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

Who Daily Sees The Power Of

The Great Spirit,  Should Be More Humble. A Dahcotah Chieftain Ought To

Be Too Wise To Laugh At Justice."

 

The Crafty Mahtoree,  Who Saw That His Free-Thinking Was Not Likely To

Produce A Favourable Impression On The Old Man,  Instantly Changed His

Ground,  By Alluding To The More Immediate Subject Of Their Interview.

Laying His Hand Gently On The Shoulder Of The Trapper,  He Led Him

Forward,  Until They Both Stood Within Fifty Feet Of The Margin Of The

Thicket. Here He Fastened His Penetrating Eyes On The Other's Honest

Countenance,  And Continued The Discourse--

 

"If My Father Has Hid His Young Men In The Bush,  Let Him Tell Them To

Come Forth. You See That A Dahcotah Is Not Afraid. Mahtoree Is A Great

Chief! A Warrior,  Whose Head Is White,  And Who Is About To Go To The

Land Of Spirits,  Cannot Have A Tongue With Two Ends,  Like A Serpent."

 

"Dahcotah,  I Have Told No Lie. Since The Great Spirit Made Me A Man,  I

Have Lived In The Wilderness,  Or On These Naked Plains,  Without Lodge

Or Family. I Am A Hunter And Go On My Path Alone."

 

"My Father Has A Good Carabine. Let Him Point It In The Bush And

Fire."

 

The Old Man Hesitated A Moment,  And Then Slowly Prepared Himself To

Give This Delicate Assurance Of The Truth Of What He Said,  Without

Which He Plainly Perceived The Suspicions Of His Crafty Companion

Could Not Be Lulled. As He Lowered His Rifle,  His Eye,  Although

Greatly Dimmed And Weakened By Age,  Ran Over The Confused Collection

Of Objects,  That Lay Embedded Amid The Party-Coloured Foliage Of The

Thicket,  Until It Succeeded In Catching A Glimpse Of The Brown

Covering Of The Stem Of A Small Tree. With This Object In View,  He

Raised The Piece To A Level And Fired. The Bullet Had No Sooner Glided

From The Barrel Than A Tremor Seized The Hands Of The Trapper,  Which,

Had It Occurred A Moment Sooner,  Would Have Utterly Disqualified Him

For So Hazardous An Experiment. A Frightful Silence Succeeded The

Report,  During Which He Expected To Hear The Shrieks Of The Females,

And Then,  As The Smoke Whirled Away In The Wind,  He Caught A View Of

The Fluttering Bark,  And Felt Assured That All His Former Skill Was

Not Entirely Departed From Him. Dropping The Piece To The Earth,  He

Turned Again To His Companion With An Air Of The Utmost Composure,  And

Demanded--

 

"Is My Brother Satisfied?"

 

"Mahtoree Is A Chief Of The Dahcotahs," Returned The Cunning Teton,

Laying His Hand On His Chest,  In Acknowledgment Of The Other's

Sincerity. "He Knows That A Warrior,  Who Has Smoked At So Many

Council-Fires,  Until His Head Has Grown White,  Would Not Be Found In

Wicked Company. But Did Not My Father Once Ride On A Horse,  Like A

Part 3 Chapter 20 Pg 26

Rich Chief Of The Pale-Faces,  Instead Of Travelling On Foot Like A

Hungry Konza?"

 

"Never! The Wahcondah Has Given Me Legs,  And He Has Given Me

Resolution To Use Them. For Sixty Summers And Winters Did I Journey In

The Woods Of America,  And Ten Tiresome Years Have I Dwelt On These

Open Fields,  Without Finding Need To Call Often Upon The Gifts Of The

Other Creatur's Of The Lord To Carry Me From Place To Place."

 

"If My Father Has So Long Lived In The Shade,  Why Has He Come Upon The

Prairies? The Sun Will Scorch Him."

 

The Old Man Looked Sorrowfully About For A Moment,  And Then Turning

With A Confidential Air To The Other,  He Replied--

 

"I Passed The Spring,  Summer,  And Autumn Of Life Among The Trees. The

Winter Of My Days Had Come,  And Found Me Where I Loved To Be,  In The

Quiet--Ay,  And In The Honesty Of The Woods! Teton,  Then I Slept

Happily,  Where My Eyes Could Look Up Through The Branches Of The Pines

And The Beeches,  To The Very Dwelling Of The Good Spirit Of My People.

If I Had Need To Open My Heart To Him,  While His Fires Were Burning

Above My Head,  The Door Was Open And Before My Eyes. But The Axes Of

The Choppers Awoke Me. For A Long Time My Ears Heard Nothing But The

Uproar Of Clearings. I Bore It Like A Warrior And A Man; There Was A

Reason That I Should Bear It: But When That Reason Was Ended,  I

Bethought Me To Get Beyond The Accursed Sounds. It Was Trying To The

Courage And To The Habits,  But I Had Heard Of These Vast And Naked

Fields,  And I Came Hither To Escape The Wasteful Temper Of My People.

Tell Me,  Dahcotah,  Have I Not Done Well?"

 

The Trapper Laid His Long Lean Finger On The Naked Shoulder Of The

Indian As He Ended,  And Seemed To Demand His Felicitations On His

Ingenuity And Success,  With A Ghastly Smile,  In Which Triumph Was

Singularly Blended With Regret. His Companion Listened Intently,  And

Replied To The Question By Saying,  In The Sententious Manner Of His

Race--

 

"The Head Of My Father Is Very Grey; He Has Always Lived With Men,  And

He Has Seen Everything. What He Does Is Good; What He Speaks Is Wise.

Now Let Him Say,  Is He Sure That He Is A Stranger To The Big-Knives,

Who Are Looking For Their Beasts On Every Side Of The Prairies And

Cannot Find Them?"

 

"Dahcotah,  What I Have Said Is True. I Live Alone,  And Never Do I

Mingle With Men Whose Skins Are White,  If--"

 

His Mouth Was Suddenly Closed By An Interruption That Was As

Mortifying As It Was Unexpected. The Words Were Still On His Tongue,

When The Bushes On The Side Of The Thicket Where They Stood,  Opened,

And The Whole Of The Party Whom He Had Just Left,  And In Whose Behalf

He Was Endeavouring To Reconcile His Love Of Truth To The Necessity Of

Prevaricating,  Came Openly Into View. A Pause Of Mute Astonishment

Succeeded This Unlooked-For Spectacle. Then Mahtoree,  Who Did Not

Suffer A Muscle Or A Joint To Betray The Wonder And Surprise He

Part 3 Chapter 20 Pg 27

Actually Experienced,  Motioned Towards The Advancing Friends Of The

Trapper With An Air Of Assumed Civility,  And A Smile,  That Lighted His

Fierce,  Dark,  Visage,  As The Glare Of The Setting Sun Reveals The

Volume And Load Of The Cloud,  That Is Charged To Bursting With The

Electric Fluid. He However Disdained To Speak,  Or To Give Any Other

Evidence Of His Intentions Than By Calling To His Side The Distant

Band,  Who Sprang Forward At His Beck,  With The Alacrity Of Willing

Subordinates.

 

In The Mean Time The Friends Of The Old Man Continued To Advance.

Middleton Himself Was Foremost,  Supporting The Light And Aerial

Looking Figure Of Inez,  On Whose Anxious Countenance He Cast Such

Occasional Glances Of Tender Interest As,  In Similar Circumstances,  A

Father Would Have Given To His Child. Paul Led Ellen,  Close In Their

Rear. But While The Eye Of The Bee-Hunter Did Not Neglect His Blooming

Companion,  It Scowled Angrily,  Resembling More The Aspect Of The

Sullen And Retreating Bear Than The Soft Intelligence Of A Favoured

Suitor. Obed And Asinus Came Last,  The Former Leading His Companion

With A Degree Of Fondness That Could Hardly Be Said To Be Exceeded By

Any Other Of The Party. The Approach Of The Naturalist Was Far Less

Rapid Than That Of Those Who Preceded Him. His Feet Seemed Equally

Reluctant To Advance,  Or To Remain Stationary; His Position Bearing A

Great Analogy To That Of Mahomet's Coffin,  With The Exception That The

Quality Of Repulsion Rather Than That Of Attraction Held Him In A

State Of Rest. The Repulsive Power In His Rear However Appeared To

Predominate,  And By A Singular Exception,  As He Would Have Said

Himself,  To All Philosophical Principles,  It Rather Increased Than

Diminished By Distance. As The Eyes Of The Naturalist Steadily

Maintained A Position That Was The Opposite Of His Route,  They Served

To Give A Direction To Those Of The Observers Of All These Movements,

And At Once Furnished A Sufficient Clue By Which To Unravel The

Mystery Of So Sudden A Debouchement From The Cover.

 

Another Cluster Of Stout And Armed Men Was Seen At No Great Distance,

Just Rounding A Point Of The Thicket,  And Moving Directly Though

Cautiously Towards The Place Where The Band Of The Siouxes Was Posted,

As A Squadron Of Cruisers Is Often Seen To Steer Across The Waste Of

Waters,  Towards The Rich But Well-Protected Convoy. In Short,  The

Family Of The Squatter,  Or At Least Such Among Them As Were Capable Of

Bearing Arms,  Appeared In View,  On The Broad Prairie,  Evidently Bent

On Revenging Their Wrongs.

 

Mahtoree And His Party Slowly Retired From The Thicket,  The Moment

They Caught A View Of The Strangers,  Until They Halted On A Swell That

Commanded A Wide And Unobstructed View Of The Naked Fields On Which

They Stood. Here The Dahcotah Appeared Disposed To Make His Stand,  And

To Bring Matters To An Issue. Notwithstanding This Retreat,  In Which

He Compelled The Trapper To Accompany Him,  Middleton Still Advanced,

Until He Too Halted On The Same Elevation,  And Within Speaking

Distance Of The Warlike Siouxes. The Borderers In Their Turn Took A

Favourable Position,  Though At A Much Greater Distance. The Three

Groups Now Resembled So Many Fleets At Sea,  Lying With Their Topsails

To The Masts,  With The Commendable Precaution Of Reconnoitring,  Before

Each Could Ascertain Who Among The Strangers Might Be Considered As

Part 3 Chapter 20 Pg 28

Friends,  And Who As Foes.

 

During This Moment Of Suspense,  The Dark,  Threatening,  Eye Of Mahtoree

Rolled From One Of The Strange Parties To The Other,  In Keen And Hasty

Examination,  And Then It Turned Its Withering Look On The Old Man,  As

The Chief Said,  In A Tone Of High And Bitter Scorn--

 

"The Big-Knives Are Fools! It Is Easier To Catch The Cougar Asleep,

Than To Find A Blind Dahcotah. Did The White Head Think To Ride On The

Horse Of A Sioux?"

 

The Trapper,  Who Had Found Time To Collect His Perplexed Faculties,

Saw At Once That Middleton,  Having Perceived Ishmael On The Trail By

Which They Had Fled,  Preferred Trusting To The Hospitality Of The

Savages,  Than To The Treatment He Would Be Likely To Receive From The

Hands Of The Squatter. He Therefore Disposed Himself To Clear The Way

For The Favourable Reception Of His Friends,  Since He Found That The

Unnatural Coalition Became Necessary To Secure The Liberty,  If