The Prairie (Fiscle Part 3) Of 2 - J Fenimore Cooper (books to improve english TXT) 📗

Spot. Mahtoree Received His Prisoners With Great Self-Restraint,

Though A Single Gleam Of Fierce Joy Broke Through His Clouded Brow,

And The Heart Of Middleton Grew Cold As He Caught The Expression Of

That Eye,  Which The Chief Turned On The Nearly Insensible But Still

Lovely Inez.

 

The Exultation Of Receiving The White Captives Was So Great,  As For A

Time To Throw The Dark And Immovable Form Of Their Young Indian

Companion Entirely Out Of View. He Stood Apart,  Disdaining To Turn An

Eye On His Enemies,  As Motionless As If He Were Frozen In That

Attitude Of Dignity And Composure. But When A Little Time Had Passed,

Even This Secondary Object Attracted The Attention Of The Tetons. Then

It Was That The Trapper First Learned,  By The Shout Of Triumph And The

Long Drawn Yell Of Delight,  Which Burst At Once From A Hundred

Throats,  As Well As By The Terrible Name,  Which Filled The Air,  That

His Youthful Friend Was No Other Than That Redoubtable And Hitherto

Invincible Warrior,  Hard-Heart.

Part 3 Chapter 25 Pg 77

            What,  Are Ancient Pistol And You Friends,  Yet?

                                                   --Shakspeare.

 

The Curtain Of Our Imperfect Drama Must Fall,  To Rise Upon Another

Scene. The Time Is Advanced Several Days,  During Which Very Material

Changes Had Occurred In The Situation Of The Actors. The Hour Is Noon,

And The Place An Elevated Plain,  That Rose,  At No Great Distance From

The Water,  Somewhat Abruptly From A Fertile Bottom,  Which Stretched

Along The Margin Of One Of The Numberless Water-Courses Of That

Region. The River Took Its Rise Near The Base Of The Rocky Mountains,

And,  After Washing A Vast Extent Of Plain,  It Mingled Its Waters With

A Still Larger Stream,  To Become Finally Lost In The Turbid Current Of

The Missouri.

 

The Landscape Was Changed Materially For The Better; Though The Hand,

Which Had Impressed So Much Of The Desert On The Surrounding Region,

Had Laid A Portion Of Its Power On This Spot. The Appearance Of

Vegetation Was,  However,  Less Discouraging Than In The More Sterile

Wastes Of The Rolling Prairies. Clusters Of Trees Were Scattered In

Greater Profusion,  And A Long Outline Of Ragged Forest Marked The

Northern Boundary Of The View. Here And There,  On The Bottom,  Were To

Be Seen The Evidences Of A Hasty And Imperfect Culture Of Such

Indigenous Vegetables As Were Of A Quick Growth,  And Which Were Known

To Flourish,  Without The Aid Of Art,  In Deep And Alluvial Soils. On

The Very Edge Of What Might Be Called The Table-Land,  Were Pitched The

Hundred Lodges Of A Horde Of Wandering Siouxes. Their Light Tenements

Were Arranged Without The Least Attention To Order. Proximity To The

Water Seemed To Be The Only Consideration Which Had Been Consulted In

Their Disposition,  Nor Had Even This Important Convenience Been Always

Regarded. While Most Of The Lodges Stood Along The Brow Of The Plain,

Many Were To Be Seen At Greater Distances,  Occupying Such Places As

Had First Pleased The Capricious Eyes Of Their Untutored Owners. The

Encampment Was Not Military,  Nor In The Slightest Degree Protected

From Surprise By Its Position Or Defences. It Was Open On Every Side,

And On Every Side As Accessible As Any Other Point In Those Wastes,  If

The Imperfect And Natural Obstruction Offered By The River Be

Excepted. In Short,  The Place Bore The Appearance Of Having Been

Tenanted Longer Than Its Occupants Had Originally Intended,  While It

Was Not Wanting In The Signs Of Readiness For A Hasty,  Or Even A

Compelled Departure.

 

This Was The Temporary Encampment Of That Portion Of His People,  Who

Had Long Been Hunting Under The Direction Of Mahtoree,  On Those

Grounds Which Separated The Stationary Abodes Of His Nation,  From

Those Of The Warlike Tribes Of The Pawnees. The Lodges Were Tents Of

Skin,  High,  Conical,  And Of The Most Simple And Primitive

Construction. The Shield,  The Quiver,  The Lance And The Bow Of Its

Master,  Were To Be Seen Suspended From A Light Post Before The

Opening,  Or Door,  Of Each Habitation. The Different Domestic

Implements Of His One,  Two,  Or Three Wives,  As The Brave Was Of

Greater Or Lesser Renown,  Were Carelessly Thrown At Its Side,  And Here

And There The Round,  Full,  Patient Countenance Of An Infant Might Be

Found Peeping From Its Comfortless Wrappers Of Bark,  As,  Suspended By

A Deer-Skin Thong From The Same Post,  It Rocked In The Passing Air.

Children Of A Larger Growth Were Tumbling Over Each Other In Piles,

The Males,  Even At That Early Age,  Making Themselves Distinguished For

That Species Of Domination Which,  In After Life,  Was To Mark The Vast

Distinction Between The Sexes. Youths Were In The Bottom,  Essaying

Part 3 Chapter 25 Pg 78

Their Juvenile Powers In Curbing The Wild Steeds Of Their Fathers,

While Here And There A Truant Girl Was To Be Seen,  Stealing From Her

Labours To Admire Their Fierce And Impatient Daring.

 

Thus Far The Picture Was The Daily Exhibition Of An Encampment

Confident In Its Security. But Immediately In Front Of The Lodges Was

A Gathering,  That Seemed To Forbode Some Movements Of More Than Usual

Interest. A Few Of The Withered And Remorseless Crones Of The Band

Were Clustering Together,  In Readiness To Lend Their Fell Voices,  If

Needed,  To Aid In Exciting Their Descendants To An Exhibition,  Which

Their Depraved Tastes Coveted,  As The Luxurious Roman Dame Witnessed

The Struggles And The Agony Of The Gladiator. The Men Were Subdivided

Into Groups,  Assorted According To The Deeds And Reputations Of The

Several Individuals Of Whom They Were Composed.

 

They,  Who Were Of That Equivocal Age Which Admitted Them To The Hunts,

While Their Discretion Was Still Too Doubtful To Permit Them To Be

Trusted On The War-Path,  Hung Around The Skirts Of The Whole,

Catching,  From The Fierce Models Before Them,  That Gravity Of

Demeanour And Restraint Of Manner,  Which In Time Was To Become So

Deeply Ingrafted In Their Own Characters. A Few Of The Still Older

Class,  And Who Had Heard The Whoop In Anger,  Were A Little More

Presuming,  Pressing Nigher To The Chiefs,  Though Far From Presuming To

Mingle In Their Councils,  Sufficiently Distinguished By Being

Permitted To Catch The Wisdom Which Fell From Lips So Venerated. The

Ordinary Warriors Of The Band Were Still Less Diffident,  Not

Hesitating To Mingle Among The Chiefs Of Lesser Note,  Though Far From

Assuming The Right To Dispute The Sentiments Of Any Established Brave,

Or To Call In Question The Prudence Of Measures,  That Were Recommended

By The More Gifted Counsellors Of The Nation.

 

Among The Chiefs Themselves There Was A Singular Compound Of Exterior.

They Were Divided Into Two Classes; Those Who Were Mainly Indebted For

Their Influence To Physical Causes,  And To Deeds In Arms,  And Those

Who Had Become Distinguished Rather For Their Wisdom Than For Their

Services In The Field. The Former Was By Far The Most Numerous And The

Most Important Class. They Were Men Of Stature And Mien,  Whose Stern

Countenances Were Often Rendered Doubly Imposing By Those Evidences Of

Their Valour,  Which Had Been Roughly Traced On Their Lineaments By The

Hands Of Their Enemies. That Class,  Which Had Gained Its Influence By

A Moral Ascendency Was Extremely Limited. They Were Uniformly To Be

Distinguished By The Quick And Lively Expression Of Their Eyes,  By The

Air Of Distrust That Marked Their Movements,  And Occasionally By The

Vehemence Of Their Utterance In Those Sudden Outbreakings Of The Mind,

By Which Their Present Consultations Were,  From Time To Time,

Distinguished.

 

In The Very Centre Of A Ring,  Formed By These Chosen Counsellors,  Was

To Be Seen The Person Of The Disquieted,  But Seemingly Calm,  Mahtoree.

There Was A Conjunction Of All The Several Qualities Of The Others In

His Person And Character. Mind As Well As Matter Had Contributed To

Establish His Authority. His Scars Were As Numerous And Deep As Those

Of The Whitest Head In His Nation; His Limbs Were In Their Greatest

Vigour; His Courage At Its Fullest Height. Endowed With This Rare

Part 3 Chapter 25 Pg 79

Combination Of Moral And Physical Influence,  The Keenest Eye In All

That Assembly Was Wont To Lower Before His Threatening Glance. Courage

And Cunning Had Established His Ascendency,  And It Had Been Rendered,

In Some Degree,  Sacred By Time. He Knew So Well How To Unite The

Powers Of Reason And Force,  That In A State Of Society,  Which Admitted

Of A Greater Display Of His Energies,  The Teton Would In All

Probability Have Been Both A Conqueror And A Despot.

 

A Little Apart From The Gathering Of The Band,  Was To Be Seen A Set Of

Beings Of An Entirely Different Origin. Taller And Far More Muscular

In Their Persons,  The Lingering Vestiges Of Their Saxon And Norman

Ancestry Were Yet To Be Found Beneath The Swarthy Complexions,  Which

Had Been Bestowed By An American Sun. It Would Have Been A Curious

Investigation,  For One Skilled In Such An Enquiry,  To Have Traced

Those Points Of Difference,  By Which The Offspring Of The Most Western

European Was Still To Be Distinguished From The Descendant Of The Most

Remote Asiatic,  Now That The Two,  In The Revolutions Of The World,

Were Approximating In Their Habits,  Their Residence,  And Not A Little

In Their Characters. The Group,  Of Whom We Write,  Was Composed Of The

Family Of The Squatter. They Stood Indolent,  Lounging,  And Inert,  As

Usual When No Immediate Demand Was Made On Their Dormant Energies,

Clustered In Front Of Some Four Or Five Habitations Of Skin,  For Which

They Were Indebted To The Hospitality Of Their Teton Allies. The Terms

Of Their Unexpected Confederation Were Sufficiently Explained,  By The

Presence Of The Horses And Domestic Cattle That Were Quietly Grazing

On The Bottom Beneath,  Under The Jealous Eyes Of The Spirited Hetty.

Their Wagons Were Drawn About The Lodges,  In A Sort Of Irregular

Barrier,  Which At Once Manifested That Their Confidence Was Not

Entirely Restored,  While,  On The Other Hand,  Their Policy Or Indolence

Prevented Any Very Positive Exhibition Of Distrust. There Was A

Singular Union Of Passive Enjoyment And Of Dull Curiosity Slumbering

In Every Dull Countenance,  As Each Of The Party Stood Leaning On His

Rifle,  Regarding The Movements Of The Sioux Conference. Still No Sign

Of Expectation Or Interest Escaped From The Youngest Among Them,  The

Whole Appearing To Emulate The Most Phlegmatic Of Their Savage Allies,

In An Exhibition Of Patience. They Rarely Spoke; And When They Did It

Was In Some Short And Contemptuous Remark,  Which Served To Put The

Physical Superiority Of