The Prairie (Fiscle Part 3) Of 2 by J Fenimore Cooper (top non fiction books of all time .TXT) 📖

A Miserable,  Half-

Sighted,  Trapper,  It Is A Band Of The Accursed Siouxes! To Cover,

Lads,  To Cover. A Single Cast Of An Eye This-A-Way,  Would Strip Us Of

Every Rag Of Clothes,  As Surely As The Lightning Scorches The Bush,

And It Might Be That Our Very Lives Would Be Far From Safe."

 

Middleton Had Already Turned From The Spectacle,  To Seek That Which

Pleased Him Better; The Sight Of His Young And Beautiful Bride. Paul

Seized The Doctor By The Arm; And,  As The Trapper Followed With The

Smallest Possible Delay,  The Whole Party Was Quickly Collected Within

The Cover Of The Thicket. After A Few Short Explanations Concerning

The Character Of This New Danger,  The Old Man,  On Whom The Whole Duty

Of Directing Their Movements Was Devolved,  In Deference To His Great

Experience,  Continued His Discourse As Follows--

 

"This Is A Region,  As You Must All Know,  Where A Strong Arm Is Far

Better Than The Right,  And Where The White Law Is As Little Known As

Needed. Therefore Does Every Thing,  Now,  Depend On Judgment And Power.

If," He Continued,  Laying His Finger On His Cheek,  Like One Who

Considered Deeply All Sides Of The Embarrassing Situation In Which He

Found Himself,--"If An Invention Could Be Framed,  Which Would Set

Part 3 Chapter 19 Pg 19

These Siouxes And The Brood Of The Squatter By The Ears,  Then Might We

Come In,  Like The Buzzards After A Fight Atween The Beasts,  And Pick

Up The Gleanings Of The Ground--There Are Pawnees Nigh Us,  Too! It Is

A Certain Matter,  For Yonder Lad Is Not So Far From His Village

Without An Errand. Here Are Therefore Four Parties Within Sound Of A

Cannon,  Not One Of Whom Can Trust The Other. All Which Makes Movement

A Little Difficult,  In A District Where Covers Are Far From Plenty.

But We Are Three Well-Armed,  And I Think I May See Three Stout-Hearted

Men--"

 

"Four," Interrupted Paul.

 

"Anan," Said The Old Man,  Looking Up Simply At His Companion.

 

"Four," Repeated The Bee-Hunter,  Pointing To The Naturalist.

 

"Every Army Has Its Hangers-On And Idlers," Rejoined The Blunt Border-

Man. "Friend,  It Will Be Necessary To Slaughter This Ass."

 

"To Slay Asinus! Such A Deed Would Be An Act Of Supererogatory

Cruelty."

 

"I Know Nothing Of Your Words,  Which Hide Their Meaning In Sound; But

That Is Cruel Which Sacrifices A Christian To A Brute. This Is What I

Call The Reason Of Mercy. It Would Be Just As Safe To Blow A Trumpet,

As To Let The Animal Raise His Voice Again,  Inasmuch As It Would Prove

A Manifest Challenge To The Siouxes."

 

"I Will Answer For The Discretion Of Asinus,  Who Seldom Speaks Without

A Reason."

 

"They Say A Man Can Be Known By The Company He Keeps," Retorted The

Old Man,  "And Why Not A Brute? I Once Made A Forced March,  And Went

Through A Great Deal Of Jeopardy,  With A Companion Who Never Opened

His Mouth But To Sing; And Trouble Enough And Great Concern Of Mind

Did The Fellow Give Me. It Was In That Very Business With Your

Grand'ther,  Captain. But Then He Had A Human Throat,  And Well Did He

Know How To Use It,  On Occasion,  Though He Didn't Always Stop To

Regard The Time And Seasons Fit For Such Outcries. Ah's Me! If I Was

Now,  As I Was Then,  It Wouldn't Be A Band Of Thieving Siouxes That

Should Easily Drive Me From Such A Lodgment As This! But What

Signifies Boasting,  When Sight And Strength Are Both Failing. The

Warrior,  That The Delawares Once Saw Fit To Call After The Hawk,  For

The Goodness Of His Eyes,  Would Now Be Better Termed The Mole! In My

Judgment,  Therefore,  It Will Be Well To Slay The Brute."

 

"There's Argument And Good Logic In It," Said Paul; "Music Is Music,

And It's Always Noisy,  Whether It Comes From A Fiddle Or A Jackass.

Therefore I Agree With The Old Man,  And Say,  Kill The Beast."

 

"Friends," Said The Naturalist,  Looking With A Sorrowful Eye From One

To Another Of His Bloodily Disposed Companions,  "Slay Not Asinus; He

Is A Specimen Of His Kind,  Of Whom Much Good And Little Evil Can Be

Said. Hardy And Docile For His Genus; Abstemious And Patient,  Even For

Part 3 Chapter 19 Pg 20

His Humble Species. We Have Journeyed Much Together,  And His Death

Would Grieve Me. How Would It Trouble Thy Spirit,  Venerable Venator,

To Separate,  In Such An Untimely Manner,  From Your Faithful Hound?"

 

"The Animal Shall Not Die," Said The Old Man,  Suddenly Clearing His

Throat,  In A Manner That Proved He Felt The Force Of The Appeal; "But

His Voice Must Be Smothered. Bind His Jaws With The Halter,  And Then I

Think We May Trust The Rest To Providence."

 

With This Double Security For The Discretion Of Asinus,  For Paul

Instantly Bound The Muzzle Of The Ass In The Manner Required,  The

Trapper Seemed Content. After Which He Proceeded To The Margin Of The

Thicket To Reconnoitre.

 

The Uproar,  Which Attended The Passage Of The Herd,  Was Now Gone,  Or

Rather It Was Heard Rolling Along The Prairie,  At The Distance Of A

Mile. The Clouds Of Dust Were Already Blown Away By The Wind,  And A

Clear Range Was Left To The Eye,  In That Place Where Ten Minutes

Before There Existed A Scene Of So Much Wildness And Confusion.

 

The Siouxes Had Completed Their Conquest,  And,  Apparently Satisfied

With This Addition To The Numerous Previous Captures They Had Made,

They Now Seemed Content To Let The Remainder Of The Herd Escape. A

Dozen Remained Around The Carcass,  Over Which A Few Buzzards Were

Balancing Themselves With Steady Wings And Greedy Eyes,  While The Rest

Were Riding About,  In Quest Of Such Further Booty As Might Come In

Their Way,  On The Trail Of So Vast A Drove. The Trapper Measured The

Proportions,  And Scanned The Equipments Of Such Individuals As Drew

Nearer To The Side Of The Thicket,  With Careful Eyes. At Length He

Pointed Out One Among Them,  To Middleton,  As Weucha.

 

"Now,  Know We Not Only Who They Are,  But Their Errand," The Old Man

Continued,  Deliberately Shaking His Head. "They Have Lost The Trail Of

The Squatter,  And Are On Its Hunt. These Buffaloes Have Crossed Their

Path,  And In Chasing The Animals,  Bad Luck Has Led Them In Open Sight

Of The Hill On Which The Brood Of Ishmael Have Harboured. Do You See

Yon Birds Watching For The Offals Of The Beast They Have Killed?

Therein Is A Moral,  Which Teaches The Manner Of A Prairie Life. A Band

Of Pawnees Are Outlying For These Very Siouxes,  As You See The

Buzzards Looking Down For Their Food,  And It Behoves Us,  As Christian

Men Who Have So Much At Stake,  To Look Down Upon Them Both. Ha! What

Brings Yonder Two Skirting Reptiles To A Stand? As You Live,  They Have

Found The Place Where The Miserable Son Of The Squatter Met His

Death!"

 

The Old Man Was Not Mistaken. Weucha,  And A Savage Who Accompanied

Him,  Had Reached That Spot,  Which Has Already Been Mentioned As

Furnishing The Frightful Evidences Of Violence And Bloodshed. There

They Sat On Their Horses,  Examining The Well-Known Signs,  With The

Intelligence That Distinguishes The Habits Of Indians. Their Scrutiny

Was Long,  And Apparently Not Without Distrust. At Length They Raised A

Cry,  That Was Scarcely Less Piteous And Startling Than That Which The

Hounds Had Before Made Over The Same Fatal Signs,  And Which Did Not

Fail To Draw The Whole Band Immediately Around Them,  As The Fell Bark

Of The Jackal Is Said To Gather His Comrades To The Chase.

Part 3 Chapter 20 Pg 21

                       Welcome,  Ancient Pistol.

                                                   --Shakspeare.

 

It Was Not Long Before The Trapper Pointed Out The Commanding Person

Of Mahtoree,  As The Leader Of The Siouxes. This Chief,  Who Had Been

Among The Last To Obey The Vociferous Summons Of Weucha,  No Sooner

Reached The Spot Where His Whole Party Was Now Gathered,  Than He Threw

Himself From His Horse,  And Proceeded To Examine The Marks Of The

Extraordinary Trail,  With That Degree Of Dignity And Attention Which

Became His High And Responsible Station. The Warriors,  For It Was But

Too Evident That They Were To A Man Of That Fearless And Ruthless

Class,  Awaited The Result Of His Investigation With Patient Reserve;

None But A Few Of The Principal Braves,  Presuming Even To Speak,  While

Their Leader Was Thus Gravely Occupied. It Was Several Minutes Before

Mahtoree Seemed Satisfied. He Then Directed His Eyes Along The Ground

To Those Several Places Where Ishmael Had Found The Same Revolting

Evidences Of The Passage Of Some Bloody Struggle,  And Motioned To His

People To Follow.

 

The Whole Band Advanced In A Body Towards The Thicket,  Until They Came

To A Halt,  Within A Few Yards Of The Precise Spot,  Where Esther Had

Stimulated Her Sluggish Sons To Break Into The Cover. The Reader Will

Readily Imagine That The Trapper And His Companions Were Not

Indifferent Observers Of So Threatening A Movement. The Old Man

Summoned All Who Were Capable Of Bearing Arms To His Side,  And

Demanded,  In Very Unequivocal Terms,  Though In A Voice That Was

Suitably Lowered,  In Order To Escape The Ears Of Their Dangerous

Neighbours,  Whether They Were Disposed To Make Battle For Their

Liberty,  Or Whether They Should Try The Milder Expedient Of

Conciliation. As It Was A Subject In Which All Had An Equal Interest,

He Put The Question As To A Council Of War,  And Not Without Some

Slight Exhibition Of The Lingering Vestiges Of A Nearly Extinct

Military Pride. Paul And The Doctor Were Diametrically Opposed To Each

Other In Opinion; The Former Declaring For An Immediate Appeal To

Arms,  And The Latter Was Warmly Espousing The Policy Of Pacific

Measures. Middleton,  Who Saw That There Was Great Danger Of A Hot

Verbal Dispute Between Two Men,  Who Were Governed By Feelings So

Diametrically Opposed,  Saw Fit To Assume The Office Of Arbiter; Or

Rather To Decide The Question,  His Situation Making Him A Sort Of

Umpire. He Also Leaned To The Side Of Peace,  For He Evidently Saw

That,  In Consequence Of The Vast Superiority Of Their Enemies,

Violence Would Irretrievably Lead To Their Destruction.

 

The Trapper Listened To The Reasons Of The Young Soldier With Great

Attention; And,  As They Were Given With The Steadiness Of One Who Did