friend, to whom, however, it answered every pur- 
 pose of a charmed shield. Once Magua appeared disposed 
 to make another and a final effort to revenge his losses ; but, 
 abandoning his intention as soon as demonstrated, he leaped 
 into a thicket of bushes, through which he was followed by 
 his enemies, and suddenly entered the mouth of the cave al- 
 ready known to the reader. Hawk-eye, who had only for- 
 borne to fire in tenderness to Uncas, raised a shout of success, 
 and proclaimed aloud, that now they were certain of their 
 game. The pursuers dashed into the long and narrow en- 
 trance, in time to catch a glimpse of the retreating forms of 
 the Hurons. Their passage through the natural galleries and 
 subterraneous apartments of the cavern was preceded by the 
 shrieks and cries of hundreds of women and children. The 
 place, seen by its dim and uncertain light, appeared like the 
 shades of the infernal regions, across which unhappy ghosts 
 and savage demons were flitting in multitudes. 
 
 Still Uncas kept his eye on Magua, as if life to him pos 
 sessed but a single object. Heyward and the scout still 
 pressed on his rear, actuated, though possibly in a less degre^ 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 343 
 
 by a common feeling. But their way was becoming intricate, 
 in those dark and gloomy passages, and the glimpses of the 
 retiring warriors less distinct and frequent ; and for a moment 
 the trace was believed to be lost, when a white robe was seen 
 fluttering in the further extremity of a passage that seemed to 
 lead up the mountain. 
 
 " 'Tis Cora ! " exclaimed Heyward, in a voice in which 
 horror and delight were wildly mingled. 
 
 " Cora ! Cora ! " echoed Uncas, bounding forward like a 
 deer. 
 
 " 'Tis the maiden ! " ihouted the scout. " Courage, lady ; 
 we come ! we come ! " 
 
 The chase was renewed with a diligence rendered tenfold 
 encouraging by this glimpse of the captive. But the way was 
 rugged, broken, and in spots nearly impassable. Uncas 
 abandoned his rifle and leaped forward with headlong pre- 
 cipitation. Heyward rashly imitated his example, though 
 both were, a moment afterwards, admonished of its madness, 
 by hearing the bellowing of a piece, that the Hurons found 
 time to discharge down the passage in the rocks, the bullets 
 from which even gave the young Mohican a slight wound. 
 
 " We must close ! " said the scout, passing his friends by 
 a desperate leap ; "the knaves will pick us all off at this dis- 
 tance ; and see, they hold the maiden so as to shield them- 
 selves ! " 
 
 Though his words were unheeded, or rather unheard, his 
 example was followed by his companions, who, by incredible 
 exertions, got near enough to the fugitives to perceive that 
 Cora was borne along between the two warriors while Magua 
 prescribed the direction and manner of their flight. At this 
 moment the forms of all four were strongly drawn against an 
 opening in the sky, and they disappeared. Nearly frantic 
 with disappointment, Uncas and Heyward increased efforts 
 that already seemed superhuman, and they issued from the 
 cavern on the side of the mountain, in time to note the route 
 of the pursued. The course lay up the ascent, and still con* 
 tinued hazardous and laborious. 
 
 Encumbered by his rifle, and, perhaps, not sustained by so 
 deep an interest in the captive as his companions, the scout 
 suffered the latter to precede him a little, Uncas, in his turn, 
 taking the lead of Heyward. In this manner, rocks, precipices, 
 and difficulties were surmounted in an incredibly short space, 
 that at another time, and under other circumstances, would 
 have been deemed almost insuperable. But the impetuous 
 
344 
 
 THE LAST Ofi ME MOHICANS. 
 
 young men were rewarded, by finding that, encumbered with 
 Cora, the Hurons were losing ground in the race. 
 
 " Stay, dog of the Wyandots ! " exclaimed Uncas, shaking 
 his bright tomahawk at Magua ; " a Delaware girl calls stay ! " 
 
 " I will go no further," cried Cora, stopping unexpectedly 
 on a ledge of rocks, that overhung a deep precipice, at no 
 great distance from the summit of the mountain. " Kill me is 
 thou wilt, detestable Huron ; I will go no further." 
 
 The supporters of the maiden raised their ready tomahawks 
 with the impious joy that fiends are thought to take in mis- 
 chief, but Magua stayed the uplifted arms. The Huron chief, 
 after casting the weapons he had wrested from his companions 
 over the rock, drew his knife, and turned to his captive, with a 
 look in which conflicting passions fiercely contended. 
 
 " Woman," he said, "choose ; the wigwam or the knife of 
 Le Subtil ! " 
 
 Cora regarded him not, but dropping on her knees, she 
 raised her eyes and stretched her arms towards heaven, saying 
 in a meek and yet confiding voice, 
 
 " I am thine ! do with me as thou seest best 1 " 
 
 " Woman," repeated Magua, hoarsely, and endeavoring in 
 vain to catch a glance from her serene and beaming eye, 
 " choose ! " 
 
 But Cora neither heard nor heeded his demand. The 
 form of the Huron trembled in every fibre, and he raised his 
 arm on high, but dropped ic again with a bewildered air, like 
 one who doubted. Once more he struggled with himself and 
 lifted the keen weapon a^ain but just then a piercing cry 
 was heard above them, and Uncas appeared, leaping frantic- 
 ally, from a fearful height, upon the ledge. Magua recoiled a 
 step ; and one of his assistants, profiting by the chance, 
 sheathed his own knife in the bosom of Cora. 
 
 The Huron sprang like a tiger on his offending and 
 already retreating countryman, but the falling form of Uncas 
 separated the unnatural combatants. Diverted from his 
 object by this interruption, and maddened by the murdei he 
 had just witnessed, Magua buried his weapon in the back of 
 the prostrate Delaware, uttering an unearthly shout as he 
 committed the dastardly deed. But Uncas arose from the 
 blow, as the wounded panther turns upon his foe, and struck 
 the murderer of Cora to his feet, by an effort in which the 
 last of his failing strength was expended. Then, with a stern 
 and steady look, he turned to Le Subtil, and indicated, by the 
 expression of his eye, all that he would do, had not the powe? 
 
TffB LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 345 
 
 deserted him. The latter seized the nerveless arm of the un- 
 resisting Delaware, and passed his knife into his bosom three 
 several times, before his victim, still keeping his gaze riveted 
 on his enemy with a look of inextinguishable scorn, fell dead 
 at his feet. 
 
 " Mercy I mercy 1 Huron," cried Heyward, from above, 
 in tones nearly choked by horror ; " give mercy, and thou shalt 
 receive it I " 
 
 Whirling the bloody knife up at the imploring youth, the 
 victorious Magua uttered a cry so fierce, so wild, and yet so 
 joyous, that it conveyed the sounds of savage triumph to the 
 ears of those who fought in the valley, a thousand feet below. 
 He was answered by a burst from the lips of the scout, whose 
 tall person was just then seen moving swiftly towards him, 
 along those dangerous crags, with steps as bold and reckless 
 as if he possessed the power to move in air. But when the 
 hunter reached the scene of the ruthless massacre, the ledge 
 was tenanted only by the dead. 
 
 His keen eye took a single look at the victims, and then 
 shot its glances over the difficulties of the ascent in his front. 
 A form stood at the brow of the mountain, on the very edge 
 of the giddy height, with uplifted arms, in an awful attitude 
 of menace. Without stopping to consider his person, the rifle 
 of Hawk-eye was raised ; but a rock, which fell on the head of 
 one of the fugitives below, exposed the indignant and glowing 
 countenance of the honest Gamut Then Magua issued from 
 a crevice, and stepping with calm indifference over the body 
 of the last of his associates, he leaped a wide fissure, and 
 ascended the rocks at a point where the arm of David could 
 not reach him. A single bound would carry him to the brow 
 of the precipice, and assure his safety. Before taking the leap, 
 however, the Huron paused, and shaking his hand at the 
 scout, he shouted, 
 
 " The pale-faces are dogs ! the Delawares women ! Magua 
 leaves them on the rocks, for the crows ! " 
 
 Laughing hoarsely, he made a desperate leap, and fell 
 short of his mark ; though his hands grasped a shrub on the 
 verge of the height. The form of Hawk-eye had crouched 
 like a beast about to take its spring, and his frame trembled 
 so violently with eagerness, that the muzzle of the half-raised 
 rifle played like a leaf fluttering in the wind. Without ex- 
 hausting himself with fruitless efforts, the cunning Magua 
 suffered his body to drop to the length of his arms, and found 
 a fragment for his feet to rest on. Then summoning all his 
 
346 Vftn LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 powers, he renewed the attempt, and so far succeeded, as 
 draw his knees on the edge of the mountain. It was 
 when the body of his enemy was most collected together, that 
 the agitated weapon of the scout was drawn to his shoulder. 
 The surrounding rocks themselves were not steadier than 
 the piece became, for the single instant that it poured out its 
 contents. The arms of the Huron relaxed, and his body felli 
 back a little, while his knees still kept their position. Turn- 
 ing a relentless look on his enemy, he shook a hand in grim 
 defiance. But his hold loosened, and his dark person was 
 seen cutting the air with his head downwards, for a fleeting 
 instant, until it glided past the fringe of shrubbery which clung 
 to the mountains, in its rapid flight to destruction. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 They fought like brave men, long and wefl, 
 
 They piled that ground with Moslem siaio. 
 They conquered but Bozzaris fell 
 
 Bleeding at every vein. 
 His few surviving comrades saw 
 His smile when rang their proud hurrah, 
 
 And the red field was won ; 
 Then saw in death his eyelids close 
 Calmly, as to a night's repose, 
 
 Like flowers at set of sun. 
 
 HALLECK. 
 
 THE sun found the Lenape. on the succeeding day, a jra 
 fcion of mourners. The sounds of the battle were over, and 
 they had fed fat their ancient grudge, and had avenged their 
 recent quarrel with the Mengwe, by the destruction of a whole 
 community. The black and murky atmosphere that floated 
 around the spot where the Hurons had encamped, sufficiently 
 announced, of itself, the fate of that wandering tribe ; while 
 hundreds ^ ravens, that struggled above the bleak summits 
 of the mountains, or swept, in noisy flocks, across the wide 
 ranges of the woods, fvrnshed a frightful direction to the 
 scene of the combat. ?a short, any eye, at afi practised in 
 the signs of a frontier warfare, might easily have traced all 
 those unerring evidences of the ruthless results which attend 
 &i Indian vengeance. 
 
 Still, the sun rose on the Lenape a nation of mourners 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 347 
 
 No shouts of success, no songs of triumph, were heard, in re- 
 joicings for their victory. The latest straggler had returned 
 from his fell employment, only to strip himself of his bloody 
 calling and to join in the lamentations of his countrymen, as 
 a stricken people. Pride and exultation were supplanted by 
 humility, and the fiercest of human passions was already 
 succeeded by the most profound and unequivocal demonstra- 
 tions of grief. 
 
 The lodges were deserted ; but a broad belt of earnest 
 faces encircled a spot in their vicinity, whither everything pos- 
 sessing life had repaired, and where all were now collected, 
 in deep and awful silence. Though beings of every rank and 
 age, of both sexes, and of all pursuits, had united to form this 
 breathing wall of bodies, they were influenced by a single 
 emotion. Each eye was riveted on the centre of that ring, 
 which contained the objects of so much, and of so common, 
 an interest. 
 
 Six Delaware girls, with their long, dark, flowing tresses 
 falling loosely across their bosoms, stood apart, and only gave 
 proofs of their existence as they occasionally strewed sweet-, 
 scented herbs and forest flowers on a litter of fragrant plants 
 that, under a pall of Indian robes, supported all that now re 
 mained of the ardent, high-souled, and generous Cora. Her 
 form was concealed in many wrappers of the same simple 
 manufacture, and her face was shut forever from the gaze of 
 men. At her feet was seated the desolate Munro. His aged 
 head was bowed nearly to the earth, in compelled submission 
 to the stroke of Providence ; but a hidden anguish struggled 
 about his furrowed brow, that was only partially concealed by 
 the careless locks of gray that had fallen, neglected, on his 
 temples. Gamut stood at his side, his meek head bared to 
 the rays of the sun, while his eyes, wandering and concerned, 
 seemed to be equally divided between that little volume, which 
 contained so many quaint but holy maxims, and the being in 
 whose behalf his soul yearned to administer consolation. 
 Heyward was also nigh, supporting himself against a tree, 
 and endeavoring to keep down those sudden risings of sorrow 
 that it required his utmost manhood to subdue. 
 
 But sad and melancholy as this group may easily be im- 
 agined, it was far less touching than another, that occupied 
 the opposite space of the same area. Seated, as in life, with 
 his form and limbs arranged in grave and decent composure r 
 Uncas appeared, arrayed in the most gorgeous ornaments 
 that the tribe could furnish. Rich plumes nodded above his 
 
348 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 head ; wampum, gorgets, bracelets, and medals adorned his 
 person in profusion \ though his dull eye and vacant linea 
 merits too strongly contradicted the idle tale of pride they 
 would convey. 
 
 Directly in front of the corpse Chingachgook was placed, 
 without arms, paint, or adornment of any sort, except the 
 bright blue blazonry of his race, that was indelibly impressed 
 on his naked bosom. During the long period that the tribe 
 had been thus collected, the Mohican warrior had kept a 
 steady, anxious look on the cold and senseless countenance 
 of his son. So riveted and intense had been that gaze, and 
 so changeless his attitude, that a stranger might not have told 
 the living from the dead, but for the occasional gleamings of 
 a troubled spirit, that shot athwart the dark visage of one, 
 and the death calm that had forever settled on the lineaments 
 of the other. 
 
 The scout was hard by, leaning in a pensive posture on 
 his own fatal and avenging weapon ; while Tamenund, sup- 
 ported by the elders of his nation, occupied a high place at 
 hand, whence he might look down on the mute and sorrowful 
 assemblage of his people. 
 
 Just within the inner edge of the circle stood a soldier, in 
 the military attire of a strange nation ; and without it was his 
 war-horse, in the centre of a collection of mounted domestics, 
 seemingly in readiness to undertake some distant journey. 
 The vestments of the stranger announced him to be one who 
 held a responsible situation near the person of the Captain of 
 the Canadas ; and who, as it would now seem, rinding his 
 errand of peace frustrated by the fierce impetuosity of his 
 allies, was content to become a silent and sad spectator of the 
 fruits of a contest that he had arrived too late to anticipate. 
 
 The day was drawing to the close of its first quarter, and 
 yet had the multitude maintained its breathing stillness since 
 its dawn. No sound louder than a stifled sob had been heard 
 among them, nor had even a limb been moved throughout 
 that long and painful period, except to perform the simple 
 and touching offerings that were made, from time to time, in 
 commemoration of the dead. The patience and forbearance 
 of Indian fortitude could alone support such an appearance of 
 abstraction as seemed now to have turned each dark and 
 motionless figure into stone. 
 
 At length, the sage of the Delawares stretched forth an 
 arm, and leaning on the shoulders of his attendants, he arose 
 with an air as feeble as if another age had already intervened 
 
/ 
 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 349 
 
 between the man who, had met his nation the preceding day, 
 and him who now tottered on his elevated stand. 
 
 "Men of the Lenape ! " he said, in hollow tcnes, that 
 sounded like a voice charged with some prophetic mission ; 
 ' the face of the Manitto is behind a cloud ! his eye is turned 
 from you ; his ears are shut ; his tongue gives no answer. 
 You see him not ; yet his judgments are before you. Let 
 four hearts be open, and your spirits tell no He. Men of the 
 Lenape ! the face of the Manitto is behind a cloud." 
 
 As this simple and yet terrible annunciation stole on the 
 ears of the multitude, a stillness as deep and awful succeeded, 
 as if the venerated spirit they "worshipped had uttered the 
 Words without the aid of human organs ; and even the inan- 
 imate Uncas appeared a being of life, compared with the 
 tumbled and submissive throng by whom he was surrounded. 
 As the immediate effect, however, gradually passed away, a 
 low murmur of voices commenced a sort of chant in honor of 
 the dead. The sounds were those of females, and were thrill- 
 ingly soft and wailing. The words were connected by no 
 regular continuation, but as one ceased another tojk up the 
 eulogy, or lamentation, whichever it might be called, and 
 gave vent to her emotions in such language as was suggested 
 by her feelings and the occasion. At intervals the speaker 
 was interrupted by general and loud bursts of sorrow, during 
 which the girls around the bier of Cora plucked the plants 
 and flowers blindly from her body, as if bewildered with 
 grief. But, in the milder moments of their plaint, these em- 
 blems of purity and sweetness were cast back to their places, 
 with every sign of tenderness and regret. Though rendered 
 less connected by many and general interruptions and out- 
 breakings, a translation of their language would have con- 
 tained a regular descant, which, in substance, might have 
 proved to possess a train of consecutive ideas. 
 
 A girl, selected for the task by her rank and qualifica- 
 tions, commenced by modest allusions to the qualities of the 
 deceased warrior, embellishing her expressions with those ori- 
 ental images that the Indians have probably brought with 
 them from the extremes of the other continent, and which 
 form of themselves a link to connect the ancient histories of 
 the two worlds. She called him the "panther of his tribe : " 
 and described him as one whose moccasin left no trail on the 
 dews ; whose bound was like the leap of the young fawn \ 
 whose eye was brighter than a star in the dark night ; and 
 Whose voice, in battle, was loud as the thunder of the Manitto, 
 
3 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 She reminded him of the mother who bore him, and dwelt 
 forcibly on the happiness she must feel in possessing such a 
 son. She bade him tell her, when they met in the world of 
 spirits, that the Delaware girls had shed tears above the 
 grave of her child, and had called her blessed. 
 
 Then, they who succeeded, changing their tones to a 
 milder and still more tender strain, alluded, with the delicacy 
 and sensitiveness of women, to the stranger maiden, who had 
 left the upper earth at a time so near his own departure, as 
 to render the will of the Great Spirit too manifest to be disre 
 garded. They admonished him to be kind to her, and to 
 have consideration for her ignorance of those arts which were 
 so necessary to the comfort of a warrior like himself. They 
 dwelt upon her matchless beauty, and on her noble resolu- 
 tion, without the taint of envy, and as angels may be thought 
 to delight in a superior excellence ; adding, that these endow 
 ments should prove more than equivalent for any little imper- 
 fections in her education. 
 
 After which, others again, in due succession, spoke to the 
 maiden herself, in the low, soft language of tenderness and 
 love. They exhorted her to be of cheerful mind, and to fear 
 nothing for her future welfare. A hunter would be her com- 
 panion, who knew how to provide for her smallest wants ; and 
 a warrior was at her side who was able to protect her against 
 every danger. They promised that her path should be pleas- 
 ant, and her burden light. They cautioned her against una- 
 vailing regrets for the friends of her youth, and the scenes 
 where her fathers had dwelt ; assuring her that the " blessed 
 hunting-grounds of the Lenape " contained vales as pleasant, 
 streams as pure, and flowers as sweet, as the " Heaven of the 
 pale-faces." They advised her to be attentive to the wants 
 of her companion, and never to forget the distinction which 
 the Manitto had so wisely established between them. Then, 
 in a wild burst of their chant, they sang with united voices 
 the temper of the Mohican's mind. They pronounced him 
 noble, manly, and generous ; all that became a warrior, and 
 all that a maid might love. Clothing their ideas in the most 
 remote and subtle images, they betrayed, that, in the short 
 period of their intercourse, they had discovered, with the in 
 tuitive perception of their sex, the truant disposition of his in- 
 clinations. The Delaware girls had found no favor in his 
 eyes. He was of a race that had once been lords on the 
 shores of the salt lake, and his wishes had led him back to a 
 ueople who dwelt about the graves of his fathers. Why 
 
TffE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 35 1 
 
 should not such a predilection be encouraged ? That she 
 was of a blood purer and richer than the rest of her nation, 
 any eye might have seen ; that she was equal to the dangers 
 and daring of ;i life in the woods, her conduct had proved j 
 and now, they added, the " wise one of the earth " had trans- 
 planted her to a place wher.e she would find congenial spirits, 
 and might be forever happy. 
 
 Then, with another transition in voice and subject, allusions 
 were made to the virgin who wept in the adjacent lodge. 
 They compared her to flakes of snow ; as pure, as white, as 
 brilliant, and as liable to melt in the fierce heats of summer, 
 or congeal in the frosts of winter. They doubted not that she 
 was lovely in the eyes of the young chief, whose skin and whose 
 sorrow seemed so like her own ; but, though far from express- 
 ing such a preference, it was evident they deem'd her less ex- 
 cellent than the maid they mourned. Still they denied her no 
 meed her rare charms might properly claim. Her ringlets 
 were compared to the exuberant tendrils of the vine, her eye 
 to the blue vault of the heavens, and the most spotless cloud, 
 with its glowing flash of the sun, was admitted to be less 
 attractive than her bloom. 
 
 During these and similar songs nothing was audible but 
 the murmurs of the music ; relieved, as it was, or rather ren- 
 dered terrible, by those occasional bursts of grief which might 
 be called its choruses. The Delawares themselves listened 
 like charmed men ; and it was very apparent, by the variations 
 of their speaking countenances, how deep and true was their 
 sympathy. Even David was not reluctant to lend his ears to 
 the tones of voices so sweet ; and long ere the chant was ended, 
 his gaze announced that his soul was enthralled. 
 
 The scout, to whom alone, of all the white men, the words 
 were intelligible, suffered himself to be aroused from his 
 meditative posture, and bent his face aside, to catch their 
 meaning, as the girls proceeded. But when they spoke of the 
 future prospects of Cora and Uncas, he shook his head, like 
 one who knew the error of their simple creed, arid resuming 
 his reclining attitude, he maintained it until the ceremony if 
 that might be called a ceremony, in which feeling was so deeply 
 imbued was finished. Happily for the self-command of both 
 Heyward and Munro, they knew, not the meaning of the wild 
 sounds they heard. 
 
 Chingachgook was a solitary exception to the interest 
 manifested by the native part of the audience. His look 
 never changed throughout the whole of the scene, nor did a 
 
352 
 
 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 muscle move in his rigid countenance, even at the wildest oi 
 the most pathetic parts of the lementation. The cold and 
 senseless remains of his son was all to him, and every other 
 sense but that of sight seemed frozen, in order that his eyes 
 might take their final gaze at those lineaments he had so long 
 loved, and which were now about to be closed forever from 
 his view. 
 
 In this stage of the funeral obsequies, a warrior much re- 
 nowned for deeds in arms, and more especially for services 
 in the recent combat, a man of stern and grave demeanor, 
 advanced slowly from the crowd, and placed himself nigh the 
 person of the dead. 
 
 " Why hast thou left us, pride of the Wapanachki ? " he 
 said, addressing himself to the dull ears of Uncas, as if the 
 empty clay retained the faculties of the animated man ; " thy 
 time has been like that of the sun when in the trees ; thy glory 
 brighter than his light at noon-day. Thou art gone, youthful 
 warrior, but a hundred Wyandots are clearing the briers from 
 thy path to the world of spirits. Who that saw thee in battle 
 could believe that thou couldst die ? Who before thee has 
 ever shown Uttawa the way into the fight ? Thy feet were 
 like the wings of eagles ; thine arm heavier than fallen 
 branches from the pine ; and thy voice like the Manitto when 
 he speaks in the clouds. The tongue of Uttawa is weak," he 
 added, looking about him with a melancholy gaze, " and his 
 heart exceeding heavy. Pride of the Wapanachki, why hast 
 thou left us ? " 
 
 He was succeeded by others, in due order, until most of 
 the high and gifted men of the nation had sung or spoken their 
 tribute of praise over the manes of the deceased chief. When 
 each had ended, another deep and breathing silence reigned 
 in all the place. 
 
 Then a low, deep sound was heard, like the suppressed 
 accompaniment of distant music, rising just high enough on 
 the air to be audible, and yet so indistinctly, as to leave its 
 character, and the place whence it proceeded, alike matters 
 of conjecture. It was, however, succeeded by another and 
 another strain, each in a higher key, until they grew on the ear, 
 first in long drawn and often repeated interjections, and finally 
 in words. The lips of Chingachgook had so far parted, as to 
 announce that it was the monody of the father. Though not 
 an eye was turned towards him, nor the smallest sign of im- 
 patience exhibited, it was apparent, by the manner in which 
 the multitude elevated their heads to " listen, that they drank 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 35 j 
 
 Jn the sounds with an intenseness of attention, that none but 
 Tamenund himself had ever before commanded. But they 
 listened in vain. The strains rose just so loud as to become 
 intelligible, and then grew fainter and more trembling, until 
 they finally sank on the ear, as if borne away by a passing 
 breath of wind. The lips of the Sagamore closed, and he re- 
 mained silent in his seat, looking, with his riveted eye and 
 motionless form, like some creature that had been turned from 
 the Almighty hand with the form but without the spirit of a 
 man. The Delawares, who knew by these symptoms that the 
 mind of their friend was not prepared for so mighty an effort 
 of fortitude, relaxed in their attention ; and, with an innate 
 delicacy, seemed to bestow all their thoughts on the obsequies 
 of the stranger maiden. 
 
 A signal was given, by one of the elder chiefs, to the 
 women, who crowded that part of the circle near which the 
 body of Cora lay. Obedient to the sign, the girls raised the 
 bier to the elevation of their heads, and advanced with slow 
 and regulated steps, chanting, as they proceeded, another 
 wailing song in praise of the deceased. Gamut, who had 
 been a close observer of rites he deemed so heathenish, now 
 bent his head over the shoulder of the unconscious father, 
 whispering, 
 
 " They move with the remains of thy child ; shall we not 
 follow, and see them interred with Christian burial ? " 
 
 Munro started, as if the last trumpet had sounded in his 
 ear, and bestowing one anxious and hurried glance around 
 him, he arose and followed in the simple train, with the mien 
 of a soldier, but bearing the full burden of a parent's suffering. 
 His friends pressed around him with a sorrow that was too 
 strong to be termed sympathy even the young Frenchman 
 joining in the procession, with the air of a man who was 
 sensibly touched at the early and melancholy fate of one so 
 lovely. But when the last and humblest female of the tribe 
 had joined in the wild, and yet ordered array, the men -of the 
 Lenape contracted their circle, and formed again, around the 
 person of Uncas, as silent, as grave, and as motionless as be- 
 fore. 
 
 The place which had been chosen for the grave of Cora 
 was a little knoll, where a cluster of young and healthful pines 
 had taken root, forming of themselves a melancholy and ap- 
 propriate shade over the spot. On reaching it the girls de- 
 posited their burden, and continued for ma^y minutes waiting, 
 with characteristic patience, and native timidity, for some 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 evidence that they whose feelings were most concerned were 
 Content with the arrangement. At length the scout, who 
 alone understood their habits, said, in their own language, 
 
 " My daughters have done well ; the white men thank 
 them." ' 
 
 Satisfied with this testimony in their favor, the girls pro- 
 ceeded to deposit the body in a shell, ingeniously, and not 
 inelegantly fabricated of the bark of the birch ; after which 
 they lowered it into its dark and final abode. The ceremony 
 of covering the remains, and concealing the marks of the 
 fresh earth, by leaves and other natural and customary objects, 
 was conducted with the same simple and silent forms- But 
 when the labors of the kind beings who had performed these 
 sad and friendly offices were so far completed, they hesitated, 
 in a way to show that they knew not how much further they 
 might proceed. It was in this stage of the rites that the scout 
 again addressed them. 
 
 " My young women have done enough," he said ; " the 
 spirit of a pale-face has no need of food or raiment their 
 gifts being according to the heaven of their color. I see," 
 he added, glancing an eye at David, who was preparing his 
 book in a manner that indicated an intention to lead the way 
 in sacred song, " that one who better knows the Christian 
 fashions is about to speak." 
 
 The females stood modestly aside, and, from having been 
 the principal actors in the scene, they now became the meek 
 and attentive observers of that which followed. During the 
 time David was occupied in pouring out the pious feelings of 
 his spirit in this manner, not a sign of surprise, nor a look of 
 impatience, escaped them. They listened like those who 
 knew the meaning of the strange words, and appeared as if 
 they felt the mingled emotions of sorrow, hope and resignation, 
 they were intended to convey. 
 
 Excited by the scene he had just witnessed, and perhaps 
 influenced by his own secret emotions, the master of song ex- 
 ceeded his usual efforts. His full, rich voice was not found 
 to suffer by a comparison with the soft tones of the girls ; 
 and his more modulated strains possessed, at least for the ears 
 of those to whom they were peculiarly addressed, the addi- 
 tional power of intelligence. He ended the anthem, as he 
 had commenced, it in the midst of a grave and solemn stillness. 
 
 When, however, the closing cadence had fallen on the 
 ears of^his auditors, the secret, timorous glances of the eyes, 
 and the general, and yet subdued movement of the assem- 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 355 
 
 blage, betrayed that something was expected from the father 
 of the deceased. Munro seemed sensible that the time was 
 <me for him to exert what is, perhaps, the greatest effort of 
 which human nature is capable. He bared his gray locks, 
 and looked around the timid and quiet throng by which he 
 was encircled with a firm and collected countenance. Then 
 motioning with his hand for the scout to listen, he said, 
 
 " Say to these kind and gentle females, that a heart- 
 broken and failing man returns them his thanks. Tell them. 
 that the Being we all worship, under different names, will be 
 mindful of their charity ; and that the time shall not be dis- 
 tant when we may assemble around his throne without dis- 
 tinction of sex, or rank, or color." 
 
 The scout listened to the tremulous voice in which the 
 veteran delivered these words, and shook his head slowly 
 when they were ended, as one who doubted their efficacy. 
 
 " To tell them this," he said, " would be to tell them that 
 the snows come not in winter, or that the sun shines fiercest 
 when the trees are stripped of their leaves." 
 
 Then turning to the women, he made such a communica- 
 tion of the other's gratitude as he deemed most suited to the 
 capacities of his listeners. The head of Munro had already 
 sunk upon his chest, and he was again fast relapsing into mel- 
 ancholy, when the young Frenchman before named ventured 
 to touch him lightly on the elbow. As soon as he had gained 
 the attention of the mourning old mail he pointed towards, a 
 group of young Indians, who approached with a light but 
 closely covere.d litter and then pointed upwards towards the 
 sun. 
 
 "I understand you, sir," returned Munro, with a voice of 
 forced firmness ; " I understand you. It is the will of Heaven, 
 and I submit. Cora, my child ! if the prayers of a heart- 
 broken father could avail thee now, how blessed shouldst thou 
 be ! Come, gentlemen," he added, looking about'him with an 
 air of lofty composure, though the anguish that quivered in 
 his faded countenance was far too powerful to be concealed, 
 "our duty here is ended ; let us depart." 
 
 Heyward gladly obeyed a summons that took them from a 
 spot where, each instant, he felt his self-control was about to 
 desert him. While his companions were mounting, however, 
 he found time to press the hand of the scout, and to repeat the 
 terms of an engagement they had made, to meet again within 
 the post of the British army. Then gladly throwing himself 
 into the saddle, he sparred his charge to the side of the litter, 
 
356 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 whence low and stifled sobs alone announced the presence ol 
 Alice. In this manner, the head of Munro again dropping 
 on his bosom, with Heyward and David following in sorrowing 
 silence, and attended by the aide of Montcalm with his guard, 
 all the white men, with the exception of Hawk-eye, passed be- 
 fore the eyes of the Delawares, and were soon buried in the vast 
 forests of that region. 
 
 But the tie which, through their common calamity, had 
 united the feelings of these simple dwellers in the woods witl. 
 the strangers who had thus transiently visited them, was not 
 so easily broken. Years passed away before the traditionary 
 tale of the white maiden, and of the young warrior of the 
 Mohicans, ceased to beguile the long nights and tedious 
 marches, or to animate their youthful and brave with a desire 
 for vengeance. Neither were the secondary actors in these 
 momentous incidents forgotten. Through the medium of the 
 scout, who served for years afterwards as a link between them 
 and civilized life, they learned, in answer to their inquiries, 
 that the " Gray-head " was speedily gathered to his fathers 
 borne down, as was erroneously believed, by his military mis- 
 fortunes , and that the " Open Hand " had conveyed his 
 surviving daughter far into the settlements of the " pale-faces," 
 where her tears had at last ceased to flow, and had been 
 succeeded by the bright smiles which were better 'suited to 
 her joyous nature. 
 
 t But these were events of a time later than that which con- 
 cerns our tale. Deserted by all of his color, Hawk-eye re- 
 turned to the spot where his own sympathies led him, with a 
 force that no ideal bond of union could bestow. He was just 
 in time to catch a parting look of the features of Uncas, whom 
 the Delawares were already inclosing in his last vestments of 
 skins. They paused to permit the longing and lingering gaze 
 of the sturdy woodsman, and when it was ended the body was 
 enveloped, never to be unclosed again. Then came a pro- 
 cession like the other, and the whole nation was collected 
 about the temporary grave of the chief temporary, because it 
 was proper, that at some future day, his bones should rest 
 among those of his own people. 
 
 The movement, like the feeling, had been simultaneous 
 and general. -The same grave expression of grief, the same 
 rigid silence, and the same deference to the principal mourner, 
 were observed around the place of interment as have been 
 already described. The body was deposited in an attitude of 
 repose, facing the rising sun, with the implements of war and 
 
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 357 
 
 Of the chase at hand, in readiness for the final journey. An 
 opening was left in the shell, by which it was protected from 
 the soil, for the spirit to communicate with its earthly tenement, 
 when necessary ; and the whole was concealed from the in* 
 stinct, and protected from the ravages of the beasts of prey, 
 with an ingenuity peculiar to the natives. The manual rites 
 then ceased, and all present reverted to the more spiritual 
 part of the ceremonies. 
 
 Chingachgook became once more the object of the common 
 attention. He had not yet spoken, and something consolatory 
 and instructive was expected from so renowned a chief on an 
 occasion of such interest. Conscious of the wishes of the 
 people, the stern and self-restrained warrior raised his face, 
 which latterly had been buried in his robe, and looked about 
 him with a steady eye. His firmly compressed and expressive 
 lips then severed, and for the first time during the long ceremo- 
 nies his voice was distinctly audible. 
 
 " Why do my brothers mourn ? " he said, regarding the 
 dark race of dejected warriors by whom he was environed; 
 " why do my daughters weep ? that a young man has gone to 
 the happy hunting-grounds, that a chief has filled his time 
 with honor ? He was good, he was dutiful, he was brave. 
 Who can deny it ? The Manitto had need of such a warrior, 
 and he has called him away. As for me, the son and the 
 father of Uncas, I am a blazed pine, in a clearing of the pale- 
 faces. My race has gne from the shores of the salt lake, and 
 the hills of the Delawares But who can say that the serpent 
 of his tribe has forgotten his wisdom ? I am alone " 
 
 " No, no," cried Hawk-eye, who had been gazing with a 
 3>-earning look at the rigid features of his friend, with something 
 like his own self-command, but whose philosophy could endure 
 no longer ; " no, Sagamore, not alone. The gifts of our 
 colors may be different, but God has so placed us as to 
 journey in the same path. I have no kin, and I may also say, 
 like you, no people. He was your son and a recUskin by na-< 
 ture ; and it may be that your blood was nearer but if ever I 
 forget the lad who has so often fou't at my side in war, and 
 slept at my side in peace, may He who made us all, whatever 
 may be our color or our gifts, forget me. The boy has left us 
 for a time ; but, Sagamore, you. are not alone." 
 
 Chingachgook grasped the hand that, in the warmth of 
 feeling, the scout had stretched across the fresh earth, and in 
 that attitude of friendship these two sturdy and intrepid 
 yoodsmen bowed their heads together, while scalding tears 
 
358 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 
 
 fell to their feet, watering the grave of Uncas like drops of 
 falling rain. 
 
 In the miclst of the awful stillness with which such a 
 burst of feeling, coming, as it did, from the two most re- 
 nowned warriors of that region, was received, Tamenund lifted 
 his voice to disperse the multitude. 
 
 " It is .enough," he said. " Go, children of the Lenape, 
 the anger of the Manitto is not done. Why should Tamenund 
 stay ? The pale-faces are masters of the earth, and the time 
 of the red-men has not yet come again. My day has been 
 too long. In the morning I saw the sons of Unarms happy 
 and strong ; and yet, before the night has come, have I lived 
 to J*ee the last warrior of the wise vace of the Mohican*" 
 

 at 
 
 ' ' Up and away, Chingachgook ! will ye stay here to burn like a Mingo- 
 the stake ? ' " Tht Pioneers, page 385. 
 
THE PIONEERS 
 
 SOURCES OF THE SUSQUEHANNA 
 
 A DESCRIPTIVE TALE 
 
 BY 
 
 J. FENIMORE COOPER 
 
 " Extremes of habits, manners, time, and space, 
 Brought close together, here stood face to face, 
 And gave at once a contrast to the view, 
 That other lands and ages never knew." PAUI.DING 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 As this work professes, in its title-page, to be a descrip* 
 tive tale, they who will take the trouble to read it may be 
 glad to know how much of its contents is literal fact, and 
 how much is intended to represent a general picture. The 
 author is very sensible that, had he confined himself to 
 the latter, always the most effective, as it is the most val- 
 uable, mode of conveying knowledge of this nature, he 
 would have made a far better book. But in commencing 
 to describe scenes, and perhaps he may add characters, 
 that were so familiar to his own youth, there was a constant 
 temptation to delineate that which he had known, rathet 
 than that which he might have imagined. This rigid ad 
 hesion to truth, an indispensable requisite in' history and 
 travels, destroys the charm of fiction ; for all that is neces 
 saiy to be conveyed to the mind by the latter had better 
 be done by delineations of principles, and of characters 
 in their classes, than by a too fastidious attention to orig- 
 inals. 
 
 New York having but one county of Otsego, and the 
 Susquehanna but one proper source, there can be no mis- 
 take as to the site of the tale. The history of this district 
 of country, so far as it is connected with civilized men, is 
 soon told. 
 
 Otsego, in common with most of the interior of the 
 province of New York, was included in the county of Al- 
 bany previously to the war of the separation. It then 
 became, in a subsequent division of territory, a part of 
 Montgomery ; and finally, having obtained a sufficient 
 population of its own, it was set apart as a county by itself 
 shortly after the peace of 1783. It lies among those low 
 spurs of the Alleghanies which cover the midland counties 
 of New York, and it is a little east of a meridional line 
 drawn through the centre of the State. As the waters of 
 New York flow either southerly into the Atlantic or north- 
 
4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 erly into Ontario and its outlet, Otsego Lake, being the 
 source of the Susquehanna, is, of necessity, among its 
 highest lands. The face of the country, the climate as 
 it was found by the whites, and the manners of the set- 
 tlers, are described with a minuteness for which the 
 author has no other apology than the force of his own 
 recollections. 
 
 Otsego is said to be a \vord compounded of Ot, a place 
 of meeting, and Sego, or Sago, the ordinary term of salu- 
 tation used by the Indians of this region. There is a 
 tradition which says that the neighboring tribes were ac- 
 customed to meet on the banks of the lake to make their 
 treaties, and otherwise to strengthen their alliances, and 
 which refers the name to this practice. As the Indian 
 agent of New York had a log dwelling at the foot of the 
 lake, however, it is not impossible that the appellation grew 
 out of the meetings that were held at his council fires ; 
 the war drove off the agent, in common with the other 
 officers of the crown ; and his rude dwelling was soon 
 abandoned. The author remembers it, a few years later, 
 reduced. to the humble office of a smoke-house. 
 
 In 1779 an expedition was sent against the hostile In- 
 dians, who dwelt about a hundred miles west of Otsego, 
 on the banks of the Cayuga. The whole country was then 
 awilderness, and it was necessary to transport the baggage 
 of the troops by means of the rivers a devious but prac- 
 ticable route. One brigade ascended the Mohawk until 
 it reached the point nearest to the sources of the Susque- 
 hanna, w T hence it cut a lane through the forest to the head 
 of the Otsego. The boats and baggage were carried over 
 this "portage," and the troops proceeded to the other ex- 
 tremity of the lake, where they disembarked and encamped. 
 The Susquehanna, a narrow though rapid stream at its 
 source, was much filled with "flood wood," orfallen trees; 
 and the troops adopted a novel expedient to facilitate 
 their passage. The Otsego is about nine miles in length, 
 varying in breadth from half a mile to a mile and a half. 
 The water is of great depth, limpid, and supplied from a 
 thousand springs. At its foot the banks are rather less 
 than thirty feet high ; the remainder of its. margin bein-g 
 in mountains, intervals, and points. The outlet, or the 
 Susquehanna, flows through a gorge, in the low banks just 
 mentioned, which may have a width of two hundred feet. 
 This gorge was dammed and the waters of the lake col- 
 
INTRODUCTION: 5 
 
 lected : the Susquehanna was converted into a rill. When 
 all was ready the troops embarked, the dam was knocked 
 away, the Otsego poured out its torrent, and the boats went 
 merrily down with the current. 
 
 General James Clinton, the brother of George Clinton, 
 then Governor of New York, and the father of De Witt 
 Clinton, who died governor of the same State in 1827, 
 commanded the brigade employed on this duty. During 
 the stay of the troops at the foot of the Otsego a soldier 
 was shot for desertion. The grave of this unfortunate man 
 was the first place of human interment that the author 
 ever beheld, as the smoke-house was the first ruin ! The 
 swivel alluded to in this work was buried and abandoned 
 by the troops on this occasion, and it was subsequently 
 found in digging the cellars of the author's ^paternal resi- 
 dence. 
 
 Soon after the close of the war, Washington, accom- 
 panied by many distinguished men, visited the scene of 
 this tale, it is said with a view to examine the facilities for 
 opening a communication by water with other points of 
 the country. He stayed but a few hours. 
 
 In 1785 the author's father, who had an interest in ex- 
 tensive tracts of land in this wilderness, arrived with a 
 party of surveyors. The manner in which the scene met 
 his eye is described by Judge Temple. At the commence- 
 ment of the following year the settlement began ; and from 
 that time to this the country has continued to flourish. It 
 is a singular feature in American life, that at the begin- 
 ning of this century, when the proprietor of the estate had 
 occasion for settlers on a new settlement, and in a remote 
 county, he was enabled to draw them from among the in- 
 crease of the former colony. 
 
 Although the settlement of this part of Otsego a little 
 preceded the birth of the author, it was not. sufficiently 
 advanced to render it desirable that an event so important 
 to himself should take place in the wilderness. Perhaps 
 his mother had a reasonable distrust of the practice of Dr. 
 Todd, who must then have been in the novitiate of his ex- 
 perimental acquirements. Be that as it may, the author 
 was brought an infant into this valley, and all his first im- 
 pressions were here obtained. He has inhabited it ever 
 since, at intervals ; and he thinks he can answer for the 
 faithfulness of the picture he has drawn. 
 
 Otsego has now become one of the most populous dis 
 
THE PIONEERS. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 '* See, Winter comes, to rule the varied year, 
 Sullen and sad, with all his rising train ; 
 Vapors, and clouds, and storms." THOMSON. 
 
 NEAR the centre of the State of New York lies an exten 
 sive district of country whose surface is a succession of 
 hills and dales, or, to speak with greater deference to geo- 
 graphical definitions, of mountains and valleys. It is 
 among these hills that the Delaware takes its rise ; and, 
 flowing from the limpid lakes and thousand springs of this 
 region, the numerous sources of the Susquehanna mean- 
 der through the valleys, until, uniting their streams, they 
 form one of the proudest rivers of the United States. The 
 mountains are generally arable to the tops, although in- 
 stances are not wanting where the sides are jutted with 
 rocks, that aid greatly in giving to the country that roman- 
 tic and picturesque character which it so eminently pos- 
 sesses. The vales are narrow, rich, and cultivated, with a 
 stream uniformly winding through each. Beautiful and 
 thriving villages are found interspersed along the margins 
 of the small lakes, or situated at those points of the streams 
 which are favorable for manufacturing ; and neat and com- 
 fortable farms, with every indication of wealth about them, 
 are scattered profusely through the vales, and even to the 
 mountain tops. Roads diverge in every direction from the 
 even and graceful bottoms of the valleys to the most rug- 
 ged and intricate passes of the hills. Academies and 
 minor edifices of learning meet the eye of the stranger at 
 every few miles as he winds his way through this uneven 
 territory, and places for the worship of God abound with 
 that frequency which characterizes a moral and reflecting 
 people, and with that variety of exterior and canonical gov 
 
ro THE PIONEERS. 
 
 ernment which flows from unfettered liberty of conscience. 
 In short, the whole district is hourly exhibiting how much 
 can be done, in even a rugged country and with a severe 
 climate, under the dominion of mild laws, and where every 
 man feels a direct interest in the prosperity of a common- 
 wealth of which he knows himself to form a part. The 
 expedients of the pioneers who first broke ground in the 
 settlement of this country are succeeded by the perma- 
 nent improvements of the yeoman who intends to leave 
 his remains to molder under the sod which he tills, or, per- 
 haps, of the son, who, born in the land, piously wishes to 
 linger around the grave of his father. Only forty years* 
 have passed since this territory was a wilderness. 
 
 Very soon after the establishment of the independence 
 of the States by the peace of 1783, the enterprise of their 
 citizens was directed to a development of the natural ad- 
 vantages of their widely extended dominions. Before the 
 war of the Revolution, the inhabited parts of the colony 
 of New York were limited to less than a tenth of its pos- 
 sessions. A narrow belt of country, extending for a short 
 distance on either side of the Hudson, with a similar occu- 
 pation of fifty miles on the banks of the Mohawk, together 
 with the islands of Nassau and Staten, and a few insulated 
 settlements on chosen land along the margins of streams, 
 composed the country, which was then inhabited by less 
 than two hundred thousand souls. Within the short period 
 we have mentioned, the population has spread itself over 
 five degrees of latitude and seven of longitude, and has 
 swelled to a million and a half of inhabitants,! who are 
 maintained in abundance, and can look forward to ages 
 before the evil day must arrive when their possessions 
 shall become unequal to their wants. 
 
 Our tale begins in 1793, about seven years after the 
 commencement of one of the earliest of those settlements 
 which have conduced to effect that magical change in the 
 power and condition of the State to which we have alluded. 
 
 It was near the setting of the sun, on a clear, cold day 
 in December, when a sleigh was moving slowly up one of 
 the mountains, in the district we have described. The day 
 had been fine for the season, and but two or three large 
 clouds, whose color seemed brightened by the light re- 
 fleeted from the mass of snow that covered the earth, 
 
 * The book was written in 1823. 
 
 f The population of New York is now (1831) quite 2,000,000. 
 
THE PIQj&EERS. ii 
 
 floated in a sky of the purest blue. The road wound along 
 the brow of a precipice, and on one side was upheld by a 
 foundation of logs, piled one upon the other, while a nar- 
 row excavation in the mountain in the opposite direction 
 had made a passage of sufficient width for the ordinary 
 travelling of that day. But logs,' excavation, and every- 
 thing that did not reach several feet above the earth lay 
 alike buried beneath the snow. A single track, barely 
 wide enough to receive the sleigh,* denoted the route of 
 the highway, and this was sunk nearly two feet below the 
 surrounding surface. In the vale, which lay at a distance 
 of several hundred feet lower, there was what, in the lan- 
 guage of the country, was called a clearing, and all the 
 usual improvements of a new settlement ; these even ex- 
 tended up the hill to the point where the road turned short 
 and ran across the level land, which lay on the summit of 
 the mountain ; but the summit itself remained in the for- 
 est. There was glittering in the atmosphere, as if it was 
 filled with innumerable shining particles ; and the noble 
 bay horses that drew the sleigh were covered, in many 
 parts, with a coat of hoar-frost. The vapor from their 
 nostrils was seen to issue like smoke ; and every object in 
 the view, as well as every arrangement of the travellers, 
 denoted the depth of a winter in the mountains. The 
 harness, which was of a deep, dull black, differing from 
 the glossy varnishing of the present day, was ornamented 
 with enormous plates and buckles of brass, that shone like 
 gold in those transient beams of the sun, which found their 
 way obliquely through the tops of the trees. Huge sad- 
 .dles, studded with nails and fitted w r ith cloth that served 
 as blankets to the shoulders of the cattle, supported four 
 high, square-topped turrets, through which the stout reins 
 led from the mouths of the horses to the hands of the 
 driver, who was a negro, of apparently twenty years of 
 
 * Sleigh is the word used in every part of the United States to denote 
 a traineau. It is of local use in the west of England, whence it is most 
 probably derived by the Americans. The latter draw a distinction be- 
 tween a sled, or sledge, and a sleigh, the sleigh being shod with metal. 
 Sleighs are also sub-divided into two-horse and one-horse sleighs. f)f the 
 latter, there are the cutter, with thills so arranged as to permit the horse 
 to travel in the side track; the "pung," or "tow-pung," which is driven 
 with a pole ; and the "gumper," a rude construction used for temporary 
 purposes in the new countries. Many of the American sleighs are elegant, 
 though the use of this mode of conveyance is much lessened with the meli- 
 oration of the climate consequent on the clearing of the forests. 
 
12 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 age. His face, which Nature had colored with a glisten- 
 ing black, was now mottled with the cold, and his large 
 shining eyes filled with tears ; a tribute to its power, that 
 the keen frosts of those regions always extracted from one 
 of his African origin. till, there was a smiling expression 
 of good-humor in his happy countenance, that was created 
 by the thoughts of home, and a Christmas fireside, with its 
 Christmas frolics. The sleigh was one of those large, 
 comfortable, old-fashioned conveyances, which would ad- 
 mit a whole family within its bosom, but which now con- 
 tained only two passengers besides the driver. The color 
 of its outside was a.modest green, and that of its inside a 
 fiery red. The latter was intended to convey the idea of 
 heat in that cold climate. Large buffalo-skins, trimmed 
 around the edges with red cloth, cut into festoons, covered 
 the back of the sleigh, and were spread over its bottom, 
 and drawn up around the feet of the travellers one of 
 whom was a man of middle age, and the other a female, 
 just entering upon womanhood. The former was of a 
 large stature ; but the precautions he had taken to guard 
 against the cold left but little of his person exposed to 
 view. A great coat, that was abundantly ornamented by 
 a profusion of furs, enveloped the whole of his figure, ex- 
 cepting the head, which was covered with a cap of marten- 
 skins, lined with morocco, the sides of which were made 
 to fall, if necessary, and were now drawn close over the 
 ears, and fastened beneath his chin with a black ribbon. 
 The top of the cap was surmounted with the tail of the 
 animal whose skin had furnished the rest of the materials, 
 which fell back, not ungracefully, a few inches behind the 
 head. From beneath this mask were to be seen part of a 
 fine, manly face, and particularly a pair of expressive, 
 large blue eyes, that promised extraordinary intellect, 
 covert humor, and great benevolence. The form of his 
 companion was literally hid beneath the garments she 
 wore. There were furs and silks peeping from under a 
 large camlet cloak, with a thick flannel lining, that, by its 
 cut and size, was evidently intended for a masculine wearer. 
 A huge hood of black silk, that was quilted with down, 
 concealed the whole of her head, except at a small opening 
 in front for breath, through which occasionally sparkled a 
 pair of animated jet-black eyes. 
 
 Both the father and daughter (for such was the connec- 
 tion between the two travellers) were too much occupied 
 
THE PIONEERS. 13 
 
 with their reflections to break a stillness, that derived lit- 
 tle or no interruption from the easy gliding of the sleigh, 
 by the sound of their voices. The former was thinking of 
 the wife that had held this their only child to her bosom, 
 when, four years before, she had reluctantly consented to 
 relinquish the society of her daughter, in order that the 
 latter might enjoy the advantages of an education which 
 the city of New York could only offer at that period. A 
 few months afterward death had deprived him of the 
 remaining companion of his solitude ; but still he had 
 enough real regard for his child, not to bring her into the 
 comparative wilderness in which he dwelt, until the full 
 period had expired to which he had limited her juvenile 
 labors. The reflections of the daughter were less melan- 
 choly, and mingled with a pleased astonishment at the 
 novel scenery she met at every turn in the road. 
 
 The mountain on which they were journeying was cov- 
 ered with pines that rose without a branch some seventy 
 or eighty feet, and which frequently doubled that height, 
 by the addition of the tops. Through the innumerable 
 vistas that opened beneath the lofty trees, the eye could 
 penetrate, until it was met by a distant inequality in the 
 ground, or was stopped by a view of. the summit of the 
 mountain which lay on the opposite side of the valley to 
 which they were hastening. The dark trunks of the trees 
 rose from the pure white of the snow, in regularly formed 
 shafts, until, at a great height, their branches shot forth 
 horizontal limbs, that were covered with the meagre foli- 
 age of an evergreen, affording a melancholy contrast to 
 the torpor of nature below. To the travellers, there 
 seemed to be no wind ; but these pines waved majestically 
 at their topmost boughs, sending forth a dull, plaintive 
 sound that was quite in consonance with the rest of the 
 melancholy scene. 
 
 The sleigh had glided for some distance along the even 
 surface, and the gaze of the female was bent in inquisitive, 
 and, perhaps, timid glances, into the recesses of the forest, 
 when a loud and continued howling was heard, pealing 
 under the long arches of the woods, like the cry of a num- 
 erous pack of hounds. The instant the sounds reached 
 the ears of the gentleman he cried aloud to the black : 
 
 " Hold up, Aggy ; there is old Hector ; I should know 
 his bay among ten thousand I The Leather-Stocking has 
 put his hounds into the hills, this clear day, and they have 
 
Z PIONEERS. 
 
 started their game. There is a deer-track a few rods 
 ahead ; and now, Bess, if thou canst muster courage 
 enough to stand fire, I will give thee a saddle for thy 
 Christmas dinner." 
 
 The black drew up, with a cheerful grin upon his 
 chilled features, and began thrashing his arms together, 
 in order to restore the circulation of his fingers, while the 
 speaker stood erect, and, throwing aside his outer cover- 
 ing, stepped from the sleigh upon a bank of snow, which 
 sustained his weight without yielding. 
 
 In a few moments the speaker succeeded in extricating 
 a double-barrelled fowling-piece from among a multi- 
 tude of trunks and bandboxes. After throwing aside the 
 thick mittens which had encased his hands, there now 
 appeared a pair of leather gloves tipped with fur, he ex- 
 amined his priming, and was about-to move forward, when 
 the light bounding noise of an animal plunging through 
 the woods was heard, and a fine buck darted into the path, 
 a short distance ahead of him. The appearance of the 
 animal was sudden, and his flight inconceivably rapid ; but 
 the traveller appeared to be too keen a sportsman to be 
 disconcerted by either. As it came first into view he 
 raised the fowling-piece to his shoulder, and, with a prac- 
 tised eye and steady hand, drew a trigger. The deer 
 dashed forward undaunted, and apparently unhurt. With-* 
 out lowering his piece, the traveller turned its muzzle 
 toward his victim, and fired again. Neither discharge, 
 however, seemed to have taken effect. 
 
 The whole scene had passed with a rapidity that con- 
 fused the female, who was unconsciously rejoicing in the 
 escape of the buck, as he rather darted like a meteor, than 
 ran across the road, when a sharp, quick sound struck her 
 ear, quite different from the full, round reports of her 
 father's gun, but still sufficiently distinct to be known as 
 the concussion produced by fire-arms. At the same in- 
 stant that she heard this unexpected report, the buck 
 sprang from the snow to a great height in the air, and di- 
 rectly a second discharge, similar in sound to the first, 
 followed, when the animal came to the earth, falling head- 
 long, and rolling over on the crust with its own velocity. 
 A loud shout was given by the unseen marksman, and a 
 couple of men instantly appeared from behind the trunks 
 of two of the pines, where they had evidently placed 
 themselves in expectation of the passage of the deer. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 15 
 
 " Ha ! Natty, had I knowiryou were in ambush, I should 
 not have fired," cried the traveller, moving toward the 
 spot where the deer lay near to which he was followed 
 by the delighted black, with his sleigh ; " but the sound of 
 old Hector was too exhilarating to be quiet ; though I 
 hardly think I struck him, either." 
 
 " No no Judge," returned the hunter, with an inward 
 chuckle, and with that look of exultation that indicates a 
 consciousness of superior skill, "you burnt your powder 
 only to warm your nose this cold evening. Did ye think 
 to stop a full-grown buck, with Hector and the slut open 
 upon him within sound, with that pop-gun in your hand? 
 There's plenty of pheasants among the swamps ; and the 
 snow-birds are flying round your own door, where you 
 may feed them with crumbs, and shoot them at pleasure, 
 any day ; but if you're for a buck, or a little bear's meat, 
 Judge, you'll have to take the long rifle, with a greased 
 wadding, or you'll waste more powder than you'll fill 
 stomachs, I'm thinking." 
 
 As the speaker concluded he drew his bare hand across 
 the bottom of his nose, and again opened his enormous 
 mouth, with a kind of inward laugh. 
 
 " The gun scatters well, Natty, and it has killed a deer 
 before now," said -the traveller, smiling good-humoredly. 
 " One barrel was charged with buck-shot, but the other 
 was loaded for birds only. Here are two hurts ; one 
 through the neck, and the other directly through the heart. 
 It is by no means certain, Natty, but I gave him one of 
 the two." 
 
 " Let who will kill him," said the hunter, rather surlily, 
 " I suppose the creature is to be eaten." So saying, he 
 drew a large knife from a leathern sheath, which was 
 stuck through his girdle, or sash, and cut the throat of the 
 animal. " If there are two balls through the deer, I would 
 ask if there wer'n't two rifles fired besides, who ever saw 
 such a ragged hole from a smooth-bore as this through the 
 neck ? And you will own yourself, Judge, that the buck 
 fell at the last shot, which was sent from a truer and a 
 younger hand than your'n or mine either ; but, for my* 
 part, although I am a poor man I can live without the ven- 
 ison, but I don't love to give up my lawful dues in a free 
 country. Though, for the matter of that, might often 
 makes right here, as well as in the old country, for what 1 
 can see." 
 
16 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 An air of sullen dissatisfaction pervaded the manner oi 
 the hunter during the whole of his speech ; yet he thought 
 it prudent to utter the close of the sentence in such an 
 undertone as to leave nothing audible but the grumbling 
 sounds of his voice. 
 
 " Nay, Natty," rejoined the traveller, with undisturbed 
 good-humor, " it is for the honor that I contend. A few 
 dollars will pay for the venison ; but what will requite me 
 for the lost honor of a buck's tail in my cap ? Think, 
 Natty, how I should triumph over that quizzing dog, Dick 
 Jones, who has failed seven times already this season, and 
 has only brought in one wood-chuck and a few gray 
 squirrels." 
 
 " Ah! the game is becoming hard to find, indeed, Judge, 
 with your clearings and betterments," said the old hunter, 
 with a kind of compelled resignation. " The time has 
 been when I have shot thirteen deer, without counting the 
 fa'ns, standing in the door of my own hut ; and for bear's 
 meat, if one wanted a ham or so, he had only to watch 
 a-nights, and he could shoot one by moonlight, through 
 the cracks of the logs ; no fear of his oversleeping himself 
 neither, for the howling of the wolves was sartin to keep 
 his eyes open. There's old Hector " patting with affec- 
 tkm a tall hound of black and yellow spots, with white 
 belly and legs, that just then came in on the scent, accom- 
 panied by the slut he had mentioned; "see where the 
 wolves bit his throat, the night I druv them from the ven- 
 ison that was smoking on the chimney top that dog is 
 more to be trusted than many a Christian man ; for he 
 never forgets a friend, and loves the hand that gives him 
 bread." 
 
 There was a peculiarity in the manner of the hunter that 
 attracted the notice of the young female, who had been a 
 close and interested observer of his appearance and equip- 
 ments, from the moment he came into view. He was tall, 
 and so meagre as to make him seem above even the six 
 feet that he actually stood in his stockings. On his head, 
 which was thinly covered with lank, sandy hair, he wore a 
 cap made of fox-skin, resembling in shape the one we have 
 already described, although much inferior in finish and 
 ornaments. His face was skinny and thin almost to emaci- 
 ation ; but yet it bore no signs of disease on the con 
 trary, it had every indication of the most robust and endur- 
 ing health. The cold and exposure had, together, giveu 
 
THE PIONEERS. ij 
 
 it a color of uniform red. His gray eyes were glancing 
 under a pair of shaggy brows, that overhung them in long 
 hairs of gray mingled with their natural hue ; his 'scraggy 
 neck was bare, and burnt to the same tint with his face ; 
 though a small part of a shirt collar, made of the country 
 check was to be seen above the overdress he wore. A kind 
 of coat, made of dressed deerskin, with the hair on, was 
 belted close to his lank body, by a girdle of colored worsted. 
 On his feet were deerskin moccasins, ornamented with por- 
 cupines' quills, after the manner of the Indians, and his 
 limbs were guarded with long leggings of the same mate- 
 rial as the moccasins, which, gartering over the knees of 
 his tarnished buckskin breeches, had obtained for him, 
 among the settlers the nickname of Leather-Stocking. 
 Over his left shoulder was slung a belt of deerskin, from 
 which depended an enormous ox horn, so thinly scraped as 
 to discover the powder it contained. The larger end was 
 fitted ingeniously and securely with a wooden bottom, and 
 the other was stopped tight by a little plug. A leathern 
 pouch hung before him, from which, as he concluded his 
 jast speech, he took a small measure, and, filling it accu- 
 rately with powder, he commenced reloading the rifle, 
 which, as its butt rested on the snow before him, reached 
 nearly to the top of his foxskin cap. 
 
 The traveller had been closely examining the wounds 
 during these movements, and now, without heeding the 
 ill-humor of the hunter's manner, he exclaimed : 
 
 " I would fain establish a right, Natty, to the honor of 
 this death ; and surely if the hit in the neck be mine it is 
 enough ; for the shot in the heart was unnecessary what 
 we call an act of supererogation, Leather-Stocking." 
 
 " You may call it by what larned name you please, Judge," 
 said the hunter, throwing his rifle across his left arm, and 
 knocking up a brass lid in the breech, from which he took 
 a small piece of greased leather and, wrapping a ball in it, 
 forced them down by main strength on the powder, where 
 he continued to pound them while speaking. " It's far 
 easier to call names than to shoot a buck on the spring ; 
 but the creaturcarne by his end from a younger hand than 
 either your'n or mine, as I said before." 
 
 "What say you, my friend," cried the traveller, turning 
 pleasantly to Natty's companion ; "shall we toss up this 
 dollar for the honor, and you keep the silver if you lose 
 what say you, friend ? " 
 
1 8 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 "That I killed the deer," answered the young man, with 
 a little haughtiness, as he leaned on another long rifle, 
 similar -to that of Natty. 
 
 " Here are two to one, indeed/' replied the Judge, with 
 a smile ; " I am outvoted overruled, as we say on the 
 bench. There is Aggy, .he can't vote, being a slave ; and 
 Bess is a minor so I must even make the best of it. But 
 you'll send me the venison ; and the deuce is in it, but I 
 make a good story about its death." 
 
 " The meat is none of mine to sell," said Leather-Stock- 
 ing, adopting a little of his companion's hauteur ; " for my 
 part, I have known animals travel days with shots in the 
 neck, and I'm none of them who'll rob a man of'his right- 
 ful dues ? " 
 
 " You are tenacious of your rights, this cold evening, 
 Natty," returned the Judge, with unconquerable good na- 
 ture; " but what say you, young man ; will three dollars 
 pay you for the buck ? " 
 
 " First let us determine the question of right to the satis- 
 faction of us both," said the youth, firmly but respectfully, 
 and with a pronunciation and language vastly superior to 
 his appearance ; "with how many shot did you load your 
 gun ?" 
 
 "With five, sir," said the Judge, a little struck with the 
 other's manner ; " are they not enough to slay a buck like 
 this?" 
 
 " One would do it ; but," moving to the tree from be- 
 hind which he had appeared, "you know, sir, you fired in 
 this direction here are four of the bullets in the tree." 
 
 The Judge examined the fresh marks in the bark of the 
 pine, and, shaking his head, said with a laugh : 
 
 "You are making out the case against yourself, my 
 young advocate ; where is the fifth ? " 
 
 " Here," said the youth, throwing aside the rough over- 
 coat that he wore, and exhibiting a hole in his under-gar- 
 merit, though which large drops of blood were oozing. 
 
 "Good God!" exclaimed the Judge, with horror; 
 " have I been trifling here about an empty distinction, and 
 a fellow-creature suffering from my hands without a mur- 
 mur? But hasten quick get into my sleigh it is but a 
 mile to the village, where surgical aid can be obtained 
 all shall be done at my expense, and thou shalt live 
 with me until thy wound is healed, ay, and forever after* 
 ward." 
 
THE PIONEERS. ig 
 
 " I thank you for your good intention, but I must de- 
 cline your offer. I have a friend who would be uneasy 
 were he to hear that I am hurt and away from him. The 
 injury is but slight, and the bullet has missed the bones ; 
 but I believe, sir, you will now admit my title to the veni- 
 son." 
 
 " Admit it I" repeated the agitated Judge ; " I here give 
 thee a right to shoot deer, or bears, or anything thou 
 pleasest in my woods, forever. Leather-Stocking is the 
 only other man that I have granted the same privilege to ; 
 and the time is coming when it will be of value. But I buy 
 your deer here, this bill will pay thee, both for thy shot 
 and my own." 
 
 The old hunter gathered his tall person up into an air 
 of pride during this dialogue, but he waited until the other 
 had done speaking. 
 
 " There's them living who say that Nathaniel Bumppo's 
 right to shoot on these hills is of older date than Marma- 
 cluke Temple's right to forbid him," he said. " But if 
 there's a law about it at all, though who ever heard of a law 
 that a man shouldn't kill deer where he pleased ! but if 
 there is a law at all, it should be to keep people from the 
 use of smooth-bores. A body never knows where his lead 
 will fly, when he pulls the trigger of one of them uncer- 
 tain fire-arms." 
 
 Without attending to the soliloquy of Natty, the youth 
 bowed his head silently to the offer of the banknote, and 
 replied : 
 
 *' Excuse me : I have need of the venison." 
 
 " But this will buy you many deer," said the Judge ; 
 "take it, I entreat you;" and, lowering his voice to a 
 whisper, he added " it is for a hundred dollars." 
 
 For an instant only the youth seemed to hesitate, and 
 then, blushing even through the high color that the cold 
 had given to his cheeks, as if with inward shame at his own 
 weakness, he again declined the offer. 
 
 During this scene the female arose, and regardless of 
 the cold air, she threw back the hood which concealed her 
 features, and now spoke, with great earnestness. 
 
 " Surely, surely young man sir you would not pain 
 my father so much as to have him think that he leaves a 
 fellow-creature in this wilderness, whom his own hand has 
 injured. I entreat you will go with us, and receive medi 1 
 calaid." 
 
20 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 Whether his wound became more painful, or there was 
 {something irresistible in the voice and manner of the fair 
 pleader for her father's feelings, we know not ; but the 
 distance of the young man's manner was sensibly softened 
 by this appeal, and he stood in apparent doubt, as if re- 
 Juctant to comply with, and yet unwilling to refuse her 
 request. The Judge, for such being his office, must in fu- 
 fure be his title, watched with no little interest the display 
 of this singular contention in the feelings of the youth ; 
 and, advancing, kindly took his hand, and, as he pulled 
 him gently toward the sleigh, urged him to enter it. 
 
 "These is no human aid nearer than Templeton," he 
 said, " and the hut of Natty is full three miles from this 
 come come, my young friend, go with us, and let the 
 new doctor look to this shoulder of thine. Here is Natty will 
 take the tidings of thy welfare to thy friend ; and shouldst 
 thou require it, thou shalt return home in the morning." 
 
 The young man succeeded in extricating his hand from 
 the warm grasp of the Judge, but he continued to gaze on 
 the face of the female who, regardless of the cold, was still 
 standing with her fine features exposed, which expressed 
 feeling that eloquently seconded the request of her father. 
 Leather-Stocking stood, in the meantime, leaning upon his 
 long rifle, with his head turned a little to one side, as if 
 engaged in sagacious musing ; when, having apparently 
 satisfied his doubts, by revolving the subject in his mind, 
 he broke silence. 
 
 " It may be best to go, lad, after all ; for, if the shot 
 hangs under the skin, my hand is getting too old to be 
 cutting into human flesh, as I once used to. Though some 
 thirty years agone, in the old war, when I was out under 
 Sir William, 1 travelled seventy miles alone in the howling 
 wilderness, with a rifle bullet in my thigh, and then cut it 
 out with my own jackknife. Old Indian John knows the 
 time well. I met him with a party of the Delawares, on 
 the trail of the Iroquois, who had been down and taken 
 five scalps on the Schoharie. But I made a mark on the 
 red-skin that I'll warrant he'll carry to his grave ! I took 
 him on the posteerum, saving the lady's presence, as he 
 got up from the ambushment, and rattled three buck-shot 
 into his naked hide, so close that you might have laid a 
 broad joe upon them all " here Natty stretched out his 
 long neck, and straightened his body, as he opened his 
 mouth, which exposed a single tusk of yellow bone, while 
 
TITR PIO.VRRRS. 21 
 
 his eyes, his face, even his whole frame seemed to laugh, 
 although no sound was emitted, except a kind of thick 
 hissing, as he inhaled his breath in quavers. " I had lost 
 my bullet mould in crossing the Oneida outlet, and* had to 
 make shift with the buck-shot ; but the rifle was true, and 
 didn't scatter like* your two-legged thing there, Judge, 
 which don't do, I find, to hunt in company with." 
 
 Natty's apology to the delicacy of the young lady was 
 unnecessary, for, while he was speaking, she was too 
 much employed in helping her father to remove certain 
 articles of baggage to hear him. Unable to resist the 
 kind urgency of the travellers any longer, the youth, 
 though still with an unaccountable reluctance, suffered 
 himself to be persuaded to enter the sleigh. The black, 
 with the aid of his master, threw the buck across the bag- 
 gage, and, entering the vehicle themselves, the Judge in- 
 vited the hunter to do so likewise. 
 
 " No, no," said the old man, shaking his head ; " I have 
 work to do at home this Christinas eve drive on with 
 the boy, and let your doctor look to the shoulder ; though 
 if he will only cut out the shot, I have yarbs that will heal 
 the wound quicker than all his foreign 'intments." He 
 turned, and was about to move off, when, suddenly recol- 
 lecting himself, he again faced the party, and added " If 
 you see anything of Indian John, about the foot of the 
 lake, you had better take him with you, and let him lend 
 the doctor a hand ; for, old as he is, he is curious at cuts 
 and bruises, and it's likelier than not he'll be in with 
 brooms to sweep your Christmas ha'arths." 
 
 "Stop, stop," cried the youth, catching the arm of the 
 black as he prepared to urge his horses forward ; " Natty 
 you need say nothing of the shot, nor of where I am 
 going remember, Natty, as you love me." 
 
 "Trust old Leather-Stocking," returned the hunter, sig- 
 nificantly ; " he hasn't lived fifty years in the wilderness, 
 and not larnt from the savages how to hold his tongue 
 trust to me, lad ; and remember old Indian John." 
 
 "And, Natty," said the youth, eagerly, still holding the 
 black by the arm. " I will just get the shot extracted, and 
 bring you up to-night a quarter of the buck for the Christ- 
 mas dinner."' 
 
 He was interrupted by the hunter, who held up his 
 finger with an expressive gesture for silence. He then 
 moved softly along the margin of the road, keeping his 
 
22 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 eyes steadfastly fixed on the branches of a pine. Wherc 
 he had obtained such a position as he wished, he stopped, 
 and, cocking his rifle, threw one leg far behind him, and 
 stretching his left arm to its utmost extent along the bar- 
 rel of his piece, he began slowly to raise its muzzle in a 
 line with the straight trunk of the tree. The eyes of the 
 group in the sleigh naturally preceded the movement of 
 the rifle, and they soon discovered the object of Natty's 
 ?,im. On a small dead branch of the pine, which, at the 
 distance of seventy feet from the ground, shot out horizon- 
 tally, immediately beneath the living members of the tree 
 a bird, that in the vulgar language of the country was in- 
 discriminately called a pheasant or a partridge. In size, 
 it was but little smaller than a common barn-yard fowl. 
 The baying of the dogs, and the conversation that had 
 passed near the root of the tree on which it was perched, 
 had alarmed the bird, which was now drawn up near the 
 body of the pine, with a head and neck so erect, as to form 
 nearly a straight line with its legs. As soon as the rifle 
 bore on the victim, Natty drew his trigger, and the par- 
 tridge fell from its height with a force that buried it in 
 the snow. 
 
 " Lie down, you old villain," exclaimed Leather-Stock- 
 ing, shaking his ramrod at Hector as he bounded toward 
 the foot of the tree, " lie down, I say." The dog obeyed, 
 and Natty proceeded with great rapidity, though with the 
 nicest accuracy, to reload his piece. When this was ended, 
 he took up his game, and, showing it to the party without 
 a head, he cried " Here is a titbit for an old man's Christ- 
 mas never mind the venison, boy, and remember Indian 
 John ; his yarbs are better than all the foreign 'intments. 
 Here, Judge," holding up the bird again, ''do you think a 
 smooth-bore would pick game off their roust, and not ruffle 
 a feather?" The old man gave another of his remarkable 
 laughs, which partook so largely of exultation, mirth, and 
 irony, and, shaking his head, he turned, with his rifle at a 
 trail, and moved into the forest with steps that were be- 
 tween a walk and a trot. At each movement he made his 
 body lowered several inches, his knees yielding with an 
 inclination inward ; but, as the sleigh turned at a bend in 
 the road, the youth cast his eyes in quest of his old com- 
 panion, and he saw that he was already nearly concealed 
 by the trunks of the trees, while his dogs were following 
 quietly in his footsteps, occasionally scenting the deei 
 
THE PIONEERS. 23 
 
 track, that they seemed to know instinctively was now of 
 no further use to them. Another jerk was given to the 
 sieigh, and Leather-Stocking was hid from view. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 " All places that the eye of heaven visits 
 Are to a wise man ports and happy havens : 
 Think not the king did banish thee ; 
 But thou the king." RICHARD II. 
 
 AN ancestor of Marmaduke Temple had, about one hun- 
 dred and twenty year^ before the commencement of our 
 tale, come to the colony of Pennsylvania, a friend and co- 
 religionist of its great patron. Old Marmaduke, for this 
 formidable prenomen was a kind of appellative to the race, 
 brought with him, to that asylum of the persecuted, an 
 abundance of the good things of this life. He became the 
 master of many thousands of acres of uninhabited territory, 
 and the supporter of many a score of dependents. He 
 lived greatly respected for his piety, and not a little distin- 
 guished as a sectary ; was intrusted by his associates with 
 many important political stations ; and died just in time 
 to escape the knowledge of his own poverty. It was his 
 lot to share the fortune of most of those who brought 
 wealth with them into the new settlements of the middle 
 colonies. 
 
 The consequence of an emigrant into these provinces 
 was generally to be ascertained by the number of his white 
 servants or dependents, and the nature of the public situa- 
 tions that he held. Taking this rule as a guide, the ances- 
 tor of our Judge must have been a man of no little note. 
 
 It is, however, a subject of curious inquiry at the present 
 day, to look into the brief records of that early period, and 
 observe how regular, and with few exceptions how inevit- 
 able, were the gradations, on the one hand, of the masters 
 to poverty, and on the other, of their servants to wealth. 
 Accustomed to ease, and unequal to the struggles incident 
 to an infant society, the affluent emigrant was barely en- 
 abled to maintain his own rank, by the weight of his per* 
 sonal superiority and acquirements ; but, the moment that 
 his head 'was laid in the grave, his indolent and compara- 
 tively uneducated offspring were compelled to yield pre- 
 
 
24 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 cedency to the more active energies of a class whose ex- 
 ertions had been stimulated by necessity. This is a very 
 common course of things, even in the present state of the 
 Union ; but it was peculiarly the fortunes of the two ex~ 
 tremes of society, in the peaceful and unenterprising colo- 
 nies of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 
 
 The posterity of Marmaduke did not escape the common 
 lot of those who depend rather on their hereditary posses- 
 sions than on their own powers ; and in the third genera- 
 tion they had descended to a point below which, in this 
 happy country, it is barely possible for honesty, intellect, 
 and sobriety to fall. The same pride of family that had, 
 by its self-satisfied indolence, conduced to aid their fall, 
 now became a principle to stimulate them to endeavor to 
 rise again. The feeling, from being morbid, was changed 
 to a healthful and active desire to emulate the character, 
 the condition, and, peradventure, the wealth of their ances- 
 tors also. It was the father of our new acquaintance, the 
 Judge, who first began to reascend in the scale of society ; 
 and in this undertaking he was not a little assisted by a 
 marriage, which aided in furnishing the means of educa- 
 ting his only son in a rather better manner than the low 
 state of the common schools of Pennsylvania could prom- 
 ise ; or than had been the practice in the family, for the 
 two or three preceding generations. 
 
 At the school where the reviving prosperity of his father 
 was enabled to maintain him, young Marmaduke formed 
 an intimacy with a youth whose years were about equal to 
 his own. This was a fortunate connection for our Judge, 
 and paved the way to most of his future elevation in 
 life. 
 
 There was not only great wealth, but high court interest, 
 among the. connections of Edward Effingham. Thevwere 
 one of the few families then resident in the colonies, who 
 thought it a degradation to its members to descend to the 
 pursuits of commerce ; and who never emerged from the 
 privacy of domestic life, unless to preside in the councils 
 of the colony, or to bear arms in her defence. The latter 
 had, from youth, been the only employment of Edward's 
 father. Military rank under the crown of Great Britain, 
 was attained with much longer probation, and by much 
 more toilsome services, sixty years ago, than at the present 
 time. Years were passed without murmuring, in the sub- 
 ordinate grades of the service ; and those soldiers who were 
 
THE PIONEERS. 2J 
 
 stationed in the colonies felt, when they obtained the com- 
 mand of a company, that they were entitled to receive the 
 greatest deference from the peaceful occupants of the soil. 
 Any one of our readers who has occasion to cross the Niag- 
 ara, may easily observe not only the self-importance, but 
 the real estimation enjoyed by the humblest representative 
 of the crown, even in that polar region of royal sunshine. 
 Such, and at no very distant period, was the respect paid 
 to the military in these States, where now, happily, no sym- 
 bol of war is ever seen, unless at the free and fearless voice 
 of their people. When, therefore, the father of Marma- 
 duke's friend, after forty years' service, retired with the 
 rank of major, maintaining in his domestic establishment 
 a comparative splendor, he became a man of the first con- 
 sideration in his native colony which was that of New 
 York. He had served with fidelity and courage, and hav- 
 ing been, according to the custom of the provinces, in- 
 trusted with commands much superior to those to which 
 he was entitled by rank, with reputation also. When Major 
 Effingham yielded to the claims of age, he retired with 
 dignity, refusing his half-pay or any other compensation 
 for services that he felt he could no longer perform. 
 
 The ministry proffered various civil offices, which yielded 
 not only honor but profit ; but he declined them all, with 
 the chivalrous independence and loyalty that had marked 
 his character through life. The veteran soon caused this 
 act of patriotic disinterestedness to be followed by another 
 of private munificence, that, however little it accorded with 
 prudence, was in perfect conformity with the simple integ- 
 rity of his own views. 
 
 The friend of Marmaduke was his only child ; and to 
 this son, on his marriage with a lady to whom the father 
 was particularly partial, the Major gave a complete con- 
 veyance of his whole estate, consisting of money in the 
 funds, a town and country residence, sundry valuable farms 
 in the old parts of the colony, and large tracts of wild land 
 in the new in this manner throwing himself upon the 
 filial piety of his child for his own future maintenance. 
 Major Eftingham, in declining the liberal offers of the 
 British ministry, had subjected himself to the suspicion of 
 having attained his dotage, by all those- who throng the 
 avenues to court patronage, even in the remotest corners 
 of that vast empire ; but, when he thus voluntarily stripped 
 himself of his great personal wealth, the remainder of the 
 
26 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 community seemed instinctively to adopt the conclusion 
 also, that he had reached a second childhood. This may 
 explain the fact of his importance rapidly declining ; and, 
 if privacy was his object, the veteran had soon a free indul- 
 gence of his wishes. Whatever views the world might en- 
 tertain of this act of the Major, to himself and to his child 
 it seemed no more than a natural gift by a father, of those 
 immunities which he could no longer enjoy or improve, 
 to a son, who was formed, both by nature and education, 
 to do both. The younger Effingham did not object to the 
 amount of the donation ; for he felt that while his parent 
 reserved a moral control over his actions, he was relieving 
 himself of a. fatiguing burden : such, indeed, was the con- 
 fidence existing between them, that to neither did it seem 
 anything more than removing money from one pocket to 
 another. 
 
 One of the first acts of the young man, on coming into 
 possession of his wealth, was to seek his early friend, with 
 a view to oifer any assistance that it was now in his power 
 to bestow. 
 
 The death of Marmaduke's father, and the consequent 
 division of his small estate, rendered such an offer ex- 
 tremely acceptable to the young Pennsylvanian ; he felt 
 his own powers, and saw, not only the excellencies, but 
 the foibles in the character of his friend. Effingham was 
 by nature indolent, confiding, and at times impetuous and 
 indiscreet ; but Marmaduke was uniformly equable, pene- 
 trating, and full of activity and enterprise. To the latter, 
 therefore, the assistance, or rather connection that was 
 proffered to him, seemed to produce a mutual advantage. 
 It was cheerfully accepted, and the arrangement of its 
 conditions was easily completed. A mercantile house 
 was established in the metropolis of Pennsylvania, with 
 the avails of Mr. Effingham's personal property ; all, or 
 nearly all, of which was put into the possession of Temple, 
 who was the only ostensible proprietor in the concern, 
 while, in secret, the other was entitled to an equal par- 
 ticipation in the profits. This connection was thus kept 
 private for two reasons, one of which, in the freedom of 
 their intercourse, was frankly avowed to Marmaduke, 
 while the other continued profoundly hid in the bosom of 
 his friend. The last was nothing more than pride. To 
 the descendant of a line of soldiers, commerce, even in that, 
 indirect manner, seemed a degrading pursuit ; but an in- 
 
THE PIONEERS. 27 
 
 superable obstacle to the disclosure existed in the pre- 
 judices of his father. 
 
 We have already said that Major Effingham had served 
 as a soldier with reputation. On one occasion, while in 
 command on the western frontier of Pennsylvania, against 
 a league of the French and Indians, not only his glory, 
 but the safety of himself and his troops were jeoparded 
 by the peaceful policy of that colony. To the soldier, 
 this was an unpardonable offence. He was fighting in 
 their defence he knew that the mild principles of this 
 little nation of practical Christians would be disregarded 
 by their subtle and malignant enemies ; and he felt- the 
 injury the more deeply because he saw that the avowed 
 object of the colonists, in withholding their succors, would 
 only have a tendency to expose his command, without 
 preserving the peace. The soldier succeeded, after a des- 
 perate conflict, in extricating himself, with a handful of his 
 men, from their murderous enemy ; but he never forgave 
 the people who had exposed him to a danger which they 
 left him to combat alone. It was in vain to tell him that 
 they had no agency in his being placed on their frontier 
 at all ; it was evidently for their benefit that he had been 
 so placed, and it was their " religious duty," so the Major 
 always expressed it, " it was their religious duty to have 
 supported him." 
 
 At no time was the old soldier an admirer of the peace- 
 ful disciples of Fox. Their disciplined habits, both of 
 mind and body, had endowed them with great physical 
 perfection ; and the eye of the veteran was apt to scan the 
 fair proportions and athletic frames of the colonists with 
 a look that seemed to utter volumes of contempt for their 
 moral imbecility. He was also a little addicted to the ex- 
 pression of a belief, that, where there was so great an ob- 
 servance of the externals of religion, there could not be 
 much of the substance. It is not our task to explain what 
 is, or what ought to be the substance of Christianity, but 
 merely to record in this place the opinions of Major Ef- 
 fingham. 
 
 Knowing the sentiments of the father in relation to this 
 people, it was no wonder that the son hesitated to avow 
 his connection with, nay, even his dependence on the in- 
 tegrity of, a Quaker. 
 
 It has been said that Marmaduke deduced his origin 
 from the contemporaries and friends of Penn. His father 
 
28 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 had married without the pale of the church to which he 
 belonged, and had, in this manner, forfeited some of the 
 privileges of his offspring. Still, as young Marmaduke 
 was educated in a colony and society, where even the or- 
 dinary intercourse between friends was tinctured with the 
 aspect of this mild religion, his habits and language were 
 somewhat marked by its peculiarities. His own marriage 
 at a future day with a lady without not only the pale, but 
 the influence, of this sect of religionists, had a tendency, 
 it is true, to weaken his early impressions ; still he re- 
 tained them in some degree to the hour of his death, and 
 was observed uniformly, when much interested or agitated, 
 to speak in the language of his youth. But this is antici- 
 pating our tale. 
 
 When Marmaduke first became the partner of young 
 Effingham, he was quite the Quaker in externals ; and it 
 was too dangerous an experiment for the son to think of 
 encountering the prejudices of the father on this subject. 
 The connection, therefore, remained a profound secret to 
 all but those who were interested in it. 
 
 For a few years Marmaduke directed the commercial 
 operations of his house with a prudence and sagacity that 
 afforded rich returns. He married the lady we have men- 
 tioned, who was the mother of Elizabeth, and the visits of 
 his friend were becoming more frequent. There was a 
 speedy prospect of removing the veil from their inter- 
 course, as its advantages became each hour more apparent 
 to Mr. EfRngham, when the troubles that preceded the 
 war of the Revolution extended themselves to an alarming 
 degree. 
 
 Educated in the most dependent loyalty, Mr. Effingham 
 had, from the commencement of the disputes between the 
 colonists and the crown, warmly maintained what he be- 
 lieved to be the just prerogatives of his prince ; while, on 
 the other hand, the clear head and independent mind of 
 Temple had induced him to espouse the cause of the peo- 
 ple. Both might have been influenced by early impres 
 sions ; for, if the son of the loyal and gallant soldier bowed 
 in implicit obedience to the will of his sovereign, the de- 
 scendant of the persecuted followers of Penn looked back 
 with a little bitterness to the unrnerited wrongs that had 
 been heaped upon his ancestors. 
 
 This difference in opinion had long been a subject of 
 Amicable dispute between them ; but, latterly, the contest 
 
THE PIONEERS. 29 
 
 was getting to be too important to admit of trivial discus- 
 sions on the part of Marmaduke, whose acute discernment 
 was already catching faint glimmerings of the important 
 events that were in embryo. The sparks of dissension 
 soon kindled into a blaze ; and the colonies, or rather, as 
 they quickly declared themselves, THE STATES, became a 
 scene of strife and bloodshed for years. 
 
 A short time before the battle of Lexington, Mr. Effing- 
 ham, already a widower, transmitted to Marmaduke, for 
 safe-keeping, all his valuable effects and papers ; and left 
 the colony without his father. The war had, however, 
 scarcely commenced in earnest, when he reappeared in 
 New York, wearing the livery of his king ; and, in a short 
 time, he took the field at the head of a provincial corps. 
 In the meantime, Marmaduke had completely committed 
 himself in the cause, as it was then called, of the rebellion. 
 Of course, all intercourse between the friends ceased on 
 the part of Colonel Effingham it was unsought, and on 
 that of Marmaduke there was a cautious reserve. It soon 
 became necessary for tho latter to abandon the capital of 
 Philadelphia ; but he had taken the precaution to remove 
 the whole of his effects beyond the reach of the royal forces, 
 including the papers of his friend also. There he con- 
 tinued serving his country during the struggle, in various 
 civil capacities, and always with dignity and usefulness. 
 While, however, he discharged his functions with credit 
 and fidelity, Marmaduke never seemed to lose sight of his 
 own interests ; for, when the estates of the adherents of 
 the crown fell under the hammer, by the acts of confisca- 
 tion, he appeared in New York, and became the purchaser 
 of extensive Dossessions at comparatively low prices. 
 
 It is true that Marmaduke, by thus purchasing estates 
 that had been wrested by violence from others, rendered 
 himself obnoxious to the censures of that sect which, at 
 the same time that it discards its children from a full par- 
 ticipation in the family union, seems ever unwilling to 
 abandon them entirely to the world. But either his suc- 
 cess, or the frequency of the transgression in others, soon 
 wiped off this slight stain from his character ; and, although 
 there were a few who, dissatisfied with their own fortunes, 
 or conscious of their own demerits, would make dark hints 
 concerning the sudden prosperity of the unportioned 
 Quaker, yet his services, and possibly his wealth, soon drove 
 the recollection of these vague conjectures from men's minds 
 
30 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 When the war ended, and the independence of.the State? 
 was acknowledged, Mr. Temple turned his attention from 
 the pursuit of commerce, which was then fluctuating and 
 uncertain, to the settlement of those tracts of land which 
 he had purchased. Aided by a good deal of money, and 
 directed by the suggestions of a strong and practical rea- 
 son, his enterprise throve to a degree that the climate and 
 rugged face of the country which he selected would seem 
 to forbid. His property increased in a tenfold ratio, and 
 he was already ranked among the most wealthy and im- 
 portant of his countrymen. To inherit this wealth he had 
 but one child the daughter whom we have introduced to 
 the reader, and whom he was now conveying from school 
 to preside over a household that had too long wanted a 
 mistress. 
 
 When the district in which his estates lay had become 
 sufficiently populous to be set off as a county, Mr. Tem- 
 ple had, according to the custom of the new settlements, 
 been selected to fill its highest judicial station. This 
 might make a Templar smile ; but, in addition to the 
 apology of necessity, there is ever a dignity in talents and 
 experience that is commonly sufficient, in any station, for 
 the protection of its possessor ; and Marmaduke, more 
 fortunate in his native clearness of mind than the judge 
 of King Charles, not only decided right, but was generally 
 able to give a very good reason for it. At all events, such 
 was the universal practice of the country and the times ; 
 and Judge Temple, so far from ranking among the lowest 
 of his judicial contemporaries in the courts of the new 
 counties, felt himself, and was unanimously acknowledged 
 to be, among the first. 
 
 We shall here close this brief explanation of the history 
 and character of some of our personages, leaving them in 
 future to speak and act for themselves. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 31 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 " All that thou see'st in Nature's handiwork ; 
 Those rocks that upward throw their mossy brows 
 Like castled pinnacles of elder times ; 
 These venerable stems, that slowly rock 
 Their towering branches in the wintry gale ; 
 That field of frost, which glitters in the sun, 
 Mocking the whiteness of a marble breast ! 
 Yet man can mar such works with his rude taste, 
 Like some sad spoiler of a virgin's fame." Duo. 
 
 SOME little while elapsed ere Marmaduke Temple was 
 sufficiently recovered from his agitation to scan the person 
 of his new companion. He now observed that he was a 
 youth of some two or three-and-twenty years of age, and 
 rather above the middle height. Further observation was 
 prevented by the rough overcoat which was belted close 
 to his form by a worsted sash, much like the one worn by 
 the old hunter. The eyes of the Judge, after resting a 
 moment on the figure of the stranger, were raised to a 
 scrutiny of his countenance. There had been a look of 
 care visible in the features of the youth, when he first 
 entered the sleigh, that had not only attracted the notice 
 of Elizabeth, but which she had been much puzzled to in- 
 terpret. His anxiety seemed the strongest when he was 
 enjoining his old companion to secrecy ; and even when 
 he had decided, and was rather passively suffering himself 
 to be conveyed to the village, the expression of his eyes 
 by no means indicated any great degree of self-satisfaction 
 at the step. But the lines of an uncommonly prepossess- 
 ing countenance were gradually becoming composed ; and 
 he now sat silent, and apparently musing. The Judge 
 gazed at him for some time with earnestness, and then 
 smiling, as if at his own forgetful ness, he said : 
 
 " I believe, my young friend, that terror has driven you 
 from ray recollection ; your face is very familiar, and yet 
 for the honor of a score of bucks' tails in my cap, I could 
 not tell. your name." 
 
 "I came into the country but three weeks since," re- 
 turned the youth, coldly, "and I understand you have 
 been absent twice that time." 
 
 " It will be five to-morrow. Yet your face is one that J 
 
22 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 have seen ; though it would not be strange, such has been 
 my affright, should I see thee in thy winding-sheet walk- 
 ing by my bedside to-night. What say'st thou, Bess ? Am 
 I compos mentis or not ? Fit to charge a grand jury, or, 
 what is just now of more pressing necessity, able to do 
 the honors of Christmas eve in the hall of Templeton ?" 
 
 " More able to do either, my dear father," said a playful 
 voice from under the ample enclosures of the hood, " than 
 to kill deer with a smooth-bore." A short pause followed, 
 and the same voice, but in a different accent, continued : 
 " We shall have good reasons for our thanksgiving to-night, 
 on more accounts than one." 
 
 The horses soon reached a point where they seemed to 
 know by instinct that the journey was nearly ended, and, 
 bearing on the bits as they tossed their heads, they rapidly 
 drew the sleigh over the level land which lay on the top 
 of the mountain, and soon came to the point where the 
 Toad descended suddenly, but circuitously, into the valley. 
 
 The Judge was roused from his reflections, when he saw 
 the four columns of smoke which floated above his own 
 chimneys. As house, village, and valley burst on his sight, 
 he exclaimed cheerfully to his daughter : 
 
 " See, Bess, there is thy resting place for life ! And 
 thine, too, young man, if thou wilt consent to dwell with 
 us." 
 
 The eyes of his auditors involuntarily met ; and, if the 
 color that gathered over the face of Elizabeth was contra- 
 dicted by the cold expression of her eye, the ambiguous 
 smile that again played about the lips of the stranger, 
 seemed equally to deny the probability of his consenting 
 to form one of this family group. The scene was one, 
 however, which might easily warm a heart less given to 
 philanthropy than that of Marmaduke Temple. 
 
 The side of the mountain on which our travellers were 
 journeying, though not absolutely perpendicular, was so 
 steep as to render great care necessary in descending the 
 rude and narrow path which, in that early day, wound 
 along the precipices. The negro reined in his impatient 
 steeds, and time was given Elizabeth to dwell on a scene 
 which was so rapidly altering under the hands of man, 
 that it only resembled in its outlines the picture she had 
 so often studied with delight in childhood. Immediately 
 beneath them lay a seeming plain, glittering without in- 
 equality, and buried in mountains. The latter were pre 
 
TIT1Z PIONEERS. 33 
 
 cipitous, especially on the side of the plain, and chiefly in 
 forest. Here and there the hills fell away in long, low 
 points, and broke the sameness of the outline ; or setting 
 to the long and wide field of snow, which, without house, 
 tree, fence, or any other fixture, resembled so much spotless 
 cloud settled to the earth. A few dark and moving spots 
 were, however, visible on the even surface, which the eye 
 of Elizabeth knew to be so many sleighs going their sev- 
 eral ways, to or from the village. On the western border 
 of the plain, the mountains, though equally high, were 
 less precipitous, and as they receded, opened into irregu- 
 lar valleys and glens, or were formed into terraces and 
 hollows that admitted of cultivation. Although the ever- 
 greens still held dominion over many of the hills that rose 
 on this side of the valley, yet the undulating outlines of 
 the distant mountains, covered with forests of beech and 
 maple, gave a relief to the eye, and the promise of a kinder 
 soil. Occasionally spots of white were discoverable amidst 
 the forests of the opposite hills, which announced, by the 
 smoke that curled over the tops of the trees, the habita- 
 tions of man, and the commencement of agriculture. 
 These spots were sometimes, by the aid of united labor, 
 enlarged into what were called settlements, but more fre- 
 quently were small and insulated ; though so rapid were 
 the changes, and so persevering the labors of those who 
 had cast their fortunes on the success of the enterprise, 
 that it was not difficult for the imagination of Elizabeth to 
 conceive they were enlarging under her eye, while she was 
 gazing, in mute wonder, at the alterations, that a few short 
 years had made in the aspect of the country. The points 
 on the western side of this remarkable plain, on which no 
 plant had taken root, were both larger and more numerous 
 than those on its eastern, and one in particular thrust itself 
 forward in such a manner as to form beautifully curved 
 bays of snow on either side. On its extreme end an oak 
 stretched forward, as if to overshadow, with its branches, 
 a spot which its roots were forbidden to enter. It had re- 
 leased itself from the thraldom that a growth of centuries 
 had imposed on the branches of the surrounding forest 
 trees, ^and threw its gnarled and fantastic arms abroad, in 
 the wildness of liberty. A dark spot of a few acres in ex- 
 tent at the southern extremity of this beautiful flat, and 
 immediately under the feet of our travellers, alone showed 
 by its rippling surface, and the vapors which exhaled from 
 
34 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 it, that what at first might seem a plain, was one of the 
 mountain lakes, locked in the frosts of winter. A narrow 
 current rushed impetuously from its bosom at the open 
 place we have mentioned, and was to be traced, for miles, 
 as it wound its way toward the south through the real 
 valley, by its borders of hemlock and pine, and by the 
 vapor which arose from its warmer surface into the chill 
 atmosphere of the hills. The banks of this lovely basin, 
 at its outlet, or southern -end, were steep, but not high ; 
 and in that direction the land continued, far as the eye 
 could reach, a narrow but graceful valley, along which the 
 settlers had scattered their humble habitations, with a pro- 
 fusion that bespoke the quality of the soil, and the com- 
 parative facilities of intercourse. 
 
 Immediately on the bank of the lake and at its foot, 
 stood the village of Templeton. It consisted of some fifty 
 buildings, including those of every description, chiefly 
 built of wood, and which, in their architecture, bore no 
 great marks of taste, but which also, by the unfinished ap- 
 pearance of most of the dwellings, indicated the hasty man- 
 ner of their construction. To the eye, they presented a 
 variety of colors. A few were white in both front and rear, 
 but more bore that expensive color on their fronts only, 
 while their economical but ambitious owners had covered 
 the remaining sides of the edifices with a dingy red. One 
 or two were slowly, assuming the russet of age ; while the 
 uncovered beams that were to be seen through the broken 
 windows of their second stories, showed that either the 
 taste or the vanity of their proprietors had led them to 
 undertake a task which they were unable to accomplish. 
 The whole were grouped in a manner that aped the streets 
 of a city, and were evidently so arranged by the directions 
 of one who looked to the wants of posterity rather than to 
 the convenience of the present incumbents. Some three 
 or four of the better sort of buildings, in addition to the 
 uniformity of their color, were fitted with green blinds, 
 which, at that season at least, were rather strangely con- 
 trasted to the chill aspect of the lake, the mountains, the 
 forests, and the wide fields of snow. Before the doors of 
 these pretending dwellings were placed a few saplings, 
 either without branches, or possessing only the feeble 
 snoots of one or two summers' growth, that looked not un- 
 like tall grenadiers on post near the threshold of princes. 
 In truth, the occupants of these favored habitations were 
 
THE PIONEERS. 35 
 
 the nobles of Templeton, as Marmaduke was its king. 
 They were the dwellings of two young men who were cun- 
 ning in the law ; an equal number of that class who chaff- 
 ered to the wants of the community under the title of 
 storekeepers ; and a disciple of ^Esculapius, who, for a 
 novelty, brought more subjects into the world than he sent 
 out of 'it. In the midst of this incongruous group of dwell- 
 ings rose the mansion of the Judge, towering above all its 
 neighbors. It stood in the centre of an enclosure of sev- 
 eral acres, which was covered with fruit-trees. Some of 
 the latter had been left by the Indians, and began already 
 to assume the moss and inclination of age, therein forming 
 a very marked contrast to the infant plantations that peered 
 over most of the picketed fences of the village. In addi- 
 tion to this show of cultivation were two rows of young 
 Lombardy poplars, a tree but lately introduced into Amer- 
 ica, formally lining either side of a pathway which led 
 from a gate that opened on the principal street to the front 
 door of the building. The house itself had been built en- 
 tirely under the superintendence of a certain Mr. Richard 
 Jones, whom we have already mentioned, and who, from 
 his cleverness in small matters, and an entire willingness 
 to exert his talents, added to the circumstance of their be.- 
 .ng sister's children, ordinarily superintended all the minor 
 concerns of Marmaduke Temple. Richard was fond of 
 saying that this child of invention consisted of nothing 
 more nor less than what should form the groundwork of 
 every clergyman's discourse : viz., a firstly, and a lastly. 
 He had commenced his labors, in the first year of their 
 residence, by erecting a tall, gaunt edifice of wood, with its 
 gable toward the highway. In this shelter, for it was little 
 more, the family resided three years. By the end of that 
 period, Richard had completed his design. He had availed 
 himself, in this heavy undertaking, of the experience of a 
 certain wandering eastern mechanic, who, by exhibiting a 
 few soiled plates of English architecture, and talking 
 learnedly of friezes, entablatures, and particularly of the 
 composite order, had obtained a very undue influence over 
 Richard's taste, in everything that pertained to that branch 
 of the fine arts. Not that Mr. Jones did not affect to con- 
 sider Hiram Doolittle a perfect empiric in his profession, 
 being in the constant habit of listening to his treatises on 
 architecture with a kind of indulgent smile ; yet, either 
 from an inability to oppose them by anything plausible 
 
36 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 from his own stores of learning, or from secret admiration, 
 Richard generally submitted to the arguments of his co- 
 adjutor. Together, they had not only erected a dwelling 
 for Marmaduke, but they had given a fashion to the archi- 
 tecture of the whole county. The composite order, Mr. 
 Doolittle would contend, was an order composed of many 
 others, and was intended to be the most useful of all, for it 
 admitted into its construction such alterations as conveni- 
 ence or circumstances might require. To this proposition 
 Richard usually assented ; and when rival geniuses, who 
 monopolize not only all the reputation, but most of the 
 money of a neighborhood, are of a mind, it is not uncom- 
 mon to see them lead the fashion, even in graver matters. 
 In the present instance, as we have already hinted, the 
 castle, as Judge Templeton's dwelling was termed in com- 
 mon parlance, came to be the model, in some one or other 
 of its numerous excellences, for every aspiring edifice 
 within twenty miles of it. 
 
 The house itself, or the "lastly," was of stone : large, 
 square, and far from uncomfortable. These were four re- 
 quisites, on which Marmaduke had insisted with a little 
 more than his ordinary pertinacity. But everything else 
 was peaceably assigned to Richard and his associate. These 
 worthies found the material a little too solid for the tools 
 of their workmen, which, in general, were employed on a 
 substance no harder than the white pine of the adjacent 
 mountains, a wood so proverbially soft, that it is common- 
 ly chosen by the hunters for pillows. But for this awkward 
 dilemma, it is probable that the ambitious tastes of our 
 two architects would have left as much more to do in the 
 way of description. Driven from the faces of the house 
 by the obduracy of the material, they took refuge in the 
 porch and on the roof. The former, it was decided, should 
 be severely classical, and the latter a rare specimen of the 
 merits of the composite order. 
 
 A roof, Richard contended, was a part of the edifice that 
 the ancients always endeavored to conceal, it being an ex- 
 crescence in architecture that was only to be tolerated on 
 account of its usefulness. Besides, as he wittily added, a 
 chief merit in a dwelling was to present a front, on which- 
 ever side it might happen to be seen ; for, as it was ex- 
 posed to all eyes in all weathers, there should be no weak 
 flank for envy or unneighborly criticism to assail. It was 
 therefore decided that the roof should be flat, and with 
 
THE PIONEERS. 37 
 
 four faces. To this arrangement, Marmaduke objected 
 the heavy snows that lay for months, frequently covering 
 the earth to a depth of three or four feet. Happily, the 
 facilities of the composite order presented themselves to 
 effect a compromise, and the rafters were lengthened, so 
 as to give a descent that should carry off the frozen ele- 
 ment. But, unluckily, some mistake was made in the ad- 
 measurement of these material parts of the fabric ; and, as 
 one of the greatest recommendations of Hiram was his 
 ability to work by the "square rule," no opportunity was 
 found of discovering the effect until the massive timbers 
 were raised, on the four walls of the building. Then, in- 
 deed, it was soon seen that, in defiance of all rule, the 
 roof was by far the most conspicuous part of the whole 
 edifice. Richard and his associate consoled themselves 
 with the belief that the covering would aid in concealing 
 this unnatural elevation ; but every shingle that was laid 
 only multiplied objects to look at. Richard essayed to 
 remedy the evil with paint, and four different colors were 
 ^aid on by his own hands. The -first was a sky-blue, in 
 ihe vain expectation that the eye might be cheated into 
 the belief it was the heavens themselves that hung so im- 
 posingly over Marmaduke's dwelling ; the second was 
 what he called a "cloud-color," being nothing more nor 
 less than an imitation of smoke ; the third was what Rich- 
 ard termed an invisible green, an experiment that did not 
 succeed against a background of sky. Abandoning the 
 attempt to conceal, our architects drew upon their inven- 
 tion for means to ornament the offensive shingles. After 
 much deliberation and two or three essays by moonlight, 
 Richard ended the affair by boldly covering the whole be- 
 neath a color that he christened " sunshine," a cheap way, 
 as he assured his cousin, the Judge, of always keeping fair 
 weather over his head. The platform, as well as the eaves 
 of the house, were surmounted by gaudily painted railings, 
 and the genius of Hiram was exerted in the fabrication of 
 divers urns and mouldings, that were scattered profusely 
 around this part of their labors. Richard had originally 
 a cunning expedient, by w r hich the chimneys were intended 
 to be so low, and so situated, as to resemble ornaments on 
 the balustrades ; but comfort required that the chimneys 
 should rise with the roof, in order that the smoke might 
 be carried off, and they thus became four extremely con- 
 spicuous objects in the view. 
 
38 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 As this roof was much the most important architectural 
 undertaking in which Mr. Jones was ever engaged, his 
 failure produced a correspondent degree of mortification. 
 At first, he whispered among his acquaintances that it pro- 
 ceeded from ignorance of the square rule on the part of 
 Hiram ; but, as his eye became gradually accustomed to 
 the object, he grew better satisfied with his labors, and, 
 instead of apologizing for the defects, he commenced 
 praising the beauties of the mansion-house ; he so6n found 
 hearers , and, as wealth and comfort are at all times at- 
 tractive, it was, as has been said, made a model for imita- 
 tion on a small scale. In less than two years from its 
 erection, he had the pleasure of standing on the elevated 
 platform, and of looking down on three humble imitators 
 of its beauty. Thus it is ever with fashion, which even 
 renders the faults of the great subjects of admiration. 
 
 Marmaduke bore this deformity in his dwelling with 
 great good nature, and soon contrived, by his own improve- 
 ments, to give an air of respectability and comfort to his 
 place of residence. Still, there was much of incongruity, 
 even immediately about the mansion-house. Although 
 poplars had been brought from Europe to ornament the 
 grounds, and willows and other trees were gradually spring- 
 ing up nigh the dwelling, yet many a pile of snow betrayed 
 the presence of the stump of a pine ; and even, in one or 
 two instances, unsightly remnants of trees that had been 
 partly destroyed by fire were seen rearing their black, 
 glistening columns twenty or thirty feet above the pure 
 white of the snow. These, which in the language of the 
 country are termed stubs, abounded in the open fields ad- 
 jacent to the village, and were accompanied, occasionally, 
 by the ruin of a pine or a hemlock that had been stripped 
 of its bark, and which waved in melancholy grandeur its 
 naked limbs to the blast, a skeleton of its former glory. 
 But these and many other unpleasant additions to the 
 view were unseen by the delighted Elizabeth, who, as the 
 horses moved down the side of the mountain, saw only in 
 gross the cluster of houses that lay like a map at her feet ; 
 the fifty smokes that were curling from the valley to the 
 clouds ; the frozen lake as it lay embedded in mountains 
 of evergreen, with the long shadows of the pines on 
 its white surface, lengthening in the setting sun ; the 
 dark ribbon of water, that gushed from the outlet 
 and was winding its way toward the distant Chesapeake-^ 
 
THE PIONEERS. 39 
 
 the altered, though still remembered, scenes of her child- 
 hood. 
 
 Five years had wrought greater changes than a century 
 would produce in countries where time and labor have 
 given permanency to the works of man. To our young 
 hunter and the Judge the scene' had less novelty ; though 
 none ever emerge from the dark forests of that mountain, 
 and witness the glorious scenery of that beauteous valley, 
 as it bursts unexpectedly upon them, without a feeling of 
 delight. The former cast one admiring glance from north 
 to south, and sank his face again beneath the folds of his 
 coat ; while the latter contemplated, with philanthropic 
 pleasure, the prospect of affluence and comfort that was 
 expanding around him ; the result of his own enterprise, 
 and much of it the fruits of his own industry. 
 
 The cheerful sound of sleigh-bells, however, attracted the 
 attention of the whole party, as they came jingling up the 
 sides of the mountain, at a rate that announced a powerful 
 team and a hard driver. The bushes which lined the high- 
 way interrupted the view, and the two sleighs were close 
 upon each other before either was seen. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 "How now? whose mare's dead? what's the matter?" FALSTAFF. 
 
 A LARGE lumber sleigh, drawn by four horses, was soon 
 seen dashing through the leafless bushes which fringed 
 the road. The leaders were of gray, and the pole-horses 
 of a jet-black. Bells innumerable were suspended from 
 every part of the harness where one of the tinkling balls 
 could be placed, while the rapid movement of the equipage, 
 in defiance of the steep ascent, announced the desire of the 
 driver to ring them to the utmost. The first glance at this 
 singular arrangement acquainted the Judge with the char- 
 acter of those in the sleigh. It contained four male figures. 
 On one of those stools that are used at writing-desks, lashed 
 firmly to the sides of the vehicle, was seated a little man, 
 enveloped in a great-coat fringed with fur, in such a man- 
 ner that no part of him was visible except a face of an un- 
 varying red color. There was an habitual upward look 
 about the head of this gentleman, as if dissatisfied with its 
 
40 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 natural proximity to the earth ; and the expression of his 
 countenance was that of busy care. He was the charioteer, 
 and he guided the mettled animals along the precipice with 
 a fearless eye and a steady hand. Immediately behind him, 
 with his face toward the other two, was a tall figure, to 
 whose appearance not eve'n the duplicate overcoats which 
 he wore, aided by the corner of a horse-blanket, could give 
 the appearance of strength. His face was protruding from 
 beneath a woollen night-cap ; and, when he turned to the 
 vehicle of Marniaduke as the sleighs approached each 
 other, it seemed formed by nature to cut the atmosphere 
 with the least possible resistance. The eyes alone appeared 
 to create any obstacle, for from either side of his forehead 
 their light-blue, glassy balls projected. The sallow of his 
 countenance was too permanent to be aifected even by the 
 intense cold of the evening. Opposite to this personage 
 sat a solid, short, and square figure. No part of his form 
 was to be discovered through his overdress, but a face 
 that was illuminated by a pair of black eyes that gave the 
 lie to every demure feature in his countenance. % A fair, 
 jolly wig furnished a neat and rounded outline to his vis- 
 age, and he, as well as the other two, wore marten-skin 
 caps. The fourth Was a meek-looking, long-visaged man, 
 without any other protection from the cold than that which 
 wa's furnished by a black surtout, made with some little for- 
 mality, but which was rather threadbare and rusty. He 
 wore a hat of extremely decent proportions, though fre- 
 quent brushing had quite destroyed its nap. His face was 
 pale, and withal a little melancholy, or what might be 
 termed of a studious complexion. The air had given it, 
 just now, a slight and somewhat feverish flush. The char- 
 acter of his whole appearance, especially contrasted to 
 the air of humor in his next companion, was that of hab- 
 itual mental care. No sooner had the two sleighs ap- 
 proached within speaking distance, than the driver of this 
 fantastic equipage shouted aloud : 
 
 " Draw up in the quarry draw up, thou king of the 
 Greeks ; draw into the quarry, Agamemnon, or I shall 
 never be able to pass you. Welcome home, cousin 'duke 
 welcome, welcome, black-eyed Bess. Thou seest, Mar- 
 maduke, that I have taken the field with an assorted cargo, 
 to do thee honor. Monsieur Le Quoi has come out with 
 only one cap ; Old Fritz would not stay to finish the 
 bottle ; and Mr. Grant has got to put the * lastly ' to his 
 
THE PIONEERS. 41 
 
 sermon, yet. Even all the horses would come by-the-by. 
 Judge, I must sell the blacks for you immediately ; the} 
 interfere, and the nigh one is a bad goer in double har- 
 ness. I can get rid of them to " 
 
 "Sell what thou wilt, Dickon," interrupted the cheerful 
 voice of the Judge, "so that thou leavest me my daughter 
 and my lands. Ah ! Fritz, my old friend, this is a kind 
 compliment, indeed, for seventy to pay to five-and-forty, 
 Monsieur Le Quoi, I am your servant. Mr. Grant," lift- 
 ing his cap, " I feel indebted to your attention. Gentle- 
 men, I make you acquainted with my child. Yours are 
 names with which she is very familiar." 
 
 " Velcome, velcome, Tchooge," said the elder of the 
 party, with a strong German accent. "Miss Petsy vill 
 owe me a kiss." 
 
 " And cheerfully will I pay it, my good sir," cried the 
 soft voice of Elizabeth ; which sounded, in the clear air of 
 the hills, like tones of silver, amid the loud cries of 
 Richard. "I have always a kiss for my old friend, Major 
 Hartmann." 
 
 By this time the gentleman in the front seat, who ha<f 
 been addressed as Monsieur Le Quoi, had arisen witfe 
 some difficulty, owing to the impediment of his overcoats, 
 and steadying himself by placing one hand on the stool of 
 the charioteer, with the other he removed his cap, and 
 bowing politely to the Judge, and profoundly to Elizabeth, 
 he paid his compliments. 
 
 "Cover thy poll, Gaul, cover thy poll," cried the driver, 
 who was Mr. Richard Jones ; "cover thy poll, or the frost 
 will pluck out the remnant of thy locks. Had the hairs 
 on the head of Absalom been as scarce as thine, he might 
 have been living to this day." The jokes of Richard never 
 failed of exciting risibility, for he uniformly did honor to 
 his own wit ; and he enjoyed a hearty laugh on the present 
 occasion, while Mr. Le (Juoi resumed his seat with a po- 
 lite reciprocation in his mirth. The clergyman, for such 
 was the office of Mr. Grant, modestly, though quite affec- 
 tionately, exchanged his greetings with the travellers also, 
 when Richard prepared to turn the heads of his horses 
 homeward. 
 
 It was in the quarry alone that he could effect this 
 object, without ascending to the summit of the mountain. 
 A very considerable excavation had been made in the side 
 of the hill, at the point where Richard had succeeded ia 
 
42 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 stopping the sleighs, from which the stones used for 
 building in the village were ordinarily quarried, and in 
 which he now attempted to turn his team. Passing itself 
 was a task of difficulty, and frequently of danger, in 
 that narrow road ; but Richard had to meet the additional 
 risk of turning his four-in-hand. The black civilly volun- 
 teered his services to take off the leaders, and the Judge 
 very earnestly seconded the measure with his advice. 
 Richard treated both proposals with great disdain. 
 
 "Why, and wherefore, cousin 'duke?" he exclaimed, a 
 little angrily ; " the horses are gentle as lambs. You know 
 that I broke the leaders myself, and the pole-horses are 
 too near my whip to be restive. Here is Mr. Le Quoi, 
 now, who must know something about driving, because he 
 has rode out so often with me ; I will leave it to Mr. Le 
 Quoi whether there is any danger." 
 
 It was not in the nature of the Frenchman to disappoint 
 expectations so confidently formed ; although he sat look- 
 ing down the precipice which fronted him, as Richard 
 turned his leaders into the quarry, with a pair of eyes that 
 stood out like those of lobsters. The German's muscles 
 were unmoved, but his quick sight scanned each move- 
 ment. Mr. Grant placed his hands on the side of the 
 sleigh, in preparation for a spring, but moral timidity de- 
 terred him from taking the leap that bodily apprehension 
 strongly urged him to attempt. 
 
 Richard, by a sudden application of the whip, succeeded 
 in forcing the leaders into the snow-bank that covered 
 the quarr} 7 ; but the instant that the impatient animals suf- 
 fered by the crust, through which they broke at each step, 
 they positively refused to move an inch farther in that di- 
 rection. On the contrary, finding that the cries and blows 
 of their driver were redoubled at this juncture, the leaders 
 backed upon the pole-horses, who in their turn backed the 
 sleigh. Only a single log lay above the pile which upheld 
 the road, on the side toward the valley, and this was now 
 buried in the snow. The sleigh was easily forced across 
 so slight an impediment, and before Richard became con- 
 scious of his danger one-half of the vehicle was projected 
 over a precipice, which fell perpendicularly more than a 
 hundred feet. The Frenchman, who by his position had 
 a full view of their threatened flight, instinctively threw 
 his body as far forward as possible, and cried "Ah ! Mon 
 cher Monsieur Deeck ! mon Dieu ! que faites-vous !" 
 
THE PIONEERS. 43 
 
 " Donner and blitzen, Richart ! " exclaimed the veteran 
 German, looking over the side of the sleigh with unusual 
 emotion, " put you will preak ter sleigh and kilt tet 
 horses ! " 
 
 "Good Mr. Jones," said the clergyman, "be prudent, 
 good sir be careful." 
 
 " Get up, obstinate devils ! " cried Richard, catching a 
 bird's-eye view of his situation, and in his eagerness to 
 move forward kicking the stool on which he sat "get up, 
 I sa y cousin 'duke, I shall have to sell the grays too ; they 
 are the worst broken horses Mr. Le Quaw ! " Richard 
 was too much agitated to regard his pronunciation, of 
 which he was commonly a little vain : "Monsieur Le Quaw, 
 pray get off my leg ; you hold my leg so tight that it's no 
 wonder the horses back." 
 
 " Merciful Providence ! " exclaimed the Judge ; " they 
 tvill be all killed ! " 
 
 Elizabeth gave a piercing shriek, and the black of Aga- 
 "memnon's face changed to a muddy white. 
 
 At this critical moment, the young hunter, who, during 
 the salutations of the parties, had sat in rather sullen si- 
 lence, sprang from the sleigh of Marmaduke to the heads 
 of the refractory leaders. The horses, which were yet suf- 
 fering under the injudicious and somewhat random blows 
 of Richard, were dancing up and down with that ominous 
 movement that threatens a sudden and uncontrollable start, 
 still pressing backward. The youth gave the leaders a 
 powerful jerk, and they plunged aside, and reentered the 
 road in the position in which they were first halted. The 
 sleigh was whirled from its dangerous position, and upset, 
 with the runners outward. The German and the divine 
 were thrown, rather unceremoniously, into the highway, 
 but without danger to their bones. Richard appeared in 
 the air, describing the segment of a circle, of which the 
 reins were the radii, and landed, at the distance of some 
 fifteen feet, in that snow-bank which the horses had 
 dreaded, right end uppermost. Here, as he instinctively 
 grasped the reins, as drowning men seize at straws, he 
 admirably served the purpose of an anchor. The French- 
 man, who was on his legs, in the act of springing from the 
 sleigh, took an aerial flight also, much in the attitude which 
 boys assume when they play leap-frog, and, flying off in a 
 tangent to the curvature of his course, came into the snow* 
 bank head foremost, where he remained, exhibiting two 
 
44 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 lathy legs on high, like scarecrows waving in a corn-field 
 Major Hartmann, whose self-possession had been admira- 
 bly preserved during the whole evolution, was the first oi 
 the party that gained his feet and his voice. 
 
 " Ter deyvel, Richart ! " he exclaimed, in a voice half- 
 serious, half-comical, " put you unload your sleigh very 
 hantily ! " 
 
 It may be doubtful whether the attitude in which Mr. 
 Grant continued for an instant after his overthrow was the 
 one into which he had been thrown, or was assumed, in 
 humbling himself before the Power that he reverenced, 
 in thanksgiving at his escape. When he rose from his 
 knees, he began to gaze about him, with anxious looks, 
 after the welfare of his companions, while every joint in 
 his body trembled with nervous agitation. There was 
 some confusion in the faculties of Mr. Jones also ; but as 
 the mist gradually cleared from before his eyes, he saw 
 that all was safe, and, with an air of great self-satisfaction, 
 he cried, " Well that was neatly saved, anyhow ! it was 
 a lucky thought in me to hold on to the reins, or the fiery 
 devils would have been over the mountain by this time. 
 How well I recovered myself, 'duke ! Another moment 
 would have been too late ; but I knew just the spot where 
 10 touch the off-leader ; that blow under his right flank, 
 and the sudden jerk I gave the rein, brought them round 
 quite in rule, I must own myself."* 
 
 " Thou jerk ! thou recover thyself, Dickon ! " he said 
 "but for that brave lad yonder, thou and thy horses, of 
 rather mine, would have been dashed to pieces but where 
 is Monsieur Le Quoi ? " 
 
 "Oh! mqn cher Juge ! mon ami!" cried a smothered 
 voice, " praise be God, I live ; vill you, Mister Agamemnon, 
 be pleas come down ici, and help me on my leg ?" 
 
 The divine and the negro seized the incarcerated Gaul 
 by his legs and extricated him from a snow-bank of three 
 feet in depth, whence his voice had sounded as from the 
 tombs. The thoughts of Mr. Le Quoi, immediately on his 
 liberation, were not extremely collected ; and, when he 
 reached the light, he threw his eyes upward, in order to 
 examine the distance he had fallen. His good-humor re- 
 turned, however, with a knowledge of his safety, though it 
 
 * The spectators, from immemorial usage, have a right to laugh at the 
 casualties of a sleigh ride ; and the Judge was no sooner certain that na 
 harm was done than he made full use of the privilege. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 45 
 
 was some little time before he clearly comprehended the 
 case. 
 
 " What, monsieur," said Richard, who was busily assist- 
 ing the black in taking off the leaders ; " are you there ? 
 I thought I saw you flying toward the top of the mountain 
 just now." 
 
 " Praise be God, I no fly down into the lake," returned 
 the Frenchman, with a visage that was divided between 
 pain, occasioned by a few large scratches that he had re- 
 ceived in forcing his head through the crust, and the look 
 of complaisance that seemed natural to his pliable features. 
 " Ah ! mon cher Mister Deeck, vat you do next ? dere be 
 noting you no try." 
 
 " The next thing I trust, will be to learn to drive," said 
 the Judge, who had busied himself in throwing the buck, 
 together with several other articles of baggage, from his 
 own sleigh into the snow ; " here are seats for you all, 
 gentlemen ; the evening grows piercingly cold, and the 
 hour approaches for the service of Mr. Grant ; we will 
 leave friend Jones to repair the damages, with the assist- 
 ance of Agamemnon, and hasten to a warm fire. Here, 
 Dickon, are a few articles of Bess's trumpery, that you 
 can throw into your sleigh when ready ; and there is 
 also a deer of my taking, that I will thank you to bring. 
 Aggy ! remember that there will be a visit from Santa- 
 claus * to-night." 
 
 The black grinned, conscious of the bribe that was of- 
 fered him for silence on the subject of the deer, while Rich- 
 ard, without in the least waiting for the termination of his 
 cousin's speech began his reply : 
 
 " Learn to drive, sayest thou, cousin 'duke ? Is there a 
 man in the county who knows more of horse-flesh than 
 myself? Who broke in the filly, that no one else dare 
 mount, though your coachman did pretend that he had 
 tamed her before I took her in hand ; but anybody could 
 see that he lied he was a great liar, that John what's 
 that, a buck ?" Richard abandoned the horses, and ran to 
 spot where Marmaduke had thrown the deer ; " It is a 
 buck ! I am amazed ! Yes, here are two holes in him, 
 he lias fired both barrels, and hit him each time. Ecod ! 
 
 * The periodical visits of St. Nicholas, or Santaclaus, as he is termed, 
 were never forgotten among the inhabitants of New York, until the emi- 
 gration from New England brought in the opinions and usages of the puri 
 tans. Like the "bon homme de Noel," he arrives at each Christmas. 
 
46 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 how Marmadukc will brag ! he is a prodigious bragger 
 about any small matter like this now ; well, to think that 
 'duke has killed a buck before Christmas ! There will be 
 no such thing as living with him they are both bad shots 
 though, mere chance mere chance now, I never fired 
 twice at a cloven foot in my life it is hit or miss with me 
 dead or run away had it been a bear, or a wild cat, a 
 man might have wanted both barrels. Here ! you Aggy ! 
 how far off was the Judge when this buck was shot ? " 
 
 " Eh ! massa Richard, maybe a ten rod," cried the black, 
 bending under one of the horses, with the pretence of 
 fastening a buckle, but in reality to conceal the grin that 
 opened a mouth from ear to ear. 
 
 " Ten rod ! " echoed the other ; "why, Aggy, the deer I 
 killed last winter was at twenty yes ! if anything it was 
 nearer thirty than twenty. I wouldn't shoot at a deer at 
 ten rod : besides, you may remember, Aggy, I only fired 
 once." 
 
 "Yes, massa Richard, I 'member 'em ! Natty Bumppo 
 fire 'toder gun. You know, sir. all 'e folks say Natty kill 
 him." 
 
 " The folks lie, you black devil ! " exclaimed Richard in 
 great heat. " I have not shot even a gray squirrel these 
 four years, to which that old rascal has not laid claim, or 
 some one else for him. This is a damned envious world 
 that we live in people are always for dividing the credit 
 of a thing, in order to bring down merit to their own level. 
 Now they have a story about the Patent,* that Hiram 
 Doolittle helped to plan the steeple to St. Paul's ; when 
 Hiram knows that it is entirely mine ; a little taken from 
 a print of his namesake in London, I own ; but essentially, 
 as to all points of genius, my own." 
 
 "I don't know where he come from," said the black, 
 losing every mark of humoFin an expression of admiration, 
 " but eb'ry body say, he wonnerful handsome." 
 
 "And well they may say so, Aggy," cried Richard, 
 leaving the buck and walking up to the negro with the aii 
 of a man who has new interest awakened \vithin him. " } 
 
 * The grants of land, made either by the crown or the state, were by 
 letters patent under the great seal, and the term "patent" is usually ap- 
 plied to any district of extent thus conceded ; though under the crown, 
 manorial rights being often granted with the soil, in the older counties, the 
 word " manor" is frequently used. There are many manors in New York, 
 though all political and judicial rights have ceased. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 47 
 
 think I may say, without bragging, that it is the hand- 
 somest and the most scientific country church in America. I 
 know that the Connecticut settlers talk about their West- 
 herfield meeting-house ; but I never believe more than half 
 what they say, they are such unconscionable braggers. 
 Just as you have got a thing done, if they see it likely to 
 be successful, they are always for interfering ; and then it's 
 ten to one but they lay claim to half, or even all of the 
 credit. You may remember, Aggy, when I painted the sign 
 of the bold dragoon for Captain Hollister, there was that 
 fellow, who was about town laying brick-dust on the 
 houses, came one day and offered to mix what I call the 
 streaky black, for the tail and mane ; and then, because it 
 looks like horse-hair, he tells everybody that the sign was 
 painted by himself and Squire Jones. -If Marmaduke don't 
 send that fellow off the Patent, he may ornament his vil- 
 lage with his own hands for me." Here Richard paused 
 a moment, and cleared his throat by a loud hem, while the 
 negro, who was all this time busily engaged in preparing 
 the sleigh, proceeded with his work in respectful silence! 
 Owing to the religious scruples of the Judge, Aggy was 
 the servant of Richard, who had his services for a.' time,* 
 and who, of course, commanded a legal claim to the re- 
 spect of the young negro. But when any dispute between 
 his lawful and his real master occurred, the black felt too 
 much deference for both to express any opinion. In the 
 meanwhile, Richard continued watching the negro as he 
 fastened buckle after buckle, until, stealing a look of con- 
 sciousness toward the other, he continued : " Now, if that 
 young man who was in ycur sleigh is a real Connecticut 
 settler, he will be telling everybody how he saved my 
 horses, when, if he had let them alone for half a minute 
 longer, I would have brought them in much better, with- 
 out upsetting, with the whip and rein it spoils a horse to 
 
 * The manumission of the slaves in New York has been gradual. When 
 public opinion became strong in their favor, then grew up a custom of buy- 
 ing the services of a slave, for six or eight years, with a condition to lib- 
 erate him at the end of the period. Then the law provided that all born 
 after a certain day should be free, the males at twenty-eight and the fe- 
 males at twenty-five. After this the owner was obliged to cause his ser- 
 vants to be taught to read and write before they reached the age of eighteen, 
 and, finally, the few that remained were all unconditionally liberated in 
 1826, or after the publication of this tale. It was quite usual for men 
 more or less connected with the Quakers, who never held slaves, to adopt 
 the first expedient. 
 
48 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 give him his head. I should not wonder if I had to sell 
 the whole team, just for that one jerk he gave them." 
 Richard paused and hemmed ; for his conscience smote 
 him a little for censuring a man who had just saved his 
 life. " Who is the lad, Aggy I don't remember to have 
 seen him before ? " 
 
 The black recollected the hint about Santaclaus ; and. 
 while he briefly explained how they had taken up the per- 
 son in question on the top of the mountain, he forbore to 
 add anything concerning the accident of the wound, on)y 
 saying that he believed the youth was a stranger. It was 
 so usual for men of the first rank to take into their sleighs 
 any one they found toiling through the snow, that Richard 
 was perfectly satisfied with this explanation. He heard 
 Aggy with great attention, and then remarked, " Well, if 
 the lad has not been spoiled by the people in Templeton 
 he may be a modest young man, and, as he certainly meant 
 well, I shall take some notice of him perhaps he is land- 
 hunting I say, Aggy, maybe he is out hunting ? " 
 
 " Eh ! yes, massa Richard," said the black, a little con- 
 fused ; for, as Richard did all the flogging, he stood in 
 great terror of his master, in the main " Yes, sir, I b'lieve 
 he be." 
 
 " Had he a pack and an axe ? " 
 
 " No, sir, only he rifle." 
 
 " Rifle ! " exclaimed Richard, observing the confusion oi 
 the negro, which now amounted to terror. " By Jove, he 
 killed the deer ! I knew that Marmaduke couldn't kill a 
 buck on the jump how was it, Aggy ? tell me all about 
 it, and I'll roast 'duke quicker than he can roast his saddle 
 how was it, Aggy ? the lad shot the buck, and the Judge 
 bought it, ha ! and he is taking the youth down to get the 
 pay ? " 
 
 The pleasure of this discovery had put Richard in such 
 a good humor, that the negro's fears in some measure 
 vanished, and he remembered the stocking of Santaclaus, 
 After a gulp or two, he made out to reply : 
 
 " You forgit a two shot, sir ? " 
 
 " Don't lie, you black rascal ! " cried Richard, stepping 
 ^pn the snow bank to measure the distance from his lash to 
 the negro's back ; " speak truth, or I trounce you." While 
 speaking, the stock was slowly rising in Richard's right 
 hand, and the lash drawing through his left, in the scientific 
 manner- witn which drummers apply the cat ; and Aga* 
 
THE PIONEERS. 49 
 
 memnon, after turning each side of himself toward his 
 master, and finding both equally unwilling to remain there, 
 fairly gave in. In a very few words he made his master 
 acquainted with the truth, at the same time earnestly con- 
 juring Richard to protect him from the displeasure of the 
 Judge. 
 
 " I'll do it, boy, I'll do it," cried the other, rubbing his 
 hands with delight ; " say nothing, but leave me to manage 
 'duke. I have a great mind to leave the deer on the hill, 
 and to make the fellow send for his own carcass ; but no, 
 I will let Marmaduke tell a few bounces about it before I 
 come out upon him. Come, hurry in, Aggy, I must help 
 'to dress the lad's wound ; this Yankee * doctor knows noth- 
 ing of surgery I had to hold out Milligan's leg for him, 
 while he cut it off." Richard was now seated on the stool 
 again, and, the black taking the hind seat, the steeds were 
 put in motion toward home. As they dashed down the 
 hill, on a fast trot, the driver occasionally turned his face 
 to Aggy, and continued speaking; for, notwithstanding 
 their recent rupture, the most perfect cordiality was again 
 existing between them. " This goes to prove that I turned 
 the horses with the reins, fo'r no man who is shot in the 
 right shoulder can have strength enough to bring round 
 such obstinate devils. I knew I did it from the first ; but 
 I did not want to multiply words with Marmaduke about 
 it. Will you bite, you villain ? hip, boys, hip ! Old 
 Natty, too, that is the best of it ! Well, well 'duke will 
 say no more about my deer and the Judge fired both 
 barrels, and hit nothing but a poor lad, who was behind a 
 pine-tree. I must help that quack to take out the buck- 
 shot for the poor fellow." In this manner Richard de- 
 scended the mountain ; the bells ringing, and his tongue 
 going, until they entered the village, when the whole at- 
 tention of the driver was devoted to a display of his horse* 
 manship, to the admiration of all the gaping women and 
 children who thronged the windows to witness the arrival 
 of their landlord and his daughter. 
 
 * In America the term Yankee is of local meaning. It is thought to be 
 derived from the manner in which the Indians of New England pronounced 
 the word "English," or "Yengeese." New York being originally a 
 Dutch province, the term of course was not known there, and farther south 
 different dialects among the natives themselves probably produced a differ- 
 ent pronunciation. Marmaduke and his cousin, being Pennsylvaniang by 
 birth, were not Yankees in the American sense of the word. 
 
50 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 "Nathaniel's coat, sir, was not fully made, 
 And Gabriel's pumps were all unpink'd i' th' heel ; 
 There was no link to color Peter's hat, 
 And Walter's dagger was not come from sheathing ; 
 There were none tine, but Adam, Ralph, and Gregory. " 
 
 SHAKESPEARE. 
 
 AFTER winding along the side of the mountain, the road, 
 on reaching the gentle declivity which lay at the base of. 
 the hill, turned at a right angle to its former course, and 
 shot down an inclined plane, directly into the village of 
 Templeton. The rapid little stream that we have already 
 mentioned, was crossed by a bridge of hewn timber, which 
 manifested, by its rude construction and the unnecessary 
 size of its frame-work, both the value of labor and the 
 abundance of materials. This little torrent, whose dark 
 waters gushed over the limestones that lined its bottom, 
 was nothing less than one of the many sources of the Sus- 
 quehanna ; a river to which the Atlantic herself has ex- 
 tended an arm in welcome. It was at this point that the 
 powerful team of Mr. Jones brought him up to the more 
 sober steeds of our travellers. A small hill was risen, and 
 Elizabeth found herself at once amidst the incongruous 
 dwellings of the village. The street was of the ordinary 
 width, notwithstanding the eye might embrace, in one view, 
 thousands and tens of thousands of acres, that were yet 
 tenanted only by the beasts of the forest. But such had 
 been the will of her father, and such had also met the 
 wishes of his followers. To them the road that made the 
 most rapid approaches to the condition of the old, or, as 
 they expressed it, the down countries, was the most pleas- 
 ant ; and surely nothing could look more like civilization 
 than a city, even if it lay in a wilderness ! The width of 
 the street, for so it was called, might have been one hun- 
 dred feet ; but the track for the sleighs was much more 
 limited. On either side of the highway were piled huge 
 heaps of logs, that were daily increasing rather than dimin- 
 ishing in size, notwithstanding the enormous fires that 
 might be seen through every window. 
 
 The last object at which Elizabeth gazed when they re* 
 newed their journey, after the rencontre with Richard, 
 
THE PIONEERS. 51 
 
 was the sun. as it expanded in the refraction of the horizon, 
 and over whose disk the dark umbrage of a pine was steal< 
 ing, while' it slowly sank behind the western hills. But 
 his setting rays darted along the openings of the mountain 
 she was on, and lighted the shining covering of the birches, 
 until their smooth and glossy coats nearly rivalled the 
 mountain sides in color. The outline of each dark pine 
 was delineated far in the depths of the forest, and the rocks, 
 too smooth and too perpendicular to retain the snow that 
 had fallen, brightened, as if smiling at the leave-taking 
 of the luminary. But at each step as they descended, 
 Elizabeth observed that they were leaving the day behind 
 them. Even the heartless but bright rays of a December 
 sun were missed as they glided into the cold gloom of the 
 valley. Along the summits of the mountains in the eastern 
 range, it is true, the light still lingered, receding step by 
 step from the earth into the clouds that were gathering 
 with the evening mist, about the limited horizon, but the 
 frozen lake lay without a shadow on its bosom ; the dwell- 
 ings were becoming already gloomy and indistinct, and 
 the wood-cutters were shouldering their axes and prepar- 
 ing to enjoy, throughout the long evening before them, the 
 comforts of those exhilarating fires that their labor had 
 been supplying with fuel. They paused only to gaze at 
 the passing sleighs, to lift their caps to Marmaduke, to ex- 
 change familiar nods with Richard, and each disappeared 
 in his dwelling. The paper curtains dropped behind our 
 travellers in every window, shutting from the air even the 
 firelight of the cheerful apartments, and when the horses 
 of her father turned with a rapid whirl into the open gate 
 of the mansion-house, and nothing stood before her hut 
 the cold dreary stone walls of the building, as she ap- 
 proached them through an avenue of young and leafless 
 poplars, Elizabeth felt as if all the loveliness of the moun- 
 tain-view had vanished like the fancies of a dream. Mar- 
 maduke retained so much of his early habits as to reject 
 the use of bells, but the equipage of Mr. Jones came dash- 
 ing through the gate after them, sending its jingling sounds 
 through every cranny of the building, and in a moment 
 the dwelling was in an uproar. 
 
 On a stone platform, of rather small proportions, con- 
 sidering the size of the building, Richard and Hiram had, 
 conjointly, reared four little columns of wood, which ir; 
 their turn supported the shingled roofs of the portico 
 
52 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 Ihi? was the name that Mr. Jones had thought proper to 
 give to a very plain, covered entrance. The ascent to the 
 platform was by five or six stone steps, somewhat hastily 
 laid together, and which the frost had already begun to 
 move from their symmetrical positions. But the evils o* 
 a cold climate, and a superficial construction, did not end 
 here. As the steps lowered, the platform necessarily fell 
 also, and the foundations actually left the superstructure 
 suspended in the air, leaving an open space of a foot be- 
 tween the base of the pillars and the stones on which they 
 had originally been placed. It was lucky for the whole 
 fabric that the carpenter, who did the manual part of the 
 labor, had fastened the canopy of this classic entrance so 
 firmly to the side of the house, that, when the base deserted 
 the superstructure in the manner we have described, and 
 the pillars, for the want of a foundation, were no longer 
 of service to support the roof, the roof was able to uphold 
 the pillars. Here was, indeed, an unfortunate gap left in 
 the ornamental part of Richard's column ; but, like the 
 window in Aladdin's palace, it seemed only left in order to 
 prove the fertility of its master's resources. The com- 
 posite order again offered its advantages, and a second 
 edition of the base was given, as the booksellers say, with 
 additions and improvements. It was necessarily larger, 
 and it was properly ornamented with mouldings ; still the 
 steps continued to yield, and, at the moment when Eliza- 
 beth returned to her father's door, a few rough wedges 
 were driven under the pillars to keep them steady, and to 
 prevent their weight from separating them from the pedi- 
 ment which they ought to have supported. 
 
 From the great door which opened into the porch 
 emerged two or three female domestics, and one male. 
 The latter was bareheaded, but evidently more dressed 
 than usual, and on the whole was of so singular a forma- 
 tion and attire as to deserve a. more minute description. 
 He was about five feet in height, of a square and athletic 
 frame, with a pair of shoulders that would have fitted a 
 grenadier. His low stature was rendered the more strik- 
 ing by a bend forward that he was in the habit of assum- 
 ing, for no apparent reason, unless it might be to give 
 greater freedom to his arms, in a particularly sweeping 
 swing, that they constantly practised when their master 
 was in motion. His face was long, of a fair complexion, 
 burnt to a fiery red ; with a snub nose, cocked into an 
 
THE PIONEERS. 53 
 
 inveterate pug ; a mouth of enormous dimensions, filled 
 with fine teeth ; and a pair of blue eyes, that seemed to 
 look about them on surrounding objects with habitual con- 
 tempt. His head composed full one-fourth of his whole 
 length, and the cue that depended from its rear occupied 
 another. He wore a coat of very light drab cloth, with 
 buttons as large as dollars, bearing the impression of a 
 " foul anchor." The skirts were extremely long, reaching 
 quite to the calf, and were broad in proportion. Beneath, 
 there were a vest and breeches of red plush, somewhat 
 worn and soiled. He had shoes with large buckles, and 
 stockings of blue and white stripes. 
 
 This odd-looking figure reported himself to be a native 
 of the county of Cornwall, in the island of Great Britain. 
 His boyhood had passed in the neighborhood of the tin 
 mines, and his youth as the cabin-boy of a smuggler, be- 
 tween Falmouth and Guernsey. From this trade he had 
 been impressed into the service of his king, and, for the 
 want of a better, had been taken into the cabin, first as a 
 servant, and finally as steward to the captain. Here he 
 acquired the art of making chowder, lobscouse, and one 
 or two other sea-dishes, and, as he was fond of saying, had 
 an opportunity of seeing the world. With the exception 
 of one or two outports in France, and an occasional visit 
 to Portsmouth, Plymouth, and Deal, he had in reality seen 
 no more of mankind, however, than if he had been riding 
 a donkey in one of his native mines. But, being dis 
 charged from the navy at the peace of '83, he declared that, 
 as he had seen all the civilized parts of the earth, he was 
 inclined to make a trip to the wilds of America. We will 
 not trace him in his brief wanderings, under the influence 
 of that'spirit of emigration that sometimes induces a dap- 
 per Cockney to quit his home, and lands him, before the 
 sound of Bow-bells is out of his ears, within the roar of 
 the cataract of Niagara ; but shall only add, that, at a very 
 early day, even before Elizabeth had been sent to school, 
 he had found his way into the family of Marmaduke Tem- 
 ple, where, owing to a combination of qualities that will 
 be developed in the course of the tale, he held, under 
 Mr. Jones, the office of major-domo. The name of thi* 
 worthy was Benjamin Penguillan, according to his own 
 pronunciation ; but, owing to a marvellous tale that he 
 was in the habit of relating, concerning the length of time 
 he had to labor to keep his ship from sinking after Rodney s 
 
54 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 victory, he bad universally acquired the nickname of Ben 
 Pump. 
 
 By the side of Benjamin, and pressing forward as if a 
 little jealous of her station, stood a middle-aged woman, 
 dressed in calico, rather violently contrasted in color with 
 a tall, meagre, shapeless figure, sharp features, and a some* 
 what acute expression of her physiognomy. Her teeth 
 were mostly gone, and what did remain were of a light 
 yellow. The skin of her nose was drawn tightly over the 
 member, to hang in large wrinkles in her cheeks and about 
 her mouth. She took snuff in such quantities as to create 
 the impression that she owed the saffron of her lips and 
 the adjacent parts to this circumstance ; but it was the un- 
 varying color of her whole face. She presided over the 
 female part of the domestic arrangements, in the capacity 
 of housekeeper ; was a spinster, and bore the name of Re- 
 markable Pettibone. To Elizabeth she was an entire 
 stranger, having been introduced into the family since the 
 death of her mother. 
 
 In addition to these, were three or four subordinate 
 menials, mostly black, some appearing at the principal 
 door, and some running from the end of the building, 
 where stood the entrance to the cellar-kitchen. 
 
 Besides these, there was a general rush from Richard's 
 kennel, accompanied with every canine tone, from the howl 
 of the wolf-dog to the petulant bark of the terrier. The 
 master received their boisterous salutations with a variety 
 of imitations from his own throat, when the dogs, probably 
 from shame of being outdone, ceased their outcry. One 
 stately, powerful mastiff, who wore round his neck a brass 
 collar, with " M. T." engraved in large letters on the rim, 
 alone was silent. He walked majestically, amid the con- 
 fusion, to the side of the Judge, where, receiving a kind 
 pat or two, he turned to Elizabeth, who even stooped to 
 kiss him, as she called him kindly by the name of " Old 
 Brave." The animal seemed to know her, as she ascended 
 the steps, supported by Monsieur Le Quoi and her father, 
 in order to protect her from falling on the ice with which 
 they were covered. He looked wistfully after her figure, 
 and when the door closed on the whole party, he laid him* 
 self in a kennel that was placed nigh by, as if conscious 
 that the house contained something of additional value to 
 guard. 
 . Elizabeth followed her father, who paused a moment to 
 
TflE PIONEERS. 55 
 
 whisper a message to one of his domestics, into a large hall, 
 that was dimly lighted by two candles, placed in high, old- 
 fashioned, brass candlesticks. The door closed, and the 
 party were at once removed from an atmosphere that was 
 nearly at zero, to one of sixty degrees above. In the centre 
 of the hall stood an enormous stove, the sides of which 
 appeared to be quivering with heat ; from which a large, 
 straight pipe, leading through the ceiling above, carried 
 off the smoke. An iron basin, containing water, was placed 
 on this furnace, for such only it could be called, in order 
 to preserve a proper humidity in the apartment. The room 
 was carpeted, and furnished with convenient, substantial 
 furniture, some of which was brought from the city, the 
 remainder having been manufactured by the mechanics 
 of Templeton. There was a sideboard of mahogany, in- 
 laid with ivory, and bearing enormous handles of glitter- 
 ing brass, and groaning under the piles of silver plate. 
 Near it stood a set of prodigious tables, made of the wild 
 cherry, to imitate the imported wood of the sideboard, but 
 plain, and without ornament of any kind. Opposite to 
 these stood a smaller table, formed from a lighter-colored 
 wood, through the grains of which the wavy lines of the 
 curled maple of the mountains were beautifully undulat- 
 ing. Near to this, in a corner, stood a heavy, old-fash- 
 ioned, brass-faced clock, encased in a high box, of the dark 
 hue of the black walnut from the seashore. An enormous 
 settee, or sofa, covered with light chintz, stretched along 
 the walls for near twenty feet on one side of the hall ; and 
 chairs of wood, painted a light yellow, with black lines that 
 were drawn by no very steady hand, were ranged opposite, 
 and in the intervals between the other pieces of furniture. 
 A Fahrenheit's thermometer, in a mahogany case, and 
 with a barometer annexed, was hiing against the wall, at 
 some little distance from the stove, which Benjamin con- 
 sulted, every half hour, with prodigious exactitude. Two 
 small glass chandeliers were suspended at equal distances 
 between the stove and outer doors, one of which opened 
 at each end of the hall, and gilt lustres were affixed to the 
 framework of the numerous side-doors that led from the 
 apartment. Some little display in architecture had been 
 made in constructing these frames and casings, which were 
 surmounted with pediments, that bore each a little pedes- 
 tal in its centre ; on the-se pedestals were small busts in 
 blacked plaster-of- Paris. The style of the pedestals as 
 
$6 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 well as the selection of the busts, were all due to the taste 
 of Mr. Jones. On one stood Homer, a most striking like- 
 ness, Richard affirmed, " as any one might see, for it was 
 blind." Another bore the image of a smooth-visaged gen- 
 tleman with a pointed beard, whom he called Shakespeare. 
 A third ornament was an urn, which, from its shape, Rich- 
 ard was accustomed to say, intended to represent itself as 
 holding the ashes of Dido. A fourth was certainly old 
 Franklin, in his cap and spectacles. A fifth as surely bore 
 the dignified composure of the face of Washington. A 
 sixth was a nondescript, representing " a man with a shirt- 
 collar open," to use the language of Richard, "with a lau- 
 rel on his head it was Julius Caesar or Dr. Faustus ; there 
 were good reasons for believing either." 
 
 The walls were hung with a dark, lead-colored English 
 paper that represented Britannia weeping over the tomb 
 of Wolfe. The hero himself stood at a little distance from 
 the mourning goddess, and at the edge of the paper. Each 
 Jvidth contained the figure, with the slight exception of 
 one arm of the general, which ran over on the next piece, 
 so that when Richard essayed, with his own hands, to put 
 together this delicate outline, some difficulties occurred 
 that prevented a nice conjunction ; and Britannia had rea- 
 son to lament, in addition to the loss of her favorite's life, 
 numberless cruel amputations of his right arm. 
 
 The luckless cause of these unnatural divisions now an- 
 nounced his presence in the hall by a loud crack of his 
 whip. 
 
 " Why, Benjamin ! you Ben Pump ! is this the manner 
 in which you receive the heiress ? " he cried. " Excuse 
 him, Cousin Elizabeth. The arrangements were too in- 
 tricate to be trusted to every one ; but now I am here, 
 things will go on better. Come, light up, Mr. Penguillan, 
 light up, light up, and let us see one another's faces. Well, 
 'duke, I have brought home your deer ; what is to be done 
 with it, ha ? " 
 
 " By the Lord, squire," commenced Benjamin, in reply, 
 first giving his mouth a wipe with the back of his hand, 
 "if this here thing had been ordered sum'at earlier in the 
 day, it might have been got up, d'ye see, Jo your liking. 
 I had mustered all hands and was exercising candles, when 
 you hove in sight ; but when the women heard your bells 
 they started an end, as if they were riding the boatswain's 
 colt ; and, if-so-be there is that man in the house who car? 
 
THE PIONEERS. ^ % 57 
 
 bring up a parcel of women when they have got headway 
 on them, until they've run out the end of their rope, hk; 
 name is not Benjamin Pump. But Miss Betsey here 
 must have altered more than a privateer in disguise, since 
 she has got on her woman's duds, if she will take offence 
 with an old fellow for the small matter of lighting a few 
 candles." 
 
 Elizabeth and her father continued silent, for both ex- 
 perienced the same sensation on entering the hall. The 
 former had resided one year in the building before she left 
 home for school, and the figure of its lamented mistress 
 was missed by both husband and child. 
 
 But candles had been placed in the chandeliers and lus- 
 tres, and the attendants were so far recovered from surprise 
 as to recollect their use ; the oversight was immediately 
 remedied, and in a minute the apartment was in a blaze of 
 light. 
 
 The slight melancholy of our heroine and her father was 
 Danished by this brilliant interruption ; and the whole party 
 began to lay aside the numberless garments they had worn 
 n the air. 
 
 During this operation Richard kept up a desultory dia- 
 logue with the different domestics, occasionally throwing 
 out a remark to the Judge concerning the deer ; but as his 
 conversation at such moments was much like an accom- 
 paniment on a piano, a thing that is heard without being 
 attended to, we will not undertake the task of recording 
 his diffuse discourse. 
 
 The instant that Remarkable Pettibone had executed 
 her portion of the labor in illuminating, she returned to a 
 position near Elizabeth, with the apparent motive of re- 
 ceiving the clothes that the other threw aside, but in reality 
 to examine, with an air of curiosity not unmixed with 
 jealousy the appearance of the lady who was to supplant 
 her in the administration of their domestic economy. The 
 housekeeper felt a little appalled, when, after clocks, coats, 
 shawls, and socks had been taken off in succession, the large 
 black hood was removed, and the dark ringlets, shining 
 like the raven's wing, fell from her head, and left the sweet 
 but commanding features of the young lady exposed to 
 view. Nothing could be fairer and more spotless than the 
 forehead of Elizabeth, and preserve the appearance of life 
 and health. Her nose would have been called Grecia^ 
 but for a softly rounded swell, that gave in character to 
 
58 . THE PIONEERS. 
 
 the feature what it lost in beauty. Her mouth, at first 
 sight, seemed only made for love ; but, the instant that its 
 muscles moved, every expression that womanly dignity 
 could utter played around it with the flexibility of female 
 grace. It spoke not only to the ear, but to the eye. So 
 much, added to a form of exquisite proportions, rather full 
 and rounded for her years, and of the tallest medium 
 height, she inherited from her mother. Even the color of 
 her eye, the arched brows, and the long silken lashes, came 
 from the same source; but its expression was her father's. 
 Inert and composed, it was soft, benevolent, and attractive ; 
 but it could be roused, and that without much difficulty. 
 At such moments it was still beautiful, though it was a 
 little severe. As the last shawl fell aside, and she stood 
 dressed in a rich, blue, riding-habit, that fitted her form with 
 the nicest exactness ; her cheeks burning with roses, that 
 bloomed the richer for the heat of the hall, and her eyes 
 slightly suffused with moisture that rendered their ordinary 
 beauty more dazzling, and with every feature of her speak- 
 ing countenance illuminated by the lights that flared 
 around her, Remarkable felt that her own power had ended. 
 
 The business of unrobing had been simultaneous. Mar- 
 maduke appeared in a suit of plain, neat black ; Monsieur 
 Le Quoi, in a coat of snuff color, covering a vest of em- 
 broidery, with breeches, and silk stockings, and buckles 
 that were commonly thought to be of paste. Major Hart- 
 mann wore a coat of sky-blue, with large brass buttons, a 
 club wig, and boots ; and Mr. Richard Jones had set off 
 his dapper little form in a frock of bottle-green, with bul- 
 let-buttons, by one of which the sides were united over his 
 Well rounded-waist, opening above, so as to show a jacket 
 of red cloth, with an under-vest of flannel, faced with green 
 velvet, and below, so as to exhibit a pair of buckskin 
 breeches, with long, soiled, white top-boots, and spurs ; one 
 of the latter a little bent, from its recent attacks on the 
 stool. 
 
 When the young lady had extricated herself from her gar- 
 ments, she was at liberty to gaze -about her, and to examine 
 not only the household over which she was to preside, but 
 also the air and manner in which the domestic arrange- 
 ments were conducted. Although there was much incon- 
 gruity in the furniture and appearance of the hall, there 
 Was nothing mean. The floor was carpeted, even in its re- 
 motest corners. The brass candlesticks, the gilt lustres. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 59 
 
 and the glass chandeliers, whatever might be their keeping 
 as to propriety and taste, were admirably kept as to aM the 
 purposes of use and comfort. They were clean and glitter- 
 ing in the strong light of the apartment. Compared with 
 the chill aspect ot the December night without, the warmth 
 and brilliancy of the apartment produced an effect that 
 was not unlike enchantment. Her eye had not time to de- 
 tect, in detail, the little errors, which, in truth existed, but 
 was glancing around her in delight, when an object arrested 
 her view, that was in strong contrast to the smiling faces 
 and neatly attired personages who had thus assembled to 
 do honor to the heiress of Templeton. 
 
 In a corner of the hall near the grand entrance, stood 
 the young hunter, unnoticed, and for the moment appar- 
 ently forgotten. But even the forgetfulness of the Judge, 
 which, under the influence of strong emotion, had banished 
 the recollection of the wound of this stranger, seemed sur- 
 passed by the absence of mind in the youth himself. On 
 entering the apartment, he had mechanically lifted his cap, 
 and exposed a head covered with hair that rivalled, in 
 color and gloss, the locks of Elizabeth. Nothing could 
 have wrought a greater transformation than the single act 
 of removing the rough foxskin cap. If there was much 
 that was prepossessing in the countenance of the young 
 hunter, there was something even noble in the rounded 
 outlines of his head and brow. The very air and manner 
 with which the member haughtily maintained itself over 
 the coarse and even wild attire in which the rest of his 
 frame was clad, bespoke not only familiarity with a splen- 
 dor that in those new settlements was thought to be une- 
 qualled, but something very like contempt also. 
 
 The hand that held the cap rested lightly on the little 
 ivory-mounted piano of Elizabeth, with neither rustic re- 
 straint nor obtrusive vulgarity. A single finger touched 
 the instrument, as if accustomed to dwell on such places. 
 His other arm was extended to its utmost length, and the 
 hand grasped the barrel of his long rifle with something 
 like convulsive energy. The act and the attitude were 
 both involuntary, and evidently proceeded from a feeling 
 much deeper than that of vulgar surprise. His appear- 
 ance, connected as it was with the rough exterior of his 
 dress, rendered him entirely distinct from the busy group 
 that were moving across the other end of the long hall; 
 occupied in receiving the travellers and exchanging their 
 
60 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 welcomes ; and Elizabeth continued to gaze at him in 
 wonder. The contraction of the stranger's brows increased 
 as his eyes moved slowly from one object to another. For 
 moments the expression of his countenance was fierce, and 
 then again it seemed to pass away in some painful emotion. 
 The arm that was extended bent, and brought the hand 
 nigh to his face, when his head dropped upon it, and con- 
 cealed the wonderfully speaking lineaments. 
 
 "We forget, dear sir, the strange gentleman" (for her 
 life, Elizabeth could not call him otherwise), " whom we 
 have brought here for assistance, and to whom we owe 
 every attention." 
 
 All eyes were instantly turned in the direction of those 
 of the speaker, and the youth rather proudly elevated his 
 head again, while he answered : 
 
 "My wound is trifling, and I believe that Judge Temple 
 sent for a physician the moment w r e arrived." 
 
 "Certainly," said Marmaduke ; "I have not forgotten 
 the object of thy visit, young man, nor the nature of my 
 debt." 
 
 " Oh ! " exclaimed Richard, with something of a waggish 
 leer, "thou owest the lad for the venison, I suppose, that 
 thou killed, cousin 'duke ! Marmaduke ! Marmaduke ! 
 That was a marvellous tale of thine about the buck.' 
 Here, young man, are two dollars for the deer, and Judge 
 Temple can do no less than pay the doctor. I shall charge 
 you nothing for my services, but you shall not fare the 
 worst for that. Come, come, 'duke don't be down-hearted 
 about it ; if you missed the buck, you contrived to shoot 
 this poor fellow through a pine-tree. Now I own that you 
 have beat me : I never did such a thing in all my life." 
 
 "And I hope never will," returned the Judge, " if you 
 are to experience the uneasiness that I have suffered ; but 
 be of good cheer, my young friend, the injury must be 
 small, as thou movest thy arm with apparent freedom." 
 
 " Don't make the matter worse, 'duke, by pretending to 
 talk about surgery," interrupted Mr. Jones, with a con- 
 temptuous wave of the hand ; " it is a science that can only 
 be learned by practice. You know that my grandfather 
 was a doctor, but you haven't got a drop of medical blood 
 in your veins. These kind of things run in families. All 
 my family by my father's side had a knack at physic. 
 There was my uncle that was killed at Brandy wine he 
 died as easy again as any other man in the regiment, just 
 
THE PIONEERS. 61 
 
 from knowing how to hold his breath naturally. Few men 
 know how to breathe naturally." 
 
 " I doubt not, Dickon," returned the Judge, meeting the 
 bright smile which, in spite of himself, stole over the 
 stranger's features, " that thy family thoroughly under- 
 stood the art of letting life slip through their fingers." 
 
 Richard heard him quite coolly, and putting a hand in 
 either pocket of his surtout, so as to press forward the 
 skirts, began to whistle a tune ; but the desire to reply, 
 overcame his philosophy, and with great heat he ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 11 You may affect to smile, Judge Temple, at hereditary 
 virtues, if you please ; but there is not a man on your Pat- 
 ent who don't know better. Here, even this young man, 
 who has never seen anything but bears, and deer, and 
 woodchucks, knows better than to believe virtues are not 
 transmitted in families. Don't you, friend ? " 
 
 " I believe that vice is not," said the stranger abruptly 
 his eye glancing from the father to the daughter. 
 
 "The squire is right, Judge," observed Benjamin, with 
 a knowing nod of his head toward Richard, that bespoke 
 the cordiality between them. " Now, in the old country, 
 the king's majesty touches for the evil, and that is a dis- 
 order that the greatest doctor in the fleet, or for the matter 
 of that, admiral either, can't cure ; only the king's majesty 
 or a man that's been hanged. Yes, the squire is right ; for 
 if-so-be that he wasn't, how is it that the seventh son al- 
 ways is a doctor, whether he ships for the cockpit or not ? 
 Now when we fell in with the mounsheers, under De 
 Grasse, d'ye see, we had aboard of us a doctor " 
 
 " Very well, Benjamin," interrupted Elizabeth glancing 
 her eyes from the hunter to Monsieur Le Quoi, who was 
 most politely attending to what fell from each individual 
 in succession, " you shall tell me of that, and all your en- 
 tertaining adventures together ; just now, a r,oom must be 
 prepared, in which the arm of this gentleman can be 
 dressed." 
 
 " I will attend to that myself, Cousin Elizabeth," observed 
 Richard, somewhat haughtily. " The young man will not 
 suffer because Marmaduke chooses to be a little obstinate. 
 Follow me, my friend, and I will examine the hurt myself." 
 
 " It will be well to wait for the physician," said the hun- 
 ter, coldly ; " he cannot be distant." 
 
 Richard paused and looked at the speaker, a little aston- 
 
62 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 ished at the language, and a good deal appalled at the re* 
 fusal. He construed the latter into an act of hostility, and, 
 placing his hands in the pockets again, he walked up to 
 Mr. Grant, and, putting his face close to the countenance 
 of the divine, said in an undertone : 
 
 " Now, mark my words there will be a story among the 
 settlers, that all our necks would have been broken but for 
 that fellow as if I did not know how to drive. Why, you 
 might have turned the horses yourself, sir ; nothing was 
 easier ; it was only pulling hard on the nigh rein, and 
 touching the off flank of the leader. I hope, my dear sir, 
 you are not at all hurt by the upset the lad gave us ? " 
 
 The reply was interrupted by the entrance of the village 
 physician. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 "And about his shelves, 
 
 A beggarly account of empty boxes. 
 
 Green earthen pots, bladders, and musty seeds, 
 
 Remnants of packthread, and old cakes of roses, 
 
 Were thinly scattered to make up a show." SHAKESPEARE. 
 
 DOCTOR ELNATHAN TODD, for such was the name of the 
 man of physic, was commonly thought to be, among the 
 settlers, a gentleman of great mental endowments, and he 
 was assuredly of rare personal proportions. In height he 
 measured, without his shoes, exactly six feet and four 
 inches. His hands, feet, and knees, corresponded in every 
 respect with this formidable stature ; but every other part 
 of his frame appeared to have been intended for a man 
 several sizes smaller, if we except the length of the limbs. 
 His shoulders were square, in one sense at least, being in 
 a right line from one side to the other ; but they were so 
 narrow, that the long dangling arms they supported seemed 
 to issue out of his back. His neck possessed, in an emi- 
 nent degree, the property of length to which we have 
 alluded, and it was topped by a small bullet-head that ex- 
 hibited, on one side a bush of bristling brown hair, and on 
 the other a short, twinkling visage, that appeared to main- 
 tain a constant struggle with itself in order to look wise. 
 He was the youngest son of a farmer in the western part 
 of Massachusetts, who, being in somewhat easy circum- 
 stances, had allowed this boy to shoot up to the height we 
 
THE PIONEERS. 63 
 
 have mentioned, without the ordinary interruptions of 
 field-labor, wood-chopping, and such other toils as were 
 imposed on his brothers. Elnathan was indebted for this 
 exemption from labor in some measure to his extraordi- 
 nary growth, which, leaving him pale, inanimate, and list- 
 less, induced his tender mother to pronounce him " a sickly 
 boy, and one that was not equal to work, but who might 
 earn a living comfortably enough, by taking to pleading 
 law, or turning minister, or doctoring, or some such like 
 easy calling." Still, there was great uncertainty which of 
 these vocations the youth was best endowed to fill ; but, 
 having no other employment, the stripling was constantly 
 lounging about the " homestead," munching green apples, 
 and hunting for sorrel ; when the same sagacious eye that 
 had brought to light his latent talents, seized upon this 
 circumstance, as a clue to his future path through the 
 turmoils of the world. "Elnathan was cut out for a doc- 
 tor, she knew, for he was forever digging for herbs, and 
 tasting all kinds of things that grow'd about the lots. Then 
 again he had a natural love for doctor-stuff, for when she 
 had left the bilious pills out for her man, all nicely covered 
 with maple sugar, just ready to take, Nathan had come in 
 and swallowed them for all the world as if they were noth- 
 ing, while Ichabod (her husband) could never get one 
 down without making such desperate faces, that it was 
 awful to look on." 
 
 This discovery decided the matter. Elnathan, then 
 about fifteen, was, much like a wild colt, caught and 
 trimmed by clipping his bushy locks ; dressed in a suit of 
 homespun, dyed in the butternut bark ; furnished with a 
 " New Testament," and a " Webster's Spelling Book," and 
 sent to school. As the boy was by nature quite shrewd 
 enough, and had previously, at odd times, laid the founda- 
 tions of reading, writing, and arithmetic, he was soon con- 
 spicuous in the school for his learning. The delighted 
 mother had the gratification of hearing, from the lips of 
 the master, that her son was a " prodigious boy, and far 
 above all his class." He also thought that " the youth 
 had a natural love for doctoring, as he had known him 
 frequently advise the smaller children against eating too 
 much ; and, once or twice, when the ignorant little things 
 had persevered in opposition to Elnathan's advice, he had 
 known her son empty the school-baskets with his own 
 mouth, to prevent the consequences." 
 
64 THE PIONEERS, 
 
 Soon after this comfortable declaration from his school* 
 master, the lad was removed to the house of the village 
 doctor, a gentleman whose early career had not been un- 
 like that of our hero, where he was to be seen sometimes 
 watering a horse, at others wafering medicines, blue, yel- 
 low, and red ; then again he might be noticed lolling un- 
 der an apple-tree, with Ruddiman's Latin Grammar in his 
 hand, and a corner of Denman's Midwifery sticking out 
 of a pocket ; for his instructor held it absurd to teach his 
 pupil how to despatch a patient regularly from this world, 
 before he knew how to bring him into it. 
 
 This kind of life continued for a twelvemonth, when he 
 suddenly appeared at a meeting in a long coat (and well 
 did it deserve the name !) of black homespun, with little 
 bootees, bound with an uncolored calf-skin, for the want 
 of red morocco. 
 
 Soon after he was seen shaving with a dull razor. Three 
 or four months had scarce elapsed before several elderly 
 ladies were observed hastening toward the house of a poor 
 Woman iu the village, while others were running to and 
 fro in great apparent distress. One or two boys were 
 mounted, bareback, on horses, and sent off at speed in 
 Various directions. Several indirect questions were put 
 concerning the place where the physician was last seen ; 
 but all would not do ; and at length Elnathan was seen 
 issuing from his door with a very grave air, preceded by a 
 little white-headed boy, out of breath, trotting before him. 
 The following day the youth appeared in the street, as the 
 highway was called, and the neighborhood was much 
 edified by the additional gravity of his air. The same 
 week he bought a new razor ; and the succeeding Sunday 
 he entered the meeting-house with a red silk handkerchief 
 in his hand, and with an extremely demure countenance. 
 In the evening he called upon a young woman of his own 
 class in life, for there were no others to be found, and, 
 when he was left alone with the fair, he was called, for the 
 first time in his life, Dr. Todd, by her prudent mother. 
 The ice once broken in this manner, Elnathan was greeted 
 from every mouth with his official appellation. 
 
 Another year passed under the superintendence of the 
 same master, during which the young physician had the 
 credit of " riding with the old doctor," although they were 
 generally observed to travel different roads. At the end 
 of that period, Dr. Todd attained his legal majority. He 
 
THE PIONEERS. 65 
 
 then took a jaunt to Boston to purchase medicines, and, 
 as some intimated, to walk the hospital ; we know not 
 how the latter might have been, but, if true, he soon 
 walked through it, for he returned within a fortnight, 
 bringing with him a suspicious-looking box, that smelled 
 powerfully of brimstone. 
 
 The next Sunday he was married, and the following 
 morning he entered a one-horse sleigh with his bride, 
 having before him the box we have mentioned, with an- 
 other filled with home-made household linen, a paper- 
 covered trunk, with a red umbrella lashed to it, a pair of 
 quite new saddle-bags, and a bandbox. The next intelli- 
 gence that his friends received of the bride and bride- 
 groom was, that the latter was " settled in the new coun- 
 tries, and well to do as a doctor in Templeton, in York 
 State!" 
 
 If a Templar would smile at the qualifications of Mar- 
 maduke to fill the judicial seat he occupied, we are certain 
 that a graduate of Leyden or Edinburgh would be extreme- 
 ly amused with this true narration of the servitude of El- 
 nathan in the temple of ^Esculapius. But the same conso- 
 lation was afforded to both the jurist and the leech ; for 
 Dr. Todd was quite as much on a level with his compeers 
 of the profession in that country, as was Marmaduke with 
 his brethren on the bench. 
 
 Time and practice did wonders for the physician. He 
 was naturally humane, but possessed of no small share of 
 moral courage ; or, in other words, he was chary of the 
 lives of his patients, and never tried uncertain experi- 
 ments on such members of society as w r ere considered use- 
 ful ; but, once or twice, when a luckless vagrant had come 
 under his care, he was a little addicted to trying the effects 
 of every phial in his saddle-bags on the stranger's consti- 
 tution. Happily their number was small, and in most 
 cases their natures innocent. By these means Elnathan 
 had acquired a certain degree of knowledge in fevers and 
 agues, and could talk with judgment concerning inter- 
 mittents, remittents, tertians, quotidians, etc. In certain 
 cutaneous disorders very prevalent in new settlements, he 
 was considered to be infallible ; and there was no woman 
 on the Patent but would as soon think of becoming a 
 mother without a husband as without the assistance of Dr. 
 Todd. In short, he was rearing, on this foundation of 
 sand, a superstructure cemented by practice, though com' 
 
66 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 posed of somewhat brittle materials. He, however, occa- 
 sionally renewed his elementary studies, and, with the 
 observation of a shrewd mind, was comfortably applying 
 his practice to his theory. 
 
 In surgery, having the least experience, and it being a 
 business that spoke directly to the senses, he was most apt 
 to distrust his own powers ; but he had applied oils to 
 several burns, cut round the roots of sundry defective 
 teeth, and sewed up the wounds of numberless wood- 
 choppers, with considerable c'clat, when an unfortunate 
 jobber* suffered a fracture of his leg by the tree that he 
 had been felling. It was on this occasion that our hero 
 encountered the greatest trial his nerves and moral feel- 
 ing had ever sustained. In the hour of need, however, he 
 was not found wanting. Most of the amputations in the 
 new settlements, and they were quite frequent, were per- 
 formed by some one practitioner who, possessing origin- 
 ally a reputation, was enabled by this circumstance to ac- 
 quire an experience that rendered him deserving of it ; 
 and Elnathan had been present at one or two of these 
 operations. But on the present occasion the man of prac- 
 tice was not to be obtained, and the duty fell, as a matter 
 of course, to the share of Mr. Todd. He went to work 
 with a kind of blind desperation, observing, at the same 
 time, all the externals of decent gravity and great skill. 
 The sufferer's name was Milligan, and it w r as to this event 
 that Richard alluded, when he spoke of assisting the doc- 
 tor at an amputation by holding the leg ! The limb was 
 certainly cut off, and the patient survived the operation. 
 It was, however, two years before poor Milligan ceased to 
 complain, that they had buried the leg in so narrow a box 
 that it was straitened for room ; he could feel the pain 
 shooting up from the inhumed fragment into the living 
 members. Marmaduke suggested that the fault might lie 
 in the arteries and nerves ; but Richard, considering the 
 amputation as part of his own handiwork, strongly re- 
 pelled the insinuation, at the same time declaring that he 
 had often heard of men who could tell when it was about 
 to rain, by the toes of amputated limbs. After two or 
 three years, notwithstanding, Milligan's complaints gradu- 
 ally diminished, the leg was dug up, and a larger box fur- 
 nished, and from that hour no one had heard the sufferer 
 utter another complaint on the subject. This gave the 
 * People who clear land by the acre or job are thus called. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 67 
 
 public great confidence in Dr. Todd, whose reputation 
 was hourly increasing, and luckily for his patients, his in- 
 formation also. 
 
 Notwithstanding Dr. Todd's practice, and his success 
 with the leg, he was not a little appalled on entering the 
 hall of the mansion-house. It was glaring with the light 
 of day; it looked so imposing, compared with the hastily 
 built and scantily furnished apartments which he fre- 
 quented in his ordinary practice, and contained so many 
 well-dressed persons and anxious faces, that his usually 
 firm nerves were a good deal discomposed. He had heard 
 from the messenger who summoned him, that it was a gun- 
 shot wound, and had come from his own home, wading 
 through the snow, with his saddle-bags thrown over his 
 arm, while separated arteries, penetrated lungs, and in- 
 jured vitals were whirling through his brain, as if he were 
 stalking over -a field of battle, instead of Judge Temple's 
 peaceable enclosure. 
 
 The first object that met his eye, as he moved into the 
 room, was Elizabeth in her riding-habit, richly laced with 
 gold cord, her fine form bending toward him, and her face 
 expressing deep anxiety in every one of its beautiful fea- 
 tures. The enormous bony knees of the physician struck 
 each other with a noise that was audible ; for, in the ab- 
 sent state of his mind, he mistook her for a general officer, 
 perforated with bullets, hastening from the field of battle 
 to implore assistance. The delusion, however, was but 
 momentary, and his eye glanced rapidly from the daughter 
 to the earnest dignity of the father's countenance ; thence 
 to the busy strut of Richard, who was cooling his impa- 
 tience at the hunter's indifference to his assistance, by 
 pacing the hall and cracking his whip ; from him to the 
 Frenchman, who had stood for several minutes unheeded 
 with a chair for the lady ; thence to Major Hartmann, who 
 was very coolly lighting a pipe three feet long by a candle 
 in one of the chandeliers ; thence to Mr. Grant, who was 
 turning over a manuscript with much earnestness at one 
 of the lustres ; thence to Remarkable, who stood, with her 
 arms demurely folded before her, surveying, with a look 
 of admiration and envy, the dress and beauty of the young 
 lady ; and from her to Benjamin, who, with his feet stand- 
 ing wide apart, and his arms a-kimbo, was balancing his 
 square little body with the indifference of one who is ac- 
 customed to wounds and bloodshed. All of these seemed 
 
68 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 to be unhurt, and the operator began to breathe more 
 freely ; but, before he had time to take a second look, the 
 Judge, advancing, shook him kindly by the hand, and 
 spoke. 
 
 " Thou art welcome, my good sir, quite welcome, indeed ; 
 here is a youth whom I have unfortunately wounded in 
 shooting a deer this evening, and who requires some of 
 thy assistance." 
 
 "Shooting at a deer, 'duke," interrupted Richard 
 " shooting at a deer. Who do you think can prescribe, 
 unless he knows the truth of the case ? It is always so 
 with some people ; they think a doctor can be deceived 
 with the same impunity as another man." 
 
 " Shooting at a deer, truly," returned the Judge, smiling, 
 " although it is by no means certain that I did not aid in 
 destroying the buck ; but the youth is injured by my hand, 
 be that as it may ; and it is thy skill that must cure him, 
 and my pocket shall amply reward thee for it." 
 
 " Two ver good tings to depend on," observed Monsieur 
 Le Quoi, bowing politely, with a sweep of his head, to the 
 Judge and to the practitioner. 
 
 "I thank you, monsieur," returned the Judge ; "but we 
 keep the young man in pain. Remarkable, thou wilt please 
 to provide linen for lint and bandages." 
 
 This remark caused a cessation of the compliments, and 
 induced the physician to turn an inquiring eye in the di- 
 rection of' his patient. During the dialogue the young- 
 hunter had thrown aside his overcoat, and now stood clad 
 in a plain suit of the common, light-colored homespun of 
 the country, that was evidently but recently made. His 
 hand was oji the lapels of his coat, in the attitude of remov- 
 ing the garment, when he suddenly suspended the move- 
 ment, and looked toward the commiserating Elizabeth, 
 who was standing in an unchanged posture, too much ab- 
 sorbed with her anxious feelings to heed his actions. A 
 slight color appeared on the brow of the youth. 
 
 " Possibly the sight of blood may alarm the lady ; I will 
 retire to another room while the wound is dressing." 
 
 " By no means," said Dr. Todd, who, having discovered 
 that his patient was far from being a man of importance, 
 felt much emboldened to perform the duty. " The strong 
 light of these candles is favorable to the operation, and it 
 is seldom that we hard students enjoy good eyesight." 
 
 While speaking, Elnathan placed a pair of large iron- 
 
THE PIONEERS. 6 9 
 
 rimmed spectacles on his face, where they dropped, as it 
 were by long practice, to the extremity of his slim pug 
 nose ; and, if they were of n"o service as assistants to his 
 eyes, neither were they any impediment to his vision ; for 
 his little gray organs were twinkling above them, like two 
 stars emerging from the envious cover of a cloud. The 
 action was unheeded by all but Remarkable, who observed 
 to Benjamin : 
 
 " Dr. Todd is a comely man to look on, and despu't 
 pretty. How well he seems in spectacles ! I declare, they 
 give a grand look to a body's face. I have quite a great 
 mind to try them myself." 
 
 The speech of the stranger recalled the recollection of 
 Miss Temple, who started, as if from deep abstraction, 
 and, coloring excessively, she motioned to a young woman 
 who served in the capacity of maid, and retired with an 
 air of womanly reserve. 
 
 The field was now left to the physician and his patient, 
 while the different personages who remained gathered 
 around the latter, with faces expressing the various de- 
 grees of interest that each one felt in his condition. Ma- 
 jor Hartmann alone retained his seat, where he continued 
 to throw out vast quantities of smoke, now rolling his eyes 
 up to the ceiling, as if musing on the uncertainty of life, 
 and now bending them on the wounded man, with an ex- 
 pression that bespoke some consciousness of his situation. 
 
 In the meantime Elnathan, to whom the sight of a gun- 
 shot wound was a perfect novelty, commenced his prepa- 
 rations with a solemnity and care that were worthy of the 
 occasion. An old shirt was procured by Benjamin, and 
 placed in the hand of the other, who tore divers bandages 
 from it, with an exactitude that marked both his own skill 
 and the importance of the operation. 
 
 When this preparatory measure was taken, Dr. Todd se- 
 lected a piece of the shirt with great care, and handing it 
 to Mr. Jones, without moving a muscle, said : 
 
 " Here, Squire Jones, you are well acquainted with these 
 tilings ; will you please to scrape the lint ? It should be 
 fine and soft, you know, my dear sir ; and be cautious that 
 no cotton gets in, or it may p'izen the wound. The shirt 
 has been made with cotton thread, but you can easily pick 
 it out." 
 
 Richard assumed the office, with a nod at his cousin, 
 that said quite plainly "You see this fellow can't get 
 
70 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 along without me ;" and began to scrape the linen on his 
 knee with great diligence. 
 
 A table was now spread with phials, boxes of salve, and 
 divers surgical instruments. As the latter appeared in 
 succession, from a case of red morocco, their owner held 
 up each implement to the strong light of the chandelier, 
 near to which he stood, and examined it with the nicest 
 care. A red silk handkerchief was frequently applied to 
 the glittering steel, as if to remove from the polished sur- 
 faces the least impediment which might exist to the most 
 delicate operation. After the rather scantily furnished 
 pocket-case which contained these instruments was ex- 
 hausted, the physician turned to his saddle-bags, and pro- 
 duced various phials, filled with liquids of the most radiant 
 colors. These were arranged in due order,. by the side of 
 the murderous saws, knives, and scissors, when Elnathan 
 stretched his long body to its utmost elevation, placing his 
 hand on the small of his back, as if for support, and looked 
 about him to discover what effect this display of professional 
 skill was likely to produce on the spectators. 
 
 " Upon my wort, toctor," observed Major Hartmann, 
 with a roguish roll of his little black eyes, but with every 
 other feature of his face in a state of perfect rest, " put you 
 have a very pretty pocket-book of tools tere, and your 
 toctor-stuff glitters as if it was petter for ter eyes as for 
 ter pelly." 
 
 Elnathan gave a hem one that might have been equal- 
 ly taken for that kind of noise which cowards are said to 
 make in order to awaken their dormant courage, or for a 
 natural effort to clear the throat ; if for the latter it was 
 successful ; for, turning his face to the veteran German, 
 he said : 
 
 " Very true, Major Hartmann, very true, sir ; a prudent 
 mnn will always Strive to make his remedies agreeable to 
 the eyes, though they may not altogether suit the stomach. 
 It is no small part of our art, sir," and he now spoke with 
 the confidence of a man who understood his subject, " to 
 reconcile the patient to what is for his own good, though 
 at the same time it may be unpalatable." 
 
 " Sartain ! Dr. Todd is right," said Remarkable, " and has 
 Scripter for what he says. The Bible tells us how things 
 may be sweet to the mouth, and bitter to the inwards." 
 
 " True, true," interrupted the Judge, a little impatiently ; 
 " but here is a youth who needs no deception to lure him 
 
THE PIONEERS. 71 
 
 to his own benefit. I see, by his eye, that he fears nothing 
 more than delay." 
 
 The stranger had, without assistance, bared his own 
 shoulder, when the slight perforation produced by the 
 passage of the buck-shot was plainly visible. The intense 
 cold of the evening had stopped the bleeding, and Dr. 
 Todd, casting a furtive glance at the wound,' thought it by 
 no means so formidable an affair as he had anticipated. 
 Thus encouraged, he approached his patient, and made 
 some indication of an intention to trace the route that had 
 been taken by the lead. 
 
 Remarkable often found occasions, in after days, to 
 recount the minutiae of that celebrated operation ; and 
 when she arrived at this point she commonly proceeded as 
 follows : " And then the doctor tuck out of the pocket-book 
 a long thing, like a knitting-needle, with a button fastened 
 to the end on't ; and then he pushed it into the wownd ; 
 and then the young man looked awful ; and then I thought 
 I should have swaned away I felt in sitch a dispu't tak- 
 ing ; and then the doctor had run it .right through his 
 shoulder, and shoved the bullet out on t'other side ; and so 
 Dr. Todd cured the young man of a ball that the Judge 
 had shot into him for all the world as easy as I could pick 
 out a splinter with my darning-needle." 
 
 Such were the impressions of Remarkable on the sub- 
 ject ; and such doubtless were the opinions of most of 
 those who felt it necessary to entertain a species of relig- 
 ious veneration for the skill of Elnathan ; but such was far 
 from the truth. 
 
 When the physician attempted to introduce the instru- 
 ment described by Remarkable, he was repulsed by the 
 stranger, w r ith a good deal of decision, and some little con- 
 tempt, in his manner. 
 
 " I believe, sir," he said, "that a probe is not necessary; 
 the shot has missed the bone, and has passed directly 
 through the arm to the opposite side, where it remains 
 but skin deep, and whence, I should think, it might be 
 easily extracted." 
 
 " The gentleman knows best," said Dr. Todd, laying down 
 the probe with the air of a man who had assumed it mere- 
 ly in compliance with forms ; and, turning to Richard, he 
 fingered the lint with the appearance of great care and 
 foresight. " Admirably well scraped, Squire Jones ! it is 
 about the best lint I have ever seen. I want your assist- 
 
7 2 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 ance, my good sir, to hold the patient's arm while I make 
 an incision for the ball. Now, 1 rather guess there is not 
 another gentleman present who could scrape the lint so 
 well as Squire Jones ! " 
 
 " Such things run in families," observed Richard, rising 
 with alacrity to render the desired assistance. " My father, 
 and my grandfather before him, were both celebrated for 
 their knowledge of surgery ; they were not, like Marma- 
 duke here, puffed up with an accidental thing, such as 
 the time when he drew in the hip-joint of the man 
 who was thrown from his horse ; that was the fall before 
 you came into the settlement, doctor ; but they were men 
 who were taught the thing regularly, spending half their 
 lives in learning those little niceties ; though, for the mat- 
 ter of that, my grandfather was a college-bred physician, 
 and the best in the colony, too that is, in his neighbor- 
 hood." 
 
 " So it goes with the world, squire," cried Benjamin, 
 "if so be that a man wants to walk the quarter-deck with 
 credit, d'ye see, and with regular built swabs on his 
 shoulders, he mustn't think to do it by getting in at the 
 cabin windows. There are two ways to get into a top, be- 
 sides the lubber-holes. The true way to walk aft is to be- 
 gin forrard ; tho'f it be only in a humble way, like myself, 
 d'ye see, which was, from being only a hander of top-gal- 
 lant sails, and a stower of the flying-jib, to keeping the key 
 of the captain's locker." 
 
 "Benjamin speaks quite to the purpose," continued 
 Richard.. " I dare say that he has often seen shot extract- 
 ed in the different ships in which he has served ; suppose 
 we get him to hold the basin ; he must be used to the 
 sight of blood." 
 
 "That he is, squire, that he is," interrupted the ci-de- 
 vant steward ; " many's the good shot, round, double- 
 headed, and grape, that I've seen the doctors at work on. 
 For the matter of that, I was in a boat, alongside the ship, 
 when they cut out the twelve-pound shot from the thigh of 
 the captain of the Foodyrong, one of Mounsheer Ler 
 Quaw's countrymen ! "* 
 
 " A twelve-pound ball from the thigh of a human being ?" 
 exclaimed Mr. Grant, with great simplicity, dropping the 
 
 * It is possible that the reader may start at this declaration of Benjamin, 
 but those who have lived in the new settlements of America are too much 
 accustomed to hear of these European exploits "to doubt it. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 73 
 
 sermon he was again reading, and raising his spectacles to 
 the top of his forehead. 
 
 " A twelve-pounder!" echoed Benjamin, staring around 
 him with much confidence; "a twelve-pounder! ay! a 
 twentjfc-four pound shot can easily be taken from a man's 
 body, if so be a doctor only knows how. There's Squire 
 Jones, now, ask him, sir ; he reads all the books ; ask him 
 if he never fell in with a page that keeps the reckoning of 
 such things." 
 
 " Certainly, more important operations than that have 
 been performed," observed Richard; "the encyclopaedia 
 mentions much more incredible circumstances than that, 
 as, I daresay, you know, Dr. Todd." 
 
 " Certainly, there are incredible tales told in the ency- 
 clopaedias," returned Elnathan, " though I cannot say that 
 I have ever seen, myself, anything larger than a musket 
 ball extracted." 
 
 During this discourse an incision had been made through 
 the skin of the young hunter's shoulder, and the lead was 
 laid bare. Elnathan took a pair of glittering forceps, and 
 was in the act of applying them to the wound, when a 
 sudden motion of the patient caused the shot to fall out of 
 itself. The long arm and broad hand of the operator were 
 now of singular service ; for the latter expanded itself, and 
 caught the lead, while at the same time an extremely am- 
 biguous motion was made by its brother, so as to leave it 
 doubtful to the spectators how great was its agency in re- 
 leasing the shot. Richard, however, put the matter at rest 
 by exclaiming : 
 
 " Very neatly done, doctor ! I have never seen a shot 
 more neatly extracted ; and, I dare say, Benjamin will say 
 the same." 
 
 "Why, considering," returned Benjamin, "I must say 
 that it was ship-shape and Brister-fashion. Now all that 
 the doctor has to do, is to clap a couple of plugs in the 
 holes, and the lad will float in any gale that blows in these 
 here hills." 
 
 " I thank you, sir, for what you have done," said the 
 youth, with a little distance ; " but here is a man who will 
 take me under his care, and spare you all, gentlemen, any 
 further trouble on my account." 
 
 The whole group turned their heads in surprise, and be- 
 held, standing at one of the distant doors of the hall, the 
 person of Indian John. 
 
74 THE PIONEERS, 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 " From Susquehanna's utmost springs, 
 
 Where savage tribes pursue their game, 
 His blanket tied with yellow strings, 
 The shepherd of the forest came." FRENEAU. 
 
 BEFORE the Europeans, or, to use a more significant 
 term, the Christians, dispossessed the original owners of 
 the soil, all that section of country which contains the 
 New England States, and those of the Middle which lie 
 east of the mountains, was occupied by two great nations 
 of Indians, from whom had descended numberless tribes. 
 But, as the original distinctions between these nations were 
 marked by a difference in language, as well as by repeated 
 and bloody wars, they were never known to amalgamate, 
 until after the power and inroads of the whites had reduced 
 some of the tribes to a state of dependence, that rendered 
 not only their political, but, considering the wants and 
 habits of a savage, their animal existence also, extremely 
 precarious. 
 
 These two great divisions consisted on the one side, of 
 the Five, or, as they were afterward called, the Six Na- 
 tions, and their allies ; and, on the other, of the Lenni Le- 
 nape, or Delawares, with the numerous and powerful tribes 
 that owned that nation as their grandfather. The former 
 were generally called, by the Anglo-Americans, Iroquois, 
 or the Six Nations, and sometimes Mingoes. Their appel- 
 lation, among their rivals, seems generally to have been 
 the Mengwe, or Maqua. They consisted of the tribes, or, 
 as their allies were fond of asserting, in order to raise their 
 consequence, of the several nations of the Mohawks, the 
 Oneidas, the Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas ; who 
 ranked, in the confederation, in the order in which they 
 are named. The Tuscaroras were admitted to this union, 
 near a century after its formation, and thus completed the 
 number of six. 
 
 Of the Lenni Lenape, or as they were called by the 
 whites, from the circumstances of their holding their great 
 council-fire on the banks of that river, the Delaware na- 
 tion, the principal tribes, besides that which bore the gen- 
 eric name, were the Mahicanni, Mohicans, or Mohegans, 
 and the Nanticokes, or Nentigoes. Of these the latter 
 
THE^PIONEERS. 75 
 
 held the country, along the waters of the Chesapeake and 
 the sea-shore ; while the Mohegans occupied the district 
 between the Hudson and the ocean, including much of 
 New England. Of course these two tribes were the first 
 who were dispossessed of their lands by the Europeans. 
 
 The wars of a portion of the latter are celebrated among 
 us, as the wars of King Philip ; but the peaceful policy of 
 William Penn, or Miquon, as he was termed by the natives, 
 effected its object with less difficulty, though not with less 
 certainty. As the natives gradually disappeared from the 
 country of the Mohegans, some scattering families sought 
 a refuge around the council-fire of the mother tribe, or the 
 De la wares. 
 
 This people had been induced to suffer themselves to 
 be called women, by their old enemies, the Mingoes, or 
 Iroquois, after the latter, having in vain tried the effects of 
 hostility, had recourse to artifice, in order to prevail over 
 their rivals. According to this declaration, the Delawares 
 were to cultivate the arts of peace, and to intrust their 
 defence entirely to the men, or warlike tribes of the Six 
 Nations. 
 
 This state of things continued until the war of the Revo- 
 lution, when the Lenni Lenape formally asserted their inde- 
 pendence, and fearlessly declared that they were again 
 men. But, in a government so peculiarly republican as 
 the Indian polity, it was not at all times an easy task to 
 restrain its members within the rules of the nation. Several 
 fierce and renowned warriors of the Mohegans, finding 
 the conflict with the whites to be in vain, sought a refuge 
 with their grandfather, and brought with them the feelings 
 and principles that had so long distinguished them in their 
 own tribe. These chieftains kept alive, in some measure, 
 the martial spirit of the Delawares ; and would, at times, 
 lead small parties against their ancient enemies, or such 
 other foes as incurred their resentment. 
 
 Among these warriors was one race particularly famous 
 for their prowess, and for those qualities that render an 
 Indian hero celebrated. But war, time, disease, and want 
 had conspired to thin their number ; and the sole represen- 
 tative of this once renowned family now stood in the hall 
 of Marmaduke Temple. He had for a long time been an 
 associate of the white men, particularly in their wars, and 
 having been, at the season when his services were of im* 
 portance, much noticed and flattered, he had turned Chris- 
 
76 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 tian, and was baptized by the name of John. He had 
 suffered severely in his family during the recent war, hav- 
 ing had every soul to whom he was allied cut off by an in- 
 road of the enemy ; and when the last lingering remnant 
 of his nation extinguished their fires, among the hills of 
 the Delaware, he alone had remained, with a determina- 
 tion of laying his bones in that country where his fathers 
 had so long lived and governed. 
 
 It was only, however, within a few months, that he had 
 appeared among the mountains that surrounded Temple- 
 ton. To the hut of the old hunter he seemed peculiarly 
 welcome ; and, as the habits of the Leather-Stocking were 
 so nearly assimilated to those of the savages, the conjunc- 
 tion of their interests excited no surprise. They resided 
 in the same cabin, ate of the same food, and were chiefly 
 occupied in the same pursuits. 
 
 We have already mentioned the baptismal name of this 
 ancient chief ; but in his conversation with Natty, held in 
 the language of the Delawares, he was heard uniformly to 
 call himself Chingachgook, which, interpreted, means the 
 " Great Snake." This name he had acquired in his youth, 
 by his skill and prowess in war ; but when his brows be- 
 gan to wrinkle with time, and he stood alone, the last of 
 his family, and his particular tribe, the few Delawares, 
 who yet continued about the head-waters of their river, 
 gave him the mournful appellation of Mohegan. Perhaps 
 there was something of deep feeling excited in the bosom 
 of this inhabitant of the forest by the sound of a name that 
 recalled the idea of his nation in ruins, for he seldom used 
 it himself never, indeed, excepting on the most solemn 
 occasions ; but the settlers had united, according to the 
 Christian custom, his baptismal with his national name, 
 and to them he was generally known as John Mohegan, or, 
 more familiarly, as Indian John. 
 
 From his long association with the white men, the habits 
 of Mohegan were ja. mixture of the civilized and savage 
 states, though there was certainly a strong preponderance 
 in favor of the latter. In common with all his people, who 
 dwelt within the influence of the Anglo-Americans, he had 
 acquired new wants, and his dress was a mixture of his 
 native and European fashions. Notwithstanding the in- 
 tense cold without, his head was uncovered ; but a profu- 
 sion of long, black, coarse hair concealed his forehead, his 
 crown, and even hung about his cheeks, so as to convey 
 
THE PIONEERS. 77 
 
 the idea, to one who knew his present and former condi- 
 tions, that he encouraged its abundance, as a willing veil, 
 to hide the shame of a noble soul, mourning for glory 
 once known. His forehead, when it could be seen, ap- 
 peared lofty, broad, and noble. His nose was high, and of 
 the kind called Roman, with nostrils that expanded, in his 
 seventieth year, with the freedom that had distinguished 
 them in youth. His mouth was large, but compressed, 
 and possessing a great share of expression and character , 
 and, when opened, it discovered a perfect set of short, 
 strong, and regular teeth. His chin was full, though not 
 prominent ; and his face bore the infallible mark of his 
 people, in its square, high cheek-bones. The eyes were not 
 large, but their black orbs glittered in the rays of the can- 
 dles, as he gazed intently down the hall, like two balls of 
 fire. 
 
 The instant that Mohegan observed himself to be noticed 
 by the group around the young stranger, he dropped the 
 blanket which covered the upper part of his frame, from 
 his shoulders, suffering it to fall over his leggins of un- 
 tanned deer-skin, where it was retained by a belt of bark 
 that confined it to his waist. 
 
 As he walked slowly down the long hall, the dignified 
 and deliberate tread of the Indian surprised the spectators. 
 His shoulders, and body to his waist, were entirely bare, 
 with the exception of a silver medallion of Washington, 
 that was suspended from his neck by a thong of buckskin, 
 and rested on his high chest, amid many scars. His shoul- 
 ders were rather broad and full ; but the arms, though 
 straight and graceful, wanted the muscular appearance 
 that labor gives to a race of men. The medallion was the 
 only ornament lie wore, although enormous slits in the rim 
 of either ear, which suffered the cartilages to fall two inches 
 below the members, had evidently been used for the pur- 
 poses of decoration in other days. In his hand he held a 
 small basket of the ash-wood slips, colored in divers fan- 
 tastical conceits, with red and black paints mingled with 
 the white of the wood. 
 
 As this child of the forest approached them, the whole 
 party stood aside, and allowed him to confront the object 
 of his visit. He did not speak, however,- but stood fixing 
 his glowing eyes on the shoulder of the young hunter, and 
 then turning them intently on the countenance of the 
 Judge. The latter was a good deal astonished at this un- 
 
78 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 usual departure from the ordinarily subdued and quiet 
 manner of the Indian ; but he extended his hand, and said: 
 
 " Thou art welcome, John. This youth entertains a high 
 opinion of thy skill, it seems, for he prefers thee to dress 
 his wound even to our good friend, Dr. Todd." 
 
 Mohegan now spoke, in tolerable English, but in a low, 
 monotonous, guttural tone : 
 
 " The children of Miquon do not love the sight of blood ; 
 and yet the Young Eagle has been struck by the hand that 
 should do no evil ! " 
 
 " Mohegan ! old John !" exclaimed the Judge, " think- 
 est thou that my hand has ever drawn human blood will- 
 ingly ? For shame ! for shame, old John ! thy religion 
 should have taught thee better." 
 
 "The evil spirit sometimes lives in the best heart," re- 
 turned John," but my brother speaks the truth ; his hand 
 has never taken life, when awake ; no ! not even when the 
 children of the great English Father were making the 
 waters red with the blood of his people." 
 
 " Surely, John," said Mr. Grant, with much earnestness, 
 "you remember the divine command of our Saviour, 
 'Judge not, lest ye be judged.' What motive could Judge 
 Temple have for injuring a youth like this ; one to whom 
 he is unknown, and from whom he can receive neither in- 
 jury nor favor ?" 
 
 John listened respectfully to the divine, and, when he 
 had concluded, he stretched out his arm, and said with 
 energy : 
 
 " He is innocent My brother has not done this." 
 
 Marmaduke received the offered hand of the other with 
 a smile, that showed, however he might be astonished at 
 his suspicion, he had ceased to resent it ; while the wounded 
 youth stood, gazing from his red friend to his host, with 
 interest powerfully delineated in his countenance. No 
 sooner was this act of pacification exchanged, than John 
 proceeded to discharge the duty on which he had come. 
 Dr. Todd was far from manifesting any displeasure at this 
 invasion of his rights, but made way for the new leech, 
 with an air that expressed a willingness to gratify the 
 humors of his patient, now that the all-important part of 
 the business was so successfully performed, and nothing 
 remained to be done but what any child might effect. In- 
 deed, he whispered as much to Monsieur Le Quoi, whey 
 be said : 
 
THE PIONEERS. 79 
 
 " It was fortunate that the ball was extracted before this. 
 Indian came in ; but any old woman can dress the wound. 
 The young man, I hear, lives with John and Natty Bumppo, 
 and it's always best to humor a patient, when it can be done 
 discreetly I say, discreetly, monsieur." 
 
 " Certainement," returned the Frenchman ; " you seem 
 ver happy, Mister Todd, in your pratique. I tink the 
 elder lady might ver well finish vat you so skeelfully be- 
 gin." 
 
 But Richard had, at the bottom, a great deal of venera- 
 tion for the knowledge of Mohegan, especially in external 
 wounds ; and, retaining all his desire for a participation 
 in glory, he advanced nigh the Indian, and said : 
 
 " Sago, sago, Mohegan ! sago, my good fellow ! I am 
 glad you have come ; give me a regular physician, like 
 Dr. Todd to cut into flesh, and a native to heal the wound. 
 Do you remember, John, the time when I and you set the 
 bone of Natty Bumppo's little finger, after he broke it by 
 falling from the rock, when he was trying to get the par- 
 tridge that fell on the cliffs. I never could tell yet, whether 
 it was I or Natty who killed that bird : he fired first, and 
 the bird stooped, and then it was rising again as I pulled 
 trigger. I should have claimed it for a certainty, but Natty 
 said the hole was too big for shot, and he fired a single 
 ball from his rifle ; but the piece I carried then didn't 
 scatter, and I have known it to bore a hole through a 
 board, when I've been shooting at a mark, very much like 
 rifle bullets. Shall I help you, John ? You know I have 
 a knack at these things." 
 
 Mohegan heard this disquisition quite patiently, and, 
 when- Richard concluded, he held out the basket which 
 contained his specifics, indicating, by a gesture, that he 
 might hold it. Mr. Jones was quite satisfied with this 
 commission ; and, ever after, in speaking of the event, was 
 used to say, that " Dr. Todd and I cut out the bullet, and 
 I and Indian John dressed the wound." 
 
 The patient was much more deserving of that epithet 
 while under the hands of Mohegan, than while suffering 
 under the practice of the physician. Indeed, the Indian 
 gave him but little opportunity for the exercise of a for- 
 bearing temper, as he had come prepared for the occasion. 
 His dressings were soon applied, and consisted only of 
 some pounded bark, moistened with a fluid that he had 
 expressed from some of the simples of the woods. 
 
So THE PIONEERS. 
 
 Among the native tribes of the forest there were always 
 two kinds of leeches to be met with. The one placed its 
 whole dependence on the exercise of a supernatural power, 
 and was held in greater veneration than their practice 
 could at all justify ; but the other was really endowed 
 with great skill in the ordinary complaints of the human 
 body, and was more particularly, as Natty had intimated, 
 " curous in cuts and bruises." 
 
 While John and Richard were placing the dressings on 
 the wound, Elnathan was acutely eyeing the contents of 
 Mohegan's basket, which Mr. Jones, in his physical ardor, 
 had transferred to the doctor, in order to hold himself one 
 end of the bandages. Here he was soon enabled to detect 
 sundry fragments of wood and bark, of which he, quite 
 coolly, took possession, very possibly without any intention 
 of speaking at all upon the subject ; but, when he beheld 
 the full blue eye of Marmaduke watching his movements, 
 he whispered to the Judge : 
 
 " It is not to be denied, Judge Temple, but what the 
 savages are knowing in small matters of physic. They 
 hand these things down in their traditions. Now in can- 
 cers and hydrophoby they are quite ingenious. I will just 
 take this bark home and analyze it ; for, though it can't 
 be worth sixpence to the young man's shoulder, it may 
 be good for the toothache, or rheumatism, or some of them 
 complaints. A man should never be above learning, even 
 if it be from an Indian." 
 
 It was fortunate for Dr. Todd that his principles were 
 so liberal, as, coupled with his practice, they were the 
 means by which he acquired all his knowledge, and by 
 which he was gradually qualifying himself for the duties 
 of his profession. The process to which he subjected the 
 specific, differed, however, greatly from the ordinary rules 
 of chemistry ; for instead of separating, he afterward united 
 the component parts of Mohegan's remedy, and was thus 
 able to discover the tree whence the Indian had taken it. 
 
 Some ten years after this event, when civilization and its 
 refinements had crept, or rather rushed, into the settlements 
 among these wild hills, an affair of honor occurred, and 
 Elnathan was seen to apply a salve to the wound received 
 by one of the parties, which had the flavor that was pecu 
 liar to the tree, or root, that Mohegan* had used. Ten 
 years later still, when England and the United States were 
 again engaged in war, and the hordes of the western part? 
 
TffE PIONEERS. Si 
 
 of the State of New York were rushing to the field, Elna- 
 than, presuming on the reputation obtained by these two 
 operations, followed in the rear of a brigade of militia as 
 its surgeon ! 
 
 When Mohegan had applied the bark, he freely relin- 
 quished to Richard the needle and thread that were used 
 in sewing the bandages, for these were implements of 
 which the native but little understood the use ; and, step- 
 ping back with decent gravity, awaited the completion of 
 the business by the other. 
 
 " Reach me the scissors," said Mr. Jones, when he had 
 finished, and finished for the second time, after tying the 
 linen in every shape and form that it could be placed ; 
 " reach me the scissors, for here is a thread that must be 
 cut off, or it might get under the dressings, and inflame 
 the wound. See, John, I have put the lint I scraped be- 
 tween two layers of the linen ; for though the bark is cer- 
 tainly best for the flesh, yet the lint will serve to keep the 
 cold air from the wound. If any lint will do it good, it is 
 this lint ; I scraped it myself, and I will not turn my back 
 at scraping lint to any man on the Patent. I ought to 
 know how, if anybody ought, for my grandfather was a 
 doctor, and my father had a natural turn that way." 
 
 " Here, squire, is the scissors," said Remarkable, pro- 
 ducing from beneath her petticoat of green moreen a pair 
 of dull-looking shears; "well, upon my say-so, you have 
 sewed on the rags as well as a woman." 
 
 " As well as a woman ! " echoed Richard, with indig- 
 nation ; " what do women know of such matters ? and you 
 are proof of the truth of what I say. Who ever saw such 
 a pair of shears used about a wound ? Dr. Todd, I will 
 thank you for the scissors from the case. Now, young 
 man, I think you'll do. The shot has been neatly taken 
 out, although, perhaps, seeing I had a hand in it, I ought 
 not to say so ; and the wound is admirably dressed. You 
 will soon be well again ; though the jerk you gave my 
 leaders must have a tendency to inflame the shoulder, yet 
 you will do, you will do. You were rather flurried, I sup- 
 pose, and not used to horses ; but I forgive the accident 
 for the motive ; no doubt you had the best of motives ; 
 yes, now you will do." 
 
 " Then, gentlemen," said the wounded stranger, rising, 
 and resuming his clothes, " it will be unnecessary for me 
 to trespass longer on your time and patience. There re* 
 6 
 
2 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 mains but one thing more to be settled, and that is, our 
 respective rights to the deer, Judge Temple." 
 
 "I acknowledge it to be thine," said Marmaduke ; "and 
 much more deeply am I indebted to thee than for this piece 
 of venison. But in the morning thou wilt call here, and 
 Xve can adjust this, as well as more important matters. 
 Elizabeth " for the young lady, being apprised that the 
 wound was dressed, had re-entered the hall " thou wilt 
 order a repast for this youth before we proceed to the 
 church ; and Aggy will have a sleigh prepared to convey 
 him to his friend." 
 
 "But, Sir, I cannot go without a part of the deer," re- 
 turned the youth, seemingly struggling with his own feel- 
 ings ; " I have already told you that I needed the venison 
 for myself." 
 
 " Oh, we will not be particular," exclaimed Richard ; 
 "the Judge will pay you in the morning for the whole 
 deer ; and, Remarkable, give the lad all the animal except- 
 ing the saddle ; so, on the whole, I think you may consider 
 yourself as a very lucky young man you have been shot 
 without being disabled ; have had the wound dressed in 
 the best possible manner here in the woods, as well as it 
 would have been done in the Philadelphia hospital, if not 
 better ; have sold your deer at a high price, and yet can 
 keep most of the carcass, with the skin in the bargain. 
 'Marky, tell Tom to give him the skin too, and in the morn- 
 ing bring the skin to me and I will give you half a dollar 
 for it, or at least three-and-sixpence. I want just such a 
 skin to cover the pillion that I am making for Cousin 
 Bess." 
 
 " I thank you, sir, for your liberality, and, I trust, am 
 also thankful for my escape," returned the stranger ; "but 
 you reserve the very part of the animal that I wished for 
 my own use. I must have the saddle myself." 
 
 " Must ! " echoed Richard ; " must is harder to be swal- 
 lowed than the horns of the buck." 
 
 "Yes, must," repeated the youth; when, turning his 
 head proudly around him, as if to see who would dare to 
 controvert his rights, he met the astonished gaze of Eliza- 
 beth, and proceeded more mildly "that is, if a man is 
 allowed the possession of that which his hand hath killed, 
 and the law will protect him in the enjoyment of his own." 
 
 "The law will do so," said Judge Temple, with an air 
 of mortification mingled with surprise. " Benjamin, see 
 
THE PIONEERS. 83 
 
 that the whole deer is placed in the sleigh ; and have this 
 youth conveyed to the hut of Leather-Stocking. But, 
 young man thou hast a name, and I shall see you again, 
 in order to compensate thee for the wrong I have clone 
 thee?" 
 
 " I am called Edwards," returned the hunter ; " Oliver 
 Edwards. I am easily to be seen, sir, for I live nigh by, 
 arid am not afraid to show my face, having never injured 
 any man." 
 
 "It is we who have injured you, sir," said Elizabeth; 
 " and the knowledge that you decline our assistance would 
 give my father great pain. He would gladly see you in 
 the morning." 
 
 The young hunter gazed at the fair speaker until his 
 earnest look brought the blood to her temples ; when, re- 
 collecting himself, he bent his head, dropping his eyes to 
 the carpet, and replied : 
 
 "In the morning then, will I return, and see Judge 
 Temple ; and I will accept his offer of the sleigh in token 
 of amity." 
 
 "Amity!" repeated Marmaduke ; "there was no malice 
 in the act that injured thee, young man ; there should be 
 none in the feelings which it may engender." 
 
 " Forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who tres- 
 pass against us," observed Mr. Grant, "is the language 
 used by our Divine Master himself, and it should be the 
 golden rule with us, his humble followers." 
 
 The stranger stood a moment, lost in thought, and then, 
 glancing his dark eyes rather wildly around the hall, he 
 bowed low to the divine, and moved from the apartment 
 with an air that would not admit of detention. 
 
 " 'Tis strange that one so young should harbor such feel- 
 ings of resentment," said Marmaduke, when the door 
 closed behind the stranger ; " but while the pain is recent, 
 and the sense of the injury so fresh, he must feel more 
 strongly than in cooler moments. I doubt not we shali 
 see him in the morning mpre tractable." 
 
 Elizabeth, to whom this speech was addressed, did not 
 reply, but moved slowly up the hall, by herself, fixing her 
 eyes on the little figure of the English ingrain carpet that 
 covered the floor ; while, on the other hand, Richard gave 
 a loud crack with his whip, as the stranger disappeared, 
 and cried : 
 
 "Well, 'duke, you are your own master, but I would 
 
84 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 have tried law for the saddle before I would have given it 
 to the fellow. Do you not own the mountains as well as 
 the valleys ? are not the woods your own ? what right has 
 this chap, or the Leather-Stocking, to shoot in your woods 
 without your permission ? Now, 1 have known a farmer in 
 Pennsylvania order a sportsman off his farm with as little 
 ceremony as I would order Benjamin to put a log in the 
 stove. By -the by, Benjamin, see how the thermometer 
 stands. Now, if a man has a right to do this on a farm of 
 a hundred acres, what power must a landlord have who 
 owns sixty thousand ay, for the matter of that, including 
 the late purchases, a hundred thousand ? There is Mohe- 
 gan, to be sure, he may have some right, being a native ; 
 but it's little the poor fellow can do now with his rifle. 
 How is this managed in France, Monsieur Le Quoi ? Do 
 you let everybody run over your land in that country hel- 
 ter-skelter, as they do here, "shooting the game, so that a 
 gentleman has but little or no chance with his gun ?" 
 
 " Bah ! diable, no, Meester Deeck," replied the French- 
 man ; "we give, in France; no liberty except to the ladi." 
 
 "Yes, yes, to the women, I know," said Richard, "that 
 is your Salic law. I read, sir, all kinds of books ; of 
 France, as well as England ; of Greece, as well as Rome. 
 But if I were in 'duke's place, I would stick up advertise- 
 ments to-morrow morning, forbidding all persons to shoot, 
 or trespass in any manner, on my woods. I could write 
 such an advertisement myself, in an hour, as would put a 
 stop to the thing at once." 
 
 " Richart," said Major Hartmann, very coolly knocking 
 the ashes from his pipe into the spitting-box by his side, 
 " now listen ; I have livet seventy-five years on ter Mo- 
 hawk, and in ter woots. You had better mettle as mit ter 
 deyvel, as mit ter hunters. Tey live mit ter gun, and a 
 rifle is better as ter law." 
 
 " A'nt Marmaduke a judge ? " said Richard, indignantly. 
 " Where is the use of being a judge, or having a judge, if 
 there is no law ? Damn the fellow ! I have a great mind 
 to sue him in the morning myself, before Squire Doolittle, 
 for meddling with my leaders. I am not afraid of his rifle. 
 I can shoot, too. I have hit a dollar many a time at fifty 
 rods." 
 
 " Thou hast missed more dollars than ever thou hast 
 hit, Dickon," exclaimed the cheerful voice of the Judge. 
 " But we will now take our evening's repast, which, I pen 
 
THE PIONEERS. 85 
 
 ceive by Rerharkable's physiognomy, is ready. Monsieur 
 Le Quoi, Miss Temple has a hand at your service. Will 
 you lead 'the way, my child ?" 
 
 "Ah ! ma chere mam'selle, comme je suis enchante !" 
 said the Frenchman. " II ne manque que les dames de 
 faire un paradis de Templeton." 
 
 Mr. Grant and Mohegan continued in the hall, while the 
 remainder of the party withdrew to an eating-parlor, if we 
 except Benjamin, who civilly remained, to close the rear 
 after the clergyman, and to open the front door for the 
 exit of the Indian. 
 
 "John," said the divine, when the figure of Judge Tem- 
 ple disappeared, the last of the group, " to-morrow is the 
 festival of the nativity of our blessed Redeemer, when the 
 church has appointed prayers and thanksgivings to be of- 
 fered up by her children, and when all are invited to par- 
 take of the mystical elements. As you have taken up the 
 cross, and become a follower of good and an eschewer of 
 evil, I trust I shall see you before the altar, with a contrite 
 heart and a meek spirit." 
 
 "John will come," said the Indian, betraying no sur- 
 prise ; though he did not understand all the terms used by 
 the other. 
 
 "Yes," continued Mr. Grant, laying his hand gently on 
 the tawny shoulder of the aged chief, " but it is not enough 
 to be there in the body ; you must come in the spirit and 
 in truth. The Redeemer died for all, for the poor Indian 
 as well as for the white man. Heaven knows no differ- 
 ence in color ; nor must earth witness a separation of the 
 church. It is good and profitable, John, to freshen the 
 understanding, and support the wavering, by the observ- 
 ance of our holy festivals ; but all form is but stench in the 
 nostrils of the Holy One, unless it be accompanied by a 
 devout and humble spirit." 
 
 The Indian stepped back a little, and, raising his body 
 to its utmost powers of erection, he stretched his right arm 
 on high, and dropped his forefinger downward, as if point- 
 ing from the heavens, then, striking his other hand on his 
 naked breast, he said, with energy : 
 
 "The eye of the Great Spirit can see from the clouds 
 the bosom of Mohegan is bare ! " 
 
 "It is well, John, and I hope you will receive profit 
 and consolation from the performance of this duty. The 
 Great Spirit overlooks none of his children ; and the man 
 
86 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 of the woods is as much an object of his care as he who 
 dwells in a palace. I wish you a good-night, and pray 
 God to bless you." 
 
 The Indian bent his head, and they separated the one 
 to seek his hut, and the other to join his party at the sup- 
 per-table. While Benjamin was opening the door for the 
 passage of the chief, he cried, in a tone that was meant to 
 be encouraging : 
 
 " The parson says the word that is true, John. If so be 
 that they took count of the color of the skin in heaven, 
 why they might refuse to muster on their books a Christian- 
 born, like myself, just for the matter of a little tan, from 
 cruising in warm latitudes ; though, for the matter of that, 
 this damned norwester is enough to whiten the skin of a 
 blackamore. Let the reef out of your blanket, man, or 
 your red hide will hardly weather the night, without a 
 touch from the frost." 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 " For here the exile met from every clime, 
 And spoke, in friendship, every distant tongue." CAMPBELL. 
 
 WE have made our readers acquainted with some variety 
 in character and nations, in introducing the most important 
 personages of this legend to their notice ; but, in order to 
 establish the fidelity of our narrative, we shall briefly at- 
 tempt to explain the reason why we have been obliged to 
 present so motley a dramatis per -sonce. 
 
 Europe, at the period of our tale, was in the commence- 
 ment of that commotion which afterward shook her po- 
 litical institutions to the centre. Louis the Sixteenth had 
 been beheaded, and a nation once esteemed the most re- 
 fined among the civilized people of the world, was chang- 
 ing its character, and substituting cruelty for mercy, and 
 subtlety and ferocity for magnanimity and courage. Thou- 
 sands of Frenchmen were compelled to seek protection in 
 distant lands. Among the crowds who fled from France 
 and her islands, to the United States of America, was the 
 gentleman whom we have already mentioned as Monsieur 
 Le Quoi. He had been recommended to the favor of Judge 
 Temple by the head of an eminent mercantile house in 
 
THE PIONEERS. 87 
 
 New York, with whom Marmaduke was in habits of in- 
 timacy, and accustomed to exchange good offices. At his 
 first interview with the Frenchman, our Judge had discov- 
 ered him to be a man of breeding, and one who had seen 
 much more prosperous days in his own country. From 
 certain hints that had escaped him, Monsieur Le Quoi was 
 suspected of having been a West-India planter, great num- 
 bers of whom had fled from St. Domingo and the other isl- 
 ands, and were now living in the Union, in a state of com- 
 parative poverty, and some in absolute want. The latter 
 was not, however, the lot of Monsieur Le Quoi. He had but 
 little, he acknowledged ; but that little was enough to fur- 
 nish, in the language of the country, an assortment for a 
 store. 
 
 The knowledge of Marmaduke was eminently practical, 
 and there was no part of a settler's life with which he was 
 not familiar. Under his direction, Monsieur Le Quoi 
 made some purchases, consisting of a few cloths ; some 
 groceries, with a good deal of gunpowder and tobacco ; a 
 quantity of iron ware, among which, was a large proportion 
 of Barlow's jack-knives, potash-kettles, and spiders ; a very 
 formidable collection of crockery, of the coarsest quality 
 and most uncouth forms ; together with every other com- 
 mon article that the art of man has devised for his wants, 
 not forgetting the luxuries of looking-glasses and Jew's- 
 harps. With this collection of valuables, Monsieur Le 
 Quoi had stepped behind a counter, and, with a wonderful 
 pliability of temperament, had dropped into his assumed 
 character as gracefully as he had ever moved in any other. 
 The gentleness and suavity of his manners rendered him 
 extremely popular ; besides this, the women soon discov- 
 ered that he had taste. His calicoes were the finest, or, in 
 other words, the most showy, of any that were brought 
 into the country ; and it was impossible to look at the 
 prices asked for his goods by "so pretty a spoken man." 
 Through these conjoint means, the affairs of Monsieur Le 
 Quoi were again in a prosperous condition, and he was 
 looked up to by the settlers as the second best man on the 
 " Patent." 
 
 The term " Patent," which we have already used, and 
 for which we may have further occasion, meant the dis- 
 trict of country that had been originally granted to old 
 Major Effingham by the " king's letters patent," and which 
 had now become, by purchase under the act of confiscation, 
 
88 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 the property of Marmaduke Temple. It was a term in com- 
 mon use throughout the neiv parts of the State ; and was 
 usually annexed to the landlord's name, as 4< Temple's or 
 Effing-ham's Patent." 
 
 Major Hartmann was a descendant of a man who, in 
 company with a number of his countrymen had emigrated 
 with their families, from the banks of the Rhine to those 
 of the Mohawk. This migration had occurred as far back 
 as the reign of Queen Anne ; and their descendants were 
 now living, in great peace and plenty, on the fertile bor- 
 ders of that beautiful stream. 
 
 The Germans, or " High Butchers," as they were called, 
 to distinguish them from the original or Low Dutch colon- 
 ists, were a very peculiar people. They possessed all the 
 gravity of the latter, without any of their phlegm ; and like 
 them, the " High Dutchers " were industrious, honest, and 
 economical. 
 
 Fritz, or Frederick Hartmann, was an epitome of all the 
 vices and virtues, foibles and excellences, of his race. H 
 was passionate, though silent, obstinate, and a good deal 
 suspicious of strangers ; of immovable courage, inflexible 
 honesty, and undeviating in his friendships. Indeed there 
 was no change about him, unless it were from grave to gay. 
 He was serious by months, and jolly by weeks. He had, 
 early in their acquaintance, formed an attachment for 
 Marmaduke Temple, who was the only man that could not 
 speak High Dutch that ever gained his entire confidence. 
 Four times in each year, at periods equidistant, he left his 
 low stone dwelling on the banks of the Mohawk, and trav- 
 elled thirty miles, through the hills, to the door of the 
 mansion-house in Templeton. Here he generally stayed a 
 week ; and was reputed to spend much of that time in riot- 
 ous living, greatly countenanced by Mr. Richard Jones. 
 But every one loved him, even to Remarkable Pettibone, 
 to whom he occasioned some additional trouble, he was so 
 frank, so sincere, and, at times, so mirthful. He was now 
 on his regular Christmas visit, and had not been in the vil- 
 lage an hour when Richard summoned him to fill a seat in 
 the sleigh, to meet the landlord and his daughter. 
 
 Before explaining the character and situation of Mr. 
 Grant, it will be necessary to recur to times far back in the 
 brief history of the settlement. 
 
 There seems to be a tendency in human nature to en- 
 deavor to provide for the wants of this world, before our 
 
THE PIONEERS. 8g 
 
 attention is turned to the business of the other. Religion 
 was a quality but little cultivated amid the stumps of Tem- 
 ple's Patent for the first few years of its settlement ; but, 
 as most of its inhabitants were from the moral States of 
 Connecticut and Massachusetts, when the wants of nature 
 were satisfied, they began seriously to turn their attention 
 to the introduction of those customs and observances which 
 had been the principal care of their forefathers. There 
 was certainly a great variety of opinions on the subject of 
 grace and free-will among the tenantry of Marmaduke ; 
 and, when we take into consideration the variety of the 
 religious instruction which they received, it can easily be 
 seen that it could not well be otherwise. 
 
 Soon after the village had been formally laid out into th$ 
 streets and blocks that resembled a city, a meeting of its in- 
 habitants had been convened, to take into consideration 
 the propriety of establishing an academy. This measure 
 originated with Richard, who, in truth, w r as much disposed 
 to have the institution designated a university, or at least 
 a college. Meeting after meeting was held, for this pur- 
 pose, year after year. The resolutions of these assemblages 
 appeared in the most conspicuous columns of a little blue- 
 looking newspaper, that was already issued weekly from 
 the garret of a dwelling-house in the village, and which 
 the traveller might as often see stuck into the fissure of a 
 stake, erected at the point where the footpath from the 
 log-cabin of some settler entered the highway, as a post- 
 office for an individual. Sometimes the stake supported a 
 small box, and a whole neighborhood received a weekly 
 supply for their literary wants, at this point, where the 
 man who " rides post " regularly deposited a bundle of the 
 precious commodity. To these flourishing resolutions, 
 which briefly recounted the general utility of education, 
 the political and geographical rights of the village of Tem- 
 pleton to a participation in the favors of the regents of the 
 university, the salubrity of the air, and wholesomeness of 
 the water, together with the cheapness of food and the su- 
 perior state of morals in the neighborhood, were uniformly 
 annexed, in large Roman capitals, the names of Marma- 
 duke Temple as chairman, and Richard Jones as secretary. 
 
 Happily for the success of this undertaking, the regents 
 were not accustomed to resist these appeals to their gener- 
 osity, whenever there was the smallest prospect of a dona- 
 tion to second the request. Eventually Judge TemDle 
 
90 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 concluded to bestow the necessary land, and to erect the 
 required edifice at his own expense. The skill of Mr., or, 
 as he was now called, from the circumstance of having re^ 
 ceived the commission of a justice of the peace, Squire 
 Doolittle, was again put in requisition ; and the science of 
 Mr. Jones was once more resorted to. 
 
 We shall not recount the different devices of the archi- 
 tects on the occasion ; nor would it be decorous so to do, 
 seeing that there was a convocation of the society of the 
 ancient and honorable fraternity " of the Free and Ac- 
 cepted Masons," at the head of whom was Richard, in the 
 capacity of master, doubtless to approve or reject such of 
 the plans as, in their wisdom, they deemed to be for the 
 best. The knotty point was, however, soon decided ; and, 
 on the appointed day, the brotherhood marched in great 
 state, displaying sundry banners and mysterious symbols, 
 each man with a little mimic apron before him, from a 
 most cunningly contrived apartment in the garret of the 
 " Bold Dragoon," an inn kept by one Captain Hollister. to 
 the site of the intended edifice. Here Richard laid the 
 corner-stone, with suitable gravity, amidst an assemblage 
 of more than half the men, and all the women, within ten 
 miles of Templeton. 
 
 In the course of the succeeding week there was another 
 meeting of the people, not omitting swarms of the gentler 
 sex, when the abilities of Hiram at the " square rule," 
 were put to the test of experiment. The frame fitted well ; 
 and the skeleton of the fabric was reared without a single 
 accident, if we except a few falls from horses while the 
 laborers were returning home in the evening. From this 
 time the work advanced with great rapidity, and in the 
 course of the season the labor was completed ; the edifice 
 standing, in all its beauty and proportions, the boast of 
 the village, the study of young aspirants for architectural 
 fame, and the admiration of every settler on the Patent. 
 
 It was a long, narrow house of wood, painted white, and 
 more than half windows ; and, when the observer stood at 
 the western side of the building, the edifice offered but a 
 small obstacle to a full view of the rising sun. It was, in 
 truth, but a very comfortless open place, through which 
 the daylight shone with natural facility. On its front were 
 divers ornaments in wood, designed by Richard, and exe- 
 cuted by rfiram ; but a window in the centre of the second 
 story, immediately over the door or grand entrance, and 
 
THE PIONEERS. 95 
 
 the " steeple," were the pride of the building. The former 
 was, we believe, of the composite order ; for it included in 
 its composition a multitude of ornaments, and a great 
 variety of proportions. It consisted of an arched compart- 
 ment in the centre, with a square and small division on 
 either side, the whole encased in heavy frames, deeply and 
 laboriously molded in pine-wood, and lighted with a vast 
 number of blurred and green-looking glass of those dimen- 
 sions which are commonly called "eight by ten." Blinds, 
 that were intended to be painted green, kept the window 
 in a state of preservation ; and probably might have con- 
 tributed to the effect of the whole, had not the failure in 
 the public funds, which seems always to be incidental to 
 any undertaking of this kind, left them in the sombre coat 
 of lead-color with which they had been originally clothed. 
 The " steeple " was a little cupola, reared on the very cen- 
 tre of the roof, on four tall pillars of pine, that were fluted 
 with a gouge, and loaded with mouldings. On the tops of 
 the columns was reared a dome or cupola, resembling in 
 shape an inverted tea-cup, without its bottom, from the 
 centre of which projected a spire, or shaft of wood, trans- 
 fixed with two iron rods, that bore on their ends the let- 
 ters N. S. E. and W. in the same metal. The whole was 
 surmounted by an imitation of one of the finny tribe, 
 carved in wood by the hands of Richard, and painted what 
 he called a " scale-color." This animal Mr. Jones affirmed 
 to be an admirable resemblance of a great favorite of the 
 epicures in that country, which bore the title of " lake- 
 fish ; " and doubtless the assertion was true ; for, although 
 intended to answer the purposes of a weathercock, the fish 
 was observed invariably to.look, with a longing eye, in the 
 direction of the beautiful sheet of water that lay imbedded 
 in the mountains of Templeton. 
 
 For a short time after the charter of the regents was re- 
 ceived, the trustees of this institution employed a graduate 
 of one of the Eastern colleges, to instruct such youth as 
 aspired to knowledge within the walls of the edifice which 
 we have described. The upper part of the building was 
 in one apartment, and was intended for gala-days and ex- 
 hibitions ; and the lower contained two rooms that were 
 intended for the great divisions of education, viz., the Latin 
 and the English scholars. The former were never very 
 numerous ; though the sounds of " nominative, pennaa 
 genitive, penny" were soon heard to issue from the windows 
 
92 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 of the room, to the great delight and manifest edification 
 of the passenger. 
 
 Only one laborer in this temple of Minerva, however, 
 was known to get so far as to attempt a translation of Vir- 
 gil. He, indeed, appeared at the annual exhibition, to the 
 prodigious exultation of all his relatives, a farmer's family 
 in the vicinity, and repeated the whole of the first eclogue 
 from memory, observing the intonations of the dialogue 
 with much judgment and effect. The sounds, as they pro- 
 ceeded from his mouth, of 
 
 "Titty-ree too patty-lee ree-coo-bans sub teg-mi-nee faa-gy 
 Syl-ves-trem ten-oo-i moo-sam, med-i-taa-ris, aa-ve-ny," 
 
 were the last that had been heard in that building, as prob- 
 ably they were the first that had ever been heard, in the 
 same language, there or anywhere else. By this time the 
 trustees discovered that they had anticipated the age, and 
 the instructor, or principal, was superseded by a master, who 
 went on to teach the more humble lesson of "the more 
 haste the worst speed," in good plain English. 
 
 From this time, until the date of our incidents, the acad- 
 emy was a common country school, and the great room of 
 the building was sometimes used as a court-room, on ex- 
 traordinary trials ; sometimes for conferences of" the relig- 
 ious and the morally disposed, in th~, evening ; at others 
 for a ball in the afternoon, given under the auspices of 
 Richard ; and on Sundays, invariably, as a place of public 
 worship. 
 
 When an itinerant priest of the persuasion of the Metho- 
 dists, Baptists, Universalists, or of the more numerous sect 
 of the Presbyterians, was accidentally in the neighborhood, 
 he was- ordinarily invited to officiate, and was commonly 
 rewarded for his services by a collection in a hat, before 
 the congregation separated. When no such regular min- 
 ister offered, a kind of colloquial prayer or two was made 
 by some of the more gifted members, and a sermon was 
 usually read, from Sterne, by Mr. Richard Jones. 
 
 The consequence of this desultory kind of priesthood 
 was, as we have already intimated, a great diversity of opin- 
 ion on the more abstruse points of faith. Each sect had 
 its adherents, though neither was regularly organized and 
 disciplined. Of the religious education of Marmaduke we 
 have already written, nor was the doubtful character of his 
 
THE PIONEERS. 93 
 
 faith completely removed by his marriage. The mother 
 of Elizabeth was an Episcopalian, as indeed, was the mother 
 of the judge himself; and the good taste of Marmaduke 
 revolted at the familiar colloquies which the leaders of the 
 conferences held with the Deity, in their nightly meetings. 
 In form, he was certainly an Episcopalian, though not a 
 sectary of that denomination. On the other hand, Rich- 
 ard was as rigid in the observance of the. canons of his 
 church as he was inflexible in his opinions. Indeed, he 
 had once or twice essayed to introduce the Episcopal form 
 of service, on the Sundays that the pulpit was vacant ; but 
 Richard was a good deal addicted to carrying things to an 
 excess, and then there was something so papal in his air, 
 that the greater part of his hearers deserted him on the 
 second Sabbath on the third his only auditor was Ben 
 Pump, who had all the obstinate and enlightened orthodoxy 
 of a high churchman. 
 
 Before the war of the Revolution, the English Church 
 was supported, in the colonies, with much interest, by some 
 of its adherents in the mother country, and a few of the 
 congregations were very amply endowed. But, for the 
 season, after the independence of the States was established, 
 this sect of Christians languished, for the want of the high- 
 est order of its priesthood. Pious and suitable divines 
 were at length selected, and sent to the mother country, 
 to receive that authority, which, it is understood, can only 
 be transmuted directly from one to the other, and thus 
 obtain, in order to reserve, that unity in their churches 
 which properly belonged to a people of the same nation. 
 But unexpected difficulties presented themselves, in the 
 oaths with which the policy of England had fettered 
 their establishment ; ana much time was spent before a 
 conscientious sense of duty would permit the prelates of 
 Britain to delegate the authority so earnestly sought. 
 Time, patience, and zeal, however, removed every impedi- 
 ment, and the venerable men, who had been set apart by 
 the American churches, at length returned to their expect- 
 ing dioceses, endowed with the most elevated functions of 
 their earthly church. Priests and deacons were ordained, 
 and missionaries provided, to keep alive the expiring flame 
 of devotion in such members as were deprived of the or- 
 dinary administrations, by dwelling in new and unorgan- 
 ized districts. 
 
 Of this number was Mr. Grant. He had been sent into 
 
94 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 the county of which Templeton was the capital, and had 
 been kindly invited by Marmaduke, and officiously pressed 
 by Richard, to take up his abode in the village. A small 
 and humble dwelling was prepared for his family, and the 
 divine had made his appearance in the place but a few 
 days previously to the time [of his introduction to the 
 reader. As his forms were entirely new to most of the 
 inhabitants, and a clergyman of another denomination had 
 previously occupied the field, by engaging the academy, 
 the first Sunday after his arrival was allowed to pass in 
 silence ; but now that his rival had passed on, like a me- 
 teor, filling the air with the light of his wisdom, Richard 
 was empowered to give notice that " Public worship, after 
 the forms of the Protestant Episcopal Church, would be 
 held on the night before Christmas, in the long room of 
 the academy in Templeton, by the Rev. Mr. Grant." 
 
 This annunciation excited great commotion among the 
 different sectaries. Some wondered as to the nature of 
 the exhibition ; others sneered ; but a far greater part, 
 recollecting the essays of Richard in that way, and mind- 
 ful of the liberality, or rather laxity, of Marmaduke's no- 
 tions on the subject of sectarianism, thought it most pru- 
 dent to be silent. 
 
 The expected evening was, however, the wonder of the 
 hour ; nor was the curiosity at all diminished when Richard 
 and Benjamin, on the morning of the eventful day, were 
 seen to issue from the woods in the neighborhood of the 
 village, each bearing on his shoulders a large bunch of 
 evergreens. This worthy pair was observed to enter the 
 academy, and carefully to fasten the door, after which 
 their proceedings remained a profound secret to the rest 
 of the village ; Mr. Jones, before he commenced this mys- 
 terious business, having informed the schoolmaster, to the 
 great delight of the white-headed flock he governed, that 
 there could be no school that day. Marmaduke was ap- 
 prised of all these preparations by letter, and it was espe- 
 tially arranged that he and Elizabeth should arrive in sea* 
 son to participate in the solemnities of the evening. 
 
 After this digression, we shall return to our narrative. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 "Now all admire, in each high-flavored dish, 
 The capabilities of flesh fowl fish ; 
 In order due each guest assumes his station, 
 Throbs high his breast with fond anticipation, 
 And prelibates the joys of mastication." HELIOGABAHAD. 
 
 THE apartment to which Monsieur Le Quoi handed 
 Elizabeth communicated with the hall, through the door 
 that led under the urn which was supposed to contain the 
 ashes of Dido. The room was spacious, and of very just 
 proportions ; but, in its ornaments and furniture, the same 
 diversity of taste and imperfection of execution were to be 
 observed as existed in the hall. Of furniture, there were 
 a dozen green, wooden arm-chairs, with cushions of mo- 
 reen, taken from the same piece as the petticoat of Re- 
 markable. The tables were spread, and their materials 
 and workmanship could not be seen ; but they were heavy 
 and of great size. An enormous mirror, in a gilt frame, 
 hung against the wall, and a cheerful fire, of. the hard or 
 sugar maple, was burning on the hearth. The latter was 
 the first object that struck the attention of the Judge, who 
 on beholding it, exclaimed, rather angrily, to Richard : 
 
 " How often have I forbidden the use of the sugar maple 
 in my dwelling! The sight of that sap, as it exudes with 
 the heat, is painful to me, Richard. Really, it behooves 
 the owner of woods so-extensive as mine, to be cautious 
 what example he sets his people, who are already felling 
 the forests, as if no end could be found to their treasures, 
 nor any limits to their extent. If we go on in this way, 
 twenty years hence we shall want fuel." 
 
 " Fuel in these hills, Cousin 'duke ! " exclaimed Richard, 
 in derision " fuel ! why, you might as well predict that 
 the fish will die, for the want of water in the lake, because 
 I intend, when the frost gets out of the ground, to lead one 
 or two of the springs, through logs, into the village. But 
 you are always a little wild on such subjects, Marmaduke." 
 
 "Is it wildness," returned the Judge, earnestly, "to 
 condemn a practice which devotes these jewels of the 
 forest, these precious gifts of nature, these mines of com- 
 fort and wealth, to the common uses of a fireplace ? But 
 
96 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 I must, and will, the instant the snow is off the earth, send 
 out a party into the mountains to explore for coal." 
 
 " Coal ! " echoed Richard. " Who the devil do you think 
 will dig for coal when, in hunting for a bushel, he would 
 have to rip up more roots of trees than would keep him in 
 fuel for a twelvemonth ? Poh ! poh ! Marmaduke ; you 
 should leave the management of these things to me, who 
 have a natural turn that way. It was I that ordered this 
 fire, and a noble one it is, to warm the blood of my pretty 
 Cousin Bess." 
 
 "The motive, then, must be your apology, Dickon," 
 said the Judge. " But, gentlemen, we are waiting. EJiz? 
 beth, my child, take the head of the table ; Richard, I sefe > 
 means to spare me the trouble of carving, by sitting op- 
 posite to you." 
 
 "To be sure I do," cried Richard. "Here is a turkey 
 to carve ; and I flatter myself that I understand carving a 
 turkey, or, for that matter, a goose, as well as any man 
 alive. Mr. Grant ! Where's Mr. Grant ? Will you please 
 to say grace, sir ? Everything is getting cold. Take a 
 thing from the fire, this cold weather, and it will freeze in 
 five minutes. Mr. Grant, we want you to say grace. ' For 
 what we are about to receive; the Lord make us thankful.' 
 Come, sit down, sit down. Do you eat wing or breast, 
 Cousin Bess ?" 
 
 But Elizabeth had not taken her seat, nor was she in 
 readiness to receive either the wing or breast. Her laugh- 
 ing eyes were glancing at the arrangements of the table, 
 and the quality and selection of the food. The eyes .of the 
 father soon met the wondering looks of his daughter, and 
 he said, with a smile : 
 
 " You perceive, my child, how much we are indebted to 
 Remarkable for her skill in housewifery. She has, indeed, 
 provided a noble repast such as well might stop the crav- 
 ings of hunger." 
 
 "Law!" said Remarkable, "I'm glad if the Jndge is 
 pleased; but I'm notional that you'll find the sa'ce over- 
 done. I thought, as Elizabeth was coming home, that a 
 body could do no less than make things agreeable." 
 
 " My daughter has now grown to woman's estate, and 
 is from this moment mistress of my house," said the Judge ; 
 " it is proper that all who live with me address her as Miss 
 Temple." 
 
 " Do tell ! " exclaimed Remarkable, a little aghast ; 
 
THE PIONEERS. 97 
 
 "well, Who ever heerd of a young woman's being called 
 Miss ? If the Judge had a wife now, I shouldn't think of 
 calling her anything but Miss Temple ; but 
 
 " Having .nothing but a daughter you will observe that 
 style to her, if you please, in future," interrupted Marma- 
 duke. 
 
 As the Judge looked seriously displeased, and, at such 
 moments, carried a particularly commanding air with him, 
 the wary housekeeper made no reply ; and, Mr. Grant en- 
 tering the room, the whole party were soon seated at the 
 table. As the arrangements of this repast were much in 
 the prevailing taste of that period and country, we shall 
 endeavor to give a short description of the appearance of 
 the banquet. 
 
 The table-linen was of the most beautiful damask, and 
 the plates and dishes of real china, an article of great 
 luxury at this early period of American commerce. The 
 knives and forks were of exquisitely polished steel, and 
 were set in unclouded ivory. So much, being furnished 
 by the wealth of Marmaduke, was not only comfortable, 
 but even elegant. The contents of the several dishes, arid 
 their positions, however, were the result of the sole judg- 
 ment of Remarkable. Before Elizabeth was placed an 
 enormous roasted turkey, and before Richard, one boiled. 
 In the centre of the table stood a pair of heavy silver cas- 
 ters, surrounded by four dishes ; one a fricassee, that con- 
 sisted of gray squirrels ; another of fish fried ; a third of 
 fish boiled ; the last was a venison steak. Between these 
 dishes and the turkeys, stood, on the one side, a prodigious 
 chine of roasted bear's meat, and on the other a boiled 
 leg of delicious mutton. Interspersed among this load of 
 meats was every species of vegetables that the season and 
 country afforded. The four corners were garnished with 
 plates of cake. On one was piled certain curiously twisted 
 and complicated figures, called "nut-cakes." On another 
 were heaps of a.black-looking substance, which, receiving 
 its hue from molasses, was properly termed " sweet-cake ;" 
 a wonderful favorite in the coterie of Remarkable. A third 
 was filled, to use the language of the housekeeper, with 
 4< cards of gingerbread ;" and the last held a "plum-cake," 
 so called from the number of large raisins that were show* 
 ing their black heads in a substance of suspiciously simi- 
 lar color. At each corner of the table stood saucers, filled 
 with a thick fluid of somewhat equivocal color and con- 
 
98 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 sistence, variegated with small dark lumps of a substance 
 that resembled nothing but itself, which Remarkable 
 termed her " sweetmeats." At the side of each plate, 
 which was placed bottom upward, with its knife and fork 
 most accurately crossed above it, stood another, of smaller 
 size, containing a motley-looking pie, composed of tri- 
 angular slices of apple, mince, pumpkin, cranberry, and 
 custard, so arranged as to form an entire whole. Decanters 
 of brandy, rum, gin, and wine, with sundry pitchers of 
 cider, beer, and one hissing vessel of " flip," were put 
 wherever an opening would admit of their introduction. 
 Notwithstanding the size of the tables, there waS*scarcely 
 a spot where the rich damask could be seen, so crowded 
 were the dishes, with their associated bottles, plates, and 
 saucers. The object seemed to be profusion, and it was 
 obtained entirely at the expense of order and elegance. 
 
 All the guests, as well as the Judge himself, seemed per- 
 fectly familiar with this description of fare, for each one 
 commenced eating, with an appetite that promised to do 
 great honor to Remarkable's taste and skill. What ren- 
 dered this attention to the repast a little surprising, was 
 the fact that both the German and Richard had been sum- 
 moned from another table to meet the Judge ; but Major 
 Hartmann both ate and drank without any rule, when on 
 his excursions; and Mr. Jones invariably made it a point 
 to participate in the business in hand, let it be what it 
 would. The host seemed to think some apology necessary 
 for the warmth he had betrayed on the subject of the fire- 
 wood, and when the party were comfortably seated, and 
 engaged with their knives and forks, he observed: 
 
 "The wastefulness of the settlers, with the noble trees 
 of this country, is shocking, Monsieur Le Quoi, as doubt- 
 less you have noticed. I have seen a man fell a pine, 
 when he has been in want of fencing-stuff, and roll his 
 first cuts into the gap, where he left it to rot, though its top 
 would have made rails enough to answer Jiis purpose, and 
 its butt would have sold in the Philadelphia market for 
 twenty dollars." 
 
 "And how the devil I beg your pardon, Mr. Grant," 
 interrupted Richard ; " but how is the poor devil to get his 
 logs to the Philadelphia market, pray ? put them in his 
 pocket, ha ! as you would a handful of chestnuts, or a 
 bunch of chicker-berries ? I should like to see you walk- 
 ing up High Street, with a pine log in 'each pocket ! PohJ 
 
THE PIONEERS. 93 
 
 poh \ cousin 'duke, there are trees enough for us all, and 
 some to spare. Why, I can hardly tell which way the wind 
 blows, when I'm out in the clearings, they are so thick and 
 so tall I couldn't at all, if it wasn't for the clouds, and I 
 happen to know all the points of the compass, as it were, 
 by heart." 
 
 " Ay ! ay ! squire," cried Benjamin, who had now entered, 
 and taken his place behind the Judge's chair, a little aside 
 withal, in order to be ready for any observation like the 
 present ; "look aloft, sir, look aloft. The old seamen say, 
 'that the devil wouldn't make a sailor, unless he looked 
 aloft.' As for the compass, why, there is no such thing as 
 steering without one. I'm sure I never lose sight of the 
 main-top, as I call the squire's lookout on the roof, but I 
 set my compass, d'ye see, and take the bearings and dis- 
 tance of things, in order to work out my course, if so be 
 that it should cloud up, or the tops of the trees should 
 shut out the light of heaven. The steeple of St. Paul's, 
 now that we have got it on end, is a great help to the navi- 
 gation of the woods, for, by the Lord Harry, as I was " 
 
 " It is well, Benjamin," interrupted Marmaduke, ob- 
 serving that his daughter manifested displeasure at the 
 major-domo's familiarity ; "but you forget there is a lady 
 in company, and the women love to do most of the talking 
 themselves." 
 
 "The Judge says the true word," cried Benjamin, with 
 one of his discordant laughs. " Now here is Mistress Re- 
 markable Pettibones ; just take the stopper off her tongue, 
 and you'll hear a gabbling worse like than if you should 
 happen to fall to leeward in crossing a French privateer, 
 or some such thing, mayhap, as a dozen monkeys stowed 
 in one bag." 
 
 It were impossible to say how perfect an illustration of 
 the truth of Benjamin's assertion the housekeeper would 
 have furnished, if she had dared ; but the Judge looked 
 sternly at her, and unwilling to incur his resentment, yet 
 unable to contain her anger, she threw herself out of the 
 room, with a toss of the body that nearly separated her 
 frail form in the centre. 
 
 " Richard," said Marmaduke, observing that his dis- 
 pleasure had produced the desired effect, " can you inform 
 me of anything concerning the youth whom I so unfor- 
 tunately wounded ? I found him on the mountain hunting 
 in company with the Leather-Stocking, as if they were of 
 
,100 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 the same family ; but there is a manifest difference in theif 
 manners. The youth delivers himself in chosen language ; 
 such as is seldom heard in these hills, and such as occa- 
 sions great surprise to me, how one so meanly clad, and 
 following so lowly a pursuit, could attain. Mohegan also 
 knew him. Doubtless he is a tenant of Natty's hut. Did 
 you remark the language of the lad, Monsieur Le Quoi ?" 
 
 " Certainement, Monsieur Tempi','' returned the French- 
 man, " he deed conovairse in de excellent Anglaise." 
 
 "The boy is no miracle," exclaimed Richard; " I've 
 known children that were sent to school early, talk much 
 better before they were twelve years old. There was Zared 
 Coe, old Nehemiah's son, who first settled on the beaver- 
 dam meadow, he could write almost as good a hand as 
 myself, when he was fourteen ; though it's true, I helped 
 to teach him a little in the evenings. But this shooting 
 gentleman ought to be put in the stocks, if he ever takes a 
 rein in his hand again. He is the most awkward fellow 
 about a horse I ever met with. I dare say he never drove 
 anything but oxen in his life." 
 
 "There, I think, Dickon, you do the lad injustice," said 
 the Judge ; " he uses much discretion in critical moments. 
 Dost thou not think so, Bess ? " 
 
 There was nothing in this question particularly to excite 
 blushes, but Elizabeth started from the reverie into which 
 she had fallen, and colored to her forehead, as she an- 
 swered : 
 
 "To me, dear sir, he appeared extremely skilful, and 
 prompt, and courageous ; but perhaps Cousin Richard 
 will say I am as ignorant as the gentleman himself." 
 
 "Gentleman!" echoed Richard; " do you call such 
 chaps gentlemen, at school, Elizabeth ? " 
 
 "Every man is a gentleman that knows how to treat a 
 woman with respect and consideration," returned the young 
 lady, promptly, and a little smartly. 
 
 " So much for hesitating to appear before the heiress in 
 fcis shirt-sleeves," cried Richard, winking at Monsieur Le 
 Quoi, who returned the wink with one eye, while he rolled 
 the other, with an expression of sympathy, toward the 
 young lady. " Well, well, to me he seemed anything but 
 a gentleman. I must say. however, for the lad, that he 
 draws a good trigger, and has a true aim. He's good at 
 shooting a buck, ha ! Marmaduke ? " 
 
 " Richart," said Major Hartmann, turning his grave 
 
THE PIONEERS. 101 
 
 countenance toward the gentleman - he addressed, with 
 much earnestness, " ter poy is goot. He savet your life, 
 and my life, and ter life of Tominie Grant, and ter life of 
 ter Frenchman ; and, Richard, he shall never vant a pet 
 to sleep in vile olt Fritz Hartmann has a shingle to cover 
 his het mit." 
 
 " Well, well, as you please, old gentleman," returned Mr, 
 Jones, endeavoring to look indifferent ; "put him into 
 your own stone house, if you will, major. I dare say the 
 lad never slept in anything better than a bark shanty in 
 his life, unless it was some such hut as the cabin of Leather- 
 Stocking. I prophesy you will soon spoil him ; any one 
 could see how proud he grew, in a short time, just because 
 he stood by my horses' heads, while I turned them into the 
 highway." 
 
 " No, no, my old friend," cried Marmaduke, " it shall be 
 my task to provide in some manner for the youth ; I owe 
 him a debt of my own, besides the service he has done 
 me, through my friends. And yet I anticipate some little 
 trouble, in inducing him to accept of my services. He 
 showed a marked dislike, I thought, Bess, to my offer of a 
 residence within these walls for life." 
 
 " Really, dear sir," said Elizabeth, projecting her beauti- 
 ful under-lip, " I have not studied the gentleman so closely 
 as to read his feelings in his countenance. I thought he 
 might very naturally feel pain from his wound, and there- 
 fore pitied him ; but " and as she spoke she glanced her 
 eye, with suppressed curiosity, toward the major-domo 
 " I dare say, sir, that Benjamin can tell you something 
 about him. He cannot have been in the village, and Ben- 
 jamin not have seen him often." 
 
 " Ay ! I have seen the boy before," said Benjamin, who 
 wanted little encouragement to speak ; "he has been back* 
 ing and filling in the wake of Natty Bumppo, through the 
 mountains', after deer, like a Dutch long-boat in tow of an 
 Albany sloop. He carries a good rifle, too. The Leather* 
 Stocking said, in my hearing, before Betty Hollister's bar* 
 room fire, no later than the Tuesday night, that the youn- 
 ker was certain death to the wild beasts. If so be he can 
 kill the wild-cat that has been heard moaning on the lake- 
 side since the hard frosts and deep snows have driven the 
 deer to herd, he will be doing the thing that is good. Your 
 wild-cat is a bad shipmate, and should be made to cruise 
 out of the track of Christian men." 
 
102 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 " Lives he in the hut of Bumppo ?" asked Marmaduke 
 with some, interest. 
 
 " Cheek by jowl ; the Wednesday will be three weeks 
 since he first hove in sight, in company with Leather- 
 Stocking. They had captured a wolf between them, and 
 had brought in his scalp for the bounty. That Mister 
 Bump-ho has a handy turn with him in taking off a 
 scalp ; and there's them, in this here village, who say he 
 larnt the trade by working on Christian men. If so be 
 that there is truth in the saying, and I commanded along 
 shore here, as your honor does, why, d'ye see, I'd bring 
 him to the gangway for it, yet. There's a very pretty 
 post rigged alongside of the stocks ; and for the matter of 
 a cat, I can fit one with my own hands ; ay ! and use it too, 
 for the want of a better." 
 
 " You are not to credit the idle tales you hear of Natty ; 
 he has a kind of natural right to gain a livelihood in these 
 mountains ; and if the idlers in the village take it into 
 their heads to annoy him, as they sometimes do reputed 
 rogues, they shall find him protected by the strong arm of 
 the law." 
 
 " Ter rifle is petter as ter law," said the major, sen- 
 tentiously. 
 
 " That for his rifle ! " exclaimed Richard, snapping his 
 
 fingers ; " Ben is right, and I " He was stopped by 
 
 the sound of a common ship-bell, that had been elevated 
 to the belfry of the academy, which now announced, by 
 its incessant ringing, that the hour for the appointed ser- 
 vice had arrived. " * For this and every other instance of his 
 
 goodness ' I beg pardon, Mr. Grant, will you please to 
 
 return thanks, sir ? it is time we should be moving, as we 
 are the only Episcopalians in the neighborhood ; that is I 
 and Benjamin, and Elizabeth ; for I count half-breeds, 
 like Marmaduke, as bad as heretics." 
 
 The divine arose, and performed the office, meekly and 
 fervently, and the whole party instantly prepared them- 
 selves for the church or rather academy. 
 
THE PIONEERS. JOJ 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 "And calling sinful man to pray, 
 Loud, long, and deep the bell had tolled." SCOTT'S BURGHER. 
 
 WHILE Richard and Monsieur Le Quoi, attended by Ben- 
 jamin, proceeded to the academy by a foot-path through 
 the snow, the Judge, ;iis daughter, the divine, and the 
 major, took a more circuitous route to the same place by 
 the streets of the village. , 
 
 The moon had risen, and its orb was shedding a flood of 
 light over. the dark outline of pines which crowned the 
 eastern mountain. In many climates the sky would have 
 been thought clear and lucid for a noontide. The stars 
 twinkled in the heavens, like the last glimmerings of dis- 
 tant fire, so much were they obscured by the overwhelm- 
 ing radiance of the atmosphere ; the rays from the moon 
 striking upon the smooth, white surfaces of the lake and 
 fields, reflecting upward a light that was brightened by 
 the spotless color of the immense bodies of snow which 
 covered the earth. 
 
 Elizabeth employed herself with reading the signs, one 
 of which appeared over almost every door ; while the 
 sleigh moved steadily, and at an easy gait, along the prin- 
 cipal street. Not only new occupations, but names that 
 were strangers to her ears, met her gaze at every step 
 they proceeded. The very houses seemed changed. This 
 had been altered by an addition ; that had been painted ; 
 another had been erected on the site of an old acquaint- 
 ance, which had been banished from the earth almost as 
 soon as it made its appearance on it. All were, however, 
 pouring forth their inmates, who uniformly held their 
 way toward the point where the expected exhibition of 
 the conjoint taste of Richard and Benjamin was to be 
 made. 
 
 After viewing the buildings, which really appeared to 
 some advantage under the bright but mellow light of the 
 moon, our heroine turned her eyes to a scrutiny of the 
 different figures that they passed, in search of any form 
 that she knew. But all seemed alike, as muffled in cloaks, 
 hoods, coats, or tippets, they glided along the narrow pas- 
 sages in the snow which led under the houses, .half hid by 
 
K>4 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 the bank that had been thrown up in excavating the deep 
 path in which they trod. Once or twice she thought 
 there was a stature or a gait that she recollected ; but the 
 person who owned it instantly disappeared behind one of 
 those enormous piles of wood that lay before most of the 
 doors. It was only as they turned from the main street 
 into another that intersected it at right angles, and which 
 led directly to the place of meeting, that she recognized a 
 face and building that she knew. 
 
 The house stood at one of the principal corners in the 
 village ; and, by its well-trodden door-way, as well as the 
 sign that was swinging with a kind of doleful sound in the 
 biasts that occasionally swept down the lake, was clearly 
 one of the most frequented inns in the place. The build- 
 ing was only of one story ; but the dormer-windows in the 
 roof, the paint, the window-shutters, and the cheerful fire 
 that shone through the open door, gave it an air of com- 
 fort that was not possessed by many of its neighbors. The 
 sign was suspended from a common ale-house post, and 
 represented the figure of a horseman, armed with sabre 
 and pistols, and surmounted by a bear-skin cap, with a 
 fiery animal that he bestrode " rampant." All these par- 
 ticulars were easily to be seen by the aid of the moon, to- 
 gether with a row of somewhat illegible writing in black 
 paint, but in which Elizabeth, to whom the whole was fa- 
 miliar, read with facility, "The Bold Dragoon." 
 
 A man and a woman were issuing from the door of this 
 habitation as the sleigh was passing. The former moved 
 with a stiff, military step, that was a good deal heightened 
 by a limp in one leg ; but the woman advanced with a 
 measure and an air that seemed not particularly regardful 
 of what she might encounter. The light of the moon fell 
 directly upon her full, broad, and red visage, exhibiting her 
 masculine countenance, under the mockery of a ruffled cap 
 that was intended to soften the lineaments of features that 
 were by no means squeamish. A small bonnet of black 
 silk, and of a slightly formal cut, was placed on the back 
 'of her head, but so as not to shade her visage in the least. 
 The face, as it encountered the rays of the moon from the 
 east, seemed not unlike sunrising in the west. She ad- 
 vanced with masculine strides to intercept the sleigh ; and 
 the Judge, directing the namesake of the Grecian king, 
 who held the lines, to check his horses, the parties were 
 soon near to each other. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 103 
 
 "Good luck to ye, and a wilcome home, Jooge," cried 
 the female, with a strong Irish accent : "and I'm sure it's 
 to me that ye'r always wiicome. Sure ! and there's Miss 
 'Lizzy, and a fine young woman she is grown. What a 
 heart-ache would she be giving the young men now, if 
 there was sich a thing as a rigiment in the town ! Och ! 
 but it's idle to talk of sich vanities, while the bell is calling 
 us to mateing jist as we shall be call'd away unexpictedly 
 some day, when we are the laist calkilating. Good-even, 
 major ; will I make the bowl of giri toddy the night, or it's 
 likely ye'll stay at the big house the Christmas eve, and 
 the very night of ye'r getting there ? " 
 
 "I am glad to see you, Mrs. Hollvster," returned Eliza- 
 beth. " I have been trying to find a face that I knew since 
 we left the door of the mansion-house ; but none have I 
 seen except your own. Your house, too, is unaltered, 
 while all the others are so changed that, but for the places 
 where they stand, they would be utter strangers. I ob- 
 serve you also keep the dear sign that I saw Cousin Richard 
 paint ; and even the name at the bottom, about which, 
 you may remember, you had the disagreement." 
 
 " It is the bould dragoon, ye mane ? And what name 
 would he have, who niver was known by any other, as my 
 husband here, the captain, can testify. He was a pleasure 
 to wait upon, and was ever the foremost in need. OchJ 
 but he had a sudden end ! but it's to be hoped that he was 
 justified by the cause. And it's not Parson Grant there 
 who'll gainsay that same. Yes. yes ; the squire would paint, 
 and so I thought that we might have his faoe up there, who 
 had so often shared good and evil wid us. The eyes is no 
 so large nor so fiery as the captain's own ; but the whiskers 
 and the cap is as two paes. Well, well, I'll not keep ye in 
 the cowld, talking, but will drop in the morrow after sar- 
 vice, and ask ye how ye do. It's our bounden duty to make 
 the most of this present, and to go to the house which is 
 open to all ; so God bless ye, and keep ye from evil ! Will 
 I make the gin-twist the night, or no, major ? " 
 
 To this question the German replied, very sententiously, 
 in the affirmative ; and, after a few words had passed be- 
 tween the husband of the fiery-faced hostess and the Judge, 
 the sleigh moved on. It soon reached the door of the acad- 
 emy, where the party alighted and entered the building. 
 
 In the meantime, Mr. Jones and his two companions, 
 having a much shorter distance to journey, had arrived be- 
 
io6 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 fore the appointed place some minutes sooner than the 
 party in the sleigh. Instead of hastening into the room, 
 in order to enjoy the astonishment of he settlers, Richard 
 placed a hand in either pocket of his surtout, and affected 
 to walk about, in front of the academy, like one to whom 
 the ceremonies were familiar. 
 
 The villagers proceeded uniformly into the building, 
 with a decorum and gravity that nothing could move, on 
 such occasions ; but with a haste that was probably a little 
 heightened by curiosity. Those who came in from the ad- 
 jacent country spent some little time in placing certain 
 blue and white blankets over their horses before they pro- 
 ceeded to indulge their desire to view the interior of the 
 house. Most of these men Richard approached, and in- 
 quired after the health and condition of their families. 
 The readiness with which he mentioned the names of even 
 the children, showed how very familiarly acquainted he 
 was with their circumstances ; and the nature of the an- 
 swers he received proved that he was a general favorite. 
 
 At length one of the pedestrians from the village stopped 
 also, and fixed an earnest gaze at a new brick edifice that 
 was throwing a long shadow across the fields of snow, as 
 it rose, with a beautiful gradation of light and shade, under 
 the rays of a full moon. In front of the academy was a 
 vacant piece of ground, that was intended for a public 
 square. On the side opposite to Mr. Jones, the new and 
 as yet unfinished church of St. Paul's was erected. This 
 edifice had been reared during the preceding summer, by 
 the aid of what was called a subscription ; though all, or 
 nearly all, of the money came from the pockets of the land- 
 lord. It had been built under a strong conviction of the 
 necessity of a more seemly place of worship than " the long 
 room of the academy," and under an implied agreement 
 that, after its completion, the question should be fairly put 
 to the people, that they might decide to what denomina- 
 tion it should belong. Of course, this expectation kept 
 alive a strong excitement in some few of the secretaries 
 who were interested in its decision ; though but little was 
 said openly on the subject. Had Judge Temple espoused 
 the cause of any particular sect, the question would have 
 been immediately put at rest, for his influence was too 
 powerful to be opposed ; but he declined interference in 
 the matter, positively refusing to lend even the weight of 
 his name on the side of Richard, who had secretly given 
 
THE PIONEERS. 107 
 
 an assurance to his diocesan, that both the building and 
 the congregation would cheerfully come within the pale 
 of the Protestant Episcopal Church. But, when the neu- 
 trality of the Judge was clearly ascertained, Mr. Jones dis- 
 covered that he had to contend with a stiff-necked people. 
 His first measure was to go among them, and commence a 
 course of reasoning, in order to bring them round to his 
 own way of thinking. They all heard him patiently, and 
 not a man uttered a word in reply, in the way of argument ; 
 and Richard thought, by the time that he had gone through 
 the settlement, the point was conclusively decided in his 
 favor. Willing to strike while the iron was hot, he called 
 a meeting, through the newspaper, with a view to decide 
 the question by a vote at once. Not a soul attended ; 
 and one of the most anxious afternoons that he had ever 
 known was spent by Richard in a vain discussion with Mrs. 
 Hollister, who strongly contended that the Methodist (her 
 own) church was the best entitled to, and most deserving 
 of, the possession of the new tabernacie. Richard now 
 perceived that he had been too sanguine, and had fallen 
 into the error of all those who ignorantly deal with that wary 
 and sagacious people. He assumed a disguise himself 
 that is, as well as he knew how, and proceeded step by 
 step to advance Ms purpose. 
 
 The task of erecting the building had been unanimously 
 transferred to Mr. Jones and Hiram Doolittle. Together 
 they had built the mansion-house, the academy, and the 
 jail ; and they alone knew how to plan and rear such a 
 structure as was now required. Early in the day, these 
 architects had made an equitable division of their duties. 
 To the former was assigned the duty of making all the 
 plans, and to the latter the labor of superintending the exe- 
 cution. 
 
 Availing himself of this advantage, Richard silently de- 
 termined that the windows should have the Roman arch : 
 the first positive step in effecting his wishes. As the build- 
 ing was made of bricks, he was enabled to conceal his de- 
 sign, until the moment arrived for placing the frames ; then, 
 indeed, it became necessary to act. -He communicated his 
 wishes to Hiram with great caution ; and, without in the 
 least adverting to the spiritual part of his project, 1 s 
 pressed the point a little warmly on the score of architec- 
 tural beauty. Hiram heard him patiently, and without 
 contradiction, but still Richard was unable to discover the 
 
lo8 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 views of his coadjutor on this interesting subject. As the 
 right to plan was duly delegated to Mr. Jones, no direct 
 objection was made in words, but numberless unexpected 
 difficulties arose in the execution. At first there was a 
 scarcity in the right kind of material necessary to form 
 the frames ; but this objection was instantly silenced, by 
 Richard running his pencil through two feet of their length 
 at one stroke. Then the expense was mentioned ; but 
 Richard reminded Hiram that his cousin paid, and that fu 
 was his treasurer. This last intimation had great weight, 
 and after a silent and protracted, but fruitless opposition, 
 the work was suffered to proceed on the original plan. 
 
 The next difficulty occurred in the steeple, which Richard 
 had modelled after one of the smaller of those spires that 
 adorn the great London cathedral. The imitation was 
 somewhat lame, it was true, the proportions being but in- 
 differently observed ; but, after much difficulty, Mr. Jones 
 had the satisfaction of seeing an object reared that bore, 
 in its outlines, a striking resemblance to a vinegar-cruet. 
 There was less opposition to this model than to the win- 
 dows ; for the settlers were foncl of novelty, and their 
 steeple was without a precedent. 
 
 Here the labor ceased for the season, and the difficult 
 question of the interior remained for further deliberation. 
 Richard well knew that, when he came to propose a read- 
 ing-desk and a chancel, he must unmask ; for these were 
 arrangements known to no church in the country but his 
 own. Presuming, however, on the advantages he had 
 already obtained, he boldly styled the building St. Paul's, 
 and Hiram prudently acquiesced in this appellation, making 
 however, the slight addition calling it " New St. Paul's," 
 feeling less aversion to a name taken from the English 
 cathedral than from the saint. 
 
 The pedestrian whom we have already mentioned, as 
 pausing to contemplate this edifice, was no other than the 
 gentleman so frequently named as Mr. or Squire Doolittle. 
 He was of a tall, gaunt formation, with rather sharp -fea- 
 tures, and a face that expressed formal propriety, mingled 
 with low cunning. Richard approached him, followed by 
 Monsieur Le Quoi and the major-domo. 
 
 " Good-evening, squire," said -Richard, bobbing his head, 
 but without moving his hands from his pockets. 
 
 "Good-evening, squire, "echoed Hiram, turning his body, 
 in order to turn his head also. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 109 
 
 "A cold night, Mr. Doolittle, a cold night, sir." 
 
 " Coolish ; a tedious spell on't." 
 
 " What, looking at our church, ha ! it looks well, by 
 moonlight ; how the tin of the cupola glistens ! I warrant 
 you the dome of the other St. Paul's never shines so in the 
 smoke of London." 
 
 " It is a pretty meeting-house to look on," returned 
 Hiram, "and I believe that Monshure Ler Quow and Mr. 
 Penguilliam will allow it." 
 
 " Sairtainlee ! " exclaimed the complaisant Frenchman, 
 ft it ees ver fine." 
 
 " I thought the monshure would say so. The last mo- 
 lasses that we had was excellent good. It isn't likely that 
 you have any more of it on hand ? " 
 
 "Ah! oui; ees, sair," returned Monsieur Le Quoi, with 
 a slight shrug of his shoulder, and a trifling grimace, " dere 
 is more. I feel ver happi dat you love eet. I hope dat 
 Madame Doleet' is in good 'ealth." 
 
 "Why, so as to be stirring," said Hiram. "The squire 
 hasn't finished the plans for the inside of the meeting- 
 house yet ?" 
 
 "No no no," returned Richard, speaking quickly, but 
 making a significant pause between each negative " it 
 requires reflection. There is a great deal of room to fill 
 up, and I am afraid we shall not know how to dispose of 
 it to advantage. There will be a large vacant spot around 
 the pulpit, which I do not mean to place against the wall, 
 like a sentry-box stuck up on the side of a fort." 
 
 " It is ridable to put the deacon's box under the pulpit,'* 
 said Hiram ; and then, as if he had ventured too much, he 
 added, " but there's different fashions in different coun- 
 tries." 
 
 "That there is," cried Benjamin; "now, in running 
 down the coast of Spain and Portingall, you may see a 
 nunnery stuck out on every head-land, with more steeples 
 and outriggers, such as dog-vanes and weathercocks, than 
 you'll find aboard of a three-masted schooner. If so be that 
 a well-built .church is wanting, old England, after all, is 
 the country to gato after your models and fashion pieces. 
 As to Paul's, thof I've never seen it, being that it's a long 
 way up town from Radcliffe Highway and the docks, yet 
 everybody knows that it's the grandest place in the world. 
 Now, I've no opinion but this here church over there is as 
 like one end of it as a grampus is to a whale : and that's 
 
I io THE PIONEERS. 
 
 only a small difference in bulk. Mounsheer Ler Quaw, 
 here, has been in foreign parts ; and thof that is not the 
 same as having been at home, yet he must have seen 
 churches in France too, and can form a small idee of what 
 a church should be ; now, I ask the mounsheer to his face, 
 if it is not a clever little thing, taking it by and large." 
 
 " It ees ver apropos of saircumstance," said the French- 
 man " ver judgment but it is in the catholique country 
 dat dey build de vat you call ah a ah-ha la grande 
 cathedrale de big church. St. Paul, Londre, is ver fine ; 
 ver belle ; ver grand vat you call beeg ; but, Monsieur 
 Ben, pardonnez-moi, it is no vort so much as Notre- 
 Dame." 
 
 " Ha ! mounsheer, what is that you say ? " cried Benja- 
 min ; " St. Paul's church is not worth so much as a damn ! 
 Mayhap you may be thinking too that the Royal Billy isn't 
 so good a ship as the Billy de Paris ; but she would have, 
 licked two of her any day, and in all weathers." 
 
 As Benjamin had assumed a very threatening kind of 
 attitude, flourishing an arm with a bunch at the end of it 
 that was half as big as Monsieur Le Quoi's head, Richard 
 thought it time to interpose his authority. 
 
 " Hush, Benjamin, hush," he said; "you both misun- 
 derstand Monsieur Le Quoi, and forget yourself. But here 
 comes Mr. Grant, and the service will commence. Let us 
 go in." 
 
 The Frenchman, who received Benjamin's reply with a 
 well-bred good humor, that would not admit of any feeling 
 but pity for the other's ignorance, bowed in acquiescence, 
 and followed his companion. 
 
 Hiram and the major-domo brought up the rear, the lat- 
 ter grumbling as he entered the building : 
 
 " If so be that the king of France had so much as a 
 house to live in, that would lay alongside of Paul's, one 
 might put up with their jaw. It's more than flesh and blood 
 can bear, to hear a Frenchman run dow r n an English church 
 in this manner. Why, Squire Doolittle, I've been at the 
 whipping of two of them in one day clean built, snug 
 frigates, with standing royals, and them new-fashioned 
 cannonades on their quarters such as, if they had only 
 Englishmen aboard of them, would have fout the devil." 
 
 With this ominous word in his mouth, Benjamin entered 
 the church. 
 
THE PIONEERS. Hi 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 "And fools who -same to scoff, remained to pray." GOLDSMITH. 
 
 NOTWITHSTANDING the united labors of Richard and 
 Benjamin, the " long-room " was but an extremely inartU 
 ficial temple. Benches, made in the coarsest manner, and 
 entirely with a view to usefulness, were arranged in rows, 
 for the reception of the congregation ; while a rough, un- 
 Dainted box was placed against the wall, in the~centre of 
 the length of the apartment, as an apology for a pulpit. 
 Something like a reading-desk was in front of this rostrum ; 
 and a small mahogany table from the mansion-house, 
 covered with a spotless damask cloth, stood a little on one 
 side, by the way of an altar. Branches of pines and hem- 
 locks were stuck in each of the fissures that offered, in 
 the unseasoned and hastily completed wood-work, of both 
 the building and its furniture ; while festoons and hiero- 
 glyphics met the eye in vast profusion along the brown 
 sides of the scratch-coated walls. As the room was only 
 lighted by some ten or fifteen miserable candles, and the 
 windows were without shutters, it would have been but a 
 dreary, cheerless place for the solemnities of a Christmas 
 eve, had not the large fire that was crackling at each end 
 of the apartment, given an air of cheerfulness to the scene, 
 by throwing an occasional glare of light through the vistas 
 of bushes and faces. 
 
 The two sexes were separated by an area in the centre 
 of the room immediately before the pulpit ; and a few 
 benches lined this space, that were occupied by the princi- 
 pal personages of the village and its vicinity. This dis- 
 tinction was rather a gratuitous concession, made by the 
 poorer and less polished part of the population than a 
 right claimed by the favored few. One bench was occu- 
 pied by the party of Judge Temple, including his daughter ; 
 and, with the exception of Dr. Todd, no one else appeared 
 willing to incur the imputation of pride, by taking a seat 
 in what was, literally, the high place of the tabernacie. 
 
 Richard filled the chair that was placed behind another 
 table, in the capacity of clerk ; while Benjamin, after heap- 
 ing sundry logs on the fire, posted himself nigh by, in re* 
 serve for any movement that might require co-operation. 
 
113 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 It would greatly exceed our limits to attempt a descripi 
 tion of the congregation, for the dresses were as various 
 as the individuals. Some one article, of more than usual 
 finery, and perhaps the relic of other days, was to be seen 
 about most of the females, in connection with the coarse 
 attire of the woods. This wore a faded silk, that had gone 
 through at least three generations, over coarse, woollen 
 black stockings ; that, a shawl, whose dyes were as numer- 
 ous as those of the rainbow, over an awkwardly fitting 
 gown of rough brown "woman's wear." In short, each 
 one exhibited some favorite article, and all appeared in 
 their best, both men and women ; while the ground-works 
 in dress, in either sex, were the coarse fabrics manufactured 
 within their own dwellings. One man appeared in the 
 dress of a volunteer company of artillery, of which he had 
 been a member in the " down countries," precisely for no 
 other reason than because it was the best suit he had. 
 Several, particularly of the younger men, displayed panta- 
 loons of blue, edged with red cloth down the seams, part 
 of the equipments of the " Templeton Light Infantry," 
 from a little vanity to be seen in " boughten clothes." 
 There was also one man in a " rifle- frock," with its fringes 
 and folds of spotless white, striking a chill to the heart 
 with the idea of its coolness, although the thick coat of 
 brown "home-made " that was concealed beneath preserved 
 a proper degree of warmth. 
 
 There was a marked uniformity of expression in counte- 
 nance, especially in that half of the congregation who did 
 not enjoy the advantages of the polish of the village. A 
 sallow skin, that indicated nothing but exposure, was com- 
 mon to all, as was an air of great decency and attention, 
 mingled, generally, with an expression of shrewdness, and 
 in the present instance, of active curiosity. Now and then 
 a face and dress were to be seen among the congregation, 
 that differed entirely from this description. If pock- 
 marked and florid, with gaitered legs, and a coat that 
 snugly fitted the person of the wearer, it was surely an 
 English emigrant, who had bent his steps to this retired 
 quarter of the globe. If hard-featured, and without color, 
 with high cheek bones, it was a native of Scotland, in simi 
 lar circumstances. 
 
 The short, black-eyed man, with a cast of the swarthy 
 Spaniard in his face, who rose repeatedly to make room 
 for the belles of the village as they entered, was a son of 
 
THE PIONEERS. lit 
 
 Erin, who had lately left off his pack, and become a sta- 
 tionary trader in Templeton. In short, half the nations in 
 the north of Europe had their representatives in this as- 
 sembly, though all had closely assimilated themselves to 
 the Americans in dress and appearance, except the Eng- 
 lishman. He, indeed, not only adhered to his native cus- 
 toms in attire and living, but usually drove his plough, 
 among the stumps, in the same manner as he had before 
 done on the plains of Norfolk, until dear-bought experi- 
 ence taught him the useful lesson, that a sagacious people 
 knew what was suited to their circumstances better than a 
 casual observer ; or a sojourner, who w r as, perhaps, too 
 much prejudiced to compare, and, peradventure, too con- 
 ceited to learn. 
 
 Elizabeth soon discovered that she divided the attention 
 of the congregation with Mr. Grant. Timidity, therefore, 
 confined her observation of the appearances ' which we 
 have described to stolen glances ; but, as the stamping of 
 feet was now becoming less frequent, aed even the cough- 
 ing, and other little preliminaries of a congregation set- 
 tling themselves down into reverential attention, were ceas- 
 ing, she felt emboldened to look around her. Gradually 
 all noises diminished, until the suppressed cough denoted 
 that it was necessary to avoid singularity, and the most 
 profound stillness pervaded the apartment. The snapping 
 of the fires, as they threw a powerful heat into the room, 
 was alone heard, and each face, and every eye were turned 
 on the divine. 
 
 At this moment, a heavy stamping of feet was heard in 
 the passage below, as if a new-comer was releasing his 
 limbs from the snow that was necessarily clinging to the 
 legs of a pedestrian. It was succeeded by no audible 
 tread ; but directly Mohegan, followed by the Leather- 
 Stocking and the young hunter, made his appearance. 
 Their footsteps would not have been heard, as they trod 
 the apartment in their moccasins, but for the silence 
 which prevailed. 
 
 The Indian moved with great gravity across the floor, 
 and, observing a vacant seat next to the Judge, he took 
 it, in a manner that manifested his sense of his own dig- 
 nity. Here, drawing his blanket closely around him, so 
 as partly to conceal his countenance, he remained, dur- 
 ing the service, immovable, but deeply attentive. Natty 
 passed the place that was so freely taken by his red 
 8 
 
ii4 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 companion, and seated himself on one end of a log that 
 was lying near the fire, where he continued, with his rifle 
 standing between his legs, absorbed in reflections, seem- 
 ingly of no very pleasing nature. The youth found a seat 
 among the congregation, and another silence prevailed. 
 
 Mr. Grant now arose and commenced his service with 
 the sublime declaration of the Hebrew prophet: "The 
 Lord is in His holy temple ; let all the earth keep silence 
 before Him." The example of Mr. Jones was unneces- 
 sary to teach the congregation to rise ; the solemnity ol 
 the divine effected ' this as by magic. After a short 
 pause, Mr. Grant proceeded with the solemn and winning 
 exhortation of his service. Nothing was heard but the 
 deep though affectionate, tones of the reader, as he went 
 slowly through this exordium ; until, something unfortu* 
 nately striking the mind of Richard as incomplete, he left 
 his place and walked on tiptoe from the room. 
 
 When the clergyman bent his knees in prayer and con- 
 fession, the congregation so far imitated his example as to 
 resume their seats ; whence no succeeding effort of the di- 
 vine, during the evening, was able to remove them in a 
 body. Some rose at times ; but by far the larger part 
 continued unbending ; observant, it is true, but it was the 
 kind of observation that regarded the ceremony as a spec- 
 tacle rather than a worship in which they were to partici- 
 pate. Thus deserted by his clerk, Mr. Grant continued to 
 read ; but no response was audible. The short and sol- 
 emn pause that succeeded each petition was made ; still 
 no voice repeated the eloquent language of the prayer. 
 
 The lips of Elizabeth moved, but they moved in vain ; 
 and, accustomed as she was to the service of the churches 
 of the metropolis, she was beginning to feel the awkward- 
 ness of the circumstance most painfully, when a soft, low 
 female voice repeated after the priest, *' We have left un- 
 done those things which we ought to have done." Startled 
 at finding one of her own sex in that place who could rise 
 superior to natural timidity, Miss Temple turned her eyes 
 in the direction of the penitent. She observed a young 
 female on her knees, but a short distance from her, with 
 her meek face humbly bent over her book. 
 
 The appearance of this stranger, for such she was, en- 
 tirely, to Elizabeth, was light and fragile. Her dress was 
 neat and becoming ; and her countenance, though pale and 
 slightly agitated, excited deep interest by its sweet and 
 
THE PIONEERS. li$ 
 
 melancholy expression. A second and third response was 
 made by this juvenile assistant, when the manly sounds of 
 a male voice proceeded from the opposite part of the room. 
 Miss Temple knew the tones of the young hunter instantly,, 
 and struggling to overcome her own diffidence, she added 
 her low voice to the number. 
 
 All this time Benjamin stood thumbing the leaves of a 
 prayer-book with great industry ; but some unexpected 
 difficulties prevented his finding the place. Before the di- 
 vine reached the close of the confession, however, Richard 
 j-eappeared at the door, and, as he moved lightly across 
 the room, he took up the response, in a voice that betrayed 
 no other concern than that of not being heard. In his hand 
 he carried a small open box, with the figures " 8 by 10 " 
 written in black paint on one of its sides ; which, having 
 placed in the pulpit, apparently as a footstool for the di- 
 vine, he returned to his station in time to say, sonorously, 
 "Amen." The eyes of the congregation, very naturally, 
 were turned to the windows, as Mr. Jones entered with his 
 singular load ; and then, as if accustomed to his "general 
 agency," were again bent on the priest, in close and curious 
 attention. 
 
 The long experience of Mr. Grant admirably qualified 
 him to perform his present duty. He well understood the 
 character of his listeners, who were mostly a primitive 
 people in their habits ; and who, being a good deal ad- 
 dicted to subtilties and nice distinctions in their religious 
 opinions, viewed the introduction of any such temporal 
 assistance as form into their spiritual worship, not only 
 with jealousy, but frequently with disgust. He had ac- 
 quired much of his knowledge from studying the great 
 book of human nature as it lay open in the world ; and, 
 knowing how dangerous it was to contend with ignorance, 
 uniformly endeavored to avoid dictating where his better 
 reason taught him it was the most prudent to attempt to 
 lead. His orthodoxy had no dependence on his cassock ; 
 he could pray with fervor and with faith, if circumstances 
 required it, without the assistance of his clerk ; and he had 
 even been known to preach a most evangelical sermon, in 
 the winning manner of native eloquence, without the aid 
 of a cambric handkerchief. 
 
 In the present instance he yielded, in many places, to 
 the prejudices of his congregation ; and when he had ended, 
 there was not one of his new hearers who did not think the 
 
n6 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 ceremonies less papal and offensive, and more conformant 
 to his or her own notions of devout worship, than they had 
 been led to expect from a service of forms. Richard found 
 in the divine, during the evening, a most powerful co-op- 
 erator in his religious schemes. In preaching, Mr. Grant 
 endeavored to steer a middle course between the mystical 
 doctrines of those sublimated creeds which daily involve 
 their professors in the most absurd contradictions, and 
 those fluent rules of moral government which would re- 
 duce the Saviour to a level with the teacher of a school of 
 ethics. Doctrine it was necessary to preach, for nothing 
 . less would have satisfied the disputatious people who were 
 his listeners, and who would have interpreted silence on 
 his part into a tacit acknowledgment of the superficial 
 nature of his creed. We have already said that, among 
 the endfess variety of religious instructors, the settlers were 
 accustomed to hear every denomination urge its own dis- 
 tinctive precepts, and to have found one indifferent to this 
 interesting subject would have been destructive to his in- 
 fluence. But Mr. Grant so happily blended the universally 
 received opinions of the Christian faith with the dogmas of 
 his own Church that, although none were entirely exempt 
 from the influence of his reasons, very few took any alarm 
 at the innovation. 
 
 " When we consider the great diversity of the human 
 character, influenced as it is by education, by opportunity, 
 and by the physical and moral conditions of the creature, 
 my dear hearers," he earnestly concluded, " it can excite 
 no surprise that creeds so very different in their tenden- 
 cies should grow out of a religion revealed, it is true, but 
 whose revelations are obscured by the lapse of ages, and 
 whose doctrines were, after the fashion of the countries in 
 which they were first promulgated, frequently delivered in 
 parables, and in a language abounding in metaphors and 
 loaded with figures. On points where the learned have, in 
 purity of heart, been compelled to differ, the unlettered 
 will necessarily be at variance. But, happily for us, my 
 brethren, the fountain of divine love flows from a source 
 too pure to admit of pollution in its course ; it extends, to 
 those who drink of its vivifying waters, the peace of the 
 righteous, and life everlasting ; it endures through all time, 
 and it pervades creation. If there be mystery in its work- 
 ings, it is the mystery of a Divinity. With a clear knowl- 
 edge of the nature, the might, and majesty of God, there 
 
THE PIONEERS. 117 
 
 might be conviction, but there could be no faith. If we 
 are required to believe in doctrines that seem not in con- 
 formity with the deductions of human wisdom, let us 
 never forget that such is the mandate of a wisdom that is 
 infinite. It is sufficient for us that enough is developed to 
 point our path aright, and to direct our wandering steps to 
 that portal which shall open on the light of an eternal day. 
 Then, indeed, it may be humbly hoped that the film which 
 has been spread by the subtilties of earthly arguments 
 will be dissipated by the spiritual light of Heaven ; and 
 that our hour of probation, by the aid of divine grace, be- 
 ing once passed in triumph, will be followed by an eternity 
 of intelligence and endless ages of fruition. All that is 
 now obscure shall become plain to our expanded faculties ; 
 and what to our present senses may seem irreconcilable to 
 our limited notions of mercy, of justice, and of love, shall 
 stand irradiated by the light of truth, confessedly the. sug- 
 gestions of Omniscience, and the acts of an All-powerful 
 Benevolence. 
 
 " What a lesson of humility, my brethren, might not 
 each of us obtain from a review of his infant hours, and 
 the recollection of his juvenile passions ! How differently 
 do the same acts of parental rigor appear, in the eyes of 
 the suffering child, and of the chastened man ! When the 
 sophist would supplant, with the wild theories of his 
 worldly wisdom, the positive mandates of inspiration, let 
 him remember the expansion of his own feeble intellects, 
 and pause let him feel the wisdom of God in what is par- 
 tially concealed, as well as that which is revealed ; in short, 
 let him substitute humility for pride of reason let him 
 have faith, and live ! 
 
 "The consideration of this subject is full of consolation, 
 my hearers, and does not fail to bring with it lessons of 
 humility and of profit, that, duly improved, would both 
 chasten the heart and strengthen the feeble-minded man 
 in his course. It is a blessed consolation to be able to lay 
 the misdoubtings of our arrogant nature at the threshold 
 of the dwelling-place of the Deity, from whence they shall 
 be swept away, at the great opening of the portal, like the 
 mists of the morning before the rising sun. It teaches us 
 a lesson of humility, by impressing us with the imperfec- 
 tion of human powers, and by warning us of the many 
 weak points where we are open to the attack of the great 
 enemy of our race ; it proves to us that we are in dangef 
 
Ii8 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 of being weak, when our vanity would fain soothe us into 
 the belief that we are most strong ; it forcibly points out 
 to us the vainglory of intellect, and shows us the vast dif- 
 ference between a saving faith and the corollaries of a 
 philosophical theology ; and it teaches us to reduce our 
 self-examination to the test of good works. By good 
 works must be understood the fruits of repentance, the 
 chiefest of which is charity. Not that charity only which 
 causes us to help the needy and comfort the suffering, but 
 that feeling of universal philanthropy which, by teaching 
 us to love, causes us to judge with lenity all men ; striking 
 at the root of self-righteousness, and warning us to be 
 sparing of our condemnation of others, while our own sal- 
 vation is not yet secure. 
 
 ''The lesson of expediency, my brethren, which I would 
 gather from the consideration of this subject, is most 
 strongly inculcated by humility. On the leading and es- 
 sential points of our faith, there is but little diiference 
 among those classes of Christians who acknowledge the 
 attributes of the Saviour, and depend on his mediation. 
 But heresies have polluted every church, and schisms are 
 the fruit of disputation. In order to arrest these dangers, 
 and to insure the union of his followers, it would seem that 
 Christ had established his visible church, and delegated 
 the ministry. Wise and holy men, the fathers of our re- 
 ligion, have expended their labors in clearing what was re- 
 vealed from the obscurities of language, and the results of 
 their experience and researches have been embodied in the 
 form of evangelical discipline. That this discipline must 
 be salutary, is evident from the view of the weakness of 
 human nature that we have already taken ; and that it 
 may be profitable to us, and all who listen to its precepts 
 and its liturgy, may God, in his infinite wisdom, grant ! 
 And now to," etc. 
 
 With this ingenious reference to his own forms and min- 
 istry, Mr. Grant concluded his discourse. The most pro- 
 found attention had been paid to the sermon during the 
 whole of its delivery, although the prayers had not been re- 
 ceived with so perfect demonstration of respect. This was 
 by no means an intended slight of that liturgy to which the 
 divine alluded, but was the habit of a people who owed 
 their very existence, as a distinct nation, to the doctrinal 
 character of their ancestors. Sundry looks of private dis- 
 satisfaction were exchanged between Hiram and one oz 
 
THE PIONEERS. Hg 
 
 two of the leading members of the conference, but the feel- 
 ing went no further at that time; and the congregation, 
 after receiving the blessing of Mr. Grant, dispersed in si- 
 lence, and with great decorum. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 "Your creeds and dogmas of a learned church 
 May build a fabric, fair with moral beauty ; 
 But it would seem that the strong hand of God 
 Can, only, 'rase the devil from the heart." Duo. 
 
 WHILE the congregation was separating, Mr. Grant ap- 
 proached the place where Elizabeth and her father were 
 seated, leading the youthful female whom we have men- 
 tioned in the preceding chapter, and presented her as his 
 daughter. Her reception was as cordial and frank as the 
 manners of the country, and the value of good society, 
 could render it ; the two young women feeling, instantly, 
 that they were necessary to the comfort of each other. The 
 Judge, to whom the clergyman's daughter was also a 
 stranger, was pleased to find one who, from habits, sex, 
 and years, could probably contribute largely to the pleas- 
 ures of his own child, during her first privations, on her 
 removal from the associations of a city to the solitude of 
 Templeton ; while Elizabeth, who had been forcibly struck 
 with the sweetness and devotion of the youthful suppliant, 
 removed the slight embarrassment of the timid stranger, 
 by the ease of her own manners. They were at once ac- 
 quainted ; and, during the ten minutes that the " academy " 
 was clearing, engagements were made between the young 
 people, not only for the succeeding day, but they would 
 probably have embraced in their arrangements half of the 
 winter, had not the divine interrupted them, by saying : 
 
 " Gently, gently, my dear Miss Temple, or you will make 
 my girl too dissipated. You forget that she is my house- 
 keeper, and that my domestic affairs must remain unat- 
 tended to, should Louisa accept of half the kind offers you 
 are so good as to make her." 
 
 "And why should they not be neglected entirely, sir?" 
 interrupted Elizabeth. " There are but two of you ; and 
 certain I am that my father's house will not only contain 
 you both, but will open its doors spontaneously to receive 
 
120 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 such guests. Society is a good, not to be rejected on ac 
 count of cold forms, in this wilderness, sir ; and I have often 
 heard my father say, that hospitality is not a virtue in a 
 new country, the favor being conferred by the guest." 
 
 " The manner in which Judge Temple exercises its rites 
 would confirm this opinion ; but we must not trespass too 
 freely. Doubt not that you will see us often, my child par- 
 ticularly, during the frequent visits that I shall be com- 
 pelled to make to the distant parts of the country. But to 
 obtain an influence with such a people, " he continued, 
 glancing his eyes toward the few who were still lingering, 
 curious observers of the interview, "a clergyman must not 
 awaken envy or distrust, by dwelling under so splendid a 
 roof as that of Judge Temple." 
 
 "You like the roof, then, Mr. Grant," cried Richard, 
 who had been directing the extinguishment of the fires, 
 and other little necessary duties, and who approached in 
 time to hear the close of the divine's speech " I am glad 
 to find one man of taste at last. Here's 'duke, now, pre- 
 tends to call it by every abusive name he can invent ; but 
 though 'duke is a tolerable judge, he is a very poor car- 
 penter, let me tell him. Well, sir, well, I think we may 
 say, without boasting, that the service was as well per- 
 formed this evening as you often see ; I think, quite as 
 well as I ever knew it to be done in old Trinity that is, 
 if we except the organ. But there is the schoolmaster 
 leads the psalm with a very good air. I used to lead my- 
 self, but latterly I have sung nothing but bass. There is 
 a good deal of science to be shown in the bass, and it af- 
 fords a fine opportunity to show off a full, deep voice. 
 Benjamin, too, sings a good bass, though he is often" out 
 in the words. Did you ever hear Benjamin sing the 'Bay 
 of Biscay, O ? '" 
 
 " I believe he gave us part of it this evening," said Mar 
 maduke, laughing. " There was, now and then, a fearful 
 quaver in his voice, and it seems that Mr. Penguillian is 
 like most others who do one thing particularly well ; he 
 knows nothing else. He has, certainly, a wonderful par- 
 tiality to one tune, and he has a prodigious self-confidence 
 in that one, for he delivers himself like a northwester 
 sweeping across the lake. But come, gentlemen, our way 
 is clear, and the sleigh waits. Good-evening, Mr. Grant. 
 Good-night, young lady remember you dine beneath the? 
 Corinthian roof, to-morrow, with Elizabeth." 
 
. THE PIONEERS. 121 
 
 + 
 
 The parties separated, Richard holding a close disserta- 
 tion with Mr. Le Quoi, as they descended the stairs, on 
 the subject of psalmody, which he closed by a violent 
 eulogium on the air of the " Bay of Biscay, O," as partic- 
 ularly connected with his friend Benjamin's execution. 
 
 During the preceding dialogue, Mohegan retained his 
 seat, with his head shrouded in his blanket, as seemingly 
 inattentive to surrounding objects as the departing con- 
 gregation w r as itself to the presence of the aged chief. 
 Natty, also, continued on the log where he had first 
 placed himself, with his head resting on one of his 
 hands, while the other held the rifle, which was thrown 
 carelessly across his lap. His countenance expressed un- 
 easiness, and the occasional unquiet glances that he had 
 thrown around him during the service, plainly indicated 
 some unusual causes for unhappiness. His continuing 
 seated was, however, out of respect to the Indian chief, to 
 whom he paid the utmost deference on all occasions, al- 
 though it was mingled with the rou'gh manner of a hun- 
 ter. 
 
 The young companion of these two ancient inhabitants 
 of the forest remained also standing before the extin- 
 guished brands, probably from an unwillingness to depart 
 without his comrades. The room was now deserted by all 
 but this group, the divine, and his daughter. As the party 
 from the mansion-house disappeared, John arose, and, 
 dropping the blanket from his head, he shook back the 
 mass of black hair from his face, and, approaching Mr. 
 Grant, he extended his hand, and said solemnly : 
 
 " Father, I thank you. The words that have been said, 
 since the rising moon, have gone upward, and the Great 
 Spirit is glad. What you have told your children, they 
 will remember, and be good." He paused a moment, and 
 then, elevating himself with the grandeur of an Indian 
 chief, he added : " If Chingachgook lives to travel toward 
 the setting sun, after his tribe, and the Great Spirit carries 
 him over the lakes and mountains with the breath of his 
 body, he will tell his people the good talk he has heard ; 
 and they will believe him ; for who can say that Mohegan 
 has ever lied ? " 
 
 " Let him place his dependence on the goodness of Di- 
 vine mercy," said Mr. Grant, to whom the proud con- 
 sciousness of the Indian sounded a little heterodox, " and 
 it never will desert him. When the heart is filled with 
 
122 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 love to God, there is no room for sm. But, young man, 
 to you I owe not only an obligation, in common with those 
 you saved this evening on the mountain, but my thanks for 
 your respectful and pious manner in assisting in the ser- 
 vice at a most embarrassing moment. I should be happy 
 to see you sometimes at my dwelling, when, perhaps, my 
 conversation may strengthen you in the path which you 
 appear to have chosen. It is so unusual to find one of 
 your age and appearance, in these woods, at all ac- 
 quainted with our holy liturgy, that it lessens at once the 
 distance between us, and I feel that we are no longer 
 strangers. You seem quite at home in the service ; I did 
 not perceive that you had even a book, although good 
 Mr. Jones had laid several in different parts of the room." 
 
 " It would be strange if I were ignorant of the service 
 of our church, sir," returned the youth, modestly ; " for I 
 was baptized in its communion and I have never yet at- 
 tended public worship elsewhere. For me to use the forms 
 of any other denomination would be as singular as our 
 own have proved to the people here this evening." 
 
 " You give me great pleasure, my dear sir," cried the 
 divine, seizing the other by the hand, and shaking it cor- 
 dially. " You will go home with rne now indeed you 
 must my child has yet to thank you for saving my life. 
 I will listen to no apologies. This worthy Indian, and 
 your friend, there, will accompany us. Bless me ! to think 
 that he has arrived at manhood in this country, without 
 entering a dissenting* meeting-house ! " 
 
 "No, no," interrupted the Leather-Stocking, " I must 
 away to the wigwam ; there's work there that mustn't be 
 forgotten for all your churchings and merry-makings. 
 Let the lad go with you in welcome ; he is used to keep- 
 ing company with ministers, and talking of such matters ; 
 so is old John, who was christianized by the Moravians 
 about the time of the old war. But I am a plain unlarned 
 man, that has sarved both the king and his country, in his 
 day, ag'in the French and savages, but never so much as 
 looked into a book, or larnt a letter of scholarship, in my 
 born days. I've never seen the use of much in-doorwork, 
 though I have lived to be partly bald, and in my time have 
 killed two hundred beaver in a season, and that without 
 
 * The divines of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States 
 commonly call other denominations Dissenters^ though there never was an 
 established church in their own country ! 
 
THE PIONEERS. 123 
 
 counting the other game. If you mistrust what I am tell- 
 ing you, you can ask Chingachgook there, for I did it in 
 the heart of the Delaware country, and -the old man is 
 knowing to the truth of every word I say." 
 
 ** I doubt not, my friend, that you have been both a 
 valiant soldier and skilful hunter in your day," said the 
 divine ; " but more is wanting to prepare you for that end 
 which approaches. You may have heard the maxim, that 
 ' young men may die, but that old men must' " 
 
 "I'm sure I never was so great a fool as to expect to 
 live forever," said Natty, giving one of his silent laughs ; 
 " no man need do that, who trails the savages through the 
 woods, as I have done, and lives, for the hot months, on 
 the lake streams. I've a strong constitution, I must say 
 that for myself, as is plain to be seen ; for I've drunk the 
 Onondaga water a hundred times, while I've been watch 
 ing the deer-licks, when the fever-an-agy seeds was to be 
 seen in it as plain and as plenty as you can see the rattle- 
 snakes on old Cruinhorn. But then, I never expected to 
 hold out forever; though there's them living who have 
 seen the German flats a wilderness ; ay ! and them that's 
 larned, and acquainted with religion, too ; though you 
 might look a week, now, and not find even the stump of a 
 pine on them ; and that's a wood that lasts in the ground 
 the better part of a hundred years after the tree is dead." 
 
 " This is but time, my good friend," returned Mr. Grant, 
 who began to take an interest in the welfare of his new 
 acquaintance, " but I would have you prepare for eternity. 
 It is incumbent on you to attend places of public worship, 
 as I am pleased to see that you have done this evening. 
 Would it not be heedless in you to start on a day's toil of 
 hard hunting, and leave your ramrod and flint behind ? " 
 
 " It must be a young hand in the woods," interrupted 
 Natty, with another laugh, " that didn't know how to dress 
 a rod out of an ash sapling or find a fire-stone in the moun- 
 tains. No, no, I never expected to live forever ; but I see, 
 times be altering in these mountains from what they was 
 thirty years ago, or, for that matter, ten years. But might 
 makes right, and the law is stronger than an old man, 
 whether he is one that has much laming, or only like me, 
 that is better now at standing at the passes than in follow- 
 ing the hounds, as I once used to could. Heigh-ho ! I 
 never know'd preaching come into a settlement but it 
 made game scarce, and raised the price of gunpowder ; 
 
124 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 and that's a thing that's not as easily made as a ramrod or 
 an Indian flint." 
 
 The divine, perceiving that he had given his opponent 
 an argument by his own unfortunate selection of a com. 
 parison, very prudently relinquished the controversy ; al- 
 though he was fully determined to resume it at a more 
 happy moment. Repeating his request to the young hun- 
 ter, with great earnestness, the youth and Indian consented 
 to accompany him and his daughter to the dwelling that 
 the care of Mr. Jones had provided for their temporary 
 residence. Leather-Stocking persevered in his intention 
 of returning to the hut, and at the door of the building they 
 separated. 
 
 After following the course of one of the streets of the 
 village a short distance, Mr. Grant, who led the way, turned 
 into a field, through a pair of open bars, and entered a 
 footpath, of but sufficient width to admit one person to 
 walk in at a time. The moon had gained a height that en- 
 abled her to throw her rays perpendicularly on the valley ; 
 and the distinct shadows of the party flitted along on the 
 banks of the silver snow, like the presence of aerial figures, 
 gliding to their appointed place of meeting. The night 
 still continued intensely cold, although not a breath of 
 wind was felt. The path was beaten so hard, that the gen- 
 tle female, who made one of the party, moved with ease 
 along its windings ; though the frost emitted a low creak- 
 ing at the impression of even her light footsteps. 
 
 The clergyman in his dark dress of broadcloth, with his 
 mild, benevolent countenance occasionally turned toward 
 his companions, expressing that look of subdued care which 
 was its characteristic, presented the first object in this sin- 
 gular group. Next to him moved the Indian, his hair fall- 
 ing about his face, his head uncovered, and the rest of his 
 form concealed beneath his blanket. As his swarthy vis- 
 age, with its muscles fixed in rigid composure, was seen 
 under the light of the moon, which struck his face oblique- 
 ly, he seemed a picture of resigned old age, on whom the 
 storms of winter had beaten in vain for the greater part of 
 a century ; but when, in turning his head, the rays fell di- 
 rectly on his dark, fiery, eyes, they told a tale of passions 
 unrestrained, and of thoughts free as air. The slight per- 
 son of Miss Grant, which followed next, and which was 
 but too thinly clad for the severity of the season, formed a 
 marked contrast to the wild attire and uneasy glances of 
 
THE PIONEERS. 125 
 
 the Delaware chief ; and more than once during their walk, 
 the young hunter, himself no insignificant figure in the 
 group, was led to consider the difference in the human 
 form, as the face of Mohegan, and the gentle countenance 
 of Miss Grant, with eyes that rivalled the soft hue of the 
 sky, met his view at the instant that each turned to throw 
 a glance at the splendid orb which lighted their path. 
 Their way, which led through fields that lay at some dis- 
 tance in the rear of the houses, was cheered by a conversa- 
 tion that flagged or became animated with the subject. 
 The first to speak was the divine. 
 
 " Really," he said, " it is so singular a circumstance to 
 meet with one of your age, that has not been induced by 
 idle curiosity to visit any other church than the one in 
 which he has been educated, that I feel a strong curiosity 
 to know the history of a life so fortunately regulated. Your 
 education must have been excellent ; as indeed is evident 
 from your manners and language. Of which of the States 
 are you a native, Mr. Edw r ards ? for such, I believe, was 
 the name that you gave Judge Temple." 
 
 "Of this." 
 
 " Of this ! I was at a loss to conjecture, from your dialect, 
 which does not partake, particularly, of the peculiarities of 
 any country with which I am acquainted. You have, then, 
 resided much in the cities, for no other part of this coun- 
 try is so fortunate as to possess the constant enjoyment of 
 our excellent liturgy." 
 
 The young hunter smiled, as he listened to the divine 
 while he so clearly betrayed from what part of the country 
 he had come himself ; but, for reasons probably connected 
 with his present situation, he made no answer. 
 
 " I am delighted to meet with you, my young friend, for 
 I think an ingenuous mi'nd, such as I doubt not yours 
 must be, will exhibit all the advantages of a settled doc- 
 trine and devout liturgy. You perceive how I was com- 
 pelled to bend to the humors of my hearers this evening. 
 Good Mr. Jones wished me to read the communion, and, 
 in fact, all the morning service ; but, happily, the canons 
 do not require this of an evening. It would have wearied 
 a new congregation : but to morrow I purpose administer- 
 ing the sacrament. Do you commune, my young friend ? " 
 
 " I believe not, sir," returned the youth, .with a little em- 
 barrassment, that was not^at all diminished by Miss Grant's 
 pausing involuntarily, and turning her eyes on him in sur- 
 
126 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 pri se i fear that I am not qualified ; I have never yet 
 approached the altar ; neither would I wish to do it while 
 I find so much of the world clinging to my heart." 
 
 " Each must judge for himself," said Mr. Grant ; "though 
 I should think that a youth who had never been blown 
 about by the wind of false doctrines, and who has enjoyed 
 the advantages of our liturgy for so many years in its 
 purity, might safely come. Yet, sir, it is a solemn festival, 
 which none should celebrate until there is reason to hope 
 it is not mockery. I observed this evening, in your man- 
 ner to Judge Temple, a resentment that bordered on one 
 of the worst of human passions. We will cross this brook 
 on the ice ; it must bear us all, I think, in safety. Be care- 
 ful not to slip, my child." While speaking, he descended 
 a little bank by the path, and crossed one of the small 
 streams that poured their waters into the lake ; and, turn- 
 ing to see his daughter pass, observed that .the youth had 
 advanced, and was kindly directing her footsteps. When 
 all were safely over, he moved up the opposite bank, and 
 continued his discourse. " It was wrong, my dear sir, very 
 wrong, to suffer such feelings to rise, under any circum- 
 stances, and especially in the present, where the evil was 
 not intended." 
 
 " There is good in the talk of my father," said Mohegan, 
 stopping short, and causing those who were behind him to 
 pause also ; " it is the talk of Miquon. The white man 
 may do as his fathers have told him ; but the ' Young 
 Eagle ' has the blood of a Delaware chief in his veins ; it 
 is red, and the stain it makes can only be washed out with 
 the blood of a Mingo." 
 
 Mr. Grant was surprised by the interruption of the In- 
 dian, and, stopping, faced the speaker. His mild features 
 I were confronted to the fierce and determined looks of the 
 chief, and expressed the horror he felt at hearing such 
 sentiments from one who professed the religion of his 
 Saviour. Raising his hands to a level with his head, he ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 . " John, John ! is this the religion that you have learned 
 from the Moravians ? But no I will not be so uncharit- 
 able as to suppose it. They are a pious, a gentle, and a 
 mild people, and could never tolerate these passions. Lis- 
 ten to the language of the Redeemer : * But I say unto you, 
 love your enemies ; bless them that curse you ; do good to 
 them that hate you ; pray for them that despitefully use 
 
THE PIONEERS. 127 
 
 you and persecute you.' This is the command of God, 
 John, and, without striving to cultivate such feelings, no 
 nan can see Him." 
 
 The Indian heard the divine with attention ; the unusual 
 fire of his eye gradually softened, and his muscles relaxed 
 into their ordinary composure ; but, slightly shaking his 
 Head, he motioned with dignity for Mr. Grant to -resume 
 his walk, and followed himself in silence. The agitation 
 of the divine caused him to move with unusual rapidity 
 ulong the deep path, and the Indian, without any apparent 
 exertion, kept an equal pace ; but the young hunter ob- 
 served the female to linger in her steps, until a trifling 
 distance intervened between the two former and the latter. 
 Struck by the circumstance, and not perceiving any new 
 impediment to retard her footsteps, the youth made a ten- 
 der of his assistance. 
 
 "You are fatigued, Miss Grant," he said; "the snow 
 yields to the foot, and you are unequal to the strides of 
 us men. Step on the crust, I entreat you, and take the 
 help of my arm. Yonder light is, I believe, the house of 
 your father ; but it seems yet at some distance." 
 
 "I am quite equal to the walk," returned alow, tremu- 
 lous voice ; " but I am startled by the manner of that In- 
 dian. Oh ! his eye was horrid, as he turned to the moon, 
 in speaking to my father. But I forget, sir ; he is your 
 friend, and by his language may be your relative ; and yet 
 of you I do not feel afraid." 
 
 The young man stepped on the bank of snow, which 
 firmly sustained his weight, and by a gentle effort induced 
 his companion to follow. Drawing her arm through his 
 own, he lifted his cap from his head, allowing the dark 
 locks to flow in rich curls over his open brow, and walked 
 by her side with an- air of conscious pride, as if inviting 
 an examination of his utmost thoughts. Louisa took but 
 a furtive glance at his person, a*id moved quietly along, 
 at a rate that was greatly quickened by the aid of his arm. 
 
 " You are but little acquainted with this peculiar peo- 
 ple, Miss Grant, "he said, " or you would know that re- 
 venge is a virtue with an Indian. They are taught, from 
 infancy upward, to believe it a duty never to allow an in- 
 jury to pass unrevenged ; and nothing but the stronger 
 claims of hospitality can guard one against their resent- 
 ments where they have power." 
 
 " Surely, sir," said Miss Grant, involuntarily withdraw- 
 
128 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 ing her arm from his, " you have not been educated with 
 such unholy sentiments ?" 
 
 " It might be a sufficient answer to your excellent father 
 to say that I was educated in the church," he returned; 
 " but to you I will add that I have been taught deep and 
 practical lessons of forgiveness. I believe that, on this 
 subject^ I have but little cause to reproach myself ; it shall 
 be my endeavor that there yet be less." 
 
 While speaking he stopped, and stood with his arm 
 again proffered to her assistance. As he ended, she qui. 
 etly accepted his offer, and they resumed their walk. 
 
 Mr. Grant and Mohegan had reached the door of the 
 former's residence, and stood waiting near its threshold 
 for the arrival of their young companions. The former 
 was earnestly occupied in endeavoring to correct, by his 
 precepts, the evil propensities that he had discovered in the 
 Indian during their conversation ; to which the latter lis- 
 tened in profound but respectful attention. On the arrival 
 of the young hunter and the lady, they entered the build- 
 ing. The house stood at some distance from the village, 
 in the centre of a field, surrounded by stumps that were 
 peering above the snow, bearing caps of pure white, 
 nearly two feet in thickness. Not a tree nor a shrub was 
 nigh it ; but the house, externally, exhibited that cheer- 
 less, unfurnished aspect which is so common to the hastily 
 erected dwellings of a new country. The uninviting char- 
 acter of its outside was, however, happily relieved by the 
 exquisite neatness and comfortable warmth within. 
 
 They entered an apartment that was fitted as a parlor, 
 though the large fireplace, with its culinary arrangements, 
 betrayed the domestic uses to which it was occasionally 
 applied. The bright blaze from the hearth rendered the 
 light that proceeded from the candle Louisa produced, 
 unnecessary ; for the scanty furniture of the room was 
 easily seen and examined by the former. The floor was 
 covered in the centre by a carpet made of rags, a species 
 of manufacture that w r as then, and yet continues to be, 
 much in use in the interior ; while its edges, that were ex- 
 posed to view, were of unspotted cleanliness. There was 
 a trifling air of better life in a tea-table and work-stand, 
 as well as in an old-fashioned mahogany bookcase ; but 
 the chairs, the dining-table, and the rest of the furniture, 
 were of the plainest aud cheapest construction. Against 
 the walls were hung a few specimens of needle-work and 
 
THE flONEERS. 129 
 
 drawing, the former executed with great neatness, though 
 of somewhat equivocal merit in their designs, while the 
 latter were strikingly deficient in both. 
 
 One of the former represented a tomb, with a youthful 
 female weeping over it, exhibiting a church with arched 
 windows in the background. On the tomb were the names, 
 with the dates of the births and deaths, of several indivi- 
 duals, all of whom bore the name of Grant. An extremely 
 cursory glance at this record was sufficient to discover to 
 the young hunter the domestic state of the divine. He 
 there read that he was a widower ; and that the innocent 
 and timid maiden, who had been his companion, was the 
 only survivor of six children. The knowledge of the de- 
 pendence which each of these meek Christians had on the 
 other, for happiness, threw an additional charm around 
 the gentle, but kind attentions which the daughter paid to 
 the father. 
 
 These observations occurred while the party were seat- 
 ing themselves before the cheerful fire, during which time 
 there was a suspension of discourse. But, when each was 
 comfortably arranged, and Louisa, after laying aside a thin 
 coat of faded silk, and a gipsy hat, that was more becom- 
 ing to her modest, ingenuous countenance than appropri- 
 ate to the season, had taken a chair between her father and 
 the youth, the former resumed the conversation. 
 
 " I trust, my young friend," he said, "that the education 
 you have received has eradicated most of those revengeful 
 principles which you may have inherited by descent, for I 
 understand from the expressions of John, that you have 
 some of the blood of the Delaware tribe. Do not mistake 
 me, I beg, for it is not color, nor lineage, that constitutes 
 merit ; and I know not that he who claims affinity to the 
 proper owners of this soil has not the best right to tread 
 these hills with the lightest conscience." 
 
 Mohegan turned solemnly to the speaker, and, with the 
 peculiarly significant gestures of an Indian, he spoke : 
 
 " Father, you are not yet past the summer of life ; your 
 limbs are young. Go to the highest hill, and look around 
 you. All that you see, from the rising to the setting sun, 
 from the head-waters of the great spring to where the 
 * crooked river' * is hid by the hills, is his. He has Dela- 
 
 * The Susquehannah means crooked river; "hannah," or "hannock," 
 meant river in many of the native dialects. Thus we fmd Rappahannock 
 as far south as Virginia. 
 
 9 
 
I 3 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 ware blood, and his right is strong. But the brother oi 
 Miquon is just, he will cut the country in two parts, as 
 the river cuts the lowlands, and will say to the ' Young 
 Eagle,' Child of the Delawares ! take it keep it and be 
 a chief in the land of your fathers." 
 
 " Never ! " exclaimed the young hunter, with a vehem- 
 ence that destroyed the rapt attention with which the 
 divine and his daughter w T ere listening to the Indian. 
 " The wolf of the forest is not more rapacious for his prey 
 than that man is greedy of gold ; and yet his glidings into 
 Wealth are subtle as the movements of a serpent." 
 
 "Forbear, forbear, my son, forbear," interrupted Mr. 
 Grant " These angry passions must, be subdued. The 
 accidental injury you have received from Judge Temple 
 has heightened the sense of your hereditary wrongs. But 
 remember that the one was unintentional, and that the other 
 is the effect of political changes, which have, in their 
 course, greatly lowered the pride of kings, and swept 
 mighty nations from the face of the earth. Where now 
 are the Philistines, who so often held the children of 
 Israel in bondage ? or that city of Babylon, which rioted 
 in luxury and vice, and who styled herself the Queen of 
 Nations in the drunkenness of her pride ? Remember 
 the prayer of our holy litany, where we implore the Divine 
 Power ' that it may please thee to forgive our enemies, 
 persecutors, and slanderers, and to turn their hearts.' 
 The sin of the wrongs which have been done to the natives 
 is shared by Judge Temple only in common with a whole 
 people, and your arm will speedily be restored to its 
 strength." 
 
 " This arm ! " repeated the youth, pacing the floor in 
 violent agitation. "Think you, sir, that I believe the man 
 a murderer ? Oh, no ! he is too wily, too cowardly, for 
 such a crime. But let him and his daughter riot in their 
 wealth a day of retribution will come. No, no, no," he 
 continued, as he trod the floor more calmly " it is for 
 Mohegan to suspect him of an intent to injure me ; but 
 the trifle is not worth a second thought." 
 
 He seated himself, and hid his face between his hands, 
 as they rested on his knees. 
 
 " It is the hereditary violence of a native's passion, my 
 child," said Mr. Grant in alow tone to his affrighted daugh 
 ter, who was clinging in terror to his arm. " He is mixed 
 with the blood of the Indians, you have heard ; and neither 
 
THE PIONEERS: 131 
 
 the refinements of education, nor the advantages of our 
 excellent liturgy, have been able entirely to eradicate the 
 evil. But care and time will do much for him yet." 
 
 Although the divine spoke in a low tone, yet what he 
 uttered was heard by the youth, who raised his head, with 
 a smile of indefinite expression, and spoke more calmly. 
 
 " Be not alarmed, Miss Grant, at either the wildness of 
 my manner or that of my dress. I have been carried away 
 by passions that I should struggle to repress. I must at- 
 tribute it, with your father, to the blood in my veins, al- 
 though I would not impeach my lineage willingly ; for it 
 is all that is left me to boast of. Yes ! I am proud of my 
 descent from a Delaware chief, who was a warrior that en- 
 nobled human nature. Old Mohegan was his friend, and 
 will vouch for his virtues." 
 
 Mr. Grant here took up the discourse, and, finding the 
 young man more calm, and the aged chief attentive, he 
 entered into a full and theological discussion of the duty 
 of forgiveness. The conversation lasted for more than an 
 hour, when the visitors arose, and, after exchanging good 
 wishes with their entertainers, they departed. At the door 
 they separated, Mohegan taking the direct route to the 
 village, while the youth moved toward the lake. The 
 divine stood at the entrance of his dwelling, regarding the 
 figure of the aged chief as it glided, <it an astonishing gait 
 for his years, along the deep path ; his black, straight hair 
 just visible over the bundle formed by his blanket, which 
 was sometimes blended with the snow, under the silvery 
 light of the moon. From the rear of the house was a win- 
 dow that overlooked the lake ; and here Louisa was found 
 by her father, when he entered, gazing intently on some 
 object in the direction of the eastern mountain. He ap- 
 proached the spot, and saw the figure of the young hunter, 
 at the distance of half a mile, walking with prodigious 
 steps across the wide fields of frozen snow that covered the 
 ice, toward the point where he knew the hut inhabited by 
 the Leather-Stocking was situated on the margin of the 
 lake, under a rock that was crowned by pines and hemlocks. 
 At the next instant, the wildly-looking form entered the 
 shadow cast from the overhanging trees, .and was lost to 
 view. 
 
 " It is marvellous how long the propensities of the sav- 
 age continue in that remarkable race," said the good di 
 vine ; " but if he perseveres as he has commenced, his tri~ 
 
I 3 > THE PIONEERS. 
 
 umph shall yet b^ complete. Put me in mind, Louisa, to 
 lend him the homily * against peril of idolatry,' at his next 
 visit." 
 
 *' Surely, father, you do not think him in danger of re- 
 lapsing into t'-,e "Torship of his ancestors ? " 
 
 ' No, my chhc*, returned the clergyman, laying his hand 
 affectionately on her flaxen locks, and smiling ; " his white 
 blood would prevent it ; jut there is such a thing as the 
 idolatry of our passions." 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 "And I'll drink out of the quart pot 
 Here's a health to the barley mow." DRINKING SONG. 
 
 ON one of the corners, where the two principal streets of 
 Templeton intersected each other, stood, as we have already 
 mentioned, the inn called the " Bold Dragoon." In the ori- 
 ginal plan it was ordained that the village should stretch 
 along the little stream that rushed down the valley ; and 
 the street which led from the lake to the academy was in- 
 tended to be its western boundary. But convenience fre- 
 quently frustrates the best regulated plans. The house of 
 Mr., or as, in consequence of commanding the militia of 
 that vicinity, he was called, Captain Hollister, had, at an 
 early day, been erected directly facing the main street, 
 and ostensibly interposed a barrier to its further progress. 
 Horsemen, and subsequently teamsters, however, availed 
 themselves of an opening, at the end of the building, to 
 shorten their passage westward, until, in time, the regular 
 highway was laid out along this course, and houses were 
 gradually built on either side, so as effectually to prevent 
 any subsequent correction of the evil. 
 
 Two material consequences followed this change in the 
 regular plans of Marmaduke. The main street, after run- 
 ning about half its length, was suddenly reduced to pre- 
 cisely that difference in its width; and the "Bold Dragoon" 
 became, next to the mansion-house, by far the most con- 
 spicuous edifice in the place. 
 
 This conspicuousness, aided by the characters of the host 
 and hostess, gave the tavern an advantage over all its fu- 
 ture competitors that no circumstances could conquer. 
 An effort was, however, made to do so ; and at the cornei 
 
THE PIONEERS. 533 
 
 diagonally opposite, stood a new building that was in- 
 tended, by its occupants, to look down all opposition. It 
 was a house of wood, ornamented in the prevailing style 
 of architecture, and about the roof and balustrades was 
 one of the three imitators of the mansion-house. The 
 upper windows were filled with rough boards secured by 
 nails, to keep out the cold air for the edifice was far 
 from finished, although glass was to be seen in the lower 
 apartments, and the light of the powerful fires within de- 
 noted that it was already inhabited. The exterior was 
 painted white on the front, and on the end which was ex- 
 posed to the street ; but in the rear, and on the side which 
 was intended to join the neighboring house, it was coarse- 
 ly smeared with Spanish brown. Before the door stood 
 two lofty posts, connected at the top by a beam, from which 
 was suspended an enormous sign, ornamented around its 
 edges with certain curious carvings in pine boards, and on 
 its faces loaded with masonic emblems. Over these mys^ 
 terious figures was written, in large letters, "The Temple- 
 ton Coffee-house, and Traveller's Hotel," and beneath 
 them, " By Habakkuk Foote and Joshua Knapp." This 
 was a fearful rival to the " Bold Dragoon," as our readers 
 will the more readily perceive when we add that the same 
 sonorous names were to be seen over a newly erected store 
 in the village, a hatters shop, and the gates of a tan-yard. 
 But, either because too much was attempted to be executed 
 well, or that the " Bold Dragoon " had established a repu- 
 tation which could not be easily shaken, not only Judge 
 Temple and his friends, but most of the villagers also, who 
 were not in debt to the powerful firm we have named, 
 frequented the inn of Captain Hollister, on all occasions 
 where such a house was necessary. 
 
 On the present evening the limping veteran and his 
 consort were hardly housed after their return from the 
 academy, when the sounds of stamping feet at their thresh- 
 old announced the approach of visitors, who were prob- 
 ably assembling with a view to compare opinions on the 
 subject of the ceremonies they had witnessed. 
 
 The- public, or as it was called, the "bar-room," of the 
 " Bold Dragoon," was a spacious apartment, lined on three 
 sides with benches, and on the fourth by fireplaces. Of 
 the latter there were two of such size as to occupy, with 
 their enormous jambs, the whole of that side of the apart- 
 ment where they were placed, excepting room enough for 
 
134 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 a door or two, and a little apartment in one corner, whicli 
 was protected by miniature palisadoes, and profusely gar- 
 nished with bottles and glasses. In the entrance to this 
 sanctuary Mrs. Hollister was seated, with great gravity in 
 her air, while her husband occupied himself with stirring 
 the fires, moving the logs with a large stake burnt to a 
 pornt at one end. 
 
 " There, sargeant, dear," said the landlady, after she 
 thought the veteran had got the logs arranged in the most 
 judicious manner, "give over poking, for it's no goodye'll 
 be doing, now that they burn so convaniently. There's 
 the glasses on the table there, and the mug that the doctor 
 was taking his cider and ginger in, before the fire here 
 just put them in the bar, will ye ? for we'll be having the 
 jooge, and the major, and Mr. Jones down the night, with- 
 out reckoning Benjamin Poomp, and the lawyers ; so ye'll 
 be fixing the room tidy ; and put both flip irons in the 
 coals ; and tell Jude, the lazy black baste, that if she's no 
 be claneing up the kitchen I'll turn her out of the house, 
 and she may live wid the jontlemen that kape the 'Coffee- 
 house,' good luck to 'em. Och ! sargeant, sure it's a great 
 privilege to go to amateing where a body can sit asy, with- 
 out joomping up and down so often, as this Mr. Grant is 
 doing that same." 
 
 " It's a privilege at all times, Mrs. Hollister, whether we 
 stand or be seated ; or, as good Mr. Whitefield used to do 
 after he had made a wearisome day's march, get on our 
 knees and pray, like Moses of old, with a flanker to the 
 right and left, to lift his hands to Heaven," returned her 
 husband, who composedly performed what she had di- 
 rected to tre done. " It was a very pretty fight, Betty, that 
 the Israelites had on that day with the Amalekites. It 
 seems that they font on a plain, for Moses is mentioned as 
 having gone on the heights to overlook the battle, and 
 wrestle in prayer; and if I should judge, with my little 
 laming, the Israelites depended mainly on their horse, for 
 it was written that Joshua cut up the enemy with the edge 
 of the sword ; from which I infer, not only that they were 
 horse, but well disciplyn'd troops. Indeed, it says as 
 much as that they were chosen men ; quite likely volun- 
 teers ; for raw dragoons seldom strike with the edge of their 
 swords, particularly if the weapon be any way crooked." 
 
 " Pshaw ! why do ye bother yourself wid texts, man, 
 about so small a matter," interrupted the landlady ; "sure, 
 
THE PIONEERS. 135 
 
 It was the Lord who was with 'em ; for he always sided 
 with the Jews, before they fell away ; and it's but little 
 matter what kind of men Joshua commanded, so that he 
 was doing the right bidding. Aven them cursed millaishy, 
 the Lord forgive me for swearing, that was the death of 
 him, wid their cowardice, would have carried the day in 
 old times. There's no rason to be thinking that the sol- 
 diers were used to the drill." 
 
 " I must say, Mrs. Hollister, that I have not often seen 
 raw troops fight better than the left flank of the militia, at 
 the time you mention. They rallied handsomely, and that 
 without beat of drum, which is no easy thing to do under 
 fire, and were very steady till he fell. But the Scriptures 
 contain no unnecessary words ; and I will maintain that 
 horse, who know how to strike with the edge of the sword, 
 must be well disciplyn'd'. Many a good sarmon has been 
 preached about smaller matters than that one word ! If 
 the text was not meant to be particular, why wasn't it 
 written with the sword, and not with the edge ! Now, a 
 back-handed stroke, on the edge, takes long practice. 
 Goodness ! what an argument would Mr. Whitefield make 
 of that word edge! As to the captain, if he had only 
 called up the guard of dragoons when he rallied the foot, 
 they would have shown the inimy what the edge of a 
 sword was ; for, although there was no commissioned offi- 
 cer with them, yet I think I must say," the veteran con- 
 tinued, stiffening his cravat about his throat, and raising 
 himself up, with the air of a drill-sergeant, "they were led 
 by a man who knovv'd how to bring them on, in spite of 
 the ravine." 
 
 "Is it lade on ye would," cried the landlady, "when ye 
 know yourself, Mr. Hollister, that the baste he rode was 
 but little able to joomp from one rock to another, and the 
 animal was as spry as a squirrel ? Och ! but it's useless to 
 talk, for he's gone this many a year. I would that he had 
 lived to see the true light ; but there's mercy for a brave 
 sowl, that died in the saddle, fighting for the liberty. It 
 is a poor tombstone they have given him, anyway, and 
 many a good one that died like himself ; but the sign is very 
 like, and I will be kapeing it up, while the blacksmith can 
 make a hook for it to swing on, for all the ' coffee-houses ' 
 betvvane this and Albany." 
 
 There is no saying where this desultory conversation 
 would have led the worthy couple, had not the men, who 
 
136 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 were stamping the snow off their feet, on the little plat, 
 form before the door, suddenly ceased their occupation, 
 and entered the bar-room. 
 
 For ten or fifteen minutes the different individuals, who 
 intended either to bestow or receive edification, before the 
 fires of the " Bold Dragoon," on that evening, were collect- 
 ing, until the benches were nearly filled with men of dif- 
 ferent occupations. Dr. Todd and a slovenly-looking, 
 shabby-genteel young man, who took tobacco profusely, 
 wore a coat of imported cloth, cut with something like a 
 fashionable air, frequently exhibited a large French silver 
 watch, with a chain of woven hair and a silver key, and 
 who, altogether, seemed as much above the artisans around 
 him as he was himself inferior to the real gentleman, oc- 
 cupied a high-back wooden settee, in the most comfort- 
 able corner in the apartment. 
 
 Sundry brown mugs, containing cider or beer, were 
 placed between the heavy andirons, and little groups were 
 found among the guests, as subjects arose, or the liquor 
 was passed from one to the other. No man was seen to 
 drink by himself, nor in any instance was more than one 
 vessel considered necessary for the same beverage ; but 
 the glass or the mug, was passed from hand to hand, until 
 a chasm in the line, or a regard to the rights of ownership, 
 would regularly restore the dregs of the potation to him 
 who defrayed the cost. 
 
 Toasts were uniformly drunk ; and, occasionally, some 
 one, who conceived himself peculiarly endowed by Nature 
 to shine in the way of wit, would attempt some such senti- 
 ment as "hoping that he " who treated, "might make a 
 better man than his father ; " or, " live till all his friends 
 wished him dead ; " while the more humble pot-compan- 
 ion contented himself by saying, with a most composing 
 gravity in his air, "come, here's luck," or by expressing 
 some other equally comprehensive desire. In every in- 
 stance, the veteran landlord was requested to imitate the 
 custom of the cupbearers to kings, and taste the liquor he 
 presented, by .the invitation of " after you is manners," 
 with which request he ordinarily complied, by wetting his 
 lips, first expressing the wish of "here's hoping," leaving 
 it to the imagination of the hearers to fill the vacuum by 
 whatever good each thought most desirable. During these 
 movements the landlady was busily occupied with mixing 
 the various compounds required by her customers, witl; 
 
THE PIONEERS. 137 
 
 her own hands, and occasionally exchanging greetings and 
 inquiries concerning the conditions . of their respective 
 families, with such of the villagers as approached the bar. 
 
 At length the common thirst being in some measure as- 
 suaged, conversation of a more general nature became the 
 order of the hour. The physician, and his companion, 
 who was one of the two lawyers of the village, being con- 
 sidered the best qualified to maintain a public discourse 
 with credit, were the principal speakers, though a remark 
 was hazarded, now and then, by Mr. Doolittle, who was 
 thought to be their inferior only in the enviable point of 
 education. A general silence was produced on all but the 
 two speakers, by the following observation from the prac- 
 titioner of the law : 
 
 " So, Dr. Todd, I understand that you have been per- 
 forming an important operation this evening by cutting a 
 charge of buckshot from the shoulder of the son of Leather- 
 Stocking ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir," returned the other, elevating his little head 
 with an air of importance. " I had a small job up at the 
 Judge's in that way ; it was, however, but a trifle to what it 
 might have been, had it gone through the body. The 
 shoulder is not a very vital part ; and I think the young 
 man will soon be Well. But I did not know that the pa- 
 tient was a son. of Leather-Stocking; it is news to me to 
 hear that Natty had a wife." 
 
 " It is by no means a necessary consequence," returned 
 the other, winking, with a sh,rewd look around the bar- 
 room ; "there is such a thing, I suppose you know, in law- 
 as a fill 'us nullius" 
 
 " Spake it out, man, "exclaimed the landlady ; " spake it 
 out in king's English ; what for should ye be talking Indian 
 in a room full of Christian folks, though it is about a poor 
 hunter, who is but little better in his ways than the wild 
 savages themselves ? Och ! it's to be. hoped that the mis- 
 sionaries will, in his own time, make a conversion of the 
 poor devils ; and then it will matter little of what color is 
 the skin, or wedder there be wool or hair on the head." 
 
 " Oh ! it is Latin, not Indian, Miss Hollister ! " returned 
 the lawyer, repeating his winks and shrewd looks ; "and 
 Dr. Todd understands Latin, or how would he read the 
 labels on his gallipots and drawers ? No, no, Miss Hollis- 
 ter, the doctor understands me ; don't you, doctor ? " 
 
 " Hem why, I guess I am not far out of the way," re* 
 
/38 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 turned Elnathan, endeavoring to imitate the expression of 
 the other's countenance, by looking jocular. " Latin is a 
 queer language, gentlemen; now I rather guess there is 
 no one in the room, except Squire Lippet, who can believe 
 liiat * Far. A v.' means oatmeal, in English." 
 
 The lawyer in his turn was a good deal embarrassed by 
 this display of learning ; for, although he actually had tak- 
 en his first degree at one of the eastern universities, he was 
 somewhat puzzled with the terms used by his companion. 
 It was dangerous, however, to appear to be outdone in 
 learning in a public bar-room, and before so many of his 
 clients ; he therefore put the best face on the matter, and 
 laughed knowingly as if there were a good joke concealed 
 under it, that was understood only by the physician and 
 himself. All this was attentively observed by the listeners, 
 who exchanged looks of approbation ; and the expressions 
 of "tonguey man," and " I guess Squire Lippet knows if 
 anybody does," were heard in different parts of the room, 
 as vouchers for the admiration of his auditors. Thus en- 
 couraged, the lawyer rose from his chair, and turning his 
 back to the fire, and facing the company, he continued : 
 
 " The son of Natty, or the son of nobody, I hope the 
 young man is not going to let the matter drop. This is a 
 country of laws ; and I should like ta see it fairly tried, 
 whether a man who owns, or says he owns, a hundred 
 thousand acres of land, has any more right to shoot a body 
 than another. What do you think of it, Dr. Todd ? " 
 
 " Oh ! sir, I am of opinion that the gentleman will soon 
 be well, as I said before ; the wound isn't in a vital part ; 
 and as the ball was extracted so soon, and the shoulder 
 was what I call well attended to, I do not think there is as 
 much danger as there might have been." 
 
 " I say, Squire Doolittle," continued the attorney, rais- 
 ing his voice, " you are a magistrate, and know what is 
 law, and what is not law. I ask you, sir, if shooting a man 
 is a thing that is to be settled so very easily ? Suppose, 
 sir, that the young man had a wife and family ; and sup- 
 pose that he was a mechanic like yourself, sir ; and sup- 
 pose that his family depended on him for bread ; and sup- 
 pose that the ball, instead of merely going through the 
 flesh, had broken the shoulder-blade, and crippled him 
 forever ; I ask you all, gentlemen, supposing this to be 
 the case, whether a jury wouldn't give what I call hand- 
 some damages ? " 
 
THE PIONEERS. I 3g 
 
 As the close of this supposititious case was addressed to 
 the company generally, Hiram did not at first consider 
 himself called on for a reply ; but finding the eyes of the 
 listeners bent on him in expectation, he remembered his 
 character for judicial discrimination, and spoke, observing 
 a due degree of deliberation and dignity. 
 
 "Why, if a man should shoot another," he said, "-and if 
 he should do it on purpose, and if the law took notice on't, 
 and if a jury should find him guilty, it would be likely to 
 turn out a state-prison matter." 
 
 "It would so, sir," returned the attorney. "The law, 
 gentlemen, is no respecter of persons in a free country. 
 It is one of the great blessings that has been handed down 
 to us from our ancestors, that all men are equal in the eye 
 of the laws, as they are by nater. Though some may get 
 property, no one knows how, yet they are not privileged 
 to transgress the laws any more than, the poorest citizen in 
 the State. This is my notion, gentlemen ; and I think that 
 if a man had a mind to bring this matter up, something 
 might be made out of it that would help pay for the salve 
 ha ! doctor ! " 
 
 " Why, sir," returned the physician, who appeared a lit- 
 tle uneasy at the turn the conversation was taking, " I have 
 the promise of Judge Temple before men not but what 
 I would take his word as soon as his note of hand but it 
 was before men. Let me see there was Mounshier Ler 
 Quow, and Squire Jones, and Major Hartmann, and Miss 
 Pettibone, and one or two of the blacks by, when he said 
 that his pocket would amply reward me for what I did." 
 
 " Was the promise made before or after the service was 
 performed ? " asked the attorney. 
 
 " It might have been both," returned the discreet physi- 
 cian ; " though I'm certain he said so before I undertook 
 the dressing." 
 
 " But it seems that he said his pocket should reward you, 
 doctor," observed Hiram. "Now I don't know that" the 
 law will hold a man to such a promise ; he might give you 
 his pocket with sixpence in't, and tell you to take your pay 
 out on't." 
 
 " That would not be a reward in the eye of the law," 
 interrupted the attorney " not what is called a ' quid pro 
 quo ; ' nor is the pocket to be considered as an agent, but 
 as a part of a man's own person, that is, in this particular. 
 I am of opinion that an action would lie on that promise, 
 
140 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 and I will undertake to bear him out, free of costs, if he 
 don't recover." 
 
 To this proposition the physician made no reply ; but 
 he was observed to cast his eyes around him, as if to enu- 
 merate the witnesses, in order to substantiate this promise 
 also, at a future day, should it prove necessary. A subject 
 so momentous as that of suing Judge Temple was not very 
 palatable to the present company in so public a place ; and 
 a short silence ensued, that was only interrupted by the 
 opening of the door, and the entrance of Natty himself. 
 
 The old hunter carried in his hand his never-failing 
 companion, the rifle ; and although all of the company 
 were uncovered excepting the lawyer, who wore his hat on 
 one side, with a certain dam'me air, Natty moved to the 
 front of one of the fires, without in the least altering any 
 part of his dress or appearance. Several questions were 
 addressed to him, on the subject of the game he had killed, 
 which he answered readily, and with some little interest ; 
 and the landlord, between whom and Natty there existed 
 much cordiality, on account of their both having been sol- 
 diers in youth, offered him a glass of a liquid, which if we 
 might judge from its reception, was no unwelcome guest. 
 When the forester had got his potation also, he quietly 
 took his seat on the end of one of the logs that lay nigh 
 the fires, and the slight interruption produced by his en- 
 trance seemed to be forgotten. 
 
 " The testimony of the blacks could not be taken, sir," 
 continued the lawyer, " for they are all the property of 
 Mr. Jones, who owns their time. But there is a way by 
 which Judge Temple, or any other man, might be made to 
 pay for shooting another, and for the cure in the bargain. 
 There is a way, I say, and that without going into the 
 'court of errors,' too." 
 
 "And a mighty big error ye would make of it, Mister 
 Todd," cried the landlady," should ye be putting the matter 
 into the law at all, with Joodge Temple, who has a purse 
 as long as one of them pines on the hill, and who is an asv 
 man to dale wid, if yeeS but mind the humor of him. He'r> 
 a good man is Joodge Temple, and a kind one, and one 
 who will be no the likelier to do the pratty thing, becase 
 ye wbuld wish to tarrify him wid the law. I know of but 
 one objaction to the same, which is an over-carelessness 
 about his sowl. It's neither a Methodic, nor a Papish, nor 
 Prasbetyrian, that he is, but just nothing at all ; and it'* 
 
THE PIONEERS. 141 
 
 hard to think that he, 'who will not fight the good fight, 
 under the banners of a rig'lar church, in this world, will be 
 mustered among the chosen in heaven,' as my husband, the 
 captain there, as ye call him, says though there is but one 
 captain that I know, who desarves the name. I hopes, 
 Lather-Stocking, ye'll no be foolish, and putting the boy up 
 to try the law in the matter ; for ' twill be an evil day to ye 
 both, when ye first turn the skin of so paceable an animal 
 as a sheep into a bone of contention. The lad is wilcome 
 to his drink for nothing, until his shoulther will bear the 
 rifle ag'in." 
 
 " Well that's gin'rous," was heard from several mouths 
 at once, for this was a company in which a liberal offer 
 was not thrown away ; while the hunter, instead of express- 
 ing any of that indignation which he might be supposed to 
 feel, at hearing the hurt of his young companion alluded 
 to, opened his mouth, with the silent laugh for which he 
 was so remarkable ; and after he had indulged his humor, 
 made this reply : 
 
 " I know'd the Judge would do nothing with his smooth- 
 bore when he got out of his sleigh. I never saw but one 
 smooth-bore that would carry at all, and that was a French 
 ducking-piece, upon the big lakes ; it had a barrel half as 
 long ag'in as my rifle, and would throw fine shot into a 
 goose at one hundred yards ; but it made dreadful work 
 with the game, and you wanted a boat to carry it about in. 
 When I went .with Sir William ag'in the French, at Fort 
 Niagara, all the rangers used the rifle ; and a dreadful 
 weapon it is, in the hands of one who knows how to charge 
 it, and keep a steady aim. The captain knows, for he says 
 he was a soldier in Shirley's ; and, though they were noth- 
 ing but baggonet-men, he must know how we cut up the 
 French and Iroquois in the skrimmages in that war. Chin- 
 gachgook, which means ' Big Sarpent ' in English, old 
 John Mohegan, who lives up at the hut with me, was a 
 great warrior then, and was out with us ; he can tell all 
 about it, too ; though he was overhand for the tomahawk, 
 never firing more than once or twice, before he was run- 
 ning in for the scalps. Ah ! times is dreadfully altered 
 since then. Why, doctor, there was nothing but a foot- 
 path, or at the most a track for pack-horses, along the 
 Mohawk, from the Jarman Flats up to the forts. Now, 
 they say, they talk of running one of them wide roads with 
 gates on it along the river ; first making a road, and ther 
 
142 THE PIONEER*. 
 
 fencing it up ! I hunted one season back of the Kaats- 
 kills, nigh-hand to the settlements, and the dogs often lost 
 the scent, when they came to them highways, there was 
 so much travel on them ; though I can't say that the brutes 
 was of a very good breed. Old Hector will wind a deer, 
 in the fall of the year, across the broadest place in the 
 Otsego, and that is a mile and a half, for I paced it myself 
 on the ice, when the tract was first surveyed, under the 
 Indian grant," 
 
 " It sames to me, Natty, but a sorry compliment, to call 
 your comrad after the evil one," said the landlady; "and 
 it's no much like a snake that old John is looking now. 
 Nimrod would be a more besameing name for the lad, and 
 a more Christian, too, seeing that it comes from the Bible. 
 The sargeant read me the chapter about him, the night be- 
 fore my christening, and a mighty asement, it was, to listen 
 to anything from the book." 
 
 " Old John and Chingachgook were very different men 
 to look on," returned the hunter, shaking his head at his 
 melancholy 'recollections. " In the ' fifty eighth war ' he 
 was in the middle of manhood, and taller than now by 
 three inches. If you had seen him, as I did, the morning 
 we beat Dieskau, from behind our log walls, you would 
 have called him as comely a red-skin as ye ever set eyes 
 on. He was naked all to his breech-cloth and leggins ; 
 and you never seed a creater so handsomely painted. One 
 side of his face was red, and the other black. His head 
 was shaved clean, all to a few hairs on the crown, where 
 he wore a tuft of eagle's feathers, as bright as if they had 
 come from a peacock's tail. He had colored his sides so 
 that they looked like an atomy, ribs and all ; for Chingach- 
 gook had a great taste in such things ; so that, what with 
 his bold, fiery countenance, his knife, and his tomahawk. 
 I have never seen a fiercer warrior on the ground. He 
 played his part, too, like a man ; for I saw him, next day> 
 with thirteen scalps on his pole. And I will say this for 
 the ' Big Snake,' that he always dealt fair, and never scalped 
 any that he didn't kill with his own hands." 
 
 "Well, well," cried the landlady ; "fighting is fighting 
 anyway, and there is different fashions in the thing ; though 
 I can't say that I relish mangling a body after the breath 
 is out of it ; neither do I think it can be uphild by doctrine. 
 I hope, sargeant, ye niver was helping in sich evil worrek. " 
 
 " It was my duty to keep my ranks, and to stand or fal' 
 
THE PIONEERS. 143 
 
 by the baggonet or lead," returned the veteran. rt I was 
 then in the fort, and seldom leaving my place, saw but 
 little of the savages, who kept on the flanks or in front, 
 skrimmaging. I remember, howsomever, to have heard 
 mention made of the 'Great Snake,' as he was called, for 
 he was a chief of renown ; but little did I ever expect to 
 see him enlisted in the cause of Christianity, and civilized 
 like old John." 
 
 " Oh ! he was Christianized by the Moravians, who were 
 always over-intimate with the Delawares," said Leather- 
 Stocking. " It's my opinion that, had they been left to 
 themselves, there would be no such doings now, about the 
 head-waters of the two rivers, and that these hills mought 
 have been kept as good hunting-ground by their right 
 owner, who is not too old to carry a rifle, and whose sight 
 is as true as a fish-hawk hovering 
 
 He was interrupted by more stamping at the door, and 
 presently the party from the mansion-house entered, fol- 
 lowed by the Indian himself. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 " There's quart-pot, pint-pot, half -pint, 
 Gill-pot, half-gill, nipperkin, 
 
 And the brown bowl 
 Here's a health to the barley mow, 
 
 My brave boys, 
 Here's a health to the barley mow." DRINKING SONG. 
 
 SOME little commotion was produced by the appearance 
 of the new guests, during which the lawyer slunk from 
 the room. Most of the men approached Marmaduke, and 
 shook his offered hand, hoping ** that the Judge was well ;" 
 while Major Hartmann, having laid aside his hat and wig, 
 and substituted for the latter a warm, peaked, woollen 
 nightcap, took his seat very quietly on one end of the 
 settee, which was relinquished by its former occupant. 
 His tobacco-box was next produced, and a clean pipe was 
 handed him by the landlord. When he had succeeded in 
 raising a smoke, the major gave a long whiff, and, turning 
 his head toward the bar, he said : 
 
 " Petty, pring in ter toddy." 
 
 In the meantime the Judge had exchanged his saluta- 
 
144 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 tions with most of the company, and taken a place by the 
 side of the major, and Richard had bustled himself into 
 the most comiortable seat in the room. Mr. Le Quoi was 
 the last seated, nor did he venture to place his chair finally, 
 until by frequent removals he had ascertained that he 
 could not possibly intercept a ray of heat from any indi- 
 vidual present. Mohegan found a place on an end of one 
 of the benches, and somewhat approximated to the bar. 
 When these movements had subsided, the Judge remarked 
 pleasantly : 
 
 "Well, Betty, I find you retain your popularity through 
 all weathers, against all rivals, and among all religions. 
 How liked you the sermon ?" 
 
 " Is it the sarmon ? " exclaimed the landlady. " I can't 
 say but it was rasonable ; but the prayers is mighty unasy. 
 It's no small a matter for a body in their fifty-nint' year to 
 be moving so much in church. Mr. Grant sames a godly 
 man, any way, and his garrel a hommble one, and a de- 
 vout. Here, John, is a mug of cider, laced with whiskey. 
 An Indian will drink cider, though he niver be athirst." 
 
 " I must say," observed Hiram, with due deliberation, 
 " that it was a tonguey thing ; and I rather guess that 
 it gave considerable satisfaction. There was one part, 
 though, which might have been left out, or something 
 else put in ; but then I s'pose that, as it was a written dis- 
 course, it is not so easily altered as where a minister 
 preaches without notes." 
 
 "Ay! there's the rub Joodge," cried the landlady. 
 " How can a man stand up and be preaching his word, 
 when all that he is saying is written down, and he is as 
 much tied to it as iver a thaving dragoon was to the 
 pickets ?" 
 
 "Well, well," cried Marmaduke, waving his hand for 
 silence, " there is enough said ; as Mr. Grant told us, 
 there are different sentiments on such subjects, and in my 
 opinion he spoke most sensibly. So, Jotham, I am told you 
 have sold your betterments to a new settler, and have 
 moved into the village and opened a school. Was it cash 
 or dicker ? " 
 
 The man who was thus addressed occupied a seat im- 
 mediately behind Marmaduke, and one who was ignorant 
 of the extent of the Judge's observation might have thought 
 he would have escaped notice. He was of a thin, shapeless 
 figure, with a discontented expression of countenance and 
 
THE PIONEERS. 145 
 
 with something extremely shiftless in his whole air. Thus 
 spoken to, after turning and twisting a little, by way of 
 preparation, he made a reply. 
 
 ' Why, part cash and part dicker. I sold out to a Pum- 
 fretman who was so'thin forehanded. He was to give me 
 ten dollars an acre for the clearin', and one dollar an acre 
 over the first cost on the woodland, and we agreed to leave 
 the buildin'sto men. So I tuck Asa Montagu, and he tuck 
 Absalom Bement, and they two tuck old Squire Napthali 
 Green. And so they had a meetin', and made out a vardict 
 of eighty dollars for the buildin's. There was twelve acres 
 of clearin' at ten dollars, and eighty-eight at one, and the 
 whull came to two hundred and eighty-six dollars and a 
 half, after paying the men." 
 
 " Hum," said Marmadtike, " what did you give for the 
 place ? " 
 
 " Why, besides what's comin' to the Judge, I gi'n my 
 brother Tim a hundred dollars for his bargain ; but then 
 there's a new house on't, that cost me sixty more, and I 
 paid Moses a hundred dollars for choppin', and loggin', 
 and sowin', so that the whole stood to me in about two 
 hundred and sixty dollars. But then I had a great crop 
 off on't, and as I got twenty-six dollars and a half more 
 than it cost, I conclude I made a pretty good trade on't." 
 
 "Yes, but you forgot that the crop was yours without 
 the trade, and you have turned yourself out of doors for 
 twenty-six dollars." 
 
 " Oh ! the Judge is clean out," said the man with a look 
 of sagacious calculation ; " he turned out a span of horses, 
 that is wuth a hundred and fifty dollars of any man's money, 
 with a bran new wagon ; fifty dollars in cash, and a good 
 note for eighty more ; and a side-saddle that was valued at 
 seven and a half so there was jist twelve shilli-ngs betwixt 
 us. I wanted him to turn out a set of harness, and take 
 the cow and the sap troughs. He wouldn't but I saw 
 through it ; he thought I should have to buy the tacklin' 
 afore I could use the wagon and horses ; but I know'd a 
 thing or two myself ; I should like to know of what use is 
 the tacklin' to him ! I offered him to trade back ag'in for 
 one hundred and fifty-five. But my woman said she wanted 
 to churn, so I tuck a churn for the change." 
 
 " And what do you mean to do with your time this win- 
 ter ? you must remember that time is money." 
 
 "Why, as master has gone down country, to see his 
 10 
 
146 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 mother, who, they say, is going to make a die on't, 1 
 agreed to take the school in hand till he comes back. li 
 times doesn't get worse in the spring, I've some notion of 
 going into trade, or maybe I may move off to the Genesee ; 
 they say they are carryin' on a great stroke of business 
 that-a-way. If the wust comes to the wust, I can but work 
 at my trade, for I was brought up in a shoe manufactory." 
 
 It would seem that Marmaduke did not think his so- 
 ciety of sufficient value to attempt inducing him to remain 
 where he was ; for he addressed no further discourse to 
 the man, but turned his attention to other subjects. After 
 a short pause, Hiram ventured a question : 
 
 " What news does the Judge bring us from the Legisla- 
 ture ? it's not likely that Congress has done much this 
 session ; or maybe the French haven't fit any more bat- 
 tles lately ? " 
 
 " The French, since they have beheaded their king, have 
 done nothing but fight," returned the Judge. " The char- 
 acter of the nation seems changed. I knew many French 
 gentlemen, during our war, and they all appeared to me 
 to be men of great humanity and goodness of heart ; but 
 these Jacobins are as bloodthirsty as bull-dogs." 
 
 " There was one Roshambow wid us, down at Yorrek- 
 town," cried the landlady ; " a mighty pratty man he was, 
 too ; and their horse was the very same. Itwas there that 
 the sargeant got the hurt in the leg, from the English bat- 
 teries, bad luck to 'em." 
 
 " Ah ! mon pauvre roi ! " muttered Monsieur Le Quoi. 
 
 "The Legislature have been passing laws," continued 
 Marmaduke, " that the country much required. Among 
 others, there is an act prohibiting the drawing of seines, 
 at any other than proper seasons, in certain of our streams 
 and small lakes ; and another, to prohibit the killing of 
 deer in the teeming months. These are laws that were 
 loudly called for, by judicious men ; nor do I despair of 
 getting an act to make the unlawful felling of timber a crim- 
 inal offence." 
 
 The hunter listened to this detail with breathless atten- 
 tion, and, when the Judge had ended, he laughed in open 
 derision. 
 
 " You may make your laws, Judge," he cried, " but who 
 will you find to watch the mountains through the long 
 summer days, or the lakes at night ? Game is game, and 
 he who finds may kill ; that has been the law in these incur* 
 
THE PIONEERS. 145 
 
 tains for forty years to my sartain knowledge ; and I think 
 one old law is worth two new ones. None but a green one 
 would wish to kill a doe with a fa'n by its side, unless his 
 moccasins were getting old, or his leggins ragged, for the 
 flesh is lean and coarse. But a rifle rings among the rocks 
 along the lake shore, sometimes, as if fifty pieces were 
 fired at once it would be hard to tell where the man stood 
 who pulled the trigger." 
 
 "Armed with the dignity of the law, Mr. Bumppo," re- 
 turned the Judge, gravely, "a vigilant magistrate can 
 prevent much of the evil that has hitherto prevailed, and 
 which is already rendering the game scarce. I hope to 
 live to see the day when a man's rights in his game shall 
 be as much respected as his title to his farm." 
 
 " Your titles and your farms are all new together," cried 
 Natty ; " but laws should be equal, and not more for one 
 than another. I shot a deer, last Wednesday was a fort- 
 night, and it floundered through the snowbanks till it got 
 over a brush fence ; I catch'd the lock of my rifle in the 
 twigs in following, and was kept back, until finally the 
 creature got off. Now I want to know who is to pay me 
 for that deer ; and a fine buck it was. If there hadn't been 
 a fence I should have gotten another shot into it ; and I 
 never draw'd upon anything that hadn't wings three times 
 running, in my born days. No, no, Judge, it's the farmers 
 that makes the game scarce, and not the hunters." 
 
 "Ter teer is not so plenty as in ter old war, Pumppo," 
 said the major, who had been an attentive listener, amid 
 clouds of smoke ; " put ter lant is not mate as for ter teer 
 to live on, put for Christians." 
 
 " Why, major, I believe you're a friend to justice and 
 the right, though you go so often to the grand house ; but 
 it's a hard case to a man to have his honest calling for a 
 livelihood stopped by laws, and that, too, when, if right 
 was done, he mought hunt or fish on any day in the week, 
 or on the best flat in the Patent, if he was so minded." 
 
 "I unterstant you, Letter-Stockint," returned the major, 
 fixing his black eyes, with a look of peculiar meaning, on 
 the hunter ; " put you didn't use to be so prutent as to 
 look ahet mit so much care." 
 
 " Maybe there wasn't so much occasion," said the hunter, 
 a little sulkily ; when he sunk into a silence from which 
 he was not roused for some time. 
 
 '* The Judge was saying so'thin about the French," Hiram 
 
H8 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 observed when the pause in the conversation had continued 
 a decent time. 
 
 " Yes, sir," returned Marmaduke," the Jacobins of France 
 seem rushing from one act of licentiousness to another. 
 They continue those murders which are dignified by the 
 name of executions. You have heard that they have added 
 the death of their Queen to the long list of their crimes." 
 
 " Les monstres ! " again murmured Monsieur Le Quoi, 
 turning himself suddenly in his chair, with a convulsive 
 start. 
 
 "The province of La Vendee is laid waste by the troops 
 of the republic, and hundreds of its inhabitants, who are roy- 
 alists in their sentiments, are shot at a time. La Vendee 
 is a district in the southwest of France, that continues yet 
 much attached to the family of the Bourbons ; doubtless 
 Monsieur Le Quoi is acquainted with it, and can describe 
 it more faithfully." 
 
 "Non, non, non, mon cher ami," returned the French- 
 man in a suppressed voice, but speaking rapidly, and 
 gesticulating with his right hand, as if for mercy, while 
 with his left he concealed his eyes. 
 
 "There have been many battles fought lately," con- 
 tinued Marmaduke, "and the infuriated republicans are 
 too often victorious. I cannot say, however, that I am 
 sorry that they have captured Toulon from the English, 
 for it is a place to which they have a just right." 
 
 "Ah ha! " exclaimed Monsieur Le Quoi, springing on 
 his feet, and flourishing both arms with great animation ; 
 " ces Anglais ! " 
 
 The Frenchman continued to move .about the room 
 with great alacrity for a few minutes, repeating his ex- 
 clamations to himself ; when overcome by the contrary 
 nature of his emotions, he suddenly burst out of the house, 
 and was seen wading through the snow toward his little 
 shop, waving his arms on high, .as if to pluck down honor 
 from the moon. His departure excited but little surprise, 
 for the villagers were used to his manner ; but Major 
 Hartmann laughed outright, for the first during his visit, 
 as he lifted the mug, and observed : 
 
 " Ter Frenchman is mat put he is goot as for noting 
 to trink : he is trunk mit joy." 
 
 " The French are good soldiers," said Captain Hollister , 
 " they stood us in hand a good turn at Yorktown ; nor do 
 I think, although I am an ignorant man about the great 
 
THE PIONEERS. 149 
 
 movements of the army, that his excellency would have 
 been iv'ule to march against Cornwallis, without their re- 
 enforcements." 
 
 "Ye spake the trut', sargent," interrupted his wife, "and 
 I would iver have ye be doing the same. It's varry pratty 
 men is the French ; and jist when I stopt the cart, the 
 time when ye was pushing on in front it was, to kape the 
 rig'lers in, a rigiment of the jontlemen marched by, and so 
 I dealt them out to their liking. Was it pay I got ? sure 
 did I, and in good solid crowns ; the divil a bit of con- 
 tinental could they muster among them all, for love nor 
 money. Och ! the Lord forgive me for swearing and 
 spakeing of such vanities : but this I will say for the French, 
 that they paid in good silver ; and one glass would go a 
 great way wid 'em, for they gin'rally handed it back wid a 
 ( drop in the cup ; and that's a brisk trade, Joodge, where 
 the pay is good, and the men not over-partic'lar." 
 
 " A thriving trade, Mrs. Hollister," said Marmaduke. 
 " But what has become of Richard ? he jumped up as 
 soon as seated, and has been absent so long that I am 
 really fearful he has frozen." 
 
 "No fear of that, cousin 'duke," cried the gentleman 
 himself ; " business will sometimes keep a man warm the 
 coldest night that ever snapt in the mountains. Betty, 
 your husband told me, as we came out of church, that 
 your hogs were getting mangy, and so I have been out to 
 take a look at them, and found it true. I stepped across, 
 doctor, and got your boy to weigh me out a pound of salts, 
 and have been mixing it with their swill. I'll bet a saddle 
 of venison against a gray squirrel, that they are better in a 
 week. And now, Mrs. Hollister, I'm ready for a hissing 
 mug of flip." 
 
 " Sure I know'd yee'd be wanting that same," said the 
 landlady ; " it's mixt and ready to the boiling. Sargeant, 
 dear, be handing up the iron, will ye ? no, the one on 
 the far fire, it's black, ye will see. Ah ! you've the thing 
 now ; look if it's not as red as a cherry." 
 
 The beverage was heate'd, and Richard took that kind 
 of draught which men are apt to indulge in, who think 
 that they have just executed a clever thing, especially 
 when they like the liquor. 
 
 "Oh ! you have a hand, Betty, that was formed to mix 
 flip," cried Richard, when he paused for breath. "The 
 very iron has a flavor in it. Here, John, drink, man, drink 
 
150 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 I and you .and Dr. Todd, have done a good thing with the 
 shoulder of that lad this very night. 'Duke, I made a song 
 while you were gone one day when I had nothing to do ; 
 so I'll sing you averse or two, though I haven't really de- 
 termined on the tune yet. 
 
 ' What is life but a scene of care, 
 
 Where each one must toil in his way? 
 Then let us be jolly, and prove that we are 
 A set of good fellows, who seem very rare, 
 And can laugh and sing all the day. 
 Then let us be jolly, 
 And cast away folly, 
 For grief turns a black head to gray.' 
 
 There, 'duke, what do think of that ? There is another 
 verse of it, all but the last line. I haven't got a rhyme for, 
 the last line yet. Well, old John, what do you think of the 
 music ? as good as one of your war-songs, ha ? " 
 
 " Good ! " said Mohegan, who had been sharing deeply 
 in the potations of the landlady, besides paying a proper 
 respect to the passing mugs of the major and Marmaduke. 
 
 " Pravo ! pravo ! Richart," cried the major, whose black 
 eyes were beginning to swim in moisture ; " pravisimo ! 
 It is a goot song ; put Natty Pumppo has a petter. Let- 
 ter-Stockint, vilt sing ? say, olt poy, vilt sing ter song as 
 apout ter woots ? " 
 
 *' No, no, major," returned the hunter, with a melan- 
 choly shake of the head, "I have lived to see what I 
 thought eyes could never behold in these hills, and I have 
 no heart left for singing. If he, that has a right to be 
 master and ruler here, is forced to squinch his thirst, when 
 a-dry, with snow-water, it ill becomes them that have lived 
 by his bounty to be making merry, as if there was nothing 
 in the world but sunshine and summer." 
 
 When he had spoken, Leather-Stocking again dropped 
 his head on his knees, and concealed his hard and wrinkled 
 features with his hands. The change from the excessive 
 cold without to the heat of the'bar-room, coupled with the 
 depth and frequency of Richard's draughts, had already 
 levelled whatever inequality there might have existed be- 
 tween him and the other guests, on the score of spirits \ 
 and he now held out a pair of swimming mugs of foaming 
 flip toward the hunter, as he cried : 
 
 " Merry ! ay ! merry Christmas to you, old boy ! Sun* 
 
THE PIONEERS. 151 
 
 shine and summer ! no ! you are blind, Leather-Stocking, 
 'tis moonshine and winter take these spectacles, and open 
 your eyes 
 
 ' So let us be jolly, 
 And cast away folly, 
 For grief turns a black head to gray.' 
 
 Hear how old John turns his quavers. What damned 
 dull music an Indian song is, after all, major! I wonder 
 if they ever sing by note." 
 
 While Richard was singing and talking, Mohegan was 
 uttering dull, monotonous tones, keeping time by a gentle 
 motion of his head and body. He made use of but few 
 words, and such as he did utter were in his native language, 
 and consequently only understood by himself and Natty. 
 Without heeding Richard, he continued to sing a kind of 
 wild, melancholy air, that rose, at times, in sudden and 
 quite elevated notes, and then fell again into the low 
 quavering sounds that seemed to compose the character of 
 his music. 
 
 The attention of the company was now much divided, 
 the men in the rear having formed themselves into little 
 groups, where they were discussing various matters; 
 among the principal of which were, the treatment of mangy 
 hogs, and Parson Grant's preaching ; while Dr. Todd was 
 endeavoring to explain to Marmaduke the nature of the 
 hurt received by the young hunter. Mohegan continued 
 to sing, while his countenance was becoming vacant, though, 
 coupled with his thick, bushy hair, it was assuming an ex- 
 pression very much like brutal ferocity. His notes were 
 gradually growing louder, and soon rose to a height that 
 caused a general cessation in the discourse. The hunter 
 now raised his head again, and addressed the old warrior, 
 warmly, in the Delaware language, which, for the benefit 
 of our readers, we shall render freely into English. 
 
 " Why do you sing of your battles, Chingachgook, and 
 of the warriors you have slain, when the worst enemy of 
 all is near you, and keeps the Young Eagle from his rights ? 
 I have fought in as many battles as any warrior in your 
 tribe, but cannot boast of my deeds at such a time as this." 
 
 " Hawk-eye," said the Indian, tottering with a doubtful 
 step from his place, " I am the Great Snake of the Dela- 
 wares ; I can track the Mingoes like an adder that is steal- 
 ing on the whip-poor-will's eggs, and strike them like the 
 
152 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 rattlesnake, dead at a blow. The white man made the 
 tomahawk of Chingachgook bright as the waters of Otsego, 
 when the last sun is shining ; but it is red with the blood 
 of the Maquas." 
 
 "And why have you slain the Mingo warriors ? Was it 
 not to keep these hunting-grounds and lakes to your 
 father's children ? and were they not given in solemn coun- 
 cil to the Fire-eater ? and does not the blood of a warrior 
 run in the veins of a young chief, who should speak aloud, 
 where his voice is now too low to be heard ? " 
 
 The appeal of the hunter seemed in some measure to 
 recall the confused faculties of the Indian, who turned his 
 face toward the listeners and gazed intently on the Judge. 
 He shook his head, throwing his hair back from his coun- 
 tenance, and exposed eyes that were glaring with an ex- 
 pression of wild resentment. But the man was not him- 
 self. His hand seemed to make a fruitless effort to release 
 his tomahawk, which was confined by its handle to his 
 belt, while his eyes gradually became vacant. Richard at 
 that instant thrusting a mug before him, his features 
 changed to the grin of idiocy, and seizing the vessel with 
 both hands, he sank backward on the bench and drank 
 Lhitil satiated, when he made an effort to lay aside the mug 
 with the helplessness of total inebriety. 
 
 " Shed not blood !" exclaimed the hunter, as he watched 
 the countenance of the Indian in its moment of ferocity ; 
 " but he is drunk and can do no harm. This is the way 
 with all the savages ; give them liquor, and they make 
 dogs of themselves. Well, well the day will come when 
 right will be done ; and we must have patience." 
 
 Natty still spoke in the Delaware language, and of 
 course was not understood. He had hardly concluded 
 before Richard cried : 
 
 " Well, old John is soon sewed up. Give him a berth, 
 captain, in the barn, and I will pay for it. I am. rich to- 
 night, ten times richer than 'duke, with all his lands, and 
 military lots, and funded debts, and bonds, and mortgages 
 
 ' Come, let us be jolly, 
 And cast away folly, 
 For grief ' 
 
 Drink, King Hiram drink, Mr. Doo-nothing drink, sir, 
 I say. This is a Christmas eve, which comes, you know 
 but once a year." 
 
THE PIONEERS. 153 
 
 " He ! he ! he ! the squire is quite moosical to-night," 
 said Hiram, whose visage began to give marvellous signs 
 of relaxation. " I rather guess we shall make a church 
 on't yet, squire ?" 
 
 " A church, Mr. Doolittle ! we will make a cathedral ot 
 it ! bishops, priests, deacons, wardens, vestry, and choir 
 organ, organist, and bellows i By the Lord Harry, as 
 Benjamin says, we will clap a steeple on the other end of 
 it, and make two churches of it. What say you, 'duke, 
 will you pay ? ha ! my cousin Judge, wilt pay ? " 
 
 " Thou makest such a noise, Dickon," returned Marma- 
 duke, "it is impossible that I can hear what Dr. Todd is 
 saying. I think thou observedst, it is probable the wound 
 will fester, so as to occasion danger to the limb in this 
 cold weather ? " 
 
 " Out of nater, sir, quite out of nater," said Elnathan, 
 attempting to expectorate, but succeeding only in throw- 
 ing a light, frothy substance, like a flake of snow, into the 
 fire "quite out of' nater that a wound so well dressed, 
 and with the ball in my poclret, should fester. I s'pose, 
 as the Judge talks of taking the young man into his house, 
 it will be most convenient if I make but one charge on't." 
 
 "I should think one would do," returned Marmaduke, 
 with that arch smile that so often beamed on his face ; 
 leaving the beholder in doubt whether he most enjoyed 
 the character of his companion or his own covert humor. 
 The landlord had succeeded in placing the Indian on some 
 straw in one of his out-buildings, where, covered with his 
 own blanket, John continued for the remainder of the 
 night. 
 
 In the meantime, Major Hartmann began to grow noisy 
 and jocular ; glass succeeded glass, and mug after mug 
 was introduced, until the carousal had run deep into the 
 night, or rather morning ; when the veteran German ex- 
 pressed an inclination to return to the mansion-house. 
 Most of the party had already retired, but Marmaduke 
 knew the habits of his friend too well to suggest an earlier 
 adjournment. So soon, however, as the proposal was made, 
 the Judge eagerly availed himself of it, and the trio pre- 
 pared to depart. Mrs. Hollister attended them to the door 
 in person, cautioning her guests as to the safest manner of 
 leaving her premises. 
 
 " Lane on Mister Jones, major," said she ; " he's young, 
 and will be a support to ye. Well, it's a charming sight 
 
154 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 to see ye, anyway, at the Bould Dragoon ; and sure it's no 
 harm to be kaping a Christmas eve wid a light heart, foi 
 it's no telling when we may have sorrow come upon us, 
 So good-night, Joodge, and a merry Christmas to ye all, 
 to-morrow-morning." 
 
 The gentlemen made their adieus as well as they could, 
 and, taking the middle of the road, which was a fine, wide, 
 and well-beaten path, they did tolerably well until they 
 reached the gate of the mansion-house : but, on entering 
 the Judge's domains, they encountered some slight difficul- 
 ties. We shall not stop to relate them, but will just men- 
 tion that, in the morning, sundry diverging paths were to 
 be seen in the snow ; and that once, during their progress 
 to the door, Marmaduke, missing his companions, was en- 
 abled to trace them, by one of these paths, to a spot where 
 he discovered them with nothing visible but their heads, 
 Richard singing in a most vivacious strain : 
 
 " Come, let us be jolly, 
 And cast away folly, 
 For grief turns a black head to gray." 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 "As she lay, on that day, in the Bay of Biscay, O I" 
 
 PREVIOUSLY to the occurrence of the scene at the " Bold 
 Dragoon," Elizabeth had been safely reconducted to the 
 mansion-house, where she was left as its mistress, either to 
 amuse or employ herself during the evening, as best suit- 
 ed her own inclinations. Most of the lights were extin- 
 guished ; but as Benjamin adjusted with great care and 
 regularity four large candles, in as many massive candle- 
 sticks of brass, in a row on the sideboard, the hall possessed 
 a peculiar air of comfort and warmth, contrasted with the 
 cheerless aspect of the room she had left in the academy. 
 
 Remarkable had been one of the listeners to Mr. Grant, 
 and returned with her resentment, which had been not a 
 little excited by the language of the Judge, somewhat 
 softened by reflection and the worship. She recollected 
 the youth of Elizabeth, and thought it no difficult task, 
 under present appearances, to exercise that power indirect- 
 
THE PIONEERS. 155 
 
 ly which hitherto she had enjoyed undisputed. The idea 
 of being governed, or of being compelled to pay the def- 
 erence of servitude, was absolutely intolerable ; and she 
 had already determined within herself, some half dozen 
 times, to make an effort that should at once bring to an 
 issue the delicate point of her domestic condition. But as 
 often as she met the dark, proud eye of Elizabeth, who was 
 walking up and down the apartment, musing on the scenes 
 of her youth and the change in her condition, and per- 
 haps the events of the day, the housekeeper experienced 
 an awe that she would not own to herself could be excited 
 by anything mortal. It, however, checked her advances, 
 and for some time held her tongue-tied. At length she de- 
 termined to commence the discourse by entering on a 
 subject that was apt to level all human distinctions, and in 
 which she might display her own abilities. 
 
 " It was quite a wordy sarmon that Parson Grant gave 
 us to-night," said Remarkable. "The church ministers 
 be commonly smart sarmonizers ; but they write down 
 their idees, which is a great privilege. I don't think that, 
 by nater, they are as tonguey speakers, for an off-hand 
 discourse, as the standing-order ministers." 
 
 u And what denomination do you distinguish as the 
 standing-order ? " inquired Miss Temple, with some sur- 
 prise. 
 
 "Why, the Presbyte'rans and Congregationals, and Bap- 
 tists, too, for-ti-'now; and all sitch as don't go on their 
 knees to prayer." 
 
 " By that rule, then, you would call those who belong to 
 the persuasion of my father, the sitting order," observed 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 "I'm sure I've never heard 'em spoken of by any other 
 name than Quakers, so called," returned Remarkable, be- 
 traying a slight uneasiness ; " I should be the last to call 
 them otherwise, for I never in my life used a disparaging 
 tarm of the Judge, or any of his family. I've always set. 
 store by the Quakers, they are so pretty-spoken, clever 
 people, and it's a w r onderment to me how your father come 
 to marry into a church family ; for they are as contrary in 
 religion as can be. One sits still, and, for the most part, 
 says nothing, while the church folks practyse all kinds of 
 ways, so that I sometimes think it quite moosical to see 
 them ; for I went to a church-meeting once before, down 
 country." 
 
156 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 " You have found an excellence in the church liturgy 
 that has hitherto escaped me. I will thank you to inquire 
 whether the fire in my room burns ; I feel fatigued with 
 my journey, and will retire." 
 
 Remarkable felt a wonderful inclination to tell the 
 young mistress of the mansion that by opening a door she 
 might see for herself ; but prudence got the better of re- 
 sentment, and after pausing some little time, as a salve to 
 her dignity, she. did as desired. The report was favorable, 
 and the young lady, wishing Benjamin, who was filling the 
 stove with wood, and the housekeeper, each a good-night, 
 withdrew. 
 
 The instant the door closed on Miss Temple, Remark- 
 able commenced a sort of mysterious, ambiguous dis- 
 course, that was neither abusive nor commendatory of the 
 qualities of the absent personage, but which seemed to be 
 drawing nigh, by regular degrees, to a most dissatisfied 
 description. The major-domo made no reply, but con- 
 tinued his occupation with great industry, which being 
 happily completed, he took a look at the thermometer, 
 and then, opening a drawer of the sideboard, he produced 
 a supply of stimulants that would have served to keep the 
 warmth in his system without the aid of the enormous fire 
 he had been building. A small stand was drawn up near 
 the stove, and the bottles and the glasses necessary for 
 convenience were quietly arranged. Two chairs were 
 placed by the side of this comfortable situation, when Ben- 
 jamin, for the first time, appeared to observe his com- 
 panion. 
 
 "Come," he cried, "come, Mistress Remarkable, bring 
 yourself to an anchor on this chair. It's a peeler without, I 
 can tell you, good woman ; but what cares I ? blow high or 
 blow low, d'ye see, it's all the same thing to Ben. The 
 niggers are snug stowed below before a fire that would 
 roast an ox whole. The thermometer stands now at fifty- 
 five, but if there's any vartue in good maple wood, I'll 
 weather upon it, before one glass, as much as ten points 
 more, so that, the squire, when he comes home from Betty 
 Hollister's warm room, will feel as hot as a hand that has 
 given the rigging a lick with bad tar. Come, mistress, 
 bring up in this here chair, and tell me how you like our 
 new heiress." 
 
 " Why, to my notion, Mr. Penguillum " 
 
 " Pump, Pump," interrupted Benjamin ; "it's Christmas 
 
THE PIONEERS. 157 
 
 eve, Mistress Remarkable, and so, d'ye see, you had better 
 call me Pump. It's a shorter name, and as I mean to 
 pump this here decanter till it sucks, why, you may as 
 well call me Pump." 
 
 " Did you ever! " cried Remarkable, with a laugh that 
 seemed to unhinge every joint in her body. u You're a 
 rnoosical creature, Benjamin, when the notion takes you. 
 But, as I was saying, I rather guess that times will be 
 altered now in this house." 
 
 " Altered ! " exclaimed the major-domo, eyeing the bot- 
 tle, that was assuming the clear aspect of cut glass with as- 
 tonishing rapidity ; " it don't matter much, Mistress Re- 
 markable, so long as I keep the keys of the lockers in my 
 pocket." 
 
 "I can't say," continued the housekeeper, "but there's 
 good eatables and drinkables enough in the house for a 
 body's content a little more sugar, Benjamin, in the glass 
 for Squire Jones is an excellent provider. But new 
 lords, new laws ; and I shouldn't wonder if you and I had 
 an unsartain time on't in footer." 
 
 " Life is as unsartain as the wind that blows," said Benja- 
 min, with a moralizing air ; "and nothing is more vari'ble 
 than the wind. Mistress Remarkable, unless you happen 
 to fall in with the trades, d'ye see, and then you may run 
 for the matter of a month at a time, with studding-sails on 
 both sides, alow and aloft, and with the cabin-boy at the 
 wheel." 
 
 "I know that life is disp'ut unsartain," said Remarkable, 
 compressing her features to the humor of her companion ; 
 " but I expect there will be great changes made in the 
 house to rights ; and that you will find a young man put 
 over your head, as there is one that wants to be over mine ; 
 and after having been settled as long as you have, Benja- 
 min, I should judge that to be hard." 
 
 " Promotion should go according to length of sarvice," 
 said the major-domo ; "and if-so-be that they ship a hand 
 for my berth, or place a new steward aft, I shall throw up 
 my commission in less time than you can put a pilot-boat 
 in stays. Thof Squire Dickens " this was a common mis- 
 nomer with Benjamin " is a nice gentleman, and as good 
 a man to sail with as heart could wish, yet I shall tell the 
 squire, d'ye see, in plain English, and that's my native 
 tongue, that if-so-be he is thinking of putting any Johnny 
 Raw over my head, why, I shall resign. I began forrard. 
 
158 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 Mistress Prettybones, and worked my way aft, like a man. 
 I was six months aboard a Garnsey lugger, hauling in the 
 slack of the lee-sheet and coiling up rigging. From that 
 I went a few trips in a fore-and-after, in the same trade, 
 which, after all, was but a blind kind of sailing in the 
 dark, where a man larns but little, excepting how to steer 
 by the stars. Well, then, d'ye see, I larnt how a top-mast 
 should be slushed, and how a top-gallant-sail was to be 
 becketted ; and then I did small jobs in the cabin, such as 
 mixing the skipper's grog. 'Twas there I got my taste, 
 which, you must have often seen, is excellent. Well, here's 
 better acquaintance to us." 
 
 Remarkable nodded a return to the compliment, and 
 took a sip of the beverage before her ; for, provided it was 
 well sweetened, she had no objection to a small potation 
 now and then. After this observance of courtesy between 
 the worthy couple, the dialogue proceeded. 
 
 "You have had great experiences in life, Benjamin ; for, 
 as the Scripter says, ' They that go down to the sea in 
 ships see the works of the Lord.' " 
 
 " Ay ! for that matter, they in brigs and schooners, too ; 
 and it mought say, the works of the devil. The sea, Mistress 
 Remarkable, is a great advantage to a man, in the way of 
 knowledge, for he sees the fashions of nations and the 
 shape of a country. Now, I suppose, for myself here, who 
 is but an unlarned man to some that follows the seas, I sup- 
 pose that, taking the coast from Cape Ler Hogue as low 
 down as Cape Finish-there, there isn't so much as a head- 
 land, or an island, that I don't know either the name of it 
 or something more or less about it. Take enough, woman, 
 to color the water. Here's sugar. It's a sweet tooth, that 
 fellow that you hold on upon yet, Mistress Prettybones. 
 But, as I was saying, take the whole coast along, I know 
 it as well as the way from here to the Bold Dragoon ; and 
 a devil "of acquaintance is that Bay of Biscay. Whew ! I 
 wish you could but hear the wind blow there. It some- 
 times takes two to hold one man's hair on his head 
 Scudding through the bay is pretty much the same thing 
 as travelling the roads in this country, up one side of a 
 mountain and down the other." 
 
 "Do tell ! " exclaimed Remarkable ; "and does the sea 
 run as high as mountains, Benjamin ?" 
 
 "Well, I will tell ; but first let's taste the grog. Hem J 
 it's the right kind of stuff, I must say, that you keep in this 
 
THE PIONEERS. 159 
 
 country ; but then you're so close aboard the West Indies, 
 you make but a small run of it. By the Lord Harry, wom- 
 an, if Garnseyonly lay somewhere between Cape Hatteras 
 and the bite of Logann, but you'd see rum cheap ! As to 
 the seas, they runs more in uppers in the Bay of Biscay, 
 unless it may be in a sow-wester, when they tumble about 
 quite handsomely ; thof it's not in the narrow sea that you 
 are to look for a swell ; just go off the Western Islands, 
 in a westerly blow, keeping the land on your larboard hand, 
 with the ship's head to the south'ard, and bring to, under 
 a close-reef d topsail ; or, mayhap, a reef d foresail, with a 
 fore-topmast-staysail, and mizzen-staysail, to keep her up 
 to the sea, if she will bear it ; and lay there for the matter 
 of two watches, if you want to see mountains. Why, good 
 woman, I've been off there, in the Boadishey frigate, when 
 you could see nothing but some such matter as a piece of 
 sky, mayhap, as big as the mainsail ; and then again, there 
 was a hole under your lee-quarter big enough to hold the 
 whole British navy." 
 
 " Oh ! for massy's sake ! and wan't you afeard, Benjamin ? 
 and how did you get off ?" 
 
 " Afeard ! who the devil do you think was to be fright- 
 ened at a little salt water tumbling about his head ? As 
 forgetting off, when we had enough of it, and had washed 
 our decks down pretty well, we called all hands, for, d'ye 
 see, the watch below was in their hammocks, all the same 
 as if they were in one of your best bedrooms ; and so we 
 watched for a smooth time, clapt her helm hard a weather, 
 let fall the foresail, and got the tack aboard ; and so, when 
 we got her afore it, I ask you, Mistress Prettybones, if she 
 didn't walk ? didn't she ? I'm no liar, good woman, when I 
 say that I saw that ship jump from the top of one sea to 
 another, just like one of these squirrels that can fly 
 jumps from tree to tree." 
 
 " What ! clean out of the water ? " exclaimed Remark- 
 able, lifting her two lank arms, with their bony hands 
 spread in astonishment. 
 
 " It was no such easy matter to get out of the water, 
 good woman ; for the spray flew so that you couldn't tell 
 which was sea or which was cloud. So there we kept her 
 afore it for the matter of two glasses. The first lieutenant 
 he cun'd the ship himself, and there was four quarter- 
 masters at the wheel, besides the master with six forecastle 
 men in the gun-room, at the relieving tackles. But then 
 
i6o THE PIONEERS. 
 
 she behaved herself so well ! Oh I she was a sweet ship t 
 mistress ! That one frigate was well worth more, to live 
 in, than the best house in the island. If I was king of 
 England I'd have her hauled up above Lon'on bridge, 
 and fit her up for a palace ; because why ? if anybody can 
 afford to live comfortably, his majesty can." 
 
 "Well! but, Benjamin," cried the listener, who was in 
 an ecstasy of astonishment at this relation of the steward's 
 dangers, " what did you do ? " 
 
 " Do ! why, we did our duty like hearty fellows. Now if 
 the countrymen of Mounsheer Ler Quawhad been aboard 
 of her, they would have just struck her ashore on some of 
 them small islands ; but we run along the land until we 
 found her dead to leeward off the mountains of Pico, and 
 dam'me if I know to this day how we got there whether 
 we jumped over the island or hauled round it ; but there 
 we was, and there we lay, under easy sail, fore-reaching 
 first upon one tack and then upon t'other, so as to poke 
 her nose out now and then and take a look to wind'ard, till 
 the gale blow'd its pipe out." 
 
 " I wonder, now ! " exclaimed Remarkable, to whom 
 most of the terms used by Benjamin were perfectly unin- 
 telligible, but who had got a confused idea of a raging tem- 
 pest. " It must be an awful life, that going to sea ! and I 
 don't feel astonishment that you are so affronted with the 
 thoughts of being forced to quit a comfortable home like 
 this. Not that a body cares much for't, as there's more 
 houses than one to live in. Why, when the Judge agreed 
 with me to come and live with him, I'd no more notion of 
 stopping any time than anything. I happened in just to 
 see how the family did, about a week after Mrs. Temple 
 died, thinking to be back home ag'in night ; but the 
 family was in such a distressed way that I couldn't but 
 stop awhile and help 'em on. I thought the situation a 
 good one, seeing that I was an unmarried body, and they 
 were so much in want of help ; so I tarried." 
 
 "And a long time you've left your anchors down in the 
 same place, mistress. I think you must find that the 
 ship rides easy." 
 
 " How you talk, Benjamin ! there's no believing a word 
 you say. I must say that the Judge and Squire Jones 
 have both acted quite clever, so long ; but I see that now 
 we shall have a specimen to the contrary. I heern say 
 that the Judge was gone a great 'broad, and that he meant 
 
THE PIONEERS. 161 
 
 to bring his darter hum, but I didn't calculate on sich 
 carrins on. To my notion, Benjamin, she's likely to turn 
 out a desp'ut ugly gal." 
 
 " Ugly !" echoed the major-domo, opening eyes, that 
 were beginning to close in a very suspicious sleepiness, in 
 wide amazement. " By the Lord Harry, woman, I should 
 as soon think of calling the Boadishey a clumsy frigate. 
 What the devil would you have ? arn't her eyes as bright 
 as the morning and evening stars ? and isn't her hair as 
 black and glistening as rigging that has just had a lick of 
 tar ? doesn't she move as stately as a first-rate in smooth 
 water, on a bowline ? Why, woman, the figure-head of the 
 Boadishey was a fool to her, and that, as I've often heard 
 the captain say, was an image of a great queen ; and arn't 
 queens always comely, woman ? for who do you think 
 would be a king, and not choose a handsome bedfellow?" 
 
 "Talk decent, Benjamin," said the housekeeper, " or I 
 won't keep your company. I don't gainsay her being 
 comely to look on, but I will maintain that she's likely to 
 show poor conduct. She seems to think herself too good 
 to talk to a body. From what Squire Jones had tell'd me, 
 I some expected to be quite captivated by her company. 
 Now, to my reckoning, Lowizy Grant is much more pritty 
 behaved than Betsey Temple. She wouldn't so much as 
 hold discourse with me when I wanted to ask her how 
 she felt on coming home and missing her mammy." 
 
 " Perhaps she didn't understand you, woman ; you are 
 none of the best linguister ; and then Miss Lizzy has been 
 exercising the king's English under a great Lon'on lady, 
 and, for that matter, can talk the language almost as w r ell 
 as myself, or any native-born British subject. You've for- 
 got your schooling, and the young mistress is a great scol- 
 lard." 
 
 " Mistress ! " cried Remarkable ; ''don't make one out to 
 be a nigger, Benjamin. She's no mistress of mine, and 
 never will be. And as to speech, I hold myself as second 
 to nobody out of New England. I was born and raised in 
 Essex County ; and I've always heern say that the Bay 
 State was provarbal for pronounsation ! " 
 
 " I've often heard of that Bay of State," said Benjamin, 
 " but can't say that I've ever been in it, nor do I know ex- 
 actly whereaway it is that it lays ; but I suppose there is 
 good anchorage in it, and that it's no bad place for the 
 taking of ling ; but for size it can't be so much as a yawl 
 ii 
 
162 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 to a sloop of war compared with the Bay of Biscay, or, 
 mayhap, Torbay. And as for language, if you want to 
 hear the dictionary overhauled, like a log-line in a blow, 
 you must go to Wapping and listen to the Lon'oners as 
 they deal out their lingo. Howsomever, I see no such 
 mighty matter that Miss Lizzy has been doing to you, 
 good woman ; so take another drop of your brew, and for- 
 give and forget, like an honest soul." 
 
 "No, indeed! and I shan't do sitch a thing, Benjamin. 
 This treatment is a newity to rne, and what I wun't put 
 up with. I have a hundred and fifty dollars at use, besides 
 a bed and twenty sheep, to good ; and I don't crave to live 
 in a house where a body mustn't call a young woman by 
 her given name to her face. I will call her Betsey as 
 much as I please ; it's a free country, and no one can stop 
 me. I did intend to stop while summer, but I shall quit 
 to-morrow morning ; and I will talk just as I please." 
 
 " For that matter, Mistress Remarkable," said Benjamin, 
 " there's none here who will contradict you ; for I'm of 
 opinion that it would be as easy to stop a hurricane with a 
 Barcelony handkerchy as to bring up your tongue when 
 the stopper is off. I say, good woman, do they grow many 
 monkeys along the shores of that Bay of State ? " 
 
 "You're a monkey yourself, Mr. Penguillum," cried the 
 enraged housekeeper, " or a bear a black, beastly bear ! 
 and ain't fit for a decent woman to stay with. I'll never 
 keep your company ag'in, sir, if I should live thirty years 
 with the Judge. Sitch talk is more befitting the kitchen 
 than the keeping-room of a house of one who is well-to-do 
 in the world." 
 
 " Look you, Mistress Pitty Patty Prettybones, may- 
 hap I'm some such matter as a bear, as they will find who 
 come to grapple with me ; but dam'me if I'm a monkey 
 a thing that chatters without knowing a word of what it 
 says a parrot ; that will hold a dialogue, for what an 
 honest man knows, in a dozen languages ; mayhap in the 
 Bay of State lingo ; mayhap in Greek or High Dutch. 
 But dost it know what it means itself? canst answer me 
 that, good woman ? Your midshipman can sing out, and 
 pass the word, when the captain gives the order, but just 
 send him adrift by himself, and let him work the ship of 
 his own head, and stop my grog if you don't find all the 
 Johnny Raws laughing at him." 
 
 " Stop your grog, indeed ! " said Remarkable, rising with 
 
THE PIONEERS. 163 
 
 great indignation, and seizing a candle; " you're groggy 
 now, Benjamin, and I'll quit the room before I hear any 
 misbecoming words from you." 
 
 The housekeeper retired, with a manner but little less 
 dignified, as she thought, than the air of the heiress, mut- 
 tering as she drew the door after her, with a noise like the 
 report of a musket, the opprobrious terms of " drunkard," 
 "sot," and "beast." 
 
 " Who's that you say is drunk?" cried Benjamin, fierce- 
 ly, rising and making a movement toward Remarkable. 
 " You talk of mustering yourself with a lady ! you're just 
 fit to grumble and find fault. Where the devil should you 
 larn behavior and dictionary ? in your damned Bay of 
 State, ha ? " 
 
 Benjamin here fell back in his chair, and soon gave vent 
 to certain ominous sounds, which resembled not a little 
 the growling of his favorite animal, the bear itself. Before, 
 however, he was quite locked to use the language that 
 would suit the Della-cruscan humor of certain refined 
 minds of the present day " in the arms of Morpheus," he 
 spoke aloud, observing due pauses between his epithets, 
 the impressive terms of "monkey," "parrot," "picnic," 
 "tar-pot," and "linguisters." 
 
 We shall not attempt to explain his meaning nor con- 
 nect his sentences ; and our readers must be satisfied with 
 our informing them that they were expressed with all that 
 coolness of contempt that a man might well be supposed 
 to feel for a monkey. 
 
 Nearly two hours passed in this sleep before the major- 
 domo was awakened by the noisy entrance of Richard, 
 Major Hartmann, and the master of the mansion. Benja- 
 min so far rallied his confused faculties as to shape the 
 course of the two former to their respective apartments, 
 when he disappeared himself, leaving the task of securing 
 the house to him who was most interested in its safety. 
 Locks and bars were but little attended to in the early 
 days of that settlement, and so soon as Marmaduke had 
 given an eye to the enormous fires of his dwelling, he re- 
 tired. With this act of prudence closes the first night oi 
 our tale. 
 
164 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 " Watch (aside). Some treason, masters 
 Yet stand close." MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. 
 
 IT was fortunate for more than one of the bacchana- 
 lians who left the " Bold Dragoon " late in the evening 
 that the severe cold of the season was becoming rapidly 
 less dangerous, as they threaded the different mazes through 
 the snow-banks that led to their respective dwellings. 
 Then driving clouds began toward morning to flit across 
 the heavens, and the moon set behind a volume of vapor 
 that was impelled furiously toward the north, carrying 
 with it the softer atmosphere from the distant ocean. 
 The rising sun was obscured 'by denser and increasing 
 columns of clouds, while the southerly wind that rushed 
 up the valley brought the never-failing symptoms of a 
 thaw. 
 
 It was quite late in the morning before Elizabeth, observ- 
 ing the faint glowwhich appeared on the eastern mountain 
 long after the light of the sun had struck the opposite 
 hills, ventured from the house, with a view to gratify her 
 curiosity with a glance by daylight at the surrounding 
 objects before the tardy revellers of the Christmas eve 
 should make their appearance at the breakfast-table. 
 While she was drawing the folds of her pelisse more closely 
 around her form, to guard against a cold that was yet 
 great, though rapidly yielding, in the small inclosure that 
 opened in the rear of the house on a little thicket of low 
 pines that were springing up where trees of a mightier 
 growth had lately stood, she Xvas surprised at the voice of 
 Mr. Jones. 
 
 " Merry Christmas, merry Christmas to you, Cousin 
 Bess," he shouted. " Ah, ha ! an early riser, I see ; but I 
 knew I should steal a march on you. I never was in a 
 house yet where I didn't get the first Christmas greeting 
 on every soul in it, man, woman, and child great and 
 small black, white, and yellow. But stop a minute till 
 I can just slip on my coat. You are about to look at the 
 improvements, I see, which no one can explain so well as 
 I, who planned them all. It will be an hour before 'duke 
 and the major can sleep off Mrs. Hollister's confounded 
 distillations, and so I'll come down and go with you," 
 
THE PIONEERS. 165 
 
 Elizabeth turned and observed her cousin in his night- 
 cap, with his head out of his bedroom window, where his 
 zeal for pre-eminence- in defiance of the weather, had im- 
 pelled him to thrust it. She laughed, and promising to 
 wait for his company, re-entered the house, making her 
 appearance again, holding in her hand a packet that was 
 secured by several large and important seals, just in time 
 to meet the gentleman. 
 
 " Come, Bessy come," he cried, drawing one of her arms 
 through his own ; " the snow begins to give, but it will 
 bear us yet. Don't you snuff old Pennsylvania in the very 
 air ? This is a vile climate, girl ; now at sunset, last even- 
 ing, it was cold enough to freeze a man's zeal, and that, I 
 can tell you, takes a thermometer near zero for me ; then 
 about nine or ten it began to moderate ; at twelve it was 
 quite mild, and here all the rest of the night 1 have been 
 so hot as not to bear a blanket on the bed. Holla ! Aggy 
 merry Christmas, Aggy I say, do you hear me, you 
 black dog ! there's a dollar for you ; and if the gentlemen 
 get up before I come back, do you come out and let me 
 know. I wouldn't have 'duke get the start of me for the 
 worth of your head." 
 
 The black caught the money from the snow, and prom- 
 ising a due degree of watchfulness, he gave the dollar a 
 whirl of twenty feet in the air, and catching it as it fell, in 
 the palm of his hand, he withdrew to the kitchen, to ex- 
 hibit his present, with a heart as light as his face was 
 happy in its expression. 
 
 " Oh, rest easy, my dear coz," said the young lady ; " I 
 took a look in at my father, who is likely to sleep an hour ; 
 and by using due vigilance you will secure all the honors 
 of the season." 
 
 "Why, 'duke is your father, Elizabeth; but 'duke is a 
 man who likes to be foremost, even in trifles. Now, as 
 for myself, I care for no such things, except in the way of 
 competition ; for a thing which is of no moment in itself 
 may be made of importance in the way of competition. 
 So it is with your father he loves to be first ; but I only 
 struggle with him as a competitor." 
 
 " It's all very clear, sir," said Elizabeth ; "you would 
 not care a fig for distinction if there were no one in the 
 world but yourself ; but as there happens to be a great 
 many others, why, you must struggle with them all in the 
 way of competition." 
 
166 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 " Exactly so ; I see you are a clever girl, Bess, and one 
 who does credit to her masters. It was my plan to send 
 you to that school ; for when your father first mentioned 
 the thing, I wrote a private letter for advice to a judicious 
 friend in the city, who recommended the very school you 
 went to. 'Duke was a little obstinate at first, as usual, but 
 when he heard the truth he was obliged to send you." 
 
 "Well, a truce to 'duke's foibles, sir ; he is my father, 
 and if you knew what he has been doing for you while we 
 were in Albany, you would deal more tenderly with his 
 character." 
 
 "For me!" cried Richard, pausing a moment in his 
 walk to reflect. " Oh ! he got the plans of the new Dutch 
 meeting-house for me, I suppose ; but I care very little 
 about it, for a man of a certain kind of talent is seldom 
 aided by any foreign suggestions ; his own brain is the 
 best architect." 
 
 " No such thing," said Elizabeth, looking provokingly 
 knowing. 
 
 " No ! let me see perhaps he had my name put in the 
 bill for the new turnpike, as a director." 
 
 " He might possibly ; but it is not ':o such an appoint- 
 ment that I allude." 
 
 "Such an appointment!' repeatea i . Jones, who be- 
 gan to fidget with curiosity ; " then it .s an appointment. 
 If itts in the militia, I won't take it." 
 
 " No, no, it is not in the militia," cried Elizabeth, show- 
 ing the packet in her hand, and then drawing it back with 
 a coquettish air ; " it is an office of both honor and emolu- 
 ment." 
 
 " Honor and emolument ! " echoed Richard, in painful 
 suspense ; " show me the paper, girl. Say, is it an office 
 where there is anything to do? " 
 
 " You have hit it, Cousin Dickon ; it is the executive 
 office of the county ; at least so said my father when he 
 gave me this packet to offer you as a Christmas-box. 
 * Surely if anything will please Dickon,' he said, ' it will 
 be to fill the executive chair of the county.' ' 
 
 " Executive chair ! what nonsense !" cried the impatient 
 gentleman, snatching the packet from her hand ; " there is 
 no such office in the county. Eh ! what ! it is, I declare, a 
 commission, appointing Richard Jones, Esquire, sheriff of 
 the county. Well, this is kind in 'duke, positively. I 
 must say 'duke has a warm heart, and never forgets his 
 
THE PIONEERS. 167 
 
 friends. Sheriff! High Sheriff of -! It sounds well. 
 Bess, but it shall execute better. 'Duke is a judicious 
 man after all, and knows human nature thoroughly. I'm 
 much obliged to him," continued Richard, using the skirt 
 of his coat unconsciously to wipe his eyes ; " though I 
 would do as much for him any day, as he shall see, if I 
 have an opportunity to perform any of the duties of my 
 office on him. It shall be done, Cousin Bess it shall be 
 done, I say. How this cursed south wind makes one's 
 eyes water ! " 
 
 " Now, Richard," said the laughing maiden, " now I 
 think you will find something to do. I have often heard 
 you complain of old that there was nothing to do in this 
 new country, while to my eyes it seemed as if everything 
 remained to be done." 
 
 " Do ! " echoed Richard, who blew his nose, raised his 
 little form to its greatest elevation, and looked serious. 
 " Everything depends on system, girl. I shall sit down 
 this afternoon and systematize the county. I must have 
 deputies, you know. I will divide the county into districts, 
 over which I will place my deputies ; and I will have one 
 for the village, which I will call my home department. 
 Let me see ho ! Benjamin ! yes, Benjamin will make a 
 good deputy ; he has been naturalized, and would answer 
 admirably if he could only ride on horseback." 
 
 " Yes, Mr. Sheriff," said his companion ; " and as he 
 understands ropes so well, he would be very expert, should 
 occasion happen for his services, in another way." 
 
 "No," interrupted the other ; " I flatter myself that no 
 man could hang a man better than that is ha! oh! 
 yes, Benjamin would do extremely well in such an unfor- 
 tunate dilemma, if he could be persuaded to attempt it. 
 But I should despair of the thing. I never could induce 
 him to hang, or teach him to ride on horseback. I must 
 seek another deputy." 
 
 "Well, sir, as you have abundant leisure for all these 
 important affairs, I beg that you will forget that you are 
 high sheriff, and devote some little of your time to gallan- 
 try. Where are the beauties and improvements which you 
 were to show me ? " 
 
 " Where ? why, everywhere ! Here I have laid out some 
 new streets ; and when they are opened, and the trees 
 felled, and they are all built up, will they not make a fine 
 town ? Well, 'duke is a liberal- hearted fellow., with all 
 
168 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 his stubbornness. Yes, yes; I must have at least foui 
 deputies, besides a jailer." 
 
 "I see no streets in the direction of our walk," said 
 Elizabeth, " unless you call the short avenues through 
 these pine bushes by that name. Surely you do not con- 
 template building houses, very soon, in that forest before 
 us, and in those swamps." 
 
 " We must run our streets by the compass, coz, and disre- 
 gard trees, hills, ponds, stumps, or, in fact, anything but 
 posterity. Such is the will of your father, and your father, 
 you know " 
 
 " Had you made sheriff, Mr. Jones," interrupted the lady, 
 with a tone that said very plainly to the gentleman that 
 he was touching a forbidden subject. 
 
 " I know it. I know it," cried Richard ; " and if it were 
 in my power, I'd make 'duke a king. He is a noble-hearted 
 fellow, and would make an excellent king ; that is, if he 
 had a good prime minister. But who have we here ? voices 
 in the bushes a combination about mischief, I'll wager 
 my commission. Let us draw near and examine a little 
 into the matter." 
 
 During this dialogue, as the parties had kept in motion, 
 Richard and his cousin advanced some distance from the 
 house into the open space in the rear of the village, where, 
 as may be gathered from the conversation, streets were 
 planned and future dwellings contemplated ; but where, 
 in truth, the only mark of improvement that \vas to be 
 seen was a neglected clearing along the skirt of a dark 
 forest of mighty pines, over which the bushes or sprouts 
 of the same tree had sprung up to a height that inter- 
 spersed the fields of snow with little thickets of evergreen. 
 The rushing of the wind, as it whistled through the tops 
 of these mimic trees, prevented the footsteps of the pair 
 from being heard, while the branches concealed their per- 
 sons. Thus aided, the listeners drew nigh to a spot where 
 the young hunter, Leather-Stocking, and the Indian chief 
 were collected in an earnest consultation. The former 
 was urgent in his manner, arid seemed to think the sub- 
 ject of deep importance, while Natty appeared to listen 
 with more than his usual attention to what the other was 
 saying. Mohegan stood a little on one side, with his head 
 sunken on his chest, his hair falling forward so as to con- 
 ceal most of his features, and his whole attitude expressive 
 of deep dejection, if not of shame. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 109 
 
 "Let us withdraw," whispered Elizabeth ; "we are in- 
 truders, and can have no right to listen to the secrets of 
 these men." 
 
 " No right ! " returned Richard, a little impatiently, in 
 the same tone, and drawing her arm so forcibly through 
 his own as to prevent her retreat ; " you forget, cousin, 
 that it is my duty to preserve the peace of the county and 
 see the laws executed. These wanderers frequently com- 
 mit depredations ; though I do not think John would do 
 anything secretly. Poor fellow ! he \vas quite boozy last 
 night, and hardly seems to be over it yet. Let us draw 
 nigher and hear what they say." 
 
 Notwithstanding the lady's reluctance, Richard, stim- 
 ulated doubtless by his sense of duty, prevailed ; and they 
 were soon so near as distinctly to hear sounds. 
 
 " The bird must be had," said Natty, " by fair means or 
 foul. Heigho ! I've known the time, lad, when the wild 
 turkeys wasn't over-scarce in the country : though you 
 must go into the Virginia gaps if you want them now 
 To be sure, there is a different taste to a partridge and a 
 well-fatted turkey ; though, to my eating, beaver's tail and 
 bear's ham make the best of food. But then every one 
 has his own appetite. I gave the last farthing, all to that 
 shilling, to the French trader, this very morning, as I came 
 through the town, for powder ; so, as you have nothing, 
 we can have but one shot for it. I know that Billy Kirby 
 is out, and means to have a pull of the trigger at that very 
 turkey. John has a true eye for a single fire, and, some- 
 how, my hand shakes so whenever I have to do anything 
 extrawnary, that I often lose my aim. Now, when I killed 
 the she-bear this fall, with her cubs, though they were so 
 mighty ravenous, I knocked them over one at a shot, and 
 loaded while I dodged the trees in the bargain ; but this is 
 a very different thing, Mr. Oliver." 
 
 " This," cried the young man, with an accent that sounded 
 as if he took a bitter pleasure in his poverty, w r hile he held 
 a shilling up before his eyes, " this is all the treasure that 
 I possess this and my rifle ! * Now, indeed, I have become 
 a man of the woods, and must place my sole dependence 
 on the chase. Come, Natty, let us stake the last penny for 
 the bird ; with your aim, it cannot fail to be successful." 
 
 " I would rather it should be, John, lad ; my heart jumps 
 into my mouth, because you set your mind so much on't: 
 and I'm sartainthat I shall miss the bird. Them Indians can 
 
I 7 o THE PIONEFRS. 
 
 shoot one time as well as another ; nothing ever troubles 
 them. 1 say, John, here's a shilling ; take my rifle, and get 
 a shot at the big turkey they've put up at the stump. Mr. 
 Oliver is over-anxious for the creatur', and I'm sure to do 
 nothing when I have over-anxiety about it." 
 
 The Indian turned his head gloomily, and after looking 
 keenly for a moment, in profound silence, at his compan 
 ions, he replied : 
 
 " When John was young, eyesight was not straighter 
 than his bullet. The Mingo squaws cried out at the sound 
 of his rifle. The Mingo warriors were made squaws. 
 When did he ever shoot twice ? The eagle went above the 
 clouds when he passed the wigwam of Chingachgook ; his 
 feathers were plenty with the women. But see," he said, 
 raising his voice from the low, mournful tones in which he 
 had spoken to a pitch of keen excitement, and stretching 
 forth both hands, " they shake like a deer at the wolfs 
 howl. Is John old ? When was a Mohican a squaw with 
 seventy winters ? No ! the white man brings old age with 
 him rum is his tomahawk ! " 
 
 "Why, then, do you use it, old man?" exclaimed the 
 young hunter ; " why will one, so noble by nature, aid the 
 devices of the devil by making himself a beast ? " 
 
 " Beast I is John a beast?" replied the Indian, slowly; 
 " yes ; you say no lie, child of the Fire-eater ! John is a 
 beast. The smokes were once few in these hills. The 
 deer would lick the hand of a white man and the birds rest 
 on his head. They were strangers to him. My fathers 
 came from the shores of the salt lake. They fled before 
 rum. They came to their grandfather, and they lived in 
 peace ; or, when they did raise the hatchet, it was to strike 
 it into the brain of a Mingo. They gathered around the 
 council-fire, and what they said was done. Then John was 
 a man. But warriors and traders with light eyes followed 
 them. One brought the long knife and one brought rum. 
 They were more than the pines on the mountains ; and they 
 broke up the councils and took the lands. The evil spirit 
 was in their jugs, and they tet him loose. Yes, yes you 
 say no lie, Young Eagle ; John is a Christian beast." 
 
 ** Forgive me, old warrior," cried the youth, grasping 
 his hand ; " I should be the last to reproach you. The 
 curses of Heaven light on the cupidity that has destroyed 
 such a race. Remember, John, that I am of your family, 
 and it is now my greatest pride." 
 
THE PIONEERS. 171 
 
 The muscles of Mohegan relaxed a little, and he said, 
 more mildly : 
 
 " You are a Delaware, my son ; your words are not heard 
 John cannot shoot." 
 
 " I thought that lad had Indian blood in him," whis- 
 pered Richard, " by the awkward way he handled my horses 
 last night. You see, coz, they never use harness. But the 
 poor fellow shall have two shots at the turkey, if he wants 
 it, for I'll give him another shilling myself ; though, per- 
 haps, I had better offer to shoot for him. They have got 
 up their Christmas sports, I find, in the bushes yonder, 
 where you hear the laughter though it is a queer taste 
 this chap has for turkey ; not but what it is good eating, 
 too." 
 
 " Hold, Cousin Richard," exclaimed Elizabeth, clinging 
 to his arm ; " would it be delicate to offer a shilling to that 
 gentleman ? " 
 
 " Gentleman, again ! do you think a half-breed, like him, 
 will refuse money ? No, no, girl, he will take the shilling ; 
 ay ! and even rum too, notwithstanding he moralizes so 
 much about it. But I'll give the lad a chance for his tur- 
 key ; for that Billy Kirby is one of the best marksmen in 
 the country ; that is, if we except the the gentleman." 
 
 " Then," said Elizabeth, who found her strength unequal 
 to her will, "then, sir, I will speak." She advanced, with 
 an air of determination, in front of her cousin, and entered 
 the little circle of bushes that surrounded the trio of hunt- 
 ers. Her appearance startled the youth, who at first made 
 an unequivocal motion toward retiring, but, recollecting 
 himself, bowed, by lifting his cap, and resumed his attitude 
 of leaning on his rifle. Neither Natty nor Mohegan be- 
 trayed any emotion, though the appearance of Elizabeth 
 was so entirely unexpected. 
 
 "I find," she said, "that the old Christmas sport of 
 shooting the turkey is yet in use among you. I feel inclined 
 to try my chance for a bird. Which of you will take this 
 money, and after paying my fee, give me the aid of his 
 rifle?" 
 
 " Is this a sport for a lady ? " exclaimed the young hunt- 
 er, with an emphasis that could not well be mistaken, and 
 with a rapidity that showed he spoke without consulting 
 anything but feeling. 
 
 "Why not, sir ? If it be inhuman, the sin is not confined 
 to one sex only. But I have my humor as well as others, 
 
172 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 I ask not your assistance, but " turning to Natty, and 
 dropping a dollar in his hand " this old veteran of the 
 forest will not be so ungallant as to refuse one fire for a 
 lady." 
 
 Leather-Stocking dropped the money into his pouch, and 
 throwing up the end of his rifle, he freshened his priming ; 
 and first laughing in his usual manner, he threw the piece 
 over his shoulder, and said : 
 
 " If Billy Kirby don't get the bird before me, and the 
 Frenchman's powder don't hang fire this damp morning, 
 you'll see as fine a turkey dead, in a few minutes, as ever 
 was eaten in the Judge's shanty. I have know'd the Dutch 
 women, on the Mohawk and Schoharie, count greatly on 
 coming to the merry-makings ; and so, lad, you shouldn't 
 be short with the lady. Come, let us go forward, for if 
 we wait the finest bird will be gone." 
 
 " But I have a right before you, Natty, and shall try on 
 my own luck first. You will excuse me, Miss Temple ; I 
 have much reason to wish that bird, and may seem ungal- 
 lant, but I must claim my privileges." 
 
 " Claim anything that is justly your own sir," returned 
 the lady ; " we are both adventurers ; and this is my knight. 
 I trust my fortune to his hand and eye. Lead on, Sir 
 Leather-Stocking, and we will follow." 
 
 Natty, who seemed pleased with the frank address of the 
 young and beauteous Elizabeth, who had so singularly in- 
 trusted him with such a commission, returned the bright 
 smile with which she had addressed him, by his own pecu- 
 liar mark of mirth, and moved across the snow, toward the 
 spot whence the sounds of boisterous mirth proceeded, with 
 the long strides of a hunter. His companions followed in 
 silence, the youth casting frequent and uneasy glances 
 toward Elizabeth, who was detained by a motion from 
 Richard. 
 
 "I should think, Miss Temple," he said, so soon as the 
 others were out of hearing, " that if you really wished a 
 turkey, you would not have taken a stranger for the office, 
 and such a one as Leather-Stocking. But I can hardly 
 believe that you are serious, for I have fifty, at this mo- 
 ment, shut up in the coops, in every stage of fat, so that 
 you might choose any quality you pleased. There are six 
 that I am trying an experiment on, by giving them brick' 
 bats with " 
 
 " Enough, Cousin Dickon," interrupted the lady ; " I do 
 
THE PIONEERS. 173 
 
 wish the bird, and it is because I so wish, that I commis- 
 sioned this Mr. Leather-Stocking." 
 
 " Did you ever hear of the great shot that I made at the 
 wolf, Cousin Elizabeth, who was carrying off your father's 
 sheep?" said Richard, drawing himself up into an air of 
 displeasure. " He had the sheep on his back ; and, had 
 the head of the wolf been on the other side, I should have 
 killed him dead ; as it was " 
 
 " You killed the sheep I know it all, dear coz. But 
 
 would it have been decorous for the High Sheriff of 
 
 to mingle in such sports as these ? " 
 
 " Surely you did not think that I intended actually to 
 fire with my own hands? "said Mr. Jones. " But let us 
 follow, and see the shooting. There is no fear of anything 
 unpleasant occurring to a female in this new country, es- 
 pecially to your father's daughter, and in my presence." 
 
 " My father's daughter fears nothing, sir, more especially 
 when escorted by the highest executive officer in the 
 county." 
 
 She took his arm, and he led her through the mazes of 
 the bushes to the spot where most of the young men of 
 the village were collected for the sports of shooting a 
 Christmas match, and whither Natty and his companions 
 had already preceded them. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 " I guess, by all this quaint array, 
 The burghers hold their sports to-day." SCOTT. 
 
 THE ancient amusement of shooting the Christmas tur- 
 key is one of the few sports that the settlers of a new 
 country seldom or never neglect to observe. It was con- 
 nected with the daily practices of a people who often laid 
 aside the axe or the scythe to seize the rifle, as the deer 
 glided through the forests they were felling, or the bear 
 entered their rough meadows to scent the air of a clearing, 
 and to scan, with a look of sagacity, the progress of the 
 invader. 
 
 On the present occasion, the usual amusement of the 
 day had been a little hastened, in order to allow a fair op- 
 portunity to Mr. Grant, whose exhibition was not less a 
 treat to the young sportsmen than the one which engaged 
 
174 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 their present attention. The owner of the birds was a free 
 black, who had prepared for the occasion a collection of 
 game that was admirably qualified to inflame the appetite 
 of an epicure, and was well adapted to the means and skill 
 of the different competitors, who were of all ages. He 
 had offered to the younger and more humble marksmen 
 divers birds of an inferior quality, and some shooting had 
 already taken place, much to the pecuniary advantage of 
 the sable owner of the game. The order of the sports was 
 extremely simple, and well understood. The bird was 
 fastened by a string to the stump of a large pine, the side 
 of which, toward the point where the marksmen were 
 placed, had been flattened with an axe, in order that it 
 might serve the purpose of a target, by which the merit of 
 each individual might be ascertained. The distance be- 
 tween the stump and shooting-stand was one hundred 
 measured yards : a foot more or a foot less being thought 
 an invasion of the right of one of the parties. The negro 
 affixed his own price to every bird, and the terms of the 
 chance ; but, when these were once established, he was 
 obliged, by the strict principles of public justice that pre- 
 vailed in the country, to admit any adventurer who might 
 offer. 
 
 The throng consisted of some twenty or thirty young 
 men, most of whom had rifles, and a collection of all the 
 boys in the village. The little urchins, clad in coarse but 
 warm garments, stood gathered around the more distin- 
 guished marksmen, with their hands stuck under their 
 waistbands, listening eagerly to the boastful stories of skill 
 that had been exhibited on former occasions, and were aL 
 ready emulating in their hearts these wonderful deeds in 
 gunnery. 
 
 The chief speaker was the man who had been mentioned 
 by Natty as Billy Kirby. This fellow, whose occupation, 
 when he did labor, was that of clearing lands, or chopping 
 jobs, was of great stature, and carried, in his very air, the 
 index of his character. He was a noisy, boisterous, reck- 
 less lad, whose good-natured eye contradicted the bluntness 
 and bullying tenor of his speech. For weeks he would 
 lounge around the taverns of the county, in a state of per- 
 fect idleness, or doing small jobs for his liquor and his meals, 
 and cavilling with applicants about the prices of his labor, 
 frequently preferring idleness to an abatement of a little 
 of his independence, or a cent in his wages. But, when 
 
THE PIONEERS. 175 
 
 these embarrassing points were satisfactorily arranged, he 
 would shoulder his axe and his rifle, slip his arms through 
 the straps of his pack, and enter the woods with the tread of 
 a Hercules. His first object was to learn his limits, round 
 which he would pace, occasionally freshening, with a blow 
 of his axe, the marks on the boundary trees ; and then he 
 would proceed, with an air of great deliberation, to the 
 centre of his premises, and, throwing aside his superfluous 
 garments, measure, with a knowing eye, one or two of the 
 nearest trees that were towering apparently into the very 
 clouds as he gazed upward. Commonly selecting one of 
 the most noble for the first trial of his power, he would 
 approach it with a listless air, whistling a low tune ; and 
 wielding his axe with a certain flourish, not unlike the 
 salutes of a fencing-master, he would strike a light blow 
 into the bark, and measure his distance. The pause that 
 followed was ominous of the fall of the forest which had 
 flourished there for centuries. The heavy and brisk blows 
 that he struck were soon succeeded by the thundering re- 
 port of the tree, as it came, first cracking and threatening, 
 with the separation of its own last ligaments, then threshing 
 and tearing with its branches the tops of its surrounding 
 brethren, and finally meeting the ground with a shock 
 but little inferior to an earthquake. From that moment 
 the sounds of the axe were ceaseless, while the falling of the 
 trees was like a distant cannonading ; and the daylight 
 broke into the depths of the woods with the suddenness of 
 a winter morning. 
 
 For days, weeks, nay months, Bill Kirby would toil with 
 an ardor that evinced his native spirit, and with an effect 
 that seemed magical, until, his chopping being ended, his 
 stentorian lungs could be heard emitting sounds, as he 
 called to his patient oxen, which rang through the hills 
 like the cries of an alarm. He had been often heard, on a 
 mild summer's evening, a long mile across the vale of 
 Ternpleton ; when the echoes from the mountains would 
 take up his cries, until they died away in the feeble sounds 
 from the distant rocks that overhung the lake. His piles, 
 or to use the language of the country, his logging, ended, 
 with a despatch that could only accompany his dexterity 
 and herculean strength, the jobber would collect together 
 his implements of labor, light the heaps of timber, and 
 march away under the blaze of the prostrate forest, like the 
 conqueror of some city, who, having first prevailed over 
 
176 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 his adversary, applies the torch as the finishing blow ta 
 his conquest. For a long time Billy Kirby would then be, 
 seen sauntering around the taverns, the rider of scrub- 
 races, the bully of cock-fights, and not unfrequently the 
 hero of such sports as the one in hand. 
 
 Between him and the Leather-Stocking there had long 
 existed a jealous rivalry on the point of skill with the rifle. 
 Notwithstanding the long practice of Natty, it was com- 
 monly supposed that the steady nerves and the quick eye of 
 the wood-chopper rendered him his equal. The competi- 
 tion had, however, been confined hitherto to boasting, and 
 comparisons made from their success in various hunting 
 excursions ; but this was the first time they had ever come 
 in open collision. A good deal of higgling about the price 
 of the choicest bird had taken place between Billy Kirby 
 and its owner before Natty and his companions rejoined 
 the sportsmen. It had, however, been settled at one shil- 
 ling* a shot, which was the highest sum ever exacted, 
 the black taking care to protect himself from losses, as 
 much as possible, by the conditions of the sport. The tur- 
 key was already fastened at the " mark," but its body was 
 entirely hid by the surrounding snow, nothing being visi- 
 ble but its red swelling head and its long neck. If the 
 bird was injured by any bullet that struck below the snow, 
 it was to continue the property of its present owner ; but, 
 if a feather was touched in a visible part, the animal be- 
 came the prize of the successful adventurer. 
 
 These terms were loudly proclaimed by the negro, who 
 was seated in the snow, in a somewhat hazardous vicinity 
 to his favorite bird, when Elizabeth and her cousin ap- 
 proached the noisy sportsmen. The sounds of mirth and 
 contention sensibly lowered at this unexpected visit ; but, 
 after a moment's pause, the curious interest exhibited in 
 the face of the young lady, together with her smiling air, 
 restored the freedom of the morning ; though it was some- 
 what chastened, both in language and vehemence, by the 
 presence of such a spectator. 
 
 " Stand out of the way there, boys ! " cried the wood- 
 chopper, who was placing himself at the shooting-point 
 
 * Before the Revolution, each province had its own money of account, 
 though neither coined any but copper pieces. In New York the Spanish 
 dollar was divided into eight shillings, each of the value of a fraction more 
 than sixpence sterling. At present the Union has provided a decimal sys- 
 tem, with coins to represent it. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 175 
 
 " stand out of the way, you little rascals, or I will shoot 
 ^through you. Now, Brom, take leave of your turkey." 
 
 "Stop! "cried the young hunter; "I am a candidate 
 for a chance. Here is my shilling, Brom ; I wish a shot 
 too." 
 
 "You may wish it in welcome," cried Kirby, "but if I 
 ruffle the gobbler's feathers, how are you to get it ? Is 
 money so plenty in your deer-skin pocket, that you pay 
 for a chance that you may never have ? " 
 
 " How know you, sir, how plenty money is in my 
 pocket ? " said the youth, fiercely. " Here is my shilling, 
 Brom, and I claim a right to shoot." 
 
 "Don't be crabbed, my boy," said the other, who was 
 very coolly fixing his flint. "They say you have a hole in 
 your left shoulder, yourself, so I think Brom may give 
 you a fire for half-price. It will take a keen one to hit 
 that bird, I can tell you, my lad, even if I give you a 
 chance, which is what I have no mind to do." 
 
 " Don't be boasting, Billy Kirby," said Natty, throwing 
 the breech of his rifle into the snow, and leaning on its 
 barrel ; " you'll get but one shot at the creater, for if the 
 lad misses his aim, which wouldn't be a wonder if he did, 
 with his arm so stiff and sore, you'll find a good piece and 
 an old eye coming a'ter you. Maybe it's true that I can't 
 shoot as I used to could, but a hundred yards is a short dis- 
 tance for a long rifle." 
 
 "What, old Leather-Stocking, are you out this morn- 
 ing?" cried his reckless opponent. "Well, fair play's a 
 .jewel. I've the lead of you, old fellow ; so here goes for 
 a dry throat or a good dinner." 
 
 The countenance of the negro evinced not only all the 
 interest which his pecuniary adventure might occasion, 
 but also the keen excitement that the sport produced in 
 the others, though with a very different wish as to the re- 
 sult. While the wood-chopper was slowly and steadily 
 raising his rifle, he bawled : 
 
 " Fair play, Billy Kirby stand back make 'em stand 
 back, boys gib a nigger fair play poss-up, gobbler ; 
 shake a head, fool ; don't you see 'em taking aim ? " 
 
 These cries, which were intended as much to distract 
 the attention of the marksman as for anything else, were 
 fruitless. 
 
 The nerves of the wood-chopper were not ' so easily 
 shaken, and he took his aim with the utmost delibera- 
 
178 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 lion. Stillness prevailed for a moment, and he fired. The 
 head of the turkey was seen to dash on one side, and its 
 wings were spread in momentary fluttering ; but it set- 
 tled itself down calmly into its bed of snow, and glanced 
 its eyes uneasily around. For a time long enough to draw 
 a deep breath, not a sound was heard. The silence was 
 then broken by the noise of the negro, who laughed, and 
 shook his body with all kinds of antics, rolling over in 
 the snow in the excess of delight. 
 
 " Well done, a gobbler," he cried, jumping up and af- 
 fecting to embrace his bird ; " I tell 'em to poss-up, and 
 you see 'em dodge. Gib anoder shillin', Billy, and hab 
 anoder shot." 
 
 "No the shot is mine," said the young hunter ; "you 
 have my money already. Leave the mark, and let me try 
 my luck." 
 
 " Ah ! it's but money thrown away, lad," said Leather- 
 Stocking. " A turkey's head and neck is but a small 
 mark for a new hand and a lame shoulder. You'd best 
 let me take the fire, and may be we can make some settle- 
 ment with the lady about the bird." 
 
 "The chance is mine," said the young hunter. "Clear 
 the ground, that I may take it." 
 
 The discussions and disputes concerning the last shot 
 were now abating, it having been determined that if the 
 turkey's head had been anywhere but just where it was at 
 that moment, the bird must certainly have been killed. 
 There was not much excitement produced by the prepara- 
 tions of the youth, who proceeded in a hurried manner, 
 to take his aim, and was in the act of pulling the trigger, 
 when he was stopped by Natty. 
 
 " Your hand shakes, lad," he said, "and you seem over- 
 eager. Bullet wounds are apt to weaken flesh, and to my 
 judgment you'll not shoot so well as in common. If you 
 will fire, you should shoot quick, before there is time to 
 shake off the aim." 
 
 " Fair play," again shouted the negro ; "fair play gib 
 a nigger fair play. What right a Nat Bumppo advise a 
 young man ? Let 'em shoot clear a ground." 
 
 The youth fired with great rapidity, but no motion was 
 made by the turkey ; and, when the examiners for the baK 
 returned from the "mark," they declared that he had missed 
 the stump. 
 
 Elizabeth observed the change in his countenance, and 
 
THE PIONEERS. 
 
 179 
 
 could not help feeling surprise, that one so evidently su- 
 perior to his companions should feel a trifling loss so sen- 
 sibly. But her own champion was now preparing to enter 
 the lists. 
 
 The mirth of Brom, which had been again excited, 
 though in a much smaller degree than before, by the fail- 
 ure of the second adventurer, vanished the instant Natty 
 took his stand. His skin became mottled with large brown 
 spots, that fearfully sullied the lustre of his native ebony, 
 while his enormous lips gradually compressed around two 
 rows of ivory that had hitherto been shining in his visage 
 like pearls set in jet. His nostrils, at all times the most 
 conspicuous feature of his face, dilated, until they covered 
 the greater part of the diameter of his countenance ; while 
 his brown and bony hands unconsciously grasped the snow- 
 crust near him, the excitement of the moment completely 
 overcoming his native dread of cold. 
 
 While these indications of apprehension were exhibited 
 in the sable owner of the turkey the man who gave rise 
 to this extraordinary emotion was as calm and collected as 
 if there was not to be a single spectator of his skill. 
 
 " I was down in the Dutch settlements on the Schoharie," 
 said Natty, carefully removing the leather guard from the 
 lock of his rifle, "just before the breaking out of the last 
 war, and there was a shooting- match among the boys ; so 
 I took a hand. I think I opened a good many Dutch eyes 
 that day ; for I won the powder-horn, three bars of lead, 
 and a pound of as good powder as ever flashed in pan. 
 Lord ! how they did swear in Jarman ! They did tell me 
 of one drunken Dutchman who said he'd have the life of 
 me before I gpt back to the lake ag'in. But if he had put 
 his rifle to his shoulder with evil intent God would have 
 punished him for it ; and even if the Lord didn't, and he 
 had missed his aim, I know one that would have given him 
 as good as he sent, and better too, if good shooting could 
 come into the 'count." 
 
 By this time the old hunter was ready for his business, 
 and throwing his right leg far behind him, and stretching 
 his left arm along the barrel of his piece, he raised it 
 toward the bird. Every eye glanced rapidly from the marks- 
 man to the mark ; but at the moment when each ear was 
 expecting the report of the rifle, they were disappointed by 
 the ticking sound of the flint. 
 
 " A snap, a snap ! " shouted the negro, springing from 
 
i8o THE PIONEERS. 
 
 his crouching posture like a madman, before his bird. " A 
 snap good as fire Natty Bumppo gun he snap Natty 
 Bumppo miss a turkey ! " 
 
 " Natty Bumppo hit a nigger," said the indignant old 
 hunter, " if you don't get out of the way, Brom. It's con- 
 trary to the reason of the thing, boy, that a snap should 
 count for a fire, when one is nothing more than afire-stone 
 striking a steel pan, and the other is sudden death ; so get 
 out of my way, boy, and let me show Billy Kirby how to 
 shoot a Christmas turkey." 
 
 " Gib a nigger fair play ! " cried the black, who con- 
 tinued resolutely to maintain his post, and making that 
 appeal to the justice of his auditors, which the degraded 
 condition of his caste so naturally suggested. " Eberybody 
 know dat snap as good as fire. Leab it to Massa Jone 
 leab it to lady." 
 
 " Sartain," said the wood-chopper ; " it's the law of the 
 game in this part of the country, Leather-Stocking. If you 
 fire ag'in you must pay up the other shilling. I b'lieve I'll 
 try luck once more myself ; so, Brom, here's my money, 
 and I take the next fire." 
 
 " It's likely you know the laws of the woods better than 
 I do, Billy Kirby," returned Natty. " You come in with 
 the settlers, with an ox-goad in your hand, and I come in 
 with moccasins on my feet, and with a good rifle on my 
 shoulders, so long back as afore the old war. Which is 
 likely to know the best ? I say no man need tell me that 
 snapping is as good as firing when I pull the trigger." 
 
 "Leab it to Massa Jone," said the alarmed negro ; "he 
 know eberyting." 
 
 This appeal to the knowledge of Richard was too flatter- 
 ing to be unheeded. He therefore advanced a little from 
 the spot whither the delicacy of Elizabeth had induced 
 her to withdraw, and gave the following opinion, with the 
 gravity that the subject and his own rank demanded : 
 
 "There seems to be a difference in opinion," he said, 
 i: on the subject of Nathaniel Bumppo's right to shoot at 
 Abraham Freeborn's turkey without the said Nathaniel 
 paying one shilling for the privilege." The fact was too 
 evident to be denied, and after pausing a moment, that the 
 audience might digest his premises, Richard proceeded. 
 " It seems proper that I should decide this question, as I 
 am bound to preserve the peace of the county ; and men 
 with deadly weapons in their hands should not be heed- 
 
THE PIONEERS. i8i 
 
 lessly left to contention, and their own malignant passions. 
 It appears that there was no agreement, either in writing 
 or in words, on the disputed point ; therefore we must 
 reason from analogy, which is, as it were, comparing one 
 thing with another. Now, in duels, where both parties 
 shoot, it is generally the rule that a snap is a fire ; and if 
 such is the rule where the party has a right to fire back 
 again, it seems to me unreasonable to say that a man may 
 stand snapping at a defenceless turkey all day. I there- 
 fore am of the opinion that Nathaniel Bumppo has lost 
 his chance, and must pay another shilling before he renews 
 his right." 
 
 As this opinion came from so high a quarter, and was 
 delivered with effect, it silenced all murmurs for the whole 
 of the spectators had begun to take sides with great warmth 
 / except from the Leather-Stocking himself. 
 
 " I think Miss Elizabeth's thoughts should be taken," 
 said Natty. "I've known the squaws give very good 
 counsel when the Indians had been dumbfounded. If she 
 says that I ought to lose, I agree to give it up." 
 
 " Then I adjudge you to be a loser for this time," said 
 Miss Temple; "but pay your money and renew youi 
 chance ; unless Brom will sell me the bird for a dollar. 
 I will give him the money, and save the life of the poor 
 victim." 
 
 This proposition was evidently but little relished by any 
 of the listeners, even the negro feeling the evil excitement 
 of the chances. In the meanwhile, as Billy Kirby was pre- 
 paring himself for another shot, Natty left the stand, with 
 an extremely dissatisfied manner, muttering : 
 
 " There hasn't been such a thing as a good flint sold at 
 'the foot of the lake since the Indian traders used to come 
 into the country ; and, if a body should go into the flats 
 along the streams in the hills to hunt for such a thing, it's 
 ten to one but they will be all covered up with the plough. 
 Heigho ! it seems to me that just as the game grows scarce, 
 and a body wants the best ammunition to get a livelihood, 
 everything that's bad falls on him like a judgment. But 
 I'll change the stone, for Billy Kirby hasn't the eye for such 
 a mark, I know." 
 
 The wood-chopper seemed now entirely sensible that 
 his reputation depended on his care ; nor did he neglect 
 any means to insure success. He drew up his rifle, and 
 renewed his aim again and again, still appearing reluctan? 
 
1 82 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 to fire. No sound was heard from even Brom, during these 
 portentous movements, until Kirby discharged his piece, 
 with the same want of success as before. Then, indeed, 
 the shouts of the negro rang through the bushes, and 
 sounded among the trees of the neighboring forest like 
 the outcries of a tribe of Indians. He laughed, rolling his 
 head first on one side, then on the other, until nature 
 seemed exhausted with mirth. He danced until his legs 
 were wearied with motion in the snow ; and, in short, he 
 exhibited all that violence of joy that characterizes the 
 mirth of a thoughtless negro. 
 
 The wood-chopper had exerted all his art, and felt a 
 proportionate degree of disappointment at the failure. 
 He first examined the bird with the utmost attention, and 
 more than once suggested that he had touched its feathers ; 
 but the voice of the multitude was against him, for it felt 
 disposed to listen to the often-repeated cries of the black 
 to " gib a nigger fair play." 
 
 Finding it impossible to make out a title to the bird, 
 Kirby turned fiercely to the black and said : 
 
 " Shut your oven, you crow ! Where is the man that 
 can hit a turkey's head at a hundred yards ? I was a fool 
 for trying. You needn't make an uproar, like a falling 
 pine-tree, about it. Show me the man who can do it." 
 
 "Look this a-way, Billy Kirby," said Leather-Stocking, 
 "and let them clear the mark, and I'll show you a man 
 who's made better shots afore now, and that when he's 
 been hard pressed by the savages and wild beasts." 
 
 " Perhaps there is one whose rights come before ours, 
 Leather-Stocking," said Miss Temple ; " if so, we will 
 waive our privilege." 
 
 " If it be me that you have reference to," said the young 
 hunter, " I shall decline another chance. My shoulder is 
 yet weak, I find." 
 
 Elizabeth regarded his manner, and thought that she 
 could discern a tinge on his cheek that spoke the shame of 
 conscious poverty. She said no more, but suffered her 
 own champion to make a trial. Although Natty Bumppo 
 had certainly made hundreds of more momentous shots at 
 his enemies or his game, yet he never exerted himself more 
 to excel. He raised his piece three several times : once to 
 get his range ; once to calculate his distance ; and once be- 
 cause the bird, alarmed by the death-like stillness, turned its 
 head quickly to examine its foes. But the fourth time he 
 
THE PIONEERS. 183 
 
 fired. The smoke, the report, and the momentary shock, 
 prevented most of the spectators from instantly knowing 
 the result ; but Elizabeth, when she saw her champion 
 drop the end of his rifle in the snow and open his mouth in 
 one of its silent laughs, and then proceed very coolly to 
 recharge his piece, knew that he had been successful. 
 The boys rushed to the mark, and lifted the turkey on 
 high, lifeless, and with nothing but the remnant of a head. 
 
 " Bring in the creater," said Leather-Stocking, " and 
 put it at the feet of the lady. I was her deputy in the 
 matter, and the bird is her property." 
 
 " And a good deputy you have proved yourself," returned 
 Elizabeth " so good, Cousin Richard, that I would advise 
 you to remember his qualities." She paused, and the 
 gayety that beamed on her face gave place to a more seri- 
 ous earnestness. She even blushed a little as she turned to 
 the young hunter, and with the charm of a woman's man- 
 ner, added : " But it was only to see an exhibition of the far- 
 famed skill of Leather-Stocking, that I tried my fortunes. 
 Will you, sir, accept the bird as a small peace-offering for 
 the hurt that prevented your own success ?" 
 
 The expression with which the youth received this pres- 
 ent was indescribable. He appeared to yield to the bland- 
 ishment of her air, in opposition to a strong inward impulse 
 to the contrary. He bowed, and raised the victim silently 
 from her feet, but continued silent. 
 
 Elizabeth handed the black a piece of silver as a remun- 
 eration for his loss, which had some effect in again unbend- 
 ing his muscles, and then expressed to her companion her 
 readiness to return homeward. 
 
 "Wait a minute, Cousin Bess," cried Richard ; "there 
 is an uncertainty about the rules of this sport that it is 
 proper I should remove. If you will appoint a committee, 
 gentlemen, to wait on me this morning, I will draw up in 
 
 writing a set of regulations " He stopped, with some 
 
 indignation, for at that instant a hand was laid familiarly 
 on the shoulder of the High Sheriff of . 
 
 " A merry Christmas to you, Cousin Dickon," said Judge 
 Temple, who had approached the party unperceived : " I 
 must have a vigilant eye to my daughter, sir, if you are to 
 be seized daily with these gallant fits. I admire the taste 
 which would introduce a lady to such scenes ! " 
 
 " It is her own perversity, 'duke," cried the disappointed 
 sheriff, who felt the loss of the first salutation as grievously 
 
1 84 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 as many a man would a much greater misfortune ; " and 1 
 must say that she comes honestly by it. I led her out to 
 show her the improvements, but away she scampered, 
 through the snow, at the first sound of fire-arms, the same 
 as if she had been brought up in a camp, instead of a first 
 rate boarding-school. I do think, Judge Temple, that such 
 dangerous amusements should be suppressed, by statute ; 
 nay, I doubt whether they are not already indictable at 
 common law." 
 
 "Well, sir, as you are sheriff of the county, it becomes 
 your duty to examine into the matter," returned the smil- 
 ing Marmaduke. " I perceive that Bess has executed her 
 commission, and I hope it met with a favorable reception." 
 Richard glanced his eye at the packet which he held in 
 his hand, and the slight anger produced by disappoint- 
 ment vanished instantly. 
 
 "Ah ! 'duke, my dear cousin," he said, "step a little on 
 one side ; I have something I would say to you." Mar- 
 maduke complied, and the sheriff led him to a little dis- 
 tance in the bushes, and continued " First, 'duke, let me 
 thank you for your friendly interest with the Council and 
 the Governor, without which I am confident that the 
 greatest merit would avail but little. But we are sisters' 
 children we are sisters' children ; and you may use me 
 like one of your horses ; ride me or drive me, 'duke, I am 
 wholly yours. But in my humble opinion, this young 
 companion of Leather-Stocking requires looking after. 
 He has a very dangerous propensity for turkey." 
 
 " Leave him to my management, Dickon, " said the Judge, 
 " and I will cure his appetite by indulgence. It is with 
 him that I would speak. Let us rejoin the sportsmen." 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 "Poor wretch ! the mother that him bare, 
 If she had been in presence there, 
 In his wan face, and sunburnt hair, 
 
 She had not known her child." SCOTT. 
 
 IT diminished, in no degree, the effect produced by the 
 conversation which passed between Judge Temple and the 
 young hunter, that the former took the arm of his daugh* 
 
THE PIONEERS. 185 
 
 ter and drew it through his own, when he advanced from 
 the spot whither Richard had led him to that where the 
 youth was standing, leaning on his rifle, and contemplating 
 the dead bird at his feet. The presence of Marmaduke 
 did not interrupt the sports, which were resumed bv loud 
 and clamorous disputes concerning the conditions of a 
 chance that involved the life of a bird of much inferior 
 quality to the last. Leather-Stocking and Mohegan had 
 idone drawn aside to their youthful companion ; and, al- 
 though in the immediate vicinity of such a throng, the 
 following conversation was heard only by those who were 
 interested in it : 
 
 "I have greatly injured you, Mr. Edwards," said the 
 /udge ; but the sudden and inexplicable start with which 
 the person spoken to received this unexpected address, 
 caused him to pause a moment. As no answer was given, 
 and the strong emotion exhibited in the countenance of 
 the youth gradually passed away, he continued : "But 
 fortunately it is in some measure in my power to compen- 
 sate you for what I have done. My kinsman, Richard 
 Jones, has* received an appointment that will, in future, 
 deprive me of his assistance, and leave me, just now, des- 
 titute of one who might greatly aid me with his pen. Your 
 manner, notwithstanding appearances, is a sufficient proof 
 of your education, nor will thy shoulder suffer thee to 
 labor, for some time to come." (Marmaduke insensibly 
 relapsed into the language of the Friends as he grew 
 warm.) " My doors are open to thee, my young friend, 
 ior in this infant country we harbor no suspicions ; little 
 offering to tempt the cupidity of the evil disposed. Be- 
 come my assistant, for at least a season, and receive such 
 compensation as thy services will deserve." 
 
 There was nothing in the manner or the offer of the 
 Judge to justify the reluctance, amounting nearly to loath- 
 ing, with which the youth listened to his speech ; but, 
 after a powerful effort for self-command, he replied : 
 
 " I would serve you, sir, or any other man, for an honest 
 support, for I do not affect to conceal that my necessities 
 are very great, even beyond what appearances would indi- 
 cate ; but I am fearful that such new duties would inter- 
 fere too much with more important business ; so that I 
 must decline your offer, and depend on my rifle, as before, 
 for subsistence." 
 
 Richard here took occasion to whisper to the young 
 
186 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 lady, who had shrunk a little from the foreground of the 
 picture : 
 
 " This, you see, Cousin Bess, is the natural reluctance of 
 a half-breed to leave the savage state. Their attachmenf 
 to a wandering life is, I verily believe, unconquerable." 
 
 " It is a precarious life," observed Marmaduke, without 
 hearing the sheriffs observation, " and one that brings 
 more evils with it than present suffering. Trust me, young 
 friend, my experience is greater than thine, when I tell 
 thee, that the unsettled life of these hunters is of vast dis- 
 advantage for temporal purposes, and it totally removes 
 one from the influence of more sacred things." 
 
 " No, no, Judge," interrupted the Leather-Stocking, who 
 was hitherto unseen, or disregarded ; " take him into your 
 shanty in welcome, but tell him truth. I have lived in the 
 woods for forty long years, and have spent five at a time 
 without seeing the light of a clearing bigger than a window 
 in the trees ; and I should like to know where you'll find 
 a man, in his sixty-eighth year, who can get an easier liv- 
 ing, for all your betterments and your deer-laws ; and, as 
 for honesty, or doing what's right between man and man, 
 I'll not turn my back to the longest-winded deacon on 
 your Patent." 
 
 " Thou art an exception, Leather-Stocking," returned the 
 Judge, nodding good-naturedly at the hunter ; " for thou 
 hast a temperance unusual in thy class, and a hardihood 
 exceeding thy years. But this youth is made of materials 
 too precious to be wasted in the forest. I entreat thee to 
 join my family, if it be but till thy arm is healed. My 
 daughter here, who is mistress of my dwelling, will tell 
 thee that thou art welcome." 
 
 ** Certainly," said Elizabeth, whose earnestness was a 
 little checked by female reserve. " The unfortunate 
 would be welcome at any time, but doubly so when we 
 feel that we have occasioned the evil ourselves." 
 
 "Yes," said Richard, "and if you relish turkey, young 
 man, there are plenty in the coops, and of the best kind, 
 I can assure you." 
 
 Finding himself thus ably seconded, Marmaduke pushed 
 his advantage to the utmost. He entered into a detail of 
 the duties that would attend the situation, and circum- 
 stantially mentioned the reward, and all those points 
 which are deemed of importance among men of business. 
 The youth listened in extreme agitation. There was an 
 
THE PIONEERS. 187 
 
 evident contest in his feelings ; at times he appeared to 
 wish eagerly for the change, and then again the incompre- 
 hensible expression of disgust would cross his features, 
 like a dark cloud obscuring a noonday sun. 
 
 The Indian, in whose manner the depression of self -abase- 
 ment was most powerfully exhibited, listened to the offers 
 ut the Judge with an interest that increased with each 
 sellable. Gradually he drew nigher to the group ; and 
 when, with his keen glance, he detected the most marked 
 evidence of yielding in the countenance of his young com- 
 panion, he changed at once from his attitude and look of 
 shame to the front of an Indian warrior, and moving, with 
 great dignity, closer to the parties, he spoke : 
 
 ''Listen to your father," he said; " his words are old. 
 Let the Young Eagle and the Great Land Chief eat 
 together ; let them sleep, without fear, near each other. 
 The children of Miquon love not blood : they are just, and 
 will do right The sun must rise and set often, before 
 men can make one family ; it is not the work of a day, 
 but of many winters. The Mingoes and the Delawares 
 are born enemies ; their blood can never mix in the wig- 
 Wain ; it never will run in the same stream in the battle. 
 What makes the brother of Miquon and the Young Eagle 
 foes ? They are of the same tribe ; their fathers and 
 mothers are one. Learn to wait, my son ; you are a Del- 
 aware, and an Indian warrior knows how to be patient." 
 
 This figurative address seemed to have great weight 
 with the young man, who gradually yielded to the repre- 
 sentations of Marmaduke, and eventually consented to his 
 proposal. It was, however, to be an experiment only ; 
 and, if either of the parties thought fit to rescind the en- 
 gagement, it was left at his option so to do. The remark- 
 able and ill-concealed reluctance of the youth to accept 
 of an offer, which most men in his situation would con- 
 sider as an unhoped-for elevation, occasioned no little 
 surprise in those to whom he was a stranger ; and it left a 
 slight impression to his disadvantage. When the parties 
 separated, they very naturally made the subject the topic 
 of a conversation, which we shall relate ; first commenc- 
 ing with the Judge, his daughter, and Richard, who were 
 slowly pursuing the way back to the mansion-house. 
 
 " I have surely endeavored to remember the holy man- 
 dates of our Redeemer, when he bids us * love them who 
 despitefully use you,' in my intercourse with this incom- 
 
188 THE 
 
 prehensible boy," said Marmaduke. " I know not what 
 there is in my dwelling to frighten a lad of his years, un-. 
 less it may be thy presence and visage, Bess." 
 
 " No, no," said Richard, with great simplicity, "it is 
 not Cousin Bess. But when did you ever know a half- 
 breed, 'duke, who could bear civilization ? For that mat 
 ter, they are worse than the savages themselves ! Did you 
 notice how knock-kneed he stood, Elizabeth, and what a 
 wild look he had in his eyes ? " 
 
 " I heeded not his eyes, nor his knees, which would be 
 all the better for a little humbling. Really, my dear sir, I 
 think you did exercise the Christian virtue of patience to 
 the utmost. I was disgusted with his airs, long before he 
 consented to make one of our family. Truly we are much 
 honored by the association ! In what apartment is he to 
 be placed, sir ; and at what table is he to receive his nectar 
 and ambrosia ? " 
 
 "With Benjamin and Remarkable," interrupted Mr. 
 Jones ; " you surely would not make the youth eat with 
 the blacks ! He is part Indian, it is true ; but the natives 
 hold the negroes in great contempt. No, no ; he would, 
 starve before he would break a crust with the negroes." 
 
 " I am but too happy, Dickon, to tempt him to eat with 
 ourselves," said Marmaduke, " to think of offering even the 
 indignity you propose." 
 
 " Then, sir," said Elizabeth, with an air that was slightly 
 affected, as if submitting to her father's orders in opposi- 
 tion to her own will, " it is your pleasure that he be a gen- 
 tleman." 
 
 " Certainly ; he is to fill the station of one. Let him re- 
 ceive the treatment that is due to his place, until we find 
 him unworthy of it." 
 
 "Well, well, 'duke," cried the sheriff, "you will find it 
 no easy matter to make a gentleman of him. The old 
 proverb says that 'it takes three generations to make a 
 gentleman.' There was my father whom everybody knew ; 
 my grandfather was an M.D., and his father a D.D. ; and 
 his father came from England, I never could come at the 
 truth of his origin ; but he was either a great merchant in 
 London, or a great country lawyer, or the youngest son of 
 a bishop." 
 
 " Here is a true American genealogy for you," said 
 Marmaduke, laughing. " It does very well till you get 
 across the water, where, as everything is obscure, it is cer 
 
THE PIONEERS. 183 
 
 tain to deal in the superlative. You are sure that youi 
 English progenitor was great, Dickon, whatever his pro- 
 fession might have been ?" 
 
 "To be sure I am," returned the other. " I have heard 
 my old aunt talk of him by the month. We are of a good 
 family, Judge Temple, and have never filled any but hon- 
 orable stations in life." 
 
 " I marvel that you should be satisfied with so scanty a 
 provision of gentility in the olden time, Dickon. Most of 
 the American genealogists commence their traditions, like 
 the stories for children, with three brothers, taking especial 
 care that one of the triumvirate shall be the progenitor of 
 any of the same name who may happen to be better fur- 
 nished with worldly gear than themselves. But, here, all 
 are equal who know how to conduct themselves with pro- 
 priety ; and Oliver Edwards comes into my family on a 
 footing with both the high sheriff and the judge." 
 
 " Well, 'duke, I call this democracy, not republicanism ; 
 but I say nothing ; only let him keep within the law, or I 
 shall show him that the freedom of even this country is 
 under wholesome restraint." 
 
 " Surely, Dickon, you will not execute till I condemn ! 
 But what says Bess to the new inmate ? We must pay a 
 deference to the ladies in this matter, after all." 
 
 " Oh, sir ! " returned Elizabeth, " I believe I am much 
 like a certain Judge Temple in this particular not easily 
 to be turned from my opinion. But, to be serious, although 
 I must think th~e introduction of a demi-savage into the 
 family a somewhat startling event, whomsoever you think 
 proper to countenance may be sure of my respect." 
 
 The Judge drew her arm more closely in his own and 
 smiled, while Richard led the way through the gate of the 
 little court-yard in the rear of the dwelling, dealing out 
 his ambiguous warnings with his accustomed loquacity. 
 
 On the other hand, the foresters for the three hunters, 
 notwithstanding their difference in character, well deserved 
 this common name pursued their course along the skirts 
 of the village in silence. It was not until they had reached 
 the lake, and were moving over its frozen surface toward 
 the foot of the mountain, where the hut stood, that the 
 youth exclaimed : 
 
 " Who could have foreseen this a month since ! I have 
 consented to serve Marmaduke Temple to be an inmate 
 in the dwelling of the greatest enemy of my race ; yet 
 
190 THE PIONEERS, 
 
 what better could I do ? The servitude cannot be long; 
 and, when the motive for submitting to it ceases to exist, 
 I will shake it off, like the dust from my feet." 
 
 " Is he a Mingo, that you will call him enemy ? " said 
 Mohegan. " The Delaware warrior sits still, and waits the 
 time of the Great Spirit. He is no woman, to cry out 
 like a child." 
 
 " Well, I'm mistrustful, John," said Leather-Stocking, in 
 whose air there had been, during the whole business, a 
 strong expression of doubt and uncertainty. " They say 
 that there's new laws in the land, and I'm sartin that there's 
 new ways in the mountains. One hardly knows the lakes 
 and streams, they've altered the country so much. I must 
 say I'm mistrustful of such smooth speakers ; for I've 
 known the whites talk fair when they wanted the Indian 
 lands most. This I will say, though I'm a w r hite myself, 
 and was born nigh York, and of honest parents, too." 
 
 " I will submit," said the youth ; "I will forget who I 
 am. Cease to remember, old Mohegan, that I am the de- 
 scendant of a Delaware chief, who once was master of 
 these noble hills, these beautiful vales, and of this water, 
 over which we tread. Yes, yes" ; I will become his bonds- 
 man his slave. Is it not an honorable servitude, ^>ld 
 man?" 
 
 " Old man ! " repeated the Indian, solemnly, and paus- 
 ing in his walk, as usual, when much excited ; " yes, John 
 is old. Son of my brother ! if Mohegan was young, when 
 would his rifle be still ? Where would the deer hide, and 
 he not find him ? But John is old ; his hand is the hand 
 of a squaw ; his tomahawk is a hatchet ; brooms and 
 baskets are his enemies he strikes no other. Hunger 
 and old age come together. See Hawk-eye ! when young, 
 he would go days and eat nothing ; but should he not put 
 the brush on the fire now, the blaze would go out. Take 
 the son of Miquon by the hand, and he will help you." 
 
 "I'm not the man I was, I'll own, Chingachgook," re- 
 turned the Leather-Stocking ; " but I can go without a 
 meal now, on occasion. When we tracked the Iroquois 
 through the ' Beech-woods,' they drove the game afore 
 them, for I hadn't a morsel to eat from Monday morning 
 come Wednesday sundown ; and then I shot as fat a buck, 
 on the Pennsylvany line, as ever mortal laid eyes on. It 
 would have done your heart good to have seen the Dela 
 ware eat ; for I was out scouting and skrimmaging with 
 
THE PIONEERS. T 9 ! 
 
 their tribe at the time. Lord \ Xhe Indians, lad, lay still, 
 and just waited till Providence should send them their 
 game ; but I foraged about, and put a deer up, and put 
 him down too, afore he had made a dozen jumps. I was 
 too weak and too ravenous to stop for his flesh ; so I took 
 a good drink of his blood, and the Indians ate of his 
 meat raw. John was there, and John knows. But then 
 starvation would be apt to be too much for me now, I will 
 own, though I'm no great eater at any time." 
 
 " Enough is said, my friend," cried the youth. " I feel 
 that everywhere the sacrifice is required at my hands, and 
 it shall be made ; but say no more, I entreat you ; I can- 
 not bear this subject now." 
 
 His companions were silent ; and they soon reached the 
 hut, which they entered, after removing certain compli- 
 cated and ingenious fastenings, that were put there ap- 
 parently to guard a property of but very little value. Im- 
 mense piles of snow lay against the log walls of this 
 secluded habitation, on one side ; while fragments of small 
 trees, and branches of oak and chestnut, that had been 
 torn from their parent stems by the winds, were thrown 
 into a pile on the other. A small column of smoke rose 
 through a chimney of sticks, cemented with clay, along the 
 side of the rock, and had marked the snow above with its 
 dark tinges, in a wavy line, from the point of emission to 
 another, where the hill receded from the brow of a preci- 
 pice, and held a soil that nourished trees of a gigantic 
 growth, that overhung the little bottom beneath. 
 
 The remainder of the day passed off as such days are 
 commonly spent in a new country. The settlers thronged 
 to the academy again, to witness the second effort of Mr. 
 Grant ; and Mohegan was one of his hearers. But, not- 
 withstanding the divine fixed his eyes intently on the In- 
 dian when he invited his congregation to advance to the 
 table, the shame of last night's abasement was yet too 
 keen in the old chief to suffer him to move. 
 
 When the people were dispersing, the clouds that had 
 been gathering all the morning were dense and dirty, and 
 before half of the curious congregation had reached their 
 different cabins, that were placed in every glen and hollow 
 of the mountains, or perched on the summits of the hills 
 themselves, the rain was falling in torrents. The dark 
 edges of the stumps began to exhibit themselves, as the 
 snow settled rapidly ; the fences of logs and brush, which 
 
192 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 before had been only traced by long lines of white mounds, 
 that ran across the valley and up the mountains, peeped 
 out from their covering, and the black stubs were momen* 
 tarily becoming more distinct, as large masses of snow and 
 ice fell trom their sides, under the influence of the thaw. 
 
 Sheltered in the warm hall of her father's comfortable 
 mansion, Elizabeth, accompanied by Louisa Grant, looked 
 abroad with admiration at the ever-varying face of things 
 without. Even the village, which had just before been 
 glittering with the color of the frozen element, reluctantly 
 dropped its mask, and the houses exposed their dark roofs 
 and smoked chimneys. The pines shook off the covering 
 of snow, and everything seemed to be assuming its proper 
 hue, with a transition that bordered on the supernatural. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 "And yet, poor Edwin was no vulgar boy." BEATTIE. 
 
 THE close of Christmas-day, A. D. 1793, was tempestuous, 
 but comparatively warm. When darkness had again hid 
 the objects in the village from the gaze of Elizabeth, she 
 turned from the window, where she had remained while 
 the least vestige of light lingered over the tops of the dark 
 pines, with a curiosity that was rather excited than ap- 
 peased by the passing glimpses of woodland scenery that 
 she had caught during the day. 
 
 With her arm locked in that of Miss Grant, the young 
 mistress of the mansion walked slowly up and down the 
 hall, musing on scenes that were rapidly recurring to her 
 memory, and possibly dwelling, at times, in the sanctuary 
 of her thoughts, on the strange occurrences that had led 
 to the introduction to her father's family of one whose 
 manners so singularly contradicted the inferences to be 
 drawn from his situation. The expiring heat of the apart- 
 ment for its great size required a day to reduce its tem- 
 perature had given to her cheeks a bloom that exceeded 
 their natural color, while the mild and melancholy features 
 of Louisa were brightened with a faint tinge, that, like the 
 hectic of disease, gave a painful interest to her beauty. 
 
 The eyes of the gentlemen, who were yet seated around 
 the rich wines of Judge Temple, frequently wandered fron? 
 
THE PIONEERS. 193 
 
 the table, that was placed at one end of the hall, to the 
 forms that were silently moving over its length. Much 
 mirth, and that, at times, of a boisterous kind, proceeded 
 from the mouth of Richard ; but Major Hartmann was not 
 yet excited to his pitch of merriment, and Marmaduke re- 
 spected the presence of his clerical guest too much to in- 
 dulge in even the innocent humor that formed no small 
 ingredient in his character. 
 
 Such were, and such continued to be, the pursuits of the 
 party, for half an hour after the shutters were closed, and 
 candles were placed in various parts of the hall, as substi- 
 tutes for departing daylight. The appearance of Benja- 
 min, staggering under the burden of an armful of wood, 
 was the first interruption to the scene. 
 
 " How now, Master Pump ! " roared the newly appointed 
 sheriff ; " is there not warmth enough in 'duke's best Ma- 
 deira to keep up the animal heat through this thaw ? Re- 
 member, old boy, that the Judge is particular with his 
 beech and maple, beginning to dread already a scarcity of 
 the precious articles. Ha ! ha ! ha ! 'duke, you are a good, 
 warm-hearted relation, I will own, as in duty bound, but 
 you have some queer notions about you, after all. * Come, 
 let us be jolly, and cast away folly.' " 
 
 The notes gradually sank into a hum, while the major- 
 domo threw down his load, and, turning to his interroga- 
 tor with an air of earnestness, replied : 
 
 "Why, look you, Squire Dickon, mayhap there's a 
 warm latitude round about the table there, thof it's not 
 the stuff to raise the heat in my body, nether ; the raal 
 Jamaiky being the only thing to do that, besides good 
 wood, or some such matter as Newcastle coal. But, if I 
 know anything of the weather, d'ye see, it's time to be 
 getting all snug, and for putting the ports in and stirring 
 the fires a bit. Mayhap I've not followed the seas twenty- 
 seven years, and lived another seven in these here woods, 
 for nothing, gemmen." 
 
 " Why, does it bid fair for a change in the weather, 
 Benjamin ?" inquired the master of the house. 
 
 "There's a shift of wind, your honor," returned the 
 steward ; "and when there's a shift of wind, you may look 
 for a change in this here climate. I was aboard of one 
 of Rodney's fleet, dy'e see, about the time we licked De 
 Grasse, Mounsheer Lor Quaw's countryman, there ; and 
 the wind was here at the south'ard and east'ard ; and I was 
 13 
 
TQ4 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 below, mixing a toothful of hot stuff for the captain of 
 marines, who dined, d'ye see, in the cabin, that there very 
 same day ; and I suppose he wanted to put out the cap- 
 tain's fire with a gunroom ingyne ; and so, just as I got it 
 to my own liking, after tasting pretty often, for the soldier 
 was difficult to please, slap came the foresail ag'in the 
 mast, whiz went the ship round on her heel, like a whirl- 
 igig. And a lucky thing was it that our helm was down ; 
 for as she gathered starnway she paid off, which was more 
 than every ship in the fleet did, or could do. But she 
 strained herself in the trough of the sea, and she shipped 
 a deal of water over her quarter. * I never swallowed so 
 much clear water at a time in my life as I did then, for I 
 was locking up the after-hatch at the instant." 
 
 " I wonder, Benjamin, that you did not die with a 
 dropsy ! " said Marmaduke. 
 
 " I mought, Judge," said the old tar, with a broad grin ; 
 " but there was no need of the med'cine chest for a cure ; 
 for, as I thought the brew was spoilt for the marine's taste, 
 and there was no telling when another sea might come 
 and spoil it for mine, I finished the mug on the spot. So 
 then all hands was called to the pumps, and there we be- 
 gan to ply the pumps " 
 
 "Well, but the weather?" interrupted Marmaduke; 
 "what of the weather without doors ? " 
 
 " Why, here the wind has been all day at the south, and 
 now there's a lull, as if the last blast was out of the bel- 
 lows ; and there's a streak along the mountains, to the 
 north'ard, that, just now, wasn't wider than the bigness of 
 your hand ; and then the clouds drive afore it as you'd 
 brail a mainsail, and the stars are heaving in sight, like so 
 many lights and beacons, put there to warn us to pile on 
 the wood ; and, if so be that I'm a judge of weather, it's 
 getting to be time to build on a fire ; or you'll have half of 
 them there porter bottles, and them dimmy-johns of wine, 
 in the locker here, breaking with the frost, afore the morn- 
 ing watch is called." 
 
 "Thou art a prudent sentinel," said the Judge. "Act 
 thy pleasure with the forests, for this night at least" 
 
 Benjamin did as he was ordered ; nor had two hours 
 elapsed, before the prudence of his precautions became 
 very visible. The south wind had, indeed, blown itself 
 out, and it was succeeded by the calmness that usually 
 gave warning of a serious change in the weather. Long 
 
THE PIONEERS. 195 
 
 before the family retired to rest, the cold had become cut- 
 tingly severe ; and when Monsieur Le Quoi sallied forth 
 under a bright moon, to seek his own abode, he was com- 
 pelled to beg a blanket, in which he might envelop his 
 form, in addition to the numerous garments that his sag- 
 acity had provided for the occasion. The divine and his 
 daughter remained as inmates of the mansion-house dur- 
 ing the night, and the excess of last night's merriment in- 
 duced the gentlemen to make an early retreat to their 
 several apartments. Long before midnight, the whole 
 family were invisible. 
 
 Elizabeth and her friend had not yet lost their senses in 
 sleep, and the howlings of the northwest wind were heard 
 around the buildings, and brought with them that exquisite 
 sense of comfort that is ever excited under such circum- 
 stances, in an apartment where the fire has not yet ceased 
 to glimmer, and curtains, and shutters, and feathers, unite 
 to preserve the desired temperature. Once, just as her 
 eyes had opened, apparently in the last stage of drowsi- 
 ness, the roaring winds brought with them a long and 
 plaintive howl, that seemed too wild for a dog, and yet 
 resembled the cries of that faithful animal, when night 
 awakens his vigilance, and gives sweetness and solemnity 
 to its charms. The form of Louisa Grant instinctively 
 pressed nearer to that of the young heiress, who, finding 
 her companion was yet awake, said, in a low tone, as if 
 afraid to break a charm with her voice : 
 
 " Those distant cries are plaintive, and even beautiful. 
 Can they be the hounds from the hut of Leather-Stock- 
 ing?" 
 
 " They are wolves, who have ventured from the mount- 
 ain, on the lake," whispered Louisa, " and who are only 
 kept from the village by the lights. One night, since we 
 have been here, hunger drove them to our very door. Oh, 
 what a dreadful night it was ! But the riches of Judge 
 Temple have given him too many safeguards, to leave 
 room for fear in this house." 
 
 "The enterprise of Judge Temple is taming the very 
 forests ! " exclaimed Elizabeth, throwing off the covering, 
 and partly rising in the bed. " How rapidly is civilization 
 treading on the foot of Nature ! " she continued, as her eye 
 glanced over, not only the comforts, but the luxuries of 
 her apartment, and her ear again listened to the distant, 
 but often repeated howls from the lake. Finding, how- 
 
lg6 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 ever, that the timidity of her companion rendered the 
 sounds painful to her/ Elizabeth resumed her place, and 
 soon forgot the changes in the country, with those in her 
 own condition, in a deep sleep. 
 
 The following morning, the noise of the female servant, 
 who entered the apartment to light the fire, awoke the fe- 
 males. They arose, and finished the slight preparations of 
 their toilets in a clear, cold atmosphere, that penetrated 
 through all the defences of even Miss Temple's warm room. 
 When Elizabeth was attired, she approached a window 
 and drew its curtain, and throwing open its shutters, she 
 endeavored to look abroad on the village and the lake. 
 But a thick covering of frost on the glass, while it ad- 
 mitted the light, shut out the view. She raised the sash, 
 and then, indeed, a glorious scene met her delighted eye. 
 
 The lake had exchanged its covering of unspotted snow 
 for a face of dark ice, that reflected the rays of the rising 
 sun like a polished mirror. The houses were clothed in 
 a dress of the same description, but which, owirtg to its 
 position, shone like bright steel ; while the enormous ici- 
 cles that were pendent from every roof, caught the bril- 
 liant light, apparently throwing it from one to the other, 
 as each glittered, on the side next the luminary, with a 
 golden lustre that melted away, on its opposite, into the 
 dusky shades of a background. But it was the appear- 
 ance of the boundless forests that covered the hills as they 
 rose, in the distance, one over the other, that most at- 
 tracted the gaze of Miss Temple. The huge branches of 
 the pines and hemlocks bent with the weight of the ice 
 they supported, while their summits rose above the swell- 
 ing tops of the oaks, beeches, and maples, like spires of 
 burnished silver issuing from domes of the same mate- 
 rial. The limits of the view, in the west, were marked by 
 an undulating outline of bright light, as if, reversing the 
 order of nature, numberless suns might momentarily be 
 expected to heave above the horizon. In the foreground 
 of the picture, along the shores of the lake, and near to 
 the village, each tree seemed studded with diamonds. Even 
 the sides of the mountains where the rays of the sun could 
 not yet fall, were decorated with a glassy coat, that pre- 
 sented every gradation of brilliancy, from the first touch 
 of the luminary to the dark foliage of the hemlock, glisten- 
 ing through its coat of crystal. In short, the whole view 
 was one scene of quivering radiancy, as lake, mountains^ 
 
THE PIONEERS. 197 
 
 village, and woods, each emitted a portion of light, tinged 
 with its peculiar hue, and varied by its position and its 
 magnitude. 
 
 " See ! " cried Elizabeth " see, Louisa ; hasten to the 
 window, and observe the miraculous change !" 
 
 Miss Grant complied ; and, after bending for a moment 
 in silence from the opening, she observed, in a low tone, 
 as if afraid to trust the sound of her voice : 
 
 " The change is indeed wonderful ! I am surprised that 
 he should be able to effect it so soon." 
 
 Elizabeth turned in amazement, to hear so skeptical a 
 sentiment from one educated like her companion ; but 
 was surprised to find that, instead of looking at the view, 
 the mild blue eyes of Miss Grant were dwelling on the 
 form of a well-dressed young man, who was standing be- 
 fore the door of the building, in earnest conversation with 
 her father. A second look was necessary before she was 
 able to recognize the person of the young hunter, in a 
 plain, but assuredly the ordinary, garb of a gentleman. 
 
 " Everything in this magical country seems to bordei 
 on the marvellous," said Elizabeth ; "and, among all the 
 changes, this is certainly not the least wonderful. The 
 actors are as unique as the scenery." 
 
 Miss Grant colored and drew in her head. 
 
 "I am a simple country .girl, Miss Temple, and I am 
 afraid you will find me but a poor companion," she said. 
 " I I am not sure that I understand all you say. But I 
 really thought that you wished me to notice the alteration 
 in Mr. Edwards. Is it not more wonderful when we recol- 
 lect his origin ? They say he is part Indian." 
 
 " He is a genteel savage ; but let us go down, and give 
 the sachem his tea ; for I suppose he is a descendant of 
 King Philip, if not a grandson of Pocahontas." 
 
 The ladies were met in the hall by Judge Temple, who 
 took his daughter aside to apprise her of that alteration in 
 the appearance of their new inmate, with which she was 
 already acquainted. 
 
 " He appears reluctant to converse on his former situa- 
 tion," continued Marmaduke ; "but I gathered from his 
 discourse, as is apparent from his manner, that he has seen 
 better days ; and I am really inclining to the opinion of 
 Richard, as to his origin ; for it was no unusual thing for 
 the Indian agents to rear their children in a laudable man- 
 ner, and ; ' 
 
198 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 " Very well, my dear sir," interrupted his daughter, 
 laughing and averting her eyes ; " it is all well enough, I 
 dare say ; but, as I do not understand a word of the Mo- 
 hawk language, he must be content to speak English ; and 
 as for his behavior, I trust to your discernment to control 
 it." 
 
 " Ay ! but, Bess," cried the judge, detaining her gently 
 by the hand, " nothing must be said to him of his past life. 
 This he has begged particularly of me, as a favor. He is, 
 perhaps, a little soured, just now, with his wounded arm; 
 the injury seems very light, and another time he may bs 
 more communicative." 
 
 " Oh i I am not much troubled, sir, with that laudable 
 thirst after knowledge that is called curiosity. I shall be- 
 lieve him to be the child of Corn-stalk, or Corn-planter, or 
 some other renowned chieftain ; possibly of the Big Snake 
 himself ; and shall treat him as such until he sees fit to 
 shave his good-looking head, borrow some half-dozen pair 
 of my best earrings, shoulder his rifle again, and disap- 
 pear as suddenly as he made his entrance. So conje, my 
 dear sir, and let us not forget the rites of hospitality, for 
 the short time he is to' remain with us." , 
 
 Judge Temple smiled at the playfulness of his child, and 
 taking her arm they entered the breakfast parlor, where 
 the young hunter was seated, with an air that showed his 
 determination to domesticate himself in the family with as 
 little parade as possible. 
 
 Such were the incidents that led to this extraordinary 
 increase in the family of Judge Temple, where, having 
 once established the youth, the subject of our tale requires 
 us to leave him for a time, to pursue with diligence and 
 intelligence the employments that were assigned him by 
 Marmaduke. 
 
 Major Hartmann made his customary visit, and took his 
 leave of the party for the next three months. Mr. Grant 
 was compelled to be absent most of his time, in remote 
 parts of the country, and his daughter became almost a 
 constant visitor at the mansion-house. Richard entered, 
 with his constitutional eagerness, on the duties of his new 
 office ; and, as Marmaduke was much employed with the 
 constant applications of adventures for farms, the winter 
 passed swiftly away. The lake was the principal scene for 
 the amusements of the young people ; where the ladies, in 
 their one-horse cutter, driven by Richard, and attended, 
 
THE PIONEERS. 199 
 
 when the snow would admit of it, by young Edwards, on 
 his skates, spent many hours, taking the benefit of exercise 
 in the clear air of the hills. The reserve of the youth 
 gradually gave way to time and his situation, though it 
 was still evident, to a close observer, that he had frequent 
 moments of bitter and intense feeling. 
 
 Elizabeth saw many large openings appear in the sides 
 of the mountains during the three succeeding months, 
 where different settlers had, in the language of the country, 
 " made their pitch ; " while the numberless sleighs that 
 passed through the village, loaded with wheat and barrels 
 of potashes, afforded a clear demonstration that all these 
 labors were not undertaken in vain. In short, the whole 
 country was exhibiting the bustle of a thriving settlement, 
 where the highways were thronged with sleighs, bearing 
 piles of rough household furniture ; studded, here and 
 there, with the smiling faces of women and children, happy 
 in the excitement of novelty ; or, with loads of produce, 
 hastening to the common market at Albany, that served as 
 so many snares to induce the emigrants to enter into those 
 wild mountains in search of competence and happiness. 
 
 The village was alive with business, the artisans in- 
 creasing in wealth with the prosperity of the country, and 
 each day witnessing some nearer approach to the manners 
 and usages of an old-settled town. The man who carried 
 the mail or " the post," as he was called, talked much of 
 running a stage, and, once or twice during the winter, he 
 was seen taking a single passenger, in his cutter, through 
 the snow-banks, toward the Mohawk, along which a regu- 
 lar vehicle glided, semi-weekly, with the velocity of light- 
 ning, and under the direction of a knowing whip from the 
 " down countries." Toward spring, divers families, who 
 had been into the "old States" to see their relatives, re- 
 turned in time to save the snow, frequently bringing with 
 them whole neighborhoods, who were tempted by their 
 representations to leave the farms of Connecticut and Mas- 
 sachusetts, to make a trial of fortune in the woods. 
 
 During all this time, Oliver Edwards, whose sudden ele- 
 vation excited no surprise in that changeful country, was 
 earnestly engaged in the service of Marmaduke, during 
 the days ; but his nights were often spent in the hut of 
 Leather-Stocking. The intercourse between the three 
 hunters was maintained with a certain air of mystery, it is 
 true, but with much zeal and apparent interest to all the 
 
200 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 parties. Even Mohegan seldom came to the mansion- 
 house, and Natty, never ; but Edwards sought every leisure 
 moment to visit his former abode, from which he would 
 often return in the gloomy hours of night, through the 
 snow, or, if detained beyond the time at which the family 
 retired to rest, with the morning sun. These visits certain- 
 ly excited much speculation in those to whom they were 
 known, but no comments were made, excepting occasion- 
 ally, in whispers from Richard, who would say : 
 
 " It is not at all remarkable ; a half-breed can never^be 
 weaned from the savage ways and, for one of his lineage, 
 the boy is much nearer civilization than could, in reason, 
 be expected." 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 " Away ! nor let me loiter in my song, 
 For we have many a mountain-path to tread." BYRON. 
 
 As the spring gradually approached, the immense piles 
 of snow that, by alternate thaws and frosts, and repeated 
 storms, had obtained a firmness which threatened a tire- 
 some durability, began to yield to the influence of milder 
 breezes and a warmer sun. The gates of heaven at times 
 seemed to open, and a bland air diffused itself over the 
 earth, when animate and inanimate nature would awaken, 
 and, for a few hours, the gayety of spring shone in every 
 eye, and smiled on every field. But the shivering blasts 
 from the north would carry their chill influence over the 
 scene again, and the dark and gloomy clouds that inter- 
 cepted the rays of the sun were not more cold and dreary 
 than the reaction. These struggles between the seasons 
 became daily more frequent, while the earth, like a victim 
 to contention, slowly lost the animated brilliancy of winter, 
 without obtaining the aspect of spring. 
 
 Several weeks were consumed in this cheerless manner, 
 during which the inhabitants of the country gradually 
 changed their pursuits from the social and bustling move- 
 ments of the time of snow, to the laborious and domestic 
 engagements of the coming season. The village was no 
 longer thronged with visitors ; the trade that had enlivened 
 the shops for several months, began to disappear ; the 
 
THE PIONEERS. 201 
 
 highways lost their shining coats of beaten snow in im- 
 passable sloughs, and were deserted by the gay and noisy 
 travellers who, in sleighs, had, during the winter, glided 
 along their windings ; and, in short, everything seemed 
 indicative of a mighty change, not only in the earth, but 
 in those who derived their sources of comfort and happi- 
 ness from its bosom. 
 
 The younger members of the family in the mansion- 
 house, of which Louisa Grant was now habitually one, 
 were by no means indifferent observers of these fluctuating 
 and tardy changes. While the snow rendered the roads 
 passable, they had partaken largely in the amusements of 
 the winter, which included not only daily rides over the 
 mountains, and through every valley within twenty miles 
 of them, but divers ingenious and varied sources of pleas- 
 ure, on the bosom of their frozen lake. There had been 
 excursions in the equipage of Richard, when with his 
 four horses he had outstripped the winds, as it flew over 
 the glassy ice which invariably succeeded a thaw. Then 
 the exciting and dangerous " whirligig " would be suffered 
 to possess its moment of notice. Cutters, drawn by a 
 single horse, and handsleds, impelled by the gentlemen on 
 skates, would each in turn be used ; and, in short, every 
 source of relief against the tediousness of a winter in the 
 mountains was resorted to by the family. Elizabeth was 
 compelled to acknowledge to her father, that the season, 
 with the aid of his library, was much less irksome than 
 she had anticipated. 
 
 As exercise in the open air was in some degree neces- 
 sary to the habits of the family, when the constant recur- 
 rence of frosts and thaws rendered the roads, which were 
 dangerous at the most favorable times, utterly impassable 
 for wheels, saddle-horses were used as substitutes for other 
 conveyances. Mounted on small and sure-footed beasts, 
 the ladies would again attempt the passages of the moun- 
 tains, and penetrate into every retired glen, where the 
 enterprise of a settler had induced him to establish him- 
 self. In these excursions they were attended by some one 
 or all of the gentlemen of the family, as their different 
 pursuits admitted. Young Edwards was hourly becoming 
 more familiarized to his situation, and not unfrequently 
 mingled in the parties with an unconcern and gayety that 
 for a short time would expel all unpleasant recollections 
 from his mind. Habit, and the buoyancy of youth, seemed 
 
202 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 to be getting the ascendency over the secret causes of his 
 uneasiness ; though there were moments when the same 
 remarkable expression of disgust would cross his inter- 
 course with Marmaduke, that had distinguished their con- 
 versations in the first days of their acquaintance. 
 
 It was at the close of the month of March, that the 
 sheriff succeeded in persuading his cousin and her young 
 friend to accompany him in a ride to a hill that was said 
 to overhang the lake in a manner peculiar to itself. 
 
 " Besides, Cousin Bess," continued the indefatigable 
 Richard, "we will stop and see the 'sugar bush' of Billy 
 Kirby ; he is on the east end of the Ransom lot, making 
 sugar for Jared Ransom. There is not a better hand over 
 a kettle in the county than that same Kirby. You re- 
 member, 'duke, that I had him his first season in our 
 camp ; and it is not a wonder that he knows something of 
 his trade." 
 
 " He's a good chopper, is Billy," observed Benjamin, 
 who held the bridle of the horse while the sheriff mounted ; 
 "and he handles an axe much the same as a forecastle- 
 man does his marling-spike, or a tailor his goose. They 
 say he'll lift a potash kettle off the arch alone, tho' I can't 
 say that I've ever seen him do it with my own eyes ; but 
 that is the say. And I've seen sugar of his making, which, 
 maybe, wasn't as white as an old top-gallant sail, but 
 which my friend, Mistress Pettibones, within there, said 
 had the true molasses smack to it ; and you are not the 
 one, Squire Dickens, to be told that Mistress Remark- 
 able has a remarkable tooth for sweet things in her nut- 
 grinder." 
 
 The loud laugh that succeeded the wit of Benjamin, and 
 in which he participated with no very harmonious sounds, 
 himself, very fully illustrated the congenial temper which 
 existed between the pair. Most of its point was, however, 
 lost on the rest of the party, who were either mounting 
 their horses or assisting the ladies at the moment. When 
 all were safely in their saddles, they moved through the 
 village in great order. They paused for a moment before 
 the door of Monsieur Le Quoi, until he could bestride his 
 steed, and then, issuing from the little cluster of houses, 
 they took one of the principal of those highways that cen 
 tred in the village. 
 
 As each night brought with it a severe frost, which the 
 heat of the succeeding day served to dissipate, the eques' 
 
THE PIONEERS. 203 
 
 trians were compelled to proceed singly along the margin 
 of the road, where the turf, and firmness of the ground, 
 gave the horses a secure footing. Very trifling indications 
 of vegetation were to be seen, the surface of the earth pre- 
 senting a cold, wet, and cheerless aspect that chilled the 
 blood. The snow yet lay scattered over most of those dis- 
 tant clearings that were visible in different parts of the 
 mountains ; though here and there an opening might be 
 seen, where as the white covering yielded to the season, 
 the bright and lively green of the wheat served to enkindle 
 the hopes of the husbandman. Nothing could be more 
 marked than the contrast between the earth and the 
 heavens ; for, while the former presented the dreary view 
 that we have described, a warm and invigorating sun was 
 dispensing his heats from a sky that contained but a soli- 
 tary cloud, and through an atmosphere that softened the 
 colors of the sensible horizon until it shone like a sea of 
 blue. 
 
 Richard led the way on this, as on all other occasions 
 that did not require the exercise of unusual abilities ; and, 
 as he moved along, he essayed to enliven the party with 
 the sounds of his experienced voice. 
 
 " This is your true sugar weather, 'duke," he cried ; " a 
 frosty night and a sunshiny day. I warrant me that the 
 sap runs like a mill-tail up the maples this warm morning. 
 It is a pity, Judge, that you do not introduce a little more 
 science into the manufactory of sugar among your tenants. 
 It might be done, sir, without knowing as much as Dr. 
 Franklin it might be done, Judge Temple." 
 
 " The first object of my solicitude, friend Jones," re- 
 turned Marmaduke, " is to protect the sources of this great 
 mine of comfort and wealth from the extravagance of the 
 people themselves. When this important point shall be 
 achieved, it will be in season to turn our attention to an 
 improvement in the manufacture of the article. But thou 
 knovvest, Richard, that I have already subjected our sugar 
 to the process of the refiner, and that the result has pro- 
 duced loaves as white as the snow on yon fields, and pos- 
 sessing the saccharine quality in its utmost purity." 
 
 " Saccharine, or turpentine, or any other 'ine, Judge Tem- 
 ple, you have never made a loaf larger than a good-sized 
 sugar-plum," returned the sheriff. " Now, sir, I assert 
 that no experiment is fairly tried, until it be reduced to 
 practical purposes. If, sir, I owned a hundred, or, for that 
 
104 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 matter, two hundred thousand acres of land, as you do, 1 
 would build a sugar-house in the village ; I would invite 
 learned men to an investigation of the subject and such 
 are easily to be found, sir ; yes, sir, they are not difficult to 
 find men who unite theory with practice ; and I would 
 select a wood of young and thrifty trees ; and, instead of 
 making loaves of the size of a lump of candy, darn'me^ 
 'duke, but I'd have them as big as a haycock." 
 
 " And purchase the cargo of one of those ships that they 
 say are going to China," cried Elizabeth ; " turn your pot- 
 ash-kettles into teacups, the scows on the lake into saucers, 
 bake your cake in yonder lime-kiln, and invite the county 
 to a tea-party. How wonderful are the projects of genius! 
 Really, sir, the world is of opinion that Judge Temple has 
 tried the experiment fairly, though he did not cause his 
 loaves to be cast in moulds of the magnitude that would suit 
 your magnificent conceptions." 
 
 " You may laugh, Cousin Elizabeth you may laugh, 
 madam," retorted Richard, turning himself so much in his 
 saddle as to face the party, and making dignified gestures 
 with his whip ; " but I appeal to common sense, good sense, 
 or, what is of more importance than either, to the sense of 
 taste, which is one of the five natural senses, whether a big 
 loaf of sugar is not likely to contain a better illustration of 
 a proposition than such a lump as one of your Dutch 
 women puts under her tongue when she dfinks her tea 
 There are two ways of doing everything, the right way 
 and the wrong way. You make sugar now, I will admit, 
 and you may, possibly, make loaf-sugar ; but I take the 
 question to be, whether you make the best possible sugar, 
 and in the best possible loaves." 
 
 "Thou art very right, Richard," observed Marmaduke, 
 with a gravity in his air that proved how much he was in- 
 terested in the subject. " It is very true that we manufac- 
 ture sugar, and the inquiry is quite useful, how much ? 
 and in what manner ? I hope to live to see the day when 
 farms and plantations shall be devoted to this branch of 
 business. Little is known concerning the properties of 
 the tree itself, the source of all this wealth ; how much it 
 may be improved by cultivation, by the use of the hoe and 
 plough." 
 
 " Hoe and plough ! " roared the sheriff ; " would you 
 set a man hoeing round the root of a maple like this ? " 
 pointing to one of the noble trees that occur so frequently 
 
THE PIONEERS. 203 
 
 in that part of the country. " Hoeing trees ! are you mad. 
 'duke ? This is next to hunting for coal ! Poh ! poh i 
 my dear cousin, hear reason, and leave the management of 
 the sugar-bush to me. Here is Mr. Le Quoi he has been 
 in the West Indies, and has seen sugar made. Let him 
 give an account of how it is made there, and you will hear 
 the philosophy of the thing. Well, monsieur, how is it 
 that you make sugar in the West Indies ; anything in Judge 
 Temple's fashion ? " 
 
 The gentleman to whom this query was put was mount- 
 ed on a small horse, of no very fiery temperament, and was 
 riding with his stirrups so short as to bring his knees, while 
 the animal rose a small ascent in the wood-path they were 
 now travelling, into a somewhat hazardous vicinity to his 
 chin. There was no room for gesticulation or grace in the 
 delivery of his reply, for the mountain was steep and slip- 
 pery ; and, although the Frenchman had an eye of uncom- 
 mon magnitude on either side of his face, they did not 
 seem to be half competent to forewarn him of the impedi- 
 ments of bushes, twigs, and fallen trees, that were momen- 
 tarily crossing his path. With one hand employed in avert- 
 ing these dangers, and the other grasping his bridle, to 
 check an untoward speed that his horse was assuming, the 
 native of France responded as follows : 
 
 "Sucre ! dey do make sucre in Martinique ; mais mais 
 ce n'est pas one tree ah ah vat you call je voudrois 
 que ces chemins fussent au diable vat you call steeck 
 pour la promenade ?" 
 
 "Cane," said Elizabeth, smiling at the imprecation which 
 the wary Frenchman supposed was understood only by 
 himself. 
 
 " Oui, mam'selle, cane." 
 
 " Yes, yes," cried Richard, " cane is the vulgar name for 
 it, but the real term is saccharum officinarum ; and what 
 we call the sugar, or hard maple, is acer saccharinum. 
 These are the learned names, monsieur, and are such as, 
 doubtless, you well understand." 
 
 "Is this Greek or Latin, Mr. Edwards?" whispered 
 Elizabeth to the youth, who was opening a passage for 
 herself and her companions through the bushes, " or per- 
 haps it is a still more learned language, for an interpreta- 
 tion of which we must look to you." 
 
 The dark eye of the young man glanced toward the 
 speaker, but its resentful expression changed in a moment 
 
206 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 " I shall remember your doubts, Miss Temple, when next 
 I visit my old friend Mohegan, and either his skill, or that 
 of Leather-Stocking, shall solve them." 
 
 " And are you, then, really ignorant of their lan- 
 guage ?" 
 
 " Not absolutely ; but the deep learning of Mr. Jones 
 is more familiar to me, or even the polite masquerade of 
 Monsieur Le Quoi." 
 
 " Do you speak French ? " said the lady, with quickness. 
 
 " It is a common language with the Iroquois, and through 
 the Canadas," he answered, smiling. 
 
 " Ah ! but they are Mingoes, and your enemies." 
 
 " It will be well for me if I have no worse," said the 
 youth, dashing ahead with his horse, and putting an end 
 to the evasive dialogue. 
 
 The discourse, however, was maintained with great vigor 
 by Richard, until they reached an open wood on the sum- 
 mit of the mountain, where the hemlocks and pines totally 
 disappeared, and a grove of the very trees that formed the 
 subject of debate covered the earth with their tall, straight 
 trunks and spreading branches, in stately pride. The un- 
 derwood had been entirely removed from this grove, or 
 bush, as, in conjunction with the simple arrangements for 
 boiling, it was called, and a wide space of many acres was 
 cleared, which might be likened to the dome of a mighty 
 temple, to which the maples formed the columns, their tops 
 composing the capitals, and the heavens the arch. A deep 
 and careless incision had been made into each tree, near its 
 root, into which little sprouts, formed of the bark of the 
 alder, or of the sumach, were fastened ; and a trough, 
 roughly dug out of the linden, or basswood, was lying at 
 the root of each tree, to catch the sap that flowed from this 
 extremely wasteful and inartificial arrangement. 
 
 The party paused a moment, on gaining the flat, to 
 breathe their horses, and, as the scene was entirely new to 
 several of their number, to view the manner of collecting 
 the fluid. A fine, powerful voice aroused them from their 
 momentary silence, as it rang under the branches of the 
 trees, singing the following words of that inimitable dog- 
 gerel, whose verses, if extended, would reach from the 
 waters of the Connecticut to the shores of Ontario. The 
 tune was, of course, that familiar air which, although it is 
 said to have been first applied to his nation in derision, 
 circumstances have since rendered so glorious that no 
 
THE PIONEERS. 207 
 
 American ever hears its jingling cadence without feeling 
 a thrill at his heart : 
 
 " The Eastern States be full of men, 
 
 The Western full of woods, sir, 
 The hill be like a cattle-pen, 
 The roads be full of goods, sir ! 
 Then flow away, my sweety sap, 
 
 And I will make you boily ; 
 Nor catch a woodman's hasty nap, 
 For fear you should get roily. 
 
 "The maple-tree's a precious one, 
 
 'Tis fuel, food, and timber ; 
 And when your stiff day's work is done, 
 Its juice will make you limber. 
 Then flow away, etc. 
 
 "And what's a man without his glass, 
 
 His wife without her tea, sir ? 
 But neither cup nor mug will pass, 
 Without his hoey-bee, sir ! 
 Then flow away," ej;c. 
 
 During the execution of this sonorous doggerel, Richard 
 kept time with his whip on the mane of his charger, ac- 
 companying the gestures with a corresponding movement 
 of his head and body. Toward the close of the song, he 
 was overheard humming the chorus, and, at its last repeti- 
 tion, to strike in at " sweety sap," and carry a second 
 through, with a prodigious addition to the " eifect" of the 
 noise, if not to that of the harmony. 
 
 "Well done us !" roared the sheriff, on the same key 
 with the tune ; "a very good song, Billy Kirby, and very 
 well sung. Where got you the words, lad ? is there more 
 of it, and can you furnish me with a copy ? " 
 
 The sugar-boiler, who was busy in his " camp," at a short 
 distance from the equestrians, turned his head with great 
 indifference, and surveyed the party, as they approached, 
 with admirable coolness. To each individual, as he or she 
 rode close by him, he gave a nod that was extremely good- 
 natured and affable, but which partook largely of the virtue 
 of equality, for not even to the ladies did he in the least 
 vary his mode of salutation, by touching the apology for a 
 hat that he wore, or by any other motion than the one we 
 have mentioned. 
 
8o8 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 11 How goes it, how goes it, sheriff ? " said the wood 
 chopper ; " what's the good word in the village ? " 
 
 " Why, much as usual, Billy," returned Richard. " But 
 how is this ? where are your four kettles, and your troughs, 
 and your iron coolers ? Do you make sugar in this slov- 
 enly way ? I thought you were one of the best sugar- 
 boilers in the county." 
 
 " I'm all that, Squire Jones," said Kirby, who continued 
 his occupation ; " I'll turn my back to no man in the 
 Otsego hills for chopping and logging, for boiling down 
 the maple sap, for tending brick-kiln, splitting out rails, 
 making potash, and parling too, or hoeing corn ; though 
 I keep myself pretty much to the first business, seeing 
 that the axe comes most natural to me." 
 
 " You be von Jack All-trade, Mister Beel," said Mon- 
 sieur Le Quoi. 
 
 " How ? " said Kirby, looking up, with a simplicity which, 
 coupled with his gigantic frame and manly face, was a little 
 ridiculous, " if you be for trade, mounsher, here is some 
 as good sugar as you'll find"the season through. It's as 
 clear from dirt as the Jarman Flats is free from stumps, 
 and it has the raal maple flavor. Such stuff would sell in 
 York for candy." 
 
 The Frenchman approached the place where Kirby had 
 deposited his cakes of sugar, under the cover of a bark 
 roof, and commenced the examination of the article with 
 the eye of one who well understood its value. Marmaduke 
 had dismounted, and was viewing the works and the trees 
 very closely, and not without frequent expressions of dis- 
 satisfaction at the careless manner in which the manufac- 
 ture was conducted. 
 
 " You have much experience in these things, Kirby," he 
 said; "what course do you pursue in makingyour sugar ? 
 I see you have but two kettles." 
 
 "Two is as good as two thousand, Judge. I'm none of 
 your polite sugar-makers, that boils for the great folks ; 
 but if the raal sweet maple is wanted, I can answer your 
 turn. First, I choose, and then I tap my trees ; say along 
 about the last of February, or in these mountains may be 
 not afore the middle of March ; but any way, just as the 
 sap begins to cleverly run " 
 
 "Well, in this choice," interrupted Marmaduke, "are 
 you governed by any outward signs that prove the quality 
 of the tree ? " 
 
THE PIONEERS. 209 
 
 "Why, there's judgment in all things," said Kirby, stir- 
 ring the liquor in his kettles briskly. "There's something 
 in knowing when and how to stir the pot. It's a thing 
 that must be Jarnt. Rome wasn't built in a day, nor for 
 that matter Templeton either, though it may be said to be a 
 quick-growing place. I never put my axe into a stunty 
 tree, or one that hasn't a good, fresh-looking bark ; for 
 trees have disorders, like creaters ; and where's the policy 
 of taking a tree that's sickly, any more than you'd choose 
 a foundered horse to ride post, or an over-heated ox to do 
 your logging ? " 
 
 "All that is true. But what are the signs of illness? 
 how do you distinguish a tree that is well from one that 
 is diseased ? " 
 
 " How does the doctor tell who has fever and who colds ? " 
 interrupted Richard. " By examining the skin, and feel- 
 ing the pulse, to be sure." 
 
 " Sartain," continued Billy ; "the squire an't far out of 
 the way. It's by the look of the thing, sure enough. 
 Well, when the sap begins to get a free run, I hang over 
 the kettles, and set up the bush. My first boiling I push 
 pretty smartly, till I get the virtue of the sap ; but when 
 it begins to grow of a molasses nater, likes this in the ket- 
 tle, one mustn't drive the fires too hard, or you'll burn the 
 sugar ; and burny sugar is bad to the taste, let it be never 
 so sweet. So you ladle out from one kettle into the other 
 till it gets so, when you put the stirring-stick into it, that 
 it will draw into a thread -"when it takes a kerful hand to 
 manage it. There is a way to drain it off, after it has 
 grained, by putting clay into the pans ; but it isn't always 
 practised ; some doos and some doosn't. Well, mounsher, 
 be we likely to make a trade ? " 
 
 " I will give you, Mister Beel, for von pound, dix sous." 
 
 " No, I expect cash for't ; I never dicker my sugar. But, 
 seeing that it's you, mounsher," said Billy, with a coaxing 
 smile, " I'll agree to receive a gallon of rum, and cloth 
 enough for two shirts, if you'll take the molasses in the 
 bargain. It's raal good. I wouldn't deceive you or any 
 man ; and to my drinking it's about the best molasses that 
 come out of a sugar-bush." 
 
 " Mr. Le Quoi has offered you ten pence," said ycung 
 Edwards. 
 
 The manufacturer stared at the speaker with an air of 
 great freedom, but made no reply. 
 
BIO THE PIONEERS. 
 
 " Oui," said the Frenchman, " ten penny. Je vous re- 
 mercie, monsieur : ah ! mon Anglois ! je 1'oublie toujours." 
 
 The wood-chopper looked from one to the other with 
 some displeasure ; and evidently imbibed the opinion that 
 they were amusing themselves at his expense. He seized 
 the enormous ladle, which was lying on one of his kettles, 
 and began to stir the boiling liquid with great diligence. 
 After a moment passed in dipping the ladle full, and then 
 raising it on high, as the thick rich fluid fell back into the 
 kettle, he suddenly gave it a whirl, as if to cool what yet 
 remained, and offered the bowl to Mr. Le Quoi, saying : 
 
 "Taste that, mounsher, and you will say it is worth 
 more than you offer. The molasses itself would fetch the 
 money." 
 
 The complaisant Frenchman, after several timid efforts 
 to trust his lips in contact with the bowl of the ladle, got 
 a good swallow of the scalding liquid. He clapped his 
 hands on his breast, and looked most piteouslyat the ladies, 
 fora single instant ; and then, to use the language of Billy, 
 when he afterward recounted the tale, " no drumsticks 
 ever went faster on the skin of a sheep than the French- 
 man's legs, for a round or two ; and then such swearing 
 and spitting in French you never saw. But it's a knowing 
 one, from the old countries, that thinks to get his jokes 
 smoothly over a wood-chopper." 
 
 The air of innocence with which Kirby resumed the 
 occupation of stirring the contents of his kettles would 
 have completely deceived the spectators as to his agency 
 in the temporary sufferings of Mr. Le Quoi, had not the 
 reckless fellow thrust his tongue into his cheek, and cast 
 his eyes over the party, with a simplicity of expression that 
 was too exquisite to be natural. Mr. Le Quoi soon recov- 
 ered his presence of mind and his decorum ; and he brief- 
 ly apologized to the ladies for one or two very intemperate 
 expressions that had escaped him in a moment of extra- 
 ordinary excitement, and, remounting his horse, he con- 
 tinued in the background during the remainder of the 
 visit, the wit of Kirby putting a violent termination, at 
 once, to all negotiations on the subject of trade. During 
 all this time, Marmaduke had been wandering about the 
 grove, making observations on his favorite trees, and the 
 wasteful manner in which the wood-choppers conducted 
 his manufacture. 
 
 "It grieves me to witness the extravagance that pervades 
 
THE PIONEERS. Jll 
 
 this country," said the Judge, " where the settlers trifle 
 with the blessings they might enjoy, with the prodigality 
 of successful adventurers. You are not exempt from the 
 censure yourself, Kirby, for you make dreadful wounds in 
 these trees where a small incision would effect the same 
 object. I earnestly beg you will remember that they are 
 the growth of centuries, and when once gone none living 
 will see their loss remedied." 
 
 "Why, I don't know, Judge," returned the man he 
 addressed ; " it seems to me, if there's plenty of anything 
 in this mountaynious country, it's the trees. If there's 
 any sin in chopping them, I've a pretty heavy account to 
 settle ; for I've chopped over the best half of a thousand 
 icres, with my own hands, counting both Varmount-and 
 fork States ; and I hope to live to finish the whull, before 
 I lay yp my axe. Chopping comes quite natural to me, 
 and I wish no other employment ; but Jared Ranson said 
 that he thought the sugar was likely to be scurce this sea- 
 son, seeing that so many folks was coming into the settle- 
 ment, and so I concluded to take the * bush ' on sheares 
 for this one spring. What's the best news, Judge, con- 
 sarning ashes ? do pots hold so that a man can live by 
 them still ? I s'pose they will, if they keep on fighting 
 across the water." 
 
 "Thou reasonest with judgment, William," returned 
 Marmaduke. " So long as the old world is to be con- 
 vulsed with wars, so long will the harvest of America con- 
 tinue." 
 
 "Well, it's an ill wind, Judge, that blows nobody any 
 good. I'm sure the country is in a thriving way ; and 
 though I know you calkilate greatly on the trees, setting 
 as much store by them as some men would by their chil- 
 dren, yet to my eyes they are a sore sight any time, unless 
 I'm privileged to work my will on them ; in which case I 
 can't say but they are more to my liking. I have heard 
 the settlers from the old countries say that their rich men 
 keep great oaks and elms, that would make a barrel of 
 pots to the tree, standing round their doors and humsteds, 
 and scattered over their farms, just to look at. Now, I 
 call no country much improved that is pretty well covered 
 with trees. Stumps are a different thing, for they don't 
 shade the land ; and, besides, you dig them they make a 
 fence that will turn anything bigger than a hog, being 
 grand for breachy cattle." 
 
212 THE PIONEERS. \ ; v 
 
 " Opinions on such subjects vary much in different 
 countries," said Marmaduke ; "but it is not as ornaments 
 that I value the noble trees of this country ; it is for their 
 usefulness. We are stripping the forests, as if a single 
 year would replace what we destroy. But the hour ap- 
 proaches when the laws will take notice of not only the 
 woods, but the game they contain also." 
 
 With this consoling reflection, Marmaduke remounted, 
 and the equestrians passed the sugar-camp, on their way 
 to the promised landscape of Richard. The wood-chopper 
 was left alone, in the bosom of the forest, to pursue his 
 labors. Elizabeth turned her head, when they reached the 
 point where they were to descend the mountain, and 
 thought that the slow fires that were glimmering under his 
 enormous kettles, his little brush shelter, covered with 
 pieces of hemlock bark, his gigantic size, as he wielded 
 his ladle with a steady and knowing air, aided by the back- 
 ground of stately trees, with their spouts and troughs, 
 formed, altogether, no unreal picture of human life in its 
 first stages of civilization. Perhaps whatever the scene 
 possessed of a romantic character was not injured by the 
 powerful tones of Kirby's voice ringing through the woods, 
 as he again awoke his strains to another tune, which was 
 but little more scientific than, the former. All that she 
 understood of the words were : 
 
 " And when the proud forest is falling, 
 To my oxen cheerfully calling, 
 From morn until night I am bawling, 
 
 Whoa, back there, and haw and gee ; 
 . Till our labor is mutually ended, 
 By my strength and cattle befriended, 
 And against the mosquitoes defended 
 By the bark of the walnut-tree. 
 
 Away ! then, you lads who would buy land ; 
 Choose the oak that grows on the high land, 
 Or the silvery pine on the diy land, 
 It matters but little to me." 
 
THE PIONEERS. 213 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 " Speed ! Malise, speed ! such cause of haste 
 Thine active sinews never braced." SCOTT. 
 
 THE roads of Otsego, if we except the principal highways, 
 were, at the early day of our tale, but little better than 
 wood-paths. The high trees that were growing on the 
 very verge of the wheel-tracks excluded the sun's rays, 
 unless at meridian ; and the slowness of the evaporation, 
 united with the rich mold of vegetable decomposition that 
 covered the whole country to the depth of several inches, 
 occasioned but an indifferent foundation for the footing of 
 travellers. Added to these were the inequalities of a nat- 
 ural surface, and the constant recurrence of enormous and 
 slippery roots that were laid bare by the removal of the 
 light soil, together with stumps of trees, to make a passage 
 not only difficult but dangerous. Yet the riders among 
 these numerous obstructions, which were, such as would 
 terrify an unpractised eye, gave no demonstrations of un- 
 easiness as their horses toiled through the sloughs or 
 trotted with uncertain paces along the dark route. In 
 many places the marks on the trees were the only indica- 
 tions of a road, with perhaps an occasional remnant of a 
 pine that, by being cut close to the earth, so as to leave 
 nothing visible but its base of roots, spreading for twenty 
 feet in every directiyn, was apparently placed there as a 
 beacon to warn the traveller that it was the centre of a 
 highway. 
 
 Into one of these roads the active sheriff led the way, 
 first striking out of the foot-path, by which they had de- 
 scended from the sugar-bush, across a little bridge, formed 
 of round logs laid loosely on sleepers of pine, in which 
 large openings of a formidable width were frequent. The 
 nag of Richard, when it reached one of these gaps, laid its 
 nose along the logs and stepped across the difficult pas- 
 sage with the sagacity of a man ; but the blooded filly 
 which Miss Temple rode disdained so humble a move- 
 ment. She made a step or two with an unusual caution, 
 and then, on reaching the broadest opening, obedient to 
 the curb and whip of her fearless mistress, she bounded 
 across the dangerous pass with the activity of a squirrel. 
 
T4 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 " Gently, gently, my child," said Marmaduke, who was 
 following in the manner of Richard ; " this is not a country 
 for equestrian feats. Much prudence is requisite to jour- 
 ney through our rough paths with safety. Thou mayst 
 practise thy skill in horsemanship on the plains of New 
 Jersey with safety ; but in the hills of Otsego they may be 
 suspended for a time." 
 
 " I may as well then relinquish my saddle at once, dear 
 sir," returned his daughter ; "for if it is to be laid aside 
 until this wild country be improved, old age will overtake 
 .me, and put an end to what you term my equestrian feats." 
 
 " Say not so, my child," returned her father; "but if 
 thou ventures! again, as in crossing this bridge, old age 
 will never overtake thee, but I shall be left to mourn thee, 
 cut off in thy pride, my Elizabeth. If thou hadst seen 
 this district of country, as I did, when it lay in the sleep 
 of nature, and had witnessed its rapid changes as it awoke 
 to supply the wants of man, thou wouldst curb thy im- 
 patience for a little time, though thou shouldst not check 
 thy steed." 
 
 "I recollect hearing you speak of your first visit to these 
 woods, but the impression is faint, and blended with the 
 confused images of childhood. Wild and unsettled as it 
 may yet seem, it must have been a thousand times more 
 dreary then. Will you repeat, dear sir, what you then 
 thought of your enterprise, and what you felt ? " 
 
 During this speech of Elizabeth, which was uttered 
 with the fervor of affection, young Edwards rode more 
 closely to the side of the Judge, and bent his dark eyes on 
 his countenance with an expression that seemed to read 
 his thoughts. 
 
 " Thou wast then young, my child, but must remem- 
 ber when I left thee and thy mother, to take my first sur- 
 vey of these uninhabited mountains," said Marmaduke. 
 " But thou dost not feel all the secret motives that can 
 urge a man to endure privations in order to accumulate 
 wealth. In my case they have not been trifling, and God 
 has been pleased to smile on my efforts. If I have en- 
 countered pain, famine, and disease in accomplishing the 
 settlement of this rough territory, I have not the misery 
 of failure to add to the grievances." 
 
 " Famine !" echoed Elizabeth ; " I thought this was the 
 land of abundance ! had you famine to contend with ?" 
 
 " Even so, my child," said her father. " Those who 
 
THE PIONEERS. 315 
 
 look around them now, and see the loads of produce that 
 issue out of every wild path in these mountains during 
 the season of travelling, will hardly credit that no more 
 than five years have elapsed since the tenants of these 
 woods were compelled to eat the scanty fruits of the forest 
 to sustain life, and, with their unpractised skill, to hunt 
 the beasts as food for their starving families." 
 
 " Ay ! " cried Richard, who happened to overhear the 
 last of this speech between the notes of the wood-chopper's 
 song, which he was endeavoring to breathe aloud ; " that 
 was the starving time,* Cousin Bess. I grew as lank as a 
 weasel that fall, and my face was as pale as one of your 
 fever-and-ague visages. Monsieur Le Quoi, there, fell 
 away like a pumpkin in drying ; nor do 1 think you have 
 got fairly over it yet, monsieur. Benjamin, I thought, 
 bore it with a worse grace than any of the family ; for he 
 swore it was harder to endure than a short allowance in 
 the calm latitudes. Benjamin is a sad fellow to swear if 
 you starve him ever so little. I had half a mind to quit 
 you then, 'duke, and to go into Pennsylvania to fatten ; 
 but, damn it, thinks I, we are sisters' children, and I will 
 live or die with him, after all." 
 
 " I do not forget thy kindness," said Marmaduke, " nor 
 that we are of one blood." 
 
 "But, my dear father," cried the wondering Elizabeth, 
 "was there actual suffering? Where were the beautiful and 
 fertile vales of the Mohawk ? could they not furnish food 
 for your wants ? " 
 
 " It was a season of scarcity ; the necessities of life com- 
 manded a high price in Europe, and were greedily sought 
 after by the speculators. The emigrants from the East to 
 the West invariably passed along the valley of the Mo- 
 hawk, and swept away the means of subsistence like a 
 
 * The author has no better apology for interrupting the interest of a 
 work of fiction by these desultory dialogues than that they have reference 
 to facts. In reviewing his work, after so many years, he is compelled to 
 confess it is injured by too many allusions to incidents that are not at all 
 suited to satisfy the just expectations of the general reader. One of these 
 events is slightly touched on in the commencement of this chapter. 
 
 More than thirty years since a very near and dear relative of the writer, 
 an elder sister and a second mother, was killed by a fall from a horse in 
 a ride among the very mountains mentioned in this tale. Few of her sex 
 and years were more extensively known or more universally beloved than 
 the admirable woman who thus fell a victim to the chances of the wilder- 
 
2i6 THE PIONRRRS. 
 
 swarm of locusts. Nor were the people on the Flats in a 
 much better condition. They were in want themselves, 
 but they spared the little excess of provisions that Nature 
 did not absolutely require, with the justice of the German 
 character. There was no grinding of the poor. The word 
 speculator was then unknown to them. I have seen many 
 a stout man, bending under the load of the bag of meal 
 which he was carrying from the mills of the Mohawk, 
 through the rugged passes of these mountains, to feed his 
 half-famished children, with a heart so light, as he ap- 
 proached his hut, that the thirty miles he had passed 
 seemed nothing. Remember, my child, it was in our very 
 infancy ; we had neither mills, nor grain, nor roads, nor 
 often clearings ; we had nothing of increase but the 
 mouths that were to be fed ; for even at that inauspicious 
 moment the restless spirit of emigration was not idle ; nay, 
 the general scarcity which extended to the East tended to 
 increase the number of adventurers." 
 
 " And how, dearest father, didst thou encounter this 
 dreadful evil ? " said Elizabeth, unconsciously adopting the 
 dialect of her parent in the warmth of her sympathy. "Upon 
 thee must have fallen the responsibility, if not the suffering." 
 
 " It did, Elizabeth," returned the Judge, pausing for a 
 single moment, as if musing on his former feelings. " I 
 had hundreds at that dreadful time daily looking up to me 
 for bread. The sufferings of their families and the gloomy 
 prospect before them had paralyzed the enterprise and ef- 
 forts of my settlers ; hunger drove them to the woods for 
 food, but despair sent them at night, enfeebled and wan, to 
 a sleepless pillow. It was not a moment for inaction. I 
 purchased cargoes of wheat from the granaries of Penn- 
 sylvania ; they were landed at Albany and brought up the 
 Mohawk in boats ; from thence it was transported on pack- 
 horses into the wilderness and distributed among my peo- 
 ple. Seines were made, and the lakes and rivers were 
 dragged for fish. Something like a miracle was wrought 
 in our favor, for enormous shoals of herrings were discov- 
 ered to have wandered five hundred miles through the 
 windings of the impetuous Susquehanna, and the lake was 
 alive with their numbers. These were at length caught 
 and dealt out to the people, with proper portions of salt, 
 and from that moment we again began to prosper."* 
 
 * All this was literally true. 
 
_ THE PIONEERS. .215 
 
 "Yes," cried Richard, " and I was the man who served 
 out the fish and salt. When the poor devils came to re~ 
 ceive their rations, Benjamin, who was my deputy, was 
 obliged to keep them off by stretching ropes around me, 
 for they smelt so of garlic, from eating nothing but the wild 
 onion, that the fumes put me out often in my measure- 
 ment. You were a child then, Bess, and knew nothing of 
 the matter, for great care was observed to keep both you 
 and your mother from suffering. That year put me back 
 dreadfully, both in the breed of my hogs and of my turkeys." 
 
 " No, Bess," cried the Judge, in a more cheerful tone, 
 disregarding the interruption of his cousin, " he who hears 
 of the settlement of a country knows but little of the toil 
 and suffering by which it is accomplished. Unimproved 
 and wild as this district now seems to your eyes, what was 
 it when I first entered the hills ! I left my party, the 
 morning of my arrival, near the farms of the Cherry Val- 
 ley, and, following a deer-path, rode to the summit of the 
 mountain that I have since called Mount Vision. ; for the 
 sight that there met my eyes seemed to me as the decep- 
 tions of a dream. The fire had run over the pinnacle, and 
 in a great measure laid open the view. The leaves were 
 fallen, and I mounted a tree and sat for an hour looking 
 on the silent wilderness. Not an opening was to be seen 
 in the boundless forest except where the lake lay, like a 
 mirror of glass. The water was covered by myriads of the 
 wild-fowl that migrate with the changes in the season ; 
 and while in my situation on the branch of the beech, I 
 saw a bear, with her cubs, descend to the shore to drink. 
 I had met many deer, gliding through the woods, in my 
 journey ; but not the vestige of a man could I trace dur- 
 ing my progress, nor from my elevated observatory. No 
 clearing, no hut, none of the winding roads that are now 
 to be seen, were there ; nothing but mountains rising be- 
 hind mountains ; and the valley, with its surface of 
 branches, enlivened here and there with the faded, foliage 
 of some tree that parted from its leaves with more than 
 ordinary reluctance. Even the Susquehannawas then hid 
 by the height and density of the forest." 
 
 " And were you alone ? " asked Elizabeth ; " passed you 
 the night in that solitary state ? " 
 
 " Not so, my child," returned the father. " After mus- 
 ing on the scene for an hour, with a mingled feeling of 
 pleasure and desolation, I left my perch and descended 
 
SiS THE PIONEERS. 
 
 the mountain. My horse was left to browse on the twigs 
 that grew within his reach, while I explored the shores of 
 the lake and the spot where Templeton stands. A pine 
 of more than ordinary growth stood where my dwelling is 
 now placed ! a windrow had been opened through the 
 trees from thence to the lake, and my view was but little 
 impeded. Under the branches of that tree I made my 
 solitary dinner. I had just finished my repast as I saw 
 smoke curling from under the mountain, near the eastern 
 bank of the lake. It was the only indication of the vicinity 
 of man that I had then seen. After much toil I made my 
 way to the spot, and found a rough cabin of logs, built 
 against the foot, of a rock, and bearing the marks of a 
 tenant, though I found no one within it '' 
 
 " It was the hut of Leather-Stocking," said Edwards, 
 quickly. 
 
 " It was ; though I at first supposed it to be a habitation 
 of the Indians. But while I was lingering around the 
 spot Natty made his appearance, staggering under the 
 carcass of a buck that he had slain. Our acquaintance 
 commenced at that time ; before, I had never heard that 
 such a being tenanted the woods. He launched his bark 
 canoe and set me across the foot of the lake to the place 
 where I had fastened my horse, and pointed out a spot 
 where he might get a scanty browsing until the morn- 
 ing ; when I returned and passed the night in the cabin of 
 the hunter." 
 
 Miss Temple was so much struck by the deep attention 
 of young Edwards during this speech that she forgot to 
 resume her interrogatories ; but the youth himself con- 
 tinued the discourse by asking, 
 
 " And how did the Leather-Stocking discharge the duties 
 of a host, sir ? " 
 
 "Why, simply but kindly, until late in the evening, 
 when he discovered my name and object, ami the cordi- 
 ality of his manner very sensibly diminished^ or, I might 
 better say, disappeared. He considered the introduction 
 of the settlers as an innovation on his rights, I believe ; 
 for he expressed much dissatisfaction at the measure, 
 though it was in his confused and ambiguous manner. 
 I hardly understood his objections myself, but supposed 
 they referred chiefly to an interruption of the hunt- 
 ing." 
 
 *' Had you then purchased the estate, or were you ex- 
 
THE PIONEERS. 219 
 
 amining it with an intent to buy ?" asked Edwards, a little 
 abruptly. 
 
 "It had been mine for several years. It was with a 
 view to people the land that I visited the lake. Natty 
 treated me hospitably, but coldly, I thought, after he 
 learned the nature of my journey. I slept on his own 
 bear-skin, however, and in the morning joined my survey- 
 ors again." 
 
 "Said he nothing of the Indian rights, sir? The 
 Leather-Stocking is much given to impeach the justice of 
 the tenure by which the whites hold the country." 
 
 " I remember that he spoke of them, but I did not 
 clearly comprehend him, and may have forgotten what he 
 said ; for the Indian title was extinguished so far back as 
 the close of the old war, and if it had not been at all, I 
 hold under the patents of the Royal Governors, confirmed 
 by an act of our own State Legislature, and no court in 
 the country can affect my title." 
 
 " Doubtless, sir, your title is both legal and equitable," 
 returned the youth, coldly, reining his horse back and re- 
 maining silent till the subject was changed. 
 
 It was seldom Mr. Jones suffered any conversation to 
 continue for a great length of time without his participa- 
 tion. It seems that he was of the party that Judge Tem- 
 ple had designated as his surveyors ; and he embraced the 
 opportunity of the pause that succeeded the retreat of 
 young Edwards to take up the discourse, and with a nar- 
 ration of their further proceedings, after his own manner. 
 As it wanted, however, the interest that had accompanied 
 the description of the Judge, we must decline the task of 
 committing his sentences to paper. 
 
 They soon reached the point where the promised view 
 was to be seen. It was one of those picturesque and pe- 
 culiar scenes that belong to the Otsego, but which required 
 the absence of the ice and the softness of a summer's land- 
 scape to be enjoyed in all its beauty. .Marmaduke had 
 early forewarned his daughter of the season, and of its ef- 
 fect on the prospect ; and after casting a cursory glance 
 at its capabilities, the party returned homeward, perfectly 
 satisfied that its beauties would repay them for the toil of 
 a second ride at a more propitious season. 
 
 "The spring is the gloomy time of the American year." 
 said the Judge ; " and it is more peculiarly the case in 
 these mountains. Tne winter seems to retreat to the fast* 
 
220 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 nesses of the hills, as to the citadel of its dominion, and is 
 only expelled after a tedious siege, in which either party, 
 at times, would seem to be gaining the victory." 
 
 " A very just and apposite figure, Judge Temple," ob- 
 served the sheriff ; " and the garrison under the command 
 of Jack Frost make formidable sorties you understand 
 what I mean by sorties, monsieur; sallies, in English and 
 sometimes drive General Spring and his troops back again 
 into the low countries." 
 
 "Yes, sair," returned the Frenchman, whose prominent 
 eyes were watching the precarious footsteps of the beast 
 he rode, as it picked its dangerous way among the roots 
 of trees, holes, log bridges, and sloughs that formed the 
 aggregate of the highway. "Je vous entends ; de low 
 countrie is freeze up for half de year." 
 
 The error of Mr. Le Quoi was not noticed by the sheriff; 
 and the rest of the party were yielding to the influence of 
 the changeful season, which was already teaching the 
 equestrians that a continuance of its mildness was not to 
 be expected for any length of time. Silence and thought- 
 fulness succeeded the gayety and conversation that had 
 prevailed during the commencement of the ride, as clouds 
 began to gather about the heavens, apparently collecting 
 from every quarter, in quick motion, without the agency 
 of a breath of air. 
 
 While riding over one of the cleared eminences that oc- 
 curred in their route, the watchful eye of Judge Temple 
 pointed out to his daughter the approach of a tempest. 
 Flurries of snow already obscured the mountain that 
 formed the northern boundary of the lake, and the genial 
 sensation which had quickened the blood through their 
 veins was already succeeded by the deadening influence 
 of an approaching northwester. 
 
 All of the party were now busily engaged in making the 
 best of their way to the village, though the badness of the 
 roads frequently compelled them to check the impatience 
 of their animals, which often carried them over places that 
 would not admit of any gait faster than a walk. 
 
 Richard continued in advance, followed by Mr. Le Quoi ; 
 next to whom rode Elizabeth, who seemed to have imbibed 
 the distance which pervaded the manner of young Ed- 
 wards since the termination of the discourse between the 
 latter and her father. Marmaduke followed his daughter, 
 giving her frequent and tender warnings as to the manage- 
 
777/1 PIONEERS. 221 
 
 ment of her horse. It was, possibly, the evident depend- 
 ence that Louisa Grant placed on his assistance which 
 induced the youth to continue by her side, as they pur- 
 sued their way through a dreary and dark wood, where 
 the rays of the sun could but rarely penetrate, and where 
 even the daylight was obscured and rendered gloomy by 
 the deep forests that surrounded them. No wind had yet 
 reached the spot where the equestrians were in motion, 
 but that dead silence that often precedes a storm contrib- 
 uted to render their situation more irksome than if they 
 were already subject to the fury of the tempest. Suddenly 
 the voice of young Edwards was heard shouting in those 
 appalling tones that carry alarm to the very soul, and 
 which curdle the blood of those that hear them : 
 
 " A tree ! a tree ! whip spur for your lives ! a tree ! a 
 tree ! " 
 
 " A tree ! a tree ! " echoed Richard, giving his horse a 
 blow that caused the alarmed beast to jump nearly a rod, 
 throwing the mud and water into the air like a hurricane. 
 
 " Von tree ! von tree ! " shouted the Frenchman, bend- 
 ing his body on the neck of his charger, shutting his eyes, 
 and playing on the ribs of his beast with his heels at a rate 
 that caused him to be conveyed on the crupper of the 
 sheriff with a marvellous speed. 
 
 Elizabeth checked her filly and looked up, with an un- 
 conscious but alarmed air, at the very cause of their dan- 
 ger, while she listened to the crackling sounds that awoke 
 the stillness of the forest ; but the next instant her bridle 
 was seized bv her father, who cried : " God protect my 
 child ! " and sne Idt herself hurried onward, impelled by 
 the vigor of his nervous arm. 
 
 Each one of the party bowed to his saddle-bows as the 
 tearing of branches was succeeded by a sound like the 
 rushing of the winds, which was followed by a thundering 
 report, and a shock that caused the very earth to tremble 
 as one of the noblest ruins of the forest fell directly across 
 their path. 
 
 One glance was enough to assure Judge Temple that his 
 daughter and those in front of him were safe, and. he 
 turned his eyes, in dreadful anxiety, to learn the fate of the 
 others. Young Edwards was on the opposite side of the 
 tree, his form thrown back in his saddle to its utmost dis- 
 tance, his left hand Drawing up his bridle with its greatest 
 force, ^hile the right grasped that of Miss Grant so as to 
 
222 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 draw the head of her horse under its body. Both the ani 
 mals stood shaking in every joint with terror, and snorting 
 fearfully. Louisa herself had relinquished her reins, and, 
 with her hands pressed on her face, sat bending forward 
 in her saddle, in an attitude of despair, mingled strangely 
 with resignation. 
 
 "Are you safe?" cried the Judge, first breaking the 
 awful silence of the moment. 
 
 " By God's blessing," returned the youth ; " but if there 
 had been branches to the tree we must have been lost " 
 
 He was interrupted by the figure of Louisa slowly yield- 
 ing in her saddle, and but for his arm she would have 
 sunk to the earth. Terror, however, was the only injury 
 that the clergyman's daughter had sustained, and, with 
 the aid of Elizabeth, she was soon restored to her senses. 
 After some little time was lost in recovering her strength, 
 the young lady was replaced in her saddle, and, supported 
 on either side by Judge Temple and Mr. Edwards,*she was 
 enabled to follow the party in their slow progress. 
 
 "The sudden fallings of the trees," said Marmaduke, 
 "are the most dangerous accidents in the forest, for they 
 are not to be foreseen, being impelled by no winds, nor 
 any extraneous or visible cause against which we can 
 guard." 
 
 " The reason of their falling, Judge Temple, is very ob- 
 vious," said the sheriff. " The tree is old and decayed, 
 and it is gradually weakened by the frosts, until a line 
 drawn from the centre of gravity falls without its base, and 
 then the tree comes of a certainty ; and I should like to 
 know what greater compulsion there can be for anything 
 than a mathematical certainty. I studied math 
 
 "Very true, Richard," interrupted Marmaduke; "thy 
 reasoning is true, and, if my memory be not over-treacher 
 ous, was furnished by myself on a former occasion. But 
 how is one to guard against the danger? Canst thou go 
 through the forests measuring the bases and calculating 
 the centres of the oaks ? Answer me that, friend Jones, and 
 I will say thou wilt do the country a service." 
 
 " Answer thee that, friend Temple ! " returned Richard ; 
 " a well-educated man can answer thee anything, sir. Do 
 any trees fall in this manner but such as are decayed ? 
 Take care not to approach the roots of a rotten tree, and 
 you will be safe enough." 
 
 " That would be excluding us entirely from the forests," 
 
THE PIONEERS. 223 
 
 said Marmaduke. "But, happily, the winds usually force 
 down most of these dangerous ruins as their currents are 
 admitted into the woods by the surrounding clearings, and 
 such a fall as this has been is very rare." 
 
 Louisa by this time had recovered so much strength as 
 to allow the party to proceed at a quicker pace, but long 
 before they were safely housed they were overtaken by 
 the storm ; and when they dismounted at the door of the 
 mansion-house, the black plumes of Miss Temple's hat 
 were drooping with the weight of a load of damp snow, 
 and the coats of the gentlemen were powdered with the 
 same material. 
 
 While Edwards was assisting Louisa from her horse, the 
 warm-hearted girl caught his hand with fervor and whis- 
 pered : 
 
 " Now, Mr. Edwards, both father and daughter owe their 
 lives to you." 
 
 A driving northwesterly storm succeeded, and before 
 the sun was set every vestige of spring had vanished ; the 
 lake, the mountains, the village, and the fields being again 
 hidden under one dazzling coat of snow. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 ' ' Men, boys, and girls 
 
 Desert th' unpeopled village ; and wild crowds 
 Spread o'er the plain, by the sweet phrensy driven.'* 
 
 SOMERVILLE. 
 
 FROM this time to the close of April the weather con- 
 tinued to be a succession of great and rapid changes. One 
 day the soft airs of spring seemed to be stealing along the 
 valley, and, in unison with an invigorating sun, attempting 
 covertly to rouse the dormant powers of the vegetable 
 world ; while, on the next, the surly blasts from the north 
 would sweep across the lake and erase every impression 
 left by their gentle adversaries. The snow, however, finally 
 disappeared, and the green wheat fields were seen in every 
 direction, spotted with the dark and charred stumps that 
 had, the preceding season, supported some of the proudest 
 trees of the forest. Ploughs were in motion, wherever 
 those useful implements could be used, and the smokes of 
 the sugar-camps were no longer seen issuing from the 
 
224 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 woods of maple. The lake had lost the beauty of a field 
 of ice, but still a dark and gloomy covering concealed its 
 waters, for the absence of currents left them yet hidden 
 under a porous crust, which, saturated with the fluid, barely 
 retained enough strength to preserve the continuity of its 
 parts. Large flocks of wild geese were seen passing over 
 the country which hovered, for a time, around the hidden 
 sheet of water, apparently searching for a resting-place ; 
 and then, on finding themselves excluded by the chill cov- 
 ering, would soar away to the north, filling the air with 
 discordant screams, as if venting their complaints at the 
 tardy operations of Nature. 
 
 For a week, the dark covering of the Otsego was left to 
 the undisturbed possession of two eagles, who alighted on 
 the centre of its field, and sat eyeing their undisputed ter- 
 ritory. During the presence of these monarchs of the air, 
 the flocks of migrating birds avoided crossing the plain of 
 ice by turning into the hills, apparently seeking the pro- 
 tection of the forests, while the white and bald heads of 
 the tenants of the lake were turned upward, with a look 
 of contempt. But the time had come when even these 
 kings of birds were to be dispossessed. An opening had 
 been gradually increasing at the lower extremity of the 
 lake, and around the dark spot where the current of the 
 river prevented the formation of ice during even the cold- 
 est weather : and the fresh southerly winds, that now 
 breathed freely upon the valley, made an impression on 
 the waters. Mimic waves began to curl over the margin 
 of the frozen field, which exhibited an outline of crystal- 
 lizations that slowly receded toward the north. At each 
 step the power of the winds and the waves increased, until, 
 after a struggle of a few hours, the turbulent little billows 
 succeeded in setting the whole field in motion, when it 
 was driven beyond the reach of the eye, with a rapidity 
 that was as magical as the change produced in the scene 
 by this expulsion of the lingering remnant of winter. Just 
 as the last sheet of agitated ice was disappearing in the 
 distance, the eagles rose, and soared with a wide sweep 
 above the clouds, while the waves tossed their little caps 
 of snow in the air, as if rioting in their release from a 
 thraldom of five minutes' duration. 
 
 The following morning Elizabeth was awakened by the 
 exhilarating sounds of the martens, who were quarrelling 
 and chattering around the little boxes suspended above 
 
THE PIONEERS. 9.2$ 
 
 her writix-rws, and the cries of Richard, who was calling in 
 tones An.rnating as signs of the season itself : 
 
 " Awake ! awake ! my fair lady ! the gulls are hovering 
 over the lake already, and the heavens are alive with pig- 
 eons. You may look an hour before you can find a hole 
 through wnich to get a peep at the sun. Awake ! awake ! 
 lazy ones i Benjamin is overhauling the ammunition, and 
 we only wait for our breakfasts, and away for the moun- 
 tains and pigeon-shooting." 
 
 There was no resisting this animated appeal, and in a 
 few minutes Miss Temple and her friend descended to the 
 parlor. The doors of the hall were thrown open, and the 
 mild, balmy air of a clear spring morning was ventilating 
 the apartment, where the vigilance of the ex-steward had 
 been so long maintaining an artificial heat with such un- 
 remitted diligence. The gentlemen were impatiently wait- 
 ing for their morning's repast, each equipped in the garb 
 of a sportsman. Mr. Jones made many visits to the south- 
 ern door, and would cry : 
 
 " See, Cousin Bess ! see, 'duke, the pigeon-roosts of the 
 south have broken up ! They are growing more thick 
 every instant. Here is a flock that the eye cannot see 
 the end of. There is food enough in it to keep the army 
 of Xerxes for a month, and feathers enough to make beds 
 for the whole country. Xerxes, Mr. Edwards, was a 
 Grecian king, who no, he was a Turk, or a Persian, who 
 wanted to conquer Greece, just the same as these rascals 
 will overrun our wheat fields, when they come back in the 
 fall. Away ! away ! Bess ; I long to pepper them." 
 
 In this wish both Marmaduke and young Edwards seemed 
 equally to participate, for the sight was exhilarating to a 
 sportsman ; and the ladies soon dismissed the party after 
 a hasty breakfast. 
 
 If the heavens were alive with pigeons, the whole vil- 
 lage seemed equally in motion with men, women, and 
 children. Every species of fire-arms, from the French 
 ducking-gun, with a barrel near six feet in length, to the 
 common horseman's pistol, was to be seen in the hands ot 
 the men and boys ; while bows and arrows, some made of 
 the simple stick of walnut sapling, and others in a rude 
 imitation of the ancient cross-bows, were carried by many 
 of the latter. 
 
 The houses and the signs of life apparent in the village 
 drove the alarmed birds, from the direct line of their flight, 
 15 
 
226 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 toward the mountains, along the sides and near the bases 
 of which they were glancing in dense masses, equally won- 
 derful by the rapidity of their motion, and their incredible 
 numbers. 
 
 We have already said that, across the inclined plane 
 which fell from the steep ascent of the mountain to the 
 banks of the Susquehanna, ran the highway, on either side 
 of which a clearing of many acres had been made at a very 
 early day. Over those clearings, and up the eastern moun- 
 tain, and along the dangerous path that was cut into its 
 side, the different individuals posted themselves, and in a 
 few moments the attack commenced. 
 
 Among the sportsmen was the tall, gaunt form of 
 Leather-Stocking, walking over the field, with his rifle 
 hanging on his arm, his dogs at his heels ; the latter now 
 scenting the dead or wounded birds that were beginning 
 to tumble from the flocks, and then crouching under the 
 legs of their master, as if they participated in his feelings 
 at this wasteful and unsportsmanlike execution. 
 
 The reports of the fire-arms became rapid, whole volleys 
 rising from the plain, as flocks of more than ordinary 
 numbers darted over the opening, shadowing the field like 
 a cloud ; and then the light smoke of a single piece would 
 issue from among the leafless bushes on the mountain, as 
 death was hurled on the retreat of the affrighted birds, 
 who were rising from a volley, in a vain effort to escape. 
 Arrows and missiles of every kind were in the midst of the 
 flocks ; and so numerous were the birds, and so low did 
 they take their flight, that even long poles in the hands of 
 those on the sides of the mountain were used to strike 
 them to the earth. 
 
 During all this time Mr. Jones, who disdained the humble 
 and ordinary means of destruction used by his companions, 
 was busily occupied, aided by Benjamin, in making arrange- 
 ments for an assault of more than ordinarily fatal charac- 
 ter. Among the relics of the old military excursions, that 
 occasionally are discovered throughout the different dis- 
 tricts of the western part of New York, there had been 
 found in Templeton, at its settlement, a small swivel, which 
 would carry a ball of a pound weight. It was thought to 
 have been deserted by a war party of the whites in one of 
 their inroads into the Indian settlements, when, perhaps, 
 convenience or their necessity induced them to leave such 
 an incumbrance behind them in the woods. This miniature 
 
THE PIONEERS. 32} 
 
 cannon had been released from the rust, and being mounted 
 on little wheels, was now in a state for actual service. For 
 several years it was the sole organ for extraordinary re- 
 joicings used in those mountains. On the mornings of the 
 Fourth of July it would be heard ringing among the hills; 
 and even Captain Hollister, who was the highest authority 
 in that part of the country on all such occasions, affirmed 
 that, considering its dimensions, it was no despicable gun 
 fer a salute. It was somewhat the worse for the service it 
 had performed, it is true, there being but a trifling differ- 
 ence in size between the touch-hole and the muzzle. Still, 
 the grand conceptions of Richard had suggested the im- 
 portance of such an instrument in hurling death at his 
 nimble enemies. The swivel was dragged by a horse into 
 a part of the open space that the sheriff thought most 
 eligible for planting a battery of the kind, and Mr. Pump 
 proceeded to load it. Several handfuls of duck-shot were 
 placed on top of the powder, and the major-domo an- 
 nounced that his piece was ready for service. 
 
 The sight of such an implement collected all the idle 
 spectators to the spot, who, being mostly boys, filled the 
 air with cries of exultation and delight. The gun was 
 pointed high, and Richard, holding a coal of fire in a pair 
 of tongs, patiently took his seat on a stump, awaiting the 
 appearance of a flock worthy of his notice. 
 
 So prodigious was the number of the birds that the scat- 
 tering fire of the guns, with the hurling of missiles and the 
 cries of the boys, had no other effect than to break off 
 small flocks from the immense masses that continued to 
 dart along the valley, as if the whole of the feathered tribe 
 were pouring through that one pass. None pretended to 
 collect the game, which lay scattered over the fields in 
 such profusion as to cover the very ground with fluttering 
 victims. 
 
 Leather-Stocking was a silent but uneasy spectator of 
 all these proceedings, but was able to keep his sentiments 
 to himself until he saw the introduction of the swivel into 
 the sports. 
 
 " This comes of settling a country ! " he said. " Here 
 have I known the pigeon to fly for forty long years, and, 
 till you made your clearings, there was nobody to skear or 
 to hurt them. I loved to see them come into the woods, 
 for they were company to a body, hurting nothing being, 
 as it was, as harmless as a garter-snake. But now it givee 
 
228 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 me sore thoughts when I hear the frighty things whizzing 
 through the air, for I know it's only a motion to bring out 
 all the brats of the village. Well, the Lord won't see the 
 waste of his creatures for nothing, and right will be done 
 to the pigeons, as well as others, by and by. There's Mr. 
 Oliver, as bad as the rest of them, firing into the flocks as 
 if he was shooting down nothing but Mingo warriors." 
 
 Among the sportsmen was Billy Kirby, who, armed with 
 an old musket, was loading, and, without even looking into 
 the air, was firing and shouting as his victims fell even on 
 his own person. He heard the speech of Natty, and took 
 upon himself to reply : 
 
 " What ! old Leather-Stocking," he cried, "grumbling at 
 the loss of a few pigeons ! If you had to sow your wheat 
 twice, and three times, as T have done, you wouldn't be so 
 massyfully feeling toward the divils. Hurrah, boys ! scat- 
 ter the feathers ! This is better than shooting at a turkey's 
 head and neck, old fellow." 
 
 " It's better for you, maybe, Billy Kirby," replied the 
 indignant old hunter, "and all them that don't know how 
 to put a ball down a rifle barrel, or how to bring it up 
 again with a true aim ; but it's wicked to be shooting into 
 flocks in this wasty manner, and none to do it who know 
 how to knock over a single bird. If a body has a craving 
 for pigeon's flesh, why, it's made the same as all other 
 creatures, for man's eating ; but not to kill twenty and eat 
 one. When I want such a thing I go into the woods till 
 I find one to my liking, and then I shoot him off the 
 branches, without touching the feather of another, though 
 there might be a hundred on the same tree. You couldn't 
 do such a thing, Billy Kirby you couldn't do it if you 
 tried." 
 
 " What's that, old corn-stalk ! you sapless stub ! " cried 
 the wood-chopper. " You have grown wordy, since the 
 affair of the turkey ; but if you are for a single shot, here 
 goes at that bird which comes on by himself." 
 
 The fire from the distant part of the field had driven a 
 single pigeon below the flock to which it belonged, and, 
 frightened with the constant reports of the muskets, it was 
 approaching the spot where the disputants stood, darting 
 first from one side and then to the other, cutting the air 
 with the swiftness of lightning, and making a noise with 
 its wings not unlike the rushing of a bullet. Unfortu- 
 nately for the wood-chopper, notwithstanding his vaunt, 
 
THE PIONEERS. 229 
 
 he did not see this bird until it was too late to fire as it 
 approached, and he pulled the trigger at the unlucky mo- 
 ment when it was darting immediately over his head. The 
 bird continued its course with the usual velocity. 
 
 Natty lowered his rifle from his arm when the challenge 
 was made, and waiting a moment, until the terrified victim 
 had got in a line with his eye, and had dropped near the 
 bank of the lake, he raised it again with uncommon rapid- 
 ity, and fired. It might have been chance, or it might 
 have been skill, that produced the result ; it was probably 
 a union of both ; but the pigeon whirled over in the air, 
 and fell into the lake with a broken wing. At the sound 
 of his rifle, b6\h his dogs started from his feet, and in a few 
 minutes, the "slut" brought put the bird, still alive. 
 
 The wonderful exploit of Leather-Stocking was noised 
 through the field with great rapidity, and the sportsmen 
 gathered in, to learn the truth of the report. 
 
 "What!" said young Edwards, "have you really killed 
 a pigeon on the wing, Natty, with a single ball ? " 
 
 " Haven't I killed loons before now, lad, that dive at the 
 flash ? " returned the hunter. " It's much better to kill 
 only such as you want, without wasting your powder and 
 lead, than to be firing into God's creatures in this wicked 
 manner. But I came out for a bird, and you know the 
 reason why I like small game, Mr. Oliver, and now I have 
 got one I w r ill go home, for I don't relish to see these 
 wasty ways that you are all practysing, as if the least thing 
 wasn't made for use, and not to destroy." 
 
 " Thou sayest well, Leather-Stocking," cried Marma- 
 duke, " and I begin to think it time to put an end to this 
 work of destruction." 
 
 " Put an ind, Judge, to your clearings. An't the woods 
 His work as well as the pigeons ? Use, but don't waste. 
 Wasn't the woods made for the beasts and birds to harbor 
 in ? and when man wanted their flesh, their skins, or their 
 feathers, there's the place to seek them. But I'll go to the 
 hut with my own game, for I wouldn't touch one of the 
 harmless things that cover the ground here, looking up 
 with their eyes on me, as if they only wanted tongues to 
 say their thoughts." 
 
 With this sentiment in his mouth, Leather-Stocking 
 threw his rifle over his arm, and, followed by his dogs, 
 stepped across the clearing with great caution, taking care 
 not to tread on one of the wounded birds in his path. He 
 
230 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 soon entered the bushes on the margin of the lake and was 
 hid from view. 
 
 Whatever impression the morality of Natty made on the 
 Jfcdge, it was utterly lost on Richard. He availed himself 
 of the gathering of the sportsmen, to lay a plan for one " fell 
 swoop " of destruction. The musket men were drawn up in 
 battle array, in a line extending on each side of his artil- 
 lery, with orders to await the signal of firing from himself. 
 
 "Stand by, my lads," said Benjamin, who acted as an 
 aid-de-camp on this occasion, " stand by, my hearties, and 
 when Squire Dickens heaves out the signal to begin firing, 
 d'ye see, you may open upon them in a broadside. Take 
 care and fire low, boys, and you'll be sure to hull the flock." 
 
 " Fire low!" shouted Kirby : " hear the old fool! If 
 we fire low, we may hit the stumps, but not ruffle a pigeon." 
 
 " How should you know, you lubber ? " cried Benjamin, 
 with a very unbecoming heat for an officer on the eve of 
 battle " how should you know, you grampus ? Haven't I 
 sailed aboard of the Boadishy for five years ? and wasn't it a 
 standingorder to fire low, and to hull your enemy ? Keep si- 
 lence at your guns, boys, and mind the order that is passed." 
 
 The loud laughs of the musket men were silenced by the 
 more authoritative voice of Richard, who called for atten- 
 tion and obedience to his signals. 
 
 Some millions of pigeons were supposed to have already 
 passed, that morning, over the valley of Templeton ; but 
 nothing like the flock that was now approaching had been 
 seen before. It extended from mountain to mountain in 
 one solid blue mass, and the eye looked in vain, over the 
 southern hills, to find its termination. The front of this 
 living column was distinctly marked by a line but very 
 slightly indented, so regular and even was the flight. 
 Even Marmaduke forgot the morality of Leather-Stocking 
 as it approached, and, in common with the rest, brought 
 his musket to a poise. 
 
 " Fire ! " cried the sheriff, clapping a coal to the priming 
 of the cannon. As half of Benjamin's charge escaped 
 through the touch-hole, the whole volley of the musketry 
 preceded the report of the swivel. On receiving this 
 united discharge of small-arms, the front of the flock darted 
 upward, while, at the same instant, myriads of those in the 
 rear rushed with amazing rapidity into their places, so that, 
 when the column of white smoke gushed from the mouth 
 of the little cannon, an accumulated mass of objects was 
 
THE PIONEERS. 231 
 
 gliding over its point of direction. The roar of the gun 
 echoed along the mountains, and died away to the north, 
 like distant thunder, while the whole flock of alarmed 
 birds seemed, for a moment, thrown into one disorderly 
 and agitated mass. The air was filled with their irregular 
 flight, layer rising above layer, far above the tops of the 
 highest pines, none daring to advance beyond the danger- 
 ous pass ; when, suddenly, some of the leaders of the 
 feathered tribe shot across the valley, taking their flight 
 directly over the village, and hundreds of thousands in 
 their rear followed the example, deserting the eastern side 
 of the plain to their persecutors and the slain. 
 
 " Victory ! " shouted Richard, " victory ! we have driven 
 the enemy from the field." 
 
 ''Not so, Dickon," said Marmaduke ; "the field is cov- 
 ered with them ; and, like the Leather-Stocking, I see 
 nothing but eyes, in every direction, as the innocent suf- 
 ferers turn their heads in terror. Full one-half of those 
 that have fallen are yet alive ; and I think it is time to end 
 the sport, if sport it be." 
 
 " Sport ! " cried the sheriff ; " it is princely sport ! There 
 are some thousands of the blue-coated boys on the ground, 
 so that every old woman in the village may have a pot-pie 
 for the asking." 
 
 " Well, we have happily frightened the birds from this 
 side of the valley," said Marmaduke, "and the carnage 
 must of necessity end, for the present. Boys, I will give 
 you sixpence a hundred for the pigeons' heads only ; so 
 go to work, and bring them into the village." 
 
 This expedient produced the desired effect, for every 
 urchin on the ground went industriously to work to wring 
 the necks of the wounded birds. Judge Temple retired 
 toward his dwelling with that kind of feeling that many a 
 rnan has experienced before him, who discovers, after the 
 excitement of the moment has passed, that he has pur- 
 chased pleasure at the price of misery to others. Horses 
 were loaded with the dead ; and, after this first burst of 
 sporting, the shooting of pigeons became a business, with 
 a few idlers, for the remainder of the season. Richard, 
 however, boasted for many a year of his shot with the 
 " cricket ; " and Benjamin gravely asserted that he thought 
 they had killed nearly as many pigeons on that day as there 
 were Frenchmen destroyed on the memorable occasion of 
 Rodney's victory. 
 
332 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 " Help, masters, help ; here's a fish hangs in the net, like a poor man's 
 right in the law." PERICLES OF TYRE. 
 
 THE advance of the season now became as rapid as its: 
 first approach had been tedious and lingering. The days 
 were uniformly mild, while the nights, though cool, were 
 no longer chilled by frosts. The whip-poor-will was heard 
 whistling his melancholy notes along the margin of the 
 lake, and the ponds and meadows were sending forth the 
 music of their thousand tenants. The leaf of the native 
 poplar was seen quivering in the woods ; the sides of the 
 mountains began to lose their hue of brown, as the lively 
 green of the different members of the forest blended their 
 shades with the permanent colors of the pine and hemlock ; 
 and even the buds of the tardy oak were swelling with the 
 promise of the coming summer. The gay and fluttering 
 blue-bird, the social robin, and the industrious little wren, 
 were all to be seen enlivening the fields with their pres- 
 ence and their songs ; while the soaring fish-hawk was 
 already hovering over the waters of the Otsego, watching 
 with native voracity for the appearance of his prey. 
 
 The tenants of the lake were far-famed for both their 
 quantities and their quality, and the ice had hardly disap- 
 peared, before numberless little boats were launched from 
 the shores, and the lines of the fishermen were dropped 
 into the inmost recesses of its deepest caverns, tempting 
 the unwary animals with every variety of bait that the in- 
 genuity or the art of man had invented. But the slow 
 though certain adventures with hook and line were ill suited 
 to the profusion and impatience of the settlers. More de- 
 structive means were resorted to ; and, as the season had 
 now arrived when the bass-fisheries were allowed by the 
 provisions of the law that Judge Temple had procured, 
 the sheriff declared his intention, by availing himself oi 
 the first dark night, to enjoy the sport in person. 
 
 "And you shall be present, Cousin Bess," he added, when 
 he announced this design, " and Miss Grant, and Mr. Ed- 
 wards ; and I will show you what I call fishing not nibble, 
 nibble, nibble, as 'duke does when he goes after the sal- 
 mon-trout. There he will sit for hours, in a broiling sun, 
 
THE PIONEERS. 233 
 
 or, perhaps, over a hole in the ice, in the coldest days in 
 winter, under the lee of a few bushes, and not a fish will 
 he catch, after all this mortification of the flesh. No, no 
 give me a good seine that's fifty or sixty fathoms in length, 
 with a jolly parcel of boatmen to crack their jokes the while, 
 with Benjamin to steer, and let us haul them in by thoii" 
 sands ; I call that fishing." 
 
 "Ah! Dickon," cried Marmaduke, " thou knowest but 
 little of the pleasure there is in playing with the hook and 
 line, or thou wouldst be more saving of the game. I have 
 known thee to leave fragments enough behind thee, when 
 thou hast headed a night-party on the lake, to feed a dozen 
 famishing families." 
 
 "I shall not dispute the matter, Judge Temple; this 
 night will I go : and I invite the company to attend, and 
 then let them decide between us." 
 
 Richard was busy during most of the afternoon, making 
 his preparations for the important occasion. Just as the 
 light of the setting sun had disappeared, and a new moon 
 had begun to throw its shadows on the earth, the fisher- 
 men took their departure in a boat, for a point that was 
 situated on the western shore of the lake, at the distance 
 of rather more than half a mile from the village. The 
 ground had become settled, and the walking was good and 
 dry. Marmaduke, with his daughter, her friend, and young 
 Edwards, continued on the high grassy banks at the outlet 
 of the placid sheet of water, watching the dark object that 
 was moving across the lake, until it entered the shade of 
 the western hills, and was lost to the eye. The distance 
 round by land to the point of destination was a mile, and 
 he observed : 
 
 " It is time for us to be moving ; the moon will be down 
 ere we reach the point, and then the miraculous hauls of 
 Dickon will commence." 
 
 The evening was warm, and, after the long and dreary 
 winter from which they had just escaped, delightfully in- 
 vigorating. Inspirited by the scene and their anticipated 
 amusement, the youthful companions of the Judge fol- 
 lowed his steps, as he led them along the shores of the 
 Otsego, and through the skirts of the village. 
 
 " See ! " said young Edwards, "they are building their 
 fire already ; it glimmers for a moment, and dies again like 
 the light of a fire-fly." 
 
 "Now it blazes," cried Elizabeth; "you can perceive 
 
134 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 figures moving around the light. Oh ! I would bet my 
 jewels against the gold beads of Remarkable, that my im- 
 patient Cousin Dickon had an agency in raising that bright 
 flame : and see ; it fades again, like most of his brilliant 
 schemes." 
 
 " Thou hast guessed the truth, Bess," said her father; 
 " he has thrown an armful of brush on the pile, which has 
 burnt out as soon as lighted. But it has enabled them 
 to find a better fuel, for their fire begins to blaze with a 
 more steady flame. It is the true fisherman's beacon now ; 
 observe how beautifully it throws its little circle of light 
 on the water ! " 
 
 The appearance of the fire urged the pedestrians on, for 
 even the ladies had become eager to witness the miracu- 
 lous draught. By the time they reached the bank, which 
 roae above the low point where the fishermen had landed, 
 the moon had sunk behind the tops of the western pines, 
 and, as most of the stars were obscured by clouds, there 
 was but little other light than that which proceeded from 
 the fire. At the suggestion of Marmaduke, his companions 
 paused to listen to the conversation of those below them, 
 and examine the party for a moment before they descended 
 to the shore. 
 
 The whole group were seated around the fire, with the 
 exception of Richard and Benjamin ; the former of whom 
 occupied the root of a decayed stump, that had been drawn 
 to the spot as part of their fuel, and the latter was stand- 
 ing, with his arms a-kimbo, so near to the flame, that the 
 smoke occasionally obscured his solemn visage, as it waved 
 around the pile, in obedience to the night airs that swept 
 gently over the water. 
 
 "Why, look you, squire," said the major-domo, "you 
 may call a lake-fish that will weigh twenty or thirty pounds 
 a serious matter ; but to a man who has hauled in a shovel- 
 nosed shirk, d'ye see, it's but a poor kind of fishing after 
 all." 
 
 "I don't know, Benjamin," returned the sheriff ; "a haul 
 of one thousand Otsego bass, without counting pike, pick- 
 erel, perch, bull-pouts, salmon-trouts, and suckers, is no 
 bad fishing, let me tell you. There may be sport in stick- 
 ing a shark, but what is he good for after you have got 
 him ? Now, any one of the fish that I have named is fit to 
 set before a king." 
 
 "Well, squire," returned Benjamin, "just listen to the 
 
THE PIONEERS. 235 
 
 philosophy of the thing. Would it stand to reason, that 
 such fish should live and be catched in this here little pond 
 of water, where it's hardly deep enough to drown a man, 
 as you'll find in the wide ocean, where, as everybody know r s, 
 that is, everybody that has followed the seas, whales and 
 grampuses are to be seen, that are as long as one of the 
 pine-trees on yonder mountain ?" 
 
 "Softly, softly, Benjamin," said the sheriff, as if he 
 wished to save the credit of his favorite ; 4< why, some of 
 the pines will measure two hundred feet, and even more." 
 
 " Two hundred or two thousand, it's all the same thing," 
 cried Benjamin, with an air which manifested that he was 
 not easily to be bullied out of his opinion, on a subject like 
 the present. " Haven't I been there, and haven't I seen ? 
 I have said that you fall in with whales as long as one of 
 them there pines ; and what I have once said I'll stand 
 to!" 
 
 During this dialogue, which was evidently but the close 
 of much longer discussion, the huge frame of Billy Kirby 
 was seen extended on one side of the fire, where he was 
 picking his teeth with splinters of the chips near him, and 
 occasionally shaking his head with distrust of Benjamin's 
 assertions. 
 
 "I've a notion," said the wood-chopper, "that there's 
 water in this lake to swim the biggest whale that ever was 
 invented ; and, as to the pines, I think I ought to know 
 so'thing consarning them ; I have chopped many a one 
 that was sixty times the length of my helve, without count- 
 ing the eye : and I believe, Benny, that if the old pine that 
 stands in the hollow of the Vision Mountain, just over the 
 village you may see the tree itself by looking up, for the 
 moon is on its top yet well, now I believe, if that same 
 tree was planted out in the deepest part of the lake, there 
 would be water enough for the biggest ship that ever was 
 built to float over it, without touching its upper branches, 
 I do." 
 
 " Did'ee ever see a ship, Master Kirby?" roared the 
 steward, " did'ee ever see a ship, man ? or any craft bigger 
 than a lime-scow, or a wood-boat, on this here small bit of 
 fresh water ? " 
 
 " Yes, I have," said the wood-chopper, stoutly ; " I can 
 say that I have, and tell no lie." 
 
 " Did'ee ever see a British ship, Master Kirby ? an Eng- 
 lish line-of-battle ship, boy ? Where did'ee ever fall in 
 
236 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 with a regular-built vessel, with starn-post and cut-water,, 
 garboard-streak and blank-shear, gangways, and hatch" 
 ways, and waterways, quarter-deck, and forecastle, ay, 
 and flush-deck ? tell me that, man, if you can ; where 
 away did'ee ever fall in with a full-rigged, regular-built, 
 decked vessel ? " 
 
 The whole company were a good deal astounded with 
 this overwhelming question, and even Richard afterward 
 remarked that it "was a thousand pities that Benjamin 
 could not read, or he must have made a valuable officer to 
 the British marine. It is no wonder that they overcame the 
 French so easily on the water, when ev@n the lowest sailor 
 so well understood the different parts of a vessel." But 
 Billy Kirby was a fearless wight, and had great jealousy of 
 foreign dictation ; he had risen on his feet, and turned his 
 back to the fire, during the voluble delivery of this inter- 
 rogatory ; and when the steward ended, contrary to all ex- 
 pectation, he gave the following spirited reply : 
 
 "Where ! why, on the North River, and maybe on Cham- 
 plain. There's sloops on the river, boy, that would give 
 a hard time on't to the stoutest vessel King George owns. 
 They carry masts of ninety feet in the clear of good solid 
 pine, for I've been at the chopping of many a one in Var- 
 mount State. I wish I was captain in one of them, and 
 you was in that Board-dish that you talk so much about ; 
 and we'd soon see what good Yankee stuff is made on, and 
 whether a Varmounter's hide an't as thick as an English- 
 man's." 
 
 The echoes from the opposite hills, which were more 
 than half a mile from the fishing point, sent back the dis- 
 cordant laugh that Benjamin gave forth at this challenge ; 
 and the woods that covered their sides seemed, by the 
 noise that issued from their shades, to be full of mocking 
 demons. 
 
 " Let us descend to the shore," whispered Marmaduke, 
 "or there will soon be ill-blood between them. Benjamin 
 is a fearless boaster : and Kirby, though good-natured, is 
 a careless son of the forest, who thinks one American more 
 than a match for six Englishmen. I marvel that Dickon 
 is silent, where there is such a trial of skill in the superla- 
 tive ! " 
 
 The appearance of Judge Temple and the ladies pro- 
 duced, if not a pacification, at least a cessation of hostili" 
 tics. Obedient to the directions of Mr. Jones, the fisher; 
 
THE PIONEERS. 237 
 
 men prepared to launch their boat, which had been seen 
 in the background of the view, with the net carefully dis- 
 posed on a little platform in its stern, ready for service. 
 Richard gave vent to his reproaches at the tardiness of 
 the pedestrians, when all the turbulent passions of the 
 party were succeeded by a calm, as mild and as placid as 
 that which prevailed over the beautiful sheet of water that 
 they were about to rifle of its best treasures. 
 
 The night had now become so dark as to render objects, 
 without the reach of the light of the fire, not only indis- 
 tinct, but in most cases invisible. For a little distance the 
 water was discernible, glistening, as the glare from the fire 
 danced over its surface, touching it here and there with 
 red quivering streaks ; but, at a hundred feet from the 
 shore, there lay a boundary of impenetrable gloom. One 
 or two stars were shining through the openings of the 
 clouds, and the lights were seen in the village, glimmer- 
 ing faintly, as if at an immeasurable distance. At times, 
 as the fire lowered, or as the horizon cleared, the outline 
 of the mountain, on the other side of the lake, might be 
 traced by its undulations ; but its shadow was cast, wide 
 and dense, on the bosom of the water, rendering the dark- 
 ness in that direction trebly deep. 
 
 Benjamin Pump was invariably the coxswain and net- 
 caster of Richard's boat, unless the sheriff saw fit to pre- 
 side in person ; and, on the present occasion, Billy Kirby, 
 and a youth of about half his strength, were assigned to 
 the oars. The remainder of the assistants were stationed 
 at the drag-ropes. The arrangements were speedily made, 
 and Richard gave the signal to "shove off." 
 
 Elizabeth watched the motion of the batteau as it pulled 
 from the shore, letting loose its rope as it went, but it soon 
 disappeared in the darkness, when the ear was her only 
 guide to its evolutions. There was great affectation of still- 
 ness during all these manoeuvres, in order, as Richard as- 
 sured them, " not to frighten the bass, who were running 
 into the shoal waters, and who would approach the light 
 if not disturbed by the sounds from the fishermen." 
 
 The hoarse voice of Benjamin was alone heard issuing 
 out of the gloom, as he uttered, in authoritative tones, " Pull 
 larboard oar," "Pull starboard," "Give way together, boys," 
 and such other dictative mandates as were necessary fof 
 the right disposition of his seine. A long time was passed 
 ic. this necessary part of the process, for Benjamin prided 
 
238 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 himself greatly on his skill in throwing the net, and, in 
 fact, most of the success of the sport depended on its be- 
 ing done with judgment. At length a loud splash in the 
 water, as he threw away the " staff," or "stretcher," with 
 a hoarse call from the steward of " clear," announced that 
 the boat was returning ; when Richard seized a brand from 
 the fire, and ran to a point, as far above the centre of the 
 fishing-ground, as the one from which the batteau had 
 started was below it. 
 
 " Stick her in dead for the squire, boys," said the stew- 
 ard, " and we'll have a look at what grows in this here 
 pond." 
 
 In place of the falling net were now to be heard the 
 quick strokes of the oars, and the noise of the rope run- 
 ning out of the boat. Presently the batteau shot into the 
 circle of light, and in an instant she was pulled to the 
 shore. Several eager hands were extended to receive 
 the line, and, both ropes being equally well manned, the 
 fisherman commenced hauling in with slow, and steady 
 drags, Richard standing to the centre, giving orders, first 
 to one party, and then to the other, to increase or slacken 
 their efforts, as occasion required. The visitors were 
 posted near him, and enjoyed a fair view of the whole 
 operation, which was slowly advancing to an end. 
 
 Opinions as to the result of their adventure were now 
 freely hazarded by all the men, some declaring that the 
 net came in as light as a feather, and others affirming that 
 it seemed to be full of logs. As the ropes were many 
 hundred feet in length, these opposing sentiments were 
 thought to be of little moment by the sheriff, who would 
 go first to one line, and then to the other, giving each a 
 small pull, in order to enable him to form an opinion for 
 himself. 
 
 "Why, Benjamin," he cried, as he made his first effort 
 in this way, "you did not throw the net clear. I can 
 move it with my little finger. The rope slackens in my 
 hand." 
 
 "Did you ever see a whale, squire?" responded the 
 steward : " I say that, if that there net is foul, the devil is 
 in the lake in the shape of a fish, for I cast it as far as ever 
 rigging was rove over the quarter-deck of a flag-ship." 
 
 But Richard discovered his mistake, when he saw Billy 
 Kirby before him, standing with his feet in the water, at 
 an angle of forty-five degrees, inclining southward, and 
 
THE PIONEERS. 239 
 
 expending his gigantic strength in sustaining himself in 
 that posture. He ceased his remonstrances, and proceed- 
 ed to the party at the other line. 
 
 "I see the 'staffs,' " shouted Mr. Jones "gather in, 
 boys, and away with it ; to shore with her ! to shore with 
 her ! " 
 
 At this cheerful sound, Elizabeth strained her eyes and 
 saw the ends of the two sticks on the seine emerging from 
 the darkness, while the men closed near to each other, and 
 formed a deep bag of their net. The exertions of the 
 fishermen sensibly increased, and the voice of Richard 
 was heard encouraging them to make their greatest efforts 
 at the present moment. 
 
 "Now's the time, my lads," he cried ; "let us get the 
 ends to land, and all we have will be our own away with 
 her!" 
 
 "Away with her, it is," echoed Benjamin! " hurrah! 
 ho-a-hoy, ho-a-hoy, ho-a ! " 
 
 "In with her," shouted Kirby, exerting himself in a 
 manner that left nothing for those in his rear to do, but to 
 gather up the slack of the rope which passed through his 
 hands. 
 
 " Staff, ho ! " shouted the steward. 
 
 " Staff, ho ! " echoed Kirby, from the other rope. 
 
 The men rushed to the water's edge, some seizing the 
 upper rope, and some the lower, or lead rope, and began 
 to haul with great activity and zeal. A deep semicircular 
 sweep of the little balls that supported the seine in its per- 
 pendicular position, was plainly visible to the spectators, 
 and, as it rapidly lessened in size, the bag of the net ap- 
 peared, while an occasional flutter on the water an- 
 nounced the uneasiness of the prisoners it contained. 
 
 " Haul in, my lads," shouted Richard "lean see the 
 dogs kicking to get free. Haul in, and here's a cast that 
 will pay for the labor." 
 
 Fishes of various sorts were now to be seen, entangled 
 in the meshes of the net, as it was passed through the 
 hands of the laborers ; and the water, at a little distance 
 from the shore, was alive with the movements of the 
 alarmed victims. Hundreds of white sides were glancing 
 up to the surface of the water, and glistening in the 
 firelight, when, frightened at the uproar and the change, 
 the fish would again dart to the bottom, in fruitless efforts 
 for freedom. 
 
40 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 " Hurrah ! " shouted Richard : " one or two more heavy 
 drags, boys, and we are safe." 
 
 "Cheerily, boys, cheerily !" cried Benjamin; "I see a 
 salmon-trout that is big enough for a chowder." 
 
 " Away with you, you varmint ! " said Billy Kirby, 
 plucking a bull-pout from the meshes, and casting the 
 animal back into the lake with contempt. " Pull, boys, 
 pull ; here's all kinds, and the Lord condemn me for a 
 liar, if there an't a thousand bass !" 
 
 Inflamed beyond the bounds of discretion at the sight, 
 and forgetful of the season, the wood-chopper rushed to 
 his middle into the water, and began to drive the reluctant 
 animals before him from their native element. 
 
 " Pull heartily, boys," cried Marmaduke, yielding to the 
 excitement of the moment, and laying his hands to the net, 
 with no trifling addition to the force. Edwards had pre- 
 ceded him ; for the sight of the immense piles of fish, that 
 were slowly rolling over on the gravelly beach had impelled 
 him also to leave the ladies and join the fishermen. 
 
 Great care was observed in bringing the net to land, and, 
 after much toil, the whole shoal of victims was safely de- 
 posited in a hollow of the bank, where they were left to 
 flutter away their brief existence in the new and fatal ele- 
 ment. 
 
 Even Elizabeth and Louisa were greatly excited and 
 highly gratified by seeing two thousand captives thus 
 drawn from the bosom of the lake, and laid prisoners at 
 their feet. But when the feelings of the moment were 
 passing away, Marmaduke took in his hands a bass, that 
 might have weighed two pounds, and after viewing it a 
 moment, in melancholy musing, he turned to his daughter, 
 and observed : 
 
 " This is a fearful expenditure of the choicest gifts of 
 Providence. These fish, Bess, which thou seest lying in 
 such piles before thee, and which by to-morrow evening 
 will be rejected food on the meanest table in Templeton, 
 are of a quality and flavor that, in other countries, would 
 make them esteemed a luxury on the tables of princes or 
 epicures. The world has no better fish than the bass of 
 Otsego ; it unites the richness of the shad * to the firmness 
 of the salmon." 
 
 * Of all the fish the writer has ever tasted, he thinks the one in question 
 the best. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 241 
 
 " But surely, dear sir," cried Elizabeth, " they must prove 
 a great blessing to the country, and a powerful friend to 
 the poor." 
 
 " The poor are always prodigal, my child, where there 
 is plenty, and seldom think of a provision against the 
 morrow. But, if there can be any excuse for destroying 
 animals in this manner, it is in taking the bass. During 
 the winter, you know, they are entirely protected from our 
 assaults by the ice, for they refuse the hook ; and during 
 the hot months they are not seen. It is supposed they re- 
 treat to the deep and cool waters of the lake, at that sea- 
 son ; and it is only in the spring and autumn that, for a 
 few days, they are to be found around the points where 
 they are within the reach of a seine. But, like all the other 
 treasures of the wilderness, they already begin to disappear 
 before the wasteful extravagance of man." 
 
 " Disappear, 'duke ! disappear! " exclaimed the sheriff ; 
 "if you don't call this appearing, I know not what you 
 will. Here are a good thousand of the shiners, some hun- 
 dreds of suckers, and a powerful quantity of other fry. 
 But this is always the way with you, Marmaduke ; first 
 it's the trees, then it's the deer ; after that it's the maple 
 sugar, and so on to the end of the chapter. One day 
 you talk of canals through a country where there's a 
 river or a lake every half-mile, just because the water 
 won't run the way you wish it to go ; and, the next, you 
 say something about mines of coal, though any man who 
 has good eyes like myself I say with good eyes can see 
 more wood than would keep the city of London in fuel for 
 fifty years ; wouldn't it, Benjamin ? " 
 
 " Why, for that, squire," said the steward, " Lon'on is no 
 small place. If it was stretched an end, all the same as a 
 town on one side of the river, it would cover some such 
 matter as this here lake. Tho'f I dar'st to say, that the 
 wood in sight might sarve them a good turn, seeing that 
 the Lon'oners mainly burn coal." 
 
 " Now we are en the subject of coal, Judge Temple," 
 interrupted the sheriff, " I have a thing of much impor- 
 tance to communicate to you ; but I will defer it until to- 
 morrow. I know that you intend riding into the eastern 
 part of the Patent, and I will accompany you, and conduct 
 you to a spot where some of your projects may be real- 
 ized. We will say no more now, for there are listeners ; but 
 a secret has this evening been revealed to me, 'duke, that 
 16 
 
242 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 is of more consequence to your welfare than all your e^ 
 tate united." 
 
 Marmaduke laughed at the important intelligence, to 
 which in a variety of shapes he was accustomed, and the 
 sheriff, with an air of great dignity, as if pitying his want 
 of faith, proceeded in the business more immediately be- 
 fore them. As the labor of drawing the net had been very 
 great, he directed one party of his men to commence throw- 
 ing the fish into piles, preparatory to the usual division, 
 while another, under the superintendence of Benjamin, 
 prepared the seine for a second haul. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 " While from its margin, terrible to tell ! 
 Three sailors with their gallant boatswain fell." FALCONER. 
 
 WHILE the fishermen were employed in making the prep- 
 arations for an equitable division of the spoil, Elizabeth 
 and her friend strolled a short distance from the group, 
 along the shore of the lake. After reaching a point, to 
 which even the brightest of the occasional gleams of the 
 fire did not extend, they turned, and paused a moment, in 
 contemplation of the busy and lively party they had left, 
 and of the obscurity, which, like the gloom of oblivion, 
 seemed to envelop the rest of the creation. 
 
 " This is indeed a subject for the pencil!" exclaimed 
 Elizabeth. " Observe the countenance of that wood- 
 chopper, while he exults in presenting a larger fish than 
 common to my cousin sheriff ; and see, Louisa, how hand- 
 some and considerate my dear father looks, by the light 
 of that fire, where he stands viewing the havoc of the game. 
 He seems melancholy, as if he actually thought that a day 
 of retribution was to follow this hour of abundance and 
 prodigality ! Would they not make a picture, Louisa?" 
 
 " You know that I am ignorant of all such accomplish- 
 ments, Miss Temple." 
 
 "Call me by my Christian name," interrupted Elizabeth 
 0< this is not a place, neither is this a scene, for forms." 
 
 ''Well, then, if I may venture an opinion," said Louisa, 
 timidly, " I should think it might indeed make a picture. 
 The selfish earnestness of that Kirby over his fish would 
 contrast finely with the the expression of Mr. Edwards's 
 
THE PIONEERS. 343 
 
 face. I hardly know what to call it ; but it is a is you 
 know what I would say, dear Elizabeth." 
 
 " You do me too much credit, Miss Grant," said the 
 heiress ; " I am no diviner of thoughts, or interpreter of 
 expressions." . 
 
 There was certainly nothing harsh, or even cold in the 
 manner of the speaker, but still it repressed the conversa- 
 tion, and they continued to stroll still farther from the 
 party, retaining each other's arm, but observing a profound 
 silence. Elizabeth, perhaps, conscious of the improper 
 phraseology of her last speech, or perhaps excited by the 
 new object that met her gaze, was the first to break the 
 awkward cessation in the discourse, by exclaiming : 
 
 " Look, Louisa ! we are not alone ; there are fishermen 
 lighting a fire on the other side of the lake, immediately 
 opposite to us ; it must be in front of the cabin of Leather- 
 Stocking ! " 
 
 Through the obscurity, which prevailed most imme- 
 diately under the eastern mountain, a small and uncertain 
 light was plainly to be seen, though, as it was occasionally 
 lost to the eye, it seemed struggling for existence. They 
 observed it to move, and sensibly to lower, as if carried 
 down the descent of the bank to the shore. Here, in a 
 very short time, its flame gradually expanded, and grew 
 brighter, until it became of the size of a man's head, when 
 it continued to shine a steady ball of fire. Such an object, 
 lighted as it were by magic, under the brow of the moun- 
 tain, and in that retired and unfrequented place, gave 
 double interest to the beauty and singularity of its appear- 
 ance. It did not at all resemble the large and unsteady 
 light of their own fire, being much more clear and bright, 
 and retaining its size and shape with perfect uniformity. 
 
 There are moments when the best-regulated minds are 
 more or less subjected to the injurious impressions which 
 few have escaped in infancy ; and Elizabeth smiled at her 
 own weakness, while she remembered the idle tales which 
 were circulated through the village, at the expense of the 
 Leather-Stocking. The same ideas seized her companion, 
 and at the same instant, for Louisa pressed nearer to her 
 friend, as she said in a low voice, stealing a timid glance 
 toward the bushes and trees that overhung the bank near 
 them : 
 
 " Did you ever hear the singular ways of this Natty 
 spoken of, Miss Temple ? They say that, in his youth, ho 
 
244 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 was an Indian warrior ; or, what is the same thing, a white 
 man leagued with the savages ; and it is thought he has 
 been concerned in many of their inroads, in the old wars." 
 
 " The thing is not at all improbable," returned Eliza- 
 beth ; " he is not alone in that particular." 
 
 " No, surely ; but is it not strange that he is so cautious 
 with his hut ? He never leaves it, without fastening it in 
 a remarkable manner ; and in several instances, when the 
 children, or even the men of the village, have wished to 
 seek a shelter there from the storms, he has been known 
 to drive them from his door with rudeness and threats. 
 That surely is singular in this country !'" 
 
 " It is certainly not very hospitable ; but we must re- 
 member his aversion to the customs of civilized life. You 
 heard my father say, a few days since, how kindly he was 
 treated by him on his first visit to his place." Elizabeth 
 paused, and smiled, with an expression of peculiar arch- 
 ness, though the darkness hid its meaning from her com- 
 panion, as she continued : " Besides, he certainly admits 
 the visits of Mr. Edwards, whom we both know to be far 
 from a savage." 
 
 To this speech Louisa made no reply, but continued 
 gazing on the object which had elicited her remarks. In 
 addition to the bright and circular flame, was now to be 
 seen a fainter, though a vivid light, of an equal diameter 
 to the other at the upper end, but which, after extending 
 downward for many feet, gradually tapered to a point at 
 its lower extremity. A dark space was plainly visible be- 
 tween the two, and the new illumination was placed be- 
 neath the other ; the whole forming an appearance not 
 unlike an inverted note of admiration. It was soon evi- 
 dent that the latter was nothing but the reflection, from 
 the water, of the former, and that the object, whatever it 
 might be, was advancing across, or rather over the lake, 
 for it seemed to be several feet above its surface, in a di- 
 rect line with themselves. Its motion was amazingly rapid, 
 the ladies having hardly discovered that it was moving at 
 all, before the waving light of a flame was discerned, los* 
 ing its regular shape, while it increased in size, as it ap- 
 proached. 
 
 " It appears to be supernatural ! " whispered Louisa, be- 
 ginning to retrace her steps toward the party. 
 
 " It is beautiful ! " exclaimed Elizabeth. 
 
 A brilliant though waving flame was now plainly visibly 
 
THE PIONEERS. 45 
 
 gracefully gliding over the lake, and throwing its light on 
 the water in such a manner as to tinge it slightly ; though 
 in the air, so strong was the contrast, the darkness seemed 
 to have the distinctness of material substances, as if the 
 fire were imbedded in a setting of ebony. This appear- 
 ance, however, gradually wore off, and the rays from the 
 torch struck out, and enlightened the atmosphere in front 
 of it, leaving the background in a darkness that was more 
 impenetrable than ever. 
 
 " Ho ! Natty, is that you ? " shouted the sheriif. " Pad- 
 dle in, old boy, and I'll give you a mess of fish that is fit 
 to place before the governor." 
 
 The light suddenly changed its direction, and a long and 
 slightly built boat hove up out of the gloom, while the 
 red glare fell on the weather-beaten features of the 
 Leather-Stocking, whose tall person was seen erect in the 
 frail vessel, wielding, with the grace of an experienced 
 boatman, a long fishing-spear, which he held by its centre, 
 first dropping one end and then the other into the water, 
 to aid in propelling the little canoe of bark, we will not 
 say through, but over, the water. At the farther end of 
 the vessel a form was faintly seen, guiding its motions, and 
 using a paddle with the ease of one who felt there was no 
 necessity for exertion. The Leather-Stocking struck his 
 spear lightly against the short staff which upheld, on a 
 rude grating framed of old hoops of iron, the knots of 
 pine that composed the fuel, and the light, which glared 
 high, for an instant fell on the swarthy features, and dark, 
 glancing eyes of Mohegan. 
 
 The boat glided along the shore until it arrived opposite 
 the fishing-ground, when it again changed its direction, 
 and moved on to the land, with a motion so graceful, and 
 yet so rapid, that it seemed to possess the power of reg- 
 ulating its own progress. The water in front of the canoe 
 was hardly ruffled by its passage, and no sound betrayed 
 the collision, when the light fabric shot on the gravelly 
 beach for nearly half its length, Natty receding- a step or 
 two from its bow, in order to facilitate the landing. 
 
 "Approach, Mohegan," said Marmaduke ; " approach, 
 Leather-Stocking, and load your canoe with bass. It 
 would be a shame to assail the animals with the spear, 
 when such multitudes of victims lie here, that will be lost 
 as food for the want of mouths to consume them." 
 
 " No, no, Judge," returned Natty, his tall figure stalking 
 
246 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 over the narrow beach, and ascending to the little grassy 
 bottom where the fish were laid in piles ; " I eat of no 
 man's wasty ways. I strike my spear into the eels or the 
 trout, when I crave the creaters ; but I wouldn't be help- 
 ing to such a sinful kind of fishing for the best rifle that 
 was ever brought out from the old countries. If they had 
 fur, like the beaver, or you could tan their hides, like a 
 buck, something might be said in favor of taking them by 
 the thousand with your nets ; but as God made them for 
 man's food, and for no other disarnable reason, I call it 
 sinful and wasty to catch more than can be eat" 
 
 " Your reasoning is mine ; for once, old hunter, we agree 
 in opinion ; and I heartily wish we could make a convert 
 of the sheriff. A net of half the size of this would supply 
 the whole village with fish for a week at one haul." 
 
 The Leather-Stocking did not relish this alliance in sen- 
 timent ; and he shook his head doubtingly as he answered : 
 
 " No, no ; we are not much of one mind, Judge, or you'd 
 never turn good hunting-grounds into stumpy pastures. 
 And you fish and hunt out of rule ; but, to me, the flesh is 
 sweeter where the creater has some chance for its life ; for 
 that reason, I always use a single ball, even if it be at a 
 bird or a squirrel. Besides, it saves lead ; for, when a 
 body knows how to shoot, one piece of lead is enough for 
 all, except hard-lived animals." 
 
 The sheriff heard these opinions with great indignation ; 
 and, when he completed the last arrangement for the di- 
 vision, by carrying with his own hands a trout of a large 
 size, and placing it on four different piles in succession, as 
 his vacillating ideas of justice required, gave vent to his 
 spleen. 
 
 "A very pretty confederacy, indeed! Judge Temple, 
 the landlord and owner of a township, with Nathaniel 
 Bumppo, a lawless squatter, and professed deer-killer, in 
 order to preserve the game of the county ! But, 'duke, 
 when I fish I fish ; so, away boys for another haul, and 
 we'll send out wagons and carts in the morning to bring in 
 our prizes." 
 
 Marmaduke appeared to understand that all opposition 
 to the will of the sheriff would be useless, and he strolled 
 from the fire to the place where the canoe of the hunters 
 lay, whither the ladies and Oliver Edwards had already pre- 
 ceded him. 
 
 Curiosity induced the females to approach this spot; 
 
THE PIONEERS. 24} 
 
 but it was a different motive that led the youth thither. 
 Elizabeth examined the light ashen timbers and thin bark 
 covering of the canoe, in admiration of its neat but simple 
 execution, and with wonder that any human being could 
 be so daring as to trust his life in so frail a vessel. But 
 the youth explained to her the buoyant properties of the 
 boat, and its perfect safety when under proper manage- 
 ment ; adding, in such glowing terms, a description of the 
 manner in which the fish were struck with the spear, that 
 she changed suddenly, from an apprehension of the dan- 
 ger of the excursion, to a desire to participate in its pleas- 
 ures. She even ventured a proposition to that effect to 
 her father, laughing at the same time at her own wish, and 
 accusing herself of acting under a woman's caprice. 
 
 " Say not so, Bess," returned the Judge ; " I would have 
 you above the idle fears of a*silly girl. These canoes are 
 the safest kind of boats to those who have skill and steady 
 nerves. I have crossed the broadest part of the Oneida in 
 one much smaller than this." 
 
 " And I the Ontary," interrupted the Leather-Stocking ; 
 " and that with squaws in the canoe, too. But the Dela- 
 ware women are used to the paddle, and are good hands 
 in a boat of this nater. If the young lady would like to 
 see an old man strike a trout for his breakfast, she is wel- 
 come to a seat. John will say the same, seeing that he 
 built the canoe, which was only launched yesterday ; for 
 I'm not over-curous at such small work as brooms, and 
 basket-making, and other like Indian trades." 
 
 Natty gave Elizabeth one of his significant laughs, with 
 a kind nod of the head, when he concluded his invitation ; 
 but Mohegan, with the native grace of an Indian, ap- 
 proached, and taking her soft white hand into his own 
 swarthy and wrinkled palm, said : 
 
 " Come, grand-daughter of Miquon, and John will be 
 glad. Trust the Indian ; his head is old, though his hand 
 is not steady. The young Eagle will go, and see that no 
 harm hurts his sister." 
 
 " Mr. Edwards," said Elizabeth, blushing slightly," your 
 friend Mohegan has given a promise for you. Do you re- 
 deem the pledge ?" 
 
 " With my life, if necessary, Miss Temple," cried the 
 youth, with fervor. " The sight is worth some little ap- 
 prehension ; for of real danger there is none. I will go 
 with you and Miss Grant, however, to save appearances." 
 
248 THE PIONEERS, 
 
 " With me ! " exclaimed Louisa. " No, not with me, 
 Mr. Edwards ; nor, surely, do you mean to trust yourself is 
 that slight canoe." 
 
 " But I shall ; for I have no apprehensions any longer,** 
 said Elizabeth, stepping into the boat, and taking a seat 
 Where the Indian directed. " Mr. Edwards, you may re- 
 main, as three do seem to be enough for such an egg-shell." 
 
 " It shall hold a fourth," cried the young man, springing 
 to her side, with a violence that nearly shook the weak 
 fabric of the vessel asunder. " Pardon me, Miss Temple, 
 that I do not permit these venerable Charons to take you 
 to the shades unattended by your genius." 
 
 " Is it a good or evil spirit ? "asked Elizabeth. 
 
 " Good to you." 
 
 " And mine," added the maiden, with an air that strangely 
 blended pique with satisfaction. But the motion of" the 
 canoe gave rise to new ideas, and fortunately afforded a 
 good excuse to the young man to change the discourse. 
 
 " It appeared to Elizabeth that they glided over the 
 water by magic, so easy and graceful was the manner in 
 which Mohegan guided his little bark. A slight gesture 
 with his spear indicated the way in which Leather-Stock- 
 ing wished to go, and a profound silence was preserved by 
 the whole party, as the precaution necessary to the success 
 of their fishery. At that point of the lake the water shoaled 
 regularly, differing in this particular altogether from those 
 parts where the mountains rose, nearly in perpendicular 
 precipices from the beach. There the largest vessels could 
 have lain, with their yards interlocked with the pines ; 
 while here a scanty growth of rushes lifted their tops above 
 the lake, gently curling the waters, as their bending heads 
 waved with the passing breath of the night air. . It was at 
 the shallow points only that the bass could be found, or the 
 net cast with success. 
 
 Elizabeth saw thousands of these fish swimming in shoals 
 along the shallow and warm waters of the shore ; for the 
 flaring light of their torch laid bare the mysteries of the 
 lake, as plainly as if the limpid sheet of the Otsego was but 
 another atmosphere. Every instant she expected to see 
 the impending spear of Leather-Stocking darting into the 
 thronging hosts that were rushing beneath her, where it 
 would seem that a blow could not go amiss ; and where, 
 as her father had already said, the prize that would be ob- 
 tained was worthy any epicure. But Natty had his peculiar 
 

 THE PIONEERS. 24^ 
 
 nabits, and, it would seem, his peculiar tastes also. His tall 
 stature, and his erect posture, enabled him to see much 
 farther than those who were seated in the bottom of the 
 canoe ; and he turned his head warily in every direction, fre- 
 quently bending his body forward, and straining his vision, 
 as if desirous of penetrating the water that surrounded their 
 boundary of light. At length his anxious scrutiny was re- 
 warded with success, and, waving his spear from the shore, 
 he said in a cautious tone : 
 
 " Send her outside the bass, John ; I see a laker there, 
 that has run out of the school. It's seldom one finds such 
 a creater in shallow water, where a spear can touch it." 
 
 Mohegan gave a wave of assent with his hand, and in 
 the next instant the canoe was without the " run of the 
 bass," and in water nearly twenty feet in depth. A few 
 additional knots were laid on the grating, and the light 
 penetrated to the bottom. Elizabeth then saw a fish of 
 unusual size floating above small pieces of logs and sticks. 
 The animal was only distinguishable, at that distance, by a 
 slight but almost imperceptible motion of its fins and tail. 
 The curiosity excited by this unusual exposure of the 
 secrets of the lake seemed to be mutual between the heir- 
 ess of the land and the lord of these waters, for the " sal- 
 mon-trout" soon announced his interest by raising his 
 head and body for a few degrees above a horizontal line, 
 and then dropping them again into a horizontal position. 
 
 " Whist ! whist ! " said Natty, in a low voice, on hearing 
 a slight sound made by Elizabeth in bending over the side 
 of the canoe in curiosity ; "'tis a skeary animal, and it's a 
 far stroke for a spear. My handle is but fourteen foot, 
 and the creater lies a good eighteen from the top of the 
 water ; but I'll try him, for he's a ten-pounder." 
 
 While speaking, the Leather-Stocking was poising and 
 directing his weapon. Elizabeth saw the bright, polished 
 tines, as they slowly and silently entered the water, where 
 the refraction pointed them many degrees from the true 
 direction of the fish ; and she thought that the intended 
 victim saw them also, as he seemed to increase the play of 
 his tail and fins, though without moving his station. At 
 the next instant the tall body of Natty bent to the water's 
 edge, and the handle of his spear disappeared in the lake. 
 The long, dark streak of the gliding weapon, and the little 
 bubbling vortex which followed its rapid flight, were easily 
 to be seen ; but it was not until the handle shot again into 
 
250 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 the air by its own reaction, and its master catching it in 
 his hand, threw its tines uppermost, that Elizabeth was 
 acquainted with the success of the blow. A fish of great 
 size was transfixed by the barbed steel, and was very soon 
 shaken from its impaled situation into the bottom of the 
 canoe. 
 
 " That will do, John," said Natty, raising his prize by 
 one of his fingers, and exhibiting it before the torch ; " I 
 shall not strike another blow to-night." 
 
 The Indian again waved his hand, and replied with the 
 simple and energetic monosyllable of : 
 
 " Good." 
 
 Elizabeth was awakened from the trance created by this 
 scene, and by gazing in that unusual manner at the bottom 
 of the lake, by the hoarse sounds of Benjamin's voice, and 
 the dashing of oars, as the heavier boat of the seine-drawers 
 approached the spot where the canoe lay, dragging after 
 it the folds of the net. 
 
 " Haul off, haul off, Master Bumppo," cried Benjamin : 
 "your top-light frightens the fish, who see the net and 
 sheer oft soundings. A fish knows as much as a horse, or, 
 for that matter, more, seeing that it's brought up on the 
 water. Haul off. Master Bumppo, haul off, I say, and give 
 a wide berth to the seine." 
 
 Mohegan guided their little canoe to a point where the 
 movements of the fishermen could be observed, without 
 interruption to the business, and then suffered it to lie 
 quietly on the water, looking like an imaginary vessel 
 floating in air. There appeared to be much ill-humor 
 among the party in the batteau, for the directions of 
 Benjamin were not only frequent, but issued in a voice 
 that partook largely of dissatisfaction. 
 
 "Pull larboard oar, will ye, Master Kirby ? " cried the 
 old seaman ; " pull larboard best. It would puzzle the 
 oldest admiral in the British fleet to cast this here net fair, 
 with a wake like a corkscrew. Pull starboad, boy, pull 
 starboard oar, with a will." 
 
 " Harkee, Mister Pump," said Kirby, ceasing to row, and 
 speaking with some spirit ; " I'm a man that likes civil 
 language and decent treatment, such as is right 'twixt 
 man and man. If you want us to go hoy, say so, and hoy 
 I'll go, for the benefit of the company ; but I'm not used 
 to being ordered about like dumb cattle." 
 
 " Who's dumb cattle ? " echoed Benjamin, fiercely, tun* 
 
THE PIONEERS. 251 
 
 ing his forbidding face to the glare of light from the canoe, 
 and exhibiting every feature teeming with the expression 
 of disgust. "If you want to come aft and cun the boat 
 round, come, and be damned, and pretty steerage you'll 
 make of it. There's but another heave of the net in the 
 stern-sheets, and we're clear of the thing. Give way, will 
 ye ? and shoot her ahead for a fathom or two. and if you 
 catch me afloat again with such a horse-marine as your- 
 self, why, rate me a ship's jackass, that's all." 
 
 Probably encouraged by the prospect of a speedy ter- 
 mination to his labor, the wood-chopper resumed his oar, 
 and, under strong excitement, gave a stroke, that not only 
 cleared the boat of the net but of the steward, at the same 
 instant. Benjamin had stood on the little platform that 
 held the seine, in the stern of the boat, and the violent 
 whirl occasioned by the vigor of the wood-chopper's arm 
 completely destroyed his balance. The position of the 
 lights rendered objects in the batteau distinguishable, both 
 from the canoe and the shore ; and the heavy fall on the 
 water drew all eyes to the steward, as he lay struggling, 
 for a moment, in sight. 
 
 A loud burst of merriment, to which the lungs of Kirby 
 contributed no small part, broke out like a chorus of 
 laughter, and ran along the eastern mountain, in echoes, 
 until it died away in distant, mocking mirth, among the 
 rocks and woods. The body of the steward was seen 
 slowly to disappear, as was expected ; but when the light 
 waves, which had been raised by his fall, began to sink in 
 calmness, and the water finally closed over his head, un- 
 broken and still, a very different feeling pervaded the spec- 
 tators. 
 
 " How fare you, Benjamin ?" shouted Richard from the 
 shore. 
 
 " The dumb devil can't swim a stroke ! " exclaimed Kirby, 
 rising, and beginning to throw aside his clothes. 
 
 " Paddle up, Mohegan," cried young Edwards, "the light 
 will show us where he lies, and I will dive for the body." 
 
 " Oh ! save him ! for God's sake, save him ! " exclaimed 
 Elizabeth, bowing her head on the side of the canoe in 
 horror. 
 
 A powerful and dexterous sweep of Mohegan's paddle 
 sent the canoe directly over the spot \vhere the steward 
 had fallen, and a loud shout from the Leather-Stocking 
 announced that he saw the body. 
 
252 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 "Steady the boat while I dive," again cried Edwards. 
 
 " Gently, lad, gently," said Natty ; " I'll spear the create? 
 up in half the time, and no risk to anybody." 
 
 The form of Benjamin was lying about half way to the 
 bottom, grasping with both hands some broken rushes. 
 The blood of Elizabeth curdled to her heart, as she saw 
 the figure of a fellow-creature thus extended under an im- 
 mense sheet of water, apparently in motion, by the undu- 
 lations of the dying waves, with its face and hands, viewed 
 by that light, and through the medium of the fluid, already 
 colored with hues like death. 
 
 At the same instant, she saw the shining tines of Natty's 
 spear approaching the head of the sufferer, and entwining 
 themselves, rapidly and dexterously, in the hairs of his cue 
 and the cape of his coat. The body was now raised slowly, 
 looking ghastly and grim, as its features turned upward to 
 the light, and approached the surface. The arrival of the 
 nostrils of Benjamin into their own atmosphere was an- 
 nounced by a breathing that would have done credit to a 
 porpoise. For a moment, Natty held the steward sus- 
 pended, with his head just above the water, while his eyes 
 slowly opened, and stared about him, as if he thought that 
 he had reached a new and unexplored country. 
 
 As all the parties acted and spoke together, much less 
 time was consumed in the occurrence of these events, than 
 in their narration. To bring the batteau to the end of the 
 spear, and to raise the form of Benjamin into the boat, and 
 for the whole party to regain the shore, required but a 
 minute. Kirby, aided by Richard, whose anxiety induced 
 him to run into the water to meet his favorite assistant, 
 carried the motionless steward up the bank, and seated him 
 before the fire, while the sheriff, proceeded to order the 
 most approved measures then in use, for the resuscitation 
 of the drowned. 
 
 "Run, Billy," he cried, " to the village, and bring up 
 the rum-hogshead that lies before the door, in which I am 
 making vinegar, and be quick, boy, don't stay to empty 
 the vinegar, and stop at Mr. Le Quoi's, and buy a paper 
 of tobacco and half-a-dozen pipes ; and ask Remarkable 
 for some salt, and one of her flannel petticoats ; and ask 
 Dr. Todd to send his lancet, and to come himself ; -and- 
 ha ! 'duke, what are you about ? would you strangle a man 
 who is full of water, by giving him rum ? Help me to open 
 his hand, that I may pat it." 
 
THE PIONEERS. 2$j 
 
 All this time Benjamin sat, with his muscles fixed, his 
 mouth shut, and his hands clinching the rushes, which he 
 had seized in the confusion of the moment, and which, as 
 he held fast, like a true seaman, had been the means of 
 preventing his body from rising again to the surface. His 
 eyes, however, were open, and stared wildly on the group 
 about the fire, while his lungs were playing like a black 
 smith's bellows, as if to compensate themselves for the 
 minute of inaction to which they had been subjected. As 
 he kept his lips compressed, with a most inveterate deter- 
 mination, the air was compelled to pass through his nos- 
 trils, and he rather snorted than breathed, and in such a 
 manner, that nothing but the excessive agitation of the 
 sheriff could at all justify his precipitous orders. 
 
 The bottle, applied to the steward's lips by Marmaduke, 
 acted like a charm. His mouth opened instinctively; his 
 hands dropped the rushes, and seized the glass ; his eyes 
 raised from their horizontal stare to the heavens ; and the 
 whole man was lost, for a moment, in a new sensation. 
 Unhappily for the propensity of the steward, breath was 
 as necessary after one of these draughts as after his sub- 
 mersion, and the time at length arrived when he was com- 
 pelled to let go the bottle. 
 
 "Why, Benjamin!" roared the sheriff; "you amaze 
 me ! for a man of your experience in drownings to act so 
 foolishly ! just now, you were half full of water, and now 
 you are " 
 
 "Full of grog," interrupted the steward, his features 
 settling down, wiih amazing flexibility, into their natural 
 economy. " But, d'ye see, squire, I kept my hatches close, 
 and it's but little water that ever gets into my scuttle-butt. 
 Harkee, Master Kirby ! I've followed the salt-water for 
 the better part of a man's life, and have seen some navi- 
 gation on the fresh ; but this here matter I will say in 
 your favor, and that is, that you're the awk'ardest green'un 
 that ever straddled a boat's thwart. Them that likes you 
 for a shipmate, may sail with you and no thanks ; but 
 dam'me if I even walk on the lake shore in your company. 
 For why ? you'd as lief drown a man as one of them there 
 fish ; not to throw a Christian creature so much as a rope's 
 end when he was adrift, and no life-buoy in sight ! Nat- 
 ty Bumppo. give us your fist. There's them that says 
 you're an Indian, and a scalper, but you've served me a 
 good turn, and you may set me down for a friend ; tho'f it 
 
254 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 would have been more shipshape like to lower the bight of 
 a rope, or running bowline below me, than to seize an old 
 seaman by his head-lanyard ; but I suppose you are used 
 to taking men by the hair, and seeing you did me good in- 
 stead of harm thereby, why, it's the same thing, d'ye see ? " 
 
 Marmaduke prevented any reply, and assuming the di- 
 Tection of matters with a dignity and discretion that at 
 once silenced all opposition from his cousin, Benjamin was 
 despatched to the village by land, and the net was hauled 
 to shore in such a manner that the fish for once escaped 
 its meshes with impunity. 
 
 The division of the spoils was made in the ordinary 
 manner, by placing one of the party with his back to the 
 game, who named the owner of each pile. Bill Kirby 
 stretched his large frame on the grass by the side of the 
 fire, as sentinel until morning, over net and fish ; and the 
 remainder of the party embarked in the batteau, to return 
 to the village. 
 
 The wood-chopper was seen broiling his supper on the 
 coals as they lost sight of the fire, and, when the boat 
 approached the shore, the torch of Mohegan's canoe was 
 shining again under the gloom of the eastern mountain. 
 Its motion ceased suddenly ; a scattering of brands was 
 in the air, and then all remained dark as the conjunction 
 of night, forest, and mountain could render the scene. 
 
 The thoughts of Elizabeth wandered from the youth, 
 who was holding a canopy of shawls over herself and 
 Louisa, to the hunter and the Indian warrior ; and she felt 
 an awakening curiosity to visit a hut where men of such 
 different habits and temperament were drawn together as 
 by common impulse. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 "Cease all this parlance about hills and dales : 
 None listen to thy scenes of boyish frolic, 
 Fond dotard ! with such tickled ears as thou dost : 
 Come ! to thy tale." Duo. 
 
 MR. JONES arose on the following morning with the sun, 
 and, ordering his own and Marmaduke's steeds to be sad- 
 dled, he proceeded, with a countenance big with some 
 business of unusual moment, to the apartment of the 
 
THE PIONEERS. 255 
 
 Judge. The door was unfastened, and Richard entered, 
 with the freedom that characterized not only the inter- 
 course between the cousins, but the ordinary manners of 
 the sheriff.. 
 
 " Well, 'ohke, to horse," he cried, " and I will explain, 
 to you my meaning in the allusions I made last night. 
 David says, in the Psalms no, it was Solomon, but it was 
 all in the family Solomon said there was a time for all 
 things ; and, in my humble opinion, a fishing-party is not 
 the moment for discussing important subjects. Ha ! why, 
 what the devil ails you, Marmaduke ? an't you well ? let 
 me feel your pulse ; my grandfather, you know " 
 
 " Quite well in the body, Richard," interrupted the 
 Judge, repulsing his cousin, who was about to assume the 
 functions that rightly belonged to Dr. Todd ; " but ill at 
 heart. I received letters by the post last night, after we 
 returned from the point, and this among the number." 
 
 The sheriff took the letter, but without turning his- eyes 
 on the writing, for he was examining the appearance of 
 the other with astonishment. From the face of his cousin 
 the gaze of Richard wandered to the table, which was cov- 
 ered with letters, packets, and newspapers ; then to the 
 apartment and all it contained. On the bed there was 
 the impression that had been made by a human form, but 
 the coverings were unmoved, and everything indicated 
 that the occupant of the room had passed a sleepless night. 
 The candles had burned to the sockets, and had evidently 
 extinguished themselves in their own fragments. Marma- 
 duke had drawn his curtains, and opened both the shut- 
 ters and the sashes, to admit the balmy air of a spring 
 morning ; but his pale cheek, his quivering lip, and his 
 sunken eye, presented altogether so very different an ap- 
 pearance from the usual calm, manly, and cheerful aspect 
 of the Judge, that the sheriff grew each moment more and 
 more bewildered with astonishment. At length Richard 
 found time to cast his eyes on the direction of the letter, 
 which he still held unopened, crumpling it in his hand. 
 
 "What ! a ship-letter ! " he exclaimed ; "and from Eng- 
 land ! ha ! 'duke, there must be news of importance in- 
 deed ! " 
 
 " Read it," said Marmaduke, pacing the floor in excessive 
 agitation. 
 
 Richard, who commonly thought aloud, was unable to 
 read a letter without suffering part of its contents to escape 
 
256 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 him in audible sounds. So much of the epistle as was 
 divulged in that manner, we shall lay before the reader, 
 accompanied by the passing remarks of the sheriff : 
 
 " 'London, February 12, 1793.' What a devil of a pas. 
 sage she had ! but the wind has been northwest for six 
 weeks, until within the last fortnight. 
 
 " ' Sir, your favors of August zoth, September 23d, and of 
 December ist, were received in due season, and the first 
 answered by return of packet. Since the receipt of the 
 last, I ' " here a long passage was rendered indistinct by 
 a kind of humming noise by the sheriff " ' I grieve to say 
 that,' hum, hum, bad enough to be sure ' but trust that 
 a merciful Providence has seen fit ' hum, hum, hum ; 
 seems to be a good pious sort of a man, 'duke ; belongs to 
 the established church, I dare say ; hum, hum ' vessel 
 sailed from Falmouth on or about the ist September of 
 last year, and' hum, hum, hum. 'If anything should 
 transpire on this afflicting subject shall not fail ' hum, 
 hum ; really a good-hearted man, for a lawyer ' but can 
 communicate nothing further at present ' hum, hum. 
 * The national convention ' hum, hum ' unfortunate 
 Louis ' hum, hum * example of your Washington ' a 
 very sensible man, I declare, and none of your crazy demo- 
 crats. Hum, hum 'our gallant navy' hum, hum 
 ' under our most excellent monarch ' ay, a good man 
 enough, that King George, but -bad advisers ; hum, hum 
 ' I beg to conclude with assurances of my perfect re- 
 spect ' hum, hum 'ANDREW HOLT.' Andrew Holt, a 
 very sensible, feeling man, this Mr. Andrew Holt but the 
 writer of evil tidings. What will you do next, Cousin Mar- 
 maduke ? " 
 
 " What can I do, Richard, but trust to time, and the will 
 of Heaven ? Here is another letter from Connecticut, 
 but it only repeats the substance of the last. There is but 
 one consoling reflection to be gathered from the English 
 news, which is, that my last letter was received by him 
 before the ship sailed." 
 
 " This is bad enough, indeed ! 'duke, bad enough, in* 
 deed ! and away go all my plans, of putting wings to the 
 house, to the devil. I had made arrangements for a ride 
 to introduce you to something of a very important nature. 
 You know how much you think of mines 
 
 " Talk not of mines," interrupted the Judge ; " there is 
 a sacred duty to be performed, and that without delay. J 
 
THE PIONEERS. 257 
 
 must devote this day to writing ; and thou must be my as* 
 sistant, Richard ; it will not do to employ Oliver in a mat- 
 ter of such secrecy and interest." 
 
 "No, no, 'duke," cried the sheriff, squeezing his hand; 
 " I am your man, just now ; we are sisters' children, and 
 blood, after all, is the best cement to make friendship 
 stick together. Well, well, there is no hurry about the 
 silver mine, just now ; another time will do as well. We 
 shall want Dirky Van, I suppose ?" 
 
 Marmaduke assented to this indirect question, and the 
 sheriff relinquished all his intentions on the subject of the 
 ride, and, repairing to the breakfast parlor, he despatched 
 a messenger to require the immediate presence of Dirck 
 Van der School. 
 
 The village of Templeton at that time supported but 
 tw T o lawyers, one of whom was introduced to our readers 
 in the bar-room of the " Bold Dragoon," and the other was 
 the gentleman of whom Richard spoke by the friendly yet 
 familiar appellation of Dirck, or Dirky Van. Great good- 
 nature, a very tolerable share of skill in his profession, 
 and, considering the circumstances, no contemptible de- 
 gree of honesty, were the principal ingredients in the char- 
 acter of this man, who was known to the settlers as Squire 
 Van der School, and sometimes by the flattering though 
 anomalous title of the " Dutch " or " honest lawyer." We 
 would not wish to mislead our readers in their conceptions 
 of any of our characters, and we therefore feel it necessary 
 to add that the adjective, in the preceding agnomen of 
 Mr. Van der School, was used in direct reference to its 
 substantive. Our orthodox friends need not be told that 
 all the merit in this world is comparative ; and, once for 
 all, we desire to say that, where anything which involves 
 qualities or character is asserted, we must be understood 
 to mean, "under the circumstances." 
 
 During the remainder of the day, the Judge was closeted 
 with his cousin and his lawyer ; and no one else was ad- 
 mitted to his apartment, excepting his daughter. The 
 deep distress that so evidently affected Marmaduke was in 
 some measure communicated to Elizabeth also ; for a look 
 of dejection shaded her intelligent features, and the buoy- 
 ancy of her animated spirits was sensibly softened. Once 
 on that day, young Edwards, who was a wondering and 
 observant spectator of the sudden alteration produced in 
 the heads of the family, detected a tear stealing over the 
 
 17 
 
258 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 cheek of Elizabeth, and suffusing her bright eyes with a 
 softness that did not always belong to their expression. 
 
 " Have any evil tidings been received, Miss Temple ?" 
 he inquired, with an interest and voice that caused Louisa 
 Grant to raise her head from her needlework, with a quick- 
 ness at which she instantly blushed herself. " I would 
 offer my services to your father, if, as I suspect, he needs 
 an agent in some distant place, and I thought it would 
 give you relief." 
 
 " We have certainly heard bad news," returned Elizabeth, 
 " and it may be necessary that my father should leave home 
 lor a short period ; unless I can persuade him to trust my 
 cousin Richard with the business, whose absence from the 
 country, just at this time, too, might be inexpedient." 
 
 The youth paused a moment, and the blood gathered 
 slowly to his temples as he continued : 
 
 " If it be of a nature that I could execute ' 
 
 " It is such as can only be confided to one we know one 
 of ourselves." 
 
 " Surely, you know me, Miss Temple f " he added, with 
 a warmth that he seldom exhibited, but which did some- 
 times escape him in the moments of their frank communi- 
 cations. " Have I lived five months under your roof to 
 be a stranger ? " 
 
 Elizabeth was engaged with her needle also, and she 
 bent her head to one side, affecting to arrange her muslin ; 
 but her hand shook, her color heightened, and her eyes 
 lost their moisture in an expression of ungovernable in- 
 terest, as she said : 
 
 " How much do we know of you, Mr. Edwards ? " 
 
 " How much ! " echoed the youth, gazing from the 
 speaker to the mild countenance of Louisa, that was also 
 illuminated with curiosity ; " how much ! have I been so 
 long an inmate with you and not known ?" 
 
 The head of Elizabeth turned slowly from its affected 
 position, and the look of confusion that had blended so 
 strongly with an expression of interest changed to a smile. 
 
 " We know you, sir, indeed ; you are called Mr. Oliver 
 Edwards. I understand that you have informed my friend 
 Miss Grant that you are a native " 
 
 " Elizabeth ! " exclaimed Louisa, blushing to the eyes, 
 and trembling like an aspen ; " you misunderstood me, 
 dear Miss Temple ; I I it was only a conjecture. Be- 
 sides, if Mr. Edwards is related to the natives, why should 
 
THE PIONEERS. 259 
 
 we reproach him ? In what are we better ? at least I, who 
 am the child of a poor and unsettled clergyman ? " 
 
 Elizabeth shook her head doubtingly, and even laughed, 
 but made no reply, until, observing the melancholy which 
 pervaded the countenance of her companion, who was think- 
 ing of the poverty and labors of her father, she continued : 
 
 " Nay, Louisa, humility carries you too far. The daugh- 
 ter of a minister of the church can have no superiors. 
 Neither I nor Mr. Edwards is quite your equal, unless," she 
 added, again smiling, " he is in secret a king." 
 
 " A faithful servant of the King of kings, Miss Temple, 
 is inferior to none on earth," said Louisa ; " but his honors 
 are his own ; I am only the child of a poor and friendless 
 man, and can claim no other distinction. Why, then, 
 should I feel myself elevated above Mr. Edwards, because 
 because perhaps he is only very, very distantly re- 
 lated to John Mohegan ? " 
 
 Glances of a very comprehensive meaning were ex- 
 changed between the heiress and the young man, as Louisa 
 betrayed, while vindicating his lineage, the reluctance with 
 which she admitted his alliance with the old warrior ; but 
 not even a smile at the simplicity of their companion was 
 indulged by either. 
 
 " On reflection, I must acknowledge that my situation 
 here is somewhat equivocal," said Edwards, "though I 
 may be said to have purchased it with my blood." 
 
 " The blood, too, of one of the native lords of the soil ! " 
 cried Elizabeth, who evidently put little faith in his abo- 
 riginal descent. 
 
 " Do I bear the marks of my lineage so very plainly im- 
 pressed on my appearance ? I am dark, but not very red 
 not more so than common ?" 
 
 " Rather more so, just now." 
 
 "I am sure, Miss Temple," cried Louisa, "you cannot 
 have taken much notice of Mr. Edwards. His eyes are not 
 so black as Mohegan's, or even your own, nor is his hair ! " 
 
 " Very possibly, then, I can lay claim to the same de 
 scent. It would be a great relief to my mind to think so, 
 for I own that I grieve when I see old Mohegan walking 
 about these lands like the ghost of one of their ancient 
 possessors, and feel how small is my own right to possess 
 them." 
 
 "Do you?" cried the youth, with a vehemence that 
 startled the ladies, 
 
260 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 " I do, indeed," returned Elizabeth, after suffering a mo- 
 ment to pass in surprise ; " but what can I do what can 
 my father do ? Should we offer the old man a home and 
 a maintenance, his habits would compel him to refuse us. 
 Neither were we so silly as to wish such a thing, could we 
 convert these clearings and farms again into hunting- 
 grounds, as the Leather-Stocking would wish to see them." 
 
 "You speak the truth, Miss Temple," said Edwards. 
 " What can you do indeed ? But there is one thing that I 
 am certain you can and will do, when you become the mis- 
 tress of these beautiful valleys use your wealth with in- 
 dulgence to the poor, and charity to the needy ; indeed, 
 you can do no more." 
 
 " And that will be doing a good deal," said Louisa, smil- 
 ing in her turn. "But there will, doubtless, be one to 
 take the direction of such things from her hands." 
 
 *' I am not about to disclaim matrimony, like a silly girl, 
 who dreams of nothing else from morn till night ; but I am 
 a nun here, without the vow of celibacy. Where shall I 
 find a husband in these forests ? " 
 
 "There is none, Miss Temple," said Edwards, quickly; 
 " there is none who has a right to aspire to you, and I 
 know that you w r ill wait to be sought by your equal ; or 
 die, as you live, loved, respected, and admired by all who 
 know you." 
 
 The young man seemed to think that he had said all 
 that was required by gallantry, for he arose, and, taking 
 his hat, hurried from the apartment. Perhaps Louisa 
 thought that he had said more than was necessary, for she 
 sighed, with an aspiration so low that it was scarcely aud- 
 ible to herself, and bent her head over her work again. 
 And it is possible that Miss Temple wished to hear more, 
 for her eyes continued fixed for a minute on the door 
 through which the young man had passed, then glanced 
 quickly toward her companion, when the long silence that 
 succeeded manifested how much zest may be given to the 
 conversation of two maidens under eighteen, by the pres- 
 ence of a youth of three-and-twenty. 
 
 The first person encountered by Mr. Edwards, as he 
 rather rushed than walked from the house, was the little 
 square-built lawyer, with a large bundle of papers under 
 his arm, a pair of green spectacles on his nose, with glasses 
 at the sides, as if to multiply his power of detecting frauds 
 by additional organs of vision. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 261 
 
 Mr. Van der School was a well-edncated man, but of^ 
 slow comprehension, who had imbibed a wariness in his 
 speeches and actions, from having suffered by his colli- 
 sions with his more mercurial and apt brethren who had 
 laid the foundations of their practice in the Eastern courts, 
 and who had sucked in shrewdness with their mother's 
 milk. The caution of this gentleman was exhibited in 
 his actions, by the utmost method and punctuality, tinct- 
 ured with a good deal of timidity ; and in his speeches, by 
 a parenthetical style, that frequently left to his auditors a 
 long search after his meaning. 
 
 " A good-morning to you, Mr. Van der School," said 
 Edwards ; " it seems to be a busy day with us at the man- 
 sion-house." 
 
 " Good-morning, Mr. Edwards (if that is your name (for, 
 being a stranger, we have no other evidence of the fact 
 than your own testimony), as I understand you have given 
 it to Judge Temple), good-morning, sir. It is, apparently 
 a busy day (but a man of your discretion need not be told 
 (having, doubtless, discovered it of your own accord), that 
 appearances are often deceitful) up at the mansion-house." 
 
 " Have you papers of consequence that will require 
 copying ? can I be of assistance in any way ? " 
 
 " There are papers (as doubtless you see (for your eyes 
 are young) by the outsides) that require copying." 
 
 "Well, then, I will accompany you to your office, and 
 receive such as are most needed, and by night I shall have 
 them done if there be much haste." 
 
 " I shall always be glad to see you, sir, at my office (as 
 in duty bound (not that it is obligatory to receive any man 
 within your dwelling (unless so inclined), which is a cas- 
 tle), according to the forms of politeness), or at any other 
 place ; but the papers are most strictly confidential (and, 
 as such, cannot be read by any one), unless so directed (by 
 Judge Temple's solemn injunctions), and are invisible to 
 all eyes ; excepting those whose duties (I mean assumed 
 duties) require it of them." 
 
 " Well, sir, as I perceive that I can be of no service, I 
 wish you another good-morning ; but beg you will remem- 
 ber that I am quite idle just now, and I wish you would 
 intimate as much to Judge Temple, and make him a tender 
 of my services in any part of the world, unless unless it 
 be far from Templeton." 
 
 ** I will make the communication, sir, in your name 
 
262 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 (with your own qualifications), as your agent. Good-morn 
 ing, sir. But stay proceedings, Mr. Edwards (so called), 
 for a moment. Do you wish me to state the offer of trav- 
 elling as a final contract (for which consideration has been 
 received at former dates (by sums advanced), which would 
 be binding), or as a tender of services for which corn pen 
 sation is to be paid (according to future agreement be- 
 tween the parties), on performance of the conditions ?" 
 
 " Any way, any way," said Edwards, "he seems in dis- 
 tress, and I would assist him." 
 
 " The motive is good, sir (according to appearances 
 (which are often deceitful) on first impressions), and does 
 you honor. I will mention your wish, young gentleman 
 (as you now seem), and will not fail to communicate the 
 answer by five o'clock P.M. of this present day (God will- 
 ing), if you give me an opportunity so to do." 
 
 The ambiguous nature of the situation and character of 
 Mr. Edwards had rendered him an object of peculiar sus- 
 picion to the lawyer, and the youth was consequently too 
 much accustomed to similar equivocal and guarded speeches 
 to feel any unusual disgust at the present dialogue. He 
 saw at once that it was the intention of the practitioner to 
 conceal the nature of his business, even from the private 
 secretary of Judge Temple ; and he knew too well the dif- 
 ficulty of comprehending the meaning of Mr. Van der 
 School, when the gentleman most wished to be luminous 
 in his discourse, not to abandon all thoughts of a discovery, 
 when he perceived that the attorney was endeavoring to 
 avoid anything like an approach to a cross-examination, 
 They parted at the gate, the lawyer walking, with an im 
 portant and hurried air toward his office, keeping his right 
 hand firmly clinched on the bundle of papers. 
 
 It must have been obvious to all our readers, that the 
 youth entertained an unusual and deeply seated prejudice 
 against the character of the Judge ; but owing to some 
 counteracting cause, his sensations were now those of 
 powerful interest in the state of his patron's present feel- 
 ings, and in the cause of his secret uneasiness. 
 
 He remained gazing after the lawyer until the door 
 closed on both the bearer and the mysterious packet, when 
 he returned slowly to the dwelling, and endeavored to for- 
 get his curiosity in the usual avocations of his office. 
 
 When the Judge made his reappearance in the circles 
 of his family, his cheerfulness was tempered by a shade of 
 
THE PIONEERS. 263 
 
 melancholy that lingered for many days around his manly 
 brow ; but the magical progression of the season aroused 
 him from his temporary apathy, and his smiles returned 
 with the summer. 
 
 The heats of the days, and the frequent occurrence oi 
 balmy showers, had completed, in an incredibly short 
 period, the growth of plants, which the lingering spring 
 had so long retarded in the germ ; and the woods presented 
 every shade of green that the American forests know. 
 The stumps in the cleared fields were already hidden be- 
 neath the wheat that was waving with every breath of the 
 summer air, shining and changing its hues like velvet. 
 
 During the continuance of his cousin's dejection, Mr. 
 Jones forebore, with much consideration, to press on his 
 attention a business that each hour was drawing nearer to 
 the heart of the sheriff, and which, if any opinion could 
 be formed by his frequent private conferences with the 
 man who was introduced in these pages by the name of 
 Jotham, at the bar-room of the Bold Dragoon, was becom- 
 ing also of great importance. 
 
 At length the sheriff ventured to allude again to the 
 subject ; and one evening, in the beginning of July, Mar- 
 maduke made him a promise of devoting the following day 
 to the desired excursion. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 "Speak on, my dearest father ! 
 Thy words are like the breezes of the west." MiLMAN. 
 
 IT was a mild and soft morning, when Marmaduke and 
 Richard mounted their horses and proceeded on the ex- 
 pedition that had so long been uppermost in the thoughts 
 of the latter ; and Elizabeth and Louisa appeared at the 
 same instant in the hall, attired for an excursion on foot. 
 
 The head of Miss Grant was covered by a neat little hat 
 of green silk, and her modest eyes peered from under its 
 shade, with the soft languor that characterized her whole 
 appearance ; but Miss Temple trod her father's wide 
 apartments with the step of their mistress, holding in her 
 hands, dangling by one of its ribbons, the gipsy that was 
 to conceal the glossy locks that curled around her polished 
 forehead in rich profusion. 
 
264 THE P10NEK&S. 
 
 " What ? are you for a walk, Bess ? " cried the Judge, 
 suspending his movements for a moment to smile, with a 
 father's fondness, at the display of womanly grace and 
 beauty that his child presented. " Remember the heats 
 of July, my daughter ; nor venture further than thou canst 
 retrace before the meridian. Where is thy parasol, girl ? 
 thou wilt lose the polish of that brow, under this sun and 
 southern breeze, unless thou guard it with unusual care." 
 
 " I shall then do more honor to my connections," re- 
 turned the smiling daughter. " Cousin Richard has a 
 bloom that any lady might envy. At present the resem- 
 blance between us is so trifling that no stranger would 
 know us to be 'sisters' children.'" 
 
 " Grandchildren, you mean, Cousin Bess," said the 
 sheriff. " But on, Judge Temple ; time and tide wait for 
 no man ; and if you take my counsel, sir, in twelve months 
 from this day you may make an umbrella for your daughter 
 of her camel's hair shawl, and have its frame of solid silver. 
 I ask nothing for myself, 'duke ; you have been a good 
 friend to me already ; besides, all that I have will go to 
 Bess there, one of these melancholy days, so it's as long as 
 it's short, whether I or you leave it. But we have a day's 
 ride before us, sir ; so move forward, or dismount, and say 
 you won't go at once." 
 
 " Patience, patience, Dickon," returned the Judge, check- 
 ing his horse and turning again to his daughter. " If 
 thou art for the mountains, love, stray not too deep into 
 the forest, I entreat thee ; for, though it is done often with 
 impunity, there is sometimes danger." 
 
 " Not at this season, I believe, sir," said Elizabeth ; " for, 
 I will confess, it is the intention of Louisa and myself to 
 stroll among the hills." 
 
 "Less at this season than in the winter, dear; but still 
 there may be danger in venturing too far. But though 
 thou art resolute, Elizabeth, thou art too much like thy 
 mother not to be prudent." 
 
 The eyes of the parent turned reluctantly from his child, 
 and the Judge and sheriff rode slowly through the gate- 
 way, and disappeared among the buildings of the village. 
 
 During this short dialogue, young Edwards stood, an 
 attentive listener, holding in his hand a fishing-rod, the 
 day and the season having tempted him also to desert the 
 house for the pleasure of exercise in the air. As the eques- 
 trians turned through the gate, he approached the young 
 
THE PIONEERS. 265 
 
 females, who were already moving toward the street, and 
 was about to address them, as Louisa paused, and said, 
 quickly : 
 
 " Mr. Edwards would speak to us, Elizabeth." 
 
 The other stopped also, and turned to the youth, politely 
 but with a slight coldness in her air, that sensibly checked 
 the freedom with which he had approached them. 
 
 "Your father is not pleased that you should walk unat- 
 tended in the hills, Miss Temple. If I might offer myself 
 as a protector " 
 
 " Does my father select Mr. Oliver Edwards as the organ 
 of his displeasure ?' J interrupted the lady. 
 
 " Good Heaven ! you misunderstood my meaning ; I 
 should have said uneasy for not pleased. 1 am his servant, 
 madam, and in consequence yours. I repeat that, with 
 your consent, I will change my rod for a fowling-piece, 
 and keep nigh you on the mountain." 
 
 " I thank you, Mr. Edwards ; but where there is no 
 danger, no protection is required. We are not yet re- 
 duced to wandering among these free hills accompanied 
 by a body-guard. If such a one is necessary there he is, 
 however. Here, Brave Brave my noble Brave ! " 
 
 The huge mastiff, that has been already mentioned, ap- 
 peared from his kennel, gaping and stretching himself 
 with pampered laziness ; but as his mistress again called : 
 "Come, dear Brave ; once you have served your master 
 well ; let us see how you can do your duty by his daugh- 
 ter " the dog wagged his tail, as if he understood her 
 language, walked with a stately gait to her side, where he 
 seated himself, and looked up at her face, with an intelli- 
 gence but little inferior to that which beamed in her own 
 lovely countenance. 
 
 She resumed her walk, but again paused, after a few 
 steps, and added, in tones of conciliation : 
 
 " You can be serving us equally, and, I presume, more 
 agreeably to yourself, Mr. Edwards, by bringing us a 
 string of your favorite perch for the dinner-table." 
 
 When they again began to walk Miss Temple did not 
 look back to see how the youth bore this repulse ; but the 
 head of Louisa was turned several times before they 
 reached the gate on that considerate errand. 
 
 " I am afraid, Elizabeth," she said, " that we have morti- 
 fied Oliver. He is still standing where we left him, leaning 
 on his rod. Perhaps he thinks us proud." 
 
*66 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 " He thinks justly," exclaimed Miss Temple, as if awak< 
 ing from a deep musing; "he. thinks justly, then. We 
 are too proud to admit of such particular attentions from 
 a young man in an equivocal situation. What ! make him 
 the companion of our most private walks ! It is pride, 
 Louisa, but it is the pride of a woman." 
 
 It was several minutes before Oliver aroused himself 
 from the abstracted position in which he was standing 
 when Louisa last saw him ; but when he did, he muttered 
 something rapidly and incoherently, and, throwing his 
 rod over his shoulder, he strode down the walk through 
 the gate, and along one of the streets of the village, until 
 he reached the lake-shore, with the air of an emperor. At 
 this spot boats were kept for the use of Judge Temple and 
 his family. The young man threw himself into a light 
 skiff, and, seizing the oars, he sent it across the lake toward 
 the hut of Leather-Stocking, with a pair of vigorous arms. 
 By the time he had rowed a quarter of a mile, his reflec- 
 tions were less bitter ; and when he saw the bushes that 
 lined the shore in front of Natty 's habitation gliding by 
 him, as if they possessed the motion which proceeded from 
 his own efforts, he was quite cooled in mind, though some- 
 what heated in body. It is quite possible that the very 
 same reason which guided the conduct of Miss Temple, 
 suggested itself to a man of the breeding and education of 
 the youth ; and it is very certain that, if such were the case, 
 Elizabeth rose instead of falling in the estimation of Mr. 
 Edwards. 
 
 The oars were now raised from the water, and the boat 
 shot close in to the land, where it lay gently agitated by 
 waves of its own creating, while the young man, first cast- 
 ing a cautious and searching glance around him in every 
 direction, put a small whistle to his mouth, and blew a 
 long, shrill note that rang among the echoing rocks be- 
 hind the hut. At this alarm, the hounds of Natty rushed 
 out of their bark kennel, and commenced their long pit- 
 eous howls, leaping about as if half frantic, though re- 
 strained by the leashes of buckskin by which they were 
 fastened. 
 
 " Quiet, Hector, quiet," said Oliver, again applying his 
 whistle tp his. mouth, and drawing out notes still more 
 shrill than before. Jq reply was made, the dogs having 
 returned to their kennel at ' the sound of his voice. 
 
 Edwards pulleci tl^e bows of the boat on he shore, and 
 
THE PIONEERS. 267 
 
 landing, ascended the beach and approached the door of 
 the cabin. The fastenings were soon undone, arid lie en- 
 tered, closing the door after him, when all was as silent, 
 in that retired spot, as if the foot of man had never trod 
 the wilderness. The sounds of the hammers, that were in 
 incessant motion in the village, were faintly heard across 
 the water ; but the dogs had crouched into their lairs, 
 satisfied that none but the privileged had approached the 
 forbidden ground. 
 
 A quarter of an hour elapsed before the youth reap- 
 peared, when he fastened the door again, and spoke kindly 
 to the hounds. The dogs came out at the well-known 
 tones, and the slut jumped upon his person, whining and 
 barking, as if entreating Oliver to release her from prison. 
 Bat old Hector raised his nose to the light current of air, 
 and opened a long howl, that might have been heard for 
 a mile. 
 
 " Ha ! what do you scent, old veteran of the woods ? " 
 cried Edwards. " If a beast, it is a bold one ; and if a man, 
 an impudent." 
 
 He sprang through the top of a pine that had fallen 
 near the side of the hut, and ascended a small hillock that 
 sheltered the cabin to the south, where he caught a glimpse 
 of the formal figure of Hiram Doolittle, as it vanished, with 
 unusual rapidity for the architect, amid the bushes. 
 
 " What can that fellow be wanting here ? " muttered 
 Oliver. " He has no business in this quarter, unless it be 
 curiosity, which is an endemic in these w'oods. But against 
 that I will effectually guard, though the dogs should take 
 a liking to his ugly visage, and let him pass." The youth 
 returned to the door, while giving vent to this soliloquy, 
 and completed the fastenings by placing a small chain 
 through a staple, and securing it there by a padlock. " He 
 is a pettifogger, and surely must know that there is such a 
 tiling as feloniously breaking into a man's house." 
 
 Apparently well satisfied with this arrangement, the 
 youth again spoke to the hounds ; and, descending to the 
 shore, he launched his boat, and taking up his oars, pulled 
 off into the lake. 
 
 There were several places in the Otsego that were cele- 
 brated fishing-ground for perch. One was nearly opposite 
 to the cabin, and another, still more famous, was near a 
 point, at the distance of a mile and a half above it, under 
 the brow of the mountain, and on the same side of the 
 
268 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 lake with the hut. Oliver Edwards pulled his little skiff 
 to the first, and sat, for a minute, undecided whether to 
 continue there, with his eyes on the door of the cabin, or 
 to change his ground, with a view -to get superior game. 
 While gazing about him, he saw the light-colored bark 
 canoe of his old companions riding on the water, at the 
 point we have mentioned, and containing two figures, that 
 he at once knew to be Mohegan and the Leather-Stocking. 
 This decided the matter, and the youth pulled, in a very 
 few minutes, to the place where his friends were fishing, 
 and fastened his boat to the light vessel of the Indian. 
 
 The old men received Oliver with welcoming nods, but 
 neither drew his line from the water, nor in the least varied 
 his occupation. When Edwards had secured his own boat, 
 he baited his hook and threw it into the lake, without 
 speaking. 
 
 " Did you stop at the wigwam, lad, as you rowed past ? " 
 asked Natty. 
 
 " Yes, and I found all safe ; but that carpenter and jus- 
 tice of the peace, Mr. , or as they call him, Squire, Doo- 
 little, was prowling through the woods. I made sure of 
 the door before I left the hut, and I think he is too great 
 a coward to approach the hounds." 
 
 " There's little to be said in favor of that man," said Natty, 
 while he drew in a perch and baited his hook. " He craves 
 dreadfully to come into the cabin, and has as good as asked 
 me as much to my face ; but I put him off with unsartain 
 answers, so that he is no wiser than Solomon. This comes 
 of having so many laws that such a man may be called on 
 to intarpret them." 
 
 " I fear lie is more knave than fool," cried Edwards ; " he 
 makes a tool of that simple man, the sheriff ; and I dread 
 that his impertinent curiosity may yet give us much trouble." 
 
 " If he harbors too much about the cabin, lad, I'll shoot 
 the creater," said the Leather-Stocking, quite simply. 
 
 " No, no, Natty, you must remember the law," said Ed- 
 wards, " or we shall have you in trouble ; and that, old 
 man, would be an evil day and sore tidings to us all." 
 
 " Would it, boy ? " exclaimed the hunter, raising his eyes 
 with a look of friendly interest, toward the youth. " You 
 have the true blood in your veins, Mr. Oliver ; and I'll 
 support it to the face of Judge Temple, or in any court in 
 the country. How is it, John ? Do I speak the true word ? 
 Is the lad stanch, and of the right blood ? " 
 
THE PIONEERS. 269 
 
 " He is a Delaware," said Mohegan," and my brother. 
 The young Eagle is brave, and he will be a chief. No 
 harm can come." 
 
 " Well, well," cried the youth, impatiently, " say no more 
 about it, my good friends ; if I am not all that your parti- 
 ality would make me, I am yours through life, in prosperity 
 as in poverty. We will talk of other matters." 
 
 The old hunters yielded to his wish, which seemed to be 
 their law. For a short time a profound silence prevailed, 
 during which each man was very busy with his hook and line , 
 but Edwards, probably feeling that it remained with him 
 to renew the discourse, soon observed, with the air of one 
 who knew not what he said : 
 
 " How beautifully tranquil and glassy the lake is ! Saw 
 you it ever more calm and even than at this moment, 
 Natty ? " 
 
 " I have known the Otsego water for five and forty 
 years," said Leather-Stocking, "and I will say that for it, 
 which is, that a cleaner spring or better fishing is not to 
 be found in the land. Yes, yes ; I had the place to my- 
 self once, and a cheerful time I had of it. The game was 
 plenty as heart could wish ; and there was none to meddle 
 with the ground, unless there might have been a hunting 
 party of the Delawares crossing the hills, or, maybe, a 
 rifling scout of them thieves, the Iroquois. There was one 
 or two Frenchmen that squatted in the flats further west, 
 and married squaws ; and some of the Scotch-Irishers, from 
 the Cherry Valley, would come on to the lake, and bor- 
 row my canoe to take a mess of parch, or drop a line for 
 salmon-trout ; but, in the main, it was a cheerful place, 
 and I had but little to disturb me in it. John would come, 
 and John knows." 
 
 Mohegan turned his dark face at this appeal ; and, 
 moving his hand forward with graceful motion of assent, 
 he spoke, using the Delaware language : 
 
 " The land was owned by my people ; we gave it to my 
 brother, in council to the Fire-eater ; and what the Dela- 
 wares give lasts as long as the waters run. Hawk-eye 
 smoked at that council, for we loved him." 
 
 " No, no, John," said Natty ; " I was no chief, seeing 
 that I know'd nothing of scholarship, and had a white skin. 
 But it was a comfortable hunting-ground then, lad, and 
 would have been so this day, but for the money of Marma- 
 duke Temple, and the twisty ways of the law." 
 
270 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 " It must have been a sight of melancholy pleasure in- 
 deed," said Edwards, while his eye roved along the shores 
 and over the hills, where the clearings, groaning with the 
 golden corn, were cheering the forest with the signs of 
 life, " to have roamed over these mountains and along this 
 sheet of beautiful water, without a living soul to speak to, 
 or to thwart your humor." 
 
 " Haven't I said it was cheerful ? " said Leather-Stocking. 
 " Yes, yes, when the trees began to be covered with leaves, 
 and the ice was out of the lake, it was a second paradise. 
 I have travelled the woods for fifty-three years, and have 
 made them my home for more than forty ; and I can say 
 that I have met but one place that was more to my liking ; 
 and that was only to eye-sight, and not for hunting or fish- 
 ing." 
 
 " And where was that ? " asked Edwards. 
 
 " Where ! why up on the Catskills. I used often to go 
 up into the mountains after wolves' skins and bears ; once 
 they paid me to get them a stuffed painter, and so I often 
 went. There's a place in them hills that I used to climb 
 to when I wanted to see the carryings on of the world, that 
 would well pay any man for a barked shin or a torn moc- 
 casin. You know the Catskills, lad; for you must have 
 seen them on your left, as you followed the river up from 
 York, looking as blue as a piece of clear sky, and holding 
 the clouds on their tops, as the smoke curls over the head 
 of an Indian chief at the council fire. Well, there's the 
 High-peak and the Round-top, which lay back like a fa- 
 ther and mother among their children, seeing they are far 
 above all the other hills. But the place I mean is next to 
 the river, where one of the ridges juts out a little from the 
 rest, and where the rocks fall, for the best part of a thou- 
 sand feet, so much up and down, that a man standing on 
 their edges is fool enough to think he can jump from top 
 to bottom." 
 ' " What see you when you get there ? " asked Edwards. 
 
 " Creation," said Natty, dropping the end of his rod into 
 the water, and sweeping one hand around him in a circle ; 
 " all creation, lad. I was on that hill when Vaughan burned 
 'Sopus in the last war ; and I saw the vessels come out of 
 the Highlands as plain as I can see that lime-scow rowing 
 into the Susquehanna, though one was twenty times far- 
 ther from me than the other. The river was in sight for 
 seventy miles, looking like a curled shaving under my feet, 
 
THE PIONEERS. 271 
 
 though it was eight long miles to its banks. I saw the hills 
 in the Hampshire grants, the highlands of the river, and 
 all that God had done, or man could do, far as eye could 
 reach you know that the Indians named me for my sight, 
 lad ; and from the flat on the top of that mountain, I have 
 often found the place where Albany stands. And as for 
 'Sopus, the day the royal troops burnt the town, the smoke 
 seemed so nigh, that I thought I could hear the screeches 
 of the women." 
 
 " It must have been worth the toil to meet with such a 
 glorious view." 
 
 " If being the best part of a mile in the air, and having 
 men's farms and houses at your feet, with rivers looking 
 like ribbons, and mountains bigger than the 'Vision,' 
 seeming to be hay-stacks of green grass under you, gives 
 any satisfaction to a man, I can recommend the spot. 
 When I first came into the woods to live, I used to have 
 weak spells when I felt lonesome ; and then I would go 
 into the Catskills, and spend a few days on that hill to look 
 at the ways of man ; but it's now many a year since I felt 
 any such longings, and I am getting too old for rugged 
 rocks. But there's a place, a short two miles back of that 
 very hill, that in late times I relished better than the 
 mountains ; for it was more covered with the trees, and 
 nateral." 
 
 " And where was that ?" inquired Edwards, whose curi- 
 osity was strongly excited by the simple description of the 
 hunter. 
 
 "Why, there's a fall in the hills where the water of two 
 little ponds, that lie near each other, breaks out of their 
 bounds and runs over the rocks into the valley. The 
 stream is, maybe, such a one as would turn a mill, if so 
 useless a thing was wanted in the wilderness. But the 
 hand that made that ' Leap ' never made a mill. There 
 the water comes crooking and winding among the rocks ; 
 first so slow that a trout could swim in it, and then start- 
 ing and running like a crater that wanted to make a far 
 spring, till it gets to where the mountain divides, like the 
 cleft hoof of a deer, leaving a deep hollow for the brook 
 to tumble into. The first pitch is nigh two hundred feet, 
 and the water looks like flakes of driven snow afore it 
 touches the bottom ; and there the stream gathers itself 
 together again for a new start, and maybe flutters over 
 fifty feet of flat rock before it falls for another hundred, 
 
272 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 when it jumps about from shelf to shelf, first turning this* 
 away and then turning that-away, striving to get out of 
 the hollow, till it finally comes to the plain." 
 
 " I have never heard of this spot before ; it is not men- 
 tioned in the books." 
 
 " I never read a book in my life," said Leather-Stocking ; 
 " and how should a man who has lived in towns and schools 
 know anything about the wonders of the woods ? No, no, 
 lad ; there has that little stream of water been playing 
 among the hills since He made the world, and not a dozen 
 white men have ever laid eyes on it. The rock sweeps like 
 mason-work, in a half round, on both sides of the fall, and 
 shelves over the bottom for fifty feet; so that when I've 
 been sitting at the foot of the first pitch, and my hounds 
 have run into the caverns behind the sheet of water, they've 
 looked no bigger than so many rabbits. To my judgment, 
 lad, it's the best piece of work that I've met with in the 
 woods ; and none know how often the hand of God is seen 
 in the wilderness, but them that rove it for a man's 
 life." 
 
 "What becomes of the water? In which direction does 
 it run ? Is it a tributary of the Delaware ?" 
 
 " Anan ! " said Natty. 
 
 " Does the water run into the Delaware ? " 
 
 " No, no ; it's a drop for the old Hudson, and a merry 
 time it has till it gets down off the mountain. I've sat on 
 the shelving rock many a long hour, boy, and watched 
 the bubbles as they shot by me, and thought how long it 
 would be before that very water, which seemed made for 
 the wilderness, would be under the bottom of a vessel, and 
 tossing in the salt sea. It is a spot to make a man solem- 
 nize. You go right down into the valley that lies to the 
 east of the High Peak, where, in the fall of the year, thou- 
 sands of acres of woods are before your eyes, in the deep 
 hollow, and along the side of the mountain, painted like 
 ten thousand rainbows, by no hand of man, though with- 
 out the ordering of God's providence." 
 
 "You are eloquent, Leather-Stocking," exclaimed the 
 youth. 
 
 " Anan ! " repeated Natty. 
 
 " The recollection of the sight has warmed your blood, 
 old man. How many years is it since you saw the place ? " 
 
 The hunter made no reply ; but, bending his ear near 
 the water, he sat holding his breath, and listening atten- 
 
THE PIONEERS. 
 
 273 
 
 tively as if to some distant sound. At length he raised 
 his head, and said : 
 
 " If I hadn't fastened the hounds with my own hands, 
 With a fresh leash of green buckskin, I'd take a Bible oath 
 that I heard old Hector ringing his cry on the mountain." 
 
 "It is impossible," said Edwards; "it is not an hour 
 since I saw him in his kennel." 
 
 By this time the attention of Mohegan was attracted to 
 the sounds ; but, notwithstanding the youth was both 
 silent and attentive, he could hear nothing but the lowing 
 of some cattle from the western hills. He looked at the 
 old men, Natty sitting with his hand to his ear, like a trum- 
 pet, and Mohegan bending forward, with an arm raised to 
 a level with his face, holding the forefinger elevated as a 
 signal for attention, and laughed aloud at what he deemed 
 to be their imaginary sounds. 
 
 " Laugh if you will, boy," said Leather-Stocking, "the 
 hounds be out, and are hunting a deer. No man can de- 
 ceive me in such a matter. I wouldn't have had the thing 
 happen for a beaver's skin. Not that I care for the law ; 
 but the venison is lean now, and the dumb things run the 
 flesh off their own bones for no good. Now do you hear 
 the hounds ? " 
 
 Edwards started, as a full cry broke on his ear, changing 
 from the distant sounds that were caused by some inter- 
 vening hill, to confused echoes that rang among the rocks 
 that the dogs were passing, and then directly to a deep 
 and hollow baying that pealed under the forest under the 
 lake shore. These variations in the tones of the hounds 
 passed with amazing rapidity ; and, while his eyes were 
 glancing along the margin of the water, a tearing of the 
 branches of the alder and dogwood caught his attention, 
 at a spot near them, and at the next moment a noble 
 buck sprang on the shore, and buried himself in the 
 lake. A full-mouthed cry followed, when Hector and the 
 slut shot through the opening in the bushes, and darted 
 into the lake also, bearing their breasts gallantly against 
 the water. 
 
 18 
 
274 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 "Oft in the full descending flood he tries 
 To lose the scent, and lave his burning sides." THOMSON. 
 
 " I KNOW'D it I know'd it ! " cried Natty, when both 
 deer and hounds were in full view ; " the buck has gone 
 by them with the wind, and it has been too much for the 
 poor rogues ; but I must break them of these tricks, or 
 they'll give me a deal of trouble. He-ere, he-ere shore 
 with you, rascals shore with you will ye ? Oh ! off 
 with you, old Hector, or I'll hatchel your hide- with my 
 ramrod when I get ye." 
 
 The dogs knew their master's voice, and after swimming 
 in a circle, as if reluctant to give over the chase, and yet 
 afraid to persevere, they finally obeyed, and returned to the 
 land, where they filled the air with their cries. 
 
 In the meantime the deer, urged by his fears, had swum 
 over half the distance between the shore and the boats, 
 before his terror permitted him to see the new danger. 
 But at the sounds of Natty's voice, he turned short in his 
 course, and for a few moments seemed about to rush back 
 again, and brave the dogs. His retreat in this direction 
 Was, however, effectually cut off, and, turning a second 
 time, he urged his course obliquely for the centre of the 
 lake, with an intention of landing on the western shore. 
 As the buck swam by the fishermen, raising his nose high 
 into the air, curling the water before his slim neck like 
 the beak of a galley, the Leather-Stocking began to sit 
 very uneasy in his canoe. 
 
 u 'Tis a noble creater ! " he exclaimed , " what a pair of 
 horns ! a man might hang up all his garments on the 
 branches. Let me see July is the last month, and the 
 flesh must be getting good." While he was talking, Natty 
 had instinctively employed himself in fastening the inner 
 end of the bark rope, that served him for a cable, to a 
 paddle, and, rising suddenly on his legs, he cast this buoy 
 away, and cried " Strike out, John ! let her go. The 
 creater's a fool to tempt a man in this way." 
 
 Mohegan threw the fastening of the youth's boat from 
 the canoe, and with one stroke of his paddle sent the light 
 bark over the water like a meteor. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 275 
 
 " Hold ! " exclaimed Edwards. " Remember the law, 
 my old friends. You are in plain sight of the village, and 
 I know that Judge Temple is determined to prosecute all, 
 indiscriminately, who kill deer out of season." 
 
 The remonstrance came too late ; the canoe was already 
 far from the skiff, and the two hunters were too much en- 
 gaged in the pursuit to listen to his voice. 
 
 The buck was now within fifty yards of his pursuers, 
 cutting the water gallantly, and snorting at each breath 
 with terror and his exertions, while the canoe seemed to 
 dance over the waves as it rose and fell with the undula- 
 tions made by its own motion. Leather-Stocking raised 
 his rifle and freshened the priming, but stood in suspense 
 whether to slay his victim or not. 
 
 " Shall I, John, or no ? " he said. " It seems but a poor 
 advantage to take of the dumb thing, too. I won't ; it 
 has taken to the water on its own nater, which is the rea- 
 son that God has given to a deer, and I'll give it the lake 
 play ; so, John, lay out your arm, and mind the turn of 
 the buck ; it's easy to catch them, but they'll turn like a 
 snake." 
 
 The Indian laughed at the conceit of his friend, but 
 continued to send the canoe forward with a velocity that 
 proceeded much more from his skill than his strength. 
 Both of the old men now used the language of the Dela- 
 wares when they spoke. 
 
 " Hugh ! " exclaimed Mohegan ; " the deer turns his 
 head. Hawk-eye, lift your spear." 
 
 Natty never moved abroad without taking with him 
 every implement that might, by possibility, be of service 
 in his pursuits. From his rifle he never parted ; and, al- 
 though intending to fish with the line, the canoe was in- 
 variably furnished with all of its utensils, even to its grate. 
 This precaution grew out of the habits of the hunter, who 
 was often led, by his necessities or his sports, far beyond 
 the limits of his original destination. A few years earlier 
 than the date of our tale, the Leather-Stocking had left his 
 hut on the shores of the Otsego, with his rifle and his 
 hounds, for a few days' hunting in the hills ; but before he 
 returned he had seen the waters of Ontario. One, two, 
 or even three hundred miles had once been nothing to his 
 sinews, which were now a little stiffened by age. The 
 hunter did as Mohegan advised, and prepared to strike a 
 blow, with the barbed weapon, into the neck of the buck. 
 
276 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 "Lay her more to the left, John," he cried, "lay her 
 more to the left ; another stroke of the paddle and I have 
 him." 
 
 While speaking he raised the spear, and darted it from 
 him like an arrow. At that instant the buck turned, the 
 long pole glanced by him, the iron striking against his 
 horn, and buried itself harmlessly, in the lake. 
 
 " Back water," cried Natty, as the canoe glided over the 
 place where the spear had fallen ; "hold water, John." 
 
 The pole soon reappeared, shooting up from the lake, 
 and, as the hunter seized it in his hand, the Indian whirled 
 the light canoe round, and renewed the chase. But this 
 evolution gave the buck a great advantage ; and it also 
 allowed time for Edwards to approach the scene of action. 
 
 " Hold your hand, Natty ! " cried the youth, "hold your 
 hand ;' remember it is out of season." 
 
 This remonstrance was made as the batteau arrived close 
 to the place where the deer was struggling with the water, 
 his back now rising to the surface, now sinking beneath 
 it, as the waves curled from his neck, the animal still sus^ 
 taining itself nobly against the odds. 
 
 "Hurrah!" shouted Edwards, inflamed beyond pru- 
 dence at the sight ; " mind him as he doubles mind him 
 as he doubles ; sheer more to the right, Mohegan, more to 
 the right, and I'll have him by the horns ; I'll throw the 
 rope over his antlers." 
 
 The dark eye of the old warrior was dancing in his head 
 with a wild animation, and the sluggish repose in which 
 his aged frame had been resting in the canoe was now 
 changed to all the rapid inflections of practised agility. 
 The canoe whirled with each cunning evolution of the 
 chase, like a bubble floating in a whirlpool ; and when the 
 direction of the pursuit admitted of a straight course 
 the little bark skimmed the lake with a velocity that urged 
 the deer to seek its safety in some new turn. 
 
 It was the frequency of these circuitous movements 
 that, by confining the action to so small a compass, en- 
 abled the youth to keep near his companions. More than 
 twenty times both the pursued and the pursuer glided by 
 him, just without the reach of his oars, until he thought 
 the best way to view the sport was to remain stationary, 
 and, by watching a favorable opportunity, assist as much 
 as he could in taking the victim. 
 
 He was not required to wait long, for no sooner had h<? 
 
THE PIONEERS. 277 
 
 adopted this resolution, and risen in the boat, than he saw 
 the deer coming bravely toward him, with an apparent in- 
 tention of pushing for a point of land at some distance 
 from the hounds, who were still barking and howling on 
 the shore. Edwards caught the painter of his skiff, and, 
 making a noose, cast it from him with all his force, and 
 luckily succeeded in drawing its knot close around one of 
 the antlers of the buck. 
 
 For one instant the skiff was drawn through the water, 
 but in the next the canoe glided before it, and Natty, 
 bending low, passed his knife across the throat of the ani- 
 mal, whose blood followed the wound, dyeing the waters. 
 The short time that was passed in the last struggles of the 
 animal was spent by the hunters in bringing their boats 
 together and securing them in that position, when Leather- 
 Stocking drew the deer from the water and laid its lifeless 
 form in the bottom of the canoe. He placed his hands on 
 the ribs, and on different parts of the body of his prize, and 
 then, raising his head, he laughed in his peculiar manner. 
 
 " So much for Marmaduke Temple's law ! " he said. 
 " This warms a body's blood, old John ; I haven't killed a 
 buck in the lake afore this, sin' many a year. I call that 
 good venison, lad ; and I know them that will relish the 
 creatur's steaks for all the betterments in the land." 
 
 The Indian had long been drooping with his years, and 
 perhaps under the calamities of his race, but this invigorat- 
 ing and exciting sport caused a gleam of sunshine to cross 
 his swarthy face that had long been absent from his feat- 
 ures. It was evident the old man enjoyed the chase more 
 as a memorial of his youthful sports and deeds than with 
 any expectation of profiting by the success. He felt the 
 deer, however, lightly, his hand already trembling with the 
 reaction of his unusual exertions, and smiled with a nod 
 of approbation, as he said, in the emphatic and sententious 
 manner of his people : 
 
 "Good" 
 
 "I am afraid, Natty," said Edwards, when the heat of 
 the moment had passed, and his blood began to cool, " that 
 we have all been equally transgressors of the law. But 
 keep your own counsel, and there are none here to betray 
 us. Yet, how came those dogs at large ? I left them se- 
 curely fastened, I know, for I felt the thongs and exam- 
 ined the knots when I was at the hut." 
 
 " It has been too much for the poor things," said Natty 
 
278 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 " to have such a buck take the wind of them. See, lad' 
 the pieces of the buckskin are hanging from their necks 
 yet. Let us paddle up, John, and I will call them in and 
 look a little into the matter." 
 
 When the old hunter landed and examined the thongs 
 that were yet fast to the hounds, his countenance sensibly 
 changed, and he shook his head doubtingly. 
 
 " Here has been a knife at work," he said ; "tjiis skin 
 was never torn, nor is this the mark of a hound's tooth. 
 No, no Hector is not in fault, as I feared." 
 
 " Has the leather been cut ? " cried Edwards. 
 
 "No, no I didn't say it had been cut, lad ; but this is 
 a mark that was never made by a jump or a bite." 
 
 " Could that rascally carpenter have dared ! " 
 
 " Ay ! he durst do anything when there is no danger," 
 said Natty ; " he is a curious body, and loves to be help- 
 ing other people on with their consarns. But he had best 
 not harbor so much near the wigwam ! " 
 
 In the meantime, Mohegan had been examining, with 
 an Indian's sagacity, the place where the leather thong had 
 been separated. After scrutinizing it closely, he said, in 
 Delaware : 
 
 " It was cut with a knife a sharp blade and a long han- 
 dle the man was afraid of the dogs." 
 
 " How is this, Mohegan?" exclaimed Edwards; " you 
 saw it not \ how can you know these facts ? " 
 
 " Listen, son," said the warrior. " The knife was sharp, 
 for the cut was smooth ; the handle was long, for a man's 
 arm would not reach from this gash to the cut that did not 
 go through the skin ; he was a coward, or he would have 
 cut the thongs around the necks of the hounds." 
 
 " On my life," cried Natty, " John is on the scent ! It 
 was the carpenter ; and he has got on the rock back of 
 the kennel and let the dogs loose by fastening his knife 
 to a stick. It would be an easy matter to do it where a 
 man is so minded." 
 
 "And why should he do so? "asked Edwards; "who 
 lias done him wrong, that he should trouble two old men 
 like you ? " 
 
 " It's a hard matter, lad, to know men's ways, I find, since 
 the settlers have brought in their new fashions. But is 
 there nothing to be found out in the place ? and maybe he 
 is troubled with his longings after other people's business, 
 as he often is." 
 
THE PIONEERS, 271 
 
 "Your suspicions are just. Give me the canoe ; I am 
 young and strong, and will get down there yet, perhaps, 
 in time to interrupt his plans. Heaven forbid that we 
 should be at the mercy of such a man ! " 
 
 His proposal was accepted, the deer being placed in the 
 skiff in order to lighten the canoe, and in less than five 
 minutes the little vessel of bark was gliding over the glassy 
 lake, and was soon hid by the points of land as it shot 
 close along the shore. 
 
 Mohegan followed slowly with the skiff, while Natty 
 called his hounds to him, bade them keep close, and, 
 shouldering his rifle, he ascended the mountain, with an 
 intention of going to the hut by land. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 " Ask me not what the maiden feels, 
 Left in that dreadful hour alone ; 
 Perchance, her reason stoops, or reels ; 
 Perchance, a courage not her own, 
 Braces her mind to desperate tone." SCOTT. 
 
 WHILE the chase was occurring on the lake, Miss Temple 
 and her companion pursued their walk on the mountain. 
 Male attendants on such excursions were thought to be 
 altogether unnecessary, for none were ever known to offer 
 insult to a female who respected herself. After the em- 
 barrassment created by the parting discourse with Edwards 
 had dissipated, the girls maintained a conversation that 
 was as innocent and cheerful as themselves. 
 
 The path they took led them but a short distance above 
 the hut of Leather-Stocking, and there was a point in the 
 road which commanded a bird's-eye view of the seques- 
 tered spot. 
 
 From a feeling that might have been natural, and must 
 have been powerful, neither of the friends, in their fre- 
 quent and confidential dialogues, had ever trusted herself 
 to utter one syllable concerning the equivocal situation 
 in which the young man who was now so intimately asso- 
 ciated with them had been found. If Judge Temple had 
 deemed it prudent to make any inquiries on the subject, 
 he had also thought it proper to keep the answers to him- 
 self ; though it was so common an occurrence to find the 
 
280 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 well-educated youth of the Eastern States in every stage 
 of their career to wealth, that the simple circumstance of 
 his intelligence, connected with his poverty, would not, at 
 that day and in that country, have excited any very pow- 
 erful curiosity. With his breeding, it might have been 
 different ; but the youth himself had so effectually guarded 
 against surprise on this subject, by his cold and even, in 
 some cases, rude deportment, that when his manners 
 seemed to soften by time, the Judge, if he thought about 
 it at all, would have been most likely to imagine that the 
 improvement was the result of his late association. But 
 women are always more alive to such subjects than men ; 
 and what the abstraction of the father had overlooked, 
 the observation of the daughter had easily detected. In 
 the thousand little courtesies of polished life she had 
 early discovered that Edwards was not wanting, though 
 his gentleness was so often crossed by marks of what she 
 conceived to be fierce and uncontrollable passions. It 
 may, perhaps, be unnecessary to tell the reader that Louisa 
 Grant never reasoned so much after the fashions of the 
 world. The gentle girl, however, had her own thoughts on 
 the subject, and, like others, she drew her own conclusions. 
 
 " I would give all my other secrets, Louisa," exclaimed 
 Miss Temple, laughing, and shaking back her dark locks, 
 with a look of childish simplicity that her intelligent face 
 seldom expressed, " to be mistress of all that those rude 
 logs have heard and witnessed." 
 
 They were both looking at the secluded hut at the instant, 
 and Miss Grant raised her mild eyes as she answered : 
 
 " I am sure they would tell nothing to the disadvantage 
 of Mr. Edwards." 
 
 " Perhaps not ; but they might, at least, tell who he is." 
 
 " Why, dear Miss Temple, we know all that already. 
 I have heard it all very rationally explained by your 
 cousin 
 
 " The executive chief ! he can explain anything. His 
 ingenuity will one day discover the philosopher's stone 
 But what did he say ? " 
 
 " Say ! " echoed Louisa, with a look of surprise ; "why 
 everything that seemed to me to be satisfactory, and I have 
 believed it to be true. He said that Natty Bumppo had 
 lived most of his life in the woods and among the Indians, 
 by which means he had formed an acquaintance with old 
 John, the Delaware chief." 
 
THE PIONEERS. 281 
 
 " Indeed ! that was quite a matter-of-fact tale for cousin 
 Dickon. What came next ? " 
 
 " I believe he accounted for their close intimacy by some 
 story about the Leather-Stocking saving the life of John 
 in a battle." 
 
 " Nothing more likely," said Elizabeth, a little impatient- 
 ly ; "but what is all this to the purpose ?" 
 
 " Nay, Elizabeth, you must bear with my ignorance, and 
 I will repeat all that I remember to have overheard ; for 
 the dialogue was between my father and the sheriff, so 
 lately as the last time they met. He then added that the 
 kings of England used to keep gentlemen as agents among 
 the different tribes of Indians, and sometimes officers in 
 the army, who frequently passed half their lives on the 
 edge of the wilderness." 
 
 " Told with wonderful historical accuracy ! And did he 
 end there ? " 
 
 " Oh ! no then he said that these agents seldom mar- 
 ried ; and and they must have been wicked men, Eliza- 
 beth ! but I assure you he said so." 
 
 "Never mind," said Miss Temple, blushing and smiling, 
 though so slightly that both were unheeded by her com- 
 panion ; " skip all that." 
 
 " Well, then, he said that they often took great pride in 
 the education of their children, whom they frequently sent 
 to England, and even to the colleges ; and this is the way 
 that he accounts for the liberal manner in which Mr. Ed- 
 wards has been taught ; for he acknowledges that he knows 
 almost as much as your father or mine or even him- 
 self." 
 
 " Quite a climax in learning ! And so he made Mohe- 
 gan the granduncle or grandfather of Oliver Edwards." 
 
 " You have heard him yourself, then ?" said Louisa. 
 
 " Often ; but not on this subject. Mr. Richard Jones, 
 you know, dear, has a theory for everything ; but has he 
 one which will explain the reason why that hut is the only 
 habitation within fifty miles of us whose door is not open 
 to every person who may choose to lift its latch ? " 
 
 " I have never heard him say anything on this subject," 
 returned the clergyman's daughter; "but I suppose that, 
 as they are poor, they very naturally are anxious to keep 
 the little that they honestly own. It is sometimes danger- 
 ous to be rich, Miss Temple ; but you cannot know how 
 hard it is to be very, very poor." 
 
282 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 11 Nor you, I trust, Louisa ; at least I should hope that, 
 in this land of abundance, no minister of the church could 
 be left in absolute suffering." 
 
 " There cannot be actual misery," returned the other, 
 in a low and humble tone, "where there is a dependence 
 on our Maker ; but there may be such suffering as will 
 cause the heart to ache." 
 
 " But not you not you " said the impetuous Elizabeth 
 " not you, dear girl : you have never known the misery 
 that is connected with poverty." 
 
 "Ah! Miss Temple, you little understand the troubles 
 of this life, I believe. My father has spent many years as 
 a missionary in the new countries, where his people were 
 poor, and frequently we have been without bread ; unable 
 to buy, and ashamed to beg, because we would not dis- 
 grace his sacred calling. But how often have I seen him 
 leave his home, where the sick and the hungry felt, when 
 he left them, that they had lost their only earthly friend, 
 to ride on a duty which could not be neglected for do- 
 mestic evils. Oh ! how hard it must be to preach con- 
 solation to others when your own heart is bursting with 
 anguish !" 
 
 " But it is all over now ! your father's income must now 
 be equal to his wants it must be it shall be 
 
 " It is," replied Louisa, dropping her head on her bosom, 
 to conceal the tears which flowed in spite of her gentle 
 Christianity "for there are none left to be supplied but 
 me." 
 
 The turn the conversation had taken drove from the 
 minds of the young maidens all other thoughts but those 
 of holy charity ; and Elizabeth folded her friend in her 
 arms, when the latter gave vent to her momentary grief in 
 audible sobs. When this burst of emotion had subsided, 
 Louisa raised her mild countenance, and they continued 
 their walk in silence. 
 
 By this time they had gained the summit of the moun- 
 tain, where they left the highway, and pursued their course 
 under the shade of the stately trees that crowned the emi- 
 nence. The day was becoming warm, and the girls plunged 
 more deeply into the forest, as they found its invigorating 
 coolness agreeably contrasted to the excessive heat they 
 had experienced in the ascent. The conversation, as if 
 by mutual consent, was entirely changed to the little in- 
 cidents and scenes of their walk, and every tall pine, and 
 
THE PIONEERS. 283 
 
 every shrub or flower, called forth some simple expression 
 of admiration. 
 
 In this manner they proceeded along the margin of the 
 precipice, catching occasional glimpses of the placid 
 Otsego, or pausing to listen to the rattling of wheels and 
 the sounds of hammers that rose from the valley, to min- 
 gle the signs of men with the scenes of nature, when Eliz- 
 abeth suddenly started, and exclaimed : . 
 
 " Listen ! there are the cries of a child on this mountain ! 
 Is there a clearing near us, or can some little one have 
 strayed from its parents ?" 
 
 "Such things frequently happen," returned Louisa. 
 " Let us follow the sounds ; it may be a wanderer starving 
 on the hill." 
 
 Urged by this consideration, the females pursued the 
 low, mournful sounds, that proceeded from the forest, 
 with quick and impatient steps. More than once, the 
 ardent Elizabeth was on the point of announcing that she 
 saw the sufferer, when Louisa caught her by the arm, and 
 pointing behind them, cried ! 
 
 "Look at the dog!"* 
 
 Brave had been their companion, from the time the 
 voice of his young mistress lured him from his kennel, to 
 the present moment. His advanced age had long before 
 deprived him of his activity ; and when his companions 
 stopped to view the scenery, or to add to their bouquets, 
 the mastiff -would lay his huge frame on the ground and 
 await their movements, with his eyes closed, and a listless- 
 ness in his air that ill accorded with the character of a 
 protector. But when, aroused by this cry from Louisa, 
 Miss Temple turned, she saw the dog with his eyes keenly 
 set on some distant object, his head bent near the ground, 
 and his hair actually rising on his body, through fright or 
 anger. It was most probably the latter, for he was growl- 
 ing in a low key, and occasionally showing his teeth, in a 
 manner that would have terrified his mistress, had she not 
 so well known his good qualities. 
 
 " Brave ! " she said, "be quiet, Brave ! what do, you see, 
 fellow ? " 
 
 At the sounds of her voice, the rage of the mastiff, in- 
 stead of being- at all diminished, was very sensibly in- 
 creased. He stalked in front of the ladies, and seated him- 
 self at the feet of his mistress, growling louder than before, 
 
284 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 and occasionally giving vent to his ire by a short, surly 
 barking. 
 
 "What does he see?" said Elizabeth; "there must be 
 some animal in sight." 
 
 Hearing no answer from her companion, Miss Temple 
 turned her head, and beheld Louisa, standing with her 
 face w r hitened to the color of death, and her finger point- 
 ing upward, with a sort of flickering, convulsed motion. 
 The quick eye of Elizabeth glanced in the direction indi- 
 cated by her friend, where she saw the fierce front and 
 glaring eyes of a female panther, fixed on them in horrid 
 malignity, and threatening to leap. 
 
 "Let us fly," exclaimed Elizabeth, grasping the arm of 
 Louisa, whose form yielded like melting snow. 
 
 There was not a single feeling in the temperament of 
 Elizabeth Temple that could prompt her to desert a com- 
 panion in such an extremity. She fell on her knees, by 
 the side of the inanimate Louisa, tearing from the person 
 of her friend, with instinctive readiness, such parts of her 
 dress as might obstruct her respiration, and encouraging 
 their only safeguard, the dog, at* the same time, by the 
 sounds of her voice. 
 
 "Courage, Brave !" she cried, her own tones beginning 
 to tremble, " courage, courage, good Brave ! " 
 
 A quarter-grown cub, that had hitherto been unseen, 
 now appeared, dropping from the branches of a sapling 
 that grew under the shade of the beech which held its 
 dam. This ignorant, but vicious creature, approached 
 the dog, imitating the actions and sounds of its parent, 
 but exhibiting a strange mixture of the playfulness of a 
 kitten with the ferocity of its race. Standing on its hind- 
 legs, it would rend the bark of a tree with its fore-paws, 
 and play the antics of a cat ; and then, by lashing itself 
 with its tail, growling, and scratching the earth, it would 
 attempt the manifestations of anger that rendered its par- 
 ent so terrific. 
 
 All this time Brave stood firm and undaunted, his short 
 tail erect, his body drawn backward on its haunches, and 
 his eyes following the movements of both dam and cub. 
 At every gambol played by the latter, it approached nigher 
 to the dog, the growling of the three becoming more horrid 
 at each moment, until the younger beast, overleaping its 
 intended bound, fell directly before the mastiff. There 
 was a moment of fearful cries and struggles, but they 
 
THE PIONEERS. 285 
 
 ended almost as soon as commenced, by the cub appear- 
 ing in the air, hurled from the jaws of Brave, with a vio- 
 lence that sent it against a tree so forcibly as to render it 
 completely senseles.5. 
 
 Elizabeth witnessed the short struggle, and her blood 
 was warming with the triumph of the dog, when she saw 
 the form of the old panther in the air, springing twenty 
 feet from the branch of the beech to the back of the mas- 
 tiff. No words of ours can describe the fury of the con- 
 flict that followed. It was a confused struggle on the dry 
 leaves, accompanied by loud and terrific cries. Miss Tem- 
 ple continued on her knees, bending over the form of 
 Louisa, her eyes fixed on the animals, with an interest so 
 horrid, and yet so intense, that she almost forgot her own 
 stake in the result. So rapid and vigorous were the 
 bounds of the inhabitant of the forest, that its active frame 
 seemed constantly in the air, while the dog nobly faced 
 his foe at each successive leap. When the panther lighted 
 on the shoulders of the mastiif, which was its constant 
 aim, old Brave, though torn with her talons, and stained 
 with his own blood, that already flowed from a dozen 
 wounds, would shake off his furious foe like a feather, 
 and rearing on his hind-legs, rush to the fray again, with 
 jaws distended, and a dauntless eye. But age, and his 
 pampered life, greatly disqualified the noble mastiff for 
 such a struggle. In everything but courage, he was only 
 the vestige of what he had once been. A higher bound 
 than ever raised the wary and furious beast far beyond the 
 reach of the dog, who was making a desperate but fruitless 
 dash at her, from which she alighted in a favorable po- 
 sition, on the back of her aged foe. For a single moment 
 only could the panther remain there, the great strength of 
 the dog returning with a convulsive effort. But Elizabeth 
 saw, as Brave fastened his teeth in the side of his enemy, 
 that the collar of brass around his neck, which had been 
 glittering throughout the fray, was of the color of blood, 
 and directly, that his frame was sinking to the earth, where 
 it soon lay prostrate and helpless. Several mighty efforts 
 of the wild-cat to extricate herself from the jaws of the 
 dog followed, but they were fruitless, until the mastiff 
 turned on his back, his lips collapsed, and his teeth loos- 
 ened, when the short convulsions and stillness that suc^ 
 ceeded announced the death of poor Brave. 
 
 Elizabeth now lay wholly at the mercy of the beast 
 
286 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 There is said to be something in the front of the image 
 of the Maker that daunts the hearts of the inferior beings 
 of his creation ; and it would seem that some such power, 
 in the present instance, suspended the threatened blow. 
 The eyes of the monster and the kneeling maiden met for 
 an instant, when the former stooped to examine her fallen 
 foe ; next, to scent her luckless cub. From the latter ex- 
 amination it turned, however, with its eyes apparently 
 emitting flashes of fire, its tail lashing its sides furiously, 
 and its claws projecting inches from her broad feet. 
 
 Miss Temple did not or could not move. Her hands 
 were clasped in the attitude of prayer, but her eyes were 
 still drawn to her terrible enemy her cheeks were 
 blanched to the w T hiteness of marble, and her lips were 
 slightlf separated with horror. 
 
 The moment see'med now to have arrived for the fatal 
 termination, and the beautiful figure of Elizabeth was 
 bowing meekly to the stroke, when a rustling of leaves 
 behind seemed rather to mock the organs than to meet 
 her ears. 
 
 " Hist ! hist ! " said a low voice, " stoop lower, gal ; your 
 bonnet hides the creature's head." 
 
 It was rather the yielding of nature than a compliance 
 with this unexpected order, that caused the head of our 
 heroine to sink on her bosom ; when she heard the report 
 of the rifle, the whizzing of the bullet, and the enraged 
 cries of the beast, who was rolling over on the earth, bit- 
 ing its own flesh, and tearing the twigs and branches within 
 its reach. At the next instant the form of the Leather- 
 Stocking rushed by her, and he called aloud : 
 
 " Come in, Hector, come in, old fool ; 'tis a hcird-lived 
 animal, and may jump ag'in." 
 
 Natty fearlessly maintained his position in front of the 
 females, notwithstanding the violent bounds and threaten- 
 ing aspect of the wounded panther, which gave several 
 indications of returning strength and ferocity, until his 
 rifle was again loaded, when he stepped up to the enraged 
 animal, and, placing the muzzle close to its head, every 
 spark of life was extinguished by the discharge. 
 
 The death of her terrible enemy appeared to Elizabeth 
 like a resurrection from her own grave. There was an 
 elasticity in the mind of our heroine that rose to meet the 
 pressure of instant danger, and the more direct it had been, 
 the more her nature had struggled to overcome them, 
 
THE PIONEERS. 287 
 
 But still she was a woman. Had she been left to herself 
 in her late extremity, she would probably have used her 
 faculties to the utmost, and with discretion, in protecting 
 her person ; but, encumbered with her inanimate friend, 
 retreat was a thing not to be attempted. Notwithstanding 
 the fearful aspect of her foe, the eye of Elizabeth had 
 never shrunk from its gaze, and long after the event her 
 thoughts would recur to her passing sensations, and the 
 sweetness of her midnight sleep would be disturbed, as 
 her active fancy conjured, in dreams, the most trifling 
 movements of savage fury that the beast had exhibited in 
 its moment of power. 
 
 We shall leave the reader to imagine the restoration of 
 Louisa's senses, and the expressions of gratitude which fell 
 from the young women. The former was effected by a 
 little water, that was brought from one of the thousand 
 springs of those mountains, in the cap of the Leather-Stock- 
 ing ; and the latter were uttered with the warmth that 
 might be expected from the character of Elizabeth. Natty 
 received her vehement protestations of gratitude with a 
 simple expression of good-will, and with indulgence for 
 her present excitement, but with a carelessness that showed 
 how little he thought of the service he had rendered. 
 
 "Well, well," he said, "be it so, gal ; let it be so, if you 
 wish it we'll talk the thing over another time. Come, 
 come let us get into the road, for you've had terror 
 enough to make you wish yourself in. your father's house 
 ag'in." 
 
 This was uttered as they were proceeding, at a pace that 
 was adapted to the weakness of Louisa, toward the high- 
 way ; on reaching which the ladies separated from their 
 guide, declaring themselves equal to the remainder of the 
 walk without his assistance, and feeling encouraged by the 
 sight of the village which lay beneath their feet like a 
 picture, with its limpid lake in front, the winding stream 
 along its margin, and its hundred chimneys of whitened 
 bricks. 
 
 The reader need not be told the nature of the emo- 
 tions which two youthful, ingenuous, and well-educated 
 girls \vould experience at their escape from a death so 
 horrid as the one which had impended over them, while 
 they pursued their way in silence along the track on the 
 side of the mountain ; nor how deep were their mental 
 thanks to that Power which had given them their exist- 
 
288 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 ence, and which had not deserted them in their extremity, 
 neither how often they pressed each other's arms, as the 
 assurance of their present safety came, like a healing balm, 
 athwart their troubled spirits, when their thoughts were 
 recurring to the recent moments of horror. 
 
 Leather-Stocking remained on the hill, gazing after 
 their retiring figures, until they were hidden by abend in 
 the road, when he whistled in his dogs, and shouldering 
 his rifle, he returned into the forest. 
 
 "Well, it was a skeary thing to the young creaters," 
 said Natty, while he retrod the path toward the plain. 
 "It might frighten an older woman, to see a she-painter 
 so near her, with a dead cub by its side. I wonder if I 
 had aimed at the varmint's eye, if I shouldn't have touched 
 the life sooner than in the forehead ; but they are hard- 
 lived animals, and it was a good shot, consid'ring that I 
 could see nothing but the head and the peak of its tail. 
 Hah ! who goes there ? " 
 
 " How goes it, Natty ? " said Mr. Doolittle, stepping out 
 of the bushes, with a motion that was a good deal acceler- 
 ated by the sight of the rifle, that was already lowered in 
 his direction. " What ! shooting this warm day ! mind, old 
 man, the law don't get hold on you." 
 
 " The law, squire ! I have shook hands with the law these 
 forty year," returned Natty ; " for what has a man who lives 
 in the wilderness to do with the ways of the law ? " 
 
 "Not much, may be," said Hiram ; " but you sometimes 
 trade in venison. I s'pose you know, Leather-Stocking, 
 that there is an act passed to lay a fine of five pounds cur- 
 cency, or twelve dollars and fifty cents, by decimals, on 
 every man who kills a deer betwixt January and August. 
 The Judge had a great hand in getting the law through." 
 
 " I can believe it, returned the old hunter ; " I can be- 
 lieve that or anything, of a man who carries on as he does 
 in the country." 
 
 " Yes, the law is quite positive, and the Judge is bent on 
 putting it in force five pounds penalty. I thought I 
 heard your hounds out on the scent of so'thing this morn- 
 ing ; I didn't know but they might get you in difficulty." 
 
 " They know their manners too well," said Natty, care- 
 lessly. " And how much goes to the State's evidence, 
 squire ? " 
 
 "How much?" repeated Hiram, quailing under the 
 honest but sharp look of the hunter ; "the informer gets 
 
THE PIONEERS. 289 
 
 half, I I believe yes, I guess it's half. But there's blood 
 on your sleeve, man you haven't been shooting anything 
 this morning?" 
 
 " I have, though," said the hunter, nodding his head sig- 
 nificantly to the other, " and a good shot I made of it." 
 
 "H-e-m!" ejaculated the magistrate; ''and where is 
 the game ? I s'pose it's of a good nater, for your dogs 
 won't hunt anything that isn't choice." 
 
 " They'll hunt anything I tell them to, squire," cried 
 Natty, favoring the other with his laugh. " They'll hunt 
 you, if I say so. He-e-e-re, he-e-e-re, Hector he-e-e-re, 
 slut come this a-way, pups come this a-way come 
 hither." 
 
 " Oh ! I have always heard a good character of the dogs," 
 returned Mr. Doolittle, quickening his pace by raising each 
 leg in rapid succession, as the hounds scented around his 
 person. " And where is the game, Leather-Stocking?" 
 
 During this dialogue, the speakers had been walking at 
 a very fast gait, and Natty swung the end of his rifle round 
 pointing through the bushes, and replied : 
 
 " There lies one. How do you like such meat ?" 
 
 " This !" exclaimed Hiram ; " why, this is Judge Tem- 
 ple's dog Brave. Take care, Leather-Stocking, and don't 
 make an enemy of the Judge. I hope you haven't harmed 
 the animal ? " 
 
 " Look for yourself, Mr. Doolittle," said Natty, drawing 
 his knife from his girdle, and wiping it in a knowing man- 
 ner, once or twice across his garment of buck-skin ; " does 
 his throat look as if I had cut it with this knife ?" 
 
 " It is dreadfully torn ! it's an awful wound no knife 
 ever did this deed. Who could have done it ? " 
 
 " The painters behind you, squire." 
 
 " Painters ! " echoed Hiram, whirling on his heel with 
 an agility that would have done credit to a dancing-master. 
 
 " Be easy, man," said Natty ; " there's two of the veno- 
 mous things ; but the dog finished one, and I have fastened 
 the other's jaws for her ; so don't be frightened, squire ; 
 they won't hurt you." 
 
 " And where's the deer? "cried Hiram, staring about 
 him with a bewildered air. 
 
 " Anan ! deer ! " repeated Natty. 
 
 " Sartain ; an't the revenison here, or didn't you kill a 
 buck?" 
 
 " What ! when the law forbids the thing, squire !" said 
 
 '9 
 
290 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 the old banter. " I hope there's no law ag'in killing the 
 painters." 
 
 " No ! there's a bounty on the scalps but will your 
 dogs hunt painters, Natty?" 
 
 " Anything ; didn't I tell you they would hunt a man ? 
 He-e-re, he-e-re, pups " 
 
 " Yes, yes, I remember. Well, they are strange dogs, I 
 must say I am quite in a wonderment." 
 
 Natty had seated himself on the ground, and having laid 
 the grim head of his late ferocious enemy in his lap, was 
 drawing his knife with a practised hand around the ears, 
 which he tore from the head of the beast in such a man- 
 ner as to preserve their connection, when he answered : 
 
 " What at, squire ? did you never see a painter's scalp 
 afore ? Come, you are a magistrate, I wish you'd make 
 me out an order for the bounty." 
 
 " The bounty ! " repeated Hiram, holding the ears on 
 the end of his finger for a moment, as if uncertain how to 
 proceed. " Well, let us go down to your hut, where you 
 can take the oath, and I will write out the order. I sup- 
 pose you have a Bible? all the law wants is the four evan- 
 gelists and the Lord's prayer." 
 
 " I keep no books," said Natty, a little coldly ; " not 
 such a Bible as the law needs." 
 
 " Oh ! there's but one sort of Bible that's good in law," 
 returned the magistrate, " and yourn will do as well as 
 another's. Come, the carcasses are worth nothing, man ; 
 let us go down and take the oath." 
 
 "Softly, softly, squire," said the hunter, lifting his tro- 
 phies very deliberately from the ground, and shouldering 
 his rifle; "why do you want an oath at all, for a thing 
 that your own eyes has seen ? won't you believe yourself, 
 that another man must swear to a fact that you know to 
 be true ? You have seen me scalp the creaters, and if I 
 must swear to it, it shall be before Judge Temple, who 
 needs an oath." 
 
 " But we have no pen or paper here, Leather-Stocking ; 
 we must go to the hut for them, or how can I write the 
 order ?" 
 
 Natty turned his simple features on the cunning magis- 
 trate with another of his laughs, as he said : 
 
 "And what should I be doing with scholars' tools ? I 
 want no pens or paper, not knowing the use of either; 
 and I keep none. No, no, I'll bring the scalps into the 
 
THE PIONEERS. 291 
 
 village, squire, and you can make out the order on one qi 
 your law-books, and it will be all the better for it. The 
 deuce take this leather on the neck of the dog, it will 
 strangle the old fool. Can you lend me a knife, squire ?" 
 
 Hiram, who seemed particularly anxious to be on good 
 terms with his companion, unhesitatingly complied. Natty 
 cut the thong from the neck of the hound, and, as he re- 
 turned the knife to its owner, carelessly remarked : 
 
 "'Tis a good bit of steel, and has cut such leather as this 
 very same, before now, I dare say." 
 
 " Do you mean to charge me with letting your hounds 
 loose ? " exclaimed Hiram, with a consciousness that dis- 
 armed his caution. 
 
 " Loose!" repeated the hunter "I let them loose my- 
 self. I always let them loose before I leave the hut." 
 
 The ungovernable amazement with which Mr. Ddolittle 
 listened to this falsehood would have betrayed his agency 
 in the liberation of the dogs, had Natty wanted any further 
 confirmation ; and the coolness and management of the. 
 old man now disappeared in open indignation. 
 
 " Look you here, Mr. Ddolittle," he said, striking the 
 breech of his rifle violently on the ground ; "what there 
 is in the wigwam of a poor man like me, that one like you 
 cari crave, I don't know ; but this I tell you to your face, 
 that you never shall put foot under the roof of my cabin 
 with my consent^ and that, if you harbor round the spot 
 as you have done lately, you niay meet with treatment 
 that you will little relish." * 
 
 " And let me tell you, Mn Biimppo,"said Hiram, retreat- 
 ing, however, with a quick step," that I know you've broke 
 the law, and that I'm a magistrate, and will make you feel 
 it too, before you are a day older." 
 
 "That for you and your law, too," cried Natty, snap- 
 ping his fingers at the justice of the peace ; "away with 
 you, you varmint, before the devil tempts me to give you 
 your desarts. Take care, if I ever catch your prowling 
 face in the woods ag'in, that I don't shoot it for an owl." 
 
 There is something at all times commanding in honest 
 indignation, and Hiram did not stay to provoke the wrath 
 of the old hunter to extremities. When the intruder was 
 out of sight, Natty proceeded to the hut, where he found 
 all quiet as the grave. He fastened his dogs, and tapping 
 at the door, which was opened by Edwards, asked . 
 
 " Is all safe, lad ? " 
 
292 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 "Everything," returned the youth. "Some one at* 
 tempted the lock, but it was too strong for him." 
 
 "I know the creater," said Natty, "but he'll not trust 
 
 himself within the reach of my rifle very soon " What 
 
 more was uttered by the Leather-Stocking, in his vexation, 
 was rendered inaudible by the closing of the door of the 
 cabin. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 "It is noised, he hath a mass of treasure." TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 WHEN Marmaduke Temple and his cousin rode through 
 the gate of the former, the heart of the father had been too 
 recently touched with the best feelings of our nature, to 
 leave inclination for immediate discourse. There was an 
 importance in the air of Richard, which would not have 
 admitted of the ordinary informal conversation of the 
 sheriff, without violating all the rules of consistency ; and 
 the equestrians pursued their way with great diligence, 
 for more than a mile, in profound silence. At length the 
 soft expression of parental affection was slowly chased 
 from the handsome features of the Judge, and was gradu- 
 ally supplanted by the cast of humor and benevolence that 
 was usually seated on his brow. 
 
 "Well, Dickon," he said, "since I have yielded myself 
 so far implicitly to your guidance, I think the moment has 
 arrived when I am entitled to further confidence. Why 
 and wherefore are we journeying together in this solemn 
 gait ? " 
 
 The sheriff gave a loud hem, that rang far in the forest, 
 and keeping his eyes fixed on objects before him like a 
 man who is looking deep into futurity : 
 
 " There has always been one point of difference between 
 us, Judge Temple, I may say, since our nativity/' he re- 
 plied ; " not that I would insinuate that you are at all an- 
 swerable for the acts of Nature ; for a man is no more to 
 be condemned for the misfortunes of his birth, than he is 
 to be commended for the natural advantages he may pos- 
 sess ; but on one point we may be said to have differed from 
 our births, and they, you know, occurred within two days 
 of each other." 
 
 " I really marvel, Richard, what this one point can be ; 
 
THE PIONEERS. 293 
 
 for, to my eyes, we seem to differ so materially, and so 
 often " 
 
 " Mere consequences, sir," interrupted the sheriff ; "all 
 our minor differences proceed from one cause, and that is, 
 our opinions of the universal attainments of genius." 
 
 " In what, Dickon ? " 
 
 " I speak plain English, I believe, Judge Temple ; at 
 least I ought ; for my father, who taught me, could 
 speak 
 
 " Greek and Latin," interrupted Marmaduke. " I well 
 know the qualifications of your family in tongues, Dickon. 
 But proceed to the point ; why are we travelling over this 
 mountain to-day ?" 
 
 "To do justice to any subject, sir, the narrator must be 
 suffered to proceed in his own way," continued the sheriff. 
 " You are of opinion, Judge Temple, that a man is to be 
 qualified by nature and education to do only one thing 
 well, whereas I know that genius will supply the place of 
 learning, and that a certain sort of man can do anything 
 and everything " 
 
 "Like yourself, I suppose," said Marmaduke, smiling. 
 
 " I scorn personalities, sir, I say nothing of myself ; but 
 there are three men on your Patent, of the kind that I 
 should term talented by nature for her general purposes, 
 though acting under the influence of different situa- 
 tions." 
 
 " We are better off, then, than I had supposed. Who are 
 these triumviri ? " 
 
 "Why, sir, one is Hiram Doolittle ; a carpenter by trade, 
 as you know and I need only point to the village to ex- 
 hibit his merits. Then he is a magistrate, and might shame 
 many a man, in his distribution of justice, who has had 
 better opportunities." 
 
 "Well, he is one," said Marmaduke, with the air of a 
 man. that was determined not to dispute the point 
 
 " Jotham Riddel is another." 
 
 " Who ? " 
 
 "Jotham Riddel." 
 
 "What, that dissatisfied, shiftless, lazy, speculating fel- 
 low ! he who changes his county every three years, his 
 farm every six months, and his occupation every season ! an 
 agriculturist yesterday, a shoemaker to-day, and a school- 
 master to-morrow ! that epitome of all the unsteady and 
 profitless propensities of the settlers without one of their 
 
294 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 good qualities to counterbalance the evil ! Nay, Richard, 
 this is too bad for even but the third ?" 
 
 " As the third is not used to hearing such comments on 
 his character, Judge Temple, I shall not name him." 
 
 "The amount of all this, then, Dickon, is that the trio, 
 of which you are one, and the principal, have made some 
 important discovery." 
 
 "I have not said that I am one, Judge Temple. As I 
 told you before, I say nothing egotistical. But a discovery 
 has been made, and you are deeply interested in it." 
 
 " Proceed I am all ears." 
 
 " No, no, 'duke, you are bad enough, I own, but not so 
 bad as that, either ; your ears are not quite full grown/' 
 
 The sheriff laughed heartily at his own wit, and put 
 himself in good humor thereby, when he gratified his pa- 
 tient cousin with the following explanation : 
 
 "You know, 'duke, there is a man living on your estate 
 that goes by the name of Natty Bumppo. Here has this 
 man lived, by what I can learn, for more than forty years 
 by himself, until lately ; and now with strange companions." 
 
 " Part very true, and all very probable," said the Judge. 
 
 " All true, sir ; all true. Well, within these last few 
 months have appeared as his companions an old Indian 
 chief, the last, or one of the last of his tribe that is to be 
 found in this part of the country, and a young man, who 
 is said to be the son of some Indian agent, by a squaw." 
 
 " Who says that ? " cried Marrnaduke, with an interest 
 that he had not manifested before. 
 
 "Who ? why, common sense common report the hue 
 and cry. But listen till you know all. This youth has 
 very pretty talents yes, what I call very pretty talents 
 and has been well educated, has seen very tolerable com- 
 pany, and knows how to behave himself when he has a 
 mind to. Now, Judge Temple, can you tell me what has 
 brought three such men as Indian John, Natty Bumppo, 
 and Oliver Edwards together ?" 
 
 Marrnaduke turned his countenance, in evident surprise, 
 to his cousin, and replied quickly : 
 
 " Thou hast unexpectedly hit on a subject, Richard, that 
 has often occupied my mind. But knowest thou anything 
 of this mystery, or are they only the crude conjectures 
 of " 
 
 " Crude nothing, 'duke, crude nothing ; but facts, stub- 
 born facts. You know there are mines in these moun- 
 
THE PIONEERS. 295 
 
 tains ; I have often heard you say that you believed in 
 their existence." 
 
 " Reasoning from analogy, Richard, but not with any 
 certainty of the fact." 
 
 " You have heard them mentioned, and have seen spec- 
 imens of the ore, sir ; you will not deny that ! and, reason- 
 ing from analogy, as you say, if there be mines in South 
 America, ought there not to be mines in North America 
 too?" 
 
 " Nay, nay, I deny nothing, my cousin. I certainly have 
 heard many rumors of the existence of mines in these hills ; 
 and 1 do believe that I have seen specimens of the pre- 
 cious metals that have been found here. It would occa- 
 sion me no surprise to learn that tin and silver, or what I 
 consider of more consequence, good coal " 
 
 " Damn your coal," cried the sheriff ; " who wants to 
 find coal in these forests ? No, no silver, 'duke ; silver is 
 the one thing needful, and silver is to be found. But lis- 
 ten : you are not to be told that the natives have long 
 known the use of gold and silver; now whoso likely to 
 be acquainted where they are to be found as the ancient 
 inhabitants of a country ? I have the best reasons for be- 
 lieving that both Mohegan and the Leather-Stocking have 
 been privy to the existence of a mine in this very mountain 
 for many years." 
 
 The sheriff had now touched his cousin in a sensitive 
 spot ; and Marmaduke lent a more attentive ear to the 
 speaker, who, after waiting a moment to see the effect of 
 this extraordinary development, proceeded : 
 
 " Yes, sir, I have my reasons, and at a proper time you 
 shall know them." 
 
 " No time is so good as the present." 
 
 "Well, well, be attentive," continued Richard, looking 
 cautiously about him, to make certain that no eavesdropper 
 was hid in the forest, though they were in constant motion. 
 " I have seen Mohegan and the Leather-Stocking, with my 
 own eyes and my eyes are as good as anybody's eyes I 
 have seen them, I say, both going up the mountain and 
 coming down it, with spades and picks ; and others have 
 seen them carrying things into their huts, in a secret and 
 mysterious manner, after dark. Do you call this a fact of 
 importance ? " 
 
 The Judge did not reply, but his brow had contracted, 
 with a thoughtfulness that he always wore when much in- 
 
296 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 terested, and his eyes rested on his cousin in expectation 
 of hearing more. Richard continued : 
 
 " It was ore. Now, sir, I ask if you can tell me who 
 this Mr. Oliver Edwards is, that has made a part of your 
 household since Christmas ? " 
 
 Marmaduke again raised his eyes, but continued silent, 
 shaking his head in the negative. 
 
 " That he is a half-breed we know, for Mohegan does 
 not scruple to call him openly his kinsman ; that he is well 
 educated we know. But as to his business here do you 
 remember that about a month before this young man made 
 his appearance among us, Natty was absent from home 
 several days ? You do ; for you inquired for him, as you 
 wanted some venison to take to your friends, when you 
 went for Bess. Well, he was not to be found. Old John 
 was left in the hut alone ; and when Natty did appear, al- 
 though he came on in the night, he was seen drawing one 
 of those jumpers that they carry their grain to mill in, and 
 to take out something with great care, that he had covered 
 up under his bear-skins. Now let me ask you, Judge Tem- 
 ple, what motive could induce a man like the Leather- 
 Stocking to make a sled, and toil with a load over these 
 mountains, if he had nothing but his rifle or his ammuni- 
 tion to carry ? " 
 
 "They frequently make these jumpers to convey their 
 game home, and you say he had been absent many days." 
 
 " How did he kill it ? His rifle was in the village, to be 
 mended. No, no that he was gone to some unusual place 
 is certain ; that he brought back some secret utensils is 
 more certain ; and that he has not allowed a soul to ap- 
 proach his hut since is most certain of all. ' 
 
 " He was never fond of intruders " 
 
 "I know it," interrupted Richard ; "but did he drive 
 them from his cabin morosely ? Within a fortnight of his 
 return, this Mr. Edwards appears. They spend whole days 
 in the mountains, pretending to be shooting, but in reality 
 exploring ; the frosts prevent their digging at that time, 
 and he avails himself of a lucky accident to get into good 
 quarters. But even now, he is quite half of his time in 
 that hut many hours every night. They are smelting, 
 'duke, they are smelting, and as they grow rich, you grow 
 poor." 
 
 " How much of this is thine own, Richard, and how much 
 comes from others ? I would sift the wheat from the chaff/' 
 
THE PIONEERS. 297 
 
 " Part is my own, for I saw the jumper, though it was 
 broken up and burnt in a day or two. I have told you that 
 I saw the old man with his spades and picks. Hiram met 
 Natty, as he was crossing the mountain, the night of his 
 arrival with the sled, and very good-naturedly offered 
 Hiram is good-natured to carry up part of his load, for 
 the old man had a heavy pull up the back of the moun- 
 tain, but he wouldn't listen to the thing, and repulsed the 
 oifer in such a manner that the squire said he had half a 
 mind to swear the peace against him. Since the snow has 
 been off, more especially after the frosts got out of the 
 ground, we have kept a watchful eye on the gentleman, 
 in which we have found Jotham useful." 
 
 Marmaduke did not much like the associates of Richard 
 in this business ; still he knew them to be cunning and 
 ready in expedients ; and as there was certainly something 
 mysterious, not only in the connection between the old 
 hunters and Edwards, but in what his cousin had just re- 
 lated, he began to revolve the subject in his own mind with 
 more care. On reflection, he remembered various circum- 
 stances that tended to corroborate these suspicions, and, 
 as the whole business favored one of his infirmities, he 
 yielded the mpre readily to their impression. The mind 
 of Judge Temple, at all times comprehensive, had received 
 from his peculiar occupations, a bias to look far into fu- 
 turity, in his speculations on the improvements that pos- 
 terity were to make in his lands. To his eye, where others 
 saw nothing but a wilderness, towns, manufactories, 
 bridges, canals, mines, and all the other resources of an 
 old country were constantly presenting tkemselves, though 
 his good sense suppressed, in some degree, the exhibition 
 of these expectations. 
 
 As the sheriff allowed his cousin full time to reflect on 
 what he had heard, the probability of some pecuniary 
 adventure being the connecting link in the chain that 
 brought Oliver Edwards into the cabin of Leather-Stock- 
 ing, appeared to him each moment to be stronger. But 
 Marmaduke was too much in the habit of examining both 
 sides of a subject not to perceive the objections, and he 
 reasoned with himself aloud : 
 
 "It cannot be so, or the youth would not be driven so 
 near the verge of poverty." 
 
 " What so likely to make a man dig for money as being 
 poor ? " cried the sheriff. 
 
2gS THE PIONEERS. 
 
 " Besides, there is an elevation of character about Oliver 
 that proceeds from education, which would forbid so 
 clandestine a proceeding." 
 
 " Could an ignorant fellow smelt?" continued Richard. 
 
 " Bess hints that he was reduced even to his last 
 ling when we took him into our dwelling." 
 
 "He had been buying tools. And would he spend his 
 last sixpence for a shot at a turkey had he not known 
 where to get more ? " 
 
 " Can I have possibly been so long a dupe ! His manner 
 has been rude to me at times, but I attributed it to his con- 
 ceiving himself injured, and to his mistaking the forms of 
 the world." 
 
 " Haven't you been a dupe all your life, 'duke ? and an't 
 What you call ignorance of forms deep cunning, to conceal 
 his real character? " 
 
 " If he were bent on deception, he would have con- 
 cealed his knowledge, and passed with us for an inferior 
 roan." 
 
 " He cannot. I could no more pass for a fool, myself, 
 than I could fly. Knowledge is not to be concealed, like 
 a candle under a bushel." 
 
 " Richard," said the Judge, turning to his cousin, " there 
 are many reasons against the truth of thy conjectures, but 
 thou hast awakened suspicions which must be satisfied. 
 But why are we travelling here ? " 
 
 "Jotham, who has been much in the mountain lat- 
 terly, being kept there by me and Hiram, has made a dis- 
 covery, which he will not explain, he says, for he is bound 
 by an oath ; but the amount is, that he knows where the 
 ore lies, and he has this day begun to dig. I would not 
 consent to the thing, 'duke, without your knowledge, for 
 the land is yours ; and now you know the reason of our 
 ride. I call this a countermine, ha ! " 
 
 "And where is the desirable spot ?" asked the Judge, 
 with an air half comical, half serious. 
 
 " At hand ; and when we have visited that, I will show 
 you one of the places that we have found within a week, 
 where our hunters have been amusing themselves for six 
 months past." 
 
 The gentlemen continued to discuss the matter, while 
 their horses picked their way under the branches of the 
 trees, and over the uneven ground of the mountain. They 
 soon arrived at the end of their journey, where, in truth, 
 
THE PIONEERS. 299 
 
 they -found Jotham already buried to his neck in a hole 
 that he had been digging. 
 
 Marmaduke questioned the miner very closely as to his 
 reasons for believing in the existence of the precious met- 
 als near that particular spot ; but the fellow maintained 
 an obstinate mystery in his answers. He asserted that he 
 had the best of reasons for what he did, and inquired of 
 the Judge what portion of the profits would fall to his own 
 share, in the event of success, with an earnestness that 
 proved his faith. After spending an hour near the place, 
 examining the stones, and searching for the usual indica- 
 tions of the proximity of ore, the Judge remounted, and 
 suffered his cousin to lead the way to the place where the 
 mysterious trio had been making their excavation. 
 
 The spot chosen by Jotham was on the back of the 
 mountain that overhung the hut of Leather-Stocking, and 
 the place selected by Natty and his companions was on the 
 other side of the same hill, but above the road, and, of 
 course, in an opposite direction to the route taken by the 
 ladies in their walk. 
 
 "We shall be safe in approaching the place now," said 
 Richard, while they dismounted and fastened their horses ; 
 " for I took a look with the glass, and saw John and 
 Leather-Stocking in their canoe fishing before we left 
 home, and Oliver is in the same pursuit ; but these may 
 be nothing but shams to blind our eyes, so we will be ex- 
 peditious, for it would not be pleasant to be caught here 
 by them." 
 
 " Not on my own land?" said Marmaduke, sternly. 
 " If it be as you suspect, I will know their reasons for 
 making this excavation." 
 
 " Mum," said Richard, laying a finger on his lip, and 
 leading the way down a wry difficult descent to a sort of 
 natural cavern, which was, found in the tace of the rock, 
 and was not unlike a fire-place in shape* In front of this 
 place lay a pile of earth, which had evidently been taken 
 from the recess, and part of which was yet fresh. An ex- 
 amination of the exterior of the cavern left the Judge in 
 doubt whether it was one of Nature's frolics that had 
 thrown it into that shape, or whether it had been wrought 
 by the hands of man, at some earlier period. But there 
 could be no doubt that the whole of the interior was of 
 recent formation, and the marks of the pick were still visible 
 where the soft, lead-colored rock had opposed itself to the 
 
300 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 progress of the miners. The whole formed an excavation 
 of about twenty feet in width, and nearly twice that dis- 
 tance in depth. The height was much greater than was 
 required for the ordinary purposes of experiment, but 
 this was evidently the effect of chance, as the roof of the 
 cavern was a natural stratum of rock that projected many 
 feet beyond the base of the pile. Immediately in front of 
 the recess, or cave, was a little terrace, partly formed by 
 nature, and partly by the earth that had been carelessly 
 thrown aside by the laborers. The mountain fell off pre- 
 cipitously in front of the terrace, and the approach by its 
 sides, under the ridge of the rocks, was difficult and a lit- 
 tle dangerous. The whole was wild, rude, and apparently 
 incomplete ; for, while looking among the bushes, the 
 sheriff found the very implements that had been used in 
 the work. 
 
 When the sheriff thought that his cousin had examined 
 the spot sufficiently, he asked, solemnly : 
 
 "Judge Temple, are you satisfied ?" 
 
 " Perfectly, that there is something mysterious and per- 
 plexing in this business. It is a secret spot, and cunning- 
 ly devised, Richard ; yet I see no symptoms of ore." 
 
 " Do you expect, sir, to find gold and silver lying like 
 pebbles on the surface of the earth ? dollars and dimes 
 ready coined to your hands? No, no the treasure must 
 be sought after to be won. But let them mine ; I shall 
 countermine." 
 
 The Judge took an accurate survey of the place, and 
 noted in his memorandum-book such marks as were neces- 
 sary to find it again in the event of Richard's absence ; 
 when the cousins returned to their horses. 
 
 On reaching the highway they separated, the sheriff to 
 summon twenty-four "good men and true," to attend as 
 the inquest of the county, on the succeeding Monday, 
 when Marmaduke held his stated court of " common pleas 
 and general sessions of the peace," and the Judge to re- 
 turn, musing deeply on what he had seen and heard in the 
 course of the morning. 
 
 When the horse of the latter reached the spot where the 
 highway fell toward the valley, the eye of Marmaduke 
 rested, it is true, on the same scene that had, ten minutes 
 before, been so soothing to the feelings of his daughter 
 and her friend, as they emerged from the forest ; but it 
 rested in vacancy. He threw the reins to his sure-footed 
 
THE PIONEERS. 301 
 
 beast, and suffered the animal to travel at his own gait, 
 while he soliloquized as follows : 
 
 "There -maybe more in this than I at first supposed. 
 I have suffered my feeling to blind my reason, in admit- 
 ting an unknown youth in this manner to my dwelling; 
 yet this is not the land of suspicion. I will have Leather- 
 Stocking before me, and, by a few direct questions, extract 
 the truth from the simple old man." 
 
 At that instant the Judge caught a glimpse of the figures 
 of Elizabeth and Louisa, who were slowly descending the 
 mountain, a short distance before him. He put spurs to 
 his horse, and riding up to them, dismounted, and drove 
 his steed along the narrow path. While the agitated par- 
 ent was listening to the vivid description that his daughter 
 gave of her recent danger, and her unexpected escape, all 
 thoughts of mines, vested rights, and examinations were 
 absorbed in emotion ; and when the image of Natty again 
 crossed -his recollection, it was not as a lawless and depre- 
 dating squatter, but as the preserver of his child. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 "The court awards it, and the law doth give it." MERCHANT OP 
 VENICE. 
 
 REMARKABLE PETTIBONE, who had forgotten the wound 
 received by her pride, in contemplation of the ease and 
 comforts of her situation, and who still retained her station 
 in the family of Judge Temple, was dispatched to the hum- 
 ble dwelling which Richard already styled "The Rectory," 
 in attendance on Louisa, who was soon consigned to the 
 arms of her father. 
 
 In the meantime, Marmaduke and his daughter were 
 closeted for more than an hour, nor shall we invade the 
 sanctuary of parental love, by relating the conversation. 
 When the curtain rises on the reader, the Judge is seen 
 walking up and down the apartment, with a tender melan- 
 choly in his air, and his child reclining on a settee, with a 
 flushed cheek, and her dark eyes seeming to float in crys- 
 tals. 
 
 " It was a timely rescue ! it was, indeed, a timely rescue, 
 my child ! " cried the Judge. " Then thou didst jjot desert 
 thy friend, my noble Bess ? " 
 
302 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 " I believe I may as well take the credit of fortitude," 
 said Elizabeth, "though I much doubt if flight would 
 have availed me anything, had I even courage to execute 
 such an intention. But I thought not of the expedient." 
 
 " Of what didst thou think, love ? where did thy thoughts 
 dwell most, at that fearful moment ? " 
 
 "The beast! the beast!" cried Elizabeth, veiling her 
 face with her hand. " Oh ! I saw nothing, I thought of 
 nothing but the beast I tried to think of better things, 
 but the horror was too glaring, the danger too much be- 
 fore my eyes." 
 
 " Well, well, thou art safe, and we will converse no more 
 on the unpleasant subject. I did not think such an ani- 
 mal yet remained in our forests ; but they will stray far 
 from their haunts when pressed by hunger, and " 
 
 A loud knocking at the door of the apartment inter- 
 rupted what he was about to utter, and he bid the appli- 
 cant enter. The door was opened by Benjamin, who came 
 in with a discontented air, as if he felt that he had a com- 
 munication to make that would be out of season. 
 
 " Here is Squire Doolittle below, sir," commenced the 
 major-domo. " He has been standing off and on in the 
 door-yard for the matter of a glass ; and he has sum mat 
 on his mind that he wants to heave up, d'ye see ; but I 
 tells him, says I, man, would you be coming aboard with 
 your complaints, said I, when the Judge has gotten his 
 own child, as it were, out of the jaws of a lion ? But 
 damn the bit of manners has the fellow, any more than if 
 he was one of them Guineas down in the kitchen there ; 
 and so as he was sheering nearer, every stretch he made 
 toward the house, I could do no better than to let your 
 honor know that the chap was in the offing." 
 
 " He must have business of importance," said Marma- 
 duke ; " something in relation to his office, most probably, 
 as the court sits so shortly." 
 
 "Ay, ay, you have it, sir," cried Benjamin ; " it's sumrnat 
 about a complaint that he has to make of the old Leather- 
 Stocking, who, to my judgment, is the better man of the 
 two. It's a very good sort of a man is this Master Bumppo, 
 and he has a way with a spear, all the same as if he was 
 brought up at the bow-oar of the captainls barge, or was 
 born with a boat-hook in his hand." 
 
 "Against the Leather-Stocking !" cried Elizabeth, ris- 
 ing from her reclining posture. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 303 
 
 " Rest easy, my child ; some trifle, I pledge you ; I be. 
 lieve I am already acquainted with its import. Trust me t 
 Bess, your champion shall be safe in my care. Show Mr. 
 Doolittle in, Benjamin." 
 
 Miss Temple appeared satisfied with this assurance, but 
 fastened her dark eyes on the person of the architect, who 
 profited by the permission, and instantly made his appear- 
 ance. 
 
 All the impatience of Hiram seemed to vanish the in- 
 stant he entered the apartment. After saluting the Judge 
 and his daughter, he took the chair to which Marmaduke 
 pointed, and sat for a minute, composing his straight black 
 hair, with a gravity of demeanor that was intended to do 
 honor to his official station. At length he said : 
 
 " It's likely, from what I hear, that Miss Temple had a 
 narrow chance with the painters, on the mountain." 
 
 Marmaduke made a gentle inclination of his head, by 
 way of assent, but continued silent. 
 
 " I s'pose the law gives a bounty on the scalps," con- 
 tinued Hiram, " in which case the Leather-Stocking will 
 make a good job on't." 
 
 " It shall be my care to see that he is rewarded," re- 
 turned the Judge. 
 
 " Yes, yes, I rather guess that nobody hereabouts doubts 
 the Judge's generosity. Does he know whether the sheriff 
 has fairly made up his mind to have a reading-desk or a 
 deacon's pew under the pulpit ?" 
 
 " I have not heard my cousin speak on that subject, 
 lately," replied Marma*duke. 
 
 " I think it's likely that we will have a pretty dull court 
 on't, from what I can gather. I hear that Jotham Riddel 
 and the man who bought his betterments, have agreed to 
 leave their difference to men, and I don't think there'll be 
 more than two civil cases in the calendar." 
 
 " I am glad of it," said the Judge ; (f nothing gives me 
 more pain than to see my settlers wasting their time and 
 substance in the unprofitable struggles of the law. I hope 
 it may prove true, sir." 
 
 "I rather guess 'twill be left out to men," added Hiram, 
 with an air equally balanced between doubt and assurance, 
 but which Judge Temple understood to mean certainty; 
 "I some think that I am appointed a referee in the case 
 myself ; Jotham as much as told me that he should take 
 me. The defendant, I guess, means to take Captain Hoi- 
 
304 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 lister, and we two have partly agreed on Squire Jones fol 
 the third man." 
 
 "Are there any criminals to be tried ?" asked Marma 
 duke. 
 
 "There's the counterfeiters," returned the magistrate; 
 " as they were caught in the fact, I think it likely that 
 they'll be indicted, in which case it's probable they'll be 
 tried." 
 
 " Certainly, sir ; I had forgotten those men. There are 
 no more, I hope." 
 
 " Why, there is a threaten to come forrard with an as- 
 sault that happened at the last independence day ; but I'm 
 not sartain that the law'll take hold on't. There was 
 plaguey hard words passed, but whether they struck or 
 not I haven't heard. There's some folks talk of a deer or 
 two being killed out of season, over on the west side of 
 the Patent, by some of the squatters on the * Fractions/ " 
 
 " Let a complaint be made, by all means," said the 
 Judge ; " I am determined to see the law executed to the 
 letter, on all such depredators." 
 
 " Why, yes, I thought the Judge was of that mind ; I 
 came partly on such a business myself." 
 
 " You ! " exclaimed Marmaduke, comprehending in an 
 instant how completely he had been caught by the other's 
 cunning ; " and what have you to say, sir ? " 
 
 " I some think that Natty Bumppo has the carcass of a 
 deer in his hut at this moment, and a considerable part of 
 my business was to get a search-warrant to examine." 
 
 " You think, sir ! do you know* that the law exacts an 
 oath, before I can issue such a precept ? The habitation 
 of a citizen is not to be idly invaded on light suspicion." 
 
 " I rather think I can swear to it myself," returned the 
 immovable Hiram ; "and Jotham is in the street, and as 
 good as ready to come in and make oath to the same 
 thing." 
 
 "Then issue the warrant thyself ; thou art a magistrate, 
 Mr. Doolittle ; why trouble me with the matter ?" 
 
 " Why, seeing it's the first complaint under the law, and 
 knowing the Judge set his heart on the thing, I thought it 
 best that the authority to search should come from him- 
 self. Besides, as I'm much in the woods, among the tim* 
 ber, I don't altogether like making an enemy of the 
 Leather-Stocking. Now, the Judge has a weight in the 
 county that puts him above fear." 
 
THE PIONEERS. 305 
 
 Miss Temple turned her face to the callous architect, as 
 she said : 
 
 " And what has any honest person to dread from so kind 
 a man as Bumppo ? " 
 
 " Why, it's as easy, miss, to pull a rifle-trigger on a mag- 
 istrate as on a painter. But if the Judge don't conclude to 
 issue the warrant, I must go home and make it out myself." 
 
 "I have not refused your application, sir," said Marma 
 duke, perceiving at once that his reputation for impartiality 
 was at stake ; "go into my office, Mr. Doolittle, where I 
 will join you, and sign the warrant." 
 
 Judge Temple stopped the remonstrances which Eliza- 
 beth was about to utter, after Hiram had withdrawn, by 
 laying his hand on her mouth, and saying : 
 
 "It is more terrible in sound than frightful in reality, 
 my child. I suppose that the Leather-Stocking has shot 
 a deer, for the season is nearly over, and you say that he 
 was hunting with his dogs when he came so timely to your 
 assistance. But it will be only to examine his cabin, and 
 find the animal, when you can pay the penalty out of your 
 own pocket, Bess. Nothing short of the twelve dollars and 
 a half will satisfy this harpy, I perceive; and surely my 
 reputation as Judge is worth that trifle." 
 
 Elizabeth was a good deal pacified with this assurance, 
 and suffered her father to leave her, to fulfil his promise 
 to Hiram. 
 
 When Marmaduke left his office after executing his 
 disagreeable duty, he met Oliver Edwards, walking up the 
 gravelled walk in front of the mansion-ho*use, with great 
 strides, and with a face agitated by feeling. On seeing 
 Judge Temple, the youth turned aside, and with a warmth 
 in his manner that was not often exhibited to Marmaduke, 
 he cried : 
 
 " I congratulate you, sir ; from the bottom of my soul, 
 I congratulate you, Judge Temple. Oh ! it would have 
 been too horrid to have recollected for a moment ! I have 
 just left the hut, where, after showing me his scalps, old 
 Natty told me of the escape of the ladies, as the thing to 
 be mentioned last. Indeed, indeed, sir, no words of mine 
 can express half of what I have felt " the youth paused 
 a moment, as if suddenly recollecting that he was over- 
 stepping prescribed limits, and concluded wjth a good deal 
 of embarrassment "what I have felt at this danger to 
 Miss Grant, and and your daughter, sir." 
 
 20 
 
3 o6 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 But the heart of Marmaduke was too much softened to 
 admit his cavilling at trifles, and, without regarding the 
 confusion of the other, he replied : 
 
 " I thank thee, thank thee, Oliver ; as thou sayest, it is 
 almost too horrid to be remembered. But come, let us 
 hasten to Bess, for Louisa has already gone to the rectory." 
 
 The young man sprang forward, and, throwing open a 
 door, barely permitted the Judge to precede him, when lie 
 was in the presence of Elizabeth in a moment. 
 
 The cold distance that often crossed the demeanor ot 
 the heiress, in her intercourse with Edwards, was now en- 
 tirely banished, and two hours were passed by the party, 
 in the free, unembarrassed, and confiding manner of old 
 and esteemed friends. Judge Temple had forgotten the 
 suspicions engendered during his morning's ride, and the 
 youth and maiden conversed, laughed, and were sad by 
 turns, as impulse directed. 
 
 At length, Edwards, after repeating his intention to do 
 so for the third time, left the mansion-house to go to the 
 rectory on a similar errand of friendship. 
 
 During this short period, a scene was passing at the hut 
 that completely frustrated the benevolent intentions of 
 Judge Temple in favor of the Leather-Stocking, and at once; 
 destroyed the short-lived harmony between the youth and 
 Marmaduke. 
 
 When Hiram Doolittle had obtained his search-warrant; 
 his first business was to procure a proper officer to see it 
 executed. The sheriff was absent, summoning in person 
 the grand inquest for the county ; the deputy who resided 
 in the village, was riding on the same errand, in a different 
 part of the settlement ; and the regular constable of the* 
 township had been selected for his station from motives of 
 charity, being lame of a leg. Hiram intended to accom- 
 pany the officer as a spectator, but he felt no very strong 
 desire td bear the brunt of the battle. It was, however, 
 Saturday, and the sun was already turning the shadows of 
 the pines toward the east ; on the morrow the conscien- 
 tious magistrate could not engage in such an expedition at 
 the peril of his soul ; and long before Monday, the veni- 
 son, and all vestiges of the death of the deer, might be se- 
 creted or destroyed. Happily, the lounging form of Billy 
 Kirby met his eye, and Hiram, at all times fruitful in simi- 
 lar expedients, saw his way clear at once. Jotham, who 
 was associated in the whole business, and who had left the 
 
THE PIONEERS. 307 
 
 mountain in consequence of a summons from his coadju- 
 tor, but who failed, equally with Hiram, in the unfortunate 
 particular of nerve, was directed to summon the wood- 
 chopper to the dwelling of the magistrate. 
 
 When Billy appeared, he was very kindly invited to take 
 the chair in which he had already seated himself, and was 
 treated in all respects as if he were an equal. 
 
 "Judge Temple has set his heart on putting the deer 
 law in force," said Hiram, after the preliminary civilities 
 were over, "and a complaint has been laid before him 
 that a deer has been killed. He has issued a search-war- 
 rant, and sent for me to get somebody to execute it." 
 
 Kirby who had no idea of being excluded from the de- 
 liberative part of any affair in which he was engaged, drew 
 up his bushy head in a reflecting attitude, and, after mus- 
 ing a moment, replied by asking a few questions. 
 
 " The sheriff has gone out of the way ? " 
 
 "Not to be found." 
 
 " And his deputy too ? " 
 
 " Both gone on the skirts of the Patent." 
 
 " But I saw the constable hobbling about town an hour 
 
 "Yes, yes," said Hiram, with a coaxing smile and know 
 ing nod, " but this business wants a man not a cripple." 
 
 " Why," said Billy, laughing, " will the chap make 
 fight?"' 
 
 " He's a little quarrelsome at times, and thinks he's the 
 best man in the country at rough and tumble." 
 
 " I heard him brag once," said Jotham, " that there 
 wasn't a man 'twixt the Mohawk Flats and the Pennsyl- 
 vany line that was his match at a close hug." 
 
 " Did you ?" exclaimed Kirby, raising his huge frame in 
 his seat, like a lion stretching in his lair, " I rather guess 
 he never felt a Varmounter's knuckles on his backbone. 
 But who is the chap ?" 
 
 "Why," said Jotham, "it's - " 
 
 "It's ag'in law to tell," interrupted Hiram, "unless 
 you'll qualify to sarve. You'd be the very man to take 
 him, Bill and I'll make out a special deputation in a min- 
 ute, when you will get the fees." 
 
 " What's the fees ?" said Kirby, laying his large hand on 
 the leaves of a statute-book that Hiram had opened in 
 order to give dignity to his office, which he turned over in 
 his rough manner, as if he were reflecting on a subject 
 
3 o8 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 about which he had, in truth, already decided ; "will they 
 pay a man for a broken head ?." 
 
 "They'll be something handsome," said Hiram. 
 
 " Damn the fees," said Billy, again laughing " does the 
 fellow think he's the best wrestler in the county, though ? 
 what's his inches ? " 
 
 " He's taller than you be," said Jotham, " and one of the 
 biggest " 
 
 Talkers, he was about to add, but the impatience of 
 Kirby interrupted him. The wood-chopper had nothing 
 fierce or even brutal in his appearance ; the character of 
 his expression was that of good-natured vanity. It was 
 evident he prided himself on the powers of the physical 
 man, like all who have nothing better to boast of ; and, 
 stretching out his broad hand, with the palm downward, 
 he said, keeping his eyes fastened on his own bones and 
 sinews : 
 
 " Come, give us a touch of the book. I'll swear, and 
 you'll see that I'm a man to keep my oath." 
 
 Hiram did not give the wood-chopper time to change 
 his mind, but the oath was administered without unneces 
 sary delay. So soon as this preliminary was completed, 
 the three worthies left the house, and proceeded by the 
 nearest road toward the hut. They had reached the bank 
 of the lake, and were diverging from the route of the high- 
 way, before Kirby recollected that he was now entitled to 
 the privilege of the initiated, and repeated his question as 
 to the name of the offender. 
 
 " Which way, which way, squire ?" exclaimed the hardy 
 wood-chopper ; " I thought it was to search a house that 
 you wanted me, not the woods. There is nobody lives on 
 this side of the lake, for six miles, unless you count the 
 Leather-Stocking and old John for settlers. Come, tell 
 me the chap's name, and I warrant me that I lead you to 
 his clearing by a straighter path than this, for I know 
 every sapling that grows within two miles of Temple- 
 ton." 
 
 " This is the way," said Hiram, pointing forward and 
 quickening his step, as if apprehensive that Kirby would 
 desert, "and Bumppo is the man." 
 
 Kirby stopped short, and looked from one of his com- 
 panions to the other in astonishment. He then burst into 
 a loud laugh, and cried : 
 
 "Who ? Leather-Stocking ! he may brag of his aim and 
 
THE PIONEERS. 309 
 
 his rifle, for he has the best of both, as I will own myself, 
 for sin' he shot the pigeon I knock under to him ; but for 
 a wrestle ! why, I would take the creatur' between my fin- 
 ger and thumb, and tie him in a bow-knot around rny neck 
 for a Barcelony. The man is seventy, and was never any- 
 thing particular for strength." 
 
 "He's a deceiving man," said Hiram, " like all the 
 hunters ; he is stronger than he seems ; besides, he has 
 his rifle." 
 
 "That for his rifle!" cried Billy ; "he'd no more hurt 
 me with his rifle than he'd fly. He is a harmless creater, 
 and I must say that I think he has as good right to kill 
 deer as any man on the Patent. It's his main support, and 
 this is a free country, where a man is privileged to follow 
 any calling he likes." 
 
 "According to that doctrine," said Jotham, "anybody 
 may shoot a deer." 
 
 "This is the man's calling, I tell you," returned Kirby, 
 '* and the law was never made for such as he." 
 
 " The law was made for all," observed Hiram, who be- 
 gan to think that the danger was likely to fall to his own 
 share, notwithstanding his management ; " and the law is 
 particular in noticing parjury." 
 
 "See here, Squire Doolittle," said the reckless wood- 
 chopper ; " I don't care the valie of a beetlering for you 
 and your parjury too. But as I have come so far, I'll go 
 down and have a talk with the old man, and maybe we'll 
 fry a steak of the deer together." 
 
 "Well, if you can get in peaceably, so much the better," 
 said the magistrate. " To my notion, strife is very unpop- 
 ular ; I prefar, at all times, clever conduct to an ugly tem- 
 per." 
 
 As the whole party moved at a great pace, they soon 
 reached the hut, where Hiram thought it prudent to halt 
 on the outside of the top of the fallen pine, which formed 
 a chevaux-de-frise, to defend the approach to the fortress, 
 on the side next the village. The delay was little relished 
 by Kirby, who clapped his hands to his mouth, and gave a 
 loud halloo that brought the dogs out of their kennel, and 
 almost at the same instant, the scantily-covered head of 
 Natty from the door. 
 
 " Lie down, old fool," cried the hunter; " do you think 
 there's more painters about you ? " 
 
 " Ha ! Leather-Stocking, I've an arrand with you," cried 
 
3 io THE PIONEERS. 
 
 Kirby ; " here's the good people of the State have been 
 writing you a small letter, and they've hired me to ride 
 post." 
 
 "What would you have with me, Billy Kirby?" said 
 Natty, stepping across his threshold, and raising his hand 
 over his eyes, to screen them from the rays of the setting 
 sun, while he took a survey of his visitor. " I've no land 
 to clear, and Heaven knows I would set out six trees afore 
 I would cut down one. Down, Hector, I say ; into youl 
 kennel with ye." 
 
 "Would you, old boy?" roared Billy ; "then so much 
 the better for me. But I must do my arrand. Here's a 
 letter for you, Leather-Stocking. If you can read it, it's 
 all well, and if you can't, here's Squire Doolittle at hand, 
 to let you know what it means. It seems you mistook 
 the twentieth of July for the first of August, that's all." 
 
 By this time Natty had discovered the lank person of 
 Hiram, drawn up under the cover of a high stump ; and 
 all that was complacent in his manner instantly gave way 
 to marked distrust and dissatisfaction. He placed his 
 head within the door of his hut, and said a few words in 
 an undertone, when he again appeared, and continued : 
 
 " I've nothing for ye ; so away, afore the Evil One tempts 
 me to do you harm. I owe you no spite, Billy Kirby, 
 and what for should you trouble an old man who has done 
 you no harm ? " 
 
 Kirby advanced through the top of the pine, to within a 
 few feet of the hunter, where he seated himself on the end 
 of a log, with great composure, and began to examine the 
 nose of Hector, with whom he was familiar, from their 
 frequently meeting in the woods, where he sometimes fed 
 the dog from his own basket of provisions. 
 
 " You've outshot me, and I'm not ashamed to say it," 
 said the wood-chopper ; " but I don't owe you a grudge 
 for that, Natty ! though it seems that you've shot once too 
 often, for the story goes that you've killed a buck." 
 
 " I've fired but twice to-day, and both times at the pain- 
 ters," returned the Leather-Stocking ; " see, here are the 
 scalps ! I was just going in with them to the Judge's ta 
 ask the bounty." 
 
 While Natty was speaking, he tossed the ears to Kirby, 
 who continued playing with them, with a careless air, hold- 
 ing them to the dogs, and laughing at their movements 
 when they scented the unusual game. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 311 
 
 But Hiram, emboldened by the advance of the deputed 
 constable, now ventured to approach also, and took up 
 the discourse with the air of authority that became his 
 commission. His first measure was to read the warrant 
 aloud, taking care to give due emphasis to the most mate- 
 rial parts, and concluding with t-he name of the Judge in 
 very audible and distinct tones. 
 
 " Did Marmaduke Temple put his name to that bit of 
 paper?" said Natty, shaking his head ; " well, well, that 
 man loves the new ways, and his betterments, and his 
 lands, afore his own flesh and blood. But I won't mistrust 
 the gal ; she has an eye like a full grown buck ! poor thing, 
 she didn't choose her father, and can't help it. I know 
 but little of the law, Mr. Doolittle ; what is to be done, now 
 you've read your commission ? " 
 
 " Oh ! it's nothing but form, Natty," said Hiram, en- 
 deavoring to assume a friendly aspect. " Let's go in, and 
 talk the thing over in reason ; I dare to say that the money 
 can be easily found, arid I partly conclude, from what 
 passed, that Judge Temple will pay it himself." 
 
 The old hunter had kept a keen eye on the movements 
 of his three visitors, from the beginning, and had main- 
 tained his position, just without the threshold of the cabin, 
 \vith a determined manner,* that showed he was not to be 
 easily driven from his post. When Hiram drew nigher, as 
 if expecting his proposition would be accepted, Natty lifted 
 his hand, and motioned for him to retreat. 
 
 " Haven't I told you more than once, not to tempt me ?" 
 he said. " I trouble no man ; why can't the law leave me 
 to myself ? Go back go back, and tell your Judge that 
 he may keep his bounty ; but I won't have his wasty ways 
 brought into my hut." 
 
 This offer, however, instead of appeasing the curiosity 
 of Hiram, seemed to inflame it the more ; while Kirby 
 cried : 
 
 " Well, that's fair, squire ; he forgives the county his 
 demand, and the county should forgive him the fine ; it's 
 what I call an even trade, and should be concluded on the 
 spot. I like quick dealings, and what's fair 'twixt man 
 and man." 
 
 " I demand entrance into this house," said Hiram, sum- 
 moning all the dignity he could muster to his assistance, 
 " in the name of the people ; and by virtue of this warrant, 
 and of my office, and with this peace officer." 
 
3 12 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 " Stand back, stand back, squire, and don't tempt me," 
 said the Leather-Stocking, motioning him to retire, with 
 great earnestness. 
 
 " Stop us at your peril," continued Hiram. " Billy ! 
 Jotham ! close up I want testimony." 
 
 Hiram had mistaken the mild but determined air of 
 Natty for submission, and had already put his foot on the 
 threshold to enter, when he was seized unexpectedly by 
 his shoulders, and hurled over the little bank toward the 
 lake, to the distance of twenty feet. The suddenness of 
 the movement, and the unexpected display of strength on 
 the part of Natty, created a momentary astonishment in 
 his invaders, that silenced all noises ; but at the next in- 
 stant Billy Kirby gave vent to his mirth in peals of laughter, 
 that he seemed to heave up from his very soul. 
 
 " Well done, old stub ? " he shouted ; " the squire know'd 
 you better than I did. Come, come, here's a green 
 spot ; take it out like men, while Jotham and I see fair 
 play." 
 
 " William Kirby, I order you to do your duty," cried 
 Hiram, from under the bank ; " seize that man ; I order 
 you to seize him in the name of the people." 
 
 But the Leather-Stocking now assumed a more threaten- 
 ing attitude ; his rifle was in his hand, and its muzzle was 
 directed toward the wood-chopper. 
 
 " Stand off; I bid ye," said Natty ; " you know my aim, 
 Billy Kirby ; I don't crave your blood, but mine and 
 yourn both shall turn this green grass red, afore you put 
 foot into the hut." 
 
 While the affair appeared trifling, the wood-chopper 
 seemed disposed to take sides with the weaker party ; but, 
 when the fire-arms were introduced, his manner very sen- 
 sibly changed. He raised his large frame from the log, 
 and, facing the hunter with an open front he replied : 
 
 " I didn't come here as your enemy, Leather-Stocking ; 
 but I don't value the hollow piece of iron in your hand so 
 much as a broken axe-helve ; so, squire, say the word, and 
 keep within the law, and we'll soon see who's the best man 
 of the two." 
 
 But no magistrate was to be seen ! The instant the 
 rifle was produced Hiram and Jotham vanished ; and when 
 the wood-chopper bent his eyes about him in surprise at 
 receiving no answer, he discovered their retreating figures 
 moving toward the village at a rate that sufficiently indi- 
 
THE PIONEERS. 313 
 
 cated that they had not only calculated the velocity of a 
 rifle-bullet, but also its probable range. 
 
 " You've scared the creaters off," said Kirby, with great 
 c-ontempt expressed on his broad features ; " but you are 
 not going to scare me ; so, Mr. Bumppo, down with your 
 gun, or there'll be trouble 'twixt us." 
 
 Natty dropped his rifle, and replied : 
 
 " I wish you no harm, Billy Kirby ; but I leave it to 
 yourself, whether an old man's hut is to be run down by 
 such varmint. I won't deny the buck to you, Billy, and 
 you may take the skin in, if you please, and show it as 
 testimony. The bounty will pay the fine, and that ought 
 to satisfy any man." 
 
 *' 'Twill, old boy, 'twill," cried Kirby, every shade of dis- 
 pleasure vanishing from his open brow at the peace offer- 
 ing ; "throw out the hide, and that shall satisfy the law." 
 
 Natty entered the hut, and soon reappeared, bringing 
 with him the desired testimonial ; and the wood-chopper 
 departed, as thoroughly reconciled to the hunter as if 
 nothing had happened. As he paced along the margin of 
 the lake he would burst into frequent fits of laughter, 
 while he recollected the summerset of Hiram ; and, on the 
 whole, he thought the affair a very capital joke. 
 
 Long before Billy reached the village, however, the 
 news of his danger, and of Natty's disrespect of the law, 
 and of Hiram's discomfiture, were in circulation. A good 
 deal was said about sending for the sheriff ; some hints 
 were given about calling out the posse comitatus to avenge 
 the insulted laws ; and many of the citizens were collected, 
 deliberating how to proceed. The arrival of Billy with 
 the skin, by removing all grounds for a search, changed 
 the complexion of things materially. Nothing now re- 
 mained but to collect the fine, and assert the dignity of the 
 people ; all of which, it was unanimously agreed, could 
 be done as well on the succeeding Monday as on Saturday 
 night a time kept sacred by a large portion of the settlers. 
 Accordingly, all further proceedings were suspended for 
 six-and-thirty hours. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 "And dar'st thou then 
 To beard the lion in his den, 
 The Douglas in his hall? " MARMION. 
 
 THE commotion was just subsiding, and the inhabitants 
 of the village had begun to disperse from the little groups 
 that had formed, each retiring to his own home, and closing 
 his door after him, with the grave air of a man who con- 
 sulted public feeling in his exterior deportment, when 
 Oliver Edwards, on his return from the dwelling of Mr. 
 Grant, encountered the young lawyer, who is known to 
 the reader as Mr. Lippet. There was very little similarity 
 in the manners or opinions of the two ; but as they both 
 belonged to the more intelligent class of a very small com- 
 munity, they were, of course, known to each other, and, as 
 their meeting was at a point where silence would have 
 been rudeness, the following conversation was the result 
 of their interview : 
 
 "A fine evening, Mr. Edwards," commenced the lawyer 
 whose disinclination to the dialogue was, to say the leasi 
 very doubtful ; " we want rain sadly ; that's the worst of this 
 climate of ours, it's either a drought or a deluge. It's like- 
 ly you've been used to a more equal temperature ? " 
 
 " I am a native of this State," returned Edwards, coldly 
 
 " Well, I've often heard that point disputed ; but it's sc 
 easy to get a man naturalized, that it's of little consequence 
 where he was born. I wonder what course the Judge 
 means to take in this business of Natty Bumppo ! " 
 
 "Of Natty Bumppo!" echoed Edwards ; "to what do 
 you allude, sir?" 
 
 " Haven't you heard ! " exclaimed the other, with a look 
 of surprise, so naturally assumed as completely to deceive 
 his auditor ; " it may turn out an ugly business. It seems 
 that the old man has been out in the hills, and has shot a 
 buck this morning, and that, you know, is a criminal mat- 
 ter in the eyes of Judge Temple." 
 
 " Oh ! he has, has he ? " said Edwards, averting his face 
 to conceal the color that collected in his sunburnt cheek. 
 "Well, if that be all, he must even pay the fine." 
 
 " It's five pound currency," said the lawyer ; " could 
 Natty muster so much money at once ?" 
 
THE PIONEERS. 315 
 
 "Could he !" cried the youth. " I am not rich, Mr. Lip- 
 pet ; far from it I am poor, and I have been hoarding my 
 salary for a purpose that lies near my heart ; but, before 
 that old man should lie one hur in a jail, I would spend 
 the* last cent to prevent it. Besides, he has killed two 
 panthers, and the bounty will discharge the line many- 
 times over." 
 
 "Yes, yes," said the lawyer, rubbing his hands together, 
 with an expression of pleasure that had no artifice about 
 it ; "we shall make it out ; I see plainly we shall make it 
 out." 
 
 " Make what out,. sir ? I must beg an explanation." 
 
 "Why, killing the buck is but a small matter compared 
 to what took place this afternoon," continued Mr. Lippet, 
 with a confidential and friendly air, that won upon the 
 youth, little as he liked the man. " It seems tha.t a com- 
 plaint was made of the fact, and a suspicion that there was 
 venison in the hut was sworn to, all which is provided for 
 in the statute, when Judge Temple granted the search- 
 warrant " 
 
 " A search-warrant ! " echoed Edwards, in a voice of hor- 
 ror, and with a face that should have been again averted 
 to co'iceal its paleness ; " and how much did they dis- 
 cover ? What did they see ? " 
 
 "They saw old Bumppo's rifle ; and that is a sight which 
 will quiet most men's curiosity in the woods." 
 
 " Did they! did they ! " shouted Edwards, bursting into 
 a convulsive laugh ; " so the old hero beat them back ! 
 beat them back ! did he ? " 
 
 The lawyer fastened his eyes in astonishment on the 
 youth, but, as his wonder gave way to the thoughts that 
 were commonly uppermost in his mind, he replied : 
 
 "It's no laughing matter, let me tell you, sir ; the forty 
 dollars of bounty, and your six months of salary will be 
 much reduced before you can get the matter fairly settled. 
 Assaulting a magistrate in the execution of his duty, and 
 menacing a constable with fire-arms at the same time, is a 
 pretty serious affair, and is punishable with both fine and 
 imprisonment." 
 
 " Imprisonment ! " repeated Oliver ; " imprison the 
 Leather-Stocking ! no, no, sir ; it would bring the old man 
 to his grave. They shall never imprison the Leather* 
 Stocking." 
 
 " Well, Mr. Edwards," said Lippet, dropping all reserve 
 
316 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 from his manner, " you are called a curious man ; but il 
 you can tell me how a jury is to be prevented from finding 
 a verdict of guilty, if this ease comes fairly before them, 
 and the proof is clear, I shall acknowledge that you know 
 more law than I do, who have had a license in my pocket 
 for three years." 
 
 By this time the reason of Edwards was getting the as- 
 cendency of his feelings, and, as he began to see the real 
 difficulties of the case, he listened more readily to the con- 
 versation of the lawyer. The ungovernable emotion that 
 escaped the youth, in the first moments of his surprise, en- 
 tirely passed away ; and, although it was still evident that 
 he continued to be much agitated by what he had heard, 
 he succeeded in yielding forced attention to the advice 
 which the other uttered. 
 
 Notwithstanding the confused state of his mind, Oliver 
 soon discovered that most of the expedients of the lawyer 
 were grounded in cunning, and plans that required a time 
 to execute them that neither suited his disposition nor his 
 necessities. After, however, giving Mr. Lippet to under- 
 stand that he retained him in the event of a trial, an assur- 
 ance that at once satisfied the lawyer, they parted, one tak- 
 ing his course with a deliberate tread, in the direction of 
 the little building that had a wooden sign over its door, 
 with "Chester Lippet, Attorney-at-law," painted on it; 
 and the other pacing over the ground with enormous 
 strides toward the mansion-house. We shall take leave of 
 the attorney for the present, and direct the attention of 
 the reader to the client. 
 
 When Edwards entered the hall, whose enormous doors 
 were opened to the passage of the air of a mild evening, 
 he found Benjamin engaged in some of his domestic avo- 
 cations, and in a hurried voice inquired where Judge Tem- 
 ple, was to be found. 
 
 " Why, the Judge has stept into his office, with that mas- 
 ter carpenter, Mister Doolittle ; but Miss Lizzy is in that 
 there parlor. I say, Master Oliver, we'd like to have had 
 a bad job of that panther, or painter's work some calls it 
 one, and some calls it t'other but I know little of the 
 beast, seeing that it is not of British growth. I said as 
 much as that it was in the hills the last winter ; for I heard 
 it moaning on the lake shore one evening in the fall, when 
 I was pulling down from the fishing-point in the skiff. 
 Had the animal come into open water, where a man could 
 
THE PIONEERS. 317 
 
 see where and how to work his vessel, I would have en- 
 gaged the thing myself ; but looking aloft among the trees 
 is all the same to me as standing on the deck of one ship, 
 and looking at another vessel's tops. I never can tell one 
 rope from another " 
 
 "Well, well," interrupted Edwards; "I must see Miss 
 Temple." 
 
 "And you shall see her, sir," said the steward ; "she's 
 in this here room. Lord, Master Edwards, what a loss 
 she'd have been to the Judge ! Dam'me if I know where 
 he would have gotten such another daughter ; that is, full 
 grown, d'ye see. I say, sir, this Master Bumppo is a worthy 
 man, and seems to have a handy way with him, with fire- 
 arms and boat-hooks. I'm his friend, Master Oliver, and 
 he and you may both set me down as the same." 
 
 " We may want your friendship, my worthy fellow," cried 
 Edward, squeezing his hand convulsively ; "we may want 
 your friendship, in which case you shall know it." 
 
 Without waiting to hear the earnest reply that Benjamin 
 meditated, the youth extricated himself from the vigorous 
 grasp of the steward, and entered the parlor. 
 
 Elizabeth was alone, and still reclining on the sofa, where 
 we last left her. A hand, which exceeded all that the in- 
 genuity of art could model, in shape and color, veiled her 
 eyes ; and the maiden was sitting as if in deep communion 
 with herself. Struck by the attitude and loveliness of the 
 form that met his eye, the young man checked his impa- 
 tience, and approached her with respect and caution. 
 
 "Miss Temple Miss Temple," he said, " I hope I do 
 not intrude ; but I am anxious for an interview, if it be 
 only for a moment." 
 
 Elizabeth raised her face, and exhibited her dark eyes 
 swimming in moisture. 
 
 " Is it you, Edwards ? " she said, with a sweetness in her 
 voice, and a softness in her air, that she often used to her 
 father, but which, from its novelty to himself, thrilled on 
 every nerve of the youth ; " how left you our poor Louisa ? " 
 
 " She is with her father, happy and grateful," said Oliver. 
 " I never witnessed more feeling than she manifested, 
 when I ventured to express my pleasure at her escape. 
 Miss Temple, when I first heard of your horrid situation, 
 my feelings were too powerful for utterance ; and I did 
 not properly find my tongue, until the walk to Mr. Grant's 
 had given me time to collect myself. I believe I do be- 
 
T8 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 lieve; I acquitted myself better there, for Miss Grant even 
 wept at my silly speeches." 
 
 For a moment Elizabeth did not reply, but again veiled 
 her eyes with her hand. The feeling that caused the ac- 
 tion, however, soon passed away, and, raising her face again 
 to'his gaze, she continued, with a smile : 
 
 4< Your friend, the Leather-Stocking, has now become 
 my friend, Edwards ; I have been thinking how I can best 
 serve him ; perhaps you, who know his habits and his wants 
 so well, can tell me " 
 
 "I can," cried the youth, with an impetuosity that 
 startled his companion. " I can, and may Heaven reward 
 you for the wish. Natty has been so imprudent as to for- 
 
 ?et the law, and has this day killed a deer. Nay, I believe 
 must share in the crime and the penalty, for I was an 
 accomplice throughout. A complaint has been made to 
 your father, and he has granted a search " 
 
 "I know it all," interrupted Elizabeth ; " I know it all. 
 The forms of the law must be complied with, however ; the 
 search must be made, the deer found, and the penalty paid. 
 But I must retort your own question. Have you lived so 
 long in our family not to know us ? Look at me, Oliver 
 Edwards. Do I appear like one who would permit the 
 man that has just saved her life to linger in a jail for so 
 small a sum as this fine ? No, no, sir ; my father is a 
 judge, but he is a man and a Christian. It is all under- 
 stood, and no harm shall follow." 
 
 " What a load of apprehension do your declarations re- 
 move !" exclaimed Edwards : " He shall not be disturbed 
 again ! your father will protect him ! I have your assur- 
 ance, Miss Temple, that he will, and I must believe it." 
 
 "You may have his own, Mr. Edwards," returned Eliza- 
 beth, " for here he comes to make it." 
 
 But the appearance of Marmaduke, who entered the 
 apartment, contradicted the flattering anticipations of his 
 daughter. His brow was contracted, and his manner dis- 
 turbed. Neither Elizabeth nor the youth spoke ; but the 
 Judge was allowed to pace once or twice across the room 
 without interruption, when he cried : 
 
 "Our plans are defeated, girl: the obstinacy of the 
 Leather-Stocking has brought down the indignation of the 
 law on his head, and it is now out of my power to avert it." 
 
 "How? in what manner?" cried Elizabeth; "the fine 
 is nothing surely " 
 
THE PIONEERS. 319 
 
 " I did not I could not anticipate that an old, a friend- 
 less man like him, would dare to oppose the officers of 
 justice," interrupted the Judge; "I supposed that he 
 would submit to the search when the fine could have been 
 paid, and the law would have been appeased ; but now he 
 will have to meet its rigor." 
 
 "And what must the punishment be, sir? "asked Ed-- 
 wards, struggling to speak with firmness. 
 
 Marmaduke turned quickly to the spot where the youth 
 had withdrawn, and exclaimed : 
 
 " You here ! I did not observe you. I know not what it 
 will be, sir ; it is not usual for a judge to decide until he 
 has heard the testimony, and the jury have convicted. Of 
 one thing, however, you may be assured, Mr. Edwards ; 
 it shall be whatever the law demands, notwithstanding any 
 momentary weakness I may have exhibited, because the 
 luckless man has been of such eminent service to my 
 daughter." 
 
 " No one, I believe, doubts the sense of justice which 
 Judge Temple entertains ! " returned Edwards, bitterly. 
 " But let us converse calmly, sir. Will not the years, the 
 habits, nay the ignorance of my ojd friend, avail him any- 
 thing against this charge ? " 
 
 " Ought they ? They may extenuate, but can they ac- 
 quit ? Would any society be tolerable, young man, where 
 the ministers of justice are to be opposed by men armed 
 with rifles ? Is it for this that I have tamed the wilder- 
 ness ? " 
 
 " Had you tamed the beasts that so lately threatened 
 the life of Miss Temple, sir, your arguments would apply 
 better." 
 
 " Edwards !" exclaimed Elizabeth. 
 
 " Peace, my child," interrupted the father ; "the youth 
 is unjust ; but I have not given him cause. I overlook 
 thy remark, Oliver, for I know thee to be the friend of 
 Natty, and zeal in his behalf has overcome thy discretion." 
 
 "Yes, he is my friend," cried Edwards, "and I glory in 
 the title. He is simple, unlettered, even ignorant ; preJHr 
 diced, perhaps, though I feel that his opinion of the 
 world is too true ; but he has a heart, Judge Temple, that 
 would atone for a thousand faults ; he knows his friends, 
 and never deserts them, even if it be his dog." ' 
 
 " This is a good character, Mr. Edwards," returned 
 Marmaduke, mildly ; " but I have never been so fortunate 
 
3 2o THE PIONEERS. 
 
 as to secure his esteem, for to me he has been uniformly 
 repulsive ; yet I have endured it, as an old man's whim. 
 However, when he appears before me, as his judge, he 
 shall find that his former conduct shall not aggravate, any 
 more than his recent services shall extenuate, his crime." 
 
 " Crime ! " echoed Edwards : " is it a crime to drive a 
 prying miscreant from his door? Crime! Oh, no, sir; 
 if there be a criminal involved in this affair, it is not he." 
 
 "And who may it be, sir ?" asked Judge Temple, facing 
 the agitated youth, his features settled to their usual com- 
 posure. 
 
 This appeal was more than the young man could bear. 
 Hitherto he had been deeply agitated by his emotions ; 
 but now the volcano burst its boundaries. 
 
 " Who ! and this to me ! " he cried ; " ask your own con- 
 science, Judge Temple. Walk to that door, sir, and look 
 out upon the valley, that placid lake, and those dusky 
 mountains, and say to your own heart, if heart you have, 
 whence came these riches, this vale, those hills, and why 
 am I their owner ? I should think, sir, that the appear- 
 ance of Mohegan and the Leather-Stocking, stalking 
 through the country, impoverished and forlorn, would 
 wither your sight." 
 
 Marmaduke heard this burst of passion, at first, with deep 
 amazement ; but when the youth had ended, he beckoned 
 to his impatient daughter for silence, and replied : 
 
 " Oliver Edwards, thou forgettest in whose presence 
 thou standest. I have heard, young man, that thou claim- 
 est descent from the native owners of the soil ; but surely 
 thy education has been given thee to no effect, if it lias 
 not taught thee the validity of the claims that have trans- 
 ferred the title to the whites. These lands are mine by 
 the very grants of thy ancestry, if thou art so descended ; 
 and I appeal to Heaven for a testimony of the uses I have 
 put them to. After this language, we must separate. I 
 have too long sheltered thee in my dwelling ; but the time 
 has arrived when thou must quit it. Come to my office, 
 and I will discharge the debt I owe thee. Neither shall 
 thy present intemperate language mar thy future fortunes, 
 if 'thou wilt hearken to the "advice of one who is by many 
 years thy senior." 
 
 The ungovernable feeling that caused the violence of the 
 youth had passed away, and he stood gazing after the re- 
 tiring figure of Marmaduke, with a vacancy in his eye that 
 
THE PIONEERS. 321 
 
 denoted the absence of his mind. At length he recollected 
 himself, and, turning his head slowly around the apart- 
 ment, he beheld Elizabeth, still seated on the sofa, but with 
 her head dropped on her bosom, and j^er face again con- 
 cealed by her hands. 
 
 " Miss Temple," he said all violence had left his man- 
 ner " Miss Temple I have forgotten myself forgotten 
 you. You have heard what your father has decreed, and 
 this night I leave here. With you, at least, I would part 
 in amity." . 
 
 Elizabeth slowly raised her face, across which a momen- 
 tary expression of sadness stole ; but as she left her seat, 
 her dark eyes lighted with their usual fire, her cheek flushed 
 to burning, and her whole air seemed to belong to another 
 nature. 
 
 " I forgive you, Edwards, and my father will forgive 
 you," she said, when she reached the door. " You do not 
 know us, but the time may come when your opinions shall 
 change " 
 
 " Of you ! never ! " interrupted the youth ; "I " 
 
 " I would speak, sir, and not listen. There is something 
 in this affair that I do not comprehend ; but tell the 
 Leather-Stocking he has friends as well as judges in us. 
 Do not let the old man experience unnecessary uneasiness 
 at this rupture. It is impossible that you could increase 
 his claims here ; neither shall they be diminished by any- 
 thing you have said. Mr. Edwards, I wish you happiness, 
 and warmer friends." 
 
 The youth would have spoken, but she vanished from 
 the door so rapidly, that when he reached the hall her form 
 was nowhere to be seen. He paused a moment, in stupor, 
 and then, rushing from the house, instead of following 
 Marmaduke to his "office," he took his way directly for 
 the cabin of the hunters. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 " Who measured earth, described the starry spheres, 
 And traced the long records of lunar years." POPE. 
 
 RICHARD did not return from the exercise of his official 
 
 duties until late in the evening of the following day. It 
 
 had been one portion of nis business to superintend the 
 
 arrest of part of a gang of counterfeiters, that had, even at 
 
 21 
 
322 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 that early period, buried themselves in the woods, to manu- 
 facture their h^.se coin, which they afterward circulated 
 from one end of the Union to the other. The expedition 
 had been completely successful, and about midnight the 
 sheriff entered the village, at the head off a posse of dep- 
 uties and constables, in the centre of whom rode, pinioned, 
 four of the malefactors. At the gate of the mansien-house 
 they separated, Mr. Jones directing his assistants to pro- 
 ceed with their charge to the county jail, while he pursued 
 his own way up the, gravel walk, with the kind of self-satis- 
 faction that a man of his organization would feel, who had 
 really for once done a very clever thing. 
 
 " Holla! Aggy!" shouted the sheriff, when he reached 
 the door ; ll where are you, you black dog ? will you keep 
 me here in the dark all night ? Holla ! Aggy ! Brave ! 
 Brave ! hoy, hoy where have you got to Brave ? Off his 
 watch ! Everybody is asleep but myself ! poor I must keep 
 my eyes open, that others may sleep in safety Brave ! 
 Brave ! Well, I will say this for the dog, lazy as he's grown, 
 that it is the first time I ever knew him to let anyone come 
 to the door after dark, without having a smell to know 
 whether it was an honest man or not. He could tell by 
 his nose, almost as well as I could myself by looking at 
 them. Holla ! you Agamemnon ! where are you ? Oh / 
 here comes the dog at last." 
 
 By this time the sheriff had dismounted, and observed a 
 form, which he supposed to be that of Brave, slowly creep- 
 ing out of the kennel ; when, to his astonishment, it reared 
 itself on two legs instead of four, and he was able to distin- 
 guish, by the starlight, the curly head and dark visage of 
 the negro. 
 
 " Ha ! what the devil are you doing there, you black 
 rascal ? " he cried. " Is it not hot enough for your Guinea 
 blood in the house this warm night, but you must drive 
 out the poor dog, and sleep in his straw ? " 
 
 By this time the boy was quite awake, and, with a blub- 
 bering whine, he attempted to reply to his master. 
 
 " Oh ! masser Richard ! masser Richard ! such a ting! 
 such a ting ! I nebber tink a could 'appen ! neber tink he 
 die! Oh, Lor-a-gor ! ain't bury keep 'em till masser 
 Richard get back got a grabe dug " 
 
 Here the feelings of the negro completely got the mastery, 
 and, instead of making any intelligible explanation of the 
 causes of his grief, he blubbered aloud. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 323 
 
 " Eh ! what ! buried ! grave ! dead ! " exclaimed Rich- 
 ard, with a tremor in his voice ; " nothing serious ? No- 
 thing has happened to Benjamin, I hope ? I know he has 
 been bilious, but I gave him " 
 
 " Oh, worser 'an dat ! worser 'an dat ! " sobbed the negro. 
 "Oh! de Lor! Miss 'Lizzy an' Miss Grant walk 
 mountain poor Bravy ! kill a lady painter Oh, Lor ? 
 Lor ! Natty Bumppo tare he troat open come a see, 
 masser Richard here he be here he be." 
 
 As all this was perfectly inexplicable to the sheriff, he 
 was very glad to wait patiently until the black brought a 
 lantern from the kitchen, when he followed Aggy to the 
 kennel, where he beheld poor Brave, indeed, lying in his 
 blood, stiff and cold, but decently covered with the great- 
 coat of the negro. He was on the point of demanding an 
 explanation ; but the grief of the black, who had fallen 
 asleep on his voluntary watch, having burst out afresh on 
 his waking, utterly disqualified the lad from giving one. 
 Luckily, at this moment the principal door of the house 
 opened, and the coarse features -of Benjamin were thrust 
 over the threshold, with a candle elevated above them, 
 shedding its dim rays around in such a manner as to ex- 
 hibit the lights and shadows of his countenance. Richard 
 threw his bridle to the black, and, bidding him look to the 
 horse, he entered the hall. 
 
 "What is the meaning of the dead dog?" he cried. 
 "Where is Miss Temple ?" 
 
 Benjamin made one of his square gestures, with the 
 thumb of his left hand pointing over his right shoulder, 
 as he answered : 
 
 "Turned in." 
 
 "Judge Temple where is he ?" 
 
 "In his berth." 
 
 " But explain ; why is Brave dead ? and what is the 
 cause of Aggy's grief ? " 
 
 "Why, it's all down, squire," said Benjamin, pointing 
 to a slate that lay on the table, by the side of a mug of 
 toddy, a short pipe, in which the tobacco was yet burning, 
 and a prayer-book. 
 
 Among the other pursuits of Richard, he had a passion 
 to keep a register of all passing events ; and his diary, 
 which was written in the manner of a journal, or log-book, 
 embraced not only such circumstances as affected himself, 
 but observations on the weather, and all the occurrences 
 
324 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 of the family, and frequently of the village. Since his ap- 
 pointment to the office of sheriff, and his consequent ab- 
 sences from home, he had employed Benjamin to make 
 memoranda on a slate, of whatever might be thought worth 
 remembering, which, on his return, were regularly trans- 
 ferred to the journal with proper notations of the time, 
 manner, and other little particulars. There w r as, to be 
 sure, one material objection to the clerkship of Benjamin, 
 which the ingenuity of no one but Richard could have 
 overcome. The steward read nothing but his prayer-book, 
 and that only in particular parts, and by the aid of a good 
 deal of spelling, and some misnomers ; but he could not 
 form a single letter with a pen. This would have been an 
 insuperable bar to journalizing with most men ; but Rich- 
 ard invented a kind of hieroglyphical character, which 
 was intended to note all the ordinary occurrences of a 
 day, such as how the wind blew, whether the sun shone, 
 or whether it rained, the hours, etc. ; and for the extra- 
 ordinary, after giving certain elementary lectures on the 
 subject, the sheriff was obliged to trust to the ingenuity of 
 the major-domo. The reader will at once perceive, that 
 it was to this chronicle that Benjamin pointed, instead of 
 directly answering the sheriff's interrogatory. 
 
 When Mr. Jones had drunk a glass of toddy, he brought 
 forth from its secret place his proper journal, and, seating 
 himself by the table, he prepared to transfer the contents of 
 the slate to the paper, at the same time that he appeased his 
 curiosity. Benjamin laid one hand on the back of the 
 sheriff's chair, in a familiar manner, while he kept the 
 other at liberty to make use of a forefinger, that was bent 
 like some of his own characters, as an index to point out 
 his meaning. 
 
 The first thing referred to by the sheriff was the diagram 
 of a compass, cut in one corner of the slate for permanent 
 use. The cardinal points were plainly marked on it, and 
 all the usual divisions were indicated in such a manner 
 that no man who had ever steered a ship could mistake 
 them. 
 
 " Oh! "-said the sheriff, settling himself down comfort- 
 ably in his chair, " you'd the wind southeast I see, all last 
 night ; I thought it would have blown up rain." 
 
 "Devil the drop, sir," said Benjamin; "I believe that 
 the scuttle-butt up aloft is emptied, for there hasn't so 
 much water fell in the country for the last three weeks as 
 
THE PIONEERS. 325 
 
 would float Indian John's canoe, and that draws just one 
 inch nothing, light." 
 
 " Well but didn't the wind change here this morning ? 
 there was a change where I was." 
 
 "To be sure it did, squire ; and haven't I logged it as a 
 shift of wind ?" 
 
 " I don't see where, Benjamin " 
 
 "Don't see ! " interrupted the steward, a little crustily ; 
 "an't there a mark ag'in east and-by-nothe-half-nothe, with 
 sum'mat like a rising sun at the end of it, to show 'twas in 
 the morning watch ? " 
 
 " Yes, yes, that is very legible ; but where is the change 
 noted ? " 
 
 " Where ! why doesn't it see this here tea-kettle, with a 
 mark run from the spout straight, ;r mayhap a little 
 crooked or so, into west-and-by-southe-half-southe ? now I 
 call this a shift of wind, squire. Well, do you see this here 
 boar's head that you made for me, alongside of the com- 
 pass 
 
 " Ay, ay Boreas I see. Why, you've drawn lines from 
 its mouth, extending from one of your marks to the other." 
 
 " It's no fault of mine, Squire Dickens ; 'tis your 
 
 d d climate. The wind has been at all them there 
 
 marks this very day ; and that's all round the compass, 
 except a little matter of an Irishman's hurricane at merid- 
 ium, which you'll find marked right up and down. Now, 
 I've known a sow-wester blow for three weeks, in the 
 channel, with a clean drizzle, in which you might wash 
 your face and hands without the trouble of hauling in 
 water from alongside." 
 
 "Very well, Benjamin," said the sheriff, writing in his 
 journal ; " I believe I have caught the idea. Oh ! here's 
 a cloud over the rising sun so you had it hazy in the 
 morning ? " 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir," said Benjamin. 
 
 "Ah ! it's Sunday, and here are the marks for the length 
 of the sermon one, two, three, four what ! did Mr. Grant 
 preach forty minutes ?" 
 
 " Ay, sum'mat like it ; it was a good half-hour by my 
 own glass, and then there was the time lost in turning it, 
 and some little allowance for leeway in not being over- 
 smart about it." 
 
 " Benjamin, this is as long as a Presbyterian ; you never 
 could have been ten minutes in turning the glass ! " 
 
3 26 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 "Why, do you see, Squire, the parson was very solemn, 
 and I just closed my eyes in order to think the better with 
 myself, just the same as you'd put in the dead-lights to 
 make all snug, and when I opened them ag'in I found the 
 congregation were getting under weigh for home, so I 
 calculated the ten minutes would cover the leeway after 
 the glass was out. It was only some such matter as a cat's 
 nap." 
 
 " Oh, ho ! master Benjamin, you were asleep, were you ? 
 but I'll set down no such slander against an orthodox di- 
 vine." Richard wrote twenty nine minutes in his journal, 
 and continued ''Why, what's this you've got opposite 
 ten o'clock A. M. ? A full moon ! had you a moon visible 
 by day ? I have heard of such portents before now, but 
 eh ! what's this alongside of it ? an hour-glass ? " 
 
 "That !" said Benjamin, looking coolly over the sher- 
 iff's shoulder, and rolling the tobacco about in his mouth 
 with a jocular air ; "why, that's a small matter of my own. 
 It's no moon, squire, but only Betty Hollister's face ; for, 
 d'ye see, sir, hearing all the same as if she had got up a 
 new cargo of Jamaiky from the river, I called in as I was 
 roing to the church this morning ten A. M. was it ? just 
 the time and tried a glass ; and so I logged it, to put me 
 in mind of calling to pay her like an honest man." 
 
 "That was it, was it?" said the sheriff, with some dis- 
 pleasure at this innovation on his .memoranda ; " and 
 could you not make a better glass than this ? it looks like 
 a death's-head and an hour-glass." 
 
 " Why, as I liked the stuff, squire," returned the steward, 
 " I turned in, homeward bound, and took t'other glass, 
 which I set down at the bottom of the first, and that gives 
 the thing the shape it has. But as I was there again to- 
 night, and paid for the three at once, your honor may as 
 v.-'jll run the sponge over the whole business." 
 
 " I will buy you a slate for your own affairs, Benjamin," 
 said the sheriff ; " I don't like to have the journal marked 
 over in this manner." 
 
 "You needn't you needn't, squire ; for, seeing that I 
 was likely to trade often with the woman while this barrel 
 lasted, I've opened a fair account with Betty, and she keeps 
 her marks on the back of her bar-door, and I keeps the 
 tally on this here bit of a stick." 
 
 As Benjamin concluded he produced a piece of wood, 
 on which five very large, honest notches were apparent 
 
THE PION'EERS. 327 
 
 The sheriff cast his eyes on this new ledger for a moment, 
 and continued : 
 
 " What have we here ! Saturday, two p. M. Why here'? 
 a whole family piece ! two wineglasses upside-down ! " 
 
 " That's two women ; the one this a-way is Miss 'Lizzy, 
 and t'other is the parson's young 'un." 
 
 " Cousin Bess and Miss Grant ! " exclaimed the sheriff 
 in amazement ; "what have they to do with my journal ?' ; 
 
 " They'd enough to do to get out of the jaws of that there 
 painter or panther," said the immovable steward. "This 
 here thingum'y, squire, that maybe looks sum'mat like 
 a rat is the beast, d'ye see ; and this here t'other thing, 
 keel uppermost, is poor old Brave, who died nobly, all the 
 same, as an admiral fighting for his king and country ; and 
 that there 
 
 " Scarecrow," interrupted Richard. 
 
 " Ay, mayhap it do look a little wild or so," continued 
 the steward ; but to my judgment, squire, it's the best image 
 I've made, seeing it's most like the man himself ; well, 
 that's Natty Bumppo, who shot this here painter, that 
 killed that there dog, who would have eaten or done worse 
 to them here young ladies." 
 
 "And what the devil does all this mean?" cried Rich- 
 ard, impatiently. 
 
 " Mean ! " echoed Benjamin ; " it is as true as the Boad- 
 ishey's log book " 
 
 He was interrupted by the sheriff, who put a few direct 
 questions to him, that obtained more intelligible answers, 
 by which means he became possessed of a tolerably-cor- 
 rect idea of the truth. When the wonder, and we must do 
 Richard the justice to say, the feelings also, that were cre- 
 ated by this narrative, had in some degree subsided, the 
 sheriff turned his eyes again on his journal, where more 
 inexplicable hieroglyphics met his view. 
 ' " What have we here ? " he cried ; " two men boxing ! 
 has there been a breach of the peace ? ah, that's the way, 
 the moment my back is turned " 
 
 " That's the Judge and young Master Edwards," inter- 
 rupted the steward, very cavalierly. 
 
 "How ! 'duke fighting with Oliver! what the devil has 
 got into you all ? more things have happened within the 
 last thirty-six hours than in the preceding six months." 
 
 " Yes, it's so indeed, squire," returned the steward ; " I've 
 known a smart chase, and a fight at the tail of it, where 
 
32$ THE PIONEERS. 
 
 less has been logged than I've got on that there slate. 
 Howsomnever, they didn't come to facers, only passed a 
 little jaw fore and aft." 
 
 " Explain ! explain ? " cried Richard ; " it was about the 
 mines, ha ! ay, ay, I see it, I see it ; here is a man with a 
 pick on his shoulder. So you heard it all, Benjamin ? " 
 
 "Why, yes, it was about their minds, I believe, squire," 
 returned the steward ; " and, by what I can learn, they 
 spoke them pretty plainly to one another. Indeed, I may 
 say that I overheard a small matter of it myself, seeing 
 that the windows was open, and I hard by. But this here 
 is no pick, but an anchor on a man's shoulder ; and here's 
 the other fluke down his back, maybe a little too close, 
 which signifies that the lad has got under weigh and left 
 his moorings." 
 
 " Has Edwards left the house ?" 
 
 "He has." 
 
 Richard pursued this advantage ; and, after a long and 
 close examination, he succeeded in getting out of Benja- 
 min all that he knew, not only concerning the misunder- 
 standing, but of the attempt to search the hut, and Hiram's 
 discomfiture. The sheriff was no sooner possessed of these 
 facts, which Benjamin related with all possible tenderness 
 to the Leather-Stocking, than, snatching up his hat, and 
 bidding the astonished steward secure the doors and go to 
 his bed, he left the house. 
 
 For at least five minutes after Richard disappeared, 
 Benjamin stood with his arms a-kimbo, and his eyes fas- 
 tened on the door ; when, having collected his astonished 
 faculties, he prepared to execute the orders he had received. 
 
 It has been already said that the " court of common pleas 
 and general sessions of the peace," or, as it is commonly 
 called, the " county court," over which Judge Temple pre- 
 sided, held one of its stated sessions on the following morn- 
 ing. The attendants of Richard were officers who had 
 come to the village, as much to discharge their usual du- 
 ties at this court, as to escort the prisoners ; and the sheriff 
 knew their habits too well, not to feel confident that he 
 should find most, if not all of them, in the public room of 
 the jail, discussing the qualities of the keeper's liquors, 
 Accordingly he held his way through the silent streets of 
 the village, directly to the' small and insecure building that 
 contained all the unfortunate debtors, and some of the 
 criminals of the county, and where justice was administered 
 
THE PIONEERS. 329 
 
 to such unwary applicants as were so silly as to throw 
 away two dollars in order to obtain one from their neigh- 
 bors. The arrival of four malefactors in the custody of a 
 dozen officers, was an event, at that day, in Templeton ; 
 and, when the sheriff reached the jail, he found every in- 
 dication that his subordinates intended to make a night 
 of it. 
 
 The nod of the sheriff brought two of his deputies to the 
 door, who in their turn drew off six or seven of the con- 
 stables. With this force Richard led the way through the 
 village, toward the bank of the lake, undisturbed by any 
 noise, except the barking of one or two curs, who were 
 alarmed by the measured tread of the party, and by the low 
 murmurs that ran through their own numbers, as a few 
 cautious questions and answers were exchanged, relative 
 to the object of their expedition. When they had crossed 
 the little bridge of hewn logs that was thrown over the 
 Susquehanna, they left the highway, and struck into that 
 field which had been thq scene of the victory over the 
 pigeons. From this they followed their leader into the low 
 bushes of pines and chestnuts which had sprung up along 
 the shores of the lake, where the plough had not succeeded 
 the fall of the trees, and soon entered the forest itself. 
 Here Richard paused and collected his troop around him. 
 
 " I have required your assistance, my friends," he cried, 
 in a low voice, " in order to arrest Nathaniel Bumppo, 
 commonly called the Leather-Stocking. He has assaulted 
 a magistrate, and resisted the execution of a search-war- 
 rant, by threatening the life of a constable with his rifle. 
 In short, my friends, he has set an example of rebellion 
 to the laws, and has become a kind of outlaw. He is sus- 
 pected of other misdemeanors and offences against private 
 rights ; and I have this night taken on myself, by the vir- 
 tue of my office as sheriff, to arrest the said Bumppo, and 
 bring him to the county jail, that he may be present and 
 forthcoming to answer to these heavy charges before the 
 court to-morrow morning. In executing this duty, friends 
 and fellow-citizens, you are to use courage and discretion : 
 courage, that you may not be daunted by any lawless at- 
 tempts that this man may make with his rifle and his dogs 
 to oppose you ; and discretion, which here means caution 
 and prudence, that he may not escape from this sudden 
 attack and for other good reasons that I need not men- 
 tion. You will form yourselves in a complete circle around 
 
330 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 his hut, and at the word ' advance,' called aloud by me, 
 you will rush forward, and, without giving the criminal 
 time for deliberation, enter his dwelling by force, and make 
 him your prisoner. Spread yourselves for this purpose, 
 while I shall descend to the shore with a deputy, to take 
 charge of that point ; and all communications must be 
 made directly to me, under the bank in front of the hut, 
 where I shall station myself and remain, in order to re- 
 ceive them." 
 
 This speech, which Richard had been studying during 
 his walk, had the effect that all similar performances pro- 
 duce, of bringing the dangers of the expedition imme- 
 diately before the eyes of his forces. The men divided, 
 some plunging deeper into the foresjt, in order to gain their 
 stations without giving an alarm, and others continuing to 
 advance, at a gait that would allow the whole party to go 
 in order ; but ail devising the best plan to repulse the at- 
 tack of a dog r or to escape a rifle bullet. It was a moment 
 of dread expectation and interest. 
 
 When the sheriff thought time enough had elapsed for 
 the different divisions of his force to arrive at their sta- 
 tions, he raised his voice in the silence of the forest, and 
 shouted the watchword. The sounds played among the 
 arched branches of the trees in hollow cadences ; but 
 when the last sinking tone was lost on the ear, in place 
 of the expected howls of the dogs, no other noises were 
 returned but the crackling of torn branches and dried 
 sticks, as they yielded before the advancing steps of the 
 officers. Even this soon ceased, as if by a common con- 
 sent, when the curiosity and impatience of the sheriff get- 
 ting the complete ascendency over discretion, he rushed 
 up the bank, and in a moment stood on the little piece of 
 cleared ground in front of the spot where Natty had so 
 long lived. To his amazement, in place of the hut he saw 
 only its smoldering ruins. 
 
 The party gradually drew together about the heap of 
 ashes and the ends of smoking logs ; while a dim flame in 
 the centre of the ruin, which still found fuel to feed its 
 lingering life, threw its pale light, flickering with the pass- 
 ing currents of the air, around the circle now showing a 
 face with eyes fixed in astonishment, and then glancing to 
 another countenance, leaving the former shaded in the 
 oDscurity of night. Not a voice was raised in inquiry, nor 
 an exclamation made in astonishment. The transition 
 
THE PIONEERS. 331 
 
 from excitement to disappointment was too powerful for 
 speech ; and even Richard lost the use of an organ that 
 was seldom known to fail him. 
 
 The whole group were yet in the fulness of their sur- 
 prise, when a tall -form stalked from the gloom into the 
 circle, treading down the hot ashes and dying embers with 
 callous feet ; and, standing over the light, lifted his cap, 
 and exposed the bare head and weather-beaten features of 
 the Leather-Stocking. For a moment he gazed at the 
 dusky figures who surrounded him, more in sorrow than 
 in anger before he spoke. 
 
 "What would ye with an old and helpless man ?" he 
 said. " You've driven God's creaters from the wilderness, 
 where His providence had put them for His own pleasure ; 
 and you've brought in the troubles and divilties of the law, 
 where no man was ever known to disturb another. You 
 have driven me, that have lived forty long years of my ap- 
 pointed time in this very spot, from my home and the 
 shelter of my head, lest you should put your wicked feet 
 and wasty ways in my cabin. You've driven me to burn 
 these logs, under which I've eaten and drunk the first of 
 Heaven's gifts, and the other of the pure springs for the 
 half of a hundred years ; and to mourn the ashes under 
 my feet, as a man would weep and mourn for the children 
 of his body. You've rankled the heart of an old man, that 
 has never harmed you or your'n, with bitter feelings 
 toward his kind, at a time when his thoughts should be on 
 a better world ; and you've driven him to wish that the 
 beasts of the forest, who never feast on the blood of their 
 own families, was his kindred and race ; and now, when 
 he has come to see the last brand of his hut, before it is 
 melted into ashes, you follow him up, at midnight, like 
 hungry hounds on the track of a worn-out and dying deer. 
 What more would ye have ? for I am here one too many. 
 I come to mourn, not to fight ; and, if it is God's pleasure, 
 work your will on me." 
 
 When the old man ended he stood, with the light glim- 
 mering around his thinly-cqvered head, looking earnestly 
 at the group, which receded from the pile with an involun- 
 tary movement, without the reach of the quivering rays, 
 leaving a free passage for his retreat into the bushes, 
 where pursuit in the dark would have been fruitless 
 Natty seemed not to regard this advantage, but stood fac- 
 ing each individual in the circle in succession, as if to see 
 
332 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 who would be the first to arrest him. After a pause of a 
 few moments Richard began to rally his confused facul- 
 ties, and, advancing apologized for his duty, and made him 
 his prisoner. The party now collected, and, preceded by 
 the sheriff, with Natty in their centre, they took their way 
 tow r ard the village. 
 
 During the walk, divers questions were put to the pris- 
 oner concerning his reasons for burning the hut, and 
 whither Mohegan had retreated ; but to all of them he ob- 
 served a profound silence, until, fatigued with their prev- 
 ious duties, and the lateness of the hour, the sheriff and 
 his followers, reached the village, and dispersed to their 
 several places of rest, after turning the key of a jail on the 
 aged and apparently friendless Leather-Stocking. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 " Fetch here the stocks, ho ! 
 
 You stubborn ancient knave, you reverend bragget, 
 We'll teach you." LEAR. 
 
 THE long days and early sun of July allowed time for a 
 gathering of the interested, before the little bell of the 
 academy announced that the appointed hour had arrived 
 for administering right to the wronged, and punishment to 
 the guilty. Ever since the dawn of day, the highways and 
 woodpaths that, issuing from the forests, and winding along 
 the sides of the mountains, centred in Templeton, had been 
 thronged with equestrians and footmen, bound to the haven 
 of justice. T here was to be seen a well-clad yeoman, 
 mounted on a sleek, switch-tailed steed, rambling along the 
 highway, with his red face elevated in a manner that said, 
 "I have paid for my land, and -fear no man ;" while his 
 bosom was swelling with the pride of being one of the 
 grand inquest for the county. At his side rode a compan- 
 ion, his equal in independence of feeling, perhaps, but his 
 inferior in thrift, as in property and consideration. This 
 was a professed dealer in law-suits a man whose name 
 appeared in every calendar whose substance, gained in 
 the multifarious expedients of a settler's changeable habits, 
 was wasted in feeding the harpies of the courts.. He was 
 endeavoring to impress the mind of the grand juror with 
 the merits of a cause now at issue. Along with these was 
 
THE PIONEERS. 333 
 
 a pedestrian, who, having thrown a rifle frock over his 
 shirt, and placed his best wool hat above his sunburnt vis- 
 sage, had issued from his retreat in the woods by a foot- 
 path, and was striving to keep company with the others, 
 on his way to hear and to decide the disputes of his neigh- 
 bors, as a petit juror. Fifty similar little knots of country- 
 men might have been seen, on that morning, journeying 
 toward the shire-town on the same errand. 
 
 By ten o'clock the streets of the village were filled with 
 busy faces ; some talking of their private concerns, some 
 listening to a popular expounder of political creeds ; and 
 others gaping in at the open stores, admiring the finery, or 
 examining scythes, axes, and such other manufactures as 
 attracted their curiosity or excited their admiration. A 
 few women were in the crowd, most carrying infants, and 
 followed, at a lounging, listless gait, by their rustic lords 
 and masters. There was one young couple, in whom con- 
 nubial love was yet fresh, walking at a respectful distance 
 from each other ; while the swain directed the timid steps 
 of his bride, by a gallant offering of a thumb. 
 
 At the first stroke of the bell, Richard issued from the 
 door of the " Bold Dragoon," flourishing a sheathed sword, 
 that he was fond of saying his ancestors had carried in one 
 of Cromwell's victories, and crying, in an authoritative 
 tone, to " clear the way for the court." The order was 
 obeyed promptly, though not servilely, the members of 
 the crowd nodding familiarly to the members of the pro- 
 cession as it passed. A party of constables with their 
 staves followed the sheriif, preceding Marmaduke, and 
 four plain, grave-looking yeomen, who were his associates 
 on the bench. There was nothing to distinguish these 
 subordinate judges from the better part of the spectators, 
 except gravity, which they affected a little more than com- 
 mon, and that one of their number was attired in an old- 
 fashioned military coat, with skirts that reached no lower 
 than the middle of his thighs, and bearing two little silver 
 epaulets, not half so big as a modern pair of shoulder-knots. 
 This gentleman was a colonel of the militia, in attendance 
 on a court-martial, who found leisure to steal a moment 
 from his military to attend to his civil jurisdiction ; but 
 this incongruity excited neither notice nor comment. 
 Three or four clean-shaved lawyers followed, as meek as if 
 they were lambs going to the slaughter. One or two of 
 their number had contrived to obtain an air of scholastic 
 
334 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 gravity by wearing spectacles. The rear was brought up 
 by another posse of constables, and the mob followed the 
 whole into the room where the court held its sittings. 
 
 The edifice was composed of a basement of squared logs, 
 perforated here and there with small grated windows, 
 through which a few wistful faces were gazing at the 
 crowd without. Among the captives were the guilty, 
 downcast countenances of the counterfeiters, and the sim- 
 ple but honest features of the Leather-Stocking. The 
 dungeons were to be distinguished, externally, from the 
 debtor's apartments only by the size of the apertures, the 
 thickness of the grates, and by the heads of the spikes that 
 were driven into the logs as a protection against the illegal 
 use of edge-tools. The upper story was of framework, 
 regularly covered with boards, and contained one room 
 decently fitted up for the purpose of justice. A bench, 
 raised on a narrow platform to the height of a man above 
 the floor, and protected in front by a light railing, ran 
 along one of its sides. In the centre was a seat, furnished 
 with rude arms, that was always filled by the presiding 
 judge. In front, on a level with the floor of the room, 
 was a large table covered with green baize, and surrounded 
 by benches ; and at either of its ends were rows of seats, 
 rising one over the other, for jury-boxes. Each of these 
 divisions was surrounded by a railing. The remainder of 
 the room was an open square, appropriated to the spec- 
 tators. 
 
 When the judges were seated, the lawyers had taken pos- 
 session of the table, and the noise of moving feet had 
 ceased in the area, the proclamations were made in the 
 usual form, the jurors were sworn, the charge was given, 
 and the court proceeded to hear the business before them. 
 
 We shall not detain the reader with a description of the 
 captious discussions that occupied the court for the first 
 two hours. Judge Temple had impressed on the jury, in 
 his charge, the necessity for dispatch on their part, recom- 
 mending to their notice, from motives of humanity, the 
 prisoners in the jail as the first objects of their attention. 
 Accordingly, after the period we have mentioned had 
 elapsed, the cry of the officer to " clear the way for the 
 grand jury," announced the entrance of that body. The 
 usual forms were observed, when the foreman handed up 
 to the bench two bills, on both of which the Judge ob- 
 served, at the first glance of his eye, the name of Nathaniel 
 
THE PIONEERS. 335 
 
 Bumppo. It was a leisure moment with the court ; some 
 low whispering passed between the bench, and the sheriff, 
 who gave a signal to his officers, and in a very few minutes 
 the silence that prevailed was interrupted by a general 
 movement in the outer crowd, when presently the Leather- 
 Stocking made his appearance, ushered into the criminal's 
 bar under the custody of two constables. The hum ceased, 
 the people closed into the open space again, and the silence 
 soon became so deep that the hard breathing of the pris- 
 oner was audible. 
 
 Natty was dressed in his buckskin garments, without 
 his coat, in place of which he wore only a shirt of coarse 
 linen-check, fastened at his throat by the sinew of a deer, 
 leaving his red neck and w T eather-beaten face exposed and 
 bare. It was the first time that he had ever crossed the 
 threshold of a court of justice, and curiosity seemed to be 
 strongly blended with his personal feelings. He raised 
 his eyes to the bench, thence to the jury-boxes, the bar, 
 and the crowd without, meeting everywhere looks fastened 
 on himself. After surveying his own person, as searching 
 the cause of this unusual attraction, he once more turned 
 his face around the assemblage, and opened his mouth in 
 one of his silent and remarkable laughs. 
 
 " Prisoner, remove your cap," said Judge Temple. 
 
 The order was either unheard or unheeded. 
 
 " Nathaniel Bumppo, be uncovered," repeated the Judge. 
 
 Natty started at the sound of his name, and, raising his 
 face earnestly toward the bench, he said : 
 
 "Anan !" 
 
 Mr. Lippet arose from his seat at the table, and whis- 
 pered in the ear of the prisoner ; when Natty gave him a 
 nod of assent, and took the deer-skin covering from his 
 head. 
 
 " Mr. District Attorney," said the Judge, " the prisoner 
 is ready ; we wait for the indictment." 
 
 The duties of public prosecutor were discharged by 
 Dirck Van der School, who adjusted his spectacles, cast a 
 cautious look around him at his brethren of the bar, which 
 he ended by throwing his head aside so as to catch one 
 glance over the glasses, when he proceeded to read the bill 
 aloud. It was the usual charge for an assault and battery 
 on the person of Hiram Doolittle, and was couched in the 
 ancient language of such instruments, especial care having 
 been taken by the scribe not to omit the name of a single 
 
336 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 offensive weapon known to the law. When he had done, 
 Mr. Van der School removed his spectacles, which he 
 closed and placed in his pocket, seemingly for the pleasure 
 of again opening and replacing them on his nose. After 
 this evolution was repeated once or twice, he handed the 
 bill over to Mr. Lippet, with a cavalier air, that said as 
 much as " Pick a hole in that if you can." 
 
 Natty listened to the charge with great attention, lean- 
 ing forward toward the reader with an earnestness that de- 
 noted his interest ; and, when it was ended, he raised his 
 tall body to the utmost, and drew a long sigh. All eyes 
 were turned to the prisoner, whose voice was vainly ex- 
 pected to break the stillness of the room. 
 
 " You have heard the presentment that the grand jury 
 have made, Nathaniel Bumppo," said the Judge ; "what do 
 you plead to the charge ? " 
 
 The old man dropped his head for a moment in a re- 
 flecting attitude, and then, raising it, he laughed before he 
 answered : 
 
 "That I handled the man a little rough or so, is not to 
 be denied ; but that there was occasion to make use of all 
 the things that the gentleman has spoken of, is downright 
 untrue. I am not much of a wrestler seeing that I'm get- 
 ting old ; but I was out among the Scotch-Irishers let me 
 see it must have been as long ago as the first year of the 
 old war " 
 
 " Mr. Lippet, if you are retained for the prisoner," in- 
 terrupted Judge Temple, " instruct your client how to 
 plead ; if not, the court will assign him counsel." 
 
 Aroused from studying the indictment by this appeal, 
 the attorney got up, and after a short dialogue with the 
 hunter in a low voice, he informed the court that they 
 were ready to proceed. 
 
 " Do you plead guilty or not guilty ?" said the Judge. 
 
 " I may say not guilty, with a clean conscience," returned 
 Natty ; " for there's no guilt in doing what's right ; and I'd 
 rather died on the spot, than had him put foot in the hut 
 at that moment." 
 
 Richard started at this declaration, and bent his eyes 
 significantly on Hiram, who returned the look with a slight 
 movement of his eyebrows. 
 
 "Proceed to open the cause, Mr. District Attorney," 
 continued the Judge. " Mr. Clerk, enter the plea of net 
 guilty." 
 
THE PIONEERS. 337 
 
 After a short opening address from Mr. Van der School, 
 Hiram was summoned to the bar to give his testimony. 
 It was delivered to the letter, perhaps, but with all that 
 moral coloring which can be conveyed under such expres- 
 sions as, "thinking no harm," "feeling it my bounden 
 duty as a magistrate," and " seeing that the constable was 
 back'ard in the business." When he had done, and the 
 district attorney declined putting any further interroga- 
 tories, Mr. Lippet arose, with an air of keen investigation 
 and asked the following questions: 
 
 " Are you a constable of this county, sir." 
 
 "No, sir," said Hiram, "I'm only a justice-peace." 
 
 "Task you, Mr. Doolittle, in the face of this court, put- 
 ting it to your conscience and your knowledge of the law, 
 whether you had any right to enter that man's dwelling ?" 
 
 *' Hem ! " said Hiram, undergoing a violent struggle be- 
 tween his desire for vengeance and his love of legal fame ; 
 "I do suppose that in that is strict law that supposing 
 maybe I hadn't a real lawful right ; but as the case was 
 and Billy was so back'ard I thought I might come for'- 
 ard in the business." 
 
 "I ask you again, sir," continued the lawyer, following 
 up his success, "whether this old, this friendless old man, 
 did or did not repeatedly forbid your entrance ? " 
 
 " Why, I must say," said Hiram, ''that he was consider- 
 able cross-grained ; not what I call clever, seeing that it 
 was only one neighbor wanting to go into the house of 
 another." 
 
 " Oh ! then you own it was only meant for a neighborly 
 visit on your part, and without the sanction of law. Re- 
 member, gentleman, the words of the witness, 'one neigh- 
 bor wanting to enter the house of another.' Now, sir, I 
 ask you if Nathaniel Bumppo did not again and again 
 order you not to enter ? " 
 
 " There was some words passed between us," said Hiram. 
 " but I read the warrant to him aloud." 
 
 " I repeat my question ; did he tell you not to enter his 
 habitation ? " 
 
 " There was a good deal passed betwixt us but I've the 
 warrant in my pocket ; maybe the court would wish to see 
 it?" 
 
 "Witness," said Judge Temple, "answer the question 
 directly ; did or did not the prisoner forbid your entering 
 his hut ?" 
 
 22 
 
338 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 " Why, I some think " 
 
 " Answer without equivocation," continued the Judge, 
 sternly. 
 
 " He did." 
 
 "And did you attempt to enter after this order ? " 
 
 " I did ; but the warrant was in my hand." 
 
 " Proceed, Mr. Lippet, with your examination." 
 
 But the attorney saw that the impression was in favor 
 of his client, and waving his hand with a supercilious man- 
 ner, as if unwilling to insult the understanding of the jury 
 with any further defence, he replied : 
 
 " No, sir ; I leave it for your honor to charge ; I rest 
 my case here." 
 
 " Mr. District Attorney," said the Judge, " have you 
 anything to say ? " 
 
 Mr. Van der School removed his spectacles, folded them 
 and, replacing them once more on his nose, eyed the other 
 bill which he held in his hand, and then said, looking at 
 the bar over the top of his glasses : 
 
 " I shall rest the prosecution here, if the court please." 
 
 Judge Temple arose and begun the charge. 
 
 " Gentlemen of the jury," he said, " you have heard the 
 testimony, and I shall detain you but a moment. If an 
 officer meet with resistance in the execution of a process, 
 he has an undoubted right to call any citizen to his assist- 
 ance ; and the acts of such assistant come within the pro- 
 tection of the law. I shall leave you to judge, gentlemen, 
 from the testimony, how far the witness in this prosecu- 
 tion can be so considered, feeling less reluctance to submit 
 the case-thus informally to your decision, because there is 
 yet another indictment to be tried, which involves heavier 
 charges against the unfortunate prisoner." 
 
 The tone of Marmaduke was mild and insinuating, and, 
 as his sentiments were given with such apparent impar- 
 tiality, they did not fail of carrying due weight with the 
 jury. The grave-looking yeomen who composed this 
 tribunal, laid their heads together for a few minutes, with- 
 out leaving the box, when the foreman arose, and, after 
 the forms of the court were duly observed, he pronounced 
 the prisoner to be 
 
 "Not guilty." 
 
 " You are acquitted of this charge, Nathaniel Bumppo,* 
 said the Judge. 
 
 " Anan ! " said Natty. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 339 
 
 "You are found not guilty of striking and assaulting Mr. 
 Doolittle." 
 
 " No, no, I'll not deny but that I took him a little roughly 
 by the shoulders," said Natty, looking about him with great 
 simplicity, " and that I " 
 
 " You are acquitted," interrupted the Judge, "and there 
 is nothing further to be said or done in the matter." 
 
 A look of joy lighted up the features of the old man, 
 who now comprehended the case, and, placing his cap 
 eagerly on his head again, he threw up the bar of his little 
 prison, and said, feelingly : 
 
 " I must say this for you, Judge Temple, that the law 
 has not been so hard on me as I dreaded. I hope God 
 will bless you for the kind things you've done to me this 
 day." 
 
 But the staff of the constable was opposed to his egress, 
 and Mr. Lippet whispered a few words in his ear, when 
 the aged hunter sank back into his place, and, removing 
 his cap, stroked down the remnants of his gray and sandy 
 locks, with an air of mortification mingled with submis- 
 sion. 
 
 " Mr. District Attorney," said Judge Temple, effecting 
 to busy himself with his minutes, " proceed with the second 
 indictment." 
 
 Mr. Van der School took great care that no part of the 
 presentment, which he now read, should be lost on his 
 auditors. It accused the prisoner of resisting the execu- 
 tion of a search-warrant, by force of arms, and particular- 
 ized in the vague language of the law, among a variety of 
 other weapons, the use of the rifle. This was indeed a more 
 serious charge than an ordinary assault and battery, arid a 
 corresponding degree of interest was manifested by the 
 spectators in its result. The prisoner was duly arraigned, 
 and his plea again demanded. . Mr. Lippet had antici- 
 pated the answers of Natty, and in a whisper advised him 
 how to plead. But the feelings of the old hunter were 
 awakened by some of the expressions in the indictment, 
 and, forgetful of his caution, he exclaimed : 
 
 " 'Tis a wicked untruth ; I crave no man's blood. Them 
 thieves, the Iroquois, won't say it to my face that I ever 
 thirsted after man's blood. I have fou't as soldier that 
 feared his Maker and his officer, but I never pulled trigger 
 on any but a warrior that was up and awake. No man 
 can say that I ever struck even a Mingo in his blanket. 
 
340 SHE PIONEERS. 
 
 I believe there's some who thinks there's no God in a 
 wilderness ! " 
 
 "Attend to your plea, Bumppo," said the Judge ; "you 
 hear that you are accused of using your rifle against an 
 officer of justice ? are you guilty or not guilty ? " 
 
 By this time the -irritated feelings of Natty had found 
 vent ; and he rested on the bar for a moment, in a musing 
 posture, when he lifted his face, with his silent laugh, and, 
 pointing to where the wood-chopper stood, he said : 
 
 "Would Billy Kirby be standing there, d'ye think, if I 
 had used the rifle?" 
 
 "Then you deny it/' said Mr. Lippet : "you plead not 
 guilty ?" 
 
 " Sartain," said Natty ; " Billy knows that I never fired 
 at all. Billy, do you remember the turkey last winter ? 
 ah ! me ! that was better than common firing ; but I can't 
 shoot as I used to could." 
 
 "Enter the plea of not guilty," said Judge Temple, 
 strongly affected by the simplicity of the prisoner. 
 
 Hiram was again sworn, and his testimony given on the 
 second charge. He had discovered his former error, and 
 proceeded more cautiously than before. He related very 
 distinctly, and, for the man, with amazing terseness, the 
 suspicion against the hunter, the complaint, the issuing of 
 the warrant, and the swearing in of Kirby ; all of which, 
 he affirmed, were done in due form of law. He then added 
 the manner in which the constable had been received ; and 
 stated, distinctly, that Natty had pointed the rifle at Kirby, 
 and threatened his life if he attempted to execute his duty. 
 All this was confirmed by Jotham, who was observed to 
 adhere closely to the story of the magistrate. Mr. Lippet 
 conducted an artful cross-examination of these two wit- 
 nesses, but, after consuming much time, was compelled 
 to relinquish the attempt to obtain any advantage, in 
 despair. 
 
 At length the District Attorney called the wood-chopper 
 to the bar. Billy gave an extremely confused account of 
 the whole affair, although he evidently aimed at the truth, 
 until Mr. Van der School aided him, by asking some di< 
 rect questions : 
 
 "It appears from examining the papers, that you de- 
 manded admission into the hut legally; so you were .put 
 in bodily fear by his rifle and threats ?" 
 
 *' I didn't mind them that, man," said Billy, snapping 
 
THE PIONEERS. 34I 
 
 his fingers ; I should be a poor stick to mind old Leather- 
 Stocking." 
 
 " But I understood you to say (referring to your pre- 
 vious words (as delivered here in court) in the commence- 
 ment of your testimony) that you thought he meant to 
 shoot you ?" 
 
 "To be sure I ,did ; and so would you, too, squire, if you 
 had seen a chap dropping a muzzle that never misses, and 
 and cocking an eye that has a natural squint by long prac- 
 tice. I thought there would be a dust on't, and my back 
 was up at once ; but Leather-Stocking gi'n up the skill, 
 and so the matter ended." 
 
 "Ah! Billy," said Natty, shaking his head, "'twas a 
 lucky thought in me to throw out the hide, or there might 
 have been blood spilt ; and I'm sure, if it had been your'n, 
 I should have mourned it sorely the little while I have to 
 stay." 
 
 "Well, Leather-Stocking," returned Billy, facing the 
 prisoner with a freedom and familiarity that utterly disre- 
 garded the presence of the court, " as you are on the sub- 
 ject, it may be that you've no " 
 
 "Go on with your examination, Mr. District Attorney." 
 
 That gentleman eyed the familiarity between his wit- 
 ness and the prisoner with manifest disgust, and indicated 
 to the court that he. was done. 
 
 "Then you didn't feel frightened, Mr. Kirby ? " said the 
 counsel for the prisoner. 
 
 " Me ! no." said Billy, casting his eyes over his own 
 huge frame with evident self-satisfaction ; " I'm not to be 
 skeared so easy." 
 
 " You look like a hardy man ; where were you born, sir ?" 
 
 " Varmount State ; 'tis a mountaynious place, but there's 
 a stiff soil, and it's pretty much wooded with beach and 
 maple." 
 
 " I have always heard so," said Mr. Lippet, soothingly. 
 " You have been used to the rifle yourself in that country/' 
 
 "I pull the second best trigger in this county. I knock 
 under to Natty Bumppo there, sin' he shot the pigeon." 
 
 Leather- Stocking raised his head, and laughed again, 
 when he abruptly thrust out a wrinkled hand, and said : 
 
 " You're young yet, Billy, and haven't seen the matches 
 that I have ; but here's my hand ; I bear no malice to you, 
 I don't." 
 
 Mr. Lippet allowed this conciliatory offering to be ac- 
 
342 THE PIOA r EERS. 
 
 cepted, and judiciously paused, while the spirit of peace 
 was exercising its influence over the two ; but the Judge 
 interposed his authority. 
 
 " This is an improper place for such dialogues," he said ; 
 "proceed with your examination of this witness, Mr. Lip- 
 pet, or I shall order the next." 
 
 The attorney started, as if unconscious of any impro 
 priety, and continued : 
 
 " So you settled the matter with Natty amicably on the 
 spot, did you ? " 
 
 " He gi'n me the skin, and I didn't want to quarrel with 
 an old man ; for my part, I see no such mighty matter in 
 shooting a buck ! " 
 
 "And you parted friends? and you would never have 
 thought of bringing the business up before a court, hadn't 
 you been subpoenaed ?" 
 
 " I don't think I should ; he gi'n the skin, and I didn't 
 feel a hard thought, though Squire Doolittle got some 
 affronted." 
 
 " I have done, sir," said Mr. Lippet, probably relying on 
 the charge of the Judge, as he again seated himself, with 
 the air of a man who felt that his success was certain. 
 
 When Mr. Van der School arose to address the jury, 
 he commenced by saying : 
 
 "Gentlemen of the jury, I should have interrupted the 
 leading questions put by the prisoner's counsel (by leading 
 questions I mean telling him what to say), did I riot feel 
 confident that the law of the land was superior to any 
 advantages (I mean legal advantages) which he might ob- 
 tain by his art. The counsel for the prisoner, gentlemen, 
 has endeavored to persuade you, in opposition to your 
 own good sense, to believe that pointing a rifle at a con- 
 stable (elected or deputed) is a very innocent affair ; and 
 that society (I mean the commonwealth, gentlemen) shall 
 not be endangered thereby. But let me claim your atten* 
 tion, while we look over the particulars of this heinous 
 offence." Here Mr. Van der School favored the jury with 
 an abridgment of the testimony, recounted in such a man- 
 ner as utterly to confuse the faculties of his worthy listen* 
 ers. After this exhibition he closed as follows: "And 
 now, gentlemen, having thus made plain to your senses 
 the crime of which this unfortunate man has been guilty 
 .(unfortunate both on account of his ignorance and his 
 guilt), I shall leave you to your own consciences ; not in 
 
THE PIONEERS. 343 
 
 the least doubting that you will see the importance (not* 
 withstanding the prisoner's counsel (doubtless relying on 
 your former verdict) wishes to appear so confident of suc- 
 cess) of punishing the offender, and asserting the dignity 
 of the laws." 
 
 It was now the duty of the Judge to deliver his charge. 
 It consisted of a short, comprehensive summary of the 
 testimony, laying bare the artifice of the prisoner's coun- 
 sel, and placing the facts in so obvious a light that they 
 could not well be misunderstood. "Living as we do, gen- 
 tlemen," he concluded, "on the skirts of society, it be- 
 comes doubly necessary to protect the ministers of the law. 
 If you believe the witnesses, in their construction of the 
 acts of the prisoner, it is your duty to convict him ; but if 
 you believe that the old man, who this day appears before 
 you, meant not to harm the constable, but was acting more 
 under the influence of habit than by the instigations of 
 malice, it will be your duty to judge him, but to do it with 
 lenity." 
 
 As before, the jury did not leave their box ; but, after a 
 consultation of some little time, their foreman arose, and 
 pronounced the prisoner : 
 
 "Guilty." 
 
 There was but little surprise manifested in the court- 
 room 3t this verdict, as the testimony, the greater part of 
 which we have omitted, was too clear and direct to be 
 passed over. The judges seemed to have anticipated this 
 sentiment, fora consultation was passing among them also, 
 during the deliberation of the jury, and the preparatory 
 movements of the "bench" announced the coming sen- 
 tence. 
 
 "Nathaniel Bumppo," commenced the judge, making 
 the customary pause. 
 
 The old hunter, who had been musing again, with his 
 head on the bar, raised himself, and cried, with a prompt, 
 military tone : 
 
 " Here." 
 
 The Judge waved'his hand for silence, and proceeded : 
 
 " In forming their sentence, the court have been gov- 
 erned as much by the consideration of your ignorance of 
 the laws as by a strict sense of the importance of punish- 
 ing such outrages as this of which you have been found 
 guilty. They have therefore passed over the obvious pun- 
 ishment of whipping on the bare back, in mercy to your 
 
344 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 years ; but, as the dignity of the law requires an open ex 
 hibition of the consequences of your crime, it is ordered, 
 that you be conveyed from this room to the public stocks, 
 where you are to be confined for one hour ; that you pay 
 a fine to the State of one hundred dollars ; and that you 
 be imprisoned in the jail of this county for one calendar 
 month, and, furthermore, that your imprisonment do not 
 cease until the said fine shall be paid. I feel it my duty, 
 Nathaniel Bumppo 
 
 "And where should I get the money?" interrupted 
 the Leather-Stocking, eagerly ; "where should I get the 
 money ? you'll take away the bounty on the painters, be- 
 cause I cut the throat of a deer ; and how is an old man 
 to find so much gold or silver in the woods ? No ? no, 
 Judge ; think better of it, and don't talk of shutting me up 
 in a jail for the little time I have to stay." 
 
 " If you have anything to urge against the passing of 
 the sentence, the court will yet hear you," said the Judge, 
 mildly. 
 
 " I have enough to say ag'in it," cried Natty, grasping the 
 bar on which his fingers were working with a convulsed 
 motion. " Where am I to get the money ? Let me out 
 into the woods and hills, where I've been used to breathe 
 the clear air, and though I'm threescore and ten, if you've 
 left game enough in the country, I'll travel night and day 
 but I'll make you up the sum afore the season is over. 
 Yes, yes you see the reason of the thing, and the wicked- 
 ness of shutting up an old man that has spent his days, as 
 one may say, where he could always look into the windows 
 of heaven." 
 
 " I must be governed by the law " 
 
 " Talk not to me of law, Marmaduke Temple," inter- 
 rupted the hunter. "Did the beast of the forest mind 
 your laws, when it was thirsty and hungering for the blood 
 of your own child ? She was kneeling to her God for a 
 greater favor than I ask, and he heard her ; and if you 
 now say no to my prayers, do you think he will be deaf ? " 
 
 " My private feelings must not enter into " 
 
 " Hear me, Marmaduke Temple," interrupted the old 
 man, with melancholy earnestness, " and hear reason. I've 
 travelled these mountains when you was no judge, but an 
 infant in your mother's arms ; and I feel as if I had a right 
 and a privilege to travel them ag'in afore I die. Have 
 you forgot the time that you come on to thfc lake-shore, 
 
THE PIONEERS. 345 
 
 when there wasn't even a jail to lodge in ; and didn't I 
 give you my own bear-skin to sleep on, and the fat of a 
 noble buck to satisfy the cravings of your hunger ? Yes, 
 yes you thought it no sin then to kill a deer ! And this 
 I did, though I had no reason to love you, for you had 
 never done anything but harm to them that loved and 
 sheltered me. And now, will you shut me up in your 
 dungeons to pay me for my kindness ? A hundred dol- 
 lars ! Where should I get the money ? No, no there's 
 them that says hard things of you, Marmaduke Temple, 
 but you ain't so bad as to wish to see an old man die in a 
 prison, because he stood up for the right. Come, friend, 
 let me pass ; it's long sin' I've been used to such crowds, 
 and I crave to be in the woods ag'in. Don't fear me, 
 Judge I bid you not to fear me ; for if there's beaver 
 enough left on the streams, or the buckskins will sell for 
 a shilling apiece, you shall have the last penny of the fine. 
 Where are ye, pups ? come away, dogs, come away ! we 
 have a grievous toil to do for our years, but it shall be 
 done yes, yes, I've promised it, and it shall be done ! " 
 
 It is unnecessary to say that the movement of the 
 Leather-Stocking was again intercepted by the constable ; 
 but, before he had time to speak, a bustling in the crowd, 
 and a loud hem, drew all eyes to another part of the room. 
 
 Benjamin had succeeded in edging his way through the 
 people, and was now seen balancing his short body, with 
 one foot in a window and the other on a railing of the 
 jury-box. To the amazement of the whole court, the 
 steward was evidently preparing to speak. After a good 
 deal of difficulty, he succeeded in drawing from his pocket 
 a small bag, and then found utterance. 
 
 " If-so-be," he said, " that your honor is agreeable to 
 trust the poor fellow out on another cruise among the 
 beasts, here's a small matter that will help to bring down 
 the risk, seeing that there's just thirty-five of your Span- 
 iards it it ; and I wish, from the bottom of my heart, that 
 they was raal British guineas, for the sake of the old boy. 
 But 'tis as it is ; and if Squire Dickens will just be so good 
 as to overhaul this small bit of an account, and take enough 
 from the bag to settle the same, he's welcome to hold on 
 upon the rest, till such time as the Leather-Stocking can 
 grapple with them said beaver, or, for that matter, forever, 
 and no thanks asked." 
 
 AJ Benjamin concluded, he thrust out the wooden regis- 
 
346 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 ter of liis arrears to the " Bold Dragoon " with one hand, 
 while he offered his bag of dollars with the other. Aston- 
 ishment at this singular interruption produced a profound 
 stillness in the room, which was only interrupted by the 
 sheriff, who struck his sword pn the table, and cried : 
 
 " Silence ! " 
 
 " There must be an end to this," said the Judge, strug- 
 gling to overcome his feelings. " Constable, "lead the 
 prisoner to the stocks. Mr. Clerk, what stands next on 
 the calendar ? " 
 
 Natty seemed to yield to his destiny, for he sank his 
 head on his chest, and followed the officer from the court- 
 room in silence. The crowd moved back for the passage 
 of the prisoner, and when his tall form was seen descend- 
 ing from the outer door, a rush of the people to the scene 
 of his disgrace followed. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! look ! he wears cruel garters ! " LEAR. 
 
 THE punishments of the common law were still known, 
 at the time of our tale, to the people of New York ; and 
 the whipping-post, and its companion, the stocks, were 
 not yet supplanted by the more merciful expedients of the 
 public prison. Immediately in front of the jail those relics 
 of the older times were situated, as a lesson of precaution- 
 ary justice to the evil-doers of the settlement. 
 
 Natty followed the constables to this spot, bowing his 
 head in submission to a power that he was unable to op- 
 pose, and surrounded by the crowd that formed a circle 
 about his person, exhibiting in their countenances strong 
 curiosity. A constable raised the upper part of the stocks, 
 and pointed with his finger to the holes where the old man 
 was to place his feet. Without making the least objection 
 to the punishment, the Leather-Stocking quietly seated 
 himself on the ground, and suffered his limbs to be laid in 
 the openings, without even a murmur ; though he cast one 
 glance about him, in quest of that sympathy that human 
 nature always seems to require under suffering. If he 
 met no direct manifestations of pity, neither did he see any 
 unfeeling exultation, or hear a single reproachful epithet. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 347 
 
 The character of the mob, if it could be called by such a 
 name, was that of attentive subordination. 
 
 The constable was in the act of lowering the upper 
 plank, when Benjamin, who had pressed close to the side 
 of the prisoner, said, in his hoarse tone, as if seeking for 
 some cause to create a quarrel : 
 
 " Where away, master constable, is the use of clapping 
 a man in them here bilboes ? It neither stops his grog 
 nor hurts his back ; what for is it that you do the thing ? " 
 
 " 'Tis the sentence of the court, Mr. Penguillium, and 
 there's law for it, I s'pose." 
 
 "Ay, ay, I. know that there's law for the thing; but 
 where away do you find the use I say ? it does no harm, 
 and it only keeps a man by the heels for the small matter 
 of two glasses." 
 
 " Is it no harm, Benny Pump," said Natty, raising his 
 eyes with a piteous look in the face of the steward " is it 
 no harm to show off a man in his seventy-first year, like a 
 tame bear, for the settlers to look on ? Is it no harm to 
 put an old soldier, that has served through the war of 'fif- 
 ty-six, and seen the inimy in the 'seventy-six business, into 
 a place like this, where the boys can point at him and say, 
 I have known the time when he was a spectacle for the 
 county ? Is it no harm to bring down the pride of an 
 honest man to be the equal of the beasts of the forest ?" 
 
 Benjamin stared about him fiercely, and could he have 
 found a single face that expressed contumely, he would 
 have been prompt to quarrel with its owner ; but meeting 
 everywhere with looks of sobriety, and occasionally of 
 commiseration, lie very deliberately seated himself by the 
 side of the hunter, and, placing his legs in the two vacant 
 holes of the stocks, he said : 
 
 " Now lower away, master constable, lower away, I tell 
 ye ! If-so-be there's such a thing hereabouts, as a man 
 that wants to see a bear, let him look and be d d, and he 
 shall find two of them, and mayhap one of the same that 
 can bite as well as growl." 
 
 " But I have no orders to put you in the stocks, Mr. 
 Pump," cried the constable ; " you must get up and let me 
 do my duty." 
 
 " You've my orders, and what do you need better to 
 meddle with my own feet ? so lower away, will ye, and let 
 me see the man that chooses to open his mouth with a grin 
 on it." 
 
348 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 " There can't be any harm in locking up a creater that 
 will enter the pound," said the constable, laughing, and 
 closing the stocks on them both. 
 
 It was fortunate that this act was executed with de- 
 cision, for the whole of the spectators, when they saw 
 Benjamin assume the position he took, felt an inclination 
 for merriment, which few thought it worth while to sup- 
 press. The steward struggled violently for his liberty 
 again, with an evident intention of making battle on those 
 who stood nearest to him ; but the key was already turned, 
 and all his efforts were vain. 
 
 " Hark ye, master constable," he cried, ''just clear away 
 your bilboes for the small matter of a log-glass, will ye, and 
 let me show some of them there chaps who it is they are 
 so merry about." 
 
 " No, no, you would go in, and you can't come out, "re- 
 turned the officer, " until the time has expired that the 
 Judge directed for the keeping- of the prisoner." 
 
 Benjamin, finding that his threats and his struggles were 
 useless, had good sense enough to learn patience from the 
 resigned manner of his companion, and soon settled himself 
 down by the side of Natty, with a contemptuousness ex- 
 pressed in his hard features, that showed he had substituted 
 disgust for rage. When the violence of the steward's feel- 
 ings had in some measure subsided, he turned to his fellow- 
 sufferer, and, with a motive that might have vindicated a 
 worse effusion, he attempted the charitable office of con- 
 solation. 
 
 " Taking it by and large, Master Bump-ho, 'tis but a 
 small matter after all," he said. " Now, I've known very 
 good sort of men, aboard of the Boadishey, laid by the 
 heels, for nothing, mayhap, but forgetting that they'd drunk 
 their allowance already, when a glass of grog has come in 
 their way. This is nothing more than riding with two 
 anchors ahead, waiting for a turn in the tide, or a shift of 
 wind, d'ye see, with a soft bottom and plenty of room for 
 the sweep of your hawse. Now I've seen many a man, for 
 over-shooting his reckoning, as I told ye, moored head and 
 starn, where he couldn't so much as heave his broadside 
 round, and mayhap a stopper clapt on his tongue too, in 
 the shape of a pump-bolt lashed athwartship his jaws, all 
 the same as an outrigger alongside of a taffrel-rail." 
 
 The hunter appeared to appreciate the kind intentions 
 of the other, though he could not understand his eloquence ; 
 
THE PIONEERS, 
 
 349 
 
 and, raising his humbled countenance, he attempted a smile, 
 as he said 
 
 " Anan ! " 
 
 " 'Tis nothing I say, but a small matter of a squall that 
 will soon blow over," continued Benjamin. " To you that 
 has such a length of keel, it must be all the same as no- 
 thing ; tho'f, seeing that I am little short in my lower tim- 
 bers, they've triced my heels up in such a way as to give 
 me a bit of a cant. But what cares I, Master Bump-ho, if 
 the ship strains a little at her anchor ; it's only for a dog- 
 watch, and dam'me but she'll sail with you then on that 
 cruise after them said beaver. I'm not much used to small 
 arms, seeing that I was stationed at the ammunition-boxes, 
 being sum'mat too low-rigged to see over the hammock- 
 cloths ; but I can carry the game, d'ye see, and mayhap 
 make out to lend a hand with the traps ; and if-so-be you're 
 any way so handy with them as ye be with your boat-hook, 
 'twill be but a short cruise after all. I've squared the yards 
 with Squire Dickens this morning, and I shall send him 
 word that he needn't bear my name on the books again till 
 such time as the cruise is over." 
 
 "You're used to dwell with men, Benny," said Leather- 
 Stocking, mournfully, " and the ways of the woods would 
 be hard on you, if 
 
 a Not a bit not a bit," cried the steward ; "I'm none of 
 your fair-weather chaps, Master Bump-ho, as sails only in 
 smooth water. When I find a friend, I sticks by him, d'ye 
 see. Now, there's no better man a-going than Squire 
 Dickens, and I love him about the same as I loves Mistress 
 Hollister's new keg of Jamaiky." The steward paused, 
 and turning his uncouth visage on the hunter, he surveyed 
 him with a roguish leer of his eye, and gradually suffered 
 the muscles of his hard features to relax, until his face was 
 illuminated" by the display of his white teeth, when he 
 dropped his voice, and added "I say, Master Leather- 
 Stocking, 'tis fresher and livelier than any Hollands you'll 
 get in Garnsey. But we'll send a hand over and ask the 
 woman for a taste, for I'm so jamb'd in these here bilboes, 
 that I begin to want sum'mat to lighten my upper works." 
 
 Natty sighed, and gazed about him on the crowd, that 
 already began to disperse, and which had now diminished 
 greatly, as its members scattered in their various pursuits. 
 He looked wistfully at Benjamin, but did not reply ; a 
 deeply-seated anxiety seeming to absorb every other sen- 
 
350 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 sation, and to throw a melancholy gloom over his wrinkled 
 features, which were working with the movements of his 
 mind. 
 
 The steward was about to act on the old principle, that 
 silence gives consent, when Hiram Doolittle, attended by 
 Jotham, stalked out of the crowd, across the open space, 
 and approached the stocks. The magistrate passed by the 
 end where Benjamin was seated, and posted himself, at a 
 safe distance from the steward, in front of the Leather- 
 Stocking. Hiram stood, for a moment, cowering before 
 the keen looks that Natty fastened on him, and suffering 
 under an embarrassment that was quite new ; when having 
 in some degree recovered himself, he looked at the heavens, 
 and then at the smoky atmosphere, as if it were only an 
 ordinary meeting with a friend, and said in his formal, 
 hesitating way : 
 
 " Quite a scurcity of rain, lately ; I some think we shall 
 have a long drought on't." 
 
 Benjamin was occupied in untying his bag of dollars, 
 and did not observe the approach of the magistrate, while 
 Natty turned his face, in which every muscle was working, 
 away from him in disgust, without answering. Rather en- 
 couraged than daunted by this exhibition of dislike, Hi- 
 ram, after a short pause, continued : 
 
 " The clouds look as if they'd no water in them, and the 
 earth is dreadfully parched. To my judgment, there'll be 
 short crops this season, if the rain doesn't fall quite speed- 
 ily." 
 
 The air with which Mr. Doolittle delivered this prophet- 
 ical opinion was peculiar to his species. It was a Jesuitical, 
 cold, unfeeling, and selfish manner, that seemed to say, " I 
 have kept within the law," to the man he had so cruelly 
 injured. It quite overcame the restraint that the old hun- 
 ger had been laboring to impose on himself, and he burst 
 out in a warm glow of indignation. 
 
 "Why should the rain fall from the clouds," he cried, 
 * when you force the tears from the eyes of the old, the 
 sick, and the poor ! Away with ye away with ye ! you 
 may be formed in the image of the Maker, but Satan dwells 
 in your heart. Away with ye, I say ! I am mournful, and 
 the sight of ye brings bitter thoughts." 
 
 Benjamin ceased thumbing his money, and raised his 
 head at the instant that Hiram, who was throwp off his 
 guard by the invectives of the hunter, unluckily trusted 
 
THE PIONEERS. 35 1 
 
 his person within reach of the steward, who grasped one 
 of his legs, with a hand that had the grip of a vice, and 
 whirled the magistrate from his feet, before he had either 
 time to collect his senses or to exercise the strength he 
 did really possess. Benjamin wanted neither proportions 
 nor manhood in his head, shoulders, and arms, though all 
 the rest of his frame appeared to be originally intended for 
 a very different sort of a man. He exerted his physical 
 powers on the present occasion, with much discretion ; 
 and, as he had taken his antagonist at a great disadvantage, 
 the struggle resulted, very soon, in Benjamin getting the 
 magistrate fixed in a posture somewhat similar to his own, 
 and manfully placed face to face. 
 
 "You're a ship's cousin, I tell ye, Master Doo-but-little," 
 roared the steward ; " some such matter as a ship's cousin, 
 sir. I know you, [ do, with your fair-weather speeches 
 to Squire Dickens, to his face, and then you go and sarve 
 out your grumbling to all the old women in the town, do 
 ye ? An't it enough for any Christian, let him harbor 
 never so much malice, to get an honest old fellow laid by 
 the heels in this fashion, without carrying sail so hard on 
 the poor dog, as if you would run him down as he lay at 
 his anchors ? But I've logged many a hard thing against 
 your name, master, and now the time's come to foot up 
 the day's work, dy'e see ; so square yourself, you lubber, 
 square yourself, and we'll soon know who's the better man." 
 
 " Jotham ! " cried the frightened magistrate " Jotham ! 
 call in the constables. Mr. Penguillium, I command the 
 peace I order you to keep the peace." 
 
 " There's been more peace than love atwixt us, master," 
 cried the steward, making some very unequivocal demon- 
 strations toward hostility ; " so mind yourself ! square your* 
 self, I say ! do you smell this here bit of a sledge-hammer ? " 
 
 " Lay hands on me if you dare ! " exclaimed Hiram, as 
 well as he could, under the grasp which the steward held 
 on his throttle " lay hands on me if you dare ! " 
 
 " If you call this laying, master, you are welcome to the 
 eggs," roared the steward. 
 
 It becomes our disagreeable duty to record here, that 
 the acts of Benjamin now become violent ; for he darted 
 his sledge-hammer violently on the anvil of Mr. Doolittle's 
 countenance, and the place became in an instant a scene 
 of tumult and confusion. The crowd rushed in a dense 
 circle around the spot, while some ran to the court-room 
 
352 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 to give the alarm, and one or two of the more juvenile 
 part of the multitude had a desperate trial of speed to see 
 who should be the happy man to communicate the critical 
 situation of the magistrate to his wife. 
 
 Benjamin worked away, with great industry and a good 
 deal of skill, at his occupation, using one hand to raise 
 up his antagonist, while he knocked him over with the 
 other ; for he \vould have been disgraced in his own esti- 
 mation, had he struck a blow on a fallen adversary. By 
 this considerate arrangement he had found means to ham- 
 mer the visage of Hiram out of all shape, by the time 
 Richard succeeded in forcing his way through the throng 
 to the point of combat. The sheriff afterward declared 
 that, independently of his mortification as preserver of the 
 peace of the county, at this interruption to its harmony, 
 he was never so grieved in his life as when he saw this 
 breach of unity between his favorites. Hiram had in some 
 degree become necessary to his vanity, and Benjamin, 
 strange as it may appear, he really loved. This attach- 
 ment was exhibited in the first words that he uttered. 
 
 " Squire Doolittle ! Squire Doolittle ! I am ashamed to 
 see 'a man of your character and office forget himself so 
 much as to disturb the peace, insult the court, and beat 
 poor Benjamin in this manner !" 
 
 At the sound of Mr. Jones's voice, the steward ceased his 
 employment, and Hiram had an opportunity of raising his 
 discomfited visage toward the mediator. Emboldened by 
 the sight of the sheriff, Mr. Doolittle again had recourse to 
 his lungs. 
 
 " I'll have law on you for this," he cried desperately ; 
 " I'll have the law on you for this. I call on you, Mr. 
 Sheriff, to seize this man, and I demand that you take his 
 body into custody." 
 
 By this time Richard was master of the true state of the 
 case, and, turning. to the steward, he said, reproachfully : 
 
 " Benjamin, how came you in the stocks ? I always 
 thought you were mild and docile as a lamb. It was for 
 your docility that I most esteemed you. Benjamin ! Ben- 
 jamin ! you have not only disgraced yourself, but your 
 friends, by this shameless conduct. Bless me ! bless me ! 
 Mr. Doolittle, he seems to have knocked your face all of 
 one side." 
 
 Hiram by this time had got on his feet again, and with- 
 out the reach of the steward, when be broke forth in violent 
 
THE PIONEERS. 353 
 
 appeals for vengeance. The offence was too apparent to 
 be passed over, and the sheriff, mindful of the impartiality 
 exhibited by his cousin in the recent trial of the Leather- 
 Stocking, came to the painful conclusion that it was nec- 
 essary to commit his major-domo to prison. As the time 
 of Natty's punishment was expired, and Benjamin found 
 that they were to be confined, for that night at least, in 
 the same apartment, he made no very strong objections 
 to the measure, nor spoke of bail, though, as the sheriff 
 preceded the party of constables that conducted them to 
 the jail, he uttered the following remonstrance : 
 
 " As to being berthed w r ith Master Bump-ho for a night 
 or so, it's but little I think of it, Squire Dickens, seeing 
 that I calls him an honest man, and one as has a handy way 
 with boat-books and rifles ; but as for owning that a man 
 desarves anything worse than a double allowance, for 
 knocking that carpenter's face a-one-side, as you call it, 
 I'll maintain it's ag'n reason and Christianity. If there's 
 a bloodsucker in this 'ere county, it's that very chap. Ay ! 
 I know him ! and if he hasn't got all the same as dead 
 wood in his headworks, he knows sum'mat of me. Where's 
 the mighty harm, squire, that you take it so much to 
 heart ? It's all the same as any other battle, d'ye see, sir, 
 being broadside to broadside, only that it was fout at anchor, 
 which was what we did in Port Praya roads, when Suff'ring 
 came in among us ; and a suff'ring time he had of it before 
 he got out again." 
 
 Richard thought it unworthy of him to make any reply 
 to this speech, but when his prisoners were safely lodged 
 in an outer dungeon, ordering the bolts to be drawn and 
 the key turned, he withdrew. 
 
 Benjamin held frequent and friendly dialogues with 
 different people, through the iron gratings, during the 
 afternoon ; but his companion paced their narrow limits, 
 in his moccasins, with quick, impatient treads, his face 
 hanging on his breast in dejection, or when lifted, at mo- 
 ments, to the idlers at the window, lighted,- perhaps, for 
 an instant, with the childish aspect of aged forgetfulness, 
 which would vanish directly in an expression of deep and 
 obvious anxiety. 
 
 At the close of the day, Edward was seen at the window, 
 in earnest dialogue with his friend ; and after he departed 
 it was thought that he had communicated words of corn- 
 fort to the hunter, who threw himself on his pallet and 
 23 
 
354 
 
 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 was soon in a deep sleep. The curious spectators had 
 exhausted the conversation of the steward, who had drunk 
 good fellowship with half of his acquaintance, and, as 
 Natty was no longer in motion, by eight o'clock, Billy 
 Kirby, who was the last lounger at the window, retired into 
 the "Templeton Coffee-house," when Natty rose and hung 
 a blanket before the opening, and the prisoners apparently 
 retired for the night. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 " And to avoid the foe's pursuit, 
 With spurring put their cattle to't ; 
 And till all four were out of wind, 
 And danger too, ne'er looked behind." HUDIBRAS. 
 
 As the shades of evening approached, the jurors, wit- 
 nesses, and other attendants on the court, began to dis- 
 perse, and before nine o'clock the village was quiet, and 
 its streets nearly deserted. At that hour Judge Temple 
 and his daughter, followed at a short distance by Louisa 
 Grant, walked slowly down the avenue, under the slight 
 shadows of the young poplars, holding the following dis- 
 course : 
 
 " You can best soothe his wounded spirit, my child," said 
 Marmaduke ; " but it will be dangerous to touch on the 
 'nature of his offence ; the sanctity of the laws must be re- 
 spected." 
 
 " Surely, sir," cried the impatient Elizabeth, " those 
 laws that condemn a man like the Leather-Stocking to so 
 severe a punishment, for an offence that even I must think 
 very venial, cannot be perfect in themselves." 
 
 " Thou talkest of what thou dost not understand, Eliza- 
 beth," returned her father. " Society cannot exist without 
 wholesome restraints. Those restraints cannot be inflicted 
 without security and respect to the persons of those who 
 administer them ; and it would sound ill indeed to report, 
 that a judge had extended favor to a convicted criminal, 
 because he had saved the life of his child." 
 
 " I see I see the difficulty of your situation, dear sir," 
 cried the daughter ; " but, in appreciating the offence of 
 poor Natty, I cannot separate the minister of the law from 
 the man." 
 
THE PIONEERS. 355 
 
 " There thou talkest as a woman, child ; it is not for an 
 assault on Hiram Doolittle, but for threaten ing the life of a 
 constable, who was in the performance of 
 
 " It is immaterial whether it be one or the other," inter- 
 rupted Miss Temple, with a logic that contained more feel- 
 ing than reason ; " I know Natty to be inirocent, and think- 
 ing so I must think all wrong who oppress him." 
 
 " His judge among the number ! thy father, Elizabeth ? " 
 
 " Nay, nay, nay ; do not put such questions to me ; give 
 me my commission, father, and let me proceed to execute 
 it." 
 
 The Judge paused a moment, smiling fondly on his child, 
 and then dropped his hand affectionately on her shoulder, 
 as he answered : 
 
 " Thou hast reason, Bess, and much of it, too, but thy 
 heart lies too near thy head. But listen ; in this pocket" 
 book are two hundred dollars. Go to the prison there 
 are none in this place to harm thee give this note to the 
 jailer, and, when thou seest Bumppo, say what thou wilt 
 to the poor old man ; give scope to the feelings of thy 
 warm heart ; but try to remember, Elizabeth, that the 
 laws alone remove us from the condition of the savages ; 
 that he has been criminal, and that his judge was thy 
 father." 
 
 Miss Temple made no reply, but she pressed the hand 
 that held the pocket-book to her bosom, and, taking her 
 friend by the arm, they issued together from the enclosure 
 into the principal street of the village. 
 
 As they pursued their walk in silence, under the row of 
 houses, where the deeper gloom of the evening effectually 
 concealed their persons, no sound reached them, excepting 
 the slow tread of a yoke of oxen, with the rattling of a 
 cart, that were moving along the street in the same direc- 
 tion with themselves. The figure of the teamster was just 
 discernible by the dim light, lounging by the side of his 
 cattle with a listless air, as if fatigued by the toil of the 
 day. At the corner, where the jail stood, the progress of 
 the ladies was impeded, for a moment, by the oxen, who 
 were turned up to the side of the building, and given a 
 lock of hay, which they had carried on their necks, as a re- 
 ward for their patient labor. The whole of this was so 
 natural, and so common, that Elizabeth saw nothing to in- 
 duce a second glance at the team, until-she heard the team- 
 ster speaking to his cattle in a low voice : 
 
356 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 " Mind yourself, Brindle ; will you, sir ! will you ! " 
 
 The language itself was so unusual to oxen, with which 
 all who dwell in a new country are familiar ; but there was 
 something in the voice also, that startled Miss Temple. 
 On turning the corner, she necessarily approached the 
 man, and her look was enabled to detect the person of 
 Oliver Edwards, concealed under the coarse garb of a 
 teamster. Their eyes met at the same instant, and, not- 
 withstanding the gloom, and the enveloping cloak of Eliz- 
 abeth, the recognition was mutual. 
 
 " Miss Temple ! " " Mr. Edwards ! " were exclaimed simul- 
 taneously, though a feeling that seemed common to both 
 rendered the words nearly inaudible. 
 
 " Is it possible* ! " exclaimed Edwards, after the moment 
 of doubt had passed ; " do I see you so nigh the jail ! but 
 you are going to the rectory ; I beg pardon, Miss Grant, 
 I believe ; I did not recognize you at first." 
 
 The sigh which Louisa uttered was so faint, that it was 
 only heard by Elizabeth, who replied quickly : 
 
 "We are going not only to the jail, Mr. Edwards, but 
 into it. We wish to show the Leather-Stocking that we 
 do not forget his services, and that at the same time we 
 must be just, we are also grateful. I suppose you are on a 
 similar errand ; but let me beg that you will give us leave 
 to precede you ten minutes. Good-night, sir ; I I am 
 quite sorry, Mr. Edwards, to see you reduced to such labor ; 
 I am sure my father would " 
 
 "I shall wait your pleasure, madam," interrupted the 
 youth coldly. " May I beg that you will not mention my 
 being here ? " 
 
 " Certainly," said Elizabeth, returning his bow by a 
 slight inclination of her head, and urging the tardy Louisa 
 forward. As they entered the jailer's house, however, 
 Miss Grant found leisure to whisper : 
 
 " Would it not be well to offer part of your money to 
 Oliver ? half of it will pay the fine of Bumppo ; and he is 
 BO unused to hardships ! I am sure my father will sub- 
 scribe much of his little pittance, to place him in a station 
 that is more worthy of him." 
 
 The involuntary smile that passed over the features of 
 Elizabeth was blended with an expression of deep and 
 heartfelt pity. She did not reply, however, and the ap- 
 pearance of the jailer soon recalled the thoughts of both 
 fo the object of their visit. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 357 
 
 The rescue of the ladies, and their consequent interest 
 in his prisoner, together with the informal manners that 
 prevailed in the country, all united to prevent any surprise 
 on the part of the jailer, at their request for admission to 
 Bumppo. The note of Judge Temple, however, would 
 have silenced all objections, if he had felt them, and he led 
 the way without hesitation to the apartment that held the 
 prisoners. The instant the key was put into the lock, the 
 hoarse voice of Benjamin was heard, demanding : 
 
 " Yo ! hoy ! who comes there ? " 
 
 "Some visitors that you'll be glad to see," returned the 
 jailer. "What have you done to the lock, that it won't 
 turn?" 
 
 " Handsomely, handsomely, master," cried the steward ; 
 " I have just drove a nail into a berth alongside of this 
 here bolt, as a stopper, d'ye see, so that Master Doo-but- 
 little can't be running in and breezing up another fight 
 atwixt us ; for, to my account, there'll be but a ban-yan 
 with me soon, seeing that they'll mulct me of my Span- 
 iards, all the same as if I'd over-flogged the lubber. Throw 
 your ship into the wind, and lay by for a small matter, will 
 ye ? and I'll soon clear a passage." 
 
 The sounds of hammering gave an assurance that the 
 steward was in earnest, and in a short time the lock 
 yielded, when the door was opened. 
 
 Benjamin had evidently been anticipating the seizure of 
 his money, for he had made frequent demands on the 
 favorite cask at the " Bold Dragoon," during the afternoon 
 and evening, and was now in that state which by marine 
 imagery is called " half-seas-over." It was no easy thing 
 to destroy the balance of the old tar by the effects of liquor, 
 for, as he expressed it himself, u he was too low-rigged not 
 to carry sail in all weathers ; " but he was precisely in 
 that condition which is so expressively termed " muddy." 
 When he perceived who the visitors were, he retreated to 
 the side of the room where his pallet lay, and, regardless 
 of the presence of his young mistress, seated himself on 
 it with an air of great sobriety, placing his back firmly 
 against the wall. 
 
 " If you undertake to spoil my locks in this manner, 
 Mr. Pump," said the jailer, " I shall put a stopper, as you 
 call it, on your legs, and tie you down to your bed." 
 
 "What for should ye, master ?" grumbled Benjamin; 
 " I've rode out one squall to-day anchored by the heeU 
 
35? THE PIONEERS. 
 
 and I wants no more of them. Where's the harm of doing 
 all the same as yourself ? Leave that there door free out- 
 board, and you'll find no locking inboard, I'll promise ye." 
 
 "I must shut up for the night at nine," said the jailer 
 "and its now forty-two minutes past eight." He placed 
 the little candle on a rough pine table, and withdrew. 
 
 " Leather-Stocking !" said Elizabeth, when the key of 
 the door was turned on them again, "my good friend, 
 Leather-Stocking ! I have come on a message of gratitude. 
 Had you submitted to the search, worthy old man, the 
 death of the deer would have been a trifle, and all would 
 have been well " 
 
 "Submit to the sarch !" interrupted Natty, raising his 
 face from resting on his knees, without rising from the 
 corner where he had seated himself ; " d'ye think gal, I 
 would let such a varmint into my hut ? No, no I wouldn't 
 have opened the door to your own sweet countenance then. 
 But they are welcome to search among the coals and ashes 
 now ; they'll find only some such heap as is to be seen at 
 every pot-ashery in the mountains." 
 
 The old man dropped his face again on one hand, and 
 seemed to be lost in melancholy. 
 
 "The hut can be rebuilt, and made better than before," 
 returned Miss Temple ; "and it shall be my office to see 
 it done, when your imprisonment is ended." 
 
 " Can ye raise the dead, child ?" said Natty, in a sorrow- 
 ful voice: "can ye go into the place where you've laid 
 your fathers, and mothers, and children, and gathered to- 
 gether their ashes, and make the same men and women 
 of them as afore ? You do not know what 'tis to lay your 
 head for more than forty years under the cover of the 
 same logs, and to look at the same things for the better 
 part of a man's life. You are young yet, child, but you 
 are one of the most precious of God's creatures. I had 
 hoped for ye that it might come to pass, but it's all over 
 now ; this, put to that, will drive the tiling quite out of 
 his mind forever." 
 
 Miss Temple must have understood the meaning of the 
 old man better than the other listeners ; for while Louisa 
 stood innocently by her side, commiserating the griefs of 
 the- hunter, she bent her head aside, so as to conceal her 
 features. The action and the feeling that caused it lasted 
 but a moment. 
 
 " Other logs, and better, though, can be had, and shaH 
 
THE PIONEERS. 359 
 
 De found for you, my old defender," she continued. " Your 
 confinement will soon be over, and, before that time arrives, 
 I shall have a house prepared for you, where you may spend 
 the close of your long and harmless life in ease and plenty." 
 
 " Ease and plenty ! house ! " repeated Natty, slowly. 
 " You mean well, you mean well, and I quite mourn that 
 it cannot be ; but he has seen me a sight and a laughing- 
 stock for " 
 
 " Damn your stocks," said Benjamin, flourishing his 
 bottle with one hand, from which he had been taking hasty 
 and repeated draughts, while he made gestures of disdain 
 with the other ; " who cares for his bilboes ? there's a leg 
 that's been stuck up on end like a jibboom for an hour, 
 d'ye see, and what's it the worst for't, ha ? canst tell me, 
 what's it the worser, ha ? " 
 
 " I believe you forget, Mr. Pump, in whose presence you 
 are," said Elizabeth. 
 
 " Forget you, Miss Lizzy," returned the steward ; " if I 
 do, dam'me ; you are not to be forgot, like Goody Pretty- 
 bones, up at the big house there. I say, old sharp shooter, 
 she may have pretty bones, but I can't say so much for her 
 flesh, d'ye see, for she looks somewhat like an atomy with 
 another man's jacket on. Now for the skin of her face, it's 
 all the same as a new top-sail with a taut bolt-rope, being 
 snug at the leeches, but all in a bight, about the inner 
 cloths." 
 
 " Peace I command you to be silent, sir !" said Eliza- 
 beth. 
 
 " Ay, ay, ma'am," returned the steward. " You didn't 
 say I shouldn't drink, though." 
 
 " We will not speak of what is to become of others," said 
 Miss Temple, turning again to the hunter " but of your 
 own fortunes, Natty. It shall be my care to see that you 
 pass the rest of your days in ease and plenty." 
 
 " Ease and plenty ! " again repeated the Leather-Stock- 
 ing ; " what ease can there be to an old man, who must 
 walk a mile across the open fields, before be can find a 
 shade to hide him from a scorching sun ! or what plenty is 
 there where you hunt a day, and not start a buck, or see 
 anything bigger than a mink, or maybe a stray fox ! Ah ! 
 I shall have a hard time after them very beavers, for this 
 fine. I must go low toward the Pennsylvania line in search 
 of the creatures, maybe a hundred mile ; for they are not 
 to be got here-away. No, no your betterments and 
 
5 6o THE PIONEERS. 
 
 ings have druv the knowing things out of the country 
 and instead of beaver-dams, which is the nater of the ani- 
 mal, and according to Providence, you turn back the waters 
 over the low grounds with your mill-dams, as if 'twas in 
 man to stay the drops from going where He wills them to 
 go Benny, unless you stop your hand from going so often 
 to your mouth, you won't be ready to start when the time 
 comes." 
 
 " Hark'ee, Master Bump-ho," said the steward ; " don't 
 you fear for Ben. When the watch is called, set me on my 
 legs, and give me the bearings and the distance of where 
 you want me to steer, and I'll carry sail with the best of 
 you, I will." 
 
 " The time has come now," said the hunter, listening ; 
 " I hear the horns of the oxen rubbing ag'in the side of 
 the jail." 
 
 " Well, say the word, and then heave ahead, shipmate," 
 said Benjamin. 
 
 "You won't betray us, gal ?" said Natty, looking simply 
 into the face of Elizabeth "you won't betray an old man, 
 who craves to breathe the clear air of heaven ? I mean no 
 harm ; and if the law says that I must pay the hundred 
 dollars, I'll take the season through, but it shall be forth- 
 coming ; and this good man will help me." 
 
 "You catch them," said Benjamin, with a sweeping ges- 
 ture of his arm, "and if they get away again, call me a 
 slink, that's all." 
 
 " But what mean you ?" cried the wondering Elizabeth. 
 " Here you must stay for thirty days ; but I have the money 
 for your fine in this purse. Take it ; pay it in the morn- 
 ing, and summon patience for your month. I will come 
 often to see you, with my friend ; we will make up your 
 clothes with our own hands ; indeed, indeed, you shall be 
 comfortable." 
 
 " Would ye, children ?" said Natty, advancing across the 
 rloor with an air of kindness, and taking the hand of 
 Elizabeth. " would ye be so kearful of an old man, and 
 just for shooting a beast which cost him nothing? Such 
 things doesn't run in the blood, I believe, for you seem 
 not to forget a favor. Your little fingers couldn't do muck 
 on a buckskin, nor be you used to push such a thread as 
 sinews. But if he hasn't got past hearing, he shall hear it 
 and know it, that he may see, like me, there is some wh<? 
 know how to remember a kindness," 
 
THE PIONEERS. 361 
 
 "Tell him nothing," cried Elizabeth, earnestly ; "if yoai 
 love me, if you regard my feelings, tell him nothing. It 
 is of yourself only I would talk, and for yourself only I 
 act. I grieve, Leather-Stocking, that the law requires 
 that you should be detained here so long ; but, after all, 
 it will be only a short month, and " 
 
 "A month ?" exclaimed Natty, opening his mouth with 
 his usual laugh, " not a day, nor a night, nor an hour, gal 
 Judge Temple may sintence, but he can't keep without a 
 better dungeon than this. I was taken once by the French, 
 and they put sixty-two of us in a block-house, nigh hand 
 to old Frontinac ; but 'twas easy to cut through a pine log 
 to them that was used to timber." The hunter paused, and 
 looked cautiously around the room, when, laughing again, 
 he shoved the steward gently from his post, and removing 
 the bedclothes, discovered a hole recently cut in the logs 
 with a mallet and chisel. " It's only a kick, and the out- 
 side piece is off, and then " 
 
 " Off ! ay, off ! " cried Benjamin, rising from his stupor ; 
 "well, here's off. Ay ! ay! you catch 'em, and I'll hold 
 on to them said beaver-hats." 
 
 "I fear this lad will trouble me much," said Natty; 
 "'twill be a hard pull for the mountain, should they take 
 the scent soon, and he is not in a state of mind to run." 
 
 " Run ! " echoed the steward ; " no, sheer alongside, and 
 let's have a fight of it." 
 
 " Peace i " ordered Elizabeth. 
 
 "Ay, ay, ma'am." 
 
 "You will not leave us, surely, Leather-Stocking," con- 
 tinued Miss Temple ; " I beseech you, reflect that you will 
 be driven to the woods entirely, and that you are fast get- 
 ting old. Be patient for a little time, when you can go 
 abroad openly, and with honor." 
 
 " Is there beaver to be catched here, gal ? " 
 
 " If not, here is money to discharge the fine, and in * 
 month you are free. See, here it is in gold." 
 
 "Gold!" said Natty, with a kind of childish curiosity: 
 "it's long sin' I've seen a gold-piece. We used to get 
 the broad joes, in the old war, as plenty as the bears be 
 now. I remember there was a man in Dieskau's army, 
 that was killed, who had a dozen of the shining things 
 sewed up in his shirt. I didn't handle them myself, but 
 I seen them cut out with my own eyes ; thev was biggei 
 and brighter than them be," 
 
362 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 " These are English guineas, and are yours," said Eliza 
 beth ; " an earnest of what shall be done for you." 
 
 " Me ! why should you give me this treasure ! " said 
 Natty, looking earnestly at the maiden. 
 
 " Why ! have you not saved my life ? did you not rescue 
 me from the jaws of the beast ?" exclaimed Elizabeth, veiling 
 her eyes, as if to hide some hideous object from her view. 
 
 The hunter took the money, and continued turning it ID 
 his hand for some time, piece by piece, talking aloud dur- 
 ing the operation. 
 
 "There's a rifle, they say, out on the Cherry Valley, that 
 will carry a hundred rods and kill. I've seen good guns in 
 my day, but none quite equal to that. A hundred rods 
 with any sartainty is great shooting ! Well, well I'm old, 
 and the gun I have will answer my time. Here, child, take 
 back your gold. But the hour has come ; I hear him talk- 
 ing to the cattle, and I must be going. You won't tell of 
 us, gal you won't tell of us, will ye ? " 
 
 " Tell of you ! " echoed Elizabeth. " But take the money, 
 old man; take the mone.y, even if you go into the mountains." 
 
 " No, no," said Natty, shaking his head kindly ; "I would 
 not rob you so for twenty rifles. But there's one thing you 
 can do for me, if ye will, that no other is at hand to do." 
 
 "Name it name it." 
 
 " Why, it's only to buy a canister of powder 'twill cost 
 two silver dollars. Benny Pump has the money ready, but 
 we daren't come into the town to get it. Nobody has it 
 but the Frenchman. 'Tis of the best, and just suits a rifle. 
 Will you get it for me, gal ? say, will you get it for me ? " 
 
 " Will I ? I will bring it to you, Leather-Stocking, 
 though I toil a day in quest of you through the woods. 
 ut where shall I find you, and how ? " 
 
 ^ Where ?" said Natty, musing a moment " to-morrow 
 on the Vision ; on the very top of the Vision, I'll meet you s 
 ehild, just as the sun gets over our heads. See that it's the 
 fine grain ; you'll know it by the gloss and the price." 
 
 ' fwill do It," said Elizabeth, firmly. 
 
 Natty now seated himself, and placing, his feet in the 
 hole, with a slight eifprt he opened a passage through into 
 the street. The ladies heard the rustling of hay, and well 
 understood the reason why Edwards was in the capacity oi 
 a teamster. 
 
 " jCome, Benny," said the hunter : "'twill be no. darkej 
 to-night, 'for the moon will rise in an hour," 
 
THE PIONEERS. 363 
 
 " Stay ! " exclaimed Elizabeth ; " it should not be said 
 that you escaped in the presence of the daughter of Judge 
 Temple. Return, Leather-Stocking, and let us retire, be- 
 fore you execute your plan." 
 
 Natty was about to reply, when the approaching foot- 
 steps of the jailer announced the necessity of his immediate 
 return. He had barely time to regain his feet, and to con- 
 ceal the hole with the bedclothes, across which Benjamin 
 very opportunely fell, before the key was turned, and the 
 door of the apartment opened. 
 
 " Isn't Miss Temple ready to go ? " said the civil jailer ; 
 "it's the usual hour for locking up." 
 
 "I follow you, sir," returned Elizabeth; "good-night, 
 Leather-Stocking. " 
 
 " It's a fine grain, gal, and I think 'twill carry lead fur- 
 ther than common. I am getting old, and can't follow up 
 the game with the step I used to could." 
 
 Miss Temple waved her hand for silence, and preceded 
 Louisa and the keeper from the apartment. The man 
 turned the key once, and observed that he would return 
 and secure his prisoners, when he had lighted the ladies to 
 the street. Accordingly, they parted at the door of the 
 building, when the jailer retired to his dungeons, and 
 the ladies walked, with throbbing hearts, toward the 
 corner. 
 
 " Now the Leather-Stocking refuses the money," whis- 
 pered Louisa, " it can all be given to Mr. Edwards, and 
 that added to " 
 
 " Listen ! " said Elizabeth ; " I hear the rustling of the 
 hay ; they are escaping at this moment. Oh ! they will be 
 detected instantly ! " 
 
 By this time they were at the corner, where Edwards 
 and Natty were in the act of drawing the almost helpless 
 body of Benjamin through the aperture. The oxen had 
 started back from their hay, and were standing with their 
 heads down the street, leaving room for the party to 
 act in. 
 
 " Throw the hay into the cart," said Edwards, " or they 
 will suspect how it has been done. Quick, that they may 
 not see it." 
 
 Natty had just returned from executing this order, when 
 the light of the keeper's candle shone through the hole, 
 and instantly his voice was heard in the jail, exclaiming 
 for his prisoners. 
 
^64 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 " What is to be done now ? " said Edwards " this 
 drunken fellow will cause our detection, and we have not 
 a moment to spare." 
 
 " Who's drunk, ye lubber ? " muttered the steward. 
 
 "A break -jail ! a break-jail!" shouted five or six voices 
 from within. 
 
 "We must leave him," said Edwards. 
 
 " 'Twouldn't be kind, lad," returned Natty ; " he took 
 half the disgrace of the stocks on himself to-day, and the 
 creater has feeling." 
 
 At this moment two or three men were heard issuing 
 from the door of the " Bold Dragoon," and among them 
 the voice of Billy Kirby. 
 
 " There's no moon yet," cried the wood-chopper ; " but 
 it's a clear night. Come, who's for home ? Hark ! what 
 a rumpus they're kicking up in the jail here's go and see 
 what it's about." 
 
 "We shall be lost," said Edwards, "if we don't drop 
 this man." 
 
 At that instant Elizabeth moved close to him, and said 
 rapidly, in a low voice : 
 
 "Lay him in the cart, and start the oxen ; no one will 
 look there." 
 
 "There's a woman's quickness in the thought," said the 
 youth. 
 
 The proposition was no sooner made than executed. 
 The steward was seated on the hay, and enjoined to hold 
 his peace and apply the goad that was placed in his hand, 
 while the oxen were urged on. So soon as this arrange- 
 ment was completed, Edwards and the hunter stole along 
 the houses for a short distance, when they disappeared 
 through an opening that led into the rear of the buildings. 
 The oxen were in brisk motion, and presently the cries of 
 pursuit were heard in the street. The ladies quickened 
 their pace, with a wish to escape the crowd of constables 
 and idlers that were approaching, some execrating, and 
 some laughing at the exploit of the prisoners. In the 
 confusion, the voice of Kirby was plainly distinguishable 
 above all the others, shouting and swearing that, he would 
 have the fugitives, threatening to bring back Natty in one 
 pocket, and Benjamin in the other. 
 
 " Spread yourselves, men," he cried, as he passed the 
 ladies, his heavy feet sounding along the street like the 
 tread of a dozen ; " spread yourselves ; to the mountains ' 
 
THE PIONEERS. 365 
 
 they'll be in the mountains in a quarter of an hour, and 
 then look out for a long rifle." 
 
 His cries were echoed from twenty mouths, for not only 
 the jail, but the taverns had sent forth their numbers, 
 some earnest in the pursuit, and others joining it as in 
 s;./ort. 
 
 As Elizabeth turned in at her father's gate she saw the 
 ?70od -chopper stop at the cart, when she gave Benjamin 
 p for lost. While they were hurrying up the walk, two 
 figures, stealing cautiously but quickly under the shades of 
 the trees, met the eyes of the ladies, and in a moment Ed- 
 wards and the hunter crossed their path. 
 
 " Miss Temple, I may never see you again," exclaimed 
 the youth ; " let me thank you for all your kindness ; you 
 do not, cannot know my motives." 
 
 " Fly ! fly ! " cried Elizabeth ; " the village is alarmed. 
 Do not be found conversing with me at such a moment, and 
 in these grounds." 
 
 " Nay, I must speak, though detection were certain." 
 
 " Your retreat to the bridge is already cut off ; before you 
 can gain the wood your pursuers will be there. If " 
 
 " If what ?" cried the youth. "Your advice has saved 
 me once already ; I will follow it to death." 
 
 "The street is now silent and vacant," said Elizabeth, 
 after a pause ; " cross it, and you will' find my father's boat 
 in the lake. It would be easy to land from it where you 
 please in the hills." 
 
 " But Judge Temple might complain of the trespass." 
 
 " His daughter shall be accountable, sir." 
 
 The youth uttered something in a low voice, that was 
 heard only by Elizabeth, and turned to execute what she 
 had suggested. As they were separating, Natty approached 
 the females, and said : 
 
 "You'll remember the canister of powder, children. 
 Them beavers must be had, and I and the pups be getting 
 3ld ; we want the best of ammunition." 
 
 " Come, Natty," said Edwards, impatiently. 
 
 " Coming, lad, coming. God. bless you, young ones, 
 both of ye, for ye mean well and kindly to the old man." 
 
 The ladies paused until they had lost sight of the retreat^ 
 ing figures, when they immediately entered the mansion- 
 house. 
 
 While this scene was passing in the walk, Kirby had 
 overtaken the cart, which was his own, and had been driven 
 
3 66 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 by Edwards, without asking the owner, from the place 
 where the patient oxen usually stood at evening, waiting 
 the pleasure of their master. 
 
 "Woa come hither, Golden," he cried; "why, how 
 come you off the end of the bridge, where I left you, dum- 
 mies ? " 
 
 "Heave ahead," muttered Benjamin, giving a random 
 blow with his lash, that alighted on the shoulder of the 
 other. 
 
 " Who the devil be you ? " cried Billy, turning round in 
 surprise, but unable to distinguish, in the dark, the hard 
 visage that was just peering over the cart-rails. 
 
 "Who be I ? why I'm helmsman aboard of his here craft, 
 d'ye see, and a straight wake I'm making of it. Ay, ay ! 
 I've got the bridge right ahead, and the bilboes dead aft ; 
 I calls that good steerage, boy. Heave ahead." 
 
 " Lay your lash in the right spot, Mr. Benny Pump," 
 said the wood-chopper, " or I'll put you in the palm of my 
 hand and box your ears. Where be you going with my 
 team ? " 
 
 " Team ! " 
 
 " Ay, my cart and oxen." 
 
 " Why, you must know, Master Kirby, that the Leather- 
 Stocking and I that's Benny Pump you knows Ben ? 
 well, Benny and I no, me and Benny ; dam'me if I know 
 how 'tis ; but some of us are bound after a cargo of beaver- 
 skins, d'ye see, so we've pressed the cart to ship them 'ome 
 in. I say, Master Kirby, what a lubberly oar you pull 
 you handle an oar, boy, pretty much as a cow would a 
 musket, or a lady would a marling-spike." 
 
 Billy had discovered the state of the steward's mind, and 
 he walked for some time alongside of the cart, musing with 
 himself, when he took the goad from Benjamin (who fell 
 back on the hay and was soon asleep) and drove his cattle 
 down the street, over the bridge, and up the mountain, to 
 ward a clearing in which he was to work the next day, 
 without any other interruption than a few hasty questions 
 from parties of the constables. 
 
 Elizabeth stood for an hour at the window of her room, 
 and saw the torches of the pursuers gliding along the side 
 of the mountain, and heard their shouts and alarms ; but, 
 at the end of that time, the last party returned, wearied and 
 disappointed, and the village became as still as when sne 
 issued from the gate on her mission to the jail. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 367 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 "And I could weep " th' Oneida chief 
 
 His descant wildly thus begun 
 "But that I may not stain with grief 
 
 The death-song of my father's son." 
 
 GERTRUDE OF WYOMING. 
 
 IT was yet early on the following morning, when Eliza- 
 beth and Louisa met by appointment, and proceeded to the 
 store of Monsieur Le Quoi, in order to redeem the pledge 
 the former had given to the Leather-Stocking. The peo- 
 ple were again assembling for the business of the day, but 
 the hour was too soon for a crowd, and the ladies found 
 the place in. possession of its polite owner, Billy Kirby, one 
 female customer, and the boy who did the duty of helper 
 or clerk. 
 
 Monsieur Le Quoi was perusing a packet of letters with 
 manifest delight, while the wood-chopper, with one hand 
 thrust in his bosom, and the other in the folds of his jacket, 
 holding an axe under his right arm, stood sympathizing in 
 the Frenchman's pleasure with good-natured interest. The 
 freedom of manners that prevailed in the new settlements 
 commonly levelled all difference in rank, and with it, fre- 
 quently, all considerations of education and intelligence. 
 At the time the ladies entered the store, they were unseen 
 by the owner, who was saying to Kirby : 
 
 " Ah ! ha ! Monsieur Beel, dis lettair mak me de most 
 happi of mans. Ah ! ma chere France ! I vill see you 
 again." 
 
 " I rejoice, monsieur, at anything that contributes to 
 your happiness," said Elizabeth, " but hope we are not go- 
 ing to lose you entirely." 
 
 The complaisant shopkeeper changed the language to 
 French, and recounted rapidly to Elizabeth his hopes of 
 being permitted to return to his own country. Habit had, 
 however, so far altered the manners of this pliable person- 
 age, that he continued to serve the wood-chopper, who was 
 in quest of some tobacco, while he related to his more gen- 
 tle visitor the happy change that had taken place in the 
 dispositions of his own countrymen. 
 
 The amount of it all was, that Mr. Le Quoi, who had fled 
 from his own country more through terror than because he 
 
368 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 was offensive to the ruling powers in France, had succeed- 
 ed at length in getting an assurance that his return to the 
 West Indies would be unnoticed ; and the Frenchman, 
 who had sunk into the character of a country shopkeeper 
 with so much grace, was about to emerge again from his 
 obscurity into his proper level in society. 
 
 We need not repeat the civil things that passed between 
 ihe parties on this occasion, nor recount the endless repeti" 
 lions of sorrow that the delighted Frenchman expressed 
 at being compelled to quit the society of Miss Temple. Eliz' 
 abeth took an opportunity, during this expenditure of po- 
 lite expressions, to purchase the powder privately of the 
 boy, who bore the generic apellation of Jonathan. Before 
 they parted, however, Mr. Le Quoi, who seemed to think 
 that he had not said enough, solicited the honor of a private 
 interview with the heiress, with a gravity in his air that an- 
 nounced the importance of the subject. After conceding 
 the favor, and appointing a more favorable time for the 
 meeting, Elizabeth succeeded in getting out of the store, 
 into which the countrymen now began to enter, as usual, 
 where they met with the same attention and bienseance as 
 formerly. 
 
 Elizabeth and Louisa pursued their walk as far as the 
 bridge in profound silence ; but when they reached that 
 place the latter stopped, and appeared anxious to utter 
 something that her diffidence suppressed. 
 
 " Are you ill, Louisa ? " exclaimed Miss Temple ; " had 
 we not better return, and seek another opportunity to meet 
 the old man ?" 
 
 " Not ill, but terrified. Oh i I never, never can go on 
 that hill again with you only. I am not equal to it, in- 
 deed I am not." 
 
 This was an unexpected declaration to Elizabeth, who, 
 although she experienced no idle apprehension of a danger 
 .;hat no longer existed, felt most sensitively all the delicacy 
 of maiden modesty. She stood for some time, deeply re- 
 flecting within herself ; but, sensible it was a time for action 
 instead of reflection, she struggled to shake off her hesita* 
 tion, and replied, firmly : 
 
 " Well, then it must be done by me alone. There is no 
 other than yourself to be trusted, or poor old Leather- 
 Stocking will be discovered. Wait for me in the edge of 
 these woods, that at least I may not be seen strolling in the 
 hills by myself just now. One would not wish to 
 
THE PIONEERS. 369 
 
 remarks, Louisa if if You will wait for me, dear 
 
 girl?" 
 
 " A year, in sight of the village, Miss Temple," returned 
 the agitated Louisa, " but do not, do not ask me to go on 
 that hill." 
 
 Elizabeth found that her companion was really unable to 
 proceed, and they completed their arrangement by posting 
 Louisa out of the observation of the people who -occasion- 
 ally passed, but nigh the road, and in plain view of the 
 whole valley. Miss Temple then proceeded alone. She 
 ascended the road which has been so often mentioned in 
 our narrative, with an elastic and firm step, fearful that the 
 delay in the store of Mr. Le Quoi, and the time necessary 
 for reaching the summit, would prevent her being punctual 
 to the appointment. Whenever she passed an opening in 
 the bushes, she would pause for breath, or, perhaps, drawn 
 from her pursuit by the picture at her feet, would linger a 
 moment to gaze at the beauties of the valley. The long 
 drought had, however, changed its coat of verdure to a hue 
 of brown, and, though the same localities were there, the 
 view wanted the lively and cheering aspect of early sum- 
 mer. Even the heavens seemed to share in the dried ap- 
 pearance of the earth, for the sun was concealed by a hazi- 
 ness in the atmosphere, which looked like a thin smoke 
 without a particle of moisture, if such a thing were possi- 
 ble. The blue sky was scarcely to be seen, though now 
 and then there was a faint lighting up in spots, through 
 which masses of rolling vapor could be discerned gathering 
 around the horizon, as if nature were struggling to collect 
 her floods for the relief of man. The very atmosphere 
 that Elizabeth inhaled was hot and dry, and by the time she 
 reached the point where the course led her from the high- 
 way she experienced a sensation like suffocation. But, dis- 
 regarding her feelings she hastened to execute her mission, 
 dwelling on nothing but the disappointment, and even the 
 helplessness, the hunter would experience without her aid, 
 
 On the summit of the mountain which Judge Temple 
 had named the " Vision," a little spot had been cleared, in 
 order that a better view might be obtained of the village 
 and the valley. At this point Elizabeth understood the 
 hunter she was to meet him ; and thither she urged her 
 way, as expeditiously as the difficulty of the ascent, and 
 the impediment of a forest, in a state of nature, would ad- 
 mit. Numberless were the fragments of rocks, trunks cJ 
 24 
 
370 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 fallen trees, and branches, with which she had to contend \ 
 but every difficulty vanished before her resolution, and by 
 her own watch, she stood on the desired spot several min- 
 utes before the appointed hour. 
 
 After resting a moment on the end of a log, Miss Temple 
 cast a glance about her in quest of her old friend, but he 
 was evidently not in the clearing ; she arose and walked 
 around its skirts, examining every place where she thought 
 it probable Natty might deem it prudent to conceal him- 
 self. Her search was fruitless ; and, after exhausting not 
 only herself, but her conjectures, in efforts to discover or 
 imagine his situation, she ventured to trust her voice in 
 that solitary place. 
 
 ''Natty ! Leather-Stocking ! old man ! " she called aloud, 
 in every direction ; but no answer was given, excepting 
 the reverberations of her own clear tones, as they were 
 echoed in the parched forest. 
 
 Elizabeth approached the brow of the mountain, where 
 a faint cry, like the noise produced by striking the hand 
 against the mouth, at the same time that the breath is 
 strongly exhaled, was heard answering to her own voice. 
 Not doubting in the least that it was the Leather-Stocking 
 lying in wait for her, and who gave that signal to indicate 
 the place where he was to be found, Elizabeth descended 
 for near a hundred feet, until she gained a little natural 
 terrace, thinly scattered with trees, that grew in the fis- 
 sures of the rocks, which were covered by a scanty soil. 
 She had advanced to the edge of this platform, and was 
 gazing over the perpendicular precipice that formed its 
 face, when a rustling among the dry leaves near her drew 
 her eyes in another direction. Our heroine certainly was 
 startled by the object that she then saw, but a moment 
 restored her self-possession, and she advanced firmly, and 
 with some interest in her manner, to the spot. 
 
 Mohegan was seated on the trunk of a fallen oak, with 
 his tawny visage turned toward her, and his eyes fixed on 
 her face with an expression of wildness and fire, that would 
 have terrified a less resolute female. His blanket had 
 fallen from his shoulders, and was lying infolds around 
 him, leaving his breast, arms, and most of his body bare 
 The medallion of Washington reposed on his chest, a badge 
 of distinction that Elizabeth well knew he only produced 
 on great and solemn occasions. But the whole appearance 
 of the aged chief was more studied than common, and in 
 
TtfE PIONEERS. 371 
 
 some particulars it was terrific. The long black hair was 
 plaited on his head, falling away, so as to expose his high 
 forehead and piercing eyes. In the enormous incisions of 
 his ears were entwined ornaments of silver, beads, and 
 porcupine's quills, mingled in a rude taste, and after the 
 Indian fashions. A large drop, composed of similar ma- 
 terials, was suspended from the cartilage of his nose, and, 
 falling below his lips, rested on his chin. Streaks of red 
 paint'crossed his wrinkled brow, and were traced down his 
 cheeks, with such variations in the lines as caprice or cus- 
 tom suggested. His body was also colored in the same 
 manner ; the whole exhibiting an Indian warrior prepared 
 for some event of more than usual moment. 
 
 "John! how fare you, worthy John?" said Elizabeth, 
 as she approached him ; "you have long been a stranger 
 in the village. You promised me a willow basket, and I 
 have long had a shirt of calico in readiness for you." 
 
 The Indian looked steadily at her for some time without 
 answering, and then, shaking his head, he replied, in his 
 ow, guttural tones : 
 
 " John's hand can make baskets no more he wants no 
 shirt.'* 
 
 " But if he should, he will know where to come for it," 
 returned Miss Temple. " Indeed, old John, I feel as if 
 you had a natural right to order what you will from us." 
 
 " Daughter," said the Indian, " listen : Six times ten hot 
 summers have passed since John was young ; tall like a 
 pine ; straight like the bullet of Hawk-eye ; strong as a 
 buffalo ; spry as the cat of the mountain. He was strong, 
 and a warrior like the Young Eagle. If his tribe wanted 
 to track the Maquas for many suns, the eye of Chingach- 
 gook found the print of their moccasins. If the people 
 feasted and were glad, as they counted the scalps of their 
 enemies, it was on his pole they hung. If the squaws cried 
 because there was no meat for their children, he was the 
 first in the chase. His bullet was swifter than the deer. 
 Daughter, then Chingachgook struck his tomahawk into 
 the trees ; it was to tell the lazy ones where to find him and 
 the Mingoes but he made no baskets." 
 
 " Those times have gone by, old warrior," returned Eliz- 
 abeth ; " since then your people have disappeared, and, ID 
 place of chasing your enemies, you have learned to fear 
 God and to live at peace." 
 
 "Stand here, daughter, where you can see the great 
 
372 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 spring, the wigwams of your father, and the land on the 
 crooked river. John was young when his tribe gave away 
 the country, in council, from where the blue mountain 
 stands above the water, to where the Susquehanna is hid 
 by the trees. All this, and all that grew in it, and all that 
 walked over it, and all that fed there, they gave to the Fire- 
 eater for they loved him. He was strong, and they were 
 women, and he helped them. No Delaware would kill a 
 d?er that ran in his woods, nor stop a bird that flew over 
 his land ; for it was his. Has John lived in peace ? 
 Daughter, since John was young, he has seen the white 
 man from Frontinac come down on his white brothers at 
 Albany and fight. Did they fear God ? He has seen his 
 English and his American fathers burying their tomahawks 
 in each other's brains, for this very land. Did they fear 
 God, and live in peace ? He has seen the land pass away 
 from the Fire-eater, and his children, and the child of his 
 child, and a new chief set over the country. Did they live 
 in peace who did this ? did they fear God ? " 
 
 " Such is the custom of the whites, John. Do not the 
 Delawares fight, and exchange their lands for powder, and 
 blankets, and merchandise ? " 
 
 The Indian turned his dark eyes on his companion, and 
 kept them there with a scrutiny that alarmed her a little. 
 
 " Where are the blankets and merchandise that bought 
 the right of the Fire-eater ? " he replied, in a more animated 
 voice ; " are they with him in his wigwam ? Did they say 
 to him, Brother, sell us your land, and take this gold, this 
 silver, these blankets, these rifles, or even this rum ? No ; 
 they tore it from him, as a scalp is torn from an enemy : 
 and they that did it looked not behind them, to see whether 
 he lived or died. Do such men live in peace and fear the 
 Great Spirit ? " 
 
 " But you hardly understand the circumstances," said 
 Elizabeth, more embarrassed than she would own, even to 
 herself. " If you knew our laws and customs better, you 
 would judge differently of our acts. Do not believe evii 
 of my father, old Mohegan, for he is just and good." 
 
 "The brother of Miquon is good, and he will do right. 
 I have said it to Hawk-eye I have said it to the Young 
 Eagle that the brother of Miquon would do justice." 
 
 "Wham call you the Young Eagle ?" said Elizabeth, avert- 
 ing her face from the gaze of the Indian, as she asked the 
 question ; " whence comes he, and what are his rights ? " 
 
THE PIONEERS. 373 
 
 ' Has my daughter lived so long with him to ask this 
 question ? " returned the Indian, warily. " Old age freezes 
 up the blood, as the frosts cover the great spring in winter ; 
 but youth keeps the streams of the blood open like a sun 
 in the time" of blossoms. The Young Eagle has eyes ; had 
 he no tongue ? " 
 
 The loveliness to which the old warrior alluded was in 
 no degree diminished by his allegorical speech ; for the 
 blushes of the maiden who listened covered her burning 
 cheeks till her dark eyes seemed to glow with their reflec- 
 tion ; but, after struggling a moment with shame, she 
 laughed, as if unwilling to undertsand him seriously, and 
 replied in pleasantry : 
 
 " Not to make me the mistress of his secret. He is too 
 much of a Delaware to tell his secret thoughts to a woman/* 
 
 " Daughter, the Great Spirit made your father with a 
 white skin, and he made mine with a red ; but he colored 
 both their hearts with blood. When young, it is swift and 
 warm ; but when old, it is still and cold. Is there differ- 
 ence below the skin ? No. Once John had a woman. 
 She was the mother of so many sons " he raised his hand 
 with three fingers elevated " and she had daughters that 
 would have made the young Delawares happy. She was 
 kind, daughter, and what I said she did. You have differ- 
 ent fashions ; but do you think John did not love the wife 
 of his youth the mother of his children ? " 
 
 " And what has become of your family, John your wife 
 and your children ? " asked Elizabeth, touched by the In- 
 dian's manner. 
 
 " Where is the ice that covered the great spring ? It is 
 melted, and gone with the waters. John has lived till all 
 his people have left him for the land of spirits ; his time 
 has come, and he is ready." 
 
 Mohegan dropped his head in his blanket, and sat in si- 
 lence. Miss Temple knew not what to say. She wished to 
 draw the thoughts of the old warrior from his gloomy rec- 
 ollections, but there was a dignity in his sorrow, and in his 
 fortitude, that repressed her efforts to speak. After along 
 pause, however, she renewed the discourse by asking : 
 
 " Where is the Leather-Stocking, John ? I have brought 
 this canister of powder at his request ; but he is nowhere to 
 be seen. Will you take charge of it, and see it delivered ? " 
 
 The Indian raised his head slowly, and looked earnestly 
 at the gift, which she put into his hand. 
 
374 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 " This is the great enemy of my nation. Without this, 
 when could the white man drive the Delawares ? Daughter, 
 the Great Spirit gave your fathers to know how to make 
 guns and powder, that they might sweep the Indians from 
 the land. There will soon be no red-skin in the country; 
 When John has gone, the last will leave these hills, and his 
 family will be dead." The aged warrior stretched his body 
 forward, leaning an elbow on his knee, and appeared to be 
 taking a parting look at the objects of the vale, which were 
 still visible through the misty atmosphere, though the air 
 seemed to thicken at each moment around Miss Temple, 
 who became conscious of an increased difficulty of respira- 
 tion. The eye of Mohegan changed gradually from its 
 sorrowful expression to a look of wildness that might be 
 supposed to border on the inspiration of a prophet, as he 
 continued " But he will go on to the country where his 
 fathers have met. The game shall be plenty as the fish in 
 the lakes. No woman shall cry for meat ; no Mingo can 
 ever come. The chase shall be for children ; and all just 
 red men shall live together as brothers." 
 
 "John ! this is not the heaven of a Christian," cried Miss 
 Temple ; "you deal now in the superstition of your fore- 
 fathers." 
 
 "Fathers! sons!" said Mohegan, with firmness "all 
 gone all gone ! I have no son but the Young Eagle, and 
 he has the blood of a white man." 
 
 "Tell me, John," said Elizabeth, willing to draw his 
 thoughts to other subjects, and at the same time yielding 
 to her own powerful interest in the youth ; "who is this 
 Mr. Edwards ? why are you so fond of him, and whence 
 does he come ? " 
 
 The Indian started at the question, which evidently re- 
 called his recollection to earth. Taking her hand, he drew 
 Miss Temple to a seat beside him, and pointed to the coun- 
 try beneath them. 
 
 " See, daughter," he said, directing her looks toward the 
 north ; " as far as your young eyes can see, it was the land 
 of his " 
 
 But immense volumes of smoke at that moment rolled 
 over their heads, and, whirling in the eddies formed by the 
 mountains, interposed a barrier to their sight, while he 
 was speaking. Startled by this circumstance, Miss Temple 
 sprang to her feet, and, turning her eyes toward the sum- 
 mit of the mountain, she beheld it covered by a similai 
 
THE PIONEERS. 375 
 
 Canopy, while a roaring sound was heard in the forest 
 above her like the rushing of winds. 
 
 "What means it, John!" she exclaimed . "we are en- 
 veloped in smoke, and I feel a heat like the glow of a fur- 
 nace." 
 
 Before the Indian could reply, a voice was heard crying 
 in the woods : 
 
 "John ! where are you, old Mohegan ? the woods are on 
 fire, and you have but a minute for escape." 
 
 The chief put his hand before his mouth, 'and, making it 
 play on his lips, produced the kind of noise that had at- 
 tracted Elizabeth to the place, when a quick and hurried 
 step was heard dashing through the dried underbrush and 
 bushes, and presently Edwards rushed to his side, with 
 horror in every feature. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 "Love rules the court, the camp, the grove." 
 
 LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 
 
 " IT would have been sad, indeed, to lose you in such a 
 manner, my old friend," said Oliver, catching his breath 
 for utterance. " Up and away ! even now we may be too 
 late ; the flames are circling round the point of the rock 
 below, and, unless we can pass there, our only chance 
 must be over the precipice. Away ! away ! shake off your 
 apathy, John ; now is the time of need." 
 
 Mohegan pointed toward Elizabeth, who, forgetting her 
 danger, had sunk back to a projection of the rock as soon 
 as she recognized the sounds of Edwards's voice, and said 
 with something like awakened animation : 
 
 "Save her leave John to die." 
 
 "Her! whom mean you?" cried the youth, turning 
 quickly to the place the other indicated ; but when he saw 
 the figure of Elizabeth bending toward him in an attitude 
 that powerfully spoke terror, blended with reluctance to 
 meet him in such a place, the shock deprived him of 
 speech. 
 
 " Miss Temple ! " he cried, when he found words ; " you 
 here ! is such a death reserved for you ! " 
 
 " No, no, no no death, I hope, for any of us, Mr. Ed- 
 wards," she replied, endeavoring to speak calmly ; " there 
 
376 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 is smoke, but no fire to harm us. Let us endeavor to re- 
 tire." 
 
 " Take my arm," said Edwards ; " there must be an 
 opening in some direction for your retreat. Are you 
 equal to the effort?" 
 
 " Certainly. You surely magnify the danger, Mr. Ed- 
 wards. Lead me out the way you came." 
 
 " I will I will," cried the youth, with a kind of hyster- 
 ical utterance. " No, no there is no danger I have 
 alarmed you unnecessarily." 
 
 " But shall we leave the Indian can we leave him, as 
 he says, to die ? " 
 
 An expression of painful emotion crossed the face of the 
 young man ; he stopped, and cast a longing look at Mohe- 
 gan, but, dragging his companion after him, even against 
 her will, he pursued his way with enormous strides toward 
 the pass by which he had just entered the circle of flame. 
 
 " Do not regard him," he said, in those tones that de- 
 note a desperate calmness ; "he is used to the woods, and 
 such scenes ; and he will escape up the mountain over 
 the rock or he can remain where he is in safety." 
 
 " You thought not so this moment, Edwards ! Do not 
 leave hini there to meet with such a death," cried Eliza- 
 beth, fixing a look on the countenance of her conductor 
 that seemed to distrust his sanity. 
 
 "An Indian burn ! who ever heard of an Indian dying 
 by fire ? an Indian cannot burn ; the idea is ridiculous. 
 Hasten, hasten, Miss Temple, or the smoke may incom- 
 mode you." 
 
 "Edwards! your look, your eye, terrifies me ! tell me 
 the danger ; is it greater than it seems ? I am equal to 
 any trial." 
 
 " If we reach the point of yon rock before that sheet of 
 fire, we are safe, Miss Temple," exclaimed the young man 
 in a voice that burst without the bounds of his forced com- 
 posure. " Fly ! the struggle is for life ! " 
 
 The place of the interview between Miss Temple and 
 the Indian has already been described as one of those 
 platforms of rock, which form a sort of terrace in the 
 mountains of that country, and the face of it, we have said, 
 was both high and perpendicular. Its shape was nearly a 
 natural arc, the ends of which blended with the mountain, 
 at points where its sides were less abrupt in their descent. 
 It was round one of these terminations of the sweeD of the 
 
THE PIONEERS. 
 
 377 
 
 rock that Edwards had ascended, and it was toward the 
 same place that he urged Elizabeth to a desperate exertion 
 of speed. 
 
 Immense clouds of white smoke had been pouring over 
 the summit of the mountain, and had concealed the ap- 
 proach and ravages of the element ; but a crackling sound 
 drew the eyes of Miss Temple, as she Hew over the ground 
 supported by the young man, toward the outline of smoke 
 where she already perceived the waving flames shooting 
 forward from the vapor, now flaring high in the air, and 
 then bending to the earth, seeming to light into combus- 
 tion every stick and shrub on which they breathed. The 
 sight aroused them to redoubled efforts ; but, unfortunate- 
 ly, a collection of the tops of trees, old and dried, lay di- 
 rectly across their course ; and at the very moment when 
 both had thought their safety insured, the warm current 
 of the air swept a forked tongue of flame across the pile, 
 which lighted at the touch ; and when they reached the 
 spot, the flying pair were opposed by the surly roaring of 
 a body of fire, as if a furnace were glowing in their path. 
 They recoiled from the heat, and stood on a point of the 
 rock, gazing in a stupor at the flames which were spread- 
 ing rapidly down the mountain, whose side, too, became a 
 sheet of living fire. It was dangerous for one clad in the 
 light and airy dress of Elizabeth to approach even the 
 vicinity of the raging element ; and those flowing robes, 
 that gave such softness and grace to her form, seemed now 
 to be formed for the instruments of her destruction. 
 
 The villagers were accustomed to resort to that hill, in 
 quest of timber and fuel ; in procuring which, it was their 
 usage to take only the bodies of the trees, leaving the tops 
 and branches to decay under the operations of the weather. 
 Much of the hill was, consequently, covered with such 
 light fuel, which, having been scorched under the sun for 
 the last two months, was ignited with a touch. Indeed, in 
 some cases, there did not appear to be any contact between 
 the fire and these piles, but the flames seemed to dart from 
 heap to heap, as the fabulous fire of the temple is repre- 
 sented to reillumine its neglected lamp. 
 
 There was beauty as well as terror in the sight, and 
 Edwards and Elizabeth stood viewing the progress of the 
 desolation, with a strange mixture of horror and interest. 
 The former, however, shortly roused himself to new exer- 
 tions, and, drawing his companion after him, they skirted 
 
378 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 the edge of the smoke, the young man penetrating fre- 
 quently into its dense volumes in search of a passage, but 
 in every instance without success. In this manner they 
 proceeded in a semicircle around the upper part of the 
 terrace, until arriving at the verge of the precipice oppo- 
 site to the point where Edwards had ascended, the horrid 
 conviction burst on both, at the same instant, that they 
 were completely encircled by fire. So long as a single 
 pass up or down the mountain was unexplored, there was 
 hope ; but when retreat seemed to be absolutely impracti- 
 cable, the horror of their situation broke upon Elizabeth 
 as powerfully as if she had hitherto considered the danger 
 light. 
 
 " This mountain is doomed to be fatal to me ! " she 
 whispered ; " we shall find our graves on it ! " 
 
 " Say not so, Miss Temple ; there is yet hope," returned 
 the youth, in the same tone, while the vacant expression 
 of his eye contradicted his words; "let us return to the 
 point of the rock there is there must be some place 
 about it where we can descend." 
 
 "Lead me there," exclaimed Elizabeth; "let us lea^e 
 no effort untried." She did not wait for his compliance, 
 but turning, retraced her steps to the brow of the precipice, 
 murmuring to herself, in suppressed, hysterical sobs, 
 " My father ! my poor, my distracted father ! " 
 
 Edwards was by her side in an instant, and with aching 
 eyes he examined every fissure in the crags in quest of 
 some opening that might offer facilities for flight. But 
 the smooth, even surface of the rocks afforded hardly a 
 resting-place for a foot, much less those continued pro- 
 jections which would have been necessary for a descent of 
 nearly a hundred feet. Edwards was not slow in feeling 
 the conviction that this hope was also futile, and, with a 
 kind of feverish despair that still urged him to action, he 
 turned to some new expedient. 
 
 "There is nothing left, Miss Temple," he said, "but to 
 lower you from this place to the rock beneath. If Natty 
 were here, or even that Indian could be roused, their in- 
 genuity and long practice would easily devise methods to 
 do it ; but I am a child at this moment in everything but 
 daring. Where shall I find means ? This dress of mine 
 is so light, and there is so little of it then the blanket of 
 Mohegan ; we must try we must try anything is bette;' 
 than to sec you a victim to such a death ! * 
 
THE PIONEERS. 379 
 
 ''And what will become of you ? " said Elizabeth. " In- 
 deed, indeed, neither you nor John must be sacrificed to 
 my safety." 
 
 He heard her not, for he was already by the side of 
 Mohegan, who yielded his blanket without a question, re- 
 taining his seat with Indian dignity and composure, though 
 his own situation was even more critical than that of the 
 others. The blanket was cut into shreds, and the fragments 
 fastened together ; the loose linen jacket of the youth and 
 the light muslin shawl of Elizabeth were attached to them, 
 and the whole thrown over the rocks with the rapidity of 
 lightning ; but the united pieces did not reach half-way 
 to the bottom. 
 
 " It will not do it will not do !" cried Elizabeth ; "for 
 me there is no hope ! The fire comes slowly, but certainly. 
 See, it destroys the very earth before it ! " " 
 
 Had the flames spread on that rock with half the quick- 
 ness with which they leaped from bush to tree in other 
 parts of the mountain, our painful task would have soon 
 ended ; for they would have consumed already the captives 
 they inclosed. But the peculiarity of their situation af- 
 forded Elizabeth and her companion the respite of which 
 they had availed themselves to make the efforts we have 
 recorded. 
 
 The thin covering of earth on the rock supported but a 
 scanty and faded herbage, and most of the trees that had 
 found root in the fissures had already died, during the 
 intense heats of preceding summers. Those which still 
 retained the appearance of life bore a few dry and with- 
 ered leaves, while the others were merely the wrecks of 
 pines, oaks, and maples. No better materials to feed the 
 fire could be found, had there been a communication with 
 the flames ; but the ground was destitute of the brush that 
 led the destructive element, like a torrent, over the remain- 
 der of the hill. As auxiliary to this scarcity of fuel, one 
 of the large springs which abound in that country gushed 
 out of the side of the ascent above, and, after creeping 
 sluggishly along the level land, saturating the mossy cov- 
 ering of the rock with moisture, it swept around the base 
 of the little cone that formed the pinnacle of the mountain, 
 and, entering the canopy of smoke near one of the termina- 
 tions of the terrace, found its way to the lake, not by dash- 
 ing from rock to rock, but by the secret channels of the 
 earth. It would rise to the surface, here and there, *n the 
 
380 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 wet seasons, but in the droughts of summer it was to be 
 traced only by the bogs and moss that announced the 
 proximity of water. When the fire reached this barrier, 
 it was compelled to pause, until a concentration of its 
 heat could overcome the moisture, like an army awaiting 
 the operations of a battering train, to open its way to 
 desolation. 
 
 That fatal moment seemed now to have arrived, for the 
 Mssing steams of the spring appeared to be nearly exhausted, 
 and the moss of the rocks was already curling under the 
 intense heat, while fragments of bark, that yet clung to the 
 dead trees, began to separate from their trunks, and fall to 
 the ground in crumbling masses. The air seemed quiver- 
 ing with rays of heat, which might be seen playing along 
 the parched stems of the trees. There were moments when 
 dark clouds of smoke would sweep along the little terrace ; 
 and, as the eye lost its power, the other senses contributed 
 to give effect to the fearful horror of the scene. At such 
 moments, the roaring of the flames, the crackling of the 
 furious element, with the tearing of falling branches, and 
 occasionally the thundering echoes of some falling tree, 
 united to alarm the victims. Of the three, however, the 
 youth appeared much thermost agitated. Elizabeth having 
 relinquished entirely the idea of escape, was fast obtaining 
 that resigned composure with which the most delicate of 
 her sex are sometimes known to meet unavoidable evils ; 
 while Mohegan, who was much nearer to the danger, main- 
 tained his seat with the invincible resignation of an Indian 
 warrior. Once or twice the eye of the aged chief, which 
 was ordinarily fixed in the direction of the distant hills, 
 turned toward the young pair, who seemed doomed to so 
 early a death, with a slight indication of pity crossing his 
 composed features, but it would immediately revert again 
 to its former gaze, as if already looking into the womb of 
 futurity. Much of the time he was chanting a kind of low 
 dirg^ in the Delaware tongue, using the deep and remark- 
 able guttural tones of his people. 
 
 "At such a moment, Mr. Edwards, all earthly distinc- 
 tions end," whispered Elizabeth ; " persuade John to move 
 nearer to us let us die together." 
 
 " I cannot he will not stir," returned the youth, in the 
 same horridly still tones. " He considers this as the 
 happiest moment of his life. He is past seventy, and has 
 been decaying rapidly for some time ; he received some 
 
THE PIONEERS. 381 
 
 injury in chasing that unlucky deer, too, on the lake. Oh ! 
 Miss Temple, that was an unlucky chase, indeed ! it has 
 led, I fear, to this awful scene." 
 
 The smile of Elizabeth was celestial. " Why name such 
 a trifle now ? at this moment the heart is dead to all earth- 
 ly emotions ! " 
 
 " If anything could reconcile a man to this death," cried 
 the youth, " it would be to meet it in such company !" 
 
 " Talk not so, Edwards ; talk not so," interrupted Miss 
 Temple. " I am unworthy of it, and it is unjust to your- 
 self. We must die ; yes yes we must die it is the will of 
 God, and let us endeavor to submit like his own children." 
 
 " Die ! " the youth rather shrieked than exclaimed, "no 
 no no there must yet be hope you, at least, must not, 
 shall not die." 
 
 " In what way can we escape ? " asked Elizabeth, pointing 
 with a look of heavenly composure toward the fire. " Ob- 
 serve ! the flame is crossing the barrier of wet ground it 
 comes slowly, Edwards, but surely. Ah ! see ! the tree ! 
 the tree is already lighted ! " 
 
 Her words were too true. The heat of the conflagration 
 had at length overcome the resistance of the spring, and 
 the fire was slowly stealing along the half-dried moss ; 
 while a dead pine kindled with the touch of a forked flame, 
 that, for a moment, wreathed around the stem of the tree, 
 as it whirled, in one of its evolutions, under the influence 
 of the air. The effect was instantaneous. The flames 
 danced along the parched trunk of the pine like lightning 
 quivering on a chain, and immediately a column of living 
 fire was raging on the terrace. It soon spread from tree 
 to tree, and the scene was evidently drawing to a close. 
 The log on which Mohegan was seated lighted at its fur- 
 ther end, and the Indian appeared to be surrounded by 
 lire. Still he was unmoved. As his body was unprotected, 
 his sufferings must have been great ; but his fortitude was 
 superior to all. His voice could yet be heard even in the 
 midst of these horrors. Elizabeth turned her head from 
 the sight, and faced the valley. Furious eddies of wind 
 were created by the heat, and, just at the moment, the can- 
 opy of fiery smoke that overhung the valley was cleared 
 away, leaving a distinct view of the peaceful village be- 
 neath them. 
 
 " My father ! my father ! " shrieked Elizabeth. " Oh J 
 this surely might have been spared me but I submit" 
 
3 82 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 The distance was not so great but the figure of Judge 
 Temple could be seen, standing in his own grounds, and 
 apparently contemplating, in perfect unconsciousness of 
 the danger of his child, the mountain in flames. This sight 
 was still more painful than the approaching danger; and 
 Elizabeth again faced the hill. 
 
 " My intemperate warmth has done this ! " cried Ed- 
 wards, in the accents of despair. " If I had possessed but 
 a moiety of your heavenly resignation, Miss Temple, all 
 might yet have been well." 
 
 " Name it not name it not," she said. " It is now of no 
 avail. We must die, Edwards, we must die let us do so 
 as. Christians. But no you may yet escape, perhaps. 
 Your dress is not so fatal as mine. Fly ! Leave me. An 
 opening may yet be found for -you, possibly certainly it 
 is worth the effort. Fly ! leave me but stay ! You will 
 see my father ! my poor, my bereaved father ! Say to him, 
 then, Edwards, say to him, all that can appease hisanguish. 
 Tell him that I died happy and collected ; that I have gone 
 to my beloved mother ; that the hours of this life are 
 nothing when balanced in the scales of eternity. Say how 
 we shall meet again. And say," she continued, dropping 
 her voice, that had risen with her feelings, as if conscious 
 of her worldly weakness, " how dear, how very dear, was my 
 love for him ; that it was near, too near, to my love for 
 God." 
 
 The youth listened to her touching accents, but moved 
 not. In a moment he found utterance, and replied : 
 
 " And is it me that you command to leave you ! to leave 
 you on the edge of the grave? Oh! Miss Temple, how 
 little have you known me ! " he cried, dropping on his 
 knees at her feet, and gathering her flowing robe in his 
 arms as if to shield her from the flames. " I have been 
 driven to the woods in despair, but your society has tamed 
 the lion within me. If I have wasted my time in degrada- 
 tion, 'twas you that charmed me to it. If I have forgotten 
 my name and family, your form supplied the place of 
 memory. If I have forgotten my wrongs, 'twas you that 
 taught me charity. No no dearest Elizabeth, I may die 
 with you, but I can never leave you ! " 
 
 Elizabeth moved not, nor answered. It was plain that 
 her thoughts had been raised from the earth. The recol- 
 lection of her father, and her regrets at their separatiqn, 
 had been mellowed by a holy sentiment, that lifted her 
 
THE PIONEERS. 383 
 
 above the level of earthly things, and she was fast losing 
 the weakness of her sex in the near view of eternity. But 
 as she listened to these words she became once moie 
 woman. She struggled against these feelings, and smiled, 
 as she thought she was shaking off the last lingering feel- 
 ing of nature, when the world, and all its seductions, 
 rushed again to her heart, with the sounds of a human 
 voice, crying in piercing tones : 
 
 " Gal ! where be ye, gal ! gladden the heart of an old 
 man, if ye yet belong to 'arth ! " 
 
 " List ! ""said Elizabeth ; " 'tis the Leather-Stocking ; he 
 seeks me ! " 
 
 " 'Tis Natty!" shouted Edwards, "and we may yet be 
 saved !" 
 
 A wide and circling flame glared on their eyes for a mo- 
 ment, even above the fire of the woods, and a loud report 
 followed. 
 
 " 'Tis the canister ! 'tis the powder," cried the same voice, 
 evidently approaching them. " 'Tis the canister, and the 
 precious child is lost ! " 
 
 At the next instant Natty rushed through the steams of 
 the spring, and appeared on the terrace, without his deer- 
 skin cap, his hair burnt to his head, his shirt, of country 
 check, black and filled with holes, and his red features of 
 a deeper color than ever, by the heat he had encountered. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 ' ' Even from the land of shadows, now 
 My father's awful ghost appears." 
 
 GERTRUDE OF WYOMING. 
 
 FOR an hour after Louisa Grant was left by Miss Tem- 
 ple, in the situation already mentioned, she continued in 
 feverish anxiety, awaiting the return of her friend. But, 
 as the time passed by without the reappearance of Eliza- 
 beth, the terror of Louisa gradually increased, until her 
 alarmed fancy had conjured every species of danger that 
 appertained to the woods, excepting the one that really 
 existed. The heavens* had become obscured by degrees, 
 and vast volumes of smoke were pouring over the valley ; 
 but the thoughts of Louisa were still recurring to beasts, 
 without dreaming of the real cause for apprehension. 
 
384 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 She was stationed in the edge of the low pines and chest- 
 nuts that succeed the first or large growth of the forest, 
 and directly above the angle where the highway turned 
 from the straight course to the village, and ascended the 
 mountain, laterally. Consequently, she commanded a 
 view, not only of the valley, but of the road beneath her. 
 The few travellers that passed, she observed, were engaged 
 in earnest conversation, and frequently raised their eyes to 
 the hill, and at length she saw the people leaving the 
 court-house, and gazing upward also. While under the 
 influence of the alarm excited by such unusual movements, 
 reluctant to go, and yet fearful to remain, Louisa was 
 startled by the low, cracking, but cautious treads of some 
 one approaching through the bushes. She was on the eve 
 of flight, when Natty emerged from the cover, and stood at 
 her side. The old man laughed as he shook her kindly 
 by a hand that was passive with fear. 
 
 " I am glad to meet you here, child," he said ; " for the 
 back of the mountain is a-fire, and it would .be dangerous 
 to go up it now, till it has been burnt over once, and the 
 dead wood is gone. There's a foolish man, the comrade 
 of t<hat varmint who has given me all this trouble, digging 
 for ore on the east side. I told him that the kearless fel 
 lows, who thought to catch a practys'd hunter in the woods 
 after dark, had thrown the lighted pine-knots in the brush, 
 and that 'twould kindle like tow, and warned him to leave 
 the hill. But he was set upon his business, and nothing 
 short of Providence could move him. If he isn't burnt and 
 buried in a grave of his own digging, he's made of sala- 
 manders. Why, what ails the child ! you look as skeary 
 as if you'd see'd more painters ! I wish there were more 
 to be found ! they'd count up faster than the beaver. But 
 where's the good child with a bad father ? did she forget 
 her promise to the old man ?" 
 
 " The hill ! the hill ! " shrieked Louisa ; " she seeks you 
 on the hill with the powder ! " 
 
 Natty recoiled several feet at this unexpected intelli- 
 gence. 
 
 " The Lord of Heaven have mercy on her ! She's on 
 the Vision, and that's a sheet of fire ag'in this. Child, if 
 ye love the dear one, and hope to find a friend when ye 
 need it most, to the village, and give the alarm. The men 
 are used to fighting fire, and there may be a chance left 
 Fly ! 1 bid ye fly ! nor stop even for breath." 
 
THE PIONEERS. 385 
 
 The Leather-Stocking had no sooner uttered this injunc- 
 tion, than he disappeared in the bushes, and, when last 
 seen by Louisa, was rushing up the mountain, with a speed 
 that none but those who were accustomed to the toil could 
 attain. 
 
 "Have I found ye !" the old man exclaimed, when he 
 burst out of the smoke ; " God be praised that I have 
 found ye ; but follow there's no time for talking." 
 
 "My dress!" said Elizabeth; "it would be fatal to 
 trust myself nearer to the flames in it." 
 
 " I bethought me of your flimsy things," cried Natty, 
 throwing loose the folds of a covering buckskin that he 
 carried on his arm, and wrapping her form in it, in such 
 a manner as to envelop her whole person; "now follow, 
 for it's a matter of life and death to us all." 
 
 "But John! what will become of John ?" cried Edwards : 
 " can we leave the old warrior here to perish ? " 
 
 The eyes of Natty followed the direction of Edwards's fin- 
 ger, where he beheld the Indian still seated as before, with 
 the very earth under his feet consuming with fire. With- 
 out delay the hunter approached the spot, and spoke in 
 Delaware : 
 
 * Up and away, Chingachgook ! will ye stay here to burn, 
 likd a Mingo at the stake ? The Moravians have teached 
 ye better, I hope ; the Lord preserve me if the powder 
 hasn't flashed atween his legs, and the skin of his back is 
 roasting. Will ye come, I say ; will ye follow me ? " 
 
 "Why should Mohegan go?" returned the Indian, 
 gloomily. " He has seen the days of "an eagle, and his eye 
 grows dim. He looks on the valley ; he looks on the 
 water ; he looks in the hunting-grounds but he sees no 
 Delawares. Every one has a white skin. My fathers say, 
 from the far-off land, Come. My women, my young war- 
 riors, my tribe, say, Come. The Great Spirit says; Come. 
 Let Mohegan die." 
 
 " But you forget your "friend," cried Edwards. 
 
 "'Tis useless to talk to an Indian with the death-fit on 
 him, lad," interrupted Natty, who seized the strips of the 
 blanket, and with wonderful dexterity strapped the passive 
 chieftain to his own back ; when he turned, and with a 
 strength that seemed to bid defiance, not only to his years, 
 but to his load, he led the way to the point whence he had 
 issued. As they crossed the little terrace of rock, one of 
 the dead trees, that had been tottering for several minutes, 
 
 25 
 
 
 
386 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 fell on the spot where they had stood, and filled the air 
 with its cinders. 
 
 Such an event quickened the steps of the party, who fol- 
 lowed the Leather-Stocking with the urgency required by 
 the occasion. 
 
 "Tread on the soft ground," he cried, when they were 
 in a gloom where sight availed them but little, "and 
 keep in the white smoke ; keep the skin close on her, 
 lad ; she's a precious one another will be hard to be 
 found." 
 
 Obedient to the hunter's directions, they followed his 
 steps and advice implicitly ; and, although the narrow pas- 
 sage along the winding of the spring led amid burning 
 logs and falling branches, they happily achieved it in 
 safety. No one but a man long accustomed to the woods 
 could have traced his route through the smoke, in which 
 respiration was difficult, and sight nearly useless ; but the 
 experience of Natty conducted them to an opening through 
 the rocks, where, with a little difficulty, they soon de- 
 scended to another terrace, and emerged at once into a 
 tolerably clear atmosphere. 
 
 The feelings of Edwards and Elizabeth at reaching this 
 spot may be imagined, though not easily described.' No 
 one seemed to exult more than their guide, who turned, 
 with Mohegan still lashed to his back, and, laughing in his 
 own manner, said : 
 
 "I know'd 'twas the Frenchman's powder, gal ; it went 
 so all together ; your coarse grain will squib for a minute. 
 The Iroquois had none of the best powder when I went 
 ag'in the Canada tribes, under Sir William. Did I ever tell 
 you the story, lad, consarning the scrimmage with ' 
 
 "For God's sake, tell me nothing now, Natty, until we 
 are entirely safe. Where shall we go next ? " 
 
 "Why, on the platform of rock over the cave, to be sure ; 
 you will be safe enough there, or we'll go into it, if you be 
 so minded." 
 
 The young man started, and appeared agitated : but, 
 looking around him with an anxious eye, said quickly : 
 
 " Shall we be safe on the rock ? cannot the fire reach us 
 there, too ?" 
 
 "Can't the boy see? "said Natty, with the coolness of 
 one accustomed to the kind of danger he had just encoun- 
 tered. "Had ye stayed in the place above ten minutes 
 longer, you would both have been in ashes, but here you 
 
THE PIONEERS. 387 
 
 may stay forever, and no fire can touch you, until they burn 
 the* rocks as well as the woods." 
 
 With this assurance, which was obviously true, they pro- 
 ceeded to the spot, and Natty deposited his load, placing 
 the Indian on the ground with his back against a fragment 
 of the rocks. Elizabeth sank on the ground, and buried 
 her face in her hands, while her heart was swelling with a 
 variety of conflicting emotions. 
 
 "Let me urge you to take a restorative, Miss Tem- 
 ple," said Edwards, respectfully; "your frame will sink 
 else." 
 
 " Leave me, leave me," she said, raising her beaming eyes 
 for a moment to his ; " I feel too much for words ! I am 
 grateful, Oliver, for this miraculous escape ; and next to 
 my God to you." 
 
 Edwards withdrew to the edge of the rock, and shouted 
 "Benjamin! where are you, Benjamin?" 
 
 A hoarse voice replied, as if from the bowels of the 
 earth, " Hereaway, master ; stowed in this here bit of a 
 hole, which is all the time as hot as the cook's coppers. 
 I'm tired of my berth, d'ye see, and if-so-be that Leather- 
 Stocking has got much over-hauling to do before he sails 
 after them said beaver, I'll go into dock again, and ride 
 out my quarantine, till I can get prottick from the law, 
 and so hold on upon the rest of my 'spaniolas." 
 
 " Bring up a glass of water from the spring," continued 
 Edwards, "and throw a little wine in it ; hasten, I entreat 
 you ! " 
 
 " I knows but little of your small drink, Master Oliver," 
 returned the steward, his voice issuing out of the cave 
 into the open air, "and the Jamaikey held out no longer 
 than to take a parting kiss with Billy Kirby, when he an- 
 chored me alongside the highway last night, \vhere you 
 run me down in the chase. But here's sum'mat of a red 
 color that may suit a weak stomach, mayhap. That Mas- 
 ter Kirby is no first-rate in a boat ; but he'll tack a cart 
 among the stumps, all the same as a Lon'on pilot will back 
 and fill through the colliers in the Pool." 
 
 As the steward ascended while talking, by the time he 
 had ended his speech he appeared on the rock with the 
 desired restoratives, exhibiting the w r orn-out and bloated 
 features of a man who had run deep in a debauch, and 
 that lately. 
 
 Elizabeth took from the hands of Edwards the liqtioi 
 
388 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 which he offered, and then motioned to be left again ta 
 herself. 
 
 The youth turned at her bidding, and observed Natt;- 
 kindly assiduous around the person of Mohegan. When 
 their eyes met, the hunter said sorrowfully : 
 
 " His time has come, lad ; I see it in his eyes when an 
 Indian fixes his eye, he means to go but to one place ; and 
 what the wilful creatures put their minds on, they're sure 
 to do." 
 
 A quick tread prevented the reply, and in a few mo- 
 ments, to the amazement of the whole party, Mr. Grant 
 was seen clinging to the side of the mountain, and striving 
 to reach the place where they stood. Oliver sprang to his 
 assistance, and by their united efforts the worthy divine 
 was soon placed safely among them. 
 
 "How came you added to our number?" cried Ed- 
 wards. "Is the hill alive with people at a time like this?" 
 
 The hasty but pious thanksgivings of the clergyman 
 were soon ejaculated, and. w T hen he succeeded in collect- 
 ing his bewildered senses, he replied : 
 
 "I heard that my child was seen coming to the moun' 
 tain ; and, when the fire broke over its summit, my uneasi- 
 ness drew me up the road, where I found Louisa, in ter- 
 ror for Miss Temple. It was to seek her that I came into 
 this dangerous place'; and I think, but for God's mercy, 
 through the dogs of Natty, I should have perished in the 
 flames myself." 
 
 "Ay! follow the hounds, and if there's an opening 
 they'll scent it out," said Natty; "their noses be given 
 them the same as man's reason." 
 
 11 1 did so, ancl they led me to this place ; but, praise be 
 to God, that I see you all safe and well." 
 
 "No, no," returned the hunter ; "safe we be, but as for 
 well, John can't be called in a good way, unless you'll say 
 that for a man that's taking his last look at 'arth." 
 
 " He speaks the truth ! " said the divine, with the holy 
 awe with which he ever approached the dying ; " I have 
 been by too many death-beds, not to see that the hand of 
 the tyrant is laid on this old warrior. Oh ! how consoling 
 it is to know that he has not rejected the offered mercy in 
 the hour of his strength and of worldly temptations ! The 
 offspring of a race of heathens, he has in truth been ' as a 
 brand plucked from the burning.' " 
 
 "No, no," returned Natty, who alone stood with him bj 
 
THE PIONEERS. 38^ 
 
 the side of the dying warrior ; " it is no burning that ails 
 him, though his Indian feelings made him scorn to move, 
 unless it be the burning of man's wicked thoughts for near 
 fourscore years ; but it's nater giving out in a chase that's 
 run too long. Down with ye, Hector ! down, I say ! 
 Flesh isn't iron, that a man can live forever, and see his 
 kith and kin. driven to a far country, and he left to mourn, 
 with none to keep him company." 
 
 " John," said the divine, tenderly, " do you hear me ? do 
 you wish the prayers appointed by the church, at this 
 trying moment ? " 
 
 The Indian turned his ghastly face toward the speaker, 
 and fastened his dark eyes on him, steadily, but vacantly. 
 No sign of recognition w r as made ; and in a moment he 
 moved his head again slowly toward the vale, and began 
 to sing, using his own language, in those low, guttural 
 tones, that have been so often mentioned, his notes rising 
 with his theme, till they swelled so loud as to be distinct. 
 
 " I will come ! I will come ! to the land of the just I will 
 come ! The Maquas I have slain ! I have slain the Ma- 
 quas ! and the Great Spirit calls to his son. I will come { 
 I will come to the land of the just I will come ! " 
 
 "What says he, Leather-Stocking ?" inquired the priest, 
 with tender interest ; " sings he the Redeemer's praise ? " 
 
 " No, no 'tis his own praise that he speaks now," said 
 Natty, turning in a melancholy manner from the sight of 
 his dying friend ; " and a good right he has to say it all, 
 for I know every word to be true." 
 
 "May heaven avert such self-righteousness from his 
 heart ! Humility and penitence are the seals of Chris- 
 tianity ; and, without feeling them deeply seated in the 
 soul, all hope is delusive, and leads to vain expectations. 
 Praise himself ! when his whole soul and body should 
 unite to praise his Maker ! John ! you have enjoyed the 
 blessings of a gospel ministry, and have been called from 
 out a multitude of sinners and pagans, and, I trust, for a 
 wise and gracious purpose. Do you now feel what it is to 
 be justified by our Saviour's death, and reject all weak and 
 idle dependence on good works, that spring from man's 
 pride and vainglory ? " 
 
 The Indian did not regard his interrogator, but he raised 
 his head again, and said in a low, distinct voice : 
 
 "Who can say that the Maquas know the back 'of the 
 Mohegan ? What enemy that trusted in him did not see 
 
290 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 the morning? What Mingo that he chased everjsang the 
 song of triumph ? Did Mohegan ever lie ? No ; the truth 
 lived in him, and none else could come out of him. In his 
 youth he was a warrior, and his moccasins left the stain of 
 blood. In his age he was wise ; his words at the council 
 fire did not blow away with the winds." 
 
 " Ah ! he has abandoned that vain relic of paganism, his 
 songs," cried the divine ; "what says he now? is he sen- 
 sible of his lost state ? " 
 
 *' Lord ! man," said Natty, " he knows his end is at hand 
 as well as you or I ; but, so far from thinking it a loss, he 
 believes it to be a great gain. He is old and stiff, and you 
 have made the game so scarce and shy, that better shots 
 than him frnd it hard to get a livelihood. Now he thinks 
 he shall travel where it will always be good hunting ; where 
 no wicked or unjust Indians can go ; and where he shall 
 meet all his tribe together ag'in. There's not much loss in 
 that, to a man whose hands are hardly fit for basket-making. 
 Loss ! if there be any loss, 'twill be to me. I'm sure aftei 
 he's gone, there will be but little left for me but to follow." 
 
 " His example and end, which, I humbly trust, shall yet 
 be made glorious," returned Mr. Grant, " should lead your 
 mind to dwell on the things of another life. But I feel it 
 to be my duty to smooth the way for the parting spirit. 
 This is the moment, John, when the reflection that you 
 did not reject the mediation of the Redeemer, will bring 
 balm to your soul. Trust not to any act of former days, 
 but lay the burden of your sins at his feet, and you have 
 his own blessed assurance that he will not desert you." 
 
 " Though all you say be true, and you have scripter 
 gospels for it, too," said Natty, " you will make nothing of 
 the Indian. He hasn't seen a Moravian priest sin' the war ; 
 and it's hard to keep them from going back to their native 
 ways. I should think 'twould be as well to let the old man 
 pass in peace. He's happy now ; I know it by his eye ; 
 and that's more than I would say for the chief, sin' the 
 time the Delawares broke up from the head-waters of their 
 river, and went west. Ah's me ! 'tis a grievous long time 
 t 'hat, and many dark days have we seen together sin' it." 
 
 " Hawk-eye ! " said Mohegan, rousing with the last glim- 
 mering of life. " Hawk-eye ! listen to the words of your 
 brother." 
 
 " Yes, John," said the hunter, in English, strongly ai> 
 fccted by the appeal, and drawing to his side ; " we hava 
 
THE PIONEERS. 391 
 
 been brothers ; and more so than it means in the Indian 
 tongue. What would ye have with me, Chingachgook ? " 
 
 u Hawk-eye ! my fathers call me to the happy hunting- 
 grounds. The path is clear, and the eyes of Mohegan grow 
 young. I look but I see no white-skins ; there are none to 
 be seen but just and brave Indians. Farewell, Hawk-eye 
 you shall go with the Fire-eater and the Young Eagle to 
 the white man's heaven ; but I go after my fathers. Let 
 the bow, and tomahawk, and pipe, and the wampum of 
 Mohegan be laid in his grave ; for when he starts 'twill be 
 in the night, like a warrior on a war-party, and he cannot 
 stop to seek them." 
 
 " What says he, Nathaniel ?" cried Mr. Grant, earnestly, 
 and with obvious anxiety ; " does he recall the promises of 
 the mediation ? and trust his salvation to the Rock of 
 Ages ? " 
 
 Although the faith of the hunter \vas by no means clear, 
 yet the fruits of early instruction had not entirely fallen in 
 the wilderness. He believed in one God, and one heaven ; 
 and when the strong feeling excited by the leave-taking of 
 his old companion, which was exhibited by the powerful 
 working of every muscle in his weather-beaten face, suf- 
 fered him to speak, he replied : 
 
 " No no he trusts only to the Great Spirit of the sav- 
 ages, and to his own good deeds. He thinks, like all his 
 people, that he is to be young ag'in, and to hunt, and be 
 happy to the end of etarnity. It's pretty much the same 
 with all colors, parson. I could never bring myself to 
 think, that I shall meet with these hounds, or my piece, in 
 another world ; though the thoughts of leaving them for- 
 ever sometimes brings hard feelings over me, and makes 
 me cling to life with a greater craving than beseems three- 
 score-and-ten." 
 
 " The Lord in his mercy avert such a death from one 
 who has. been sealed with the sign of the cross ! " cried the 
 minister, in holy fervor. John " 
 
 He paused for the elements. During the period occu- 
 pied by the events which we have related, the dark clouds 
 in the horizon had continued to increase in numbers and 
 multitude ; and the awful stillness that now pervaded the 
 air, announced a crisis in the state of the atmosphere. The 
 flames, which yet continued to rage along the sides of the 
 mountain, no longer whirled in uncertain currents of theif 
 own eddies, but blazed high and steadily toward the heavens 
 
392 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 There was even a quietude in the ravages of the destruo 
 tive element, as if it foresaw that a hand greater than even 
 its own desolating power, was about to stay its progress. 
 The piles of smoke which lay above the valley began to 
 rise, and were dispelling rapidly ; and streaks of livid light- 
 ning were dancing through the masses of clouds that im- 
 pended over the western hills. While Mr. Grant was speak- 
 ing, a flash, which sent its quivering light through the 
 gloom, laying bare the whole opposite horizon, was fol- 
 lowed by a loud crash of thunder, that rolled away among 
 the hills, seeming to shake the foundations of the earth to 
 their centre. Mohegan raised himself, as if in obedience 
 to a signal for his departure, and stretched his wasted arm 
 toward the west. His dark face lighted with a look of joy ; 
 which, with all other expressions, gradually disappeared ; 
 the muscles stiffening as they retreated to a state of rest ; 
 a slight convulsion played, for a single instant, about his 
 lips ; and his arm slowly dropped by his side ; leaving the 
 frame of the dead warrior reposing against the rock with 
 its glassy eyes open, and fixed on the distant hills, as if the 
 deserted shell were tracing the flight of the spirit to its new 
 abode. 
 
 All this Mr. Grant witnessed in silent awe ; but when 
 the last echoes of the thunder died away, he clasped his 
 hands together, with pious energy, and repeated, in the 
 full, rich tones of assured faith : 
 
 " O Lord ! how unsearchable are Thy judgments ; and 
 Thy ways past finding out! 'I know that my Redeemer 
 liveth, and that Fie shall stand at the latter day upon the 
 earth ; and though after my skin, worms destroy this body, 
 yet in my flesh shall I see God, whom I shall see for my- 
 self, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.' " 
 
 As the divine closed this burst of devotion, he bowed his 
 head meekly to his bosom, and looked all the dependence 
 and humility that the inspired language expressed. 
 
 When Mr. Grant retired from the body, the hunter ap- 
 proached, and taking the rigid hand of his friend, looked 
 him wistfully in the face for some time without speaking, 
 when he gave vent to his feelings by saying, in the mourn- 
 ful voice of one who felt deeply : 
 
 *' Red skin or white, it's all over now ! He's to be judged 
 by a righteous Judge, and by no laws that's made to suit 
 times, and new ways. Well, there's only one more death, 
 and the world will be left to me and the hounds. Ah's me I 
 
THE PIONEERS. 393 
 
 a man must wait the time of God's pleasure, but I begin to 
 weary of life. There is scarcely a tree standing that I know, 
 and it's hard to find a face that I was acquainted with in 
 ray younger days." 
 
 Large drops of rain now began to fall, and diffuse them- 
 selves over the dry rock, while the approach of the thunder 
 shower was rapid and certain. The body of the Indian was 
 hastily removed into the cave beneath, followed by the 
 whining hounds, who missed and moaned for the look of 
 intelligence that had always met their salutations to the 
 chief. 
 
 Edwards made some hasty and confused excuse for not 
 taking Elizabeth into the same place, which was now com- 
 pletely closed in front with logs and bark, saying some- 
 thing that she hardly understood about its darkness, and 
 the unpleasantness of being with the dead body. Miss 
 Temple, however, found a sufficient shelter against the 
 torrent of rain that fell, under the projection of a rock 
 which overhung them. But long before the shower was 
 over, the sounds of voices were heard below them crying 
 aloud for Elizabeth, and men soon appeared beating the 
 dying embers of the bushes, as they worked their way cau- 
 tiously among the unextinguished brands. 
 
 At the first short cessation in the rain, Oliver conducted 
 Elizabeth to the road, where he left her. Before parting, 
 however, he found time to say, in a fervent manner, that 
 his companion was now at no loss to interpret : 
 
 " The moment of concealment is over, Miss Temple. 
 By this time to-morrow, I shall remove a veil that per- 
 haps it has been weakness to keep around me and my af- 
 fairs so long. But I have had romantic and foolish wishes 
 and weakness ; and who has not, that is young and torn by 
 conflicting passions? God bless you! I hear your father's 
 voice ; he is coming up the road, and I would not, just 
 now, subject myself to detention. Thank Heaven, you are 
 safe again ; that alone removes the weight of a world from 
 my spirit ! " 
 
 He waited for no answer, but sprang into the woods. 
 Elizabeth, notwithstanding she heard the cries of her father 
 as he called upon her name, paused until he was concealed 
 among the smoking trees, when she turned, and fti a mo- 
 ment rushed into the arms of her half-distracted parent. 
 
 A carriage had been provided, into which Miss Temple 
 hastily entered ; when the cry was passed along the hill, 
 
394 x ^H E PIONEERS. 
 
 that the lost one was jound and the people returned to th<J 
 village wet and dirty, but elated with the thought that the 
 daughter of their landlord had escaped from so horrid and 
 untimely an end.* 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 "Selictar ! unsheathe then our chief's scimetar; 
 Tambourgi ! thy 'larum gives promise of war ; 
 Ye mountains ! that see us descend to the shore, 
 Shall view us as victors, or view us no more." BYRON. 
 
 THE heavy showers that prevailed during the remainder 
 of the day completely stopped the progress of the flames ; 
 though glimmering fires were observed during the night, 
 on different parts of the hill, wherever there was a collec- 
 tion of fuel to feed the element. The next day the woods 
 for many miles were black and smoking, and were stripped 
 of every vestige of brush and dead wood ; but the pines 
 and hemlocks still reared their heads proudly among the 
 hills, and even the smaller trees of the forest retained a 
 feeble appearance of life and vegetation. 
 
 The many tongues of rumor were busy in exaggerating 
 the miraculous escape of Elizabeth ; and a report was gen- 
 erally credited, that Mohegan had actually perished in the 
 flames. This belief became confirmed, and was indeed 
 rendered probable, when the direful intelligence reached 
 the village that Jotham Riddell, the miner, was found in 
 his hole, nearly dead with suffocation, and burnt to such a 
 degree that no hopes were entertained of his life. 
 
 The public attention became much alive to the events 
 of the last few days ; and, just at this crisis, the convicted 
 counterfeiters took the hint from Natty, and, on the night 
 succeeding the fire, found means to cut through their log 
 prison also, and to escape unpunished. When this news 
 
 * The probability of a fire in the woods similar to that here described 
 has been questioned. The writer can only say that he once witnessed a 
 fire in another part of New York that compelled a man to desert his wagon 
 and horses in the highway, and in which the latter were destroyed. In 
 order to estimate the probability of such an event, it is necessary to re- 
 member the effects of a long drought in that climate and the abundance of 
 dead wood which is found in a forest like that described. The fires in the 
 American forests frequently rage to such an extent as to produce a sensible 
 effect on the atmosphere at a distance of fifty miles. Houses, barns, and 
 fences are quite commonly swept away in their course. 
 
THE PIONEERS. 395 
 
 began to circulate through the village, blended with the 
 fate of Jotham, and the exaggerated and tortured reports 
 of the events on the hill, the popular opinion was freely 
 expressed, as to the propriety of seizing such of the fugi- 
 tives as remained within reach. Men talked of the cave as 
 a secret receptacle of guilt ; and, as the rumor of ores and 
 rnetals found its way into the confused medley of con- 
 jectures, counterfeiting, and everything else that was 
 wicked and dangerous to the peace of society, suggested 
 themselves to the busy fancies of the populace. 
 
 While the public mind was in this feverish state, it w r as 
 hinted that the wood had been set on fire by Edwards and 
 the Leather-Stocking, and that, consequently, they alone 
 were responsible for the damages. 1 his opinion soon 
 gained ground, being most circulated by those w r ho, by 
 their own heedlessness, had caused the evil ; and there was 
 one irresistible burst of the common sentiment that an at- 
 tempt should be made to punish the offenders. Richard 
 was by no means deaf to this appeal, and by noon he set 
 about in earnest to see the laws executed. 
 
 Several stout young men were selected, and taken apart 
 with an appearance of secrecy, where they received some 
 important charge from the sheriff, immediately under the 
 eyes, but far removed from the ears, of all in the village. 
 Possessed of a knowledge of their duty, these youths hur- 
 ried into the hills, with a bustling manner, as if the fate of 
 the world depended on their diligence, and, at the same 
 time, with an air of mystery as great as if they were en- 
 gaged on secret matters of the state. 
 
 At twelve precisely a drum beat the " long roll " before 
 the " Bold Dragoon," and Richard appeared, accompanied 
 by Captain Hollister, who was clad in his vestments as com- 
 mander of the " Templeton Light Infantry," when the 
 former demanded of the latter the aid of the posse comi- 
 tatus in enforcing the laws of the country. We have not 
 room to record the speeches of the two gentlemen on this 
 occasion, but they are preserved in the columns of the little 
 blue newspaper, which is yet to be found on the file, and 
 are said to be highly creditable to the legal formula of one 
 of the parties, and to the military precision of the other. 
 Everything had been previously arranged, and, as the red- 
 coated drummer continued to roll out his clattering notes, 
 some five-and-twenty privates appeared in the ranks, ancl 
 arranged themselves in the order of battle. 
 
396 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 As this corps was composed of volunteers, and was corn* 
 manded by a man who had passed the first five-and-thirty 
 years of his life in camps and garrisons, it was the non- 
 pareil of military science in that country, and was confi 
 dently pronounced by the judicious part of the Templeton 
 community, to be equal in skill and appearance to any 
 troops in the known world ; in physical. endowments they 
 were, certainly, much superior! To this assertion there 
 were but three dissenting voices, and one dissenting opin- 
 ion. The opinion belonged to Marmaduke, who, how- 
 ever, saw no necessity for its promulgation. Of the voices, 
 one, and that a pretty loud one, came from the spouse of 
 the commander himself, who frequently reproached her 
 husband for condescending to lead such an irregular band 
 of warriors, after he had filled the honorable station of 
 sergeant-major to a dashing corps of Virginia cavalry 
 through much of the recent war. 
 
 Another of these skeptical sentiments was invariably 
 expressed by Mr. Pump, whenever the company paraded, 
 generally in some such terms as these, which were uttered 
 with that sort of meekness that a native of the island of 
 our forefathers is apt to assume when he condescends to 
 praise the customs or character of her truant progeny : 
 
 " It's mayhap that they knows sum'mat about loading 
 and firing, d'ye see, but as for working ship ? why, a 
 corporal's guard of the Boadishey's marines would back 
 and fill on their quarters in such a manner as to surround 
 and captivate them all in half a glass." As there was no 
 one to deny this assertion, the marines of the Boadicea 
 were held in a corresponding degree of estimation. 
 
 The third unbeliever was Monsieur Le Quoi, who merely 
 whispered to the sheriff, that the corps was one of the 
 finest he had ever seen, second only-to the Mousquetaires 
 of Le Bon Louis! However, as Mrs. Hollister thought 
 there was something like actual service in the present ap- 
 pearances, and was, in consequence, too busily engaged 
 with certain preparations of her own, to make her com- 
 ments ; as Benjamin was absent, and Monsieur Le Quoi 
 too happy to find fault with anything, the corps escaped 
 criticism and comparison altogether on this momentous 
 day, when they certainly had greater need of self-confi- 
 dence than on any other previous occasion. Marmaduke 
 was said to be again closeted with Mr. Van der School, 
 and no interruption was offered to the movements of the 
 
THE PIONEERS. 397 
 
 troops. At two o'clock precisely the corps shouldered 
 arms, beginning on the right wing, next to the veteran, 
 and carrying the motion through to the left with great 
 regularity. When each musket was quietly fixed in its 
 proper situation, the order was given to wheel to the left, 
 and march. As this was bringing raw troops, at once, 
 to face their enemy, it is not to be supposed that the 
 manoeuvre was executed with their usual accuracy ; but 
 as the music struck up the inspiring air of Yankee-doodle, 
 and Richard, accompanied by Mr. Doolittle, preceded the 
 troops boldly down the street, Captain Hollister led on, 
 with his head elevated to forty-five degrees, with a little, 
 low cocked hat perched on his crown, carrying a tremen- 
 dous dragoon sabre at a poise, and trailing at his heels a 
 huge steel scabbard, that had war in its very clattering. 
 There was a good deal of difficulty in getting all the 
 platoons (there were six) to look the same way ; but, by 
 the time they reached the defile of the bridge, the troops 
 were in sufficiently compact order. In this manner they 
 marched up the hill to the summit of the mountain, no 
 other alteration taking place in the disposition of the 
 forces, excepting that a mutual complaint was made, by 
 the sheriff and the magistrate, of a failure in wind, which 
 gradually brought these gentlemen to the rear. It will be 
 unnecessary to detail the minute movements that suc- 
 ceeded. We shall briefly say, that the scouts came in and 
 reported, that, so far from retreating, as had been antici- 
 pated, the fugitives had evidently gained a knowledge of 
 the attack, and were fortifying for a desperate resistance. 
 This intelligence certainly made a material change, not 
 only in the plans of the leaders, but in the countenances 
 of the soldiery also. The men looked at one another with 
 serious faces, and Hiram and Richard began to consult 
 together, apart. 
 
 At this conjuncture, they were joined by Billy Kirby, 
 who came along the highway, with his axe under his arm, 
 as much in advance of his team as Captain Hollister had 
 been of his troops in the ascent. The wood-chopper was 
 amazed at the military array, but the sheriff eagerly availed 
 himself of this powerful reinforcement, and commanded 
 his assistance in putting the laws in force. Billy held Mr. 
 Jones in too much deference to object ; and it was finally 
 arranged that he should be the bearer of a summons to 
 the garrison to surrender before they proceeded to ex- 
 
398 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 tremities. The troops now divided, one party being led 
 by the captain, over the Vision, and were brought in on 
 the left of the cave, while the remainder advanced upon 
 its right, under the orders of the lieutenant. Mr. Jones 
 and Dr. Todd for the surgeon was in attendance also 
 appeared on the platform of rock, immediately over the 
 heads of the garrison, though out of their sight. Hiram 
 thought this approaching too near, and he therefore ac- 
 companied Kirby along the side of the hill, to within a 
 safe distance of the fortifications, where he took shelter 
 behind a tree. Most of the men discovered great accuracy 
 of eye in bringing some object in range between them 
 and their enemy, and the only two of the besiegers, who 
 were left in plain sight of the besieged, were Captain Hoi- 
 lister on one side, and the wood-chopper on the other. 
 The veteran stood up boldly to the front, supporting his 
 heavy sword in one undeviating position, with his eye 
 fixed firmly on his enemy, while the huge form of Billy 
 was placed in that kind of quiet repose, with either hand 
 thrust into his bosom, bearing his axe under his right arm, 
 which permitted him, like his own oxen, to rest standing. 
 So far, not a word had been exchanged between the bellig- 
 erents. The besieged had drawny;ogether a pile of black 
 logs and branches of trees, which they had formed into a 
 chevaux-de-frise, making a little circular abatis in front of 
 the entrance to the cave. As the ground was steep and 
 slippery in every direction around the place, and Benja- 
 min appeared behind the works on one side, and Natty on 
 the other, the arrangement was by no means contemptible, 
 especially as the front was sufficiently guarded by the dif- 
 ficulty of the approach. By this time, Kirby had received 
 his orders, and he advanced coolly along the mountain, 
 picking his way with the same indifference as if he were 
 pursuing his ordinary business. When he was within a 
 hundred feet of the works, the long and much-dreaded rifle 
 of the Leather-Stocking was seen issuing from the para- 
 pet, and his voice cried aloud : 
 
 " Keep off ! Billy Kirby, keep off ! I wish ye no harm ; 
 but if a man of ye all comes a step nigher, there'll be 
 blood spilt atwixt us. God forgive the one that draws it 
 first, but so it must be." 
 
 "Come, old chap," said Billy, good-naturedly, " don't 
 be crabb'd, but hear what a man has got to say. I've no 
 consarn in the business, only to see right 'twixt man and 
 
THE PIONEERS. 
 
 399 
 
 man ; and I don't kear the valie of a beetle-ring which 
 gets the better ; but there's Squire Doolittle, yonder be- 
 hind the beech sapling, he has invited me to come in and 
 ask you to give up to the law that's all." 
 
 " I see the varmint ! I see his clothes ! " cried the indig- 
 nant Natty ' "and if he'll only show so much flesh as will 
 bury a rifle bullet, thirty to the pound, I'll make him fee) 
 me. Go away, Billy, I bid ye : you know my aim, and I 
 bear you no malice." 
 
 " You over-calculate your aim, Natty," said the other, 
 as he stepped behind a pine that stood near him ! " if you 
 you think to shoot a man through a tree with a three foot 
 butt. I can lay this tree right across you in ten minutes, 
 by any man's watch, and in less time, too ; so be civil I 
 want no more than what's right." 
 
 There was a simple seriousness in the countenance of 
 Natty, that showed he was much in earnest ; but it was 
 also evident that he was reluctant to shed human blood. 
 Be answered the taunt of the wood-chopper, by saying : 
 
 " I know you drop a tree where you will, Billy Kirby; 
 but if you show a hand, or an arm, in doing it, there'll be 
 bones to be set, and bicod to staunch. If it's only to get 
 into the cave that ye want, wait till a two hours' sun, and 
 you may enter it in welcon.e , but come in now you shall 
 not- There's one dead body aiready, lying on the cold 
 rocks, and there's another in which the life can hardly be 
 said to stay. If you will come in, thvi-e'll be dead without 
 as well as within." 
 
 The wood-chopper stepped out fearlessly trom his cover, 
 and cried : 
 
 " That's fair ; and what's fair is right. He tvants you to 
 stop till it's two hours to sundown ; and I see reason in the 
 thing. A man can give up when he's wrong, it you don't 
 crowd him too hard ; but you crowd a man, and he gets to 
 be like a stubborn ox the more you beat, the worse he 
 kicks." 
 
 The sturdy notions of independence maintained by Billy 
 neither suited the emergency nor the impatience of Mr. 
 Jones, who was burning with a desire to examine the hid- 
 den mysteries of the cave. He therefore interrupted this 
 amicable dialogue with his own voice : 
 
 " i command you, Nathaniel Bumppo, by my authority, 
 to surrender your person to the law," he cried. " And I 
 command you, gentlemen, to- aid me in performing my 
 
400- THE PIONEERS. 
 
 duty. Benjamin Penguillan, I arrest you, and order you 
 to follow me to the jail of the county, by virtue of this 
 warrant." 
 
 " I'd follow ye, Squire Dickens," said Benjamin, remov- 
 ing the pipe from his mouth (for during the whole scene 
 the ex-major-domo had been very composedly smoking); 
 " ay ! I'd sail in your wake, to the end of the world, if-so- 
 be that there was such a place, where there isn't, seeing 
 that it's round. Now mayhap, Master Hollister, having 
 lived all your life on shore, you isn't acquainted that the 
 world, d'ye see " 
 
 " Surrender ! " interrupted the veteran, in a voice that 
 startled his hearers, and which actually caused his own 
 forces to recoil several paces ; "surrender, Benjamin Pen- 
 gullum, or expect no quarter." 
 
 " Damn your quarter ! " said Benjamin, rising from the 
 log on which he was seated, and taking a squint along the 
 barrel of the swivel, which had been brought on the hill 
 during the night, and now formed the means of Gefence 
 on his side of the works. " Look you, master or captain, 
 ihof I questions if ye know the name of a rope, except 
 ihe one that's to hang ye, there's no need of singing out, as 
 if ye was hailing a deaf man on a top-gallant yard. Mayhap 
 you think you've got my true name in your sheep-skin ; 
 but what British sailor finds it worth while to sail in these 
 seas, without a sham on his stern, in case of need, d'ye see. 
 If you call me Penguillan, you calls me by the name of the 
 man on whose land, d'ye see, I hove into daylight ; and 
 he was a gentleman ; and that's more than my worst enemy 
 will say of any of the family of Benjamin Stubbs." 
 
 " Send the warrant round to me, and I'll put in an alias," 
 cried Hiram, from behind his cover. 
 
 " Put in a jackass, and you'll put in yourself, Mister Doo- 
 but-little," shouted Benjamin, who kept squinting along 
 his little iron tube, with great steadiness. 
 
 " I give you but one moment to yield," cried Richard. 
 " Benjamin ! Benjamin ! this is not the gratitude I expected 
 from you." 
 
 " I tell you, Richard Jones," said Natty, who dreaded the 
 sheriff's influence over his comrade ; " though the canistef 
 the gal brought be lost, there's powder enough in the cave 
 to lift the rock you stand on. I'll take off my roof if you 
 don't hold your peace." 
 
 "I think it beneath the dignity of my office to parley 
 
THE PIONEERS. 4 ot 
 
 further with the prisoners," the sheriff observed to his com- 
 panion, while they both re-tired with a precipitancy that 
 Captain Hollister mistook for the signal to advance. 
 "Charge baggonet ! " shouted the veteran ; " march ! " 
 Although this signal was certainly expected, it took the 
 assailed a little by surprise, and the veteran approached 
 the works, crying, " Courage, my brave lads ! give them no 
 quarter unless they surrender ;" and struck a furious blow 
 upward with his sabre, that would have divided the 
 steward into moieties, by subjecting him to the process of 
 decapitation, but for the fortunate interference of the muz- 
 zle of the swivel. As it was, the gun was dismounted at 
 the critical moment that Benjamin was applying his pipe 
 to the priming, and in consequence some five or six dozen 
 of rifle bullets were projected into the air, in nearly a per- 
 pendicular line. Philosophy teaches us that the atmos- 
 phere will not retain lead ; and two pounds of the metal, 
 molded into bullets of thirty to the pound, after describing 
 an ellipsis in their journey, returned to the earth rattling 
 among the branches of the trees directly over the heads of 
 the troops stationed in the rear of their captain. Much of 
 the success of an attack, made by irregular soldiers, de- 
 pends on the direction in which they are first got in motion. 
 In the present instance it was retrograde, and in less than 
 a minute after the bellowing report of the swivel among 
 the rocks and caverns, the whole weight of the attack from 
 the left rested on the prowess of the single arm of the vet- 
 eran. Benjamin received a severe contusion from the re- 
 coil of his gun, which produced a short stupor, during 
 which period the ex-steward was prostrate on the ground. 
 Captain Hollister availed himself of this circumstance to 
 scramble over the breastwork and obtain a footing in the 
 bastion for such was the nature of the fortress, as con- 
 nected with the cave. The moment the veteran found 
 himself within the works of his enemy, he rushed to the 
 edge of the fortification, and, waving his sabre over his headj 
 shouted : 
 
 " Victory ! come on, my brave boys, the work's our own ! '* 
 All this was perfectly military, and was such an example 
 as a gallant officer w T as in some measure bound to exhibit 
 to his men ; but the outcry was the unlucky cause of turn- 
 ing the tide of success. Natty, who had been keeping a 
 vigilant eye on the wood-chopper, and the enemy immedi- 
 ately before him, wheeled at this alarm, and was appalled 
 26 
 
402 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 at beholding his comrade on the ground, and the veteran 
 standing on his own bulwark, giving forth the cry of vic- 
 tory ! The muzzle of the long rifle was turned instantly 
 toward the captain. There was a moment when the life of 
 the old soldier was in great jeopardy ; but the object to 
 shoot at was both too large and too near for the Leather- 
 Stocking, who, instead of pulling his trigger, applied the 
 gun to the rear of his enemy, and by a powerful shove sent 
 him outside of the works with much greater rapidity than 
 he had entered them. The spot on which Captain Hollister 
 alighted was directly in front, where, as his feet touched 
 the ground, so steep and slippery was the side of the 
 mountain, it seemed to recede from under them. His 
 motion was swift, and so irregular as utterly to confuse the 
 faculties of the old soldier. During its continuance, he 
 supposed himself to be mounted, and charging through 
 the ranks of his enemy. At every tree he made a blow, of 
 course, as at a foot-soldier ; and just as he was making the 
 cut " St. George " at a half-burnt sapling he landed in the 
 highway, and, to his utter amazement, at the feet of his 
 own spouse. When Mrs Hollister, who was toiling up 
 the hill, followed by at least twenty curious boys, leaning 
 with one hand on the staff with which she ordinarily 
 walked, and bearing in the other an empty bag, witnessed 
 this exploit of her husband, indignation immediately got 
 the better, not only of her religion, but of her philosophy. 
 
 "Why, sargeant! is it flying ye are ?" she cried "that 
 I should live to see a husband of mine turn his back to an 
 inimy ! and such a one ! Here I have been telling the b'ys, 
 as we come along, all about the saige of Yorrektown, and 
 how ye was hurted ; and how ye'd be acting the same ag'in 
 the day ; and I mate ye retraiting jist as the first gun is 
 fired. Och ! I may trow away the bag ! for if there's plunder, 
 'twill not be the wife of sich as yerself that will be privileged 
 to be getting the same. They do say, too, there is a power of 
 goold and silver in the place the Lord forgive me for set- 
 ting my heart on worrldly things ; but what falls in the bat- 
 tle, there's scripter for believing, is the just property of 
 the victor." 
 
 " Retreating ! " exclaimed the amazed veteran ; " where's 
 my horse ? he has been shot under me I " 
 
 " Is the man mad?" interrupted his wife "devil the 
 horse do ye own, sargeant, and ye're nothing but a shabby 
 captain of malaishy. Oh ! If the ra'al captain was here, 'tis 
 
THE PIONEERS. 403 
 
 the other way ye'd be riding, dear, or you would not follow 
 your laider ! " 
 
 While this worthy couple were thus discussing events, 
 the battle began to rage more violently than ever above 
 them. When Leather-Stocking saw his enemy fairly under 
 headway, as Benjamin would express it, he gave his atten- 
 tion to the right wing of the assailants. It would have 
 been easy for Kirby, with his powerful frame, to have seized 
 Ihe moment to scale the bastion, and, with his great strength, 
 to have sent both of its defenders in pursuit of the veteran ; 
 but hostility, appeared to be the passion that the wood- 
 chopper indulged the least in at that moment, for, in a voice 
 that was heard by the retreating left wing, he shouted : 
 
 " Hurra ! well done, captain ! keep it up ! how he 
 handles his bush-hook ! he makes nothing of a sapling ! " 
 and such other encouraging exclamations to the flying vet' 
 eran, until, overcome by mirth, the good-natured fellow 
 seated himself -on the ground, kicking the earth with de- 
 light, and giving vent to peal after peal of laughter. 
 
 Natty stood all this time in a menancing attitude, with his 
 rifle pointed over the breastwork, watching with a quick 
 and cautious eye the least movement of the assailants. The 
 outcry unfortunately tempted the ungovernable curiosity 
 of Hiram to take a peep from behind his cover at the state 
 of the battle. Though this evolution was performed with 
 great caution, in protecting his front, he left, like many a 
 better commander, his rear exposed to the attacks of his 
 enemy. Mr. Doolittle belonged physically to a class of his 
 countrymen, to whom Nature has denied, in their forma- 
 tion, the use of curved lines. Everything about him was 
 either straight or angular. But his tailor was a woman 
 who worked, like a regimental contractor, by a set of rules 
 that gave the same configuration to the whole human spe- 
 cies. Consequently, when Mr. Doolittle leaned forward in 
 the manner described, a loose drapery appeared behind the 
 tree, at which the rifle of Natty \vas pointed with the quick- 
 ness of lightning. A less experienced man would have 
 aimed at the flowing robe, which hung like a festoon half- 
 way to the earth ; but the Leather-Stocking knew both the 
 man and his female tailor better ; and when the smart report 
 of the rifle was heard, Kirby, w r ho watched the whole ma. 
 nceuvre in breathless expectation, saw the bark fly from 
 the beech, and the cloth, at some distance above the loose 
 folds, wave at the same instant. No battery was ever un- 
 
404 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 masked with mo re promptitude than Hiram advanced from 
 behind the tree at this summons. 
 
 He made two or three steps, with great precision, to the 
 front, and, placing one hand on the afflicted part, stretched 
 forth the other, with a menancing air toward Natty, and 
 cried aloud : 
 
 " Gawl darn ye ! this sha'n't be settled so easy ; I'll 
 follow it up from the 'common pleas' to the 'court of 
 errors.' ' 
 
 Such a shocking imprecation, from the mouth of so 
 orderly a man as Squire Doolittle, with the fearless man- 
 ner in which- he exposed himself, together with, perhaps, 
 the knowledge that Natty's rifle was unloaded, encouraged 
 the troops in the rear, who gave a loud shout, and fired a 
 volley into the tree-tops, after the contents of the swivel. 
 Animated by their own noise, the men now rushed on in 
 earnest ; and Billy Kirby, who thought the joke, good as 
 it was, had gone far enough, was in the act of scaling the 
 works, when Judge Temple appeared on the opposite side, 
 exclaiming: 
 
 " Silence and peace! why do I see murder and blood- 
 shed attempted ? is not the law sufficient to protect itself, 
 that armed bands must be gathered, as in rebellion and 
 war, to see justice performed ?" 
 
 " Tis the posse comitatus," shouted the sheriif, from a 
 distant rock, "who " 
 
 " Say rather a posse of demons. I command the peace." 
 
 " Hold ! shed not blood ! " cried a voice from the top of 
 the Vision. " Hold, for the sake of Heaven, fire no more ! 
 all shall be yielded ! you shall enter the cave ! " 
 
 Amazement produced the desired effect. Natty, who 
 had reloaded his piece, quietly seated himself on the logs, 
 and rested his head on his hands, while the " Light In- 
 fantry " ceased their military movements, and waited the 
 Issue in suspense. 
 
 In less than a minute Edwards came rushing down the 
 hill, followed by Major Hartman, with a velocity that was 
 surprising for his years. They reached the terrace in an 
 instant, from which the youth led the way, by the hollow 
 in the rock, to the mouth of the cave, into which they both 
 entered, leaving all without silent, and gazing after them 
 with astonishment*. 
 
THE PfOKEERS. 405 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 " I am dumb. 
 Were you the doctor, and I knew you not? " 
 
 SHAKESPEARE. 
 
 DURING the five or six minutes that elapsed before the 
 youth and Major reappeared, Judge Temple and the 
 sheriff, together with most of the volunteers, ascended to 
 the terrace, where the latter began to express their con- 
 jectures of the result, and to recount their individual 
 services in the conflict. But the sight of the peace-makers 
 ascending the ravine shut every mouth. 
 
 On a rude chair, covered with undressed deer-skins, they 
 supported a human being, whom they seated carefully and 
 respectfully in the midst of the assembly. His head was 
 covered by long, smooth locks of the color of snow. His 
 dress, which was studiously neat and clean, was composed 
 of such fabrics as none but the wealthiest classes wear, but 
 was threadbare and patched ; and on his feet were placed 
 a pair of moccasins, ornamented in the best manner of 
 Indian ingenuity. The outlines of his face were grave and 
 dignified, though his vacant eye, which opened and turned 
 slowly to the faces of those around him in unmeaning 
 looks, too surely announced that the period had arrived 
 when age brings the mental imbecility of childhood. 
 
 Natty had followed the supporters of this unexpected 
 object to the top of the cave, and took his station at a little 
 distance behind him, leaning on his rifle, in the midst of 
 his pursuers, with a fearlessness that showed that heavier 
 interests than those which affected himself were to be de- 
 cided. Major Hartmann placed himself beside the aged 
 man, uncovered, with his whole soul beaming through 
 those eyes which so commonly danced with frolic and hu- 
 mor. Edwards rested with one hand familiarly but affec- 
 tionately on the chair, though his heart was swelling with 
 emotions that denied him utterance. 
 
 All eyes were gazing intently, but each tongue continued 
 mute. At length the decrepit stranger, turning his vacant 
 looks from face to face, made a feeble attempt to rise, while 
 a faint smile crossed his wasted face, like an habitual effort 
 at courtesy, as he said, in a hollow, tremulous voice : 
 
 " Be pleased to be seated, gentlemen. The council wiU 
 
40 6 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 open immediately. Each one who loves a good and virtu- 
 ous king will wish to see these colonies continue loyal. 
 Be seated I pray you, be seated, gentlemen. The troops 
 sliau halt for the night." 
 
 " This is the wandering of insanity ! " said Marmaduke : 
 "who will explain this scene ?" 
 
 " No, sir," said Edwards, firmly, " 'tis only the decay of 
 nature ; who is answerable for its pitiful condition, remains 
 to be shown." 
 
 " Will the gentlemen dine with us, my son ?" said the 
 old stranger, turning to a voice that he both knew and 
 loved. " Order a repast suitable for his Majesty's officers. 
 You know we have the best of game always at command." 
 
 "Who is this man?" asked Marmaduke, in a hurried 
 voice, in whiqh the dawnings of conjecture united with in- 
 terest to put the question. 
 
 " This man," returned Edwards, calmly, his voice, how- 
 ever, gradually rising as he proceeded; "this man, sir, 
 whom you behold hid in caverns, and deprived of every- 
 thing that can make life desirable, was once the companion 
 and counsellor of those who ruled your country. This 
 man, whom you see helpless and feeble, was once a war- 
 rior, so brave and fearless, that even the intrepid natives 
 gave him the name of the Fire-eater. This man, whom 
 you now see destitute of even the ordinary comfort of a 
 cabin, in which to shelter his head, was once the owner of 
 great riches and, Judge Temple, he was the rightful pro- 
 prietor of this very soil on which we stand. This man was 
 the father of " 
 
 " This, then," cried Marmaduke, with a powerful emo- 
 tion, " this, then, is the lost Major Effingham !" 
 
 " Lost indeed," said the youth, fixing a piercing eye on 
 the other. 
 
 " And you ! and you ! " continued the Judge, articulat> 
 ng with difficulty. 
 
 " I am his grandson." 
 
 A minute passed in profound silence. All eyes weie 
 fixed on the speakers, and even the old German appeared 
 to wait the issue in deep anxiety. But the moment of agi- 
 tation soon passed. Marmaduke raised his head from his 
 bosom, where it had sunk, not in shame, but in devout 
 mental thanksgivings, and, as large tears fell over his fine, 
 manly face, he grasped the hand of the youth warmly, and 
 said : 
 
THE PIONEERS. 407 
 
 " Oliver, I forgive all thy harshness all thy suspicions. 
 I now see it all. I forgive thee everything, but suffering 
 this aged man to dwell in such a place, when not only my 
 habitation, but my fortune, were at his and thy command." 
 
 " He's true as ter steel ! " shouted Major Hartmann ; 
 '* titn't I tell you, lat, dat Marmatuke Temple vast a friend 
 dat woult never fail in ter dime as of neet ? " 
 
 " It is true, Judge Temple, that my opinions of your 
 conduct have been staggered by what this worthy gentle- 
 man has told me. When I found it impossible to convey 
 my grandfather back whence the enduring love of this old 
 man brought him, without detection and exposure, I went 
 to the Mohawk in quest of one of his former comrades, in 
 whose justice I had dependence. He is your friend, Judge 
 Temple, but, if what he says be true, both my father and 
 myself may have judged you harshly." 
 
 "You name your father! " said Marmaduke, tenderly 
 " was he, indeed, lost in the packet ?" 
 
 u He was. He had left me, after several years of fruit- 
 less application and comparative poverty, in Nova Scotia, 
 to obtain the compensation for his losses which the British 
 commissioners had at length awarded. After spending a 
 year in England, he was returning to Halifax, on his way 
 to a government to which he had been appointed, in the 
 West Indies, intending to go to the place where my grand- 
 father had sojourned during and since the war, and take him 
 with us." 
 
 " But thou ! " said Marmaduke, with powerful interest , 
 " I ha*d thought that thou hadst perished with him." 
 
 A flush passed over the cheeks of the young man, who 
 gazed about him at the wondering faces of the volunteers, 
 and continued silent. Marmaduke turned to the veteran 
 captain, who just then rejoined his command, and said : 
 
 " March thy soldiers back again, and dismiss them ; the 
 zeal of the sheriff has much mistaken his duty. Dr. Todd, 
 I will thank you to attend to the injury which Hiram Doo- 
 little has received in this untoward affair. R chard, you 
 will oblige me by sending up the carriage to the top of the 
 hill Benjamin, return to your duty in my family." 
 
 Unwelcome as these orders were to most of the auditors, 
 the suspicion that they had somewhat exceeded the whole- 
 some restraints of the law, and the habitual respect with 
 which all the commands of the Judge were received, in- 
 duced a prompt compliance. 
 
408 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 When they were gone, and the rock was left to the 
 parties most interested in an explanation, Marmaduke, 
 pointing to the aged Major Effingham, said to his grandson: 
 
 " Had we not better remove thy parent from this open 
 place until my carriage can arrive ? " 
 
 " Pardon me, sir, the air does him good, and he has taken 
 it whenever there was no dread of a discovery. I know not 
 how to act, Judge Temple ; ought I, can I suffer Majoi 
 Effingham to become an inmate of your family ? " 
 
 "Thou shalt be thyself the judge," said Marmaduke. 
 " Thy father was my early friend. He intrusted his for- 
 tune to my care. When we separated he had such com- 
 fidence in me that he wished no security, no evidence of 
 the trust, even had there been time or convenience for 
 exacting it. This thou hast heard ?" 
 
 " Most truly, sir," said Edwards, or rather Effingham, 
 as we must now call him. 
 
 " We differed in politics. If the cause of this country 
 was successful, the trust was sacred with me, for none 
 knew of thy father's interest. If the crown still held its 
 sway, it would be easy to restore the property of so loyai 
 a subject as Colonel Effingham. Is not this plain ?" 
 
 "The premises are good, sir," continued the youth, with 
 the same incredulous look as before. 
 
 " Listen listen, poy," said the German. " Dere is not 
 a hair as of ter rogue in ter het of Herr Tchooge." 
 
 "We all know the issue of the struggle," continued 
 Marmaduke, disregarding both. "Thy grandfather was 
 left in Connecticut, regularly supplied by thy father with 
 the means of such a subsistence as suited his wants. This 
 I well knew, though I never had intercourse with him, 
 even in our happiest days. Thy father retired with the 
 troops to prosecute his claims on England. At all events, 
 his losses must be great, for his real estates were sold, and 
 I became the lawful purchaser. It was not unnatural to 
 wish that he might have no bar to its just recovery.'' 
 
 "'There was none, but the difficulty of providing foi so 
 many claimants." 
 
 " But there would have been one, and an insuperable 
 one, and I announced to the world that I held these es- 
 tates, multiplied, by the times and my industry, a hundred- 
 fold in value, only as his trustee. Thou knowest that I 
 supplied him with considerable sums, immediately after* 
 the war." 
 
THE PIONEERS. 409 
 
 "You did, until- 
 
 " My letters were returned unopened. Thy father had 
 much of thy own spirit, Oliver ; he was sometimes hasty 
 and rash." The Judge continued, in a self-condemning 
 manner : " Perhaps my fault lies the other way : I may 
 possibly look too far ahead, and calculate too deeply. It 
 certainly was a severe trial to allow the man whom I most 
 loved, to think ill of me for seven years, in order that he 
 might honestly apply for his just remunerations. But, had 
 he opened my last letters, thou wouldst have learned the 
 whole truth. ' Those I sent him to England, by what my 
 agent writes me, he did read. He died, Oliver, knowing all. 
 He died, my friend, and I thought thou hadst died with him." 
 
 " Our poverty would not permit us to pay for two pas- 
 sages," said the youth, with the extraordinary emotion with 
 which he ever alluded to the degraded state of his family ; 
 " I was left in the Province to wait for his return, and, 
 when the sad news of his loss reached me, I was nearly 
 penniless." 
 
 "And what didst thou, boy?" asked Marmaduke in a 
 faltering voice. 
 
 " I took my passage here in search of my grandfather ; 
 for I well knew that his resources were gone, with the half- 
 pay of my father. On reaching his abode, I learned that 
 he had left it in secret ; though the reluctant hireling, who 
 had deserted him in his poverty, owned to my urgent en- 
 treaties, that he believed he had been carried away by an 
 old man who had formerly been his servant. I knew at 
 once it was Natty, for my father often " 
 
 "Was Natty a servant of thy grandfather ?" exclaimed 
 the Judge. 
 
 " Of that too were you ignorant ? " said the youth in 
 evident surprise. 
 
 " How should I know it ? I never met the major, nor 
 was the name of Bumppo ever mentioned to me. I knew 
 him only as a man of the w r oods, and one who lived by hunt- 
 ing. Such men are too common to excite surprise." 
 
 " He was reared in the family of my grandfather ; served 
 him for many years during their campaigns at the West, 
 where he became attached to the woods ; and he was left 
 here as a kind of locum tenenson the lands that old Mohegan 
 (whose life my grandfather once saved) induced the Dela* 
 wares to grant to him when they admitted him as an hon 
 orary member of their tribe." 
 
410 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 "This, then, is thy Indian blood?" 
 
 "I have no other," said Edwards, smiling "Majot 
 Effingham was adopted as the son of Mohegan, who a*, 
 that time was the greatest man in his nation ; and my 
 father, who visited those people when a boy, received the 
 name of the Eagle from them, on account of the shape of 
 his face, as I understand. They have extended his title to 
 /me. I have no other Indian blood or breeding ; though I 
 have seen the hour, Judge Temple, when I could wish 
 that such had been my lineage and education." 
 
 "Proceed with thy tale," said Marmaduke. 
 
 " I have but little more to say, sir. I followed to the 
 lake where I had so often been told that Natty dwelt, and 
 found him maintaining his old master in secret ; for even 
 he could not bear to exhibit to the world, in his poverty 
 and dotage, a man whom a whole people once looked up 
 to with respect." 
 
 " And what did you ? " 
 
 " What did I ! I spent my last money in purchasing a 
 rifle, clad myself in a coarse garb, and learned to be a 
 hunter by the side of Leather-Stocking. You know the 
 rest, Judge Temple." 
 
 " Ant vere vast old Fritz Hartmann ?" said the German, 
 reproachfully ; " didst never hear a name as of olt Fritz 
 Hartmann from ter mout of ter fader, lat ? " 
 
 " I may have been mistaken, gentlemen," returned the 
 youth ; " but I had pride, and could not submit to such an 
 exposure as this day even has reluctantly brought to light. 
 I had plans that might have been visionary ; but, should 
 my parent survive till autumn, I purposed taking him with 
 me to the city, where we have distant relatives, who must 
 have learned to forget the Tory by this time. He decays 
 rapidly," he continued, mournfully, "and must soon lie by 
 the side of old Mohegan." 
 
 The air being pure, and the day fine, the party con- 
 tinued conversing on the rock, until the wheels of Judge 
 Temple's carriage were heard clattering up the side of the 
 mountain, during which time the conversation was main- 
 tained with deep interest, each moment clearing up some 
 doubtful action, and lessening the antipathy of the youth 
 to Marmaduke. He no longer objected to the removal of 
 his grandfather, w r ho displayed a childish pleasure when he 
 found himself seated once more in a carriage. When 
 placed in the a,mple hall of the mansion-house, the eyes oi 
 
THE PIONEERS. 411 
 
 the aged veteran turned slowly to the objects in the apart- 
 ment, and a look like the dawn of intellect would, for 
 moments, flit across his features, when he invariably 
 offered some useless courtesies to those near him, wander- 
 ing painfully in his subjects. The exercise and the change 
 soon produced an exhaustion that caused them to remove 
 him to his bed, where he lay for hours, evidently sensible 
 of the change in his comforts, and exhibiting that mortify- 
 ing picture of human nature, which too plainly shows that 
 the propensities of the animal continue even after the 
 nobler part of the creature appears to have vanished. 
 
 Until his parent was placed comfortably in bed, with 
 Natty seated at his side, Effingham did not quit him. 
 He then obeyed a summons to the library of the Judge, 
 where he found the latter, with Major Hartmann, waiting 
 for him. 
 
 " Read this paper, Oliver," said Marmaduke to him, as 
 he entered, " and thou w y ilt find that, so far from intending 
 thy family wrong during life, it has been my care to see 
 that justice should be done at even a later day." 
 
 The youth took the paper, which his first glance told 
 him was the will of the Judge. Hurried and agitated as 
 he w r as, he discovered that the date corresponded with the 
 time of the unusual depression of Marmaduke. As he 
 proceeded, his eyes began to moisten, and the hand which 
 held the instrument shook violently. 
 
 The will commenced with the usual forms, spun out by 
 the ingenuity of Mr. Van Der School ; but, after this sub- 
 ject was fairly exhausted, the pen of Marmaduke became 
 plainly visible. In clear, distinct, . manly, and even elo- 
 quent language, he recounted his obligations to Colonel 
 Effingham, the nature of their connection, and the circum- 
 stances in which they separated. He then proceeded to 
 relate the motives of his silence, mentioning, however, 
 large sums that he had forwarded to his friend, which had 
 been returned with the letters unopened. After this, he 
 spoke of his search for the grandfather who unaccount- 
 ably disappeared, and his fears that the direct heir -of the 
 trust was buried in the ocean with his father. 
 
 After, in short, recounting in a clear narrative, the events 
 which our readers must now be able to connect, he pro- 
 ceeded to make a fair and exact statement of the sums left 
 in his care by Colonel Effingham. A devise of his whole 
 estate to certain responsible trustees followed ; to hold the 
 
412 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 same for the benefit, in equal moieties, of his daughter, 
 on one part, and of Oliver Effingham, formerly a major in 
 the army of Great Britain, and of his son Edward Effing- 
 ham, and of his son Edward Oliver Effingham, or to the 
 survivor of them, and the descendants of such survivor, for- 
 ever, on the other part. The trust was to endure until 1810, 
 when, if no person appeared, or could be found, after 
 sufficient notice to claim the moiety so devised, then a cer- 
 tain sum, calculating the principal and interest of his debt 
 to Colonel Effingham, was to be paid to the heirs-at-law 
 of the Effingham family, and the bulk of his estate was to 
 be conveyed in fee to his daughter, or her heirs. 
 
 The tears fell from the eyes of the young man, as he 
 read this undeniable testimony of the good faith of Marma- 
 duke, and his bewildered gaze was still fastened on the 
 paper, when a voice, that thrilled on every nerve, spoke 
 near him, saying : 
 
 " Do you yet doubt us, Oliver ? " 
 
 "I have never doubted you /" cried the youth, recover- 
 ing his recollection and his voice, as he sprang to seize the 
 hand of Elizabeth ; " no, not one moment has my faith in 
 you wavered." 
 
 "And my father -" 
 
 " God bless him ! " 
 
 " I thank thee, my son," said the Judge, exchanging a 
 warm pressure of the hand with the youth ; " but we have 
 both erred : thou hast been too hasty, and I have been too 
 slow. One-half cf my estates shall be thine as soon as they 
 can be conveyed to thee ; and, if what my suspicions tell 
 me be true, I suppose the other must follow speedily." He 
 took the hand which he held, and united it with that of 
 his daughter, and motioned toward' the door to the major. 
 
 " I telt you vat, gal ! " said the old German, good-hu- 
 moredly.; "if I vast as I vast ven I servit mit his grand- 
 fader on ter lakes, ter lazy tog shouldn't vin ter prize as 
 for nottinV 
 
 "Come, come, old Fritz," said the Judge; "you are 
 seventy, not seventeen ; Richard waits for you with a bowl 
 of eggnog, in the hall." 
 
 " Richart ! ter duyvel ! " exclaimed the other, hastening 
 out of the room ; " he makes ter nog ast for ter horse. I 
 vilt show ter sheriff mit my own hants ! Ter duyvel ! I 
 pelieve he sweetens mit ter Yankee melasses ! " 
 
 Marmaduke smiled and nodded affectionately at the young 
 
THE PIONEERS. 413 
 
 couple, and closed the door after them. If any of our 
 readers expect that we are going to open it again, for their 
 gratification, they are mistaken. 
 
 The tete-a-tete continued for a very unreasonable time 
 how long we shall not say ; but it was ended by six o'clock 
 in the evening, for at that hour Monsieur Le Quoi made 
 his appearance agreeably to the appointment of the preced- 
 ing day, and claimed the ear of Miss Temple. He was ad- 
 mitted ; when he made an offer of his hand, with much 
 suavity, together with his " amis beeg and leet', his pere, 
 his mere, and his sucreboosh." Elizabeth might, possibly, 
 have previously entered into some embarrassing and bind- 
 ing engagements with Oliver, for she declined the tender 
 of all, in terms as polite, though perhaps a little more de- 
 cided, than those in which they were made. 
 
 The Frenchman soon joined the German and the sheriff 
 in the hall, who compelled him to take a seat with them at 
 the table, where, by the aid of punch, wine, and eggnog, 
 they soon extracted from the complaisant Monsieur Le 
 Quoi the nature of his visit. It was evident that he had 
 made the offer, as a duty which a well-bred man owed to a 
 lady in such a retired place, before he had left the country, 
 and that his feelings were but very little, if at all, interested 
 in the matter. After a few potations, the waggish pair 
 persuaded the exhilarated Frenchman that there was an 
 inexcusable partiality in offering to one lady, and not ex- 
 tending a similar courtesy to another. Consequently, about 
 nine, Monsieur Le Quoi sallied forth to the rectory, on a 
 similar mission to Miss Grant, which proved as successful 
 as his first effort in love. 
 
 When he returned to the mansion-house, at ten, Richard 
 and the major were still seated at the table. They at^ 
 tempted to persuade the Gaul, as the sheriff called him, that 
 he should next try Remarkable Pettibone. But, though 
 stimulated by mental excitement and wine, two hours of 
 abstruse logic were thrown away on this subject ; for he 
 declined their advice, with a pertinacity truly astonishing 
 in so polite a man. 
 
 When Benjamin lighted Monsieur Le Quoi from the 
 door, he said, at parting : 
 
 " If-so-be, Mounsheer, you'd run alongside Mistress 
 Pettybones, as the Squire Dickens was bidding ye, 'tis my 
 notion you'd have been grappled ; in which case, d'ye see, 
 you mought have been troubled in swinging clear ag'in in 
 
4H *'**& PIONEERS. 
 
 a handsome manner ; for thof Miss 'Lizzy and the parson'? 
 young 'un be tidy little vessels, that shoot by a body on a 
 wind, Mistress Remarkable is sum'matof a galliot fashion ; 
 when you once takes 'em in tow, they doesn't like to be 
 cast off ag'in." 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 " Yes, sweep ye on ! We will not leave, 
 For them who triumph those who grieve. 
 
 With that armada gay 
 Be laughter loud, and jocund shout 
 But with that skiff 
 Abides the minstrel tale." LORD OF THE ISLES. 
 
 The events of our tale carry us through the summer ; 
 and after making nearly the circle of the year, we must 
 conclude our labors in the delightful month of October. 
 Many important incidents had, however, occurred in the 
 intervening period ; a few of which it may be necessary to 
 recount. 
 
 The two principal were the marriage of Oliver and 
 Elizabeth, and the death of Major Effingham. They both 
 took place early in September ; and the former preceded 
 the latter only a few days. Tlie old man passed away like 
 the last glimmering of a taper ; and, though his death 
 cast a melancholy over the family, grief could not follow 
 such an end. 
 
 One of the chief concerns of Marmaduke was to recon- 
 cile the even conduct of a magistrate with the course that 
 his feelings dictated to the criminals. The day succeeding 
 the discovery at the cave, however, Natty and Benjamin 
 re-entered the jail peaceably, where they continued, well 
 fed and comfortable, until the return of an express to 
 Albany, who brought the governor's pardon to the Leather- 
 Stocking. In the mean time, proper means were em- 
 ployed to satisfy Hiram for the assaults on his person ; 
 and on the same day the two comrades issued together into 
 society again, with their characters not ^at all affected by 
 the imprisonment. 
 
 Mr. Doolittle began to discover that neither architecture 
 nor his law was quite suitable to the growing wealth and 
 intelligence of the settlement ; and after exacting the last 
 cent that was attainable in his compromise, to use the 
 
THE PIONEERS. 4t$ 
 
 language of the country, he "pulled up stakes," and pro- 
 ceded farther west, scattering his professional science and 
 legal learning through the land ; vestiges of both of which 
 are to be discovered there even to the present hour. 
 
 Poor Jotham, whose life paid the forfeiture of his folly, 
 acknowledged, before he died, that his reasons for believ- 
 ing in a m.ine were extracted from the lips of a sibyl, who, 
 by looking in a magic glass, was enabled to discover the 
 hidden treasures of the earth. Such superstition was 
 frequent in the new settlements ; and, after the first sur- 
 prise was over, the better part of the community forgot 
 the subject. But, at the same time that it removed from 
 the breast of Richard a lingering suspicion of the acts of 
 the three hunters, it conveyed a mortifying lesson to him, 
 which brought many quiet hours, in future, to his cousin 
 Marmaduke. It may be remembered that the sheriff con* 
 fidently pronounced this to be no " visionary " scheme, 
 and that word was enough to shut his lips, at any tim& 
 within the next ten years. 
 
 Monsieur Le Quoi, who has been introduced to our 
 readers because no picture of that country would be faith- 
 ful without some such character, found the island of Mar- 
 tinique, and his " sucreboosh," in possession of the English ; 
 but Marmaduke and his family were much gratified in 
 soon hearing that he had returned to his bureau, in Paris j 
 where he afterward issued yearly bulletins of his happi- 
 ness, and of his gratitude to his friends in America. 
 
 With this brief explanation, we must return to our 
 narrative, Let the American reader imagine one of our 
 mildest October mornings, when the sun seems a ball of 
 silvery fire, and the elasticity of the air is felt while it is 
 inhaled, imparting vigor and life to the whole system ; the 
 weather, neither too warm nor too cold, but of that happy 
 temperature which stirs the blood, without bringing the 
 lassitude of spring. It was on such a morning, about the 
 middle of the month, that Oliver entered the hall where 
 Elizabeth was issuing her usual orders for the day, and 
 requesting her to join him in a short excursion to the 
 lakeside. The tender melancholy in the manner of her 
 husband caught the attention of Elizabeth, who instantly 
 abandoned her concerns, threw a light shawl across her 
 shoulders, and, concealing her raven hair under a gypsy, 
 she took his arm, and submitted herself, without a ques- 
 tion, to his guidance. They crossed the bridge, and had 
 
416 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 turned from the highway, along the margin of the lake, 
 before a*word was exchanged. Elizabeth well knew, by 
 the direction, the object of the walk, and respected the 
 feelings of her companion too much to indulge in untimely 
 conversation. But when they gained the open fields, and 
 her eye roamed over the placid lake, covered with wild- 
 fowl already journeying from the great northern waters to 
 seek a warmer sun, but lingering to play in the limpid 
 sheet of the Otsego, and to the sides of the mountain, 
 which were gay with the thousand dyes of autumn, as if to 
 grace their bridal, the swelling heart of the young wife 
 burst out in speech. 
 
 "This is not a time for silence, Oliver!" she said, cling- 
 ing more fondly to his arm ; "everything in Nature seems 
 to speak the praises of the Creator ; why should we, who 
 have so much to be grateful for, be silent ? " 
 
 "Speak on !" said her husband, smiling ; "I love the 
 sounds of your voice. You must anticipate our errand 
 hither : I have told you my plans : how do you like 
 them ? " 
 
 "I must first see them," returned his Avife. "But I 
 have had my plans, too ; it is time I should begin to di- 
 vulge them." 
 
 * ' You ! It is something for the comfort of my old friend, 
 Natty, I know." 
 
 "Certainly of Natty ; but we have other friends besides 
 the Leather-Stocking to serve. Do you forget Louisa and 
 her father ? " 
 
 " No, surely ; have I not given one of the best farms in 
 the county to the good divine ? As for Louisa, I should 
 wish you to keep her always near us." 
 
 "You do!" said Elizabeth, slightly compressing her 
 lips ; " but poor Louisa may have other views for herself ; 
 she may wish to follow my example, and marry." 
 
 "I don't think it," said Effingham, musing a moment; 
 "I really don't know any one hereabouts good enough for 
 her." 
 
 " Perhaps not here, but there are other places besides 
 Templeton, and other churches besides ' New St. Paul's.' " 
 
 " Churches, Elizabeth ! you would not wish to lose Mr. 
 Grant, surely! Though simple, he is an excellent man. 
 I shall never find another who has half the veneration for 
 my orthodoxy. You would humble rxie from a saint to a 
 very common sinner." 
 
PIONEERS. 417 
 
 ' It must be crone, sir," returned the lady, with a half- 
 concealed smile, ' though it degrades you from an angel 
 to a man." 
 
 " But you forget the farm ?" 
 
 " He can lease it, as others do. Besides, would you 
 have a clergyman toil in the fields ? " 
 
 "Where can he go ? You forget Louisa." 
 
 " No, I do not forget Louisa," said Elizabeth, again 
 compressing her beautiful lips. " You know, Effingham, 
 that my father has told you that I ruled him, and that I 
 should rule you. I am now about to exert my power." 
 
 "Anything, anything, dear Elizabeth, but not at the ex- 
 pense of us all : not at the expense of your friend." 
 
 " How do you know, sir, that it will be so much at the 
 expense of my friend ?" said the lady, fixing her eyes with 
 a searching look on his countenance, where they met only 
 the unsuspecting expression of manly regret. 
 
 '* How do I know it ? why, it is natural that she should 
 regret us." 
 
 " It is our duty to struggle with our natural feelings," 
 returned the lady ; " and there is but little cause to fear 
 that such a spirit as Louisa's will not eft'ect it." 
 
 " But what is your plan ?" 
 
 " Listen, arid you shall know. My father has procured 
 a call for Mr. Grant, to one of the towns on the Hudson, 
 where he can live more at his ease than in journeying 
 through these woods ; where he can spend the evening of 
 his life in comfort and quiet ; and where his daughter 
 may meet with such society, and form such a connection, 
 as may be proper for one of her years and character." 
 
 "Bess! you amaze me! I did not think you had been 
 such a manager ! " 
 
 " Oh ! I manage more deeply than you imagine, sir," 
 said the wife, archly smiling again; "but it is my will ? 
 and it is your duty to submit for a time at least." 
 
 Effingham laughed ; but, as they approached the end of 
 their walk, the subject was changed by common con- 
 sent. 
 
 The place at which they arrived was the little spot of 
 level ground wheTe the cabin of the Leather-Stocking had 
 so long stood. Elizabeth found it entirely cleared of rub- 
 bish, and beautifully laid down in turf, by the removal of 
 sods, which, in common with the surrounding country, had 
 grown gay, under the influence of profuse showers, as if a 
 
 27 
 
4iS THE PIONEERS. 
 
 second spring had passed over the land. This little place 
 was surrounded by a circle of mason 4 work, and they en- 
 tered by a small gate, near which, to the surprise of both, 
 the rifle of Natty was leaning against the wall. Hector 
 and the slut reposed on the grass by its side, as if conscious 
 that, however altered, they were lying on the ground, and 
 were surrounded by objects with which they were familiar. 
 The hunter himself was stretched on the earth, before a 
 head-stone of white marble, pushing aside with his fingers 
 the long grass that had already sprung up from the luxu- 
 riant soil around its base, apparently to lay bare the in- 
 scription. By the side of this stone, which was a simple 
 slab at the head of a grave, stood a rich monument, dec- 
 orated with an urn, and ornamented with the chisel. 
 
 Oliver and Elizabeth approached the graves with a light 
 tread, unheard by the old hunter, whose sunburnt face was 
 working, and whose eyes twinkled as if something impeded 
 their vision. After some little time Natty raised himself 
 slowly from the ground, and said aloud : 
 
 ".Well, well I'm bold to say it's all right! There's 
 something that I suppose is reading ; but I can't make 
 anything of it ; though the pipe and the tomahawk, and 
 the moccasins, be pretty well pretty well, for a man that, 
 I dares to say, never seed 'ither of the things. Ah's me ! 
 there they lie, side by side, happy enough ! Who will 
 there be to put me in the 'arth when my time comes?" 
 
 "When that unfortunate hour arrives, Natty, friends 
 shall not be wanting to perform the last offices for you," 
 said Oliver, a little touched at the hunter's soliloquy. 
 
 The old man turned, without manifesting surprise, for 
 he had got the Indian habits in this particular, and, run- 
 ning his hand under the bottom of his nose, seemed to wipe 
 away his sorrow with the action. 
 
 " You've come out to see the graves, children, have ye ? " 
 he said ; " well, well, they're wholesome sights to young 
 as well as old." 
 
 *' I hope they are fitted to your liking," said Effingham ; 
 " no one has a better right than yourself to be consulted 
 in the matter." 
 
 "Why, seeing that I an't used to fine graves," re- 
 turned the old man, "it is but little matter consarning my 
 taste. Ye laid the major's head to the west, and Mohegan's 
 to the east, did ye, lad 7 " 
 
 " At your request it was done." 
 
THE PIONEERS. 419 
 
 "It's so best," said the hunter ; " they thought they had 
 to journey different ways, children ; though there is One 
 greater than all, who'll bring the just together, at His own 
 time, and who'll whiten the skin of a blackamoor, and place 
 him on a footing with princes." 
 
 " There is but little reason to doubt that," said Elizabeth, 
 whose decided tones were changed to a soft, melancholy 
 voice ; "I trust we shall all meet again, and be happy to- 
 gether." 
 
 " Shall we, child, hall we ? " exclaimed the hunter, with 
 unusual fervor, " there's comfort in that thought too. But 
 before I go, I should like to know what 'tis you tell these 
 people, that be flocking into the country like pigeons in 
 the spring, of the old Delaware, and of the bravest white 
 man that ever trod the hills." 
 
 Effmgham and Elizabeth were surprised at the manner 
 of the Leather-Stocking, which was unusually impressive 
 and solemn ; but, attributing it to the scene, the young 
 man turned to the monument, and read aloud : 
 
 " ' Sacred to the memory of Oliver Efifingham, Esquire, 
 formally a Major in his B. Majesty's 6oth Foot ; a soldier 
 of tried valor ; a subject of chivalrous loyalty ; and a man 
 of honesty. To these virtues he added the graces of a 
 Christian. The morning of his life was spent in honor, 
 wealth, and power ; but its evening was obscured by pov- 
 erty, neglect, and disease, which were alleviated only by 
 the tender care of his old, faithful, and upright friend and 
 attendant, Nathaniel Bumppo. His descendants rear this 
 stone to the virtues of the master, and to the enduring 
 gratitude of the servant.' " 
 
 The Leather-Stocking started at the sound of his own 
 name, and a smile of joy illuminated his wrinkled features, 
 as he said : 
 
 " And did ye say it, lad ? have you then got the old man's 
 name cut in the stone, by the side of his master's ? God 
 bless ye, children ! 'twas a kind thought, and kindness goes 
 to the heart as life shortens." 
 
 Elizabeth turned her back to the speakers. Effingham 
 made a fruitless effort before he succeeded in saying : 
 
 % " It is there cut in plain marble ; but it should have been 
 written in letters of gold ! " 
 
 " Show me the name, boy," said Natty, with simple eager- 
 ness ; "let me see my own name placed in such honor. 
 Tis a gin'rous gift to a man who leaves none of his name 
 
420 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 and family behind him in a country where he has tarried 
 so long." 
 
 Effingham guided his finger to the spot, and Natty fol- 
 lowed the windings of the letters to the end with deep in- 
 terest, when he raised himself from the tomb, and said : 
 
 " 1 suppose it's all right; and it's kindly thought, and 
 kindly done ! But what have ye put over the red-skin ? ' 
 
 " You shall hear : 
 
 " ' This stone is raised to the memory of an Indian Chief, 
 of the Delaware tribe, who was known by the several names 
 of John Mohegan ; Mohican ' " 
 
 " Mo-hee-can, lad, they call theirselves ! 'hecan." 
 
 " ' Mohican ; and Chingagook ' " 
 
 " 'Gach, boy ; 'gach-gook ; Chingachgook, which inter- 
 preted, means Big-sarpent. The name should be set down 
 right, for an Indian's name has always some meaning in it." 
 
 " I will see it altered. ' He was the last of his people who 
 continued to inhabit this country ; and it may be said of 
 him that his faults were those of an Indian, and his virtues 
 those of a man.' " 
 
 " You never said truer word, Mr. Oliver ; ah's me ! if 
 you had know'd him as I did, in his prime, in that very 
 battle where the old gentleman, who sleeps by his side, 
 saved his life, when them thieves, the Iroquois, had him at 
 the stake, you'd have said all that, and more too. I cut 
 the thongs with this very hand, and gave him my own 
 tomahawk and knife, seeing that the rifle was always my 
 fav'rite weapon. He did lay about him like a man ! I met 
 him as I was coming home from the trail, with eleven 
 Mingo scalps on his pole. You needn't shudder, Madam 
 Effingham, for they was all from shaved heads and war- 
 riors. When I look about me, at these hills, where I used 
 to could count sometimes twenty smokes, curling over the 
 tree-tops, from the Delaware camps, it raises mournful 
 thoughts, to think that not a red-skin is left of them all ; 
 unless it be a drunken vagabond from the Oneidas, or them 
 Yankee Indians, who, they say, be moving up from the sea- 
 shore ; and who belong to none of God's creatures, to my 
 seeming, being, as it were, neither fish nor flesh neithei 
 white man nor savage. Well, well ! the time has come at 
 last, and" I must go " 
 
 " Go ! " echoed Edwards, "whither do you go ?" 
 
 The Leather-Stocking, who had imbibed, unconsciously, 
 many of the Indian qualities, though he always thought 
 
THE PIONEERS. 421 
 
 of himself as of a civilized being, compared with e\en the 
 Dehuvares, averted his face to conceal the workings of his 
 muscles, as he stooped to lift a large pack from behind the 
 tomb, which he placed deliberately on his shoulders. 
 
 " Go !" exclaimed Elizabeth, approaching him with a 
 hurried step ; " you should not venture so far in the woods 
 alone, at your time of life, Natty ; indeed, it is imprudent. 
 He is bent, Effingham, on some distant hunting." 
 
 " What Mrs. Effingham tells you is true, Leather-Stock- 
 ing," said Edwards ; " there can be no necessity for your 
 submitting to such hardships now. So throw aside your 
 pack, and confine your hunt to the mountains near us, if 
 you will go." 
 
 " Hardship ! 'tis a pleasure, children, and the greatest 
 that is left me on this side the grave." 
 
 " No, no ; you shall not go to such a distance," cried 
 Elizabeth, laying her white hand on his deerskin pack 
 " I am right ! I feel his camp-kettle, and a canister of 
 powder ! He must not be suffered to wander so far from us, 
 Oliver ; remember how suddenly Mohegan dropped away." 
 
 " I know'd the parting would come hard, children I 
 know'd it would ! " said Natty, " and so I got aside to look 
 at the graves by myself, and thought if I left ye the keep- 
 sake which the major gave me, when we first parted in the 
 woods, ye wouldn't take it unkind, but would know that, 
 let the old man's body go where it might, his feelings 
 stayed behind him." 
 
 " This means something more than common," exclaimed 
 the youth. " Where is it Natty, that you purpose going ?" 
 
 The hunter drew nigh him with a confident, reasoning 
 air, as if what he had to say would silence all objections, 
 and replied : 
 
 " Why, lad, they tell me that on the Big-lakes there's 
 the best of hunting, and a great range, without a white 
 man on it, unless it may be one like myself. I'm weary 
 of living in clearings, and where the hammer is sounding 
 in my ears from sunrise to sundown. And though I'm 
 much bound to ye both, children I wouldn't say it if it 
 was not true I crave to go into the woods ag'in I do." 
 
 " Woods ! " echoed Elizabeth, trembling with her feel- 
 ings ; " do you not call these endless forest woods ? " 
 
 " Ah ! child, these be nothing to a man that's used to 
 the wilderness. I have took but little comfort sin' your 
 father come on with his settlers ; but I wouldn't go far, 
 
422 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 while the life was in the body that lies under the sod there. 
 But now he's gone, and Chingachgook is gone ; and you 
 be both young and happy. Yes ! the big house has rung 
 with merriment this month past ! And now, I thought, 
 was the time to get a little comfort in the close of my 
 days. Woods ! indeed ! I doesn't call these woods, Madam 
 Effingham, where I lose myself every day of my life in the 
 clearings." 
 
 "If there be anything wanting to your comfort, name it, 
 Leather-Stocking ; if it be attainable it is yours." 
 
 11 You mean all for the best, lad, I know ; and so does 
 madam, too ; but your ways isn't my ways. 'Tis like the 
 dead there, who thought, when the breath was in them, 
 that one went east, and one went west, to find their heavens ; 
 but they'll meet at last, and so shall we, children. Yes, ind 
 as you've begun, and we shall meet in the land of the just 
 at last." 
 
 " This is so new ! so unexpected ! " said Elizabeth, in 
 almost breathless excitement ; " I had thought you meant 
 to live with us and die with us, Natty." 
 
 " Words are of no avail," exclaimed her husband : " the 
 habits of forty years are not to be dispossessed by the ties 
 of a day. I know you too well to urge you further, Natty ; 
 unless you will let me build you a hut on one of the dis- 
 tant hills, where we can sometimes see you, and know that 
 you are comfortable." 
 
 " Don't fear for the Leather-Stocking, children ; God 
 will see that his days be provided for, and his ind happy. 
 I know you mean all for the best, but our ways doesn't 
 agree. I love the woods, and ye relish the face of man ; I 
 eat when hungry, and drink when a-dry; and ye keep stated 
 hours and rules ; nay, nay, you even over-feed the dogs, 
 lad, from pure kindness ; and hounds should be gaunty to 
 run well. The meanest of God's creatures be made for some 
 use, and I'm formed for the wilderness. If ye love me, let 1 
 me go where my soul craves to be ag'in !" 
 
 The appeal was decisive ; and not another word of en- 
 treaty for him to remain was then uttered ; but Elizabeth 
 bent her head to her bosom and wept, while her husband 
 clashed away the tears from his eyes ; and, with hands that 
 almost refused to perform their office, he produced his 
 pocket-book, and extended a parcel of bank-notes to the 
 hunter. 
 
 " Take these," he said, " at least take these ; secure them 
 
THE PIONEERS. 423 
 
 about your person, and in the hour of need they will do 
 you good service." 
 
 The old man took the notes, and examined them with a 
 curious eye. 
 
 " This, then, is some of the new-fashioned money that 
 they've been making at Albany, out of paper ! it can't be 
 worth much to they that hasn't larning ! No, no, lad take 
 back the stuff ; it will do me no sarvice. I took kear to get 
 all the Frenchman's powder afore he broke up, and they say 
 lead grows where I'm going. It isn't even fit for wads, see- 
 ing that I use none but leather ! Madam Effingham, let an 
 old man kiss your hand, and wish God's choicest blessings 
 on you and your'n." 
 
 " Once more let me beseech you, stay ! " cried Elizabeth. 
 " Do not, Leather-Stocking, leave me to grieve for the man 
 who has twice rescued mo from death, and who has served 
 those I love so faithfully. For my sake, if not for your 
 own, stay. I shall see you in those frightful dreams that 
 still haunt my nights, dying in poverty and age, by the side 
 of those terrific beasts you slew. There will be no evil, 
 that sickness, want, and solitude can inflict, that my fancy 
 will not conjure as your fate. Stay with us, old man, if 
 not for your own sake, at least for ours." 
 
 " Such thoughts and bitter dreams, Madam Effingham," 
 returned the hunter, solemnly, "will never haunt an inno- 
 cent parson long. They'll pass away with God's pleasure. 
 And if the cat-a-mounts be yet brought to your eyes in 
 sleep, 'tis not for my sake, but to show you the power of 
 Him that led me there to save you. Trust in God, madam, 
 and your honorable husband, and the thoughts for an old 
 man like me can never be long nor bitter. I pray that the 
 Lord will keep you in mind the Lord that lives in clear- 
 ings as well as in the wilderness and bless you, and all 
 that belong to you, from this time till the great day when 
 the whites shall meet the red-skins in judgment, and jus- 
 tice shall be the law, and not power." 
 
 Elizabeth raised her head, and offered her colorless cheek 
 to his salute, when he lifted his cap and touched it respect- 
 fully. His hand was grasped with convulsive fervor by 
 the youth, who continued silent. The hunter prepared 
 himself for his journey, drawing his belt tighter* and wast- 
 ing his moments in the little reluctant movements of a 
 sorrowful departure. Once or twice he assayed to speak, 
 but a rising in his throat prevented it. At length he 
 
424 THE PIONEERS. 
 
 shouldered his rifle, and cried with a clear huntsman's call 
 that echoed through the woods : 
 
 "He-e-e-re, he-e-e-re, pups away, dogs, away ! ye'll be 
 footsore afore ye see the end of the journey ! " 
 
 The hounds leaped from the earth at this cry, and scent- 
 ing around the grave and silent pair, as if conscious of 
 their own destination, they followed humbly at the heels 
 of their master. A short pause succeeded, during which 
 even the youth concealed his face on his grandfather's 
 tomb. When the pride of manhood, however, had sup- 
 pressed the feelings of nature, he turned to renew his en- 
 treaties, but saw that the cemetery was occupied only by 
 himself and his wife. 
 
 " He is gone ! " cried Effingham. 
 
 Elizabeth raised her face, and saw the old hunter stand- 
 ing looking back for a moment, on the verge of the wood. 
 As he caught their glances, he drew his hard hand hastily 
 across his eyes again, waved it on high for an adieu, and, 
 uttering a forced cry to his dogs, who were crouching at 
 his feet, he entered the forest. 
 
 This was the last they ever saw of the Leather-Stocking, 
 whose rapid movements preceded the pursuit which Judge 
 Temple both ordered and conducted. He had gone far 
 toward the setting sun the foremost in that band of pio- 
 neers who are opening the way for the march of the na- 
 tion across ihe continent. 
 
 THE END. 
 
NRLF 
 
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