THE PIONEERS;
OR,
TIlE SOURCES OF THE SUSQUEHANNA.
A  DESCRIPTIVE  TALE.
BY J. FENIMORE COOPER
E a:xtremes of habits, manners, time, and space.
Brought close together. here stood face to fao.
And gave at once a contrast to the view,
That other lands and ages never knew."
PAULDI6O.
COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME.
NEW YORK:
PUBLISHED BY HURD AND HOUGHTON.
amlrtge;: titrit'i^$  ptre1f
1 ^70 ~




Xftered aWording to the Act of Congross, in the yea 150, by
BTBINGER AND TOWNSEND
I th  Clerk'b offce of the District Court for the southern dtit reCt of New T ML




PREFACE.
TO MR. CHARLES WILEY, BOOKSELLER.
EVERY man is, more or less, the sport of acci.
dent; nor do I know that authors are at all exempted from this humiliating influence. This is
the third of my novels, and it depends on two very uncertain contingencies, whether it will not be
the last:-the one being the public opinion, and
the other mine own hamour.  The first book was
written, Decause I was told that I could not write
a grave tale; so, to prove that the world did not
know me, I wrote one that was so grave nobody
would read it;. wherein I think that I had much
the best of the argument. The second was writ
ten to see if I could not overcome this neglect of
the reading world. How far I have succeeded,
Mr. CHARLES WILEY, must ever remain a secret
between ourselves. The third has been written,
exclusively, to please myself: so it would be no
vwonder if it displeased every body else; for what
1#




6                  PREFACE.
two e ver thought alike, on a subject of the imagination?
I should think criticism to be the perfection of
human acquirements, did there not exist this discrepancy in taste. Just as I have made up my
mind to adopt the very sagacious hints of one learned Reviewer, a pamphlet is  ut into my hands
containing the remarks of another, who conaemns
all that his rival praises, and praises all that his rival condemns. There I am, left like an ass between two locks of hay; so that I have determined to relinquish my animate nature, and remain
stationary, like a lock of hay between two asses.
It is now a long time, say the wise ones, since
the world has been told all that is new and novel,
But the Reviewers (the cunning wights!) have
adopted an ingenious expedient, to give a freshness
to the most trite idea. They clothe it in a language so obscure and metaphysical, that the reader
is not about to comprehend their pages without
some labour. This is called a great " range of
thought;" and not improperly, as I can'estify;
for, in my own case, I have frequently ranged the
universe of ideas, and come back again in as perfect ignorance of their meaning as when I set out.
It is delightful, to see the literati of a circulating
library get hold of one of these difficult periods 
Their praise of the performance is exactly commensurate with its obscurity. Every body knows,
that to seem wise is the first requisite in a great
man.




PREFACE.                   7
A common word in the mouths of all Reviewers, readers of magazines, and young ladies, when
speaking of novels, is' keeping;" and yet there
are but few who attach the same meaning to it.
I belong, myself, to the old school, in this particular, and think that it applies more to the subject
in hand, than to any use of terms, or of cant expressions. As a man might just as well be out of the
wdrld as out of " keeping," I have endeavoured to
confine myself, in this tale, strictly to its observ
ance. This is a formidable curb to the imagination, as, doubtless, the reader will very soon discover; but under its influence I have come to the
conclusion, that the writer of a tale, who takes the
earth for the scene of his story, is in some degree
bound to respect human nature.  Therefore I
would advise any one, who may take up this book,
with the expectation of meeting gods and goddesses, spooks or witches, or of feeling that strong excitement that is produced by battles and murders,
to throw it aside at once, for no such interest will
be found in any of its pages.
I have already said that it was mine own humour
that suggested this tale; but it is a humour that is
deeply connected with feeling. Happier periods.
nore interesting events, and possibly, more beauteous scenes, might have been selected, to exemplify my subject; but none of either that would be
so dear to me. I wish, therefore, to be judged
more by what I have done, than by my sins of
omission. I have introduced one battle, but it is




8                 PREFACE.
not of the mast Homeric kind. As for murders,
the population of a new country will not admit of
such a waste of human life. There might possibly
have been one or two hangings, to the manifest advantage of the " settlement;" but then it would
have been out of " keeping" with the humane laws
of this compassionate country.
The "Pioneers" is now before the world, Mi.
WILEY, and I shall look to you for the only true
account of its reception. The critics may write as
obscurely as they please, and look much wiser than
they are; the papers may puff or abuse, as theil
changeful humours dictate; but if you meet me
with a smiling face, I shall at once know that all
is essentially well.
If you should ever have occasion for a preface, I
beg you will let me hear from you in reply.
Yours, truly,
THE AUTHOR.
New-York, January 1st, 1823.




THE PIONEERS.
OR THE
SOITRCES OF  TIIE  SUTS.QUETiEANNIIA       T.
CHAPTER I.
fee, Winter comes, to rule the varied year,
Sullen and sad, with all his rising train;
Vapours, and clouds, and storms —
NEAR the centre of the great State of New-York
lies an extensive district of country, whose surface
is a succession of hills and dales, or, to speak with
greater deference to geographical 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 country,
the numerous sources of the mighty Susquehanna
meander through the valleys, until, uniting, they
form one of the proudest streams of which the old
United States could boast.  The mountains are
generally arable to the top, although instances are
not wanting, where their sides are jutted with
rocks, that aid greatly in giving that romantic character to the country, which it so eminently possesses. The vales are narrow, rich, and cultivated;
with a stream  uniformly winding through each,




10             THE PIONEERS.
now gliding peacefully under the brow of one of
the hills, and then suddenly shooting across the
plain, to wash the feet of its opposite rival.  Beautiful and thriving villages are found interspersed
along the margins of the small lakes, or situated at
those points of the streams which are favourable to
manufacturing; and neat and comfortable 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 rugged and intricate passes of
the hills. Academies, and minor edifices for the
encouragement 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
public worship of God abound with that frequency
which characterizes a moral and reflecting people,
and with that variety of exterior and canonical government 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 commonwealth, of which he knows himself to form a distinct and independent part.  The expedients of
the pioneers who first broke ground in the settlement of this country, are succeeded by the permanent improvements of the yeoman, who intends to
leave his remains to moulder under the sod which
he tills, or, perhaps, of the son, who, born in the
land, piously wishes to linger around the grave ol
his father.  Only forty years have passed since
this whole territory was a wilderness.
Very soon after the establishment of the independence of the States by the peace of 1783, the




THE PIONEERS.               11
enterprise of their citizens was directed to a deve 
lopement of the natural advantages 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 her possessions.
A narrow belt of country, extending for a short
distance on either side of the Hudson, with a similar occupation 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 that was then inhabited by less than two
hundred thousand souls. Within the short period
we have mentioned, her population has spread itself
over five degrees of latitude and seven of longitude, and has swelled to the powerful number of
nearly a million and a half, who are maintained in
abundance, and can look forward to ages before the
evil day must arrive, when their possessions will
become unequal to their wants.
Our tale begins in 1793, about seven years ater
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 of that year, when a sleigh
was moving slowly up one of the mountains in the
district which we have described. The day had
been fine for the season, and but two or three large
clouds, whose colour seemed brightened by the
light reflected from the mass of snow that covered
the earth, 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
for many feet, one upon the other, while a narrow
excavation in the mountain, in the opposite direc



12              THE PIONEERPS.
tion, had made a passage of sufficient width for the
ordinary travelling of that day. But logs, excavation, and every thing that did not reach for se.
veral feet above the earth, lay promiscuously buried under the snow. A single track, barely wide
enough to receive the sleigh, denoted the route of
the highway, and this was sunken near two feet
below the surrounding surface. In the vale, which
lay at a distance of several hundred feet beneath
them, there was what in the language of the country was called a clearing, and all the usual impiovements of a new settlement; these even extended 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 yet remained a forest.  There was a
glittering in the atmosphere, as if it were filled
with innumerable shining particles, and the noble
oay horses that drew the sleigh were covered, in
many parts, with a coat of frost. The vapour 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 the transient beams of the sun, which
found their way obliquely through the tops of the
trees.  Huge saddles, studded with nails of the
same material, and fitted with cloth that admirably
served as blankets to the shoulders of the animals,
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 age. His face, which
nature had coloured with a glistening black, was




THE PIONEERS.               13
now mottled with the cold, and his large shining
eyes were moistened with a liquid that flowed
from the same cause; still there was a smiling expression of good humour in his happy countenance,
that was created by the thoughts of his home, and
a Christmas fire-side, with its Christmas frolics.
The sleigh was one of those large, comfortable,
old-fashioned conveyances, which would admit a
whole family within its bosom, but which now contained only two passengers besides the driver. Its
outside was a modest green, and its inside of a fiery
red, that 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, if it were not made more comfortable, by
a profusion of furs, enveloped the whole of his
figure, excepting the head, which was covered with
A cap of martin skins, lined with morocco, the sides
of which were made to fall, if necessary, and were
now drawn close over the ears, and were fastened
beneath his chin with a black riband; its top was
surmounted with the tail of the animal whose skin
had furnished the materials for the cap, which lell
hack, not ungracefully, a few inches behind the
head. From beneath this masque were to be seen
part of a fine manly face, and particularly a pair of
expressive, large blue eyes, that promised extraordinary intellect, covert humour, and great benevolence. The form of his companion was literal
2




14              THE PIONEERS.
ly hid beneatn the multitude and variety of gar.
ments which 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 eyes of the
deepest black.
Both the father and daughter (for such was the
connexion between the travellers) were too much
occupied with their different reflections to break
the stillness, that received little 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 fondly 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 which the city could afford to her education.  A few months afterward death had deprived him of the remaining companion of his solitude; but still he had enough of 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 labours. The reflections of the daughter were less
melancholy, and mingled with a pleased astonishment at the novel scenery that she met at every
turn in the road.
The mountain on which they were journeying
was covered with pines, that rose without a branch
seventy or eighty feet, and which frequently towered to an additional height, that more than equalled that elevation. Through the innumerable vistas that opened beneath the lofty trees the eye




THt I'IoN!':IltS            15
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 friom the
pure white of the snow, in regularly formed shafts,
until, at a great height, their branches shot forth
their horizontal limbs, that were covered with the
meager foliage 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, sighing sound, that
was quite in consonance with the 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, which were lighted
by the unsullied covering of the earth, when a loud
and continued howling was heard, pealing under
the long arches of the woods, like the cry of a numerous pack of hounds.  The instant the sounds
reached the ears of the gentleman, whatever might
have been the subject of his meditations, he forgot
it; for he cried aloud to the black"Hold up, Aggy; there is old Hector; I should
know his bay among ten thousand.  The Leather
stocking has put his hounds into the hills this clear
day, and they have started their game, you hear.'here 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 to his
fingers, while the speaker stood erect, and, thruw




16              THE PIONEERS.
ing aside his outer covering, stept from  the sleigh
upon a bank of snow, which sustained his weight
without yielding more than an inch or two.  A
storm of sleet had fallen and frozen upon the surface a few days before, and but a slight snow had
occurred since to purify, without weakening its covering.
In a few moments the speaker succeeded in extricating a double-barrelled fowling-piece from
among a multitude of trunks and bandboxes. After throwing aside the thick mittens which had encased his hands, that now appeared in a pair of
leather gloves tipped with fur, he examined his
priming, and was about to move forward, when the
light bounding noise of an animal plunging through
the woods was heard, and directly 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 ap
peared to be too keen a sportsman to be discon
certed byeither.  As it came first into view he
raised the fowling-piece to his shoulder, and, with
a practised eye and steady hand, drew a trigger;
but the deer dashed forward undaunted, and apparently unhurt. Without lowering his piece, the
traveller turned its muzzle towards his intended
victim, and fired again. Neither discharge, however, seemed to have taken effect.
The whole scene had passed with a rapidity that.onfused the female, who was unconsciously rejoicirg in the escape of the buck, as he rather darted
like a meteor, than ran across the road before her,
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 sanme
instant that she heard this unexpected reports the




THE PIONEERS.              17
buck sprang from the snow, to a great height in the
air, and directly a second discharge, similar in
sound to the first, followed, when the animal came
to the earth, falling headlong, and rolling over on
the'crust once or twice with its own velocity. A
loud shout was given by the unseen marksman, as
triumphing in his better aim; and a couple of men
instantly appeared fiom behind the trunks of two
of the pines, where they had evidently placed
themselves in expectation of the passage of the
deer.
" Ha! Natty, had I known you were in ambush,
I would not have fired," cried the traveller, moving towards the spot where the deer lay-near to
which he was followed by the delighted black,
with the sleigh; "but the sound of old Hector
was too exhilarating to let me 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 robin 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 enough for a pot-pie, 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 po-wdez
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
taugh.
2*




3               THE PIONEFRS.' The gun scatters well, Natty, and has killed a
deer before now," said the traveller, smiling good
humouredly.  "One barrel was charged with buck
shot; but the other was loaded for birds only
Here are two hurts that he has received; one
through his neck, and the other directly through
his 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 cretur 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 is two
balls through the deer, I want to know if there
wasn't two rifles fired-besides, who ever saw such
a ragged hole from a smooth-bore, as this is 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'ither; but foi my part, although I am a poor man,
I can live without the venison, 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 I can
see."
An air of sullen dissatisfaction pervaded the
manner of the hunter during the whole of this
speech; yet he thought it prudent to utter the
close of the sentence in such an under tone, as tc
leave nothing audible but the grumbling sounds of
his voice.
" Nay, Natty," rejoined the traveller, with undisturbed good humour, "it is for the honour that
I contend.  A few dollars will pay for the venison; but what will requite me for the lost honour
of a buck's tail in my cap? Think, Natty, how I
should triumph over that quizzing dog, Dick Jones,




THE PIONEERS.               19
who has failed seven times this season already, 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 disdainful're
signation. "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,
ii one wanted a ham or so from the cretur, he had
only to watch a-nights, and he could shoot one by
moonlight, through the cracks of the logs; no feaof his over-sleeping himself, n'ither, for the howling of the wolves was sartin to keep his eyes open.
There's old Hector,"-patting with affection a tall
hound, of black and yellow spots, with white belly and legs, that just then came in on the scent, accompanied by the slut he had mentioned;" see
where the wolves bit his throat, the night I druve
them from the venison I was smoking on the chimbly top-that dog is more to be trusted nor 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 struck the notice of the young female,
who had been a close and interested observer of
nis appearance and equipments, from the moment
he first 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 emaciation,
but yet bore no signs of disease;-on the contrary,
it had every indication of the most robust and en



20              THE PIONEERS.
during health.  The cold and the exposure had
together, given it a colour 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 over-dress he
wore.  A kind of coat, made of dressed deer-skin,
with the hair on, was belted close to his lank body,
by a girdle of coloured worsted. On his feet were
deer-skin moccasins, ornamented with porcupines'
quills, after the manner of the' Indians, and his limbs
were guarded with long leggings of the same material as the moccasins, which, gartering over the
knees of his tarnished buck-skin breeches, had obtained for him, among the settlers, the nick-name
of Leather-stocking, notwithstanding his legs were
protected beneath, in winter, by thick garments of
woollen, duly made of good blue yarn. Over his
left shoulder was slung a belt of deer-skin, from
which depended an enormous ox horn, so thinly
scraped, as to discover the dark powder that it contained. The larger end was fitted ingeniously and
securely with a wooden bottom, and the other was
3topped tight by a little plug. A leathern pouch
hung before him, from which, as he concluded his
last speech, he took a small measure, and, filling it
accurately with powder, he commenced reloading
the rifle, which, as its butt rested on the snowi before him, reached nearly to the top of his fox-skin
cap.
The traveller had been closely examining the
wounds during these movements, and now, without heeding the ill-humour of the hunter's manner, exclaimed —
"I would fain establish a right, Natty, to the




THE PIONEERS.              2]
nonour of this capture; 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 su.
pererogation, Leather-stocking."
"You may call it by what lamed 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 cretur come by his end from
a younger hand than'ither your'n or mine, as 1
said before."
" What say you, my friend," cried the traveller,
turning pleasantly to Natty's companion; " shall'w:e toss up this dollar for the honour, and you keep
the silver if you lose; what say you, friend?"
"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's.
"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 sell
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-stocking, 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:f them who'll rob a man of his rightful dues."
" You are tenacious of your rights, this cold eveiing, Natty," returned the Judge, with unconquer



22              THE PONiEEl 3.
able good nature; " but what say you  young
man, will three dollars pay you for the buck?"
" First let us determine the question of right to
the satisfaction 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, gravely, a lit-;le 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
rom behind which he had appeared, " you know,
iir, you fired in this direction-here are four of
the bullets in the tree."
The Judge examined the fresh marks in the
rough baik of the pine, and shaking his head, said
with a laugh" You are making out the case against yourself,
mny young advocate-where is the fifth?"
"Here," said the youth, throwing aside the rough
uver-coat that he wore, and exhibiting a hole in
iis under garment, through 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 murmur? But hasten-quickget into my sleigh-it is but a mile to the village,
where surgical aid can be obtained;-all shall be
(lone at my expense, and thou shalt live with me
until thy wound is healed-ay, and for ever afterwards, too."
" I thank you, sir, for your good intention, but;iUust decline your offer.  I have a friend who
vould be uneasy were he to hear that I am hurt
and away from him. The injury is but slight, and




THE PIONEERS.              23
the bullet has missed the bones, but I believe, sir,
you will now admit my title to the venison."
" Admit it!" repeated the agitated Judge; " I
here give thee a right to shoot deer, or bears, oi
any thing thou pleasest in my woods, for ever.
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, and now muttered in an under tone" There's them living who say, that Nathaniel
Bumppo's right to shoot in these hills, is of older
date than Marmaduke Temple's right to forbid him.
But if there's a law about it at all, though who
ever heard tell of a law that a man should'nt kill
deer where he pleased! —but if there is a law at
all, it should be to keep people from the use of
them smooth-bores. A body never knows where
his lead will fly, when he pulls the trigger of one
of them fancified fire-arms."
Without attending to the soliloquy of Natty, the
youth bowed his head silently to the offer of the
bank note, and replied" Excuse me, sir, I have need of the venison."
" But this will buy you many deer," said the.1 idge; "take it, I entreat you," and lowering his
voice to nearly a whisper, he added-" it is for a
r.undred dollars."
For an instant only, the youth seemed to hesitate, and then, blushing even through the high coour that the cold had given to his cheeks, as if
with inward shame at his own weakness, he again
proudly declined the offer.
During this scene the female arose, and, regard.




24              THE PIONmEiS,
less of the cold air, she threw back the hood which
concealed her features, and now spoke, with great
earnestnewss" 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 medical aid for your
hurts."
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 haughty distance of the
young man's manner was sensibly softened by this
appeal, and he stood, in apparent doubt, as if reluctant to comply with, and yet unwilling to refuse
her request. The judge, for such being his office,
must in future 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 towards the sleigh, urged him to enter it.
" There is no human aid nearer than Templeton," he said; " and the hut of Natty is full three
miles from this;-come-come, my young fiiend,
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 should'st
thou require it, thou shalt be returned to thy home
in the morning."
The young man succeeded in extricating his hand
from the warm grasp of the judge, but continued to
gaze on the face of the female, who, regardless of
the cold, was still standing with her fine features
exposed, which expressed feelings that eloquently
seconded the request of her father.  Leatherstocking stood, in the mean time, leaning upon his




THE PIONEERS.              25
long rifle, with his head turned a little to one side,
as if engaged in deep and 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
Ald to be cutting into human flesh, as 1 once used
to. Though some thirty years agone, in the old
war, when I was out under Sir William, I travelled seventy miles alone in the howling wilder-!less, with a rifle bullet in my thigh, and then cut
it out with my own jack-knife. 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'1H
warrant he carried to his grave. I took him on his
posteerum, saving the lady's presence, as he got
up from the amboosh, 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
bodyas he opened his mouth, which exposed a
single tusk of yellow bone, while his eyes, his face,
even his uncle 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 so had to make shift with the buck shot; but
the rifle was true, and did'nt scatter like your twolegged 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 their baggage to hear
him.  Unable to resist the kind urgency of the
3




^6             THE PIONEERS.
travellers any longer, the youth, though still  ii
an unaccountable reluctance expressed in his ml;anner, suffered himself to be persuaded to enter thic
sleigh. The black, with the aid of his master.
threw the buck across the baggage, and entering
the vehicle themselves, the judge invited the huntet
to do so likewise.
" No-no-" said the old man, shaking his
head; " I have work to do at home this Christmas
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 nor all his foreign'intments."  He turned
and was about to move off, when, suddenly recolecting himself, he again faced the party, and added
If you see any thing of Indian John about the
tOcit 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; "c 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, significantly; " he has'nt lived forty 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 quar
ter of the buck, for the Christmas dinner."
He was interrupted by the hunter, who held up
his finger with an expressive gesture for silence,




THE PIONEERS.                27
and moved softly along the margin of the road,
keeping his eyes steadfastly fixed on the branches
of a pine near him. When 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 barrel 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 aim. On a small
dead branch of the pine, which, at the distance of
seventy feet from the ground, shot out horizontally, immediately beneath the living members of the
tree, sat a bird, that in the vulgar language of the
country was indiscriminately 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
erect, that formed nearly a straight line with its
legs.  So soon as the rifle bore on the victim,
Natty drew his trigger, and the partridge fell from
its height with a force that buried it in the snow
"Lie down, you old villain," exclaimed Leather-stocking, shaking his ramrod at Ilector as he
bounded towards 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-" HIere is a nice tit-bit
for an old man's Christmas-never mind the venison, boy, and remember Indian John; his yarbs
are better nor all the foreign'intments.  Here,




28              THE PIONEERS.
Judge," holding up the bird again, " do you think
a smooth-bore would pick game off their roost, 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 short and quick steps,
that were between a walk and a trot.  At each
movement that 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
companion, 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 deer track, that they seemed to know
instinctively was now of no further use to them.
Another jerk was given to the sleigh, and Leatherstock ng was hidden 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 hundred and twenty years 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 dependants. He lived greatly respected for his piety,
and not a little distinguished 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
hare 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 dependants, and the
nature of the public situations that he held.  Taking this rule as a guide, the ancestor of ourJudge
must have been a man of no little note.
d i




SO              THE PIONEERS.
It is, however, a subject of curious inquiry at tht
present day, to look into the brief records of that
early period, and observe how regular, and with
few exceptions how inevitable, 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 enabled to maintain his own rank, by the
weight of his personal superiority and acquirements; but the moment that his head was laid in
the grave, his indolent, and comparatively uneducated offspring, were compelled to yield precedency to the more active energies of a class, whose
exertions 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 extremes of society, in the
peaceful and unenterprising colonies of Pennsylvania and New-Jersey.
The posterity of Marmaduke did not escape the
common lot of those, who depended rather on their
hereditary possessions than on their own powers;
and in the third generation, 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 endeavour to rise again.  The feeling, from being
morbid was chinged to a healthful and active desire to emulate the character, the condition, and
peradventure, the wealth, of their ancestors also.
It was the father of our new  acquaintance, the
Judge, who first began to re-ascend the scale of
society: and in this undertaking he was not a little
assisted by a marriage that he formed, which aided




THE PIONEERS.               31
greatly in furnishing the means of educating his
only son, in a rather better manner than the low
state of the common schools in Pennsylvania could
promise; 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.
wbose years were about equal to his own.  This,
was a fortunate connexion for our judge, and
oaved the way to most of his future elevation in
ife, when the early inclination for each other in
the boys was matured into friendship.
There was not only great wealth, but high court
interest, among the connexions of Edward Effingham.  They were one of the very 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 fiom the
privacy of their domestic life, unless to preside in
the councils of the colony, or to bear arms in her defence. The latter had, from youth to approaching
age, been the only employment of Edward's father.
Military rank, under the crown of Great Britain,
was, sixty years ago, attained with much longer
probation, and by much more toilsome services,
than at the present time.  Years were passed
without murmuring, in the subordinate grades of the
service  and those soldiers who were stationed in
the colonies, felt, when they obtained the command
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 in a
visit to the falls, has occasion to cross the Niagara,
by spending a day at Newark, may easily observe,
not only the self-importance, but the real estimation enjoyed by the humblest representative of th




82              THE PIONEERS.
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 symbol of war is ever seen, unless at the free and fearless voice of their people. When, therefore, the father of Marmaduke's
iriend, after forty years' service, retired with the
rank of Major, maintaining in his domestic establishment a comparative splendour, it is not be doubted
but that he became a man of the first consideration
in his native colony-which was that of NewYork.  He had served with fidelity and courage,
and having been, according to the custom of the
provinces, intrusted with commands much superiol
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 to his acceptance various
civil offices, which yielded not only honour 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 integrity 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 conveyance of his whole
estate, consisting of moneys 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 throwina




THE PIONEERS.               3.
himself upon the filial piety of his child for his
own future maintenance.  Major Effingham, 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 stript himself of his great personal
wealth, the remainder of the 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 indulgence of his wishes. Whatever views the world might entertain 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;'bor he felt that while his parent reserved a moral
-ontrcl over his actions, he was relieving himself
irom a fatiguing burthen: such, indeed, was the
confidence existing between them, that to neither
did it seem any thing more, than removing money
from one pocket to another.
One of the first acts of the young man, on coining into possession of his wealth, was to seek his
early friend, with a view to offer 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
in offer extremely acceptable to the young Penn.'ylvanian: he felt his own powers, and saw, not
)nlly the excellences, but the,foibles, in the charweter of his fiiend.  Effingham was by nature in



84                 THE PIONEERS.
dolent, confiding, and at times impetuous and indiscrcet; but Marmaduke was uniformly equable, penetrating, and full of activity and enterprise.  To the
latter, therefore, the assistance, or rather connexior
that was proffered to  him, seemed to  promise  a
mutual advantage.  It was cheerfully accerted, and the
arrangement of its conditions left entirely to the dictates of his own judgment.  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
participation in the profits. This connexion 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 fiiend. 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; and every sentiment of young Effingham  was opposed to the acknowledgment of an
arrangement, which he only reconciled to his private
feelings, by a knowledge of his own motives-but an
insuperable obstacle to the disclosure existed in the
prejudices 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 tile peaceful policy of that colony. To the soldier, this was an unpardonable offence.  He was fighting
in their defence, only he knew that the mild prin.




THE PIONEERS.               35
eiples of this little nation of practical Chilstians
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 succours, would
only have a tendency to expose his command,
without preserving the peace. The gallant soldier
succeeded, after a desperate 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 peaceful 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 expression of a belief, that, where there was
so great an observance of the externals of religion, there could not be much of the substance. —
It is not our task to explain what is, or ought to be,
the substance of Christianity, but merely to record
in this place the opinions of Major Effingham.
Knowing the sentiments of the father, in iela
tion to this people, it was no wonder that the son
hesitated to avow his connexion with, nay, even
his dependence on the integrity of, a quaker.
It has been seen that Marmaduke deduced lfis




36             THE PIONEERS.
origin from  the contemporaries and  triends of
Penn.  His father 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 thl
ordinary intercourse between friends was tinetured 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 retained 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 anticipating out
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 preju
dices of the father on this subject. The connexion, 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 for the
labour and hazard incurred.  He married the lady
we have mentioned, who was the mother of Elizabeth, and the visits of his friend were becoming
more frequent; and there was a speedy prospect
of removing the veil from their intercourse, as its
advantages became each hour more apparent to
Mr. Effingham, when the troubles that preceded
the war of the revolution extended themselves te
an alarming degree.




THE PIONEERS.               37
Educated in the most dependent loyalty by his father, Mr. Effingham had, from the commencement
of the disputes between the colonists and the
crown, warmly maintained, what he believed 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 people.  Both might have been
influenced by early impressions; for, if the son of
the loyal and gallant soldier bowed in implicit
obedience to the will of-his sovereign, the descendant of the  persecuted  follower of Penn
looked back, with a little bitterness, to the un
merited 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 was getting to be too important to
admit of trivial discussions on the part of Marmaduke, whose acute discernment was already catch.
ing 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. Effingham, 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 re-appeared in NewYork, wearing the livery of his king, and in a
snort time he took the field at the head of a provincial corps.  In the mean time, Marinaduke had
completely committed himself in the cause, as it
was then called, of the rebellion: of course, all
Ultercourse between the friends ceased-en the
4




38               THE PIONEERS
part of Col. Effingham it was unsought, and on
that of Marmaduke there was a cautious reserve.
It soon became necessary for the latter to abandon
the capital of Philadelphia; but he had taken the
precaution to remove to the interior the whole oi
his effects, beyond the reach of the royal forces,
including the papers of his friend also. There he
continued 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 confiscation, he appeared in New-York, and -became
the purchaser of extensive possessions at, comparatively, very 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 participation in the
family union, seems ever unwilling to abandon
them  entirely to the world   But either his success, 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
roniectures from men's minds.
When the war was ended, and the independence of the states acknowledged, Mr. Temple
turned his attention from the pursuit of commerce.
whinch was then fluctuating and uncertain, to thfi




THE PIONEIFRS.              39
settlement of those tracts of land which he hac
purchased.  Aided by a good deal of money, and
directed by the suggestions of a strong and practical reason, his enterprises 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 to
be ranked among the most wealthy and important
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, hac
become sufficiently populous to be set off as a
county, Mr. Temple 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.




CHTAP1TEI- HI
All that thou see'st, is nature's handy-work,
Those rocks that upward throw their mossy brows
Like castled pinnacles of the elder times I
These venerable stems, that slowly rock
Their tow'ring branches in the wintry galel
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.
DtO.
SOME  little  while  elapsed, after the hurses had
resumed  their journey, ere  Marnnaduke  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  ot
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 contraction  of the
brows, and 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,
rut which she had been much puzzled to interpi et




THE PIONEERS.               41
The passion seemed the strongest when he was
enjoining his old companion to secrecy; and when
he had decided, and was, rather passively, suffering himself to be conveyed to the village, the expression of the young man's eyes by no means
indicated any great degree of self-satisfaction at
the step.  But the lines of an uncommonly prepossessing countenance were gradually becoming
composed; and he now sat in silent, and apparently abstracted musing.  The Judge gazed at him
for some time with earnestness, and then smiling
as if at his own forgetfulness, he spoke"I believe, my young friend, that terror has
driven your name from my recollection-your face
is very familiar to me, and yet for the honour of a
score of buck's-tails in my cap, I could not tell
your name."
" I came into the country but three weeks
since, sir," returned the youth coldly, " and I understand you have been absent more than that
time."
" It will be five to-morrow. Yet your face is
one that I have seen; though it would not be
strange, such has been my affright, should I see
thee in thy winding-sheet walking by my bedside, to-night.  What say'st thou, Bess? Am I
compos mentis or not?- Fit to charge a grand;ury, or, what is just now of more pressing necessity, able to do the honours of a 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 smoothbore."  A short pause followed; and the same
voice, but in a different accent, continued-" We
shall have good reasons for our thanksgiving te:,hbt, on more accounts than one."
A*




~2              THE PIONEERS.
A slightly scornful smile passed over the features of the youth, at the archness of the first
part of this speech; but it instantly vanished, as
lie listened to the tremulous tones in which it
was concluded.  The Judge, also, seemed to be
affected with the consciousness of how narrowly
he had escaped taking the life of a fellow-creature,
and, for some time, there was a dead silence in the
sleigh.
The horses soon reached a point, where they
seemed to know by instinct that their journey was
nearly ended, and, bearing on the bits, as they
tossed their heads, uneasily, up and down, 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 road descended suddenly, but
circuitously, into the valley.
The Judge was roused from  his reflections,
when he saw the four columns of dense smoke,
which floated along the air from 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 the youth and maiden involuntarily
met, as the Ju lge, in the warmth of his feelings,
thus included them in an association which was to
endure so long; and if the deepening colour, that.
notwithstanding her hood, might be seen gather
ing over the face even to the forehead of Elizabeth, was contradicted in its language by the
proud expression of her eye, the scornful but
covert smile that again played about the lips ti
the stranger, seemed equally to deny the probability of his consenting to form  one of this
family group.  The scene was one, howevei,




THE PlONxI+RS.              43
which might easily warm a heart less given to phil
anthropy than that of Marmaduke Temple
The side of the mountain, on which our travel.
leis were journeying, though not absolutely perpendicular, was yet 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 to 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 her childhood. On the right, and stretching for several miles to the north, lay a narrow
plain, buried among mountains, which, falling occasionally, jutted in long low points, that were covered with tall trees, into the valley; and then
again, for miles, stretched their lofty brows perpendicularly along its margin, nourishing in the
crags that formed their sides, pines and hemlocks
thinly interspersed with chesnut and beech, which
grew  in lines nearly parallel to the mountains
themselves.  The dark foliage of the evergreens
was brilliantly contrasted by the glittering whiteness of the plain, which exhibited, over the tops
of the trees, and through the vistas formed by the
advancing points of the hills, a single sheet of unspotted snow, relieved occasionally by a few small
dark objects that were discovered, as they were
passing directly beneath the feet of the travellers,
to be sleighs moving in various directions. On
the western border of the plain, the mountains,
though equally high, were less precipitous, and as
they receded, opened into irregular valleys and
glens, and were formed into terraces, and hollows
that admitted of cultivation. Although the ever-'eens still held dominion over many of the hills




44               THE PIONEERS.
that rose on this side of the valley, yet the undu
lating 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, that announced, by
the smoke which curled over the tops of the trees,
the habitations of man, and the commencement ot
agriculture.  These spots were sometimes, by the
aid of united labour, enlarged into what were called settlements; but more frequently were smal
and insulated; though so rapid were the changes,
and so persevering the labours 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 the plain were both larger and more numerous than those on its eastern, and one in particu-'ar thrust itself forward in such a manner as to
torm  beautifully curved bays of snow  on eithei
side. On its extreme end a mighty oak stretched
forward, as if to overshadow, with its branches, a
spot which its roots were forbidden to enter.  It
had released 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 all the wildness of unre
strained liberty. A dark spot of a few acres in extent at the southern extremity of this beautiful flat,
and immediately under the feet of our travellers.
alone showed, by its rippling surface, and the vapours which exhaled from it, that what at first might
seem a plain, was one of the mountain lakes, loclk
ed in the frosts of vinter. A narrow current rush




THE PIONEeaRS.              45
ed impetuously from its bosom at the open place
we have mentioned, and might be traced for a few
miles, as it wound its way towards the south
through the real valley, by its borders of hemlock
and pine, and by the vapour 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 for many miles a
narrow but level plain, along which the settlers
had scattered their humble habitations, with a profusion that bespoke the quality of the soil, and the
comparative facilities of intercourse.  Immediately
on the bank of the lake, stood the village of Templeton. It consisted of about fifty buildings, including those of every description, chiefly built of
wood, and which, in their architecture, bore not
only strong marks of the absence of taste, but also,
by the slovenly and unfinished appearance of most
of the dwellings, indicated the hasty manner of
their construction. To the eye, they presented a
variety of colours. A few were white in both
front and rear, but more bore that expensive colour on their fronts only, while their economical
but ambitious owners had covered the remaining
sides of their 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
*hey were unable to accomplish. The whole were
grouped together in a manner that aped the streets
of a city, and were evidently so arranged, by the
directions of one, who looked far ahead to the
wants of posterity, rather than to the convenience
of the present incumbents. Some three or four of




16              THE PIONEERS.
the better sort of buildings, in addition to the uniformity of their colour, were fitted with green
blinds, that were rather strangely contrasted 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 shoots of one or two summer's growth,
that looked not unlike tall grenadiers on post, near
the threshold of princes.  In truth, the occupants
of these favoured habitations were the nobles of
Templeton, as Marmaduke was its king.  They
were the dwellings of two young men who were
cunning in the law; an equal number of that class
who chaffered to supply the wants of the commu
nity under the significant title of store-keepers,
and a disciple of AEsculapius, who, for a novelty,
brought more subjects into the world than he sent
out of it. In the midst of this incongruous group
of dwellings, rose the mansion of the Judge, towering proudly above all its neighbours.  It stood
in the centre of an enclosure that included several
acres, which were covered with fruit-trees. Some
of these were of Indian origin, and began already
to assume the noss and inclination of age, therein
forming a very marked contrast to the infant pl)antations that peered over most of the picketed
fences in the village. In addition to this shdw of
cultivation, were two rows of young poplars, a tree
but lately introduced into America, 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 entirely under the superintendence of a Mr.
Richard Jones, whom we have already mentioned,
and who, from a certain cleverness in small matters,
atnd his willingness to exert his talents, added to




THE PIONEERS.                47
the circumstance of their being sisters' children.
ordinarily superintended all the minor concerns of
Marmaduke Temple's business.  Richard was fond
of saying, that this child of his invention consisted
of nothing more nor less, than what should formi
the ground-work of a clergyman's discourse; viz.
a firstly, and a lastly. He had commenced his labours in the first year of their residence, by erecting a tall, gaunt edifice of wood, with its gable towards the highway.  In this shelter, for it was but
little more, the family resided for 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
solid 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 every thing that
oertained to that branch of the fine arts. Not but
that Mr. Jones affected to consider Mr. 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 any
thing plausible from his own stores of learning, or
from a secret admiration of their truth, Richard
generally submitted to the arguments of his coadiutor.  Together, they had not only erected a
dwelling for Marmaduke, but had given a fashion
to the architecture of the country.  The composite order, Mr. Doolittle would contend, was an
order composed of many others, and was intended
to be the most useful, for it admitted into its construction such alterations as convenience or circumstances might require.  To this proposition
Richard very gravely assented; and it was by this




48              THE PIONEZRS.
unison in sentiment that the composite order, or a
style of architecture that emanated from the carpenter's own genius, with a few suggestions from
the other, became the fashion of the new county.
The house itself, or the " lastly," was of stone:
large, square, formal, and far from uncomfortable
These were four requisites, on which Marmaduke
had insisted with a little more than his ordinary
pertinacity. But every thing else was peaceably
resigned to Richard and his associate. These worthies found but little opportunity for the display of
their talents on a stone edifice, excepting in the
roof and in the porch.  The former, it was soon
decided, should be made with four faces and a platform, in order to hide a part of the building that
all writers agreed was an object that ought to be
concealed.  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 element.
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 effe.
that was to be produced by this offspring of compound genius, until the massive timbers were raised,
with much labour, on the four walls of the building. Then, indeed, it was soon seen, that, in defiance of all rule, theroof was by far the most conspicuous part of the edifice. Richard and his associate consoled themselves with the belief, that
the covering would aid in concealing this unnatural elevation; but every shingle Jhat was laid was




THE PIONEERS.                49
only multiplying objects to look at.  Richard essayed to remedy the evil with paint, and four different colours were laid on by his own hands. The
firs,, was a sky-blue, in the vain expectation that
the eye might be cheated into the belief, it was
the heavens themselves that hung so imposingly
over Marmaduke's dwelling; the second was, what
he called, a " cloud-colour,' being nothing more
nor less than an imitation of light smoke; the third
"was what Richard termed an invisible green, which
he laid on with a belief, that the deformity might
be blended with the back-ground of pines, that
rose, in tall grandeur, but a short distance in the
rear of -the mansion-house. But all these inge
nious expedients entirely failed, and our artists re
linquished the desire to conceal, and attempted to
ornament, the offensive member.  The last colour
that Richard bestowed on the luckless roof, was a
" sun-shiny yellow;" so called, both from  its resemblance to, and its powers to resist, the rays ot
the great luminary. 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 labours. Richard had originally a cunni g
expedient, by which 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 crder that the smoke might be carried off, and they
thus became four extremely conspicuous objects in
the view.
As this was much the most important undertaking
in which Mr. Jones was ever engaged, his failure
pioduced a correspondent degree of mortification.
At first, he whispered among his acquaintances
5




50               THE PIONEERS.
that it all proceeded fiom 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 labours, and instead of apologizing
for the defects, he commenced praising the beauties of the mansion-house.  He soon found hearers; ald, as wealth and comfort are at all times
attractive, it was made a model for imitation on a
smn.ll scale. In less than two years from its erectior., 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
fasliion, which even renders the faults of the great
sub ects of admiration.
AMarmaduke bore this deformity in his dwelling
with great good nature, and soon contrived, by his
owli improvements, to give an air both 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 springing up nigh the dwelling, yet many a pile of snow
betrayed the presence of the stump of a mighty
pine; and even. in one or two instances, unsightly
remnants of trees that had been partly destroyed
by fire were seen rearing their black and glistenng columns, for twenty or thirty feet above the
pure white of the snow. These, which in the language of the country are termed stubs, abounded
Im the open fields adjacent 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 unpleasant additions to the view were
unnoticed by the delighted Elizabeth, who, as the




THE PIONEERS.               51
horses slowly 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 diagonally 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 riband of water, that gushed
from  the outlet, and was winding its way already
towards the far distant Chesapeake-the altered,
though still remembered, scenes of her childhood
and of joy!
Five years had here wrought greater changes
than a century would produce in older countries.
where time and labour have giver permanency to
the works of man.  To the young hunter and the
Judge the scene had less of 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 then sunk
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 owr
enterprise, and much of it the fruits of his own
industry.
The cheerful sound of sleigh-bells, howevel
soon attracted the attention of the whole party, as
they came jingling up the sides of the mountain, at
i rate that announced both a powerful team and a
hard driver.  The bushes which lined the highway interrupted the view, and they were close
upon this vehicle before they discovered who
were its occupants.




CHAPTER IV.
Bow *a.w t whose mare's dead I what's the matter.
Falstaf,
A Fiw minutes resolved whatever doubts our
travellers entertained, as to the description of
those who were approaching them  with such exhilarating sounds.  A large lumber-sleigh, drawn
by four horses, was soon seen dashing through the
leafless bushes, which fringed the road that was
here, as on the other side of the mountain, cut into
the hill. The leaders were of gray, and the polehorses of a jet black. Bells, innumerable, were
suspended from every part of the harness, where
one of those 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 satisfied the Judge
as to the character 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
manner that no part of him was visible excepting
a face, of an unvarying red colour.  There was a
habitual upward look about the head of this gen




THE PIONEERS.                53
tleman, as if it were dissatisfied with the proximity
to the earth that nature had decreed in his stature,
and the expression of his countenance was that of
busy care.  He was the charioteer, and he guided
the mettled animals that he drove along the prece
pice, with a fearless eye, and a steady hand. Inmmediately behind him, with his face toward the
rther two, was a tall figure, to whose appearance
not even the duplicate over-coats 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 Marmaduke 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 an obstacle, as from either side of his forehead their light, blue, glassy balls projected. The
sallow of his countenance was a colour too permanent to be affected even by the intense cold of the
evening. Opposite to this personage, sat a square
figure of large proportions. No part of his formn
was to be discovered through his over-dress, but a
full face with an agreeable expression, that was illuminated by a pair of animated black eyes of a
lurking look, that gave the lie to every demure
feature in his countenance. A fair, jolly wig furnished a neat and rounded outline to his visage,
and he, as well as the other two, wore martir.-skin
caps as outward coverings for their heads. The
fourth was a meek-looking, long-visaged  man,
without any other protection from the cold than
that which was furnished by a black surt'out, made
with some little formality, but which was rather
thread-bare and rusty.  He wore a hat of extreme-'y decent proportions, though frequent brushing
asad quite destroyed its nap. His face was pale,
5*




54             -T'HE PIONEERS.
with a little melancholy, but so slightly expressed,
as to leave the beholder in doubt, whether it proceeded from mental or bodily ailment.  The air
had given it, just now, a slight and somewhat feverish flush.   The character of his whole appearance, especially contrasted to the air of humour in
his next companion, was that of a habitual, but subdued dejection.  No sooner had the two sleighs
approached 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 1 shall never be able to pass you. Welccme
home, cousin'duke-welcome, welcome, my black
eyed Bess.  Thou seest, Marmaduke, that I have
taken the field with an assorted cargo, to do thee
honour.  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 sermon, yet. Even all the horses would
come-by the by, Judge, I must sell these blacks
for you immediately; they both interfere, and
then the nigh one is a bad goer in double harness.
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," lifting his
cap, " I feel indebted to your attention. Gentlemen, I make you acquainted with my child.Yours are names with which she is very familiar."
" Velcone, velcome, Tchooge," said the elder
of the party, with a strong German accent. " Miss
Petsy vilt owe me a kiss."
"'And cheerfully will I pay it, my good sir,'




THE PIONEERS.               55
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, and the manly
greetings of the gentleman. " I have always a kiss
fot my old friend, Major Hartmann."
By this time the gentleman on the front seat,
who had been addressed as Monsieur Le Quoi,
rose with some difficulty, owing to the impediment
of his over coats, 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 said
with a smile that opened a mouth of no common
dimensions" Ver velcome home, Monsieur Templ'.  Ah 1
Mam'selle Liz'bet, you ver humble sairvant."
" 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 Absolom been as scarce as on this crown of thine, he
might have been living to this day." The jokes
of Richard never failed of exciting risibility, for if
others were unbending, he uniformly did honour
to his own wit; and he enjoyed a hearty laugh
on the present occasion, while Mr. Le Quoi resumed his seat with a polite reciprocation in his
mirth. The clergyman, for such was the office of
Mr. Grant, modestly, though quite affectionately,
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 affect
this object, without ascending to the summit of the
mountain. A  very considerable excavation had
been made into the side of the hill, at the point
where Richard had succeeded in stopping  the.




56               THE PIONEERS.
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 fiequently of danger.
in that narrow  road; but Richard had to meet
the additional risk of turning his four-in-hand
The black very civilly volunteered his services to
take off the leaders, and the Judge very earnestly
seconded the measure with his advice. Richaid
treated the proposals with great disdain."Why, and wherefore, cousin'duke," he exclaimed a little angrily; the horses are as gentle
%s lambs.  You know that I broke the leaders my-lIf, 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."
Thus appealed to, it was not in the nature of the
Frenchman to disappoint expectations that were
so confidently formed; although he sat looling
down the precipice which fronted him, as Richard
turned his leaders into the quarry, with a pair of
eyes that stood at least half an inch from his visage.
The German's muscles were unmoved, but his
quick sight scanned each movement with an un(cerstanding expression, that blended amusement
at Richard's dilemma with anxiety at their situation. Mr. Grant placed his hands on the side of
the sleigh, in preparation for a spring, but mornd
timidity deterred him from taking the leap that
bodily apprehension strongly urged him to attempt.
Richard, by a sudden application of his whip.
succeeded In forcing his leaders into the snowbank that covered the quarry; but the instant that
the impatient animals suffered by the crust, through
which they broke at each step, they positively r'e




TH.3 PIONEERS.              5't
Aised to move an inch further in tha  direction.
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 theil
turn, backed the sleigh.  Only a single log lay
above the pile which upheld the road, on the side
toward the valley, which was now buried in the
snow.  The sleigh was easily forced across this
slight impediment; and before Richard became
conscious of his danger, one half of the vehicle was
projected over a precipice, which fell, nearly 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 in the sleigh, and cried,
"Ah! Mon cher monsieur Deeck! mon dieu!
prenez gardez vous!
"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 ter horses."
" Good Mr. Jones," said the clergyman, losing
the slight flush that cold had given to his cheeks,
" be prudent, good sir-be careful."
" Get up, you obstinate devils!" cried Richard,
catching a bird's eye view of his situation, applying
his whip with new vigour, and unconsciously kicking the stool on which he sat, as if inclined to urge
the inanimate wood forward; "Get up, I say —
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'
vou hold my leg so tight, that it's no wonder I
an't guide the horses 




58             rTHE PfONEERS.
" Merciful Providence!" exclaimed the Judge,'they will be all killed!"
Elizabeth gave a piercing shriek, and the black
of Agamemnon'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 silence, sprang from the sleigh of Marmaduke to the heads of the refractory leaders. The
horses, who were yet suffering undtr the injudicious and somewhat random blows from Richard.
were dancing up and down with that ominous
movement, that threatens a sudden and uncoatrollable start, and pressing backward instead of going
into the quarry.  The youth gave the leaders a
powerful jerk, and they plunged aside, by the path
they had themselves trodden, and re-entered the
road in the position in which they were first halted.  The sleigh was whirled from its dangerous
position, and upset with its runners outwards. The
German and the divine were thrown rather unceremoniously into the highway, but without danger to their bones. Richard appeared in the air,
for a moment, describing the segment of a circle,
of which the reins were the radii, and was landed
at the distance of some fifteen feet, in that snowbank 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, to check the
further career of his steeds.  The Frenchman, who
was on his legs in the act of springing fiom the
sleigh, took an aerial flight also, much in that attitude which boys assume when they play leap-frog,
and flying off in a tangent to the curvature of hi:
course, came into the snow-bank head-foremost
where he remained, exhibiting two lathy legs or




THE PIONEERS.                59
high, like scare-crows waving in a corn field. Major Hartmann, whose self-possession had been admirably preserved during the whole evolution, was
the first of the party that gained his feet and his
voice.
" Ter deyvel, Richart!" he exclaimed, in a
voice half serious, half comical, " put you unloat
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 was trembling with nervous agitation.
There was also a slight confuision in the faculties
of Mr. Jones, that continued for some little time;
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, any how-it was a lucky thought in
me to hold on the reins, or the fiery devils would
have been over the mountain by this time. How
well I recovered myself, cousin'duke! Another
moment would have been too late; but I knew
just the spot where to touch the off-leader; th"t
blow under his right flank, and the sudden jerk I
gare with the reins, brought them  round quite
handsomely, I must own myself."
" Thou jerk! thou recover thyself, Dickon!"
crie I the Judge, whose fears were all vanished in
mirth at the discomfiture of the party; "but for
that brave lad yonder, thou and thy horses, or rather mine, would have assuredly been dashed to
uieces-But where is Monsieur Lie Quoi?"




60              THE PIONEERS.
" Oh! mon cher Juge! Mon ami!" cried a
smothered voice, " praise be God I live; vill-a
you, Mister Agamemnon, be pleased come down
ici, and help-a me on my foot?"
The divine and the negro seized the incarcerated Gaul by his legs, and extricated him from a
snow-bank of three ifet 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 upwards, in order to examine the distance he had fallen.  His good humour returned, however, with a knowledge of his
safety, though it was some little time before he
clearly comprehended the case.
" What, monsieur," said Richard, who was busily assisting the black in taking off the leaders;'are you there? I thought I saw you flying up
towards the top of the mountain but just now."
" Praise be God, I no fly down into de lake,"
returned the Frenchman, with a visage that was
divided between pain, occasioned by a few large
scratches that he had received 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 iit
throwing the buck, together with several articles
of his baggage, from his own sleigh into the snow' here are seats for you all, gentlemen; the eveling grows piercingly cold, and the hour approaches
fbr the service of Mr. Grant: we will leave friend
iones to repair the damages, with the assistance ci
Agamemnon, and hasten to a warm  fire.  Here,
Dickon. are a few articles of Bess's trumpery, th;t'




THE PIONLEERS.              61
you ean throw into your sleigh when ready, and
there is also a deer of my taking, that I will thank
you to bring-Aggy! remember there will be a
visit from Santaclaus to your stocking to-night, if
you are smart and careful about the buck, and get
in in season."
The black grinned with the consciousness of the
bribe that was thus offered him for his silence on
the subject of the deer, while Richard, without in
the least waiting for the termination of his cousin':i
speech, at once began his reply" Learn to drive, sayest thou, cousin'duke? 1s
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 any body could see that he
lied-he was a great liar, that John-what's that,
a buck?"-Richard abandoned the horses, and ran
to the spot where Marmaduke had thrown the
deer: " It is a buck indeed! I am amazed! Yes,
here are two holes in him; he has fired both barrels, and hit him each time.  Ecod! how-Marina
duke will brag! he is a prodigious bragger aboul
any small matter like this now; well, 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 chancemere chance;-noAw, I never fired twice at a clo
ven hoof in my life;,it is hit or miss with medead or runaway:h-ad it been a bear, or a wild
cat, a man might have wanted both barrels. Hei e 
you Aggy! how far off was the Judge when this
buck was shot?"
" Eh! Massa Richard, may be a ten rod," cried
the black, bending under one of the horses, with
thie pretence of fastening a buckle, hut in reality
g?




62               THE PIONEERS.
to conceal the broad grill that opened a m-oth
fit.  ear to ear.
" Ten rod!" echoed the other; " why, Aggy.
the deer I killed last winter was at twenty-yes'
if and thing 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 t'oder gun.  You know, sir, the folk
say, Natty kill'em."
" The folks lie, you black devil!" exclaimed
Richard In gieat heat.  " I have not shot even a
gray squirrel these four years, to which that old
rascal has not laid claim, or some one for him.
This is a damn'd envious world that we live inpeople 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 Iliram  knows that it is entirely
mine; a little taken from a print of its namesake
in London, I own; but all the rest is mine."
" I don't know where he come from," said the
black, losing every mark of humour in an expres
sion of deep admiration, " but eb'ry body say, he
wonnerful hansome."
"And well they may say so, Aggy," cried Richard, leaving the buck and walking up to the negro with the air of a man who has new interest
awakened within him.  " I think I may say, without bragging, that it is the handsomest and the
most scientific country church in America. I know
that the Connecticut settlers talk about their Weathersfield meeting-house; but I never believe more
than half of what they say, they are such uncon.
cionable braggers.  Just as you have got a thing
1,.ile, if they see it likeiy to be successful, thev




T' H:  If't)N'L::':RS.       63
arc always for interifring; ar.d then it's tenl to onre
but they lay claim to half, or yven all of the cr..it.
You may remember, Aggy, awhen 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 offerled
to mix what I call the streaky black, for the tail
and mane, and then, because it looks just like
horse hair, he tells every body that the sign was
painted by himself and Squire Jones.  If Mariaduke don't send that fellow off the Patent, he may
ornament his village 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 their
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, colnmanded a legal claim to the respect of the young
negro.  But when any dispute between his lawful
master and his real benefactor occurred, the black
felt too much deference for both to express any
opinion.  In the mean while, Richard continued
watching the negro as he fastened buckle after
buckle, until, stealing a look of consciousness toward the other, he continued, " Now, if that young
man, who was in your sleigh, is a real Connecticut
settler, he will be telling every body how he saved
my horses, when, if he had just let them alone fol
one half a minute longer, I would have brought
them in much better, without upsetting, with the
whip and rein-it spoils a horse to give him  his
head.  I should not wonder if I had to sell the
whole team, just for that one jerk that he gave
them."   Richard again paused, and again hemmed; for his conscience smote him  a little, for




64              THIE PION ERS.
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
him on the top of the mountain, he forbore to add
any thing concerning the accident of the wound,
only 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 whom 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-may be he is out hunting?"
" Eh! yes, massa Richard," said the black, a
little confused; 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 con
fusion of the negro, which now amounted to ter.
ror. " By Jove! he killed the deer. I knew that
Malrmaduke couldn't kill a buck on the jumpHow was it, Aggy? tell me all about it, and 1'11
roast'duke quicker than he can roast his saddle —
HIow was it, Aggy? the lad shot the buck, and the
Judge bought it, ha! and is taking him  down to
get the pay?"
The pleasure of this discovery had put Richard
in such a good humour, that the negro's fears in
some measure vanished, and he remembered the




THE PIONEERS.                65
stocking. 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 on the snow-bank to measure the distance
from  his long lash to the negro's back; " speak
the truth, or I'll trounce you." While speaking,
the stock was slowly rising in Richard's right hand
and the lash drawing through his left, in the scien
tific manner with which drummers apply the cat.
and Agamemnon, after turning each side of himself towards his master, and finding all equally unwilling to remain there, forgetful of his great name.
fairly gave in. In a very few words he made hi,
master acquainted with the truth, at the same time
earnestly conjuring Richard to protect him from
the displeasure of the Judge.
" I'll do it, boy, I'll do it," cried the -ther, rubbing his hands with delight; " say nothing, but
leave me to manage'duke-I have a damn'd great
mind to leave the deer on the hill, and to make
the fellow send for his own carcass: but no, 1 will
let Marmaduke tell a few bouncers 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 nothing of surgery-I had to hold
old 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 towards 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
oerfect cordiality was again existing between them.
"' This goes to prove that I turned the horses with,he reins, for no man who is shot in the rignt
shoulder, can have strength enough to bring round
6*




i)m             THE PIONEERS.
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 pinetree. I must help that quack to take out the buck
shot for the poor fellow."  In this manner Richard descended the mountain; the bells ringing,
and his tongue going, until they entered the village, when the whole attention of the driver was
devoted to a display of his horsemanship, to the
admiration of all the gaping women and children
who thronged the windows to witness the arrival
of their landlord and his daughter.




CHAPTER V.
Nathanisl's coat, sir, was not fully made,
And Gabriel's pumps were all unfinish'd i' ah' leel;
There was no link to colour Peter's hat,
And Walter's dagger was not come from sheathing:
There were none fine, but Adam, Ralph, and Gregory
Shakspeare.
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 ot
labour and the abundance of materials. This little
torrent, whose dark waters gushed in mimic turbulence over the limestones that lined its bottom,
was nothing less than one of the many sources of
the Susquehanna; a river, to which the Atlantic
herself has extended her right arm, to welcome
into her bosom.  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  the astonished Elizabeth  found
herself at once amid the incongruous dwellings
of the village. The street was laid out of the
width of an ordinary avenue to a city, notwitli



68               THE PIONEERS.
standing that 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 pleasant; 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 hundred feet; but the track for the
sleighs was much more limited.  On either side
of the highway were piled before the houses huge
heaps of logs, that were daily increasing rather
than diminishing in size, notwithstanding the enormous fires that might be seen lighting every win
dow through the dusk of the evening.
The last object at which Elizabeth had gazed
when they renewed their journey, after the rencontre with Richard, was the sun, as it expanded
in the refraction of the horizon, and over whose
disk the dark umbrage of a pine was stealing, while
it slowly sunk 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 colour. The
outline of each dark pine was delineated far in the
depths of the forest; and the rocks, too smooth
tnd too perpendicular to retain the snow that had
allen, brightened, as if smiling in scorn at the
changes in the season.  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




THE PIONEERS.                69
Along the summits of the mountains in the eastern
range, it is true, that the light still lingered, receding step by step from the earth into the few clouds
that were gathering, with the evening mist, about
the limited horizon; but the fiozen lake lay without a shadow on its chill bosom; the dwellings
were becoming already gloomy and indistinct; and
the wood-cutters were shouldering their axes, and
preparing to enjoy, throughout the long evening
before them, the comforts of those exhilarating
fires that their labour had been supplying with fuel.
They paused only to gaze at the passing sleighs,
to lift their caps to Marmaduke, to exchange familiar nods with Richard, and each disappeared in
his dwelling.  The paper curtains dropped beha-d
our travellers in every window, shutting from the
air even the fire-light of their cheerful apartments
and when the horses of her father turned, with a
rapid whirl, into the open gate of the mansionhouse, and nothing stood before her but the cold.
dreary stone-walls of the building, as she approached them through an avenue of young and leafless
poplars, Elizabeth felt as if all the loveliness of the
mountain-view had vanished like the fancies of a
dream.  Marmaduke retained so much of his early
habits as to reject the use of bells, but the equipage of Mr. Jones came dashing through the gate
after them, sending its jingling sounds through
every cranny in the building, and in a moment the
dwelling was in an uproar.
On a stone platform, of rather small proportions,
considering the size of the building, Richard and
Hiram had, conjointly, reared four little columns
of wood, which in their turn supported the shingled
roofs of the portico-this was the name that Mr.
Jones had thought proper to give to a very plain
covered entrance to the mansion.  The ascent to




70               THE PIONEERS.
the platform was by five or six stone steps, somewhat hastily laid together, in which the frost had
already begun to move from their symmetrical positions. But the evils of 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 from the base of the pillars to the bases on
which they had originally been placed.  It was
lucky for the whole fabric, that the carpenter, who
did the manual part of the labour, 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 composite
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 Elizabeth returned to
her father's door, a few rough wedges were dri eon
under the pillars to keep them steady, and to prevent their weight from separating them from the
pediment which they ought to have supported
From  the great door, which opened into the
porch, emerged two or three female domestics, anone male.  The latter was bare-headed, but evidently more dressed than usual, and in the whole
was of so singular a formation and attire, as to de



THE PIONEERS.                71
serve 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
striking by a bend forward that he was in the habit
of assuming, for no apparent reason, unless it might
be in order to give a greater freedom to his arns,
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 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 vast contempt. His head composed full onefourth of his whole length, and the queue 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
neighbourhood of the tin mines, and his youth as
the cabin-boy of a smuggler, between Falmouth
and Guernsey.  From this trade he was 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, lobskous, and one or two other sea-dishes, and, as he
was fond of saying, had an opportunity of seeing




/72             THE PION1,ERS.
the world.  With the exception of one or twu 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 discharged from the navy at the peace of'83.
he declared, that, as he had seen all the civilized
parts of the world, he was inclined to 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 dapper
Cockney to quit his home, and lands him, before
the sound of Bow bells is.fairly 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 Temple,
where, owing to a combination of qualities, he
held, under Mr. Jones, the office of majur-domo.
The name of this 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 labour to keep his ship from sinking after Rodney's victory, he had 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 middleaged woman, dressed in calico, rather violently
contrasted in colour, with a tall, meager, shapeless
figure, sharp features, and a somewhat acute expression in 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, and then suffered to hang in
large wrinkles in her cheeks and about her mouth.
She took snuff in such large quantities, as to cre




THIE PIONEERS.               73
ate the impression, that she owed the saffron of
her lips and the adjacent parts, to this circunstance; but it was the unvarying colour 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 Reinarkable Pettibone.  To Elizabeth she was ar
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 fiom shame at being outdone, ceased their
outcry.  One stately, powerful mastiff, who wore
around his neck a brass collar, with " M. T." en-,raved in large letters on the rim, alone was silent. He walked majestically, amid the confusion,
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
tame of " Old Brave."  The animal seemed to
knfow her, as she ascended the steps, supported by
Monsieur Le Quoi and her father, in order to protect ier from falling on the ice, with which the}
were covered.  He looked wistfully after her
ciiure, and when the door closed on the whole
party, he laid himself in a kennel that was placed
nigh by, as if conscious that the house contained
something of additional value to guard.
~7




14              THE PIONEERS.
Elizabeth follbwed her father, who paused a moment to whisper a message to one o 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
aides of which appeared to be quivering with the
heat it emitted; 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, of a
great variety in its appearance and materials; some
of which was brought fiom the city, and the remainder manufactured by the mechanics of Templeton.  There was a sideboard of mahogany, inlaid with ivory, and bearing enormous handles of
glittering brass, and groaning under 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 coloured wood,
through the grains of which the wavy lines of the
curled-maple of the mountains were undulating in
pi ecise regularity. Near to this, in a corner, stood
a heavy, old-fashioned, brass-faced clock, encased
in a high box, with 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




'THE PIONE'ERS.              75
hand, were ranged opposite, and in the ntervals
between the other pieces of furniture. A Fahrenheit's thermometer, in a mahogany case, and with
a barometer annexed, was hung against the wall,
at some little distance from the stove, which Benjamin consulted, every half-hour, with prodigious
veneration.  Two small glass chandeliers were
suspended at equal distances between the stove
and the outer doors, one of which opened at either
end of the hall, and gilt lustres were affixed to the
frame-work 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 pedestal in its
centre.  On these pedestals were small busts in
blacked plaster of Paris. The style of the pedestals, as well as the selection of the busts, had been
executed under the auspices of Mr. Jones.  On
one stood Homer, a most striking likeness, Richard
affirmed, " as any one might see. for it was blind."
Another bore the image of a smooth visaged gentleman, with a pointed beard, whom  he called
Shakspeare.  A third ornament was an urn, which,
from its shape, Richard 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 filth as surely bore the
dignified composure of the face of Washington. A
sixth was a non descript, representing "a nm:n
with a shirt-collar open," to use the language of
Richard, " with a laurel on hif head;-it was Juiius Caesar or Dr. Faustus; there were good reasons for believing either."
The walls were hung with a dark, lead-coloured
English paper, that represented Britannia weeping
ever the tomb of Wolfe.  The hero himself stood




76             TTHE PIONEER".
at a little distance from the mourning goddess, at
the edge of the paper. Each width contained the
figure, with the slight exception of one arm of the
General running over on to the next piece, so that
when Richard essayed, with his own hands, to put
together this delicate outline, some difficulties oceurrcd, that prevented a nice conjunction, and
Britannia had reason'to lament, in addition to the
loss of herfavourite's life, numberless cruel amputations of his right arm.
Th'e luckless cause of these unnatural divisions
announced his presence in the hall by a loud crack
of his whip, that startled the party, and his voice
was first heard, exclaiming"Why, Benjamin! you Ben Pump! is this the
manner in which you receive the heiress? Excuse
him, cousin Elizabeth.  The arrangements were
too delicate and nice 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 sun'at earlier in the day, it might have been
got up, d'ye see, to your liling. 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 can bring up a parcel of
women when they have got headway on them, until they've run out the end of their rope, his name
is not Benjamin Pump. But Miss Betsy here must
have altered more than a privateer in disguise




THE PIONEERS.                77
since she has got on her woman's duds, if she will
go to take offence with an old fellow, for the small
matter of lighting a few candles."
Elizabeth and her father continued silent, for
both experienced the same sensations on entering
the hall.  The former had resided one year in the
building before she left home for the school, and
the figure of its late lamented mistress was missed
by both the husband and the child.
But candles had been placed in the chandeliers
and lustres, and the attendants were so far recovered from their 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 banished by this brilliant interruption;
and the whole party began to lay aside the numberless garments that they had worn in the air.
During this operation, Richard kept up a desultory dialogue 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 accompaniment
on a piano, a thing that is heard without being attended to, we will not undertake the task of recording his wonderfully diffuse discourse.
The instant that Remarkable Pettibone had executed her portion of the labour in illuminating, she
returned to a position near Elizabeth, with the aI'
parent motive of receiving the clothes that th.
other threw aside, but in reality to examine, with
an air of mingled curiosity and jealousy, the appearance of the lady who was to supplant her in
the administration of their domestic economy. The
nousekeeper felt a little appalled, when, after
2loaks, coats, shawls, and socks had been taken off
in succession, the large black hood was remloved,
7 *




78               TTI PION R1;:RS.
and the dark ringlets, shining like the raven's wing
ftll 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 Grecian, but for a softly rounded swell, that gave in character to the feature what
it lost in beauty.  Her mouth, at first sight, seeimed 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
lbr her years, and of the tallest medium height,
she inherited from  her mother.  Even the colour
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 beauty in its grandeur.  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 riches
for the heat of the hall, and her eyes slightly suftused with moisture, that rendered their ordinary
beauty more dazzling, and with every feature of
her speaking countenance illuminated by the lignts
that flared around her, Remarkable felt that her
own power had ended.
The business of unrobing had been simultaneous
Marmaduke appeared in a suit of plain neat black
Monsieur Le Quoi, in a coat of snufl colour, coverina i ve3t of embroidery, with breeches, and silk




THE PIONEERS.               7'
stockings,  and  buckles-that were  commonly
thought to be of paste.  Major HIartmann wore a
c:oat 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 bullet 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 unfortunate sitool.
When the young lady had extricated herself
from the duresse of her garments, 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 their domestic arrangements were conducted.  Although there was
much incongruity in the furniture and appearance
of the hall, there was nothing mean.  The floor
was carpeted, even in its i.-motest corners. The
brass candlesticks, the gilt iastres, and the glass
chandeliers, whatever might be their keeping as to
propriety and taste, were admirably kept as to
all the purposes of use and comfort. They were
all clean, and each glittering, in the strong light of
the apartment, with its peculiar lustre. Compared
with the chill aspect of the December night xithout, the warmth and brilliancy of the apartment
produced an effect that was not unlike enchantment.  Her eye had not time to detect in detail the
little errors, which, in truth, existed, but was glanqing around her in delight, when an object arrested
iei' view, that was strongly contrasted to the sin'ling faces and neatly attired personages who had thuL;
assembled to do h lonour to the heiress of TelinI tckil.




80               THE PIONEERS.
In a corner of the hall, near to the grand entrance, stood the young hunter, unnoticed, and foi
the moment apparently 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 surpassed. 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 colour and gloss the locks of
Elizabeth. Nothing could have wrought a greatel
transformation, than the single act of removing the
rough fox-skin cap.  If there was much that was
prepossessing in the countenance of the young
hunter, there was something 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 fiame was clad, bespoke
not only familiarity with a splendour that in those
new settlements ras thought t6 be unequalled, 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 restraint, 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 surp se.  His appearance, connected as it was with
tne rough exterior of his dress, rendered him entirely distinct from the busy group that were moving across the other end of the long hall, occpied
in receiving the travellers, and exchanging their




THE PIONEERS. 
welcomes, and Elizabeth, herself as much an oblect to be looked at by others, continued to gaze
it him in a kind of stupid 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 concealed the
wonderfully speaking lineaments of his features.
" 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 we arlived."
" Certainly," said Marmaduke; " I have not forgotten the object of thy visit, young man, nor the
nature of my debt to thee."
" 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'an do no less than pay the doctor. I shall charge
you nothing for my services, but you shall not fare
the worse for that.  Come, come,'duke, don't be
down-hearted about.it; if you missed the buck,
you contrived to shoot this poor fellrw through a




82               THE PIONEERS.
pine-tree,  Now T 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 but 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 contemptuous wave of the hand;
" it is a science that can only be learnt 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 the father's side had a knack at physic.
There was my uncle that was killed at Brandywine, he died twice as easy as any other man in
the regiment, only from  knowing how  to do the
thing as it ought to be done."
" I doubt not, Dickon," returned the Judge
playfully, after meeting the bright smile, which, in
spite of himself, stole over the stranger's features,
" that thy family understood the art of letting a life
slip through their fingers with great facility."
Richard heard him quite coolly, and putting a
hand in either pocket of his surtout, so as to press
forward the skirts with an air of vast disdain, began to whistle a tune; but the desire to reply overcame his philosophy, and with great heat he exclaimed —" You may affect to smile, Judge Temple, at he.
reditary virtues, if'you please; but there is not a
man on your Patent who don't know better. Here,
even this young man, who has never seen any
thing but bears, and deers, and wood-chucks, knows
better than not to believe in virtues being trans
mllitted down in families, Don't you, friend I"




'PHE PION-EERS.              83
" I believe that vice is not," said the stranger
abruptly, his eye glancing keenly from the father
to the daughter.
" The Squire is right, Judge," observed Benja
min with a knowing nod of his head towards Ri
chard, that bespoke the cordiality between them.
" Now, in the old country, the King's Majesty
touches-for the evil, and that is a disorder 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 hung. Oh! yes, the
Squire is right, for if so be that he wasn't, how is
it that the seventh son always is a doctor, whether
he ships for the cock-pit 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
liom each individual in succession, "you shall tell
me of that, and all your entertaining adventures together; just now, a room  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 shall 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 hunter coldly; " he cannot be distant; I will
save you the trouble."
Richard paused, and looked earnestly at the
speaker, a little astonished at the language, and a
good deal appalled at the refusal.  He instantly
construed the latter into an act of hostility, and
2lacing his hands in the pockets again, he walked
up to Mr. Grant, and putting his face close fo




84             THE PIONEERS.
the countenance of the divine, he said in an under
tone"Now mark my words: there will be a story
among the settlers, that all our necks would have
been broken, but for that fellow there-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 reirn
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 pack-thread, and old cakes of roses,
Were thinly scattered to make up a show.
Shakspeare.
DOCTOR ELNAThAN TODD, for such was the unworthy 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 that they supported seemed to issue out of his back. His neck
possessed, in an eminent degree, the property of
length to which we have alluded, and it was top.
ped by a small bullet-head, that exhibited, on one
side, a bush of bristling brown hair, and on the
other, a short, twinkling visage, that appeared to
maintain a constant struggle with itself in order to
look wise.  He was the youngest son of a farmer
8




86               THE PTOI]-EERS.
inthe western part of Massachusetts, who, being
in somewhat easy circumstances, had allowed this
boy to shoot up to the height we have mentioned,
without the ordinary interruptions of field-labour,
wood-chopping, and such other toils as were imllised on his brothers.  Elnathan was indebted for this
exemption from labour, in some measure to his extraordinary growth, which, leaving him pale, inanimate, and listless, induced his tender mother to
pronounce him   a sickly boy, and one that wvas
not equal to work, but who might earn a living.
comfortably enough, by taking to pleading lawv, 01
turning minister, or doctoring, or some sitch-like
easy calling."  Still there was a great uncertainty
which of these vocations the youth was best endowed to fill with credit and profit; but, having no
other employment, the stripling was constantly
lounging about the " homestead," munchirg green
apples, and hunting for sorrel; when the same sagacious eye, that had brought to light his latent'alents, seized upon this circumstance, as a clue to
direct his future path through the turmoils of the
world.  " Elnathan was cut out for a doctor," she
knew, " for he was for ever digging for yarbs, and
tasting all kinds of things that grow'd about the
lots.  Then again he had a nateral love for doctorstuff, 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 nothing,
while Ichabod (hler husband) could never get vine
down without making sitch 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, died in the butternut brk




THE PICNNf::- nR.            8
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 foundations of
reading, writing, and arithmetic, he was soon conspicuous 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 allhis 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 to empty the school-baskets
with his own mouth, to prevent the consequences."
Soon after this comfortable declaration from his
schoolmaster, the lad was removed to the house of
the village doctor, a gentleman whose early career
had not been unlike that of our hero, where he was
to be seen, sometimes watering a horse, at others
watering medicines, blue, yellow, and red; then
again he might be noticed, lolling under an appleI.ree, with Ruddiman's Latin Grammar in his hand,;and a corner of Denman's Midwifery sticking out
of the pocket of his coat;-for his instructer held
it absurd to teach his pupil how to despatch a patient regularly from this world, before he knew hox
to bring him into it.
This kind of life continued for a twelvemonth,
when he suddenly appeared at meeting in a lon;
coat (and well did it deserve the name!) of black
homespun, with little bootees, bound with uncolour: calf-skin, for the want of red morocco.
Soon after, he was seen shaving with a dull razor; and but three or four months elapsed before
several elderly ladies were observed hastening to




88              THE PIONEERS.
wards the house of a poor woman in 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 where the physician was last observed; 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,
who, out of breath, was trotting before him. The
following day the youth appeared in the street, as
the highway was called, and the neighbourhood
was astonished in observing how much he had
grown lately.  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, Doctor
Todd, by her prudent mother.  The ice once
broken in this manner, Elnathan was greeted from
every mouth with his official appellation.
Another year was 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.
)1.''odd attained his legal majority.  He 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 suspiciously looking
box, that smelled powerfully of brimstone.
The next Sunday he was married; and the fol.




THE PIONEERS.                89
luwing morning he entered a one-horse sleigh with
his bride, having before him the box we have mentioned, with another filled with home-made household linen, a paper-covered trunk, with a red ium
brella lashed to it, a pair of quite new saddle-bags,
and a bandbox.  The next intelligence that his
friends received of the bride and bridegroom was
that the latter was " settled in the new countries,
and well to do as a doctor, in Templeton, in York
state."
If a Templar would smile at the qualifications of
Marmaduke to fill the judicial seat that he occupied.
we are certain that a graduate of Leyden or Edinburgh would be extremely amused with this true
narration of the servitude of Elnathan in the temple of AEsculapius.  But the same consolation was
afforded to both the jurist and the leech; for Dr.
Todd was quite as much on a level with his compeers in the profession in that country, as was Marnaduke with his brethren on the bench.
Time and practice did wonders for the physician.
He was naturally humane, but possessed no small
share of moral courage; or, in other words, he was
chary of the lives of his patients, and never tried
uncertain experiments on such members of society
as were considered useful; but once or twice, wher
a luckless vagrant had come. under his care, he was
a little addicted to trying the effects of every vial
in his saddle-bags on the stranger's constitution.
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 much judgment
concerning intermittents, remittents, tertians, quotidians, &c. In certain cutaneous disorders, very
prevalent in new settlements, he was considered
to be infallible; and there was no woman on the
8*




9()             THE PIONEERS.
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 composed of somewhat brittle
materials. He, however, occasionally renewed his
elementary studies, and, with the observation of a
shrewd mind, was 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 eclat, 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 that his nerves and
moral feeling had ever sustained. In the hour of
need, he was. however, not found wanting.-Most
of the amputations in the new settlements, and they
were quite frequent, were performed by some one
practitioner, who, possessing originally a reputation,
was enabled by this circumstance to acquire 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 practice was not to be obtained, and the dut%
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 was to this event that Richard
alluded, when he spoke of assisting the Doctor, at
an amputation-by holding the leg! The limb was
certainly cut off, and the patient survived the ope



THE PIONEERS.               91
cation. 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 loom; he knew this to be true, for he could
feel the pain shooting up from the inhumed fragment into his living members. Marmaduke suggested that the fault might lie in the living arteries
and nerves; but Richard, considering the amputa
tion as part of his own handy-work, strongly repelled 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 that Miliigan's complaints gradually diminished, the leg
was dug up, and a larger box furnished, and from
that hour no one'had heard the sufferer utter another complaint on the subject.  This gave the
public great confidence ir Doctor Todd, whose reputation was hourly increasing, and luckily for his
patients, his information also.
Notwithstanding Mr. Todd's six years' practice,
and his success with the leg, he was not a little
appalled, on entering the hall of the mansionhouse.  It was glaring with the light of day; it
looked so splendid and imposing, compared with
the hastily built and scantily furnished apartments
which he frequented in his ordiinary practice, and
contained so many well-dressed persons, and anxiously looking-faces, that his usually firm nerves
were a good deal discomposed.  He had heard
firom the messengerwho summoned him, that it was
a gun-shot wound, and had come from  his own
home, wading through the snow, with his saddlebags thrown over his arm, while separated arteries,
penetrated lungs, and injured vitals, were whirling.hrough his brain, as if he were stalking ovei a




92              THE PIONFRRS.
feld 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
towards him, with her face expressing deep anxie
ty in every one of its beautiful features. The enor-nous bony knees of the physician struck each other
with a noise that was audible; for in the absent
state of his mind, he mistook her for a general officer, perforated with bullets, hastening from the
field of battle to implore his 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 impatience at the hunter's indifference to his offered
assistance, by pacing the hall and cracking his whip;
from him, to the FrencHinan, 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 aims demurely folded before her,
surveying with a look of admiration and envy the
dress and beauty of the young lady; and from hem
to Benjamin, who, with his feet standing wide apart,
and his arms a-kimbo, was balancing his square
little body, with the indifference of one who was
accustomned to wounds and bloodshed. All of these
seemed to be unhurt, and the operator began to
breathe more fieely; but before he had time to
take a second look, the Judge, advancing, shook
him kindly by the hand, and spoke.




THE PIONEERS.              93
"Thou art welcome, my good sir, quite welcome, indeed; heie 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, abruptly-" Shooting at a deer. Who do you
think can prescribe, unless he knows the truth of
the case? Itis 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,
with a smile, " 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, that 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 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 complinents, and induced the physician to turn an inquiring eye in the direction of his patient. During the
dialogue the young hunter had thrown aside his
over-coat, and now stood clad in a plain suit of the
common, light-coloured, homespun of the country,
that was evidently but recently made. His hand
was on the lapels of his coat, in the attitude of removing the garment, when he suddenly suspended
the movement, and looked towards the commiserating Elizabeth, who was standing in an unchanged
posture, too much absorbed with her anxious feelings to heed his actions. A slight colour appeared passing over the brow of the youth, as he spoke.




94               THE PIONEERS.
"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 wonderfully emboldened to
perform his duty.-" The strong light of these candles is favourable to the operation, and it is seldom
that we hard students enjoy good eyesight."
While speaking, Elnathan placed a pair of large.ron-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 no
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 cover of an envious cloud. The
action was unheeded by all but Remarkable, who
observed to Benjamin" Doctor Todd is a comely man to look on, and
a disp'ut pretty spoken one too.  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 frorm
deep abstraction, and, colouring excessively, she
motioned to a young woman, who served in the
capacity of a maid, and retired, with an air of wo
manly 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 degrees of interest, that each
one felt in his condition. Major Hartmann alone retained his seat, where he continued to throw out
vast quantities of smoke, now rolling his eyes up




THE PIONEERS.               95
to the ceiling, as if musing on the uncertainty ol
life, and now bending them on the wounded man,
with an expression that bespoke some consciousness of his situation.
In the mean time, Elnathan, to whom the sight
of a gun-shot wound was a perfect novelty, coinmenced his preparations, with a solemnity and care
that were worthy of the occasion.  An old shirt
was procured by Benjamin, and placed in the hands
of the other, who tore divers bandages from  it,
with an exactitude, that marked both his own skill,
and the importance of the operation.
The moment Richard heard the sound that was
produced by rending the linen, he stepped up to
the group, with the air of one who well understood the business in hand. When this preparatory measure was taken, Dr. Todd selected 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 things; 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'ison the wownd. 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 along without me;" and began to
scrape the piece of linen on his knee, with great
diligence.
A table was now spread, by the practitioner,
with vials, 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




96               THF PIOIN Z;ERPS.
the nicest care and precision.  A red silk handkerchief was frequently applied to the glittering steel.
as if to remove from the polished surfaces, the
least impediment; which might exist, to the most
delicate operation. After the rather scantily furnished pocket-case, which contained these instruments, was exhausted, the physician turned to his
saddle bags, and produced various vials, filled with
liquids, of the most radiant colours. These were
arrangted, 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 discoverwhat effect this display of his 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-pook of tools tere, and your toctor-stuff glitters,
as if it was petter for ter eyes as for ter pelly."
Elnathan gave a somewhat equivocal hem, before he replied-one that might have been equally
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 man will always strive to make his reme.dies agreeable to the eyes, though they may not
altogether suit the stomach.  It is no small part of
our art, sir," and he now spake 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."




THE PIONEMRS.              97
"Sartain! Doctor Todd is right," said Rermarkable, "and has Scripter for what he says. Tihe
Bible tells us, how things mought 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 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 approaches 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
sich a disp'ut taking; and then the Doctor had
run it right through his shoulder, and shoved the
ballet out on t'other side; and so Doctor Todd
cured the young man-of a ball that the Judge had
shot into him, for all the world, as easy as 1 could
pick out a splinter, with my darning-needle."
Such were the impressions of Remarkable on
the subject; and such, doubtless, were the opinions of most of those who felt it necessary to enter




98               THE PIONEERS.
tain a specie 3 of religious veneration foz the abilities
and skill of Elnathan; but such was lar from the truth
When the physician attempted to introduce the
instrument described by Remarkable, he was  -epulsed by the stranger, with a good deal of deei.
sion, and some little contempt, 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 merely 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 assistance,
my good sir, to hold the patient's arm, while I make
an incision for the ball. Now, I rather guess, there
is not another gentleman present who could scrape
the lint so well as squire Jones."
c 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 Marmaduke 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 yot3
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 matter of that, my grandfather was
a college-bred physician, and the best in the colo.
nv, too-that is, in his neighbourhood."




THE PIONEERS.               99
"So it goes with the world, Squire," cried Ben
jamin, "if-so-be that a man wants to walk the
quarter-deck with credit, d'ye see, and with regu.
lar built swabs on his shoulders, he mus'nt think
to do it, by getting in at the cabin-windows. There
are two ways to get into a top, besides the lubberholes.  The true way to walk aft, is to begin forrard; tho'f it be only in an humble way, like myself, d'ye see, which was, from being only a hander
of top-gallant-sails, and a stower of the flying-jib,
to keeping the key of the Captain's locker"
" Benjamin speaks quite to the purpose," con-'inued Richard, with a benevolent smile, directed
the Doctor.  " I dare say, that he has often seen
shot extracted, in the different ships in which he
_,as 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-devant 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 Foody-rong, one of Mounsheer Ler Quaw's
countrymen, there!"
" A twelve-pound ball from the thigh of a human
being!" exclaimed Mr. Grant, with great simplicity, dropping the sermon he was again reading, and
raising his spectacles, from before his eyes, to the
top of his forehead.
"A twelve-pounder!" echoed Benjamin staring
around him, with much confidence; " a twelvepounder! ay! a twenty-four pound shot can easily
be taken from a man's body, if-so-he a doctor only
knows how. There's Squire Jones, now, ask him,
sir, Le reads all the books; ask him, if he never




100              THE PIONEERS.
tell in with a page that keeps the reckoning of
slich things."
~' Certainly, more important operations than that
have been performed," observed Richard; " the
Encyclopaedia mentions much more incredible cir
cumstances than that, as, I dare say, you know
Doctor Todd."
"Certainly, there are incredible tales told of
such matters,' returned Elnathan, "though I cannct say, that I have ever seen, myself, any thing
larger than a musket-bullet 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 now to;?>
into his hand, with a solemn air, a pair of glittering
(otceps, 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 ambiguous motion was made, by its brother, so as to
leave it doubtful to the spectator, how great was
its agency in releasing 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 Bristeriashion.-Now all that the Doctor has to do, is to
clap a couple of plugs in the shot holes, and the
iad will float in any gale, that blows in these here
hills."
" I thaik you, sir, for what you have done,"
said the youth, with a little distance: " But here




THE PIONEERS.               101
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 beheld, standing at one of the distant dociXs a
the hall, the person of Indian John.
J




tCAPTER 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 signihrsnt term, the Christians, dispossessed the originlal owners of the soil, all that section of country,
which contains the New-England States, and those
ot the Middle, which lie east of the mountains, was
occupied by two great nations of Indians, from
whom numberless tribes had descended. But, as
the original distinctions between these nations were
marked by a difference in language, as well as by
repeated and bloody wars, they never were known
to amalgamate, until after the power and inroads
of the whites had reduced some of the tribes to a
state of dependene- that rendered not only their
political, but, considering the wants and habits of
t 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 Nations, and their allies; and, on the
other, of the Lenni Lenape, or Delawares, with
the numerous and powerful tribes, that owned that
nation as their Grandfather.   The former were




THE PIONEERS.               103
generally called, b the Anglo-Americans, Iroquois,
or the Six Nations, and sometimes Mingoes. Their
appellation, 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,:he Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas; who ranked, in the confederation, in the order with which
they are named.  The Tuscaroras were admitted
to this union, near a century after its formation.
and thus completed the number to six.
Of the Lenni Lenape, or as they were called by
the whites, fiom the circumstance of their holding
their great council-fire on the banks of that river,
the Delaware nation, the principal tribes, besides
that which bore the generic name, were, the Mahicanni, Mohicans or Mohegans, and the Nanticokes, or Nentigoes.  Of these, the latter 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 most 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
tile natives gradually disappeared from the country
9f the Mohegans, some scattering families sought
a refuge around the council-fire of the mother tribe,
or the Delawares.
This people had been induced to suffer themselves to be called women, by their old enemies,
the 1lingoes, or Iroquois, after the lattei, having




104              THE rIONEERS
in vain tried the effects of hostility, had recourse to
artifice, in order to circumvent 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 revolution, when the Lenni Lenape formally
asserted their independence, and fearlessly declared, that they were again men. But in a government so peculiarly republican as the Indian polity,
itwas not, at all times, an easy task to restrain
their members within the rules of their 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 time,
disease, and want, had conspired to thin their number; and the sole representative of this once renowned family now stood in the hall of Marmaduke
Temple.  He had, for a long time, been an asso.
ciate of the white men, particularly in their wars;
and, having been, at a season when his services
were of importance, much noticed and flatteded.
he had turned Christian, and was baptized by the
name of John.  He had suffered severely in his
family during the recent war, having had every soul
io whom he was allied cut off by an inroad of the




THE PIONEERS.                105
enemy; and when the last, lingering remnant ot
his nation extinguished their fires, among the hills
of the Delaware, he alone had remained, with a determination 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 Templeton.  To the hut of the old hunter he seemed peculiarly welcome; and, as the
habits of the "Leather-Stocking" were so neari)
assimilated to those of the savages, the conjunction
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 was a name that he had attained in his youth,
by his skill and prowess in the art of war; but
when his brows began to wrinkle with time, and
he stood alone, the last of his family, and his parcicular tribe, the few Delawares, who yet continued about the head-waters of their river, gave him
the expressive 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
bhem  he was generally known as John Mohegan,.)r, more familiarly, as Indian John.
From his long association with the white  ier.,
lie habits of Mohegan were a mixture of the civil




10(6             THE PI(NEERS
ized and savage states, though there was certainl)
A strong preponderance in favour 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 na
tive fashions with European manufactures.  Not
withstanding the intense cold of the atmosphere
without, his head was uncovered; but a profusion
of long, black, coarse hair, concealed his forehead,
his crown, and even hung about his cheeks, so as
to convey the idea, to one who knew his present
and former conditions, that he encouraged its abundance, as a willing veil, to hide the shame of a noble soul, mourning for a glory that it had once
known.  ilis forehead, when it could be seen, appeared lofty, broad, and noble. His nose was high,'and of the kind called Roman, with nostrils that
expanded, in his seventieth year, with the air of
freedom that'had distinguished them when a youth.
His mouth was large, but compressed, and possessing a great share of expression and character, and,
when opened, discovered a perfect set of short,
jtrong, 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 candles, 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 untanned deer-skin
where it was retained by a belt of bark, that con.
fined it to his waist, and moved forward.
As he walked slowly down the long hall, the un
usually dignified and deliberate tread of the Indian




THE PIONEERS.               107
surpl ised the spectators. His shoulders, a.d 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 buck-skin,
and rested on his high chest, amidst the scars of
many wounds.  His shoulders were rather broad
and full; but the arms, though straight and graceful, wanted the muscular appearance that labour
alone can give to a race of men. The medallion
was the only ornament he wore, although enormous
slits in the rim of either ear, which suffered the
cartilages to fall for two inches below the members,
were evidently used for the purposes of decoration,
in other days. In his hand he held a small basket,
of the ash-wood slips, coloured in divers fantastical
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 evident 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 unusual departure from the ordinarily subdued
and quiet manner of the Indian; but soon recover
ing himself, 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
If iend 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 hasbeen strucl
by the hand that should do no evil!"
" Mohegan! old lohn!" exclaimed the Judge, il




108             THE PIONEERS.
horror, and turning his fine, manly, open countenance to the other; "thinkest thou, that my hand
has ever drawn human blood willingly? For shame!
for shame, old John! thy religion should have
taught thee better."
"The evil spirit sometimes lives in the best
heart," returned John, impressively, as he tried
to study the countenance of the Judge; "' 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 injury nor
favour!"
John listened respectfully to the divine, and when
he had concluded, the Indian stretched out his
arm, and said with energy" He is innocent-my brother has not done this
wrong."
Marmaduke received the offered hand of the
other with a benevolent smile, that showed, however he might be astonished at his suspicion, ihe
had ceased to resent it; while the wounded youth
stood, gazing from his red friend to his host, with
an expression of scornfil pity powerfully delineated in his countenance. No sooner was this act of
pacification exchanged, than John proceeded to dis
charge the duty, to perform which he had comie.
Dr. Todd was far from manifesting any displeasure
at this invasion of his rights, but made way for the
niew leech, with an air that expressed a willingness
to gratify the humouis of his patient, now that tlhe




THE PIONEERS.               109
ail-linportant part of the business was so successfully performed, and nothing remained to be done,
but what any child might effect. Indeed, he whis)peed as much to Monsieur Le Quoi, when he
said" It was fortunate that the ball was extracted
before this Indian came in; but any old woman
can dress the wound now. The young man, I hear,
lives with John and Natty Bumppo, and it's always best to humour a patient, when it can be done
discreetly-I say, discreetly, Monsieur."
" Certainement,"  returned  the  Frenchman;
" you seem ver happy, Mister Todd, in your practeece. I should tink de elderly lady might ver
wvell finish, vat you so skeelfully begin."
But Richard had, at the bottom, a great deal o'
veneration for the knowledge of Mohegan, especially in external wounds; and retaining all his desire for a participation in glory, he advanced nigh
to the Indian, and sald" Sago, sago, Mohegan! sago, my good fellow!
I am right 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 Bump.
po's little finger, after he broke it by falling from
the rock, when he was trying to get the partridge
down, 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, but then
it was rising again, just as I pulled trigger. I should
hive claimed it, for a certainty, but Natty said the
hole was too big for shot, and he fired a single hall
trom 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 the mark,
very much like rifle-bullets.  Shall I help vou,
1 ()




110              THE PIONI,:ERS
John?  You know  that 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
" Doctor 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 true physician. Indeed, the Indian gave him but little opportunity for the exercise of a forbearing temper,
- 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.
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 ardour, had transferred to the Doctor, in order to hold, himself, one end of the bandages. Here lie was soon enabled to detect siundry
fragments of wood and bark, of which he, quit.V
cXoolly, took posession,,'ery possibly withou!t'    v




THE PIONER::E.              I I 
intention of speaking at all upon the subject; bul
when he beheld the full, blue eye of Marmaduke,
watching his movements, he whispered to the
Ju'dge" 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 tradi
tions. Now in cancers 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 toothach, or rheumatis, 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 chymistry; for, instead of separating, he afterward united the component parts of Mohegan's remedy, and
thus was 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
affail of honour occurred, and Elnathan was seen
to apply a salve to the wound that was received by
one of the parties, which had the flavour that was
peculiar 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 parts of the state ot
New-York weie rushing to the field, Elnathan-,resuming on the reputation obtained by these two




'1.2         THE PIONEERS
operations, followed in the rear of a brigade of
nilitia, as its surgeon!
When Mohegan had applied the bark, he fieely
relinquished to Richard the needle and thread, that
were used in sewing the bandages, for these were
implements of which the native but little under.
stood the use; and, stepping 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, betweer
two layers of the linen; for though the bark is certainly 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; for I scraped it myself,
and I will not turn my back, at scraping lint, to ally
man on the Patent.  But I ought to know how,
if any body ought, for my grandfather was a doctor,
and my father had a natural turn that way."
" Here, Squire, is the scissors," said Remarkable, producing 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
indignation; " 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
vou'll do. The shot has been very neatly taken
out, although, perhaps, seeing I had a hand in it, I




THE PIONEERS.              113
ought not to say so; and the wound is most 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 suppose,
and not used to horses; but I forgive the accident,
for the motive:-no doubt, you had the best of
motives; —yes, yes, now you will do."
" Then, gentlemen," said the wounded stranger,
lising, and resuming his clothes, "it will be unnecessary for me to trespass longer on your time
and patience. There remains 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 we 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," returned the youth, seemingly struggling
with his own feelings; " I have already told you,
that I needed the venison for myself."
" Oh! we will not be particular," exclaimed Ri
chard; " the Judge will pay you, in the morning,
for the whole deer; and, Remarkable, give the
lad all the animal excepting the saddle; so,,on the
Nhole, 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 tire best possible manner, here in the woods,
as wvell as it would have been dome in the Phila10 *




114             THE PIONEERS.
delphia hospital, if not better; have sold your deer
tt a high price, and yet can keep most of the carrass, with the skin in the bargain.'Marky, tell
orom to give him the skin too; and in the morning,
bring the skin to me, and I will give you half-adollar for it, or at least, three-and-six-pence. 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 swallowed 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 Elizabeth, 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  suiprise.
Benjamin, see 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 done thee?"
" I am called Edwards," returned the hunter,
" Oliver Edwards.  I am easily to be seen, sir. for
I live nigh by, and 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 gladlyr see you in the morning."




THE PIONEERS.              1 l
The young hunter gazed at tie fair speaker,
until his earnest look brought the blood to her very
temples; when, recollecting 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 our 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 trespass against us," observed Mr. Grant, "is
the language of prayer, used by our Divine Master
himself, and it should be the golden rule of 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 harbour
such feelings of resentment," said Marmaduke,
when the door closed behind the stranger; "but
while the pain is recent, and the sense of the injury is so fresh, he must feel more strongly than in
his cooler moments.  I doubt not, we shall see
him, in the morning more 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 figu.e of the
English ingrained carpet, that covered the floor
while, on the other hand, Richard gave a lolia
track with his whip, as the stranger disappeared.
and cried" Well,'duke, you are your own master, but I




116              THE PIONEERS.
would have tried law for the saddle, before I woiid
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, I 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
Mohegan, 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 every body run
over your land, in that country, helter-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
Frenchman; " we give, in France, no liberty, except to de ladi."' Yes, yes, to the women, I know," said Richard; "that is your Salick 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 advertisements to-morrow
morning, forbiding 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 spittingbox, by his side, " now listen; I have livet seventy-five years on tei Mohawk, and in ter woots.



THE PIONEERS.             1 7
You hat petter mettle as mit ter deyvel, as mit ter
hunters. Tey live mit ter gun, and a rifle is petterl 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 again.-" But we will now take our
evening's repast, which, I perceive by Remarkable's physiognomy, is in the next room. Monsieur
Le Quoi, Miss Temple has a fair hand at your service. Will you lead the way, my child?"
" Ah! ma chere Mam'selle, but too happy to do
so," said the polite Frenchman, while he offered
his hand; "it is de consolashong, in my baneesh
to meet a smile from de fair ladi."
Mr. Grant and Mohegan continued in the hall,
while the remainder of the party withdrew to an
eating parlour, if we except Benjamin, who civilly
remained, to close the rear after the divine, and to
open the front door for the exit of the Indian.
"John," said the divine, when the figure of
Judge Temple 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 offered up by her
children, and when all are invited to partake of
the mystical elements. As you have taken up the
cross, and become a follower of good, and an esthewer of evil, John, I trust I shall see you before
the altar, with a contrite heart and a meek spirit."




118              THE PIONEERS.
John will come," said the Indian, betraying nr
surl rise; though he did not understand all the
ternis used by the other.
"Yes," continued Mr. Grant, laying his hatd
gently on the tawny shoulder of the aged chiet,
" but it is not enough to be there in the body only;
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 difference in colour; 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 observance 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
fore-finger downward, as if pointing from the heavens, and 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 of the woods is as much an
object of his care, as he who dwells in a palace. 1
wish you a good night, and pray God to bless you,"
The Indian bent his head, and they separatedthe one to seek his hut, and the other to join the
party at the supper-table.  While Benjamin was
opening the door for the passage of the chief, he
cried, in a tone that was meant to be quite consoling"The parson says the word that is true, John,




THI PIONEERs.                119
ff-so-oe that they took count of the colour of a 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
nor-wester is enough to whiten the skin of a blackamoor.  Let the reefs out of your blanket. manl
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 spore, in iriendship, every distant tongue
Campbell.
tWE 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 will briefly attempt to explain the
" why and wherefore" of so motley a dramatis personae.
Europe, was, at the period of our tale, in the
commencement of that mighty commotion which
afterward shook her political institutions to their
centre. Louis the Sixteenth had been beheaded,
and a nation, once esteemed the most refined
among  the civilized people of the world, was
changing her character, and substituting cruelty
for mercy, and subtlety and ferocity for magnanimity and courage.  Thousands 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 favour of Judge Temple, by the head of an




tHE PIONL1:RS.              121
eminent mercantile house  in New-York. with
whom  Marmaduke was in habits of intimacy, and
accustomed to an exchange of good offices. Al
his first interview with the Frenchman, our Judge
had discovered 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 numbers
of whom had fled from St. Domingo and the other
islands, and were now living in the Union, in a
state of comparative 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 furnish, in the
language of the country, an assotment for a store.
The kncwledge 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 clothes; some groceries, with a
good deal of tea and tobacco; a quantity of ironware, 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 common 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 discovered that he had
a taste.  His calicoes were the finest, or, in other
11




122              THE PIONE RS
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."
This term, Patent, which we have already used,
and for which we may have further occasion, meant
the district 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, the property of Marmaduke Temple.  It was'a term in common use, throughout the new parts of the state,
and was usually annexed to the landlord's name,
as "Temple's, or Effingham's Patent."
Major Hartmann was the descendant of a man,
who, in company with a number of his countrymen,
had migrated, with their families, from the banks
of the Rhine, to those of the Mohawk. This transmigration 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
borders of that beautiful stream.
The Germans or " High Dutchers," as they
were called, to distinguish them from the original,
or Low Dutch colonists, were a very peculiar peo
pie.  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 excellencies
of his race. He was passionate, though silent, obstinate, and a good deal suspicious of strangers, of
immoveable courage, inflexible honesty. and unde



THE PIONEERS.              123
viating 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 talk 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
travelled the thirty miles, through the hills, to the
door of the mansion-house in Templeton.  Here
he generally staid a week, and was reputed to
spend much of that time in riotous living, 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 in his regular Christmas visit, and had
not been in the village 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 endeavour to provide for the wants of this world,
before our attention is turned to the business of
the other. Religion was a quality but little cultivated amid the stumps of Temple'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




124              THE PIONEERS.
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 the streets and blocks that resembled a city,
a meeting of its inhabitants had been convened, to
take into consideration the propriety of establishing an Academy! This measure originated with
Richard, who, in truth, was much disposed to have
the institution designated a University, or at least
a College.  Meeting after meeting was held, for
this purpose, 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 that had been 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 neighbourhood 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 Templeton to a participation in the favours of the regents of the university, and the salubrity of the air, and wholesomeness of the water, together with the cheapness of
food, and the superior state of morals in the neighbourhood, were uniformly annexed, in large Roman
capitals, the names of Marmaduke Temple, as chairman, and Richard Jones, as secretary.
Happily for the success of this undertaking, th




THE PIONEERS               125
regents were not accustomed to resist these appeals to their generosity, whenever there was the
prospect of a donation to second the request.
Eventually Judge Temple concluded to bestow the
necessary land, and to erect the required edifice
chiefly at his own expense. The skill of Mr., or,
as he was now called, from the circumstance of his
having received 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
these architects on the occasion; nor would it be decorous so to do, seeing that there was a convocation
of the society of the ancient and honourable fraternity "of the free and accepted 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 great state, 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,
f we except a few falls from horses, while the la11 *




1 6             THE PIONEERS.
bolrers were returning home in the dusk of the
evening.  Fiom this time, the work advanced with
great rapidity, and in the course of the season the
labour was completed; the edifice standing, in all
its beauty and proportions, the boast of the village.
the study of the 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 prodigious facility. On its front
were divers ornaments, in wood, designed by Richard, and executed by Hiram; but a window in
the centre of the second story, immediately over
the door, or grand entrance, and 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 in figure. It consisted of an arched
compartment in the centre, with a square, and
smaller division on either side, the whole encased
in heavy frames, deeply and laboriously moulded
in pine wood, and lighted with a vast number of
blurred and green-looking glass, of those dimensions 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 contributed to the effect of
the whole, had not the failure in the public funds,
which seems always to be incidental to any undertakilng of this kind, left them in the sombre coat
of lead colour with which they had been originally
clothed. The " steeple" was a little cupola, roar



THE PIONEERS.               1 2
ed on the very centre 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, irom the
centre of which projected a spire, or shaft of wood,
transfixed with two iron rods, that bore on their
ends the letters 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-colour."  This animal Mr. Jones affirmed
to be an admirable resemblance of a great favourite
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 received, 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
exhibitions; and the lower contained two, 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,"
vwere soon heard to issue from the windows of the
room, to the great delight and manifest edification
of the passenger.
Only one labourer in this temple of Minerva,
however, was knowi to get so far as to attempt a




128              THE PIONEERS.
translation of Virgil. 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 proceeded from his mouth, of
" Titty-ree too patty-lee,ee-coo-hans sub teg-mi-nee faa-gy
Syl-ves-trem ten-oo-i moo-samn med-i-taa-ris aa-ve-ny"were the last that had been heard in that building,
as probably they were the first that had ever been
heard, in the same language, there or any where
else. For by this time the trustees had discovered
that they had anticipated the age, and the instructer, or principal, was superseded by a master, who
went on to teach the more humble lesson of " the
more haste the worse speed," in good, plain English.
From this time, until the date of our incidents,
the Academy was a common country school; and
the great room of the building was sometimes used
as a court-room, on extraordinary trials; sometimes for conferences of the religious, and the morally disposed in the evening; at others for a ball,
in the afternoon, given under the auspices of Richart:; and on Sundays, invariably, as a place of
public worship.
When an itinerant priest, of the persuasion of
the Methodists, Baptists, Universalists, or of the
more numerous sect of the Presbyterians, was accidentally in the neighbourhood, he was ordinarily
invited to officiate, and was commonly rewarded
br his services by a collection in a hat, before the
congregation separated.  When no such regular
minister offered, a kind of colloquial prayer or two
was made by some of the more gifted members.




THE PIONEERS.               129
and a sermon was usually read., from  Sterne, by
Mr. Richard Jones.
The consequence of this desultory kind,-' priesthood was, as we have already intimated, a great
diversity in opinion, on the more abstruse points uf
our faith.  Each sect had its adherents, thougl
neither was regularly organized and disciplined.
Of the religious education of Marmaduke, we have
already written, nor was the doubtful character of
his 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 collo(
quies 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,
Richard was as rigid in the observance of the canons of his church as he was inflexible in his opi
nions. Indeed, he had once or twice essayed to
introduce the Episcopal form of service, on the
Sundays that their pulpit was vacant; but Richard
was a good deal addicted to carrying all 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!
Before the war of the revolution, the English
church was supported, in their colonies, with much
interest, by some of its adherents, in the mother
country, and a few of the congregations were verJ
amply endowed.' But, for a season, after the in
dependence of the states was established, this sect
of Christians languished, for the want of the highest order of its priesthood.  Pious and suitable
divines were at length selected, and sent to the
mother country, to receive that authority, which,




130              THE PIONEERS.
t is understood, can only be transmitted directly
from one to the other, and thus obtain, in order to
preserve, that unity in their churches, which properly belonged to a people of the same nation.
But unexpected difficulties presented themselves,
(n the oaths with which the policy of England had
fettered their establishment; and much time was
spent, before a conscientious sense of duty would
permit the prelates of Britain to delegate the authority which was so earnestly sought.  Time,
patience, and zeal, however, removed every impediment; and the venerable men, who had been
set apart by the American churches, at length
returned to their expecting diocesses, 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 ordinary ministrations, by dwelling in
new and unorganized districts.
Of this number was Mr. Grant.  He had been
sent into 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 itself. 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 intro
duction 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 suffered to pass in silence,
but now that his rival had passed on, like a meteor, filling the air with the light of his wisdom,
Richard was empowered to give rotice, that "Pubtie worship, after the forms of the Protestant Epis



THE P1ON'F.RS.             131
eopal 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 sectaries to whom it was made. 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 mindful of
the liberality, or rather laxity, of Marmaduke's
notions on the subject of sectarianism, thought it
most prudent to be silent.
The expected evening was, however, the won
der 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 neighbourhood 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 mysterious business, having
informed the schoolmaster, to the great delight of
tile white-headed flock he governed, that there
could be no school that day.  Marmaduke was
apprised of all these preparations, by letter, and it
was especially arranged, that he and Elizabtli
should arrive in season, to participate in the so.
lemnities of the evening.
After this digression, we shall return to our nar
-a ti.'e.




CHAPTER IX.
Now all admire, in each high-flavour'd 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.
Heliogabaliad
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 moreen, taken from  the same
piece as the petticoat of Remarkable.  The tables
were spread, and their materials and workmanship
could not be seen; but they were heavy, and of
great size.  There was an enormous glass, in a
gilt frame, hung against the wall, and a cheerful
fire, of the hard or sugar-maple, 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 for fires, in my dwelling. The sight
of that sap, as it exudes with  the heat from  the




THE PIONEERS               1 3
ends of those logs, is painful to me, Richard.
Really, it behoves the owner of woods so extensive as mine, to be cautious what example he sets
to 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 for our fires! 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."
C" 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 comfort and wealth, to the common
uses of a fire-place? But I must, and will, the instant that 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! Marnaduke, you should
leave the management of these things to me, who'ave a natural turn that way. It was I that ordered this fire, and a noble one it is, to warm the blood
in the veins of my pretty cousin Bess."
" The motive, then, must be your apology, Dickon," said the Judge.-" But, gentlemen, we are
waiting. Elizabeth, my child, take the head of
the table; Richard, I see, means to spare me the
trouble of carving, by sitting opposite to you."
" To be sure I do," cried Richard; "here is a
12




134              THE PIONEERS.
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?
Every thing 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 laughing, dark eyes, were glancing
at the arrangements.of the table, and the quality
and selection of the food. The eyes of her 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 cravings of hunger."
" Law!" said Remarkable, "I'm  glad if the
Judge is pleased; but I'm notional that you'll find
the sa'ce overdone.  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, sternly; " it is proper that all, whc
live with me, address her as Miss Temple."
" Do tell!"  exclaimed  Remarkable, a little
aghast;  "well, who ever heerd of a young woman's being called Miss? If the Judge had a wife
now, I should'nt think of calling her any thing but
Miss Temple; but    "
c"  aving nothing but a daughter, you will ob



THE PIONE:RS.               135
serve that style to her, if you please, in future,"
interrupted' Marmaduke.
As the Judge looked seriously displeased, and,
at such moments, carried a particularly command-.
lag air with him, the wary housekeeper made no
reply; and, Mr. Grant entering 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 endeavour 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 in 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, and
their positions, however, were the result of the
sole judgment 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 castors, surrounded by four dishes; one a fricassee, that consisted 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 " nutcakes."  On another were heaps of a black-look-;ng substance, which, receiving its hue from  mo




136            THE PIONEERS.
lasses, was properly termed " sweet-cake;" a
wonderful favourite in the coterie of Remarkable.
A third was filled, to use the language of the housekeeper, with " cards of gingerbread;' and the last
held a "plum-cake," so.called from the number of
large raisins that were showing their black heads,
in a substance of a wonderfully similar colour.
At each corner of the table stood saucers, filled
with a thick fluid, of somewhat equivocal colour
and consistence, variegated with small dark lumps
of a substance that resembled nothing but itself,
which Remarkable termed her " sweet-meats."
At the side of each plate, which was placed bottom upwards, with its knife and fork most accurately crossed above it, stood another, of smaller
size, containing a motley-looking pie, composed of
triangular 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, and 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 perfectly familiar with this description of
fare, for each one commenced eating, with an appetite that promised to do great honour to Reinarkable's taste and skill.  What rendered this
attention to the repast a little surprising, was the
fact, that both the German and Richard had been
summoned from another table, to meet the judge;
but Major Haltmann both ate and drank without




THE PIONEERS.               1 3
any rule, when on his excursions; and Mr. Jopes
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 firewood, 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 doubtless you have noticed. I have seen
a man fell a pine, when he- has been in want of
fencing-stuff, and roll its first cuts into the gap,
where he left it to rot, though its top would have
made rails enough to answer his purpose, and its
but 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 chickerberries?  I should like to see you walking up
High-street, with a pine log in each pocket!Poh! 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;-1
couldn't at all, if it was'nt for the el uds, 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
lloft, sir, look aloft. The old seamen say,'that
the devil wouldn't make a sailor, unless he look'd
12 *




138             TIif Pto;nEEtKS
alott.' 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
look-out, but I set my compass, d'ye see, and take
the bearings and distance 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, nose
that we have got it on end, is a great help to the
navigation of the woods, for, by the lord Harry, as
I was"" It is well, Benjamin," interrupted Marmaduke,
observing his daughter, who manifested evident
displeasure at the major-domo's familiarity; " but
you forget there is a lady in company, and the wo.
men love to do most of the talking themselves."
" The Judge says the true word," cried Benja
min, with one of his discordant laughs: " now here
is Mistress Remarkable Prettybones; 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 dare;
but the Judge looked sternly at her, and, unwilling to incur his resentment, yet unable to contain
ler anger, she threw herself out of the room, with
a toss of her body, that nearly separated her frail
form in the centre.
" Richard," said Marmaduke, observing that his
lispleasure had produced the desired effect, "can
you inform me of any thing concerning the youth,
whom I so ulfortunately wounded? I found him,n the mountain, hunting in company with the




THE PIONEERS.               139
Leathe -stocking, as if they were of the same family; but there is a manifest difference in their manners.  The youth delivers himself in chosen language: such as is seldom heard in these hills, and
such as occasions great surprise to me, how one so
neanlv clad, and following so lowly a pursuit, could
attain.  Mohegan also knew  him.  Doubtless he
is a tenant of Natty's hut. Did you notice the
language of the lad, Monsieur Le Quoi?"
" Certainement, Monsieur Templ'," returned
the Frenchman, "he deed conevairse in de most
excellent Anglaise."
" The boy is not a miracle," exclaimed Richard,' I've known children that were sent to school
early, talk much better, before they were twelve
years old.  There was Zareed Coe, old Nehemiah's son, who first settled on the beaverdam 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 long 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 any
thing 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 the blushes of a maiden, but Elizabeth
started from the reverie into which she had fallen.
and coloured to her forehead, as she answered"To me, my dear sir, he appeared extremely
skilful, and prompt, and courageous; but perhaps
cousin Richard will say, I am as ignorant as the
gentleman himself."




140              THE PIONEERS.
" Gentleman!" echoed Richard; " do you call
such chaps gentlemen, at school, Elizabeth?"
"Every man is a gentleman, who knows how to
treat a woman with respect and consideration,"
returned the young lady, promptly, and with an air
of a little dignity.
" So much for hesitating to appear before the
heiress in his shirt sleeves," cried Richard, winking at Monsieur Le Quoi, who returned the hint
with one eye, while he rolled the other, with an
expression of great sympathy, towards the young
lady.-" Well, well, to me he seemed any thing
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 countenance towards 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,
Richart, he shall never vant a pet to sleep in vile
olt Fritz Hartmann has a shingle to cover his bet
mit."
" Well, well, as you please, old gentleman," returned Mr. Jones, endeavouring to look excessively
indifferent; " put him into your own stone house,
if you will, Major. I dare say the lad never slept
in any thing better than a bark shanty in his life,
unless it was some such hut as the cabin of Leatherstocking. 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
tne youth: I owe him a debt of my own, besides




THE PIONEERS.              141
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 beautiful 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 therefore pitied him;
but"-and as she spoke she glanced her eye, with
a conscious timidity, towards the major-domo-" I
dare say, sir, that Benjamin can tell you something about him.  He cannot have been in the
village, and Benjamin not have seen him often."
"' Ay! I have seen the boy before," said Benjamin, who wanted no other encouragement to speak:
"he has been backing 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 younker 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 deei
to her, he will be doing the thing that is good
Your wild-cat is a bad ship-mate, and should be
made to cruise out of the track of all Christian
men."
" Lives he in the hut of Bumppo I" asked Marmaduke, with some interest; and the full black
eyes of Elizabeth resting intently on the scorched
visage of the steward, while she waited his reply.
"Cheek by jowl," said Benjamin; " the Wednes.
day will be three weeks since he first hove in




142              THJA PIONEERS.
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 honour does, why,
d'ye see, I'd bring him to the gangway for it yet.
Fhere'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 all the idle tales, sir,
that you hear of Natty," said the Judge: "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,
sententiously.
C That for his rifle!" exclaimed Richard, snapping his fingers; "Ben is right, and I"    He
was stopped by the sounds of a common shipbell,
that had been elevated to the belfry of the academy, which now announced, by its incessant ringing, that the hour for the appointed service 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
neighbourhood; that is, I, and Benjamin, and Eli.
zabeth."
The divine arose, and performed the office
meekly and fervently, and the whole party instantly prepared themselves for the church-or rathci
academy.




CHAPTER X.
" And, calling sinful man to pray,
Loud, long, and deep the bell had tol'd."
Scott' Burghet.
WHILE Richard and Monsieur Le Quoi, attended
ay Benjamin, proceeded to the academy, by a footpath that was trodden in the snow, across the
grounds of the Mansion-house, the Judge, his
daughter, the Divine, and the Major, took a more
circuitous route to the same place, through the
streets of the village.
The moon had risen, during the time that our
travellers were housed, and its orb was shedding a
flood of light over the dark outline of pines, which
crowned the eastern mountain. In other climates,
the sky would have been thought clear and lucid
for a noon-tide.  The stars twinkled in the heavens, like the last faint glimmerings of distant fire,
so much were they obscured by the overwhelming
radiance of the atmosphere; the rays from  the
moon striking upon the smooth white surfaces of
the lake and fields, reflecting upwards a light that
was brightened by the spotless colour of the immense bodies of snow, which covered the earth.
Elizabeth employed herself with reading the
signs, one of which appeared over almost every




144             THE PIONEERS.
door, while the sleigh moved, steadily and at an
easy gait, along the principal street. Not only
new occupations, but names that were strangers to
lier ears, met her bewildered 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 acquaintance, 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
towards the point, where the expected exhibition
of the 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 passages
in the snow, which led under the houses, half hid
by 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 fiom the main street
into another that intersected it at right angles, and
which led directly to the place of meeting, that she
recognised 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 blasts that occasionally
swept down the lake, was clearly one of the most




THE PIONEERS.               145
frequented inns in the place. The building was
only of one story, but the dormant windows in the
roof, the paint, the window-shutters, and cheerful
fire that shone through the open door, gave it an
air of comfort, that was not possessed by many of
its neighbours. 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 particulars were easily to be seen, by the aid of the moon.
together with a row of somewhat illegible writing,
in black paint, but in which Elizabeth, to whom
the whole was familiar, 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 that he had
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 evidently to soften the lineaments of her
features. 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.
IHer face, as it encountered the rays of the moon
from the east, seemed not unlike a sun rising in the
west.  She advanced, 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.
" Good luck to ye, and a wilcome home, Jeoge!"
13




146            THE PIONEERS.
cried the female, with a strong Irish accent; "and
I'm sure it's to me that ye'r always wilcome
Sure! and there's Miss'Lizzy, and a fine young
woman is she grown.  What a heartach woild 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 on it. Good even, Major; will I make
the bowl of gin-toddy the night? —or it's likely
ve'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. Hollister," returned the voice of Elizabeth.  "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 observe you keep also the dear sign,
that Lsaw cousin Richard paint, and even the name
at the bottom, about which, you may remember.
you had the disagreement."
" Is it the bould dragoon ye mane? and what
name would ye have, who niver was known by any
other, as my husband here, the Captain, can testify
to. He was a pleasure to wait upon, and was iver
the foremost in the hour of need. Och! but he
had a sudden ind! 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 face 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 like as two paas. —Well,




THE PIONEERS.               147well-I'll not keep ye in the cowld. talking, but
will drop in, the morrow, after sarvice, and jist 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 between the husband of this
fiery-faced hostess and the Judge, the sleigh moved
on. It soon reached the door of the academy,
where the party alighted and entered the build.
ing.
In the mean time Mr. Jones and his two companions, having a much shorter distance to journey,
Lad arrived before the appointed place several
minutes sooner than the party in the sleigh. Instead of hastening into the room, in order to enjoy
the astonishment of the settlers, Richard placed
a hand in either pocket of his surtout, and affected
to walk about, in front of the academy, with great
indifference.
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 adjacent 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 interiol
of the house.  Most of these men Richard ap
proached, and inquired 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




148             THE PIONEERS.
answers he received, proved that he was a general
favourite.
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 where stood 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 it had cost, came from the
pocket of the landlord. It had been built under
the strong conviction of the necessity of a more
seemly place of worship than " the long rooln of
the acaoemnv," and under an implied agreement,
that, after its completion, the question should be
fairly put to the people, that they might decide to
what denomination it should belong. Of course,
this expectation kept alive a strong excitement, in
some few of the sectaries 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 powerfiul to be opposed; but he declined all interference in the matter, positively refusing to lend even the weight of his name on the
side of Richard, who had secretly given 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 neutrality of the Judge was clearly ascertained, Mr. Jones discovered that he had to




TIE PIONEERS.              149
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 thing was to be conclusively decided in his favour. 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 mos
deserving of the possession of the new tabernacle
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 his 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 labour of superintending the execution.
Availing himself of this advantage, Richard silently determined that the windows should have
the Roman arch, as the first positive step he would
take in effecting his wishes.  As the building was
13 *




150              rHE PIONEERS.
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.
[Ie communicated his wishes to Hiram with great
caution; and without in the least adverting to the
spiritual part of his project, he pressed the point a
little warmly, on the score of architectural beauty.
Hiram heard him patiently, and without contradiction; but still Richard was unable to discover the
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 he 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 is
true, the proportions being but indifferently observed; but, after much difficulty, Mr. Jones had
the satisfaction of seeing an object reared, that
oore, in its outlines, a prodigious resemblance to an
old-fashioned vinegar-cruet.  There was less opposition to this model than to the windows, for
the settlers were fond of novelty, and their steeple
was without a precedent.
Here the labour had ceased for the season, and
the difficult question of the interior remained for




-THE PIONEERS.            151
further deliberation.  Richard well knew, that
when he came to propose a reading-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 of 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 sharp features, 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
<is body, in order to turn his head also.
" A cold night, Mr. Doolittle, a cold night, sir."
" Coolish," said Hiram; " a tedious spell on't."
" What, looking at our church, ha! it looks well
qy moonlight; how the tin of the cupola glistens.
I warrant you, the dome of the other St. Paul's
uever shines so in the smoke of London."
" It is a pretty meeting-house to look on," teturned Hiram, " and I believe that Monshure Lei
Quow and Mr. Penguilliam will allow it."
"Sairtainlee!" exclaimed the complaisant French
mnan. "r it ees ver fine."
" I thought the Monshure would say so," ob
servers Hiram.  " Them last molasses that we had




152               tHE PIONEERS.,
was excellent good. It isn't likely that you have
any more of it on hand?"
4 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 metting house yet?"
"No-no-non,"  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 ruleable to put the deacons' box under
the pulpit," said Hiram; and then, as if he had
ventured too much, he added, " but there's different fashions in different countries."
"That there is," cried Benjamin; "now, in
running down the coast of Spain and Portingall.
you may see a nunnery stuck out on every headland, with more steeples and outriggers, such as
(log-vanes and  weather-cocks, 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 go to, 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-llighway and the docks, yet every body 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 only a small difference in bulk   Moun



THE PIONEERS.               -153
sheer 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 to saircumstonce," said the
Fienchman-" ver judgement-but it is in de catlolique country dat dey build de-vat you callal a ah-ha —la grande cathedrale-de big church.
St. Paul, Londre, is ver fine; ver bootiful; ver
grand-vat you call beeg; but, Monsieur Ben,
pardonnez moi, it is no vort so much as Notre
Damel:
" Ha I Mounsheer, what is that you say r" cried
Benjamin-" St. Paul's church not worth so much
as a damn! Mayhap you may be thinking too, that
the Royal Billy isn't as good a ship as the Billy de
Paris; but she would have lick'd 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
misunderstand Monsieur Le Quoi, and forget your
self.-But here comes Mr. Grant, and the service
will commence.  Let us go in."
The Frenchman, who received Benjamin's reply
w'ith a well-bred good humour, that would not adlnit 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 latter grumbling, as he entered the building



154            THE PIONEERS
" If-so-be that the King of France had so much
as a house to live in, that would lay along-side of
Paul's, one might put up with their jaw. It's more
than flesh and blood can bear, to hear a Frenchman
run down 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!




CHAPTER XI.
And fools, who came to oeff, remained to pray.*
Ooldalah.
NorwITHrTAiNDING  the united labours of Ri.
rhard and Benjamin, the "long-room" was but an
extremely plain and inartificial 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, unpainted 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
hemlocks were stuck in each of the fissures that
offered, in the unseasoned, and hastily completed
wood-work, of both the building and itg furniture;
wllile festoons and hieroglyphics met the eye, in
vast profusion, along the brown sides of the scratchcoated 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-eye, had not the large fire, that was




156              THE PIONlEERb.
crackling at each end of the apartment, given an air
of cbeerfulneris 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 principal personages of the village
and its vicinity.  This distinction was rather a
gratuitous concession, made by the poorer and less
polished part of the population, than a right claimed by the favoired few. One bench was occupied
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 tabernacle.
Richard filled a chair, that was placed behind
another table, in the capacity of clerk; while Benjamin, after heaping sundry logs on the fires, posted
himself nigh by, in reserve for any movement that
might require his co-operation.
It would be greatly exceeding our limits to attempt a description of the congregation, for their
dresses were as various as there were 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 connexion 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 dies were as numerous as those of
the rainbow, over an awkwardly fitting gown, of
rough, brown " woman's wear."  In short, each
one exhibited some favourite article, and all appeared in their best, both men and women; while
the ground-works in dress, in either sex, were the




THE PIONEERS.                157
course 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 foi
no other reason, than because it was the best suit
he had.   Several, particularly of the younger
men, displayed pantaloons of blue, edged with red
cloth down the seams, part of the equipments:f
the " Templeton Light Infantry," from 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 to the wearer a proper degree of warmth.
There was a marked uniformity of expression
in countenance, 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 common 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 P tace and dress were to be seen, among
the conera,4*tion, that differed entirely fiom  this
descriitiol. If pock-marked, and florid, with gai
tered legs, and a coat that snugly fitted the person
of the wea er, it was surely an English emigrant,
who had hent his steps to this retired quarter of
the globe. If hard-featured, and without colour,
with hig'l cheek bones, it was a native of Scotland, in similar circumstances.  The short, black
eyed mnn, with a cast of the swarthy Spaniard in
his face, who rose repeatedly, to make room  foi
the be'ies of the village, as they entered, was a
son of Erin. who had lately left off his pack, and
14




158            THE PIONEERS.
become a stationary trader in Templeton. In short,
half the nations in the north of Europe had their
representatives In this assembly, though all had
closely assimilated themselves to the Ameiicans,
in dress and appearance, except the Englishman.
He, indeed, not only adhered to his native customs, 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 experience 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 was, perhaps, too
much prejudiced to compare, and, peradventure,
too conceited to learn.
Elizabeth soon discovered that she divided the
attention of the congregation, equally 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 fiequent, and even the
coughing, and other little preliminaries of a congregation settling themselves down into reverential
attention, were ceasing, 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 snapr:n of the fires, as they threw a powerful heat':-: the room, was alone heard, and each face, and
every eye, were turned in expectation 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
ucceeded by no audible tread; but directly Mo



'ITHE'i PIOlNERS           159
began, 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 dignity.  Here, drawing his
blanket closely around him, so as partly to con
ceal his countenance, he remained during the ser
vice, immoveable, but deeply attentive.  Natty
passed the place, that was so freely taken by his
red 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, seemingly, of no very pleasing
nature.  The youth found a seat among the congregation, and another dead 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 unnecessary, to teach the congregation to rise: the solemnity of the manner of 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, ash e slowly went tlrough this exordium; until, something unfortunately striking the
mind of Richard as incomplete, he left his place,
and walked on tip-toe from the room.
When the clergyman bent his knees in player
and confession, the congregatior so far imitated his
example, as to resume their seats; whence no suc-,eeding effort of the divine, during the evening, was




t60)            THE PION'F:1.E.
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 spectacle, rather than a worship in which all were to
i articipate.  Thus deserted by his clerk, Mr. Grant
continued to read; but no response was audible.
The short and solemn 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 in the churches of the metropolis, she was
beginning to feel the awkwardness of the circumstance most painfully, when a soft, low, female
voice repeated after the priest, "We have left undone those things which we ought to have done."
Startled, at finding one of her own sex in that
place, who could rise superior to their natural timidity, Miss Temple turned her eyes in the direction of the humble penitent.  She observed a
young female, on her knees, but a short distance
from her, with her meek face humbly bent ovei
her book. The appearance of this stranger, foi
such she was, entirely, to Elizabeth, was light and
fragile.  Her dress, without being either rich or
fashionable, was neat and becoming; and hei
countenance, though pale, and slightly agitated,
excited deep interest, by its sweet, and perhaps
melancholy expression.  A second and third response were made by this juvenile assistant, when
the rich, manly sounds of a youthful, 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 tlhe




THE PIONEERS.              161
leaves of a prayer-book with great industry, bul
some unexpected difficulties prevented his finding
the place. Before the divine reached the close of'
the confession, however, Richard re-appeared 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 of "8 by 10" written in black paint, on one
of its sides; which having placed in the pulpit.
apparently as a footstool for the divine, he returned to his station in time to say, most sonorously,
" amen."  The eyes of the congregation, very
naturally., were turned to the windows, as Mr.
Jones entered with this 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 had admirably qualified him to perform with success 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 addicted to subtleties and nice distinctions in their
religious opinions, viewed the introduction into
their spiritual worship of any such temporal assistance as form, not only with jealousy, but frequently with disgust.  He had acquired much of his
knowledge from  studying the great book of hu
man nature, as it lay open in the world; and,
knowing how dangerous it was to contend with ignorance, uniformly endeavoured 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 fervour and with faith, if circumstances required it, without the assistance of his clerk; and
ne had even been known to preach a most evan14 *




ft62            THE PIONEERS.
gelical sermon, in the winning mannel 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 ceremonies less
papal and offensive, and more conformant to his
or her own notions of devout worship, than the)
had been led to expect from a service of forms
Truly, Richard found in the divine, during the
evening, a most powerful co-operator in his religious schemes.  In preaching, Mr. Grant endeaxoured 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 for
moral government, which would reduce the Saviour to a level with the teacher of a school of
ethics.  Doctrine it was necessary for him  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 either the superScial nature of his creed, or his own inability to
defend it. We have already said that, among the
endless variety of their religious instructers, the
settlers were accustomed to hear every denomination urge its own distinctive precepts; and to
iiave found one indifferent to this interesting subject, would have been destructive to his influence.
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 t ok any alarm at the innovation.




THE PIONEERS.              163
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 tendencies,
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 workings, it is the mystery of a Divinity. With
a clear knowledge of the nature, the might, and
majesty of God, there might be conviction, but
there could be no faith.  If we are required to believe in doctrines that seem not in conformity 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
aeen spread by the subtleties of earthly arguments,
will be dissipated by the spiritual light of heaven;
and that our hour of probation, by the aid of divine
grace, being once passed in triumph, will be fol.




164              THE PIONEERS
lowed 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, contessedly the suggestions of Omniscience, and ihe
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 rigour 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 partially concealed, as well as in 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 con
solation, 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 imperfection of human
powers, and by warning us of the mary wepk
ooints, where we are open to the attacks of the
great enemy of our race; it proves to us, that we




THE PIONEFRS.               165
are in danger of being weak, when our vanity
would fain sooth as into the belief that we are
most strong; it forcibly points out to us the vainglory of intellect, and shows us the vast difference
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 uo 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 salvation is not yet secure.
"The lesson of expediency, my brethren, which
I would gather from the consideration of this sub
ject, is most strongly inculcated by our humility.
On the leading and essential points of our faith,
there is but little difference, 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 fruits of disputation.  In order to arrest these
dangers, and to ensure 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 religion, have expended their labours in clearing what was revealed 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




166             THE PIONEERS
may God, in his infinite wisdom, grant.-And now
to," &c.
With this ingenious reference to his own forms
and ministry, Mr. Grant concluded his discourse.
The most profound attention had been paid to the
sermon during the whole of its delivery, although
the prayers had not been received with such a perfect demonstration of respect. This was by no
means an intended slight of that liturgy, to which
the divine had 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 dissatisfaction were exchanged between Hiram  and one or two of the
leading members of the conference, but the feeling
went no farther at that time; and the congregation,
after receiving the blessing of Mr. Grant, dispersed
in silence, and with great decorum.




CHAPTER  XII.
Your creeds and dogmas of a learned church
May build a fabric, fair wititmoral beauty;
But it would seem, that the strong hand of God
Can, only.'rase the devil from the heart.
DM
WHILE the congregation was separating, Mr
Grant approached the place where Elizabeth ana
her father were seated, leading the youthful female.
whom we have mentioned 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 pleasures of his own
child, during her first privations, on het 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 and finish
of her own manners. They were at once acquainted, and, during the ten minutes that the "academy" was clearing, engagements were made bo



168              THE PIONEERS.
tween the young people, not only for their pursuits
during the succeeding day, after the service, 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 i o dissipated. You forget that
she is my housekeeper, and that my domestic affairs must remain unattended to, should Louisa accept of half the kind offers that 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 such guests.
Society is a good, not to be rejected on account 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 favour being conferred
on the host by the guest."
" The manner in which Judge Temple exercises
its rites would confirm this opinion," said the divine; " but we must not trespass too freely.
Doubt not that you will see us often, my child
particularly, during the frequent visits that I shall
be compelled to make to the distant parts of the
country. But to obtain an influence with such a
people," he continued, glancing his eyes towalds
the few, who were still lingering, as curious ob
servers 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 ioof, then, Mr. Grant," cried Ri2hard, who had been directing the extinguishment
of the fires, and other little necessary duties, and
who now approached, so as to hear the close of the




THE PIONEERS.              169
divine's speech —" I am glad to find one man of
taste at last. Here's'duke, now, pretends to call
it by every abusive name he can invent; but
though'duke is a very tolerable Judge, sir, he is a
very poor carpenter, let me tell him. Well, sir,
well, I think we may say, Without boasting, that
the service was as well performed 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 a psalm with a very good air. I used to lead
myself, but latterly I have sung nothing but bass.
There is a good deal of science to be shown in the
bass, and it affords 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 Marmaduke, 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 partiality to one tune,
and he has a prodigious self-confidence in that one,
for he delivers himself like a north-wester sweeping across the lake.  But come, gentlemen, our
way is clear, and the sleigh waits.-Good evening,
Mr. Grant.  Good night, young lady-remember
that you dine beneath the Corinthian roof to-morrow, with Elizabeth."
The parties separated, Richard holding a close
dissertation 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, 0," as particularly connected with
his friend Benjamin's execution.
During the preceding dialogue, Mohegan had
15




170             THE PIONEERS
retained his seat, with his head shroude( in his
blanket, as seemingly inattenlive to surrounding
objects, as the departing congregation was, itself,
to the presence of the aged chief. Natty, also,
continued on the log, wheie he had first placed
himself, with his head resting on one of his hands,
while the other held the rifle, which was thiown
carelessly across his lap.  His countenance expressed extraordinary uneasiness, 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, from respect to the Indian
chief, to whom he paid the utmost deference, on all
occasions, although it was mingled with the rough
manner of a hunter.
The young companion of these two ancient intiabitan-ts of the forest remained also, standing be
fore the extinguished 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 so.
lemnly —"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 to all the grandeur of an Indian chief, he
added —  If Chingachgook lives to traiel towards
the setting sun, after his tribe, and the Great Spirit
cairies him over the lakes and mountains, with
the breath in his body, he will tell his people the




THE PIONEERS              17 
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 Divine mercy," said Mr. Grant, to whom  the
proud consciousness of the Indian sounded a little
heterodox, " and it never will desert him. When
the heart is filled with love to God, there is no
room left for sin.-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 service, 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 acquainted 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 hone 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 attended 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 to heariyou, my
dear sir," cried the divine, seizing the other by the
hand, and shaking it cordially.-" You will go home
with me now-indeed you must-my child has yet
to thank you for saving my life. I will.sten to
no apologies. This worthy Indian, ard your friend
there, will accompany us.-Bless me to think that




172             THE PIONEERS.
lie 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 mus'n't be forgotten, for all your churchings
and merry-makings.  Let the lad go with you in
welcome; he is used to keeping 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 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 sitch in-door kind of work,
though I have lived to be partly bald, and, in my
time, have killed two hundred beaver in a season,
and that without counting the other game.-If you
mistrust what I am telling 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 for ever," 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 Onondag&
water a hundred times, while I've been watching
the deer-licks, when the fever-an-agy seeds was to




THE PIONEERS.             173
be seen in t, as plain and as plenty as you can see
the rattle-snakes on old Crumhorn. But then, I
never expectedto hold out for ever; though there's
them living, who have seen the Garman Flats a
wilderness; ay! and them that's lamed, 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."
" This is but time, my good friend," returned
Mr. Grant, who began to take an interest in the
welfare of his new acquaintance, "but it is for
eternity that I would have you prepare. 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 flin{ behind you?"
" It must be a young hand in the woods," in
terrupted 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 mountains. No, no, I never
expected to live for ever; 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 larning,
or only one like me, that is better now at standing
at the passes than in following the hounds, as I
once used to could.  Heigh-ho  I never know'd
nreaching come into a settlement, but it made game
scearce, and raised the price of gun-powder; 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 sec tion of a comparison, very prudently relinquished
15*




74             THE PIONEERS.
the controversy, for the present; although he was
fully determined to resume it at a more happy moment.  Repeating his request to the young hunter,
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
pei severed 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 for a short distance, Mr. Grant, who
led the way, turned into a field, through a pair of
open bars, and entered a foot-path, of but sufficient
width to admit of only one person to walk in it, at
a tine.  The moon had gained a height that enabled her to throw her rays nearly 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 to be felt. The path was beaten so hard, that
the gentle female, who made one of the party,
moved with ease along its windings; though the
frost emitted a.low creaking, at the impression of
even her light footsteps.
The clergyman in his dark dress of broad-cloth:
with his mild, benevolent countenance occasionally
turned towards his companions, expressing that
look of subdued care, that was its characteristic,
presented the first object of this singularly constituted group.  Next to him moved the Indian, with
his hair falling about his face, his head uncovered,
and the rest of his form concealed beneath his
blanket.  As his swarthy visage, with its muscles
fixed in rigid composure, was seen under the light
of the moon which struck his face obliquely, he




THE PIONEERS.               175
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 directly on his dark, fiery eyes, they
told a tale of passions unrestrained, and of thoughts
free as the air he breathed.  The slight person 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 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 in colour, met his view, at the instant
that each turned, to throw a glance at the splendid
orb, that lighted their path. Their way, which
led through fields, that lay at some distance in the
rear of the houses, was cheered by a conversation,
that flagged or became animated with the subject.
The first to speak was the divine.
" Really," he said, " it is so singuar a circumstance to meet with one of your age, that has not
been induced by an 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 an excellent one; as indeed
is evident from your manners and language.. Of
which of the states are you a native, Mr. Edwards?
for such, I believe, was the name that you gave to
Jvdge Temple."
" Of this"" Of this! I was at a loss to conjecture, from
v ur dialect, which does not partake, particularly,
4f the peculiarities of any country with which I




176             THE PIONEERS.
am acquainted. You have, then, resided much in
the cities, for no other part of this country is so fortunate as to possess the constant enjoyment of ouT
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
fiiend, for I think an ingenuous mind, such as I
doubt not yours must be, will exhibit all the advantages of a settled doctrine and devout liturgy.
You perceive how I was compelled to bend to the
huinours 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 in an evening. It would
have wearied a new congregation; but to-morrow
I purpose administering the sacrament. Do you
commune, my young friend?"
" I believe not, sir," returned the youth, with a
little embarrassment, that was not at all diminished by Miss Grant's pausing involuntarily, and turning her eyes on,him in evident surprise-" 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,
as I now experience."
" 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 out
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
no; mockery. I observed this evening, in your




THE I IONEERS.               177
manner to Judge Temple, a resentment that bo
dered on one of the worst of human passions. —V c
will cross this brook on the ice: it must bear us
all, I think, in safety.-Be careful 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 turning 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 circumstances,
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 witi
the blood of a Mingo."*
Mr. Grant was surprised by the interruption of
the Indian, and, stopping, faced the speaker. His
mild features were confronted to the fierce and determined looks of the chief, and expressed all the
horror that he felt at hea:ing such sentiments from
one who professed the   eligion of his Saviour.
Raising his hands to a level with his head, he exclaimed" John, John! is this the religion that you have
learned from  the Moravians? But no-I will not
be so uncharitable as to suppose it. They are a
aious, a gentle, and a mild people, and could never
His enemy




17b            THE PIONEERS.
tolerate these passions. Listen to the language cl
the Redeemer-' But I say unto you, love your
enemies; bless them that curse you; do good to
them that hate you; and pray for them  that despitefully use you and persecute you.'-This is the
command of God, John, and without striving to
cultivate such feelings, no man can see him."
The Indian heard the exclamation of 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 again in silence.
The agitation of the divine caused him to move
with unusual rapidity along the deep path, and the
Indian, without any apparent exertion, kept an
equal pace; but the young hunter observed 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 tender of his assistance, by saying" You are fatigued, Miss Grant; 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 a low,
tiemulous voice; " but I am startled by the manner of that Indian chief. 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
anguage may be your relative; and yet of you I
do not feel afraid."
The youpg man stepped on th( bank of snow




THE PIONEERS.              179
which firmly sustained his weight, and by a gentle
effort induced his companion to follow him. Drawtng her arm through his own, he lifted his cap from
his head allowing his 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 inmost thoughts.-Louisa took
but a furtive glance at his person, and moved quietly along, at a rate that was greatly quickened
by the aid of his arm.
"You are but little acquainted with this peculiar people, Miss Grant," he said, " or you would
know  that revenge is a virtue with an Indian.
They are taught, from infancy upward, to believe
it a duty, never to allow an injury to pass unlesisted; and nothing, but the stronger claims of
hospitality, can guard one against their resentments, where they have power to act their will."
"Surely, sir," said Miss Grant, involuntarily
withdrawing 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; but it
shall be my endeavour that there yet be less."
While speaking, he stopped, and stood with his
aimn again proffered to her assistance. As he endC(C) she quietly accepted his offer, and they resumed their walk.
Mr. Grant and Mohegan had reached the door
ot the former's residence, and stood waiting neat
its threshold for the arrival of their younger companions.  The former was earnestly occupied, in




180              THE PIONEERS.
endeavouring to correct, by his precepts, the evil
propensities that he had discovered in the Indian,
during their conversation.; which the latter heard
in profound, but respectful attention. On the arrival of the young hunter and the lady, they entered the building.
The house stood at some distance from  the vii
lage, 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 or a shrub was nigh it; but the house, externally, exhibited that cheerless, unfinished aspect, which is so common to the hastily-erected
dwellings of a new country. The uninviting character of its outside was, however, happily contrasted by the exquisite neatness, and comfortable
wa rmth, within.
They entered an apartment that was fitted as a
parlour, though the large fire-place, 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 that 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 was, then,
and yet continues to be, much in use, in the interior; while its edges, that were exposed 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 book-case;
but the chairs, the dining-table, and the rest of
the furniture, were of the plainest and cheapest
construction. Against the walls were hung a few
specimens of needlework and drawing, the ioramer




THE PIONEERS.              181
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 back-ground.
On the tomb were the names, with the dates of
the births and deaths, of several individuals, all of
whom  bore the name of Grant.  An extremely
cursoly glance at this record, was sufficient to discover to the young hunler 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 surviver of six
children.  The knowledge of the dependence,
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 seating themselves before the cheerful fire,
during which time there was a suspension of their
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 becoming to her modest, ingenuous countenance than
appropriate to the season, had taken a chair between her father and the youth, the former resunmed the conversation.
" I trust, my young friend," he said,' that the
education which 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 colour, nor lineage, that
constitutes merit; and I know not that he who
16




182             THE PIONEERS
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 ol
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 Delaware blood
and his right is strong.  But'the brother of Miquon is just: he will cut the country in two parts,
as the river cuts the low-lands, and will say to the'Young Eagle,' Child of the Delawares! take itKeep it- -and be a chief in the land of your fathers."
" Never!" exclaimed the young hunter, with a
vehemence that destroyed the rapt attention, with
which the divine and his daughter were listening
to the earnest manner of the Indian.  " The wolf
of the forest is not more rapacious for his prey, than
that man is greedy for gold; and yet his glidings
into wealth are as 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
y( ur 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




rHI: PIONE:ERS.            183
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, scornfully,
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 wealththere will a day of retribution come. No, no, no,"
he continued, as he trod the floor moie calmly-." it is for Mohegan to suspect him of such a crime,
as 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 a low tone, to
his affrighted daughter, who was clinging in tenor
to his arm. " He is mixed with the blood of the
Indians, you have heard; and neither the refinements of education, nor She advantages of our excellent liturgy, have been able entirely to eradic ite the evil.  But care and time will do much foi
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 eithei the
wildness of my manner, or that of my dress.  I
nave been carried away by passions, that I should




184            THE PIONEERS.
struggle to repress. I must attribute it, with youi
Father, to the blood in my veins, although 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 ennobled 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 conversatin lasted for more than an hour, when the visiters arose, and, after exchanging good wishes with
their entertainers, they departed. At the dooi
they separated, Mohegan taking the direct route
to the village, while the youth moved towards the
lake. The divine stood at the entrance of his
dwelling, regarding the figure of the aged chief as
it glided at 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 window, 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 approached
the spot, and saw the tall'figure of the young hunt
er, at the distance of half a mile, walking with prodigious steps across the wide fields of frozen snow,
that covered the ice, towards the point where he
knew the hut that was inhabited by the Leatherstocking was situated on the margin of the lake,
under a rock, that was crowned by pines and heinlocks.  At the next instant, the wildly-looking
form entered the dark shadow, that was cast from
the overhanging trees, and was lost to view.




THE PIONEERS.              185
" It is marvellous, how long the propensities of
the savage continue in that remarkable race," said
the good divine; "hut if he perseveres, as he has
commencet, his triumph shall yet be complete.
Remember me, my child, to lend him the homily' against peril of idolatry,' at his next visit."
" Surely, father," cried the maiden, "you do
not think him in danger of relapsing into the wor
ship of his ancestors!"
"No, my child," returned the clergyman, laying
his hand affectionately on her flaxen locks, and
smiling; " his white blood would prevent it; but
there is such a thing as the idolatry of our passiq~ns."
168 




CHAPTER XIIf.
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, that was
called the " Bold Dragoon." In the qriginal 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 intended to be its western boundary.  But
convenience frequently 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.
There were two material consequences, which
followed this insidious change in' the regular plans




THE PIONEERS.              187
of Marmaduke.  The one, that the main-street, after running about half its length, was suddenly reduced to precisely that difference in its width; and
the other, that the " Bold Dragoon" became, next
to the Mansion-house, by far the most conspicuous
edifice in the place.
This conspicuousness, aided by the characters of
the host and hostess, gave the tavern an advantage
over all its future competitors, that no circumstances could conquer. An effort was, however,
made to do so; and at the corner diagonally opposite, stood a new building, that was intended 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 Mansionhouse.  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
denoted that it was already inhabited   The exterior was painted white, on the front and on the
end which was exposed to the street; but in the
rear, and on the side which was intended to join
the neighbouring house, it was coarsely 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 mysterious figures.
was written, in large letters, "The Templeton
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 per



188              TtHE PIONEERS.
ceive, when we add, that the same sonorous names
were to be seen over the door of a newly erected
store in the village, a hatter's shop, and the gates
of a tan-yard. But, either because too much was
attempted to be well executed, or that the " Bold
Dragoon" had established a reputation 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
nIamed, frequented the inn of Captain Hoilister,
ol all occasions where such a house was necessary.
On the present evening, the limping veteran,
andl his consort, were hardly housed, after theii
return fiom the academy, when the sounds of
stamping feet at their threshold announced the approach of visiters, who were probably 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 fire-places. Of the latter, there were two, of
such size as to occupy, with Ithlir enormous jambs,
the whole of that side of the apartment where they
were placed, excepting room enough for a door or
two, and a little apartment in one corner, which
was protected by miniature palisadoes, and profusely garnished 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;
uoving the logs with a large stake, burnt to a point
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
the fires, for it's no good yee'll be doing, now that




THE PIONEERS,               189
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 tire
here,-jist put them in the bar, will ye? for we'll
be having the Jooge, and the Major, and Mi. Jones,
down the night, widout reckoning Benjamin Poomp,
and the Lawyers: so ye'll be fixing the room tidy;
and put both flip-irons in the coals; and tell Judl, 
the lazy, black baste, that if she's no be clanei;i:
up the kitchen, I'll jist 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 a mateing,
where a body can sit asy, widout joomping up and
down so often, as this Mr. Grant is doing the same.'
" It's a privilege at all times, Mistress 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, lik(
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 directed
to be done. " It was a very pretty fight, Betty,
that the Israelites had, on that day, with the Amalekites. It seems that they fout on a plain, for
Moses is mentioned, as having gone on to the
heights, to overlook the battle, and wrestle in
prayer; and if I should judge, with my little larning, the Israelites depended mainly on their horse,
tfr it is 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 volunteers; but
raw dragoons seldom strike with the edge of their
swords, particLlarly if the weapon be any way
nrooked."



190             THE PIONEERS.
" Pshaw! why do ye bother yoi self wid taxts,
man, about so small a matter," interiupted the
landlady; "sure it was the Lord who was wid'em; for he always sided wid the Jews, at first.
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 forgi'e 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 soldiers was used to
the drill."
" I must say, Mrs. Hollister," rejoined her husband, " that I have not often seen raw troops fight
better than the left flank of the militia, at the time
you mention.  They rallied very 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 cornmissioned/officer with them, yet I think I may say,"
-the veteran continued, stiffening his cravat about
the throat, and raising himself up, with the air of
a drill-sergeant,-" they were led by a man, who
know'd how to bring them on, in spite of the ravine.




THE PIONEERS               i91
" 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'ock 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 long 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's a poor tomb-stone they have given
him, any way, 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'
betwane this and Albany."
There is no saying where this desultory conversation would have led the worthy couple, had not
the men, who were stamping the snow off their feet,
on the little platform before the door, suddenly
ceased their occupation, and entered the bar-room.
For ten or fifteen minutes, the different individu
als, who intended either to bestow or receive edification, before the fires of the " Bold Dragoon,"
on that evening, were collecting, until the benches
were nearly filled with men of different occupations. Dr. Todd, and a slovenly-looking, half-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 who,
altogether, seemed as much above the artisans
around him, as he was inferior to the real gentleman,-occupied a high-back, wooden settee, in the
most comfortable corner in the apartment.
Sundry brown mugs, containing cider or beer,
were placed between the heavy andirons, and little
groups were formed among the guests, as subjects
vrose, or the liquor was passed from one to the




192             THE PIOlNEERS.
other. No man was seen to drink by himself, no.
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 restore the dregs of the potation to
him who defrayed the cost.
Toasts were uniformly drunk; and occasionally
some one, who conceived himself peculiarly endow
ed by nature to shine in the way of wit, would at
tempt some such sentiment as " hoping that he'
who treated, " might make a better man than hi,
father;" or, "live till all his friends wished him
dead;" while the more humble pot-companion contented himself by saying, with a most imposing
gravity in his air, -' come, here's luck," or by expressing some other equally comprehensive desire.
In every instance, the veteran landlord was requested to imitate the custom of the cup-bearers to
kings, and taste the liquor he presented, by the
significant 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, with 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 assuaged, conversation of a more general nature became the order of the hour. The physician,
and his companion, who was one of the two lavvers of the village, being considered the best quali



'1IHE PIONEERS.             193
fled 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 follow.
ing observation from the practitioner of the law:" So, Dr. Todd, I understand that you have been
performing an important operation, th;s evening, by
cutting a charge of buck-shot from the shoulder of
the son of Leather-stocking?"
" Yes, sir," returned the other, elevating iis little head, with an air of great 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 patient 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 shrewd look
around the bar-room; "there is such a thing, I
suppose you know, in law, as a' filius 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
a little better in his ways than the wild savages
themselves?  Och! it's to be hoped that the missionaries will, in his own time, make a convarsion
of the poor divils; and then it will matter but little, of what colour. 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
17




194             THE PIONEERS.
would he read the labels on his gallipots and drawers?-No, no, Miss Hollister, the Doctor understands me; don't you, Doctor?"
"Hem-why I guess I am not far out of the
way," returned Elnathan, endeavouring 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 that
Far. Av.' means oatmeal, in English."
The lawyer in his turn was a good deal embarrassed by this display of learning; for, although he
actually had taken 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 out-done 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 un4erstood 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 any body doos," were heard in different parts of the room, as vouchers for the admiration of his auditors. -Thus encouraged, the lawyer rose from his chair, and turning his back to
the fire, 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 to 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




THE PIONEERS.               19b
will soon be well, as I said before; tho wownd 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 night have been."
"I say, Squire Doolittle," continued the angry
attoiney, " 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 suppose that he was a mechanic, like yourself, sir; and suppose that his family depended on him for bread; and suppose that
the ball, instead of merely going through the flesh,
had broken the shoulder-blade, and crippled him
for ever;-I ask you all, gentlemen, supposing this
to be the case, whether a jury wouldn't give what
I call handsome damages?"
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 in his manner.
" Why, if a man should shoot another," he saiu,
" 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-pris n
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 ances.
tors, that all men are equal in the eye of the law
as they are by nater.  Though some may get property, no one knows how, yet they are not privi




196             THE PIONEER$.
leged 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 little 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 Pet,
tibone, and one or two of the blacks by, when he
said that his pocket would amply reward me for
what I di4."'" Was the promise made before or after the service was performed?" asked the attorney.
"It might have been both," returned the discreet physician; "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 part of a man's own
person, that is, in this particular. I am of opinion
that an action would lie on that promise, 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 enumerate the witnesses, in order to subt




THR  PIONEERS.              197
stintiate 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
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 neverfailing companion, his rifle; and although all of the
company were uncovered, excepting the lawyer,
who wore his hat on one side, with a certain knowing 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 soldiers in their
youth, offered him a glass of a liquid, which, if we
might judge from its reception, was no unwelcome
guest. When the forester had gotten his potation
also, he quietly took his seat on the end of one of
the logs, that lay nigh to the fires, and the slight
interruption, produced by his entrance, 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 Tern
pie, or any other man, might be made to pay foi
shooting another, and for the cure in the bargain.
-There is a way, I say, and that without going
nto 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
17*




19b             THE PIONEERS.
Temple, who has a purse as long as oni of them
pines on the hill, and who is an asy man to dale
wid, if yees but mind the humour of him.  He's a
good man is Joodge Temple, and a kind one, and
one who will be no the likelier to do the pratty
thing, bekaase ye would wish to tarrify him wid
the law. I know of but one objaction to the same,
which is an over-carelessness about his -owl.  lt'
nather a Methodie, nor a Papish, nor Prasbetyrian,
that he is, but jist nothing at all: and it's 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 desaarves the name.  I hopes, Lather-stock
ing, 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 shouther will bear the rifle ag'in."
" Well, that's gin'rous," was heard from several
mouths at once, at this liberal offer of the landlady;
while the hunter, instead of expressing 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 in.
dulged his humour, made this reply" I know'd the Judge would do nothing with his
smooth-bore, when he got out of his sleigh.  I never see'd 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,
ot a hundred yards; but it made dreadful work




'TH  PIONEERS.             19'
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 keeps a
steady aim. The Captain knows, for he says he
was a soldier in Shirley's, and though they were
nothing but baggonet-men, he must know how we'cut tip the French and Iroquois in the skrimmages,
in that war.  Chingachgook, 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 an overhand for the tomahawk, never firing more than once or twice, before he was
running in for the scalps. Ah! hum! times is
dreadfully altered since then. Why, Doctor, there
was nothing but a foot path, or at the most a track
tor pack-horses, along the Mohawk, from the Garman Flats clean up to the forts. Now, they say.
they talk of running one of them wide roads with
gates on't along the river; first making a road, and
then fencing it up! I hunted one season back ot
the Kaatskills, nigh-hand to the settlements, and
the dogs often lost the scent, when they coin'd to
them highways, there was so much travel on them;
though I can't sar 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,he landlady; " and it's no much like a snake that
old John is looking now. Nimrood would be a more
hesampng name for the lad, and a more Christian too,




200             THE PIONEERS.
seeing that it comes from the Bible. The sargeam
read me the chapter about him, the night before
my christening, and a mighty asement it was, to
listen to any thing 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 was 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
htve called him as comely a red-skin as ye ever
set eyes on.  He was naked, all to his breechcloth and leggens; and you never seed a createi
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 coloured
his sides, so that they looked just like an atomy,
ribs and all; for Chingachgook had a great notion
in such things: so that, what with his bold, fiery
countenance, his knife, and his tomahawk, I have
never seed a fiercer warrior on the ground.  He
played his part, too, like a man; for I seen him
next day, with thirteen scalps on his pole. And I
will say that for the'Big Snake,' that he always
dealt fair, and never scalped any that he didn"
kill with his own hands."
" Well, well," cried the landlady; " fighting is
fighting, any way, 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 uplild by doctrine.  I hope, sargeant, ye niver was helping in sich evil worrek."
"It was my duty to keep my ranks, and to stand
)r fall by, the bayonet or lead," returned the vete



THE PIONEERS.               201
ran. " I was then in the fort, and, seldom leaving
my place, saw but little of the savages, who kept
on the flanks, or im 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 civi
lized like old John."
" Oh! he was christianized by the Moravians,
who was always over intimate with the Delawvares," said Leather-stocking. " It's my opinion,
that, h id 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" —
Lie was interrupted by more stamping at the
door, and presently the party from  the Mansion
house entered, followed by the Indian himself.




CHAPTER XIV.
There's quart pot, pint pot, half-pint,
Gill pot, half-gill, nipperkin,
And the brown bowlHere's a health to the barley mow,
My brave boys,
Here's a health to the barley mow.
Drinking &Ig.
SoMIE little commotion was produced by the appearance of the new guests, during which the lawyer disappeared 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 night-cap, took his seat very quietly on one end
of the settee, which was relinquished by its former
occupants. 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'IMajor gave a long whiff, and, turning his head towards the bar, he said" Petty, pring in ter toddy."
In the mean time, the Judge had exchanged his
salutations with most of the company, and taken a
place by the side of the Major, and Richard had
bustled himself into the most comfortable seat in




THE PIONEERS.              203
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 individual present. Mohegan found a place on an ena
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..c I can't say but it was rasonable; but the prayers
is mighty unasy. It's no so small a matter for a
body, in their fifty-nint' year, to be moving so
much in church.  Mr. Grant sames a godly man,
anly way, and his garrel is a hoomble one, and a
devout.-Here, John, is a mug of cider lac'd with
whisky, An Indian will drink cider, though he
tliver be athirst."'
" I must say," observed Hiram, with due dehberation, "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,
s'pose that, as it was a written discourse, 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 praching
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
nand 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




204              THE PIONE:iiS.
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 immediately 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
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 Pumfret-man, who was so'thin forehanded.
lHe was to give me ten dollars an acre for the
clearin, and one dollar an acre over the first cost,
on the wood-land; and we agreed to leave the
buildins to men. So I tuck Asa Mountagu, and he
tuck Absalom Bement, and they two tuck old
Squire Naphtali Green.  And so they had a
meetin, and made out a vardict of eighty dollars
for the buildins. There was twelve acres of clearin, at ten dollars, and eighty-eight at one, and the
whull came to jist two hundred and eighty-six dollars and a half, after paying the men."
"Hum," said Marmaduke: " 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
whull stood me in about two hundred and sixty
dollars.  But then I had a great crop off on't, and
as I got jist twenty-six dollars and a half more than
it cost, I conclude I made a pretty good trade on't.'




THE PIONEERS.             205
"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 valood at
seven and a half-so there was jist twelve shillings
betwixt us. I wanted him to turn out a set of harness, and take the cow and the sap-troughs. LHe
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 a churn, so I tuck a churn for the
change "
" And what do you mean to do with your time
this winter? you must remember that time is money."
" Why, as the master is gone down country, to
see his mother, who, they say, is going to make a
die on't, I agreed to take the school in hand, till
he comes back. If times doosn't get wuss in the
spring, I've some notion of going into trade, or
maybe I may move off to the Genessee; they say
they are carryin on a great stroke of business thata-way. It the wust comes to the wust, I can but
work at mny trade, for I was brought up in a shoe
manufactory."
It would seem, that Marmaduke did not think
his society of sufficient value, to attempt inducing
him to remain where he was; for he addressed no
further discourse to the man, but turned his atten
18




206              THE PION ERS.
tion to other subjects.-After a short pause HIiram
ventured a question:"c What news does the Judge bring us from the
legislater? it's not likely that congress has done
much this session; or maybe the Freneh haven't
fit any more battles lately?"
" The French, since they have beheaded their
king, have done nothing but fight," returned the
judge. —" The  character 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 blood-thirsty 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. It was there that the Sargeant got
the hurt in the leg, from the English batteries, bad
uck to'em."
" Ah! mon pauvre Roi!" murmured 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 criminal offence."
The hunter listened to this detail with breath
less attention, and when the Judge had ended, he
laughed in open derision for a moment, before he
made this reply:"You may make your laws, Judge, but who
will you find to watch the mountains through the




TIIE  PION:WKS.           201 
long summer days, or the lakes at night?  Game
is game, and he who finds may kill; that has been
the law in these mountains 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 was gettin old, or his leggins
ragged, for the flesh is lean and coarse. But a rifle
rings among them  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," returned 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 fortnight, and it floundered
through the snow-banks 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
creater 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 any
thing that hadn't wings three times running, in my
born days.-No, no, Judge, it's the farmers that
makes the game scearce, and not the hunters."
"Ter teer is not so plenty as in ter old war,
Punppo," said the Major, who had been an attentive listener, amidst clouds of smok -; " put ter lan,




Z(8            THE PIONEERS.
is not mate as for ter teer to live on, put for
Chr.istians."
c Whv, Major, I believe you're a friend to jus
tice 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 stopt by sitch
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 tidn't
use to be so prutent, as to look ahet mit so much
care."
" Maybe there wasn't so much'casion," said
the hunter, a little sulkily-; when he sunk into a
profound silence, from which he was not roused
for some time.
"The Judge  was saying  so'thin  about the
French," Hiram 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 Betes!" again murmured Monsieur 1.e
Quoi, turning himself suddenly in his chair, with
a convulsive start.
"The province of La Vendee is laid waste b)
the troops of the republic, and hundreds of its inhabitants, who are royalists 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




THE PIONEERS.             209
Monsieur Le Quoi is acquainted with it, and can
describe it more faithfully."
"Non, non, non, mon cher ami," returned the
Frenchman, 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,"
continued Marmaduke, " and the infuriated republicans are too often victorious. I cannot say, how
ever, that I am sorry they have captured Toulon
from the English, for it is a place to which they
seem to have a just right."
"Ah-ha!" exclaimed  Monsieur Le Quoi,
springing on his feet, and flourishing both arms
with great animation; " ces Anglais! dey be vipt!
De French be one gallant peop', if dere vas gen'ral
Ah-ha! Toulon take; c'est bon! I do vish da:
dey take Londre-pardonnez moi; mais, it ees
bon!"
The Frenchman continued to move about the
room with great alacrity for a few minutes, repeating his exclamations to himself; when, overcome
by the contradictory nature of his emotions, he
suddenly burst out of the house, and was seen
wading through the snow towards his little shop,
waving his arms on high, as if to pluck down honour 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 time during his visit, as he lifted the
mug, and observed" Ter Frenchman is mat-put he is goot as for
lotting to trink; he is trunk mit joy."
The French are good soldiers," said Captain
Hollister; " they stood us in hand a good turn,
down at York-town; nor do I think, although I am
18*




210             THE PIONEERS.
an ignorant man about the great movements of the
army, that his Excellency would have been able to
march against Cornwallis, without their reinforcements "
" We spake the trut', Sargeant," interrupted his
wifie, "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
inl 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 1,
and in good solid crowns: the divil a bit of continental could they muster among them all, for love
nor money. Och! the Lord forgive me for swearing, and spakeing of sich 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 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, 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. Holliste'
I'm ready for a hissing mug of flip."




THE PIONLERS.                211' Sure, I know'd yee'd be wanting that same,"
said the landlady; " it's mixt and ready to the
boiling. Sargeant, dear, jist be handing up the
iron, will ye?-no, the one in the far fire, it's black,
ye will see.-Ah! you've the thing now; look if
it's not as red a -a cherry."
The beverage was heated, 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 flavour in it. Here.
John, drink, man, drink. I and you and Dr. Todd,
have done a good thing with the shoulder of that
lad this very night.'Duke, 1 made a song while
you were gone-one day when I had nothing to
do; so I'll sing you a verse or two, though I haven't
really determined 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 you 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
too deeply in the potations of the landlady, besides
paying a proper respect to the passing mugs of the
Major and Marmaduke.




212             THE PIONEERS.' Pravo! pravo! Richart," cried the Major,
whose black eyes were beginning to swim in moisture; "pravissimo! it is a goot song; put Natty
Pumppo hast a petter.  Letter-stockint, vilt sing 
say, olt poy, vilt sing ter song, as apout ter woots?"
" No, no, Major," returned the hunter, with a
melancholy 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 snowwater, 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 fiequency 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 towards the hunter, as he
cried" Merry! ay! merry Christmas to you, old boy'
Sunshine and summer! no! you are blind, Leatherstocking,'tis moonshine and winter; —ake these
spectacles, and open your eyesSo let us be jolly,
And cast away follyi
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




THE PIONEERS.             1I3
time ny a gentle motion of his head ar.d body. He
made use of but few words, and such as he did ut.
ter 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 dis
cussing various matters; among the principal of
which were, the treatment of mangy hogs, and
Parson Grant's preaching; while Dr. Todd was
endeavouring 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 expression 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 fiom his rights? I have fought in as
many battles as any warrior in your tribe, but can
not boast of my deeds at such a time as this."
" Hawk-eye," said the Indian, tottering with a
dountful step from  his place, "I am the Great
Snake of the Delawares; I can track the Mingoes,
like an adder that is stealing on the whip-poor-will's




214             THIE PIONEERS.
eggs, and strike them, like the 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
)f 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 council 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 mea.
sure, to recall the confused faculties of the Indian,
who turned his face towards the listeners, and gazed
intently on the Judge.  He shook his head, throwing his hair back from his countenance, and exposed his eyes, that were glaring with a fierce expression of wild resentment. But the man was not
himself.  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 again 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 sunk backward on the bench, and
drank until satiated, when he made an effort to lay
aside the mug, with the helplessness of total inebliety.
" 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 time will come when right will be
done; and we must have patience."
Natty still spoke in the Delaware language, and




THE PIONEERS.             2O1J
of course was not understood..He had hardly concluded, before Richard cried" Well, old John is soon sowed up.  Give him
a birth, 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 griefDrink, King Hiram-drink, Mr. Doo-nothingdrink, sir, I say. This is a Christmas eve, which
comes, you know, but once a year."
" He! he! he! the Squire is quite moosical tonight," 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 of it! bishops, priests, deacons, wardens,
vestry, and choir; organ, organist, and bellows!
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
Maimaduke, " it is impossible that I can hear what
Dr. Todd is saying.-I think thou observedst, it is
probable that 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 throwing a light, frothy substance, like a
flake of snow, into the fire-" quite out of nater,
that a wownd so well dressed, and with the ball
in my pocket, should fester. I s'pose, as the Judge
talks of taking the young man into his house, ii will




216            THE PIONEERS.
be most convenient if I make but one charge
on't.2
" I should think one would do," returned Marmaduke, with that arch smile that so often beamed
on his face; leaving the beholder in doubt whetier he most enjoyed the character of his companion, or his own covert humour.
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 mean time, 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 expressed 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 prepared 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 to see ye, any way, at the Bould Dragoon: and sure its no harm to be kaping a Chrisr
nas-eve wid a light heart, for it's no telling when
we may have sorrow come upon us. So good
night, Joodge, and a merry Christmas to ye all, tomorrow 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




THE PIONEERS.               217
Mansion-house: but on entering the Judge's domains, they encountered some slight difficulties.
We shall not stop to relate them, but will just mention that, in the morning, sundry diverging paths
were to be seen in the snow; and that once. dur
ing their progress to the door, Marmaduke, missing
his companions, was enabled to trace them by one
of these paths to a spot, where he discovered them
with nothing visible but their heads; Richard sing
ing in a most vivacious strain,' Come, let us be jolly.
And cast away folly,
For grief turnA a black head to gray p"
II




CHAPTER XV.
As she lay, on that day, in the Bay of Bisay 0 1'
PREVIOUSLY to the occurrence of the scene a'
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 suited her own
inclination.-Most of the lights were extinguished;
but as Benjamin adjusted, with great care and regularity, four large candles, in as many massive
candlesticks 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 Eli
zabeth, and thought it no difficult task, under pre
sent appearances, to exercise that power indirect
ly, which hitherto she had enjoyed undisputed
The idea of being governed, or of being compel
ted to pay the deference of servitude, was abso




THE PIONEERS.              219
lutely intolerable; and she had already determin
ed 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 perhaps the events of the
day, the housekeeper experienced an awe, that
she would not own to herself could be excited by
any thing mortal. It, however, checked her advances, and for some time held her tongue-tied.
At length she determined 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 sarmont that Parson
Grant give us to-night,"  said Remarkable." Them 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 sitch tonguey speakers for an off-hand discourse as the standing-order ministers be."
"And what denomination do you distinguish as
the standing-order?" inquired Miss Temple, with
some surprise.
"Why, the Presbyter'ans, and Congregationals,
and Baptists 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 sittingorder," observed Elizabeth.
"I'm sure I've never heer'n'em  spoken of by
any other name than Quakers, so called," returned
Remarkable, betraying a slight uneasiness: " I
should be the last one t: call them otherwise, for
I never in my life used a disparaging tarm of the




220             THE PIONEERS.
Judge, or any of his family. I've always set store
by the Quakers, they are sitch pretty-spoken,
clever people; and it's a wonderment to me, how
vour daddy come to marry into a church family,
for they are as contrary in religion as can be. One
sits still, and, for the mostpart, 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."
" You have found an excellence in the church
liturgy, that has hitherto escaped me," said Miss
Temple.  "I will thank you to inquire whether
the fire in my room burns: I feel fatigued with my
day's 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 Ifer resentment, and after pausing
some little time, as a salvo to her dignity, she did
as desired.  The report was favourable, and the
young lady, wishing Benjamin, who was filling the
stove with wood, and the housekeeper, each a
good night, withdrew.
The instant that the door closed on Miss Temple, Remarkable commenced a sort of mysterious,
ambiguous discourse, 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 continued his
occupation with great industry, which being happily completed, he took a look at the thermome
ter, 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




THE PIOnEERS.              221
burlding. A small stand was drawn up near the
stove, and the bottles and the glasses necessary
for convenience, were quietly arranged.  Twc
chairs were placed by the side of this comfortable
situation, when Benjamin, for the first time, appeared to observe his companion.
" Come," he cried, "come, Mistress Remarkatble, bring yourself to an anchor in this here 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 it is you like oui
new heiress."
"Why, to my notion, Mr. Penguillum""Pump-Pump," interrupted Benjamin; "it's
Christmas-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.  " You're a moosical creater, 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 bottle, that was assuming the clear aspect of
cut glass with astonishing rapidity; "it don't mat.
19*




222             THE PIONEERS,
ter much, Mistress Remarkable, so long as I keep
the keys of the lockers in my pocket"
" I can't say," continued the house-keeper, " 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 Benjamin, with a most imposingly 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 studdingsails 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 humoui
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 well as there is one that wants to be over mine;
and after having been settled as long as you have,
Benjamin, 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 birth, 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 misnomer
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




THE PIONEERS.              223
I shall resign.  I began forrard, Mistress Pi ettynones, and worked my way aft, like a man. 1 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 topmast 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 as follows:
" You have had great experunces in your 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 schoo 
ners 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 suppose that, taking the coast from cape LerHogue 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
colour the water.  Here's sugar.  It's a sweet




Q24             TRE PIOaEERS.
tooth, that fellow that you hold on upon yt t. Mis
tress Pretty-bones.-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 an
acquaintance is that Bay of Biscay.  Whew! i
wish you could but hear the wind blow there. It
sometimes 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.
-LHem! it's the right kind of stuff, I must say, that
you keeps. i- this country; but then you're so close
aboard the W est-Indies, you make but a small run
of it. By the lord Harry, woman, if Garnsey only
lay somewhere between Cape Hatteras and the
Bite of Logann, but you'd see rum cheap! As to
the seas, they runs more in lippers in the Bay of
Biscay, unless it may be in a sow-wester, when
they tumble about quite handsomely; thof its not
in the narrow seas that you are to look for a swell;
j-ust 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 too, undei
a. close-reef'd topsail; or, mayhap, a reef'd foresail, with a fore-top-mast-staysail; and mizzerstaysail, to keep her up to the sea, if she will beat
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,hen again, there was a hole under your lee-quarter, big enough to hold the whole British navy."




THE PIONEERS.               22j
" Oi! 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
frightened at a little salt water tumbling about his
head? As for getting 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 bed-rooms; 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 Pretty-bones, 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 Remarkable, 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 and 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
she behaved herself so well! 01! she was a sweet
ship, 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 any body can afford to live comfortably, his majesty can."
" Well! but Benjamin," cried the listener, whi




226             THE PIONEERS.
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 good hearty
fellows. Now if the countrymen of Mounsheer Let.
Quaw had been aboard of her, they would have just
struck her ashore on some of them small islands;
hut 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
wt 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 unintelligible, but who had got a confused
idea of a raging tempest. " It must be an awful life,
that going to sea! and I don't feel astonishment
that you're 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 any thing. I
happened in, just to see how the family did, about
a week after Miss Temple died, thinking to be
back home agin night; but the family was in sitch
a distressed way, that I couldn't but stop awhile.
and help'em on. I thought the sitooation 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 have you left your anchors
down in the same place, mistress. I think you mus;
find that the ship. rides easy?"




THE PIONEERS.             227: 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 heer'n say that the Judge was gone a
great'broad, and that he meant to bring his darter
hum, but I did'nt calcoolate on sitch carrins on.
To my notion, Benjamin, she's likely to turn out a
desput ugly gall.t' Ugly!" echoed the Major-domo, opening his
eyes, that were beginning to close in a very suspi
cious 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 hail
as black and glistening as rigging that has just had
a lick of tar! does'nt she move as stately as a firstrate in smooth water, on a bow-line! 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 but poor conduct.
She seems to think herself too good to talk to a
j )or body. From what Squire Jones had tell'd
me, I some expected to be quite captivated by hei
company. Now, to my reckoning, Lowizy Grant
is much more pritty behaved than Betsy 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."




228             THE PIONEERS.
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 well as myself, or any
native born British subject. You've forgot 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 mis
tress 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 heer'n 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 exactly where away it is that it lays;
but I suppose that 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 to a sloop
of war, compared with the Bay of Biscay, or, mayhap, Tor-bay.  And as for language, if you want
to hear the dictionary overhauled, like a long-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 forgive and foiget,
like an honest soul."
" No, indeed! and I shan't do sitch a thing,
Benjamin. This treatment is a newity to me, and
what I won'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 mus'nt call a young woman by her given
nlame to hei face. I will call her Betsy as much




THE PIONFERS.              229
as I please; it's a free country, and no one can stop
me. I did intend to stop while summe r, but I shall
quit to-morrow morning; and I will talk just as I
Dlease."
" 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 hankerchy, 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 an't fit for a decent woman to stay with. I'll never keep your company
agin, 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, mayhap I'm  some such matter as a bear,
d'ye see, 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; may
hap 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? Youm
Midshipman can sing out, and pass the word, when
the Captain gives the order, but just set 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
Johny-raws laughing at him."
" Stop your grog, indeed!" said Remarkable.!ising with great indignation, and seizing a candle
20




830              THE PIONEIERS.
you're groggy now, Benjamin, and'll quit the
room before I hear any of your misbece ming words
from you.'
The housekeeper retired, with a manner but little less dignified, as she thought, than the air of
the stately heiress, muttering, as she drew the dooi
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 P" cried Benja.
min, fiercely, rising and making a movement towards Remarkable. " You talk of musteringyourself with a lady! you're just fit to grumble and find
fault.  Where the devil should you larn behaviour
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 favourite
animal, the bear itself. Before, however, he was
quite locked, to use the language that would suit
the Della-cruscan humour of certain refined critics
of the present day, "in the arms of Morpheus,"
he spoke aloud, observing due pauses between his
epithets, the impressive terms of " monkey," "parrot," "pic-nic,"' tar-pot," and " linguisters."
We will not attempt to explain his meaning, nor
connect 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 t.vo 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.  Benjamin so far rallied his




THE PIONEERS.               231:.onfused 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 day of that settlement; and so
soon as Marmaduke had given an eye to the enormous fires of his dwelling, he retired.  And with
this act of prudence closes the first night of our
tale.




CHAPTER XVI.' Watch. (aside) Some treason, mastersYet stand close."
JMuch ado about nothing.
IT was fortunate for more than one of the bacchanalians, 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 snowbanks, that led to their respective dwellings. Thin,
ldriving clouds began, towards morning, to flit across
the heavens, and the moon sat behind a volume of
vapour, that was impelled furiously towards the
north, carrying with it the softer atmosphere from
the distant ocean.  The rising sun was obscured,oy denser and increasing columns of c!ouds, 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, observing the faint glow which 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 pe



THE PIONEERS.               235
lisse more closely around her forn, to guard against
a cold that was yet great, though rapidly yielding,
in the small enclosure 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 was surprised at the voice of Mr,
Jones, crying. aloud —
"Merry Christmas, merry Christmas to you,
cousin Bess.  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..
Elizabeth turned, and observed her cousin in
his night-cap, with his head out of his bed-room
window, where his zeal for pre-eminence, in defiance of the weather, had impelled him to thrust
it. She laughed, and promising to wait for his
company, she 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 evening, 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; a*
20 *




234             THF PIONEERS.
twelve it was quite mild, and here all the rest of
the night I have been so hot as not to bear a Manket on the bed.-Holla! Aggy,-merry. Christmas, Aggy-I say, do you hear me, you black dog X
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
promising a due degree of watchfulness, he gave
the dollar a whirl in the air of twenty feet, and
catching it as it fell, in the palm of his hand, he
withdrew to the kitchen, to exhibit 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 honours 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, like."
"Oh! 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 happen to be a great many others, why, you
must struggle with them all-in the way of comoetition."
" Exactly so; I see you are a clever girl, Bessnd one who does credit to her masters.  It was
ny plan to send you to that school; for when your
ather first mentioned the thing, I wrote a private




THE PIONEERS.              235'etter 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 such
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 to such an
appointment that I allude."
" Such an appointment!" repeated Mr. Jones,
who began to fidget with curiosity; "then it is
an appointment.  If it is in the militia, I won't
take it."
"No, no, it is not in the militia," cried Elizabeth, showing the packet in her hand, and then
drawing it back, with a coquettish air; "it is an
office of both honour and emolument."
"Honour and emolument!" echoed Richard, in
painful suspense; " show me the paper, girl. Say,
is it an office where there is any thing 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 any thing will




236             THE PIONEERS.
please Dickon,' he said,'it will be to fill the ex
ecutive 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 iskind in'duke, positively. I must say'duke has a warm  heart, and never forgets his
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
my 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 every thing remained to
be done."
" Do!" echoed Richard, who blew  his nose,
raised his little form to its greatest elevation, and
looked prodigiously serious.  "Every thing depends on system, my girl.  I shall sit down this
afternoon, and systematize the county.  I must
have deputies, you know.  I will divide the couni
ty into districts, over which I will place my depu.
ties; and I will have one for the village, which )
will call my home department.  Let me see —
oh! Benjamin! yes, Benjamin will make a good
deputy; he has been naturalized? and would an



TwE PIONEERs.             3t1
swer admirably, if he could only ride on horseback."
Yes, Mr. Sheriff," said his companioni, " and
as he understands ropes so well, he would be very
expert, should occasion happen for his services, in
the way of Jack Ketch."
N" o," interrupted the other, " I flatter myself
that no one could hang a man better than —that
is-ha-oh! yes, Benjamin would do extremely
well, in such an unfortunate 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 gallantry. Where are the
beauties and improvements which you were to
show me?"
"Where? why every where.  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 his stubbornness. —
Yes, yes, I must have at least four 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 contemplate building houses,
very soon, in that forest before us, and in those
swamps."
"We must run our streets by the compass, coz,
and disregard trees, hills, ponds, stumps, or, in
fact, any thing but posterity. Such is the will of
your father, and your father, you know"



238             THE PIONEERS.
" Had you made Sheriff, Mr. Jones," interrupted the lady, with a tone which 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 was 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 interspersed 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 their branches concealed their persons.  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, and seemed to think the subject 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 conceal most of his features, and




THE PIONEERS.              289
his whole attitude expressive of deep dejection, if
not of shame.
"Let us withdraw," whispered Elizabeth; " we
are intruders, 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 commit depredations;
though I do not think John would do any thing secretly.  Poor fellow! he was 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
stimulated doubtless by his nice 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 Virginy
gaps, if you want them for the feathers. To be
sure, there is a different taste to a partridge, and a
well-fattened turkey; though, to my eating, beaver's tail and bear's hams makes 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 somehow, my hand shakes so, whenever
I have to do any thing extrawnary, that I often lose
my aim.  Now, when I killed the she-bear this fall,




240            THE PIONEERS.
with her cubs, though they were so mighty raven
ous, 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, while 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 sartain that I shall miss the
bird. Them Indians can shoot one time as well as
another; nothing ever troubles them. I 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 creater, 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 companions, 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 MiI:go
warriors were made squaws. When did he ever
shoot twice! The eagle went above the clouds,
when he passed the wigwam of Chingachgook; his
ieathers were plenty with the women.-But see,"
be 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 wolf's howl. Is John old?
When was a Mohican a squaw, with seventy win



THE PIONEERS.              241
ters!  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! is John a beast?" replied the Indian,
slowly; " yes; you say no lie, child of the Fireeater! John is a beast. The smokes were once
fewvin 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 let him
loose.-Yes, yes-you say no lie, Young Eagle;
John is a 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 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,"
WhisDered Richard, " by the awkward way he han
~'hisored   Rchard




242              THE PTONFERS.
died 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, perhaps, 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 turkey, 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 proud determination,
in front of her cousin, and entered the little circle
of bushes that surrounded the trio of hunters.
Her appearance startled the youth, who at first
made an unequivocal motion towards retiring, but,
recollecting himself, bowed, by lifting his cap, and
resumed his attitude of leaning on his rifle. Neither Natty nor Mohegan betrayed 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 teel 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




THE - PIONEERS             242
young hunter, with an emphasis that could not
well be mistaken, and with a rapidity that showed he spoke without consulting any thing but
feeling.
"Why not, sir?" returned the maiden.  "If it
be inhuman, the sin is not confined to one sex only.
But I have my humour as well as others.  I ask
not your assistance, sir; but"-turning to Naity,
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 Scoharie, count greatly on coming to
them- 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 my own luck first. You will excuse me,
Miss Temple; I have much reason to wish that
bird, and may seem ungallant, but I must claim my
privileges."
" Claim any thing 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 maiden, who




244             THE PIONEERS.
had so singularly intrusted him with such a commission, returned the bright smile with which she
had addressed him, by his own peculiar mark of
mirth, and moved across the snow, towards 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 towards 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 moment shut up
in the coops, in every stage of fat, so that you
night 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 wish the bird, and it is because I so
wish, that I commissioned 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," again interrupted the
young lady-" I know it all, my 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 I intended actually
to fire with my own hands?" said Mr. Jones.-' But let us follow, and see the shooting. There




THE PIONEERS.             245
is no fear of any thing unpleasant occurring to any
female in this new country, especially to your
father's daughter, and in my presence."
" My father's daughter fears nothing, sir," returned Elizabeth; " more especially when escorted
by the highest executive officer in the county."
She took his arm, and he led her through the
nazes 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
thenm.
21*




CHAPTER XVII.
" I guess, by all this quaint array.
The burghers hold their sports to day.
Scott.
THE ancient amusement of shooting the Christ-.nas turkey, is one of the few sports that the settiers of a new country seldom or never neglect to
observe. It was connected with the daily practices
of a people, who often laid aside the axe or the
sithe 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 opportunity to Mr. Grant, whose exhibition was not less a treat to the young sportsmen,
than the one which engaged their present attention.  The owner of the birds was a free black,
who had been preparing 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 infe-ior quality, and some shooting had




THE PIONEERS.              247
a ready taken place, much to the pecuniary advan.
tage of the sable owner of the game. The order
of the sports was extremely simple, and well un
derstood.  The bird was fastened by a string oi
tow, to the base of the stump of a large pine, the
side of which, towards 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 between the stump and
this point 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 prevailed 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 ur
chins, clad in coarse but warm garments, stoo,
gathered around the more distinguished marksrel
with their hands stuck under their waistbands, listening eagerly to the boastful stories of the skill
that had been exhibited on former occasions, and
were already 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 labour, 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, reckless
lad, whose good-natured eye contradicted the blunt.
hess and bullying tenor of his speech. For weeks
he would lounge around the taverns of the county,




24S3             THE PIONEERS.
in a Atte of -perfect idleness, or doing small jobs
tor his liquor and his meals, and cavilling with applicants about the prices of his labour: frequently
preferring idleness to an abatement of a tittle of
his independence, or a cent in his wages. But
when these embarrassing points were once 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, he would
measure, with a knowing eye, one or two of the
nearest trees, that were towering apparently into the
very clouds, as he gazed upwards. Commonly selecting one )f 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,
that had flourished there for centuries. The heavy
and brisk blows that he struck were soon succeeded
by the thundering report of the tree, as it came,
first cracking and threatening, with the separation
ot its own last ligaments, then thrashing 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 would be ceaseless, while the falling of the trees was like a dis
tant cannonading; and the daylight broke into tho




TILE PIONEERS.              24 5
depths of the woods with almost the suddenness:f a winter morning.
For days, weeksnay, months, Billy Kirby would
toil, with an ardour 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, the assistants in his labour, which rung
thiough 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 Templeton; 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 labour, 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 his adversary, places the final torch of
destruction, as the finishing blow to his conquest.
For a long time Billy Kirby would then be seen,
sauntering around the taverns, the rider of scrubraces, the bully of cock-fights, and not unfrequently
the hero of such sports as the one in hand.
Between him  anrd the Leather-stocking there
had long existed a jealous rivalry, on the point of
their respective skill in shooting.  Notwlthstanding the long practice of Natty, it was commonly
supposed that the steady nerves and quick eye of
the wood-chopper rendered him his equal. Their
competition had, however, been confined hitherto
o boastings, and comparisons made from their sue2esses in their various hunting excursions; but this
was the first time that they had ever come in open




250             THE PIONEERS.
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 compa.
nions rejoined the sportsmen. It had, however,
been settled at one shilling 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 turkey was
already fastened at the " mark," but its body was
entirely hid by the surrounding snow, nothing being
visible but its red swelling head, and long proud
neck. If the bird was injured by any bullet that
struck below the snow, it was still to continue the
property of its present owner, but if a feather was
-touched in a visible part, the animal became the
prize of the successful adventurer.
These terms were loudly proclaimed firon the
mouth of the negro, who was seated in the snow,
in a somewhat hazardous vicinity to his favourite
bird, as Elizabeth and her cousin, the newly ap
pointed executive chief of the county, approached
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 somewhat chastened,
both in language and vehemence, by the presence
of such a spectator to their proceedings.
" Stand out of the way there, boys!" cried the
wood-chopper, who was placing himself at the
shooting point-" stand out of the way, you little
rascals, or I will shoot through you.  Now, Brom,
you may say good-by to that turkey."
" Stop!" cried the young hunter; " I am a candidate for a chance too. Here is my shilling, Brom:
I wish a shot too"




THE PIONEERS.              25;
" You may wish it in welcone," cried Kirby,
a but if I ruffle the gobbler's feathers, how are you
tc get it? Is money so plenty in your deer-skin
pocket, that you pay for a chance that you may
aever 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
a thing 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 but
a short distance for a long rifle.."
" What, old Leather-stocking, are you out this
morning," cried his reckless opponent.  "Well,
fair play's a jewel.  But 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'result. While the,vood-chopper was slowly and steadily raising his
rifle, he exclaimed"Fair play, Billy Kirby-stand back-make'eni




952             THE PION IERS.
stand back, boys-gib a nigger fair play -poss-upgobbler; shake a head, fool; don't a see'em pokin
gun at'em?"
These cries, which were intended as much to
distract the attention of the marksman, as for any
thing else, were, however, fruitless. The nerves
of the wood-chopper were not so easily shaken,
and he took his aim with the utmost deliberation.
The dead stillness of expectation 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 settled 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 with the
excess of his delight.
" Well done a gobbler," he cried, jumping up,
and affecting to embrace his bird; " I tell'em to
poss-up, and you see'em dodge. Gib anoder shilfin, 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
Ieather-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 maybe
we can make some sittlement 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,
at if the turkey's head had been any where but




THE PIONEERS.              253
lust where it was at the moment, the bird must
certainly have been killed.  There was not much
excitement produced by the preparations 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 wownds are apt to weaken the 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; "fail
play-gib a nigger fair play. What right a NatBumppo tell 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 ball returned from the " mark," they
declared that he had missed the stump.
Elizabeth observed the change in his countenance, and could not help feeling surprise, that one
so evidently superior to his companions, should
feel a trifling loss so sensibly. 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 failure of the second adventurer, vanished, the instant that Natty took his stand. His
skin became mottled with large brown spots, thb;t
sullied the lustre of his native ebony most fearfully,
while his enormous lips gradually compressed
around the 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 features of lis face, dilated, until they covered the
22




254              THE PIONEERS.
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 wer-?
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
Scoharie,"  said  Natty, carefully removing the
leather guard from the lock of his rifle, "jist before the breaking out of the last war, and there
was a shooting-match among the boys; so I tools
hand in it myself. I think I opened a good many
Dutch eyes that very day, for I won the powderhorn, three bars of lead, and a pound of as good
powder as ever flashed in the pan of a gun. Lord!
how they did swear in Garman! They did tell
of one drunken Dutchman, who said he'd have
the life of me, before I got 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 towards the bird. Every eye
glanced rapidly from the marksman 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 only.




THE PIONiERS.             255
"A snap- a snap," shouted the negro, springing
from his crouching posture, like a madman, before
his bird.  "A snap as good as a 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 contrary to the reason of the thing,
boy, that a snap should count for a fire, when one
is nothing more than a fire-stone striking a steel
pan, and the other is good lead, ay! and with a
good aim; 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
continued resolutely to maintain his post. " Ebbery body 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 shoulder, 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 ebbery ting."
This appeal to the knowledge of Richard was?
too flattering to be unheeded. He therefore ad.
vanced a little from the spot whither the delicacy
4f Elizabeth had induced her to withdraw, and




256             THE PION IERo.
gave the following opinion, with all the gravity
that the subject and his own rank demanded:" There seems to be a difference in opinion,"
he said, " 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." This fact was too self-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 theil
hands should not be heedlessly 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
"om analogy, which is, as it were, comparing one
hing 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 that
turkey all day.  I therefore am of opinion, that
Nathaniel Bumppo has lost his.chance, and must
pay another shilling before he renews his right."
As this opinion came fiom  such a high quarter,
and was delivered with so much effect, it silenced:mil 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 have been
dumb foundered in their notions. 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 re



THE PIONEERS.               257
new your 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
unwilling to lose the sport, though he lost his turkey. In the mean while, as Billy Kirby was prepar
Ing himself for another shot, Natty left the goal,
with an extremely dissatisfied manner, muttering
to himself, and speaking aloud" There hasn't been such a thing as a good flint
sold at the foot of the lake, since the time when
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 of ammunition, to get a livelihood, every
thing that's bad falls on him, like a judgment. But
I'11 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 in agreat measure depended on his care; nor did he neglect any means to
ensure his success. He drew up his rifle, and renewed his aim, again and again, still appearing reluctant to fire.  No sound was heard from even
Brom, during these portentous movements, until
Kirby discharged his piece, with the same want ot
success as before. Then, indeed, the shouts of the
negro rung through the bushes, and sounded among
the trees of the neighbouring forest, like the outcries of a tribe of Indians. He laughed, rolling his
lead, first on one side, then on the other, until naure seemed exhausted with mirth.  He danced.
until his legs were wearied with motion, in the
22 *




258             THE PIONEERS.
snow; and, in short, he exhibited all that violence
of joy that characterizes the mirth of a thoughtless
negro.
The wood-chopper had exerted his art, and felt
a proportionate degree of disappointment at his
tailure. 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 tc
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."
I' Look this a-way, Billy Kirby," said Leatherstocking, "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, madam,"
said the young hunter, " I shall decline another
chance.  My shoulder is yet weak, I find."
Elizabeth regarded his proud, but forced manner, and even 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 mace
nundreds of more momentous shots, at his enemies
or his game, yet he never exerted himself more to




THE PIONEERS.              259
excel.  He raised his piece three'seveial times;
once to get his range; once to calculate his distance; and once because the bird, alarmed by the
deathlike stillness that prevailed, turned its head
quickly, to examine its foes. But the fourth time
he 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 serious earnestness.  She even blushed a little as she turned
to the young hunter, and, with the insinuating
charm of a woman's best manner, added-" But it
was only to see an exhibition of the far-famed skill
of Ieather-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
ihis present was indescribable. He appeared to
yield to the exquisite blandishment of her air, in
opposition to a strong inward impulse to the contrary.  He bowed, and raised the victim  silently
Fom her feet, but continued silent
Elizabeth handed the black a piece of silver as




260             THE PIONEERS.
d remuneration for his loss, which had some effect
mi again unbending his muscles, and then expressed to her companion her readiness to return homewvard.
"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, to see who it was that so familiarly laid his
hand 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 dis
appointed Sheriff, who felt the loss of the first salutation as grievously as many a man would a much
greater misfortune; "and I 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 the 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 law; 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 smiling Marmaduke.  "I perceive
that Bess has executed her commission, and I hope
it met with a favourable reception."
Richard glanced his eye at the packet, which he




THE. PIONEERS.             26
held in his hand, and the slight anger produced by
his disappointment vanished instantly.
" Ah!'duke, my dear cousin," he said, " step a
little on one side; I have something I would say
to you."  Marmaduke complied, and the Sheriff
led him to a little distance 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
nle,'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, gravely, " 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 I the mother that him bare,
If she had been in presence there,
In his wan face, and sun-burnt 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 daughter, and drew  it through his
own, when he advanced from the spot whither Richard had led him to where the youth was stand
ing, in a musing attitude, leaning on his rifle, and
apparently contemplating the dead bird that lay at
his feet.  The presence, of Marmaduke did not interrupt the sports, which were resumed, by loud
and clamorous disputes concerning the conditions
of a chance, that involved the life of a bird ot much
inferior quality to the last.  Leather-stocking and
Mohegan had alone drawn aside to the place where
stood their youthful companion; and, although 1l.
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 Judge; but the sudden and inexplicable start,
with which the person spoken to received this unexpected address, caused him to pause a moment




THE PIONEERS.               263
in manifest surprise, also. 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 compensate you for what I have
done.  My kinsman, Richard Jones, has received
an appointment that will, in future, deprive me of
his assistance, and leaves me, just now, destitute 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 labour, for some time to come.
My doors are open to thee, my young friend, for
in this infant country we harbour no suspicions
little offering to tempt the cupidity of the evil disposed.  Become 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 loathing, with which the youth listened
to his speech: but after a powerful effort, as if 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 indicate; but I am fearful
that such new duties would interfere too much with
more important business: so that I must decline
your offer, and depend on my rifle, as before, for
my subsistence."
Richard here took occasion to whisper to thc
young lady, who had shrunk a little from the foreground of the picture" This, you see, cousin Bess, is the natural re
luctance of a half-breed to leave the savage state.




264             THE PIONEERS.
Their attachment to a wandering life is, I verily
believe, unconquerable."
" It is a precarious life," observed Marmaduke,
without hearing the Sheriff's observation, "and
one that brings more evils with it than present suffering.  Trust me, my young friend, my experience is greater than thine, when I tell thee, that
the unsettled life of these hunters is of vast disadvantage for temporal purposes, and it totally removes one from within 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 the raal thing. I have lived in the woods for
forty long years, and have spent five years at a
time without seeing the light of a clearing bigger
than a wind-row 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 living, 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 be healed. My
daughter here, who is mistress of my dwelling, will
tell thee that thou art welcome."
" Certainly," said Elizabeth, whose earnestness
was strongly checked by the assumption of a woman's.dignity.  " The unfortunate would be wel



THE PIONEERS.               65
ome 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 those
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
Eltuation, and circumstantially 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 evident contest in his feelings; at times he appeared
to wish eagerly for the change, and then again the
incomprehensible expression of disgust would cross
his handsome features, like a dark cloud obscuring
a noonday sun.
The- Indian, in whose manner the depression of
self-abasement was most powerfully exhibited, listened to the offers of the Judge with an interest
that increased with each syllable.  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 companion, he changed at once from his attitude and look
of shame to the fearless and proud front of an Indian warrior, and moving, with great dignity, closer
to the parties, he spoke in his turn.
" Listen to your Father," he said, "for his
words are old.  Let the Young Eagle and the
Great Land Chief eat together; let them  sleep,
without fear, near to 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
23




266             THE PIONEERS.
mix in the wigwam: it never will run in the same
stream in the battle.  What makes the brother ot
Miquon and the Young Eagle foes? They are of the
same tribe: their fathers and mothers are one.
Iearn to wait, my son: you have Delaware blood,
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 representations 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 engagement, it was
left at his option so to do. The remarkable and
ill-concealed reluctance of the youth to accept of
an offer, which most men in his situation would
consider as an unhoped-for elevation, occasioned
no little surprise in those of the spectators 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 commencing with the Judge, his daughter, and Richard,
who were slowly pursuing the way back to the
Mansion-house.
" I have surely endeavoured to remember the
holy mandates of our Redeemer, when he bids us
to' love them who despitefully use you,' in my
intercourse with this incomprehensible boy," said
IAarmaduke.  " I know not what there is in my
dwelling to frighten a lad of his years, unless i
may be thy presence and visage, Bess."
" No, no," said Richard, with great simplicity in
his manner; "it is not cousin Bess.  But when
did you ever know a half-breed,'duke, who could
bear civilization? For that matter, they are worse
than the savages themselves.  Did you notice how




THE PIONEERS.              267
knock-kneed he stood, Elizabeth, and what a wild
look he had in his eyes?"
" I heeded not his eyes, sir," returned the maid.
en,: 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 in our family. Truly, we are
much honoured 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 opposition to her own will, " it is youpleasure that he be a gentleman."
" Certainly; he is to fill the station of one;
him receive 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 genera
tions to make a gentleman.' There was my father,
whom every body 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 tirth of
his origin, but he was either a great merchant, in
London, or a great country lwyer."
"Here is a true American genealogy for you,




268             THE PIONEERS.
said Marmaduke, laughing.  " It does very well,
till you get across the water, where, as every
thing is obscure, it is certain to deal in the superlative. You are sure that your English progenitor was
great, Dickon, whatever his profession might be?"
"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 honourable 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 furnished with worldly gear than themselves. But,
here, all are equal who know  how to conduct
themselves with propriety; 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 revraint."
" Surely, Dickon, you will not execute till I condemn!" said Marmaduke.  " 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 the 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 PIONEERS.              265
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 great 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, towards the foot of the mountain, where their hut
stood, that the youth exclaimed" Who could have foreseen this, a montn since!
I have consented to serve Marmaduke Templet
to be an inmate in the dwelling of the greatest enemy of my race! Yet 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 Leatherstocking, 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 am sartain 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 white myself, and was born nigh York,,nd of honest parents too."
" I will submit," said the youth; I will forget
23 *




,0}             THE PIONEERS.
who I am. Cease to remember, old Mohegan, that
I am the descendant 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 bondsman-his slave'
Is it not an honourable servitude, old man I"
" Old man!" repeated the Indian, solemnly, and
pausing in his walk, as usual, when mach excited-'" yes; John is old. Son of my brother! if Mohe
gan 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," returned the Leather-stocking; " but I can
go without a meal now, on occasion. When we
tracked the Iroquois through the'Beech-woods,'
they druv 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 you ever laid eyes on
It would have done your heart raal good to have
seen the Delawares eat-for I was out scouting
and scrimmaging with theil tribe, at the very time.
Lord! the 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,'fore 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
eat of his meat raw. John was there, and John




THE PIONEERS.              271
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 friends," cried the youth
"I feel that every where the sacrifice is required
at my hands, and it shall be made; but say no
more, I entreat you; I cannot bear this subjec
now."
His companions were silent, and they soon reached the hut, which they entered, after removing
certain complicated and ingenious fastenings, that
were put there, apparently to guard a property of
but very little value.  Immense 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 precipice, and
held a soil that noui'ished 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, notwithstanding the Divine fixed his eyes intently on the Indian, 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 curlou




272              THE PIONEERS.
congregation had reached their different eabinsa
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 before had been only traced
by the long lines of white mounds, that ran across
the valley and up the mountains, peeped out, in
spots, from their light covering; and the black
stubs were momentarily becoming more distinct,
as large masses of snow and ice fell from 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 colour of the frozen element, reluctantly dropped its mask, and the houses exposed their dark
roofs and smoked chimneys.  The pines shook off
their covering of snow, and every thing seemed to
be assuming its proper hue, with a rapidity of
transition that bordered on'the supernatural.




CHAPTER XIX.
s" And yet, poor Edwin was no vulgar boy."
Beattie
TIIE close of Christmas day, A  D. 1793, wi,
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 leas'
vestige of light lingered over the tops of the dark
pines, with a curiosity that was rather excited than
appeased 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 walled slowly up
and down the hall, musing on the 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 fiom his situation. The expiring heat
of the apartment,-for its great size required a day
to reduce its temperature, —had given to her cheeks
a richness of bloom  that exceeded their natural
colour, while the mild rld melancholy features of




274             THE PIONEERS
Louisa were brightened with a faint tinge, that,
like the hectic glow of disease, gave a painful interest to her beauty.
The eyes of the gentlemen, who were yet Peated around the rich wines of Judge Temple, frequently wandered from th  table, that was placed
at one end of the hall, to the lovely forms that were
nilently moving over its length.  Much mirth, and
that5 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 respected the presence of his clerical
guest too much, to indulge in even the innocent
humour, 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 substitutes for the departing daylight. The appearance of Benjamin,
staggering under the burthen.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 Madeira, to keep up the animal
heat through this thaw?  Remember, 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 sunk into a hum, while the
Major-domo threw down his load, and turning to
his interrogator with an air of great earnestness,
tie replied —




THE PIONEERS.              27T
"Why, look you, Squire Dickens, mayhap
there's a warm latitude round about the table there,
thof it's not the stuff to raise the heat in my body,
neither; the raal Jamaiky being the only thing to
do that, beside good wood, or some such matter as
Newcastle coal. But, if I know any thing of 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 wea
ther, Benjamin?" inquired the master of the house.
" There's a shift of wind, your honour," 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, d'ye
see, about the time we licked De Grasse, Mounsheer Ler Quaw's countryman, there; and the
wind was here at the south'ard and east'ard; and I
was 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 Captain'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 fore-sail ag'in
the mast, whiz went the ship round on her hel,
like a whirligig. And a lucky thing was it that oui
helm was down; for as she gathered starnway she
payed off, which was more than every ship in the
fleet did, or could do. But she strained herself ip
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 looking up the aftei-hatch at the
instant."




2'8             THE, PIONEERS.
"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
ha-ads was called to the pumps, and there we begun 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 bellows; and there's a streak along the
mountain, to the north'ard, that, just now, was'nt
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 morning watch is called."
" Thou art a prudent sentinel," said the Judge.'Act thy pleasure with the forests, for this night
it least."
Benjamin did as he was ordered; nor had two
hcurs elapsed, before the prudence of his precau.
tions 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 before the family
retired to rest, the cold had become cuttingly severe; and when Monsie-r Le Quoi sallied forth,
under a bright moon, to seek his own abode, he




THE PIONEERS.              277
was compelled to beg a blanket, in which he might
envelope his form, in addition to the numerous
garments that his sagacity had provided for the occasion. The divine and his daughter remained, as
inmates of the Mansion-house, during the night,
and the excess of last night's merriment induced
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, when 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 circumstances, in
an apartment where the fire has not yet ceased to
glimmer; and curtains, and shutters, and feathers,
unite to preserve the desired temperature in the
air. Once, just as her eyes had opened, apparently
in the last stage of drowsiness, the roaring winds
brought with them a long and plaintive howl, that
seemed too wild for a dog, and yet strongly resemnbled the cries of that faithful animal, when night
awakens his vigilance, and gives sweetness and solemnity to his alarms.  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-stocking?"' They are wolves, who have ventured from the,nountain, on the lake," whispered Louisa, "and
who are only kept from the village by the lights.!)ne night, since we have been here, hunger drove
them  to our very doors.  Oh! what a dreadful
night it was! But the riches of Judge Temple
24




278             THE PIONEERS.
have given him too many safeguaids, to leave room
for fear in this house."
"The enterprise of Judge Temple is taming the
very forests!" exclaimed Elizabeth, proudly, throwing off the covering, and partly rising in the bed.
" How rapidly is civilization treading on the footsteps 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 d;stant, but often iepeated howls from  the lake.
Finding, however, that the timidity of her com.
panion rendered the sounds painful to her, Elizabeth resumed her place by her side, 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 their
fire, awoke the young maidens who form such conspicuous subjects in our tale. 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 endeavoured to look abroad on the
village and the lake.  But a thick covering of frost,
on the panes of glass, while it admitted the light
hid the view.  She raised the sash, and then, indeed, a most 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, owing to its position, shone like
bright steel; while the enormous icicles, that were
pendent from every roof, caught the brilliant light,
appa ently throwing it from  one to the other, as




THE PIONEERS.              279
each gJittered, on the. side next to the luminary,
with a golden lustre, that melted away, on its opposite into the dusky shades of a background.
But it was the appearance of the boundless forests,
that covered the hills, as they rose, in the distance,
one over the other, that most attracted the gaze
of Miss Temple.  The huge branches of the pines
and hemlocks, on the western mountains, bent
with the weight of the ice they supported, while
their summits rose above the swelling tops of the
oaks, beeches, and maples, like spires of burnished
silver issuing from domes of the same material.
The limits of the view, in this direction, 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
western horizon.  In the foreground of the pi
ture, along the shores of the lake, and near to the
village, each tree seemed studded with diamonds,
that emitted their dancing rays, as the branches
waved gently under the impulse of the air.  Even
the sides of the mountains where the rays of the
sun could not yet fall, were decorated with a glassy
coat, that presented every gradation of brilliancy,
from the first touch of the luminary to the dark
foliage of the hemlock, glistening through its coat
of crystal. In short, the whole view was one scene
of quivering radiancy, as lake, mountains, 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 conplied; 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 hei
roice



c80             THE PIONEERS
" The change is indeed wonderful! 1 am sur
prised that he should be able to effect it so soon."
Elizabeth turned in amazement, to hear such a
skeptical 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 before the door of
the building, in earnest conversation with her father. A second look was necessary, before she
was able to recognise the person of the young
hunter, in a plain, but, assuredly, the ordinary garb
of a gentleman.
" Every thing in this magical country seems to
border on the marvellous," said Elizabeth; " and
among all the changes, this is certainly not the least
wonderful.  I am  not surprised, that your eye,aught this transformation, without noticing the
changes in the view.  The actors are as unique as
the scenery."
Miss Grant coloured highly, and drew in her
head, as she answered" I am  a simple girl, Miss Temple, and I am
afraid you will find me but a poor companion. I
— I am not sure that I understand all that you say.
But I really thought that you wished me to notice
thle alteration in Mr. Edwards.  Is it not more
wonderful, when we recollect his origin? They
say he is part Indian."
He is certainly a genteel savage," returned
the smiling Elizabeth.  " But let us go down, and
give the Sachem his tea;-for I suppose he is a
descendanlt of King Philip, if not a grandson of
Pocahontas."
The ladies were met in the hall by Judge Tem.
ple, who took his daughter aside, to apprise hei of




THE PIONEERS.               286
that alteration in the appearance of their new in
mate, with which she was already acquainted.
" He appears reluctant to converse on his formel situation," continued Marmaduke; "but I
gather from his discourse, as is apparent from his
manner, that he has seen better days; and I really
am 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 manner,
and"
" 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 Mohawk language, he must be content
lo speak English; and as for his behaviour, I trust:o your discernment to control it."
"Ay! but, Bess," said the Judge, detaining her
gently with his hand, " nothing must be said to him
)f his past life. This he has begged particularly
of me, as a favour. He is, perhaps, a little soured,.ust now, with his wounded arm; but the injury
seems very light, and another time he may be more
communicative."
" Oh! I am not much troubled, sir, with that
laudable thirst after knowledge, that is called curiosity. I shall believe him to be the child of Cornstalk, or Corn-planter, or some other renowned
chieftain; possibly of the Big Snake himself; and
slall 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 disappear as suddenly as he made his entrance.
So come, my dear sir, and let us not forget the rites
of hospitality, for the short time he is to remain
iith us."
Judge Temple smiled at the graceful playfulness
of his child, and taking her arm, they entered the
24 *




282             THE PIONEERS.
breakfast parlour, 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
much of his time, in remote parts of the country,
and his daughter became almost a constant visiter'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 adventurers for
farms, the winter passed swiftly away.  The lake
was a principal scene for the amusements of the
young people; where the ladies, in their one-horse
cutter, driven by Richard, and attended, 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 pot-ashes,
afforded a cleat demonstration that all these labours




THE PIONEERS.               283
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 intb those
wild mountains in search of competence and happiness.
The village was alive with business; the artisans
increasing 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, towards the Mohawk, along which
a regular vehicle glided, semi-weekly, with the velocity of lightning, and under the direction of a
knowing whip from the " down countries."  Towards spring, divers families, who had been into
the " old states," to see their relatives, returned,
in time to save the snow, frequently bringing with
them whole neighbourhoods, who were tempted by
their representations to leave the farms of Connecticuf and Massachusetts, and make a trial in the
woods for fortune.
During all this time, Oliver Edwards, whose
sudden elevation excited no surprise in that changeful country, was earnestly engaged in the service
)f 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,




284             THE PIONEERS..
but with much zeal and apparent interest to all the
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 certainly excited ntuch speculation in those to whom they were
known, but no comments were made, excepting
occasionally, in whispers from Richard, who would
say" I, is not at all remarkable;-a half-breed can
neveir e weaned from the savage wfr, any more
thaw  "ull-blooded Indian."




CHAPTER XX.
Away I nor let me loiter in my song,
For we have many a mountain path to tread."
Byron
As the spring gradually approached, the ifnmense piles of snow, that by alternate thaws and
fiosts, and repeated storms, had obtained a firmness that threatened a tiresome 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 intercepted the rays
of the sun were not more cold and dreary than
the reaction which crossed the creation. These
struggles between the seasons became, daily, more
frequent, while the earth, like a victim to conten



286             THE PIONEEIS.
tion, slowly lost the animated brilliancy of wintei
without obtaining the decided 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 movements of the time of snow, to
the laborious and domestic engagements of the
coming season. The village was no longer thronged with visiters; the trade, that had enlivened the
shops for several months, began to disappear; the
highways lost their shining coats of beaten snow
in impassable sloughs, and were deserted by the
gay and noisy travellers who, in sleighs, had, during the winter, glided along their windings; and,
in short, every thing seemed indicative of a mighty
change, not only in the earth itself, but in those
also, who derived their sources of comfort and happiness from her bosom.
The younger members of the family in the Manlsion-house, of which Louisa Grant was now habltually 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 pleasure, on the bosom of their frozen
lake. There had been rides in the equipage of
Richard, when, with his four horses, he had outstripped the winds with its speed, 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 hand-sleds, impelled by the gentlemen, on skates. would each ir.
their turn be used; and, in short, every source of




THE PIONEERS.               287
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 necessary to the habits of the family, when
the constant recurrence of frosts and thaws ren.
dered the roads, which were dangerous at the
most favourable times, utterly impassable for wheels,
saddle horses were used as substitutes for theil
other conveyances.  Mounted on small and sure
footed beasts, the ladies would again attempt the
passages of the mountains, and penetrate into every
- retired glen, where the enterprise of a settler had
induced him to establish himself. 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 unfiequently mingled in their parties, with, an unconcern and gayety, that for a short time, would, apparently, expel all unpleasant recollections from
his mind. Habit, and the buoyancy of youth, seemed 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 intercourse with Marmaduke, that had distinguished their conversations
n 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
-er 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' sugai




288             THE PIONEERS.
lbush' 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 remenber;'duke, that I had him his first season, in our own
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 with his own hands, thof 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, was'nt as white as
an old top-gallantsail, but which my friend Mistress Pretty-bones, within there, said had the true
molasses smack to it; and you are not the one,
Squire Dickens, to be told that Mistress Remarkable 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 to do so, at the moment.  When all were safely in their saddles, the
whole 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 centred in the village.
As each night brought with it a severe frost,




THE PIONEERS.              289
which the heat of the succeeding day served to
dissipate, the equestrians were compelled to proceed singly along the margin of the road, where
the turf, and firmness of the ground, gave their
horses a secure footing. Very trifling indications
of approaching vegetation were to be seen, the
surface of the earth presenting a cold, wet, and
cheerless aspect that almost chilled the blood of
the spectator.  The snow yet lay scattered over
most of those distant 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 tle 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 solitary cloud that lingered near the mountain, and through an atmosphere that softened the colours of the sensible horizon until it shone like a sea of virgin 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
Doctor Franklin-it might be done, Judge TemUle.'
25




290              THE PIONEERS.
" The first object of my solicitude, friend Jonles,"
returned 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 knowest, Richard, that I have already subjected our sugar to the process of the refiner, and that the result has produced loaves as white as the snow on
yon fields, and possessing the saccharine quality
in its utmost purity."
" Saccharine, or turpentine, or any other'ine,
Judge Temple, you lave never made a loaf larger
than a good sized sugar-plun," returned the She.
riff.  "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
matter, two hundred thousand acres of land, as you
do, I would build a sugar-house in the village; 1
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,
dam'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 Eliza
beth; " turn your potash-kettles into tea-cups, the
scows on the lake into saucers: bake your cake in
yonder lime-kiln, and invite the county to a teaparty.  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




THE PIONERSE,.        1) 
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 extremely 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 drinks her tea. There are two
ways of doing every thing; 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 into the best possible
loaves."
c Thou art very right, Richard," observed Matmaduke, with a gravity in his air, that proved how
much he was interested in the subject. " It is very true that we manufacture sugar, but the inquiry
is quite useful to make, 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 those noble trees,
hat occur so frequently in that part of the country.-" Hoeing trees! are you mad,'duke? This
is next to hunting for coal! Poh! poh! my deal
cousin, hear reason, and leave the management of




292             THE PIONEERS.
the sugar-bush to me. Here is Mr. Le Quoi, he
has been in the West Indies, and seen sugar made
uften. 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; any thing in Judge
Temple's fashion?"
The gentleman to whom this query was put was
mounted 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 slippery; and although the Gaul had an
eye of uncommon magnitude on either side of his
face, they did not seem to be half competent to
forewarn him of the impediments of bushes, twigs,
and fallen trees, that were momentarily crossing
his path. With one hand employed in averting
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 eet in Martinique: mais
-mais eet is not from von tree; eet is from  ah
-ah-vat you call-.-Je voudrois que ces chemins
filssent au diable-vat you call-von steeck pour
eI 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 na



THE PIONEERS.             293
pie, 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 the heiress to the youth, who was opening
a passage for herself and her companions through
the bushes-" or perhaps it is a still more learned
language, for an interpretation of which we must
look to you."
The dark eye of the young man glanced towards
the maiden, with a keenness bordering on ferocity; but its expression changed, in a moment, to
the smiling playfulness of her own face, as he answered" 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
language?" asked Elizabeth, with an impetuosity
that spoke a lively interest in the reply.
" 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 a
quickness that equalled her former interest.
" It is a common language with the Iroquois, and
through the Canadas." he answered, with an equivocal smile.
" 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
thus putting an end to the evasive dialogue.
The discourse, however, was maintained with
great vigour by Richard. until they reached an
open wood on the summit of the mountain, where
the hemlocks and pilros totally disappeared, and a
25 A




294. THE PIONEERS.
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 underwood had been entirely removed from
(his grove, or bush, as in conjunction with the simole 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 with their stems 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 spouts, 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 rung under the branches of the trees, singing
the following words of that inimitable doggrel,
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 American ever hears its
jingling caduence without feeling a thrill at his
heart.' The Eastern States be full of men,
The Western full of woods, Sir,
T he hills be like a cattle pen,
The roads be full of goods, si!




THE PIONEERS.                    295
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, &c.
"And what's a man without his glass,
His wife without her tea, sir?
But neither cup nor mug will pass,
Without this honey-bee, sir I
Then flow away," &c.
During  the execution  of this sonorous dltty,
Richard kept time with his whip on the mane of
lis charger, accompanying the gestures with a corresponding movement of his head and body. Towards the close of the song, he was overheard
humming the chorus, and at its last repetition, to
strike  in at "sweety  sap,"  and carry  a  second
through, with a prodigious addition to the " effect"
of the noise, if dot 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" canm,"
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




296            THE PIONEERS.
the apology for a hat that he wore, or by any other
motion than the one we have mentioned.
"How goes it, how goes it, Sheriff?" said the
wood-chopper; "what's the good word to-day?"
" Why, much as usual, Billy," returned Richard. "But how is this! where are your four
kettles, and your troughs, and your iron coolers?
I)o you make sugar in this slovenly way! I thought
you were one of the best sugar-boilers in the
coutnty."
"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 nateral to me."
" You be von Jack All-trade, Mister Beel," said
Monsieur 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 Garman Flats is from stumps, and it has
the raal maple flavour. 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 dissatisfaction at the careless manner in which the manufacture was conducted.




THE PIONEERS.              29
" You have much experience in these things,
rbyy," he said; " what is the course you pursue
in making your sugar? I see that 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, maybe 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?"
" Why, there's judgment in all things," said
Kirby, stirring the liquor in his kettles briskly.
"There's something in knowing when and how
much to stir the pot.  It's a thing that must be
larnt. Rome wasn't built in a day, nor, for that
matter, Templetown'ither, 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, freshlooking bark; for trees have disorders just like
creaters: and where's the policy of taking a tree
that's sickly, any more than you'd choose a foun~tred horse to ride post, or an overheated ox to'o vour logging —"
"All this is true: But what are your signs of
illness? holy 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 feeling the pulse, tobe sure."
" Sartain," continued Billy, "the Squire an't
far out of the way. It's by the look of the thing.
sure enough. —Well, whe  the sap begins to get a




298             THE PIONEERS.
free run, I hang over the kettles, and set up the
bush.  My first boiling I push pretty smart, till 1
get the vartoo of the sap; but when it begins to
grow of a molasses nater, like this in the kettle,
one musn't drive the fires too hard, or you'll burn
the sugar: and burny sugar is always 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 ma
nage it. There is a way to drain it off, after it
has grained, by putting clay into the pans: but it
is'nt always practysed: some doos, and some
doosn't.-Well, Mounsher, be we likely to make
a trade?"
" I vill give you, Mister Beel, for von pound —
dix sous."
" No, I expect cash for't: I never dicker away
my sugar.  But, seeing that it's you, Mounsher,"
said Billy, with a coaxing smile, " I'll agree to take
a gallon of rum, and cloth enough for two shirts, if
you will 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 I ever
seed come out of a sugar-.bush."
" Mr. Le Quoi has offered you ten pence," said
young Edwards.
The manufacturer stared at the speaker, with an
%ir of great freedom, but made no reply.
" Oui," said the Frenchman, " ten penny. Je
voes remeycie, Monsieur: ah! mon Anglois! je
i'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.  Ho seized the enormous ladle, which
was lying in one of his kettles, and began to stir




THE PIONEERS.              2`.
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 I guess you will
say it is worth more than you offer. The molasses
itself would fetch twice 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.
lHe clapped his hand on his breast, and looked
most piteously at the ladies,' for a single instant,
and then, to use the language of Billy, when he
afterwards recounted the tale, "no drumsticks ever
wvent faster on the skin of a sheep, than the Frenchman's legs, for a round or two: and then, such
swearing and spitting, in French, you never seen.
But it's a knowing one, from the old countries, that
thinks to get his jokes smoothly over a Yankee
wood-chopper."
The air of innocence with which Kirby resumed
the occupation of stirring the contents of his kettle,
would have completely deceived the spectators, as
to his agency in the temporary suffering 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 exmlisite to be true to nature.  Mr. Le Quoi soon
recovered his presence of mind, and his decorum;
tie briefly apologized to the ladies for one or two
very intemperate expressions, that had escaped him
in a moment of extraordinary excitement, and remounting his horse, he continued in the background during the remainder of their visit, the wit
of Kirby putting a violent termination, at once, to




300             THE PIONEERS.
all negotiations on the subject of trade.  Durng
all this time, Marmaduke had been wandering
about the grove, making his observations on his
favourite trees, and the wasteful manner in which
the wood-chopper conducted his manufacture.
" It grieves me to witness the extravagance that
pervades this country," said the Judge, " where
the settlers trifle with the blessings they might en
joy, 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 a plenty
of any thing 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 acres, with my
own hands, counting both Varmount and York
states; and I hope to live to finish the whull, before I lay up my axe. Chopping comes quite nateral to me, and I wish no other empl'yment; but
Jared Ransom said that he thought the sugar was
likely to be scurce this season, seeing that so many folks was coming into the settlement, and so I
concluded to take the'bush' on sheares, for this
one spring. What's the best news, Judge, consarning ashes? do pots hold so that a man can live
by them still? I s'pose that they will if they keep
on fighting."
"Thou reasonest with judgment, William," returned Marmaduke. " So long as the old world
is to be convulsed with wars, so long will the harvest in America continue."




THE PIONEERS,               0 ]' 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 children, yet, to my
eyes they are a sore sight at 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 heern 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 humsteads, and scattered
over their farms, just to look on. Now, I call no
country much improved, that is pretty well covered with trees.  Stumps are a different thing, bor
they don't shade the land; and besides, if you dig
them, they make a fence that will turn any thing
bigger than a hog, being grand for breachy cattle."
"Our notions 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 approaches,
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 sugaicamp, on their way to the promised landscape of
Richard.  The wood-chopper was left alone, in
the bosom of the forest, to pursue his labours. 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
tunder 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
26




302                      THE PIONEERS.
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,
Woe, back there, and hoy and gee;
Till our labour is mutually ended,
By nW strength and cattle befriended,
And against the musquitoes defended,
By the bark of the walnut-tree."Away I then, you lads who would buy land,
Choose the oak that grows on the high land
a the silvery pine on the dry land,
i& ratters but little to me2}




CHAPTER XXI
Speed I Malise, speed i such cause of haste
Thine active sinews never brac'dJ.
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 of unusual width.
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 mould 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, there were the inequalities of a natural
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 uneasiness, as their horses toiled through the sloughs,
or trotted with uncertain paces along their dark
route.  In many places, the marks on the trees
were the only indications of a road, with, perhaps,
an occasional remnant of pine, that, by being cut




104              THE PIONEERS.
close to the earth, so as leave nothing visible but
its base of roots, spreading for twenty feet in every
direction, Was apparently placed there as a beacon,
to warn the traveller that it was the centre of the
highway.
Into one of these roads the active Sheriff led the
way, first striking out of the footpath, by which
tley had descended from  the sugar-bush, across
a little bridge, formed of round logs laid loosely on
sleepers of pine, in which large openings were frequent, and in one instance, of a formidable width.
The nag of Richard, when it reached this barrier,
laid its nose along the logs, and stepped across the
difficult passage with the sagacity of a man; lut
the blooded filly which Miss Temple rode disdained so humble a movement. - She made a step ol
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.
" 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 journey 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 must 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 venturest 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.




THE PIONEERS.              305
my Elizabeth. If thou hadst seen this district of
country, as I did, when it lay in the sleep of nature, and witnessed its rapid changes, as it awoke
to supply the wants of man, thou wouldst curb thy
impatience for a little time, though thou shouldst
not check thy steed."
" I have a remembrance of hearing you speak,
sir, of your first visit to these woods, but the recollection of it 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 interested fervour 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 remember when I left thee and thy mother, to take
my first survey 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 encountered 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
Nho look around them, now, and see the loads of
produce that issue out of every wild path in these
26 *




306             THE PIONEERS.
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 overheai the last of this speech, between the notes of
the wood-chopper's song, which he was endeavouring 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-andague visages. Monsieur Le Quoi, there, fell away
like a pumpkin in drying; nor do I 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 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 commanded 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 Mohawk, and swept
away the means of subsistence, like a swarm of
locusts.  Nor were the people on the Flats in a




THE PIONEERS                307
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
nman, 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 approached 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, whicl
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
all 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 paralysed the enterprise and efforts of,ny settlers; hunger drove them  to the woods for
food, but despair sent them, at night, enfeebled and
wvan, to a sleepless pillow. It was not a moment
for inaction. I purchased cargoes of wheat from
the granaries of Pennsylvania; they were landed
at Albany, and brought up the Mohawk in boats 




308             THE PIONEERS.
from thence it was transported on pack-horses intu
the wilderness, and distributed among my people.
Seines were made, and the lakes and rivers wver
dragged foi fish. Something like a miracle was
wrought in our favour, for enormous shoals of herring were discovered 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."
" Yes," cried Richard, " and I was the man who
served out both the fish and the salt. When the
poor devils came to receive 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
measurement.  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, utterly disregarding the interruption of his
cousin, " he who hears of the settlement of a country knows but little of the actual 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, back near
the farms of the Cherry Valley, 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 deceptions of a dream. The fire had run over the




THE PIONEERS.             30!)
pinnacle, and, in a great measure, laid open the
view. The leaves were fallen, and I mounted a
tree, and sat lor 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, during
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 behind 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 little Susquehanna was then hid, by the
height and density of the forest."
"A And were you there alone?" asked Elizabeth; "passed you the night in that solitary state?"
" Not so, my child," returned her father. " After musing on the scene for an hour, with a mingled feeling of pleasure and desolation, I left my
perch and descended 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 wind-row 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 mrade my solitary dinner; I had just
finished my repast as I saw a smoke curling from




110            THE PIONEERS.
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 Wiile I was lingering around the spot, Natty made his appearance,
staggering under the load of 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 morning; 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 continued the discourse, by asking, with a smile lurking around his features" 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, and
the cordiality of his manner very sensibly diminished, or, I might better say, disappeared.  He
considered the introduction of the settlers as ani
innovation on his rights, I believe; for he expressed much dissatisfaction at the measule, though it
was in his confused and ambiguous manner.  I




THE PIONEERS.               311
hardly understood his objections myself, but supose they referred chiefly to an interruption of the
hunting."
" Had you then purchased the estate, or were
you examining 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 learnt the nature of my journey.
I slept on his own bear-skin, however, and in the
morning joined my surveyors again."
" Said he nothing of the Indian rights, sir?"
continued Edwards.  "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 then 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
our country can affect my title.". " Doubtless, sir, your title is both legal and
equitable," returned the youth, coldly, reigning his
horse back, and remaining silent till the subject
was changed.
It was seldom that Mr. Jones suffered any conersation to continue, for a great length of time,
without his participation. It seems that he was of,he party that Judge Temple 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 it a narration of their further proceedings, after his own
manner   A.s it wasted, however, the interest that




312             THE PIONEERS.
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 peculiar scenes that belong to the
Otsego, blt which required the absence of the ice,
and the softness of a summer's landscape, to be en-,
joyed in dll its beauty. Marmaduke had early forewarned his daughter of the season and of its effect
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. The winter
seems to retreat to the fastnesses 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," observed the Sheriff; " and the garrison under the command of Jack Frost made formidabre
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, logbridges, and sloughs that formed the aggregate of
the highway.  " Je vous entend; de low countrie.
it ees freeze up for half de year."
The error of Mr. Le Quoi was not noticed by the




THE PIONEERS.             31?
Sheriff; and the rest of the party were yielding to
the influence of the changeful season, that was already teaching the equestrians that a continuance
of its mildness was not to be expected for any
length of time. Silence and thoughtfulness succeeded the gayety and conversation that had prevailed during the commencement of their 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 occurred 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 north-wester.
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, and was followed
by Mr. Le Quoi; next to whom rode Elizabeth,
who seemed to have imbibed the distance which
pervaded the manner of young Edwards, since the
termination of the discourse between the latter and
her father.  Marmaduke followed his daughter.
giving her frequent and tender warnings as to her
safety and the management of her horse. It was.
possibly, the evident dependence that Louisa Grant
placed on his assistance, which induced the youth
to continue by her side, as they pursued their way
thiough a dreary and dark wood. where the rays
27




314             THE PIONEERS.
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 stillness
that often precedes a storm, contributed to render
their situation more irksome than if they were already subjected 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, bending 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 unconscious but alarmed air, at the very cause
of their danger, while she listened to the crackling
sounds that awoke the stillness of the forest; but,
the next instant, her bridle was seized by her father, who cried" God protect my child!" and she felt herself
hurried onward, impelled by the vigour of his
nervous arm.
Each one of the party bowed to their saddlebows, 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




THE PIONEERS.               315
caused the very earth to tremble, as one of the noblest ruins in 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, with
his form thrown back in his saddle to its utmost
distance, his left hand drawing up his bridle with
its greatest force, while the right grasped that of
Miss Grant, so as to draw the head of her horse
under its body. Both the animals stood shaking
in every joint with terror, and snorting feartully.
The maiden 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 yielding in her saddle; and but for his arm,
she would have sunken 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. Aftei
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 falling of the trees," said Marma
duke, "are the most dangerous of our accidents in
the forest, for they are not to be foreseen, being




316             THE PIONEERS.
impelled by no winds, nor any extraneous or visible cause, against which we can guard."
"The reason of their falling, Judge Temple, is
very obvious," 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 any thing, than
a mathematical certainty. I studied mathe~"
" Very true, Richard," interrupted Marmaduke;
"thy reasoning is true, and if my memory be not
over treacherous, 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
any thing, sir. Do any trees fall in this manner,
but such as are decayed? Take care not to ap-'
proach the roots of any rotten trees, and you will
be safe enough."
" That would be excluding us entirely from the
forests," 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 of
her 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 Mansionhouse, the black plumes of Miss Temple's hat
were drooping with the weight of a load of damp




THEi PIONEERS.           317
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
fervour, and whispered" 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 hid under one dazzling coal
of snow.
27 *




CHIAPTERl    XIXII
" Men, boys, and girls,
Desert th) unpeopled village; and wild crowds
Spread o'er the plain, by the sweet frenzy driven.'
Somerville.
FROM this time to the close of April, the wea-.her continued to be a succession of great and rapid changes.  One day, the soft airs of spring
would seem 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 summits of the woods of maple. The lake had lost all the characteristic beauty of a field of ice, but still a dark and gloomy covering concealed its waters, for the absence of currents left them yet hid under a porous crust, which,
saturated with the fluid, barely retained enough of
its strength to preserve the contiguity of its parts




THE PIONEERS.               319
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 an
opening, where they might find a resting-place;
and then, on finding themselves excluded by the
chill covering, would soar away to the north, filling
the air with their 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
proudly eyeing the extent of their undisputed territory. 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 protection of the forests, while
the white and bald heads of the tenants of the lake
were turned upward, with a look of majestic contempt, as if penetrating to the very heavens with
the acuteness of their vision.  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
had prevented the formation of ice, during even
the coldest weather; and the fresh southerly
winds, that now breathed freely up the valley, obtained an impression on the waters.  Mimic waves
began to curl over the margin of the frozen field,
which exhibited an outline of crystallizations, that
slowly receded towards the north.  At each step
the power of the winds and the waves increased,
intil, after a struggle of a few hours, the turbulent
tittle billows succeeded in setting the whole field
in an undulating motion, when it was driven beyond the reach of the eye, with a rapidity that was
-s magical as the change produced in the scene by




320             THE PIONEERS.
this expulsion of the lingering remnant oi winter.
Just as the last sheet of agitated ice was disappearing in the distance, the eagles rose over the border
of crystals, and soared with a wide sweep far above
the clouds, while the waves tossed their little caps
of snow into the air, as if rioting in their release
from a thraldom of five months' duration
The following morning Elizabeth was awakened
by the exhilarating sounds of the martins, who
were quarrelling and chattering around the little
boxes that were suspended above her windows,
and the cries of Richard, who was calling, in tones
as animating as the signs of the season itself" Awake! awake! my lady fair! the gulls are
hovering over the lake already, and the heavens
are alive with the pigeons. You may look an hour
before you can find a hole, through which to get a
peep at the sun. Awake! awake! lazy ones!
Benjamin is overhauling the ammunition, and we
only wait for our breakfasts, and away for the
mountains and pigeon shooting."
There was no resisting this animated appeal, and
in a few minutes Miss Temple and her friend descended to the parlour. 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 impa
tiently waiting for their morning's repast, each be
inm  equipt in the garb of a sportsman.  Mr. Jones
made many visits to the southern door, and would
yry-' See, cousin Bess! see,'duke, the pigeonroosts of the south have broken up! They are
growing moi e thick every instant.  Here is a flock
4hat the eye cannot see the end of. There is food




THE PIONEERS.               321
enough in it to keep the army of Xerxes for a
month, and feathers enough to make beds for the
whole county.  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 from the mountain."
In this wish both Marmaduke and young Edwards seemed equally to participate, for the sight
was most exhilarating to a sportsman; and the ladies soon dismissed the party, after a hasty breakfast.
If the heavens were alive with pigeons, the
whole village seemed equally in motion, with men,
women, and children.  Every species of fire-arms,
from the French ducking-gun, with its barrel of
near six feet in length, to the common horseman's
pistol, was to be seen in the hands of the men and
boys; while bows and arrows, some made of the
simple stick of a 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, towards the mountains, along
the sides and near the bases of which they were
glancing in dense masses, that were equally wonderful by the rapidity of their motion, as by 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 mountain, and
along the dangerous path that was cut into its side,




22              THE PIONEERS,
the different individuals posted themselves, as
suited their inclinations; and in a few moments
the attack commenced.
Among the sportsmen was to be seen the tall,
gaunt form of Leather-stocking, who was walking
over the field, with his rifle hanging on his arm,
his dogs following close at his heels, now scentir g
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, covering the field with darkness, like an interposing
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, for
many feet into the air, in a vain effort to escape
the attacks of man. Arrows, and missiles of every
kind, were seen 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 arrangements for an assault
of a more than ordinarily fatal character.  Among
the relics of the old military excursions, that occasionally are discovered throughout the different
districts of the western part of New-York, there
had been found in Templeton, at its settlement, a
smail lwivel> which would carry a ball of a pound




THE PIONEERS.             323
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 their
convenience or their necessities induced them to
leave such an incumbrance behind them  in the
woods. This miniature 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 rejoicings that was used in those mountains. On the
mornings of the Fourths of July, it would be heard,
with its echoes ringing among the hills, and telling
forth its sounds, for thirteen times, with all the
dignity of a two-and-thirty pounder; 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 for a salute. It was somewhat the
worse for the service it had performed, it is true,
there being but a trifling difference in size between
the touch-hole and the muzzle.  Still, the grand
conceptions of Richard had suggested the importance 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 soon announced
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 their cries of exultation and de 
light. The gun was pointed on 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 that was worthy of his notice.




324             THE PIONEERS.
So prodigious was the number of the birds, that
the scattering 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 creation 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 the 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 pigeons 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 com
pany to a body; hurting nothing; being, as it was
as harmless as a garter-snake. But now it gives
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 in the village at
them.  Well! the Lord won't see the waste of his
creaters 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
the 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's that, old Leather-stocking!" he cried,




THE PIONEERS.              325
" grumbling at the ioss of a few pigeons! If you
had to sow your wheat twice, and three times, as
I have done, you wouldn't be so massyfully feeling'd to'ards the divils.-Hurrah, boys! scatter
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 as
don't know how to put a ball down a rifle-barrel,
or how to bring it up ag'n with a true aim; but it's
wicked to be shooting into flocks in this wasty
manner; and none 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
creater's, 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 a feather of another, though there might be a hundred
on the same tree.  But you couldn't do such a
thing, Billy Kirby-you couldn't do it if you tried."
" What's that you say, you old, dried cornstalk! you sapless stub!" cried the wood-chopper.
" You've grown mighty boasting, sin' you killed
the turkey; but if you're 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
had 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 rushiig of a bullet. Unfortunately for the wood-chopper, notwithstanding his
vaunt, he did not see his bird until it was too late
for him to fire as it approached, and he pulled his




326             THE PIONEERS.
trigger at the unlucky moment-when it was darting immediately over his head.  The bird continued its course with incredible velocity.
Natty lowered the rifle from his arm, when the
challenge was made, and, waiting a moment, until
the terrified victim had got in a line with his eyes,
and had dropped near the bank of the lake, he
raised it again with uncommon rapidity, 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, both his dogs started from
his feet, and in a few minutes the "slut" brought
out 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 creaters in such a wicked manner. But
I come out for a bird, and you know the reason
why I like small game, Mr. Oliver, and now I have
got one I will 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
Marlnaduke, " 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 PIONEERS.              327
the woods his work as well as the pigeons? Use,
but don't waste. Wasn't the woods made foi the
beasts and birds to harbour 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 kiver 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, stepping across the clearing with great
caution, taking care not to tread on one of the
wounded birds that lay in his path. He soon entered the bushes on the margin of the lake, and
was hid from view.
Whatever impression the morality of Natty made
on the Judge, 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 artillery,
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 momentous occasion,
" stand by, my hearties, and when Squire Dickens
heaves out the signal for 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!" shot ted Kirby-" heal 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,




328            THE PIONEERS.
you grampus?   Haven't I sailed aboard of the
Boadishy for five years? and wasn't it a standing
order to fire low, and to hull your enemy? Keep
silence at your guns, boys, and mind the order that
is passed."
The loud laughs of the musket-men were silenced by the authoritative voice of Richard, who
called to them for attention 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 his shoulder.
" Fire!" cried the Sheriff, clapping his 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 theni
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 gliding over its point ol
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




THE PIONEERS.              329
irregular flights, layer rising over layer, far above
the tops of the highest pines, none dari:ig to advance beyond the dangerous pass; when, suddenly, some of the leaders of the feathered tribe shot
across the valley, taking their flight directly over
the village, and the hundreds of thousands in their
rear followed their example, deserting the eastern
side of the plain to their persecutors and their
fallen.
"Victory!" shouted  Richard, "victory! we
have driven the enemy from the field."
" Not so, Dickon," said Marmaduke; "the field
is covered with them; and, like the Leatherstocking, I see nothing but eyes, in every direction, as the innocent sufferers turn their heads, in
terror, to examine my movements. 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 bluecoated boys on the ground, so that every old wo-,nan in the village may have a pot-pie for the asking."
"Well, we have happily frightened the birds
from this side the valley," said Marmaduke, " and
our 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, where I will pay you."
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 towards his dwelling with
that kind of feeling, that many a man has experienced before him, who discovers, after the excitement of the moment has passed, that he has purchased pleasure at the price of misery to others
28 *




^3~0  ~     THE PIONE,'RS
Horses were loaded with the dead; and, after the
first burst of sporting, the shooting of pigeons became a business, for the remainder of the season,
more in proportion to the people.  Richard, however, boasted for many a year, of his shot with the'' cricket;" and Benjamin gravely asserted, that
he thought they killed nearly as many pigeons on
that day, as there were Frenchmen destroyed or0
the memorable occasion of Rodney's victory.




CHAPTER XXII.
Help, masters, help; here's a fish hangs in the not, like a poor
man's right in the law."
Pericles of Tyr&
THE advance of the season now became as rapid
as its first approach had been tedious and lingering.
The days were uniformly mild, and genial to vegetation, 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 colours 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 presence and their
songs; while the soaring fish-hawk was already hovering over the waters of the Otsego, watching,
with his native voracity, for the appearance of his
~prey.
The tenants of the lake were far-famed for both




332             THE PIONEERS.
their quantities and their quality, and the ice had
hardly disappeared, before numberless little boats
were launched from the shores, and the lines ol
the fishermen were dropped into the inmost recesses of its deepest caverns, tempting the unwary
animals with every variety of bait that the ingenuity or the art of man had invented. But the slow.
though certain adventures with a hook and line
were ill-suited to the profusion and impatience of
the settlers.-More destructive means were resorted to; and, as the season had now arrived when
the bass-fisheries were allowed by the provisions
of the lawthat Judge Temple had procured, the
Sheriff declared his intention, by availing himself
of the first dark night, to enjoy'the sport in personAnd you shall be present, cousin Bess," he
added, when he announced this intention,' and
Miss Grant, aAd Mr. Edwards; and I will show
you what I call fishing-not nibble, nibble, nibble,
as'duke does when he goes after the salmon-trout.
There he will sit for hours, in a broiling sun, 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, and
with Benjamin to steer, and let us haul them in
by thousands, and I shall 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 halfdozen famishing families."
" I shall not dispute the matter with you, Judge




THBE PIONEaZS.            333
Temple," said the Sheriffwith much dignity; " 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 cause faint shadows
to be seen on the earth, the fishermen 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 with great rapidity 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 their 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 invigorating, both to the mind and
body.  Inspirited by the scene and their anticipated amusement the youthful companions of the
Judge followed his steps, as he led them along the
shores of the Otsego, and through the skirts of the
little village.
"See!" said young Edwards, " they are building their fire already; it glimmers for a moment,
and then dies again like the liglht of a fire-fly."
"Now it blazes like a bonfire?" cried Eliza



334             THE PIONEERS.
beth; "you can see the figures moving around the
light. Oh! I would bet my jewels against the gold
beads of Remarkable, that my impatient cousin
Dickon had an agency in raising that bright flame,
-and see; it begins to fade 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 draught of the seine. By the time they
reached the bank, which rose above the low point
where the fisherman had landed, the moon had
sunk behind the tops of the western pines, and, as
most of the stars were obscured by the clouds,
there was but little other light, by which to view
the scene, than that which proceeded from the
large piles of brush, branches, and roots, that had
been collected, under the superintendence of Richard. 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,
on the ground, with the exception of Richard and
Benjamin; the former of whom occupied the root
)f a decayed stump, that had been drawn to the
spot as part of their fuel, and the latter was standing, with his arms a-kimbo, so near to the flame,
that the smoke occasionally obscuied his solemn




THE PIONEERS.              3
gScL, as it waved around the pile, in obedience
to the light night-airs, that swept gently over the
surface of 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 kinow, Benjamin," returned the Sheriff; "a haul of one thousand Otsego bass, without counting pike, pickerel, perch, bull-pouts, salmon-trouts, and suckers, is no bad fishing, let me
tell you. There may be sport in sticking 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 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 every body knows,
that is, every body that has followed the seas,
whales and grampuses are to be seen, that are as
long as one of them pine trees on yonder moun —
tain?"
"Softly, softly, Benjamin," said the Sheriff,
using a soothing manner, as if he wished to save
the credit of his favourite; "why some of the
pines will measure full 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




33-             THE PIONEERS.
them there pines; and I'll stand to what I have
once said."
During this dialogue, which was evidently but
the close of a 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 the splinters of the chips that were near him,
and occasionally shaking his head, with the distrust
that was engendered by the marvellous qualities
of Benjamin's assertions. It seems that he now
thought it time to advance his sentiments on the
subject.
" 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;
and I have chopped many a one that was sixty
times the length of my helve, without counting the
eyes; and I b'lieve, Benny, that if the old pine
that stands in the hollow of the Vision Mountain,
just over the village, and you may see the tree itself by looking up, for the moon is on its top yet;
-well, now I b'lieve, that 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? oi
any craft bigger than a lime-scow, or a wood-boat,
on this here small bit of fresh water?"
s' 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 English line-of-battle ship, boy? Where away
did'ee ever fall in with a regular-built vessel, with
starn-post and cut-water, garboard streak  and




THE PIONEERS.             37
plank-shear, gangways, and hatchways, and waterways, quarter-deck and forecastle, ay, and flushdeck?-tell me that, man, if you can; where away
did'ee ever fall in with such a hooker; 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
was no wonder that they overcome the French so
easily on the water, when even 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 arisen on his
feet, and turned his back to the fire, during the
voluble delivery of this interrogatory; and when
the steward ended, contrary to all expectation, he
gave the following spirited reply:" Where! why on the North River, and maybe
on Champlain.  There's sloops on the river, boy
that would give a hard time on't to the stoutes,
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 Varmount
state. I wish I was captain of one of them, and
you was in that Board-dish that you tell 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 Englishman's."
The echoes from the opposite hills, which were
more than half a mile from the fishing point, sent
back the discordant 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 Mar23




838              THE PIONEERS.
maduke, "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 superlative!"
The appearance of Judge Temple and the ladies
produced, if not a pacification, at least a cessation
of hostilities. Obedient to the directions of Mr.
Jones, the fishermen prepared to launch their boat,
which had been seen in the back-ground of the
view, with the net carefully disposed on a little
platform in its stern, ready for instant 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 from their
fire, not only indistinct, 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, a boundary of impenetrable gloom op.
posed itself to the vision.  One or two stars were
shining through the openings of the clouds, and the
lights were seen in the village, glimmering faintly,
as if at an immeasurable distance.  At times, as
their 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 ihe bosom of
the waters, rendering the darkness, in that direction, trebly deep.




THE PIONEEIS.              339
Benjamin Pump was invariably the cockswain
and net-caster of Richard's boat, unless the Sheriff
saw fit to preside in person; and, on the present
occasion, Billy Kirby, and a youth of about half
his strength, were assigned to the duty at the oars.
The remainder of the assistants were stationed at
the ropes, for the laborious service of hauling the
net to land.  The arrangements were speedily
made, and Richard gave the signal to "shove off."
Elizabeth watched the motion of the battean, as
it pulled from the shore, letting loose its rope as it
went, but it soon disappeared in the darkness,
when her ear was her only guide to its evolutions.
There was a great affectation of stillness, during
all these manoeuvres, in order, as Richard assured
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 fisherrnen."
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 for the right disposition of his seine. A long time was passed in
this necessary part of the process, for Benjamin
prided himself greatly on his skill in throwing the
net, and, in fact, most of the success of the sport
depended on its being 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 to the shore; 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




340             THE PIONEERS.
the steward, " and we'll have a look at what there
is that 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 running out of the boat. Presently the batteau shot into the circle of light, and in an instant
she was pulled to shore.  Several eager hands
were extended, to receive the " hauling line," and,
both ropes being equally well manned, the fishermen commenced hauling in, with slow and steady
drags, Richard standing in the centre, giving orders, first to one party and then to the other, to increase or slacken their efforts, as the occasion required.  The visiters 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 fieely 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 youi
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 fair 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




THE PIONEERS.               34 
to the water, at an angle of forty-five degrees, indining shorewards, and expending his gigantic
strength in sustaining himself in that posture. He
ceased his remonstrances, and proceeded 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 hei
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
he 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 perpendicular
position, was plainly visible to the spectators, and,
as it rapidly lessened in size, the bag of the net
appeared, while an occasional flutter on the water
announced the uneasiness of the prisoners it contained.
29 *




342             THE PIONEERS.
"Haul in, my lads," shouted Richard- -" I can
see the dogs kicking to get free. Haul in, and
here's a cast that will pay you for the labour."
Fishes of various sorts now were to be seen, entangled in the meshes of the net, as it was passed
through the hands of the labourers; and the water,
at a little distance from the shore, was alive with
the agitated 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.
" Hurrah!" shouted Richard again; " 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 great
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 in 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 preceded 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




THE PIONEERS.               343
land, and, after much toil, the whole shoal of victims were safe deposited in a hollow of the bank,
where they were left to flutter away their brief
existence in their new and fatal element.
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 flavour that, in other countries, would make
them esteemed a luxury on the tables of princes or
epictres.  The world has no better fish than the
bass of Otsego: it unites the richness of the shad
to the firmness of the salmon."
" 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 ex-use 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 ever refuse the hook; and during'he hot months they are not seen. It is supposed
they retreat to the deep md cool waters of the
lake, at that season; and it is only in the spring and




344             THE PIONEERS.
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 hundreds of suckers, and a power1ul 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.
llough any man who has good eyes like myselfI 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 a rivet.
it would cover some such matter as this here lake.
rho'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 on the subject of coal, Judge
Temple," interrupted the Sheriff,  I have a thing
of much importance 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 realized. We
will say no more now, sir, for there are listeners




THE PIONEERS.              345
but a secret has this evening been revealed to me,'duke, that is of more consequence to your welfare, than all your estates 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 digty, as if pitying his want of faith, proceeded in the
business more immediately before them.  As the
labour of drawing the net had been very great, he
directed one party of his men to commence throwing 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 I
Three sailors with their gallant boatswain fell."
Falconer
WHILE the fishermen were employed in making
the preparations for an equitable division of their
spoils, Elizabeth and her friend strolled to a shoi 
distance from the group, along the shores of the
lake. The shades of evening had been gradually
gathering around the scene, during the draught of
the net, and, while the objects in the vicinity of the
fire were still distinct, and even vivid, the surrounding darkness became deeper, both by the
contrast, and the advancing dominion of the night.
After reaching a point, to which even the brightest
of the occasional gleams of light from the fire did
not extend, the ladies 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 envelope 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 handsome and considerate
my dear father looks, by the light of that fire,




THE PIONEERS.              341
where he stands viewing the havoc of the game.
He seems really melanenoly, as if he actually
thought that a day of retribution was to follow this
hour of abundance and prodigality! Would they
not make a fine picture, Louisa?"
" You know that I am ignorant of all such accomplishments, Miss Temple."
" Call me by my Christian name," interrupted
Elizabeth; "this is not a place, neither-is this a
scene, for the observance of 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 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 conversation for a moment, and the
maidens continued to stroll still further from their
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
wandering gaze, was the first to break the present
awkward cessation in the discourse, by exclaiming,
in all the richness of her animated and animating
voice" 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 the Leather-stocking!"
For some cause or other, Miss Grant had kept




3'L8            THE PIONEERS.
her eyes bent in the direction of the pebbles, ovei
which she was walking; probably because, being
less adventurous than her companion, she was disposed to view  what could be faintly discerned.
without attempting the gloom, in a vain effort to
pierce its mysteries; or probably for some bettei
reason, that we leave our readers to imagine; but
thus awakened, she looked up, in the direction
pointed out by her friend, and saw, at once, the
cause of her sudden exclamation.
Through the obscurity, which prevailed most
immediately 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 its 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 and glaring
ball of fire.
Such an object, lighted as it were by magic, under the brow of the mountain, and in that retired
and unfrequented place, gave double interest to
the beauty and singularity of its appearance. 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, foi Louisa pressed




THE PIONEERS.:3 )
nearer to her friend, as she said in a low voice,
stealing a timid glance towards the bushes and
trees that overhung the bank near themC Did you ever hear the singular ways of this
Natty spoken of, Miss Temple? They say that,
in his youth, he was an Indian warrior, or, what is.he 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
Elizabeth; " but 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 seve
ral 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 being very hospitable; but
we must remember his aversion to the customs ot
civilized life.  You heard my father say, a few
days since, how kindly he was treated by him on
his first visit to this place." Elizabeth paused, and
smiled, with an expression of peculiar archness,
though the darkness hid its meaning from her companion, 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



350             THE PIONEERS.
tween the. two, and the new  illumniation was
placed beneath the other, the whole forming an
appearance not unlike an inverted note of admiration.  It was soon evident 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
direct 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, losing its regular
shape, while it increased in size, as it approached
them.
"It appears to be supernatural!" whispered
Louisa, beginning to retrace her steps towards the
party.
" It is beautiful!" exclaimed Elizabeth.
A brilliant though waving flame was now plainly
visible, 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 appearance,
however, gradually wore off, and the rays from
the torch struck out, and enlightened the atmosphere in front of it, leaving the back-ground in
~: darkness that was more impenetrable than ever.
" Ho! Natty, is that you?" shouted the Sheriff
-" paddle 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
gloonl, while the red glare fell on the weatherbeaten features of the Leather-stocking, whose tall
person was seen erect in the frail vessel, wielding,




THE PIONEERS.               351
with all the grace of an experienced boatman, a
long fishing spear, which he held by its centre, first
dropping one ond 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
extraordinary exertions.  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  to  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 regulating its progress by its own volition. 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
tie here, that will be lost as food for the want of
mouths to consume them."
" No, no, Judge," returned Natty, his tall figure
stalking over the narrow beach, and ascending to
Ihe little grassy bottom where the fish were laid
un piles; " I eat of no man's wasty ways.  I strike
my spear into the eels, or the trout, when I  rave




THE PIONEERS.
the creaters, but I would'nt be helping 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 a beaver, or you could tan their hides,
like a buck, something might be said in favour of
taking them by the thousands with your nets; bul
as God made them for man's food, and for no othei
disal'nable reason, I call it sinful and wasty to catch
more than can be eat."
" Your reasoning is mine," cried Marmaduke;
" for once, old hunter, we agree in our opinions;
and I heartily wish we could make a convert of the
Sheriff. A net of half the size of this would sunply the whole village with fish, for a week, at one
haul."
The Leather-stocking did not relish this alliance
in sentiment, 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 division, by carrying, with his own
hands, a trout of a large size, and placing it on four
different piles in succession, as his changeful ideas
of justice required, he gave vent to his spleen by
exclaiming-' A very pretty confederacy, indeed! Judge
Temple, the landlord and owner of a township.
with Nathaniel Bumppo, a lawless squatter, and




THE PIONEERS.              353
professed deer-killer, in order to preserve the game
in the county! But,'duke, when I fish, I fish,
and don't play;-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 preceded him.
Curiosity induced the females to approach this
spot, but it surely was a different motive that led
the youth thither.  Elizabeth examined the light
ash 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 management, 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 danger of the excursion, to a desire to participate in its pleasures. 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-,tocking; " and that with squaws in the canoe,
too. But the Delaware women he used to the
30 *




354             THE PIONEERS.
paddle, and are down good hands in a boat of this
nater.  If the young woman would like to see an
old man strike a trout for his breakfast, she is welcome to a seat and a sight.  John will say the
same, seeing that he built the canoe, which;ias
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 the heiress one of his significant
laughs, with a kind nod of his head, when he concluded this invitation; but Mohegan, with the native grace of an Indian, approached, 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."
"Well, Mr. Edwards," cried Elizabeth, blushing slightly, " your friend, Mohegan, you see, has
given a promise for you.  Do you redeem  the
pledge?"
" With my life, if necessary, Miss Temple,"
cried the youth, with fervour.  "The sight is
worth some little apprehension, for of real danger
there is none. I will go with you and Miss Grant,
however, to save appearances."
" With me!" exclaimed Louisa; " no, not with
me, Mr. Edwards, nor surely do you mean to trust
yourself in 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 remain, 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




THE PIONEERS.              355
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 the Leather-stocking wished to go, and a
profound silence was preserved by the whole party,
as a precaution necessary to the success of their
fishery.  The shore, at that point of the lake, ran
gradually off, and 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
locked in the branches of the pines; while here, a
seaity growth of rushes lifted their tops above the
lake, gently curling the waters, as their bending
heads slowly waved with the passing breath of the
ndight 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 exposed
all the mysteries of the lake, laying them open to
the eye, with a slight variation in colour, as plainly
as if the limpid sheet of the Otsego was hut an




E5MU            THE PIONEERS.
other 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 obtained was worthy
of the notice of any epicure.  But Natty had his
peculiar habits, and, it would seem, his peculiar
tastes also. His tall stature, and his erect posture,
enabled him to see much further than those who,
from motives of safety, were seated in the bottom
of the canoe; and he turned his head warily, in
every direction, frequently bending his body forward, and straining his vision, as if desirous of penetrating the darkness in the water, that surround.
ed their boundary of light.  At length his anxious
scrutiny was rewarded 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 sildom
one finds such a creater in the shallow waters,
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 of nearly twenty
feet in depth. A few additional knots were laid
on the grating, and the light from the fire made to
reach the bottom.  Elizabeth then saw a fish of
anusual size, floating above the small pieces of logs
and sticks that were lying on the bottom.  ThI
animal was only distinguishable, at that distance.
by a slight, but almost imperceptible motion of its
tins and tail. The curiosity excited by this unusual exposure of the secrets of the lake seemed to
be mutual between the heiress of the land and the
lord of these waters, for the " salmon-trout" sooil




THE PIONEERS..57
announced his interest by raising his head and
body, for a few degrees above a horizontal line,
and then dropping them again into the position of
nature.
"Whist t whist!" said Natty, in a low voice, on
hearing a slight sound made by Elizabeth, in bending over the side of the canoe, in eager curiosity;
—' tis a skeary animal, and it's a far stroke for a
spear.  My handle is but fourteen foot, and the
creater lies at 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 refiaction pointed
them many degrees from the true direction to 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
high into 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; " enough is as good as a feast; I shall
not strike another blow to-night"




358             THE PIONEERS.
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 its toilsome way the folds of the net, which
was already spreading on the water.
" Haul off, haul off, Master Bumppo," cried
Benjamin; " your top-light frightens the fish, who
see the net and sheer off 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
birth 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 the air. There
appeared to be much ill-humour among the party
in the batteau, for the directions of Benjamin were
not only frequent, but issued in a voice that partook largely of the tones 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 cork
screw.  Pull starboard, 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'




THE PIONEERS.              359
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, turning his forbidding face to the glare of light
from the canoe, and exhibiting every feature teeming with the expression of his disgust.  " If you
want to come aft and cun the boat round, come
and be damned, and a pretty steerage you'll make
of it too. 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 fathorn or two, and if you catch me afloat again with
such a horsemarine as yourself, why rate me a
ship's jackass, that's all."
Probably encouraged by the prospect of a speedy
termination to his labour, the wood-chopper resumed his oar, and, under the strong excitement
of his feelings, gave a stroke with it, that not only
cleared the boat of the net, but of the steward, at
the same instant, also. Benjamin had stood on the
little platform that held the seine, in the stern of
the boat, and the violent whirl occasioned by the
vigour 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 rung 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,
~ wrs txpected; but when the light waves, which




3M0            THE PIONEERS.
rad been iaised by his fall, began to sink in calm
iess, and the water finally closed over his head
unbroken and still, a very different feeling petvaded the spectators.
" How fare you, Benjamin?" shouted Richard
hfom the shore.
" The dumb devil can't swim a stroke!" ex.
claimed Kirby, rising, and beginning to throw aside
his clothes.
"Paddle up, Mohegan," cried young Edwards,' where the light will show us how he lies, and
let me 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
where the steward had fallen, and a loud shout
from the Leather-stocking announced that he saw
the body.
" Then steady the boat while I dive," again
cried Edwards.
" Gently, lad, gently," said Natty; "I'll spear
the creater up in half the time, and no risk to
any body."
The form of Benjamin waslying, about half way
to the bottom, grasping with either hand the bottoms of some broken rushes, by whose strength it
was maintained in that position. The blood of
Elizabeth curdled to her heart, as she saw the
figure of a fellow creature thus extended under an
immense sheet of water, apparently in motion, by
the undulations of the dying waves, with its face
and hands, viewed by that light, and through the
medium of the fluid, already coloured with livid
hues like death.
At the same instant, she saw the shining tines




I SE PIONEERS.             361
of Natty's spear approaching the motionless head
of the sufferer, and entwining themselves, rapidly
and dexterously, in the hairs of his queue 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 theil
own atmosphere, was announced by a breathing
that would have done credit to a full grown porpoise.  For a moment, Natty held the steward
suspended, 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 from its liquid element into
the boat, and for the whole party to gain the shore,
and land, required but a minute. Kirby, aided by
Richard, whose anxiety induced him  to run into
the water to meet his favourite assistant, carried
the motionless steward up the bank, and seated
him before the fire, where he was supported, 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 in cold weather, 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?
31




362              THE PIONEERS.
would you strangle a man who is full of water, t)y
giving him rum! Help me to open this hand, tlMat I
may pat it."
All this time Benjamin sat, with his mustcik
fixed, his mouth shut, and his hands clenching ti':r
rushes, which he had seized in the confusion of t:l
moment, and which, as he held fast, like a tru e
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
blacksmith'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 determination, the air was
compelled to pass through his nostrils, 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 black 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 submersion, and the time at length arrived
when he was compelled to let go of the bottle.
" Why, Benjamin!" roared the Sheriff; " you
amlaze 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, with amazing flexibility,
into their natural economy.  " But, d'ye see.
Squire, I kept my hatches close, and it is but little




THE PIONEERS.              363
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
navigation on the fresh; but this here matter I will
say in your favour, and- that is, that you're the
awk'ardest green'un that ever straddled a boat's
thwart.  Them  that likes you for a ship-mate,
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-bury in sight! —Natty Bumppo, give us
your fist. There's them that says you're an Indian, and a scalper, but you've sarved me a good
turn, and you may set me down for a friend; thof
it would have been more ship-shape to lower the
bight of a rope, or running bow line, 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 instead of harm
thereby, why, it's the same thing, d'ye see."
Marmaduke prevented any reply, and assuming
the direction 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 declared the owner of each
pile. Billy Kirby stretched his large frame omf the
grass, by the side of the fire, as a sentinel until
morning, over the net and the fish; and the remainder of the party embarked in the batteau, to
return to the village.




364             THE PIONEEIfS.
The wood-chopper was seen broiling his suppeon 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 ceaseG
suddenly; a scattering of brands was exhibited in
the air, and then all remained dark as the conjunction of night, forests, and mountains, could render
the scene.
The thoughts of the heiress 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 if by one
common impulse.




CHAPTER XXV.
Oetso all this parlance about hills and dale.;
None listen to thy scenes of boyish frolic,
Fond dotard I with such tickled ears as thou dost;
Come I to thy tale
Duo
MR. JONES arose, on the following morning, with
the sun, and ordering his own and Marmaduke's
steeds to be saddled, he proceeded, with a countenance that was big with some business of unusual
moment, to the apartment of the Judge. The dooi
was unfastened, and Richard entered, with the
freedom  that characterized  not only the intercourse between the, cousins but the ordinary manners of the Sheriff.
"Well,'duke, to horse," he cried, " and I will
explain to you my meaning in the allusions I made.ast 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," interr- pted
the Judge, repulsing his cousin, who was about to
assume the functions that properly belonged to Dr.
31 *




366            THE PIONEERS.
Todd; " but ill at heart. I received letters by the
post of 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 covered with letters,
packets, and newspapers; then to the apartment,
and all that it contained. On the bed there was
the impression that had been made by a human
form, but the coverings were unmoved, and every
thing 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. Marmaduke
had drawn his curtains, and opened both the shutters 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 appearance from the usual calm,
manly, and cheerful aspect of the Judge, that the
Sheriff grew each moment more and more bewil.
dered with his astonishment. At length Richard
found time to cast his eyes on the direction of the
letter, which he still held unopened, crumbling it
in his hand.
" What! a ship-letter!" he exclaimed: " and
fiom England I ha!'duke, here must be news of
importance indeed!"
"Read it," said Marmaduke, waving his hand
for silence, and 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 him in audible sounds. So much
of the epistle as was divulged in that manner, we




THE PIONEERS.              367
shall lay before the reader, accompanied by the
passing remarks of the Sheriff:"'London, February 12th, 1793.'  What a
devil of a passage she had! but the wind has been
north-west for six weeks, until within the last fortnight.
Sir, your favours of August 10th, September
23d, and of December 1 st, 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 most significant
kind of humming noise made 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 1st September of last year, and'-hum, hum, hum.'If any
thing 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
democrats. 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 assui ances of my perfect respect'-hum, hum-' ANDREW HOLT.' Andrew Holt-a very sensible, feelinmg man, this Mr. Andrew Holt-but the writer of
evil tidings. What will you do next, cousin Marmaduke?"
" What can I do, Richard, but trust to time and
the will of Heaven? Heie is another letter, from




368             THE PIONEERS.
Connecticut, but it only repeats the substance of
Lhe last. There is but one consoling reflection to
oc 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
indeed! and away go all my plans of putting wings
to the house, to the devil.  I had made my 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. I must devote this day to writing;
and thou must be my assistant, Richard; it will not
do to employ Oliver in a matter 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 his ride, and repairing to the breakfast
parlour, he despatched a messenger to require the
immediate presence of Direk Van der School.
The village of Templeton, at that time, supported but two lawyers, one of whom was introduced
to our readers in the bar-room of the " Bold Dragonn," 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.




THE PIONEERS,               369
g ee of honesty, were the principal ingredients to be
found in the character of this man, who was known
to the settlers as Squire Varn 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 merit in
this world is comparative; and, once for all, we
desire to say, that where any thing 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 admitted to his apartment, excepting
his daughter.  The deep distress, that so evidently
afflicted Marmaduke, was, in some measure, com
municated to Elizabeth also.; for a look of dejec
tion shaded her intelligent features, and the buoy
ancy of her animated spirits was sensibly softened
Once on that day, young Edwards, who was.
wondering and observant spectator of the sudden
alteration produced in the heads of the family, detected a tear stealing over the cheek of the heiress, and suffusing her bright eyes' with a softness
that did not always belong to their proud and
laughing 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 quickness at which she
Instantly blushed herself. " I would offer my services to your father, if, as I suspect, he needs ar




370             THE PIONEERS.
agent il 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 fa.
ther should leave his home for a short period; unless I can persuade him to trust my cousin Richard
with the business, wLose absence from the county
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!" he
added, with a warmth that he seldbm exhibited,
but which did sometimes escape him, in the moments of their frank communications-" Have I
lived five months under your roof, and yet 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 colour
heightened, and her eyes lost their moisture in an
expression of ungovernable interest, 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 awakened 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
hbad blended so strongly with an expression of interest changed to a smile of archness, as she an
swered



TH  PIONEERS.,            371' We know you, sir, indeed: you are called Mr.
Oliver Edwards. I understand that you have inforned my friend, Miss Grant, that you are a native "
" Elizabeth!" exclaimed Louisa, blushing to
hei eyes, and trembling like an aspen; "you misunderstood me, dear Miss Temple; I-I-it was
only conjecture. Besides, if Mr. Edwards is related to the natives, why should 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 thinking of the poverty
and labours of her father, she continued" Nay, Louisa, your humility carries you too
far. The daughter 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 honours 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 related to John Mohegan?"
Glances of a very comprehensive meaning were
exchanged between the heiress and the young man.
as Louisa betrayed, while vindicating his lineage,
the reluctance with which she admitted his alliance to 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




372.THI  PIONEERS.
situation here is somewhat equivocal," said Fdwards, " though I may be said to have purchased
it with my blood."
"The blood, too, of one of the native lords cf
the soil!" cried Elizabeth. whose melancholy had
vanished in the excitemenl of their dialogue.
" Do I bear the marks of my lineage so very
plainly impressed on my appearance?" asked the
youth, with a little pique in his manner.  " I am
dark, but not very red-not more so than comnmon?"
" Rather more so, just now," said the heiress.
" 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 descent. 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 right to possess them."
" Do you?" cried the youth, with a vehemence
that startled the ladies.
" I do, indeed," returned Elizabeth, after suf
fering a moment to pass in her surprise; "but
what can I do? what can my father do?  Should
we offer the old man a home and a maintenance,
his h bits would compel him to  efuse 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
o 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 vou become the mistress of these beautifil




THE PIONEERS.             373
vAlity — use your wealth with indulgence to the
poor and charity to the needy;-indeed, you can
do no more."
" And that will be doing a good deal," said
Louisa, smiling 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," cried
the heiress, "like a silly girl, who dreams of nothing else from morning till night; but I am a nun,
here, without the vow of celibacy. Where should
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 will assert the dignity
of your sex, and 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 apartmen)t
Perhaps Louisa thought that he had said more than
was necessary, for she sighed, with an aspiration
so low that it was scarcely audible to hei self, 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 youth had passed, then
glanced quickly towards 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 presence of a youth ol
three and twenty.
The first person encountered by Mr. Edwalds,
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
3 2




374             THE PIONEERS.
spectacles on his nose, with glasses at the sides, as
if to multiply hbs power of detecting frauds, by additional organs of vision.
Mr. Van der School was a well-educated man,
but of a slow comprehension, who had imbibed a
wariness in his speeches and actions, fiom having
suffered by his collisions 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,
tinctured with a good deal of timidity; and in his
speeches, by a parenthetical style, that frequently
left to his auditors a most delightful research aftei
his meaning.
A good morning to you, Mr. Van der School",
said Edwards; " it seems to be a busy day with
us at the Mansion-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 1
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 req( uire copying? can I be of assistance to you in any
tway?"
" There are papers, (as doubtless, you see (for
y our eyes are young) by the outsides) that require
copying."
" Well, then I will accompany you to yout office,
and receive such as are most needed, and by night
I shall have them done, if there be much haste."




T'HE PIONEERS.              375
"1 shall be always 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 castle,) 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 in-isible 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 remember, 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."
1 I will make the communication, sir, in your
name, (with  your own qualifications,) as youi
agent. Good morning, sir.-But stay proceedings,
Mr. Edwards, (so called,) for a moment.  Do you
wish me to state the offer of travelling, 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 compensation is to be paid (according to
future agreement between the parties) on periormance of the conditions?"
" Any way-any way," said Edwards-" he
seems in distress, and I would assist him."
" The motive is good, sir, (according to appearances, (which are often deceitful,) on first impressions,) and does you honour. 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 willing,)
fyou give me an opportunity so to do"




~76.    THE PIONEERS.
The ambiguous nature of the situation and character of Mr. Edwards had rendered him an obiect of peculiar suspicion 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 difficulty 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 endeavouring
to avoid any thing like an approach to a cross examination.  They parted at the gate, the lawyer
walking, with an important and hurried air, towards his office, keeping his right hand firmly
clenched on the bundle of papers that his left arm
pressed to his side with a kind of convulsive mo
tion.
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 feelings, 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 endeavoured to forget 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 melancholy, that lingered for many days around his manly brow; but the magica)




THE PIONEERS.              377
progression of the season aroused him from his
temporary apathy, and his smiles returned with
the animated looks of summer.
The heats of the days, and the frequent occurrence of 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 hid beneath the
tops of the stalks of rich wheat that were waving
with every breath of the summer air, shining, and
changing their hues, like velvet.
During the continuance of his cousin's dejection,
Mr. Jones forbore, 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 becoming
also of great importance.
At length the Sheriff ventured to allude again to
the subject, and one evening, in the beginning of
July, Marmaduke made him a promise of devoting
the following day to the desired excursion.
32 *




(CHAPTER XXVI.
" Speak on, my dearest father I
Thy words are like the breezes of the west."
fiilman.
IT Wlt a mild and soft morning, when Malmna
duke and Richard mounted their horses, to proceed on the expedition 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 hand, dangling by one of its ribands, the gipsy that was to
conceal the glossy locks that curled around her
polished forehead, in rich profusion.
" 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 will




TIHE PIONEERS.             379
lose the polish of thy brow, under this sun and
southern breeze, unless thou guard it with unusual
care.": I shall then do more honour to my connexions," returned the smiling daughter. " Cousin
Richard has a bloom that any lady might envy. At
present the resemblance between us is so trifling,
that no stranger would know us to be' sisters' children.'"' Grand-children, 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, where 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, checking 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."
N" ot at this season, I believe, sir," said Eliza.
Jeth; "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
the brilliant beauty of his child, and the Judge and




380             THE PIONEERS.
Sheriff rode slowly through the gateway, and dis
appeared among the buildings of the village.
During this short dialogue, young Edwards had
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 equestrians turned'
through the gate, he approached the young maidens, who were already moving on to the gravelled
walk that led to the street, and was about to address them, as Louisa paused, and said quickly" Here is 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 the gentleman had approached them.
" Your father is not pleased that you should
walk unattended 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?" interrupted the lady.
" Good Heaven! you misunderstood my meaning," cried the youth; " I should have said uneasy,
for not pleased. I 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," returned Elizaneth, suffering one of her fascinating smiles to chase
the trifling frown from her features; "but where
there is no danger, no protection is requited. We
are not yet, sir, reduced to wandering among these
free hills accompanied by a body-guard. If such
an one is necessary, there he is, however.-Here,
Brave,-Brave-my noble Brave!"
The huge mastiff that has been already mention




THE PIONEERS.              381
ed, appeared from his kennel, gaping and stretching
himself, with a pampered laziness; but as his mistress again called-" Come, dear Brave; once have
you served your master well; let us see how you
can do your duty by his daughter"-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 intelligence 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 favourite 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 mortified Oliver. He is still standing where
we left him, leaning on his rod. Perhaps he thinks
us proud."
" He thinks justly," exclaimed Miss Temple, as
if awaking 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 oui
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




382            THE PIONEERS.
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 towards the hut of Leatherstocking, with a pair of vigorous arms. By the
time he had rowed a quarter of a mile, his reflections 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 somewhat 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
ease, 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 casting a cautious and searching
glance around him in every direction, put a small
whistle to his mouth, and blew a long, shrill note,
that rung far among the echoing rocks behind the
hut. At this alarm, the hounds of Natty rushed
out of their bark kennel, and commenced their long,
piteous howls, leaping about as if half frantic, though
restrained by the leashes of buck-skin, by which
they were fastened.
"Quiet, Hector, quiet," said Oliver, again applying his whistle to his mouth, and drawing out
notes still more shrill than before. No reply was
made, the dogs having returned to their kennel at
the sounds of his voice.




THE PIONEERS.              383
Edwards pulled the bows of the boat on to the
shore, and landing, ascended the beach and approached the door of the cabin. The fastenings
were soon undone, and he entered, 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, well satisfied that none but the pri.
vileged had approached the forbidden ground.
A quarter of an hour elapsed before the youth
re-appeared, 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 her prison. But Old
Hector raised his nose to the light current of ail,
and opened a long howl, that might have been
heard for a mile.
" Ha! what do you scent, my old veteran of the
woods?" cried Edwards.  " If a beast, it is a bold
one, and if a man, an impudent."
He sprung through the top of a pine that had
fa..en 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 an unusual rapidity for the architect, amid the trees and bushes.
" What can that fellow be wanting here?" muttered Oliver.  " He has no business in this quarter, unless it be his curiosity, which is an endemic
in these woods. 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




384             THE PIONEERS.
small chain through a staple, and securing It thei
by a padlock. "He is a pettifogger, and sure 
must know that there is such a thing 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 celebrated as fishing-ground for the 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 lake
with the hut.  Oliver Edwards pulled his little
skiff over 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-coloured 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 his little boat, in a very few ni.nutes, to the place where his friends were fishing,
and fastened it to the light vessel of the Indian.
The old men received Oliver with welcoming
nods of their heads, but neither drew his line from
he 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 by?" asked Nattv.
" Yes, and I found all safe; but that carpenter
and justice of the peace, Mr. or, as they call him,




THE PIONEERS.             38 5
Squire Doolittle, was prowling through the woods,
nigh by. But 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 favour 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 he is more knave than fool," cried Edwards; " I see that 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 harbours too much about the cabin, lad,
ll11 shoot the creater," said the Leather-stocking,
quite coolly.
" No, no, Natty, you must remember the law,"
said Edwards, "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
nis eyes with a look of friendly interest towards
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 staunch, and of the right blood?"
"  ie 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 partiality would make me, I am
33




386             THE PIONEERS.
yours through life-in prosperity as in povei y.
But now 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
s. Saw you it ever more calm and even than at
this moment, Natty?"
" I have known the Otsego water for five-andforty years," said Leather-stocking, " and I will
say that for it, which is, that a cleaner spring or a
better fishing is not to be found in the land. Yes,
yes-I had the place to myself once; and a cheerful time I had of it. The game was as 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
borrow my canoe, to take a mess of parch, or drop
a line for a salmon-trout; but, in the main, it was
a cheerful place, and I had but little to disturb mc
in it. John would come, and John knows."
Mohegan turned his dark face, at this appeal,
and, moving his hand forward with a 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-,




THE PIONEERS.             387
and what the Delawares 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 to
this day, but for the money of Marmaduke Temple,
and, maybe, the twisty ways of the law."
" It must have been a sight of melancholy pleasure, indeed," said Edwards, while his eye roved
along the shores and over the hills, where the
clearings, groaning with the golden corn, were
cheering the forests 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 humour."
" Haven't I said it was a cheerful!" said Leather-stocking. " Yes, yes-when the trees begun
to be kivered with the leaves, and the ice was out
of the lake, it was a second paradise. I have traveiled the woods for fifty-three years, and have
made therf my home for more than forty, and I car;
say that I have met but one place that was more to
my liking; and that was only to eyesight, and not
for hunting or fishing."
" And where was that?" asked Edwards.
"Where! why up on the Cattskills.  I used
often to go up into the mountains after wolves'
skins, and bears; once they bought 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
moccasin. You know the Cattskills, lad, for you
must have seen them on your left, as you followed
the river up from York, looking as blue as a piecei




388             THE PIONEERS.
of clear sky, and holding the clouds on their tops,
as the smoke curls over the head of an Indian chief
t a council fire. Well, there's the High-peak and
the Round-top, which lay back, like a father and
mother among their children, seeing they are fai
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 thousand 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 burnt'Sopus, in the last war,
and I seen 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 further
from me than the other. The river was in sight
for seventy miles, under my feet, looking like a
curled shaving, though it was eight long miles to
its banks. I saw the hills in the Hampshire grants,
the high lands of the river, and all that God had
done or man could do, as 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 housen at your feet, with




THE PIONEERS.               389
rivers looking like rioa-3s, and mountains bigger
than the'Vision,' seeming to be haystacks of
green grass under you, gives any satisfaction to a
man, I can recommend the spot.  When I first
come into the woods to live, I used to have weak
spells, and I felt lonesome; and then I would go
into the Cattskills 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'm getting too old for them 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 mountain;
for it was more kivered with the trees, and more
nateral."': And where was that?" inquired Edwards,
whose curiosity was strongly excited by the simple
description of the hunter.
" Why, there's a fall in the hills, where the wa
ter 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 starting and running just like any creater that wanted
to make a far spring, till it gets to wher the moun
tain 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 bottonm; 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, when it jumps about from shelf to shelf,
first turning this-away and then turning that-away
33 *




390             THE PIONEERS.
striving to get out of the hollow, till it finally comes
to the plain."
" I have never heard of this spot before!" exclaimed Edwards; "it is not mentioned 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 any thing about the
wonders of the woods! No, no, lad; there has that
little stream of water been playing among them
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 a 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 solemnize. You can see right down into
the valley that lies to the east ol the High-Peak,
where, in the fall of the year, thousandl of acres




THE PIONEERS.              391
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
without the ordering of God's providence."
" Why, 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 to the water, he sat for a minute holding his
breath, and listening attentively 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 buck-skin, 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 fiom the
western hills. He looked at the old men, Natty
sitting with his hand to his ear, like a trumpet, and
Mohegan bending forward, with his arm raised to
a level with his face, holding the fcre-finger 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-stock-,ng, " the hounds be out, and are hunting a deer.
No man can deceive me in such a manner.  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




392              THE PIONEERS.
off their 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 intervening hill, to the confused echoes
that rung among the rocks that the dogs were
passing, and then directly to a deep and hollow
baying that pealed under the forest on 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 dog-wood
caught his attention, at a spot near them, and at the
next moment a noble buck sprung on the shore,
and buried himself in the lake. A full-mouthed
cry, directly from the lungs of the hounds, followed, when Hector and the slut shot through the
opening in the bushes, and darted into the lake
also, bearing their breasts most gallantly to the
watez.




CHAPTER XXVII.
" Oft in the full descending flooa he tries
To lose the scent, and lave his burning sides."
Thomaon
" 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 afiaid to persevere, they finally
obeyed, and returned to the land, where they filled the air with their howlings and cries.
In the mean time the deer, urged by his fears,
aad swam 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 centie
of the lake, with an intention of landing on the




394              THE PIONEERS.
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, throwing his legs forward, and gliding along
with incredible velocity, the Leather-stocking began to sit very uneasy in his canoe.
"'Tis a noble creater!" he exclaimed; " what a
pa'r of horns! a man might hang up all his garmr nts 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 from  him, 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
off the canoe, and with one stroke of his paddle
sent the light bark over the water like a meteor.
" 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
the deer out of season."
But the remonstrance came too late: the canoe
was already far from the skiff, and the two hunters
too much engaged in their pursuit to listen to his
voice.
The buck was now within fifty yards of his pursuers, cutting the water most gallantly, and snorting at each breath with his terror and his exertions,
while the canoe seemed to dance over the waves,
as it rose and fell with the undulations made by
its own motion. Leather-stocking raised his rifle
and freshened the priming, but stood ip suspense
whether to slay his victim or not.




THE PIONEERS.              395
" 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 reason 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; its 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 Delawares when they spoke.
" Hooh!" 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 although intending to fish with the
line, the canoe was invariably furnished with all of
its utensils, even' to its grate.  This precaution
grew out of the habits of the huniter, 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 the 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.
" 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




~396            THE PIONEERS.
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 upward from
the lake, and as the hunter seized it in his hand,
the Indian whirled the light canoe round, where it
lay, 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 airived close to 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 sustaining itself nobly against the
odds.
" Hurrah!" shouted Edwards, inflamed beyond
prudence at the sight; "mind him as he doublesmind him as he doubles; sheer more to the right.
Mohegan, more to the right, and Ill 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, as bright and natural as the rays that shot from the glancing eyes of
the terrified deer himself, 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, for a short distance, of a straighl




THE PIONEERS.              397
course, the little bark skimmed the lake with a velocity that urged the deer to seek its safety in some
new and unexpected turn.  It was the frequency
of these circuitous movements, that, by confining
the action to so small a compass, enabled the youth
to keep near his companions.  More than twenty
times both the pursued and the pursuers 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 favourable opportunity, assist as much as he could in taking their
intended victim.
He was not required to wait long, for no sooner
had he adopted this resolution, and risen in the
boat, than he saw the deercoming bravely towards
him, with an apparent intention 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 animal, whose blood followed the
wound, dying the waters for many feet. 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 ]lead, he laughed in his peculiar manner, saying" So much for Marmaduke Temple's law   This
34




398             THE PIONEERS.
warms a body's blood, old John; I havn't killed a
buck in the lake afore this,'sin this many a year.
I call that good venison, lad; and I know them that
will relish the creater'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 invigorating and exciting sport had caused a
gleam of sunshine to cross his swarthy face that had
long been absent from his features. It was evident
that the old man enjoyed the chase more as a me
morial 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 securely
fastened, I know, for I felt the thongs, and examined the knots, when I was at the hut."
" It has been too much for the poor things," said
Natty, " to have such a buck take the wind of them.
See, lad, the pieces of the buck-skin 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 landc,;id examined the
thongs that were yet fast to the hounds, his coun
tenance sensibly changed, and he shook his head
doubtingly.




THE PIONEERS.             399
Heie has been a knife at work," he said" this 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 bt.en cut, lad; but
this is a mark that was never made by a jump or a
bite."
" Could that rascally carpenter have dared "'
exclaimed the impetuous youth.
" Ay! he durst to do any thing, where there is
no danger," said Natty; " he is a curious body, and
toves tu be helping other people on with their consarns. But he had best not harbour so much near
the wigwam!"
In the mean time, Mohegan had been examining, with an Indian's sagacity, the place where the
leather thong had been separated. After scrutinising it closely, he said, in Delaware" It was cut with a knife-a sharp blade and a
long handle-and 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 is smooth;-the handle was
long, for a man's arm would not reach from this
gash to that 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 that 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, when a man is so minded."
" And why should he do so?" asked Edwards;
who has done him wrong, that he should trouble
two old men like you?"




400             THE PIONEERS.' It's a hard matter, lad, to know men's ways, I
find, since the settlers have brought in their new
fashions. But i3 there nothing to be found out in
this place? and maybe he is troubled with his longings after other people's business, as he often is."
" Your suspicions are just," cried the youth.
" 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 instantly accepted, the deer
being placed in the skiff in order to lighten the ca
noe, 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 -he
mountain, with an intention of going to the hu by
IJlnd.




CHAPTER XXVTI
" Ak mo not what the maiden feols
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 with the activity of youth. Male attendants,
on such excursions, were thought to be altogether unnecessary, for none were ever known, there, to offer
an insult to a female who respected the dignity of
her own sex. After the embarrassment, that had
been created by their parting discourse with Edwards, had dissipated itself, the girls maintained a
conversation that was as innocent and cheerful as
themselves.
The path they had taken led them but a short
distance above the hut of Leather-stocking, and
there was a point in the road which commandel  a
birds-eye view of the sequestered spot.
From a feeling, that might have been natural,'ut must have been powerful, neither of the m'tidens, in their frequent and confidential dialogues,
had ever trusted herself to utter one syllable eoncerning the equivocal situation in which the young
man, who was now so intimately associated wiih
tham, had been found. If Judge Temple had delmea it prudent to make any inquiries on the subjpdt
34 *




402             THE PIONEERS.
he had also thought it proper to keep the answers
to himself; though it was so common an occurrence to find the 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 powerful curiosity.  With his breeding, it might have
been different; but the youth himself had so effectually guarded against any 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 gentlenss
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," ex
claimed 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



THE PIONEERS.             403
"I am sure they would tell nothing to the disadvantage of Mr. Edwards."
" Perhaps not; but they might tell who he is."
"Why, dear Miss Temple, we know all that
already," returned the other; " I have heard it all
very rationally explained by your cousin —"
" The executive chief!" interrupted Elizabeth
— " yes, yes, he can explain any thing. His ingenuity will one day discover the philosopher's stone.
But what did he say?"
" Say!" echoed Louisa, with a look of surprise;
"why every thing 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."
" 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
impatiently; " 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 arlmiy, who frequently passed half their lives on
the edge of the wilderness."
"Told with a wonderful historical accuracy!
And did he end there "'
"Oh I no-then he said that these agents sel



104            THE PIONEERS.
dom married; and-and —they must have been
wicked men, Elizabeth! but then he said-thatthat —"
"Never mind," said Miss Temple, blushing and
smiling, though so slightly that both were unheeded by her companion —c 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. Edwards has been
taught; for he acknowledges that he knows almost
as much as himself, or your father-or even mine."
" Quite a climax in learning!" cried the heiress-" commencing with the last, I suppose. And
so he made Mohegan the grand uncle 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 every
thing; 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 that may choose to lift its latch?"
c' I have never heard him say any thing 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 dangerous to be rich.
Miss Temple; but you cannot know how hard it
is to be very, very poor."
" Nor you neither, I trust, Louisa; at least I
should hope, that in this land of abundance, no minister of the church could be left to absolute suffering."
" There cannot be actual misery," returned the




THE PIONEERS.             405
other, in a low and humble tone, " where the.-e is
a dependence on our Maker; but there may be
slch 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
disgrace 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 friends, to ride on a duty which
could not be neglected for domestic evils. Oh I
how hard it must be, to preach consolation to
others, when your own heart is bursting with an
guish!"
" But it is all over now!" exclaimed Elizabeth,
" 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, who 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
mountain, where they left the highway, and pursued their course, under the shade of the stately




406            THE PIONEERS.
ti ees that crowned the eminence. 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 their ascent. The conversation, as if by mutual consent, was entirely
changed to the little incidents and scenes of their
walk, and every tall pine, and 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 mingle the signs of men with
the scenes of nature, when Elizabeth 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




THE PIONEERS.               407
his huge frame on the ground, and await their movements, with his eyes closed, and a listlessness 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, either through fright or anger. It was
most probably the latter, for he was growling 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, instead of being at all diminished, was very
sensibly increased. He stalked in front of the ladies, and seated himself at the feet of his mistress,
growling louder than before, 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 whitened to the colour of death,
and her finger pointing upward, with a sort of flickering, convulsed motion. The quick eye of Elizabeth glanced in the direction indicated by her
fiiend, where she saw the fierce front and glaring
eyes of a female panther, fixed on them in horrid
malignity, and threatening instant destruction.
" Let us fly!" exclaimed Elizabeth, grasping the
arm of Louisa, whose form yielded like melting
snow, and sunk lifeless to the earth.
There was not a single feeling in the temperanrent of Elizabeth Temple, that could prompt her
to desert a companion in such an extremity; and




408             THE PIONEERS.
she fell on her knees, by the side of the inanimate
Louisa, tearing from the person of her friend, with
an 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.
c 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 oi
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 all the antics of a cat, for a moment; and
then, by lashing itself with its tail, growling, and
scratching the earth, it would attempt the manifestations of anger that rendered its parent 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 initended bound, fell directly before the mastiff.
There was a moment of fearful cries and struggles,
but they ended almost as soon as commenced, by
the cub appearing in the air, hurled from the jaws
of Brave, with a violence that sent it against a
tree so forcibly as to render it completely senseless.




THE FTONEERS.              409
Elzabeth witnessed the short struggle, and hei
blood was warming with the triumph of the dog.
whlin sh, saw the form of the old panther in the
air, springing twenty feet from the branch of the
beech to the back of the mastiff. No words of ours
can desce ibe the fury of the conflict that followed.
It was a confused struggle on the dried leaves, accompanid by loud and terrific cries.  Miss Temple continued on her knees, bending over the form
of Louiss, 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 mastiff, 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 his jaws distended, and a dauntless
eye.  But age, and his pampered life, greatly disqualified the noble mastiff for such a struggle. In
every thing 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 favourable position) 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 colour of
blood, and directly, that his frame was sinking to




410             THE PIONEERS.
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.
Ins lips collapsed, and his teeth loosened, when the
short convulsions and stillness that succeeded, announced the death of poor Brave.
Elizabeth now lay wholly at the mercy of the
beast. 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 examination, it turned, however, with its
eyes apparently emitting flashes of fire, its tail
lashing its sides furiously, and its claws projecting
for 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 enemyher cheeks were blanched to the whiteness of marble, and her lips were slightly separated with horror. The moment seemed 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 from behind seemed rather to
mock the organs, than to meet her ears.
" Hist! hist!" said a low voice —" steep lower,
gal; your bonnet hides the creater's head."
It was rather the yielding of nature than a com
Aliance 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




THE PIONEERS.               411
rolling over on the earth, biting 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, you old fool;'tis
a hard lived animal, and may jump ag'in."
Natty maintained his position in front of the
maidens, most fearlessly, notwithstanding the violent bounds and threatening 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 to the senses her apprehensions came, the more her nature had struggled to
overcome them.  But still she was 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 ol
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




112             THE PIONEERS.
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-stocking; and
the latter were uttered with all 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; but I'm sore afeard you'll find Mr. Oliver a better companion than an old hunter, like
me.  Come, come-let us get into the road, for
you've had tirror 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,
towards the highway: on reaching which the ladies separated from their guide, declaring themselves equal to the remainder of their 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 hundrea chimneys
of whitened bricks.
The reader need not be told the nature of the
emotions which two youthful, ingenuous, and welleducated girls would 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( nce,
and which had not deserted them in their extremity; neither how often they pressed each other's




THE PIONEERS.              413
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 hid by
a bend 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 crea
ters," said Natty, while he retrod the path towards
the slain. "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 peak of its tail. Hah X
who goes there?"
" How goes it, Natty?" said Mr. Doolittle, stepping out of the bushes, with a motion that was a
good deal accelerated 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, maybe," 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 currency, or twelve dollars
and fifty cents, by decimals, on every man who
Kills a leer betwixt January and August.  The
Judge had a great hand in getting the law through."
"I can believe it," returned the old hunter: " 1
35 *




414             THI  PIONEERS.
lcan believe that or any thing, 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 heerd your hounds out on the scent of
so'thing this morning: I didn't know  but they
might get you in difficulty."
" They know  their manners too well;" said
Natty, carelessly.  "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 half, — I b'lieve;-yes, I guess it's
half. But there's blood on your sleeve, man-you
haven't been shooting any thing this morning?"
" I have, though," said the hunter, nodding his
head significantly 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 at any thing that isn't
cholsh."
" They'll hunt any thing I tell them to, Squire,"
cried Natty, favouring 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've always heern a good character of the
dogs," returned Mr. Doolittle, quickening his pace
by raising each leg in rapid succession, as the'ounds scented around his person.  " And where
s 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 lays one. How do you like such meat?"




THE PIONEERS.              415
" This!" exclaimed Hiram, " why this is Judge
Temple's dog Brave.  Take kear, Leather-stccking, and don't make an inimy 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 manner, once or twice across his gar
ment of buckskin; " does his throat look as if I
had cut it with this knife?"
" It is dreadfully tore! it's an awful wowndno knife never did this deed. Who could have
done it?"
" That painter behind you, Squire-look, there's
two of them."
"Painters!" echoed Hiram, whirling on his
heel, with an agility that would have done credit
to a dancing master; " where's a painter?"
" Be easy, man," said Natty; " there's two of
the vinimous things; but the dog finished one,
and I have fastened the other's jaws for her; so
you needn't look so skeared, 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 there ven'son here, or didn't you
kill a buck?"
" What! when  the  law  forbids the  thing,
Squire!" said the old hunter.  " I hope there's nv
law ag'in killing the painters."
" No; there's a bounty on the scalps-but -will
your dogs hunt painters, Natty?"
" Any thing; didn't I tell you they'd hunt a
man? He-e-re, he-e-re, pups"" Oh! yes, yes, I remember.  Well, they are
strange dogs, I must say-I am quite in a wonder-'nent."




i16'THE PIONEERS.
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 manner as to pre
serve their connexion, when he answered"What at, Squire? did you never see a pailt
ter's scalp afore? Come, you be 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 s'pose you
have a bible? all the law wants is the four Evangelists and the Lord's prayer."
" I rather guess not," said Natty, a little coldly;
" not such a bible as the law needs."
" Oh! there's but one sort of bible, at least that's
good in law," returned the magistrate; " and yoarn
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 trophies 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
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, Leatherstocking; we must go to the hut for them, or ho"an I write the order?"
Natty turned his simple features on the cunning
magistrate with another of his laughs, as he said



THE PIONEERS.              417' And what should I be doing with such scholars'
tools? I want no pens or paper, not knowing the
use of'ither; and so I keep none. No, no, I'll
bring the scalps into the village, Squire, and you
can make out the order on one of your law-books.
and it will be all the better for it. The dense 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
Gn good terms with his companion, unhesitatingly
complied. Natty cut the thong from the neck-of
the hound, and, as he returned 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 disarmed his caution.
" Loose!" repeated the hunter —" I let them
loose myself.  I always let them loose before I
leave the hut."
The ungovernable amazement with which Mr.
Doolittle listened to this falsehood, would have betrayed his agency in the liberation of the dogs, had
Natty wantec  any further confirmation; and the
coolness and management of the old man now disappeared in open indignation.
"C Look you here, Mr. Doolittle," 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 can crave, I don't know; but
this I tell you to your face, that you never shall
put a foot under the roof of my cabin with my consent, and that if you harbour round the spot as you
have done lately, you may meet with treatment
that you won't over and above relish "




I8             THE PIONEERS.
" And let me tell you, Mr. Bumppo," said Hirain, retreating, 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,
snapping his fingers at the justice of the peace-' away with you, you varmint, before the divil
tempts me to give you your desarts. Take kear,
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, askedIs all safe, lad!'
"Every thing," returned the youth. " Some
one attempted the lock, but it was too strong for
him."
" I know the creater," said Natty, " but he'll
not trust himself within reach of my rifle ag'in
very soon, for I'  " 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 tresuare.^
Timon # 4thesu
WHEN Marmaduke Temple and his cousin rode
thiough the gate of the former, the heart of the father had been too recently touched with the best
feeling 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 dili
gence, for more than a mile; in profound silence
At length the soft expression of parental care,
blended with affection, was slowly chased from the
handsome features of the Judge, and was gradually
supplanted by the cast of humour and benevolence
that was usually seated on his brow.
" Well, Dickon," he said, " since 1 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 rung far in the
forest, which they had now entered, and keeping
his eyes fixed on objects before him, like a man




420             THE PIONEERS.
who is looking deep into futurity, he replied as
follows:
" There has always been one point of difference
between us, Judge Temple, I may say, since our
nativity; not that I would insinuate that ycu are
at all answerable 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 possess; 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; for, to my eyes, we seem to differ so ma
terially, 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!" exclaimed the Judge.
" I speak plain English, I believe, Judge Tern
pie; at least I ought; for my father, who taughme, 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 any thing and
every thing."
" Like yourself, I suppose," said Marmaduke,
smiling.




THE PIONEERS..             421
I scorn personalities, sir," returned the She.
ff; " I say nothing of myself; but there ale three
men on your patent, of the kind that I should teim
talented by nature for her general purposes, though
acting under the influence of different situations."
" We are better off, then, than I had supposed,"
said Marmaduke.  " Who are they?"
" Why, sir, one is Hiram Doolittle; he is a carpenter by trade, as you know, and I need only
point to the village to exhibit his merits. Then
he is a magistrate, and might shame many a man,
in his distribution of justice, who has had better
opportunities than himself."
W" ell, he is one," said Marmaduke, with the
air of a man that was determined not to dispute the
point.
" Yes, sir, and Jotham Riddel is another."
"Who!" exclaimed the Judge.
" Jotham Riddel."
" What, that dissatisfied, shiftless, lazy, specu
lating fellow! he who changes his county every
three years, his farm every six months, and his occcpation every season! an agriculturist yesterday,
a shoemaker to-day, and a schoolmaster to-morrow! that epitome of all the unsteady and profitless propensities of the settlers without one of their
good qualities to counterbalance the evil! Nay,
Richard, this is too bad for even    but who is the
third?"
" As the third is not used to hearing such coin
ments on his character, Judge Temple, I shall not
name him," said the indignant Sheriff.
"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 of myself. But
)




422             THE PIONEERS.
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
lull grown."
The Sheriff laughed heartily at his own wit, and
put himself in good humour thereby, when he
gratified his patient cousin with the following explanation:" You know,'duke, that 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 Marmaduke, with an
interest that he had not manifested before.
" Who! why common sense-common report.
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 company, 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?"
Marmaduke turned his countenance, in evident
surprise, to his cousin, and replied quickly-' Thou hast unexpectedly hit on a subject, Ri



THE PIONEERS.              423
chard, that has often occupied my mind. But
knowest thou any thing of this mystery, or arc
they only the crude conjectures of-"
" Crude nothing,'duke, crude nothing; but facts,
stubborn facts. You know there are mines in these
mountains; 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
specimens of the ore, sir; you will not deny that!
and, reasoning 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 rumours of the existence
of mines in these hills; and I do believe that I have
seen specimens of the precious metals that have
been found here. It would occasion me no surprise
to learn that tin and silver, or what I consider of
more consequence, good coal,"
" Damn your coal, sir," 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 listen: you are not to be told
that the natives have long known the use of gold
and silver; now who so likely to be acquainted
where they are to be found, as the ancient inhabitants of a country? I have the best reasons for believing 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 developement, pi oceeded



4' 1          THE PIONEERS
r Yes, sir, I have my reasons, and at a proper
time you shall know them."
" No time is so good as the present," exclaimed
Marmaduke.
" 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 any body'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 hut, in a
secret and mysterious manner, after dark. Do you
know what they could be?"
The Judge did not reply, but his brow had contracted, with a thoughtfulness that he always wore
when much interested, 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 last Christmas?"
Marmaduke again raised his eyes, but continuec
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, although he came on in the night.
he was seen drawing one of those jumpers that they




THE PIONEERS.             4.25
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, JudgF
Temple, 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 ammunition 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 also certain; and since then
he has not allowed a soul to approach his hut."
" 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 spent whole days in the mountains, pretending to be shooting, but in reality exploring; the
frosts prevented their digging at that time, and he
availed 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 in each 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."
"Part is my own, for I saw the jumper, though
it was broken up and burnt in a day oi 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;s good-natured -to carry up part of his load, for
36 *




426             THE PIONEERS.
the old man had a heavy pull up the back of the
mountain, but he wouldn't listen to the thing, and
repulsed the offer 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 gentlemen, in which we
have found Jotham very 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
connexion between the old hunters and Edwards,
but in what his cousin had just related, he began
to revolve the subject in his own mind with more
care.  On reflection, he remembered various circumstances that tended to corroborate these suspicions, and, as the whole business favoured one
of his infirmities, he yielded the more 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 futurity,
in speculations on the improvements that posterity
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 tf an old country, were constantly presenting themselves, 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
vabin of Leather-stocking, appeared to him each
moment to be stronger.  But Marmaduke was too
much in the habit of examining both sides of a sub



THE PIONEERS.             4127
ject, not to perceive the objections, and 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.
"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.
" Then Bess hints that he was reduced to his
last shilling, 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 conceiving 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
concealed his knowledge, and passed with us for
an inferior man."
" 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
latterly, being kept there by me and IHiram, has




428             THE PIONEERS.
made a discovery, 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. Don't you call this a countermine for their
mine, ha!"' And where is the desirable spot?" asked the
Judge, with ap air half comical, half serious.
" Close by; and when we have visited that, I
will show you one of the places that we have found
within a week, where our gentlemen hunters have
oeen amusing themselves for six months past."
The gentlemen continued to discuss the matter,
while their horses picked their way under the
branches of trees, and over the uneven ground of
the mountain.  They soon arrived at the end of
their journey, where, in truth, they found Jotham
already buried to his neck in a hole that he had
neen digging.
Marmaduke questioned the miner very closely,
as to his reasons for believing in the existence of
the precious metals near that particular spot; but
the fellow maintained an obstinate mystery in his
answers.  He asserted that hehad 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 indications 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




THE PIONEERS.              429
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 expeditious, 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 his finger on his
lip, and leading the way down a very difficult descent to a sort of natural cavern, which was formed in the face of the rock, and not unlike a fireplace 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 examination of the exterior of the cavern left the
Judge in doubt whether it was one of nature's fiolics 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-coloured rock had opposed itself to
the progress of the miners. The whole formed an
excavation of about twenty feet in width, and
nearly twice that distance in depth. The height
was much greater than was required for the ordi



430              THE PIONEERS.
nary 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
labourers. The mountain fell off precipitately in
front of the terrace, and the approach by its sides
under the ridge of the rocks, was difficult and* a
little 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 cried"Well, Judge Temple, are you satisfied?"
"Perfectly that there is something mysterious,
and to me perplexing in this business. It is a secret spot, and cunningly devised, Richard; yet 1
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, nothe 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 necessary to find it again, in the event of
Richard's absence; when the cousins returned to
heir horses.
On reaching the highway they separated, the
Sheriff to summon twenty-four "Ngood men and
true,' to attend as the inquest of the county, on
~he succeeding Monday, when Marmaduke held his
stated court of " common pleas and general sessions




THE PIONEERS.              431
of the peace," and the Judge to return, 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 towards the valley, the
eye of Marmaduke Iested, 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
beast, and suffered the animal to travel at its own
gait, while he soliloquized as follows:" There may be more in this than I at first supposed.  I have suffered my feeling to blind my
reason, in admitting an unknown youth in this
manner to my dwelling;-yet this is not the land
of suspicion. I will have the 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, but 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 parent
was listening to the vivid description that his
daughter gave of her recent danger, and her unex-.
pected escape, all thoughts of mines, vested rights,
and examinations, were absorbed in his emotions;
and when the image of Natty again crossed his recollection, it was not as a lawless and depredating
squatter, but as the preserver of his child.




CHAPTER XXX.
- The court awards it, and the law doth give it."
Jtechant of Frice.
REMARKABLE PETTIBONE, who had forgotten
the wound received by her pride, in the contemplation of the ease and comforts of her situation,
and who still retained her station in the family of
Judge Temple, was despatched to the humble
dwelling which Richard styled " the Rectory," in
attendance on Louisa, who was soon consigned to
the arms of her father.
In the mean time, Marmaduke and his daughter
were closeted for more than an hour, nor shall we
invade the sanctuary of parental love, by relating
the conversation for that period. At its expiration,
when the curtain rises on the reader, the Judge is
seen walking up and down the apartment, with a
tender melancholy in his air, softening the manly
expression of his features, and his child reclining
on a settee, with a flushed cheek, and her dark
eyes seeming to float in crystals.
" It was a timely rescue! it was, indeed, a timely rescue, my child!" cried the Judge.  "Then
thou didst not desert thy friend, my noble Bess?"
" I believe I may as well take the credit of fortitude," said Elizabeth, "though I much doubt if




THE PIONEERS.            433
flight would have availed me any thing, had I even
courage to execute such an intention.  But I
thought not of the expedient."
" Of what didst thou think, love P where did thT
thoughts dwell most,.at that fearful moment?"
"The beast! the beast!" cried Elizabeth, veil
ing her face with her fair hand; " Oh! I saw no
thing, I thought of nothing, but the beast. I tried
to think of better things, but the horror was too
glaring, the danger too much before my eyes."
" Well, well, thou art safe, and we will converse no more on the unpleasant subject. I did
not think such an animal 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
interrupted what he was about to utter, and he bid
the applicant enter. The door was opened by
Benjamin, who came in with a discontented air, as
if he felt that he had a communication to make that
would be out of season.
" Here is Squire Doolittle below, sir," com
menced the Major-domo. " He has been standing
off and on in the door-yard, maybe for the matter ol
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 shearing alongside, every stretch he made towards the house. I
could do no better than to let your honour know
that the chap was in the offing."
"He must have business of importance," said
37




134             THE PIONEERS
Marmaduke; " something in relatiol to his oiicec
most probably, as the court sits so shortly."
" Ay, ay, you have it, sir," cried Benjamin,
"it's sum'mat 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 captain's barge,
Or was born with a boat-hook in his hand."
"Against the Leather-stocking!" cried Elizabeth, rising from her reclining posture.
" Rest easy, my child," said the Judge, smiling,
"it is some trifle, I pledge you; I believe I am already acquainted with its import. Trust me, 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 appearance.
All the impatience of Hiram seemed to vanish
the instant 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 in his demeanour that was intended to do
honour to his official station. At length he said"It's likely, from what I hear, that Miss Temple had a pretty 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,"
continued Hiram, "in which case the Leatherstocking will make a good job on't."




THE PIONEERS'              435
"It shall be my care, sir, to see that he is rewaided," returned the Judge.
"Yes, yes, I rather guess that nobody hereabouts doubts the Judge's generosity. Doos 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 Marmaduke.
"' I think it's likely that we will have a pretty
dull court on't, from what I can gather. I heai
that Jotham  Riddel and the man who bought his
betterments, have agreen 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; " 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 Hollister,
and we two have partly agreen on Squire Jones
for the third man."
" Are there any criminals to be tried?" asked
Marmaduke.
" 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
orobable they will be tried."
" Certainly, sir;.I had forgotten these men.
There are no more I hope."'' Why, there is a threaten to come forrad with




^36       ~THE PIONEERS.
an assault, 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 heern.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," cried
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 come 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 sarchwarrant 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 sarch
should come fiom himself. Besides, as I'm much
in the woods, among the timber, I don't altogether




THE PIONEERS.              437
ike maling an enemy of the Leather-stocking.
Now the Judge has a weight in the county that
puts him above all fear."
Miss Temple turned her beautiful face to the callous architect, with a scornful smile, as she said" And what has any honest person to dread from
so kind a man as poor Bumppo?"
" Why, it's as easy, Miss, to pull a rifle-triggei
on a magistrate as on a painter. But if the Judge
don't conclude to issoo the warrant, I must go holme
and make it out myself."
" I have not refused your application, sir," said
Marmaduke, perceiving at once that his reputation
frr 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
Elizabeth was about to utter, after Hiram had withdrawn, by laying his hand playfully on her mouth,
and saying —
" It is more terrific 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 a 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 Man37 *




43~             THE. PIONEERS.
sion-house, with great strides, and with a face agilated by some powerful passion.  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 ot
my soul I congratulate you, Judge Temple. Oh I
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 a 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
overstepping prescribed limits, and concluded with
a good deal of embarrassment-" what I have felt
at this danger to Miss-Grant, and-and your
daughter, sir."
But the heart of Marnaduke was too much softened by his recent emotions, to admit of 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 sprung forward, and throwing
open a door, barely permitted the Judge to precede
him, when he was in the presence of Elizabeth in
a moment.
The cold distance that often crossed the demeanour of the heiress, in her intercourse with Edwards, was now entirely banished, and two hours
were passed by the party, in the free unembarrassed, and confiding manner of old and esteemec
friends. Judge Temple had forgotten the suspicions engendered during his morning's ride, and




THE PIONEERS.              439
the youth and maiden conversed, laughed, and
were sad by turns, as if directed by a common im
pulse. At length Edwards, after repeating his in
tention to do so for the third time, left the Man
sion-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' favour of the Leather-stocking, and at once destroyed the shortlived harmony between the youth and Marmaduke.
When Hiram Doolittle had obtained his searchwarrant, 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 one leg, and an
invalid. Hiram intended to accompany the officer
as a spectator, but felt no very strong desire to
bear the brunt of the battle. It was, however.
Saturday, and the sun was already turning the
shadows of the pines towards the east; on the morrow the conscientious magistrate could not engage
in such an expedition at the peril of his soul; and
long before Monday, the venison, and all vestiges
of the death of the deer, might be secreted or destroyed. Happily the lounging form of Billy Kirby
met his eye, and Hiram, at all times fruitful in sim;ilar expedients, saw his way clear at once.  Jotham, who was associated in the whole business,
and who had left the mountain in consequence of a
summons from his coadjutor, but who failed, equally'vith Hiram, in the unfortunate particular of nerve,




440             THE PIONEERS.
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 issooed a sarch-warrant, and sent for me to
get somebody to execute it."
Kirby, who had no idea of being excluded from
the deliberative part of any affair in which he was
engaged, drew up his bushy head in a reflecting
attitude, and, after musing a moment, replied by
asking a few questions.
"The Sheriff is gone out of the way P'"
"Not to be found."
" And his deputy too?7'
" Both gone on the skirts of the patent."
" But I seen the constable hobbling about town
an hour ago."
"Yes, yes," said Hiram, with a coaxing smile
and knowing 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 county at rough and
t.mble."
"I heerd him brag once,' said Jotham, " that
there wasn't a man'twixt the Mohawk Flats and
the Pennsylvany line, that was his match at a close
hug."
" Did you'" exclaimed Kirby, raising his huge




THE PIONEERS.              441
Frame in his seat, like a lion stretching in his lair,
" I rather guess he never felt a Varmounter's to
knuckles on his back-bone. But who is the chap P"
" 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 spicial
deputation in a minute, 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, about which he
had, in truth, already decided; " will they pay a
man for a broken head?"
" They'll be something handsome," said Hisam.
" Damn the fees," said Billy, again laughing"doos 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 goodnatured vanity.  It was evident he prided hims lf
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




442             THE PIONEERS.
without any unnecessary delay. So soon as this
preliminary was completed, the three worthies left
the house, and proceeded by the nearest road towards the hut. They had reached the bank of the
lake, and were diverging from the route of the
highway, before Kirby recollected that he was now
entitled to the privileges 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
sarch 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 Templetown."
" 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
companions to the other in astonishment. He then
burst into a loud laugh, and cried —
"Who? Leather-stocking! he may brag of his
aim and his rifle, for he has the best of both, as 1
will own myself, for'sin he shot the pigeon I knock
under to him  but for a wrestle! why, I would
take the divil between my finger and thumb, and
tie him in a bow-knot around my neck for a Barcelony. Why, Jotham, you could take him down
yourself, as you'd take down a two years' pine with
an axe. The man is seventy, and was inever any
thing particular for strength."
" He's a deceiving man" said Hiram, " like all




THE PIONEERS.              443
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 tne patent.
It's his main support, and this is a flee country,
where a man is privileged to follow any calling he
likes."
"According to that doctrine," said Jotham, " any
body may shoot a deer."
" This is the man's calling, I tell you," returned
Kirby, "and the law was never made for such as
him."
" The law was made for all," observed Hiram,
who began 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 kear 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 unpopular; I prefar, at all tines, clever
conduct to an ugly temper."
" As the whole party moved at a great pace,.hey soon reached the hut, where Hiram thought
it prudent to halt on the outside of the top of the
lallen pine, which formed a chevaux-de-fiize, to
defend the approach to the fortress, on the sine
next to the village. The delay was but little relished by Kirby, who clapped his hands to his
mouth, and gave a loud halloo, that brought the




444             THE PIONEERS.
dogs out of their kennel, and, almost at the same
instant, the scantily covered head of Natty also
from the-door.
" Lie down, you old fool," cried the hunter;' do you think there's more painters about you."
" Ha! Leather-stocking, I've an arrand with
you," cried 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 visiter. " 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 your 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
liut, and said a few words in an under tone, when
Iif again appeared, and continuedP 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




THE PIONEERS               445
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 painters,"  returned  the  Leather-stocking;
" see! here's the scalps! I was just going in with
them to the Judge's to ask the bounty."
While Natty was speaking, he tossed the ears to
Kirby, who continued playing with them, with a
careless air, holding them to the dogs, and laughing
at their movements when they scented the unusual
game.
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 material parts, and concluding
with the 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 have read your commission?"
" Oh! it's nothing but form, Natty," said Hiram,
3S




446             THE PIONEERS.
endeavouring 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, though I
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 visiters, from the beginning, and had maintained his position, just without
the threshold of his cabin, with a determined manner, that showed he was not to be easily driven
from his post. When Hiram  drew nigher, as if
expecting that 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 culiosity 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, summoning all the dignity he could muster to
his assistance, " in the name of the people, and by
vartoo of this warrant, and of my office, and with
this peace-officer."
" Stand back, stand back, Squire, and don't tempt
me," said the Leather-stocking, motioning for him
to retire, with great earnestness.
- Stop us at your peril," continued HiramBilly! Jotham! close up-I want your testimony."




THE PIONI:E:RS.            447
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 towards the lake, to the distance of twenty feet. The suddenness of tie moveinent, and the unexpected display of strength on
the part of Natty, created a momentary astonishinent in his invaders, that silenced all noises; but
at the next instant Billy Kirby gave vent to his
mirth in loud 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
threatening attitude; his rifle was in his hand, and
its muzzle was directed towards the wood-chopper.
" Stand off, I bid ye," said Natty; " you know
ny aim, Billy Kirby; I don't crave your blood,
but mine and yourn both shall turn this green grass
red, afore you put your foot into the hut."
While the affair appeared trifling, the wood-chop.
)pcr seemed disposed to take sides with the weaker party; but when the fire-arms were introduced,
his manner very sensibly changed. He raised his
large fiame from the log, and, facing the hunter
with an open fiont, he replied"I didn't come here as your enemy. Leatherstocking; but I don't vallie the hollow piece of
iron in your hand so much as a broken axe-helve;




44-8             THE PIONEERS.
-— so, Squir'e, 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 towa(rds
the village, at a rate that sufficiently indicated thai
they had not only calculated the velocity of a riflebullet, but also its probable range.
" You've skeared the creaters off," said Kirby,
with great contempt expressed on his broad features; " but you are not a-going to skear me; so,
Mr. Bumppo, down with your gun, or there'll soon
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 as them.  I won't deny
the buck to you, Billy, and you may take the skin
in, if you please, and show it as a testimony. The
bounty will pay the fine, and that ought to satisfy
any mlan."
"'Twill, old boy,'twill," cried Kirby, every
shade of displeasure vanishing friom his open brow
it the peace-offering; "throw  out the hide, and
that shall satisfy the law."
Natty entered his 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 fiequent fits of laughter, while he recollected
the summerset of Hiram; and, on the whole, he
Ihought the affair a vely capital joke.
Long before Billy reached the village, howevti




THE PIONEERS.                449
the news of his danger, and of Natty's disrespect
to 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 complexicn of things materially. Nothing now  remained 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 a Saturday
night, a time kept sacred by a large portion of the
settlers. Accordingly, all further proceedings were
suspended for six-and-thirty hours.
i38




CHAPTER XXXI.
" And dar'st thou, then,
To beard the lion in his den,
The Douglass in his hall I".Jarmion
THr. commotion was just subsiding, and the in.
habitants of the village had begun to disperse fiom
the little groups they had formed, each retiring to
his own home, and closing his door after him, with
the grqve air of a man who consulted public feeling
it his exterior deportment, when Oliver Edwards,
on his return from the dwelling of Mr. Grant, en(ountsred the young lawyer, who is known to the
eader 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 community, 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 least, 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 likely
you've been used to a more equal temperatoore?"




THE PIONEERS               451
" I am a native of this state," returned Edwards,
oldty.
"- Well, I've often heerd that point disputed,
out it's so 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 d3 you allude, sir?"
c" Haven't you heerd!" exclaimed the other,
with a look of surprise, so naturally assumed, as
completely to deceive the other; "why, 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
matter in the eyes of Judge Temple."
" Oh! he has, has he!" said Edwards, averting
his face to conceal the colour that collected in his
sun-burnt cheek.  "Well, if that be all, he must
even pay the fine."
" It's five pounds currency," said the lawyer.
" could Natty muster so much money at once?"
" Could he!" cried the youth. " I am not rich,
Mr. Lippet; 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 hour
in a jail, I would spend the last cent to prevent it.
Besides he has killed two panthers, and the bounty
will discharge the fine 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," con



452            THE PIONEERS.
tinued Mr. Lippet with a confidential and friendly
air, that insensibly won upon the youth, as little as
he liked the man. " It seems, that a complaint was
made of the fact, and the suspicion that there was
venison in the hut was e vorn to, all which is provided for in the statoote, when Judge Temple
granted a search-warrant""A search-warrant!" echoed Edwards, in a
voice of horror, and with a face that should have
been again averted, to conceal its paleness; "and
how much did they discover? 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!-he 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 execootion 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 from his manner,  you are called a curious
man; but if you can tell me how a jury is to be
prevented from finding a verdict of guilty, if this




THE PIONEERS.             453
case 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 ascendency of his feelings; and as he began to
see the real difficulties in the case, he listened more
readily to the conversation of the lawyer. The
ungovernable emotion that escaped the youth, in
the first moment of his surprise, entirely passed
away, and although it was still evident that he continued to be much agitated by what he had heard,
ne succeeded in yielding a 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 in, that neither suited his disposition nor his emergencies
After, however, giving Mr. Lippet to understand
that he retained him in the event of a trial, an assurance that at once satisfied the lawyer, they
parted, one taking 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, towards the Mansion-house. We shall take
leave of the attorney for the present, and direct
the attention of the reader to his 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 ip
some of his domestic avocations, and in a hurried
voice inquired where Judge Temple was to be
found.
"Why, the Judge has just stept into his office,




454             THE PIONEERS.
with that master carpenter, Mister Doolittle; but
Miss Lizzy is in that there parlour.  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 1 was pulling down from the
fishing point in the skiff. Had the animal come
into the open water, where a man could see where
and how to work his vessel, I would have engaged
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. Oh! 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 Edwards, 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 parlour.
Elizabeth was alone, and still reclining on the




THE PIONEERS.              455
sofa, where we last left her. A hand, which exseeded all that the ingenuity of art could model,
in shape and colour, veiled her eyes; and the
maiden was sitting in an abstracted posture, as if
communing deeply with herself.  Struck by the
attitude and loveliness of the form that met his eye,
the young man checked his impatience, and approached her with respect and caution.
" Miss Temple-Miss Temple," he said, "I hope
I do not intrude; but I am anxious to see you, if it
be only for a moment."
Elizabeth raised her face, and exhibited her dark
eyes swimming in moisture; but a flush crossed
her cheeks, that resembled the tints which the
setting sun throws over the neighbouring clouds.
" 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 Louise?"
" 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. I know not how it was.
Miss Temple, but 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 believe, 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 action, however, soon passed away, and,
raising her face again to his gaze, she continued,
with a smile" Your friend, the Leather-stocking, has now




456            THE PIONEERS.
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 the maiden-" I can, and may Heaven
reward you for the wish. Natty has been so imprudent as to forget the law, and has this day killed
a deer. Nay, I believe I 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, beckoning with her hand for silence; " I know it-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 the girl 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 understood, and no harm shall
follow."
" What a load of apprehension do your declarations remove!" exclaimed Edwards. " He shall
not be disturbed again! your father will protect
him! I have your assurance, Miss Temple, that he
will, and I -must believe it."
" You may have his own, Mr. Edwards," returned Elizabeth, " 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
with a look of care, and his manner was disturbed.
Neither Elizabeth nor the youth spoke; but the




THE PIONEERS.             457
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 devoted head, and it is out
of my power to avert it."
" How? in what manner?" cried Elizabeth;' the fine is nothing; surely-   "
" I did not-I could not anticipate that an. old, a
friendless 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 rigour."      I
" And what must the punishment be, sir?" asked Edwards, in an agitated voice.
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 what
ever the law demands, notwithstanding any mo
mnentary 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
wlhich Judge Temple entertains!" returned Edwards, bitterly. " But let us converse calmly, sir.
Will not the years, the habits, nay, the ignorance
of my old friend, avail him any thing against such
a charge?"
" Ought they? I may ask," returned Marmaduke.
" They may extenuate, but can they acquit? Would
any society be tolerable, young man, where the
39




458             THE PIONEERS.
ministers of justice are to be opposed by m in armn
ed with  ifles? Is it for this that I have tamed the
wilderness?"
" 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 her father;the youth is unjust; but I have not given him
tause.  I overlook thy remark, Oliver, for I know
thee to be the friend of Natty, and thy 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; prejudiced, 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 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, with his fine, manly
features settled to theiL usual composure.
This appeal was more than the young man could
bear.  Hitherto he had been deeplytagitated by




THE PIONEERS.              459
his emotions; but now the volcano burst its boundaries.
" Who! and this to me!" he cried; " ask youi
own conscience, 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 appearance
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 claimest descent from the native owners
of the soil; bu. surely thy education has been
given thee to no effect, if it has not taught thee
the validity of the claims that have transferred 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 ungoverning feeling that caused the violence of the youth had passed away, and he stood
gazing after the retiring figure of Marmadulke with
t vacancy in his eye, that denoted the absence of(




460            THE PIONEERS.
his mind. At length he recollected himself, and,
turning his head slowly around the apailment, he
beheld Elizabeth, still seated on the sofa, but with
her head dropped on her bosom, and her face again
concealed by her hands.
"Miss Temple," he said-all violence had left
his manner —" Miss Temple-I have forgotten myself-forgotten you.  You have heard what your
father has decreed, and this night I leave here.
With you I would part in amity."
Elizabeth slowly raised her face, across which a
momentary 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 yet 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
fiom the door so rapidly, that when he reached
the hall her light form was no where to be seen.
He paused a moment, in a stupor, and then, rushing from the house, instead of following Marmaduke to his " office," he took his way directly foi
the cabin of the hunters.




CITAPTE-R XXXII
" Who measured earth, described the starry spheres,
And traced the long records of luiar years."
Pope
R ICHARD 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 his business to superintend the arrest of part of a gang of
counterfeiters, that had, even at that early period.
buried themselves in the woods, to manufacture
their base 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 of a posse of deputies and constables, in the
centre of whom  rode, pinioned, four of the malefactors. At the gate of the Mansion-house they
separated, Mr. Jones directing his assistants to proceed with their charge to the county-jail, while he
ursued his own way up the gravelled walk, with
that kind of self-satisfaction 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; 1 where are you, you black
dog? will you keep me here in the dark all night?
Holla! Aggy   Brave! Brave  hoy, hoy —-where
39 *




462             THE PIONEERS.
nave you got to, Brave? Off his watch! Every
body 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 let any one 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 creeping out of the kennel; when;
to his astonishment, it reared itself on two legs instead of four, and he was able to distinguish, by
the star-light, 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 J ou must drive out the poor dog and sleep in
his straw?"
By this time the boy was quite awake, and, with
a blubbering whine, he attempted to reply to his
master.
" Oh! masser Richard! masser Richard! such
a ting! such a ting! i neber tink a could'appen?
neber tink he die! Oh, Lor-a-gor! an't burykeep'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.
" Eh! what! buried! grave! dead!" exclaimed Richard, with a tremour in his voice; " nothing




THE PIONEERS              463
serious?  Nothing has happened to Benjamin, 1
hope?  I know he has been bilious; but I gave
him-"
" Oh! worser'an a dat! worser'an a dat!
sobbed the negro. " Oh! de Lor! Miss'Lizzy
an a Miss Grant-walk-mountain-poor Bravy!
-kill a lady-painter-Oh! Lor, Lor!-Natty
Bumppo-tear he troat all open-come a see, masser Richard-such a booful copse-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 exhibit
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
2ried. " 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 birth."




6t4             THE PIONEERS.
"But explain; why is Brave dead? and whal
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, it was 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 of the family,
and frequently of the village. Since his appointment to the office of Sheriff, and his consequent
absences 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 transferred to the journal,
with proper notations of the time, manner, and
other little particulars.  There was, 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 in
superable bar to journalizing, with most men; but
Richard 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 mained, the
hours, &c.; and for the extraordinary, 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,




THE PIONEERS.               465
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 the toddy,
he brought forth, from its secret place, his proper
journal, and, seating himself by the table, he prepared to tranfer 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 fore-finger,
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, that was cut in one corner of
the slate for permanent use. The cardinal points
were plainly nMarked 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
comfortably 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 county, for
the last three weeks, as would float Indian John's
canoe, and that draws just one inch nothing, light."
W" ell, 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 mind."
" I don't see where, Benjamin; I~"
" Don't see!" interrupted the steward, a little
crustily; " an't there a mark ag'in east-and-byaothe-half —lothe, with sum'mnat like a rising sun at
the end of it, to show'twas in the morning watch'




466             THE PIONEERS.
" Yes, yes, that is very legible; but where is tie
change noted?"
"Where! why doesn't it see this here tea-ket.
tie, with a mark run from the spout straight, oi
inayhap a little crooked or so, into west-and- bysouthe-half-southe? now I calls this a shift of wind,
Squire. Well, do you see this here boar's head
that you made for me, along side 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 meridium, 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
along side."
" 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, fourWhat! 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 allowvance for leeway in
not being over smart about it."
" But, Benjamin, this is as long as a Presbyterian sermon; you never could have been ten minutes
in turning the glass,"




THE PIONEERS.              461
Why, do you see, Squire, the parson was very
solemn, and 1 just closed my eyes in order to thinl
the better with myself, just the same as you'd pui
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 lee-way 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 divine." Richard wrote twenty-nine
minutes in his journal, anll  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 along side of it? an hour-glass?"
" That!" said Benjamin, looking coolly over the
Sheriff's sho'ilder, 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 going
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 displeasure 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 hourglass."
" Why, as I liked the stuff, Squire," returned
the steward, "I turned in, homeward bound, and
hook t'other glass, which I set down at the bottom
of the first, and that gives the thing the shape it




468              THE PIONEERS.
has. But as I was there ag'm to-night, and paid
for the three at once, your honour may as well run
the sponge over the whole business."
"I will buy you a slate for your own affairs.
Benjamin," said the Sheriff; " for I don't like to
have the journal marked over in this manner."
" You needn't-you needn't, Squire; for, see"
ing 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 honest, large notches
were apparent, The Sheriff cast his eyes on this
new ledger, for a moment, and continued" What have we here! Saturday, two P. M.why here's a whole family piece! two wine glasses
up-side-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; " why, 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 immoveable steward. "This here thingun'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 imager I've made, seeing it's most like
the man himself.;-well, that's Natty Bumppo,




THE PIONEERS.              469
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
Richard, impatiently.
"Mean!" echoed Benjamin; "it's as true as
the Boadishey'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 correct idea of the truth. When
the wonder, and, we must do Richard the justice
to say, the feelings also, that were created 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,"
interrupted 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 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 1
410




470              THE PIONEERS.
"an learn, they spoke them pretty plainly to one
inother.  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 way and
left his moorings."
" Ias Edwards left the house?" demanded Richard, peremptorily.
" He has," said the steward.
Richard pursued this advantage, and, after a
long and close examination, he succeeded in getting out of Benjamin all that he knew, not only
concerning the misunderstanding, 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 to 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 fastened 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," ovei
which Judge Temple presided, held one of its
stated sessions on the following morning. The attendants of Richard were officers who had come
to the village as much to discharge their usual duties at this court, as to escort the prisoners; and;he Sheriff knew their habits too well, not to feel
Confident he should find most, if not all of them in
the public room of the jail, discussing the qualities




'rH E PIONEERS.            471
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 ad
ministered to such unwary applicants as were so
silly as to throw away two dollars, in order to obtain one from their neighbours. 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
indication 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 constables. With this force Richard
led the way through the village, towards 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 run 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 the 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 deep forest itself. Here Richard paused, and collected his troop around him.
" I have required your assistance, my friends,"
he said, in a low voice, " in order to arrest Nadhaniel Bumppo, commonly called the LeatherBtocking.  He has assaulted a magistrate, and rf(




472             THE PIONEERS.
sisted the execution of a search-warrant, 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 out-law.
He is suspected of other misdemeanors and offences
against private rights; and I have this night taken
on myself, by the virtue of my office of 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 tomorrow  morning.  In executing this duty, my
friends and fellow-citizens, you are to use courage
and discretion.  Courage, that you may not be
daunted by any lawless attempts 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
mention.  You will form yourselves in a complete
circle around 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 receive them."
This speech, which Richard had been studying
during his walk, had the effect that all similar performances produce, of bringing the dangers of the
expedition immediately before the eyes of his forces.
The men divided, some plunging deeper into the
forest, in older to gain their stations without giving
an alarm, and others continuing to advance, at a
gait that would allow the whole party to get in or




THE PIONEERS.              473
der; but all devising the best plans to repulse the
attack of a dog, or 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 stations, he raised his voice in the
silence of the forest, and shouted the watch-word.
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 consent, when the curiosity and impatience of the Sheriff getting the complete ascendency over his 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 utter amazement, in place of the
hut, he saw only its smouldering ruins!
The party gradually drew together about the heap
of ashes and 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
avith the passing 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 obscurity:)f night. Not a voice was raised in inquiry, nor
in exclamation made in astonishment. The transilion from excitement to disappointment was too
powerful in its effects for speech, and even Richard'ost the use of an organ that was seldom known to
fail him.
The whole group were yet in the fulness of
their surprise, when a tall form stalked from the
40 *




474            THE PIONEERS.
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
nead and weather-beaten features of the Leatherstocking.  For a moment he gazed at the dusky
figures who surrounded him, more in sorrow than
in anger, before he spoke.
i' What would ye have with an old and helpless
man?" he said. " You've driven God's creaters firom
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 appointed 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
towards his kind, at a time when his thoughts
should be on a better world; and you've driven
nim to wish tnat 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 to 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 glimmering around his thinly-covered head,




THE PIONEERS.               475
looking earnestly at the group, which  receded
from the pile, with an instinctive and involuntary
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 beer.
fruitless. Natty seemed not to regard this advantage, but stood facing each individual in the circle,
in succession, as if to see who would be the first
to arrest him. After a pause of a few moments,
Richard began to rally his confused faculties, 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 towards the village.
During the walk, divers questions were put tc
the prisoner concerning his reasons for burning the
hut, and whither Mohegan had retreated, but to all
of them  he observed a profound silence, until, fatigued with their previous 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.
U Fetch here the stocks, ho!
You stubborn ancient knave, you reverend braggart
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, centered in Templeton, had been thronged with equestrians and
footmen, bound to the haven of justice. There
was to be seen a well-clad yeoman, mounted on a
sleek, switch-tailed steed, ambling 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 conscious
pride of being one of the grand inquest for the
county.  At his side rode a companion, his equal
in independence of feeling, perhaps, but his inferior in thrift, as in property and consideration.
This was a professed dealer in lawsuits-a man
whose name appeared in every calendar; whose
substance, gained in the multifarious expedients
of a settler's changeable habits, was wasted in feed.




THE PIONEERS.               477
ing the harpies of the courts.  He was endeavouring to impress the mind of the grand juror with the
merits of a cause that was now at issue.  Along
with these two was a pedestrian, who, having
thrown a rifle fiock over his shirt, and placed his
best wool hat above his sunburnt visage, had issLed fiom his retreat in the woods by a footpath,
and was striving to keep company with the others,
at an unequal gait, on his way to hear and to de
cide the disputes of his neighbours as a petit juror.
By ten o'clock the streets of the village were
filled with groups of men 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 sithes, axes, and such other manufactures as attracted their curiosity or excited their
admiration.  A few women were to be observed
in the crowd, mostly carrying infants in their arms,
and followed, at a lounging, listless gait, by their
rustic lords and masters.  There was one young
couple, in whom the wvarinth of connubial love was
yet new, waiking among the moving throng, both
dressed in their back-wood finery, at a respectful
distance fiom each other, while the swain directed
the timid steps of his bride by the unbending motions of an extended arm, to which she was appended by grasping his thumb.
At the first stroke of the bell, Richard issued
from the fiont door of t'ie " Bold Dragoon," flourishing in his hand a sheathed sword, that he was
fond of saying his ancestors had carried in one of
Cronmwell's victories, and crying, in an authorita
tive tone, to " clear the way for the court."  The
order was obeyed prolnptly, though not servilely,
the members of the crow\d nodding fainliai ly to the
mtembers of the procession, as it passed.  A paity




478             THE PIONEERS.
of constables with their staves followed the Sheriff,
preceding Marmaduke, and four plain, grave-looking yeomen, who were his associates on the bench.
There was nothing to distinguish these subordinate'udges from the better part of the spectators, except gravity, which they affected a little more than
common, 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 epaulettes, 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 was nothing; it excited neither notice nor conmment.  Three or four
clean-shaved lawyers followed, as meekly as if
they were lambs going to the slaughter, one or
twxo of whom had contrived to obtain an air of scholastic 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 which
were the guilty, downcFast countenances of the
counterfeiters, and the simple but honest features
of the Leather-stocking.  The dungeons were to
be distinguished, externally, firom  the debtors'
apartments, only by the size of the apertures, the
thickness of the grates, and by tle heads of spikes
that were driven into the logs as a protection
against the illegal use of edge-tools.  The upper
stoly was of firame-work, regularly covered with
boards, and contained one room decently fitted up




THE PIONEERS.              479
for the purposes of justice.  A bench ran along
one of its sides, and was raised on a narrow platform to the height of a man above the floor, and
was protected in front by a light railing.  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 placed
rows of seats rising one over the other, for jury
boxes. Each of these several divisions was surrounded by a railing.  The remainder of the room
was an open space appropriated to the spectators.
When the judges were seated, the lawyers had
taken possession 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 despatch on their part, recommending to their
notice, from motives of humanity, the prisoners iin
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 observed, at the first glance of'is eye, the name of Nathaniel Bumppo.  It was
a leisure moment with the couit; 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 there was inter




480             THE PIONEERS.
-upted 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 prisoner was audible.
Natty was dressed in his buck-skin 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
weather-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
nis eyes to the bench, thence to the jury-boxes, the
bar, and the crowd without, meeting every where
looks that were fastened on himself. After surveying his own person, as if in search of the cause
of this unusual attraction, he once more turned his
face around the assemblage, and then 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 towards the bench, he
3aidAnan!"
Mr. Lippet arose from his seat at the table, and
whispered 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 PIONEERS.              48*
The duties of the 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 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 against him with
great attention, leaning forward towards the reader
with an earnestness that denoted 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 expected 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 reflecting attitude, and then raising it, he laughed
again before he answered" That I handled the man a little rough ol so, is
not to be denied; but that there was occasion to
make use of all them things that the gentleman has
3poken of, is downright untrue  I am not much
41




482            THE PIONEERS.
of a wrestler, seeing that I'm  getting old; but I.was out among the Scotch-Irishers-lets 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 prison.
er," interrupted Judge Temple, " instruct your
client how to plead; if not, the court shall 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 alone.
" Proceed to open the cause, Mr. District Attorney," continued the Judge. " Mr. Clerk, enter
the plea of not guilty."
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 colouring which
can be conveyed under such expressions as, " think
ng no harm," " feeling it my bounded duty as a
magistlate," and "seeing that the constable was
back'ard in the business."   When he had done,
and the District Attorney declined putting an} further interrogatories, Mr. Lippet arose, with an ail
of keen investigaticn, and asked the following questions -




THE PIONEERS.             483
" Are you a constable of this county, sir?"
"No, sir," said Hiram, "I'm  only a justice
peace."
"I ask you, Mr. Doolittle, in the face of this
court, putting 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 between his desire for vengeance and his love.
for legal fame; "I do suppose-that in-that isstrict law-that supposing-maybe I hadn't a real
-lawful right;-but as fhe case was-and Billy
was so back'ard-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
considerable cross-grained; not what I call clever,
seeing that it was only one neighbour wanting to
go.into the house of another."
"Oh! then you own it was only meant foi a
neighbourly visit on your part, and without the
sanction of law.   Remember, gentlemen, the
words of the witness,'one neighbour 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 —
tut I've the warrant in my pocket; maybe the
court would wish to. see it?"
"Witness," said Judge Temple, "answer the




484             THE PIONEERS.
question directly; did or did not the prisoner forbid
your entering his hut?"
" 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 tht attorney saw that the impression was in
favour of his client, and, waving his hand with a
supercilious manner, as if unwilling to insult the
understanding of the jury with any further defence,
he replied —
" No, sir; I leave it for your honour to charge;
I rest my case here."
" Mr. District Attorney," said the Judge, " have
you any thing 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" 1 shall rest the prosecution here, if the court
please."
Judge Temple arose and began 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 assistance; and the acts
of such assistant come within the protection of the
law. I shall leave you to judge, gentlemen, from
the testimony, how far the witness in this prosecution 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




THE PIONEERS.              485
Which involves heavier charges against the unfor
tunate prisoner."
The tone of Marmaduke was mild and insinuating, and as his sentiments weregiven with such apparent impartiality, they did not fail of carrying their
due weight to the jury. The grave-looking yeomen, who.composed this tribunal, laid their heads
together for a few minutes, without leaving their
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.
"You are found not guilty of striking and as.
saulting Mr. Doolittle."
"No, no, I'll not deny but that I took him a lit
tie 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 wor s in
his ear, when the aged hunter sunk back into his
place, and, removing his cap. stroked down the
remnants of his gray and sanay locks, with an ai;
of mortification mingled with submission.
41 




t86             THE PIONEERS.
" Mr. District Attorney," said Judge Temple,
affecting 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 execution of a search-warrant, by force
of arms, and particularized, 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, and 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 anticipated 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 of 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 1 ever thirsted after man's blood. I have
fought as a soldier that feared his Maker and his
officer, but I never pulled a 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. I
b'lieve 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 a 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



THE PIONEERS.              487
" Would Billy Kirby be standing there (l'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 1
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 Tern
ple, 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 witnesses, but after consuming much
time. was compelled to relinquish the attempt to
obtamn any advantage, in despair. 
At length the district attorney called the woodclhopper to the bar. Billy gave an extremely confused account of the affair, although he evidently
aimed at the truth, until Mr. Van der School a(diressed him, by asking some direct questions:" It appears, from examining the papers, that
you demanded admission into the but legally; so




488             THE PIONEERS.
you were put in bodily fear by his rifle and
threats?"
"I didn't mind them  that, man," said Billy,
snapping his fingers; " I should be a poor stick to
mind such a one as old Leather-stocking,"
" But 1 understood you to say, (referring to your
previous words, (as delivered here in court,) in
the commencement 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 the chap dropping a muzzle that
never misses, and cocking an eye that has a nateral squint by long practice. I thought there would
be a dust on't, and my back was up at once; but
Leather-stocking gi'n up the skin, 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 mourn'd
it sorely the little while I have to stay."
"Well, Leather-stocking," returned Billy, facing
the prisoner with a freedom and familiarity that utterly disregarded the presence of the court, " as
you are on the subject, it may be that you've no —"
" Go on with your examination, Mr. District Attorney "
Tha gentleman eyed the familiarity between his
witness and the prisoner with manifest disgust, and
indicated to the court that he was done.
" Then you didn't feel frightened, Mr. Kiroy."
said the counsel for the prisoner.
" Me no," said Billy, casting his eyes over ils
own hug  frame with evident self-satisfaction; "I'm
not to be skeared so easy."
" You look like a hardy man; where were you
horn, sir?"




THE PIONEERS.              489' Varmount state;'tis a mountaynious place,
but there's a stiff soil, and its pretty much wooded
with beech and maple."' I have always heerd 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 thrust dut 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 accepted, and judiciously paused while the spirit of peace was exercising her influence over the
two; but the Judge interposed his authority by
saying" This is an improper place for such dialogues.
-Proceed with your examination of this witness,
Mr. Lippet, or I shall order the next."
The attorney started, as if he were unconscious
of any impropriety, 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
Jidn't feel a hard thought, though Squire Doolittle
got some affronted."
r have done, sir," said Mr. Lippet, probably




490             THE PIONEERS.
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 not feel confident that the law
of the land was superior to any advantages (I mean
legal advantages) which he might obtain by his
art. The counsel for the prisoner, gentlemen, has
endeavoured to persuade you, in opposition to your
own good sense, to believe that pointing a rifle at.
a constable (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 attention, while we
look over the particulars of this heinous offence."
Here Mr. Van der School favoured the jury with
an abridgment of the testimony, recounted in such
a manner as utterly to confuse the faculties of his
worthy listeners.  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
least doubting, that you will see the importance
(notwithstanding the prisoner's counsel (doubtless
relying on your former verdict) wishes to appear
so confident of success) 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 counsel, and placing the facts in




THE PIONEERS.             49.
so obvious a light, that they could not well be mis
understood. "Living as we do, gentlemen," he
concluded, "on the skirts of society, it becomes
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 at 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, for a
consultation was passing among them also, during
the deliberation of the jury, and the preparatory
movements of the " bench" announced the coming
sentence.
" 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
governed as much by the consideration of your ig
norance of the laws, as by a strict sense of the importance of punishing such outrages as this of which




492            THE PIONEERS.
you have been found guilty. They have, there.
tore, passed over the obvious punishment of whipping on the bare back, in mercy to your years
but as the dignity of the law requires an open exhibition 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 dollais; and that you be imprisoned in the
jail of this county for one calendar month; and fur-,
thermore, 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, because 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 any thing 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 wickedness of shutting up an
old man, that has spent his days, as one may say.
where he could always look into the window   f
heaven."




THE PIONEERS.             493
"I must be governed by the law"
"Talk not to me of law, Marmaduke Temple,''nterrupted 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 favour 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 a melancholy tone of voice,
" 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 the lakeshore, 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
any thing 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
dollars! where should I get the money? No, nothere's them that says hard things of you, Marmaduke Temple, but you an'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 —
bid you not to fear me; for if there's beaver enough
left on the streams, or the buckskins will sell for a
shilling a-piece, you shall have the last penny of
the fine. Where are ye, pups! come away, dogs 
tome away! we have a grievous toil to do for out
1 _2




494             THE PIONEERS.
years, but it snail be done-yes, yes, I've promised
it, and it shall be done!"
It is unnecessary to say, that the movement of
lhe 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 the 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 honour 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 Spaniards in 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, for ever, and no thanks
asked."
As Benjamin concluded, he thrust out the wooden register of his arrears to the " Bold Dragoon"
with one hand, while he offered his bag of dollars
with the other.  Astonishment at this singular interruption produced a profound stillness in the
room, which was only interrupted by the Sheriff,'
who struck his sword on the table, and cried" Silence "'




'THE PIONEFRS. 4.5
"There must be an end t6 this," said the Judge,
struggling 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
sunk 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 descending from the outer door,
a rush of the people to the scene of his disgrace
allowed.




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, with its companion, the stocks, were not yet supplanted by the
more modern but doubtful expedients of the public prisons. Immediately in front of the jail those
relics of the elder times were situated, as a lesson
of precautionary justice to the evil-doers of the
settlement.
Natty followed the constables to this spot, bowing his head with submission to a power that he
was unable to oppose, and surrounded by the crowd
that formed a circle about his person exhibiting in
their countenances a 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 ever
a murmur; though he cast one glance about him,
as if in quest of that sympathy that human nature
always seems to require under suffering.  If he




THE PIONEERS.              4t 7
met no direct manifestations of pity, neither did he
see any savage exultation expressed, nor hear a
single reproachful epithet. 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 up
per plank, when Benjamin, who had pressed close
to the side of the prisoner, said, in his hoarse tones,
as if seeking for some cause to create a quarrel"Where away, master constable, is the use to
be found 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. Penguillum.
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 to 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 sarved through the war of'fifty-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
spictacle for the country! 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 ouarrel with
its owner; but meeting every where with looks of
sobriety, and occasionally of commiseration, he
very deliberately seated himself by the side of the
42 *




498             THE PIONEERS.
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've 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 te
open his mouth with a grin on it."
" There can't be any harm in locking up a crea.
ter 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
decision, 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
their efforts to suppress. The steward struggled
violently for his liberty again, with an evident in
tention of making battle on those who stood nearest to him; but the key was already turned, and
all his efforts were made in 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 tlhel
there chaps who it is that they are so merry about."
" No, no, you would go in. and you can't come
out," returned 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




TIE PIONEERS.              499
patence from the resigned manner of his companion, and s'n settled himself down by the side
of Natty, with a contemptuousness expressed in
his hard features, that showed he had substituted
disgust for rage. When the violence of the steward's feelings 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 consolation.
".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 moi e than riding with two anchors ahead,
waiting for a tlrn 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 out-rigger
along side of a taffrel-rail."
The hunter appeared to appreciate the kind in
tentions of the other, though he could not understand his eloquence; and raising his humbled countenance, he attempted a smile in vain, 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 nothing; thof, seeing that
I'm a little short in my lower timbers, they've
triced my heels up aloft in such a way as to give
me a bit of a slue. But what cares I, Master




500             THE PIONEERS.
Blump-ho, if the ship strains a little at her anchor;
it's only foi 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"" 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




fHE PIONEERS.             501
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 sensation, 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 encouraged than
daunted by this exhibition of dislike, Hiram, 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
Aoos'nt fall quite speedily."
The air with which Mr. Doolittle delivered this
prophetical opinion was peculiar to his species It




502              IHE PIONEERS
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 hunter had
been labouring to impose on himself, and he burst
out in a warm glow of indignation.
" Why should the rain fall from the clouds," be
cried, "when you force the tears from the eyes of
the old, the sick, and the poor! Away with yeaway 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 thrown
off his guard by the invectives of the hunter, unluckily trusted his person within the 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 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 their positions were a great disadvantage to his antagonist,
without at all discomposing the steward, 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 Dooout-little," roared the steward-' some such matter as a ship's cousin, sir. I know you, I do, with
your fair-weather speeches to Squire Dickens, to
his face, and then-you go and sarve out your grum




THE PIONEERS.              503
bling to all the old women in the town, do ye. An'l
it enough for any Christian, let him harbour 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,
d'ye 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
equivocal demonstrations towards hostility; "so
mind yourself! square yourself, 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 ye 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 became perfectly
unequivocal; 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 courtroom to give the alarm, and one or two of the more
iuvenile part of the multitude had a desperate trial
of speed, to see who should be the happy man to




604              THE PIONEERS.
communicate the critical situation of the magistrate
to his wife.
Benjamin worked 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 would have been disgraced
in his own estimation, had he struck a blow on a
fallen adversary.  By this considerate arrangement he found means, however, to hammer the
visage of Hiram out of all shape, by the time that
Richard succeeded inforcing his way through the
throng to the point of combat.  The Sheriff afterward declared that, independent 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 be saw this breach of
unity between his favourites. Hiram had in some
degree become necessary to his vanity, and Benjamin, strange as it may appear, he really loved.
This attachment 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 manrer!"
At the sound of Mr. Jones's voice, the steward
ceased his employment, and Hiram had an oppertunity of raising his discomfited visage towards the
mediator.  Emboldened by the sight of the Sheriff,
Mr. Doolittle again had recourse to his lungs.
"I'll have the law on you for this," he cried
desperately; " I'll have the law on you for this.  1
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 trle




THE PIONEERs.              505
state of the case, and, turning to the steward, he
cried" Benjamin, how came you in the stocks? I always thought you were as mild and docile as a
lamb. It was for your docility that I most esteemed you. Benjamin! Benjamin! 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
without the reach of the steward, when he broke
forth in violent 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 necessary to commit his major-domo to prison. As
the time of Natty's punishment was expired, and
Benjamin found that tlhey 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 birthed with 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-hooks and
rifles; but as for owning that a man desarves ally
thing worse than a double allowance, for knocking
that carpenter's face a-one-side, as you call it, I'll
maintain it's ag'in reason and Christianity.  If
there's a blood-sucker in this'ere country, it's that
very chap. Ay! I know him! and if he hasn't got
all the same as dead-wood in his head-works, he
knows sum'mat of me. Where's the mighty harm,
43




506              THE PIONEEhS.
Squire, that you take it so much to heart? It's all
the same as any other battle, d'ye see, sir, being
fair 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 moments, 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, Edwards was seen at the
window, in close and earnest dialogue with his
friend; and after he departed, it was thought that
he had communicated words of comfort to the hunter, who threw himself on his pallet, and 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 " Templetown
Coffee-house,' when Natty rose and hung a blanket before the opening, and the prisoners appa
rently retired for the night.




CH APTER 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 look'd behind.,
i.adibras.
As the shades of the evening approached, the
iurors, witnesses, and other attendants on the court,
began to disperse, 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 discourse:
" 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 respected."
" Surely, sir," cried the impatient Elizabeth,
" those laws that condemn a man like the Leatherstocking to so severe a punishment, for an offence
that even I must think very venial, cannot be perfeet in themselves."
"Thou talkest of what thou dost not understand,
Elizabeth," returned her father.  " Society cannot exist without wholesome restraints.  Those
restraints cannot be inflicted, without security and




508             THE PIONEERS.
respect to the persons of those who administer
them; and it would sound ill indeed to report, that
a judge had extended favour 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."
" There thou talkest as a woman, child; it is
not for an assault on Hiram  Doolittle, but for
threatening the life of a constable, who was in the
performance of"" It is immaterial whether it be one or the other,"
interrupted Miss Temple, with a logic that contained more feeling than reason; " I know Natty
to be innocent, and, thinking 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 PIONEERS.              509
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 direction with
themselves.  The figure of the teamster was just
discernible by the dim light, lounging by their side,
with a listless air, as if equally fatigued with his
beasts, 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 reward for their patient labour. The whole
of this was so natural, and so common, that Elizabeth saw nothing to induce a second glance at the
team, until she heard the teamster speaking to his
cattle in a low voice-' Mind yourself, Brindle; will you, sir! will
you!"
The language itself was 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 near to the man, and
her searching 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, notwithstanding, the gloom, and the
enveloping cloak of Elizabeth, the recognition was
mnutual.
"Miss Temple " "Mr. Edwards t" were ex
43 *




5 0             THE PIONEERS
claimed simultaneously, though a feeling that seemed common to them  both rendered their tones
nearly inaudible.
" Is it possible I' 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 recognise 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 Leatherstocking 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-Iam quite sorry, Mr. Edwards, to see you reduced
to such labour; 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, sir," 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 so unused to hardships! I
am sure my father will subscribe 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 transient as a gleam of flit
ting light, and was blended with an expression oi




THE PIONEERS.              n- ]
deep and heart-felt pity.  She did not reply, however, and the appearance of the jailer soon recalled the thoughts of both to the immediate object
of their visit.
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 visiters that you'll be glad to see," returned the jailer. " What have you done to the
lock, that it wo'n't turn?"
"Handsomely, handsomely, master," cried the
steward; " I've just drove a nail into a birth 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 Spaniards, all the
same as if I'd overflogged the lubber. Throw youd
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 de
mands on the favourite cask at the " Bold Dragoon,"
during the afternoon and evening, and was now in
that state which by marine imagery is called "half



512             THE PIONEERS
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, " he was too low-rigged
not to carry sail in all weathers;" but he was pre
cisely in that condition which is so expressively
termed " mudc.y."  When he perceived who the
visiters 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 heels, and I wants no more of them. Where's
the harm of doing all the same as yourself? Leave
that there door free outboard, and you'll find no
ocking inboard, I'll promise ye.'
" I must shut up for the night at nine," said the
jailer, " and it's now forty-two minutes past eight."
He placed the little candle he carried 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 to you. Had you submitted
to the sQarch, 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
tnto my hut? No, no-I wouldn't have opened




THE PIONEERS.              513
the door to your own sweet countenance then. But
they are wilcome to sarch 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 a melancholy musing.
" The hut can be rebuilt, and made better than
nefore," 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
sorrowful voice; " can ye go into the place where
you've laid your fathers, and mothers, and children, and gather together 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 on 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 creaters.  I
had a hope for ye that it might come to pass, but
it's all over now; this put to that, will drive the
thing; quite out of his mina for ever."
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, the heiress bent
her head aside, so as to conceal her features from
the dim light, by her dark tresses. The action and
the feeling that caused it lasted but a moment,
when she faced the party, and continued" Other logs, and better, though, can be had, and
shall be found for you, my old defender. Your confinement will soon be over, and, before that time arives, I shall have a house prepared for you, where
you may spend the close of your harmless life in
eas- and plenty."




614             tHE PIONEERS.
" Ease and plenty! house!" repeated Natty,
slowly.  You mean well, gal, you mean well, and
I quite mourn that it cannot be; but he has seer.
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 an
end like a gib-boom for an hour, d'ye see, and
what's it the worse for't, ha! canst tell me, what's
it the worser, ha?"
" I believe you forget, Mr. Pump, in whose presence you sit with so much composure," said Eli
zabeth.
" Forget you, Miss'Lizzy," returned the stew
ard; "if I do dam'me; " you're 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 sum'mat like an otoiny 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 taught
bolt-rope, being snug at the leaches, but all in a
bight about the inner cloths."
" Peacel- command you to be silent, sir!" said
Elizabeth.
" 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
lays in ease and plenty."
" Ease and plenty!" again repeated the Leather-,tocking-" what ease can there be to an old man.
hvho must walk a mile across the open fields, before




THE PIONEERS..515
he can find a shade to hide him from a scorching
sun! or what plenty is there where you may hunt
a day, and not start a buck, or see any thing 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 Pennsylvany line
in sarch of the creaters, maybe a hundred mile, for
they are not to be got here-away. No, no-your
betterments and clearings have druv the knowing
things out of the country; and instead of beaverdams, which is the nater of the animal, 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 distance of where you want to steer, and I'll
carry sail with the best of yol, 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 up 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'aw says that I must pay the hundred dollars, I11
ake the season through, but it shall be forthcoming; and this good man will help me."
" You catch them," said Benjamin, with a sweepmg gesture of his arm, " and if they get away
again,.call me a slink that's all."




516             THE PIONEERS
"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 morning, and summon patience for your month. 1 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 floor with an air of kindness, and taking
the hand of Elizabeth; " would ye be so kearful
of an old man, and just for shooting the beast which
cost him nothing? Such things doesn't run in the
blood, I believe, for you seem not to forget a favour. Your little fingers couldn't do much on a
buck-skin, nor be you used to 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, thert
is some who know how to remember a kindness.'
" Tell him nothing," cried Elizabeth, earnestly
if you love me, if you regard my feelings, tell
him nothing. It is of yourself only I would talk,
and foi yourself only I act. I grieve, Leatherstocking, 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
nand to old Frontinac; but'twas easy to cut through
t 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. bed



THE PIONEERS.              517
clothes, discovered a hole recently cut in the logs
with a mallet and chisel. " It's only a kick, and
the outside piece is off, and then-"
"Off! ay, off!" cried Benjamin, rousing 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!" ordered Elizabeth.
" Ay, ay, ma'am."
" You will not leave us, surely, Leather-stocking," continued Miss Temple; "I beseech you,
reflect that you will be driven to the woods entirely, and that you are fast getting old. Be patient for a little time, when you can go abroad
openly, and with honour."' Is there beaver to be catched here, gal?"
" If not, here is money to discharge the fine,
and in a month you are free. See, here it is in gold."
" Gold!" said Natty, with a kind of childish
curiosity; " its 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; they was bigger and brighter than them be."
" These are English guineas, and are yours,"
said Elizabeth; " an earnest of what shall be done
for you."
" Me! why should you give me this treasure?'
said Natty, looking earnestly at the maiden 
44




518             TUE PIONEERS.
"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 in his hand for some time, piece by piece,
talking aloud during 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 talking to the cattle, and I must be going. You won't tell of us, gal-you won't tell of
us, will ye P"
" Tell of you!" echoed Elizabeth,-" But take
the money, old man; take the money, even if you
go into the mountains."
" No, no," said Natty, shaking his head kindly,
" I wouldn't 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-stock
ing, though I toil a day in quest of you through
the woods. But where shall I find you, and how?"
" Where!" said Natty, musing a moment-" tomorrow, on the Vision; on the very top of the Vi



THE PIONEERS.              519
sion, I'll meet you, child, 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."
"I will do it," said Elizabeth, firmly.
Natty now seated himself, and, placing his feet
in the hole, with a slight effort 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 of a teamster.
" Come, Benny," said the hunter; "'twill be
no darker to-night, for the moon will rise in an
hour."
" 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, before you execute your
plan."
Natty was about to reply, when the approaching
footsteps of the jailer announced the necessity of
his immediate return. He had barely time to regain his feet, and to conceal 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 usooal 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!ead further than common. I am getting old, and
can't follow up the game with the step that 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.




520              THE PIONEERS.
Accordingly, they parted at the door of the build
ing  ivhen the jailer retired to his dungeons, and
the ladies walked, with th obbing hearts, towards
the corner.
" Now the Leather-stocking refuses the money,"
whispered Louisa, " it cal 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.
"What is to be done now?" said Edwards-' this drunken fellow will cause our detection, ann
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.




THE PIONEERS.              521-'There's no moon yet," cried the wood-chopper;" but it's a clear, moonshiny 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."
"' By heaven, 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
bid to hold his peace, and apply the goad that was
placed in his hand, while the oxen were urged on.
So soon aq this arrangement 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, with his heavy feet sounding along
the street like the tread of a dozen; " spread your3elves; to the mountains; they'll be in the moun
iain in a quarter of an hour, and then look out for a
long rifle."
44 *




522            THE PIONEERS.
His cries were echoed from twenty mouths, foi
not only the jail, but the taverns had sent forth their
numbers, some earnest in the pursuit, and others
joining it as in sport.
As Elizabeth turned in at her father's gate, she
saw the wood-chopper stop at the cart, when she
gave Benjamin up 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 Edwards 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 for
you te land from it where you pleased 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 heiress, and said" You'll remember the canister of powder, chil




THE PIONEERSS.            523
aren. Them beavers must be had, and I and the
pups be getting old; we want the best of ammunition."
Come, Natty," said Edwards, impatiently.
"Coining, 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 lost sight of the retreating 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 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 vou, dummies?"
"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 this
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
-e you going with my team?"
" Team!"
" Ay, my cart and oxen."




524             THE PIONEERS.
" Why, you must know, Master Kirby, that the
Leather-stocking and I-that's Benny Pump — ou
knows Ben?-well, Benny and  — 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, and 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,
towards 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 again still as when she issued
From the gate on her mission to the jail.




CHAPTER XXXV1.
And I could weep'-th' Oneida enie.
His descant wildly thus begunBut that I may not stain with grief
The death song of my father's son.'"
Gertrude if Wyomntg
IT was yet early on the following morning, when
Elizabeth and Louisa met by appointment, and
proceeded to the store of Monsieur Le Quoi, in
order to redeem the pledge that the former had
given to the Leather-stocking. The people 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 only of its polite
owner, Billy Kirby, one female customer, and the
toy 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 into 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 a good-natured interest. The
freedom of manners that prevailed in the new settlements, commonly levelled all difference in rank,
and with it, frequently, all considerations of education and intelligence. At the time the ladies en



526             THE PIONEERS.
tered the stole, they were unseen by the owner,
who was saying to Kirby" Ah! ha! Monsieur Beel, dis lettair mak-a me
de most happi of mans. Ah t ma chere France! I
vill see you aga'n."
" I rejoice, Monsieur, at any thing that contributes to your happiness," cried Elizabeth, " but
must hope we are not going to lose you entirely."
" Ah! Ma'mselle Temp'! vat honneur I feel to
me; mais I'ave lettair, dat mak-a mon cceur sautez
de joie. Ah! Ma'mselle Templ1, if you'ave pere,'ave mere, ave leetl'-Jean-tone, vy you don't'and de ladi a pins, eh!-if you'ave amis beeg and
leetl' you voud be glad to go back. Attendez vous,
Ma'mselle, si vous plais; je vous lirai.' A Monsieur
Monsieur Le Quoi, de Mersereau a Templetone,
Noo Yorck, les Etats Unis d'Amerique. Tres
cher ami. Je suis ravis"
" I apprehend that my French is not equal to
your letter, Monsieur," said Elizabeth, glancing
her eye expressively at her companion; " will you
favour us with its substance in English?"
" Oh! pardonnez moi-I'ave been so long
from Paris dat I do forget de-a-a-a-pronunshasshong. You will'ave consideration pour moi,
and vill excusez my read in France," returned the
polite Gaul, bowing with deep humility, as if lamenting his ignorance of his own language; " mais
I shall tell you en bon Anglois. I'ave offeece a
Paris, in Bureau, dans le temps du bon Louis; I
fly; run avay to sav-a my'ead. I'ave in Martinique von leetl plantation pour sucre-ah! ha!vat you call in dis countray-ah! ha!-Monsieur
Beel, vat you call de place vere you vork-a? eh?"
" Clearing," said the wood-chopper, with a kind
nod.




THE PIONEERS.              521
"No, no, clear-vere you burn-a my troat, eh!'
Billy hitched up his shoulder, and turned his
eyes askance at the ladies, with a broad grin on his
tace, as he answered" I guess'tis a sugar-bush that the Mounsheei
means;-but you musn't take that to heart, man'tis the law of the woods."
" Ah! coquin, I pardonne you," returned the
Frenchman, placing his hand involuntarily on his
throat —  diable! de law should be altair. Mais, I'ave sucre-boosh in Martinique: I fly dere too;I come ici;-votre pere help-a-me;-I grow reech
-yais! I grow reech; mais I'ave not France!L'Assemblee Nationale pass von edict" —
" What's that?" interrupted Billy, who was endeavouring, with much interest, to comprehend the
story.
" Eh! vat dat? vy vat you call, ven de Assemblee d' Alban' mak-a de law?"
" That's an act of the Legyslatoore," said Kirby, with the readiness of an American on such a
subject.
" Vel! dis vas act of Legyslatoore, to restorer
my land; my charactair; my sucre-boosh; and ma
country. Ah! Ma'mselle Templ', je suis enchantie! mais I'ave grief to leav-a you; Oh! yais! I'ave grief ver mooch."
The amount of all this was, that Mr. Le Quoi,
who had fled from his own country more through
terror than because he was offensive to the ruling
powers in France, had succeeded 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
shop-keeper, with so much grace, was about to
emerge again from his obscurity into nis propel
level in society.




5'28            THE PIONEERS.
We need not repeat the civil things that passed
between the parties on this occasion, nor recount
the endless repetitions of sorrow that the delighted
Frenchman expressed, at being compelled to quit
the society of Miss Temple. Elizabeth took an
opportunity, during this expenditure ol polite expressions, to purchase the powder privately of the
boy, who bore the generic appellation of Jonathan.
Before they parted, however, Mr. Le Quoi, who
seemed to think that he had not said enough, solicited the honour of a private interview with the
heiress, with a gravity in his air that announced the
importance of the subject. After conceding the
favour, and appointing a more favourable 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 feelings 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 never, never
ban go on that hill again with you only. I am not
equal to it, indeed I am not."
This was an unexpected declaration to Elizaoeth, who, although she experienced no idle apprehensions of a danger that no longer existed, felt
most sensitively all the delicacies of maiden modesty. She stood for some time, deeply reflecting
within herself, the colour gradually gathering over
her features at her own thoughts; but, as if sensible that it was a time for action instead of re



THE PIONEERS.             52S
flection, she struggled to shake off her hesitation,
and replied firmly"Well, then it must be done by me, and 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 create
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 occasionally passed, but
nigh to 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 sumiit, would prevent her being punctual to the appointment.  Whenever she passed an opening in
the bushes, she would pause for breath, or, pernaps, drawn from her pursuits 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
summer. Even the heavens seemed to share in
the dried appearance of the earth, for the sun was
concealed by a haziness in the atmosphere, which
looked like a thin smoke without a particle of
moisture, if such a thing were possible. The blue
45




530             THE PIONW. ERS.
sky was scarcely to be seen, though now and then
there was a faint lighting up in spots, through which
masses of rolling vapour 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 highway, she
experienced a sensation like suffocation. But, disregarding her feelings, the heiress hastened to execute her mission, dwelling in her thoughts 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. It was at
this point that 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 impediments of a forest in a state of nature
would admit.  Numberless were the fragments of
rocks, trunks of fallen trees, and branches, that she
had to contend against; but every difficulty vanished before her resolution, and, by her own
watch, she stood on the desired spot several minutes before the appointed hour.
After resting a moment on the end of a log, Miss
Temple cast a scrutinizing glance about her in
quest of her old friend, but he was evidently not
in the clearing; when she arose and walked around
its skirts, examining every place where she thought
it probable Natty might deem it prudent to conceal himself.  Her search was fruitless, and, after exhausting not only herself, but her thoughts,
in efforts to discover or imagine his situation,




THE PIONEERS.             531
she ventured to trust her voice in that solitary
place.
"Natty! Leather-stocking! old man I" 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.
While calling, Elizabeth gradually 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 Leatherstocking 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 fissures 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.  Miss Temple 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.
On the trunk of a fallen oak Mohegan was seated, with his tawny visage turned towards her, and
his glaring eyes fixed on her face with an expres.
sion of wildness and fire, that would have terrified
a less resolute female. His blanket had fallen from
his shoulders, and was lying in folds 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




532             THE PIONEERS.
only produced on great and solemn occasions. But
the whole appearance of the aged chief was more
studied than oommon, and was in some particulars
terrific.  The long black hair was plaited on his
head, falling either way so as to expose his high
forehead and piercing eyes, without their usual
shading.  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 materials, was suspended from the cartilage
of his nose, and, falling below his lips, rested on
lis chin. Streaks of red paint crossed his wrinkled brow, and were traced down either cheek,
with such variations in the lines as caprice or cusom suggested. His body was also coloured 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 had a shirt of calico in
readiness for you this month past."
The Indian looked steadily at her for some time
without answering, and then, shaking his head, he
replied, in his low, 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
awk-eye; strong as the buffalo; spry as the cat




THE PIONEERS.              533
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 Chingachgook 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 Elizabeth; " since then, your people have
disappeared, and in 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 spring, the wigwamns of your father, and the
land on the crooked-river. John was yet young,
when his tribe gave away the country, in council,
from where the blue mountain stands above the
water, to where the Susquehannah 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 deer that run 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
ourying 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 firom the
45 *




b34             THE PIONEERS.
Fire-;ater, and his children, and the child of his
fhild, and a new chief set over the country.  Did
they live in peace who did this? did they fear
V-od?"
" Such is the custom of the whites, John.  Do
not the Delawares fight, and trade their lands for
powder, and blankets, and merchandise?"
The Indian turned his dark eyes on the heiress
and kept them there, with a scrutiny that alarmed
her a little, as he replied, in a louder and more
animated voice" Where are the blankets and merchandise that
bought the right of the Fire-eater? 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, for it? 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?"
" Bit 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 evil 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."
" Whom call you the Young Eagle?" said Elizabeth, averting her face from the gaze of the Indian as she asked the question; "whence comes
he, and what are his rights?"
" Has my daughter lived so long with him, to
ask this question?" returned the Indian, warily.




THE PIONEERS.              b35
"Old age freezes up the blood, as the fiosts 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 reflection; but,
after struggling a moment with her shame, she
laughed, as if unwilling to understand him  seriously, and replied in a tone of pleasantryNot to make me the mistress of his secret.
He is too much of a Delaware, to tell his secret
thoughts to a woman."
(C Daughter, the Great Spirit made your father
with a white skin, and he made mine with a red;
but he coloured both their hearts with blood.
When young, it is swift and warm; but when- old,
it is still and cold. Is there difference below the
skin? No.  Once John had a woman.  S we 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 different 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 melancholy of the Indian's man
ner.
" Where is the ice that covered the great spring?
t is melted, and gone with the waters. John has
lived till all his people have left him  for the land
of spirits; but his time has come, and he is ready."




636             THE PIONEERS.
Mohegan dropped his head in his blanket, aid
sat ih silence. Miss Temple knew not what to
say. She wished to draw the thoughts of the old
warrior from his gloomy recollections, but there
was a dignity in his sorrow, and in his fortitude,
that repressed her efforts to speak again, for some
time. After a long pause, however, she renewed
the discourse, by asking"Where is the Leather-stocking, John? this
canister of powder I have brought 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 of the heiress, which she put
in his hand.
"This is the great enemy of my nation. Without this, when could the white men drive the DUlawares! Daughter, the Great Spirit gave youi
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.
WheinJohn has gone, the last will leave these hills,
and all his family will be dead." The aged warrior stretched his body forward, leaning his 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 respiration. 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 to the country where his
fathers have met. The game shall be plenty as
the fish in the lakes. No woman shall cry fow
meat.  No Mingo can ever come. The chase shal




THE PIONEERS.              537
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 forefathers."
" Fathers! sons!" said Mohegan with firmness' all gone-all gone!-I have no son but th
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 secret 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 recalled his recollection to the earth, and;
taking her hand, he drew  Miss Temple to a seat
beside him, and pointed to the country beneath
them, before he answered" See, daughter," he said, directing her looks
towards the north; " as far as your young eyes can
see, 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
tihs circumstance, Miss Temple sprung on her feet,
and turning her eyes toward the summit of the mountain, she beheld it covered by a similar canopy,
while a roaring sound was heard in the forest above
her, like the rushing of furious winds.
" What means it, John!" she exclaimed; " we
are enveloped in smoke, and I feel a heat like the
glow of a furnace."
Before the Indian could reply, a voice was heard,
zrying in the woods, with a painful anxiety" John! where are you, old Mohegan! the




[.;?~?3         THE PION E ES.
woods are on fire, and you have but a few minutes
tor escape."
The chief put his hand before his mouth, and
making it play on his lips, produced the kind of
noise that had attracted 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
painted in every feature.




CHAPTER XXXVIL
" Ilov rules the court, the camp, the grove."
Lay of the Last MfnOtrel.
" 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
cal pass there, our only chance must be over the
precipice. Away! away! shake off your apathy,
John, for now is the time of need."
Mohegan pointed towards Elizabeth, who, forgetting her danger, had shrunk back to a projection of the rock, so soon as she recognised the
sounds of Edward'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
hei terror, blended with her reluctance to meet
him in such a place, the shock for a moment deprived him of speech.
"Miss Temple!" he cried, when he found
words; " you here! is such a death reserved for
you i"




540            THE PIONEERS.
"No, no, no-no death,'I hope, for any of us,
Mr. Edwards," she replied, endeavouring to speak
calmly, and rallying her thoughts for the emergency. "There is smoke, but still no fire to harm us.
Let us endeavour to retire."
" 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. Edwards. Lead me out the way you came."
" I will-I will," cried the youth, with a kind
of hysterical utterance.  " No, no-there is no
danger-I have alarmed you unnecessarily."
". But shall we leave the Indian-can we leave
him here, as he says, to die?"
An expression of painful emotion crossed the face
of the young man, who stopped, and cast a longing
look at Mohegan; 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.
" ])o not regard him," he said, in those horrid
tones that denote a desperate calmness; " he is
used to the woods, and such scenes; 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 him there to meet with such a death,"
cried Elizabeth, 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 incommode you."
" Edwards! your look, your eye, terrifies me'




THE PIONEERS.              541
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 composure.  "Fly! the
struggle is for your life!"
The place of the interview between Miss Temple and the Indian has been already 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 sweep
of the rock that Edwards had ascended, and it was
toward the same place that he urged Elizabeth to
a desperate exertion of her speed.
Immense clouds of white smoke had been pouring over the summit of the mountain, and had concealed the approach and ravages of the element;
but a crackling sound drew the eyes of Miss Temple, as she flew over the ground, supported by the
young man, towards the outline of smoke, where
she already perceived the waving flames shooting
forward from the vapour, now flaring high in the
air, and then bending to the earth, seeming to light
into combustion every stick and shrub on which
they breathed. The sight aroused them both to
redoubled efforts; but, unfortunately, there was a
collection of the tops of trees, old and dried, which
lay directly across their course; and, at the very
moment when both had thought their safety ensured, an eddying of the warm currents of the air
swept a forked tongue of flame across the pile,
which lighted at the touch; and when they reach46




542.            THE PIONEERS.
ed 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
sort of stupor at the flames, which were spreading
rapidly down the mountain, whose side soon became a sheet of living fire.  It was dangerous for
one clad in the light and airy dress of Elizabeth to
approach even to 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 for
he flames, which, having been scorching under the
sun for the last two months, 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 represented to
relumine its neglected lamp.
There was beauty as well as terror in the sight,
and Elizabeth and the youth stood viewing the
progress of the desolation, with a strange mixture
of horror and interest. Edwards, however, shortly roused himself to new exertions, and drawing
his companion after him, they skirted the edge of
the smoke, the young man penetrating frequently
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, opposite to the point where Ed




THE PIONEERS               543
wards had ascended, the horrid conviction burst
on both at the same instant, that they were completely encircled by the fire. So long as a single
pass up or down the mountain was unexplored,
hope had invigorated them with her secret influence; but when retreat seemed to be absolutely
impracticable, the horror of their situation broke
upon Elizabeth as powerfully as if she had hitherto considered the danger nothing.' This mountain is doomed to be fatal-to me!"
she whispered, rather than uttered aloud; —" 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, horrid 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 leave 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 into every fissure in the
rags, in quest of some opening that might offer
the facilities of flight. But the smooth, even surface of the rocks afforded hardly a resting place
for a foot, much less those continued projections
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 fu
tile, and, with a kind of feverish despair, that still
urged him to action, he turned to some new expe.
dient.




544             THE PIONEERS.
"There is nothing left, Miss Temple," he said,
in a hollow accent, " but to lower you from this
place to the rock beneath.  If Natty were here,
or: even that Indian could be roused, their ingenuity and. long practice would easily devise methods
by which to do it; but I am a child, at this moment, in every thing 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-anyr thing is
better than to see you a victim to such a death!"
" And what shall become of you!" said Elizabeth. " Indeed, indeed, neither you nor John
must be the sacrifice to my safety."'
He heard her not, for he was already by the
side of Mohegan, who yielded his blanket without
a question, retaining 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 Elizaoeth; " 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
quickness 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
swept off the victims, who were suffering doubly
under the anticipations of their approaching fate.
But the peculiarity of their situation afforded Eli



THE PIONEERS.              545
zabeth and her companion the respite, of which
they availed themselves to make the efforts we
have recorded.
The thin covering of earth ovet the rock on which
they stood 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 withered leaves, that were drained of their nourishment;
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 leaves and boughs that led the destructive
element like a torrent over the remainder of the
hill. As auxiliary to this scarcity of fuel, there
was one of the large springs which abound in that
country, gushing out of the side of the ascent above,
which, after creeping sluggishly along the level
land, saturating the mossy covering of the rock
with moisture, swept round the base of the little
cone that formed the pinnacle of the mountain,
and, entering the canopy of smoke near one of the
terminations of the terrace, found its way to the
lake, not by dashing from rock to rock, but by the
secret channels of the earth. It would rise to the
surface, here and there, in the wet seasons, when
it exhibited a mimic torrent, overflowing the ground
for some distance; 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
noisture, like'an army impatiently waiting the operations of a battering train, to open its way to death
and desolation.
46 




546              THE PIONEERS.
That fatal moment seemed now to have ariived;
for the hissing streams of the spring appeared to be
nearly exhausted, and the moss of the rocks was
already curling under the intense heat that was
thrown across the little spot of wet ground, while
the 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 quivering with rays of heat, which might be seen
playing along the parched stems of the trees. The
excited imagination of Elizabeth, as she stood on
the verge of the precipice, and gazed about her,
viewing the approach of their powerful enemy,
fancied every tree and herb near her on the point
of ignition.  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 prostrated
tree, united to alarm the victims. Of the three,
however, the youth appeared much the most agitated. Elizabeth, having relinquished entirely the
idea of escape, was fast obtaining that resigned
composure, with which the most delicate of her sex
are known to meet unavoidable evils; while Mohegan, who was much nearer to the danger, maintained 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 towards 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




rHE PIONEERA.             547
of futurity.  Much of the time he was chanting a
kind of low dirge, in the Delaware tongue, using
the deep and remarkably guttural tones of his
people.
" At such a moment, Mr. Edwards, all earthly
distinctions 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 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 that beamed on the lovely features of
Elizabeth was celestial, as she answered in a soft,
soothing voice, " Why name such a trifle now —at
this moment the heart is dead to all earthly emotions!"
" If any thing could reconcile a man, in the vlgour and pride of manhood, to this death," cried
the youth with fervour," 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 yourself.  We must die; yes-yes-we
must die-it is the will of God, and let us endeavour to submit like his own children."
"Die!" the youth rather shrieked than exclaimed, " No-no-there must be hope yet-you must
not, shall not die."
C In what way can we escape?" asked Elizaoeth, pointing, with a look of heavenly composure,
aowards the fire. "Observe! the flame is crossing




548             THE PIONEERS.
the barrier of wet ground-it comes slowly, Edwrards, 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 and
magical.  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 farther end, and the Indian appeared to be surrounded by the fire.  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, raising its tones,
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 canopy of fiery
smoke that overhung the valley, was cleared away,
leaving a distinct view of the peaceful village beneath them.
" My father!-My father t" shrieked Elizabeth.'Oh! this-this surely might have been spared
me-but I submit."
The distance was not too great for the figure of
Judge Temple to be seen, standing in his own
grounds, and apparently contemplating, in perfect
unconsciousness of the danger of his child, the




THE PIONEERS.             549
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
Edwards, in the accents of despair. " If I ad 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 his anguish. Tell him that I died happy
and collected; that I have gone to my beloved
mother; that the hours of this life are as 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 weaknesses,
" 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 bid to leave you! me,
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
fiom  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 degradation,'twas you that charmed me to it. If I




550             THE PIONEERS.
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. Nono-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 of heaven. The
iecollection of her father, and her regrets at their
separation, had been mellowed by a holy sentiment, that lifted her above the level of earthly
things, and she was fast losing the weakness of her
sex, in the near view of eternity.  But as the
maiden, standing in her extremity, listened to these
words, she became once more woman.  The blood
gathered slowly again in those cheeks, that had,
in anticipation of the tyrant's triumph, assumed the
livid appearance of death, until they glowed with
the loveliness of her beauty. She struggled with
herself against these feelings, and smiled, as she
thought she was shaking off the last lingering feeling of her 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-stock-:g; he seeks me!"
"'Tis Natty!" shouted Edwards, springing on
his feet, "and we may yet be saved!"
A wide and circling flame glared on their eyes
for a moment, even above the fire of the woods,
and a loud report followed, that was succeeded by
a comparative stillness.
"'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 tlh




TITE. PIONEERS.             551
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 colour than
ever! by the heat he had encountered.




CHAPTER XXXVI11.
* Even from the landof hadows, now
My lather's awful ghost appears."
Gertrude of Wyoming.
FOR an hour after Louisa Grant was left by Mlss
Temple, in the situation already mentioned, she
continued in feverish anxiety, awaiting the return
of her friend.  But as the time passed by without
the.re-appearance of Elizabeth, the terrors 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. She was stationed in
the edge of the low pines and chestnuts 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




THE PIONEERS.               553
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, and said" I am glad to meet you here, child, 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 that varmint, who has:given me all this trouble, digging for ore on the
east side. I told him that the kearless fellows,
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 salamanders.
Why, what ails the child! you look as skeary as if
you see'd more painters! I wish there was somF
to be found, they'd count up faster than the beaver.  But where's the good child of a bad father
did she forget her promise to the old man?"
" The hill  the hill!" shrieked Louisa; " so
seeks you on the hill with the powder!"
Natty recoiled for several feet, at this unexpee..
ed intelligence, and exclaimed" The Lord of Heaven have mercy on her  She wh
on the Vision, and that's a sheet of fire ag'ln this.
47




554             THE PIONEERS.
Child, if ye love the dear one, and hope to find a
fiiend when you need it most, to the village, and
give the alarm.  The men be us'd to fighting fire,
and there may be a chance left.  Fly! I bid ye
fly! nor stop even for breath."
The Leather-stocking had no sooner uttered this
injunction, than he disappeared in the bushes, and
when last seern by Louisa, was rushing up the
mountain with the activity of youth, and 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've found ye; but follow,-there is no time
left 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 of
buckskin that he carried on his arm, and wrapping her form in it, in such a manner as to envelope 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' finger, when he beheld the Indian, still seated as before, with the very earth under his feet
consuming with fire. Without delay the hunter
approached the spot, and cried in Delaware" Up and away, Chingachgook! will ye stay here
to burn, like a tortured 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 re asting.  Will ye come, I say? will ye follow "'




THE PIONEERS.             555
"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'lunting-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 warilors, my tribe, say, come. The Great Spirit says,
come. No-let Mohegan die."
" But you forget your friend," cried Edwards.
"'Tis useless to talk to an Indian with the deathfit 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 lea the way to the point whence he had
issued. Even as they crossed the little terrace of
rock, one of the dead trees, that had been tottering for several minutes, 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 followed 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, I tell
you-sich another will be hard to be found."
Obedient to the hunter's directions, they follow
ed his steps and advice implicitly, and although the
narrow passage along the winding of the spring led
amid burning logs and falling branches, yet they
happily achieved it in safety. No one but a man
tong accustomed to the woods, could have traced
nis route through a smoke, in which respiration
was difficult, and sight nearly useless; but the ox,



556             THE PIONEERS.
perience of Natty conducted them to an opening
through the rocks, where, with a.ittle difficultythey soon descended 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 altogether like; 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 skrimmage 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
with a strong emotion, 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 who was accustomed to the kind of
danger he had just encountered. " I ad ye staid
in the place above ten minutes longer, you would
both have been in ashes, but here you may stay
for ever, and no fire can touch you, until they
burn the rocks as well as the woods."
With this assurance, which was obviously true,
they proceeded to the spot, and Natty deposited
his load, placing the Indian an the ground with his
oack against a fragment of the iocks. Elizabeth




THE PIONEERS.              557
sunk 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
Temple," said Edwards respectfully; "your firame
will sink else."
" Leave, 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; stow'd in this here
bit of a hole, which is all the same as hot as the
cook's coppers. I'm tired of my birth, 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 Jamaiky held out no longer than to take a parting kiss
with Billy Kirby, when he anchored me alongside
the highway last night, where you run me down in
the chase. But here's sum'mat of a red colour that
may suit a weak stomach, mayhap.  That master
Kirby is no first-rate in a boat, but he'll tack a cart
among the stumps, all the same as a Lon'on pilet
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
47 *




b58             THE PIONEERS.
rock, with the desired restoratives, exhibiting the
worn-out and bloated features of a man, who had
run deep in a debauch, and that lately.
Elizabeth took from the hand of Edwards the
liquor which he offered, and then motioned to be
left again to herself.
The youth turned at her bidding, and observed
Natty kindly assiduous around the person of Molegan. When their eyes met, the hunter said sorrowfully" His time has come, lad; I see it in his eye;when an Indian fixes his eye, he means to go but
to one place; and what the wilful creaters put
their minds on, they're sure to do."
A quick tread diverted the reply of the youth,
and in a few moments, 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
Edwards. " Is the hill alive with people, at a time
like this?"
The hasty, but pious thanksgivings of the clergyman were soon ejaculated; and when he succeeded in collecting his bewildered senses he replied" I heard that my child was seen coming to the
mountain; and when the fire broke over its summit, my uneasiness drew me up the road, where I
found Louisa, interror 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 open



THE PIONEERS.               550
ing they'll scent it out," said Natty - " their noses
be given them the same as man's reason."
"I did so, and 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 the'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 firom the burning.'
" No, no," returned Natty, who alone stood
with him by the side of the dying warrior, " it's 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 for ever, 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 to the speaker, and fastened his dark eyes on him, steadily,
but vacantly.  No sign of recognition was made;
and in a moment he moved his head again slowly,owards the vale, and began to sing, using his own.anguage, in those low, guttural tones, that have
been so often mentioned, his notes   ising with his




560              THE P1ONEERS.
theme, till they swelled to fulness, if not to harmony:
" I will come! I will come! to the land of the
just I will come! No Delaware fears his end; no
Mohican shrinks from death; for the Great Spirit
calls, and he goes. My father I have honoured; I
have cherished my mother; to my tribe I've been
faithful and true.  The Maquas I have slain!-I
have slain the Maquas! 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 goon
right he has to say it all, for I know every word
of it to be true."
"May Heaven avert such self-righteousness
from his heart!" exclaimed the divine. "Humility
and penitence are the seals of Christianity; 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
urpose. Do you now feel what it is to be justiied 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




THE PIONEERS.              561
of Mohegan! What enemy that trusted in him
did not see the morning?  What Mingo that he
chased ever sung the song of triumph? Did Mohegan ever lie? No; for 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; and 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 good divine;-" what
says he now? is he sensible of his lost state?"
" Lord! man," said Natty, " he knows his ind
is at hand as well as you or I, but, so far from
thinking it a loss to him, he believes it to be a great
gain.  He is now old and stiff, and you've made
the game so scearce and shy, that better shots than
him find 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 ego;
and where he shall meet all his tribe together ag'in.
There's not much loss in that, to a man whose
hands be hardly fit for basket-making. Loss! if
there be any loss,'twill be to me. I'm sure, after
he's gone, there will be but little left for me to do
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 momnent, John, when the reflection that you did not
reject the mediation of the Redeemer, will bring
balm to your soul.  Trust not to any ict of former
days, but lay the burthen of your sins at his feet,
and you have his own blessed assur-nce that he
will not desert you."




562             THE PIONEERS.
"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.  1
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 that, and many
dark days have we both seen together sin' it."
" Hawk-eye!" said Mohegan, rousing with the
last glimmering of life.  " Hawk-eye! listen to the
words of your brother."
" Yes, John," said the hunter, in English, strongly affected by the appeal, and drawing to his side;
" we have been brothers; and more so than it
means in the Indian tongue. What would ye have
with me, Chingachgook?"
" 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; fol
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 was by no
means clear, yet the fruits of early instruction had




THE PIONEERS.              563
not entirely fallen in the wilderness. He be leved
in one God, and one heaven; and when the strong
feeling excited by the leave-taking of his old coin
panion, which was exhibited by the powerful working of every muscle in his weather-beaten face,
suffered him to speak, he replied —
" No-no-he trusts only to the Great Spirit
of the savages, and to his own good deeds. lie
thinks, like all his people, that he is to be young
ag'in, and to hunt, and be happy to the ind of etarnity. It's pretty much the same with all colours.
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 threescore-and-ten."
" The Lord in his mercy avert such a death
fiom one who has been sealed with the sign of
the cross!" cried the minister, in holy fervour.
" John" —
He paused; for the scene, and the elements,
seemed to conspire to oppress the powers of humanity.  During the period occupied by the events
which we have related, the dark clouds in the horizon had continued to increase in nuimbers and magnitude; and the awful stillness that now pervaded
the air, announced a crisis in the state of the atnosphere.  The flames, which yet continued to
rage along the sides of the mountain, no longer
whirled in the uncertain currents of their own ed
jies, but blazed high and steadily towards the heavens.  There was even a quietude in the ravages
of the destructive 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.




564             THE PIONEERS.
and were dispelling rapidly; and streaks of vivia
lightning were dancing through  the masses of
clouds that impended over the western hills. White
Mr. Grant was speaking, a flash, which sent its
quivering light through the gloom, laying bare the
whole opposite horizon, was followed 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
forth his wasted arm towards the west.  His dark
face lighted with a look of joy; which, with all
other expression, 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, rigid
and motionless, 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" 0 Lord! how unsearchable are thy judgments:
and thy ways past finding out!'1 know that my
Redeemer liveth, and that he 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 myself, 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
anguage expressed.
When Mr Grant retired from the body, the




THE PIONEERS.              56~
hunter approached, 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 mournful 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. Ahs me! a mAn must
wait the time of God's pleasure, but I begin to
weary of my life.  There is scarcely a tree standing that I know, and it's hard to find a face that I
was acquainted with in my younger days."
Large drops of rain began now to fall, and diffuse themselves 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 completely closed in front with logs and
bark, saying something 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 lain
that fell, under the projection of a rock which
over-hung 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 cautiously among the unextlguished brands.
At the first short cessation in the rain, Oliver
i,.




566             THE PIONEERS.
conducted the heiress 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 perhaps it has been weakness to keep
around me and my affairs so long. But I have had
romantic and foolish wishes and weaknesses; 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, and 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
piercing cries of her father as he called upon her
name, paused until he was concealed among the
smoking trees, when she turned, and in a moment
rushed into the arms of her half-distracted parent.
A carriage had been provided, to remove her
body, living oi dead, as Heaven had directed her
fate, into which Miss Temple hastily entered;
when the cry was passed along the hill, that the
lost one was found, and the people returned to the
village, wet and dirty, but elated with the thought
that the daughter of their landlord had escaper
fir,)n so horrid and untimely an end.




CHAPTER XXXIX.
~ Selictar! unsheath then our chief's scimetar i
Tambourgi! thy'larum gives promise of war;
Ye mountains! that see us descend to the shore,
Shall view us victors, or view us no more."
Byrao
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 collection of fuel to feed
the element. The next day the woods, for many
miles, were black and smoking, and were stript ox
every vestige of brush and dead wood; but the
pines and hemlocks still reared their heads proudly
along the hills, and even the smaller trees of the
forest retained a feeble appearance of life and vegetation.
The many tongues of rumour were busy in exaggerating the miraculous escape of Elizabeth, and
a report was generally 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 Riddel, 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




568              THE PIONEEBS.
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 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 fugitives as remained within reach.
Men talked of the cave, as a secret receptacle of
guilt; and as the rumour of ores and metals found
its way into the confused medley of conjectures,
counterfeiting, and every thing 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 was 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.  This opinion soon gained ground, being most circulated by those who, by their own
heedlessness, had caused the evil; and there was
one irresistible burst of the common sentiment, that
an attempt 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 with a knowledge of their duty, these
youths hurried into the hills, with a bustling manner, as if the fate of the world depended on their




THE PIONEERS.              569
diligence, ant, at the same time, with an air of
mystery, as great as if they were engaged 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 commander of the
"Templeton Light-Infantry," when the former demanded of the latter the aid of the posse comitatus, 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 news-paper, which
is yet to be found on 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.
Every thing 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, and arranged themselves in
order of battle.
As this corps was composed of volunteers, and
was commanded by a man who had passed the first
five-and-thirty years of his life in camps and garrisons, it was the nonpareil of military science in
that country, and was confidently 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 opinion. The opinion belonged to
Marmaduke, who, however, saw no necessity for
its promulgation. Of the voices, one, and that a
pretty loud one, came from the spouse of the com-!nander himself, who frequently reproached her
husband for condescending to lead sllch an irregu.
4 8 *




570             THE PIONEERS.
lar band of warriors, after he had filled the honourable station of sergeant-major to a dashing corps of
Virginian 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 characters of her truant progeny" It's mayhap that they knows sum'mat aboul
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 appearances,
and was, in consequence, too busily engaged with
certain preparations of her own, to make her comi
ments; as Benjamin was absent, and Monsieur Le
Quoi too happy to find fault with any thing, the
corps escaped criticism and comparison altogether
on this momentous day, when they certainly had
greater need of self-confidence, than on any other
previous occasion.  Marmaduke was said to be
tagain closeted with Mr. Van der School, and no
interruption was offered to the movements of the
troops. At two o'clock precisely the corps shouldered arms, beginning on the right wing, next to'le veteran, and carrying the motion through to the




THE PIONEERS.               57 
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 theii
enemy, it is not to be supposed that the manceuvre
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 its crown, carrying a tremendous 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 excellent order. In this man
ner 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 succeeded.  We shall briefly say, that the scouts came
in and reported, that, so far from retreating, as had
been anticipated, the fugitives had evidently gained
a knowledge of the attack, and were fortifying for
t 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 juncture, they were joined by Billy Kirby, who came along the highway, with his axe un



572            THE PIONEERS.
der 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 ai ranged, that he should be the bearer
of a summons to the garrison to surrender, before
they proceeded to extremities. 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 accompanied 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 a wonderful 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 Hollister 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 belligerants.'The besieged
had drawn together a pile of black logs and branches
of trees, which they had formed into a chevaux-de



THE PIONEERS.              573
frise, making a little circular abbatis in front' of the
entrance to the cave. As the ground was steep
and slippery in every direction around the place,
and Benjamin 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 difficulty of tne 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 parapet, 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 a-twixt us. God forgive the
one that draws it first; but so it must be."
" Come, old chap," said Billy, good naturedly,
" don't be crabbed, but hear what a man has got
to say. I've no consarn in the business, only to
see right'twixt man and man; and I don't kear the
valie of a beetle-ring which gets the better; but
there's Squire Doolittle, out yonder behind 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 indignant Natty; " and if he'll only show so
much flesh as will bury a rifle bullet, thirty to the
pound, I'll make him feel me. Go away, Billy, I
bid ye; you know my aim, and I bear you no malice."
" You over calkilate your aim, Natty," said the
~ther, as he stepped behind a pine that stood near
him, "if you think to shoot a man through a tree
vith a three foot but.  I can lay this tree right




574            THE PIONEERS.
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.  He answered the vaunt 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 blood to
staunch, I tell you. If it's only to get into the
cave that ye want, wait till a two hours' sun, and
you may enter it in welcome; but come in now
you shall not. There's one dead body already,
lying on the cold rocks, and there's another in
which the life can hardly be said to stay. If you
will come in, there'll be dead without as well as
within."
The wood-chopper stept out fearlessly from his
cover, and cried" That's fair; and what's fair is right. He wants
you to stop till it's two hours to sun-down; and I
see reason in the thing. A man can give up when
he's wrong, if you don't crowd him too hard; but
you crowd a man, and he gets te be like a stubborn
ox-the more you beat, the worse he kicks."
The sturdy notions of independence maintained(l
by Billy, neither suited the emergency, nor the
impatience of Mr. Jones, who was burning with a
desire to examine the hidden mysteries of the cave.
Ile therefore interrupted this amicable dialogue
with his own voice.
"I command you, Nathaniel Bumppo, by my
authority, to surrender ybur person to the law," he
pried. " And I command you, gentlemen, to aid
mne in performing my duty. Benjamin Penguilica,r




THE PIONEERS.              575
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 Benja.
min, removing 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, sir, to the end of the world, if-so-be that
there was such a place, which there isn't, seeing
that it's round. Now, mayhap, Master iollister,
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 Pengullum, 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 defence on his side of the
works.  " Look you, Master, or Captain, thof I
questions if ye know the name of a rope, except
the one that's to hang ye, there's no need of singing out, just 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
tllat'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
in alias," cried Hiram, from behind his cover.
" Put in a jackass, and you'll put in yourself.




376             THE PIONEgERS.
Mister Doo-but-little," shouted Benjamin, who
kept squinting along his little iron tube, with great
steadiness.
" I give you but one moment to yeld in," cried
Richard. " Benjamin! Benjamin! this is not the
gratitude I expected from you."' I tell you, Richard Jones," said Natty, who
dre aded the sheriff's influence over his comrade;
"though the canister the gal brought be lost,
there's powder enough in the cave to lift the rock
you stand on.  I'll take off my toof, if you don't
hold your peace."
" I think it beneath the dignity of my office to
parley further with the prisoners," the sheriff observed to his companion, while they both retired
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 upwards with
his sabre, that would have divided the steward in
moieties, by subjecting him to the process of de
capitation, but for the fortunate interference of the
muzzle 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 wer#
projected into the air, in nearly a perpendicular
line. Philosophy teaches us that the atmosphere
will not retain ledd; and two pounds of the metal,
moulded 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




THE PIONEERS.              577
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, depends on
which way they are first got in motion. In the
present instance, it was retrograde, and in less than
a minute after the loud 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 veteran. Benjamin received a severe contusion from the recoil 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 breast-work, and
obtain a footing in the bastion-for such was the
nature of the fortress, as connected 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 head,
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 was in some measure bound to exhibit to his men; but the outcry
was the unlucky cause of turning the tide of success. Natty, who had been keeping a vigilant eye
on the wood-chopper, and the enemy immediately
before him, wheeled at this alarm, and was appalled at beholding hig comrade on the ground, and
the veteran standing on his own bulwark, giving
forth the cry of victory! The muzzle of the long
rifle was turned instantly towards 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 Leatherstocking, who, instead of pulling his trigger, ap49




57 8            THE PIONEERS.
plied 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.
Fhe 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 wonderfully 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 the inimy! and sich a one!
Here have I been telling the b'ys, as we come
along, all about the saige of Yorrektown, and how ye
was liurted; 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 yeerself 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
setting my heart on sich worreldly things; but




THE PIONEERS.              57 9
what falls in the battle, there's Scripter for believing it the just property of the victor."
" Retreating." exclaimed the amazed veteran;
" where's my horse? he has been shot under
me  I  "
" Is the mal mad!" interrupted his wife-" divil
the horse do ye own, sargeant, and yee're nothing
but a shabby captain of malaishy.  Och! if the
ra'al captain was here,'tis the other way ye'd be
riding, dear, or you would not follow your lader!"
While this worthy couple were thus discussing
events, the battle began to rage more violently than
ever, above them. When the Leather-stocking
saw his enemy fairly under head-way, as Benjamin
would express it, he gave his attention again to the
right wing of the assailants.  It would have been
easy for Kirby, with his powerful frame, to have
seized the moment to scale the bastion, and, with
his great strength, to.have sent both 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 even by the retreating left wing, he
shouted" Hurrah! 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 veteran, until, overcome by his mirth,
the good-natured fellow  seated himself on the
ground, kicking the earth with delight, and gin ing
vent to peal after peal of laughter.
Natty stood all this time in a menacing attitude,
with his rifle pointed over his breast-work, watching with a quick and cautious eye the least movenent of the assailants.  The outcry unfortunately
tempted the ungovernable curiosity of Hiram to
take a peep from behind his cover at tl e state of the




580             THE PIONEERS.
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 formation, the use of curved lines. Every thing 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 species.  Consequently, when Mr. Doolittle
leaned forward in the manner described, a loose
drapery appeared behind the tree, at which the rifle of Natty was pointed with the quickness ol
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, who watched the whole manceuvre
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 unmasked with more promptitude than
Hiramr advanced from behind the tree, at this summons.
lie 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 menacing ai-,
towards Natty, and cried aloud" Gawl darn ye! this shan't be settled so easy;
I'11 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 manner in which he exposed himself, together
with, perhaps, the knowledge that Natty's rifle was




THE PIONEERS.              5831
unloaded, encouraged the troops in the rear, who
gave a loud shout, and fired a volley into the treetops, 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
bloodshed 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 Sheriff, 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 hand,
while the " Light Infantry" ceased their military
movements, and waited the issue in mute suspense.
In less than a minute Edwards came rushing
down the hill, followed by Major Hartmann 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 en
tered; leaving all without silent and gazing after
them with astorfishment.
49 *




CHAPTER XL.
" I am dumb.
Were you the Doctor, and I know you not M".Sakpeae.
DURING the five or six minutes that elapsed before the youth and Maj.or reappeared, Judge Temple and the Sheriff, together with most of the volunteers, ascended to the terrace, where the lattet
began to express their conjectures 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 deerskins, 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 colour 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 fept 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 thimh i:i unmean



THE PIONEERS.               583
ng 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 which showed that heavier interests than
those which affected himself were to be decided.
Major Hartmann placed himself beside the aged
man, uncovered, with his whole soul beaming
through those eyes which so commonly danced
with frolic and humour.  Edwards rested with one
hand familiarly, but affectionately, on the chair,
though his heart was swelling with emotions tha
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 will open immediately.  Each one who
loves a good and virtuous king, will wish to see
these colonies continue loyal.  Be seated-I pray
you, be seated, gentlemen. The troops shall 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
VOL. II.




584             THE PIONEERS.
for his Majesty's officers. You know we have the
best of game always at our command."
"Who is this man?" asked Marmaduke, in a
hurried voice, in which the dawnings of conjecture united with-interest to put the question.
"This man!" returned Edwards calmly, his
voice, however, 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 warrior,
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 proprietor of this very
soil on which we stand. This man was the father
of"" This, then," cried Marmaduke, with powerful
emotion, " this, then, is the lost Major Effingham!"
"Emphatically so," said the youth, fixing a
piercing eye on the other.
" And you! and you!" continued the Judge articulating with difficulty.
" I am his grandson."
A minute passed in profound silence. All eyes
were fixed on the speakers, and even the old German appeared to wait the issue in deep anxiety
But the moment of agitation 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.              585
"Oliver, I ofrgive all thy harshness-all thy
suspicions. I now see it all. I forgive thee every
thing, 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't you, lat, dat Marmatuke
Temple vast a frient 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 gentleman 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
fiiend, 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, ten
derly —" Was he, indeed, lost in the packet?"
" He was.  He had left me, after several years
of fruitless 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 grandfather had sojourned during and since the
war, and take him with us."
" But, thou!" said Marmaduke, with powerful
interest; " I had 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




586             THE PIONEERS
of the volunteers, and continued silent.  Marnnaduke 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 Dooiittle has received in this
untoward affair.  Richard, 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 wholesome restraints of the law, and
the habitual respect with which all the commands
of the Judge were received, induced a prompt compliance.
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 Major 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 fortune to my care.  When we separated, he had such confidence in me, that Ife 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 Eftingham, as we must now call him, with a bitter
smile.




THE PIONEERS.              587
"We divided 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 loyal 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 ter
Tchooge."
" We all know the issue of the struggle," con
tinued  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,vas not unnatural to wish that he might have no
bar to his just recovery?"
"There was none, but the difficulty of providing for so many claimants."
"But there would have been one, and an insuperable one, had I announced to the world that I
held these estates, 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."
"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




588             THE PIONEERS.
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 learnt the whole tiuth. 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 passages," 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 pennyless."
" 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 learnt that he had left it in secret; though
the reluctant hireling, who deserted him in his poverty, owned to my urgent entreaties, 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 to 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 woods, and
one who lived by hunting. Such men are too common to excite surprise."
" He was reared in the falnily of my grandfa




THE PIONEERS.            589
thei  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 tenens on the lands that old Mohegan (whose
life my grandfather once saved) induced the Delawares to grant to him, when they admitted him
as an honorary member of their tribe."
" This, then, is thy Indian blood?"
"I have no other," said Edwards, smiling;"Major Effingham was adopted as the son of
Mohegan, who at that time was the greatest man
in his nation; anri 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 2"
"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 Leatherstocking. You know the rest, Judge Temple."
"Ant vere vast olt Fritz Hartmann!" said the
German, reproachfully; " didst never hear a
name as of olt Fritz Hartmann from ter nltout of
ter fader, lat?"
"I may have been mistaken, gentlemen, re50




590            THE PIONEERS.
turned the youth; " but I had pride, and coula
not submit to such an exposure' as this day evei.
las 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 learnt to forget the Tory by this
time. He decays rapidly," he continued, mourntully, " and must soon lie by the side of old Mobegan."
The air being pure, and the day fine, the party
continued conversing on the iock, until the wheels
of Judge Temple's carriage were heard clattering
up the side of the mountain, during which time the
conversation was maintained with deep interest,
each moment clearing up some doubtful action, and
lessening the antipathy of the youth to Marinaduke. He no longer objected to the removal of
his grandfather, who displayed a childish pleasure
when he found himself seated once more in a carriage. When placed in the ample hall of the Mansion-house, the eyes of the aged veteran turned
slowly to the objects in the apartment, 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, wan
dering, 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 mortifying 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 se ted at his side, Effingham did not




THE PIONEERS.              591
quit him.  He then obeyed a summons to the liorary 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 wilt find that, so far
from intending thy family wrong during life, it has
been my care to provide 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 was, 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 subject was fairly exhausted, the pen of
Marmaduke became plainly visible.  In clear, distinct, manly, and even eloquent language, he recounted his obligations to Colonel Effingham, the
nature of their connexion, and the circumstances
in which they separated.  He then proceeded to
telate the motives for his long 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 had unaccountably 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 proceeded 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
tame for the benefit, in equal moieties, of his daugh



5j92            THE PIONEERS.
ter, on one. part, and of Oliver Effingham, formerly
a major in the army of Great Britain, and of his
son Edward Effingham, and of his son Edward
Oliver Effingham, or to the survivor of them, and
the descendants of such survivor, for ever, oil 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 certain 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 Marmaduke, and his bewildered gaze was
still fastened on the paper, when a sweet voice,
that thrilled on every nerve, spoke, near him,
saying,
" Do you yet doubt us, Oliver?"
" I have never doubted you!" cried the youth,
recovering his recollection and his voice, as he
sprung 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 of
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't with that of his daughter, and motioned towards
the door to the Major.
" I tel' you vat, gal!" said the old German, good




THE PIONEERS.              593
humouredly; "if I vast, ast I vast ven I servit
mit his grantfader on ter lakes, ter lazy tog shouln't
vin ter prize as for nottin."
" Come, come, old Fritz," cried the Judge; "you
are seventy, not seventeen; Richard waits for you
with a bowl of egg-nog, 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 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 will soon
find themselves in a mistake.
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 preceding day
and claimed the ear of Miss Temple.  He was admitted; when he made an offer of his hand, with
much suavity, together with his " amis beeg and
leet', his pere, his mere, and his sucre-boosh." Elizabeth might, possibly, have previously entered
into some embarrassing and binding engagements
with Oliver, for she declined the tender of all, in
terms as polite, though perhaps a little more decided, 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 egg-nog, they soon extracted from
the complaisant Mr. 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
50 *.




594             THE PIONEERS.
in such a retired place, before he 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 ofifering to one lady, and not extending 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 attempted to persuade the Gaul that
he should next try Remarkable Pettibone.  But,
though he was 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 fron
the door, he said, at parting" If-so-be, Mounsheer, you'd run alongside Mistress Pretty-bones, 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 again in a handsome
manner; for thof Miss'Lizzy and the parson's
young'un be tidy little vessels, that shoot by a body
on a wind, Mistress Remarkable is sum'mat of a
galliot fashion; when you once takes'em in tow,
they doesn't like to be cast off again."




CIHAPTER XLI.
Yes, sweep ye on I —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 thse Ihl
THE events of our tale carry us through the
summer; and, after making nearly the circle of the
year, we must conclude our labours 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 earl) in September; and
the former preceded the latter only by a few days.
The 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
reconcile 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 Albanv, who brouzht the Governor's pardon to thP




596              THE PIONEERS.
Leather-stocking. In the mean time, propelr mean.
were employed 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 their imprisonment.
Mr. Doolittle began to discover, that neither his
architecture, nor his law, was quite suitable to the
growing wealth ard intelligence of the settlement;
-and, after exacting the last cent that was attainable
in his compromises, to use the language of the country, he " pulled up stakes,' and proceeded further
west, scattering his professional science and legal
learning through the land; vertiges of both of
which are to be discovered there even to the pre
sent hour.
Poor Jotham, whose life paid the forfeiture of
his folly, acknowledged before he died, that his
reasons for believing in a mine, were extracted
from the lips of a sybil, 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 surprise
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 Sheriffconfidently pronounced this to be no' visionary' scheme, and that
word was enough to shut his lips, at any time
within the next ten years.
Monsieur Le Quoi, who has been introduced te
our readers, because no picture of that country
would be faithful without such a Gaul, found the
island of Martinique, and his " sucre-boosh," in
possession of the English; but Marmaduke and




THE PIONEERS.              597
his family were much gratified in soon hearing
that he had returned to his bureau, in Paris;
where he afterwards issued yearly bulletins of his
happiness, 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 vigour
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 requested her to join him in a short excursion
to the lake side. 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 her gipsy, she took
his arm, and submitted herself, without a question,
to his guidance.  They crossed the bridge, and
had turned from the highway, along the margin of
the lake, before a word was exchanged.  Elizabeth well knew, by the direction they took, the
object of their walk, and respected the feelings of
her companion too much to indulge in untimely
convei sation.  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




598            THE PIONEERS.
gay with the thousand dies 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, Olivei!" she
said, clinging more fondly to his arm; " every thing
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 wife.
But I have had my plans too; it is time I should
begin to divulge 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 Louise 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




THE PIONEERS.              599
excellent man. I shall never find another who has
half the veneration for my orthodoxy. You would
humble me from a saint to a very common sinner."
" It must be done, sir," returned the lady, with
a half-concealed smile, "though it degrades you
fiom 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."
" Any thing, any thing, dear Elizabeth, but not at
the expense of us all; not at the expense of youi
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 uuty 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
effect it."
" But what is your plan?"
" Listen, and 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; whei e he
can spend the evening of his life in comfort and
qJiet; and where his daughter may meet with such




6OO             THE PIONEERS.
society, and form such a connexion, as may be proper for one of her years and character."
" Why, 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 consent.
The place at which they arrived was the little
spot of level ground, where the cabin of the Leatherstocking had so long stood. Elizabeth found it entirely cleared of rubbish, 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 second
spring had passed over the land. This little place
was surrounded by a circle of mason work, and they
entered 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 ground, and were surrounded by objects, with which they were familiar. The hunter
himself was stretched on the earth, before a headstone of white marble, pushing aside with his fingers the long grass that had already sprung up from
the luxuriant soil around its base, apparently to lay
bare the inscription that was there engraven. By
the side of this stone, which was a simple slab at
the head of a grave, stood a rich monument, decoted with an urn, and ornamented tastefully with
the chisel.
Oliver and Elizabeth approached the graves, with




THE  PIONEERS.            60]
a light tread, unheard by the old hunter, whose sun
burnt face was working with his feelings, 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 any thing of it; though the pipe and
the tomahawk, and the moccasins, be pretty wellpretty well, for a man that, I dares to say, nevei
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 any surprise, for he had got the Indian habits in this particular, and running 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 whole.
some 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,"
M eturned the old man, " it is but little matter conearning my taste. Ye laid the Major's head to the
west, and Mohegan's to the east, did ye, lad?"
"At your request it was done."
"It's so best," said the hunter; "they thought
they had to journey different ways, children; though
tere is One greater than all, who'll bring the just
61




602             THE PIONEERS.
together ag'm at his own time, and who'll whiten
the skin of a black noor, 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 together."
" Shall we, child? shall we?" exclaimed the
hunter, with unusual fervour; "there's comfort in
that thought too. But before I go, I should like to
know what'tis you tell these people, that be flock-.ing into the country like pigeons in the spring, of
the old Delaware, and of the bravest white man
that ever trod the hills."
Effingham 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 Ol.ver Effingham,
Esquire, formerly a Major in his B. MajeFty's 60th
Foot; a soldier of tried valour; a subject of chivalric loyalty; and a man of honesty. To these virtues, he added the graces of a Christian. The
morning of his life was spent in honour, wealth,
and power; but its evening was obscured by poverty, neglect, and disease, which were alleviated
only by the tender care of his old, faithful, and upright friend and attendant, Nathaniel Bumppo.
Ilis descendants rear this stone to the virtues of
the master, and to the enduring gratitude of the
servant."
The Leather-stocking stared at the sound of his
own name, and a smile of joy illumined 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




THE PIONEERS             603
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, but
the pure cambric, that contrasted to her dark eyes,
attested the feelings of the youthful bride. Effingham made a fruitless effort to speak 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 eagerness; "let me see my own name
placed in such honour.'Tis a gin'rous gift to a
man, who leaves none of his name and family behind him in a country, where he has tarried so
long."
Effingham  guided his finger to the spot, and
Natty followed the windings of the letters to the
end, with deep interest, when he raised himself
from the tomb, and said" I 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 In
dian Chief, of the Delaware tribe, who was knowr
by the several names of John Mohegan; Mohican""Mo-hee-can, lad, they call theirselves!'he
can."
" Mohican; and Chingagook"-'Qach, boy; —'gach-gook; Chingachgook,
which, intarpreted, means Big-sarpent. The name
should be set down right, for an Indian's name hat
always some meaning in it."
"I will see it altered," said Edwards. "He
was the last of his people who continued to inha



604            THE  PIONEERS.
bit this country; aind it may be said of him, em.
phatically, 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, sav'd his life, when them thieves,
the Iriquois, 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
shav'd heads and warriors. 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 may 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 creaters, to my seeming; being, as it were, neither fish nor flesh; neither white man, nor savage.  Well! well! the
time has comeat 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 of himself as of a civilized being,
compared with even the Delawares, averted his
face to conceal the workings of his muscles, as he
stooped to lift a large pack fiom behind the tomb.
which he placed deliberately on his shoulders.
" Go!" exclaimed Elizabeth, approaching him,




THE PIONEERS.            605
with a hurried step; " you should not venture st
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, Leatherstocking," 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, smiling, and laying her white hand
on his deer-skin 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 dropp'd away."
"I know'd the parting would come hard, children; I know'd it would!" said Natty, " and so 1
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
staid 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, withnut 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,.51 *




606,THE PIONEERS.
children -1 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 het
feelings; " do you not call these endless forests
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, 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 try 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 any thing wanting to your comfort,"
cried Oliver, "name it, Leather-stocking; and if
it be attainable, it is yours."'' You mean all for the best, lad; I know it;
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 hus.
oand; "the habits of forty years are not to be dispossessed by the ties of a day. 1 know you too
well to urge you further, Natty; unless you will
let me build you a hut, on one of the distant hills,




THE PIONEiRS.             607
where we can sometimes see you, and know that
you are comfortable."
"Don't fear 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 oui
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 creaters be
made for some use, and I'm form'd for the wilderness; and, if ye love me, let me go where my soul
craves to be ag'in!"
The appeal was decisive; not another word of
entreaty for him to remain was then uttered; but
Elizabeth bent her head to her bosom and wept,
while her husband dashed 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 about your person, and, in the hour of
need, they will do you good service."
The old man took the notes, and examined theml
with a curious eye, when he said"This, then, is somneof 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
laming! 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, seeing that I use none but leather!Madam Effingham, let an old man kiss your hand,
and wish God's choicest blessings on you at d
vour'n "




30b             THE PIONELRS.
"Once more let me beseech you, stay!" cried
Elizabeth.  "Do not, Leather-stocking, leave me
to grieve for the man, who has twice rescued me
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 Eftingham," returned the hunter, solemnly, "will
never haunt an innocent 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 honourable 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 clearings 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 justice
shall be the law, and not power."
Elizabeth raised her head, and offered her colourless cheek to his salute, when he lifted his cap,
and touched it respectfully. His hand was grasped
with convulsive fervour by the youth, who continued silent.  The hunter prepared himself for
his journey, drawing his belt tighter, and wasting
his moments in the little reluctant movements of a
sorrowful departure. Once or twice he essayed to
speak, but a rising in his throat prevented it.  At
ength he shouldered his rifle, and cried with a




THE PIONEERS.             609
clear huntsran's call, that echoed through the
woods"He-e-e-re, he-e-e-re, pups-away, dogs, away;
— ye'll be foot-sore afore ye see the ind of the
journey!"
The hounds leaped from the earth at his cry,
and, scenting around the graves and the 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 suppressed the
feelings of nature, he turned to renew his entreaties, 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
standing, 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 that they ever saw of the Leather-stocking, whose rapid movements preceded
the pursuit which Judge Temple both ordered and
conducted   He had gone far towards the setting
sun,-the foremost in that band of Pioneers, who
are opening the way for the march of our nation
across the continent.
THE END.