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

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Knife Would Be Of More Service,  Just Now,  Than The Longest Speech That

Was Ever Made In A Kentucky Court-House."

 

"Ay,  Court-Houses Are The 'Happy Hunting-Grounds,' As A Red-Skin Would

Say,  For Them That Are Born With Gifts No Better Than Such As Lie In

The Tongue. I Was Carried Into One Of The Lawless Holes Myself Once,

And It Was All About A Thing Of No More Value Than The Skin Of A Deer.

The Lord Forgive Them!--The Lord Forgive Them!--They Knew No Better,

And They Did According To Their Weak Judgments,  And Therefore The More

Are They To Be Pitied; And Yet It Was A Solemn Sight To See An Aged

Man,  Who Had Always Lived In The Air,  Laid Neck And Heels By The Law,

And Held Up As A Spectacle For The Women And Boys Of A Wasteful

Settlement To Point Their Fingers At!"

 

"If Such Be Your Opinions Of Confinement,  Honest Friend,  You Had

Better Manifest The Same,  By Putting Us At Liberty With As Little

Delay As Possible," Said Middleton,  Who,  Like His Companion,  Began To

Find The Tardiness Of His Often-Tried Companion Quite As Extraordinary

As It Was Disagreeable.

 

"I Should Greatly Like To Do The Same; Especially In Your Behalf,

Captain,  Who,  Being A Soldier,  Might Find Not Only Pleasure But Profit

In Examining,  More At Your Ease,  Into The Circumventions And Cunning

Of An Indian Fight. As To Our Friend,  Here,  It Is Of But Little

Matter,  How Much Of This Affair He Examines,  Or How Little,  Seeing

That A Bee Is Not To Be Overcome In The Same Manner As An Indian."

 

"Old Man,  This Trifling With Our Misery Is Inconsiderate,  To Give It A

Name No Harsher--"

 

"Ay,  Your Grand'ther Was Of A Hot And Hurrying Mind,  And One Must Not

Expect,  That The Young Of A Panther Will Crawl The 'Arth Like The

Litter Of A Porcupine. Now Keep You Both Silent,  And What I Say Shall

Have The Appearance Of Being Spoken Concerning The Movements That Are

Going On In The Bottom; All Of Which Will Serve To Put Jealousy To

Sleep,  And To Shut The Eyes Of Such As Rarely Close Them On Wickedness

And Cruelty. In The First Place,  Then,  You Must Know That I Have

Reason To Think Yonder Treacherous Teton Has Left An Order To Put Us

All To Death,  So Soon As He Thinks The Deed May Be Done Secretly,  And

Without Tumult."

 

"Great Heaven! Will You Suffer Us To Be Butchered Like Unresisting

Sheep?"

 

"Hist,  Captain,  Hist; A Hot Temper Is None Of The Best,  When Cunning

Is More Needed Than Blows. Ah,  The Pawnee Is A Noble Boy! It Would Do

Your Heart Good To See How He Draws Off From The River,  In Order To

Invite His Enemies To Cross; And Yet,  According To My Failing Sight,

They Count Two Warriors To His One! But As I Was Saying,  Little Good

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Comes Of Haste And Thoughtlessness. The Facts Are So Plain That Any

Child May See Into Their Wisdom. The Savages Are Of Many Minds As To

The Manner Of Our Treatment. Some Fear Us For Colour,  And Would Gladly

Let Us Go,  And Other Some Would Show Us The Mercy That The Doe

Receives From The Hungry Wolf. When Opposition Gets Fairly Into The

Councils Of A Tribe,  It Is Rarely That Humanity Is The Gainer. Now See

You These Wrinkled And Cruel-Minded Squaws--No,  You Cannot See Them As

You Lie,  But Nevertheless They Are Here,  Ready And Willing,  Like So

Many Raging She-Bears,  To Work Their Will Upon Us So Soon As The

Proper Time Shall Come."

 

"Harkee,  Old Gentleman Trapper," Interrupted Paul,  With A Little

Bitterness In His Manner; "Do You Tell Us These Matters For Our

Amusement,  Or For Your Own? If For Ours,  You May Keep Your Breath For

The Next Race You Run,  As I Am Tickled Nearly To Suffocation,  Already,

With My Part Of The Fun."

 

"Hist"--Said The Trapper,  Cutting With Great Dexterity And Rapidity

The Thong,  Which Bound One Of The Arms Of Paul To His Body,  And

Dropping His Knife At The Same Time Within Reach Of The Liberated

Hand. "Hist,  Boy,  Hist; That Was A Lucky Moment! The Yell From The

Bottom Drew The Eyes Of These Blood-Suckers In Another Quarter,  And So

Far We Are Safe. Now Make A Proper Use Of Your Advantages; But Be

Careful,  That What You Do,  Is Done Without Being Seen."

 

"Thank You For This Small Favour,  Old Deliberation," Muttered The Bee-

Hunter,  "Though It Comes Like A Snow In May,  Somewhat Out Of Season."

 

"Foolish Boy!" Reproachfully Exclaimed The Other,  Who Had Moved To A

Little Distance From His Friends,  And Appeared To Be Attentively

Regarding The Movements Of The Hostile Parties,  "Will You Never Learn

To Know The Wisdom Of Patience? And You,  Too,  Captain; Though A Man

Myself,  That Seldom Ruffles His Temper By Vain Feelings,  I See That

You Are Silent,  Because You Scorn To Ask Favours Any Longer From One

You Think Too Slow To Grant Them. No Doubt,  Ye Are Both Young,  And

Filled With The Pride Of Your Strength And Manhood,  And I Dare Say You

Thought It Only Needful To Cut The Thongs,  To Leave You Masters Of The

Ground. But He,  That Has Seen Much,  Is Apt To Think Much. Had I Run

Like A Bustling Woman To Have Given You Freedom,  These Hags Of The

Siouxes Would Have Seen The Same,  And Then Where Would You Both Have

Found Yourselves? Under The Tomahawk And The Knife,  Like Helpless And

Outcrying Children,  Though Gifted With The Size And Beards Of Men. Ask

Our Friend,  The Bee-Hunter,  In What Condition He Finds Himself To

Struggle With A Teton Boy,  After So Many Hours Of Bondage; Much Less

With A Dozen Merciless And Bloodthirsty Squaws!"

 

"Truly,  Old Trapper," Returned Paul,  Stretching His Limbs,  Which Were

By This Time Entirely Released,  And Endeavouring To Restore The

Suspended Circulation,  "You Have Some Judgmatical Notions In These

Matters. Now Here Am I,  Paul Hover,  A Man Who Will Give In To Few At

Wrestle Or Race,  Nearly As Helpless As The Day I Paid My First Visit

To The House Of Old Paul,  Who Is Dead And Gone,--The Lord Forgive Him

Any Little Blunders He May Have Made While He Tarried In Kentucky! Now

There Is My Foot On The Ground,  So Far As Eye-Sight Has Any Virtue,

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And Yet It Would Take No Great Temptation To Make Me Swear It Didn't

Touch The Earth By Six Inches. I Say,  Honest Friend,  Since You Have

Done So Much,  Have The Goodness To Keep These Damnable Squaws,  Of Whom

You Say So Many Interesting Things,  At A Little Distance,  Till I Have

Got The Blood Of This Arm In Motion,  And Am Ready To Receive Them."

 

The Trapper Made A Sign That He Perfectly Understood The Case; And He

Walked Towards The Superannuated Savage,  Who Began To Manifest An

Intention Of Commencing His Assigned Task,  Leaving The Bee-Hunter To

Recover The Use Of His Limbs As Well As He Could,  And To Put Middleton

In A Similar Situation To Defend Himself.

 

Mahtoree Had Not Mistaken His Man,  In Selecting The One He Did To

Execute His Bloody Purpose. He Had Chosen One Of Those Ruthless

Savages,  More Or Less Of Whom Are To Be Found In Every Tribe,  Who Had

Purchased A Certain Share Of Military Reputation,  By The Exhibition Of

A Hardihood That Found Its Impulses In An Innate Love Of Cruelty.

Contrary To The High And Chivalrous Sentiment,  Which Among The Indians

Of The Prairies Renders It A Deed Of Even Greater Merit To Bear Off

The Trophy Of Victory From A Fallen Foe,  Than To Slay Him,  He Had Been

Remarkable For Preferring The Pleasure Of Destroying Life,  To The

Glory Of Striking The Dead. While The More Self-Devoted And Ambitious

Braves Were Intent On Personal Honour,  He Had Always Been Seen,

Established Behind Some Favourable Cover,  Depriving The Wounded Of

Hope,  By Finishing That Which A More Gallant Warrior Had Begun. In All

The Cruelties Of The Tribe He Had Ever Been Foremost; And No Sioux Was

So Uniformly Found On The Side Of Merciless Councils.

 

He Had Awaited,  With An Impatience Which His Long Practised Restraint

Could With Difficulty Subdue,  For The Moment To Arrive When He Might

Proceed To Execute The Wishes Of The Great Chief,  Without Whose

Approbation And Powerful Protection He Would Not Have Dared To

Undertake A Step,  That Had So Many Opposers In The Nation. But Events

Had Been Hastening To An Issue,  Between The Hostile Parties; And The

Time Had Now Arrived,  Greatly To His Secret And Malignant Joy,  When He

Was Free To Act His Will.

 

The Trapper Found Him Distributing Knives To The Ferocious Hags,  Who

Received The Presents Chanting A Low Monotonous Song,  That Recalled

The Losses Of Their People,  In Various Conflicts With The Whites,  And

Which Extolled The Pleasures And Glory Of Revenge. The Appearance Of

Such A Group Was Enough Of Itself To Have Deterred One,  Less

Accustomed To Such Sights Than The Old Man,  From Trusting Himself

Within The Circle Of Their Wild And Repulsive Rites.

 

Each Of The Crones,  As She Received The Weapon,  Commenced A Slow And

Measured,  But Ungainly,  Step,  Around The Savage,  Until The Whole Were

Circling Him In A Sort Of Magic Dance. The Movements Were Timed,  In

Some Degree,  By The Words Of Their Songs,  As Were Their Gestures By

The Ideas. When They Spoke Of Their Own Losses,  They Tossed Their Long

Straight Locks Of Grey Into The Air,  Or Suffered Them To Fall In

Confusion Upon Their Withered Necks; But As The Sweetness Of Returning

Blow For Blow Was Touched Upon,  By Any Among Them,  It Was Answered By

A Common Howl,  As Well As By Gestures,  That Were Sufficiently

Part 3 Chapter 29 Pg 126

Expressive Of The Manner In Which They Were Exciting Themselves To The

Necessary State Of Fury.

 

Into The Very Centre Of This Ring Of Seeming Demons,  The Trapper Now

Stalked,  With The Same Calmness And Observation As He Would Have

Walked Into A Village Church. No Other Change Was Made By His

Appearance,  Than A Renewal Of The Threatening Gestures,  With,  If

Possible,  A Still Less Equivocal Display Of Their Remorseless

Intentions. Making A Sign For Them To Cease,  The Old Man Demanded--

 

"Why Do The Mothers Of The Tetons Sing With Bitter Tongues? The Pawnee

Prisoners Are Not Yet In Their Village;