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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/6813.txt b/6813.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..16aa394 --- /dev/null +++ b/6813.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7754 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Lost in the Backwoods, by Catherine Parr Traill + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Lost in the Backwoods + +Author: Catherine Parr Traill + +Posting Date: April 10, 2013 [EBook #6813] +Release Date: November, 2004 +First Posted: January 27, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LOST IN THE BACKWOODS *** + + + + +Produced by Avinash Kothare, Tom Allen, Juliet Sutherland, +Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading +Team This file was produced from images generously made +available by the Canadian Institute for Historical +Microreproductions. + + + + + + + + + + +LOST IN THE BACKWOODS. + +A TALE OF THE CANADIAN FOREST. + + + + +BY MRS. TRAILL + + + + + +Preface + + +The interesting tale contained in this volume of romantic adventure in +the forests of Canada, was much appreciated and enjoyed by a large circle +of young readers when first published, under the title of "The Canadian +Crusoes." After being many years out of print, it will now, we hope and +believe, with a new and more descriptive title, prove equally attractive +to our young friends of the present time. + +EDINBURGH, 1882. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + "The morning had shot her bright streamers on high, + O'er Canada, opening all pale to the sky, + Still dazzling and white was the robe that she wore, + Except where the ocean wave lashed on the shore" + + _Jacobite Song_ + + +There lies, between the Rice Lake and the Ontario, a deep and fertile +valley, surrounded by lofty wood-crowned hills, clothed chiefly with +groves of oak and pine, the sides of the hills and the alluvial +bottoms display a variety of noble timber trees of various kinds, as +the useful and beautiful maple, beech, and hemlock. This beautiful and +highly picturesque valley is watered by many clear streams, whence it +derives its appropriate appellation of "Cold Springs." + +At the period my little history commences, this now highly cultivated +spot was an unbroken wilderness,--all but two clearings, where dwelt +the only occupiers of the soil,--which previously owned no other +possessors than the wandering hunting tribes of wild Indians, to whom +the right of the hunting grounds north of Rice Lake appertained, +according to their forest laws. + +I speak of the time when the neat and flourishing town of Cobourg, now +an important port on Lake Ontario, was but a village in embryo,--if it +contained even a log-house or a block-house, it was all that it +did,--and the wild and picturesque ground upon which the fast +increasing village of Port Hope is situated had not yielded one forest +tree to the axe of the settler. No gallant vessel spread her sails to +waft the abundant produce of grain and Canadian stores along the +waters of that noble sheet of water; no steamer had then furrowed its +bosom with her iron paddles, bearing the stream of emigration towards +the wilds of our northern and western forests, there to render a +lonely trackless desert a fruitful garden. What will not time and the +industry of man, assisted by the blessing of a merciful God, effect? +To him be the glory and honour; for we are taught that "unless the +Lord build the house, their labour is but lost that build it: without +the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." + +But to my tale. And first it will be necessary to introduce to the +acquaintance of my young readers the founders of our little settlement +at Cold Springs. + +Duncan Maxwell was a young Highland soldier, a youth of eighteen, at +the famous battle of Quebec, where, though only a private, he received +the praise of his colonel for his brave conduct. At the close of the +battle Duncan was wounded; and as the hospital was full at the time, +he was billeted in the house of a poor French Canadian widow in the +Quebec suburb. Here, though a foreigner and an enemy, he received much +kind attention from his excellent hostess and her family, consisting +of a young man about his own age, and a pretty black-eyed lass not +more than sixteen. The widow Perron was so much occupied with other +lodgers--for she kept a sort of boarding-house--that she had not much +time to give to Duncan, so that he was left a great deal to her son +Pierre, and a little to Catharine, her daughter. + +Duncan Maxwell was a fine, open-tempered, frank lad, and he soon won +the regard of Pierre and his sister. In spite of the prejudices of +country, and the difference of language and national customs, a steady +and increasing friendship grew up between the young Highlander and the +children of his hostess; therefore it was not without feelings of deep +regret that they heard the news that the regiment to which Duncan +belonged was ordered for embarkation to England, and Duncan was so far +convalescent as to be pronounced quite well enough to join it. Alas +for poor Catharine! she now found that parting with her patient was a +source of the deepest sorrow to her young and guileless heart; nor was +Duncan less moved at the separation from his gentle nurse. It might be +for years, and it might be for ever, he could not tell; but he could +not tear himself away without telling the object of his affections how +dear she was to him, and to whisper a hope that he might yet return +one day to claim her as his bride; and Catharine, weeping and +blushing, promised to wait for that happy day, or to remain single for +his sake. + +They say the course of true love never did run smooth; but with the +exception of this great sorrow, the sorrow of separation, the love of +our young Highland soldier and his betrothed knew no other +interruption, for absence served only to strengthen the affection +which was founded on gratitude and esteem. + +Two long years passed, however, and the prospect of reunion was yet +distant, when an accident, which disabled Duncan from serving his +country, enabled him to retire with the usual little pension, and +return to Quebec to seek his affianced. Some changes had taken place +during that short period: the widow Perron was dead; Pierre, the gay, +lively-hearted Pierre, was married to a daughter of a lumberer; and +Catharine, who had no relatives in Quebec, had gone up the country +with her brother and his wife, and was living in some little +settlement above Montreal with them. + +Thither Duncan followed, and shortly afterwards was married to his +faithful Catharine. On one point they had never differed, both being +of the same religion. + +Pierre had seen a good deal of the fine country on the shores of Lake +Ontario; he had been hunting with some friendly Indians between the +great waters and the Rice Lake; and he now thought if Duncan and +himself could make up their minds to a quiet life in the woods, there +was not a better spot than the hill pass between the plains and the +big lake to fix themselves upon. Duncan was of the same opinion when +he saw the spot. It was not rugged and bare like his own Highlands, +but softer in character, yet his heart yearned for the hill country. +In those days there was no obstacle to taking possession of any tract +of land in the unsurveyed forests; therefore Duncan agreed with his +brother-in-law to pioneer the way with him, get a dwelling put up, and +some ground prepared and "seeded down," and then to return for their +wives, and settle as farmers. Others had succeeded, had formed little +colonies, and become the heads of villages in due time; why should not +they? And now behold our two backwoodsmen fairly commencing their +arduous life: it was nothing, after all, to Pierre, by previous +occupation a hardy lumberer, or the Scottish soldier, accustomed to +brave all sorts of hardships in a wild country, himself a mountaineer, +inured to a stormy climate and scanty fare from his earliest youth. +But it is not my intention to dwell upon the trials and difficulties +courageously met and battled with by our settlers and their young +wives. + +There was in those days a spirit of resistance among the first +settlers on the soil, a spirit to do and bear, that is less commonly +met with now. The spirit of civilization is now so widely diffused, +that her comforts are felt even in the depths of the forest, so that +the newly come emigrant feels comparatively few of the physical evils +that were endured by the earlier inhabitants. + +The first seed-wheat that was cast into the ground by Duncan and +Pierre was brought with infinite trouble a distance of fifty miles in +a little skiff, navigated along the shores of Lake Ontario by the +adventurous Pierre, and from the nearest landing-place transported on +the shoulders of himself and Duncan to their homestead. A day of great +labour but great joy it was when they deposited their precious freight +in safety on the shanty floor. They were obliged to make two journeys +for the contents of the little craft. What toil, what privation they +endured for the first two years! and now the fruits of it began to +appear. + +No two creatures could be more unlike than Pierre and Duncan. The +Highlander, stern, steady, persevering, cautious, always giving ample +reasons for his doing or his not doing. The Canadian, hopeful, lively, +fertile in expedients, and gay as a lark; if one scheme failed, +another was sure to present itself. Pierre and Duncan were admirably +suited to be friends and neighbours. The steady perseverance of the +Scot helped to temper the volatile temperament of the Frenchman. They +generally contrived to compass the same end by different means, as two +streams descending from opposite hills will meet in one broad river in +the same valley. + +Years passed on: the farm, carefully cultivated, began to yield its +increase; food and warm clothing were not wanting in the homestead. +Catharine had become, in course of time, the happy mother of four +healthy children; her sister-in-law had exceeded her in these welcome +contributions to the population of a new colony. + +Between the children of Pierre and Catharine the most charming harmony +prevailed; they grew up as one family, a pattern of affection and +early friendship. Though different in tempers and dispositions, Hector +Maxwell, the eldest son of the Scottish soldier, and his cousin, young +Louis Perron, were greatly attached: they, with the young Catharine +and Mathilde, formed a little coterie of inseparables; their +amusements, tastes, pursuits, occupations, all blended and harmonized +delightfully; there were none of those little envyings and bickerings +among them that pave the way to strife and disunion in after-life. + +Catharine Maxwell and her cousin Louis were more like brother and +sister than Hector and Catharine; but Mathilde was gentle and +dove-like, and formed a contrast to the gravity of Hector and the +vivacity of Louis and Catharine. + +Hector and Louis were fourteen--strong, vigorous, industrious, and +hardy, both in constitution and habits. The girls were turned of +twelve. It is not with Mathilde that our story is connected, but with +the two lads and Catharine. With the gaiety and _naivete_ of the +Frenchwoman, Catharine possessed, when occasion called it into action, +a thoughtful and well-regulated mind, abilities which would well have +repaid the care of mental cultivation; but of book-learning she knew +nothing beyond a little reading, and that but imperfectly, acquired +from her father's teaching. It was an accomplishment which he had +gained when in the army, having been taught by his colonel's son, a +lad of twelve years of age, who had taken a great fancy to him, and +had at parting given him a few of his school-books, among which was a +Testament without cover or title-page. At parting, the young gentleman +recommended its daily perusal to Duncan. Had the gift been a Bible, +perhaps the soldier's obedience to his priest might have rendered it a +dead letter to him; but as it fortunately happened, he was unconscious +of any prohibition to deter him from becoming acquainted with the +truths of the gospel. He communicated the power of perusing his books +to his children Hector and Catharine, Duncan and Kenneth, in +succession, with a feeling of intense reverence; even the labour of +teaching was regarded as a holy duty in itself, and was not undertaken +without deeply impressing the obligation he was conferring upon them +whenever they were brought to the task. It was indeed a precious boon, +and the children learned to consider it as a pearl beyond all price in +the trials that awaited them in their eventful career. To her +knowledge of religious truths young Catharine added an intimate +acquaintance with the songs and legends of her father's romantic +country; often would her plaintive ballads and old tales, related in +the hut or the wigwam to her attentive auditors, wile away heavy +thoughts. + +It was a lovely sunny day in the flowery month of June. Canada had not +only doffed that "dazzling white robe" mentioned in the songs of her +Jacobite emigrants, but had assumed the beauties of her loveliest +season; the last week in May and the first three of June being +parallel to the English May, full of buds and flowers and fair promise +of ripening fruits. + +The high sloping hills surrounding the fertile vale of Cold Springs +were clothed with the blossoms of the gorgeous scarlet castilegia +coccinea, or painted-cup; the large, pure, white blossoms of the +lily-like trillium grandiflorum; the delicate and fragile lilac +geranium, whose graceful flowers woo the hand of the flower-gatherer +only to fade almost within his grasp: the golden cypripedium or +moccasin flower, so singular, so lovely in its colour and formation, +waved heavily its yellow blossoms as the breeze shook the stems; and +there, mingling with a thousand various floral beauties, the azure +lupine claimed its place, shedding almost a heavenly tint upon the +earth. Thousands of roses were blooming on the more level ground, +sending forth their rich fragrance, mixed with the delicate scent of +the feathery ceanothus (New Jersey tea). The vivid greenness of the +young leaves of the forest, the tender tint of the springing corn, was +contrasted with the deep dark fringe of waving pines on the hills, and +the yet darker shade of the spruce and balsams on the borders of the +creeks, for so our Canadian forest rills are universally termed. The +bright glancing wings of the summer red-bird, the crimson-headed +woodpecker, the gay blue-bird, and noisy but splendid plumed jay might +be seen among the branches; the air was filled with beauteous sights +and soft murmuring sounds. + +Under the shade of the luxuriant hop-vines that covered the rustic +porch in front of the little dwelling, the light step of Catharine +Maxwell might be heard mixed with the drowsy whirring of the big +wheel, as she passed to and fro guiding the thread of yarn in its +course. And now she sang snatches of old mountain songs, such as she +had learned from her father; and now, with livelier air, hummed some +gay French tune to the household melody of her spinning-wheel, as she +advanced and retreated with her thread, unconscious of the laughing +black eyes that were watching her movements from among the embowering +foliage that shielded her from the morning sun. + +"Come, ma belle cousine," for so Louis delighted to call her. "Hector +and I are waiting for you to go with us to the 'Beaver Meadow.' The +cattle have strayed, and we think we shall find them there. The day is +delicious, the very flowers look as if they wanted to be admired and +plucked, and we shall find early strawberries on the old Indian +clearing." + +Catharine cast a longing look abroad, but said, "I fear I cannot go +to-day; for see, I have all these rolls of wool to spin up, and my +yarn to wind off the reel and twist; and then, my mother is away." + +"Yes, I left her with mamma," replied Louis, "and she said she would +be home shortly, so her absence need not stay you. She said you could +take a basket and try and bring home some berries for sick Louise. +Hector is sure he knows a spot where we shall get some fine ones, ripe +and red." As he spoke Louis whisked away the big wheel to one end of +the porch, gathered up the hanks of yarn and tossed them into the open +wicker basket, and the next minute the large, coarse, flapped straw +hat, that hung upon the peg in the porch, was stuck not very +gracefully on Catharine's head and tied beneath her chin, with a merry +rattling laugh, which drowned effectually the small lecture that +Catharine began to utter by way of reproving the light-hearted boy. + +"But where is Mathilde?" + +"Sitting like a dear good girl, as she is, with sick Louise's head in +her lap, and would not disturb her for all the fruit and flowers in +Canada. Marie cried sadly to go with us, but I promised her and Louise +lots of flowers and berries if we get them, and the dear children were +as happy as queens when I left." + +"But stay, cousin, you are sure my mother gave her consent to my +going? We shall be away chief part of the day. You know it is a long +walk to the Beaver Meadow and back again," said Catharine, hesitating +as Louis took her hand to lead her out from the porch. + +"Yes, yes, ma belle," said the giddy boy quickly; "so come along, for +Hector is waiting at the barn. But stay, we shall be hungry before we +return, so let us have some cakes and butter, and do not forget a tin +cup for water." + +Nothing doubting, Catharine, with buoyant spirits, set about her +little preparations, which were soon completed; but just as she was +leaving the little garden enclosure, she ran back to kiss Kenneth and +Duncan, her young brothers. In the farm-yard she found Hector with his +axe on his shoulder. "What are you taking the axe for, Hector? you +will find it heavy to carry," said his sister. + +"In the first place, I have to cut a stick of blue beech to make a +broom for sweeping the house, sister of mine, and that is for your +use, Miss Kate, and in the next place, I have to find, if possible, a +piece of rock elm or hickory for axe handles: so now you have the +reason why I take the axe with me." + +The children left the clearing and struck into one of the deep defiles +that lay between the hills, and cheerfully they laughed and sung and +chattered, as they sped on their pleasant path, nor were they loath to +exchange the glowing sunshine for the sober gloom of the forest shade. +What handfuls of flowers of all hues, red, blue, yellow, and white, +were gathered, only to be gazed at, carried for a while, then cast +aside for others fresher and fairer. And now they came to cool rills +that flowed, softly murmuring, among mossy limestone, or blocks of red +or gray granite, wending their way beneath twisted roots and fallen +trees; and often Catharine lingered to watch the eddying dimples of +the clear water, to note the tiny bright fragments of quartz or +crystallized limestone that formed a shining pavement below the +stream. And often she paused to watch the angry movements of the red +squirrel, as, with feathery tail erect, and sharp scolding note, he +crossed their woodland path, and swiftly darting up the rugged bark of +some neighbouring pine or hemlock, bade the intruders on his quiet +haunts defiance; yet so bold in his indignation, he scarcely +condescended to ascend beyond their reach. The long-continued, hollow +tapping of the large red-headed woodpecker, or the singular +subterranean sound caused by the drumming of the partridge striking +his wings upon his breast to woo his gentle mate, and the soft +whispering note of the little tree-creeper, as it flitted from one +hemlock to another, collecting its food between the fissures of the +bark, were among the few sounds that broke the noontide stillness of +the woods; but to such sights and sounds the lively Catharine and her +cousin were not indifferent. And often they wondered that Hector +gravely pursued his onward way, and seldom lingered as they did to +mark the bright colours of the flowers, or the sparkling of the forest +rill, or the hurrying to and fro of the turkeys among the luxuriant +grass. + +"What makes Hec so grave?" said Catharine to her companion, as they +seated themselves upon a mossy trunk to await his coming up; for they +had giddily chased each other till they had far outrun him. + +"Hector, sweet coz, is thinking perhaps of how many bushels of corn or +wheat this land would grow if cleared, or he may be examining the soil +or the trees, or is looking for his stick of blue beech for your +broom, or the hickory for his axe handles, and never heeding such +nonsense as woodpeckers, and squirrels, and lilies, and moss, and +ferns; for Hector is not a giddy thing like his cousin Louis, or--" + +"His sister Kate," interrupted Catharine merrily. "But when shall we +come to the Beaver Meadow?" + +"Patience, ma belle, all in good time. Hark! was not that the ox-bell? +No; Hector whistling." And soon they heard the heavy stroke of his axe +ringing among the trees; for he had found the blue beech, and was +cutting it to leave on the path, that he might take it home on their +return: he had also marked some hickory of a nice size for his axe +handles, to bring home at some future time. + +The children had walked several miles, and were not sorry to sit down +and rest till Hector joined them. + +He was well pleased with his success, and declared he felt no fatigue. +"As soon as we reach the old Indian clearing, we shall find +strawberries," he said, "and a fresh cold spring, and then we will +have our dinner." + +"Come, Hector,--come, Louis," said Catharine, jumping up, "I long to +be gathering the strawberries; and see, my flowers are faded, so I +will throw them away, and the basket shall be filled with fresh fruit +instead, and we must not forget petite Marie and sick Louise, or dear +Mathilde. Ah, how I wish she were here at this minute! But there is +the opening to the Beaver Meadow." + +And the sunlight was seen streaming through the opening trees as they +approached the cleared space, which some called the "Indian clearing," +but is now more generally known as the little Beaver Meadow. It was a +pleasant spot, green, and surrounded with light bowery trees and +flowering shrubs, of a different growth from those that belong to the +dense forest. Here the children found, on the hilly ground above, fine +ripe strawberries, the earliest they had seen that year, and soon all +weariness was forgotten while pursuing the delightful occupation of +gathering the tempting fruit; and when they had refreshed themselves, +and filled the basket with leaves and fruit, they slaked their thirst +at the stream which wound its way among the bushes. Catharine +neglected not to reach down flowery bunches of the fragrant +whitethorn, and the high-bush cranberry, then radiant with nodding +umbels of snowy blossoms, or to wreathe the handle of the little +basket with the graceful trailing runners of the lovely twin-flowered +plant, the Linnaea borealis, which she always said reminded her of the +twins Louise and Marie, her little cousins. And now the day began to +wear away, for they had lingered long in the little clearing; they had +wandered from the path by which they entered it, and had neglected, in +their eagerness to look for the strawberries, to notice any particular +mark by which they might regain it. Just when they began to think of +returning, Louis noticed a beaten path, where there seemed recent +prints of cattle hoofs on a soft spongy soil beyond the creek. + +"Come, Hector," said he gaily, "this is lucky; we are on the +cattle-path; no fear but it will lead us directly home, and that by a +nearer track." + +Hector was undecided about following it; he fancied it bent too much +towards the setting sun; but his cousin overruled his objection. "And +is not this our own creek?" he said. "I have often heard my father say +it had its rise somewhere about this old clearing." + +Hector now thought Louis might be right, and they boldly followed the +path among the poplars, thorns, and bushes that clothed its banks, +surprised to see how open the ground became, and how swift and clear +the stream swept onward. + +"Oh, this dear creek," cried the delighted Catharine, "how pretty it +is! I shall often follow its course after this; no doubt it has its +source from our own Cold Springs." + +And so they cheerfully pursued their way, till the sun, sinking behind +the range of westerly hills, soon left them in gloom; but they +anxiously hurried forward when the stream wound its noisy way among +steep stony banks, clothed scantily with pines and a few scattered +silver-barked poplars. And now they became bewildered by two paths +leading in opposite directions; one upward among the rocky hills, the +other through the opening gorge of a deep ravine. + +Here, overcome with fatigue, Catharine seated herself on a large block +of granite, near a great bushy pine that grew beside the path by the +ravine, unable to proceed; and Hector, with a grave and troubled +countenance, stood beside her, looking round with an air of great +perplexity. Louis, seating himself at Catharine's feet, surveyed the +deep gloomy valley before them, and sighed heavily. The conviction +forcibly struck him that they had mistaken the path altogether. The +very aspect of the country was different; the growth of the trees, the +flow of the stream, all indicated a change of soil and scene. Darkness +was fast drawing its impenetrable veil around them; a few stars were +stealing out, and gleaming down as if with pitying glance upon the +young wanderers, but they could not light up their pathway or point +their homeward track. The only sounds, save the lulling murmur of the +rippling stream below, were the plaintive note of the whip-poor-will, +from a gnarled oak that grew near them, and the harsh grating scream +of the night hawk, darting about in the higher regions of the air, +pursuing its noisy congeners, or swooping down with that peculiar +hollow rushing sound, as of a person blowing into some empty vessel, +when it seizes with wide-extended bill its insect prey. + +Hector was the first to break the silence. "Cousin Louis, we were +wrong in following the course of the stream; I fear we shall never +find our way back tonight." + +Louis made no reply; his sad and subdued air failed not to attract the +attention of his cousins. + +"Why, Louis, how is this? you are not used to be cast down by +difficulties," said Hector, as he marked something like tears +glistening in the dark eyes of his cousin. + +Louis's heart was full; he did not reply, but cast a troubled glance +upon the weary Catharine, who leaned heavily against the tree beneath +which she sat. + +"It is not," resumed Hector, "that I mind passing a summer's night +under such a sky as this, and with such a dry grassy bed below me; but +I do not think it is good for Catharine to sleep on the bare ground in +the night dews,--and then they will be so anxious at home about our +absence." + +Louis burst into tears, and sobbed out,--"And it is all my doing that +she came out with us; I deceived her, and my aunt will be angry and +much alarmed, for she did not know of her going at all. Dear +Catharine, good cousin Hector, pray forgive me!" + +But Catharine was weeping too much to reply to his passionate +entreaties; and Hector, who never swerved from the truth, for which he +had almost a stern reverence, hardly repressed his indignation at what +appeared to him a most culpable act of deceit on the part of Louis. + +The sight of her cousin's grief and self-abasement touched the tender +heart of Catharine; for she was kind and dove-like in her disposition, +and loved Louis, with all his faults. Had it not been for the painful +consciousness of the grief their unusual absence would occasion at +home, Catharine would have thought nothing of their present adventure; +but she could not endure the idea of her high-principled father taxing +her with deceiving her kind indulgent mother and him. It was this +humiliating thought which wounded the proud heart of Hector, causing +him to upbraid his cousin in somewhat harsh terms for his want of +truthfulness, and steeled him against the bitter grief that wrung the +heart of the penitent Louis, who, leaning his wet cheek on the +shoulder of Catharine, sobbed as if his heart would break, heedless of +her soothing words and affectionate endeavours to console him. + +"Dear Hector," she said, turning her soft pleading eyes on the stern +face of her brother, "you must not be so very angry with poor Louis. +Remember it was to please me, and give me the enjoyment of a day of +liberty with you and himself in the woods, among the flowers and trees +and birds, that he committed this fault." + +"Catharine, Louis told an untruth, and acted deceitfully. And look at +the consequences: we shall have forfeited our parents' confidence, and +may have some days of painful privation to endure before we regain our +home, if we ever do find our way back to Cold Springs," replied +Hector. + +"It is the grief and anxiety our dear parents will endure this night," +answered Catharine, "that distresses my mind; but," she added, in more +cheerful tones, "let us not despair, no doubt to-morrow we shall be +able to retrace our steps." + +With the young there is ever a magical spell in that little word +_to-morrow_,--it is a point which they pursue as fast as it recedes +from them; sad indeed is the young heart that does not look forward +with hope to the future! + +The cloud still hung on Hector's brow, till Catharine gaily exclaimed, +"Come, Hector! come Louis! we must not stand idling thus; we must +think of providing some shelter for the night: it is not good to rest +upon the bare ground exposed to the night dews.--See, here is a nice +hut, half made," pointing to a large upturned root which some fierce +whirlwind had hurled from the lofty bank into the gorge of the dark +glen. + +"Now you must make haste, and lop off a few pine boughs, and stick +them into the ground, or even lean them against the roots of this old +oak, and there, you see, will be a capital house to shelter us. To +work, to work, you idle boys, or poor wee Katty must turn squaw and +build her own wigwam," she playfully added, taking up the axe which +rested against the feathery pine beneath which Hector was leaning. +Now, Catharine cared as little as her brother and cousin about passing +a warm summer's night under the shade of the forest trees, for she was +both hardy and healthy; but her woman's heart taught her that the +surest means of reconciling the cousins would be by mutually +interesting them in the same object,--and she was right. In +endeavouring to provide for the comfort of their dear companion, all +angry feelings were forgotten by Hector, while active employment +chased away Louis's melancholy. + +Unlike the tall, straight, naked trunks of the pines of the forest, +those of the plains are adorned with branches often to the very +ground, varying in form and height, and often presenting most +picturesque groups, or rising singly among scattered groves of the +silver-barked poplar or graceful birch trees; the dark mossy greenness +of the stately pine contrasting finely with the light waving foliage +of its slender, graceful companions. + +Hector, with his axe, soon lopped boughs from one of the adjacent +pines, which Louis sharpened with his knife and, with Catharine's +assistance, drove into the ground, arranging them in such a way as to +make the upturned oak, with its roots and the earth which adhered to +them, form the back part of the hut, which when completed formed by no +means a contemptible shelter. Catharine then cut fern and deer grass +with Louis's _couteau de chasse_, which he always carried in a sheath +at his girdle, and spread two beds,--one, parted off by dry boughs and +bark, for herself, in the interior of the wigwam; and one for her +brother and cousin, nearer the entrance. When all was finished to her +satisfaction she called the two boys, and, according to the custom of +her parents, joined them in the lifting up of their hands as an +evening sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Nor were these +simple-hearted children backward in imploring help and protection from +the Most High. They earnestly prayed that no dangerous creature might +come near to molest them during the hours of darkness and +helplessness, no evil spirit visit them, no unholy or wicked thoughts +intrude into their minds; but that holy angels and heavenly thoughts +might hover over them, and fill their hearts with the peace of God +which passeth all understanding. And the prayer of the poor wanderers +was heard; they slept in peace, unharmed, in the vast solitude. So +passed their first night on the Plains. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +"Fear not: ye are of more value than many sparrows."--_St. Luke_. + + +The sun had risen in all the splendour of a Canadian summer morning +when the sleepers arose from their leafy beds. In spite of the novelty +of their situation, they had slept as soundly and tranquilly as if +they had been under the protecting care of their beloved parents, on +their little palliasses of corn straw; but they had been cared for by +Him who neither slumbereth nor sleepeth, and they waked full of +youthful hope, and in fulness of faith in His mercy into whose hands +they had commended their souls and bodies before they retired to rest. + +While the children slept in peace and safety, what terrors had filled +the minds of their distracted parents! what a night of anguish and +sorrow had they passed! + +When night had closed in without bringing back the absent children, +the two fathers, lighting torches of fat pine, went forth in search of +the wanderers. How often did they raise their voices in hopes their +loud halloos might reach the hearing of the lost ones! How often did +they check their hurried steps to listen for some replying call! But +the sighing breeze in the pine tops, or sudden rustling of the leaves +caused by the flight of the birds startled by the unusual glare of the +torches, and the echoes of their own voices, were the only sounds that +met their anxious ears. At daybreak they returned, sad and dispirited, +to their homes, to snatch a morsel of food, endeavour to cheer the +drooping hearts of the weeping mothers, and hurry off, taking +different directions. But, unfortunately, they had little clue to the +route which Hector and Louis had taken, there being many cattle-paths +through the woods. Louis's want of truthfulness had caused this +uncertainty, as he had left no intimation of the path he purposed +taking when he quitted his mother's house. He had merely said he was +going with Hector in search of the cattle, giving no hint of his +intention of asking Catharine to accompany them; he had but told his +sick sister that he would bring home strawberries and flowers, and +that he would soon return. Alas! poor, thoughtless Louis! how little +did you think of the web of woe you were then weaving for yourself, +and all those to whom you and your companions were so dear! Children, +think twice ere ye deceive once. + +Catharine's absence would have been quite unaccountable but for the +testimony of Duncan and Kenneth, who had received her sisterly +caresses before she joined Hector at the barn; and much her mother +marvelled what could have induced her good, dutiful Catharine to have +left her work and forsaken her household duties to go rambling away +with the boys, for she never left the house when her mother was absent +from it without her express permission. And now she was gone,--lost to +them perhaps for ever. There stood the wheel she had been turning; +there hung the untwisted hanks of yarn, her morning task; and there +they remained week after week, and month after month, untouched,--a +melancholy memorial to the hearts of the bereaved parents of their +beloved. + +It were indeed a fruitless task to follow the agonized fathers in +their vain search for their children, or to paint the bitter anguish +that filled their hearts as day passed after day, and still no tidings +of the lost ones. As hope faded, a deep and settled gloom stole over +the sorrowing parents, and reigned throughout the once cheerful and +gladsome homes. At the end of a week the only idea that remained was, +that one of these three casualties had befallen the lost +children,--death, a lingering death by famine; death, cruel and +horrible, by wolves or bears; or, yet more terrible, with tortures by +the hands of the dreaded Indians, who occasionally held their councils +and hunting-parties on the hills about the Rice Lake, which was known +only by the elder Perron as the scene of many bloody encounters +between the rival tribes of the Mohawks and Chippewas. Its localities +were scarcely ever visited by the settlers, lest haply they should +fall into the hands of the bloody Mohawks, whose merciless disposition +made them in those days a by-word even to the less cruel Chippewas and +other Indian nations. + +It was not in the direction of the Rice Lake that Maxwell and his +brother-in-law sought their lost children; and even if they had done +so, among the deep glens and hill passes of what is now commonly +called the Plains, they would have stood little chance of discovering +the poor wanderers. After many days of fatigue of body and distress of +mind, the sorrowing parents sadly relinquished the search as utterly +hopeless, and mourned in bitterness of spirit over the disastrous fate +of their first-born and beloved children. "There was a voice of woe, +and lamentation, and great mourning; Rachel weeping for her children, +and refusing to be comforted, because they were not." + +The miserable uncertainty that involved the fate of the lost ones was +an aggravation to the sufferings of the mourners. Could they but have +been certified of the manner of their deaths, they fancied they should +be more contented; but, alas! this fearful satisfaction was withheld + + "Oh, were their tale of sorrow known, + 'Twere something to the breaking heart; + The pangs of doubt would then be gone, + And fancy's endless dreams depart." + +But let us quit the now mournful settlement of Cold Springs, and see +how it really fared with the young wanderers. + +When they awoke, the valley was filled with a white creamy mist, that +arose from the bed of the stream (now known as Cold Creek), and gave +an indistinctness to the whole landscape, investing it with an +appearance perfectly different to that which it had worn by the +bright, clear light of the moon. No trace of their footsteps remained +to guide them in retracing their path, so hard and dry was the stony +ground that it left no impression on its surface. It was with some +difficulty they found the creek, which was concealed from sight by a +lofty screen of gigantic hawthorns, high-bush cranberries, poplars, +and birch trees. The hawthorn was in blossom, and gave out a sweet +perfume, not less fragrant than the "May," which makes the lanes and +hedgerows of "merrie old England" so sweet and fair in May and June. + +At length their path began to grow more difficult. A tangled mass of +cedars, balsams, birch, black ash, alders, and _tamarack_ (Indian +name for the larch), with a dense thicket of bushes and shrubs, such +as love the cool, damp soil of marshy ground, warned our travellers +that they must quit the banks of the friendly stream, or they might +become entangled in a trackless swamp. Having taken copious and +refreshing draughts from the bright waters, and bathed their hands and +faces, they ascended the grassy bank, and, again descending, found +themselves in one of those long valleys, enclosed between lofty +sloping banks, clothed with shrubs and oaks, with here and there a +stately pine. Through this second valley they pursued their way, till, +emerging into a wider space, they came among those singularly +picturesque groups of rounded gravel-hills, where the Cold Creek once +more met their view, winding its way towards a grove of evergreens, +where it was again lost to the eye. + +This lovely spot was known as Sackville's Mill-dike. The hand of man +had curbed the free course of the wild forest stream, and made it +subservient to his will, but could not destroy the natural beauties of +the scene. + +Fearing to entangle themselves in the swamp, they kept the hilly +ground, winding their way up to the summit of the lofty ridge of the +oak hills, the highest ground they had yet attained; and here it was +that the silver waters of the Rice Lake in all its beauty burst upon +the eyes of the wondering and delighted travellers. There it lay, a +sheet of liquid silver, just emerging from the blue veil of mist that +hung upon its surface and concealed its wooded shores on either side. +All feeling of dread, and doubt, and danger was lost for the time in +one rapturous glow of admiration at the scene so unexpected and so +beautiful as that which they now gazed upon from the elevation they +had gained. From this ridge they looked down the lake, and the eye +could take in an extent of many miles, with its verdant wooded +islands, which stole into view one by one as the rays of the morning +sun drew up the moving curtain of mist that enveloped them; and soon +both northern and southern shores became distinctly visible, with all +their bays, and capes, and swelling oak and pine crowned hills. + +And now arose the question, "Where are we? What lake is this? Can it +be the Ontario, or is it the Rice Lake? Can yonder shores be those of +the Americans, or are they the hunting-grounds of the dreaded +Indians?" Hector remembered having often heard his father say that the +Ontario was like an inland sea, and the opposite shores not visible +unless in some remarkable state of the atmosphere, when they had been +occasionally discerned by the naked eye; while here they could +distinctly see objects on the other side, the peculiar growth of the +trees, and even flights of wild fowl winging their way among the rice +and low bushes on its margin. The breadth of the lake from shore to +shore could not, they thought, exceed three or four miles; while its +length, in an easterly direction, seemed far greater,--beyond what +the eye could take in. [Footnote: The length of the Rice Lake, from +its head-waters near Black's Landing to the mouth of the Trent, is +said to be twenty-five miles; its breadth, from north to south, varies +from three to six.] + +They now quitted the lofty ridge, and bent their steps towards the +lake. Wearied with their walk, they seated themselves beneath the +shade of a beautiful feathery pine, on a high promontory that +commanded a magnificent view down the lake. + +"How pleasant it would be to have a house on this delightful bank, +overlooking the lake!" said Louis. "Only think of the fish we could +take, and the ducks and wild fowl we could shoot; and it would be no +very hard matter to hollow out a log canoe, such a one as I have heard +my father say he has rowed in across many a lake and broad river +below, when he was lumbering." + +"Yes, it would, indeed, be a pleasant spot to live upon," said Hector, +"though I am not quite sure that the land is as good just here as it +is at Cold Springs; but all those flats and rich valleys would make +fine pastures, and produce plenty of grain, too, if cultivated." + +"You always look to the main chance, Hec," said Louis, laughing; +"well, it was worth a few hours' walking this morning to look upon so +lovely a sheet of water as this. I would spend two nights in a +wigwam,--would not you, ma belle?--to enjoy such a sight." + +"Yes, Louis," replied his cousin, hesitating as she spoke; "it is very +pretty, and I did not mind sleeping in the little hut; but then I +cannot enjoy myself as much as I should have done had my father and +mother been aware of my intention of accompanying you. Ah, my dear, +dear parents!" she added, as the thought of the anguish the absence of +her companions and herself would cause at home came over her. "How I +wish I had remained at home! Selfish Catharine! foolish, idle girl!" + +Poor Louis was overwhelmed with grief at the sight of his cousin's +tears; and as the kind-hearted but thoughtless boy bent over her to +soothe and console her, his own tears fell upon the fair locks of the +weeping girl, and dropped on the hand he held between his own. + +"If you cry thus, cousin," he whispered, "you will break poor Louis's +heart, already sore enough with thinking of his foolish conduct." + +"Be not cast down, Catharine," said her brother cheeringly; "we may +not be so far from home as you think. As soon as you are rested, we +will set out again, and we may find something to eat; there must be +strawberries on these sunny banks." + +Catharine soon yielded to the voice of her brother, and drying her +eyes, proceeded to descend the sides of the steep valley that lay to +one side of the high ground where they had been sitting. + +Suddenly darting down the bank, she exclaimed, "Come, Hector! come, +Louis! here indeed is provision to keep us from starving;" for her eye +had caught the bright red strawberries among the flowers and herbage +on the slope--large ripe strawberries, the very finest she had ever +seen. + +"There is, indeed, ma belle," said Louis, stooping as he spoke to +gather up, not the fruit, but a dozen fresh partridge's eggs from the +inner shade of a thick tuft of grass and herbs that grew beside a +fallen tree. Catharine's voice and sudden movements had startled the +ruffed grouse [Footnote: The Canadian partridge is a species of +grouse, larger than the English or French partridge. We refer our +young readers to the finely arranged specimens in the British Museum +(open to the public), where they may discover "Louis's partridge."] +from her nest, and the eggs were soon transferred to Louis's straw +hat, while a stone flung by the steady hand of Hector stunned the +parent bird. The boys laughed exultingly as they displayed their +prizes to the astonished Catharine, who, in spite of hunger, could not +help regretting the death of the mother bird. Girls and women rarely +sympathize with men and boys in their field sports, and Hector laughed +at his sister's doleful looks as he handed over the bird to her. + +"It was a lucky chance," said he, "and the stone was well aimed, but +it is not the first partridge that I have killed in this way. They are +so stupid you may even run them down at times; I hope to get another +before the day is over. + +"Well, there is no fear of starving to-day, at all events," he added, +as he inspected the contents of his cousin's hat; "twelve nice fresh +eggs, a bird, and plenty of fruit." + +"But how shall we cook the bird and the eggs? We have no means of +getting a fire made," said Catharine. + +"As to the eggs," said Louis, "we can eat them raw; it is not for +hungry wanderers like us to be over-nice about our food." + +"They would satisfy us much better were they boiled, or roasted in the +ashes," observed Hector. + +"True. Well, a fire, I think, can be got with a little trouble." + +"But how?" asked Hector. + +"Oh, there are many ways, but the readiest would be a flint with the +help of my knife." + +"A flint?" + +"Yes, if we could get one: but I see nothing but granite, which +crumbles and shivers when struck--we could not get a spark. However, I +think it's very likely that one of the round pebbles I see on the +beach yonder may be found hard enough for the purpose." + +To the shore they bent their steps as soon as the little basket had +been well filled with strawberries; and descending the precipitous +bank, fringed with young saplings; birch, ash, and poplars, they +quickly found themselves beside the bright waters of the lake. A flint +was soon found among the water-worn stones that lay thickly strewn +upon the shore, and a handful of dry sedge, almost as inflammable as +tinder, was collected without trouble: though Louis, with the +recklessness of his nature, had coolly proposed to tear a strip from +his cousin's apron as a substitute for tinder,--a proposal that +somewhat raised the indignation of the tidy Catharine, whose ideas of +economy and neatness were greatly outraged, especially as she had no +sewing implements to assist in mending the rent. Louis thought nothing +of that; it was a part of his character to think only of the present, +little of the past, and to let the future provide for itself. Such was +Louis's great failing, which had proved a fruitful source of trouble +both to himself and others. In this respect he bore a striking +contrast to his more cautious companion, who possessed much of the +gravity of his father. Hector was as heedful and steady in his +decisions as Louis was rash and impetuous. + +After many futile attempts, and some skin knocked off their knuckles +through awkward handling of the knife and flint, a good fire was at +last kindled, as there was no lack of dry wood on the shore. Catharine +then triumphantly produced her tin pot, and the eggs were boiled, +greatly to the satisfaction of all parties, who were by this time +sufficiently hungry, having eaten nothing since the previous evening +more substantial than the strawberries they had taken during the time +they were gathering them in the morning. + +Catharine had selected a pretty, cool, shady recess, a natural bower, +under the overhanging growth of [Illustration: THE FIRST BREAKFAST.] +cedars, poplars, and birch, which were wreathed together by the +flexible branches of the wild grape vine and bitter-sweet, which +climbed to a height of fifteen feet [Footnote: _Celastrus +scandens_,--bitter-sweet or woody nightshade. This plant, like the +red-berried bryony of England, is highly ornamental. It possesses +powerful properties as a medicine, and is in high reputation among the +Indians.] among the branches of the trees, which it covered as with a +mantle. A pure spring of cold, delicious water welled out from beneath +the twisted roots of an old hoary-barked cedar, and found its way +among the shingle on the beach to the lake, a humble but constant +tributary to its waters. Some large blocks of water-worn stone formed +convenient seats and a natural table, on which the little maiden +arranged the forest fare; and never was a meal made with greater +appetite or taken with more thankfulness than that which our wanderers +ate that morning. The eggs (part of which they reserved for another +time) were declared to be better than those that were daily produced +from the little hen-house at Cold Springs. The strawberries, set out +in little pottles made with the shining leaves of the oak, ingeniously +pinned together by Catharine with the long spurs of the hawthorn, were +voted delicious, and the pure water most refreshing, that they drank, +for lack of better cups, from a large mussel-shell which Catharine had +picked up among the weeds and pebbles on the beach. + +Many children would have wandered about weeping and disconsolate, +lamenting their sad fate, or have imbittered the time by useless +repining, or, perhaps, by venting their uneasiness in reviling the +principal author of their calamity--poor, thoughtless Louis; but such +were not the dispositions of our young Canadians. Early accustomed to +the hardships incidental to the lives of the settlers in the bush, +these young people had learned to bear with patience and cheerfulness +privations that would have crushed the spirits of children more +delicately nurtured. They had known every degree of hunger and +nakedness: during the first few years of their lives they had often +been compelled to subsist for days and weeks upon roots and herbs, +wild fruits, and game which their fathers had learned to entrap, to +decoy, and to shoot. Thus Louis and Hector had early been initiated +into the mysteries of the chase. They could make dead-falls, and pits, +and traps, and snares; they were as expert as Indians in the use of +the bow; they could pitch a stone or fling a wooden dart at partridge, +hare, and squirrel with almost unerring aim; and were as swift of foot +as young fawns. Now it was that they learned to value in its fullest +extent this useful and practical knowledge, which enabled them to face +with fortitude the privations of a life so precarious as that to which +they were now exposed. + +It was one of the elder Maxwell's maxims,--Never, let difficulties +overcome you, but rather strive to conquer them; let the head direct +the hand, and the hand, like a well-disciplined soldier, obey the head +as chief. When his children expressed any doubts of not being able to +accomplish any work they had begun, he would say, "Have you not hands, +have you not a head, have you not eyes to see, and reason to guide +you? As for impossibilities, they do not belong to the trade of a +soldier,--he dare not see them." Thus were energy and perseverance +early instilled into the minds of his children. They were now called +upon to give practical proofs of the precepts that had been taught +them in childhood. Hector trusted to his axe, and Louis to his +_couteau de chasse_ and pocket-knife,--the latter was a present from +an old forest friend of his father's, who had visited them the +previous winter, and which, by good luck, Louis had in his pocket,--a +capacious pouch, in which were stored many precious things, such as +coils of twine and string, strips of leather, with odds and ends of +various kinds--nails, bits of iron, leather, and such miscellaneous +articles as find their way most mysteriously into boys' pockets in +general, and Louis Perron's in particular, who was a wonderful +collector of such small matters. + +The children were not easily daunted by the prospect of passing a few +days abroad on so charming a spot, and at such a lovely season, where +fruits were so abundant; and when they had finished their morning +meal, so providentially placed within their reach, they gratefully +acknowledged the mercy of God in this thing. + +Having refreshed themselves by bathing their hands and faces in the +lake, they cheerfully renewed their wanderings, though something loath +to leave the cool shade and the spring for an untrodden path among the +hills and deep ravines that furrow the shores of the Rice Lake in so +remarkable a manner; and often did our weary wanderers pause to look +upon the wild glens and precipitous hills, where the fawn and the shy +deer found safe retreats, unharmed by the rifle of the hunter, where +the osprey and white-headed eagle built their nests, unheeded and +unharmed. Twice that day, misled by following the track of the deer, +had they returned to the samespot,--a deep and lovely glen, which had +once been a watercourse, but was now a green and shady valley. This +they named the Valley of the Rock, from a remarkable block of red +granite that occupied a central position in the narrow defile; and +here they prepared to pass their second night on the Plains. A few +boughs cut down and interlaced with the shrubs round a small space +cleared with Hector's axe, formed shelter, and leaves and grass, +strewed on the ground, formed a bed--though not so smooth, perhaps, as +the bark and cedar boughs that the Indians spread within their summer +wigwams for carpets and couches, or the fresh heather that the +Highlanders gather on the wild Scottish hills. + +While Hector and Louis were preparing the sleeping chamber, Catharine +busied herself in preparing the partridge for their supper. Having +collected some thin peelings from the rugged bark of a birch tree that +grew on the side of the steep bank to which she gave the appropriate +name of the "Birken Shaw," she dried it in her bosom, and then beat it +fine upon a big stone, till it resembled the finest white paper. This +proved excellent tinder, the aromatic oil contained in the bark of the +birch being highly inflammable. Hector had prudently retained the +flint that they had used in the morning, and a fire was now lighted in +front of the rocky stone, and a forked stick, stuck in the ground, and +bent over the coals, served as a spit, on which, gipsy-fashion, the +partridge was suspended,--a scanty meal, but thankfully partaken of, +though they knew not how they should breakfast next morning. The +children felt they were pensioners on God's providence not less than +the wild denizens of the wilderness around them. + +When Hector--who by nature was less sanguine than his sister or +cousin--expressed some anxiety for their provisions for the morrow, +Catharine, who had early listened with trusting piety of heart to the +teaching of her father, when he read portions from the holy Word of +God, gently laid her hand upon her brother's head, which rested on her +knees, as he sat upon the grass beside her, and said, in a low and +earnest tone, "'Consider the fowls of the air: they sow not, neither +do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth +them. Are ye not much better than they?' Surely, my brother, God +careth for us as much as for the wild creatures that have no sense to +praise and glorify his holy name. God cares for the creatures he has +made, and supplies them with knowledge where they shall find food when +they hunger and thirst. So I have heard my father say; and surely our +father knows, for is he not a wise man, Hector?" + +"I remember," said Louis thoughtfully, "hearing my mother repeat the +words of a good old man she knew when she lived in Quebec. 'When you +are in trouble, Mathilde,' he used to say to her, 'kneel down and ask +God's help, nothing doubting but that he has the power as well as the +will to serve you, if it be for your good; for he is able to bring all +things to pass. It is our own want of faith that prevents our prayers +from being heard.' And, truly, I think the wise old man was right," he +added. + +It was strange to hear grave words like these from the lips of the +giddy Louis. Possibly they had the greater weight on that account. And +Hector, looking up with a serious air, replied, "Your mother's friend +was a good man, Louis. Our want of trust in God's power must displease +him. And when we think of all the great and glorious things he has +made,--that blue sky, those sparkling stars, the beautiful moon that +is now shining down upon us, and the hills and waters, the mighty +forest, and little creeping plants and flowers that grow at our +feet,--it must, indeed, seem foolish in his eyes that we should doubt +his power to help us, who not only made all these things but ourselves +also." + +"True," said Catharine; "but then, Hector, we are not as God made us; +for the wicked one cast bad seed in the field where God had sown the +good." + +"Let us, however, consider what we shall do for food; for you know God +helps those that help themselves," said Louis. "Let us consider a +little. There must be plenty of fish in the lake, both small and +great." + +"But how are we to get them out of it?" rejoined Catharine. "I doubt +the fish will swim at their ease there, while we go hungry." + +"Do not interrupt me, ma chere. Then, we see the track of deer, and +the holes of the wood-chuck; we hear the cry of squirrels and +chitmunks, and there are plenty of partridges, and ducks, and quails, +and snipes;--of course, we have to contrive some way to kill them. +Fruits there are in abundance, and plenty of nuts of different kinds. +At present we have plenty of fine strawberries, and huckleberries will +be ripe soon in profusion, and bilberries too, and you know how +pleasant they are; as for raspberries, I see none; but by-and-by there +will be May-apples (_Podophyllum peltatum_)--I see great quantities +of them in the low grounds; grapes, high-bush cranberries, haws as +large as cherries, and sweet too, squaw-berries, wild-plums, +choke-cherries, and bird-cherries. As to sweet acorns, there will be +bushels and bushels of them for the roasting, as good as chestnuts, to +my taste, and butter-nuts, and hickory-nuts with many other good +things." And here Louis stopped for want of breath to continue his +catalogue of forest dainties. + +"Yes, and there are bears, and wolves, and raccoons too, that will eat +us for want of better food," interrupted Hector slyly. "Nay, Katty, do +not shudder, as if you were already in the clutches of a big bear. +Neither bear nor wolf shall make mincemeat of thee, my girl, while +Louis and thy brother are near to wield an axe or a knife in thy +defence." + +"Nor catamount spring upon thee, ma belle cousine," added Louis +gallantly, "while thy bold cousin Louis can scare him away." + +"Well, now that we know our resources, the next thing is to consider +how we are to obtain them, my dears," said Catharine. "For fishing, +you know, we must have a hook and line, a rod, or a net. Now, where +are these to be met with?" + +Louis nodded his head sagaciously. "The line I think I can provide; +the hook is more difficult, but I do not despair even of that. As to +the rod, it can be cut from any slender sapling on the shore. A net, +ma chere, I could make with very little trouble, if I had but a piece +of cloth to sew over a hoop." + +Catharine laughed. "You are very ingenious, no doubt, Monsieur Louis; +but where are you to get the cloth and the hoop, and the means of +sewing it on?" + +Louis took up the corner of his cousin's apron with a provoking look. + +"My apron, sir, is not to be appropriated for any such purpose. You +seem to covet it for everything." + +"Indeed, ma petite, I think it very unbecoming and very ugly, and +never could see any good reason why you, and mamma, and Mathilde +should wear such frightful things." + +"It is to keep our gowns clean, Louis, when we are milking, and +scrubbing, and doing all sorts of household duties," said Catharine. + +"Well, ma belle, you have neither cows to milk nor house to clean," +replied the annoying boy; "so there can be little want of the apron. I +could turn it to fifty useful purposes." + +"Pooh, nonsense," said Hector impatiently; "let the child alone, and +do not tease her about her apron." + +"Well, then, there is another good thing I did not think of +before--water mussels. I have heard my father and old Jacob the +lumberer say that, roasted in their shells in the ashes, with a +seasoning of salt and pepper, they are good eating when nothing better +is to be got." + +"No doubt, if the seasoning can be procured," said Hector; "but, alas +for the salt and the pepper!" + +"Well, we can eat them with the best of all sauces--hunger. And then, +no doubt, there are crayfish in the gravel under the stones; but we +must not mind a pinch to our fingers in taking them." + +"To-morrow, then, let us breakfast on fish," said Hector. "You and I +will try our luck, while Kate gathers strawberries; and if our line +should break, we can easily cut those long locks from Catharine's head +and twist them into lines." And Hector laid his hands upon the long +fair hair that hung in shining curls about his sister's neck. + +"Cut my curls! This is even worse than cousin Louis's proposal of +making tinder and fishing-nets of my apron," said Catharine, shaking +back the bright tresses which, escaping from the snood that bound +them, fell in golden waves over her shoulders. + +"In truth, Hec, it were a sin and a shame to cut her pretty curls, +that become her so well," said Louis. "But we have no scissors, ma +belle, so you need fear no injury to your precious locks." + +"For the matter of that, Louis, we could cut them with your _couteau +de chaise_. I could tell you a story that my father told me, not long +since, of Charles Stuart, the second king of that name in England. You +know he was the granduncle of the young chevalier, Charles Edward, +that my father talks of, and loves so much." + +"I know all about him," said Catharine, nodding sagaciously; "let us +hear the story of his granduncle. But I should like to know what my +hair and Louis's knife can have to do with King Charles." + +"Wait a bit, Kate, and you shall hear--that is, if you have patience," +said her brother. "Well then, you must know, that after some great +battle, the name of which I forget, [Footnote: Battle of Worcester] in +which the king and his handful of brave soldiers were defeated by the +forces of the Parliament (the Roundheads, as they were called), the +poor young king was hunted like a partridge upon the mountains, a +large price was set on his head, to be given to any traitor who should +slay him or bring him prisoner to Oliver Cromwell. He was obliged to +dress himself in all sorts of queer clothes, and hide in all manner of +strange, out-of-the-way places, and keep company with rude and humble +men, the better to hide his real rank from the cruel enemies that +sought his life. Once he hid along with a gallant gentleman, +[Footnote: Colonel Careless.] one of his own brave officers, in the +branches of a great oak. Once he was hid in a mill; and another time +he was in the house of one Pendril, a woodman. The soldiers of the +Parliament, who were always prowling about, and popping in unawares +wherever they suspected the poor king to be hidden, were at one time +in the very room where he was standing beside the fire." + +"Oh!" exclaimed Catharine, "that was frightful. And did they take him +prisoner?" + +"No; for the wise woodman and his brothers, fearing lest the soldiers +should discover that he was a cavalier and a gentleman, by the long +curls that the king's men all wore in those days, and called +_lovelocks_, begged of his majesty to let his hair be cropped close to +his head." + +"That was very hard, to lose his nice curls." + +"I dare say the young king thought so too; but it was better to lose +his hair than his head. So, I suppose, the men told him; for he +suffered them to cut it all close to his head, laying down his head on +a rough deal table, or a chopping-block, while his faithful friends +with a large knife trimmed off the curls." + +"I wonder if the young king thought at that minute of his poor father, +who, you know, was forced by wicked men to lay down his head upon a +block to have it cut from his shoulders, because Cromwell, and others +as hard-hearted as himself, willed that he should die." + +"Poor king!" said Catharine, sighing; "I see that it is better to be +poor children, wandering on these plains under God's own care, than to +be kings and princes at the mercy of bad and sinful men." + +"Who told your father all these things, Hec?" said Louis. + +"It was the son of his brave colonel, who knew a great deal about the +history of the Stuart kings, for our colonel had been with Prince +Charles, the young chevalier, and fought by his side when he was in +Scotland. He loved him dearly, and after the battle of Culloden, where +the prince lost all, and was driven from place to place, and had not +where to lay his head, he went abroad in hopes of better times. But +those times did not come for the poor prince; and our colonel, after a +while, through the friendship of General Wolfe, got a commission in +the army that was embarking for Quebec, and at last commanded the +regiment to which my father belonged. He was a kind man, and my father +loved both him and his son, and grieved not a little when he parted +from him." + +"Well," said-Catharine, "as you have told me such a nice story, Mister +Hec, I shall forgive the affront about my curls." + +"Well, then, to-morrow we are to try our luck at fishing, and if we +fail, we will make us bows and arrows to kill deer or small game; I +fancy we shall not be over-particular as to its quality. Why should +not we be able to find subsistence as well as the wild Indians?" + +"True," said Hector; "the wild men of the wilderness, and the animals +and birds, all are fed by the things that He provideth; then wherefore +should His white children fear?" + +"I have often heard my father tell of the privations of the lumberers, +when they have fallen short of provisions, and of the contrivances of +himself and old Jacob Morelle when they were lost for several days, +nay, weeks I believe it was. Like the Indians, they made themselves +bows and arrows, using the sinews of the deer, or fresh thongs of +leather, for bow-strings; and when they could not get game to eat, +they boiled the inner bark of the slippery elm to jelly, or birch +bark, and drank the sap of the sugar maple when they could get no +water but melted snow only, which is unwholesome: at last they even +boiled their own moccasins." + +"Indeed, Louis, that must have been a very unsavoury dish," said +Catharine. + +"That old buck-skin vest would have made a famous pot of soup of +itself," added Hector, "or the deer-skin hunting shirt." + +"They might have been reduced even to that," said Louis, laughing, +"but for the good fortune that befell them in the way of a +half-roasted bear." + +"Nonsense, Cousin Louis; bears do not run about ready roasted in the +forest, like the lambs in the old nursery tale." + +"Kate, this was a fact; at least it was told as one by old Jacob, and +my father did not deny it. Shall I tell you about it? After passing +several hungry days, with no better food to keep them alive than the +scrapings of the inner bark of the poplars and elms, which was not +very substantial for hearty men, they encamped one night in a thick +dark swamp,--not the sort of place they would have chosen, but they +could not help themselves, having been enticed into it by the tracks +of a deer or a moose,--and night came upon them unawares, so they set +to work to kindle a fire with spunk, and a flint and knife; rifle they +had none, or maybe they would have had game to eat. + +"Old Jacob fixed upon a huge hollow pine that lay across their path, +against which he soon piled a glorious heap of boughs and arms of +trees, and whatever wood he could collect, and lighted up a fine fire. +The wood was dry pine and cedar and birch, and it blazed away, and +crackled and burned like a pine-torch. By-and-by they heard a most +awful growling close to them. 'That's a big bear, as I live,' said old +Jacob, looking all about, thinking to see one come out from the thick +bush. But Bruin was nearer to him than he thought; for presently a +great black bear burst out from the butt-end of the great burning log, +and made towards Jacob. Just then the wind blew the flame outward, and +it caught the bear's thick coat, and he was all in a blaze in a +moment. No doubt the heat of the fire had penetrated to the hollow of +the log, where he had lain himself snugly up for the winter, and +wakened him. Jacob seeing the huge black brute all in a flame of fire, +roared with fright; the bear roared with pain and rage; and my father +roared with laughing to see Jacob's terror. But he did not let the +bear laugh at him, for he seized a thick pole that he had used for +closing in the brands and logs, and soon demolished the bear, who was +so blinded with the fire and smoke that he made no fight; and they +feasted on roast bear's flesh for many days, and got a capital skin to +cover them beside." + +"What, Louis! after the fur was all singed?" said Catharine. + +"Kate, you are too particular," said Louis; "a story never loses, you +know." + +Hector laughed heartily at the adventure, and enjoyed the dilemma of +the bear in his winter quarters; but Catharine was somewhat shocked at +the levity displayed by her cousin and brother when recounting the +terror of old Jacob and the sufferings of the poor bear. + +"You boys are always so unfeeling," she said gravely. + +"Indeed, Kate," said her brother, "the day may come when the sight of +a good piece of roast bear's flesh will be no unwelcome sight. If we +do not find our way back to Cold Springs before the winter sets in, we +may be reduced to as bad a state as poor Jacob and my uncle were in +the pine swamps on the banks of the St. John." + +"Ah!" said Catharine, trembling, "that would be too bad to happen." + +"Courage, ma belle; let us not despair for the morrow. Let us see what +tomorrow will do for us; meantime, we will not neglect the blessings +we still possess. See, our partridge is ready; let us eat our supper, +and be thankful; and for grace let us say, 'Sufficient unto the day is +the evil thereof.'" + +Long exposure to the air had sharpened their appetites. The hungry +wanderers needed no further invitation. The scanty meal, equally +divided, was soon despatched. + +It is a common saying, but excellent to be remembered by any wanderers +in our forest wilds, that those who travel by the sun travel in a +circle, and usually find themselves at night in the same place from +whence they started in the morning; so it was with our wanderers. At +sunset they found themselves once more in the ravine, beside the big +stone, in which they had rested at noon. They had imagined themselves +miles distant from it: they were grievously disappointed. They had +encouraged each other with the confident hope that they were drawing +near to the end of their bewildering journey: they were as far from +their home as ever, without the slightest clue to guide them to the +right path. Despair is not a feeling which takes deep root in the +youthful breast. The young are always hopeful; so confident in their +own wisdom and skill in averting or conquering danger; so trusting; so +willing to believe that there is a peculiar Providence watching over +them. Poor children! they had indeed need of such a belief to +strengthen their minds and encourage them to fresh exertions, for new +trials were at hand. + +The broad moon had already flooded the recesses of the glen with +light, and all looked fresh and lovely in the dew which glittered on +tree and leaf, on herb and flower. Catharine, who, though weary with +her fatiguing wanderings, could not sleep, left the little hut of +boughs her companions had put up near the granite rock in the valley +for her accommodation, and ascended the western bank, where the last +jutting spur of its steep side formed a lofty cliff-like promontory, +at the extreme verge of which the roots of one tall spreading oak +formed a most inviting seat, from whence the traveller looked down +into a level tract, which stretched away to the edge of the lake. + +This flat had been the estuary of the mountain stream which had once +rushed down between the hills, forming a narrow gorge; but now all was +changed: the waters had ceased to flow, the granite bed was overgrown +and carpeted with deer-grass and flowers of many hues, wild fruits and +bushes, below, while majestic oaks and pines towered above. A sea of +glittering foliage lay beneath Catharine's feet; in the distance the +eye of the young girl rested on a belt of shining waters, which girt +in the shores like a silver zone; beyond, yet more remote to the +northward, stretched the illimitable forest. + +Never had Catharine looked upon a scene so still or so fair to the +eye; a holy calm seemed to shed its influence over her young mind, and +peaceful tears stole down her cheeks. Not a sound was there abroad, +scarcely a leaf stirred; she could have stayed for hours there gazing +on the calm beauty of nature, and communing with her own heart, when +suddenly a stirring rustling sound caught her ear; it came from a +hollow channel on one side of the promontory, which was thickly +overgrown with the shrubby dogwood, wild roses, and bilberry bushes. +Imagine the terror which seized the poor girl on perceiving the head +of a black elk breaking through the covert of the bushes. With a +scream and a bound, which the most deadly fear alone could have +inspired, Catharine sprung from the supporting trunk of the oak, and +dashed down the precipitous side of the ravine; now clinging to the +bending sprays of the flexile dogwood, now to some fragile birch or +poplar--now trusting to the yielding heads of the sweet-scented +ceanothus, or filling her hands with sharp thorns from the roses that +clothed the bank,--flowers, grass, all were alike clutched at in her +rapid and fearful descent. + +A loose fragment of granite on which she had unwittingly placed her +foot rolled from under her; unable to regain her balance she fell +forwards, and was precipitated through the bushes into the ravine +below, conscious only of unspeakable terror and an agonizing pain in +one of her ankles which rendered her quite powerless. The noise of the +stones she had dislodged in her fall, and her piteous cries, brought +Louis and Hector to her side, and they bore her in their arms to the +hut of boughs, and laid her down upon her bed of leaves and grass and +young pine boughs. When Catharine was able to speak, she related to +Louis and Hector the cause of her fright. She was sure it must have +been a wolf by his sharp teeth, long jaws, and grizzly coat. The last +glance she had had of him had filled her with terror; he was standing +on a fallen tree, with his eyes fixed upon her. She could tell them no +more that happened; she never felt the ground she was on, so great was +her fright. + +Hector was half disposed to scold his sister for rambling over the +hills alone; but Louis was full of tender compassion for _la belle +cousine_, and would not suffer her to be chidden. Fortunately, no +bones had been fractured, though the sinews of her ankle were severely +sprained; but the pain was intense, and after a sleepless night, the +boys found, to their grief and dismay, that Catharine was unable to +put her foot to the ground. This was an unlooked-for aggravation of +their misfortunes; to pursue their wanderings was for the present +impossible; rest was their only remedy, excepting the application of +such cooling medicaments as circumstances would supply them with. Cold +water constantly applied to the swollen joint, was the first thing +that was suggested; but, simple as was the lotion, it was not easy to +obtain it in sufficient quantities. They were full a quarter of a mile +from the lake shore, and the cold springs near it were yet further +off; and then the only vessel they had was the tin pot, which hardly +contained a pint; at the same time the thirst of the fevered sufferer +was intolerable, and had also to be provided for. Poor Catharine, what +unexpected misery she now endured! + +The valley and its neighbouring hills abounded in strawberries; they +were now ripening in abundance; the ground was scarlet in places with +this delicious fruit: they proved a blessed relief to the poor +sufferer's burning thirst. Hector and Louis were unwearied in +supplying her with them. + +Louis, ever fertile in expedients, crushed the cooling fruit and +applied them to the sprained foot; rendering the application still +more grateful by spreading them upon the large smooth leaves of the +sapling oak: these he bound on with strips of the leathery bark of the +moose-wood, [Footnote: "_Dirca palustris_," moose-wood American +mezereon, leather-wood. From the Greek, _dirka_, a fountain or wet +place, its usual place of growth.] which he had found growing in great +abundance near the entrance of the ravine. Hector, in the meantime, +was not idle. After having collected a good supply of ripe +strawberries, he climbed the hills in search of birds' eggs and small +game. About noon he returned with the good news of having discovered a +spring of fine water in an adjoining ravine, beneath a clump of +bass-wood and black cherry trees; he had also been so fortunate as to +kill a woodchuck, having met with many of their burrows in the +gravelly sides of the hills. The woodchuck seems to be a link between +the rabbit and badger; its colour is that of a leveret: it climbs like +the raccoon, and burrows like the rabbit; its eyes are large, full, +and dark, the lip cleft, the soles of the feet naked, claws sharp, +ears short; it feeds on grasses, grain, fruit, and berries. The flesh +is white, oily, and, in the summer, rank, but is eaten in autumn by +the Indians and woodsmen; the skin is not much valued. They are easily +killed by dogs, though, being expert climbers, they often baffle their +enemies, clinging to the bark beyond their reach. A stone or stick +well aimed soon kills them; but they sometimes bite sharply. + +The woodchuck proved a providential supply; and Hector cheered his +companions with the assurance that they could not starve, as there +were plenty of these creatures to be found. They had seen one or two +about Cold Springs, but they are less common in the deep forest lands +than on the drier, more open plains. + +"It is a great pity we have no larger vessel to bring our water from +the spring," said Hector, looking at the tin pot; "one is so apt to +stumble among stones and tangled underwood. If we had only one of our +old bark dishes we could get a good supply at once." + +"There is a fallen birch not far from this," said Louis. "I have here +my trusty knife; what is there to hinder us from constructing a vessel +capable of holding water, a gallon if you like?" + +"How can you sew it together, cousin?" asked Catharine; "you have +neither deer sinews nor war-tap." The Indian name for the flexible +roots of the _tamarack_, or swamp larch, which they make use of in +manufacturing their birch baskets and canoes. + +"I have a substitute at hand, ma belle;" and Louis pointed to the +strips of leather-wood he had collected for binding the dressings on +her foot. + +When an idea once struck Louis, he never rested till he worked it out +in some way. In a few minutes he was busily employed, stripping sheets +of the ever-useful birch-bark from the birch tree that had fallen at +the foot of the "Wolf's Crag;" for so the children had named the +memorable spot where poor Catharine's accident had occurred. + +The rough outside coatings of the bark, which are of silvery +whiteness, but ragged from exposure to the action of the weather in +the larger and older trees, he peeled off, and then cutting the bark +so that the sides lapped well over and the corners were secured from +cracks, he proceeded to pierce holes opposite to each other, and with +some trouble managed to stitch them tightly together, by drawing +strips of the moose or leather-wood through and through. The first +attempt, of course, was but rude and ill-shaped, but it answered the +purpose, and only leaked a little at the corners for want of a sort of +flap, which he had forgotten to allow in cutting out the bark,--this +flap in the Indian baskets and dishes turns up, and keeps all tight +and close,--a defect he remedied in his subsequent attempts. In spite +of its deficiencies, Louis's water-jar was looked upon with great +admiration, and highly commended by Catharine, who almost forgot her +sufferings while watching her cousin's proceedings. + +Louis was elated by his own successful ingenuity, and was for running +off directly to the spring. "Catharine shall now have cold water to +bathe her poor ankle with, and to quench her thirst," he said, +joyfully springing to his feet, ready for a start up the steep bank; +but Hector quietly restrained his lively cousin, by suggesting the +possibility of his not finding the "fountain in the wilderness," as +Louis termed the spring, or losing himself altogether. + +"Let us both go together then," cried Louis. Catharine cast on her +cousin an imploring glance. + +"Do not leave me, dear Louis--Hector, do not let me be left alone." +Her sorrowful appeal stayed the steps of the volatile Louis. + +"Go you, Hector, as you know the way.--I will not leave you, Kate, +since I was the cause of all you have suffered; I will abide by you, +in joy or in sorrow, till I see you once more safe in your own dear +mother's arms." + +Comforted by this assurance, Catharine quickly dashed away the +gathering tears from her cheeks, and chid her own foolish fears. + +"But you know, dear cousin," she said, "I am so helpless; and then the +dread of that horrible wolf makes a coward of me." + +After some little time had elapsed, Hector returned. The bark vessel +had done its duty to admiration; it only wanted a very little +improvement to make it complete. The water was cold and pure. Hector +had spent a little time in deepening the mouth of the spring, and +placing some stones about it. He described the ravine as being much +deeper and wider and more gloomy than the one they occupied. The sides +and bottom were clothed with magnificent oaks. It was a grand sight, +he said, to stand on the jutting spurs of this great ravine, and look +down upon the tops of the trees that lay below, tossing their rounded +heads like the waves of a big sea. There were many lovely +flowers-vetches of several kinds, blue, white, and pencilled, twining +among the grass; a beautiful white-belled flower, that was like the +"morning glory" _(Convolvulus major),_ and scarlet cups [Footnote: +_Erichroma,_ or painted cup.] in abundance, with roses in profusion. +The bottom of this ravine was strewed in places with huge blocks of +black granite, cushioned with thick green moss; it opened out into a +wide flat, similar to the one at the mouth of the valley of the "Big +Stone." + +Both Hector and his sister had insensibly imbibed a love of the grand +and picturesque, by listening with untiring interest to their father's +animated and enthusiastic descriptions of his Highland home, and the +wild mountainous scenery that surrounded it. Though brought up in +solitude and uneducated, there was nothing vulgar or rude in the minds +or manners of these young people. Simple and untaught they were, but +they were guileless, earnest, and unsophisticated; and if they lacked +the knowledge that is learned from books, they possessed much that was +useful and practical, which had been taught by experience and +observation in the school of necessity. + +For several days the pain and fever arising from her sprain rendered +any attempt at removing Catharine from the valley of the "Big Stone" +impracticable. The ripe fruit began to grow less abundant in their +immediate vicinity; neither woodchuck, partridge, nor squirrel had +been killed; and our poor wanderers now endured the agonizing pains of +hunger. Continual exposure to the air by night and by day contributed +not a little to increase the desire for food. It is true, there was +the yet untried lake, "bright, boundless, and free," gleaming in +silvery splendour, but in practice they knew nothing of the fisher's +craft, though, as a matter of report, they were well acquainted with +its mysteries, and had often listened with delight to the feats +performed by their respective fathers in the art of angling, spearing, +and netting. + +"I have heard my father say that so bold and numerous were the fish in +the lakes and rivers he used to fish in, that they could be taken by +the hand with a crooked pin and coarse thread, or wooden spear; but +that was in the Lower Province. And oh, what glorious tales I have +heard him tell of spearing fish by torchlight!" + +"The fish may be wiser or not so numerous in this lake," said Hector, +"however, if Kate can bear to be moved, we will go down to the shore +and try our luck. But what can we do? we have neither hook nor line +provided." + +Louis nodded his head, and sitting down on a projecting root of a +scrub oak, produced from the depths of his capacious pocket a bit of +tin, which he carefully selected from among a miscellaneous hoard of +treasures. "Here," said he, holding it up to the view as he +spoke,--"here is the slide of an old powder-flask, which I picked up +from among some rubbish my sister had thrown out the other day." + +"I fear you will make nothing of that," said Hector; "a bit of bone +would be better. If you had a file now, you might do something." + +"Stay a moment, Monsieur Hec; what do you call this?" and Louis +triumphantly handed out of his pocket the very instrument in question, +a few inches of a broken, rusty file; very rusty, indeed, it was, but +still it might be made to answer in such ingenious hands as those of +our young French Canadian. + +"I well remember, Katty, how you and Mathilde laughed at me for +treasuring up this old thing months ago.--Ah, Louis, Louis, you little +knew the use it was to be put to then," he added thoughtfully, +apostrophizing himself; "how little do we know what is to befall us in +our young days!" + +"God knows it all," said Hector gravely; "we are under his good +guidance." + +"You are right, Hec; let us trust in his mercy, and he will take good +care of us. Come, let us go to the lake," Catharine added, and she +sprang to her feet, but as quickly sank down upon the grass, and +regarded her companions with a piteous look, saying, "I cannot walk +one step; alas, alas! what is to become of me? I am only a useless +burden to you. If you leave me here I shall fall a prey to some savage +beast; and you cannot carry me with you in your search for food." + +"Dry your tears, sweet cousin; you shall go with us. Do you think that +Hector or Louis would abandon you in your helpless state, to die of +hunger or thirst, or to be torn by wolves or bears? We will carry you +by turns; the distance to the lake is nothing, and you are not so very +heavy, ma belle cousine; see, I could dance with you in my arms, you +are so light a burden,"--and Louis gaily caught the suffering girl up +in his arms, and with rapid steps struck into the deer-path that wound +through the ravine towards the lake. But when they reached a pretty, +rounded knoll (where Wolf Tower now stands), Louis was fain to place +his cousin on a flat stone beneath a big oak that grew beside the +bank, and fling himself on the flowery ground at her feet, while he +drew a long breath, and gathered the fruit that grew among the long +grass to refresh himself after his fatigue. And then, while resting on +the "Elfin Knowe," as Catharine called the hill, he employed himself +with manufacturing a rude sort of a fish-hook, with the aid of his +knife, the bit of tin, and the rusty file. A bit of twine was next +produced: boys have always a bit of string in their pockets; and +Louis, as I have before hinted, was a provident hoarder of such small +matters. The string was soon attached to the hook, and Hector was not +long in cutting a sapling that answered well the purpose of a +fishing-rod; and thus equipped they proceeded to the lake shore, +Hector and Louis carrying the crippled Catharine by turns. When there, +they selected a sheltered spot beneath a grove of overhanging cedars +and birches, festooned with wild vines, which, closely woven, formed a +natural bower, quite impervious to the rays of the sun. A waterfall +dashing from the upper part of the bank fell headlong in spray and +foam, and quietly spread itself among the round shingly fragments that +formed the beach of the lake. Beneath this pleasant bower Catharine +could repose and watch her companions at their novel employment, or +bathe her feet and infirm ankle in the cool streamlet that rippled in +tiny wavelets over its stony bed. + +If the amusement of fishing prove pleasant and exciting when pursued +for pastime only, it may readily be conceived that its interest must +be greatly heightened when its object is satisfying a craving degree +of hunger. Among the sunny spots on the shore, innumerable swarms of +the flying grasshopper or field crickets were sporting, and one of +these proved an attractive bait. The line was no sooner cast into the +water than the hook was seized, and many were the brilliant specimens +of sun-fish that our eager fishermen cast at Catharine's feet, all +gleaming with gold and azure scales. Nor was there any lack of perch, +or that delicate fish commonly known in these waters as the pink +roach. + +Tired at last with their easy sport, the hungry boys next proceeded to +the grateful task of scaling and dressing their fish. This they did +very expeditiously, as soon as the more difficult part of kindling a +fire on the beach had been accomplished with the help of the flint, +knife, and dried rushes. The fish were then suspended, Indian fashion, +on forked, sticks stuck in the ground and inclined at a suitable angle +towards the glowing embers,--a few minutes sufficed to cook them. + +"Truly," said Catharine, when the plentiful repast was set before her, +"God hath, indeed, spread a table for us here in the wilderness;" so +miraculous did this ample supply of delicious food seem in the eyes of +this simple child of nature. + +They had often heard tell of the facility with which the fish could be +caught, but they had known nothing of it from their own experience, as +the streams and creeks about Cold Springs afforded them but little +opportunity for exercising their skill as anglers; so that, with the +rude implements with which they were furnished, the result of their +morning success seemed little short of divine interference in their +behalf. Happy and contented in the belief that they were not forgotten +by their heavenly Father, these poor "children in the wood" looked up +with gratitude to that beneficent Being who suffereth not even a +sparrow to fall unheeded. + +Upon Catharine, in particular, these things made a deep impression; +and there, as she sat in the green shade, soothed by the lulling sound +of the flowing waters, and the soft murmuring of the many-coloured +insects that hovered among the fragrant leaves which thatched her +sylvan bower, her young heart was raised in humble and holy +aspirations to the great Creator of all things living. A peaceful calm +diffused itself over her mind, as with hands meekly folded across her +breast, the young girl prayed with the guileless fervour of a trusting +and faithful heart. + +The sun was just sinking in a flood of glory behind the dark +pine-woods at the head of the lake, when Hector and Louis, who had +been carefully providing fish for the morrow (which was the Sabbath), +came loaded with their finny prey carefully strung upon a willow-wand, +and found Catharine sleeping in her bower. Louis was loath to break +her tranquil slumbers, but her careful brother reminded him of the +danger to which she was exposed, sleeping in the dew by the +water-side. "Moreover," he added, "we have some distance to go, and we +have left the precious axe and the birch-bark vessel in the valley." + +These things were too valuable to be lost, so they roused the sleeper, +and slowly recommenced their toilsome way, following the same path +that they had made in the morning. Fortunately, Hector had taken the +precaution to bend down the flexile branches of the dogwood and break +the tops of the young trees that they had passed between on their +route to the lake; and by this clue they were enabled with tolerable +certainty to retrace their way, nothing doubting of arriving in time +at the wigwam of boughs by the rock in the valley. + +Their progress was, however, slow, burdened with the care of the lame +girl, and laden with the fish. The purple shades of twilight soon +clouded the scene, deepened by the heavy masses of foliage, which cast +greater obscurity upon their narrow path; for they had now left the +oak-flat and entered the gorge of the valley. The utter loneliness of +the path, the grotesque shadows of the trees that stretched in long +array across the steep banks on either side, taking now this, now that +wild and fanciful shape, awakened strange feelings of dread in the +mind of these poor forlorn wanderers; like most persons bred up in +solitude, their imaginations were strongly tinctured with +superstitious fears. Here, then, in the lonely wilderness, far from +their beloved parents and social hearth, with no visible arm to +protect them from danger, none to encourage or to cheer them, they +started with terror-blanched cheeks at every fitful breeze that +rustled the leaves or waved the branches above them. + +The gay and lively Louis, blithe as any wild bird in the bright +sunlight, was the most easily oppressed by this strange superstitious +fear, when the shades of evening were closing round, and he would +start with ill-disguised terror at every sound or shape that met his +ear or eye, though the next minute he was the first to laugh at his +own weakness. In Hector the feeling was of a graver, more solemn cast, +recalling to his mind all the wild and wondrous tales with which his +father was wont to entertain the children as they crouched round the +huge log-fire of an evening. It is strange the charm these marvellous +tales possess for the youthful mind: no matter how improbable or how +often told, year after year they will be listened to with the same +ardour, with an interest that appears to grow with repetition. And +still, as they slowly wandered along, Hector would repeat to his +breathless auditors those Highland legends that were as familiar to +their ears as household words; and still they listened with fear and +wonder, and deep awe, till at each pause he made the deep-drawn breath +and half-repressed shudder might be heard. And now the little party +paused irresolutely, fearing to proceed: they had omitted to notice +some landmark in their progress; the moon had not long been up, and +her light was as yet indistinct; so they sat them down on a little +grassy spot on the bank, and rested till the moon should lighten their +path. + +Louis was confident they were not far from the "Big Stone," but +careful Hector had his doubts, and Catharine was weary. The children +had already conceived a sort of home feeling for the valley and the +mass of stone that had sheltered them for so many nights; and soon the +dark mass came in sight, as the broad full light of the now risen moon +fell upon its rugged sides: they were nearer to it than they had +imagined. + +"Forward for the 'Big Stone' and the wigwam," cried Louis. + +"Hush!" said Catharine, "look there!" raising her hand with a warning +gesture. + +"Where? what?" + +"The wolf! the wolf!" gasped out the terrified girl. There, indeed, +upon the summit of the block, in the attitude of a sentinel or +watcher, stood the gaunt-figured animal; and as she spoke, a long wild +cry, the sound of which seemed as if it came midway between the earth +and the tops of the tall pines on the lofty ridge above them, struck +terror into their hearts, as with speechless horror they gazed upon +the dark outline of the terrible beast. There it stood, with its head +raised, its neck stretched outward, and ears erect, as if to catch the +echo that gave back those dismal sounds; another minute and he was +gone to join his companions, and the crashing of branches and the rush +of many feet on the high bank above was followed by the prolonged cry +of a poor fugitive animal,--a doe, or fawn, perhaps,--in the very +climax of mortal agony; and then the lonely recesses of the forest +took up that fearful death-cry, the far-off shores of the lake and the +distant islands prolonged it, and the terrified children clung +together in fear and trembling. + +A few minutes over, and all was still. The chase had turned across the +hills to some distant ravine; the wolves were all gone--not even the +watcher was left; and the little valley lay once more in silence, with +all its dewy roses and sweet blossoms glittering in the moonlight. But +though around them all was peace and loveliness, it was long ere +confidence was restored to the hearts of the panic-stricken and +trembling children. They beheld a savage enemy in every mass of leafy +shade, and every rustling bough struck fresh terror into their excited +minds. They might have exclaimed, with the patriarch Jacob, "How +dreadful is this place!" + +With hand clasped in hand, they sat them down among the thick covert +of the bushes; for now they feared to move forward, lest the wolves +should return. Sleep was long a stranger to their watchful eyes, each +fearing to be the only one left awake, and long and painful was their +vigil. Yet nature, overtasked, at length gave way, and sleep came down +upon their eyelids--deep, unbroken sleep, which lasted till the broad +sunlight, breaking through the leafy curtains of their forest-bed, and +the sound of waving boughs and twittering birds, once more awakened +them to life and light, recalling them from happy dreams of home and +friends to an aching sense of loneliness and desolation. This day they +did not wander far from the valley, but took the precaution, as +evening drew on, to light a large fire, the blaze of which they +thought would keep away any beast of prey. They had no want of food, +as the fish they had caught the day before proved an ample supply. The +huckleberries were ripening too, and soon afforded them a +never-failing source of food; there was also an abundance of +bilberries, the sweet fruit of which proved a great treat, besides +being very nourishing. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + "Oh for a lodge in the vast wilderness, + The boundless contiguity of shade!" + + +A fortnight had now passed, and Catharine still suffered so much from +pain and fever that they were unable to continue their wanderings; all +that Hector and his cousin could do was to carry her to the bower by +the lake, where she reclined whilst they caught fish. The painful +longing to regain their lost home had lost nothing of its intensity; +and often would the poor sufferer start from her bed of leaves and +boughs to wring her hands and weep, and call in piteous tones upon +that dear father and mother who would have given worlds, had they been +at their command, to have heard but one accent of her beloved voice, +to have felt one loving pressure from that fevered hand. Hope, the +consoler, hovered over the path of the young wanderers, long after she +had ceased to whisper comfort to the desolate hearts of the mournful +parents. + +Of all that suffered by this sad calamity, no one was more to be +pitied than Louis Perron. Deeply did the poor boy lament the +thoughtless folly which had involved his cousin Catharine in so +terrible a misfortune. "If Kate had not been with me," he would say, +"we should not have been lost; for Hector is so cautious and so +careful, he would not have left the cattle-path. But we were so +heedless, we thought only of flowers and insects, of birds and such +trifles, and paid no heed to our way." Louis Perron, such is life. The +young press gaily onward, gathering the flowers, and following the gay +butterflies that attract them in the form of pleasure and amusement: +they forget the grave counsels of the thoughtful, till they find the +path they have followed is beset with briers and thorns; and a +thousand painful difficulties that were unseen, unexpected, overwhelm +and bring them to a sad sense of their own folly; and, perhaps, the +punishment of their errors does not fall upon themselves alone, but +upon the innocent, who have unknowingly been made participators in +their fault. + +By the kindest and tenderest attention to all her comforts, Louis +endeavoured to alleviate his cousin's sufferings, and soften her +regrets; nay, he would often speak cheerfully and even gaily to her, +when his own heart was heavy and his eyes ready to overflow with +tears. + +"If it were not for our dear parents and the dear children at home," +he would say, "we might spend our time most happily upon these +charming plains; it is much more delightful here than in the dark, +thick woods; see how brightly the sunbeams come down and gladden the +ground, and cover the earth with fruit and flowers. It is pleasant to +be able to fish and hunt, and trap the game. Yes, if they were all +here, we would build us a nice log-house, and clear up these bushes on +the flat near the lake. This 'Elfin Knowe,' as you call it, Kate, +would be a nice spot to build upon. See these glorious old oaks--not +one should be cut down; and we would have a boat and a canoe, and +voyage across to yonder islands. Would it not be charming, ma belle?" +and Catharine, smiling at the picture drawn so eloquently, would enter +into the spirit of the project, and say,-- + +"Ah! Louis, that would be pleasant." + +"If we had but my father's rifle now," said Hector, "and old Wolfe." + +"Yes, and Fanchette, dear little Fanchette, that trees the partridges +and black squirrels," said Louis. + +"I saw a doe and a half-grown fawn beside her this very morning, at +break of day," said Hector. "The fawn was so little fearful, that if I +had had a stick in my hand I could have killed it. I came within ten +yards of the spot where it stood. I know it would be easy to catch one +by making a dead-fall." A sort of trap in which game is taken in the +woods, or on the banks of creeks. + +"If we had but a dear fawn to frolic about us, like Mignon, dear +innocent Mignon," cried Catharine, "I should never feel lonely then." + +"And we should never want for meat, if we could catch a fine fawn from +time to time, ma belle.--Hec, what are you thinking of?" + +"I was thinking, Louis, that if we were doomed to remain here all our +lives, we must build a house for ourselves; we could not live in the +open air without shelter as we have done. The summer will soon pass, +and the rainy season will come, and the bitter frosts and snows of +winter will have to be provided against." + +"But, Hector, do you really think there is no chance of finding our +way back to Cold Springs? We know it must be behind this lake," said +Lotus. + +"True, but whether east, west, or south, we cannot tell, and whichever +way we take now is but a chance; and if once we leave the lake and get +involved in the mazes of that dark forest, we should perish: for we +know there is neither water nor fruit nor game to be had as there is +here, and we might soon be starved to death. God was good who led us +beside this fine lake, and upon these fruitful plains." + +"It is a good thing that I had my axe when we started from home," said +Hector. "We should not have been so well off without it; we shall find +the use of it if we have to build a house. We must look out for some +spot where there is a spring of good water, and--" + +"No horrible wolves," interrupted Catharine. "Though I love this +pretty ravine, and the banks and braes about us, I do not think I +shall like to stay here. I heard the wolves only last night, when you +and Louis were asleep." + +"We must not forget to keep watch-fires." + +"What shall we do for clothes?" said Catharine, glancing at her +home-spun frock of wool and cotton plaid. + +"A weighty consideration indeed," sighed Hector; "clothes must be +provided before ours are worn out and the winter comes on." + +"We must save all the skins of the woodchucks and squirrels," +suggested Louis; "and fawns when we catch them." + +"Yes, and fawns when we get them," added Hector; "but it is time +enough to think of all these things; we must not give up all hope of +home." + +"I give up all hope? I shall hope on while I have life," said +Catharine. "My dear, dear father, he will never forget his lost +children; he will try and find us, alive or dead; he will never give +up the search." + +Poor child, how long did this hope burn like a living torch in thy +guileless breast. How often, as they roamed those hills and valleys, +were thine eyes sent into the gloomy recesses of the dark ravines and +thick bushes, with the hope that they would meet the advancing form +and outstretched arms of thy earthly parents: all in vain. Yet the +arms of thy heavenly Father were extended over thee, to guide, to +guard, and to sustain thee. + +How often were Catharine's hands filled with wild-flowers, to carry +home, as she fondly said, to sick Louise or her mother. Poor +Catharine, how often did your bouquets fade; how often did the sad +exile water them with her tears,--for hers was the hope that keeps +alive despair. + +When they roused them in the morning to recommence their fruitless +wanderings, they would say to each other, "Perhaps we shall see our +father, he may find us here to-day;" but evening came, and still he +came not, and they were no nearer to their father's home than they had +been the day previous. + +"If we could but find our way back to the 'Cold Creek,' we might, by +following its course, return to Cold Springs," said Hector. + +"I doubt much the fact of the 'Cold Creek' having any connection with +our Spring," said Louis; "I think it has its rise in the Beaver +Meadow, and following its course would only entangle us among those +wolfish balsam and cedar swamps, or lead us yet further astray into +the thick recesses of the pine forest. For my part, I believe we are +already fifty miles from Cold Springs." + +Persons who lose their way in the pathless woods have no idea of +distance, or the points of the compass, unless they can see the sun +rise and set, which it is not possible to do when surrounded by the +dense growth of forest-trees; they rather measure distance by the time +they have been wandering, than by any other token. + +The children knew that they had been a long time absent from home, +wandering hither and thither and they fancied their journey had been +as long as it had been weary. They had indeed the comfort of seeing +the sun in its course from east to west, but they knew not in what +direction the home they had lost lay; it was this that troubled them +in their choice of the course they should take each day, and at last +determined them to lose no more time so fruitlessly, where the peril +was so great, but seek for some pleasant spot where they might pass +their time in safety, and provide for their present and future wants. + + "The world was all before them, where to choose + Their place of rest, and Providence their guide." + +Catharine declared her ankle was so much stronger than it had been +since the accident, and her health so much amended, that the day after +the conversation just recorded, the little party bade farewell to the +valley of the "Big Stone," and ascending the steep sides of the hills, +bent their steps eastward, keeping the lake to their left hand. Hector +led the way, loaded with the axe, which he would trust to no one but +himself, the tin-pot, and the birch basket. Louis had to assist his +cousin up the steep banks, likewise some fish to carry, which had been +caught early in the morning. + +The wanderers thought at first to explore the ground near the lake +shore, but soon abandoned this resolution on finding the undergrowth +of trees and bushes become so thick that they made little progress, +and the fatigue of travelling was greatly increased by having +continually to put aside the bushes or bend them down. + +Hector advised trying the higher ground; and after following a +deer-path through a small ravine that crossed the hills, they found +themselves on a fine extent of table-land, richly but not too densely +wooded with white and black oaks (_Quercus alba_, and _Quercus +nigra_), diversified with here and there a solitary pine, which +reared its straight and pillar-like trunk in stately grandeur above +its leafy companions; a meet eyrie for the bald eagle, that kept watch +from its dark crest over the silent waters of the lake, spread below +like a silver zone studded with emeralds. + +In their progress they passed the head of many small ravines, which +divided the hilly shores of the lake into deep furrows: these furrows +had once been channels by which the waters of some upper lake (the +site of which is now dry land) had at a former period poured down into +the valley, filling the basin of what now is called the Rice Lake. +These waters, with resistless sweep, had ploughed their way between +the hills, bearing in their course those blocks of granite and +limestone which are so widely scattered both on the hill-tops and the +plains, or form a rocky pavement at the bottom of the narrow defiles. +What a sight of sublime desolation must that outpouring of the waters +have presented, when those deep banks were riven by the sweeping +torrents that were loosened from their former bounds! The pleased eye +rests upon these tranquil shores, now covered with oaks and pines, or +waving with a flood of golden grain, or varied by neat dwellings and +fruitful gardens; and the gazer on that peaceful scene scarcely +pictures to himself what it must have been when no living eye was +there to mark the rushing floods when they scooped to themselves the +deep bed in which they now repose. + +Those lovely islands that sit like stately crowns upon the waters were +doubtless the wreck that remained of the valley; elevated spots, whose +rocky bases withstood the force of the rushing waters, that carried +away the lighter portions of the soil. The southern shore, seen from +the lake, seems to lie in regular ridges running from south to north: +some few are parallel with the lake shore, possibly where some +insurmountable impediment turned the current of the subsiding waters; +but they all find an outlet through their connection with ravines +communicating with the lake. + +There is a beautiful level tract of land; with only here and there a +solitary oak or a few stately pines growing upon it; it is commonly +called the "Upper Race-course," on account of the smoothness of the +surface. It forms a high table-land, nearly three hundred feet above +the lake, and is surrounded by high hills. This spot, though now dry +and covered with turf and flowers, and low bushes, has evidently once +been a broad sheet of water. To the eastward lies a still more lovely +and attractive spot, known as the "Lower Race-course." It lies on a +lower level than the former one, and, like it, is embanked by a ridge +of distant hills. Both have ravines leading down to the Rice Lake, and +may have been the sources from whence its channel was filled. Some +convulsion of nature at a remote period, by raising the waters above +their natural level, might have caused a disruption of the banks, and +drained their beds, as they now appear ready for the ploughshare or +the spade. In the month of June these flats are brilliant with the +splendid blossoms of the _Castilegia coccinea_, or painted-cup, the +azure lupine (_Lupinus perennis_), and snowy _Trillium_; dwarf roses +(_Rosa blanda_) scent the evening air, and grow as if planted by the +hand of taste. + +A carpeting of the small downy saxifrage (_Saxifraga nivalis_), with +its white silky leaves, covers the ground in early spring. In autumn +it is red with the bright berries and dark box-shaped leaves of a +species of creeping winter-green, that the Indians call spice-berry +(_Gaultheria procumbens_); the leaves are highly aromatic, and it is +medicinal as well as agreeable to the taste and smell. In the month of +July a gorgeous assemblage of orange lilies (_Lilium Philadelphicum_) +take the place of the lupine and trilliums: these splendid lilies vary +from orange to the brightest scarlet. Various species of sunflowers +and coreopsis next appear, and elegant white _pyrolas_ [Footnote: +Indian bean, also called Indian potato (_Apios tuberosa_).] scent the +air and charm the eye. The delicate lilac and white shrubby asters +next appear; and these are followed by the large deep-blue gentian, +and here and there by the elegant fringed gentian. [Footnote: Gentiana +linearis, G. crenata.] These are the latest and loveliest of the +flowers that adorn this tract of land. It is indeed a garden of +nature's own planting, but the wild garden is being converted into +fields of grain, and the wild flowers give place to a new race of +vegetables, less ornamental, but more useful to man and the races of +domestic animals that depend upon him for their support. + +Our travellers, after wandering over this lovely plain, found +themselves, at the close of the day, at the head of a fine ravine, +[Footnote: Kilvert's Ravine, above Pine-tree Point.] where they had +the good fortune to perceive a spring of pure water oozing beneath +some large moss-covered blocks of black waterworn granite. The ground +was thickly covered with moss about the edges of the spring, and many +varieties of flowering shrubs and fruits were scattered along the +valley and up the steep sides of the surrounding hills. There were +whortleberries, or huckleberries, as they are more usually called, in +abundance; bilberries dead ripe, and falling from the bushes at a +touch. The vines that wreathed the low bushes and climbed the trees +were loaded with clusters of grapes; but these were yet hard and +green. Dwarf filberts grew on the dry gravelly sides of the hills, yet +the rough prickly calyx that enclosed the nut filled their fingers +with minute thorns that irritated the skin like the stings of the +nettle; but as the kernel, when ripe, was sweet and good, they did not +mind the consequences. The moist part of the valley was occupied by a +large bed of May-apples, [Footnote: _Podophyllum peltatum_,--mandrake, +or May-apple.] the fruit of which was of unusual size, but they were +not ripe, August being the month when they ripen; there were also wild +plums still green, and wild cherries and blackberries ripening. There +were great numbers of the woodchucks' burrows on the hills; wild +partridges and quails were seen under the thick covert of the +blue-berried dog-wood, [Footnote: _Cornus sericea_. The blue berries +of this shrub are eaten by the partridge and wild ducks; also by the +pigeons, and other birds. There are several species of this shrub +common to the Rice Lake.] that here grew in abundance at the mouth of +the ravine where it opened to the lake. As this spot offered many +advantages, our travellers halted for the night, and resolved to make +it their headquarters for a season, till they should meet with an +eligible situation for building a winter shelter. + +Here, then, at the head of the valley, sheltered by one of the rounded +hills that formed its sides, our young people erected a summer hut, +somewhat after the fashion of an Indian wigwam, which was all the +shelter that was requisite while the weather remained so warm. Through +the opening at the gorge of this ravine they enjoyed a peep at the +distant waters of the lake, which terminated the vista, while they +were quite removed from its unwholesome vapours. + +The temperature of the air for some days had been hot and sultry, +scarcely modified by the cool, delicious breeze that usually sets in +about nine o'clock and blows most refreshingly till four or five in +the afternoon. Hector and Louis had gone down to fish for supper, +while Catharine busied herself in collecting leaves and dried +deer-grass, moss and fern, of which there was abundance near the +spring. The boys had promised to cut some fresh cedar boughs near the +lake shore, and bring them up to form a foundation for their beds, and +also to strew Indian-fashion over the floor of the hut by way of a +carpet. + +The fragrant carpet of cedar or hemlock-spruce sprigs strewn lightly +over the earthen floor, was to them a luxury as great as if it had +been taken from the looms of Persia or Turkey, so happy and contented +were they in their ignorance. Their beds of freshly gathered grass and +leaves, raised from the earth by a heap of branches carefully +arranged, were to them as pleasant as beds of down, and the rude hut +of bark and poles as curtains of damask or silk. + +Having collected as much of these materials as she deemed sufficient +for the purpose, Catharine next gathered up the dry oak branches, to +make a watch-fire for the night. This done, weary and warm, she sat +down on a little hillock, beneath the cooling shade of a grove of +young aspens that grew near the hut. Pleased with the dancing of the +leaves, which fluttered above her head, and fanned her warm cheek with +their incessant motion, she thought, like her cousin Louise, that the +aspen was the merriest tree in the forest, for it was always dancing, +dancing, dancing. + +She watched the gathering of the distant thunderclouds, which cast a +deeper, more sombre shade upon the pines that girded the northern +shores of the lake as with an ebon frame. Insensibly her thoughts +wandered far away from the lonely spot whereon she sat, to the stoup +[Footnote: The Dutch word for veranda, which is still in common use +among the Canadians.] in front of her father's house, and in memory's +eye she beheld it all exactly as she had left it. There stood the big +spinning-wheel, just as she had set it aside; the hanks of dyed yarn +suspended from the rafters, the basket filled with the carded wool +ready for her work. She saw in fancy her father, with his fine +athletic upright figure, his sunburnt cheeks and clustering sable +hair, his clear energetic hazel eyes ever beaming upon her, his +favourite child, with looks of love and kindness as she moved to and +fro at her wheel. [Footnote: Such is the method of working at the +large wool-wheel, unknown or obsolete in England.] There, too, was her +mother, with her light step and sweet cheerful voice, singing as she +pursued her daily avocations; and Donald and Kenneth driving up the +cows to be milked, or chopping firewood. And as these images, like the +figures of the magic-lantern, passed in all their living colours +before her mental vision, her head drooped heavier and lower till it +sank upon her arm; and then she started, looked round, and slept +again, her face deeply buried in her young bosom, and long and +peacefully the young girl slumbered. + +A sound of hurrying feet approaches, a wild cry is heard and panting +breath, and the sleeper, with a startling scream, springs to her feet: +she dreamed that she was struggling in the fangs of a wolf--its grisly +paws were clasped about her throat; the feeling was agony and +suffocation: her languid eyes open. Can it be?--what is it that she +sees? Yes, it is Wolfe; not the fierce creature of her dreams by night +and her fears by day, but her father's own brave, devoted dog. What +joy, what hope rushed to her heart! She threw herself upon the shaggy +neck of the faithful beast, and wept from fulness of heart. + +"Yes," she joyfully cried, "I knew that I should see him again. My own +dear, dear, loving father! Father! father! dear, dear father, here are +your children! Come, come quickly!" and she hurried to the head of the +valley, raising her voice, that the beloved parent, who she now +confidently believed was approaching, might be guided to the spot by +the well-known sound of her voice. + +Poor child! the echoes of thy eager voice, prolonged by every +projecting headland of the valley, replied in mocking tones, "Come +quickly!" + +Bewildered she paused, listened breathlessly, and again she called, +"Father, come quickly, come!" and again the deceitful sounds were +repeated, "Quickly come!" + +The faithful dog, who had succeeded in tracking the steps of his lost +mistress, raised his head and erected his ears as she called on her +father's name; but he gave no joyful bark of recognition as he was +wont to do when he heard his master's step approaching. Still +Catharine could not but think that Wolfe had only hurried on before, +and that her father must be very near. + +The sound of her voice had been heard by her brother and cousin, who, +fearing some evil beast had made its way to the wigwam, hastily wound +up their line and left the fishing-ground to hurry to her assistance. +They could hardly believe their eyes when they saw Wolfe, faithful old +Wolfe, their earliest friend and playfellow, named by their father +after the gallant hero of Quebec. And they too, like Catharine, +thought that their friends were not far distant; joyfully they climbed +the hills and shouted aloud, and Wolfe was coaxed and caressed and +besought to follow them to point out the way they should take. But all +their entreaties were in vain. Worn out with fatigue and long fasting, +the poor old dog refused to quit the embers of the fire, before which +he stretched himself, and the boys now noticed his gaunt frame and +wasted flesh--he looked almost starved. The fact now became evident +that he was in a state of great exhaustion. Catharine thought he eyed +the spring with wishful looks, and she soon supplied him with water in +the bark dish to his great relief. + +Wolfe had been out for several days with his master, who would repeat, +in tones of sad earnestness, to the faithful creature, "Lost, lost, +lost!" It was his custom to do so when the cattle strayed, and Wolfe +would travel in all directions till he found them, nor ceased his +search till he discovered the objects he was ordered to bring home. +The last night of the father's wanderings, when, sick and hopeless, he +came back to his melancholy home, as he sat sleeplessly rocking +himself to and fro, he involuntarily exclaimed, wringing his hands, +"Lost, lost, lost!" Wolfe heard what to him was an imperative command; +he rose, and stood at the door, and whined. Mechanically his master +rose, lifted the latch, and again exclaimed in passionate tones those +magic words, that sent the faithful messenger forth into the dark +forest path. Once on the trail he never left it, but with an instinct +incomprehensible as it was powerful, he continued to track the woods, +lingering long on spots where the wanderers had left any signs of +their sojourn; he had for some time been baffled at the Beaver Meadow, +and again where they had crossed Cold Creek, but had regained the +scent and traced them to the valley of the "Big Stone," and then, with +the sagacity of the bloodhound and the affection of the terrier he +had, at last, discovered the objects of his unwearied though often +baffled search. + +What a state of excitement did the unexpected arrival of old Wolfe +create! How many questions were put to the poor beast, as he lay with +his head pillowed on the knees of his loving mistress! Catharine knew +it was foolish, but she could not help talking to the dumb animal, as +if he had been conversant with her own language. Ah, old Wolfe, if +your homesick nurse could but have interpreted those expressive looks, +those eloquent waggings of your bushy tail, as it flapped upon the +grass, or waved from side to side; those gentle lickings of the hand, +and mute sorrowful glances, as though he would have said, "Dear +mistress, I know all your troubles; I know all you say; but I cannot +answer you!" There is something touching in the silent sympathy of the +dog, to which only the hard-hearted and depraved can be quite +insensible. I remember once hearing of a felon who had shown the +greatest obstinacy and callous indifference to the appeals of his +relations and the clergyman who attended him in prison, but was +softened by the sight of a little dog that had been his companion in +his days of comparative innocence, forcing its way through the crowd, +till it gained the foot of the gallows; its mute look of anguish and +affection unlocked the fount of human feeling, and the condemned man +wept--perhaps the first tears he had shed since childhood's happy +days. + +The night closed in with a tempest of almost tropical violence. The +inky darkness of the sky was relieved, at intervals, by sheets of +lurid flame, which revealed every object far off or near. The distant +lake, just seen amid the screen of leaves through the gorge of the +valley, gleamed like a sea of molten sulphur; the deep narrow defile, +shut in by the steep and wooded hills, looked deeper, more wild and +gloomy, when revealed by that vivid glare of light. + +There was no stir among the trees, the heavy rounded masses of foliage +remained unmoved; the very aspen, that tremulous sensitive tree, +scarcely stirred: it seemed as if the very pulses of nature were at +rest. The solemn murmur that preceded the thunder-peals might have +been likened to the moaning of the dying. The children felt the +loneliness of the spot. Seated at the entrance of their sylvan hut, in +front of which their evening fire burned brightly, they looked out +upon the storm in silence and in awe. Screened by the sheltering +shrubs that grew near them, they felt comparatively safe from the +dangers of the storm, which now burst in terrific violence above the +valley. Cloud answered to cloud, and the echoes of the hills prolonged +the sound, while shattered trunks and brittle branches filled the air, +and shrieked and groaned in that wild war of elements. + +Between the pauses of the tempest the long howl of the wolves, from +their covert in some distant cedar swamp at the edge of the lake, +might be heard from time to time,--a sound that always thrilled their +hearts with fear. To the mighty thunder-peals that burst above their +heads they listened with awe and wonder. It seemed, indeed, to them as +if it were the voice of Him who "sendeth out his voice, yea, and that +a mighty voice." And they bowed and adored his majesty; but they +shrank with curdled blood from the cry of the _felon wolf_. + +And now the storm was at its climax, and the hail and rain came down +in a whitening flood upon that ocean of forest leaves; the old gray +branches were lifted up and down, and the stout trunks rent, for they +would not bow down before the fury of the whirlwind, and were +scattered all abroad like chaff before the wind. + +The children thought not of danger for themselves, but they feared for +the safety of their fathers, whom they believed to be not far off from +them. And often amid the raging of the elements they fancied they +could distinguish familiar voices calling upon their names. + +"Ah, if our fathers should have perished in this fearful storm," said +Catharine, weeping, "or have been starved to death while seeking for +us!" She covered her face and wept more bitterly. + +But Louis would not listen to such melancholy forebodings. Their +fathers were both brave, hardy men, accustomed to every sort of danger +and privation; they were able to take care of themselves. Yes, he was +sure they were not far off; it was this unlucky storm coming on that +had prevented them from meeting. + +"To-morrow, ma chere, will be a glorious day after the storm. It will +be a joyful one too; we shall go out with Wolfe, and he will find his +master, and then--oh, yes! I dare say my dear father will be with +yours. They will have taken good heed to the track, and we shall soon +see our dear mothers and chere petite Louise." + +The storm lasted till past midnight, when it gradually subsided, and +the poor wanderers were glad to see the murky clouds roll off, and the +stars peep forth among their broken masses; but they were reduced to a +pitiful state, the hurricane having beaten down their little hut, and +their garments were drenched with rain. However, the boys made a good +fire with some bark and boughs they had in store: there were a few +sparks in their back log unextinguished; these they gladly fanned up +into a blaze, at which they dried their wet clothes, and warmed +themselves. The air was now cool almost to chilliness; for some days +the weather remained unsettled, and the sky overcast with clouds, +while the lake presented a leaden hue, crested with white mimic waves. + +They soon set to work to make another hut, and found close to the head +of the ravine a great pine uprooted, affording them large pieces of +bark, which proved very serviceable in thatching the sides of the hut. +The boys employed themselves in this work, while Catharine cooked the +fish they had caught the day before, with a share of which old Wolfe +seemed to be mightily well pleased. After they had breakfasted, they +all went up towards the high table-land above the ravine, with Wolfe, +to look round in hope of getting sight of their friends from Cold +Springs; but though they kept an anxious look-out in every direction, +they returned towards evening tired and hopeless. Hector had killed a +red squirrel, and a partridge which Wolfe "treed,"--that is, stood +barking at the foot of the tree in which it had perched,--and the +supply of meat was a seasonable change. They also noticed and marked +with the axe, several trees where there were bee-hives, intending to +come in the cold weather and cut them down. Louis's father was a great +and successful bee-hunter; and Louis rather prided himself on having +learned something of his father's skill in that line. Here, where +flowers were so abundant and water plentiful; the wild bees seemed to +be abundant also; besides, the open space between the trees, admitting +the warm sunbeams freely, was favourable both for the bees and the +flowers on which they fed, and Louis talked joyfully of the fine +stores of honey they should collect in autumn. He had taught little +Fanchon, a small French spaniel of his father's, to find out the trees +where the bees hived, and also the nests of the ground-bees, and she +would bark at the foot of the tree, or scratch with her feet on the +ground, as the other dogs barked at the squirrels or the woodchucks; +but Fanchon was far away, and Wolfe was old and would learn no new +tricks, so Louis knew he had nothing but his own observation and the +axe to depend upon for procuring honey. + +The boys had been unsuccessful for some days past, in fishing; neither +perch nor sunfish, pink roach nor mud-pouts [Footnote: All these fish +are indigenous to the fresh waters of Canada.] were to be caught. +However, they found water-mussels by groping in the sand, and +cray-fish among the gravel at the edge of the water only; the latter +pinched their fingers very spitefully. The mussels were not very +palatable, for want of salt; but hungry folks must not be dainty, and +Louis declared them very good when well roasted, covered up with hot +embers. "The fish-hawks," said he, "set us a good example, for they +eat them, and so do the eagles and herons. I watched one the other day +with a mussel in his bill: he flew to a high tree, let his prey fall, +and immediately darted down to secure it. But I drove him off; and, to +my great amusement, perceived the wise fellow had just let it fall on +a stone, which had cracked the shell for him just in the right place. +I often see shells lying at the foot of trees, far up the hills, where +these birds must have left them. There is one large thick-shelled +mussel that I have found several times with a round hole drilled +through the shell, just as if it had been done with a small +auger,--doubtless the work of some bird with a strong beak." + +"Do you remember," said Catharine, "the fine pink mussel-shell that +Hec picked up in the little corn-field last year? It had a hole in one +of the shells too, [Footnote: This ingenious mode of cracking the +shells of mussels is common to many birds. The crow (_Corvus corone_) +has been long known by American naturalists to break the thick shells +of the river mussels, by letting them fall from a height on to rocks +and stones.] and when my uncle saw it, he said it must have been +dropped by some large bird, a fish-hawk possibly, or a heron, and +brought from the great lake, as it had been taken out of some deep +water; the mussels in our creeks being quite thin-shelled and white." + +"Do you remember what a quantity of large fish bones we found in the +eagle's nest on the top of our hill, Louis?" said Hector. + +"I do. Those fish must have been larger than our perch and sunfish; +they were brought from this very lake, I dare say." + +"If we had a good canoe now, or a boat, and a strong hook and line, we +might become great fishermen." + +"Louis," said Catharine, "is always thinking about canoes, and boats, +and skiffs; he ought to have been a sailor." + +Louis was confident that if they had a canoe he could soon learn to +manage her; he was an excellent sailor already in theory. Louis never +saw difficulties; he was always hopeful, and had a very good opinion +of his own cleverness; he was quicker in most things, his ideas flowed +faster than Hector's. But Hector was more prudent, and possessed one +valuable quality--steady perseverance: he was slow in adopting an +opinion, but when once convinced, he pushed on steadily till he +mastered the subject or overcame the obstacle. + +"Catharine," said Louis one day, "the huckleberries are now very +plentiful, and I think it would be a wise thing to gather a good store +of them and dry them for the winter. See, ma chere, wherever we turn +our eyes or place our feet they are to be found; the hill-sides are +purple with them. We may for aught we know, be obliged to pass the +rest of our lives here; it will be well to prepare for the winter, +when no berries are to be found." + +"It will be well, mon ami. But we must not dry them in the sun; for +let me tell you, Mr. Louis, that they will be quite tasteless--mere +dry husks." + +"Why so, ma belle?" + +"I do not know the reason, but I only know the fact; for when our +mothers dried the currants and raspberries in the sun, such was the +case; but when they dried them on the oven floor, or on the hearth, +they were quite nice." + +"Well, Cath, I think I know of a flat thin stone that will make a good +hearthstone; and we can get sheets of birch bark and sew into flat +bags to keep the dried fruit in." + +They now turned all their attention to drying huckleberries (or +whortleberries). [Footnote: From the abundance of this fruit, the +Indians have given the name of Whortleberry Plain to the lands on the +south shore. During the month of July and the early part of August, +large parties come to the Rice Lake Plains to gather huckleberries, +which they preserve by drying, for winter use. These berries make a +delicious tart or pudding, mixed with bilberries and red currants, +requiring little sugar.] Catharine and Louis (who fancied nothing +could be contrived without his help) attended to the preparing and +making of the bags of birch bark; but Hector was soon tired of girl's +work, as he termed it, and after gathering some berries, would wander +away over the hills in search of game and to explore the neighbouring +hills and valleys, and sometimes it was sunset before he made his +appearance. Hector had made an excellent strong bow, like the Indian +bow, out of a tough piece of hickory wood, which he found in one of +his rambles, and he made arrows with wood that he seasoned in the +smoke, sharpening the heads with great care with his knife, and +hardening them by exposure to strong heat, at a certain distance from +the fire. The entrails of the woodchuck, stretched, and scraped, and +dried, and rendered pliable by rubbing and drawing through the hands, +answered for a bow-string; but afterwards, when they got the sinews +and hide of the deer, they used them, properly dressed for the +purpose. + +Hector also made a cross-bow, which he used with great effect, being a +true and steady marksman. Louis and he would often amuse themselves +with shooting at a mark, which they would chip on the bark of a tree, +even Catharine was a tolerable archeress with the long-bow, and the +hut was now seldom without game of one kind or other. Hector seldom +returned from his rambles without partridges, quails, or young +pigeons, which are plentiful at this season of the year; many of the +old ones that pass over in their migratory flight in the spring stay +to breed, or return thither for the acorns and berries that are to be +found in great abundance. Squirrels, too, are very plentiful at this +season. Hector and Louis remarked that the red and black squirrels +never were to be found very near each other. It is a common belief +that the red squirrels make common cause with the gray, and beat the +larger enemy off the ground. The black squirrel, for a succession of +years, was very rarely to be met with on the Plains, while there were +plenty of the red and gray in the "oak openings." [Footnote: Within +the last few years, however, the black squirrels have been very +numerous, and the red are less frequently to be seen. The flesh of the +black squirrel is tender, white, and delicate, like that of a young +rabbit.] Deer, at the time our young Crusoes were living on the Rice +Lake Plains, were plentiful, and, of course, so were those beasts that +prey upon them,--wolves, bears, and wolverines, besides the Canadian +lynx, or catamount, as it is here commonly called, a species of wild +cat or panther. These wild animals are now no longer to be seen: it is +a rare thing to hear of bears or wolves, and the wolverine and lynx +are known only as matters of history in this part of the country. +These animals disappear as civilization advances, while some others +increase and follow man, especially many species of birds, which seem +to pick up the crumbs that fall from the rich man's board, and +multiply about his dwelling; some adopt new habits and modes of +building and feeding, according to the alteration and improvement in +their circumstances. + +While our young people seldom wanted for meat, they felt the privation +of the bread to which they had been accustomed very sensibly. One day, +while Hector and Louis were busily engaged with their assistant, +Wolfe, in unearthing a woodchuck, that had taken refuge in his burrow, +on one of the gravelly hills above the lake, Catharine amused herself +by looking for flowers. She had filled her lap with ripe May-apples, +[Footnote: The fruit of the May-apple, in rich, moist soil, will +attain to the size of the magnum bonum, or egg-plum, which it +resembles in colour and shape. It makes a delicious preserve, if +seasoned with cloves or ginger. When eaten uncooked, the outer rind, +which is thick and fleshy and has a rank taste, should be thrown +aside; the fine seed pulp in which the seeds are embedded alone should +be eaten. The root of the podophyllum is used as a cathartic by the +Indians. The root of this plant is reticulated, and when a large body +of them are uncovered, they present a singular appearance, interlacing +each other in large meshes like an extensive net-work. These roots are +white, as thick as a man's little finger, and fragrant, and spread +horizontally along the surface. The blossom is like a small white +rose.] but finding them cumbersome in climbing the steep wooded hills, +she deposited them at the foot of a tree near the boys, and pursued +her search; and it was not long before she perceived some pretty +grassy-looking plants, with heads of bright lilac flowers, and on +plucking one pulled up the root also. The root was about the size and +shape of a large crocus: and on biting it, she found it far from +disagreeable--sweet, and slightly astringent. It seemed to be a +favourite root with the woodchucks, for she noticed that it grew about +their burrows on dry, gravelly soil, and many of the stems were bitten +and the roots eaten--a warrant, in full, of wholesomeness. Therefore, +carrying home a parcel of the largest of the roots, she roasted them +in the embers; and they proved almost as good as chestnuts, and more +satisfying than the acorns of the white oak, which they had often +roasted in the fire when they were out working on the fallow at the +log heaps. Hector and Louis ate heartily of the roots, and commended +Catharine for the discovery. Not many days afterwards, Louis +accidentally found a much larger and more valuable root near the lake +shore. He saw a fine climbing shrub, with close bunches of dark, +reddish-purple, pea-shaped flowers, which scented the air with a +delicious perfume. The plant climbed to a great height over the young +trees, with a profusion of dark-green leaves and tendrils. Pleased +with the bowery appearance of the plant, he tried to pull one up, that +he might show it to his cousin, when the root displayed a number of +large tubers, as big as good-sized potatoes, regular oval-shaped; the +inside was quite white, tasting somewhat like a potato, only +pleasanter, when in its raw state, than an uncooked potato. Louis +gathered his pockets full, and hastened home with his prize; and on +being roasted, these new roots were decided to be little inferior to +potatoes--at all events, they were a valuable addition to their +slender stores; and they procured as many as they could find, +carefully storing them in a hole which they dug for that purpose in a +corner of their hut. [Footnote: This plant appears to me to be a +species of the _Psoralea esculenta_, or Indian bread-root, which it +resembles in description, excepting that the root of the above is +tuberous, oval, and connected by long filaments. The largest tubers +are farthest from the stem of the plant.] Hector suggested that these +roots would be far better late in autumn or early in the spring than +during the time that the plant was in bloom; for he knew from +observation and experience that at the flowering season the greater +part of the nourishment derived from the soil goes to perfect the +flower and the seeds. Upon scraping the cut tuber, there was a white, +floury powder produced, resembling the starchy substance of the +potato. + +"This flour," said Catharine, "would make good porridge with milk." + +"Excellent, no doubt, my wise little cook and housekeeper," said Louis +laughing; "but, ma belle cousine, where is the milk and where is the +porridge-pot to come from?" + +"Indeed," said Catharine, "I fear, Louis, we must wait long for both." + +One fine day Louis returned home from the lake shore in great haste +for the bows and arrows, with the interesting news that a herd of five +deer were in the water, and making for Long Island. + +"But, Louis, they will be gone out of sight and beyond the reach of +the arrows," said Catharine, as she handed him down the bows and a +sheaf of arrows, which she quickly slung round his shoulders by the +belt of skin which the young hunter had made for himself. + +"No fear, ma chere; they will stop to feed on the beds of rice and +lilies. We must have Wolfe. Here, Wolfe, Wolfe, Wolfe! here, boy, +here!" + +Catharine caught a portion of the excitement that danced in the bright +eyes of her cousin, and declaring that she too would go and witness +the hunt, ran down the ravine by his side; while Wolfe, who evidently +understood that they had some sport in view, trotted along by his +mistress, wagging his great bushy tail, and looking in high +good-humour. + +Hector was impatiently waiting the arrival of the bows and Wolfe. The +herd of deer, consisting of a noble buck, two full-grown females, and +two young half-grown males, were quietly feeding among the beds of +rice and rushes not more than fifteen or twenty yards from the shore, +apparently quite unconcerned at the presence of Hector, who stood on a +fallen trunk, eagerly eying their motions. But the hurried steps of +Louis and Catharine, with the deep, sonorous baying of Wolfe, soon +roused the timid creatures to a sense of danger; and the stag, raising +his head and making, as the children thought, a signal for retreat, +now struck boldly out for the nearest point of Long Island. + +"We shall lose them," cried Louis despairingly, eying the long bright +track that cut the silvery waters as the deer swam gallantly out. + +"Hist, hist, Louis," said Hector; "all depends upon Wolfe--Turn them, +Wolfe! hey, hey, seek them, boy!" + +Wolfe dashed bravely into the lake. + +"Head them! head them!" shouted Hector. Wolfe knew what was meant. +With the sagacity of a long-trained hunter, he made a desperate effort +to gain the advantage by a circuitous route. Twice the stag turned +irresolute, as if to face his foe, and Wolfe, taking the time, swam +ahead, and then the race began. As soon as the boys saw the herd had +turned, and that Wolfe was between them and the island, they +separated, Louis making good his ambush to the right among the cedars, +and Hector at the spring to the west, while Catharine was stationed at +the solitary pine-tree, at the point which commanded the entrance of +the ravine. + +"Now, Cathy," said her brother, "when you see the herd making for the +ravine, shout and clap your hands, and they will turn either to the +right or to the left. Do not let them land, or we shall lose them. We +must trust to Wolfe for their not escaping to the island. Wolfe is +well trained; he knows what he is about." + +Catharine proved a dutiful ally. She did as she was bid. She waited +till the deer were within a few yards of the shore, then she shouted +and clapped her hands. Frightened at the noise and clamour, the +terrified creatures coasted along for some way, till within a little +distance of the thicket where Hector lay concealed--the very spot from +which they had emerged when they first took to the water; to this +place they boldly steered. Louis, who had watched the direction the +herd had taken with breathless interest, now noiselessly hurried to +Hector's assistance, taking an advantageous post for aim, in case +Hector's arrow missed, or only slightly wounded one of the deer. + +Hector, crouched beneath the trees, waited cautiously till one of the +does was within reach of his arrow, and so good and true was his aim, +that it hit the animal in the throat a little above the chest, The +stag now turned again, but Wolfe was behind and pressed him forward, +and again the noble animal strained every nerve for the shore. Louis +now shot his arrow, but it swerved from the mark. He was too eager; +the arrow glanced harmlessly along the water. But the cool, +unimpassioned hand of Hector sent another arrow between the eyes of +the doe, stunning her with its force; and then another from Louis laid +her on her side, dying, and staining the water with her blood. + +The herd, abandoning their dying companion, dashed frantically to the +shore; and the young hunters, elated by their success, suffered them +to make good their landing without further molestation. Wolfe, at a +signal from his master, ran in the quarry, and Louis declared +exultingly that as his last arrow had given the _coup de grace_, +he was entitled to the honour of cutting the throat of the doe; but +this the stern Highlander protested against, and Louis, with a +careless laugh, yielded the point, contenting himself with saying, "Ah +well, I will get the first steak of the venison when it is roasted, +and that is far more to my taste." Moreover, he privately recounted to +Catharine the important share he had had in the exploit, giving her, +at the same time, full credit for the worthy service she had performed +in withstanding the landing of the herd. Wolfe, too, came in for a +large share of the honour and glory of the chase. + +The boys were soon hard at work skinning the animal and cutting it up. +This was the most valuable acquisition they had yet effected, for many +uses were to be made of the deer besides eating the flesh. It was a +store of wealth in their eyes. + +During the many years that their fathers had sojourned in the country, +there had been occasional intercourse with the fur-traders and +trappers, and sometimes with friendly-disposed Indians who had called +at the lodges of their white brothers for food and tobacco. + +From all these men, rude as they were, some practical knowledge had +been acquired; and their visits, though few and far between, had left +good fruit behind them--something to think about and talk about and +turn to future advantage. + +The boys had learned from the Indians how precious were the tough +sinews of the deer for sewing. They knew how to prepare the skins of +the deer for moccasins, which they could cut out and make as neatly as +the squaws themselves. They could fashion arrow-heads, and knew how +best to season the wood for making both the long and cross bow. They +had seen the fish-hooks these people manufactured from bone and hard +wood. They knew that strips of fresh-cut skins would make bowstrings, +or the entrails of animals dried and rendered pliable. They had +watched the squaws making baskets of the inner bark of the oak, elm, +and bass-wood, and mats of the inner bark of the cedar, with many +other ingenious works that they now found would prove useful to them, +after a little practice had perfected their inexperienced attempts. +They also knew how to dry venison as the Indians and trappers prepare +it, by cutting the thick fleshy portions of the meat into strips from +four to six inches in breadth and two or more in thickness. These +strips they strung upon poles supported on forked sticks, and exposed +them to the drying action of the sun and wind. Fish they split open, +and removed the back and head bones, and smoked them slightly, or +dried them in the sun. + +Their success in killing the doe greatly raised their spirits; in +their joy they embraced each other, and bestowed the most affectionate +caresses on Wolfe for his good conduct. + +"But for this dear, wise old fellow, we should have had no venison for +dinner to-day," said Louis; "and so, Wolfe, you shall have a choice +piece for your own share." + +Every part of the deer seemed valuable in the eyes of the young +hunters. The skin they carefully stretched out upon sticks to dry +gradually, and the entrails they also preserved for bow-strings. The +sinews of the legs and back they drew out and laid carefully aside for +future use. + +"We shall be glad enough of these strings by-and-by," said careful +Hector; "for the summer will soon be at an end, and then we must turn +our attention to making ourselves winter clothes and moccasins." + +"Yes, Hec, and a good warm shanty. These huts of bark and boughs will +not do when once the cold weather sets in." + +"A shanty could soon be put up," said Hector; "for even Kate, wee bit +lassie as she is, could give us some help in trimming up the logs." + +"That I could, indeed," replied Catharine; "for you may remember, Hec, +that the last journey my father made to the Bay, [Footnote: Bay of +Quinte.] with the pack of furs, that you and I called a _Bee_ +[Footnote: A Bee is a practical instance of duty to a neighbour. We +fear it is peculiar to Canada, although deserving of imitation in all +Christian colonies. When any work which requires many hands is in the +course of performance, as the building of log houses, barns, or +shanties, all the neighbours are summoned, and give their best +assistance in the construction. Of course the assisted party is liable +to be called upon by the community in turn, to repay in kind the help +he has received.] to put up a shed for the new cow that he was to +drive back with him, and I am sure Mathilde and I did as much good as +you and Louis. You know you said you could not have got on nearly so +well without our help." + +"After all," said Hector thoughtfully, "children can do a great many +things if they only resolutely set to work, and use the wits and the +strength that God has given them to work with. A few weeks ago and we +should have thought it utterly impossible to have supported ourselves +in a lonely wilderness like this by our own exertions in fishing and +hunting." + +"If we had been lost in the forest we must have died with hunger," +said Catharine; "but let us be thankful to the good God who led us +hither, and gave us health and strength to help ourselves." + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + "Aye from the sultry heat, + We to our cave retreat, + O'er canopied by huge roots, intertwined, + Of wildest texture, blackened o'er with age." + + COLERIDGE. + + +"Louis, what are you cutting out of that bit OF wood?" said Catharine, +the very next day after the first ideas of the shanty had been +started. + +"Hollowing out a canoe." + +"Out of that piece of stick!" said Catharine, laughing. "How many +passengers is it to accommodate, my dear?" + +"I am only making a model. My canoe will be made out of a big pine +log, and large enough to hold three." + +"Is it to be like the big sap-trough in the sugar-bush at home?" + +Louis nodded assent. "I long to go over to the island; I see lots of +ducks popping in and out of the little bays beneath the cedars, and +there are plenty of partridges, I am sure, and squirrels--it is the +very place for them." + +"And shall we have a sail as well as oars?" + +"Yes; set up your apron for a sail." + +Catharine cast a rueful look upon the tattered remnant of the apron. + +"It is worth nothing now," she said, sighing; "and what am I to do +when my gown is worn out? It is a good thing it is so strong; if it +had been cotton, now, it would have been torn to bits among the +bushes." + +"We must make clothes of skins as soon as we get enough," said +Hector.--"Louis, I think you can manufacture a bone needle; we can +pierce the hole with the strong thorns, or a little round bone bodkin +that can be easily made." + +"The first rainy day we will see what we can do," replied Louis; "but +I am full of my canoe just now." + +"Indeed, Louis, I believe you never think of anything else; but even +if we had a canoe to-morrow, I do not think that either you or I could +manage one," said cautious Hector. + +"I could soon learn as others have done before me. I wonder who first +taught the Indians to make canoes, and venture out on the lakes and +streams. Why should we be more stupid than these untaught heathens? I +have listened so often to my father's stories and adventures when he +was out lumbering on the St. John River, that I am as familiar with +the idea of a boat as if I had been born in one. Only think now," he +said, turning to Catharine; "just think of the fish, the big ones, we +could get if we had but a canoe to push out from the shore beyond +those rush-beds." + +"It strikes me, Louis, that those rush-beds, as you call them, must be +the Indian rice that we have seen the squaws make their soup of." + +"Yes; and you remember old Jacob used to talk of a fine lake that he +called Rice Lake, somewhere to the northward of the Cold Springs, +where he said there was plenty of game of all kinds, and a fine open +place where people could see through the openings among the trees. He +said it was a great hunting-place for the Indians in the Fall of the +year, and that they came there to hunt the peccary, which is, as you +know, a kind of wild boar, and whose flesh is very good eating." + +"I hope the Indians will not come here and find us out," said +Catharine, shuddering; "I think I should be more frightened at the +Indians than at the wolves. Have we not heard fearful tales of their +cruelty?" + +"But we have never been harmed by them; they have always been civil +enough when they came to the Springs." + +"They came, you know, for food, or shelter or something that they +wanted from us; but it may be different when they find us alone and +unprotected, encroaching upon their hunting-grounds." + +"The place is wide enough for us and them; we will try and make them +our friends." + +"The wolf and the lamb do not lie down in the fold together," observed +Hector. "The Indian is treacherous. The wild man and the civilized man +do not live well together, their habits and dispositions are so +contrary the one to the other. We are open and they are cunning, and +they suspect our openness to be only a greater degree of cunning than +their own--they do not understand us. They are taught to be +revengeful, and we are taught to forgive our enemies. So you see that +what is a virtue with the savage is a crime with the Christian. If the +Indian could be taught the Word of God he might be kind, and true, and +gentle as well as brave." + +It was with conversations like this that our poor wanderers whiled +away their weariness. The love of life, and the exertions necessary +for self-preservation, occupied so large a portion of their thoughts +and time, that they had hardly leisure for repining. They mutually +cheered and animated each other to bear up against the sad fate that +had thus severed them from every kindred tie, and shut them out from +that home to which their young hearts were bound by every endearing +remembrance from infancy upwards. + +One bright September morning our young people set off on an exploring +expedition, leaving the faithful Wolfe to watch the wigwam; for they +well knew he was too honest to touch their store of dried fish and +venison himself, and too trusty and fierce to suffer wolf or wild cat +near it. + +They crossed several narrow, deep ravines, and the low wooded flat +along the lake shore, to the eastward of Pine-tree Point. Finding it +difficult to force their way through the thick underwood that always +impedes the progress of the traveller on the low shores of the lake, +they followed the course of an ascending narrow ridge, which formed a +sort of natural causeway between two parallel hollows, the top of this +ridge being in many places not wider than a cart or wagon could pass +along. The sides were most gracefully adorned with flowering shrubs, +wild vines, creepers of various species, wild cherries of several +kinds, hawthorns, bilberry bushes, high-bush cranberries, silver +birch, poplars, oaks, and pines; while in the deep ravines on either +side grew trees of the largest growth, the heads of which lay on a +level with their path. Wild cliffy banks, beset with huge boulders of +red and gray granite and water-worn limestone, showed that it had once +formed the boundary of the lake, though now it was almost a quarter of +a mile in its rear. Springs of pure water were in abundance, trickling +down the steep rugged sides of this wooded glen. The children wandered +onwards, delighted with the wild picturesque path they had chosen, +sometimes resting on a huge block of moss-covered stone, or on the +twisted roots of some ancient gray old oak or pine, whilst they gazed +with curiosity and interest on the lonely but lovely landscape before +them. Across the lake, the dark forest shut all else from their view, +rising in gradual far-off slopes till it reached the utmost boundary +of sight. Much the children marvelled what country it might be that +lay in the dim, blue, hazy distance,--to them, indeed, a _terra +incognita_--a land of mystery; but neither of her companions laughed +when Catharine gravely suggested the probability of this unknown shore +to the northward being her father's beloved Highlands. Let not the +youthful and more learned reader smile at the ignorance of the +Canadian girl; she knew nothing of maps, and globes, and +hemispheres,--her only book of study had been the Holy Scriptures, her +only teacher a poor Highland soldier. + +Following the elevated ground above this deep valley, the travellers +at last halted on the extreme edge of a high and precipitous mound, +that formed an abrupt termination to the deep glen. They found water +not far from this spot fit for drinking by following a deer-path a +little to the southward. And there, on the borders of a little basin +on a pleasant brae, where the bright silver birch waved gracefully +over its sides, they decided upon building a winter house. They named +the spot Mount Ararat: "For here," said they, "we will build us an ark +of refuge, and wander no more." And Mount Ararat is the name which the +spot still bears. Here they sat them down on a fallen tree and ate a +meal of dried venison and drank of the cold spring that welled out +from beneath the edge of the bank. Hector felled a tree to mark the +site of their house near the birches; and they made a blaze, as it is +called, on he trees, by cutting away pieces of the outer bark as they +returned home towards the wigwam, that they might not miss the place. +They found less difficulty in retracing their path than they had +formerly, as there were some striking peculiarities to mark it, and +they had learned to be very minute in the marks they made as they +travelled, so that they now seldom missed the way they came by. A few +days after this they removed all their household stores--namely, the +axe, the tin pot, bows and arrows, baskets, and bags of dried fruit, +the dried venison and fish, and the deerskin; nor did they forget the +deer-scalp, which they bore away as a trophy, to be fastened up over +the door of their new dwelling, for a memorial of their first hunt on +the shores of the Rice Lake. The skin was given to Catharine to sleep +on. + +The boys were now busy from morning till night chopping down trees for +house-logs. It was a work of time and labour, as the axe was blunt and +the oaks hard to cut; but they laboured on without grumbling, and Kate +watched the fall of each tree with lively joy. They were no longer +dull; there was something to look forward to from day to day--they +were going to commence housekeeping in good earnest; they would be +warmly and well lodged before the bitter frosts of winter could come +to chill their blood. It was a joyful day when the log walls of the +little shanty were put up, and the door hewed out. Windows they had +none, so they did not cut out the spaces for them; [Footnote: Many a +shanty is put up in Canada without windows, and only an open space for +a door, with a rude plank set up to close it in at night.] they could +do very well without, as hundreds of Irish and Highland emigrants have +done before and since. + +A pile of stones rudely cemented together with wet clay and ashes +against the logs, and a hole cut in the roof, formed the chimney and +hearth in this primitive dwelling. The chinks were filled with +wedge-shaped pieces of wood, and plastered with clay: the trees, being +chiefly oaks and pines, afforded no moss. This deficiency rather +surprised the boys, for in the thick forest and close cedar-swamps +moss grows in abundance on the north side of the trees, especially on +the cedar, maple, beech, bass, and iron wood; but there were few of +these, excepting a chance one or two in the little basin in front of +the house. The roof was next put on, which consisted of split cedars. +And when the little dwelling was thus far habitable, they were all +very happy. While the boys had been putting on the roof, Catharine had +collected the stones for the chimney, and cleared the earthen floor of +the chips and rubbish with a broom of cedar boughs, bound together +with a leathern thong. She had swept it all clean, carefully removing +all unsightly objects, and strewing it over with fresh cedar sprigs, +which gave out a pleasant odour and formed a smooth and not unseemly +carpet for their little dwelling. How cheerful was the first fire +blazing up on their own hearth! It was so pleasant to sit by its +gladdening light, and chat away of all they had done and all that they +meant to do! Here was to be a set of split cedar shelves, to hold +their provisions and baskets; there a set of stout pegs was to be +inserted between the logs, for hanging up strings of dried meat, bags +of birch bark, or the skins of the animals they were to shoot or trap. +A table was to be fixed on posts in the centre of the floor. Louis was +to carve wooden platters and dishes, and some stools were to be made +with hewn blocks of wood till something better could be devised. Their +bedsteads were rough poles of ironwood, supported by posts driven into +the ground, and partly upheld by the projection of the logs at the +angles of the wall. Nothing could be more simple. The frame-work was +of split cedar; and a safe bed was made by pine boughs being first +laid upon the frame, and then thickly covered with dried grass, moss, +and withered leaves. Such were the lowly but healthy couches on which +these children of the forest slept. + +A dwelling so rudely framed and scantily furnished would be regarded +with disdain by the poorest English peasant. Yet many a settler's +family have I seen as roughly lodged, while a better house was being +prepared for their reception; and many a gentleman's son has +voluntarily submitted to privations as great as these from the love of +novelty and adventure, or to embark in the tempting expectation of +realizing money in the lumbering trade,--working hard, and sharing the +rude log shanty and ruder society of those reckless and hardy men, the +Canadian lumberers. During the spring, and summer months these men +spread themselves through the trackless forests, and along the shores +of nameless lakes and unknown streams, to cut the pine or oak +lumber,--such being the name they give to the felled stems of +trees,--which are then hewn, and in the winter dragged out upon the +ice, where they are formed into rafts, and in spring floated down the +waters till they reach the great St. Lawrence, and are, after +innumerable difficulties and casualties, finally shipped for England. +I have likewise known European gentlemen voluntarily leave the +comforts of a civilized home and associate themselves with the Indian +trappers and hunters, leading lives as wandering and as wild as the +uncultivated children of the forest. + +The nights and early mornings were already growing sensibly more +chilly. The dews at this season fall heavily, and the mists fill the +valleys till the sun has risen with sufficient heat to draw up the +vapours. It was a good thing that the shanty was finished so soon, or +the exposure to the damp air might have been productive of ague and +fever. Every hour almost they spent in making little additions to +their household comforts, but some time was necessarily passed in +trying to obtain provisions. One day Hector, who had been out from +dawn till moonrise, returned with the welcome news that he had shot a +young deer, and required the assistance of his cousin to bring it up +the steep bank (it was just at the entrance of the great ravine) below +the precipitous cliff near the lake: he had left old Wolfe to guard it +in the meantime. They had now plenty of fresh broiled meat, and this +store was very acceptable, as they were obliged to be very careful of +the dried meat that they had. + +This time Catharine adopted a new plan. Instead of cutting the meat in +strips, and drying it (or jerking it, as the lumberers term it), she +roasted it before the fire, and hung it up, wrapping it in thin sheets +of birch bark. The juices, instead of being dried up, were preserved, +and the meat was more palatable. Catharine found great store of wild +plums in a beautiful valley not far from the shanty; these she dried +for the winter store, eating sparingly of them in their fresh state. +She also found plenty of wild black currants and high-bush +cranberries, on the banks of a charming creek of bright water that +flowed between a range of high pine hills and finally emptied itself +into the lake. There were great quantities of water-cresses in this +pretty brook; they grew in bright, round, cushion-like tufts at the +bottom of the water, and were tender and wholesome. These formed an +agreeable addition to their diet, which had hitherto been chiefly +confined to animal food, for they could not always meet with a supply +of the bread-roots, as they grew chiefly in damp, swampy thickets on +the lake shore, which were sometimes very difficult of access. +However, they never missed any opportunity of increasing their stores, +and laying up for the winter such roots as they could procure. + +As the cool weather and frosty nights drew on, the want of warm +clothes and bed-covering became more sensibly felt; those they had +were beginning to wear out. Catharine had managed to wash her clothes +at the lake several times, and thus preserved them clean and +wholesome; but she was often sorely puzzled how the want of her dress +was to be supplied as time wore on, and many were the consultations +she held with the boys on the important subject. With the aid of a +needle she might be able to manufacture the skins of the small animals +into some sort of jacket, and the doe-skin and deer-skin could be made +into garments for the boys. Louis was always suppling and rubbing the +skins to make them soft: they had taken off the hair by sprinkling it +with wood ashes, and rolling it up with the hairy side inwards. Out of +one of these skins he made excellent moccasins, piercing the holes +with a sharpened bone bodkin, and passing the sinews of the deer +through, as he had seen his father do, by fixing a stout fish-bone to +the deer-sinew thread. Thus he had an excellent substitute for a +needle; and, with the aid of the old file, he sharpened the point of +the rusty nail, so that he was enabled, with a little trouble, to +drill a hole in a bone needle for his cousin Catharine's use. After +several attempts, he succeeded in making some of tolerable fineness, +hardening them by exposure to a slow, steady degree of heat till she +was able to work with them, and even mend her clothes with tolerable +expertness. By degrees, Catharine contrived to cover the whole outer +surface of her homespun woollen frock with squirrel and mink, musk-rat +and woodchuck skins. A curious piece of fur patchwork of many hues and +textures it presented to the eye,--a coat of many colours, it is true; +but it kept the wearer warm, and Catharine was not a little proud of +her ingenuity and industry,--every new patch that was added was a +source of fresh satisfaction; and the moccasins that Louis fitted so +nicely to her feet were great comforts. A fine skin that Hector +brought triumphantly in one day, the spoil from a fox that had been +caught in one of his dead-falls, was in due time converted into a +dashing cap, the brush remaining as an ornament to hang down on one +shoulder. Catharine might have passed for a small Diana when she went +out, with her fur dress and bow and arrows, to hunt with Hector and +Louis. + +Whenever game of any kind was killed, it was carefully skinned, and +the fur stretched upon bent sticks, being first turned, so as to +present the inner part to the drying action of the air. The young +hunters were most expert in this work, having been accustomed for many +years to assist their fathers in preparing the furs which they +disposed of to the fur traders, who visited them from time to time, +and gave them various articles in exchange for their peltries,--such +as powder and shot, and cutlery of different kinds, as knives, +scissors, needles, and pins, with gay calico and cotton handkerchiefs +for the women. + +As the evenings lengthened, the boys employed themselves with carving +wooden platters. Knives, and forks, and spoons they fashioned out of +the larger bones of the deer, which they often found bleaching in the +sun and wind, where they had been left by their enemies the wolves; +baskets too they made, and birch dishes, which they could now finish +so well that they held water or any liquid. But their great want was +some vessel that would bear the heat of the fire; the tin pot was so +small that it could be made little use of in the cooking way. +Catharine had made tea of the leaves of the sweet fern,--a graceful +woody fern, with a fine aromatic scent, like nutmegs. [Footnote: +Comptoma asplenifolia, a small shrub of the sweet gale family.] This +shrub is highly esteemed among the Canadians as a beverage, and also +as a remedy against the ague. It grows in great abundance on dry sandy +lands and wastes, by waysides. + +"If we could but make some sort of earthen pot that would stand the +heat of the fire," said Louis, "we might get on nicely with cooking." + +But nothing like the sort of clay used by potters had been seen, and +they were obliged to give up that thought and content themselves with +roasting or broiling their food. Louis, however, who was fond of +contrivances, made an oven, by hollowing out a place near the hearth +and lining it with stones, filling up the intervals with wood ashes +and such clay as they could find, beaten into a smooth mortar. Such +cement answered very well, and the oven was heated by filling it with +hot embers; these were removed when it was sufficiently heated, and +the meat or roots placed within the oven being covered over with a +flat stone previously heated before the fire and covered with hot +embers. This sort of oven had often been described by old Jacob as one +in common use among some of the Indian tribes in the Lower Province, +in which they cook small animals; they could bake bread also in this +oven, if they had had flour to use. [Footnote: This primitive oven is +much like what voyagers have described as in use among the natives of +many of the South Sea Islands.] + +Since the finishing of the house and furnishing it the young people +were more reconciled to their lonely life, and even entertained +decided home feelings for their little log cabin. They never ceased, +it is true, to talk of their parents, and brothers, and sisters, and +wonder if all were well, and whether they still hoped for their +return, and to recall their happy days spent in the home which they +now feared they were destined never again to behold. Nevertheless, +they were becoming each day more cheerful and more active. Ardently +attached to each other, they seemed bound together by a yet more +sacred tie of brotherhood. They were now all the world to one another, +and no cloud of disunion came to mar their happiness. Hector's +habitual gravity and caution were tempered by Louis's lively vivacity +and ardour of temper; and they both loved Catharine, and strove to +smooth as much as possible the hard life to which she was exposed, by +the most affectionate consideration for her comfort; and she, in +return, endeavoured to repay them by cheerfully enduring all +privations, and making light of all their trials, and taking a lively +interest in all their plans and contrivances. + +Louis had gone out to fish at the lake one autumn morning. During his +absence a sudden squall of wind came on, accompanied with heavy rain. +As he stayed longer than usual, Hector began to feel uneasy lest some +accident had befallen him, knowing his adventurous spirit, and that he +had for some days previous been busy constructing a raft of cedar +logs, which he had fastened together with wooden pins. This raft he +had nearly finished, and was even talking of adventuring over to the +nearest island to explore it, and see what game and roots and fruits +it afforded. + +Bidding Catharine stay quietly within doors till his return, Hector +ran off, not without some misgivings of evil having befallen his rash +cousin, which fears he carefully concealed from his sister, as he did +not wish to make her needlessly anxious. When he reached the shore, +his mind was somewhat relieved by seeing the raft on the beach, just +as it had been left the night before; but neither Louis nor the axe +was to be seen, nor the fishing-rod and line. + +"Perhaps," thought he, "Louis has gone further down, to the mouth of +the little creek in the flat east of this, where we caught our last +fish; or maybe he has gone up to the old place at Pine-tree Point." + +While he yet stood hesitating within himself which way to turn, he +heard steps as of some one running, and perceived his cousin hurrying +through the bushes in the direction of the shanty. It was evident by +his disordered air; and the hurried glances that he cast over his +shoulder from time to time, that something unusual had occurred to +disturb him. + +"Holloa, Louis! is it a bear, wolf, or catamount that is on your +trail?" cried Hector; almost amused by the speed with which his cousin +hurried onward. "Why, Louis, whither away?" + +Louis now turned and held up his hand, as if to enjoin silence, till +Hector came up to him. + +"Why, man, what ails you? what makes you run as if you were hunted +down by a pack of wolves?" + +"It is not wolves, or bears either," said Louis, as soon as he could +get breath to speak; "but the Indians are all on Bare Hill, holding a +war-council, I suppose, for there are several canoe-loads of them." + +"How came you to see them?" + +"I must tell you that when I parted from you and Cathy, instead of +going down to my raft, as I thought at first I would do, I followed +the deer-path through the little ravine, and then ascending the side +of the valley, I crossed the birch grove, and kept down the slope +within sight of the creek. While I was looking out upon the lake, and +thinking how pretty the islands were, rising so green from the blue +water, I was surprised by seeing several dark spots dotting the lake. +At first, you may be sure, I thought they must be a herd of deer, only +they kept too far apart, so I sat down on a log to watch, thinking if +they turned out to be deer I would race off for you and Wolfe, and the +bows and arrows, that we might try our chance for some venison; but as +the black specks came nearer and nearer, I perceived they were canoes +with Indians in them, three in each. One made for the mouth of the +creek, and ran ashore among the thick bushes, while the others kept +further along the shore. I watched them with a beating heart, and lay +down flat, lest they should spy me out; for those fellows have eyes +like catamounts, so keen and wild--they see everything without seeming +to cast a glance on it. After closely examining what I suppose was one +of our footmarks, I saw them wind up the ridge till they reached the +Bare Hill. [Footnote: Supposed to be a council-hill. It is known by +the name of Bare Hill, from the singular want of verdure on its +surface, It is one of the steepest on the ridge above the little +creek; being a picturesque object, with its fine pine-trees, seen from +Mr. Hayward's grounds, and forms, I believe, a part of his property.] +You remember that spot; we called it so from its barren appearance. In +a few minutes a column of smoke rose and curled among the pine-trees, +and then another and another, till I counted five fires burning +brightly; and, as I stood on the high ground, I could distinguish the +figures of many naked savages moving about, running to and fro like a +parcel of black ants on a cedar log; and by-and-by I heard them raise +a yell like a pack of ravenous wolves on a deer track. It made my +heart leap up in my breast. I forgot all the schemes that had just got +into my wise head of slipping quietly down and taking off one of the +empty birch canoes, which you must own would have been a glorious +thing for us; but when I heard the noise these wild wretches raised, I +darted off, and ran as if the whole set were at my heels. I think I +just saved my scalp." And Louis put his hand to his head, and tugged +his thick black curls, as if to ascertain that they were still safe +from the scalping-knives of his Indian enemies. + +"And now, Hec, what is to be done? We must hide ourselves from the +Indians; they will kill us, or take us away with them, if they find +us." + +"Let us go home and talk over our plans with Cathy." + +"Yes; for I have heard my father say two heads are better than one, +and so three of course must be still better than two." + +"Why," said Hector, laughing, "it depends upon the stock of practical +wisdom in the heads; for two fools, you know, Louis, will hardly form +one rational plan." + +Various were the schemes devised for their security. Hector proposed +pulling down the shanty and dispersing the logs, so as to leave no +trace of the little dwelling; but to this neither his cousin nor his +sister would agree. To pull down the new house that had cost them so +much labour, and which had proved such a comfort to them, they could +not endure even in idea. + +"Let us put out the fire, and hide ourselves in the big ravine below +Mount Ararat; dig a cave in one of the hills, and convey our household +goods thither." Such was Louis's plan. + +"The ravines would be searched directly," suggested Hector; "besides, +the Indians know they are famous coverts for deer and game of all +sorts: they might chance to pop upon us, and catch us like woodchucks +in a burrow." + +"Yes, and burn us," said Catharine with a shudder. "I know the path +that leads direct to the 'Happy Valley,' (the name she had given to +the low flat now known as the 'Lower Race-course'), and it is not far +from here, only ten minutes' walk in a straight line. We can conceal +ourselves below the steep bank that we descended the other day; and +there are several springs of fresh water, and plenty of nuts and +berries; and the trees, though few, are so thickly covered with +close-spreading branches that touch the very ground that we might hide +ourselves from a hundred eyes, were they ever so cunning and prying." + +Catharine's counsel was deemed the most prudent, and the boys +immediately busied themselves with hiding under the broken branches of +a prostrate tree such articles as they could not conveniently carry +away, leaving the rest to chance. With the most valuable they loaded +themselves, guided by Catharine, who, with her dear old dog, marched +forward along the narrow footpath that had been made by some wild +animals, probably deer, in their passage from the lake to their +feeding-place, or favourite covert, on the low sheltered plain, where, +being quite open, and almost, in parts, free from trees, the grass and +herbage was sweeter and more abundant, and the springs of water were +fresh and cool. + +Catharine cast many a fearful glance through the brushwood as they +moved onward, but saw no living thing, excepting a family of chitmunks +gaily chasing each other along a fallen branch, and a covey of quails +that were feeding quietly on the red berries of the _Mitchella +repens_, or twinberry, [Footnote: Also partridge-berry and +checker-berry, a lovely creeping winter-green, with white fragrant +flowers and double scarlet berry.] as it is commonly called, of which +the partridges and quails are extremely fond; for Nature with a +liberal hand has spread abroad her bounties for the small denizens, +furred or feathered, that haunt the Rice Lake and its flowery shores. + +After a continued but gentle ascent through the oak opening, they +halted at the foot of a majestic pine, and looked round them. It was a +lovely spot as any they had seen: from west to east, the lake, bending +like a silver crescent, lay between the boundary hills of forest +trees; in front, the long lines of undulating wood-covered heights +faded away into mist, and blended with the horizon. To the east, a +deep and fertile valley lay between the high lands on which they +rested and the far ridge of oak hills. From their vantage height they +could distinguish the outline of the Bare Hill, made more distinct by +its flickering fires and the smoke wreaths that hung like a +pearly-tinted robe among the dark pines that grew upon its crest. Not +long tarrying did our fugitives make, though perfectly safe from +detection by the distance and their shaded position, for many a +winding vale and wood-crowned height lay between them and the +encampment. + +But fear is not subject to the control of reason, and in the present +instance it invested the dreaded Indians with superhuman powers of +sight and of motion. A few minutes' hasty flight brought our +travellers to the brow of a precipitous bank, nearly a hundred feet +above the level open plain which they sought. Here, then, they felt +comparatively safe: they were out of sight of the camp-fires, the spot +they had chosen was open, and flight, in case of the approach of the +Indians, not difficult, while hiding-places were easy of access. They +found a deep, sheltered hollow in the bank, where two mighty pines had +been torn up by the roots, and prostrated headlong down the steep, +forming a regular cave, roofed by the earth and fibres that had been +uplifted in their fall. Pendent from these roots hung a luxuriant +curtain of wild grape-vines and other creepers, which formed a leafy +screen, through which the most curious eye could scarcely penetrate. +This friendly vegetable veil seemed as if provided for their +concealment, and they carefully abstained from disturbing the pendent +foliage, lest they should, by so doing, betray their hiding-place to +their enemies. They found plenty of long grass, and abundance of long +soft green moss and ferns near a small grove of poplars which +surrounded a spring of fine water. They ate some dried fruit and +smoked fish, and drank of the clear spring; and after they had said +their evening prayers, they lay down to sleep, Catharine's head +pillowed on the neck of her faithful guardian, Wolfe. In the middle of +the night a startling sound, as of some heavy body falling, wakened +them all simultaneously. The night was so dark they could see nothing, +and, terror-stricken, they sat gazing into the impenetrable darkness +of their cave, not even daring to speak to each other, hardly even to +breathe. Wolfe gave a low grumbling bark, and resumed his couchant +posture, as if nothing worthy of his attention was near to cause the +disturbance. Catharine trembled and wept, and prayed for safety +against the Indians and beasts of prey; and Hector and Louis listened, +till they fell fast asleep in spite of their fears. In the morning, it +seemed as if they had dreamed some terrible dream, so vague were their +recollections of the fright they had had; but the cause was soon +perceived. A large stone that had been heaved up with the clay that +adhered to the roots and fibres had been loosened, and had fallen on +the ground, close to the spot where Catharine lay. So ponderous was +the mass, that had it struck her, death must have been the consequence +of the blow; and Hector and Louis beheld it with fear and amazement, +while Catharine regarded it as a proof of Divine mercy and protection +from Him in whose hand her safety lay. The boys, warned by this +accident, carefully removed several large stones from the roof, and +tried the safety of the clay walls with a stout staff, to ascertain +that all was secure, before they again ventured to sleep beneath this +rugged canopy. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +"The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour +in his eyes."--_Proverbs._ + + +For several days they abstained from lighting a fire, lest the smoke +should be seen; but this the great height of the bank would have +effectually prevented. They suffered much cold at night from the +copious dew, which, even on sultry summer evenings, is productive of +much chilling. They could not account for the fact that the air at +night was much warmer on the high hills than in the low valleys; they +were even sensible of a rush of heat as they ascended to the higher +ground. These simple children had not been taught that it is the +nature of the heated air to ascend, and its place to be supplied by +the colder and denser particles. They noticed the effects, but +understood nothing of the causes that ruled them. + +The following days they procured several partridges, but feared to +cook them; however, they plucked them, split them open, and dried the +flesh for a future day. A fox or raccoon, attracted by the smell of +the birds, came one night and carried them off, for in the morning +they were gone. They saw several herd of deer crossing the plain, and +one day Wolfe tracked a wounded doe to a covert under the poplars, +near a hidden spring, where she had lain herself down to die in peace, +far from the haunts of her fellows. The arrow was in her throat; it +was of white flint, and had evidently been sent from an Indian bow. It +was almost with fear and trembling that they availed themselves of the +venison thus providentially thrown in their way, lest the Indians +should track the blood of the doe, and take vengeance on them for +appropriating it for their own use. Not having seen anything of the +Indians, who seemed to confine themselves to the neighbourhood of the +lake, after many days had passed they began to take courage, and even +ventured to light an evening fire, at which they cooked as much of the +venison as would last them for several days, and hung the remaining +portions above the smoke to preserve it from injury. + +One morning Hector proclaimed his intention of ascending the hills in +the direction of the Indian camp. "I am tired of remaining shut up in +this dull place, where we can see nothing but this dead-flat, bounded +by those melancholy pines in the distance that seem to shut us in." + +Little did Hector know that beyond that dark ridge of pine hills lay +the home of their childhood, and but a few miles of forest intervened +to hide it from their sight. Had he known it, how eagerly would his +feet have pressed onward in the direction of that dark barrier of +evergreens! + +Thus is it often in this life: we wander on, sad and perplexed, our +path beset with thorns and briers. We cannot see our way clear; doubts +and apprehensions assail us. We know not how near we are to the +fulfilment of our wishes; we see only the insurmountable barriers, the +dark thickets and thorns of our way; and we know not how near we are +to our Father's home, where he is waiting to welcome the wanderers of +the flock back to the everlasting home, the fold of the Good Shepherd. + +Hector became impatient of the restraint that the dread of the Indians +imposed upon his movements; he wanted to see the lake again, and to +roam abroad free and uncontrolled. + +"After all," said he, "we never met with any ill-treatment from the +Indians that used to visit us at Cold Springs; we may even find old +friends and acquaintances among them." + +"The thing is possible, but not very likely," replied Louis. +"Nevertheless, Hector, I would not willingly put myself in their +power. The Indian has his own notion of things, and might think +himself quite justified in killing us if he found us on his +hunting-grounds. I have heard my father say--and he knows a great deal +about these people--that their chiefs are very strict in punishing any +strangers that they find killing game on their bounds uninvited. They +are both merciless and treacherous when angered, and we could not even +speak to them in their own language, to explain by what evil chance we +came here." + +This was very prudent of Louis, uncommonly so, for one who was +naturally rash and headstrong; but unfortunately Hector was inflexible +and wilful. When once he had made up his mind upon any point, he had +too good an opinion of his own judgment to give it up. At last he +declared his intention, rather than remain a slave to such cowardly +fears as he now deemed them, to go forth boldly, and endeavour to +ascertain what the Indians were about, how many there were of them, +and what real danger was to be apprehended from facing them. + +"Depend upon it," he added, "cowards are never safer than brave men. +The Indians despise cowards, and would be more likely to kill us if +they found us cowering here in this hole like a parcel of wolf-cubs, +than if we openly faced them and showed that we neither feared them +nor cared for them." + +"Hector, dear Hector, be not so rash!" cried his sister, passionately +weeping. "Ah! if we were to lose you, what would become of us?" + +"Never fear, Kate; I will run into no needless danger. I know how to +take care of myself. I am of opinion that the Indian camp is broken +up; they seldom stay long in one place. I will go over the hills and +examine the camp at a distance and the lake shore. You and Louis may +keep watch for my return from the big pine that we halted under on our +way hither." + +"But, Hector, if the savages should see you, and take you prisoner," +said Catharine, "what would you do?" + +"I will tell you what I would do. Instead of running away, I would +boldly walk up to them, and by signs make them understand that I am no +scout, but a friend in need of nothing but kindness and friendship. I +never yet heard of the Indian that would tomahawk the defenceless +stranger that sought his camp openly in peace and goodwill." + +"If you do not return by sunset, Hector, we shall believe that you +have fallen into the hands of the savages," said Catharine, mournfully +regarding her brother. + +"If it were not for Catharine," said Louis, "you should not go alone; +but if evil were to befall this helpless one, her blood would be upon +my head, who led her out with us, tempting her with false words." + +"Never mind that now, dearest cousin," said Catharine, tenderly laying +her hand on his arm. "It is much better that we should have been all +three together; I should never have been happy again if I had lost +both Hec and you. It is better as it is; you and Hec would not have +been so well off if I had not been with you to help you, and keep up +your spirits by my songs and stories." + +"It is true; ma chere; but that is the reason that I am bound to take +care of my little cousin, and I could not consent to exposing you to +danger, or leaving you alone; so, if Hec will be so headstrong, I will +abide by you." + +Hector was so confident that he should return in safety, that at last +Louis and Catharine became more reconciled to his leaving them, and +soon busied themselves in preparing some squirrels that Louis had +brought in that morning. + +The day wore away slowly, and many were the anxious glances that +Catharine cast over the crest of the high bank to watch for her +brother's return. At last, unable to endure the suspense, she with +Louis left the shelter of the valley; they ascended the high ground, +and bent their steps to the trysting-tree, which commanded all the +country within a wide sweep. + +A painful and oppressive sense of loneliness and desolation came over +the minds of the cousins as they sat together at the foot of the pine, +which cast its lengthened shadow upon the ground before them. The +shades of evening were shrouding them, wrapping the lonely forest in +gloom. The full moon had not yet risen, and they watched for the first +gleam that should break above the eastern hills to cheer them as for +the coming of a friend. + +Sadly these two poor lonely ones sat hand in hand, talking of the +happy days of childhood, of the perplexing present and the uncertain +future. At last, wearied out with watching and anxiety, Catharine +leaned her head upon the neck of old Wolfe and fell asleep, while +Louis restlessly paced to and fro in front of the sleeper; now +straining his eyes to penetrate the surrounding gloom, now straining +his ears to catch the first sound that might indicate the approach of +his absent cousin. + +It was almost with a feeling of irritability that he heard the quick +sharp note of the wakeful "whip-poor-will," as it flew from bough to +bough of an old withered tree beside him. Another, and again another +of these midnight watchers took up the monotonous never-varying cry of +"Whip-poor-will, Whip-poor-will;" and then came forth, from many a +hollow oak and birch, the spectral night-hawk from hidden dens, where +it had lain hushed in silence all day from dawn till sunset. Sometimes +their sharp hard wings almost swept his cheek as they wheeled round +and round in circles, first narrow, then wide, and wider extending, +till at last they soared far above the tallest tree-tops, and +launching out in the high regions of the air, uttered from time to +time a wild shrill scream, or hollow booming sound, as they suddenly +descended to pounce with wide-extended throat upon some hapless moth +or insect that sported all unheeding in mid-air, happily unconscious +of the approach of so unerring a foe. + +Petulantly Louis chid these discordant minstrels of the night, and +joyfully he hailed the first gush of moonlight that rose broad and +full and red over the Oak Hills to the eastward. + +Louis envied the condition of the unconscious sleeper, who lay in +happy forgetfulness of all her sorrows, her fair curls spread in +unbound luxuriance over the dark shaggy neck of the faithful Wolfe, +who seemed as if proud of the beloved burden that rested so trustingly +upon him. Sometimes the careful dog just unclosed his large eyes, +raised his nose from his shaggy paws, snuffed the night air, growled +in a sort of undertone, and then dozed again, but watchfully. + +It would be no easy task to tell the painful feelings that agitated +young Louis's breast. He was angry with Hector for having thus madly, +as he thought, rushed into danger. "It was wilful and almost cruel," +he thought, "to leave them the prey of such tormenting fears on his +account;" and then the most painful fears for the safety of his +beloved companion took the place of less kindly thoughts, and sorrow +filled his heart. The broad moon now flooded the hills and vales with +light, casting broad checkering shadows of the old oaks' gray branches +and now reddened foliage across the ground. + +Suddenly the old dog raises his head, and utters a short half-angry +note: slowly and carefully he rises, disengaging himself gently from +the form of the sleeping girl, and stands forth in the full light of +the moon. It is an open cleared space, that mound beneath the +pine-tree; a few low shrubs and seedling pines, with the slender +waving branches of the late-flowering pearly-tinted asters, the +elegant fringed gentian with open bells of azure blue, the last and +loveliest of autumn flowers and winter-greens, brighten the ground +with wreaths of shining leaves and red berries. + +Louis is on the alert, though as yet he sees nothing. It is not a full +free note of welcome that Wolfe gives; there is something uneasy and +half angry in his tone. Yet it is not fierce, like the bark of angry +defiance he gives when wolf, or bear, or wolverine is near. + +Louis steps forward from the shadow of the pine branches to the edge +of the inclined plane in the foreground. The slow tread of approaching +steps is now distinctly heard advancing; it may be a deer. + +Two figures approach, and Louis moves a little within the shadow +again. A clear shrill whistle meets his ear. It is Hector's whistle, +he knows that, and assured by its cheerful tone, he springs forward, +and in an instant is at his side, but starts at the strange companion +that he half leads, half carries. The moonlight streams broad and +bright upon the shrinking figure of an Indian girl apparently about +the same age as Catharine: her ashy face is concealed by the long mass +of raven black hair which falls like a dark veil over her features; +her step is weak and unsteady, and she seems ready to sink to the +earth with sickness or fatigue. Hector, too, seems weary. The first +words that Hector said were, "Help me, Louis, to lead this poor girl +to the foot of the pine: I am so tired I can hardly walk another +step." + +Louis and his cousin together carried the Indian girl to the foot of +the pine. Catharine was just rousing herself from sleep, and she gazed +with a bewildered air on the strange companion that Hector had brought +with him. The stranger lay down, and in a few minutes sank into a +sleep so profound it seemed to resemble that of death itself. Pity and +deep interest soon took the place of curiosity and dread in the heart +of the gentle Catharine, and she watched the young stranger's slumber +as tenderly as though she had been a sister or beloved friend, while +Hector proceeded to relate in what manner he had encountered the +Indian girl. + +"When I struck the high slope near the little birch grove we called +the '_Birken Skaw_,' I paused to examine if the council-fires +were still burning on Bare Hill; but there was no smoke visible, +neither was there a canoe to be seen at the lake shore where Louis had +described their landing-place at the mouth of the creek. All seemed as +silent and still as if no human footstep had trodden the shore. I sat +down and watched for nearly an hour, till my attention was attracted +by a noble eagle, which was sailing in wide circles over the tall +pine-trees on Bare Hill. Assured that the Indian camp was broken up, +and feeling some curiosity to examine the spot more closely, I crossed +the thicket of cranberries and cedars and small underwood that fringed +the borders of the little stream, and found myself, after a little +pushing and scrambling, among the bushes at the foot of the hill. + +"I thoughts it not impossible I might find something to repay me for +my trouble, flint arrowheads, a knife, or a tomahawk; but I little +thought of what these cruel savages had left there,--a miserable +wounded captive, bound by the long locks of her hair to the stem of a +small tree! Her hands and feet were fastened by thongs of deer-skin to +branches of the tree, which had been bent downward for that purpose. +Her position was a most painful one. She had evidently been thus left +to perish by a miserable death of hunger and thirst; for these +savages, with a fiendish cruelty, had placed within sight of their +victim an earthen jar of water, some dried deers' flesh, and a cob +[Footnote: A head of the maize, or Indian corn, is called a "cob."] of +Indian corn. I have the corn here," he added, putting his hand in his +breast and displaying it to view. + +"Wounded she was, for I drew this arrow from her shoulder," and he +showed the flint head as he spoke, "and fettered. With food and drink +in sight the poor girl was to perish, perhaps to become a living prey +to the eagle that I saw wheeling above the hill-top. The poor thing's +lips were black and parched with pain and thirst. She turned her eyes +piteously from my face to the water-jar, as if to implore a draught. +This I gave her; and then having cooled the festering wound, and cut +the thongs that bound her, I wondered that she still kept the same +immovable attitude, and thinking she was stiff and cramped with +remaining so long bound in one position, I took her two hands and +tried to induce her to move. I then for the first time noticed that +she was tied by the hair of her head to the tree against which her +back was placed. I was obliged to cut the hair with my knife; and this +I did not do without giving her pain, as she moaned impatiently. She +sank her head on her breast, and large tears fell over my hands as I +bathed her face and neck with the water from the jar. She then seated +herself on the ground, and remained silent and still for the space of +an hour; nor could I prevail upon her to speak, or quit the seat she +had taken. Fearing that the Indians might return, I watched in all +directions, and at last I began to think it would be best to carry her +in my arms; but this I found no easy task, for she seemed greatly +distressed at any attempt I made to lift her, and by her gestures I +fancied she thought I was going to kill her. At least my patience +began to be exhausted, but I did not like to annoy her. I spoke to her +as gently and soothingly as I could. By degrees she seemed to listen +with more composure to me, though she evidently knew not a word of +what I said to her. She rose at last, and taking my hands, placed them +above her head, stooping low as she did so; and this seemed to mean +she was willing at last to submit to my wishes. I lifted her from the +ground and carried her for some little way; but she was too heavy for +me. She then suffered me to lead her along whithersoever I would take +her; but her steps were so slow and feeble through weakness, that many +times I was compelled to rest while she recovered herself. She seems +quite subdued now, and as quiet as a lamb." + +Catharine listened, not without tears of genuine sympathy, to the +recital of her brother's adventures. She seemed to think he had been +inspired by God to go forth that day to the Indian camp to rescue the +poor forlorn one from so dreadful a death. + +Louis's sympathy was also warmly aroused for the young savage, and he +commended Hector for his bravery and humanity. + +He then set to work to light a good fire, which was a great addition +to their comfort as well as cheerfulness. They did not go back to +their cave beneath the upturned trees to sleep, preferring lying, with +their feet to the fire, under the shade of the pine. Louis, however, +was despatched for water and venison for supper. + +The following morning, by break of day, they collected their stores, +and conveyed them back to the shanty. The boys were thus employed +while Catharine watched beside the wounded Indian girl, whom she +tended with the greatest care. She bathed the inflamed arm with water, +and bound, the cool healing leaves of the _tacamahac_ [Footnote: +Indian balsam.] about it with the last fragment of her apron; she +steeped dried berries in water, and gave the cooling drink to quench +the fever-thirst that burned in her veins and glittered in her full +soft melancholy dark eyes, which were raised at intervals to the race +of her youthful nurse with a timid hurried glance, as if she longed +yet feared to say, "Who are you that thus tenderly bathe my aching +head, and strive to soothe my wounded limbs, and cool my fevered +blood? Are you a creature like myself, or a being sent by the Great +Spirit from the far-off happy land to which my fathers have gone, to +smooth my path of pain, and lead me to those blessed fields of +sunbeams and flowers where the cruelty of the enemies of my people +will no more have power to torment me?" + + + + +CHAPTER VI + + "Here the wren of softest note + Builds its nest and warbles well, + Here the blackbird strains his throat + Welcome, welcome to our cell." + + --COLERIDGE. + + +The day was far advanced before the sick Indian girl could be brought +home to their sylvan lodge, where Catharine made up a comfortable +couch for her with boughs and grass, and spread one of the deer-skins +over it, and laid her down as tenderly and carefully as if she had +been a dear sister. This good girl was overjoyed at having found a +companion of her own age and sex. "Now," said she, "I shall no more be +lonely, I shall have a companion and friend to talk to and assist me." +But when she turned in the fulness of her heart to address herself to +the young stranger, she felt herself embarrassed in what way to make +her comprehend the words she used to express the kindness that she +felt for her and her sorrow for her sufferings. + +The young stranger would raise her head, look intently at her as if +striving to interpret her words, then sadly shake her head, and utter +her words in her own plaintive language, but, alas! Catharine felt it +was to her as a sealed book. + +She tried to recall some Indian words of familiar import that she had +heard from the Indians when they came to her father's house, but in +vain. Not the simplest phrase occurred to her, and she almost cried +with vexation at her own stupidity. Neither was Hector or Louis more +fortunate in attempts at conversing with their guest. + +At the end of three days the fever began to abate; the restless eye +grew more steady in its gaze, the dark flush faded from the cheek, +leaving it of a gray ashy tint, not the hue of health, such as even +the swarthy Indian shows, but wan and pallid, her eyes bent mournfully +on the ground. + +She would sit quiet and passive while Catharine bound up the long +tresses of her hair, and smoothed them with her hands and the small +wooden comb that Louis had cut for her use. Sometimes she would raise +her eyes to her new friend's face with a quiet sad smile, and once she +took her hands within her own and gently pressed them to her breast +and lips and forehead, in token of gratitude; but she seldom gave +utterance to any words, and would remain with her eyes fixed vacantly +on some object which seemed unseen, or to awaken no idea in her mind. +At such times the face of the young squaw, wore a dreamy apathy of +expression, or rather it might with more propriety have been said the +absence of all expression, almost as blank as that of an infant of a +few weeks old. + +How intently did Catharine study that face, and strive to read what +was passing within her mind! How did the lively intelligent Canadian +girl, the offspring of a more intellectual race, long to instruct her +Indian friend, to enlarge her mind by pointing out such things to her +attention as she herself took interest in! She would then repeat the +name of the object that she showed her several times over, and by +degrees the young squaw learned the names of all the familiar +household articles about the shanty, and could repeat them in her own +soft plaintive tone; and when she had learned a new word, and could +pronounce it distinctly, she would laugh, and a gleam of innocent joy +and pleasure would lighten up her fine dark eyes, generally so fixed +and sad-looking. + +It was Catharine's delight to teach her pupil to speak a language +familiar to her own ears. She would lead her out among the trees, and +name to her all the natural objects that presented themselves to view. +And she in her turn mae "Indiana" (for so they named the young squaw, +after a negress that she had heard her father tell of, a nurse to one +of his colonel's infant children) tell her the Indian names for each +object they saw. Indiana soon began to enjoy in her turn the amusement +arising from instructing Catharine and the boys, and often seemed to +enjoy the blunders they made in pronouncing the words she taught them. +When really interested in anything that was going on, her eyes would +beam out, and her smile gave an inexpressible charm to her face; for +her lips were red, and her teeth even and brilliantly white, so purely +white that Catharine thought she had never seen any so beautiful in +her life before. At such times her face was joyous and innocent as a +little child's; but there were also hours of gloom, that transformed +it into an expression of sullen apathy. Then a dull glassy look took +possession of her eye, the full lip drooped and the form seemed rigid +and stiff. Obstinate determination neither to move nor speak +characterized her in what Louis used to call the young squaw's "dark +hour." Then it was that the savage nature seemed predominant, and her +gentle nurse almost feared to look at her _protegee_ or approach +her. + +"Hector," said Louis, "you spoke about a jar of water being left at +the camp. The jar would be a great treasure to us. Let us go over for +it." Hector assented to the proposal. "And we may possibly pick up a +few grains of Indian corn, to add to what you showed us." + +"If we are here in the spring," said Hector, "you and I will prepare a +small patch of ground and plant it with this corn;" and he sat down on +the end of a log and began carefully to count the rows of grain on the +cob, and then each corn, grain by grain. "Three hundred and ten sound +grains. Now if every one of these produce a strong plant, we shall +have a great increase, and besides seed for another year, there will +be, if it is a good year, several bushels to eat." + +"We shall have a glorious summer, mon ami, no doubt, and a fine +flourishing crop; and Kate is a good hand at making supporne." +[Footnote: Supporne probably an Indian word for a stirabout, or +porridge, made of Indian meal, a common dish in every Canadian or +Yankee farmer's house.] + +"You forget we have no porridge pot." + +"I was thinking of that Indian jar all the time. You will see what +fine cookery we will make when we get it, if it will but stand fire. +Come, let us be off; I am impatient till we get it home;" and Louis, +who had now a new crotchet at work in his fertile and vivacious brain, +walked and danced along at a rate which proved a great disturbance to +his graver companion, who tried to keep down his cousin's lively +spirits by suggesting the probability of the jar being cracked, or +that the Indians might have returned for it; but Louis was not one of +the doubting sort, and was right in not damping the ardour of his mind +by causeless fears. The jar was there at the deserted camp, and though +it had been knocked over by some animal, it was sound and strong, and +excited great speculation in the two cousins as to the particular +material of which it was made, as it was unlike any sort of pottery +they had ever before seen. It seemed to have been manufactured from +some very dark red earth, or clay mixed up with pounded granite, as it +presented the appearance of some coarse crystals. It was very hard and +ponderous, and the surface was marked over in a rude sort of pattern, +as if punctured and scratched with some pointed instrument. It seemed +to have been hardened by fire, and, from the smoked hue of one side, +had evidently done good service as a cooking utensil. Subsequently +they learned the way in which it was used. [Footnote: Pieces of this +rude pottery are often found along the shores of the inland lakes, but +I have never met with any of the perfect vessels in use with the +Indians, who probably find it now easier to supply themselves with +iron pots and crockery from the towns of the European settlers.] The +jar, being placed near but not on the fire, was surrounded by hot +embers, and the water made to boil by stones being made red hot and +plunged into it. In this way soups and other food were prepared and +kept stewing, with no further trouble, after once the simmering began, +than adding a few fresh embers at the side farthest from the fire. A +hot stone, also, placed on the top, facilitated the cooking process. + +Louis, who like all French people was addicted to cookery,--indeed it +was an accomplishment he prided himself on,--was enchanted with the +improvement made in their diet by the acquisition of the said earthen +jar, or pipkin, and gave Indiana some praise for initiating his cousin +in the use of it. Catharine and Hector declared that he went out with +his bow and arrows, and visited his dead-falls and snares, ten times +oftener than he used to do, just for the sake of proving the admirable +properties of this precious utensil, and finding out some new way of +dressing his game. + +At all events, there was a valuable increase of furs, for making up +into clothing, caps, leggings, mitts, and other articles. + +From the Indian girl Catharine learned the value of many of the herbs +and shrubs that grew in her path, the bark and leaves of various +trees, and many dyes she could extract, with which she stained the +quills of the porcupine and the strips of the wood of which she made +baskets and mats. The little creeping winter-green, [Footnote: +Gaultheria procumbens,--spice winter-green.] with its scarlet berries, +that grows on the dry flats or sandy hills, which the Canadians call +spice-berry, she showed them was good to eat; and she would crush the +leaves, draw forth their fine aromatic flavour in her hands, and then +inhale their fragrance with delight. She made an infusion of the +leaves, and drank it as a tonic. The inner bark of the wild black +cherry she said was good to cure ague and fever. The root of the +bitter-sweet she scraped down and boiled in the deer-fat, or the fat +of any other animal, and made an ointment that possessed very healing +qualities, especially as an immediate application to fresh burns. + +Sometimes she showed a disposition to mystery, and would conceal the +knowledge of the particular herbs she made use of; and Catharine +several times noticed that she would go out and sprinkle a portion of +the food she had assisted her in preparing, on the earth, or under +some of the trees or bushes. When she was more familiar with their +language, she told Catharine this was done in token of gratitude to +the Good Spirit, who had given them success in hunting or trapping; or +else it was to appease the malice of the Evil Spirit; who might bring +mischief or loss to them, or sickness or death, unless his forbearance +was purchased by some particular mark of attention. + +Attention, memory, and imitation appeared to form the three most +remarkable of the mental faculties developed by the Indian girl. She +examined (when once her attention was roused) any object with critical +minuteness. Any knowledge she had once acquired she retained; her +memory was great, she never missed a path she had once trodden; she +seemed even to single out particular birds in a flock, to know them +from their companions. Her powers of imitation were also great. She +brought patience and perseverance to assist her: when once thoroughly +interested in any work she began, she would toil on untiringly till it +was completed; and then what triumph shone in her eyes! At such times +they became darkly brilliant with the joy that filled her heart. But +she possessed little talent for invention; what she had seen done, +after a few imperfect attempts, she could do again, but she rarely +struck out any new path for herself. + +At times she was docile and even playful, and appeared grateful for +the kindness with which she was treated, each day seemed to increase +her fondness for Catharine, and she appeared to delight in doing any +little service to please and gratify her; but it was towards Hector +that she displayed the deepest feeling of affection and respect. It +was to him her first tribute of fruit, or flowers, furs, moccasins, or +ornamental plumage of rare birds, was offered. She seemed to turn to +him as to a master and protector. He was in her eyes the "_chief_," +the head of his tribe. His bow was strung by her, and stained with +quaint figures and devices; his arrows were carved by her; the sheath +of deer-skin he carried his knife in was made and ornamented by her +hands; also, the case for his arrows, of birch-bark, she wrought with +especial neatness, and suspended by thongs to his neck when he was +preparing to go out in search of game. She gave him the name of the +"Young Eagle," while she called Louis "Nee-chee," or "Friend," to +Catharine she gave the poetical name of "Music of the Winds,"--_Madwaosh_. + +When they asked her to tell them her own name, she would bend down her +head in sorrow and refuse to pronounce it. She soon answered to the +name of Indiana, and seemed pleased with the sound. + +But of all the household, next to Hector, old Wolfe was her greatest +favourite. At first, it is true, the old dog regarded the new inmate +with a jealous eye, and seemed uneasy when he saw her approach to +caress him; but Indiana soon reconciled him to her person, and a +mutual friendly feeling became established between them, which seemed +daily and hourly to increase, greatly to the delight of the young +stranger. She would seat herself Eastern fashion, cross-legged on the +floor of the shanty, with the capacious head of the old dog in her +lap, and address herself to this mute companion in wailing tones, as +if she would unburden her heart by pouring into his unconscious ear +her tale of desolation and woe. + +Catharine was always very particular and punctual in performing her +personal ablutions, and she intimated to Indiana that it was good for +her to do the same. The young girl seemed reluctant to follow her +example, till daily custom had reconciled her to what she evidently at +first regarded as an unnecessary ceremony; but she soon took pleasure +in dressing her dark hair, and suffering Catharine to braid it and +polish it till it looked glossy and soft. Indiana in her turn would +adorn Catharine with the wings of the blue-bird or red-bird, the crest +of the wood-duck, or quill feathers of the golden-winged flicker, +which is called in the Indian tongue the shot-bird, in allusion to the +round spots on its cream-coloured breast. [Footnote: The golden-winged +flicker belongs to a sub-genus of woodpeckers, it is very handsome, +and is said to be eatable, it lives on fruits and insects.] It was not +in these things alone she indicated her grateful sense of the sisterly +kindness that her young hostess showed to her; she soon learned to +lighten her labours in every household work, and above all, she spent +her time most usefully in manufacturing clothing from the skins of the +wild animals, and in teaching Catharine how to fit and prepare them: +but these were the occupations of the winter months. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +"Go to the ant."--Proverbs. + + +It was now the middle of September. The weather, which had continued +serene and beautiful for some time, with dewy nights and misty +mornings, began to show symptoms of the change of season usual at the +approach of the equinox. Sudden squalls of wind, with hasty showers, +would come sweeping over the lake; the nights and mornings were damp +and chilly. Already the tints of autumn were beginning to crimson the +foliage of the oaks, and where the islands were visible, the splendid +colours of the maple shone out in gorgeous contrast with the deep +verdure of the evergreens and light golden-yellow of the poplar; but +lovely as they now looked, they had not yet reached the meridian of +their beauty, which a few frosty nights at the close of the month were +destined to bring to perfection--a glow of splendour to gladden the +eye for a brief space, before the rushing winds and rains of the +following month were to sweep them away and scatter them abroad upon +the earth. + +One morning, after a night of heavy rain and wind, the two boys went +down to see if the lake was calm enough for trying the raft, which +Louis had finished before the coming on of the bad weather. The water +was rough and crested with mimic waves, and they felt indisposed to +launch the raft on so stormy a surface, but stood looking out over the +lake and admiring the changing foliage, when Hector pointed out to his +cousin a dark speck dancing on the waters, between the two nearest +islands. The wind, which blew very strong still from the north-east, +brought the object nearer every minute. At first they thought it might +be a pine-branch that was floating on the surface, when as it came +bounding over the waves, they perceived that it was a birch canoe, but +impelled by no visible arm. It was a strange sight upon that lonely +lake to see a vessel of any kind afloat, and, on first deciding that +it was a canoe, the boys were inclined to hide themselves among the +bushes, for fear of the Indians; but curiosity got the better of their +fears. + +"The owner of yonder little craft is either asleep or absent from her; +for I see no paddle, and it is evidently drifting without any one to +guide it," said Hector, after intently watching the progress of the +tempest-driven canoe. Assured as it approached nearer that such was +the case, they hurried to the beach just as a fresh gust had lodged +the canoe among the branches of a fallen cedar which projected out +some way into the water. + +By creeping along the trunk of the tree, and trusting at times to the +projecting boughs, Louis, who was the most active and the lightest of +weight, succeeded in getting within reach of the canoe, and with some +trouble and the help of a stout branch that Hector handed to him, he +contrived to moor her in safety on the shore, taking the precaution of +hauling her well up on the shingle, lest the wind and water should set +her afloat again. "Hec, there is something in this canoe, the sight of +which will gladden your heart," cried Louis, with a joyful look. "Come +quickly, and see my treasures!" + +"Treasures! You may well call them treasures," exclaimed Hector, as he +helped Louis to examine the contents of the canoe and place them on +the shore side by side. + +The boys could hardly find words to express their joy and surprise at +the discovery of a large jar of parched rice, a tomahawk, an Indian +blanket almost as good as new, a large mat rolled up, with a bass-bark +rope several yards in length wound round it, and, what was more +precious than all, an iron three-legged pot in which was a quantity of +Indian corn. These articles had evidently constituted the stores of +some Indian hunter or trapper: possibly the canoe had been imperfectly +secured, and had drifted from its moorings during the gale of the +previous night, unless by some accident the owner had fallen into the +lake and been drowned. This was of course only a matter of conjecture +on which it was useless to speculate, and the boys joyfully took +possession of the good fortune that had so providentially been wafted, +as it were, to their very feet. + +"It was a capital chance for us, that old cedar having been blown down +last night just where it was," said Louis; "for if the canoe had not +been drawn into the eddy, and stopped by the branches, we might have +lost it. I trembled, when I saw the wind driving it on so rapidly, +that it would founder in the deep water or go off to Long Island." + +"I think we should have got it at Pine-tree Point," said Hector; "but +I am glad it was lodged so cleverly among the cedar boughs. I was half +afraid you would have fallen in once or twice when you were trying to +draw it nearer to the shore." + +"Never fear for me, my friend; I can cling like a wild cat when I +climb. But what a grand pot! What delightful soups, and stews, and +boils Catharine will make! Hurrah!" and Louis tossed up the new fur +cap he had made with great skill from an entire fox-skin, and cut +sundry fantastic capers which Hector gravely condemned as unbecoming +his mature age (Louis was turned of fifteen); but with the joyous +spirit of a little child he sang and danced, and laughed and shouted, +till the lonely echoes of the islands and far-off hills returned the +unusual sounds, and even his more steady cousin caught the infection +and laughed to see Louis so elated. + +Leaving Hector to guard the prize, Louis ran gaily off to fetch +Catharine to share his joy and come and admire the canoe, and the +blanket, and the tripod, and the corn, and the tomahawk. Indiana +accompanied them to the lake shore, and long and carefully she +examined the canoe and its contents, and many were the plaintive +exclamations she uttered as she surveyed the things piece by piece, +till she took notice of the broken handle of an Indian paddle which +lay at the bottom of the vessel: this seemed to afford some solution +to her of the mystery, and by broken words and signs she intimated +that the paddle had possibly broken in the hand of the Indian, and +that in endeavouring to regain the other part, he had lost his balance +and been drowned. She showed Hector a rude figure of a bird engraved +with some sharp instrument, and rubbed in with a blue colour. This she +said was the totem or crest of the chief of the tribe, and was meant +to represent a _crow_. The canoe had belonged to a chief of that name. + +While they were dividing the contents of the canoe among them to be +carried to the shanty, Indiana, taking up the bass-rope and the +blanket, bundled up the most of the things, and adjusting the broad +thick part of the rope to the front of her head, she bore off the +burden with as great apparent ease as a London or an Edinburgh porter +would his trunks and packages, turning round with a merry glance and +repeating some Indian words with a lively air as she climbed the steep +bank, and soon distanced her companions, to her great delight. That +night Indiana cooked some of the parched rice, Indian fashion, with +venison, and they enjoyed the novelty very much; it made an excellent +substitute for bread, of which they had been so long deprived. + +Indiana gave them to understand that the rice harvest would soon be +ready on the lake, and that now they had got a canoe, they would go +out and gather it, and so lay by a store to last them for many months. + +This little incident furnished the inhabitants of the shanty with +frequent themes for discussion. Hector declared that the Indian corn +was the most valuable of their acquisitions. "It will insure us a crop +and bread and seed-corn for many years," he said. He also highly +valued the tomahawk, as his axe was worn and blunt. Louis was divided +between the iron pot and the canoe. Hector seemed to think the raft +might have formed a substitute for the latter, besides, Indiana had +signified her intention of helping him to make a canoe. Catharine +declared in favour of the blanket, as it would make, after thorough +ablutions, warm petticoats with tight bodices for herself and Indiana. +With deer-skin leggings and a fur jacket, they should be comfortably +clad. Indiana thought the canoe the most precious, and was charmed +with the good jar and the store of rice; nor did she despise the +packing-rope, which she soon showed was of use in carrying burdens +from place to place, Indian fashion. By placing a pad of soft fur in +front of the head, she could carry heavy loads with great ease. The +mat, she said, would be useful for drying the rice she meant to store. + +The next day after this adventure, the two girls set to work, and with +the help of Louis's large knife, which was called into requisition as +a substitute for scissors, they cut out the blanket dresses, and in a +short time made two comfortable and not very unsightly garments. The +full, short, plaited skirts reached a little below the knees; light +vests, bordered with fur, completed the upper part; and leggings, +terminated at the ankles by knotted fringes of doeskin, with moccasins +turned over with a band of squirrel fur, completed the novel costume; +and many a glance of innocent satisfaction did our young damsels cast +upon each other, when they walked forth in the pride of girlish vanity +to display their dresses to Hector and Louis, who, for their part, +regarded them as most skilful dressmakers, and were never tired of +admiring and commending their ingenuity in the making and fitting, +considering what rude implements they were obliged to use in the +cutting out and sewing of the garments. + +The extensive rice-beds on the lake had now begun to assume a golden +tinge, which contrasted very delightfully with the deep-blue waters, +looking, when lighted up by the sunbeams, like islands of +golden-coloured sand. The ears, heavy laden with the ripe grain, +drooped towards; the water. The time of the rice-harvest was at hand, +and with light and joyous hearts our young adventurers launched the +canoe, and, guided in their movements by the little squaw, paddled to +the extensive aquatic fields to gather it in, leaving Catharine and +Wolfe to watch their proceedings from the raft, which Louis had +fastened to a young tree that projected out over the lake, and which +made a good landing-place, likewise a wharf where they could stand and +fish very comfortably. As the canoe could not be overloaded on account +of the rice-gathering, Catharine very readily consented to employ +herself with fishing from the raft till their return. + +The manner of procuring the rice was very simple. One person steered +the canoe with the aid of the paddle along the edge of the rice-beds, +and another with a stick in one hand, and a curved sharp-edged paddle +in the other, struck the heads off as they bent them over the edge of +the stick; the chief art was in letting the heads fall into the canoe, +which a little practice soon enabled them to do as expertly as the +mower lets the grass fall in ridges beneath his scythe. + +Many bushels of wild rice were thus collected. Nothing could be more +delightful than this sort of work to our young people, and merrily +they worked, and laughed and sang as they came home each day with +their light bark laden with a store of grain which they knew would +preserve them from starving through the long, dreary winter that was +coming on. + +The canoe was a source of great comfort and pleasure to them. They +were now able to paddle out into the deep water and fish for +masquinonje and black bass, which they caught in great numbers. +Indiana seemed quite another creature when, armed with a paddle of her +own carving, she knelt at the head of the canoe and sent it flying +over the water; then her dark eyes, often so vacant and glassy, +sparkled with delight, and her teeth gleamed with ivory whiteness as +her face broke into smiles and dimples. + +It was delightful then to watch this child of nature, and see how +innocently happy she could be when rejoicing in the excitement of +healthy exercise, and elated by a consciousness of the power she +possessed of excelling her companions in feats of strength and skill +which they had yet to acquire by imitating her. + +Even Louis was obliged to confess that the young savage knew more of +the management of a canoe, and the use of the bow and arrow and the +fishing-line, than either himself or his cousin. Hector was lost in +admiration of her skill in all these things, and Indiana rose highly +in his estimation, the more he saw of her usefulness. + +"Every one to his craft," said Louis, laughing. "The little squaw has +been brought up in the knowledge and practice of such matters from her +babyhood; perhaps if we were to set her to knitting and spinning, +milking cows, and house-work, and learning to read, I doubt if she +would prove half as quick as Catharine or Mathilde." + +"I wonder if she knows anything of God or our Saviour," said Hector +thoughtfully. + +"Who should have taught her? for the Indians are all heathens," +replied Louis. + +"I have heard my dear mother say the missionaries have taken great +pains to teach the Indian children about Quebec and Montreal, and that +so far from being stupid, they learn very readily," said Catharine. + +"We must try and make Indiana learn to say her prayers. She sits quite +still, and seems to take no notice of what we are doing when we kneel +down before we go to bed," observed Hector. + +"She cannot understand what we say," said Catharine; "for she knows so +little of our language yet, that of course she cannot comprehend the +prayers, which are in other sort of words than what we use in speaking +of hunting, and fishing, and cooking, and such matters." + +"Well, when she knows more of our way of speaking, then we must teach +her. It is a sad thing for Christian children to live with an untaught +pagan," said Louis, who, being rather bigoted in his creed, felt a +sort of uneasiness in his own mind at the poor girl's total want of +the rites of his church; but Hector and Catharine regarded her +ignorance with feelings of compassionate interest, and lost no +opportunity of trying to enlighten her darkened mind on the subject of +belief in the God who made and the Lord who saved them. Simply and +earnestly they entered into the task as a labour of love; and though +for a long time Indiana seemed to pay little attention to what they +said, by slow degrees the good seed took root and brought forth fruit +worthy of Him whose Spirit poured the beams of spiritual light into +her heart. But my young readers must not imagine these things were the +work of a day: the process was slow, and so were the results, but they +were good in the end. + +Catharine was glad when, after many months of patient teaching, the +Indian girl asked permission to kneel down with her white friend and +pray to the Great Spirit and his Son in the same words that Christ +Jesus gave to his disciples; and if the full meaning of that holy +prayer, so full of humility and love and moral justice, was not fully +understood by her whose lips repeated it, yet even the act of worship +and the desire to do that which she had been told was right were, +doubtless, sacrifices better than the pagan rites which that young +girl had witnessed among her father's people, who, blindly following +the natural impulse of man in his depraved nature, regarded bloodshed +and cruelty as among the highest of human virtues, and gloried in +those deeds of vengeance at which the Christian mind revolts with +horror. + +Indiana took upon herself the management of the rice, drying, husking, +and storing it, the two lads working under her direction. She caused +several forked stakes to be cut, sharpened, and driven into the +ground. On these were laid four poles, so as to form a frame. Over it +she stretched the bass-mat, which she secured by means of forked pegs +to the frame. On the mat she then spread out the rice thinly, and +lighted a fire beneath, taking good care not to let the flame set fire +to the mat, the object being rather to keep up a strong, slow heat by +means of the red embers. She next directed the boys to supply her with +pine or cedar boughs, which she stuck in close together, so as to +enclose the fire within the area of the stakes. This was done to +concentrate the heat and cause it to bear upwards with more power, the +rice being frequently stirred with a sort of long-handled, flat +shovel. After the rice was sufficiently dried, the next thing to be +done was separating it from the husk. This was effected by putting it, +in small quantities, into the iron pot, and with a sort of wooden +pestle or beetle rubbing it round and round against the sides. +[Footnote: The Indians often make use of a very rude, primitive sort +of mortar, by hollowing out a bass-wood stump, and rubbing the rice +with a wooden pounder.] If they had not had the iron pot, a wooden +trough must have been substituted in its stead. + +When the rice was husked, the loose chaff was winnowed from it in a +flat basket like a sieve; and it was then put by in coarse birch +baskets, roughly sewed with leather-wood bark, or bags made of matting +woven by the little squaw from the cedar-bark. A portion was also +parched, which was simply done by putting the rice dry into the iron +pot, and setting it on hot embers, stirring the grain till it burst; +it was then stored by for use. Rice thus prepared is eaten dry, as a +substitute for bread, by the Indians. + +The lake was now swarming with wild-fowl of various kinds: crowds of +ducks were winging their way across it from morning till night, +floating in vast flocks upon its surface, or rising in noisy groups if +an eagle or fish-hawk appeared sailing with slow, majestic circles +above them, then settling down with noisy splash upon the calm water. +The shores, too, were covered with these birds, feeding on the fallen +acorns which fell ripe and brown with every passing breeze. + +The berries of the dogwood also furnished them with food; but the wild +rice seemed the great attraction, and small shell-fish and the larvae +of many insects that had been dropped into the waters, there to come +to perfection in due season, or to form a provision for myriads of +wild-fowl that had come from the far north-west to feed upon them, +guided by that instinct which has so beautifully been termed by one of +our modern poetesses,-- + + "God's gift to the weak." [Footnote: Mrs. Southey.] + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + "Oh, come and hear what cruel wrongs + Befell the Dark Ladye"--COLERIDGE. + + +The Mohawk girl was in high spirits at the coming of the wild-fowl to +the lake; she would clap her hands and laugh with almost childish glee +as she looked at them darkening the lake like clouds resting on its +surface. "If I had but my father's gun, his good old gun, now!" would +Hector say, as he eyed the timorous flocks as they rose and fell upon +the lake; "but these foolish birds are so shy they are away before an +arrow can reach them." + +Indiana smiled in her quiet way; she was busy filling the canoe with +green boughs, which she arranged so as completely to transform the +little vessel into the semblance of a floating island of evergreen. +Within this bower she motioned Hector to crouch down, leaving a small +space for the free use of his bow; while concealed at the prow she +gently and noiselessly paddled the canoe from the shore among the +rice-beds, letting it remain stationary or merely rocking to and fro +with the undulatory motion of the waters. + +The unsuspecting birds, deceived into full security, eagerly pursued +their pastime or their prey, and it was no difficult matter for the +hidden archer to hit many a black duck, or teal, or whistlewing, as it +floated securely on the placid water, or rose to shift its place a few +yards up or down the stream. Soon the lake around was strewed with the +feathered game, which Wolfe, cheered on by Louis who was stationed on +the shore, brought to land. + +Indiana told Hector that this was the season when the Indians made +great gatherings on the lake for duck-shooting, which they pursued +much after the same fashion as that which has been described, only +instead of one, a dozen or more canoes would be thus disguised with +boughs, with others stationed at different parts of the lake, or under +the shelter of the island, to collect the birds. This sport generally +concluded with a great feast. + +The Indians offered the first of the birds as an oblation to the Great +Spirit, as a grateful acknowledgment of his bounty in having allowed +them to gather food thus plentifully for their families. Sometimes +distant tribes with whom they were on terms of friendship were invited +to share the sport and partake of the spoils. + +Indiana could not understand why Hector did not follow the custom of +her Indian fathers, and offer the first duck or the best fish to +propitiate the Great Spirit. Hector told her that the God he +worshipped desired no sacrifice; that his holy Son, when he came down +from heaven and gave himself as a sacrifice for the sin of the world, +had satisfied his Father, the Great Spirit, an hundredfold. + +They feasted now continually upon the water-fowl, and Catharine +learned from Indiana how to skin them, and so preserve the feathers +for making tippets, and bonnets, and ornamental trimmings, which are +not only warm, but light and very becoming. They split open the birds +they did not require for present consumption, and dried them for +winter store, smoking some after the manner the Shetlanders and the +Orkney people smoke the solan geese. Their shanty displayed an +abundant store of provisions--fish, flesh, and fowl, besides baskets +of wild rice and bags of dried fruit. + +One day Indiana came in from the brow of the hill, and told the boys +that the lake eastward was covered with canoes, she showed, by holding +up her two hands and then three fingers, that she had counted +thirteen. The tribes had met for the annual duck-feast and the +rice-harvest. She advised them to put out the fire, so that no smoke +might be seen to attract them, but said they would not leave the lake +for hunting over the plains just then, as the camp was lower down on +the point [Footnote: This point, commonly known as _Andersen's Point_, +now the seat of an Indian village, used in former times to be a great +place of rendezvous for the Indians, and was the scene of a murderous +carnage or massacre that took place about eighty years ago; the war +weapons and bones of the Indians are often turned up with the plough +at this day.] east of the mouth of a big river, which she called +"Otonabee." + +Hector asked Indiana if she would go away and leave them in the event +of meeting with any of her own tribe. The girl cast her eyes on the +earth in silence; a dark cloud seemed to gather over her face. + +"If they should prove to be any of your father's people, or a friendly +tribe, would you go away with them?" he again repeated; to which she +solemnly replied,-- + +"Indiana has no father, no tribe, no people; no blood of her father +warms the heart of any man, woman, or child, saving herself alone. But +Indiana is a brave, and the daughter of a brave, and will not shrink +from danger: her heart is warm; red blood flows warm here," and she +laid her hand on her heart. Then lifting up her hand, she said in slow +but impassioned tone, "They left not one drop of living blood to flow +in any veins but these." She raised her eyes, and stretched her arms +upwards toward heaven, as though calling down vengeance on the +murderers of her father's house. + +"My father was a Mohawk, the son of a great chief, who owned these +hunting-grounds far as your eye can see to the rising and setting sun, +along the big waters of the big lakes; but the Ojebwas, a portion of +the Chippewa nation, by treachery cut off my father's people by +hundreds in cold blood, when they were defenceless and at rest. It was +a bloody day and a bloody deed." + +Instead of hiding herself, as Hector and Louis strongly advised the +young Mohawk to do, she preferred remaining, as a scout, she said, +under the cover of the bushes on the edge of the steep that overlooked +the lake, to watch the movements of the Indians. She told Hector to be +under no apprehension if they came to the hut; not to attempt to +conceal themselves, but offer them food to eat and water to drink. "If +they come to the house and find you away, they will take your stores +and burn your roof, suspecting that you are afraid to meet them +openly; but they will not harm you if you meet them with open hand and +fearless brow: if they eat of your bread, they will not harm you; me +they would kill by a cruel death--the war-knife is in their heart +against the daughter of the brave." + +The boys thought Indiana's advice good, and they felt no fear for +themselves, only for Catharine, whom they counselled to remain in the +shanty with Wolfe. + +The Indians, intent only on the sport which they had come to enjoy, +seemed in high glee, and apparently peaceably disposed; every night +they returned to the camp on the north side. The boys could see their +fires gleaming among the trees on the opposite shore; and now and +then, in the stillness of the evening, their wild shouts of revelry +would come faintly to their ears, borne by the breeze over the waters +of the lake. + +The allusion that Indiana had made to her own history, though conveyed +in broken and hardly intelligible language, had awakened feelings of +deep interest for her in the breasts of her faithful friends. Many +months after this she related to her wondering auditors the fearful +story of the massacre of her kindred, which I will now relate, as I +have raised the curiosity of my youthful readers. + +There had been for some time a jealous feeling existing between the +chiefs of two principal tribes of the Ojebwas and the Mohawks, which +like a smothered fire had burned in the heart of each without having +burst into a decided blaze; for each strove to compass his ends and +obtain the advantage over the other by covert means. The tribe of the +Mohawks of which I now speak claimed the southern shores of the Rice +Lake for their hunting-grounds, and certain islands and parts of the +lake for fishing, while that of the Ojebwas considered themselves +masters of the northern shores and certain rights of water besides. +[Footnote: The facts of this narrative were gathered from the lips of +the eldest son of a Rice Lake chief. I have preferred giving it in the +present form, rather than as the story of the Indian girl. Simple as +it is, it is matter of history.] Possibly it was about these rights +that the quarrel originated; but if so, it was not openly avowed +between the "Black Snake" (that was the totem borne by the Mohawk +chief) and the "Bald Eagle" (the totem of the Ojebwa). + +These chiefs had each a son, and the Bald Eagle had also a daughter of +great and rare beauty, called by her people the "Beam of the Morning." +She was the admiration of Mohawks as well as Ojebwas, and many of the +young men of both the tribes had sought her hand, but hitherto in +vain. Among her numerous suitors, the son of the Black Snake seemed to +be the most enamoured of her beauty; and it was probably with some +intention of winning the favour of the young Ojebwa squaw for his son, +that the Black Snake accepted the formal invitation of the Bald Eagle +to come to his hunting-grounds during the rice-harvest, and shoot deer +and ducks on the lake, and to ratify a truce which had been for some +time set on foot between them. But while outwardly professing +friendship and a desire for peace, inwardly the fire of hatred burned +fiercely in the breast of the Black Snake against the Ojebwa chief and +his only son, a young man of great promise, renowned among his tribe +as a great hunter and warrior, but who had once offended the Mohawk +chief by declining a matrimonial alliance with one of the daughters of +a chief of inferior rank who was closely connected to him by marriage. +This affront rankled in the heart of the Black Snake, though outwardly +he affected to have forgiven and forgotten the slight that had been +put upon his relative. + +The hunting had been carried on for some days very amicably, when one +day the Bald Eagle was requested, with all due attention to Indian +etiquette, to go to the wigwam of the Black Snake. On entering the +lodge, he perceived the Mohawk strangely disordered: he rose from his +mat, on which he had been sleeping, with a countenance fearfully +distorted, his eyes glaring hideously, his whole frame convulsed and +writhing as in fearful bodily anguish; and casting himself upon the +ground he rolled and grovelled on the earth, uttering frightful yells +and groans. + +The Bald Eagle was moved at the distressing state in which he found +his guest, and asked the cause of his disorder, but this the other +refused to tell. After some hours the fit appeared to subside, but the +chief remained moody and silent. The following day the same scene was +repeated; and on the third, when the fit seemed to have increased in +bodily agony, with great apparent reluctance, wrung seemingly from him +by the importunity of his host, he consented to reveal the cause, +which was, that the Bad Spirit had told him that these bodily tortures +could not cease till the only son of his friend, the Ojebwa chief, had +been sacrificed to appease his anger, neither could peace long +continue between the two nations until this deed had been done; and +not only must the chief's son be slain, but his flesh must be served +up at a feast at which the father must preside. The Black Snake +affected the utmost horror and aversion at so bloody and unnatural a +deed being committed to save his life and the happiness of his tribe, +but the peace was to be ratified for ever if the sacrifice were +made,--if not, war to the knife was to be ever between the Mohawks and +Ojebwas. + +The Bald Eagle, seeing that his treacherous guest would make this an +occasion of renewing a deadly warfare, for which possibly he was not +at the time well prepared, assumed a stoical calmness, and replied,-- + +"Be it so; great is the power of the Bad Spirit to cause evil to the +tribes of the chiefs that rebel against his will. My son shall be +sacrificed by my hand, that the evil one may be appeased, and that the +Black Snake's body may have ease, and his people rest beside the fires +of their lodges in peace." + +"The Bald Eagle has spoken like a chief with a large heart," was the +specious response of the wily Mohawk, "moreover, the Good Spirit also +appeared, and said, 'Let the Black Snake's son and the Bald Eagle's +daughter become man and wife, that peace may be found to dwell among +the lodges, and the war-hatchet be buried for ever.'" + +"The Beam of the Morning shall become the wife of the Young Pine," was +the courteous answer; but stern revenge lay deep hidden beneath the +unmoved brow and passionless lip. + +The fatal day arrived. The Bald Eagle, with unflinching hand and eye +that dropped no human tear of sorrow for the son of his love, saw his +son bound to the fatal post and pierced by the arrows of his own +tribe. The fearful feast of human flesh was prepared, and the old +chief, pale but unmoved, presided over the ceremonies. The war-dance +was danced round the sacrifice, and all went off well, as if no such +horrible rite had been enacted, but a fearful retribution was at hand. +The Young Pine sought the tent of the Bald Eagle's daughter that +evening, and was received with all due deference, as a son of so great +a chief as the Black Snake merited. He was regarded now as a +successful suitor; and, intoxicated with the beauty of the Beam of the +Morning, he pressed her to allow the marriage to take place in a few +days. The bride consented, and a day was named for the wedding feast +to be celebrated; and, that due honour might be given to so great an +event, invitations were sent out to the principal families of the +Mohawk tribe, and these amounted to several hundreds of souls; while +the young Ojebwa hunters were despatched up the river and to different +parts of the country, avowedly to collect venison, beaver, and other +delicacies, to regale their guests, but in reality to summon, by means +of trusty scouts, a large war-party from the small lakes, to be in +readiness to take part in the deadly revenge that was preparing for +their enemies. + +Meantime the squaws had pitched the nuptial tent and prepared the +bridal ornaments. A large wigwam, capable of containing all the +expected guests, was then constructed, adorned with the thick branches +of evergreens, so artfully contrived as to be capable of concealing +the armed Ojebwas and their allies, who in due time were introduced +beneath this leafy screen, armed with the murderous tomahawk and +scalping-knife, with which to spring upon their defenceless and +unsuspecting guests. According to the etiquette always observed upon +such occasions, all deadly weapons were left outside the tent. The +bridegroom had been conducted with songs and dancing to the tent of +the bride. The guests, to the number of several hundred naked and +painted warriors, were assembled. The feast was declared to be ready. +A great iron pot or kettle occupied the centre of the tent. According +to the custom of the Indians, the father of the bridegroom was invited +to lift the most important dish from the pot, whilst the warriors +commenced their war-dance around him. This dish was usually a bear's +head, which was fastened to a string left for the purpose of raising +it from the pot. + +"Let the Black Snake, the great chief of the Mohawks, draw up the head +and set it on the table, that his people may eat and make merry, and +that his wise heart may be glad," were the scornful words of the Bald +Eagle. + +A yell of horror burst from the lips of the horror-stricken father as +he lifted to view the fresh gory head of his only son, the _happy_ +bridegroom the lovely daughter of the Ojebwa chief. + +"Ha!" shouted the Bald Eagle, "is the great chief of the Mohawks a +squaw, that his blood grows white and his heart trembles at the sight +of his son, the bridegroom of the Beam of the Morning? The Bald Eagle +gave neither sigh nor groan when he saw the arrows pierce the heart of +his child. Come, brother, take the knife; taste the flesh and drink +the blood of thy son. The Bald Eagle shrank not when you bade him +partake of the feast that was prepared from his young warrior's body." + +The wretched father dashed himself upon the earth, while his cries and +howlings rent the air. These cries were answered by the war-whoop of +the ambushed Ojebwas, as they sprang to their feet and with deafening +yells attacked the guests, who, panic-stricken, naked and defenceless, +fell an easy prey to their infuriated enemies. Not one living foe +escaped to tell the tale of that fearful marriage feast. A second +Judith had the chief's daughter proved. It was her plighted hand that +had severed the head of her unsuspecting bridegroom, to complete the +fearful vengeance that had been devised in return for the merciless +and horrible murder of her brother. + +Nor was the sacrifice yet finished; for with fearful cries the Indians +seized upon the canoes of their enemies, and with the utmost speed, +urged by unsatisfied revenge, hurried down the lake to an island where +the women and children and such of the aged or young men as were not +included among the wedding guests were encamped in unsuspecting +security. Panic-stricken, the Mohawks offered no resistance, but fell +like sheep appointed for the slaughter. The Ojebwas slew there the +gray-head with the infant of days. But while the youths and old men +tamely yielded to their enemies, there was one who, her spirit roused +to fury by the murder of her father, armed herself with the war-club +and knife, and boldly withstood the successful warriors. At the door +of the tent of the slaughtered chief the Amazon defended her children. +While the war lightning kindled in her dark eyes, she called aloud in +scornful tones to her people to hide themselves in the tents of their +women, who alone were braves, and would fight their battles. Fiercely +she taunted the men; but they shrank from the unequal contest, and she +alone was found to deal the death-blow upon the foe, till, overpowered +with numbers, and pierced with frightful wounds, she fell singing her +own death-song and raising the wail for the dead who lay around her. +Night closed in, but the work of blood still continued. Lower down +they found another encampment, and there also they slew all the +inhabitants of the lodges. They then returned to the island, to gather +together their dead and to collect the spoils of the tents. They were +weary with the fatigue of the slaughter of that fearful day. The +retribution had satisfied even their love of blood. And when they +found, on returning to the spot where the heroine had stood at bay, a +young solitary female sitting beside the corpse of that dauntless +woman, her mother, they led her away, and did all that their savage +nature could suggest to soften her anguish and dry her tears. They +brought her to the tents of their women, clothed and fed her, and bade +her be comforted; but her young heart burned within her, and she +refused consolation. She could not forget the wrongs of her people: +she was the only living creature left of the Mohawks on that island. +The young girl was Indiana--the same whom Hector Maxwell had found, +wounded and bound, and ready to perish with hunger and thirst, on Bare +Hill. + +Brooding with revenge in her heart, the young girl told them that she +had stolen into the tent of the Bald Eagle, and aimed a knife at his +throat; but the fatal blow was arrested by one of the young men, who +had watched her enter the old chief's tent. A council was called, and +she was taken to Bare Hill, bound, and left in the sad state already +described. + +It was with feelings of horror and terror that the Christian children +listened to this fearful tale, and Indiana read in their averted eyes +and pale faces the feelings with which the recital of the tale of +blood had inspired them. And then it was, as they sat beneath the +shade of the trees, in the soft, misty light of an Indian summer moon, +that Catharine, with simple earnestness, taught her young disciple +those heavenly lessons of mercy and forgiveness which her Redeemer had +set forth by his life, his doctrines, and his death--telling her that +if she, would see that Saviour's face in heaven, and dwell with him in +joy and peace for ever, she must learn to pray for those dreadful men +who had made her fatherless and motherless and her home a desolation; +and that the fire of revenge must be quenched within her heart, and +replaced by the spirit of love, or she could not become a child of God +and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven. How hard were these +conditions to the young heathen! how contrary to her nature, to all +that she had been taught in the tents of her fathers, where revenge +was virtue, and to take the scalp of an enemy a glorious thing! + +Yet when she contrasted the gentle, kind, and dove-like characters of +her Christian friends with the fierce, bloody people of her tribe and +of her Ojebwa enemies, she could not but own they were more worthy of +love and admiration. Had they not found her a poor, miserable, +trembling captive, unbound her, fed and cherished her, pouring the +balm of consolation into her wounded heart, drawing her in bands of +tenderest love to forsake those wild and fearful passions that warred +in her soul, and bringing her to the feet of the Saviour, to become +his meek and holy child--a lamb of his "extended fold"? [Footnote: The +Indian who related this narrative to the author was a son of a Rice +Lake chief, Mosang Pondash by name. He vouched for its truth as a +historic fact remembered by his father, whose grandsire had been one +of the actors in the massacre.] + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +"The horn of the hunter is heard on the hill" + +_Irish Song_ + + +While the Indians were actively pursuing their sports on the lake, +shooting wildfowl, and hunting and fishing by torchlight, so exciting +was the amusement of watching them that the two lads, Hector and +Louis, quite forgot all sense of danger in the enjoyment of lying or +sitting on the brow of the mount near the great ravine and looking at +their proceedings. Once or twice the lads were near betraying +themselves to the Indians by raising a shout of delight at some +skilful manoeuvre that excited their unqualified admiration and +applause. + +At night, when the canoes had all retired to the camp on the north +shore, where the Indians assembled under the boughs of some venerable +trees, and round the evening fires related the deeds of the preceding +day, and all fear of detection had ceased for the time, they lighted +up their own shanty fire, and cooked a good supper, and also prepared +a sufficiency of food for the morrow. The Indians remained for a +fortnight. At the end of that time Indiana, who was a watchful spy on +their movements, told Hector and Louis that the camp was broken up, +and the Indians had gone up the river, and would not return again for +some weeks. The departure of the Indians was a matter of great +rejoicing to Catharine, whose dread of these savages had greatly +increased since she had been made acquainted with the fearful deeds +which Indiana had described. + +Once, and only once during their stay, the Indians had passed within a +short distance of their dwelling; but they were in full chase of a +bear, which had been seen crossing the deep ravine near Mount Ararat, +and were too intent upon their game to notice the shanty; for they +never turned out of their path, and Catharine, who was alone at the +time, drawing water from the spring, was so completely concealed by +the high bank above her that she had quite escaped their notice. +Fortunately, Indiana gave the two boys a signal to conceal themselves, +where, effectually hidden among the thick, gray, mossy trunks of the +cedars at the lake shore, they remained secure from molestation; while +the Indian girl dropped noiselessly down among the tangled thicket of +wild vines and brushwood, which she drew cautiously over her, and +closed her eyes, lest, as she naively remarked, their glitter should +be seen and betray her to her enemies. + +It was a moment of intense anxiety to our poor wanderers, whose +terrors were more excited on behalf of the young Mohawk than for +themselves, and they congratulated her on her escape with affectionate +warmth. + +"Are my white brothers afraid to die?" was the young squaw's +half-scornful reply. "Indiana is the daughter of a brave; she fears +not to die." + +The latter end of September and the first week in October had been +stormy and even cold. The rainy season, however, was now over. The +nights were often illuminated by the aurora borealis, which might be +seen forming an arch of soft and lovely brightness over the lake to +the north and north-eastern portions of the horizon, or shooting +upwards, in ever-varying shafts of greenish light, now hiding, now +revealing the stars, which shone with softened radiance through the +silvery veil that dimmed their beauty. Sometimes for many nights +together the same appearance might be seen, and was usually the +forerunner of frosty weather, though occasionally it was the precursor +of cold winds and heavy rains. + +The Indian girl regarded it with superstitious feelings, but whether +as an omen of good or evil she would not tell. On all matters +connected with her religious notions she was shy and reserved, though +occasionally she unconsciously revealed them. Thus the warnings of +death or misfortunes were revealed to her by certain ominous sounds in +the woods, the appearance of strange birds or animals, or the moanings +of others. The screeching of the owl, the bleating of the doe, or +barking of the fox, were evil auguries, while the flight of the eagle +and the croaking of the raven were omens of good. She put faith in +dreams, and would foretell good or evil fortune from them; she could +read the morning and evening clouds, and knew from various appearances +of the sky, or the coming or departing of certain birds or insects, +changes in the atmosphere. Her ear was quick in distinguishing the +changes in the voices of the birds or animals; she knew the times of +their coming and going, and her eye was quick to see, as her ear to +detect sounds. Her voice was soft, and low, and plaintive, and she +delighted in imitating the little ballads or hymns that Catharine +sang; though she knew nothing of their meaning, she would catch the +tunes and sing the song with Catharine, touching the hearts of her +delighted auditors by the melody and pathos of her voice. + +The season called Indian summer had now arrived. The air was soft and +mild, almost oppressively warm; the sun looked red as though seen +through the smoke-clouds of a populous city. A soft blue haze hung on +the bosom of the glassy lake, which reflected on its waveless surface +every passing shadow, and the gorgeous tints of its changing woods on +shore and island. Sometimes the stillness of the air was relieved by a +soft sighing wind, which rustled the dying foliage as it swept by. + +The Indian summer is the harvest of the Indian tribes. It is during +this season that they hunt and shoot the wild-fowl that come in their +annual flights to visit the waters of the American lakes and rivers; +it is then that they gather in their rice, and prepare their winter +stores of meat, and fish, and furs. The Indian girl knew the season +they would resort to certain hunting-grounds. They were constant, and +altered not their customs, as it was with their fathers, so it was +with them. + +Louis had heard so much of the Otonabee river from Indiana that he was +impatient to go and explore the entrance and the shores of the lake on +that side, which hitherto they had not ventured to do for fear of +being surprised by the Indians. "Some fine day," said Louis, "we will +go out in the canoe, explore the distant islands, and go up the river +a little way." + +Hector advised visiting all the islands by turns, beginning at the +little islet which looks in the distance like a boat in full sail, it +is level with the water, and has only three or four trees upon it. The +name they had given to it was "Ship Island." The Indians have some +name for it which I have forgotten, but it means, I have been told, +"Witch Island." Hector's plan met with general approbation, and they +resolved to take provisions with them for several days, and visit the +islands and go up the river, passing the night under the shelter of +the thick trees on the shore wherever they found a pleasant +halting-place. + +The weather was mild and warm, the lake was as clear and calm as a +mirror, and in joyous mood our little party embarked and paddled up +the lake, first to Ship Island; but this did not detain them many +minutes. They then went to Grape Island, which they so named from the +abundance of wild vines, now rich with purple clusters of the ripe +grapes--tart, but still not to be despised by our young adventurers, +and they brought away a large birch basket heaped up with the fruit. +"Ah, if we had but a good cake of maple sugar now, to preserve our +grapes with, and make such grape jelly as my mother makes!" said +Louis. + +"If we find out a sugar-bush we will manage to make plenty of sugar," +said Catharine; "there are maples not two hundred yards from the +shanty, near the side of the steep bank to the east. You remember the +pleasant spot, which we named the Happy Valley, where the bright creek +runs dancing along so merrily, below the pine-ridge?" + +"Oh yes; the same that winds along near the foot of Bare Hill, where +the water-cresses grow." + +"Yes, where I gathered the milk-weed the other day." + +"What a beautiful pasture-field that will make when it is cleared!" +said Hector thoughtfully. + +"Hector is always planning about fields, and clearing great farms," +said Louis, laughing. "We shall see Hec a great man one of these days; +I think he has in his own mind brushed, and burned, and logged up all +the fine flats and table-land on the plains before now--ay, and +cropped it all with wheat, and pease, and Indian corn." + +"We will have a clearing and a nice field of corn next year, if we +live," replied Hector; "that corn that we found in the canoe will be a +treasure." + +"Yes; and the corn-cob you got on Bare Hill," said Catharine. "How +lucky we have been! We shall be so happy when we see our little field +of corn flourishing round the shanty! It was a good thing, Hec, that +you went to the Indian camp that day, though both Louis and I were +very miserable while you were absent; but, you see, God must have +directed you, that the life of this poor girl might be saved, to be a +comfort to us. Everything has prospered well with us since she came to +us. Perhaps it is because we try to make a Christian of her, and so +God blesses all our endeavours." + +"We are told," said Hector, "that there is joy with the angels of God +over one sinner that repenteth: doubtless, it is a joyful thing when +the heathen, that knew not the name of God, are taught to glorify his +holy name." + +Indiana, while exploring, had captured a porcupine. She declared that +she should have plenty of quills for edging baskets and moccasins; +besides, she said, the meat was white and good to eat. Hector looked +with a suspicious eye upon the little animal, doubting the propriety +of eating its flesh, though he had learned to eat musk-rats, and +consider them good meat, baked in Louis's Indian oven, or roasted on a +forked stick before the fire. The Indian porcupine is a small animal, +not a very great deal larger than the common British hedgehog; the +quills, however, are longer and stronger, and varied with alternate +clouded marks of pure white and dark brownish-gray; they are minutely +barbed, so that if one enters the flesh it is with difficulty +extracted, but will work through of itself in an opposite direction, +and can then be easily pulled out. Dogs and cattle often suffer great +inconvenience from getting their muzzles filled with the quills of the +porcupine, the former when worrying the poor little animal, and the +latter by accidentally meeting a dead one among the herbage; great +inflammation will sometimes attend the extraction. Indians often lose +valuable hounds from this cause. Besides porcupines, Indiana told her +companions, there were some fine butter-nut trees (_Juglans cinerea_) +on the island, and they could collect a bagful of nuts in a very short +time. This was good news, for the butter-nut is sweet and pleasant, +almost equal to the walnut, of which it is a species. + +The day was passed pleasantly enough in collecting nuts and grapes; +but as this island did not afford any good cleared spot for passing +the night, and moreover, was tenanted by black snakes, several of +which made their appearance among the stones near the edge of the +water, they agreed by common counsel to go to Long Island, where +Indiana said there was an old log-house, the walls of which were still +standing, and where there was dry moss in plenty which would make them +a comfortable bed for the night. This old log-house, she said, had +been built, she had heard the Indians say, by a French Canadian +trapper, who used to visit the lake some years ago. He was on friendly +terms with the chiefs, who allowed him many privileges, and he bought +their furs, and took them down the lake, through the river Trent, to +some station-house on the great lake. They found they should have time +enough to land and deposit their nuts and grapes and paddle to Long +Island before sunset. Upon the western part of this fine island they +had several times landed and passed some hours, exploring its shores; +but Indiana told them that to reach the old log-house they must enter +the low swampy bay to the east, at an opening which she called Indian +Cove. To do this required some skill in the management of the canoe, +which was rather overloaded for so light a vessel, and the trees grew +so close and thick that they had some difficulty in pushing their way +through them without injuring its frail sides. These trees or bushes +were chiefly black alder (_Alnus incuna_), high-bush cranberries +(_Viburnum opulus_), dogwood, willows, as they proceeded further, +there was ground of a more solid nature, with cedar, poplar, swamp +oak, and soft maple, silver birch, and wild cherries. Long strings of +silver-gray tree-moss hung dangling over their heads, the bark and +roots of the birch and cedars were covered with a luxuriant growth of +green moss, but there was a dampness and closeness in this place that +made it far from wholesome. The little band of voyagers were not sorry +when the water became too shallow to admit of the canoe making its way +through the swampy channel, and they landed on the bank of a small +circular pond, as round as a ring, and nearly surrounded by tall trees +hoary with moss and lichens; large water-lilies floated on the surface +of this miniature lake; the brilliant red berries of the high-bush +cranberry and the purple clusters of grapes festooned the trees. "A +famous breeding-place this must be for ducks," observed Louis. + +"And for flowers," said Catharine, "and for grapes and cranberries. +There is always some beauty or some usefulness to be found, however +lonely the spot." + +"A fine place for musk-rats, and minks, and fishes," said Hector, +looking round. "The old trapper knew what he was about when he made +his lodge near this pond. And there, sure enough, is the log-hut, and +not so bad a one either;" and scrambling up the bank he entered the +deserted little tenement, well pleased to find it in tolerable repair. +There were the ashes on the stone hearth, just as it had been left +years back by the old trapper; some rough-hewn shelves, a rude +bedstead of cedar poles still occupied a corner of the little +dwelling; heaps of old dry moss and grass lay upon the ground; and the +little squaw pointed with one of her silent laughs to a collection of +broken egg-shells, where some wild-duck had sat and hatched her downy +brood among the soft materials which she had found and appropriated to +her own purpose. The only things pertaining to the former possessor of +the log-hut were an old, rusty, battered tin pannikin, now, alas! +unfit for holding water; a bit of a broken earthen whisky jar; a rusty +nail, which Louis pocketed, or rather pouched--for he had substituted +a fine pouch of deer-skin for his worn-out pocket; and a fishing-line +of good stout cord, which was wound on a splinter of red cedar, and +carefully stuck between one of the rafters and the roof of the shanty. +A rusty but efficient hook was attached to the line, and Louis, who +was the finder, was quite overjoyed at his good fortune in making so +valuable an addition to his fishing tackle. Hector got only an odd +worn-out moccasin, which he threw into the little pond in disdain: +while Catharine declared she would keep the old tin pot as a relic, +and carefully deposited it in the canoe. + +As they made their way into the interior of the island, they found +that there were a great many fine sugar maples, which had been tapped +by some one--as the boys thought, by the old trapper, but Indiana, on +examining the incisions in the trees, and the remnants of birch-bark +vessels that lay moldering on the earth below them, declared them to +have been the work of her own people, and long and sadly did the young +girl look upon these simple memorials of a race of whom she was the +last living remnant. The young girl stood there in melancholy mood, a +solitary, isolated being, with no kindred tie upon the earth to make +life dear to her; a stranger in the land of her fathers, associating +with those whose ways were not her ways, nor their thoughts her +thoughts, whose language was scarcely known to her, whose God was not +the god of her fathers. Yet the dark eyes of the Indian girl were not +dimmed with tears as she thought of these things, she had learned of +her people to suffer and be still. + +Silent and patient she stood, with her melancholy gaze bent on the +earth, when she felt the gentle hand of Catharine laid upon her arm, +and then kindly and lovingly passed round her neck, as she +whispered,-- + +"Indiana, I will be to you as a sister, and will love you and cherish +you, because you are an orphan girl and alone in the world; but God +loves you, and will make you happy. He is a Father to the fatherless, +and the Friend of the destitute and them that have no helper." + +The words of kindness and love need no interpretation; no +book-learning is necessary to make them understood. The young, the +old, the deaf, the dumb, the blind can read this universal language; +its very silence is often more eloquent than words,--the gentle +pressure of the hand, the half-echoed sigh, the look of sympathy will +penetrate to the very heart, and unlock its hidden stores of human +tenderness and love. The rock is smitten and the waters gush forth, a +bright and living stream, to refresh and fertilize the thirsty soul. + +The heart of the poor mourner was touched; she bowed down her head +upon the hand that held her so kindly in its sisterly grasp, and wept +soft, sweet, human tears full of grateful love, while she whispered, +in her own low, plaintive voice, "My white sister, I kiss you in my +heart; I will love the God of my white brothers, and be his child." + +The two friends now busied themselves in preparing the evening meal: +they found Louis and Hector had lighted up a charming blaze on the +desolate hearth. A few branches of cedar, twisted together by +Catharine, made a serviceable broom, with which she swept the floor, +giving to the deserted dwelling a neat and comfortable aspect; some +big stones were quickly rolled in, and made to answer for seats in the +chimney-corner. The new-found fishing-line was soon put into +requisition by Louis, and with very little delay a fine dish of black +bass, broiled on the embers, was added to their store of dried venison +and roasted bread-roots, which they found in abundance on a low spot +on the island. Grapes and butter-nuts, which Hector cracked with a +stone by way of a nutcracker, finished their sylvan meal. The boys +then stretched themselves to sleep on the ground, with their feet, +Indian fashion, to the fire; while Catharine and Indiana occupied the +mossy couch which they had newly spread with fragrant cedar and +hemlock boughs. + +The next island that claimed their attention was Sugar-Maple Island, a +fine, thickly-wooded island, rising with steep, rocky banks from the +water. A beautiful object, but too densely wooded to admit of our +party penetrating beyond a few yards of its shores. + +The next island they named the Beaver, [Footnote: Commonly called +Sheep Island, from some person having pastured a few sheep upon it +some few years ago. I have taken the liberty of preserving the name, +to which it bears an obvious resemblance, the nose of the Beaver lies +towards the west, the tail to the east.] from its resemblance in shape +to that animal. A fine, high, oval island beyond this they named Black +Island, [Footnote: Black Island, the sixth from the head of the lake; +an oval island, remarkable for its evergreens.] from its dark +evergreens. The next was that which seemed most to excite the interest +of their Indian guide, although but a small stony island, scantily +clothed with trees, lower down the lake. This place she called Spoke +Island, which means in the Indian tongue "a place for the dead." It is +sometimes called Spirit Island; and here, in times past, the Indian +people used to bury their dead. The island is now often the resort of +parties of pleasure, who, from its being grassy and open, find it more +available than those which are densely wooded. The young Mohawk +regarded it with feelings of superstitious awe, and would not suffer +Hector to land the canoe on its rocky shore. + +"It is a place of spirits," she said; "the ghosts of my fathers will +be angry if we go there." Even her young companions felt that they +were upon sacred ground, and gazed with silent reverence upon the +burial isle. + +Strongly imbued with a love of the marvellous, which they had derived +from their Highland origin, Indiana's respect for the spirits of her +ancestors was regarded as most natural, and in silence, as if fearing +to disturb the solemnity of the spot, they resumed their paddles, and +after a while reached the mouth of the river Otonabee, which was +divided into two separate channels by a long, low point of swampy +land, covered with stunted, mossy bushes and trees, rushes, driftwood, +and aquatic plants. Indiana told them this river flowed from the +north, and that it was many days' journey up to the lakes. To +illustrate its course, she drew with her paddle a long line, with +sundry curves and broader spaces, some longer, some smaller, with bays +and inlets, which she gave them to understand were the chain of lakes +that she spoke of. There were beautiful hunting-grounds on the borders +of these lakes, and many fine waterfalls and rocky islands; she had +been taken up to these waters during the time of her captivity. The +Ojebwas, she said, were a branch of the great Chippewa nation, who +owned much land and great waters thereabouts. + +Compared with the creeks and streams that they had seen hitherto, the +Otonabee appeared a majestic river, and an object of great admiration +and curiosity, for it seemed to them as if it were the highroad +leading up to an unknown, far-off land,--a land of dark, mysterious, +impenetrable forests,--flowing on, flowing on, in lonely majesty, +reflecting on its tranquil bosom the blue sky, the dark pines and gray +cedars, the pure ivory-white water-lily, and every passing shadow of +bird or leaf that flitted across its surface, so quiet was the onward +flow of its waters. + +A few brilliant leaves yet clung to the soft maples and crimson-tinted +oaks, but the glory of the forest had departed; the silent fall of +many a sere and yellow leaf told of the death of summer and of +winter's coming reign. Yet the air was wrapped in a deceitful +stillness; no breath of wind moved the trees or dimpled the water. +Bright wreaths of scarlet berries and wild grapes hung in festoons +among the faded foliage. The silence of the forest was unbroken, save +by the quick tapping of the little midland woodpecker or the shrill +scream of the blue jay, the whirring sound of the large white-and-gray +duck (called by the frequenters of these lonely waters the +whistlewing) as its wings swept the waters in its flight, or the light +dripping of the paddle,--so still, so quiet was the scene. + +As the day was now far advanced, the Indian girl advised them either +to encamp for the night on the river-bank or to use all speed in +returning. She seemed to view the aspect of the heavens with some +anxiety. Vast volumes of light, copper-tinted clouds were rising; the +sun, seen through its hazy veil, looked red and dim; and a hot, sultry +air, unrelieved by a breath of refreshing wind, oppressed our young +voyagers. And though the same coppery clouds and red sun had been seen +for several successive days, a sort of instinctive feeling prompted +the desire in all to return, and, after a few minutes' rest and +refreshment, they turned their little bark towards the lake; and it +was well that they did so. By the time they had reached the middle of +the lake, the stillness of the air was rapidly changing; the +rose-tinted clouds, that had lain so long piled upon each other in +mountainous ridges, began to move upwards, at first slowly, then with +rapidly accelerated motion. There was a hollow moaning in the +pine-tops; and by fits a gusty breeze swept the surface of the water, +raising it into rough, short, white-crested ridges. + +These signs were pointed out by Indiana as the harbingers of a rising +hurricane; and now a swift spark of light, like a falling star, +glanced on the water, as if there to quench its fiery light. Again the +Indian girl raised her dark hand and pointed to the rolling +storm-clouds, to the crested waters and the moving pine-tops; then to +the head of the Beaver Island,--it was the one nearest to them. With +an arm of energy she wielded the paddle, with an eye of fire she +directed the course of their little vessel; for well she knew their +danger and the need for straining every nerve to reach the nearest +point of land. Low muttering peals of thunder were now heard; the wind +was rising with electric speed. Away flew the light bark, with the +swiftness of a bird, over the water; the tempest was above, around, +and beneath. The hollow crash of the forest trees as they bowed to the +earth could be heard sullenly sounding from shore to shore. And now +the Indian girl, flinging back her black streaming hair from her brow, +knelt at the head of the canoe and with renewed vigour plied the +paddle. The waters, lashed into a state of turbulence by the violence +of the storm, lifted the canoe up and down; but no word was spoken; +they each felt the greatness of the peril, but they also knew that +they were in the hands of Him who can say to the tempest-tossed waves, +"Peace, be still," and they obey him. + +Every effort was made to gain the nearest island; to reach the +mainland was impossible, for the rain poured down a blinding deluge. +It was with difficulty the little craft was kept afloat by baling out +the water; to do this, Louis was fain to use his cap, and Catharine +assisted with the old tin pot which she had fortunately brought from +the trapper's shanty. The tempest was at its height when they reached +the nearest point of the Beaver, and joyful was the grating sound of +the canoe as it was vigorously pushed up on the shingly beach, beneath +the friendly shelter of the overhanging trees, where, perfectly +exhausted by the exertions they had made, dripping with rain and +overpowered by the terrors of the storm, they threw themselves on the +ground, and in safety watched its progress, thankful for an escape +from such imminent peril. + +Thus ended the Indian summer, so deceitful in its calmness and its +beauty. The next day saw the ground white with snow, and hardened into +stone by a premature frost. Our poor voyagers were not long in +quitting the shelter of the Beaver Island, and betaking themselves +once more to their ark of refuge, the log-house on Mount Ararat. + +The winter that year set in with unusual severity some weeks sooner +than usual, so that from the beginning of November to the middle of +April the snow never entirely left the ground. The lake was soon +covered with ice, and by the month of December it was one compact, +solid sheet from shore to shore. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + "Scared by the red and noisy light." + + --COLERIDGE. + + +Hector and Louis had now little employment, except chopping fire-wood, +which was no very arduous task for two stout, healthy lads used from +childhood to handling the axe. Trapping, and hunting, and snaring +hares were occupations which they pursued more for the excitement and +exercise than from hunger, as they had laid by abundance of dried +venison, fish, and birds, besides a plentiful store of rice. They now +visited those trees that they had marked in the summer, where they had +noticed the bees hiving, and cut them down. In one they got more than +a pailful of rich honeycomb, and others yielded some more, some less; +this afforded them a delicious addition to their boiled rice and dried +acid fruits. They might have melted the wax and burned candles of it; +but this was a refinement of luxury that never once occurred to our +young housekeepers: the dry pineknots that are found in the woods are +the settlers' candles. Catharine made some very good vinegar with the +refuse of the honey and combs, by pouring water on it, and leaving it +to ferment in a warm nook of the chimney, in one of the birch-bark +vessels; and this was an excellent substitute for salt as a +seasoning--to the fresh meat and fish. Like the Indians, they were now +reconciled to the want of this seasonable article. + +Indiana seemed to enjoy the cold weather. The lake, though locked up +to every one else, was open to her: with the aid of the tomahawk she +patiently made an opening in the ice, and over this she built a little +shelter of pine boughs stuck into the ice. Armed with a sharp spear +carved out of hardened wood, she would lie upon the ice, and patiently +await the rising of some large fish to the air-hole, when dexterously +plunging the spear into the unwary creature, she dragged it to the +surface. Many a noble fish did the young squaw bring home, and cast at +the feet of him whom she had tacitly elected as her lord and master: +to him she offered the voluntary service of a faithful and devoted +servant--I might almost have said, slave. + +During the middle of December there were some days of such intense +cold that even our young Crusoes, hardy as they were, preferred the +blazing log-fire and warm ingle-nook to the frozen lake and cutting +north-west wind which blew the loose snow in blinding drifts over its +bleak, unsheltered surface. Clad in the warm tunic and petticoat of +Indian blanket, with fur-lined moccasins, Catharine and her Indian +friend felt little cold excepting to the face when they went abroad, +unless the wind was high, and then experience taught them to keep at +home. And these cold gloomy days they employed in many useful works. +Indiana had succeeded in dyeing the quills of the porcupine that she +had captured on Grape Island; with these she worked a pair of +beautiful moccasins and an arrow-case for Hector, besides making a +sheath for Louis's _couteau de chasse_, of which the young hunter +was very proud, bestowing great praise on the workmanship. + +Indiana appeared to be deeply engrossed with some work that she was +engaged in, but preserved a provoking degree of mystery about it, to +the no small annoyance of Louis, who, among his other traits of +character, was remarkably inquisitive, wanting to know the why and +wherefore of everything he saw. + +Indiana first prepared a frame of some tough wood,--it might be the +inner bark of the oak, or elm, or hickory; this was pointed at either +end, and wide in the middle--not very much unlike the form of some +broad, flat fish. Over this she wove an open network of narrow thongs +of deer-hide, wetted to make it more pliable, and securely fastened to +the frame: when dry it became quite tight, and resembled a sort of +coarse bamboo-work, such as you see on cane-bottomed chairs and sofas. + +"And now, Indiana, tell us what sort of fish you are going to catch in +your ingenious little net," said Louis, who had watched her +proceedings with great interest. The girl shook her head, and laughed +till she showed all her white teeth, but quietly proceeded to commence +a second frame like the first. + +Louis put it on his head. No; it could not be meant to be worn there, +that was plain. He turned it round and round. It must be intended for +some kind of bird-trap; yes, that must be it, and he cast an inquiring +glance at Indiana. She blushed, shook her head, and gave another of +her silent laughs. + +"Some game like battledoor and shuttle-cock,"--and snatching up a +light bass-wood chip, he began tossing the chip up and catching it on +the netted frame. The little squaw was highly amused, but rapidly went +on with her work. Louis was now almost angry at the perverse little +savage persevering in keeping him in suspense. She would not tell him +till, the other was done:--then there were to be a pair of these +curious articles!--and he was forced at last to sit quietly down to +watch the proceeding of the work. It was night before the two were +completed and furnished with straps and loops. When the last stroke +was put to them, the Indian girl knelt down at Hector's feet, and +binding them on, pointed to them with a joyous laugh, and said, +"Snow-shoe--for walk on snow--good!" + +The boys had heard of snow-shoes, but had never seen them, and now +seemed to understand little of the benefit to be derived from the use +of them. The young Mohawk quickly transferred the snow-shoes to her +own feet, and soon proved to them that the broad surface prevented +those who wore them from sinking into the deep snow.--After many +trials, Hector began to acknowledge the advantage of walking with the +snow-shoes, especially on the frozen snow on the ice-covered lake. +Indiana was well pleased with the approbation her manufactures met +with, and very soon manufactured for "Nee-chee," as they all now +called Louis, a similar present. As to Catharine, she declared the +snow-shoes made her ankles ache, and that she preferred the moccasins +that her cousin Louis made for her. + +During the long bright days of February, they made several excursions +on the lake, and likewise explored some of the high hills to the +eastward. On this ridge there were few large trees; but it was thickly +clothed with scrub-oaks, slender poplars, and here and there fine +pines, and picturesque free-growing oaks of considerable size and +great age--patriarchs, they might be termed, among the forest growth. +Over this romantic range of hill and dale, free as the air they +breathed, roamed many a gallant herd of deer, unmolested unless during +certain seasons when the Indians came to hunt over these hills. +Surprised at the different growth of the oaks on this side the plains, +Hector could not help expressing his astonishment to Indiana, who told +him that it was caused by the custom that her people had had from time +immemorial of setting fire to the bushes in the early part of spring. +This practice, she said, promoted the growth of the deer-grass, made +good cover for the deer themselves, and effectually prevented the +increase of the large timbers, giving a singular aspect to the high +ridge of hills when contrasted with the more wooded portions to the +westward. From the lake these eastern hills look verdant, and as if +covered with tall green fern. In the month of October a rich rosy tint +is cast upon the leaves of the scrub-oaks by the autumnal frosts, and +they present a glowing unvaried crimson of the most glorious hue, only +variegated in spots by a dark feathery evergreen, or a patch of light +waving poplars turned by the same wizard's wand to golden yellow. + +There were many lovely spots,--lofty rounded hills, and deep shady +dells, with extended table-land, and fine lake views; but, on the +whole, our young folks preferred the oak openings and the beautiful +wooded glens of the western side, where they had fixed their home. + +There was one amusement they used greatly to enjoy during the cold +bright days and moonlight nights of midwinter. This was gliding down +the frozen snow on the steep side of the dell near the spring, seated +on small hand-sleighs, which carried them down with great velocity. +Wrapped in their warm furs, with caps fastened closely over their +ears, what cared they for the cold? Warm and glowing from head to +foot, with cheeks brightened by delightful exercise, they would remain +for hours enjoying the amusement of the snow-slide; the bright frost +gemming the ground with myriads of diamonds, sparkling in their hair, +or whitening it till it rivalled the snow beneath their feet. Then, +when tired out with the exercise, they returned to the shanty, stirred +up a blazing fire, till the smoked rafters glowed in the red light; +spread their simple fare of stewed rice sweetened with honey, or +savoury soup of hare or other game; and then, when warmed and fed, +they kneeled together, side by side, and offered up a prayer of +gratitude to their Maker, and besought his care over them during the +dark and silent hours of night. + +Had these young people been idle in their habits and desponding in +their tempers, they must have perished with cold and hunger, instead +of enjoying many necessaries and eyen some little luxuries in their +lonely forest home. Fortunately they had been brought up in the early +practice of every sort of usefulness, to endure every privation with +cheerful fortitude; not indeed quietly to sit down and wait for better +times, but vigorously to create those better times by every possible +exertion that could be brought into action to assist and ameliorate +their condition. + +To be up and doing is the maxim of a Canadian; and it is this that +nerves his arm to do and bear. The Canadian settler, following in the +steps of the old Americans, learns to supply all his wants by the +exercise of his own energy. He brings up his family to rely upon their +own resources, instead of depending upon his neighbours. + +The children of the modern emigrant, though enjoying a higher degree +of civilization and intelligence, arising from a liberal education, +might not have fared so well under similar circumstances as did our +Canadian Crusoes, because, unused to battle with the hardships +incidental to a life of such privation as they had known, they could +not have brought so much experience, or courage, or ingenuity to their +aid. It requires courage to yield to circumstances, as well as to +overcome them. + +Many little useful additions to the interior of their dwelling were +made by Hector and Louis during the long winter. They made a smoother +and better table than the first rough one that they put together. They +also made a rough partition of split cedars, to form a distinct and +separate sleeping-room for the two girls; but as this division greatly +circumscribed their sitting and cooking apartment, they resolved, as +soon as the spring came, to cut and draw in logs for putting up a +better and larger room to be used as a summer parlour. Indiana and +Louis made a complete set of wooden trenchers out of butter-nut, a +fine hard wood of excellent grain, and less liable to warp or crack +than many others. + +Louis's skill as a carpenter was much greater than that of his cousin. +He not only possessed more judgment, and was more handy, but he had a +certain taste and neatness in finishing his work, however rough his +materials and rude his tools. He inherited some of that skill in +mechanism for which the French have always been remarked. With his +knife and a nail he would carve a plum-stone into a miniature basket, +with handle across it, all delicately wrought with flowers and +checker-work. The shell of a butter-nut would be transformed into a +boat, with thwarts, and seats, and rudder, with sails of basswood or +birch-bark. Combs he could cut out of wood or bone, so that Catharine +could dress her hair or confine it in braids or bands at will. This +was a source of great comfort to her; and Louis was always pleased +when he could in any way contribute to his cousin's happiness. These +little arts Louis had been taught by his father. Indeed, the great +distance that their little settlement was from any town or village had +necessarily forced their families to depend on their own ingenuity and +invention to supply many of their wants. Once or twice a year they saw +a trading fur-merchant, as I before observed; and those were glorious +days for Hector and Louis, who were always on the alert to render the +strangers any service in their power, as by that means they sometimes +received little gifts from them, and gleaned up valuable information +as to their craft as hunters and trappers. And then there were +wonderful tales of marvellous feats and hair-breadth escapes to listen +to, as they sat with eager looks and open ears round the blazing +log-fire in the old log-house. Now they would in their turns have +tales to tell of strange adventures, and all that had befallen them +since the first day of their wanderings on the Rice Lake Plains. + +The long winter passed away unmarked by any very stirring event. The +Indians had revisited the hunting-grounds; but they confined +themselves chiefly to the eastern side of the Plains, the lake and the +islands, and did not come near their dwelling to molest them. The +latter end of the month of March presented fine sugar-making weather; +and as they had the use of the big iron pot, they resolved to make +maple sugar and some molasses. Long Island was decided upon as the +most eligible place. It had the advantage over Maple Island of having +a shanty ready built for a shelter during the time they might see fit +to remain, and a good boiling-place, which would be a comfort to the +girls, as they need not be exposed to the weather during the process +of sugaring. The two boys soon cut down some small pines and +bass-woods, which they hewed out into sugar-troughs Indiana +manufactured some rough pails of birch-bark. The first favourable day +for the work they loaded up a hand-sleigh with their vessels, and +marched forth over the ice to the island, and tapped the trees they +thought would yield sap for their purpose. And many pleasant days they +passed during the sugar-making season. + +They did not leave the sugar-bush for good till the commencement of +April, when the sun and wind beginning to unlock the springs that fed +the lake, and to act upon its surface, taught them that it would not +be prudent to remain longer on the island. The loud, booming sounds +that were now frequently heard of the pent-up air beneath striving to +break forth from its icy prison were warnings not to be neglected. +Openings began to appear, especially at the entrance of the river and +between the islands, and opposite to some of the larger creeks blue +streams, that attracted the water-fowl, ducks, and wild geese, which +came, guided by that instinct which never errs, from their +abiding-places in far-off lands. Indiana knew the signs of the wild +birds' coming and going with a certainty that seemed almost marvellous +to her simple-minded companions. + +How delightful were the first indications of the coming spring! How +joyously our young Crusoes heard the first tapping of the red-headed +woodpecker! The low, sweet, warbling note of the early song-sparrow, +and twittering chirp of the snow-bird, or that neat, Quakerly-looking +bird that comes to cheer us with the news of sunny days and green +buds; the low, tender, whispering note of the chiccadee, flitting +among the pines or in the thick branches of the shore-side trees; the +chattering note of the little, striped chitmunk, as it pursued its +fellows over the fallen trees; and the hollow sound of the male +partridge, heavily striking its wings against his sides to attract the +notice of the female birds, were among the early spring melodies. For +such they seemed to our forest dwellers, for they told them + + "That winter, cold winter, was past, + And spring, lovely spring, was approaching at last." + +They watched for the first song of the robin, [Footnote: _Turdus +migratorius_, or American robin.] and the full melody of the red +wood-thrush; [Footnote: _Turdus melodus_, or wood-thrush.] the rushing +sound of the passenger pigeons, as flocks of these birds darted above +their heads, sometimes pausing to rest on the dry limb of some +withered oak, or darting down to feed upon the scarlet berries of the +spicy winter-green, the acorns that still lay upon the now uncovered +ground, or the berries of hawthorn and dogwood that still hung on the +bare bushes. The pines were now putting on their rich, mossy, green +spring dresses; the skies were deep blue; Nature, weary of her long +state of inaction, seemed waking into life and light. + +On the Plains the snow soon disappears, for the sun and air have +access to the earth much easier than in the close, dense forest. +Hector and Louis were soon able to move about with axe in hand, to cut +the logs for the addition to their house they proposed making. They +also set to work as soon as the frost was out of the ground to prepare +their little field for the Indian corn. This kept them quite busy. +Catharine attended to the house; and Indiana went out fishing and +hunting, bringing in plenty of small game and fish every day. After +they had piled and burned up the loose boughs and trunks that +encumbered the space they had marked out, they proceeded to enclose it +with a brush fence. This was done by felling the trees that stood in +the line of the field, and letting them fall so as to form the bottom +log of the fence, which they then made of sufficient height by piling +up arms of trees and brushwood. Perhaps in this matter they were too +particular, as there was no fear of "breachy cattle," or any cattle, +intruding on the crop; but Hector maintained that deer and bears were +as much to be guarded against as oxen and cows. + +The little enclosure was made secure from any such depredators, and +was as clean as hands could make it. The two cousins sat on a log, +contentedly surveying their work, and talking of the time when the +grain was to be put in. It was about the beginning of the second week +in May, as near as they could guess from the bursting of the forest +buds and the blooming of such of the flowers as they were acquainted +with. Hector's eyes had followed the flight of a large eagle that now, +turning from the lake, soared away majestically toward the east or Oak +Hills. But soon his eye was attracted to another object. The loftiest +part of the ridge was enveloped in smoke. At first he thought it must +be some mist-wreath hovering over its brow; but soon the dense, +rolling clouds rapidly spread on each side, and he felt certain that +it was from fire, and nothing but fire, that those dark volumes arose. + +"Louis, look yonder! the hills to the east are on fire!" + +"On fire, Hector? you are dreaming!" + +"Nay, but look there!" + +The hills were now shrouded in one dense, rolling cloud. It moved on +with fearful rapidity down the shrubby side of the hill, supplied by +the dry, withered foliage and deer-grass, which was like stubble to +the flames. + +"It is two miles off, or more," said Louis; "and the creek will stop +its progress long before it comes near us, and the swamp there beyond +Bare Hill." + +"The cedars are as dry as tinder; and as to the creek, it is so narrow +a burning tree falling across would convey the fire to this side; +besides, when the wind rises, as it always does when the bush is on +fire, you know how far the burning leaves will fly. Do you remember +when the forest was on fire last spring how long it continued to burn +and how fiercely it raged? It was lighted by the ashes of your +father's pipe when he was out in the new fallow. The leaves were dry, +and kindled, and before night the woods were burning for miles." + +"It was a grand spectacle, those pine-hills, when the fire got in +among them," said Louis. "See! see how fast the fires kindle! That +must be some fallen pine that they have got hold of. Now, look at the +lighting up of that hill; is it not grand?" + +"If the wind would but change, and blow in the opposite direction," +said Hector anxiously. + +"The wind, mon ami, seems to have little influence; for as long as the +fire finds fuel from the dry bushes and grass, it drives on, even +against the wind." + +As they spoke the wind freshened, and they could plainly see a long +line of wicked, bright flames in advance of the dense mass of vapour +which hung in its rear. On it came, that rolling sea of flame, with +inconceivable rapidity, gathering strength as it advanced. The demon +of destruction spread its red wings to the blast, rushing on with +fiery speed, and soon hill and valley were wrapped in one sheet of +flame. + +"It must have been the work of the Indians," said Louis. "We had +better make a retreat to the island, in case of the fire crossing the +valley. We must not neglect the canoe. If the fire sweeps round by the +swamp, it may come upon us unawares, and then the loss of the canoe +would prevent escape by the lake. But here are the girls; let us +consult them." + +"It is the Indian burning," said Indiana; "that is the reason there +are so few big trees, on that hill. They burn it to make the grass +better for the deer." + +Hector had often pointed out to Louis the appearance of fire having +scorched the bark of the trees where they were at work, but it seemed +to have been many years back; and when they were digging for the site +of the root-house [Footnote: Root-houses are built over deep +excavations below the reach of the frost, or the roots stored would be +spoiled.] below the bank, which they had just finished, they had met +with charred wood at the depth of six feet below the soil, which must +have lain there till the earth had accumulated over it. A period of +many years must necessarily have passed since the wood had been +burned, as it was so much decomposed as to crumble beneath the wooden +shovel they were digging with. + +All day they watched the progress of that fiery sea whose waves were +flame--red, rolling flame. Onward it came with resistless speed, +overpowering every obstacle, widening its sphere of action, till it +formed a perfect semicircle about them. As the night drew on, the +splendour of the scene became more apparent, and the path of the fire +better defined; but there was no fear of the conflagration spreading +as it had done in the day-time. The wind had sunk, and the copious +dews of evening effectually put a stop to the progress of the fire. +The children could now gaze in security upon the magnificent spectacle +before them without the excitement produced by its rapid spread during +the day-time. They lay down to sleep in perfect security that night, +but with the consciousness that, as the breeze sprung up in the +morning, they must be on the alert to secure their little dwelling and +its contents from the devastation that threatened it. They knew they +had no power to stop its onward course, as they possessed no implement +better than a rough wooden shovel, which would be found very +ineffectual in opening a trench or turning the ground up, so as to cut +off the communication with the dry grass, leaves, and branches which +are the fuel for supplying the fires on the Plains. The little +clearing on one side the house they thought would be its safeguard, +but the fire was advancing on three sides of them. + +"Let us hold a council, as the Indians do, to consider what is to be +done." + +"I propose," said Louis, "retreating, bag and baggage, to the nearest +point of Long Island." + +"My French cousin has well spoken," said Hector, mimicking the Indian +mode of speaking; "but listen to the words of the wise. I propose to +take all our household stores that are of the most value to the +island, and lodge the rest safely in our new root-house, first +removing from its neighbourhood all such light, loose matter as is +likely to take fire. The earthen roof will save it from destruction. +As to the shanty, it must take its chance to stand or fall." + +"The fence of the little clearing will be burned, no doubt. Well, +never mind; better that than our precious selves. And the corn, +fortunately, is not yet sown," said Louis. + +Hector's advice met with general approval, and the girls soon set to +work to secure the property they meant to leave. + +It was a fortunate thing that the root-house had been finished, as it +formed a secure store-house for their goods, and could also be made +available as a hiding-place from the Indians, in time of need. The +boys carefully scraped away all the combustible matter from its +vicinity and that of the house; but the rapid increase of the fire now +warned them to hurry down to join Catharine and the young Mohawk, who +had gone off to the lake shore with such things as they required to +take with them. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + "I know a lake where the cool waves break + And softly fall on the silver sand; + And no stranger intrudes on that solitude, + And no voices but ours disturb the strand." + + _Irish Song_ + + +The breeze had sprung up, and had already brought the fire down as far +as the creek. The swamp had long been on fire; and now the flames were +leaping among the decayed timbers, roaring and crackling among the +pines, and rushing to the tops of the cedars, springing from heap to +heap of the fallen branches, and filling the air with dense volumes of +black and suffocating smoke. So quickly did the flames advance that +Hector and Louis had only time to push off the canoe before the +heights along the shore were wrapped in smoke and fire. Many a giant +oak and noble pine fell crashing to the earth, sending up showers of +red sparks as its burning trunk shivered in its fall. Glad to escape +from the suffocating vapour, the boys quickly paddled out to the +island, enjoying the cool, fresh air of the lake. Reposing on the +grass beneath the trees, they passed the day sheltered from the +noonday sun, and watched the progress of the fire upon the shore. At +night the girls slept securely under the canoe, which they raised on +one side by means of forked sticks stuck in the ground. + +It was a grand sight to see the burning Plains at night reflected on +the water. A thousand flaming torches flickered upon its still +surface, to which the glare of a gas-lighted city would have been dim +and dull by contrast. + +Louis and Hector would speculate on the probable chances of the shanty +escaping from the fire, and of the fence remaining untouched. Of the +safety of the root-house they entertained no fear, as the grass was +already springing green on the earthen roof; and, below they had taken +every precaution to secure its safety, by scraping up the earth near +it. [Footnote: Many a crop of grain and comfortable homestead has been +saved by turning a furrow round the field; and great conflagrations +have been effectually stopped by men beating the fire out with spades, +and hoeing up the fresh earth so as to cut off all communication with +the dry roots, grass, and leaves that feed its onward progress. Water, +even could it be got, which is often impossible, is not nearly so +effectual in stopping the progress of fire; even women and little +children can assist in such emergencies.] + +Catharine lamented for the lovely spring-flowers that would be +destroyed by the fire. + +"We shall have neither huckleberries nor strawberries this summer," +she said mournfully; "and the pretty roses and bushes will be +scorched, and the ground black and dreary." + +"The fire passes so rapidly over that it does not destroy many of the +forest trees, only the dead ones are destroyed; and that, you know, +leaves more space for the living ones to grow and thrive in," said +Hector. "I have seen the year after a fire has run in the bush, a new +and fresh set of plants spring up, and even some that looked withered +recover; the earth is renewed and manured by the ashes, and it is not +so great a misfortune as it at first appears." + +"But how black and dismal the burned pine-woods look for years!" said +Louis; "I do not think there is a more melancholy sight in life than +one of those burned pine-woods. There it stands, year after year, with +the black, branchless trees pointing up to the blue sky, as if crying +for vengeance against those that kindled the fire." + +"They do, indeed, look ugly," said Catharine, "yet the girdled ones +look very nearly as ill." [Footnote: The girdled pines are killed by +barking them round, to facilitate the clearing.] + +At the end of two days the fire had ceased to rage, though the dim +smoke-wreaths to the westward showed where the work of destruction was +still going on. + +As there was no appearance of any Indians on the lake, nor yet at the +point (Anderson's Point, as it is now called) on the other side, they +concluded the fire had possibly originated by accident,--some casual +hunter or trapper having left his camp-fire unextinguished; but as +they were not very likely to come across the scene of the +conflagration, they decided on returning back to their old home +without delay. It was with some feeling of anxiety that they hastened +to see what evil had befallen their shanty. + +"The shanty is burned!" was the simultaneous exclamation of both Louis +and Hector, as they reached the rising ground that should have +commanded a view of its roof. "It is well for us that we secured our +things in the root-house," said Hector. + +"Well, if that is safe, who cares? we can soon build up a new house, +larger and better than the old one," said Louis. "The chief part of +our fence is gone, too, I see; but that, we can renew at our leisure; +no hurry, if we get it done a month hence, say I.--Come, ma belle, do +not look so sorrowful. There is our little squaw will help us to set +up a capital wigwam while the new house is building." + +"But the nice table that you made, Louis, and the benches and +shelves!" + +"Never mind, Cathy; we will have better tables, and benches, and +shelves too. Never fear, ma chere; the same industrious Louis will +make things comfortable. I am not sorry the old shanty is down; we +shall have a famous one put up, twice as large, for the winter. After +the corn is planted we shall have nothing else to do but to think +about it." + +The next two or three days were spent in erecting a wigwam, with poles +and birch bark; and as the weather was warm and pleasant, they did not +feel the inconvenience so much as they would have done had it been +earlier in the season. The root-house formed an excellent store-house +and pantry; and Indiana contrived, in putting up the wigwam, to leave +certain loose folds between the birch-bark lining and outer covering, +which formed a series of pouches or bags, in which many articles could +be stowed away out of sight. [Footnote: In this way the winter wigwams +of the Indians are constructed so as to give plenty of stowing room +for all their little household matters, materials for work, &c.] + +While the girls were busy contriving the arrangements of the wigwam, +the two boys were not idle. The time was come for planting the corn; a +succession of heavy thunder-showers had soaked and softened the +scorched earth, and rendered the labour of moving it much easier than +they had anticipated. They had cut for themselves wooden trowels, with +which they raised the hills for the seed. The corn planted, they next +turned their attention to cutting house-logs; those which they had +prepared had been burned up, so they had their labour to begin again. + +The two girls proved good helps at the raising; and in the course of a +few weeks they had the comfort of seeing a more commodious dwelling +than the former one put up. The finishing of this, with weeding the +Indian corn, renewing the fence, and fishing, and trapping, and +shooting partridges and ducks and pigeons, fully occupied their time +this summer. The fruit season was less abundant this year than the +previous one. The fire had done this mischief, and they had to go far +a-field to collect fruits during the summer months. + +It so happened that Indiana had gone out early one morning with the +boys, and Catharine was alone. She had gone down to the spring for +water, and on her return, was surprised at the sight of a squaw and +her family of three half-grown lad, and an innocent little brown +papoose. [Footnote: An Indian baby, but "papoose" is not an Indian +word. It is probably derived from the Indian imitation of the word +"_babies_."] In their turn the strangers seemed equally astonished at +Catharine's appearance. The smiling aspect and good-natured laugh of +the female, however, soon reassured the frightened girl, and she +gladly gave her the water which she had in her birch dish, on her +signifying her desire for drink. To this Catharine added some berries +and dried venison, and a bit of maple sugar, which was received with +grateful looks by the boys; she patted the brown baby, and was glad +when the mother released it from its wooden cradle, and fed and nursed +it. The squaw seemed to notice the difference between the colour of +her young hostess's fair skin and her own swarthy hue; for she often +took her hand, stripped up the sleeve of her dress, and compared her +arm with her own, uttering exclamations of astonishment and curiosity: +possibly Catharine was the first of a fair-skinned race this poor +savage had ever seen. After her meal was finished, she set the birchen +dish on the floor, and restrapping the papoose in its cradle prison, +she slipped the basswood-bark rope over her forehead, and silently +signing to her sons to follow her, she departed. That evening a pair +of ducks were found fastened to the wooden latch of the door, a silent +offering of gratitude for the refreshment that had been afforded to +this Indian woman and her children. + +Indiana thought, from Catharine's description, that these were Indians +with whom she was acquainted; she spent some days in watching the lake +and the ravine, lest a larger and more formidable party should be +near. The squaw, she said, was a widow, and went by the name of Mother +Snowstorm, from having been lost in the woods, when a little child, +during a heavy storm of snow, and nearly starved to death. She was a +gentle, kind woman, and, she believed, would not do any of them hurt. +Her sons were good hunters, and, though so young, helped to support +their mother, and were very good to her and the little one. + +I must now pass over a considerable interval of time, with merely a +brief notice that the crop of corn was carefully harvested, and proved +abundant, and a source of great comfort. The rice was gathered and +stored, and plenty of game and fish laid by, with an additional store +of honey. + +The Indians, for some reason, did not pay their accustomed visit to +the lake this season. Indiana said they might be engaged with war +among some hostile tribes, or had gone to other hunting-grounds. The +winter was unusually mild, and it was long before it set in. Yet the +spring following was tardy, and later than usual. It was the latter +end of May before vegetation had made any very decided progress. + +The little log-house presented a neat and comfortable appearance, both +within and without. Indiana had woven a handsome mat of bass bark for +the floor; Louis and Hector had furnished it with seats and a table, +rough, but still very respectably constructed, considering their only +tools were a tomahawk, a knife, and wooden wedges for splitting the +wood into slabs. These Louis afterwards smoothed with great care and +patience. Their bedsteads were furnished with thick, soft mats, woven +by Indiana and Catharine from rushes which they cut and dried; but the +little squaw herself preferred lying on a mat or deerskin on the floor +before the fire, as she had been accustomed. + +A new field had been enclosed, and a fresh crop of corn planted, which +was now green and flourishing. Peace and happiness dwelt within the +log-house; but for the regrets that ever attended the remembrance of +all they had left and lost, no cloud would have dimmed the serenity of +those who dwelt beneath its humble roof. + +The season of flowers had again arrived; the earth, renovated by the +fire of the former year, bloomed with fresh beauty; June, with its +fragrant store of roses and lilies, was now far advanced--the +anniversary of that time when they had left their beloved parents' +roofs, to become sojourners in the lonely wilderness, had returned. +They felt they had much to be grateful for. Many privations, it is +true, and much anxiety they had felt; but they had enjoyed blessings +beyond what they could have expected, and might, like the psalmist +when recounting the escapes of the people of God, have said, "Oh that +men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodness, and the wonders +that he doeth for the children of men." And now they declared no +greater evil could befall them than to lose one of their little party, +for even Indiana had become as a dear and beloved sister; her +gentleness, her gratitude, and faithful trusting love seemed each day +to increase. Now, indeed, she was bound to them by a yet more sacred +tie, for she knelt to the same God, and acknowledged with fervent +love, the mercies of her Redeemer. She had made great progress in +learning their language, and had also taught her friends to speak and +understand much of her own tongue, so that they were now no longer at +a loss to converse with her on any subject. Thus was this Indian girl +united to them in bonds of social and Christian love. + +Hector, Louis, and Indiana had gone over the hills to follow the track +of a deer which had paid a visit to the young corn, now sprouting and +showing symptoms of shooting up to blossom. Catharine usually +preferred staying at home and preparing the meals against their +return. She had gathered some fine ripe strawberries, to add to the +stewed rice, Indian meal cake, and maple sugar, for their dinner. She +was weary and warm, for the day had been hot and sultry. Seating +herself on the threshold of the door, she leaned against the +door-post, and closed her eyes. Perhaps the poor child's thoughts were +wandering back to her far-off, unforgotten home, or she might be +thinking of the hunters and their game. Suddenly a vague, undefinable +feeling of dread stole over her mind. She heard no steps, she felt no +breath, she saw no form; but there was a strange consciousness that +she was not alone--that some unseen being was near, some eye was upon +her. I have heard of sleepers starting from sleep the most profound +when the noiseless hand of the assassin has been raised to destroy +them, as if the power of the human eye could be felt through the +closed lids. + +Thus fared it with Catharine. She felt as if some unseen enemy was +near her, and springing to her feet, she cast a wild, troubled glance +around. No living being met her eye; and, ashamed of her cowardice, +she resumed her seat. The tremulous cry of her little gray squirrel, a +pet which she had tamed and taught to nestle in her bosom, attracted +her attention. + +"What aileth thee, wee dearie?" she said tenderly, as the timid little +creature crept trembling to her breast. "Thy mistress has seared thee +by her own foolish fears. See, now, there is neither catamount nor +weasel here to seize thee, silly one;" and as she spoke, she raised +her head and flung back the thick clusters of soft fair hair that +shaded her eyes. The deadly glare of a pair of dark eyes fixed upon +her met her terrified gaze, gleaming with sullen ferocity from the +angle of the door-post, whence the upper part of the face alone was +visible, partly concealed by a mat of tangled, shaggy black hair. +Paralyzed with fear, the poor girl neither spoke nor moved; she +uttered no cry; but pressing her hands tightly across her breast, as +if to still the loud beating of her heart, she sat gazing upon that +fearful appearance, while, with stealthy step, the savage advanced +from his lurking-place, keeping, as he did so, his eyes riveted upon +hers, with such a gaze as the wily serpent is said to fascinate its +prey. His hapless victim moved not:--whither could she flee to escape +one whose fleet foot could so easily have overtaken her in the race? +where conceal herself from him whose wary eye fixed upon her seemed to +deprive her of all vital energy? + +Uttering that singular, expressive guttural which seems with the +Indian to answer the purpose of every other exclamation, he advanced, +and taking the girl's ice-cold hands in his, tightly bound them with a +thong of deer-hide, and led her unresistingly away. By a circuitous +path through the ravine they reached the foot of the mount, where lay +a birch canoe, rocking gently on the waters, in which a middle-aged +female and a young girl were seated. The females asked no questions, +and expressed no word indicative of curiosity or surprise, as the +strong arm of the Indian lifted his captive into the canoe, and made +signs to the elder squaw to push from the shore. When all had taken +their places, the woman, catching up a paddle from the bottom of the +little vessel, stood up, and with a few rapid strokes sent it skimming +over the lake. + +The miserable captive, overpowered with the sense of her calamitous +situation, bowed down her head upon her knees, and concealing her +agitated face in her garments, wept in silent agony. Visions of horror +presented themselves to her bewildered brain; all that Indiana had +described of the cruelty of this vindictive race came vividly before +her mind. Poor child, what miserable thoughts were thine during that +brief voyage! + +Had the Indians also captured her friends? or was she alone to be the +victim of their vengeance? What would be the feelings of those beloved +ones on returning to their home and finding it desolate! Was there no +hope of release? As these ideas chased each other through her agitated +mind, she raised her eyes, all streaming with tears, to the faces of +the Indian and his companions with so piteous a look that any heart +but the stoical one of an Indian would have softened at its sad +appeal; but no answering glance of sympathy met hers, no eye gave back +its silent look of pity--not a nerve or a muscle moved the cold, +apathetic features of the Indians; and the woe-stricken girl again +resumed her melancholy attitude, burying her face in her heaving bosom +to hide its bitter emotions from the heartless strangers. + +She was not fully aware that it is part of the Indian's education to +hide the inward feelings of the heart, to check all those soft and +tender emotions which distinguish the civilized man from the savage. + +It does indeed need the softening influence of that powerful Spirit, +which was shed abroad into the world to turn the hearts of the +disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to break down the strongholds +of unrighteousness, and to teach man that he is by nature the child of +wrath and victim of sin, and that in his unregenerated nature his +whole mind is at enmity with God and his fellow-men, and that in his +flesh dwelleth no good thing. And the Indian has acknowledged that +power; he has cast his idols of cruelty and revenge, those virtues on +which he prided himself in the blindness of his heart, to the moles +and the bats; he has bowed and adored at the foot of the Cross. But it +was not so in the days whereof I have spoken. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + "Must this sweet new-blown rose find such a winter + Before her spring be past?" + + BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER + + +The little bark touched the stony point of Long Island. The Indian +lifted his weeping prisoner from the canoe, and motioned to her to +move forward along the narrow path that led to the camp, about twenty +yards higher up the bank, where there was a little grassy spot +enclosed with shrubby trees; the squaws tarried at the lake-shore to +bring up the paddles and secure the canoe. + +It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an enemy, but doubly +so when that enemy is a stranger to the language in which we would +plead for mercy, whose god is not our God, nor his laws those by which +we ourselves are governed. Thus felt the poor captive as she stood +alone, mute with terror, among the half-naked, dusky forms with which +she now found herself surrounded. She cast a hurried glance round that +strange assembly, if by chance her eye might rest upon some dear +familiar face; but she saw not the kind but grave face of Hector, nor +met the bright sparkling eyes of her cousin Louis, nor the soft, +subdued, pensive features of the Indian girl, her adopted sister. She +stood alone among those wild, gloomy-looking men; some turned away +their eyes as if they would not meet her woe-stricken countenance, +lest they should be moved to pity her sad condition. No wonder that, +overcome by the sense of her utter forlornness, she hid her face with +her fettered hands and wept in despair. But the Indian's sympathy is +not moved by tears and sighs; calmness, courage, defiance of danger, +and contempt of death, are what he venerates and admires even in an +enemy. + +The Indians beheld her grief unmoved. At length the old man, who +seemed to be a chief among the rest, motioned to one of the women who +leaned against the side of the wigwam to come forward and lead away +the stranger. Catharine, whose senses were beginning to be more +collected, heard the old man give orders that she was to be fed and +cared for. Gladly did she escape from the presence of those pitiless +men, from whose gaze she shrunk with maidenly modesty. And now when +alone with the women she hesitated not to make use of that natural +language which requires not the aid of speech to make itself +understood. Clasping her hands imploringly, she knelt at the feet of +the Indian woman, her conductress, kissed her dark hands, and bathed +them with her fast-flowing tears, while she pointed passionately to +the shore where lay the happy home from which she had been so suddenly +torn. + +The squaw, though she evidently comprehended the meaning of her +imploring gestures, shook her head, and in plaintive earnest tone +replied in her own language that she must go with the canoes to the +other shore, and she pointed to the north as she spoke. She then +motioned to the young girl--the same that had been Catharine's +companion in the canoe--to bring a hunting-knife which was thrust into +one of the folds of the birch-bark of the wigwam. Catharine beheld the +deadly weapon in the hands of the Indian woman with a pang of agony as +great as if its sharp edge was already at her throat. So young--so +young, to die by a cruel bloody death! what had been her crime? How +should she find words to soften the heart of her murderess? The power +of utterance seemed denied. She cast herself on her knees and held up +her hands in silent prayer; not to the dreaded Indian woman, but to +Him who heareth the prayer of the poor destitute--who alone can order +the unruly wills and affections of men. + +The squaw stretched forth one dark hand and grasped the arm of the +terror-stricken girl, while the other held the weapon of destruction. +With a quick movement she severed the thongs that bound the fettered +wrists of the pleading captive, and with a smile that seemed to light +up her whole face she raised her from her prostrate position, laid her +hand upon her young head and with an expression of good-humoured +surprise lifted the flowing tresses of her sunny hair and spread them +over the back of her own swarthy hand; then, as if amused by the +striking contrast, she shook down her own jetty-black hair and twined +a tress of it with one of the fair-haired girl's, then laughed till +her teeth shone like pearls within her red lips. Many were the +exclamations of childish wonder that broke from the other females as +they compared the snowy arm of the stranger with their own dusky +skins: it was plain that they had no intention of harming her, and by +degrees distrust and dread of her singular companions began in some +measure to subside. + +The squaw motioned her to take a seat on a mat beside her, and gave +her a handful of parched rice and some deer's flesh to eat; but +Catharine's heart was too heavy. She was suffering from thirst; and on +pronouncing the Indian word for water, the young girl snatched up a +piece of birch-bark from the floor of the tent, and gathering the +corners together, ran to the lake, and soon returned with water in +this most primitive drinking-vessel, which she held to the lips of her +guest, and she seemed amused by the long, deep draught with which +Catharine slaked her thirst. Something like a gleam of hope came over +Catharine's mind as she marked the look of kindly feeling with which +she caught the young Indian girl regarding her, and she strove to +overcome the choking sensation that would from time to time rise to +her throat as she fluctuated between hope and fear. The position of +the Indian camp was so placed that it was quite hidden from the shore +and Catharine could neither see the mouth of the ravine, nor the steep +side of the mount that her brother and cousin were accustomed to +ascend and descend in their visits to the lake-shore, nor had she any +means of making a signal to them even if she had seen them on the +beach. + +The long, anxious, watchful night passed, and soon after sunrise, +while the morning mists still hung over the lake, the canoes of the +Indians were launched, and long before noon they were in the mouth of +the river. Catharine's heart sunk within her as the fast receding +shores of the lake showed each minute fainter in the distance. At +mid-day they halted at a fine bend in the river, and landed on a small +open place where a creek flowing down through the woods afforded them +cool water; here they found several tents put up and a larger party +awaiting their return. The river was here a fine, broad, deep, and +tranquil stream; trees of many kinds fringed the edge, beyond was the +unbroken forest, whose depths had never been pierced by the step of +man--so thick and luxuriant was the vegetation that even the Indian +could hardly have penetrated through its dark, swampy glades: far as +the eye could reach, that impenetrable, interminable wall of verdure +stretched away into the far-off distance. + +All the remainder of that sad day Catharine sat on the grass under a +shady tree, her eyes mournfully fixed on the slow-flowing waters, and +wondering at her own hard fate in being thus torn from her home and +its dear inmates. Bad as she had thought her separation from her +father and mother and her brothers, when she first left her home to +become a wanderer on the Rice Lake Plains, how much more dismal now +was her situation, snatched from the dear companions who had upheld +and cheered her on in all her sorrows! Now that she was alone with +none to love or cherish or console her, she felt a desolation of +spirit that almost made her forgetful of the trust that had hitherto +always sustained her in time of trouble or sickness. She looked round, +and her eye fell on the strange, unseemly forms of men and women who +cared not for her, and to whom she was an object of indifference or +aversion; she wept when she thought of the grief her absence would +occasion to Hector and Louis; the thought of their distress increased +her own. + +The soothing quiet of the scene, with the low, lulling sound of the +little brook as its tiny wavelets fell tinkling over the mossy roots +and stones that impeded its course to the river, joined with fatigue +and long exposure to the sun and air, caused her at length to fall +asleep. The last rosy light of the setting sun was dyeing the waters +with a glowing tint when she awoke; a soft blue haze hung upon the +trees; the kingfisher and dragon-fly, and a solitary loon, were the +only busy things abroad on the river,--the first darting up and down +from an upturned root, near the water's edge, feeding its younglings; +the dragon-fly hawking with rapid whirring sound for insects; and the +loon, just visible from above the surface of the still stream, sailing +quietly on companionless like her who watched its movements. + +The bustle of the hunters returning with game and fish to the +encampment roused many a sleepy brown papoose; the fires were renewed, +the evening was now preparing, and Catharine, chilled by the falling +dew, crept to the enlivening warmth. And here she was pleased at being +recognized by one friendly face; it was the mild, benevolent +countenance of the widow Snowstorm, who, with her three sons, came to +bid her to share their camp fire and food. The kindly grasp of the +hand and the beaming smile that were given by this good creature, +albeit she was ugly and ill-featured, cheered the sad captive's heart. +She had given her a cup of cold water and such food as her log-cabin +afforded; in return the good Indian took her to her wigwam and fed, +warmed, and cherished her with the loving-kindness of a Christian. +During all her sojourn in the Indian camp, the widow Snowstorm was as +a tender mother to her, drying her tears and showing her those little +acts of attention that even the untaught Indians know are grateful to +the sorrowful and destitute. Catharine often forgot her own griefs to +repay this worthy creature's kindness, by attending to her little +babe, and assisting her in her homely cookery or household work. She +knew that a selfish indulgence in sorrow would do her no good, and +after the lapse of some days she so well disciplined her own heart as +to check her tears, at least in the presence of the Indian women, and +to assume an air of comparative cheerfulness. Once she found Indian +words enough to ask the Indian widow to convey her back to the lake, +but she shook her head and bade her not think anything about it; and +added that in autumn, when the ducks came to the rice-beds, they +should all return, and then if she could obtain leave from the chief, +she would restore her to her lodge on the Plains; but signified to her +that patience was her only present remedy, and that submission to the +will of the chief was her wisest plan. Comforted by this vague +promise, Catharine strove to be reconciled to her strange lot and +still stranger companions. She was surprised at the want of curiosity +respecting her evinced by the Indians in the wigwam when she was +brought thither; they appeared to take little notice that a stranger, +and one so dissimilar to themselves, had been introduced into the +camp. Catharine learned, by long acquaintance with this people, that +an outward manifestation of surprise is considered a want of etiquette +and good-breeding, or rather a proof of weakness and childishness. The +women, like other females, are certainly less disposed to repress this +feeling of inquisitiveness than the men; and one of their great +sources of amusement, when Catharine was among them, was examining the +difference of texture and colour of her skin and hair, and holding +long consultations over them. The young girl and her mother, who had +paddled the canoe the day she was carried away to the island, showed +her much kindness in a quiet way. The young squaw was grand-daughter +to the old chief, and seemed to be regarded with considerable respect +by the rest of the women; she was a gay, lively creature, often +laughing, and seemed to enjoy an inexhaustible fund of good humour. +She extended her patronage to the young stranger by making her eat out +of her own bark-dish and sit beside her on her own mat. She wove a +chain for her of the sweet-scented grass with which the Indians +delight in adorning themselves, likewise in perfuming their lodges +with bunches or strewings upon the floor. She took great pains in +teaching her how to acquire the proper attitude of sitting, after the +fashion of the Eastern nations, which position the Indian women assume +when at rest in their wigwams. + +The Indian name of this little damsel signified the "snow-bird." She +was, like that lively, restless bird, always flitting from tent to +tent, as garrulous and as cheerful too as that merry little herald of +the spring. + +Once she seemed particularly attracted by Catharine's dress, which she +examined with critical minuteness, evincing great surprise at the cut +fringes of dressed doe-skin with which Indiana had ornamented the +border of the short jacket she had manufactured for Catharine. These +fringes she pointed out to the notice of the women, and even the old +chief was called in to examine the dress; nor did the leggings and +moccasins escape their observation. There was something mysterious +about her garments. Catharine was at a loss to imagine what caused +those deep guttural exclamations, somewhat between a grunt and a +groan, that burst from the lips of the Indians, as they one by one +examined her dress with deep attention. These people had recognized in +these things the peculiar fashion and handiwork of the young Mohawk +girl whom they had exposed to perish by hunger and thirst on Bare +Hill; and much their interest was excited to learn by what means +Catharine had become possessed of a dress wrought by the hand of one +whom they had numbered with the dead. Strange and mysterious did it +seem to them, and warily did they watch the unconscious object of +their wonder. + +The knowledge she possessed of the language of her friend Indiana +enabled Catharine to comprehend a great deal of what was said; yet she +prudently refrained from speaking in the tongue of one to whose whole +nation she knew these people to be hostile. But she sedulously +endeavoured to learn their own peculiar dialect; and in this she +succeeded in an incredibly short time, so that she was soon able to +express her own wants, and converse a little with the females who were +about her. + +She had noticed that among the tents there was one which stood apart +from the rest, and was only visited by the old chief and his +grand-daughter, or by the elder women. At first she imagined it was +some sick person, or a secret tent set apart for the worship of the +Great Spirit; but one day, when the chief of the people had gone up +the river hunting, and the children were asleep, the curtain of skins +was drawn back, and a female of singular and striking beauty appeared +in the open space in front. She was habited in a fine tunic of white +dressed doe-skin, richly embroidered with coloured beads and stained +quills; a full petticoat of dark cloth bound with scarlet descended to +her ankles; leggings fringed with deerskin, knotted with bands of +coloured quills, with richly wrought moccasins on her feet. On her +head she wore a coronet of scarlet and black feathers; her long +shining tresses of raven hair descended to her waist, each thick tress +confined with a braided band of quills, dyed scarlet and blue. She was +tall and well-formed; her large, liquid, dark eyes wore an expression +so proud and mournful that Catharine felt her own involuntarily fill +with tears as she gazed upon this singular being. She would have +approached nearer to her, but a spell seemed on her; she shrunk back +timid and abashed beneath that wild, melancholy glance. It was she, +the Beam of the Morning, the self-made widow of the young Mohawk, +whose hand had wrought so fearful a vengeance on the treacherous +destroyer of her brother. She stood there, at the tent-door, arrayed +in her bridal robes, as on the day when she received her death-doomed +victim. And when she recalled her fearful deed, shuddering with +horror, Catharine drew back and shrouded herself within the tent, +fearing again to fall under the eye of that terrible woman. She +remembered how Indiana had told her that since that fatal +marriage-feast she had been kept apart from the rest of the tribe,--she +was regarded by her people as a sacred character, entitled the +_Great Medicine,_ a female _brave,_ a being whom they regarded +with mysterious reverence. She had made this great sacrifice for the +good of her nation. Indiana said it was believed among her own folk +that she had loved the young Mohawk passionately, as a tender woman +loves the husband of her youth; yet she had not hesitated to sacrifice +him with her own hand. Such was the deed of the Indian heroine--and +such were the virtues of the unregenerated Greeks and Romans! + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + "Now where the wave, with loud, unquiet song, + Dashed o'er the rocky channel, froths along, + Or where the silver waters soothed to rest, + The tree's tall shadow sleeps upon its breast." + + --COLERIDGE. + + +The Indian camp remained for nearly three weeks on this spot, and then +early one morning the wigwams were all taken down, and the canoes, six +in number, proceeded up the river. There was very little variety in +the scenery to interest Catharine. The river still kept its +slow-flowing course between low shores thickly clothed with trees, +without an opening through which the eye might pierce to form an idea +of the country beyond; not a clearing, not a sight or sound of +civilized man was there to be seen or heard; the darting flight of the +wild birds as they flitted across from one side to the other, the +tapping of the woodpecker, or shrill cry of the blue jay was all that +was heard, from sunrise to sunset, on that monotonous voyage. After +many hours, a decided change was perceived in the current, which ran +at a considerable increase of swiftness, so that it required the +united energy of both men and women to keep the light vessels from +drifting down the river again. They were in the rapids, and it was +hard work to stem the tide and keep the upward course of the waters. +At length the rapids were passed, and the weary Indian voyagers rested +for a space on the bosom of a small but tranquil lake. The rising moon +shed her silvery light upon the calm water, and heaven's stars shone +down into its quiet depths, as the canoes with their dusky freight +parted the glittering rays with their light paddles. As they proceeded +onward the banks rose on either side, still fringed with pines, +cedars, and oaks. At an angle of the lake the banks on either side ran +out into two opposite peninsulas, forming a narrow passage or gorge, +contracting the lake once more into the appearance of a broad river, +much wider from shore to shore than any other part they had passed +through since they had left the entrance at the Rice Lake. + +Catharine became interested in the change of scenery; her eye dwelt +with delight on the forms of glorious spreading oaks and lofty pines, +green cliff-like shores, and low wooded islands; while, as they +proceeded, the sound of rapid-flowing waters met her ear, and soon the +white and broken eddies, rushing along with impetuous course, were +seen by the light of the moon; and while she was wondering if the +canoes were to stem those rapids, at a signal from the old chief, the +little fleet was pushed to shore on a low flat of emerald verdure, +nearly opposite to the last island. + +Here, under the shelter of some beautiful spreading black oaks, the +women prepared to set up their wigwams. They had brought the poles and +birch-bark covering from the encampment below, and soon all was bustle +and business, unloading the canoes and raising the tents. Even +Catharine lent a willing hand to assist the females in bringing up the +stores and sundry baskets containing fruits and other small wares. She +then kindly attended to the Indian children--certain dark-skinned +babes, who, bound upon their wooden cradles, were either set up +against the trunks of the trees, or swung to some lowly depending +branch, there to remain helpless and uncomplaining spectators of the +scene. + +Catharine thought these Indian babes were almost as much to be pitied +as herself, only that they were unconscious of their imprisoned state, +having from birth been used to no better treatment, and moreover they +were sure to be rewarded by the tender caresses of loving mothers when +the season of refreshment and repose arrived but she, alas! was +friendless and alone, bereft of father, mother, kindred, and friends. +One Father, one Friend, poor Catharine, thou hadst, even he, the +Father of the fatherless. + +That night, when the women and children were sleeping, Catharine stole +out of the wigwam, and climbed the precipitous bank beneath the +shelter of which the lodges had been erected. She found herself upon a +grassy plain, studded with majestic oaks and pines, so beautifully +grouped that they might have been planted by the hand of taste upon +that velvet turf. It was a delightful contrast to those dense dark +forests through which for so many many miles the waters of the +Otonabee had flowed on monotonously; here it was all wild and free, +dashing along like a restive steed rejoicing in its liberty, uncurbed +and tameless. + +Yes, here it was beautiful! Catharine gazed with joy upon the rushing +river, and felt her own heart expand as she marked its rapid course as +it bounded murmuring and fretting over its rocky bed. "Happy, glorious +waters! you are not subject to the power of any living creature; no +canoe can ascend those surging waves. I would that I too, like thee, +were free to pursue my onward way; how soon would I flee away and be +at rest!" Such thoughts passed through the mind of the lonely captive +girl, as she sat at the foot of a giant oak, and looked abroad over +those moonlit waters, till oppressed by an overwhelming sense of the +utter loneliness of the scene, the timid girl with faltering step +hurried down once more to the wigwams, silently crept to the mat where +her bed was spread, and soon forgot all her woes and wanderings in +deep, tranquil sleep. + +Catharine wondered that the Indians in erecting their lodges always +seemed to prefer the low, level, and often swampy grounds by the lakes +and rivers in preference to the higher and more healthy elevations. So +disregardful are they of this circumstance, that they do not hesitate +to sleep where the ground is saturated with moisture. They will then +lay a temporary flooring of cedar or any other bark beneath their +feet, rather than remove the tent a few feet higher up, where a drier +soil may always be found. This arises either from stupidity or +indolence, perhaps from both, but it is no doubt the cause of much of +the sickness that prevails among them. With his feet stretched to the +fire, the Indian cares for nothing else when reposing in his wigwam, +and it is useless to urge the improvement that might be made in his +comfort; he listens with a face of apathy, and utters his everlasting +guttural, which saves him the trouble of a more rational reply. + +"Snow-bird" informed Catharine that the lodges would not again be +removed for some time, but that the men would hunt and fish, while the +squaws pursued their domestic labours. Catharine perceived that the +chief of the laborious part of the work fell to the share of the +females, who were very much more industrious and active than their +husbands; those, when not out hunting or fishing, were to be seen +reposing in easy indolence under the shade of the trees, or before the +tent fires, giving themselves little concern about anything that was +going on. The squaws were gentle, humble, and submissive; they bore +without a murmur pain, labour, hunger, and fatigue, and seemed to +perform every task with patience and good-humour. They made the +canoes, in which the men sometimes assisted them, pitched the tents, +converted the skins of the animals which the men shot into clothes, +cooked the victuals, manufactured baskets of every kind, wove mats, +dyed the quills of the porcupine, sewed the moccasins, and, in short, +performed a thousand tasks which it would be difficult to enumerate. + +Of the ordinary household work, such as is familiar to European +females, they of course knew nothing; they had no linen to wash or +iron, no floors to clean, no milking of cows, nor churning of butter. + +Their carpets were fresh cedar boughs spread on the ground, and only +renewed when they became offensively dirty from the accumulation of +fish-bones and other offal, which are carelessly flung down during +meals. Of furniture they had none; their seat the ground, their table +the same, their beds mats or skins of animals,--such were the domestic +arrangements of the Indian camp. [Footnote: Much improvement has taken +place of late years in the domestic economy of the Indians, and some +of their dwellings are clean and neat even for Europeans.] + +In the tent to which Catharine belonged, which was that of the widow +and her sons, a greater degree of order and cleanliness prevailed than +in any other; for Catharine's natural love of neatness and comfort +induced her to strew the floor with fresh cedar or hemlock every day +or two, and to sweep round the front of the lodge, removing all +unseemly objects from its vicinity. She never failed to wash herself +in the river, and arrange her hair with the comb Louis had made for +her; and she took great care of the little child, which she kept clean +and well fed. She loved this little creature, for it was soft and +gentle, meek and playful as a little squirrel; and the Indian mothers +all looked with kinder eyes upon the white maiden, for the loving +manner in which she tended their children. The heart of woman is +seldom cold to those who cherish their offspring, and Catharine began +to experience the truth that the exercise of human charities is +equally beneficial to those who give and those who receive; these +things fall upon the heart as dew upon a thirsty soil, giving and +creating a blessing. But we will leave Catharine for a short season, +among the lodges of the Indians, and return to Hector and Louis. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + "Cold and forsaken, destitute of friends, + And all good comforts else, unless some tree + Whose speechless chanty doth better ours, + With which the bitter east winds made their sport, + And sang through hourly, hath invited thee + To shelter half a day. Shall she be thus, + And I draw in soft slumbers?" + + BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER. + + +It was near sunset before Hector and his companions returned on the +evening of the eventful day that had found Catharine a prisoner on +Long Island. They had met with good success in hunting, and brought +home a fine half-grown fawn, fat and in good order. They were +surprised at finding the fire nearly extinguished, and no Catharine +awaiting their return. There, it is true, was the food that she had +prepared for them, but she was not to be seen. Supposing that she had +been tired of waiting for them, and had gone out to gather +strawberries, they did not at first feel anxious, but ate of the rice +and honey, for they were hungry with long fasting. Then taking some +Indian meal cake in their hands, they went out to call her in; but no +trace of her was visible. Fearing she had set off by herself to seek +them, and had missed her way home again, they hurried back to the +happy valley,--she was not there; to Pine-tree Point,--no trace of her +there; to the edge of the mount that overlooked the lake,--she was not +to be seen: night found them unsuccessful in their search. Sometimes +they fancied that she had seated herself beneath some tree and fallen +asleep; but no one imagined the true cause, nothing having been seen +of the Indians since they had proceeded up the river. + +Again they retraced their steps back to the house; but they found her +not there. They continued their unavailing search till the moon +setting left them in darkness, and they lay down to rest, but not to +sleep. The first streak of dawn saw them again hurrying to and fro, +calling in vain upon the name of the loved and lost companion of their +wanderings. + +Indiana, whose vigilance was untiring--for she yielded not easily to +grief and despair--now returned with the intelligence that she had +discovered the Indian trail, through the big ravine to the lake-shore; +she had found the remains of a wreath of oak leaves which had been +worn by Catharine in her hair; and she had seen the mark of feet, +Indian feet, on the soft clay at the edge of the lake, and the +furrowing of the shingles by the pushing off of a canoe. Poor Louis +gave way to transports of grief and despair; he knew the wreath, it +was such as Catharine often made for herself, and Mathilde, and petite +Louise, and Marie; his mother had taught her to make them; they were +linked together by the stalks, and formed a sort of leaf chain. Louis +placed the torn relic in his breast, and sadly turned away to hide his +grief from Hector and the Indian girl. + +Indiana now proposed searching the island for further traces, but +advised wariness in so doing. They saw, however, neither smoke nor +canoes. The Indians had departed while they were searching the ravines +and flats round Mount Ararat, and the lake told no tales, The +following day they ventured to land on Long Island, and on going to +the north side saw evident traces of a temporary encampment having +been made, but no trace of any violence having been committed. It was +Indiana's opinion that, though a prisoner, Catharine was unhurt, as +the Indians rarely killed women and children, unless roused to do so +by some signal act on the part of their enemies, when an exterminating +spirit of revenge induced them to kill and spare not; but where no +offence had been offered, they were not likely to take the life of a +helpless, unoffending female. The Indian is not cruel for the wanton +love of blood, but to gratify revenge for some injury done to himself +or to his tribe. But it was difficult to still the terrible +apprehensions that haunted the minds of Louis and Hector. They spent +much time in searching the northern shores and the distant islands, in +the vain hope of finding her, as they still thought the camp might +have been moved to the opposite side of the lake. + +Inconsolable for the loss of their beloved companion, Hector and Louis +no longer took interest in what was going on; they hardly troubled +themselves to weed the Indian corn, in which they had taken such great +delight; all now seemed to them flat, stale, and unprofitable; they +wandered listlessly to and fro, silent and sad; the sunshine had +departed from their little dwelling; they ate little, and talked less, +each seeming absorbed in his own painful reveries. + +In vain the gentle Indian girl strove to revive their drooping +spirits; they seemed insensible to her attentions, and often left her +for hours alone. They returned one evening about the usual hour of +sunset, and missed their meek, uncomplaining guest from the place she +was wont to occupy. They called, but there was none to reply,--she too +was gone. They hurried to the shore just time enough to see the canoe +diminishing to a mere speck upon the waters, in the direction of the +mouth of the river; they called to her, in accents of despair, to +return, but the wind wafted back no sound to their ears and soon the +bark was lost to sight, and they sat them down disconsolately on the +shore. + +"What is she doing?" said Hector. "It is cruel to abandon us thus." + +"She has gone up the river, in the hope of bringing us some tidings of +Catharine," said Louis. + +"How came you to think that such is her intention?" + +"I heard her say the other day that she would go and bring her back, +or die." + +"What! do you think she would risk the vengeance of the old chief +whose life she attempted to take?" + +"She is a brave girl; she does not fear pain or death to serve those +she loves." + +"How can she, unprotected and alone, dare such perils? Why did she not +tell us? We would have shared her danger." + +"She feared for our lives more than for her own; that poor Indian girl +has a noble heart. I care not now what befalls us; we have lost all +that made life dear to us," said Louis gloomily, sinking his head +between his knees. + +"Hush, Louis; you are older than I, and ought to bear these trials +with more courage. It was our own fault Indiana's leaving us; we left +her so much alone to pine after her lost companion, she seemed to +think that we did not care for her. Poor Indiana, she must have felt +lonely and sad." + +"I tell you what we will do, Hec,--make a log canoe. I found an old +battered one lying on the shore, not far from Pine-tree Point. We have +an axe and a tomahawk,--what should hinder us from making one like +it?" + +"True! we will set about it to-morrow." + +"I wish it were morning, that we might set to work to cut down a good +pine for the purpose." + +"As soon as it is done, we will go up the river; anything is better +than this dreadful suspense and inaction." + +The early dawn saw the two cousins busily engaged chopping at a tree +of suitable dimensions. They worked hard all that day, and the next, +and the next, before the canoe was hollowed out; but, owing to their +inexperience and the bluntness of their tools, their first attempt +proved abortive--it was too heavy at one end, and did not balance well +in the water. + +Louis, who had been quite sure of success, was disheartened; not so +Hector. + +"Do not let us give it up: my maxim is perseverance; let us try again, +and again--ay, and a fourth and a fifth time. I say, never give it up; +that is the way to succeed at last." + +"You have ten times my patience, Hec." + +"Yes; but you are more ingenious than I, and are excellent at starting +an idea." + +"We are a good pair then for partnership." + +"We will begin anew and this time I hope we shall profit by our past +blunders." + +"Who would imagine that it is now more than a month since we lost +Catharine?" + +"I know it--long, long, weary month," replied Louis; and he struck his +axe sharply into the bark of the pine as he spoke, and remained silent +for some minutes. The boys, wearied by chopping down the tree, rested +from their work, and sat down on the side of the condemned canoe to +resume their conversation. Suddenly Louis grasped Hector's arm, and +pointed to a bark canoe that appeared making for the westernmost point +of the island. Hector started to his feet, exclaiming, "It is Indiana +returned!" + +"Nonsense! Indiana!--it is no such thing. Look you, it is a stout man +in a blanket coat." + +"The Indians?" asked Hector, inquiringly. + +"I do not think he looks like an Indian; but let us watch. What is he +doing?" + +"Fishing. See now, he has just caught a fine bass--another--he has +great luck--now he is pushing the canoe ashore." + +"That man does not move like an Indian--hark! he is whistling. I ought +to know that tune. It sounds like the old _chanson_ my father used to +sing;" and Louis, raising his voice, began to sing the words of an old +French Canadian song, which we will give in the English, as we heard +it sung by an old lumberer,-- + + "Down by those banks where the pleasant waters flow, + Through the wild woods we'll wander, and we'll chase the buffalo. + And we'll chase the buffalo." + +"Hush, Louis! you will bring the man over to us," said Hector. + +"The very thing I am trying to do, mon ami. This is our country, and +that may be his; but we are lords here, and two to one, so I think he +will not be likely to treat us ill. I am a man now, and so are you, +and he is but one; so he must mind how he affronts us," replied Louis, +laughing. + +"Hark, if he is not singing now! ay, and the very chorus of the old +song"--and Louis raised his voice to its highest pitch as he repeated,-- + + "'Through the wild woods we'll wander, + And we'll chase the buffalo + --And we'll chase the buffalo.' + +"What a pity I have forgotten the rest of that dear old song. I used +to listen with open ears to it when I was a boy. I never thought to +hear it again, and to hear it here of all places in the world!" + +"Come, let us go on with our work," said Hector, with something like +impatience in his voice, and the strokes of his axe fell once more in +regular succession on the log; but Louis's eye was still on the +mysterious fisher, whom he could discern lounging on the grass and +smoking his pipe. "I do not think he sees or hears us," said Louis to +himself, "but I think I'll manage to bring him over soon;" and he set +himself busily to work to scrape up the loose chips and shavings, and +soon began to strike fire with his knife and flint. + +"What are you about, Louis?" asked Hector. + +"Lighting a fire." + +"It is warm enough without a fire, I am sure." + +"I know that; but I want to attract the notice of yonder tiresome +fisherman." + +"And perhaps bring a swarm of savages down upon us, who may be lurking +in the bushes of the island." + +"Pooh, pooh! Hec; there are no savages. I am weary of this +place--anything is better than this horrible solitude." And Louis +fanned the flame into a rapid blaze, and heaped up the light dry +branches till it soared up among the bushes. Louis watched the effect +of his fire, and rubbed his hands gleefully as the bark canoe was +pushed off from the island, and a few vigorous strokes of the paddle +sent it dancing over the surface of the calm lake. + +Louis waved his cap above his head with a cheer of welcome as the +vessel lightly glided into the little cove, near the spot where the +boys were chopping, and a stout-framed, weather-beaten man, in a +blanket coat, also faded and weather-beaten, with a red worsted sash +and worn moccasins, sprang upon one of the timbers of Louis's old +raft, and gazed with a keen eye upon the lads. Each party silently +regarded the other. A few rapid interrogations from the stranger, +uttered in the broad _patois_ of the Lower Province, were answered in +a mixture of broken French and English by Louis. + +A change like lightning passed over the face of the old man as he +cried out--"Louis Perron, son of my ancient compagnon!" + +"Oui! oui!"--with eyes sparkling through tears of joy, Louis threw +himself into the broad breast of Jacob Morelle, his father's friend +and old lumbering comrade. + +"Hector, son of la belle Catharine Perron!" and Hector, in his turn, +received the affectionate embrace of the warm-hearted old man. + +"Who would have thought of meeting with the children of my old comrade +here at the shore of the Rice Lake? Oh! what a joyful meeting!" + +Jacob had a hundred questions to ask--Where were their parents? did +they live on the Plains now? how long was it since they had left the +Cold Springs? were there any more little ones? and so forth. + +The boys looked sorrowfully at each other. At last the old man stopped +for want of breath, and remarked their sad looks. + +Hector told the old lumberer how long they had been separated from +their families, and by what sad accident they had been deprived of the +society of their beloved sister. When they brought their narrative +down to the disappearance of Catharine, the whole soul of the old +trapper seemed moved; he started from the log on which they were +sitting, and with one of his national asseverations, declared "that +he, her father's old friend, would go up the river and bring her back +in safety, or leave his gray scalp behind him among the wigwams." + +"It is too late, Jacob, to think of starting to-day," said Hector. +"Come home with us, and eat some food, and rest a bit." + +"No need of that, my son I have a lot of fish here in the canoe; and +there is an old shanty on the island yonder, if it be still +standing--the Trapper's Fort I used to call it some years ago. We will +go off to the island and look for it." + +"No need for that," replied Louis, "though I can tell you the old +place is still in good repair, for we used it this very spring as a +boiling-house for our maple sap. We have a better place of our own +nearer at hand--just two or three hundred yards over the brow of +yonder hill. So come with us, and you shall have a good supper, and +bed to lie upon." + +"And you have all these, boys!" said Jacob opening his merry black +eyes, as they came in sight of the little log-house and the field of +green corn. + +The old man praised the boys for their industry and energy. "Ha! here +is old Wolfe too," as the dog roused himself from the hearth, and gave +one of his low grumbling growls. He had grown dull and dreamy, and +instead of going out as usual with the young hunters, he would lie for +hours dozing before the dying embers of the fire. He pined for the +loving hand that used to pat his sides, caress his shaggy neck, and +pillow his great head upon her lap, or suffer him to put his huge paws +on her shoulders, while he licked her hands and face; but she was +gone, and the Indian girl was gone, and the light of the shanty had +gone with them. Old Wolfe seemed dying of sorrow. + +That evening, as Jacob sat on the three-legged stool smoking his short +Indian pipe, he again would have the whole story of their wanderings +over, and the history of all their doings and contrivances. + +"And how far do you think you are from the Cold Springs?" + +"At least twenty miles, perhaps fifty; for it is a long, long time now +since we left home--three summers ago." + +"Well, boys, you must not reckon distance by the time you have been +absent," said the old man. "Now, I know the distance through the +woods, for I have passed through them on the Indian trail, and by my +reckoning, as the bee flies, it cannot be more than seven or eight +miles--no, nor that either." + +The boys opened their eyes. "Jacob, is this possible? So near, and yet +to us the distance has been as great as though it were a hundred miles +or more." + +"I tell you, boys, that is the provoking part of it. I remember, when +I was out on the St. John lumbering, missing my comrades, and I was +well-nigh starving, when I chanced to come back to the spot where we +parted; and I verily believe I had not been two miles distant the +whole eight days that I was moving round and round, and backward and +forward, just in a circle, because, d'ye see, I followed the sun, and +that led me astray the whole time." + +"Was that when you well-nigh roasted the bear?" asked Louis, with a +sly glance at Hector. + +"Well, no--that was another time; your father was out with me then." +And old Jacob, knocking the ashes out of his pipe, settled himself to +recount the adventure of the bear. Hector, who had heard Louis's +edition of the roast bear, was almost impatient at being forced to +listen to old Jacob's long-winded history, which included about a +dozen other stories, all tagged on to this, like links of a lengthened +chain; and he was not sorry when the old lumberer, taking his red +night-cap out of his pocket, at last stretched himself out on a +buffalo skin he had brought up from the canoe, and soon was soundly +sleeping. + +The morning was yet gray when the old man shook himself from his +slumber; and, after having roused up a good fire, which, though the +latter end of July, at that dewy hour was not unwelcome, he lighted +his pipe, and began broiling a fish for his breakfast; and was thus +engaged when Hector and Louis wakened. + +"I have been turning over in my mind about your sister," said he, "and +have come to the resolution of going up the river alone without any +one to accompany me. I know the Indians: they are a suspicious people; +they deal much in stratagems; and they are apt to expect treachery in +others. Perhaps they have had some reason; for the white men have not +always kept good faith with them, which I take to be the greater +shame, as they have God's laws to guide and teach them to be true and +just in their dealing, which the poor benighted heathen have not, the +more's the pity. Now, d'ye see, if the Indians see two stout lads with +me, they will say to themselves there may be more left behind, +skulking in ambush. So, boys, I go to the camp alone; and, God +willing, I will bring back your sister, or die in the attempt. I shall +not go empty-handed; see, I have here scarlet cloth, beads, and powder +and shot. I carry no fire-water: it is a sin and a shame to tempt +these poor wretches to their own destruction; it makes fiends of them +at once." + +It was to no purpose that Hector and Louis passionately besought old +Jacob to let them share the dangers of the expedition; the old man was +firm, and would not be moved from his purpose. + +"Look you, boys," he said, "if I do not return by the beginning of the +rice-harvest, you may suppose that evil has befallen me and the girl. +Then I would advise you to take care for your own safety; for if they +do not respect my gray head, neither will they spare your young ones. +In such case make yourselves a good canoe--a dug-out [Footnote: +Log-canoe] will do--and go down the lake till you are stopped by the +rapids; [Footnote: Heeley's Falls, on the Trent] make a portage there; +but as your craft is too weighty te carry far, e'en leave her and chop +out another, and go down to the falls; [Footnote: Crook's Rapids.] +then, if you do not like to be at any further trouble, you may make +out your journey to the bay [Footnote: Bay Quinte] on foot, coasting +along the river; there you will fall in with settlers who know old +Jacob Morelle, ay, and your two fathers, and they will put you in the +way of returning home. If I were to try ever so to put you on the old +Indian trail in the woods, though I know it myself right well, you +might be lost, and maybe never return home again. I leave my traps and +my rifle with you; I shall not need them. If I come back I may claim +the things; if not, they are yours. So now I have said my say, had my +_talk_, as the Indians say. Farewell. But first let us pray to +Him who alone can bring this matter to a safe issue." And the old man +devoutly kneeled down, and prayed for a blessing on his voyage and on +those he was leaving; and then hastened down to the beach, and the +boys, with full hearts, watched the canoe till it was lost to their +sight on the wide waters of the lake. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + "Where wild in woods the lordly savage ran." + + --DRYDEN + + +The setting sun was casting long shadows of oak and weeping elm +athwart the waters of the river; the light dip of the paddle had +ceased on the water, the baying of hounds and life-like stirring +sounds from the lodges came softened to the listening ear. The hunters +had come in with the spoils of a successful chase; the wigwam tires +are flickering and crackling, sending up their light columns of thin +blue smoke among the trees; and now a goodly portion of venison is +roasting on the forked sticks before the fires. Each lodge has its own +cooking utensils. That jar embedded in the hot embers contains +sassafras tea, an aromatic beverage in which the squaws delight when +they are so fortunate as to procure a supply. This has been brought +from the Credit, far up in the west, by a family who have come down on +a special mission from some great chief to his brethren on the +Otonabee, and the squaws have cooked some in honour of the guests. +That pot that sends up such a savoury steam is venison-pottage, or +soup, or stew, or any name you choose to give the Indian mess that is +concocted of venison, wild rice, and herbs. Those tired hounds that +lie stretched before the fire have been out, and now they enjoy the +privilege of the fire, some praise from the hunters, and receive +withal an occasional reproof from the squaws, if they approach their +wishful noses too close to the tempting viands. + +The elder boys are shooting at a mark on yonder birch-tree, the girls +are playing or rolling on the grass, the "Snow-Bird" is seated on the +floor of the wigwam braiding a necklace of sweet grass, which she +confines in links by means of little bands of coloured quills, +Catharine is working moccasins beside her. A dark shadow falls across +her work from the open tent door; an exclamation of surprise and +displeasure from one of the women makes Catharine raise her eyes to +the doorway. There, silent, pale, and motionless, the mere shadow of +her former self, stands Indiana; a gleam of joy lights for an instant +her large lustrous eyes. Amazement and delight at the sight of her +beloved friend for a moment deprive Catharine of the power of speech, +then terror for the safety of her friend takes the place of her joy at +seeing her. She rises regardless of the angry tones of the Indian +woman's voice, and throws her arms about Indiana, as if to shield her +from threatened danger, and sobs her welcome in her arms. + +"Indiana, dear sister! how came you hither, and for what purpose?" + +"To free you, and then die," was the soft, low, tremulous answer. +"Follow me." + +Catharine, wondering at the calm and fearless manner with which the +young Mohawk waved back the dusky matron who approached as if with the +design of laying hands upon her unwelcome guest, followed with beating +heart till they stood in the entrance of the lodge of the Bald Eagle. +It was filled with the hunters, who were stretched on skins on the +floor, reposing in quiet after the excitement of the chase. + +The young Mohawk bent her head down and crossed her arms over her +breast, an attitude of submission, as she stood in the opening of the +lodge; but she spoke no word till the old chief, waving back the men +who, starting to their feet, were gathering round him as if to shield +him from danger, and sternly regarding her, demanded from whence she +came and for what purpose. + +"To submit myself to the will of my Ojebwa father," was the meek +reply. "May the daughter of the Bald Eagle's enemy speak to her great +father?" + +"Say on," was the brief reply; "the Bald Eagle's ears are open." + +"The Bald Eagle is a mighty chief, the conqueror of his enemies, and +the father of his people," replied the Mohawk girl, and again was +silent. + +"The Mohawk squaw speaks well; let her say on." + +"The heart of the Mohawk is an open flower; it can be looked upon by +the eye of the Great Spirit. She speaks the words of truth. The Ojebwa +chief slew his enemies: they had done his good heart wrong; he +punished them for the wrong they wrought; he left none living in the +lodges of his enemies save one young squaw, the daughter of a brave, +the grand-daughter of the Black Snake. The Bald Eagle loves even an +enemy that is not afraid to raise the war-whoop or fling the tomahawk +in battle. The young girl's mother was a brave." She paused, while her +proud eyes were fixed on the face of her aged auditor. He nodded +assent, and she resumed, while a flush of emotion kindled her pale +cheek and reddened her lips:-- + +"The Bald Eagle brought the lonely one to his lodge; he buried the +hatchet and the scalping-knife, he bade his squaws comfort her: but +her heart was lonely, she pined for the homes of her fathers. She +said, I will revenge my father, my mother, and my brothers and +sisters; and her heart burned within her. But her hand was not strong +to shed blood; the Great Spirit was about my Ojebwa father. She +failed, and would have fled, for an arrow was in her flesh. The people +of the Bald Eagle took her; they brought her down the great river to +the council hill; they bound her with thongs, and left her to die. She +prayed, and the Great Spirit heard her prayer and sent her help. The +white man came; his heart was soft: he unbound her, he gave water to +cool her hot lips, he led her to his lodge. The white squaw (and she +pointed to Catharine) was there; she bound up her wounds, she laid her +on her own bed, she gave her meat and drink, and tended her with love. +She taught her to pray to the Good Spirit, and told her to return good +for evil, to be true and just, kind and merciful. The hard heart of +the young girl became soft as clay when moulded for the pots, and she +loved her white sister and brothers, and was happy. The Bald Eagle's +people came when my white brothers were at peace; they found a +trembling fawn within the lodge; they led her away; they left tears +and loneliness where joy and peace had been. The Mohawk squaw could +not see the hearth of her white brothers desolate. She took the canoe; +she came to the lodge of the great father of his tribe, and she says +to him, Give back the white squaw to her home on the Rice Lake, and +take in her stead the rebellious daughter of the Ojebwa's enemy, to +die or be his servant; she fears not now the knife or the tomahawk, +the arrow or the spear: her life is in the hand of the great chief." +She sank on her knees as she spoke these last words, and bowing down +her head on her breast remained motionless as a statue. + +There was silence for some minutes, and then the old man rose and +said:-- + +"Daughter of a brave woman, thou hast spoken long, and thou hast +spoken well; the ears of the Bald Eagle have been opened. The white +squaw shall be restored to her brother's lodge; but thou remainest. I +have spoken." + +Catharine, in tears, cast her arms round her disinterested friend and +remained weeping: how could she accept this great sacrifice? She, in +her turn, pleaded for the life and liberty of the Mohawk, but the +chief turned a cold ear to her passionate and incoherent pleading. He +was weary--he was impatient of further excitement--he coldly motioned +to them to withdraw; and the friends in sadness retired to talk over +all that had taken place since that sad day when Catharine was taken +from her home. While her heart was joyful at the prospect of her own +release, it was clouded with fears for the uncertain fate of her +beloved friend. + +"They will condemn me to a cruel death," said Indiana; "but I can +suffer and die for my white sister." + +That night the Indian girl slept sweetly and tranquilly beside +Catharine. But Catharine could not sleep; she communed with her own +heart in the still watches of the night; it seemed as if a new life +had been infused within her. She no longer thought and felt as a +child; the energies of her mind had been awakened, ripened into +maturity, as it were, and suddenly expanded. When all the inmates of +the lodges were profoundly sleeping, Catharine arose: a sudden thought +had entered into her mind, and she hesitated not to put her design +into execution. There was no moon, but a bright arch of light spanned +the forest to the north; it was mild and soft as moonlight, but less +bright, and cast no shadow across her path; it showed her the sacred +tent of the widow of the murdered Mohawk. With noiseless step she +lifted aside the curtain of skins that guarded it, and stood at the +entrance. Light as was her step, it awakened the sleeper; she raised +herself on her arm, and looked up with a dreamy and abstracted air as +Catharine, stretching forth her hand, in tones low and tremulous, thus +addressed her in the Ojebwa tongue:-- + +"The Great Spirit sends me to thee, O woman of much sorrow; he asks of +thee a great deed of mercy and goodness. Thou hast shed blood, and he +is angry. He bids thee to save the life of an enemy--the blood of thy +murdered husband flows in her veins. See that thou disobey not the +words that he commands." + +She dropped the curtain and retired as she had come, with noiseless +step, and lay down again in the tent beside Indiana. Her heart beat as +though it would burst its way through her bosom. What had she +done?--what dared? She had entered the presence of that terrible woman +alone, at the dead hour of night! she had spoken bold and presumptuous +words to that strange being whom even her own people hardly dared to +approach uncalled for! Sick with terror at the consequences of her +temerity, Catharine cast her trembling arms about the sleeping Indian +girl, and, hiding her head in her bosom, wept and prayed till sleep +came over her wearied spirit. It was late when she awoke. She was +alone; the lodge was empty. A vague fear seized her: she hastily arose +to seek her friend. It was evident that some great event was in +preparation. The Indian men had put on the war-paint, and strange and +ferocious eyes were glancing from beneath their shaggy locks. A stake +was driven in the centre of the cleared space in front of the chief's +lodge: there, bound, she beheld her devoted friend; pale as ashes, but +with a calm, unshaken countenance, she stood. There was no sign of +woman's fear in her fixed dark eye, which quailed not before the sight +of the death-dooming men who stood round her, armed with their +terrible weapons of destruction. Her thoughts seemed far away: perhaps +they were with her dead kindred, wandering in that happy land to which +the Indian hopes to go after life; or, inspired with the new hope +which had been opened to her, she was looking to Him who has promised +a crown of life to such as believe in his name. She saw not the look +of agony with which Catharine regarded her; and the poor girl, full of +grief, sunk down at the foot of a neighbouring tree, and, burying her +face between her knees, wept and prayed-oh, how fervently! A hope +crept to her heart--even while the doom of Indiana seemed +darkest--that some good might yet accrue from her visit to the wigwam +of the Great Medicine squaw. She knew that the Indians have great +belief in omens, and warnings, and spirits both good and evil; she +knew that her mysterious appearance at the tent of the Mohawk's widow +would be construed by her into spiritual agency; and her heart was +strengthened by this hope. Yet just now there seems little reason to +encourage hope: the war-whoop is given, the war-dance is begun--first +slow, and grave, and measured; now louder, and quicker, and more wild +become both sound and movement. But why is it hushed again? See, a +strange canoe appears on the river; anon an old weather-beaten man, +with firm step, appears on the greensward, and approaches the area of +the lodge. + +The Bald Eagle greets him with friendly courtesy, the dance ceases and +the death-song is hushed; a treaty is begun. It is for the deliverance +of the captives. The chief points to Catharine--she is free; his white +brother may take her--she is his. But the Indian law of justice must +take its course: the condemned, who raised her hand against an Ojebwa +chief, must die. In vain are the tempting stores of scarlet cloth and +beads for the women, with powder and shot, laid before the chief: the +arrows of six warriors are fitted to the string, and again the dance +and song commence, as if, like the roll of the drum and, clangour of +the trumpet, they were necessary to the excitement of strong and +powerful feelings, and the suppression of all tenderer emotions. + +And now a wild and solemn voice is heard, unearthly in its tones, +rising above the yells of those savage men. At the sound every cheek +becomes pale: it strikes upon the ear as some funeral wail. Is it the +death-song of the captive girl bound to that fearful stake? No; for +she stands unmoved, with eyes raised heavenward, and lips apart,-- + + "In still but brave despair." + +Shrouded in a mantle of dark cloth, her long black hair unbound and +streaming over her shoulders, appears the Mohawk widow, the daughter +of the Ojebwa chief. The gathering throng fall back as she approaches, +awed by her sudden appearance among them. She stretches out a hand on +which dark stains are visible--it is the blood of her husband, +sacrificed by her on that day of fearful deeds: it has never been +effaced. In the name of the Great Spirit she claims the captive +girl--the last of that devoted tribe--to be delivered over to her +will. Her right to this remnant of her murdered husband's family is +acknowledged. A knife is placed in her hand, while a deafening yell of +triumph bursts from the excited squaws, as this their great high +priestess, as they deem her, advances to the criminal. But it is not +to shed the heart's blood of the Mohawk girl, but to sever the thong +that bind her to the deadly stake, for which that glittering blade is +drawn, and to bid her depart in peace whithersoever she would go. + +Then, turning to the Bald Eagle, she thus addresses him: "At the dead +of night, when the path of light spanned the sky, a vision stood +before mine eyes. It came from the Great and Good Spirit, and bade me +to set free the last of a murdered race, whose sun had gone down in +blood shed by my hand and by the hands of my people. The vision told +me that if I did this my path should henceforth be peace, and that I +should go to the better land and be at rest if I did this good deed." +She then laid her hands on the head of the young Mohawk, blessed her, +and, enveloping herself in the dark mantle, slowly retired back to her +solitary tent once more. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + "Hame, hame, hame, + Hame I soon shall be-- + Hame, hame, hame, + In mine own countrie" + + --_Scotch Ballad_ + + +Old Jacob and Catharine, who had been mute spectators of the scene so +full of interest to them, now presented themselves before the Ojebwa +chief and besought leave to depart. The presents were again laid +before him, and this time were graciously accepted. Catharine, in +distributing the beads and cloth, took care that the best portion +should fall to the grand-daughter of the chief, the pretty, +good-humoured "Snow-bird." The old man was not insensible to the noble +sacrifice which had been made by the devoted Indiana, and he signified +his forgiveness of her fault by graciously offering to adopt her as +his child, and to give her in marriage to one of his grandsons, an +elder brother of the "Snow-bird;" but the young girl modestly but +firmly refused this mark of favour, for her heart yearned for those +whose kindness had saved her from death, and who had taught her to +look beyond the things of this world to a brighter and a better state +of being. She said "she would go with her white sister, and pray to +God to bless her enemies, as the Great Spirit had taught her to do." + +It seems a lingering principle of good in human nature that the +exercise of mercy and virtue opens the heart to the enjoyment of +social happiness. The Indians, no longer worked up by excitement to +deeds of violence, seemed disposed to bury the hatchet of hatred, and +the lodge was now filled with mirth and the voice of gladness, +feasting, and dancing. A covenant of peace and good-will was entered +upon by old Jacob and the chief, who bade Catharine tell her brothers +that from henceforth they should be free to hunt the deer, fish, or +shoot the wild-fowl of the lake whenever they desired to do so, "he, +the Bald Eagle, had said so." + +On the morrow, with the first dawn of day, the old trapper was astir; +the canoe was ready, with fresh cedar boughs strewed at the bottom. A +supply of parched rice and dried fish had been presented by the Indian +chief for the voyage, that his white brother and the young girls might +not suffer from want. At sunrise the old man led his young charges to +the lodge of the Bald Eagle, who took a kindly farewell of them. The +"Snow-bird" was sorrowful, and her bright, laughing eyes were dimmed +with tears at parting with Catharine. She was a gentle, loving thing, +as soft and playful as the tame fawn that nestled its velvet head +against her arm. She did not let Catharine depart without many tokens +of her regard, the work of her own hands,--bracelets of porcupine +quills cut in fine pieces, and strung in fanciful patterns, moccasins +richly wrought, and tiny bark dishes and boxes, such as might have +graced a lady's work-table, so rare was their workmanship. + +Just as they were about to step into the canoe, the "Snow-bird" +reappeared, bearing a richly worked bark box, "From the Great +Medicine," she said in a low voice, "to the daughter of the Mohawk +brave." The box contained a fine tunic, soft as a lady's glove, +embroidered and fringed, and a fillet of scarlet and blue feathers, +with the wings and breast of the war-bird as shoulder ornaments. It +was a token of reconciliation and good-will worthy of a generous +heart. + +The young girl pressed the gifts to her bosom and to her lips +reverentially, and the hand that brought them to her heart, as she +said in her native tongue, "Tell the Great Medicine I kiss her in my +heart, and pray that she may have peace and joy till she departs for +the spirit land." + +With joyful heart they bade adieu to the Indian lodges, and rejoiced +in being once more afloat on the bosom of the great river. To +Catharine the events of the past hours seemed like a strange +bewildering dream. She longed for the quiet repose of home; and how +gladly did she listen to that kind old man's plans for restoring +Hector, Louis, and herself to the arms of their beloved parents. How +often did she say to herself, "Oh that I had wings like a dove, for +then would I flee away and be at rest!"--in the shelter of that dear +mother's arms whom she now pined for with a painful yearning of the +heart that might well be called home-sickness. But in spite of anxious +wishes, the little party were compelled to halt for the night some few +miles above the lake. There is on the eastern bank of the Otonabee a +pretty, rounded knoll, clothed with wild cherries, hawthorns, and +pine-trees, just where a creek half hidden by alder and cranberry +bushes works its way below the shoulder of the little eminence. This +creek grows broader and becomes a little stream, through which the +hunters sometimes paddle their canoes, as a short cut to the lower +part of the lake near Crook's Rapids. + +To this creek old Jacob steered his little craft, and bidding the +girls collect a few dry sticks and branches for an evening fire on the +sheltered side of the little bank, he soon lighted the pile into a +cheerful blaze by the aid of birch bark, the hunter's tinder--a sort +of fungus that is found in the rotten oak and maple trees--and a knife +and flint. He then lifted the canoe, and having raised it on its side, +by means of two small stakes which he cut from a bush hard by, he +spread down his buffalo robe on the dry grass. + +"There is a tent fit for a queen to sleep under, _mes cheres filles_," +he said, eying his arrangements for their night shelter with great +satisfaction. + +He baited his line, and in a few minutes had a dish of splendid bass +ready for the fire. Catharine selected a large flat block of limestone +on which the fish when broiled was laid; but old Jacob opened his wide +mouth and laughed when she proceeded to lay her bush table with large +basswood leaves for platters. Such nicety he professed was unusual on +a hunter's table. He was too old a forester to care how his food was +dished, so that he had wherewithal to satisfy his hunger. + +Many were the merry tales he told and the songs he sung, to while away +the time, till the daylight faded from the sky, and the deep blue +heavens were studded with bright stars, which were mirrored in +countless hosts deep deep down in that calm waveless river, while +thousands of fire-flies lighted up the dark recesses of the forest's +gloom. High in the upper air the hollow booming of the night-hawk was +heard at intervals; and the wild cry of the night-owl from a dead +branch, shouting to its fellow, woke the silence of that lonely river +scene. + +The old trapper, stretched before the crackling fire, smoked his pipe +or hummed some French _voyageur's_ song. Beneath the shelter of the +canoe soundly slept the two girls; the dark cheek of the Indian girl +pillowed on the arm of her fairer companion, her thick tresses of +raven hair mingling with the silken ringlets of the white maiden. They +were a lovely pair--one fair as morning, the other dark as night. + +How gaily did they spring from their low bed, wakened by the early +song of the forest birds! The light curling mist hung in fleecy +volumes on the river, like a flock of sheep at rest; the tinkling +sound of the heavy dew-drops fell in mimic showers upon the stream. +See that red squirrel, how lightly he runs along that fallen trunk! +how furtively he glances with his sharp bright eye at the intruders on +his silvan haunts! Hark! there is a rustling among the leaves; what +strange creature works its way to the shore? A mud turtle: it turns, +and now is trotting along the little sandy ridge to some sunny spot, +where, half buried, it may lie unseen near the edge of the river. See +that musk-rat, how boldly he plunges into the stream, and, with his +oar-like tail, stems the current till he gains in safety the sedges on +the other side. + +What gurgling sound is that?--it attracts the practised ear of the old +hunter. What is that object which floats so steadily down the middle +of the stream, and leaves so bright a line in its wake?--it is a noble +stag. Look at the broad chest with which he breasts the water so +gallantly; see how proudly he carries his antlered head! He has no +fear in those lonely solitudes--he has never heard the crack of the +hunter's rifle--he heeds not the sharp twang of that bow-string, till +the arrow rankles in his neck, and the crimson flood dyes the water +around him. He turns, but it is only to present a surer mark for the +arrow from the old hunter's bow. And now the noble beast turns to bay, +and the canoe is rapidly launched by the hand of the Indian girl. Her +eye flashes with the excitement; her whole soul is in the chase; she +stands up in the canoe, and steers it full upon the wounded buck, +while a shower of blows is dealt upon his head and neck with the +paddle. Catharine buries her face in her hands: she cannot bear to +look upon the sufferings of the noble animal. She will never make a +huntress; her heart is cast in too soft a mould. See they have towed +the deer ashore, and Jacob is in all his glory. The little squaw is an +Indian at heart--see with what expertness she helps the old man. And +now the great business is completed, and the venison is stowed away at +the bottom of the canoe. They wash their hands in the river, and come +at Catharine's summons to their breakfast. + +The sun is now rising high above the pine-trees; the morning mist is +also rising and rolling off like a golden veil as it catches those +glorious rays; the whole earth seems wakening into new life: the dew +has brightened every leaf and washed each tiny flower-cup: the pines +and balsams give out their resinous fragrance: the aspens flutter and +dance in the morning breeze, and return a mimic shower of dew-drops to +the stream; the shores become lower and flatter; the trees less lofty +and more mossy; the stream expands, and wide beds of rushes spread out +on either side; what beds of snowy water-lilies: how splendid the rose +tint of those perseicarias that glow so brightly in the morning sun; +the rushes look like a green meadow, but the treacherous water lies +deep below their grassy leaves; the deer delights in these verdant +aquatic fields: and see what flocks of redwings rise from among them +as the canoe passes near--their bright shoulder-knots glance like +flashes of lightning in the sunbeams. + +This low swampy island, filled with drift-wood; these gray hoary +trees, half choked and killed with gray moss and lichens, those +straggling alders and black ash, look melancholy; they are like +premature old age, gray-headed youths. That island divides the channel +of the river: the old man takes the nearest, the left hand. And now +they are upon the broad Rice Lake, and Catharine wearies her eye to +catch the smoke of the shanty rising among the trees: one after +another the islands steal out into view; the capes, bays, and shores +of the northern side are growing less distinct. Yon hollow bay, where +the beaver has hidden till now, backed by that bold sweep of hills +that look in the distance as if only covered with green ferns, with +here and there a tall tree, stately as a pine or oak,--that is the +spot where Louis saw the landing of the Indians: now a rising +village--Gore's Landing. On yon lofty hill now stands the village +church,--its white tower rising amongst the trees forms a charming +object from the lake; and there, a little higher up, not far from the +plank road, now stand pretty rural cottages: one of these belongs to +the spirited proprietor of the village that bears his name. That +tasteful garden before the white cottage, to the right, is Colonel +Brown's, and there are pretty farms and cultivated spots; but silence +and loneliness reigned there at the time of which I write. + +Where those few dark pines rise above the oak groves like the spires +of churches in a crowded city, is Mount Ararat. The Indian girl steers +straight between the islands for that ark of refuge, and Catharine's +eyes are dimmed with grateful tears as she pictures to herself the +joyful greeting in store for her. In the overflowings of her gladness +she seizes the old man's rugged hand and kisses it, and flings her +arms about the Indian girl and presses her to her heart, when the +canoe has touched the old well-remembered landing-place, and she finds +herself so near, so very near her lost home. How precious are such +moments--how few we have in life! They are created from our very +sorrows; without our cares our joys would be less lively. But we have +no time to moralize. Catharine flies with the speed of a young fawn to +climb the cliff-like shoulder of that steep bank; and now; out of +breath, she stands at the threshold of her log-house. How neat and +nice it looks compared with the Indians' tents! The little field of +corn is green and flourishing. There is Hector's axe in a newly-cut +log: it is high noon; the boys ought to have been there taking their +mid-day meal, but the door is shut. Catharine lifts the wooden latch, +and steps in. The embers are nearly burned out to a handful of gray +ashes. Old Wolfe is not there--all is silent; and Catharine sits down +to still the beating of her heart, and await the coming of her slower +companions, and gladdens her mind with the hope that her brother and +Louis will soon be home. Her eye wanders over every old familiar +object. All things seem much as she had left them; only, the maize is +in the ear, and the top feather waves gracefully in the summer breeze. +It promises an abundant crop. But that harvest is not to be gathered +by the hands of the young planters: it was left to the birds of the +air and the beasts of the field--to those humble reapers who sow not, +neither do they gather into barns, for the heavenly Father feedeth +them. While the two girls busied themselves in preparing a fine roast +of venison, old Jacob stalked away over the hills to search for the +boys, and it was not long before he returned with Hector and Louis. + +I must not tell tales, or I might say what tears of joy were mingled +with the rapturous greetings with which Louis embraced his beloved +cousin; or I might tell that the bright flush that warmed the dusky +cheek of the young Indian and the light that danced in her soft black +eyes owed their origin to the kiss that was pressed on her red lips by +her white brother. Nor will we say whose hand held hers so long in +his, while Catharine related the noble sacrifice made for her sake, +and the perils encountered by the devoted Indiana, whose eyes were +moistened with tears as the horrors of that fearful trial were +described; or who stole out alone over the hills, and sat him down in +the hush and silence of the summer night to think of the acts of +heroism displayed by that untaught Indian girl, and to dream a dream +of youthful love: with these things, my young readers, we have nothing +to do. + +"And now, my children," said old Jacob, looking round the little +dwelling, "have you made up your minds to live and die here on the +shores of this lake, or do you desire again to behold your fathers' +home? Do your young hearts yearn after the hearth of your childhood?"' + +"After our fathers' home!" was Louis's emphatic reply. "After the home +of our childhood!" was Catharine's earnest answer. Hector's lips +echoed his sister's words, while a furtive troubled glance fell upon +the orphan stranger; but her timid eye was raised to his young face +with a trusting look, as if she would have said, "Thy home shall be my +home, thy God my God." + +"Well, I believe, if my old memory fails me not, I can strike the +Indian trail that used to lead to the Cold Springs over the pine +hills. It will not be difficult for an old trapper to find his way." + +"For my part, I shall not leave this lovely spot without regret," said +Hector. "It would be a glorious place for a settlement--all that one +could desire--hill and valley, and plain, wood, and water. I will try +and persuade my father to leave the Cold Springs, and come and settle +hereabouts. It would be delightful--would it not, Catharine?--especially +now we are friends with the Indians." + +With their heads full of pleasant schemes for the future, our young +folks laid them down that night to rest. In the morning they rose, +packed up such portable articles as they could manage to carry, and +with full hearts sat down to take their last meal in their home--in +that home which had sheltered them so long--and then, with one accord, +they knelt down upon its hearth, so soon to be left in loneliness, and +breathed a prayer to Him who had preserved them thus far in their +eventful lives; and then they journeyed forth once more into the +wilderness. There was one, however, of their little band they left +behind this was the faithful old dog Wolfe. He had pined during the +absence of his mistress, and only a few days before Catharine's return +he had crept to the seat she was wont to occupy, and there died. Louis +and Hector buried him, not without great regret beneath the group of +birch-trees on the brow of the slope near the corn-field. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +"I will arise, and go to my father."--St. Luke. + + +It is the hour of sunset; the sonorous sound of the cattle-bells is +heard, as they slowly emerge from the steep hill-path that leads to +Maxwell and Louis Perron's little clearing; the dark shadows are +lengthening that those wood-crowned hills cast over that sunny spot, an +oasis in the vast forest desert that man, adventurous, courageous man, has +hewed for himself in the wilderness. The little flock are feeding among +the blackened stumps of the uncleared chopping: those timbers have lain +thus untouched for two long years; the hand was wanting that should have +given help in logging and burning them up. The wheat is ripe for the +sickle, and the silken beard of the corn is waving like a fair girl's +tresses in the evening breeze. The tinkling fall of the cold spring in +yonder bank falls soothingly on the ear. Who comes from that low-roofed +log-cabin to bring in the pitcher of water--that pale, careworn, shadowy +figure that slowly moves along the green pasture, as one without hope or +joy; her black hair shared with silver, her cheek pale as wax, and her +hand so thin it looks as though the light might be seen through if she +held it towards the sun? It is the heart-broken mother of Catharine and +Hector Maxwell. Her heart has been pierced with many sorrows; she cannot +yet forget the children of her love, her first-born girl and boy. Who +comes to meet her, and with cheerful voice chides her for the tear that +seems ever to be lingering on that pale cheek,--yet the premature furrows +on that broad, sunburnt, manly brow speak, too, of inward care? It is the +father of Hector and Catharine. Those two fine, healthy boys, in homespun +blouses, that are talking so earnestly as they lean across the rail-fence +of the little wheat field, are Kenneth and Donald; their sickles are on +their arms--they have been reaping. They hear the sudden barking of Bruce +and Wallace, the hounds, and turn to see what causes the agitation they +display. + +An old man draws near; he has a knapsack on his shoulders, which he casts +down on the corner of the stoup; he is singing a line of an old French +ditty; he raps at the open door. The Highlander bids him welcome, but +starts with glad surprise as his hand is grasped by the old trapper. + +"Hah, Jacob Morelle, it is many a weary year since your step turned this +way." The tear stood in the eye of the soldier as he spoke. + +"Can you receive me and those I have with me for the night?" asked the +old man; in a husky voice--his kind heart was full. "A spare corner, a +shake-down, will do; we travellers in the bush are no wise nice." + +"The best we have, and kindly welcome, Jacob. How many are ye in all?" + +"There are just four, besides myself,--young people. I found them where +they had been long living, on a lonely lake, and I persuaded them to come +with me." + +The strong features of the Highlander worked convulsively, as he drew his +faded blue bonnet over his eyes. "Jacob, did ye ken that we lost our +eldest bairns some three summers since?" he faltered in a broken voice. + +"The Lord, in his mercy, has restored them to you, Donald, by my hand," +said the trapper. + +"Let me see, let me see my children! To Him be the praise and the glory," +ejaculated the pious father, raising his bonnet reverently from his head; +"and holy and blessed be His name for ever! I thought not to have seen +this day. O Catharine, my dear wife, this joy will kill you!" + +In a moment his children were enfolded in his arms. It is a mistaken idea +that joy kills; it is a life restorer. Could you, my young readers, have +seen how quickly the bloom of health began to reappear on the faded cheek +of that pale mother, and how soon that dim eye regained its bright +sparkle, you would have said joy does not kill. + +"But where is Louis, dear Louis, our nephew, where is he?" + +Louis, whose impetuosity was not to be restrained by the caution of old +Jacob, had cleared the log-fence at a bound, had hastily embraced his +cousins Kenneth and Donald, and in five minutes more had rushed into his +father's cottage, and wept his joy in the arms of father, mother, and +sisters by turns, before old Jacob had introduced the impatient Hector and +Catharine to their father. + +"But while joy is in our little dwelling, who is this that sits apart +upon that stone by the log-fence, her face bent sadly down upon her knees, +her long raven hair shading her features as with a veil?" asked the +Highlander Maxwell, pointing as he spoke to the spot where, unnoticed and +unsharing in the joyful recognition, sat the poor Indian girl. There was +no paternal embrace for her, no tender mother's kiss imprinted on that +dusky cheek and pensive brow; she was alone and desolate in the midst of +that scene of gladness. + +"It is my Indian sister," said Catharine; "she also must be your child." + +Hector hurried to Indiana, and taking her by the hand led her to his +parents, and bade them be kind to and cherish the young stranger, to whom +they all owed so much. + +Time passes on--years, long years have gone by since the return of the +lost children to their homes, and many changes have those years effected. +The log-houses have fallen to decay--a growth of young pines, a waste of +emerald turf with the charred logs that once formed part of the enclosure, +now scarcely serve to mark out the old settlement; no trace or record +remains of the first breakers of the bush--another race occupy the ground. +The traveller as he passes along on that smooth turnpike road that leads +from Coburg to Cold Springs, and from thence to Gore's Landing, may notice +a green waste by the roadside on either hand, and fancy that thereabouts +our Canadian Crusoes' home once stood: he sees the lofty wood-crowned +hill, and in spring time--for in summer it is hidden by the luxuriant +foliage--the little forest creek; and he may, if thirsty, taste of the +pure, fresh, icy water, as it still wells out from a spring in the +steep bank, rippling through the little cedar-trough that Louis Perron +placed there for the better speed of his mother when filling her water +jug. All else is gone. And what wrought the change a few words will +suffice to tell. Some travelling fur merchants brought the news to +Donald Maxwell that a party of Highlanders had made a settlement above +Montreal, and among them were some of his kindred. The old soldier +resolved to join them, and it was not hard to prevail upon his +brother-in-law to accompany him, for they were all now weary of living +so far from their fellow-men; and bidding farewell to the little +log-houses at Cold Springs, they now journeyed downwards to the new +settlement, where they were gladly received, their long experience of +the country making their company a most valuable acquisition to the +new-come colonists. + +Not long after, the Maxwells took possession of a grant of land, and +cleared and built for themselves and their family. Hector, now a fine +industrious young man, presented at the baptismal font, as a candidate +for baptism, the Indian girl, and then received at the altar his +newly-baptized bride. Catharine and Louis were married on the same day +as Hector and Indiana. They lived happy and prosperous lives; and +often, by their firesides, would delight their children by recounting +the history of their wanderings on the Rice Lake Plains. + + +THE END. + + + + + + +[About this edition: _Lost in the Woods_ was originally published in +1852 under the title _The Canadian Crusoes: A Tale of the Rice Lake +Plains_. After several editions, it was republished in 1882 under its +present title, as _Lost in the Backwoods_.] + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Lost in the Backwoods, by Catherine Parr Traill + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LOST IN THE BACKWOODS *** + +***** This file should be named 6813.txt or 6813.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/6/8/1/6813/ + +Produced by Avinash Kothare, Tom Allen, Juliet Sutherland, +Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading +Team This file was produced from images generously made +available by the Canadian Institute for Historical +Microreproductions. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Lost in the Backwoods + +Author: Catherine Parr Traill + +Release Date: November, 2004 [EBook #6813] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on January 27, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LOST IN THE BACKWOODS *** + + + + +Produced by Avinash Kothare, Tom Allen, Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team +This file was produced from images generously made available +by the Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions. + + + + +LOST IN THE BACKWOODS. + +A TALE OF THE CANADIAN FOREST. + + + + +BY MRS. TRAILL + + + + + +Preface + + +The interesting tale contained in this volume of romantic adventure in +the forests of Canada, was much appreciated and enjoyed by a large circle +of young readers when first published, under the title of "The Canadian +Crusoes." After being many years out of print, it will now, we hope and +believe, with a new and more descriptive title, prove equally attractive +to our young friends of the present time. + +EDINBURGH, 1882. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + + "The morning had shot her bright streamers on high, + O'er Canada, opening all pale to the sky, + Still dazzling and white was the robe that she wore, + Except where the ocean wave lashed on the shore" + + _Jacobite Song_ + +There lies, between the Rice Lake and the Ontario, a deep and fertile +valley, surrounded by lofty wood-crowned hills, clothed chiefly with +groves of oak and pine, the sides of the hills and the alluvial +bottoms display a variety of noble timber trees of various kinds, as +the useful and beautiful maple, beech, and hemlock. This beautiful and +highly picturesque valley is watered by many clear streams, whence it +derives its appropriate appellation of "Cold Springs." + +At the period my little history commences, this now highly cultivated +spot was an unbroken wilderness,--all but two clearings, where dwelt +the only occupiers of the soil,--which previously owned no other +possessors than the wandering hunting tribes of wild Indians, to whom +the right of the hunting grounds north of Rice Lake appertained, +according to their forest laws. + +I speak of the time when the neat and flourishing town of Cobourg, now +an important port on Lake Ontario, was but a village in embryo,--if it +contained even a log-house or a block-house, it was all that it +did,--and the wild and picturesque ground upon which the fast +increasing village of Port Hope is situated had not yielded one forest +tree to the axe of the settler. No gallant vessel spread her sails to +waft the abundant produce of grain and Canadian stores along the +waters of that noble sheet of water; no steamer had then furrowed its +bosom with her iron paddles, bearing the stream of emigration towards +the wilds of our northern and western forests, there to render a +lonely trackless desert a fruitful garden. What will not time and the +industry of man, assisted by the blessing of a merciful God, effect? +To him be the glory and honour; for we are taught that "unless the +Lord build the house, their labour is but lost that build it: without +the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." + +But to my tale. And first it will be necessary to introduce to the +acquaintance of my young readers the founders of our little settlement +at Cold Springs. + +Duncan Maxwell was a young Highland soldier, a youth of eighteen, at +the famous battle of Quebec, where, though only a private, he received +the praise of his colonel for his brave conduct. At the close of the +battle Duncan was wounded; and as the hospital was full at the time, +he was billeted in the house of a poor French Canadian widow in the +Quebec suburb. Here, though a foreigner and an enemy, he received much +kind attention from his excellent hostess and her family, consisting +of a young man about his own age, and a pretty black-eyed lass not +more than sixteen. The widow Perron was so much occupied with other +lodgers--for she kept a sort of boarding-house--that she had not much +time to give to Duncan, so that he was left a great deal to her son +Pierre, and a little to Catharine, her daughter. + +Duncan Maxwell was a fine, open-tempered, frank lad, and he soon won +the regard of Pierre and his sister. In spite of the prejudices of +country, and the difference of language and national customs, a steady +and increasing friendship grew up between the young Highlander and the +children of his hostess; therefore it was not without feelings of deep +regret that they heard the news that the regiment to which Duncan +belonged was ordered for embarkation to England, and Duncan was so far +convalescent as to be pronounced quite well enough to join it. Alas +for poor Catharine! she now found that parting with her patient was a +source of the deepest sorrow to her young and guileless heart; nor was +Duncan less moved at the separation from his gentle nurse. It might be +for years, and it might be for ever, he could not tell; but he could +not tear himself away without telling the object of his affections how +dear she was to him, and to whisper a hope that he might yet return +one day to claim her as his bride; and Catharine, weeping and +blushing, promised to wait for that happy day, or to remain single for +his sake. + +They say the course of true love never did run smooth; but with the +exception of this great sorrow, the sorrow of separation, the love of +our young Highland soldier and his betrothed knew no other +interruption, for absence served only to strengthen the affection +which was founded on gratitude and esteem. + +Two long years passed, however, and the prospect of reunion was yet +distant, when an accident, which disabled Duncan from serving his +country, enabled him to retire with the usual little pension, and +return to Quebec to seek his affianced. Some changes had taken place +during that short period: the widow Perron was dead; Pierre, the gay, +lively-hearted Pierre, was married to a daughter of a lumberer; and +Catharine, who had no relatives in Quebec, had gone up the country +with her brother and his wife, and was living in some little +settlement above Montreal with them. + +Thither Duncan followed, and shortly afterwards was married to his +faithful Catharine. On one point they had never differed, both being +of the same religion. + +Pierre had seen a good deal of the fine country on the shores of Lake +Ontario; he had been hunting with some friendly Indians between the +great waters and the Rice Lake; and he now thought if Duncan and +himself could make up their minds to a quiet life in the woods, there +was not a better spot than the hill pass between the plains and the +big lake to fix themselves upon. Duncan was of the same opinion when +he saw the spot. It was not rugged and bare like his own Highlands, +but softer in character, yet his heart yearned for the hill country. +In those days there was no obstacle to taking possession of any tract +of land in the unsurveyed forests; therefore Duncan agreed with his +brother-in-law to pioneer the way with him, get a dwelling put up, and +some ground prepared and "seeded down," and then to return for their +wives, and settle as farmers. Others had succeeded, had formed little +colonies, and become the heads of villages in due time; why should not +they? And now behold our two backwoodsmen fairly commencing their +arduous life: it was nothing, after all, to Pierre, by previous +occupation a hardy lumberer, or the Scottish soldier, accustomed to +brave all sorts of hardships in a wild country, himself a mountaineer, +inured to a stormy climate and scanty fare from his earliest youth. +But it is not my intention to dwell upon the trials and difficulties +courageously met and battled with by our settlers and their young +wives. + +There was in those days a spirit of resistance among the first +settlers on the soil, a spirit to do and bear, that is less commonly +met with now. The spirit of civilization is now so widely diffused, +that her comforts are felt even in the depths of the forest, so that +the newly come emigrant feels comparatively few of the physical evils +that were endured by the earlier inhabitants. + +The first seed-wheat that was cast into the ground by Duncan and +Pierre was brought with infinite trouble a distance of fifty miles in +a little skiff, navigated along the shores of Lake Ontario by the +adventurous Pierre, and from the nearest landing-place transported on +the shoulders of himself and Duncan to their homestead. A day of great +labour but great joy it was when they deposited their precious freight +in safety on the shanty floor. They were obliged to make two journeys +for the contents of the little craft. What toil, what privation they +endured for the first two years! and now the fruits of it began to +appear. + +No two creatures could be more unlike than Pierre and Duncan. The +Highlander, stern, steady, persevering, cautious, always giving ample +reasons for his doing or his not doing. The Canadian, hopeful, lively, +fertile in expedients, and gay as a lark; if one scheme failed, +another was sure to present itself. Pierre and Duncan were admirably +suited to be friends and neighbours. The steady perseverance of the +Scot helped to temper the volatile temperament of the Frenchman. They +generally contrived to compass the same end by different means, as two +streams descending from opposite hills will meet in one broad river in +the same valley. + +Years passed on: the farm, carefully cultivated, began to yield its +increase; food and warm clothing were not wanting in the homestead. +Catharine had become, in course of time, the happy mother of four +healthy children; her sister-in-law had exceeded her in these welcome +contributions to the population of a new colony. + +Between the children of Pierre and Catharine the most charming harmony +prevailed; they grew up as one family, a pattern of affection and +early friendship. Though different in tempers and dispositions, Hector +Maxwell, the eldest son of the Scottish soldier, and his cousin, young +Louis Perron, were greatly attached: they, with the young Catharine +and Mathilde, formed a little coterie of inseparables; their +amusements, tastes, pursuits, occupations, all blended and harmonized +delightfully; there were none of those little envyings and bickerings +among them that pave the way to strife and disunion in after-life. + +Catharine Maxwell and her cousin Louis were more like brother and +sister than Hector and Catharine; but Mathilde was gentle and +dove-like, and formed a contrast to the gravity of Hector and the +vivacity of Louis and Catharine. + +Hector and Louis were fourteen--strong, vigorous, industrious, and +hardy, both in constitution and habits. The girls were turned of +twelve. It is not with Mathilde that our story is connected, but with +the two lads and Catharine. With the gaiety and _naivete_ of the +Frenchwoman, Catharine possessed, when occasion called it into action, +a thoughtful and well-regulated mind, abilities which would well have +repaid the care of mental cultivation; but of book-learning she knew +nothing beyond a little reading, and that but imperfectly, acquired +from her father's teaching. It was an accomplishment which he had +gained when in the army, having been taught by his colonel's son, a +lad of twelve years of age, who had taken a great fancy to him, and +had at parting given him a few of his school-books, among which was a +Testament without cover or title-page. At parting, the young gentleman +recommended its daily perusal to Duncan. Had the gift been a Bible, +perhaps the soldier's obedience to his priest might have rendered it a +dead letter to him; but as it fortunately happened, he was unconscious +of any prohibition to deter him from becoming acquainted with the +truths of the gospel. He communicated the power of perusing his books +to his children Hector and Catharine, Duncan and Kenneth, in +succession, with a feeling of intense reverence; even the labour of +teaching was regarded as a holy duty in itself, and was not undertaken +without deeply impressing the obligation he was conferring upon them +whenever they were brought to the task. It was indeed a precious boon, +and the children learned to consider it as a pearl beyond all price in +the trials that awaited them in their eventful career. To her +knowledge of religious truths young Catharine added an intimate +acquaintance with the songs and legends of her father's romantic +country; often would her plaintive ballads and old tales, related in +the hut or the wigwam to her attentive auditors, wile away heavy +thoughts. + +It was a lovely sunny day in the flowery month of June. Canada had not +only doffed that "dazzling white robe" mentioned in the songs of her +Jacobite emigrants, but had assumed the beauties of her loveliest +season; the last week in May and the first three of June being +parallel to the English May, full of buds and flowers and fair promise +of ripening fruits. + +The high sloping hills surrounding the fertile vale of Cold Springs +were clothed with the blossoms of the gorgeous scarlet castilegia +coccinea, or painted-cup; the large, pure, white blossoms of the +lily-like trillium grandiflorum; the delicate and fragile lilac +geranium, whose graceful flowers woo the hand of the flower-gatherer +only to fade almost within his grasp: the golden cypripedium or +moccasin flower, so singular, so lovely in its colour and formation, +waved heavily its yellow blossoms as the breeze shook the stems; and +there, mingling with a thousand various floral beauties, the azure +lupine claimed its place, shedding almost a heavenly tint upon the +earth. Thousands of roses were blooming on the more level ground, +sending forth their rich fragrance, mixed with the delicate scent of +the feathery ceanothus (New Jersey tea). The vivid greenness of the +young leaves of the forest, the tender tint of the springing corn, was +contrasted with the deep dark fringe of waving pines on the hills, and +the yet darker shade of the spruce and balsams on the borders of the +creeks, for so our Canadian forest rills are universally termed. The +bright glancing wings of the summer red-bird, the crimson-headed +woodpecker, the gay blue-bird, and noisy but splendid plumed jay might +be seen among the branches; the air was filled with beauteous sights +and soft murmuring sounds. + +Under the shade of the luxuriant hop-vines that covered the rustic +porch in front of the little dwelling, the light step of Catharine +Maxwell might be heard mixed with the drowsy whirring of the big +wheel, as she passed to and fro guiding the thread of yarn in its +course. And now she sang snatches of old mountain songs, such as she +had learned from her father; and now, with livelier air, hummed some +gay French tune to the household melody of her spinning-wheel, as she +advanced and retreated with her thread, unconscious of the laughing +black eyes that were watching her movements from among the embowering +foliage that shielded her from the morning sun. + +"Come, ma belle cousine," for so Louis delighted to call her. "Hector +and I are waiting for you to go with us to the 'Beaver Meadow.' The +cattle have strayed, and we think we shall find them there. The day is +delicious, the very flowers look as if they wanted to be admired and +plucked, and we shall find early strawberries on the old Indian +clearing." + +Catharine cast a longing look abroad, but said, "I fear I cannot go +to-day; for see, I have all these rolls of wool to spin up, and my +yarn to wind off the reel and twist; and then, my mother is away." + +"Yes, I left her with mamma," replied Louis, "and she said she would +be home shortly, so her absence need not stay you. She said you could +take a basket and try and bring home some berries for sick Louise. +Hector is sure he knows a spot where we shall get some fine ones, ripe +and red." As he spoke Louis whisked away the big wheel to one end of +the porch, gathered up the hanks of yarn and tossed them into the open +wicker basket, and the next minute the large, coarse, flapped straw +hat, that hung upon the peg in the porch, was stuck not very +gracefully on Catharine's head and tied beneath her chin, with a merry +rattling laugh, which drowned effectually the small lecture that +Catharine began to utter by way of reproving the light-hearted boy. + +"But where is Mathilde?" + +"Sitting like a dear good girl, as she is, with sick Louise's head in +her lap, and would not disturb her for all the fruit and flowers in +Canada. Marie cried sadly to go with us, but I promised her and Louise +lots of flowers and berries if we get them, and the dear children were +as happy as queens when I left." + +"But stay, cousin, you are sure my mother gave her consent to my +going? We shall be away chief part of the day. You know it is a long +walk to the Beaver Meadow and back again," said Catharine, hesitating +as Louis took her hand to lead her out from the porch. + +"Yes, yes, ma belle," said the giddy boy quickly; "so come along, for +Hector is waiting at the barn. But stay, we shall be hungry before we +return, so let us have some cakes and butter, and do not forget a tin +cup for water." + +Nothing doubting, Catharine, with buoyant spirits, set about her +little preparations, which were soon completed; but just as she was +leaving the little garden enclosure, she ran back to kiss Kenneth and +Duncan, her young brothers. In the farm-yard she found Hector with his +axe on his shoulder. "What are you taking the axe for, Hector? you +will find it heavy to carry," said his sister. + +"In the first place, I have to cut a stick of blue beech to make a +broom for sweeping the house, sister of mine, and that is for your +use, Miss Kate, and in the next place, I have to find, if possible, a +piece of rock elm or hickory for axe handles: so now you have the +reason why I take the axe with me." + +The children left the clearing and struck into one of the deep defiles +that lay between the hills, and cheerfully they laughed and sung and +chattered, as they sped on their pleasant path, nor were they loath to +exchange the glowing sunshine for the sober gloom of the forest shade. +What handfuls of flowers of all hues, red, blue, yellow, and white, +were gathered, only to be gazed at, carried for a while, then cast +aside for others fresher and fairer. And now they came to cool rills +that flowed, softly murmuring, among mossy limestone, or blocks of red +or gray granite, wending their way beneath twisted roots and fallen +trees; and often Catharine lingered to watch the eddying dimples of +the clear water, to note the tiny bright fragments of quartz or +crystallized limestone that formed a shining pavement below the +stream. And often she paused to watch the angry movements of the red +squirrel, as, with feathery tail erect, and sharp scolding note, he +crossed their woodland path, and swiftly darting up the rugged bark of +some neighbouring pine or hemlock, bade the intruders on his quiet +haunts defiance; yet so bold in his indignation, he scarcely +condescended to ascend beyond their reach. The long-continued, hollow +tapping of the large red-headed woodpecker, or the singular +subterranean sound caused by the drumming of the partridge striking +his wings upon his breast to woo his gentle mate, and the soft +whispering note of the little tree-creeper, as it flitted from one +hemlock to another, collecting its food between the fissures of the +bark, were among the few sounds that broke the noontide stillness of +the woods; but to such sights and sounds the lively Catharine and her +cousin were not indifferent. And often they wondered that Hector +gravely pursued his onward way, and seldom lingered as they did to +mark the bright colours of the flowers, or the sparkling of the forest +rill, or the hurrying to and fro of the turkeys among the luxuriant +grass. + +"What makes Hec so grave?" said Catharine to her companion, as they +seated themselves upon a mossy trunk to await his coming up; for they +had giddily chased each other till they had far outrun him. + +"Hector, sweet coz, is thinking perhaps of how many bushels of corn or +wheat this land would grow if cleared, or he may be examining the soil +or the trees, or is looking for his stick of blue beech for your +broom, or the hickory for his axe handles, and never heeding such +nonsense as woodpeckers, and squirrels, and lilies, and moss, and +ferns; for Hector is not a giddy thing like his cousin Louis, or--" + +"His sister Kate," interrupted Catharine merrily. "But when shall we +come to the Beaver Meadow?" + +"Patience, ma belle, all in good time. Hark! was not that the ox-bell? +No; Hector whistling." And soon they heard the heavy stroke of his axe +ringing among the trees; for he had found the blue beech, and was +cutting it to leave on the path, that he might take it home on their +return: he had also marked some hickory of a nice size for his axe +handles, to bring home at some future time. + +The children had walked several miles, and were not sorry to sit down +and rest till Hector joined them. + +He was well pleased with his success, and declared he felt no fatigue. +"As soon as we reach the old Indian clearing, we shall find +strawberries," he said, "and a fresh cold spring, and then we will +have our dinner." + +"Come, Hector,--come, Louis," said Catharine, jumping up, "I long to +be gathering the strawberries; and see, my flowers are faded, so I +will throw them away, and the basket shall be filled with fresh fruit +instead, and we must not forget petite Marie and sick Louise, or dear +Mathilde. Ah, how I wish she were here at this minute! But there is +the opening to the Beaver Meadow." + +And the sunlight was seen streaming through the opening trees as they +approached the cleared space, which some called the "Indian clearing," +but is now more generally known as the little Beaver Meadow. It was a +pleasant spot, green, and surrounded with light bowery trees and +flowering shrubs, of a different growth from those that belong to the +dense forest. Here the children found, on the hilly ground above, fine +ripe strawberries, the earliest they had seen that year, and soon all +weariness was forgotten while pursuing the delightful occupation of +gathering the tempting fruit; and when they had refreshed themselves, +and filled the basket with leaves and fruit, they slaked their thirst +at the stream which wound its way among the bushes. Catharine +neglected not to reach down flowery bunches of the fragrant +whitethorn, and the high-bush cranberry, then radiant with nodding +umbels of snowy blossoms, or to wreathe the handle of the little +basket with the graceful trailing runners of the lovely twin-flowered +plant, the Linnaea borealis, which she always said reminded her of the +twins Louise and Marie, her little cousins. And now the day began to +wear away, for they had lingered long in the little clearing; they had +wandered from the path by which they entered it, and had neglected, in +their eagerness to look for the strawberries, to notice any particular +mark by which they might regain it. Just when they began to think of +returning, Louis noticed a beaten path, where there seemed recent +prints of cattle hoofs on a soft spongy soil beyond the creek. + +"Come, Hector," said he gaily, "this is lucky; we are on the +cattle-path; no fear but it will lead us directly home, and that by a +nearer track." + +Hector was undecided about following it; he fancied it bent too much +towards the setting sun; but his cousin overruled his objection. "And +is not this our own creek?" he said. "I have often heard my father say +it had its rise somewhere about this old clearing." + +Hector now thought Louis might be right, and they boldly followed the +path among the poplars, thorns, and bushes that clothed its banks, +surprised to see how open the ground became, and how swift and clear +the stream swept onward. + +"Oh, this dear creek," cried the delighted Catharine, "how pretty it +is! I shall often follow its course after this; no doubt it has its +source from our own Cold Springs." + +And so they cheerfully pursued their way, till the sun, sinking behind +the range of westerly hills, soon left them in gloom; but they +anxiously hurried forward when the stream wound its noisy way among +steep stony banks, clothed scantily with pines and a few scattered +silver-barked poplars. And now they became bewildered by two paths +leading in opposite directions; one upward among the rocky hills, the +other through the opening gorge of a deep ravine. + +Here, overcome with fatigue, Catharine seated herself on a large block +of granite, near a great bushy pine that grew beside the path by the +ravine, unable to proceed; and Hector, with a grave and troubled +countenance, stood beside her, looking round with an air of great +perplexity. Louis, seating himself at Catharine's feet, surveyed the +deep gloomy valley before them, and sighed heavily. The conviction +forcibly struck him that they had mistaken the path altogether. The +very aspect of the country was different; the growth of the trees, the +flow of the stream, all indicated a change of soil and scene. Darkness +was fast drawing its impenetrable veil around them; a few stars were +stealing out, and gleaming down as if with pitying glance upon the +young wanderers, but they could not light up their pathway or point +their homeward track. The only sounds, save the lulling murmur of the +rippling stream below, were the plaintive note of the whip-poor-will, +from a gnarled oak that grew near them, and the harsh grating scream +of the night hawk, darting about in the higher regions of the air, +pursuing its noisy congeners, or swooping down with that peculiar +hollow rushing sound, as of a person blowing into some empty vessel, +when it seizes with wide-extended bill its insect prey. + +Hector was the first to break the silence. "Cousin Louis, we were +wrong in following the course of the stream; I fear we shall never +find our way back tonight." + +Louis made no reply; his sad and subdued air failed not to attract the +attention of his cousins. + +"Why, Louis, how is this? you are not used to be cast down by +difficulties," said Hector, as he marked something like tears +glistening in the dark eyes of his cousin. + +Louis's heart was full; he did not reply, but cast a troubled glance +upon the weary Catharine, who leaned heavily against the tree beneath +which she sat. + +"It is not," resumed Hector, "that I mind passing a summer's night +under such a sky as this, and with such a dry grassy bed below me; but +I do not think it is good for Catharine to sleep on the bare ground in +the night dews,--and then they will be so anxious at home about our +absence." + +Louis burst into tears, and sobbed out,--"And it is all my doing that +she came out with us; I deceived her, and my aunt will be angry and +much alarmed, for she did not know of her going at all. Dear +Catharine, good cousin Hector, pray forgive me!" + +But Catharine was weeping too much to reply to his passionate +entreaties; and Hector, who never swerved from the truth, for which he +had almost a stern reverence, hardly repressed his indignation at what +appeared to him a most culpable act of deceit on the part of Louis. + +The sight of her cousin's grief and self-abasement touched the tender +heart of Catharine; for she was kind and dove-like in her disposition, +and loved Louis, with all his faults. Had it not been for the painful +consciousness of the grief their unusual absence would occasion at +home, Catharine would have thought nothing of their present adventure; +but she could not endure the idea of her high-principled father taxing +her with deceiving her kind indulgent mother and him. It was this +humiliating thought which wounded the proud heart of Hector, causing +him to upbraid his cousin in somewhat harsh terms for his want of +truthfulness, and steeled him against the bitter grief that wrung the +heart of the penitent Louis, who, leaning his wet cheek on the +shoulder of Catharine, sobbed as if his heart would break, heedless of +her soothing words and affectionate endeavours to console him. + +"Dear Hector," she said, turning her soft pleading eyes on the stern +face of her brother, "you must not be so very angry with poor Louis. +Remember it was to please me, and give me the enjoyment of a day of +liberty with you and himself in the woods, among the flowers and trees +and birds, that he committed this fault." + +"Catharine, Louis told an untruth, and acted deceitfully. And look at +the consequences: we shall have forfeited our parents' confidence, and +may have some days of painful privation to endure before we regain our +home, if we ever do find our way back to Cold Springs," replied +Hector. + +"It is the grief and anxiety our dear parents will endure this night," +answered Catharine, "that distresses my mind; but," she added, in more +cheerful tones, "let us not despair, no doubt to-morrow we shall be +able to retrace our steps." + +With the young there is ever a magical spell in that little word +_to-morrow_,--it is a point which they pursue as fast as it recedes +from them; sad indeed is the young heart that does not look forward +with hope to the future! + +The cloud still hung on Hector's brow, till Catharine gaily exclaimed, +"Come, Hector! come Louis! we must not stand idling thus; we must +think of providing some shelter for the night: it is not good to rest +upon the bare ground exposed to the night dews.--See, here is a nice +hut, half made," pointing to a large upturned root which some fierce +whirlwind had hurled from the lofty bank into the gorge of the dark +glen. + +"Now you must make haste, and lop off a few pine boughs, and stick +them into the ground, or even lean them against the roots of this old +oak, and there, you see, will be a capital house to shelter us. To +work, to work, you idle boys, or poor wee Katty must turn squaw and +build her own wigwam," she playfully added, taking up the axe which +rested against the feathery pine beneath which Hector was leaning. +Now, Catharine cared as little as her brother and cousin about passing +a warm summer's night under the shade of the forest trees, for she was +both hardy and healthy; but her woman's heart taught her that the +surest means of reconciling the cousins would be by mutually +interesting them in the same object,--and she was right. In +endeavouring to provide for the comfort of their dear companion, all +angry feelings were forgotten by Hector, while active employment +chased away Louis's melancholy. + +Unlike the tall, straight, naked trunks of the pines of the forest, +those of the plains are adorned with branches often to the very +ground, varying in form and height, and often presenting most +picturesque groups, or rising singly among scattered groves of the +silver-barked poplar or graceful birch trees; the dark mossy greenness +of the stately pine contrasting finely with the light waving foliage +of its slender, graceful companions. + +Hector, with his axe, soon lopped boughs from one of the adjacent +pines, which Louis sharpened with his knife and, with Catharine's +assistance, drove into the ground, arranging them in such a way as to +make the upturned oak, with its roots and the earth which adhered to +them, form the back part of the hut, which when completed formed by no +means a contemptible shelter. Catharine then cut fern and deer grass +with Louis's _couteau de chasse_, which he always carried in a sheath +at his girdle, and spread two beds,--one, parted off by dry boughs and +bark, for herself, in the interior of the wigwam; and one for her +brother and cousin, nearer the entrance. When all was finished to her +satisfaction she called the two boys, and, according to the custom of +her parents, joined them in the lifting up of their hands as an +evening sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Nor were these +simple-hearted children backward in imploring help and protection from +the Most High. They earnestly prayed that no dangerous creature might +come near to molest them during the hours of darkness and +helplessness, no evil spirit visit them, no unholy or wicked thoughts +intrude into their minds; but that holy angels and heavenly thoughts +might hover over them, and fill their hearts with the peace of God +which passeth all understanding. And the prayer of the poor wanderers +was heard; they slept in peace, unharmed, in the vast solitude. So +passed their first night on the Plains. + + + + +CHAPTER II + + +"Fear not: ye are of more value than many sparrows."--_St. Luke_. + +The sun had risen in all the splendour of a Canadian summer morning +when the sleepers arose from their leafy beds. In spite of the novelty +of their situation, they had slept as soundly and tranquilly as if +they had been under the protecting care of their beloved parents, on +their little palliasses of corn straw; but they had been cared for by +Him who neither slumbereth nor sleepeth, and they waked full of +youthful hope, and in fulness of faith in His mercy into whose hands +they had commended their souls and bodies before they retired to rest. + +While the children slept in peace and safety, what terrors had filled +the minds of their distracted parents! what a night of anguish and +sorrow had they passed! + +When night had closed in without bringing back the absent children, +the two fathers, lighting torches of fat pine, went forth in search of +the wanderers. How often did they raise their voices in hopes their +loud halloos might reach the hearing of the lost ones! How often did +they check their hurried steps to listen for some replying call! But +the sighing breeze in the pine tops, or sudden rustling of the leaves +caused by the flight of the birds startled by the unusual glare of the +torches, and the echoes of their own voices, were the only sounds that +met their anxious ears. At daybreak they returned, sad and dispirited, +to their homes, to snatch a morsel of food, endeavour to cheer the +drooping hearts of the weeping mothers, and hurry off, taking +different directions. But, unfortunately, they had little clue to the +route which Hector and Louis had taken, there being many cattle-paths +through the woods. Louis's want of truthfulness had caused this +uncertainty, as he had left no intimation of the path he purposed +taking when he quitted his mother's house. He had merely said he was +going with Hector in search of the cattle, giving no hint of his +intention of asking Catharine to accompany them; he had but told his +sick sister that he would bring home strawberries and flowers, and +that he would soon return. Alas! poor, thoughtless Louis! how little +did you think of the web of woe you were then weaving for yourself, +and all those to whom you and your companions were so dear! Children, +think twice ere ye deceive once. + +Catharine's absence would have been quite unaccountable but for the +testimony of Duncan and Kenneth, who had received her sisterly +caresses before she joined Hector at the barn; and much her mother +marvelled what could have induced her good, dutiful Catharine to have +left her work and forsaken her household duties to go rambling away +with the boys, for she never left the house when her mother was absent +from it without her express permission. And now she was gone,--lost to +them perhaps for ever. There stood the wheel she had been turning; +there hung the untwisted hanks of yarn, her morning task; and there +they remained week after week, and month after month, untouched,--a +melancholy memorial to the hearts of the bereaved parents of their +beloved. + +It were indeed a fruitless task to follow the agonized fathers in +their vain search for their children, or to paint the bitter anguish +that filled their hearts as day passed after day, and still no tidings +of the lost ones. As hope faded, a deep and settled gloom stole over +the sorrowing parents, and reigned throughout the once cheerful and +gladsome homes. At the end of a week the only idea that remained was, +that one of these three casualties had befallen the lost +children,--death, a lingering death by famine; death, cruel and +horrible, by wolves or bears; or, yet more terrible, with tortures by +the hands of the dreaded Indians, who occasionally held their councils +and hunting-parties on the hills about the Rice Lake, which was known +only by the elder Perron as the scene of many bloody encounters +between the rival tribes of the Mohawks and Chippewas. Its localities +were scarcely ever visited by the settlers, lest haply they should +fall into the hands of the bloody Mohawks, whose merciless disposition +made them in those days a by-word even to the less cruel Chippewas and +other Indian nations. + +It was not in the direction of the Rice Lake that Maxwell and his +brother-in-law sought their lost children; and even if they had done +so, among the deep glens and hill passes of what is now commonly +called the Plains, they would have stood little chance of discovering +the poor wanderers. After many days of fatigue of body and distress of +mind, the sorrowing parents sadly relinquished the search as utterly +hopeless, and mourned in bitterness of spirit over the disastrous fate +of their first-born and beloved children. "There was a voice of woe, +and lamentation, and great mourning; Rachel weeping for her children, +and refusing to be comforted, because they were not." + +The miserable uncertainty that involved the fate of the lost ones was +an aggravation to the sufferings of the mourners. Could they but have +been certified of the manner of their deaths, they fancied they should +be more contented; but, alas! this fearful satisfaction was withheld + + "Oh, were their tale of sorrow known, + 'Twere something to the breaking heart; + The pangs of doubt would then be gone, + And fancy's endless dreams depart." + +But let us quit the now mournful settlement of Cold Springs, and see +how it really fared with the young wanderers. + +When they awoke, the valley was filled with a white creamy mist, that +arose from the bed of the stream (now known as Cold Creek), and gave +an indistinctness to the whole landscape, investing it with an +appearance perfectly different to that which it had worn by the +bright, clear light of the moon. No trace of their footsteps remained +to guide them in retracing their path, so hard and dry was the stony +ground that it left no impression on its surface. It was with some +difficulty they found the creek, which was concealed from sight by a +lofty screen of gigantic hawthorns, high-bush cranberries, poplars, +and birch trees. The hawthorn was in blossom, and gave out a sweet +perfume, not less fragrant than the "May," which makes the lanes and +hedgerows of "merrie old England" so sweet and fair in May and June. + +At length their path began to grow more difficult. A tangled mass of +cedars, balsams, birch, black ash, alders, and _tamarack_ (Indian +name for the larch), with a dense thicket of bushes and shrubs, such +as love the cool, damp soil of marshy ground, warned our travellers +that they must quit the banks of the friendly stream, or they might +become entangled in a trackless swamp. Having taken copious and +refreshing draughts from the bright waters, and bathed their hands and +faces, they ascended the grassy bank, and, again descending, found +themselves in one of those long valleys, enclosed between lofty +sloping banks, clothed with shrubs and oaks, with here and there a +stately pine. Through this second valley they pursued their way, till, +emerging into a wider space, they came among those singularly +picturesque groups of rounded gravel-hills, where the Cold Creek once +more met their view, winding its way towards a grove of evergreens, +where it was again lost to the eye. + +This lovely spot was known as Sackville's Mill-dike. The hand of man +had curbed the free course of the wild forest stream, and made it +subservient to his will, but could not destroy the natural beauties of +the scene. + +Fearing to entangle themselves in the swamp, they kept the hilly +ground, winding their way up to the summit of the lofty ridge of the +oak hills, the highest ground they had yet attained; and here it was +that the silver waters of the Rice Lake in all its beauty burst upon +the eyes of the wondering and delighted travellers. There it lay, a +sheet of liquid silver, just emerging from the blue veil of mist that +hung upon its surface and concealed its wooded shores on either side. +All feeling of dread, and doubt, and danger was lost for the time in +one rapturous glow of admiration at the scene so unexpected and so +beautiful as that which they now gazed upon from the elevation they +had gained. From this ridge they looked down the lake, and the eye +could take in an extent of many miles, with its verdant wooded +islands, which stole into view one by one as the rays of the morning +sun drew up the moving curtain of mist that enveloped them; and soon +both northern and southern shores became distinctly visible, with all +their bays, and capes, and swelling oak and pine crowned hills. + +And now arose the question, "Where are we? What lake is this? Can it +be the Ontario, or is it the Rice Lake? Can yonder shores be those of +the Americans, or are they the hunting-grounds of the dreaded +Indians?" Hector remembered having often heard his father say that the +Ontario was like an inland sea, and the opposite shores not visible +unless in some remarkable state of the atmosphere, when they had been +occasionally discerned by the naked eye; while here they could +distinctly see objects on the other side, the peculiar growth of the +trees, and even flights of wild fowl winging their way among the rice +and low bushes on its margin. The breadth of the lake from shore to +shore could not, they thought, exceed three or four miles; while its +length, in an easterly direction, seemed far greater,--beyond what +the eye could take in. [Footnote: The length of the Rice Lake, from +its head-waters near Black's Landing to the mouth of the Trent, is +said to be twenty-five miles; its breadth, from north to south, varies +from three to six.] + +They now quitted the lofty ridge, and bent their steps towards the +lake. Wearied with their walk, they seated themselves beneath the +shade of a beautiful feathery pine, on a high promontory that +commanded a magnificent view down the lake. + +"How pleasant it would be to have a house on this delightful bank, +overlooking the lake!" said Louis. "Only think of the fish we could +take, and the ducks and wild fowl we could shoot; and it would be no +very hard matter to hollow out a log canoe, such a one as I have heard +my father say he has rowed in across many a lake and broad river +below, when he was lumbering." + +"Yes, it would, indeed, be a pleasant spot to live upon," said Hector, +"though I am not quite sure that the land is as good just here as it +is at Cold Springs; but all those flats and rich valleys would make +fine pastures, and produce plenty of grain, too, if cultivated." + +"You always look to the main chance, Hec," said Louis, laughing; +"well, it was worth a few hours' walking this morning to look upon so +lovely a sheet of water as this. I would spend two nights in a +wigwam,--would not you, ma belle?--to enjoy such a sight." + +"Yes, Louis," replied his cousin, hesitating as she spoke; "it is very +pretty, and I did not mind sleeping in the little hut; but then I +cannot enjoy myself as much as I should have done had my father and +mother been aware of my intention of accompanying you. Ah, my dear, +dear parents!" she added, as the thought of the anguish the absence of +her companions and herself would cause at home came over her. "How I +wish I had remained at home! Selfish Catharine! foolish, idle girl!" + +Poor Louis was overwhelmed with grief at the sight of his cousin's +tears; and as the kind-hearted but thoughtless boy bent over her to +soothe and console her, his own tears fell upon the fair locks of the +weeping girl, and dropped on the hand he held between his own. + +"If you cry thus, cousin," he whispered, "you will break poor Louis's +heart, already sore enough with thinking of his foolish conduct." + +"Be not cast down, Catharine," said her brother cheeringly; "we may +not be so far from home as you think. As soon as you are rested, we +will set out again, and we may find something to eat; there must be +strawberries on these sunny banks." + +Catharine soon yielded to the voice of her brother, and drying her +eyes, proceeded to descend the sides of the steep valley that lay to +one side of the high ground where they had been sitting. + +Suddenly darting down the bank, she exclaimed, "Come, Hector! come, +Louis! here indeed is provision to keep us from starving;" for her eye +had caught the bright red strawberries among the flowers and herbage +on the slope--large ripe strawberries, the very finest she had ever +seen. + +"There is, indeed, ma belle," said Louis, stooping as he spoke to +gather up, not the fruit, but a dozen fresh partridge's eggs from the +inner shade of a thick tuft of grass and herbs that grew beside a +fallen tree. Catharine's voice and sudden movements had startled the +ruffed grouse [Footnote: The Canadian partridge is a species of +grouse, larger than the English or French partridge. We refer our +young readers to the finely arranged specimens in the British Museum +(open to the public), where they may discover "Louis's partridge."] +from her nest, and the eggs were soon transferred to Louis's straw +hat, while a stone flung by the steady hand of Hector stunned the +parent bird. The boys laughed exultingly as they displayed their +prizes to the astonished Catharine, who, in spite of hunger, could not +help regretting the death of the mother bird. Girls and women rarely +sympathize with men and boys in their field sports, and Hector laughed +at his sister's doleful looks as he handed over the bird to her. + +"It was a lucky chance," said he, "and the stone was well aimed, but +it is not the first partridge that I have killed in this way. They are +so stupid you may even run them down at times; I hope to get another +before the day is over. + +"Well, there is no fear of starving to-day, at all events," he added, +as he inspected the contents of his cousin's hat; "twelve nice fresh +eggs, a bird, and plenty of fruit." + +"But how shall we cook the bird and the eggs? We have no means of +getting a fire made," said Catharine. + +"As to the eggs," said Louis, "we can eat them raw; it is not for +hungry wanderers like us to be over-nice about our food." + +"They would satisfy us much better were they boiled, or roasted in the +ashes," observed Hector. + +"True. Well, a fire, I think, can be got with a little trouble." + +"But how?" asked Hector. + +"Oh, there are many ways, but the readiest would be a flint with the +help of my knife." + +"A flint?" + +"Yes, if we could get one: but I see nothing but granite, which +crumbles and shivers when struck--we could not get a spark. However, I +think it's very likely that one of the round pebbles I see on the +beach yonder may be found hard enough for the purpose." + +To the shore they bent their steps as soon as the little basket had +been well filled with strawberries; and descending the precipitous +bank, fringed with young saplings; birch, ash, and poplars, they +quickly found themselves beside the bright waters of the lake. A flint +was soon found among the water-worn stones that lay thickly strewn +upon the shore, and a handful of dry sedge, almost as inflammable as +tinder, was collected without trouble: though Louis, with the +recklessness of his nature, had coolly proposed to tear a strip from +his cousin's apron as a substitute for tinder,--a proposal that +somewhat raised the indignation of the tidy Catharine, whose ideas of +economy and neatness were greatly outraged, especially as she had no +sewing implements to assist in mending the rent. Louis thought nothing +of that; it was a part of his character to think only of the present, +little of the past, and to let the future provide for itself. Such was +Louis's great failing, which had proved a fruitful source of trouble +both to himself and others. In this respect he bore a striking +contrast to his more cautious companion, who possessed much of the +gravity of his father. Hector was as heedful and steady in his +decisions as Louis was rash and impetuous. + +After many futile attempts, and some skin knocked off their knuckles +through awkward handling of the knife and flint, a good fire was at +last kindled, as there was no lack of dry wood on the shore. Catharine +then triumphantly produced her tin pot, and the eggs were boiled, +greatly to the satisfaction of all parties, who were by this time +sufficiently hungry, having eaten nothing since the previous evening +more substantial than the strawberries they had taken during the time +they were gathering them in the morning. + +Catharine had selected a pretty, cool, shady recess, a natural bower, +under the overhanging growth of [Illustration: THE FIRST BREAKFAST.] +cedars, poplars, and birch, which were wreathed together by the +flexible branches of the wild grape vine and bitter-sweet, which +climbed to a height of fifteen feet [Footnote: _Celastrus +scandens_,--bitter-sweet or woody nightshade. This plant, like the +red-berried bryony of England, is highly ornamental. It possesses +powerful properties as a medicine, and is in high reputation among the +Indians.] among the branches of the trees, which it covered as with a +mantle. A pure spring of cold, delicious water welled out from beneath +the twisted roots of an old hoary-barked cedar, and found its way +among the shingle on the beach to the lake, a humble but constant +tributary to its waters. Some large blocks of water-worn stone formed +convenient seats and a natural table, on which the little maiden +arranged the forest fare; and never was a meal made with greater +appetite or taken with more thankfulness than that which our wanderers +ate that morning. The eggs (part of which they reserved for another +time) were declared to be better than those that were daily produced +from the little hen-house at Cold Springs. The strawberries, set out +in little pottles made with the shining leaves of the oak, ingeniously +pinned together by Catharine with the long spurs of the hawthorn, were +voted delicious, and the pure water most refreshing, that they drank, +for lack of better cups, from a large mussel-shell which Catharine had +picked up among the weeds and pebbles on the beach. + +Many children would have wandered about weeping and disconsolate, +lamenting their sad fate, or have imbittered the time by useless +repining, or, perhaps, by venting their uneasiness in reviling the +principal author of their calamity--poor, thoughtless Louis; but such +were not the dispositions of our young Canadians. Early accustomed to +the hardships incidental to the lives of the settlers in the bush, +these young people had learned to bear with patience and cheerfulness +privations that would have crushed the spirits of children more +delicately nurtured. They had known every degree of hunger and +nakedness: during the first few years of their lives they had often +been compelled to subsist for days and weeks upon roots and herbs, +wild fruits, and game which their fathers had learned to entrap, to +decoy, and to shoot. Thus Louis and Hector had early been initiated +into the mysteries of the chase. They could make dead-falls, and pits, +and traps, and snares; they were as expert as Indians in the use of +the bow; they could pitch a stone or fling a wooden dart at partridge, +hare, and squirrel with almost unerring aim; and were as swift of foot +as young fawns. Now it was that they learned to value in its fullest +extent this useful and practical knowledge, which enabled them to face +with fortitude the privations of a life so precarious as that to which +they were now exposed. + +It was one of the elder Maxwell's maxims,--Never, let difficulties +overcome you, but rather strive to conquer them; let the head direct +the hand, and the hand, like a well-disciplined soldier, obey the head +as chief. When his children expressed any doubts of not being able to +accomplish any work they had begun, he would say, "Have you not hands, +have you not a head, have you not eyes to see, and reason to guide +you? As for impossibilities, they do not belong to the trade of a +soldier,--he dare not see them." Thus were energy and perseverance +early instilled into the, minds of his children. They were now called +upon to give practical proofs of the precepts that had been taught +them in childhood. Hector trusted to his axe, and Louis to his +_couteau de chasse_ and pocket-knife,--the latter was a present from +an old forest friend of his father's, who had visited them the +previous winter, and which, by good luck, Louis had in his pocket,--a +capacious pouch, in which were stored many precious things, such as +coils of twine and string, strips of leather, with odds and ends of +various kinds--nails, bits of iron, leather, and such miscellaneous +articles as find their way most mysteriously into boys' pockets in +general, and Louis Perron's in particular, who was a wonderful +collector of such small matters. + +The children were not easily daunted by the prospect of passing a few +days abroad on so charming a spot, and at such a lovely season, where +fruits were so abundant; and when they had finished their morning +meal, so providentially placed within their reach, they gratefully +acknowledged the mercy of God in this thing. + +Having refreshed themselves by bathing their hands and faces in the +lake, they cheerfully renewed their wanderings, though something loath +to leave the cool shade and the spring for an untrodden path among the +hills and deep ravines that furrow the shores of the Rice Lake in so +remarkable a manner; and often did our weary wanderers pause to look +upon the wild glens and precipitous hills, where the fawn and the shy +deer found safe retreats, unharmed by the rifle of the hunter, where +the osprey and white-headed eagle built their nests, unheeded and +unharmed. Twice that day, misled by following the track of the deer, +had they returned to the samespot,--a deep and lovely glen, which had +once been a watercourse, but was now a green and shady valley. This +they named the Valley of the Rock, from a remarkable block of red +granite that occupied a central position in the narrow defile; and +here they prepared to pass their second night on the Plains. A few +boughs cut down and interlaced with the shrubs round a small space +cleared with Hector's axe, formed shelter, and leaves and grass, +strewed on the ground, formed a bed--though not so smooth, perhaps, as +the bark and cedar boughs that the Indians spread within their summer +wigwams for carpets and couches, or the fresh heather that the +Highlanders gather on the wild Scottish hills. + +While Hector and Louis were preparing the sleeping chamber, Catharine +busied herself in preparing the partridge for their supper. Having +collected some thin peelings from the rugged bark of a birch tree that +grew on the side of the steep bank to which she gave the appropriate +name of the "Birken Shaw," she dried it in her bosom, and then beat it +fine upon a big stone, till it resembled the finest white paper. This +proved excellent tinder, the aromatic oil contained in the bark of the +birch being highly inflammable. Hector had prudently retained the +flint that they had used in the morning, and a fire was now lighted in +front of the rocky stone, and a forked stick, stuck in the ground, and +bent over the coals, served as a spit, on which, gipsy-fashion, the +partridge was suspended,--a scanty meal, but thankfully partaken of, +though they knew not how they should breakfast next morning. The +children felt they were pensioners on God's providence not less than +the wild denizens of the wilderness around them. + +When Hector--who by nature was less sanguine than his sister or +cousin--expressed some anxiety for their provisions for the morrow, +Catharine, who had early listened with trusting piety of heart to the +teaching of her father, when he read portions from the holy Word of +God, gently laid her hand upon her brother's head, which rested on her +knees, as he sat upon the grass beside her, and said, in a low and +earnest tone, "'Consider the fowls of the air: they sow not, neither +do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth +them. Are ye not much better than they?' Surely, my brother, God +careth for us as much as for the wild creatures that have no sense to +praise and glorify his holy name. God cares for the creatures he has +made, and supplies them with knowledge where they shall find food when +they hunger and thirst. So I have heard my father say; and surely our +father knows, for is he not a wise man, Hector?" + +"I remember," said Louis thoughtfully, "hearing my mother repeat the +words of a good old man she knew when she lived in Quebec. 'When you +are in trouble, Mathilde,' he used to say to her, 'kneel down and ask +God's help, nothing doubting but that he has the power as well as the +will to serve you, if it be for your good; for he is able to bring all +things to pass. It is our own want of faith that prevents our prayers +from being heard.' And, truly, I think the wise old man was right," he +added. + +It was strange to hear grave words like these from the lips of the +giddy Louis. Possibly they had the greater weight on that account. And +Hector, looking up with a serious air, replied, "Your mother's friend +was a good man, Louis. Our want of trust in God's power must displease +him. And when we think of all the great and glorious things he has +made,--that blue sky, those sparkling stars, the beautiful moon that +is now shining down upon us, and the hills and waters, the mighty +forest, and little creeping plants and flowers that grow at our +feet,--it must, indeed, seem foolish in his eyes that we should doubt +his power to help us, who not only made all these things but ourselves +also." + +"True," said Catharine; "but then, Hector, we are not as God made us; +for the wicked one cast bad seed in the field where God had sown the +good." + +"Let us, however, consider what we shall do for food; for you know God +helps those that help themselves," said Louis. "Let us consider a +little. There must be plenty of fish in the lake, both small and +great." + +"But how are we to get them out of it?" rejoined Catharine. "I doubt +the fish will swim at their ease there, while we go hungry." + +"Do not interrupt me, ma chere. Then, we see the track of deer, and +the holes of the wood-chuck; we hear the cry of squirrels and +chitmunks, and there are plenty of partridges, and ducks, and quails, +and snipes;--of course, we have to contrive some way to kill them. +Fruits there are in abundance, and plenty of nuts of different kinds. +At present we have plenty of fine strawberries, and huckleberries will +be ripe soon in profusion, and bilberries too, and you know how +pleasant they are; as for raspberries, I see none; but by-and-by there +will be May-apples (_Podophyllum peltatum_)--I see great quantities +of them in the low grounds; grapes, high-bush cranberries, haws as +large as cherries, and sweet too, squaw-berries, wild-plums, +choke-cherries, and bird-cherries. As to sweet acorns, there will be +bushels and bushels of them for the roasting, as good as chestnuts, to +my taste, and butter-nuts, and hickory-nuts with many other good +things." And here Louis stopped for want of breath to continue his +catalogue of forest dainties. + +"Yes, and there are bears, and wolves, and raccoons too, that will eat +us for want of better food," interrupted Hector slyly. "Nay, Katty, do +not shudder, as if you were already in the clutches of a big bear. +Neither bear nor wolf shall make mincemeat of thee, my girl, while +Louis and thy brother are near to wield an axe or a knife in thy +defence." + +"Nor catamount spring upon thee, ma belle cousine," added Louis +gallantly, "while thy bold cousin Louis can scare him away." + +"Well, now that we know our resources, the next thing is to consider +how we are to obtain them, my dears," said Catharine. "For fishing, +you know, we must have a hook and line, a rod, or a net. Now, where +are these to be met with?" + +Louis nodded his head sagaciously. "The line I think I can provide; +the hook is more difficult, but I do not despair even of that. As to +the rod, it can be cut from any slender sapling on the shore. A net, +ma chere, I could make with very little trouble, if I had but a piece +of cloth to sew over a hoop." + +Catharine laughed. "You are very ingenious, no doubt, Monsieur Louis; +but where are you to get the cloth and the hoop, and the means of +sewing it on?" + +Louis took up the corner of his cousin's apron with a provoking look. + +"My apron, sir, is not to be appropriated for any such purpose. You +seem to covet it for everything." + +"Indeed, ma petite, I think it very unbecoming and very ugly, and +never could see any good reason why you, and mamma, and Mathilde +should wear such frightful things." + +"It is to keep our gowns clean, Louis, when we are milking, and +scrubbing, and doing all sorts of household duties," said Catharine. + +"Well, ma belle, you have neither cows to milk nor house to clean," +replied the annoying boy; "so there can be little want of the apron. I +could turn it to fifty useful purposes." + +"Pooh, nonsense," said Hector impatiently; "let the child alone, and +do not tease her about her apron." + +"Well, then, there is another good thing I did not think of +before--water mussels. I have heard my father and old Jacob the +lumberer say that, roasted in their shells in the ashes, with a +seasoning of salt and pepper, they are good eating when nothing better +is to be got." + +"No doubt, if the seasoning can be procured," said Hector; "but, alas +for the salt and the pepper!" + +"Well, we can eat them with the best of all sauces--hunger. And then, +no doubt, there are crayfish in the gravel under the stones; but we +must not mind a pinch to our fingers in taking them." + +"To-morrow, then, let us breakfast on fish," said Hector. "You and I +will try our luck, while Kate gathers strawberries; and if our line +should break, we can easily cut those long locks from Catharine's head +and twist them into lines." And Hector laid his hands upon the long +fair hair that hung in shining curls about his sister's neck. + +"Cut my curls! This is even worse than cousin Louis's proposal of +making tinder and fishing-nets of my apron," said Catharine, shaking +back the bright tresses which, escaping from the snood that bound +them, fell in golden waves over her shoulders. + +"In truth, Hec, it were a sin and a shame to cut her pretty curls, +that become her so well," said Louis. "But we have no scissors, ma +belle, so you need fear no injury to your precious locks." + +"For the matter of that, Louis, we could cut them with your _couteau +de chaise_. I could tell you a story that my father told me, not long +since, of Charles Stuart, the second king of that name in England. You +know he was the granduncle of the young chevalier, Charles Edward, +that my father talks of, and loves so much." + +"I know all about him," said Catharine, nodding sagaciously; "let us +hear the story of his granduncle. But I should like to know what my +hair and Louis's knife can have to do with King Charles." + +"Wait a bit, Kate, and you shall hear--that is, if you have patience," +said her brother. "Well then, you must know, that after some great +battle, the name of which I forget, [Footnote: Battle of Worcester] in +which the king and his handful of brave soldiers were defeated by the +forces of the Parliament (the Roundheads, as they were called), the +poor young king was hunted like a partridge upon the mountains, a +large price was set on his head, to be given to any traitor who should +slay him or bring him prisoner to Oliver Cromwell." He was obliged to +dress himself in all sorts of queer clothes, and hide in all manner of +strange, out-of-the-way places, and keep company with rude and humble +men, the better to hide his real rank from the cruel enemies that +sought his life. Once he hid along with a gallant gentleman, +[Footnote: Colonel Careless.] one of his own brave officers, in the +branches of a great oak. Once he was hid in a mill; and another time +he was in the house of one Pendril, a woodman. The soldiers of the +Parliament, who were always prowling about, and popping in unawares +wherever they suspected the poor king to be hidden, were at one time +in the very room where he was standing beside the fire." + +"Oh!" exclaimed Catharine, "that was frightful. And did they take him +prisoner?" + +"No; for the wise woodman and his brothers, fearing lest the soldiers +should discover that he was a cavalier and a gentleman, by the long +curls that the king's men all wore in those days, and called +_lovelocks_, begged of his majesty to let his hair be cropped close to +his head." + +"That was very hard, to lose his nice curls." + +"I dare say the young king thought so too; but it was better to lose +his hair than his head. So, I suppose, the men told him; for he +suffered them to cut it all close to his head, laying down his head on +a rough deal table, or a chopping-block, while his faithful friends +with a large knife trimmed off the curls." + +"I wonder if the young king thought at that minute of his poor father, +who, you know, was forced by wicked men to lay down his head upon a +block to have it cut from his shoulders, because Cromwell, and others +as hard-hearted as himself, willed that he should die." + +"Poor king!" said Catharine, sighing; "I see that it is better to be +poor children, wandering on these plains under God's own care, than to +be kings and princes at the mercy of bad and sinful men." + +"Who told your father all these things, Hec?" said Louis. + +"It was the son of his brave colonel, who knew a great deal about the +history of the Stuart kings, for our colonel had been with Prince +Charles, the young chevalier, and fought by his side when he was in +Scotland. He loved him dearly, and after the battle of Culloden, where +the prince lost all, and was driven from place to place, and had not +where to lay his head, he went abroad in hopes of better times. But +those times did not come for the poor prince; and our colonel, after a +while, through the friendship of General Wolfe, got a commission in +the army that was embarking for Quebec, and at last commanded the +regiment to which my father belonged. He was a kind man, and my father +loved both him and his son, and grieved not a little when he parted +from him." + +"Well," said-Catharine, "as you have told me such a nice story, Mister +Hec, I shall forgive the affront about my curls." + +"Well, then, to-morrow we are to try our luck at fishing, and if we +fail, we will make us bows and arrows to kill deer or small game; I +fancy we shall not be over-particular as to its quality. Why should +not we be able to find subsistence as well as the wild Indians?" + +"True," said Hector; "the wild men of the wilderness, and the animals +and birds, all are fed by the things that He provideth; then wherefore +should His white children fear?" + +"I have often heard my father tell of the privations of the lumberers, +when they have fallen short of provisions, and of the contrivances of +himself and old Jacob Morelle when they were lost for several days, +nay, weeks I believe it was. Like the Indians, they made themselves +bows and arrows, using the sinews of the deer, or fresh thongs of +leather, for bow-strings; and when they could not get game to eat, +they boiled the inner bark of the slippery elm to jelly, or birch +bark, and drank the sap of the sugar maple when they could get no +water but melted snow only, which is unwholesome: at last they even +boiled their own moccasins." + +"Indeed, Louis, that must have been a very unsavoury dish," said +Catharine. + +"That old buck-skin vest would have made a famous pot of soup of +itself," added Hector, "or the deer-skin hunting shirt." + +"They might have been reduced even to that," said Louis, laughing, +"but for the good fortune that befell them in the way of a +half-roasted bear." + +"Nonsense, Cousin Louis; bears do not run about ready roasted in the +forest, like the lambs in the old nursery tale." + +"Kate, this was a fact; at least it was told as one by old Jacob, and +my father did not deny it. Shall I tell you about it? After passing +several hungry days, with no better food to keep them alive than the +scrapings of the inner bark of the poplars and elms, which was not +very substantial for hearty men, they encamped one night in a thick +dark swamp,--not the sort of place they would have chosen, but they +could not help themselves, having been enticed into it by the tracks +of a deer or a moose,--and night came upon them unawares, so they set +to work to kindle a fire with spunk, and a flint and knife; rifle they +had none, or maybe they would have had game to eat. + +"Old Jacob fixed upon a huge hollow pine that lay across their path, +against which he soon piled a glorious heap of boughs and arms of +trees, and whatever wood he could collect, and lighted up a fine fire. +The wood was dry pine and cedar and birch, and it blazed away, and +crackled and burned like a pine-torch. By-and-by they heard a most +awful growling close to them. 'That's a big bear, as I live,' said old +Jacob, looking all about, thinking to see one come out from the thick +bush. But Bruin was nearer to him than he thought; for presently a +great black bear burst out from the butt-end of the great burning log, +and made towards Jacob. Just then the wind blew the flame outward, and +it caught the bear's thick coat, and he was all in a blaze in a +moment. No doubt the heat of the fire had penetrated to the hollow of +the log, where he had lain himself snugly up for the winter, and +wakened him. Jacob seeing the huge black brute all in a flame of fire, +roared with fright; the bear roared with pain and rage; and my father +roared with laughing to see Jacob's terror. But he did not let the +bear laugh at him, for he seized a thick pole that he had used for +closing in the brands and logs, and soon demolished the bear, who was +so blinded with the fire and smoke that he made no fight; and they +feasted on roast bear's flesh for many days, and got a capital skin to +cover them beside." + +"What, Louis! after the fur was all singed?" said Catharine. + +"Kate, you are too particular," said Louis; "a story never loses, you +know." + +Hector laughed heartily at the adventure, and enjoyed the dilemma of +the bear in his winter quarters; but Catharine was somewhat shocked at +the levity displayed by her cousin and brother when recounting the +terror of old Jacob and the sufferings of the poor bear." + +"You boys are always so unfeeling," she said gravely. + +"Indeed, Kate," said her brother, "the day may come when the sight of +a good piece of roast bear's flesh will be no unwelcome sight. If we +do not find our way back to Cold Springs before the winter sets in, we +may be reduced to as bad a state as poor Jacob and my uncle were in +the pine swamps on the banks of the St. John." + +"Ah!" said Catharine, trembling, "that would be too bad to happen." + +"Courage, ma belle; let us not despair for the morrow. Let us see what +tomorrow will do for us; meantime, we will not neglect the blessings +we still possess. See, our partridge is ready; let us eat our supper, +and be thankful; and for grace let us say, 'Sufficient unto the day is +the evil thereof.'" + +Long exposure to the air had sharpened their appetites. The hungry +wanderers needed no further invitation. The scanty meal, equally +divided, was soon despatched. + +It is a common saying, but excellent to be remembered by any wanderers +in our forest wilds, that those who travel by the sun travel in a +circle, and usually find themselves at night in the same place from +whence they started in the morning; so it was with our wanderers. At +sunset they found themselves once more in the ravine, beside the big +stone, in which they had rested at noon. They had imagined themselves +miles distant from it: they were grievously disappointed. They had +encouraged each other with the confident hope that they were drawing +near to the end of their bewildering journey: they were as far from +their home as ever, without the slightest clue to guide them to the +right path. Despair is not a feeling which takes deep root in the +youthful breast. The young are always hopeful; so confident in their +own wisdom and skill in averting or conquering danger; so trusting; so +willing to believe that there is a peculiar Providence watching over +them. Poor children! they had indeed need of such a belief to +strengthen their minds and encourage them to fresh exertions, for new +trials were at hand. + +The broad moon had already flooded the recesses of the glen with +light, and all looked fresh and lovely in the dew which glittered on +tree and leaf, on herb and flower. Catharine, who, though weary with +her fatiguing wanderings, could not sleep, left the little hut of +boughs her companions had put up near the granite rock in the valley +for her accommodation, and ascended the western bank, where the last +jutting spur of its steep side formed a lofty cliff-like promontory, +at the extreme verge of which the roots of one tall spreading oak +formed a most inviting seat, from whence the traveller looked down +into a level tract, which stretched away to the edge of the lake. + +This flat had been the estuary of the mountain stream which had once +rushed down between the hills, forming a narrow gorge; but now all was +changed: the waters had ceased to flow, the granite bed was overgrown +and carpeted with deer-grass and flowers of many hues, wild fruits and +bushes, below, while majestic oaks and pines towered above. A sea of +glittering foliage lay beneath Catharine's feet; in the distance the +eye of the young girl rested on a belt of shining waters, which girt +in the shores like a silver zone; beyond, yet more remote to the +northward, stretched the illimitable forest. + +Never had Catharine looked upon a scene so still or so fair to the +eye; a holy calm seemed to shed its influence over her young mind, and +peaceful tears stole down her cheeks. Not a sound was there abroad, +scarcely a leaf stirred; she could have stayed for hours there gazing +on the calm beauty of nature, and communing with her own heart, when +suddenly a stirring rustling sound caught her ear; it came from a +hollow channel on one side of the promontory, which was thickly +overgrown with the shrubby dogwood, wild roses, and bilberry bushes. +Imagine the terror which seized the poor girl on perceiving the head +of a black elk breaking through the covert of the bushes. With a +scream and a bound, which the most deadly fear alone could have +inspired, Catharine sprung from the supporting trunk of the oak, and +dashed down the precipitous side of the ravine; now clinging to the +bending sprays of the flexile dogwood, now to some fragile birch or +poplar--now trusting to the yielding heads of the sweet-scented +ceanothus, or filling her hands with sharp thorns from the roses that +clothed the bank,--flowers, grass, all were alike clutched at in her +rapid and fearful descent. + +A loose fragment of granite on which she had unwittingly placed her +foot rolled from under her; unable to regain her balance she fell +forwards, and was precipitated through the bushes into the ravine +below, conscious only of unspeakable terror and an agonizing pain in +one of her ankles which rendered her quite powerless. The noise of the +stones she had dislodged in her fall, and her piteous cries, brought +Louis and Hector to her side, and they bore her in their arms to the +hut of boughs, and laid her down upon her bed of leaves and grass and +young pine boughs. When Catharine was able to speak, she related to +Louis and Hector the cause of her fright. She was sure it must have +been a wolf by his sharp teeth, long jaws, and grizzly coat. The last +glance she had had of him had filled her with terror; he was standing +on a fallen tree, with his eyes fixed upon her. She could tell them no +more that happened; she never felt the ground she was on, so great was +her fright. + +Hector was half disposed to scold his sister for rambling over the +hills alone; but Louis was full of tender compassion for _la belle +cousine_, and would not suffer her to be chidden. Fortunately, no +bones had been fractured, though the sinews of her ankle were severely +sprained; but the pain was intense, and after a sleepless night, the +boys found, to their grief and dismay, that Catharine was unable to +put her foot to the ground. This was an unlooked-for aggravation of +their misfortunes; to pursue their wanderings was for the present +impossible; rest was their only remedy, excepting the application of +such cooling medicaments as circumstances would supply them with. Cold +water constantly applied to the swollen joint, was the first thing +that was suggested; but, simple as was the lotion, it was not easy to +obtain it in sufficient quantities. They were full a quarter of a mile +from the lake shore, and the cold springs near it were yet further +off; and then the only vessel they had was the tin pot, which hardly +contained a pint; at the same time the thirst of the fevered sufferer +was intolerable, and had also to be provided for. Poor Catharine, what +unexpected misery she now endured! + +The valley and its neighbouring hills abounded in strawberries; they +were now ripening in abundance; the ground was scarlet in places with +this delicious fruit: they proved a blessed relief to the poor +sufferer's burning thirst. Hector and Louis were unwearied in +supplying her with them. + +Louis, ever fertile in expedients, crushed the cooling fruit and +applied them to the sprained foot; rendering the application still +more grateful by spreading them upon the large smooth leaves of the +sapling oak: these he bound on with strips of the leathery bark of the +moose-wood, [Footnote: "_Dirca palustris_," moose-wood American +mezereon, leather-wood. From the Greek, _dirka_, a fountain or wet +place, its usual place of growth.] which he had found growing in great +abundance near the entrance of the ravine. Hector, in the meantime, +was not idle. After having collected a good supply of ripe +strawberries, he climbed the hills in search of birds' eggs and small +game. About noon he returned with the good news of having discovered a +spring of fine water in an adjoining ravine, beneath a clump of +bass-wood and black cherry trees; he had also been so fortunate as to +kill a woodchuck, having met with many of their burrows in the +gravelly sides of the hills. The woodchuck seems to be a link between +the rabbit and badger; its colour is that of a leveret: it climbs like +the raccoon, and burrows like the rabbit; its eyes are large, full, +and dark, the lip cleft, the soles of the feet naked, claws sharp, +ears short; it feeds on grasses, grain, fruit, and berries. The flesh +is white, oily, and, in the summer, rank, but is eaten in autumn by +the Indians and woodsmen; the skin is not much valued. They are easily +killed by dogs, though, being expert climbers, they often baffle their +enemies, clinging to the bark beyond their reach. A stone or stick +well aimed soon kills them; but they sometimes bite sharply. + +The woodchuck proved a providential supply; and Hector cheered his +companions with the assurance that they could not starve, as there +were plenty of these creatures to be found. They had seen one or two +about Cold Springs, but they are less common in the deep forest lands +than on the drier, more open plains. + +"It is a great pity we have no larger vessel to bring our water from +the spring," said Hector, looking at the tin pot; "one is so apt to +stumble among stones and tangled underwood. If we had only one of our +old bark dishes we could get a good supply at once." + +"There is a fallen birch not far from this," said Louis. "I have here +my trusty knife; what is there to hinder us from constructing a vessel +capable of holding water, a gallon if you like?" + +"How can you sew it together, cousin?" asked Catharine; "you have +neither deer sinews nor war-tap." The Indian name for the flexible +roots of the _tamarack_, or swamp larch, which they make use of in +manufacturing their birch baskets and canoes. + +"I have a substitute at hand, ma belle;" and Louis pointed to the +strips of leather-wood he had collected for binding the dressings on +her foot. + +When an idea once struck Louis, he never rested till he worked it out +in some way. In a few minutes he was busily employed, stripping sheets +of the ever-useful birch-bark from the birch tree that had fallen at +the foot of the "Wolf's Crag;" for so the children had named the +memorable spot where poor Catharine's accident had occurred. + +The rough outside coatings of the bark, which are of silvery +whiteness, but ragged from exposure to the action of the weather in +the larger and older trees, he peeled off, and then cutting the bark +so that the sides lapped well over and the corners were secured from +cracks, he proceeded to pierce holes opposite to each other, and with +some trouble managed to stitch them tightly together, by drawing +strips of the moose or leather-wood through and through. The first +attempt, of course, was but rude and ill-shaped, but it answered the +purpose, and only leaked a little at the corners for want of a sort of +flap, which he had forgotten to allow in cutting out the bark,--this +flap in the Indian baskets and dishes turns up, and keeps all tight +and close,--a defect he remedied in his subsequent attempts. In spite +of its deficiencies, Louis's water-jar was looked upon with great +admiration, and highly commended by Catharine, who almost forgot her +sufferings while watching her cousin's proceedings. + +Louis was elated by his own successful ingenuity, and was for running +off directly to the spring. "Catharine shall now have cold water to +bathe her poor ankle with, and to quench her thirst," he said, +joyfully springing to his feet, ready for a start up the steep bank; +but Hector quietly restrained his lively cousin, by suggesting the +possibility of his not finding the "fountain in the wilderness," as +Louis termed the spring, or losing himself altogether. + +"Let us both go together then," cried Louis. Catharine cast on her +cousin an imploring glance. + +"Do not leave me, dear Louis--Hector, do not let me be left alone." +Her sorrowful appeal stayed the steps of the volatile Louis. + +"Go you, Hector, as you know the way.--I will not leave you, Kate, +since I was the cause of all you have suffered; I will abide by you, +in joy or in sorrow, till I see you once more safe in your own dear +mother's arms." + +Comforted by this assurance, Catharine quickly dashed away the +gathering tears from her cheeks, and chid her own foolish fears. + +"But you know, dear cousin," she said, "I am so helpless; and then the +dread of that horrible wolf makes a coward of me." + +After some little time had elapsed, Hector returned. The bark vessel +had done its duty to admiration; it only wanted a very little +improvement to make it complete. The water was cold and pure. Hector +had spent a little time in deepening the mouth of the spring, and +placing some stones about it. He described the ravine as being much +deeper and wider and more gloomy than the one they occupied. The sides +and bottom were clothed with magnificent oaks. It was a grand sight, +he said, to stand on the jutting spurs of this great ravine, and look +down upon the tops of the trees that lay below, tossing their rounded +heads like the waves of a big sea. There were many lovely +flowers-vetches of several kinds, blue, white, and pencilled, twining +among the grass; a beautiful white-belled flower, that was like the +"morning glory" _(Convolvulus major),_ and scarlet cups [Footnote: +_Erichroma,_ or painted cup.] in abundance, with roses in profusion. +The bottom of this ravine was strewed in places with huge blocks of +black granite, cushioned with thick green moss; it opened out into a +wide flat, similar to the one at the mouth of the valley of the "Big +Stone." + +Both Hector and his sister had insensibly imbibed a love of the grand +and picturesque, by listening with untiring interest to their father's +animated and enthusiastic descriptions of his Highland home, and the +wild mountainous scenery that surrounded it. Though brought up in +solitude and uneducated, there was nothing vulgar or rude in the minds +or manners of these young people. Simple and untaught they were, but +they were guileless, earnest, and unsophisticated; and if they lacked +the knowledge that is learned from books, they possessed much that was +useful and practical, which had been taught by experience and +observation in the school of necessity. + +For several days the pain and fever arising from her sprain rendered +any attempt at removing Catharine from the valley of the "Big Stone" +impracticable. The ripe fruit began to grow less abundant in their +immediate vicinity; neither woodchuck, partridge, nor squirrel had +been killed; and our poor wanderers now endured the agonizing pains of +hunger. Continual exposure to the air by night and by day contributed +not a little to increase the desire for food. It is true, there was +the yet untried lake, "bright, boundless, and free," gleaming in +silvery splendour, but in practice they knew nothing of the fisher's +craft, though, as a matter of report, they were well acquainted with +its mysteries, and had often listened with delight to the feats +performed by their respective fathers in the art of angling, spearing, +and netting. + +"I have heard my father say that so bold and numerous were the fish in +the lakes and rivers he used to fish in, that they could be taken by +the hand with a crooked pin and coarse thread, or wooden spear; but +that was in the Lower Province. And oh, what glorious tales I have +heard him tell of spearing fish by torchlight!" + +"The fish may be wiser or not so numerous in this lake," said Hector, +"however, if Kate can bear to be moved, we will go down to the shore +and try our luck. But what can we do? we have neither hook nor line +provided." + +Louis nodded his head, and sitting down on a projecting root of a +scrub oak, produced from the depths of his capacious pocket a bit of +tin, which he carefully selected from among a miscellaneous hoard of +treasures. "Here," said he, holding it up to the view as he +spoke,--"here is the slide of an old powder-flask, which I picked up +from among some rubbish my sister had thrown out the other day." + +"I fear you will make nothing of that," said Hector; "a bit of bone +would be better. If you had a file now, you might do something." + +"Stay a moment, Monsieur Hec; what do you call this?" and Louis +triumphantly handed out of his pocket the very instrument in question, +a few inches of a broken, rusty file; very rusty, indeed, it was, but +still it might be made to answer in such ingenious hands as those of +our young French Canadian. + +"I well remember, Katty, how you and Mathilde laughed at me for +treasuring up this old thing months ago.--Ah, Louis, Louis, you little +knew the use it was to be put to then," he added thoughtfully, +apostrophizing himself; "how little do we know what is to befall us in +our young days!" + +"God knows it all," said Hector gravely; "we are under his good +guidance." + +"You are right, Hec; let us trust in his mercy, and he will take good +care of us. Come, let us go to the lake," Catharine added, and she +sprang to her feet, but as quickly sank down upon the grass, and +regarded her companions with a piteous look, saying, "I cannot walk +one step; alas, alas! what is to become of me? I am only a useless +burden to you. If you leave me here I shall fall a prey to some savage +beast; and you cannot carry me with you in your search for food." + +"Dry your tears, sweet cousin; you shall go with us. Do you think that +Hector or Louis would abandon you in your helpless state, to die of +hunger or thirst, or to be torn by wolves or bears? We will carry you +by turns; the distance to the lake is nothing, and you are not so very +heavy, ma belle cousine; see, I could dance with you in my arms, you +are so light a burden,"--and Louis gaily caught the suffering girl up +in his arms, and with rapid steps struck into the deer-path that wound +through the ravine towards the lake. But when they reached a pretty, +rounded knoll (where Wolf Tower now stands), Louis was fain to place +his cousin on a flat stone beneath a big oak that grew beside the +bank, and fling himself on the flowery ground at her feet, while he +drew a long breath, and gathered the fruit that grew among the long +grass to refresh himself after his fatigue. And then, while resting on +the "Elfin Knowe," as Catharine called the hill, he employed himself +with manufacturing a rude sort of a fish-hook, with the aid of his +knife, the bit of tin, and the rusty file. A bit of twine was next +produced: boys have always a bit of string in their pockets; and +Louis, as I have before hinted, was a provident hoarder of such small +matters. The string was soon attached to the hook, and Hector was not +long in cutting a sapling that answered well the purpose of a +fishing-rod; and thus equipped they proceeded to the lake shore, +Hector and Louis carrying the crippled Catharine by turns. When there, +they selected a sheltered spot beneath a grove of overhanging cedars +and birches, festooned with wild vines, which, closely woven, formed a +natural bower, quite impervious to the rays of the sun. A waterfall +dashing from the upper part of the bank fell headlong in spray and +foam, and quietly spread itself among the round shingly fragments that +formed the beach of the lake. Beneath this pleasant bower Catharine +could repose and watch her companions at their novel employment, or +bathe her feet and infirm ankle in the cool streamlet that rippled in +tiny wavelets over its stony bed. + +If the amusement of fishing prove pleasant and exciting when pursued +for pastime only, it may readily be conceived that its interest must +be greatly heightened when its object is satisfying a craving degree +of hunger. Among the sunny spots on the shore, innumerable swarms of +the flying grasshopper or field crickets were sporting, and one of +these proved an attractive bait. The line was no sooner cast into the +water than the hook was seized, and many were the brilliant specimens +of sun-fish that our eager fishermen cast at Catharine's feet, all +gleaming with gold and azure scales. Nor was there any lack of perch, +or that delicate fish commonly known in these waters as the pink +roach. + +Tired at last with their easy sport, the hungry boys next proceeded to +the grateful task of scaling and dressing their fish. This they did +very expeditiously, as soon as the more difficult part of kindling a +fire on the beach had been accomplished with the help of the flint, +knife, and dried rushes. The fish were then suspended, Indian fashion, +on forked, sticks stuck in the ground and inclined at a suitable angle +towards the glowing embers,--a few minutes sufficed to cook them. + +"Truly," said Catharine, when the plentiful repast was set before her, +"God hath, indeed, spread a table for us here in the wilderness;" so +miraculous did this ample supply of delicious food seem in the eyes of +this simple child of nature. + +They had often heard tell of the facility with which the fish could be +caught, but they had known nothing of it from their own experience, as +the streams and creeks about Cold Springs afforded them but little +opportunity for exercising their skill as anglers; so that, with the +rude implements with which they were furnished, the result of their +morning success seemed little short of divine interference in their +behalf. Happy and contented in the belief that they were not forgotten +by their heavenly Father, these poor "children in the wood" looked up +with gratitude to that beneficent Being who suffereth not even a +sparrow to fall unheeded. + +Upon Catharine, in particular, these things made a deep impression; +and there, as she sat in the green shade, soothed by the lulling sound +of the flowing waters, and the soft murmuring of the many-coloured +insects that hovered among the fragrant leaves which thatched her +sylvan bower, her young heart was raised in humble and holy +aspirations to the great Creator of all things living. A peaceful calm +diffused itself over her mind, as with hands meekly folded across her +breast, the young girl prayed with the guileless fervour of a trusting +and faithful heart. + +The sun was just sinking in a flood of glory behind the dark +pine-woods at the head of the lake, when Hector and Louis, who had +been carefully providing fish for the morrow (which was the Sabbath), +came loaded with their finny prey carefully strung upon a willow-wand, +and found Catharine sleeping in her bower. Louis was loath to break +her tranquil slumbers, but her careful brother reminded him of the +danger to which she was exposed, sleeping in the dew by the +water-side. "Moreover," he added, "we have some distance to go, and we +have left the precious axe and the birch-bark vessel in the valley." + +These things were too valuable to be lost, so they roused the sleeper, +and slowly recommenced their toilsome way, following the same path +that they had made in the morning. Fortunately, Hector had taken the +precaution to bend down the flexile branches of the dogwood and break +the tops of the young trees that they had passed between on their +route to the lake; and by this clue they were enabled with tolerable +certainty to retrace their way, nothing doubting of arriving in time +at the wigwam of boughs by the rock in the valley. + +Their progress was, however, slow, burdened with the care of the lame +girl, and laden with the fish. The purple shades of twilight soon +clouded the scene, deepened by the heavy masses of foliage, which cast +greater obscurity upon their narrow path; for they had now left the +oak-flat and entered the gorge of the valley. The utter loneliness of +the path, the grotesque shadows of the trees that stretched in long +array across the steep banks on either side, taking now this, now that +wild and fanciful shape, awakened strange feelings of dread in the +mind of these poor forlorn wanderers; like most persons bred up in +solitude, their imaginations were strongly tinctured with +superstitious fears. Here, then, in the lonely wilderness, far from +their beloved parents and social hearth, with no visible arm to +protect them from danger, none to encourage or to cheer them, they +started with terror-blanched cheeks at every fitful breeze that +rustled the leaves or waved the branches above them. + +The gay and lively Louis, blithe as any wild bird in the bright +sunlight, was the most easily oppressed by this strange superstitious +fear, when the shades of evening were closing round, and he would +start with ill-disguised terror at every sound or shape that met his +ear or eye, though the next minute he was the first to laugh at his +own weakness. In Hector the feeling was of a graver, more solemn cast, +recalling to his mind all the wild and wondrous tales with which his +father was wont to entertain the children as they crouched round the +huge log-fire of an evening. It is strange the charm these marvellous +tales possess for the youthful mind: no matter how improbable or how +often told, year after year they will be listened to with the same +ardour, with an interest that appears to grow with repetition. And +still, as they slowly wandered along, Hector would repeat to his +breathless auditors those Highland legends that were as familiar to +their ears as household words; and still they listened with fear and +wonder, and deep awe, till at each pause he made the deep-drawn breath +and half-repressed shudder might be heard. And now the little party +paused irresolutely, fearing to proceed: they had omitted to notice +some landmark in their progress; the moon had not long been up, and +her light was as yet indistinct; so they sat them down on a little +grassy spot on the bank, and rested till the moon should lighten their +path. + +Louis was confident they were not far from the "Big Stone," but +careful Hector had his doubts, and Catharine was weary. The children +had already conceived a sort of home feeling for the valley and the +mass of stone that had sheltered them for so many nights; and soon the +dark mass came in sight, as the broad full light of the now risen moon +fell upon its rugged sides: they were nearer to it than they had +imagined. + +"Forward for the 'Big Stone' and the wigwam," cried Louis. + +"Hush!" said Catharine, "look there!" raising her hand with a warning +gesture. + +"Where? what?" + +"The wolf! the wolf!" gasped out the terrified girl. There, indeed, +upon the summit of the block, in the attitude of a sentinel or +watcher, stood the gaunt-figured animal; and as she spoke, a long wild +cry, the sound of which seemed as if it came midway between the earth +and the tops of the tall pines on the lofty ridge above them, struck +terror into their hearts, as with speechless horror they gazed upon +the dark outline of the terrible beast. There it stood, with its head +raised, its neck stretched outward, and ears erect, as if to catch the +echo that gave back those dismal sounds; another minute and he was +gone to join his companions, and the crashing of branches and the rush +of many feet on the high bank above was followed by the prolonged cry +of a poor fugitive animal,--a doe, or fawn, perhaps,--in the very +climax of mortal agony; and then the lonely recesses of the forest +took up that fearful death-cry, the far-off shores of the lake and the +distant islands prolonged it, and the terrified children clung +together in fear and trembling. + +A few minutes over, and all was still. The chase had turned across the +hills to some distant ravine; the wolves were all gone--not even the +watcher was left; and the little valley lay once more in silence, with +all its dewy roses and sweet blossoms glittering in the moonlight. But +though around them all was peace and loveliness, it was long ere +confidence was restored to the hearts of the panic-stricken and +trembling children. They beheld a savage enemy in every mass of leafy +shade, and every rustling bough struck fresh terror into their excited +minds. They might have exclaimed, with the patriarch Jacob, "How +dreadful is this place!" + +With hand clasped in hand, they sat them down among the thick covert +of the bushes; for now they feared to move forward, lest the wolves +should return. Sleep was long a stranger to their watchful eyes, each +fearing to be the only one left awake, and long and painful was their +vigil. Yet nature, overtasked, at length gave way, and sleep came down +upon their eyelids--deep, unbroken sleep, which lasted till the broad +sunlight, breaking through the leafy curtains of their forest-bed, and +the sound of waving boughs and twittering birds, once more awakened +them to life and light, recalling them from happy dreams of home and +friends to an aching sense of loneliness and desolation. This day they +did not wander far from the valley, but took the precaution, as +evening drew on, to light a large fire, the blaze of which they +thought would keep away any beast of prey. They had no want of food, +as the fish they had caught the day before proved an ample supply. The +huckleberries were ripening too, and soon afforded them a +never-failing source of food; there was also an abundance of +bilberries, the sweet fruit of which proved a great treat, besides +being very nourishing. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + + "Oh for a lodge in the vast wilderness, + The boundless contiguity of shade!" + +A fortnight had now passed, and Catharine still suffered so much from +pain and fever that they were unable to continue their wanderings; all +that Hector and his cousin could do was to carry her to the bower by +the lake, where she reclined whilst they caught fish. The painful +longing to regain their lost home had lost nothing of its intensity; +and often would the poor sufferer start from her bed of leaves and +boughs to wring her hands and weep, and call in piteous tones upon +that dear father and mother who would have given worlds, had they been +at their command, to have heard but one accent of her beloved voice, +to have felt one loving pressure from that fevered hand. Hope, the +consoler, hovered over the path of the young wanderers, long after she +had ceased to whisper comfort to the desolate hearts of the mournful +parents. + +Of all that suffered by this sad calamity, no one was more to be +pitied than Louis Perron. Deeply did the poor boy lament the +thoughtless folly which had involved his cousin Catharine in so +terrible a misfortune. "If Kate had not been with me," he would say, +"we should not have been lost; for Hector is so cautious and so +careful, he would not have left the cattle-path. But we were so +heedless, we thought only of flowers and insects, of birds and such +trifles, and paid no heed to our way." Louis Perron, such is life. The +young press gaily onward, gathering the flowers, and following the gay +butterflies that attract them in the form of pleasure and amusement: +they forget the grave counsels of the thoughtful, till they find the +path they have followed is beset with briers and thorns; and a +thousand painful difficulties that were unseen, unexpected, overwhelm +and bring them to a sad sense of their own folly; and, perhaps, the +punishment of their errors does not fall upon themselves alone, but +upon the innocent, who have unknowingly been made participators in +their fault. + +By the kindest and tenderest attention to all her comforts, Louis +endeavoured to alleviate his cousin's sufferings, and soften her +regrets; nay, he would often speak cheerfully and even gaily to her, +when his own heart was heavy and his eyes ready to overflow with +tears. + +"If it were not for our dear parents and the dear children at home," +he would say, "we might spend our time most happily upon these +charming plains; it is much more delightful here than in the dark, +thick woods; see how brightly the sunbeams come down and gladden the +ground, and cover the earth with fruit and flowers. It is pleasant to +be able to fish and hunt, and trap the game. Yes, if they were all +here, we would build us a nice log-house, and clear up these bushes on +the flat near the lake. This 'Elfin Knowe,' as you call it, Kate, +would be a nice spot to build upon. See these glorious old oaks--not +one should be cut down; and we would have a boat and a canoe, and +voyage across to yonder islands. Would it not be charming, ma belle?" +and Catharine, smiling at the picture drawn so eloquently, would enter +into the spirit of the project, and say,-- + +"Ah! Louis, that would be pleasant." + +"If we had but my father's rifle now," said Hector, "and old Wolfe." + +"Yes, and Fanchette, dear little Fanchette, that trees the partridges +and black squirrels," said Louis. + +"I saw a doe and a half-grown fawn beside her this very morning, at +break of day," said Hector. "The fawn was so little fearful, that if I +had had a stick in my hand I could have killed it. I came within ten +yards of the spot where it stood. I know it would be easy to catch one +by making a dead-fall." A sort of trap in which game is taken in the +woods, or on the banks of creeks. + +"If we had but a dear fawn to frolic about us, like Mignon, dear +innocent Mignon," cried Catharine, "I should never feel lonely then." + +"And we should never want for meat, if we could catch a fine fawn from +time to time, ma belle.--Hec, what are you thinking of?" + +"I was thinking, Louis, that if we were doomed to remain here all our +lives, we must build a house for ourselves; we could not live in the +open air without shelter as we have done. The summer will soon pass, +and the rainy season will come, and the bitter frosts and snows of +winter will have to be provided against." + +"But, Hector, do you really think there is no chance of finding our +way back to Cold Springs? We know it must be behind this lake," said +Lotus. + +"True, but whether east, west, or south, we cannot tell, and whichever +way we take now is but a chance; and if once we leave the lake and get +involved in the mazes of that dark forest, we should perish: for we +know there is neither water nor fruit nor game to be had as there is +here, and we might soon be starved to death. God was good who led us +beside this fine lake, and upon these fruitful plains." + +"It is a good thing that I had my axe when we started from home," said +Hector. "We should not have been so well off without it; we shall find +the use of it if we have to build a house. We must look out for some +spot where there is a spring of good water, and--" + +"No horrible wolves," interrupted Catharine. "Though I love this +pretty ravine, and the banks and braes about us, I do not think I +shall like to stay here. I heard the wolves only last night, when you +and Louis were asleep." + +"We must not forget to keep watch-fires." + +"What shall we do for clothes?" said Catharine, glancing at her +home-spun frock of wool and cotton plaid. + +"A weighty consideration indeed," sighed Hector; "clothes must be +provided before ours are worn out and the winter comes on." + +"We must save all the skins of the woodchucks and squirrels," +suggested Louis; "and fawns when we catch them." + +"Yes, and fawns when we get them," added Hector; "but it is time +enough to think of all these things; we must not give up all hope of +home." + +"I give up all hope? I shall hope on while I have life," said +Catharine. "My dear, dear father, he will never forget his lost +children; he will try and find us, alive or dead; he will never give +up the search." + +Poor child, how long did this hope burn like a living torch in thy +guileless breast. How often, as they roamed those hills and valleys, +were thine eyes sent into the gloomy recesses of the dark ravines and +thick bushes, with the hope that they would meet the advancing form +and outstretched arms of thy earthly parents: all in vain. Yet the +arms of thy heavenly Father were extended over thee, to guide, to +guard, and to sustain thee. + +How often were Catharine's hands filled with wild-flowers, to carry +home, as she fondly said, to sick Louise or her mother. Poor +Catharine, how often did your bouquets fade; how often did the sad +exile water them with her tears,--for hers was the hope that keeps +alive despair. + +When they roused them in the morning to recommence their fruitless +wanderings, they would say to each other, "Perhaps we shall see our +father, he may find us here to-day;" but evening came, and still he +came not, and they were no nearer to their father's home than they had +been the day previous. + +"If we could but find our way back to the 'Cold Creek,' we might, by +following its course, return to Cold Springs," said Hector. + +"I doubt much the fact of the 'Cold Creek' having any connection with +our Spring," said Louis; "I think it has its rise in the Beaver +Meadow, and following its course would only entangle us among those +wolfish balsam and cedar swamps, or lead us yet further astray into +the thick recesses of the pine forest. For my part, I believe we are +already fifty miles from Cold Springs." + +Persons who lose their way in the pathless woods have no idea of +distance, or the points of the compass, unless they can see the sun +rise and set, which it is not possible to do when surrounded by the +dense growth of forest-trees; they rather measure distance by the time +they have been wandering, than by any other token. + +The children knew that they had been a long time absent from home, +wandering hither and thither and they fancied their journey had been +as long as it had been weary. They had indeed the comfort of seeing +the sun in its course from east to west, but they knew not in what +direction the home they had lost lay; it was this that troubled them +in their choice of the course they should take each day, and at last +determined them to lose no more time so fruitlessly, where the peril +was so great, but seek for some pleasant spot where they might pass +their time in safety, and provide for their present and future wants. + + "The world was all before them, where to choose + Their place of rest, and Providence their guide." + +Catharine declared her ankle was so much stronger than it had been +since the accident, and her health so much amended, that the day after +the conversation just recorded, the little party bade farewell to the +valley of the "Big Stone," and ascending the steep sides of the hills, +bent their steps eastward, keeping the lake to their left hand. Hector +led the way, loaded with the axe, which he would trust to no one but +himself, the tin-pot, and the birch basket. Louis had to assist his +cousin up the steep banks, likewise some fish to carry, which had been +caught early in the morning. + +The wanderers thought at first to explore the ground near the lake +shore, but soon abandoned this resolution on finding the undergrowth +of trees and bushes become so thick that they made little progress, +and the fatigue of travelling was greatly increased by having +continually to put aside the bushes or bend them down. + +Hector advised trying the higher ground; and after following a +deer-path through a small ravine that crossed the hills, they found +themselves on a fine extent of table-land, richly but not too densely +wooded with white and black oaks (_Quercus alba_, and _Quercus +nigra_), diversified with here and there a solitary pine, which +reared its straight and pillar-like trunk in stately grandeur above +its leafy companions; a meet eyrie for the bald eagle, that kept watch +from its dark crest over the silent waters of the lake, spread below +like a silver zone studded with emeralds. + +In their progress they passed the head of many small ravines, which +divided the hilly shores of the lake into deep furrows: these furrows +had once been channels by which the waters of some upper lake (the +site of which is now dry land) had at a former period poured down into +the valley, filling the basin of what now is called the Rice Lake. +These waters, with resistless sweep, had ploughed their way between +the hills, bearing in their course those blocks of granite and +limestone which are so widely scattered both on the hill-tops and the +plains, or form a rocky pavement at the bottom of the narrow defiles. +What a sight of sublime desolation must that outpouring of the waters +have presented, when those deep banks were riven by the sweeping +torrents that were loosened from their former bounds! The pleased eye +rests upon these tranquil shores, now covered with oaks and pines, or +waving with a flood of golden grain, or varied by neat dwellings and +fruitful gardens; and the gazer on that peaceful scene scarcely +pictures to himself what it must have been when no living eye was +there to mark the rushing floods when they scooped to themselves the +deep bed in which they now repose. + +Those lovely islands that sit like stately crowns upon the waters were +doubtless the wreck that remained of the valley; elevated spots, whose +rocky bases withstood the force of the rushing waters, that carried +away the lighter portions of the soil. The southern shore, seen from +the lake, seems to lie in regular ridges running from south to north: +some few are parallel with the lake shore, possibly where some +insurmountable impediment turned the current of the subsiding waters; +but they all find an outlet through their connection with ravines +communicating with the lake. + +There is a beautiful level tract of land; with only here and there a +solitary oak or a few stately pines growing upon it; it is commonly +called the "Upper Race-course," on account of the smoothness of the +surface. It forms a high table-land, nearly three hundred feet above +the lake, and is surrounded by high hills. This spot, though now dry +and covered with turf and flowers, and low bushes, has evidently once +been a broad sheet of water. To the eastward lies a still more lovely +and attractive spot, known as the "Lower Race-course." It lies on a +lower level than the former one, and, like it, is embanked by a ridge +of distant hills. Both have ravines leading down to the Rice Lake, and +may have been the sources from whence its channel was filled. Some +convulsion of nature at a remote period, by raising the waters above +their natural level, might have caused a disruption of the banks, and +drained their beds, as they now appear ready for the ploughshare or +the spade. In the month of June these flats are brilliant with the +splendid blossoms of the _Castilegia coccinea_, or painted-cup, the +azure lupine (_Lupinus perennis_), and snowy _Trillium_; dwarf roses +(_Rosa blanda_) scent the evening air, and grow as if planted by the +hand of taste. + +A carpeting of the small downy saxifrage (_Saxifraga nivalis_), with +its white silky leaves, covers the ground in early spring. In autumn +it is red with the bright berries and dark box-shaped leaves of a +species of creeping winter-green, that the Indians call spice-berry +(_Gaultheria procumbens_); the leaves are highly aromatic, and it is +medicinal as well as agreeable to the taste and smell. In the month of +July a gorgeous assemblage of orange lilies (_Lilium Philadelphicum_) +take the place of the lupine and trilliums: these splendid lilies vary +from orange to the brightest scarlet. Various species of sunflowers +and coreopsis next appear, and elegant white _pyrolas_ [Footnote: +Indian bean, also called Indian potato (_Apios tuberosa_).] scent the +air and charm the eye. The delicate lilac and white shrubby asters +next appear; and these are followed by the large deep-blue gentian, +and here and there by the elegant fringed gentian. [Footnote: Gentiana +linearis, G. crenata.] These are the latest and loveliest of the +flowers that adorn this tract of land. It is indeed a garden of +nature's own planting, but the wild garden is being converted into +fields of grain, and the wild flowers give place to a new race of +vegetables, less ornamental, but more useful to man and the races of +domestic animals that depend upon him for their support. + +Our travellers, after wandering over this lovely plain, found +themselves, at the close of the day, at the head of a fine ravine, +[Footnote: Kilvert's Ravine, above Pine-tree Point.] where they had +the good fortune to perceive a spring of pure water oozing beneath +some large moss-covered blocks of black waterworn granite. The ground +was thickly covered with moss about the edges of the spring, and many +varieties of flowering shrubs and fruits were scattered along the +valley and up the steep sides of the surrounding hills. There were +whortleberries, or huckleberries, as they are more usually called, in +abundance; bilberries dead ripe, and falling from the bushes at a +touch. The vines that wreathed the low bushes and climbed the trees +were loaded with clusters of grapes; but these were yet hard and +green. Dwarf filberts grew on the dry gravelly sides of the hills, yet +the rough prickly calyx that enclosed the nut filled their fingers +with minute thorns that irritated the skin like the stings of the +nettle; but as the kernel, when ripe, was sweet and good, they did not +mind the consequences. The moist part of the valley was occupied by a +large bed of May-apples, [Footnote: _Podophyllum peltatum_,--mandrake, +or May-apple.] the fruit of which was of unusual size, but they were +not ripe, August being the month when they ripen; there were also wild +plums still green, and wild cherries and blackberries ripening. There +were great numbers of the woodchucks' burrows on the hills; wild +partridges and quails were seen under the thick covert of the +blue-berried dog-wood, [Footnote: _Cornus sericea_. The blue berries +of this shrub are eaten by the partridge and wild ducks; also by the +pigeons, and other birds. There are several species of this shrub +common to the Rice Lake.] that here grew in abundance at the mouth of +the ravine where it opened to the lake. As this spot offered many +advantages, our travellers halted for the night, and resolved to make +it their headquarters for a season, till they should meet with an +eligible situation for building a winter shelter. + +Here, then, at the head of the valley, sheltered by one of the rounded +hills that formed its sides, our young people erected a summer hut, +somewhat after the fashion of an Indian wigwam, which was all the +shelter that was requisite while the weather remained so warm. Through +the opening at the gorge of this ravine they enjoyed a peep at the +distant waters of the lake, which terminated the vista, while they +were quite removed from its unwholesome vapours. + +The temperature of the air for some days had been hot and sultry, +scarcely modified by the cool, delicious breeze that usually sets in +about nine o'clock and blows most refreshingly till four or five in +the afternoon. Hector and Louis had gone down to fish for supper, +while Catharine busied herself in collecting leaves and dried +deer-grass, moss and fern, of which there was abundance near the +spring. The boys had promised to cut some fresh cedar boughs near the +lake shore, and bring them up to form a foundation for their beds, and +also to strew Indian-fashion over the floor of the hut by way of a +carpet. + +The fragrant carpet of cedar or hemlock-spruce sprigs strewn lightly +over the earthen floor, was to them a luxury as great as if it had +been taken from the looms of Persia or Turkey, so happy and contented +were they in their ignorance. Their beds of freshly gathered grass and +leaves, raised from the earth by a heap of branches carefully +arranged, were to them as pleasant as beds of down, and the rude hut +of bark and poles as curtains of damask or silk. + +Having collected as much of these materials as she deemed sufficient +for the purpose, Catharine next gathered up the dry oak branches, to +make a watch-fire for the night. This done, weary and warm, she sat +down on a little hillock, beneath the cooling shade of a grove of +young aspens that grew near the hut. Pleased with the dancing of the +leaves, which fluttered above her head, and fanned her warm cheek with +their incessant motion, she thought, like her cousin Louise, that the +aspen was the merriest tree in the forest, for it was always dancing, +dancing, dancing. + +She watched the gathering of the distant thunderclouds, which cast a +deeper, more sombre shade upon the pines that girded the northern +shores of the lake as with an ebon frame. Insensibly her thoughts +wandered far away from the lonely spot whereon she sat, to the stoup +[Footnote: The Dutch word for veranda, which is still in common use +among the Canadians.] in front of her father's house, and in memory's +eye she beheld it all exactly as she had left it. There stood the big +spinning-wheel, just as she had set it aside; the hanks of dyed yarn +suspended from the rafters, the basket filled with the carded wool +ready for her work. She saw in fancy her father, with his fine +athletic upright figure, his sunburnt cheeks and clustering sable +hair, his clear energetic hazel eyes ever beaming upon her, his +favourite child, with looks of love and kindness as she moved to and +fro at her wheel. [Footnote: Such is the method of working at the +large wool-wheel, unknown or obsolete in England.] There, too, was her +mother, with her light step and sweet cheerful voice, singing as she +pursued her daily avocations; and Donald and Kenneth driving up the +cows to be milked, or chopping firewood. And as these images, like the +figures of the magic-lantern, passed in all their living colours +before her mental vision, her head drooped heavier and lower till it +sank upon her arm; and then she started, looked round, and slept +again, her face deeply buried in her young bosom, and long and +peacefully the young girl slumbered. + +A sound of hurrying feet approaches, a wild cry is heard and panting +breath, and the sleeper, with a startling scream, springs to her feet: +she dreamed that she was struggling in the fangs of a wolf--its grisly +paws were clasped about her throat; the feeling was agony and +suffocation: her languid eyes open. Can it be?--what is it that she +sees? Yes, it is Wolfe; not the fierce creature of her dreams by night +and her fears by day, but her father's own brave, devoted dog. What +joy, what hope rushed to her heart! She threw herself upon the shaggy +neck of the faithful beast, and wept from fulness of heart. + +"Yes," she joyfully cried, "I knew that I should see him again. My own +dear, dear, loving father! Father! father! dear, dear father, here are +your children! Come, come quickly!" and she hurried to the head of the +valley, raising her voice, that the beloved parent, who she now +confidently believed was approaching, might be guided to the spot by +the well-known sound of her voice. + +Poor child! the echoes of thy eager voice, prolonged by every +projecting headland of the valley, replied in mocking tones, "Come +quickly!" + +Bewildered she paused, listened breathlessly, and again she called, +"Father, come quickly, come!" and again the deceitful sounds were +repeated, "Quickly come!" + +The faithful dog, who had succeeded in tracking the steps of his lost +mistress, raised his head and erected his ears as she called on her +father's name; but he gave no joyful bark of recognition as he was +wont to do when he heard his master's step approaching. Still +Catharine could not but think that Wolfe had only hurried on before, +and that her father must be very near. + +The sound of her voice had been heard by her brother and cousin, who, +fearing some evil beast had made its way to the wigwam, hastily wound +up their line and left the fishing-ground to hurry to her assistance. +They could hardly believe their eyes when they saw Wolfe, faithful old +Wolfe, their earliest friend and playfellow, named by their father +after the gallant hero of Quebec. And they too, like Catharine, +thought that their friends were not far distant; joyfully they climbed +the hills and shouted aloud, and Wolfe was coaxed and caressed and +besought to follow them to point out the way they should take. But all +their entreaties were in vain. Worn out with fatigue and long fasting, +the poor old dog refused to quit the embers of the fire, before which +he stretched himself, and the boys now noticed his gaunt frame and +wasted flesh--he looked almost starved. The fact now became evident +that he was in a state of great exhaustion. Catharine thought he eyed +the spring with wishful looks, and she soon supplied him with water in +the bark dish to his great relief. + +Wolfe had been out for several days with his master, who would repeat, +in tones of sad earnestness, to the faithful creature, "Lost, lost, +lost!" It was his custom to do so when the cattle strayed, and Wolfe +would travel in all directions till he found them, nor ceased his +search till he discovered the objects he was ordered to bring home. +The last night of the father's wanderings, when, sick and hopeless, he +came back to his melancholy home, as he sat sleeplessly rocking +himself to and fro, he involuntarily exclaimed, wringing his hands, +"Lost, lost, lost!" Wolfe heard what to him was an imperative command; +he rose, and stood at the door, and whined. Mechanically his master +rose, lifted the latch, and again exclaimed in passionate tones those +magic words, that sent the faithful messenger forth into the dark +forest path. Once on the trail he never left it, but with an instinct +incomprehensible as it was powerful, he continued to track the woods, +lingering long on spots where the wanderers had left any signs of +their sojourn; he had for some time been baffled at the Beaver Meadow, +and again where they had crossed Cold Creek, but had regained the +scent and traced them to the valley of the "Big Stone," and then, with +the sagacity of the bloodhound and the affection of the terrier he +had, at last, discovered the objects of his unwearied though often +baffled search. + +What a state of excitement did the unexpected arrival of old Wolfe +create! How many questions were put to the poor beast, as he lay with +his head pillowed on the knees of his loving mistress! Catharine knew +it was foolish, but she could not help talking to the dumb animal, as +if he had been conversant with her own language. Ah, old Wolfe, if +your homesick nurse could but have interpreted those expressive looks, +those eloquent waggings of your bushy tail, as it flapped upon the +grass, or waved from side to side; those gentle lickings of the hand, +and mute sorrowful glances, as though he would have said, "Dear +mistress, I know all your troubles; I know all you say; but I cannot +answer you!" There is something touching in the silent sympathy of the +dog, to which only the hard-hearted and depraved can be quite +insensible. I remember once hearing of a felon who had shown the +greatest obstinacy and callous indifference to the appeals of his +relations and the clergyman who attended him in prison, but was +softened by the sight of a little dog that had been his companion in +his days of comparative innocence, forcing its way through the crowd, +till it gained the foot of the gallows; its mute look of anguish and +affection unlocked the fount of human feeling, and the condemned man +wept--perhaps the first tears he had shed since childhood's happy +days. + +The night closed in with a tempest of almost tropical violence. The +inky darkness of the sky was relieved, at intervals, by sheets of +lurid flame, which revealed every object far off or near. The distant +lake, just seen amid the screen of leaves through the gorge of the +valley, gleamed like a sea of molten sulphur; the deep narrow defile, +shut in by the steep and wooded hills, looked deeper, more wild and +gloomy, when revealed by that vivid glare of light. + +There was no stir among the trees, the heavy rounded masses of foliage +remained unmoved; the very aspen, that tremulous sensitive tree, +scarcely stirred: it seemed as if the very pulses of nature were at +rest. The solemn murmur that preceded the thunder-peals might have +been likened to the moaning of the dying. The children felt the +loneliness of the spot. Seated at the entrance of their sylvan hut, in +front of which their evening fire burned brightly, they looked out +upon the storm in silence and in awe. Screened by the sheltering +shrubs that grew near them, they felt comparatively safe from the +dangers of the storm, which now burst in terrific violence above the +valley. Cloud answered to cloud, and the echoes of the hills prolonged +the sound, while shattered trunks and brittle branches filled the air, +and shrieked and groaned in that wild war of elements. + +Between the pauses of the tempest the long howl of the wolves, from +their covert in some distant cedar swamp at the edge of the lake, +might be heard from time to time,--a sound that always thrilled their +hearts with fear. To the mighty thunder-peals that burst above their +heads they listened with awe and wonder. It seemed, indeed, to them as +if it were the voice of Him who "sendeth out his voice, yea, and that +a mighty voice." And they bowed and adored his majesty; but they +shrank with curdled blood from the cry of the _felon wolf_. + +And now the storm was at its climax, and the hail and rain came down +in a whitening flood upon that ocean of forest leaves; the old gray +branches were lifted up and down, and the stout trunks rent, for they +would not bow down before the fury of the whirlwind, and were +scattered all abroad like chaff before the wind. + +The children thought not of danger for themselves, but they feared for +the safety of their fathers, whom they believed to be not far off from +them. And often amid the raging of the elements they fancied they +could distinguish familiar voices calling upon their names. + +"Ah, if our fathers should have perished in this fearful storm," said +Catharine, weeping, "or have been starved to death while seeking for +us!" She covered her face and wept more bitterly. + +But Louis would not listen to such melancholy forebodings. Their +fathers were both brave, hardy men, accustomed to every sort of danger +and privation; they were able to take care of themselves. Yes, he was +sure they were not far off; it was this unlucky storm coming on that +had prevented them from meeting. + +"To-morrow, ma chere, will be a glorious day after the storm. It will +be a joyful one too; we shall go out with Wolfe, and he will find his +master, and then--oh, yes! I dare say my dear father will be with +yours. They will have taken good heed to the track, and we shall soon +see our dear mothers and chere petite Louise." + +The storm lasted till past midnight, when it gradually subsided, and +the poor wanderers were glad to see the murky clouds roll off, and the +stars peep forth among their broken masses; but they were reduced to a +pitiful state, the hurricane having beaten down their little hut, and +their garments were drenched with rain. However, the boys made a good +fire with some bark and boughs they had in store: there were a few +sparks in their back log unextinguished; these they gladly fanned up +into a blaze, at which they dried their wet clothes, and warmed +themselves. The air was now cool almost to chilliness; for some days +the weather remained unsettled, and the sky overcast with clouds, +while the lake presented a leaden hue, crested with white mimic waves. + +They soon set to work to make another hut, and found close to the head +of the ravine a great pine uprooted, affording them large pieces of +bark, which proved very serviceable in thatching the sides of the hut. +The boys employed themselves in this work, while Catharine cooked the +fish they had caught the day before, with a share of which old Wolfe +seemed to be mightily well pleased. After they had breakfasted, they +all went up towards the high table-land above the ravine, with Wolfe, +to look round in hope of getting sight of their friends from Cold +Springs; but though they kept an anxious look-out in every direction, +they returned towards evening tired and hopeless. Hector had killed a +red squirrel, and a partridge which Wolfe "treed,"--that is, stood +barking at the foot of the tree in which it had perched,--and the +supply of meat was a seasonable change. They also noticed and marked +with the axe, several trees where there were bee-hives, intending to +come in the cold weather and cut them down. Louis's father was a great +and successful bee-hunter; and Louis rather prided himself on having +learned something of his father's skill in that line. Here, where +flowers were so abundant and water plentiful; the wild bees seemed to +be abundant also; besides, the open space between the trees, admitting +the warm sunbeams freely, was favourable both for the bees and the +flowers on which they fed, and Louis talked joyfully of the fine +stores of honey they should collect in autumn. He had taught little +Fanchon, a small French spaniel of his father's, to find out the trees +where the bees hived, and also the nests of the ground-bees, and she +would bark at the foot of the tree, or scratch with her feet on the +ground, as the other dogs barked at the squirrels or the woodchucks; +but Fanchon was far away, and Wolfe was old and would learn no new +tricks, so Louis knew he had nothing but his own observation and the +axe to depend upon for procuring honey. + +The boys had been unsuccessful for some days past, in fishing; neither +perch nor sunfish, pink roach nor mud-pouts [Footnote: All these fish +are indigenous to the fresh waters of Canada.] were to be caught. +However, they found water-mussels by groping in the sand, and +cray-fish among the gravel at the edge of the water only; the latter +pinched their fingers very spitefully. The mussels were not very +palatable, for want of salt; but hungry folks must not be dainty, and +Louis declared them very good when well roasted, covered up with hot +embers. "The fish-hawks," said he, "set us a good example, for they +eat them, and so do the eagles and herons. I watched one the other day +with a mussel in his bill: he flew to a high tree, let his prey fall, +and immediately darted down to secure it. But I drove him off; and, to +my great amusement, perceived the wise fellow had just let it fall on +a stone, which had cracked the shell for him just in the right place. +I often see shells lying at the foot of trees, far up the hills, where +these birds must have left them. There is one large thick-shelled +mussel that I have found several times with a round hole drilled +through the shell, just as if it had been done with a small auger, +--doubtless the work of some bird with a strong beak." + +"Do you remember," said Catharine, "the fine pink mussel-shell that +Hec picked up in the little corn-field last year? It had a hole in one +of the shells too, [Footnote: This ingenious mode of cracking the +shells of mussels is common to many birds. The crow (_Corvus corone_) +has been long known by American naturalists to break the thick shells +of the river mussels, by letting them fall from a height on to rocks +and stones.] and when my uncle saw it, he said it must have been +dropped by some large bird, a fish-hawk possibly, or a heron, and +brought from the great lake, as it had been taken out of some deep +water; the mussels in our creeks being quite thin-shelled and white." + +"Do you remember what a quantity of large fish bones we found in the +eagle's nest on the top of our hill, Louis?" said Hector. + +"I do. Those fish must have been larger than our perch and sunfish; +they were brought from this very lake, I dare say." + +"If we had a good canoe now, or a boat, and a strong hook and line, we +might become great fishermen." + +"Louis," said Catharine, "is always thinking about canoes, and boats, +and skiffs; he ought to have been a sailor." + +Louis was confident that if they had a canoe he could soon learn to +manage her; he was an excellent sailor already in theory. Louis never +saw difficulties; he was always hopeful, and had a very good opinion +of his own cleverness; he was quicker in most things, his ideas flowed +faster than Hector's. But Hector was more prudent, and possessed one +valuable quality--steady perseverance: he was slow in adopting an +opinion, but when once convinced, he pushed on steadily till he +mastered the subject or overcame the obstacle. + +"Catharine," said Louis one day, "the huckleberries are now very +plentiful, and I think it would be a wise thing to gather a good store +of them and dry them for the winter. See, ma chere, wherever we turn +our eyes or place our feet they are to be found; the hill-sides are +purple with them. We may for aught we know, be obliged to pass the +rest of our lives here; it will be well to prepare for the winter, +when no berries are to be found." + +"It will be well, mon ami. But we must not dry them in the sun; for +let me tell you, Mr. Louis, that they will be quite tasteless--mere +dry husks." + +"Why so, ma belle?" + +"I do not know the reason, but I only know the fact; for when our +mothers dried the currants and raspberries in the sun, such was the +case; but when they dried them on the oven floor, or on the hearth, +they were quite nice." + +"Well, Cath, I think I know of a flat thin stone that will make a good +hearthstone; and we can get sheets of birch bark and sew into flat +bags to keep the dried fruit in." + +They now turned all their attention to drying huckleberries (or +whortleberries). [Footnote: From the abundance of this fruit, the +Indians have given the name of Whortleberry Plain to the lands on the +south shore. During the month of July and the early part of August, +large parties come to the Rice Lake Plains to gather huckleberries, +which they preserve by drying, for winter use. These berries make a +delicious tart or pudding, mixed with bilberries and red currants, +requiring little sugar.] Catharine and Louis (who fancied nothing +could be contrived without his help) attended to the preparing and +making of the bags of birch bark; but Hector was soon tired of girl's +work, as he termed it, and after gathering some berries, would wander +away over the hills in search of game and to explore the neighbouring +hills and valleys, and sometimes it was sunset before he made his +appearance. Hector had made an excellent strong bow, like the Indian +bow, out of a tough piece of hickory wood, which he found in one of +his rambles, and he made arrows with wood that he seasoned in the +smoke, sharpening the heads with great care with his knife, and +hardening them by exposure to strong heat, at a certain distance from +the fire. The entrails of the woodchuck, stretched, and scraped, and +dried, and rendered pliable by rubbing and drawing through the hands, +answered for a bow-string; but afterwards, when they got the sinews +and hide of the deer, they used them, properly dressed for the +purpose. + +Hector also made a cross-bow, which he used with great effect, being a +true and steady marksman. Louis and he would often amuse themselves +with shooting at a mark, which they would chip on the bark of a tree, +even Catharine was a tolerable archeress with the long-bow, and the +hut was now seldom without game of one kind or other. Hector seldom +returned from his rambles without partridges, quails, or young +pigeons, which are plentiful at this season of the year; many of the +old ones that pass over in their migratory flight in the spring stay +to breed, or return thither for the acorns and berries that are to be +found in great abundance. Squirrels, too, are very plentiful at this +season. Hector and Louis remarked that the red and black squirrels +never were to be found very near each other. It is a common belief +that the red squirrels make common cause with the gray, and beat the +larger enemy off the ground. The black squirrel, for a succession of +years, was very rarely to be met with on the Plains, while there were +plenty of the red and gray in the "oak openings." [Footnote: Within +the last few years, however, the black squirrels have been very +numerous, and the red are less frequently to be seen. The flesh of the +black squirrel is tender, white, and delicate, like that of a young +rabbit.] Deer, at the time our young Crusoes were living on the Rice +Lake Plains, were plentiful, and, of course, so were those beasts that +prey upon them,--wolves, bears, and wolverines, besides the Canadian +lynx, or catamount, as it is here commonly called, a species of wild +cat or panther. These wild animals are now no longer to be seen: it is +a rare thing to hear of bears or wolves, and the wolverine and lynx +are known only as matters of history in this part of the country. +These animals disappear as civilization advances, while some others +increase and follow man, especially many species of birds, which seem +to pick up the crumbs that fall from the rich man's board, and +multiply about his dwelling; some adopt new habits and modes of +building and feeding, according to the alteration and improvement in +their circumstances. + +While our young people seldom wanted for meat, they felt the privation +of the bread to which they had been accustomed very sensibly. One day, +while Hector and Louis were busily engaged with their assistant, +Wolfe, in unearthing a woodchuck, that had taken refuge in his burrow, +on one of the gravelly hills above the lake, Catharine amused herself +by looking for flowers. She had filled her lap with ripe May-apples, +[Footnote: The fruit of the May-apple, in rich, moist soil, will +attain to the size of the magnum bonum, or egg-plum, which it +resembles in colour and shape. It makes a delicious preserve, if +seasoned with cloves or ginger. When eaten uncooked, the outer rind, +which is thick and fleshy and has a rank taste, should be thrown +aside; the fine seed pulp in which the seeds are embedded alone should +be eaten. The root of the podophyllum is used as a cathartic by the +Indians. The root of this plant is reticulated, and when a large body +of them are uncovered, they present a singular appearance, interlacing +each other in large meshes like an extensive net-work. These roots are +white, as thick as a man's little finger, and fragrant, and spread +horizontally along the surface. The blossom is like a small white +rose.] but finding them cumbersome in climbing the steep wooded hills, +she deposited them at the foot of a tree near the boys, and pursued +her search; and it was not long before she perceived some pretty +grassy-looking plants, with heads of bright lilac flowers, and on +plucking one pulled up the root also. The root was about the size and +shape of a large crocus: and on biting it, she found it far from +disagreeable--sweet, and slightly astringent. It seemed to be a +favourite root with the woodchucks, for she noticed that it grew about +their burrows on dry, gravelly soil, and many of the stems were bitten +and the roots eaten--a warrant, in full, of wholesomeness. Therefore, +carrying home a parcel of the largest of the roots, she roasted them +in the embers; and they proved almost as good as chestnuts, and more +satisfying than the acorns of the white oak, which they had often +roasted in the fire when they were out working on the fallow at the +log heaps. Hector and Louis ate heartily of the roots, and commended +Catharine for the discovery. Not many days afterwards, Louis +accidentally found a much larger and more valuable root near the lake +shore. He saw a fine climbing shrub, with close bunches of dark, +reddish-purple, pea-shaped flowers, which scented the air with a +delicious perfume. The plant climbed to a great height over the young +trees, with a profusion of dark-green leaves and tendrils. Pleased +with the bowery appearance of the plant, he tried to pull one up, that +he might show it to his cousin, when the root displayed a number of +large tubers, as big as good-sized potatoes, regular oval-shaped; the +inside was quite white, tasting somewhat like a potato, only +pleasanter, when in its raw state, than an uncooked potato. Louis +gathered his pockets full, and hastened home with his prize; and on +being roasted, these new roots were decided to be little inferior to +potatoes--at all events, they were a valuable addition to their +slender stores; and they procured as many as they could find, +carefully storing them in a hole which they dug for that purpose in a +corner of their hut. [Footnote: This plant appears to me to be a +species of the _Psoralea esculenta_, or Indian bread-root, which it +resembles in description, excepting that the root of the above is +tuberous, oval, and connected by long filaments. The largest tubers +are farthest from the stem of the plant.] Hector suggested that these +roots would be far better late in autumn or early in the spring than +during the time that the plant was in bloom; for he knew from +observation and experience that at the flowering season the greater +part of the nourishment derived from the soil goes to perfect the +flower and the seeds. Upon scraping the cut tuber, there was a white, +floury powder produced, resembling the starchy substance of the +potato. + +"This flour," said Catharine, "would make good porridge with milk." + +"Excellent, no doubt, my wise little cook and housekeeper," said Louis +laughing; "but, ma belle cousine, where is the milk and where is the +porridge-pot to come from?" + +"Indeed," said Catharine, "I fear, Louis, we must wait long for both." + +One fine day Louis returned home from the lake shore in great haste +for the bows and arrows, with the interesting news that a herd of five +deer were in the water, and making for Long Island. + +"But, Louis, they will be gone out of sight and beyond the reach of +the arrows," said Catharine, as she handed him down the bows and a +sheaf of arrows, which she quickly slung round his shoulders by the +belt of skin which the young hunter had made for himself. + +"No fear, ma chere; they will stop to feed on the beds of rice and +lilies. We must have Wolfe. Here, Wolfe, Wolfe, Wolfe! here, boy, +here!" + +Catharine caught a portion of the excitement that danced in the bright +eyes of her cousin, and declaring that she too would go and witness +the hunt, ran down the ravine by his side; while Wolfe, who evidently +understood that they had some sport in view, trotted along by his +mistress, wagging his great bushy tail, and looking in high +good-humour. + +Hector was impatiently waiting the arrival of the bows and Wolfe. The +herd of deer, consisting of a noble buck, two full-grown females, and +two young half-grown males, were quietly feeding among the beds of +rice and rushes not more than fifteen or twenty yards from the shore, +apparently quite unconcerned at the presence of Hector, who stood on a +fallen trunk, eagerly eying their motions. But the hurried steps of +Louis and Catharine, with the deep, sonorous baying of Wolfe, soon +roused the timid creatures to a sense of danger; and the stag, raising +his head and making, as the children thought, a signal for retreat, +now struck boldly out for the nearest point of Long Island. + +"We shall lose them," cried Louis despairingly, eying the long bright +track that cut the silvery waters as the deer swam gallantly out. + +"Hist, hist, Louis," said Hector; "all depends upon Wolfe--Turn them, +Wolfe! hey, hey, seek them, boy!" + +Wolfe dashed bravely into the lake. + +"Head them! head them!" shouted Hector. Wolfe knew what was meant. +With the sagacity of a long-trained hunter, he made a desperate effort +to gain the advantage by a circuitous route. Twice the stag turned +irresolute, as if to face his foe, and Wolfe, taking the time, swam +ahead, and then the race began. As soon as the boys saw the herd had +turned, and that Wolfe was between them and the island, they +separated, Louis making good his ambush to the right among the cedars, +and Hector at the spring to the west, while Catharine was stationed at +the solitary pine-tree, at the point which commanded the entrance of +the ravine. + +"Now, Cathy," said her brother, "when you see the herd making for the +ravine, shout and clap your hands, and they will turn either to the +right or to the left. Do not let them land, or we shall lose them. We +must trust to Wolfe for their not escaping to the island. Wolfe is +well trained; he knows what he is about." + +Catharine proved a dutiful ally. She did as she was bid. She waited +till the deer were within a few yards of the shore, then she shouted +and clapped her hands. Frightened at the noise and clamour, the +terrified creatures coasted along for some way, till within a little +distance of the thicket where Hector lay concealed--the very spot from +which they had emerged when they first took to the water; to this +place they boldly steered. Louis, who had watched the direction the +herd had taken with breathless interest, now noiselessly hurried to +Hector's assistance, taking an advantageous post for aim, in case +Hector's arrow missed, or only slightly wounded one of the deer. + +Hector, crouched beneath the trees, waited cautiously till one of the +does was within reach of his arrow, and so good and true was his aim, +that it hit the animal in the throat a little above the chest, The +stag now turned again, but Wolfe was behind and pressed him forward, +and again the noble animal strained every nerve for the shore. Louis +now shot his arrow, but it swerved from the mark. He was too eager; +the arrow glanced harmlessly along the water. But the cool, +unimpassioned hand of Hector sent another arrow between the eyes of +the doe, stunning her with its force; and then another from Louis laid +her on her side, dying, and staining the water with her blood. + +The herd, abandoning their dying companion, dashed frantically to the +shore; and the young hunters, elated by their success, suffered them +to make good their landing without further molestation. Wolfe, at a +signal from his master, ran in the quarry, and Louis declared +exultingly that as his last arrow had given the _coup de grace_, +he was entitled to the honour of cutting the throat of the doe; but +this the stern Highlander protested against, and Louis, with a +careless laugh, yielded the point, contenting himself with saying, "Ah +well, I will get the first steak of the venison when it is roasted, +and that is far more to my taste." Moreover, he privately recounted to +Catharine the important share he had had in the exploit, giving her, +at the same time, full credit for the worthy service she had performed +in withstanding the landing of the herd. Wolfe, too, came in for a +large share of the honour and glory of the chase. + +The boys were soon hard at work skinning the animal and cutting it up. +This was the most valuable acquisition they had yet effected, for many +uses were to be made of the deer besides eating the flesh. It was a +store of wealth in their eyes. + +During the many years that their fathers had sojourned in the country, +there had been occasional intercourse with the fur-traders and +trappers, and sometimes with friendly-disposed Indians who had called +at the lodges of their white brothers for food and tobacco. + +From all these men, rude as they were, some practical knowledge had +been acquired; and their visits, though few and far between, had left +good fruit behind them--something to think about and talk about and +turn to future advantage. + +The boys had learned from the Indians how precious were the tough +sinews of the deer for sewing. They knew how to prepare the skins of +the deer for moccasins, which they could cut out and make as neatly as +the squaws themselves. They could fashion arrow-heads, and knew how +best to season the wood for making both the long and cross bow. They +had seen the fish-hooks these people manufactured from bone and hard +wood. They knew that strips of fresh-cut skins would make bowstrings, +or the entrails of animals dried and rendered pliable. They had +watched the squaws making baskets of the inner bark of the oak, elm, +and bass-wood, and mats of the inner bark of the cedar, with many +other ingenious works that they now found would prove useful to them, +after a little practice had perfected their inexperienced attempts. +They also knew how to dry venison as the Indians and trappers prepare +it, by cutting the thick fleshy portions of the meat into strips from +four to six inches in breadth and two or more in thickness. These +strips they strung upon poles supported on forked sticks, and exposed +them to the drying action of the sun and wind. Fish they split open, +and removed the back and head bones, and smoked them slightly, or +dried them in the sun. + +Their success in killing the doe greatly raised their spirits; in +their joy they embraced each other, and bestowed the most affectionate +caresses on Wolfe for his good conduct. + +"But for this dear, wise old fellow, we should have had no venison for +dinner to-day," said Louis; "and so, Wolfe, you shall have a choice +piece for your own share." + +Every part of the deer seemed valuable in the eyes of the young +hunters. The skin they carefully stretched out upon sticks to dry +gradually, and the entrails they also preserved for bow-strings. The +sinews of the legs and back they drew out and laid carefully aside for +future use. + +"We shall be glad enough of these strings by-and-by," said careful +Hector; "for the summer will soon be at an end, and then we must turn +our attention to making ourselves winter clothes and moccasins." + +"Yes, Hec, and a good warm shanty. These huts of bark and boughs will +not do when once the cold weather sets in." + +"A shanty could soon be put up," said Hector; "for even Kate, wee bit +lassie as she is, could give us some help in trimming up the logs." + +"That I could, indeed," replied Catharine; "for you may remember, Hec, +that the last journey my father made to the Bay, [Footnote: Bay of +Quinte.] with the pack of furs, that you and I called a _Bee_ +[Footnote: A Bee is a practical instance of duty to a neighbour. We +fear it is peculiar to Canada, although deserving of imitation in all +Christian colonies. When any work which requires many hands is in the +course of performance, as the building of log houses, barns, or +shanties, all the neighbours are summoned, and give their best +assistance in the construction. Of course the assisted party is liable +to be called upon by the community in turn, to repay in kind the help +he has received.] to put up a shed for the new cow that he was to +drive back with him, and I am sure Mathilde and I did as much good as +you and Louis. You know you said you could not have got on nearly so +well without our help." + +"After all," said Hector thoughtfully, "children can do a great many +things if they only resolutely set to work, and use the wits and the +strength that God has given them to work with. A few weeks ago and we +should have thought it utterly impossible to have supported ourselves +in a lonely wilderness like this by our own exertions in fishing and +hunting." + +"If we had been lost in the forest we must have died with hunger," +said Catharine; "but let us be thankful to the good God who led us +hither, and gave us health and strength to help ourselves." + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + + "Aye from the sultry heat, + We to our cave retreat, + O'er canopied by huge roots, intertwined, + Of wildest texture, blackened o'er with age." + + COLERIDGE. + +"Louis, what are you cutting out of that bit OF wood?" said Catharine, +the very next day after the first ideas of the shanty had been +started. + +"Hollowing out a canoe." + +"Out of that piece of stick!" said Catharine, laughing. "How many +passengers is it to accommodate, my dear?" + +"I am only making a model. My canoe will be made out of a big pine +log, and large enough to hold three." + +"Is it to be like the big sap-trough in the sugar-bush at home?" + +Louis nodded assent. "I long to go over to the island; I see lots of +ducks popping in and out of the little bays beneath the cedars, and +there are plenty of partridges, I am sure, and squirrels--it is the +very place for them." + +"And shall we have a sail as well as oars?" + +"Yes; set up your apron for a sail." + +Catharine cast a rueful look upon the tattered remnant of the apron. + +"It is worth nothing now," she said, sighing; "and what am I to do +when my gown is worn out? It is a good thing it is so strong; if it +had been cotton, now, it would have been torn to bits among the +bushes." + +"We must make clothes of skins as soon as we get enough," said +Hector.--"Louis, I think you can manufacture a bone needle; we can +pierce the hole with the strong thorns, or a little round bone bodkin +that can be easily made." + +"The first rainy day we will see what we can do," replied Louis; "but +I am full of my canoe just now." + +"Indeed, Louis, I believe you never think of anything else; but even +if we had a canoe to-morrow, I do not think that either you or I could +manage one," said cautious Hector. + +"I could soon learn as others have done before me. I wonder who first +taught the Indians to make canoes, and venture out on the lakes and +streams. Why should we be more stupid than these untaught heathens? I +have listened so often to my father's stories and adventures when he +was out lumbering on the St. John River, that I am as familiar with +the idea of a boat as if I had been born in one. Only think now," he +said, turning to Catharine; "just think of the fish, the big ones, we +could get if we had but a canoe to push out from the shore beyond +those rush-beds." + +"It strikes me, Louis, that those rush-beds, as you call them, must be +the Indian rice that we have seen the squaws make their soup of." + +"Yes; and you remember old Jacob used to talk of a fine lake that he +called Rice Lake, somewhere to the northward of the Cold Springs, +where he said there was plenty of game of all kinds, and a fine open +place where people could see through the openings among the trees. He +said it was a great hunting-place for the Indians in the Fall of the +year, and that they came there to hunt the peccary, which is, as you +know, a kind of wild boar, and whose flesh is very good eating." + +"I hope the Indians will not come here and find us out," said +Catharine, shuddering; "I think I should be more frightened at the +Indians than at the wolves. Have we not heard fearful tales of their +cruelty?" + +"But we have never been harmed by them; they have always been civil +enough when they came to the Springs." + +"They came, you know, for food, or shelter or something that they +wanted from us; but it may be different when they find us alone and +unprotected, encroaching upon their hunting-grounds." + +"The place is wide enough for us and them; we will try and make them +our friends." + +"The wolf and the lamb do not lie down in the fold together," observed +Hector. "The Indian is treacherous. The wild man and the civilized man +do not live well together, their habits and dispositions are so +contrary the one to the other. We are open and they are cunning, and +they suspect our openness to be only a greater degree of cunning than +their own--they do not understand us. They are taught to be +revengeful, and we are taught to forgive our enemies. So you see that +what is a virtue with the savage is a crime with the Christian. If the +Indian could be taught the Word of God he might be kind, and true, and +gentle as well as brave." + +It was with conversations like this that our poor wanderers whiled +away their weariness. The love of life, and the exertions necessary +for self-preservation, occupied so large a portion of their thoughts +and time, that they had hardly leisure for repining. They mutually +cheered and animated each other to bear up against the sad fate that +had thus severed them from every kindred tie, and shut them out from +that home to which their young hearts were bound by every endearing +remembrance from infancy upwards. + +One bright September morning our young people set off on an exploring +expedition, leaving the faithful Wolfe to watch the wigwam; for they +well knew he was too honest to touch their store of dried fish and +venison himself, and too trusty and fierce to suffer wolf or wild cat +near it. + +They crossed several narrow, deep ravines, and the low wooded flat +along the lake shore, to the eastward of Pine-tree Point. Finding it +difficult to force their way through the thick underwood that always +impedes the progress of the traveller on the low shores of the lake, +they followed the course of an ascending narrow ridge, which formed a +sort of natural causeway between two parallel hollows, the top of this +ridge being in many places not wider than a cart or wagon could pass +along. The sides were most gracefully adorned with flowering shrubs, +wild vines, creepers of various species, wild cherries of several +kinds, hawthorns, bilberry bushes, high-bush cranberries, silver +birch, poplars, oaks, and pines; while in the deep ravines on either +side grew trees of the largest growth, the heads of which lay on a +level with their path. Wild cliffy banks, beset with huge boulders of +red and gray granite and water-worn limestone, showed that it had once +formed the boundary of the lake, though now it was almost a quarter of +a mile in its rear. Springs of pure water were in abundance, trickling +down the steep rugged sides of this wooded glen. The children wandered +onwards, delighted with the wild picturesque path they had chosen, +sometimes resting on a huge block of moss-covered stone, or on the +twisted roots of some ancient gray old oak or pine, whilst they gazed +with curiosity and interest on the lonely but lovely landscape before +them. Across the lake, the dark forest shut all else from their view, +rising in gradual far-off slopes till it reached the utmost boundary +of sight. Much the children marvelled what country it might be that +lay in the dim, blue, hazy distance,--to them, indeed, a _terra +incognita_--a land of mystery; but neither of her companions laughed +when Catharine gravely suggested the probability of this unknown shore +to the northward being her father's beloved Highlands. Let not the +youthful and more learned reader smile at the ignorance of the +Canadian girl; she knew nothing of maps, and globes, and +hemispheres,--her only book of study had been the Holy Scriptures, her +only teacher a poor Highland soldier. + +Following the elevated ground above this deep valley, the travellers +at last halted on the extreme edge of a high and precipitous mound, +that formed an abrupt termination to the deep glen. They found water +not far from this spot fit for drinking by following a deer-path a +little to the southward. And there, on the borders of a little basin +on a pleasant brae, where the bright silver birch waved gracefully +over its sides, they decided upon building a winter house. They named +the spot Mount Ararat: "For here," said they, "we will build us an ark +of refuge, and wander no more." And Mount Ararat is the name which the +spot still bears. Here they sat them down on a fallen tree and ate a +meal of dried venison and drank of the cold spring that welled out +from beneath the edge of the bank. Hector felled a tree to mark the +site of their house near the birches; and they made a blaze, as it is +called, on he trees, by cutting away pieces of the outer bark as they +returned home towards the wigwam, that they might not miss the place. +They found less difficulty in retracing their path than they had +formerly, as there were some striking peculiarities to mark it, and +they had learned to be very minute in the marks they made as they +travelled, so that they now seldom missed the way they came by. A few +days after this they removed all their household stores--namely, the +axe, the tin pot, bows and arrows, baskets, and bags of dried fruit, +the dried venison and fish, and the deerskin; nor did they forget the +deer-scalp, which they bore away as a trophy, to be fastened up over +the door of their new dwelling, for a memorial of their first hunt on +the shores of the Rice Lake. The skin was given to Catharine to sleep +on. + +The boys were now busy from morning till night chopping down trees for +house-logs. It was a work of time and labour, as the axe was blunt and +the oaks hard to cut; but they laboured on without grumbling, and Kate +watched the fall of each tree with lively joy. They were no longer +dull; there was something to look forward to from day to day--they +were going to commence housekeeping in good earnest; they would be +warmly and well lodged before the bitter frosts of winter could come +to chill their blood. It was a joyful day when the log walls of the +little shanty were put up, and the door hewed out. Windows they had +none, so they did not cut out the spaces for them; [Footnote: Many a +shanty is put up in Canada without windows, and only an open space for +a door, with a rude plank set up to close it in at night.] they could +do very well without, as hundreds of Irish and Highland emigrants have +done before and since. + +A pile of stones rudely cemented together with wet clay and ashes +against the logs, and a hole cut in the roof, formed the chimney and +hearth in this primitive dwelling. The chinks were filled with +wedge-shaped pieces of wood, and plastered with clay: the trees, being +chiefly oaks and pines, afforded no moss. This deficiency rather +surprised the boys, for in the thick forest and close cedar-swamps +moss grows in abundance on the north side of the trees, especially on +the cedar, maple, beech, bass, and iron wood; but there were few of +these, excepting a chance one or two in the little basin in front of +the house. The roof was next put on, which consisted of split cedars. +And when the little dwelling was thus far habitable, they were all +very happy. While the boys had been putting on the roof, Catharine had +collected the stones for the chimney, and cleared the earthen floor of +the chips and rubbish with a broom of cedar boughs, bound together +with a leathern thong. She had swept it all clean, carefully removing +all unsightly objects, and strewing it over with fresh cedar sprigs, +which gave out a pleasant odour and formed a smooth and not unseemly +carpet for their little dwelling. How cheerful was the first fire +blazing up on their own hearth! It was so pleasant to sit by its +gladdening light, and chat away of all they had done and all that they +meant to do! Here was to be a set of split cedar shelves, to hold +their provisions and baskets; there a set of stout pegs was to be +inserted between the logs, for hanging up strings of dried meat, bags +of birch bark, or the skins of the animals they were to shoot or trap. +A table was to be fixed on posts in the centre of the floor. Louis was +to carve wooden platters and dishes, and some stools were to be made +with hewn blocks of wood till something better could be devised. Their +bedsteads were rough poles of ironwood, supported by posts driven into +the ground, and partly upheld by the projection of the logs at the +angles of the wall. Nothing could be more simple. The frame-work was +of split cedar; and a safe bed was made by pine boughs being first +laid upon the frame, and then thickly covered with dried grass, moss, +and withered leaves. Such were the lowly but healthy couches on which +these children of the forest slept. + +A dwelling so rudely framed and scantily furnished would be regarded +with disdain by the poorest English peasant. Yet many a settler's +family have I seen as roughly lodged, while a better house was being +prepared for their reception; and many a gentleman's son has +voluntarily submitted to privations as great as these from the love of +novelty and adventure, or to embark in the tempting expectation of +realizing money in the lumbering trade,--working hard, and sharing the +rude log shanty and ruder society of those reckless and hardy men, the +Canadian lumberers. During the spring, and summer months these men +spread themselves through the trackless forests, and along the shores +of nameless lakes and unknown streams, to cut the pine or oak +lumber,--such being the name they give to the felled stems of +trees,--which are then hewn, and in the winter dragged out upon the +ice, where they are formed into rafts, and in spring floated down the +waters till they reach the great St. Lawrence, and are, after +innumerable difficulties and casualties, finally shipped for England. +I have likewise known European gentlemen voluntarily leave the +comforts of a civilized home and associate themselves with the Indian +trappers and hunters, leading lives as wandering and as wild as the +uncultivated children of the forest. + +The nights and early mornings were already growing sensibly more +chilly. The dews at this season fall heavily, and the mists fill the +valleys till the sun has risen with sufficient heat to draw up the +vapours. It was a good thing that the shanty was finished so soon, or +the exposure to the damp air might have been productive of ague and +fever. Every hour almost they spent in making little additions to +their household comforts, but some time was necessarily passed in +trying to obtain provisions. One day Hector, who had been out from +dawn till moonrise, returned with the welcome news that he had shot a +young deer, and required the assistance of his cousin to bring it up +the steep bank (it was just at the entrance of the great ravine) below +the precipitous cliff near the lake: he had left old Wolfe to guard it +in the meantime. They had now plenty of fresh broiled meat, and this +store was very acceptable, as they were obliged to be very careful of +the dried meat that they had. + +This time Catharine adopted a new plan. Instead of cutting the meat in +strips, and drying it (or jerking it, as the lumberers term it), she +roasted it before the fire, and hung it up, wrapping it in thin sheets +of birch bark. The juices, instead of being dried up, were preserved, +and the meat was more palatable. Catharine found great store of wild +plums in a beautiful valley not far from the shanty; these she dried +for the winter store, eating sparingly of them in their fresh state. +She also found plenty of wild black currants and high-bush +cranberries, on the banks of a charming creek of bright water that +flowed between a range of high pine hills and finally emptied itself +into the lake. There were great quantities of water-cresses in this +pretty brook; they grew in bright, round, cushion-like tufts at the +bottom of the water, and were tender and wholesome. These formed an +agreeable addition to their diet, which had hitherto been chiefly +confined to animal food, for they could not always meet with a supply +of the bread-roots, as they grew chiefly in damp, swampy thickets on +the lake shore, which were sometimes very difficult of access. +However, they never missed any opportunity of increasing their stores, +and laying up for the winter such roots as they could procure. + +As the cool weather and frosty nights drew on, the want of warm +clothes and bed-covering became more sensibly felt; those they had +were beginning to wear out. Catharine had managed to wash her clothes +at the lake several times, and thus preserved them clean and +wholesome; but she was often sorely puzzled how the want of her dress +was to be supplied as time wore on, and many were the consultations +she held with the boys on the important subject. With the aid of a +needle she might be able to manufacture the skins of the small animals +into some sort of jacket, and the doe-skin and deer-skin could be made +into garments for the boys. Louis was always suppling and rubbing the +skins to make them soft: they had taken off the hair by sprinkling it +with wood ashes, and rolling it up with the hairy side inwards. Out of +one of these skins he made excellent moccasins, piercing the holes +with a sharpened bone bodkin, and passing the sinews of the deer +through, as he had seen his father do, by fixing a stout fish-bone to +the deer-sinew thread. Thus he had an excellent substitute for a +needle; and, with the aid of the old file, he sharpened the point of +the rusty nail, so that he was enabled, with a little trouble, to +drill a hole in a bone needle for his cousin Catharine's use. After +several attempts, he succeeded in making some of tolerable fineness, +hardening them by exposure to a slow, steady degree of heat till she +was able to work with them, and even mend her clothes with tolerable +expertness. By degrees, Catharine contrived to cover the whole outer +surface of her homespun woollen frock with squirrel and mink, musk-rat +and woodchuck skins. A curious piece of fur patchwork of many hues and +textures it presented to the eye,--a coat of many colours, it is true; +but it kept the wearer warm, and Catharine was not a little proud of +her ingenuity and industry,--every new patch that was added was a +source of fresh satisfaction; and the moccasins that Louis fitted so +nicely to her feet were great comforts. A fine skin that Hector +brought triumphantly in one day, the spoil from a fox that had been +caught in one of his dead-falls, was in due time converted into a +dashing cap, the brush remaining as an ornament to hang down on one +shoulder. Catharine might have passed for a small Diana when she went +out, with her fur dress and bow and arrows, to hunt with Hector and +Louis. + +Whenever game of any kind was killed, it was carefully skinned, and +the fur stretched upon bent sticks, being first turned, so as to +present the inner part to the drying action of the air. The young +hunters were most expert in this work, having been accustomed for many +years to assist their fathers in preparing the furs which they +disposed of to the fur traders, who visited them from time to time, +and gave them various articles in exchange for their peltries,--such +as powder and shot, and cutlery of different kinds, as knives, +scissors, needles, and pins, with gay calico and cotton handkerchiefs +for the women. + +As the evenings lengthened, the boys employed themselves with carving +wooden platters. Knives, and forks, and spoons they fashioned out of +the larger bones of the deer, which they often found bleaching in the +sun and wind, where they had been left by their enemies the wolves; +baskets too they made, and birch dishes, which they could now finish +so well that they held water or any liquid. But their great want was +some vessel that would bear the heat of the fire; the tin pot was so +small that it could be made little use of in the cooking way. +Catharine had made tea of the leaves of the sweet fern,--a graceful +woody fern, with a fine aromatic scent, like nutmegs. [Footnote: +Comptoma asplenifolia, a small shrub of the sweet gale family.] This +shrub is highly esteemed among the Canadians as a beverage, and also +as a remedy against the ague. It grows in great abundance on dry sandy +lands and wastes, by waysides. + +"If we could but make some sort of earthen pot that would stand the +heat of the fire," said Louis, "we might get on nicely with cooking." + +But nothing like the sort of clay used by potters had been seen, and +they were obliged to give up that thought and content themselves with +roasting or broiling their food. Louis, however, who was fond of +contrivances, made an oven, by hollowing out a place near the hearth +and lining it with stones, filling up the intervals with wood ashes +and such clay as they could find, beaten into a smooth mortar. Such +cement answered very well, and the oven was heated by filling it with +hot embers; these were removed when it was sufficiently heated, and +the meat or roots placed within the oven being covered over with a +flat stone previously heated before the fire and covered with hot +embers. This sort of oven had often been described by old Jacob as one +in common use among some of the Indian tribes in the Lower Province, +in which they cook small animals; they could bake bread also in this +oven, if they had had flour to use. [Footnote: This primitive oven is +much like what voyagers have described as in use among the natives of +many of the South Sea Islands.] + +Since the finishing of the house and furnishing it the young people +were more reconciled to their lonely life, and even entertained +decided home feelings for their little log cabin. They never ceased, +it is true, to talk of their parents, and brothers, and sisters, and +wonder if all were well, and whether they still hoped for their +return, and to recall their happy days spent in the home which they +now feared they were destined never again to behold. Nevertheless, +they were becoming each day more cheerful and more active. Ardently +attached to each other, they seemed bound together by a yet more +sacred tie of brotherhood. They were now all the world to one another, +and no cloud of disunion came to mar their happiness. Hector's +habitual gravity and caution were tempered by Louis's lively vivacity +and ardour of temper; and they both loved Catharine, and strove to +smooth as much as possible the hard life to which she was exposed, by +the most affectionate consideration for her comfort; and she, in +return, endeavoured to repay them by cheerfully enduring all +privations, and making light of all their trials, and taking a lively +interest in all their plans and contrivances. + +Louis had gone out to fish at the lake one autumn morning. During his +absence a sudden squall of wind came on, accompanied with heavy rain. +As he stayed longer than usual, Hector began to feel uneasy lest some +accident had befallen him, knowing his adventurous spirit, and that he +had for some days previous been busy constructing a raft of cedar +logs, which he had fastened together with wooden pins. This raft he +had nearly finished, and was even talking of adventuring over to the +nearest island to explore it, and see what game and roots and fruits +it afforded. + +Bidding Catharine stay quietly within doors till his return, Hector +ran off, not without some misgivings of evil having befallen his rash +cousin, which fears he carefully concealed from his sister, as he did +not wish to make her needlessly anxious. When he reached the shore, +his mind was somewhat relieved by seeing the raft on the beach, just +as it had been left the night before; but neither Louis nor the axe +was to be seen, nor the fishing-rod and line. + +"Perhaps," thought he, "Louis has gone further down, to the mouth of +the little creek in the flat east of this, where we caught our last +fish; or maybe he has gone up to the old place at Pine-tree Point." + +While he yet stood hesitating within himself which way to turn, he +heard steps as of some one running, and perceived his cousin hurrying +through the bushes in the direction of the shanty. It was evident by +his disordered air; and the hurried glances that he cast over his +shoulder from time to time, that something unusual had occurred to +disturb him. + +"Holloa, Louis! is it a bear, wolf, or catamount that is on your +trail?" cried Hector; almost amused by the speed with which his cousin +hurried onward. "Why, Louis, whither away?" + +Louis now turned and held up his hand, as if to enjoin silence, till +Hector came up to him. + +"Why, man, what ails you? what makes you run as if you were hunted +down by a pack of wolves?" + +"It is not wolves, or bears either," said Louis, as soon as he could +get breath to speak; "but the Indians are all on Bare Hill, holding a +war-council, I suppose, for there are several canoe-loads of them." + +"How came you to see them?" + +"I must tell you that when I parted from you and Cathy, instead of +going down to my raft, as I thought at first I would do, I followed +the deer-path through the little ravine, and then ascending the side +of the valley, I crossed the birch grove, and kept down the slope +within sight of the creek. While I was looking out upon the lake, and +thinking how pretty the islands were, rising so green from the blue +water, I was surprised by seeing several dark spots dotting the lake. +At first, you may be sure, I thought they must be a herd of deer, only +they kept too far apart, so I sat down on a log to watch, thinking if +they turned out to be deer I would race off for you and Wolfe, and the +bows and arrows, that we might try our chance for some venison; but as +the black specks came nearer and nearer, I perceived they were canoes +with Indians in them, three in each. One made for the mouth of the +creek, and ran ashore among the thick bushes, while the others kept +further along the shore. I watched them with a beating heart, and lay +down flat, lest they should spy me out; for those fellows have eyes +like catamounts, so keen and wild--they see everything without seeming +to cast a glance on it. After closely examining what I suppose was one +of our footmarks, I saw them wind up the ridge till they reached the +Bare Hill. [Footnote: Supposed to be a council-hill. It is known by +the name of Bare Hill, from the singular want of verdure on its +surface, It is one of the steepest on the ridge above the little +creek; being a picturesque object, with its fine pine-trees, seen from +Mr. Hayward's grounds, and forms, I believe, a part of his property.] +You remember that spot; we called it so from its barren appearance. In +a few minutes a column of smoke rose and curled among the pine-trees, +and then another and another, till I counted five fires burning +brightly; and, as I stood on the high ground, I could distinguish the +figures of many naked savages moving about, running to and fro like a +parcel of black ants on a cedar log; and by-and-by I heard them raise +a yell like a pack of ravenous wolves on a deer track. It made my +heart leap up in my breast. I forgot all the schemes that had just got +into my wise head of slipping quietly down and taking off one of the +empty birch canoes, which you must own would have been a glorious +thing for us; but when I heard the noise these wild wretches raised, I +darted off, and ran as if the whole set were at my heels. I think I +just saved my scalp." And Louis put his hand to his head, and tugged +his thick black curls, as if to ascertain that they were still safe +from the scalping-knives of his Indian enemies. + +"And now, Hec, what is to be done? We must hide ourselves from the +Indians; they will kill us, or take us away with them, if they find +us." + +"Let us go home and talk over our plans with Cathy." + +"Yes; for I have heard my father say two heads are better than one, +and so three of course must be still better than two." + +"Why," said Hector, laughing, "it depends upon the stock of practical +wisdom in the heads; for two fools, you know, Louis, will hardly form +one rational plan." + +Various were the schemes devised for their security. Hector proposed +pulling down the shanty and dispersing the logs, so as to leave no +trace of the little dwelling; but to this neither his cousin nor his +sister would agree. To pull down the new house that had cost them so +much labour, and which had proved such a comfort to them, they could +not endure even in idea. + +"Let us put out the fire, and hide ourselves in the big ravine below +Mount Ararat; dig a cave in one of the hills, and convey our household +goods thither." Such was Louis's plan. + +"The ravines would be searched directly," suggested Hector; "besides, +the Indians know they are famous coverts for deer and game of all +sorts: they might chance to pop upon us, and catch us like woodchucks +in a burrow." + +"Yes, and burn us," said Catharine with a shudder. "I know the path +that leads direct to the 'Happy Valley,' (the name she had given to +the low flat now known as the 'Lower Race-course'), and it is not far +from here, only ten minutes' walk in a straight line. We can conceal +ourselves below the steep bank that we descended the other day; and +there are several springs of fresh water, and plenty of nuts and +berries; and the trees, though few, are so thickly covered with +close-spreading branches that touch the very ground that we might hide +ourselves from a hundred eyes, were they ever so cunning and prying." + +Catharine's counsel was deemed the most prudent, and the boys +immediately busied themselves with hiding under the broken branches of +a prostrate tree such articles as they could not conveniently carry +away, leaving the rest to chance. With the most valuable they loaded +themselves, guided by Catharine, who, with her dear old dog, marched +forward along the narrow footpath that had been made by some wild +animals, probably deer, in their passage from the lake to their +feeding-place, or favourite covert, on the low sheltered plain, where, +being quite open, and almost, in parts, free from trees, the grass and +herbage was sweeter and more abundant, and the springs of water were +fresh and cool. + +Catharine cast many a fearful glance through the brushwood as they +moved onward, but saw no living thing, excepting a family of chitmunks +gaily chasing each other along a fallen branch, and a covey of quails +that were feeding quietly on the red berries of the _Mitchella +repens_, or twinberry, [Footnote: Also partridge-berry and +checker-berry, a lovely creeping winter-green, with white fragrant +flowers and double scarlet berry.] as it is commonly called, of which +the partridges and quails are extremely fond; for Nature with a +liberal hand has spread abroad her bounties for the small denizens, +furred or feathered, that haunt the Rice Lake and its flowery shores. + +After a continued but gentle ascent through the oak opening, they +halted at the foot of a majestic pine, and looked round them. It was a +lovely spot as any they had seen: from west to east, the lake, bending +like a silver crescent, lay between the boundary hills of forest +trees; in front, the long lines of undulating wood-covered heights +faded away into mist, and blended with the horizon. To the east, a +deep and fertile valley lay between the high lands on which they +rested and the far ridge of oak hills. From their vantage height they +could distinguish the outline of the Bare Hill, made more distinct by +its flickering fires and the smoke wreaths that hung like a +pearly-tinted robe among the dark pines that grew upon its crest. Not +long tarrying did our fugitives make, though perfectly safe from +detection by the distance and their shaded position, for many a +winding vale and wood-crowned height lay between them and the +encampment. + +But fear is not subject to the control of reason, and in the present +instance it invested the dreaded Indians with superhuman powers of +sight and of motion. A few minutes' hasty flight brought our +travellers to the brow of a precipitous bank, nearly a hundred feet +above the level open plain which they sought. Here, then, they felt +comparatively safe: they were out of sight of the camp-fires, the spot +they had chosen was open, and flight, in case of the approach of the +Indians, not difficult, while hiding-places were easy of access. They +found a deep, sheltered hollow in the bank, where two mighty pines had +been torn up by the roots, and prostrated headlong down the steep, +forming a regular cave, roofed by the earth and fibres that had been +uplifted in their fall. Pendent from these roots hung a luxuriant +curtain of wild grape-vines and other creepers, which formed a leafy +screen, through which the most curious eye could scarcely penetrate. +This friendly vegetable veil seemed as if provided for their +concealment, and they carefully abstained from disturbing the pendent +foliage, lest they should, by so doing, betray their hiding-place to +their enemies. They found plenty of long grass, and abundance of long +soft green moss and ferns near a small grove of poplars which +surrounded a spring of fine water. They ate some dried fruit and +smoked fish, and drank of the clear spring; and after they had said +their evening prayers, they lay down to sleep, Catharine's head +pillowed on the neck of her faithful guardian, Wolfe. In the middle of +the night a startling sound, as of some heavy body falling, wakened +them all simultaneously. The night was so dark they could see nothing, +and, terror-stricken, they sat gazing into the impenetrable darkness +of their cave, not even daring to speak to each other, hardly even to +breathe. Wolfe gave a low grumbling bark, and resumed his couchant +posture, as if nothing worthy of his attention was near to cause the +disturbance. Catharine trembled and wept, and prayed for safety +against the Indians and beasts of prey; and Hector and Louis listened, +till they fell fast asleep in spite of their fears. In the morning, it +seemed as if they had dreamed some terrible dream, so vague were their +recollections of the fright they had had; but the cause was soon +perceived. A large stone that had been heaved up with the clay that +adhered to the roots and fibres had been loosened, and had fallen on +the ground, close to the spot where Catharine lay. So ponderous was +the mass, that had it struck her, death must have been the consequence +of the blow; and Hector and Louis beheld it with fear and amazement, +while Catharine regarded it as a proof of Divine mercy and protection +from Him in whose hand her safety lay. The boys, warned by this +accident, carefully removed several large stones from the roof, and +tried the safety of the clay walls with a stout staff, to ascertain +that all was secure, before they again ventured to sleep beneath this +rugged canopy. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +"The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour +in his eyes."--_Proverbs._ + +For several days they abstained from lighting a fire, lest the smoke +should be seen; but this the great height of the bank would have +effectually prevented. They suffered much cold at night from the +copious dew, which, even on sultry summer evenings, is productive of +much chilling. They could not account for the fact that the air at +night was much warmer on the high hills than in the low valleys; they +were even sensible of a rush of heat as they ascended to the higher +ground. These simple children had not been taught that it is the +nature of the heated air to ascend, and its place to be supplied by +the colder and denser particles. They noticed the effects, but +understood nothing of the causes that ruled them. + +The following days they procured several partridges, but feared to +cook them; however, they plucked them, split them open, and dried the +flesh for a future day. A fox or raccoon, attracted by the smell of +the birds, came one night and carried them off, for in the morning +they were gone. They saw several herd of deer crossing the plain, and +one day Wolfe tracked a wounded doe to a covert under the poplars, +near a hidden spring, where she had lain herself down to die in peace, +far from the haunts of her fellows. The arrow was in her throat; it +was of white flint, and had evidently been sent from an Indian bow. It +was almost with fear and trembling that they availed themselves of the +venison thus providentially thrown in their way, lest the Indians +should track the blood of the doe, and take vengeance on them for +appropriating it for their own use. Not having seen anything of the +Indians, who seemed to confine themselves to the neighbourhood of the +lake, after many days had passed they began to take courage, and even +ventured to light an evening fire, at which they cooked as much of the +venison as would last them for several days, and hung the remaining +portions above the smoke to preserve it from injury. + +One morning Hector proclaimed his intention of ascending the hills in +the direction of the Indian camp. "I am tired of remaining shut up in +this dull place, where we can see nothing but this dead-flat, bounded +by those melancholy pines in the distance that seem to shut us in." + +Little did Hector know that beyond that dark ridge of pine hills lay +the home of their childhood, and but a few miles of forest intervened +to hide it from their sight. Had he known it, how eagerly would his +feet have pressed onward in the direction of that dark barrier of +evergreens! + +Thus is it often in this life: we wander on, sad and perplexed, our +path beset with thorns and briers. We cannot see our way clear; doubts +and apprehensions assail us. We know not how near we are to the +fulfilment of our wishes; we see only the insurmountable barriers, the +dark thickets and thorns of our way; and we know not how near we are +to our Father's home, where he is waiting to welcome the wanderers of +the flock back to the everlasting home, the fold of the Good Shepherd. + +Hector became impatient of the restraint that the dread of the Indians +imposed upon his movements; he wanted to see the lake again, and to +roam abroad free and uncontrolled. + +"After all," said he we never met with any ill-treatment from the +Indians that used to visit us at Cold Springs; we may even find old +friends and acquaintances among them." + +"The thing is possible, but not very likely," replied Louis. +"Nevertheless, Hector, I would not willingly put myself in their +power. The Indian has his own notion of things, and might think +himself quite justified in killing us if he found us on his +hunting-grounds. I have heard my father say--and he knows a great deal +about these people--that their chiefs are very strict in punishing any +strangers that they find killing game on their bounds uninvited. They +are both merciless and treacherous when angered, and we could not even +speak to them in their own language, to explain by what evil chance we +came here." + +This was very prudent of Louis, uncommonly so, for one who was +naturally rash and headstrong; but unfortunately Hector was inflexible +and wilful. When once he had made up his mind upon any point, he had +too good an opinion of his own judgment to give it up. At last he +declared his intention, rather than remain a slave to such cowardly +fears as he now deemed them, to go forth boldly, and endeavour to +ascertain what the Indians were about, how many there were of them, +and what real danger was to be apprehended from facing them. + +"Depend upon it," he added, "cowards are never safer than brave men. +The Indians despise cowards, and would be more likely to kill us if +they found us cowering here in this hole like a parcel of wolf-cubs, +than if we openly faced them and showed that we neither feared them +nor cared for them." + +"Hector, dear Hector, be not so rash!" cried his sister, passionately +weeping. "Ah! if we were to lose you, what would become of us?" + +"Never fear, Kate; I will run into no needless danger. I know how to +take care of myself. I am of opinion that the Indian camp is broken +up; they seldom stay long in one place. I will go over the hills and +examine the camp at a distance and the lake shore. You and Louis may +keep watch for my return from the big pine that we halted under on our +way hither." + +"But, Hector, if the savages should see you, and take you prisoner," +said Catharine, "what would you do?" + +"I will tell you what I would do. Instead of running away, I would +boldly walk up to them, and by signs make them understand that I am no +scout, but a friend in need of nothing but kindness and friendship. I +never yet heard of the Indian that would tomahawk the defenceless +stranger that sought his camp openly in peace and goodwill." + +"If you do not return by sunset, Hector, we shall believe that you +have fallen into the hands of the savages," said Catharine, mournfully +regarding her brother. + +"If it were not for Catharine," said Louis, "you should not go alone; +but if evil were to befall this helpless one, her blood would be upon +my head, who led her out with us, tempting her with false words." + +"Never mind that now, dearest cousin," said Catharine, tenderly laying +her hand on his arm. "It is much better that we should have been all +three together; I should never have been happy again if I had lost +both Hec and you. It is better as it is; you and Hec would not have +been so well off if I had not been with you to help you, and keep up +your spirits by my songs and stories." + +"It is true; ma chere; but that is the reason that I am bound to take +care of my little cousin, and I could not consent to exposing you to +danger, or leaving you alone; so, if Hec will be so headstrong, I will +abide by you." + +Hector was so confident that he should return in safety, that at last +Louis and Catharine became more reconciled to his leaving them, and +soon busied themselves in preparing some squirrels that Louis had +brought in that morning. + +The day wore away slowly, and many were the anxious glances that +Catharine cast over the crest of the high bank to watch for her +brother's return. At last, unable to endure the suspense, she with +Louis left the shelter of the valley; they ascended the high ground, +and bent their steps to the trysting-tree, which commanded all the +country within a wide sweep. + +A painful and oppressive sense of loneliness and desolation came over +the minds of the cousins as they sat together at the foot of the pine, +which cast its lengthened shadow upon the ground before them. The +shades of evening were shrouding them, wrapping the lonely forest in +gloom. The full moon had not yet risen, and they watched for the first +gleam that should break above the eastern hills to cheer them as for +the coming of a friend. + +Sadly these two poor lonely ones sat hand in hand, talking of the +happy days of childhood, of the perplexing present and the uncertain +future. At last, wearied out with watching and anxiety, Catharine +leaned her head upon the neck of old Wolfe and fell asleep, while +Louis restlessly paced to and fro in front of the sleeper; now +straining his eyes to penetrate the surrounding gloom, now straining +his ears to catch the first sound that might indicate the approach of +his absent cousin. + +It was almost with a feeling of irritability that he heard the quick +sharp note of the wakeful "whip-poor-will," as it flew from bough to +bough of an old withered tree beside him. Another, and again another +of these midnight watchers took up the monotonous never-varying cry of +"Whip-poor-will, Whip-poor-will;" and then came forth, from many a +hollow oak and birch, the spectral night-hawk from hidden dens, where +it had lain hushed in silence all day from dawn till sunset. Sometimes +their sharp hard wings almost swept his cheek as they wheeled round +and round in circles, first narrow, then wide, and wider extending, +till at last they soared far above the tallest tree-tops, and +launching out in the high regions of the air, uttered from time to +time a wild shrill scream, or hollow booming sound, as they suddenly +descended to pounce with wide-extended throat upon some hapless moth +or insect that sported all unheeding in mid-air, happily unconscious +of the approach of so unerring a foe. + +Petulantly Louis chid these discordant minstrels of the night, and +joyfully he hailed the first gush of moonlight that rose broad and +full and red over the Oak Hills to the eastward. + +Louis envied the condition of the unconscious sleeper, who lay in +happy forgetfulness of all her sorrows, her fair curls spread in +unbound luxuriance over the dark shaggy neck of the faithful Wolfe, +who seemed as if proud of the beloved burden that rested so trustingly +upon him. Sometimes the careful dog just unclosed his large eyes, +raised his nose from his shaggy paws, snuffed the night air, growled +in a sort of undertone, and then dozed again, but watchfully. + +It would be no easy task to tell the painful feelings that agitated +young Louis's breast. He was angry with Hector for having thus madly, +as he thought, rushed into danger. "It was wilful and almost cruel," +he thought, "to leave them the prey of such tormenting fears on his +account;" and then the most painful fears for the safety of his +beloved companion took the place of less kindly thoughts, and sorrow +filled his heart. The broad moon now flooded the hills and vales with +light, casting broad checkering shadows of the old oaks' gray branches +and now reddened foliage across the ground. + +Suddenly the old dog raises his head, and utters a short half-angry +note: slowly and carefully he rises, disengaging himself gently from +the form of the sleeping girl, and stands forth in the full light of +the moon. It is an open cleared space, that mound beneath the +pine-tree; a few low shrubs and seedling pines, with the slender +waving branches of the late-flowering pearly-tinted asters, the +elegant fringed gentian with open bells of azure blue, the last and +loveliest of autumn flowers and winter-greens, brighten the ground +with wreaths of shining leaves and red berries. + +Louis is on the alert, though as yet he sees nothing. It is not a full +free note of welcome that Wolfe gives; there is something uneasy and +half angry in his tone. Yet it is not fierce, like the bark of angry +defiance he gives when wolf, or bear, or wolverine is near. + +Louis steps forward from the shadow of the pine branches to the edge +of the inclined plane in the foreground. The slow tread of approaching +steps is now distinctly heard advancing; it may be a deer. + +Two figures approach, and Louis moves a little within the shadow +again. A clear shrill whistle meets his ear. It is Hector's whistle, +he knows that, and assured by its cheerful tone, he springs forward, +and in an instant is at his side, but starts at the strange companion +that he half leads, half carries. The moonlight streams broad and +bright upon the shrinking figure of an Indian girl apparently about +the same age as Catharine: her ashy face is concealed by the long mass +of raven black hair which falls like a dark veil over her features; +her step is weak and unsteady, and she seems ready to sink to the +earth with sickness or fatigue. Hector, too, seems weary. The first +words that Hector said were, "Help me, Louis, to lead this poor girl +to the foot of the pine: I am so tired I can hardly walk another +step." + +Louis and his cousin together carried the Indian girl to the foot of +the pine. Catharine was just rousing herself from sleep, and she gazed +with a bewildered air on the strange companion that Hector had brought +with him. The stranger lay down, and in a few minutes sank into a +sleep so profound it seemed to resemble that of death itself. Pity and +deep interest soon took the place of curiosity and dread in the heart +of the gentle Catharine, and she watched the young stranger's slumber +as tenderly as though she had been a sister or beloved friend, while +Hector proceeded to relate in what manner he had encountered the +Indian girl. + +"When I struck the high slope near the little birch grove we called +the '_Birken Skaw_,' I paused to examine if the council-fires +were still burning on Bare Hill; but there was no smoke visible, +neither was there a canoe to be seen at the lake shore where Louis had +described their landing-place at the mouth of the creek. All seemed as +silent and still as if no human footstep had trodden the shore. I sat +down and watched for nearly an hour, till my attention was attracted +by a noble eagle, which was sailing in wide circles over the tall +pine-trees on Bare Hill. Assured that the Indian camp was broken up, +and feeling some curiosity to examine the spot more closely, I crossed +the thicket of cranberries and cedars and small underwood that fringed +the borders of the little stream, and found myself, after a little +pushing and scrambling, among the bushes at the foot of the hill. + +"I thoughts it not impossible I might find something to repay me for +my trouble, flint arrowheads, a knife, or a tomahawk; but I little +thought of what these cruel savages had left there,--a miserable +wounded captive, bound by the long locks of her hair to the stem of a +small tree! Her hands and feet were fastened by thongs of deer-skin to +branches of the tree, which had been bent downward for that purpose. +Her position was a most painful one. She had evidently been thus left +to perish by a miserable death of hunger and thirst; for these +savages, with a fiendish cruelty, had placed within sight of their +victim an earthen jar of water, some dried deers' flesh, and a cob +[Footnote: A head of the maize, or Indian corn, is called a "cob."] of +Indian corn. I have the corn here," he added, putting his hand in his +breast and displaying it to view. + +"Wounded she was, for I drew this arrow from her shoulder," and he +showed the flint head as he spoke, "and fettered. With food and drink +in sight the poor girl was to perish, perhaps to become a living prey +to the eagle that I saw wheeling above the hill-top. The poor thing's +lips were black and parched with pain and thirst. She turned her eyes +piteously from my face to the water-jar, as if to implore a draught. +This I gave her; and then having cooled the festering wound, and cut +the thongs that bound her, I wondered that she still kept the same +immovable attitude, and thinking she was stiff and cramped with +remaining so long bound in one position, I took her two hands and +tried to induce her to move. I then for the first time noticed that +she was tied by the hair of her head to the tree against which her +back was placed. I was obliged to cut the hair with my knife; and this +I did not do without giving her pain, as she moaned impatiently. She +sank her head on her breast, and large tears fell over my hands as I +bathed her face and neck with the water from the jar. She then seated +herself on the ground, and remained silent and still for the space of +an hour; nor could I prevail upon her to speak, or quit the seat she +had taken. Fearing that the Indians might return, I watched in all +directions, and at last I began to think it would be best to carry her +in my arms; but this I found no easy task, for she seemed greatly +distressed at any attempt I made to lift her, and by her gestures I +fancied she thought I was going to kill her. At least my patience +began to be exhausted, but I did not like to annoy her. I spoke to her +as gently and soothingly as I could. By degrees she seemed to listen +with more composure to me, though she evidently knew not a word of +what I said to her. She rose at last, and taking my hands, placed them +above her head, stooping low as she did so; and this seemed to mean +she was willing at last to submit to my wishes. I lifted her from the +ground and carried her for some little way; but she was too heavy for +me. She then suffered me to lead her along whithersoever I would take +her; but her steps were so slow and feeble through weakness, that many +times I was compelled to rest while she recovered herself. She seems +quite subdued now, and as quiet as a lamb." + +Catharine listened, not without tears of genuine sympathy, to the +recital of her brother's adventures. She seemed to think he had been +inspired by God to go forth that day to the Indian camp to rescue the +poor forlorn one from so dreadful a death. + +Louis's sympathy was also warmly aroused for the young savage, and he +commended Hector for his bravery and humanity. + +He then set to work to light a good fire, which was a great addition +to their comfort as well as cheerfulness. They did not go back to +their cave beneath the upturned trees to sleep, preferring lying, with +their feet to the fire, under the shade of the pine. Louis, however, +was despatched for water and venison for supper. + +The following morning, by break of day, they collected their stores, +and conveyed them back to the shanty. The boys were thus employed +while Catharine watched beside the wounded Indian girl, whom she +tended with the greatest care. She bathed the inflamed arm with water, +and bound, the cool healing leaves of the _tacamahac_ [Footnote: +Indian balsam.] about it with the last fragment of her apron; she +steeped dried berries in water, and gave the cooling drink to quench +the fever-thirst that burned in her veins and glittered in her full +soft melancholy dark eyes, which were raised at intervals to the race +of her youthful nurse with a timid hurried glance, as if she longed +yet feared to say, "Who are you that thus tenderly bathe my aching +head, and strive to soothe my wounded limbs, and cool my fevered +blood? Are you a creature like myself, or a being sent by the Great +Spirit from the far-off happy land to which my fathers have gone, to +smooth my path of pain, and lead me to those blessed fields of +sunbeams and flowers where the cruelty of the enemies of my people +will no more have power to torment me?" + + + + +CHAPTER VI + + + "Here the wren of softest note + Builds its nest and warbles well, + Here the blackbird strains his throat + Welcome, welcome to our cell." + + --COLERIDGE. + +The day was far advanced before the sick Indian girl could be brought +home to their sylvan lodge, where Catharine made up a comfortable +couch for her with boughs and grass, and spread one of the deer-skins +over it, and laid her down as tenderly and carefully as if she had +been a dear sister. This good girl was overjoyed at having found a +companion of her own age and sex. "Now," said she, "I shall no more be +lonely, I shall have a companion and friend to talk to and assist me." +But when she turned in the fulness of her heart to address herself to +the young stranger, she felt herself embarrassed in what way to make +her comprehend the words she used to express the kindness that she +felt for her and her sorrow for her sufferings. + +The young stranger would raise her head, look intently at her as if +striving to interpret her words, then sadly shake her head, and utter +her words in her own plaintive language, but, alas! Catharine felt it +was to her as a sealed book. + +She tried to recall some Indian words of familiar import that she had +heard from the Indians when they came to her father's house, but in +vain. Not the simplest phrase occurred to her, and she almost cried +with vexation at her own stupidity. Neither was Hector or Louis more +fortunate in attempts at conversing with their guest. + +At the end of three days the fever began to abate; the restless eye +grew more steady in its gaze, the dark flush faded from the cheek, +leaving it of a gray ashy tint, not the hue of health, such as even +the swarthy Indian shows, but wan and pallid, her eyes bent mournfully +on the ground. + +She would sit quiet and passive while Catharine bound up the long +tresses of her hair, and smoothed them with her hands and the small +wooden comb that Louis had cut for her use. Sometimes she would raise +her eyes to her new friend's face with a quiet sad smile, and once she +took her hands within her own and gently pressed them to her breast +and lips and forehead, in token of gratitude; but she seldom gave +utterance to any words, and would remain with her eyes fixed vacantly +on some object which seemed unseen, or to awaken no idea in her mind. +At such times the face of the young squaw, wore a dreamy apathy of +expression, or rather it might with more propriety have been said the +absence of all expression, almost as blank as that of an infant of a +few weeks old. + +How intently did Catharine study that face, and strive to read what +was passing within her mind! How did the lively intelligent Canadian +girl, the offspring of a more intellectual race, long to instruct her +Indian friend, to enlarge her mind by pointing out such things to her +attention as she herself took interest in! She would then repeat the +name of the object that she showed her several times over, and by +degrees the young squaw learned the names of all the familiar +household articles about the shanty, and could repeat them in her own +soft plaintive tone; and when she had learned a new word, and could +pronounce it distinctly, she would laugh, and a gleam of innocent joy +and pleasure would lighten up her fine dark eyes, generally so fixed +and sad-looking. + +It was Catharine's delight to teach her pupil to speak a language +familiar to her own ears. She would lead her out among the trees, and +name to her all the natural objects that presented themselves to view. +And she in her turn mae "Indiana" (for so they named the young squaw, +after a negress that she had heard her father tell of, a nurse to one +of his colonel's infant children) tell her the Indian names for each +object they saw. Indiana soon began to enjoy in her turn the amusement +arising from instructing Catharine and the boys, and often seemed to +enjoy the blunders they made in pronouncing the words she taught them. +When really interested in anything that was going on, her eyes would +beam out, and her smile gave an inexpressible charm to her face; for +her lips were red, and her teeth even and brilliantly white, so purely +white that Catharine thought she had never seen any so beautiful in +her life before. At such times her face was joyous and innocent as a +little child's; but there were also hours of gloom, that transformed +it into an expression of sullen apathy. Then a dull glassy look took +possession of her eye, the full lip drooped and the form seemed rigid +and stiff. Obstinate determination neither to move nor speak +characterized her in what Louis used to call the young squaw's "dark +hour." Then it was that the savage nature seemed predominant, and her +gentle nurse almost feared to look at her _protegee_ or approach +her. + +"Hector," said Louis, "you spoke about a jar of water being left at +the camp. The jar would be a great treasure to us. Let us go over for +it." Hector assented to the proposal. "And we may possibly pick up a +few grains of Indian corn, to add to what you showed us." + +"If we are here in the spring," said Hector, "you and I will prepare a +small patch of ground and plant it with this corn;" and he sat down on +the end of a log and began carefully to count the rows of grain on the +cob, and then each corn, grain by grain. "Three hundred and ten sound +grains. Now if every one of these produce a strong plant, we shall +have a great increase, and besides seed for another year, there will +be, if it is a good year, several bushels to eat." + +"We shall have a glorious summer, mon ami, no doubt, and a fine +flourishing crop; and Kate is a good hand at making supporne." +[Footnote: Supporne probably an Indian word for a stirabout, or +porridge, made of Indian meal, a common dish in every Canadian or +Yankee farmer's house.] + +"You forget we have no porridge pot." + +"I was thinking of that Indian jar all the time. You will see what +fine cookery we will make when we get it, if it will but stand fire. +Come, let us be off; I am impatient till we get it home;" and Louis, +who had now a new crotchet at work in his fertile and vivacious brain, +walked and danced along at a rate which proved a great disturbance to +his graver companion, who tried to keep down his cousin's lively +spirits by suggesting the probability of the jar being cracked, or +that the Indians might have returned for it; but Louis was not one of +the doubting sort, and was right in not damping the ardour of his mind +by causeless fears. The jar was there at the deserted camp, and though +it had been knocked over by some animal, it was sound and strong, and +excited great speculation in the two cousins as to the particular +material of which it was made, as it was unlike any sort of pottery +they had ever before seen. It seemed to have been manufactured from +some very dark red earth, or clay mixed up with pounded granite, as it +presented the appearance of some coarse crystals. It was very hard and +ponderous, and the surface was marked over in a rude sort of pattern, +as if punctured and scratched with some pointed instrument. It seemed +to have been hardened by fire, and, from the smoked hue of one side, +had evidently done good service as a cooking utensil. Subsequently +they learned the way in which it was used. [Footnote: Pieces of this +rude pottery are often found along the shores of the inland lakes, but +I have never met with any of the perfect vessels in use with the +Indians, who probably find it now easier to supply themselves with +iron pots and crockery from the towns of the European settlers.] The +jar, being placed near but not on the fire, was surrounded by hot +embers, and the water made to boil by stones being made red hot and +plunged into it. In this way soups and other food were prepared and +kept stewing, with no further trouble, after once the simmering began, +than adding a few fresh embers at the side farthest from the fire. A +hot stone, also, placed on the top, facilitated the cooking process. + +Louis, who like all French people was addicted to cookery,--indeed it +was an accomplishment he prided himself on,--was enchanted with the +improvement made in their diet by the acquisition of the said earthen +jar, or pipkin, and gave Indiana some praise for initiating his cousin +in the use of it. Catharine and Hector declared that he went out with +his bow and arrows, and visited his dead-falls and snares, ten times +oftener than he used to do, just for the sake of proving the admirable +properties of this precious utensil, and finding out some new way of +dressing his game. + +At all events, there was a valuable increase of furs, for making up +into clothing, caps, leggings, mitts, and other articles. + +From the Indian girl Catharine learned the value of many of the herbs +and shrubs that grew in her path, the bark and leaves of various +trees, and many dyes she could extract, with which she stained the +quills of the porcupine and the strips of the wood of which she made +baskets and mats. The little creeping winter-green, [Footnote: +Gaultheria procumbens,--spice winter-green.] with its scarlet berries, +that grows on the dry flats or sandy hills, which the Canadians call +spice-berry, she showed them was good to eat; and she would crush the +leaves, draw forth their fine aromatic flavour in her hands, and then +inhale their fragrance with delight. She made an infusion of the +leaves, and drank it as a tonic. The inner bark of the wild black +cherry she said was good to cure ague and fever. The root of the +bitter-sweet she scraped down and boiled in the deer-fat, or the fat +of any other animal, and made an ointment that possessed very healing +qualities, especially as an immediate application to fresh burns. + +Sometimes she showed a disposition to mystery, and would conceal the +knowledge of the particular herbs she made use of; and Catharine +several times noticed that she would go out and sprinkle a portion of +the food she had assisted her in preparing, on the earth, or under +some of the trees or bushes. When she was more familiar with their +language, she told Catharine this was done in token of gratitude to +the Good Spirit, who had given them success in hunting or trapping; or +else it was to appease the malice of the Evil Spirit; who might bring +mischief or loss to them, or sickness or death, unless his forbearance +was purchased by some particular mark of attention. + +Attention, memory, and imitation appeared to form the three most +remarkable of the mental faculties developed by the Indian girl. She +examined (when once her attention was roused) any object with critical +minuteness. Any knowledge she had once acquired she retained; her +memory was great, she never missed a path she had once trodden; she +seemed even to single out particular birds in a flock, to know them +from their companions. Her powers of imitation were also great. She +brought patience and perseverance to assist her: when once thoroughly +interested in any work she began, she would toil on untiringly till it +was completed; and then what triumph shone in her eyes! At such times +they became darkly brilliant with the joy that filled her heart. But +she possessed little talent for invention; what she had seen done, +after a few imperfect attempts, she could do again, but she rarely +struck out any new path for herself. + +At times she was docile and even playful, and appeared grateful for +the kindness with which she was treated, each day seemed to increase +her fondness for Catharine, and she appeared to delight in doing any +little service to please and gratify her; but it was towards Hector +that she displayed the deepest feeling of affection and respect. It +was to him her first tribute of fruit, or flowers, furs, moccasins, or +ornamental plumage of rare birds, was offered. She seemed to turn to +him as to a master and protector. He was in her eyes the "_chief_," +the head of his tribe. His bow was strung by her, and stained with +quaint figures and devices; his arrows were carved by her; the sheath +of deer-skin he carried his knife in was made and ornamented by her +hands; also, the case for his arrows, of birch-bark, she wrought with +especial neatness, and suspended by thongs to his neck when he was +preparing to go out in search of game. She gave him the name of the +"Young Eagle," while she called Louis "Nee-chee," or "Friend," to +Catharine she gave the poetical name of "Music of the Winds,"--_Madwaosh_. + +When they asked her to tell them her own name, she would bend down her +head in sorrow and refuse to pronounce it. She soon answered to the +name of Indiana, and seemed pleased with the sound. + +But of all the household, next to Hector, old Wolfe was her greatest +favourite. At first, it is true, the old dog regarded the new inmate +with a jealous eye, and seemed uneasy when he saw her approach to +caress him; but Indiana soon reconciled him to her person, and a +mutual friendly feeling became established between them, which seemed +daily and hourly to increase, greatly to the delight of the young +stranger. She would seat herself Eastern fashion, cross-legged on the +floor of the shanty, with the capacious head of the old dog in her +lap, and address herself to this mute companion in wailing tones, as +if she would unburden her heart by pouring into his unconscious ear +her tale of desolation and woe. + +Catharine was always very particular and punctual in performing her +personal ablutions, and she intimated to Indiana that it was good for +her to do the same. The young girl seemed reluctant to follow her +example, till daily custom had reconciled her to what she evidently at +first regarded as an unnecessary ceremony; but she soon took pleasure +in dressing her dark hair, and suffering Catharine to braid it and +polish it till it looked glossy and soft. Indiana in her turn would +adorn Catharine with the wings of the blue-bird or red-bird, the crest +of the wood-duck, or quill feathers of the golden-winged flicker, +which is called in the Indian tongue the shot-bird, in allusion to the +round spots on its cream-coloured breast. [Footnote: The golden-winged +flicker belongs to a sub-genus of woodpeckers, it is very handsome, +and is said to be eatable, it lives on fruits and insects.] It was not +in these things alone she indicated her grateful sense of the sisterly +kindness that her young hostess showed to her; she soon learned to +lighten her labours in every household work, and above all, she spent +her time most usefully in manufacturing clothing from the skins of the +wild animals, and in teaching Catharine how to fit and prepare them: +but these were the occupations of the winter months. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +"Go to the ant."--Proverbs. + +It was now the middle of September. The weather, which had continued +serene and beautiful for some time, with dewy nights and misty +mornings, began to show symptoms of the change of season usual at the +approach of the equinox. Sudden squalls of wind, with hasty showers, +would come sweeping over the lake; the nights and mornings were damp +and chilly. Already the tints of autumn were beginning to crimson the +foliage of the oaks, and where the islands were visible, the splendid +colours of the maple shone out in gorgeous contrast with the deep +verdure of the evergreens and light golden-yellow of the poplar; but +lovely as they now looked, they had not yet reached the meridian of +their beauty, which a few frosty nights at the close of the month were +destined to bring to perfection--a glow of splendour to gladden the +eye for a brief space, before the rushing winds and rains of the +following month were to sweep them away and scatter them abroad upon +the earth. + +One morning, after a night of heavy rain and wind, the two boys went +down to see if the lake was calm enough for trying the raft, which +Louis had finished before the coming on of the bad weather. The water +was rough and crested with mimic waves, and they felt indisposed to +launch the raft on so stormy a surface, but stood looking out over the +lake and admiring the changing foliage, when Hector pointed out to his +cousin a dark speck dancing on the waters, between the two nearest +islands. The wind, which blew very strong still from the north-east, +brought the object nearer every minute. At first they thought it might +be a pine-branch that was floating on the surface, when as it came +bounding over the waves, they perceived that it was a birch canoe, but +impelled by no visible arm. It was a strange sight upon that lonely +lake to see a vessel of any kind afloat, and, on first deciding that +it was a canoe, the boys were inclined to hide themselves among the +bushes, for fear of the Indians; but curiosity got the better of their +fears. + +"The owner of yonder little craft is either asleep or absent from her; +for I see no paddle, and it is evidently drifting without any one to +guide it," said Hector, after intently watching the progress of the +tempest-driven canoe. Assured as it approached nearer that such was +the case, they hurried to the beach just as a fresh gust had lodged +the canoe among the branches of a fallen cedar which projected out +some way into the water. + +By creeping along the trunk of the tree, and trusting at times to the +projecting boughs, Louis, who was the most active and the lightest of +weight, succeeded in getting within reach of the canoe, and with some +trouble and the help of a stout branch that Hector handed to him, he +contrived to moor her in safety on the shore, taking the precaution of +hauling her well up on the shingle, lest the wind and water should set +her afloat again. "Hec, there is something in this canoe, the sight of +which will gladden your heart," cried Louis, with a joyful look. "Come +quickly, and see my treasures!" + +"Treasures! You may well call them treasures," exclaimed Hector, as he +helped Louis to examine the contents of the canoe and place them on +the shore side by side. + +The boys could hardly find words to express their joy and surprise at +the discovery of a large jar of parched rice, a tomahawk, an Indian +blanket almost as good as new, a large mat rolled up, with a bass-bark +rope several yards in length wound round it, and, what was more +precious than all, an iron three-legged pot in which was a quantity of +Indian corn. These articles had evidently constituted the stores of +some Indian hunter or trapper: possibly the canoe had been imperfectly +secured, and had drifted from its moorings during the gale of the +previous night, unless by some accident the owner had fallen into the +lake and been drowned. This was of course only a matter of conjecture +on which it was useless to speculate, and the boys joyfully took +possession of the good fortune that had so providentially been wafted, +as it were, to their very feet. + +"It was a capital chance for us, that old cedar having been blown down +last night just where it was," said Louis; "for if the canoe had not +been drawn into the eddy, and stopped by the branches, we might have +lost it. I trembled, when I saw the wind driving it on so rapidly, +that it would founder in the deep water or go off to Long Island." + +"I think we should have got it at Pine-tree Point," said Hector; "but +I am glad it was lodged so cleverly among the cedar boughs. I was half +afraid you would have fallen in once or twice when you were trying to +draw it nearer to the shore." + +"Never fear for me, my friend; I can cling like a wild cat when I +climb. But what a grand pot! What delightful soups, and stews, and +boils Catharine will make! Hurrah!" and Louis tossed up the new fur +cap he had made with great skill from an entire fox-skin, and cut +sundry fantastic capers which Hector gravely condemned as unbecoming +his mature age (Louis was turned of fifteen); but with the joyous +spirit of a little child he sang and danced, and laughed and shouted, +till the lonely echoes of the islands and far-off hills returned the +unusual sounds, and even his more steady cousin caught the infection +and laughed to see Louis so elated. + +Leaving Hector to guard the prize, Louis ran gaily off to fetch +Catharine to share his joy and come and admire the canoe, and the +blanket, and the tripod, and the corn, and the tomahawk. Indiana +accompanied them to the lake shore, and long and carefully she +examined the canoe and its contents, and many were the plaintive +exclamations she uttered as she surveyed the things piece by piece, +till she took notice of the broken handle of an Indian paddle which +lay at the bottom of the vessel: this seemed to afford some solution +to her of the mystery, and by broken words and signs she intimated +that the paddle had possibly broken in the hand of the Indian, and +that in endeavouring to regain the other part, he had lost his balance +and been drowned. She showed Hector a rude figure of a bird engraved +with some sharp instrument, and rubbed in with a blue colour. This she +said was the totem or crest of the chief of the tribe, and was meant +to represent a _crow_. The canoe had belonged to a chief of that name. + +While they were dividing the contents of the canoe among them to be +carried to the shanty, Indiana, taking up the bass-rope and the +blanket, bundled up the most of the things, and adjusting the broad +thick part of the rope to the front of her head, she bore off the +burden with as great apparent ease as a London or an Edinburgh porter +would his trunks and packages, turning round with a merry glance and +repeating some Indian words with a lively air as she climbed the steep +bank, and soon distanced her companions, to her great delight. That +night Indiana cooked some of the parched rice, Indian fashion, with +venison, and they enjoyed the novelty very much; it made an excellent +substitute for bread, of which they had been so long deprived. + +Indiana gave them to understand that the rice harvest would soon be +ready on the lake, and that now they had got a canoe, they would go +out and gather it, and so lay by a store to last them for many months. + +This little incident furnished the inhabitants of the shanty with +frequent themes for discussion. Hector declared that the Indian corn +was the most valuable of their acquisitions. "It will insure us a crop +and bread and seed-corn for many years," he said. He also highly +valued the tomahawk, as his axe was worn and blunt. Louis was divided +between the iron pot and the canoe. Hector seemed to think the raft +might have formed a substitute for the latter, besides, Indiana had +signified her intention of helping him to make a canoe. Catharine +declared in favour of the blanket, as it would make, after thorough +ablutions, warm petticoats with tight bodices for herself and Indiana. +With deer-skin leggings and a fur jacket, they should be comfortably +clad. Indiana thought the canoe the most precious, and was charmed +with the good jar and the store of rice; nor did she despise the +packing-rope, which she soon showed was of use in carrying burdens +from place to place, Indian fashion. By placing a pad of soft fur in +front of the head, she could carry heavy loads with great ease. The +mat, she said, would be useful for drying the rice she meant to store. + +The next day after this adventure, the two girls set to work, and with +the help of Louis's large knife, which was called into requisition as +a substitute for scissors, they cut out the blanket dresses, and in a +short time made two comfortable and not very unsightly garments. The +full, short, plaited skirts reached a little below the knees; light +vests, bordered with fur, completed the upper part; and leggings, +terminated at the ankles by knotted fringes of doeskin, with moccasins +turned over with a band of squirrel fur, completed the novel costume; +and many a glance of innocent satisfaction did our young damsels cast +upon each other, when they walked forth in the pride of girlish vanity +to display their dresses to Hector and Louis, who, for their part, +regarded them as most skilful dressmakers, and were never tired of +admiring and commending their ingenuity in the making and fitting, +considering what rude implements they were obliged to use in the +cutting out and sewing of the garments. + +The extensive rice-beds on the lake had now begun to assume a golden +tinge, which contrasted very delightfully with the deep-blue waters, +looking, when lighted up by the sunbeams, like islands of +golden-coloured sand. The ears, heavy laden with the ripe grain, +drooped towards; the water. The time of the rice-harvest was at hand, +and with light and joyous hearts our young adventurers launched the +canoe, and, guided in their movements by the little squaw, paddled to +the extensive aquatic fields to gather it in, leaving Catharine and +Wolfe to watch their proceedings from the raft, which Louis had +fastened to a young tree that projected out over the lake, and which +made a good landing-place, likewise a wharf where they could stand and +fish very comfortably. As the canoe could not be overloaded on account +of the rice-gathering, Catharine very readily consented to employ +herself with fishing from the raft till their return. + +The manner of procuring the rice was very simple. One person steered +the canoe with the aid of the paddle along the edge of the rice-beds, +and another with a stick in one hand, and a curved sharp-edged paddle +in the other, struck the heads off as they bent them over the edge of +the stick; the chief art was in letting the heads fall into the canoe, +which a little practice soon enabled them to do as expertly as the +mower lets the grass fall in ridges beneath his scythe. + +Many bushels of wild rice were thus collected. Nothing could be more +delightful than this sort of work to our young people, and merrily +they worked, and laughed and sang as they came home each day with +their light bark laden with a store of grain which they knew would +preserve them from starving through the long, dreary winter that was +coming on. + +The canoe was a source of great comfort and pleasure to them. They +were now able to paddle out into the deep water and fish for +masquinonje and black bass, which they caught in great numbers. +Indiana seemed quite another creature when, armed with a paddle of her +own carving, she knelt at the head of the canoe and sent it flying +over the water; then her dark eyes, often so vacant and glassy, +sparkled with delight, and her teeth gleamed with ivory whiteness as +her face broke into smiles and dimples. + +It was delightful then to watch this child of nature, and see how +innocently happy she could be when rejoicing in the excitement of +healthy exercise, and elated by a consciousness of the power she +possessed of excelling her companions in feats of strength and skill +which they had yet to acquire by imitating her. + +Even Louis was obliged to confess that the young savage knew more of +the management of a canoe, and the use of the bow and arrow and the +fishing-line, than either himself or his cousin. Hector was lost in +admiration of her skill in all these things, and Indiana rose highly +in his estimation, the more he saw of her usefulness. + +"Every one to his craft," said Louis, laughing. "The little squaw has +been brought up in the knowledge and practice of such matters from her +babyhood; perhaps if we were to set her to knitting and spinning, +milking cows, and house-work, and learning to read, I doubt if she +would prove half as quick as Catharine or Mathilde." + +"I wonder if she knows anything of God or our Saviour," said Hector +thoughtfully. + +"Who should have taught her? for the Indians are all heathens," +replied Louis. + +"I have heard my dear mother say the missionaries have taken great +pains to teach the Indian children about Quebec and Montreal, and that +so far from being stupid, they learn very readily," said Catharine. + +"We must try and make Indiana learn to say her prayers. She sits quite +still, and seems to take no notice of what we are doing when we kneel +down before we go to bed," observed Hector. + +"She cannot understand what we say," said Catharine; "for she knows so +little of our language yet, that of course she cannot comprehend the +prayers, which are in other sort of words than what we use in speaking +of hunting, and fishing, and cooking, and such matters." + +"Well, when she knows more of our way of speaking, then we must teach +her. It is a sad thing for Christian children to live with an untaught +pagan," said Louis, who, being rather bigoted in his creed, felt a +sort of uneasiness in his own mind at the poor girl's total want of +the rites of his church; but Hector and Catharine regarded her +ignorance with feelings of compassionate interest, and lost no +opportunity of trying to enlighten her darkened mind on the subject of +belief in the God who made and the Lord who saved them. Simply and +earnestly they entered into the task as a labour of love; and though +for a long time Indiana seemed to pay little attention to what they +said, by slow degrees the good seed took root and brought forth fruit +worthy of Him whose Spirit poured the beams of spiritual light into +her heart. But my young readers must not imagine these things were the +work of a day: the process was slow, and so were the results, but they +were good in the end. + +Catharine was glad when, after many months of patient teaching, the +Indian girl asked permission to kneel down with her white friend and +pray to the Great Spirit and his Son in the same words that Christ +Jesus gave to his disciples; and if the full meaning of that holy +prayer, so full of humility and love and moral justice, was not fully +understood by her whose lips repeated it, yet even the act of worship +and the desire to do that which she had been told was right were, +doubtless, sacrifices better than the pagan rites which that young +girl had witnessed among her father's people, who, blindly following +the natural impulse of man in his depraved nature, regarded bloodshed +and cruelty as among the highest of human virtues, and gloried in +those deeds of vengeance at which the Christian mind revolts with +horror. + +Indiana took upon herself the management of the rice, drying, husking, +and storing it, the two lads working under her direction. She caused +several forked stakes to be cut, sharpened, and driven into the +ground. On these were laid four poles, so as to form a frame. Over it +she stretched the bass-mat, which she secured by means of forked pegs +to the frame. On the mat she then spread out the rice thinly, and +lighted a fire beneath, taking good care not to let the flame set fire +to the mat, the object being rather to keep up a strong, slow heat by +means of the red embers. She next directed the boys to supply her with +pine or cedar boughs, which she stuck in close together, so as to +enclose the fire within the area of the stakes. This was done to +concentrate the heat and cause it to bear upwards with more power, the +rice being frequently stirred with a sort of long-handled, flat +shovel. After the rice was sufficiently dried, the next thing to be +done was separating it from the husk. This was effected by putting it, +in small quantities, into the iron pot, and with a sort of wooden +pestle or beetle rubbing it round and round against the sides. +[Footnote: The Indians often make use of a very rude, primitive sort +of mortar, by hollowing out a bass-wood stump, and rubbing the rice +with a wooden pounder.] If they had not had the iron pot, a wooden +trough must have been substituted in its stead. + +When the rice was husked, the loose chaff was winnowed from it in a +flat basket like a sieve; and it was then put by in coarse birch +baskets, roughly sewed with leather-wood bark, or bags made of matting +woven by the little squaw from the cedar-bark. A portion was also +parched, which was simply done by putting the rice dry into the iron +pot, and setting it on hot embers, stirring the grain till it burst; +it was then stored by for use. Rice thus prepared is eaten dry, as a +substitute for bread, by the Indians. + +The lake was now swarming with wild-fowl of various kinds: crowds of +ducks were winging their way across it from morning till night, +floating in vast flocks upon its surface, or rising in noisy groups if +an eagle or fish-hawk appeared sailing with slow, majestic circles +above them, then settling down with noisy splash upon the calm water. +The shores, too, were covered with these birds, feeding on the fallen +acorns which fell ripe and brown with every passing breeze. + +The berries of the dogwood also furnished them with food; but the wild +rice seemed the great attraction, and small shell-fish and the larvae +of many insects that had been dropped into the waters, there to come +to perfection in due season, or to form a provision for myriads of +wild-fowl that had come from the far north-west to feed upon them, +guided by that instinct which has so beautifully been termed by one of +our modern poetesses,-- + + "God's gift to the weak." [Footnote: Mrs. Southey.] + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + + "Oh, come and hear what cruel wrongs + Befell the Dark Ladye"--COLERIDGE. + +The Mohawk girl was in high spirits at the coming of the wild-fowl to +the lake; she would clap her hands and laugh with almost childish glee +as she looked at them darkening the lake like clouds resting on its +surface. "If I had but my father's gun, his good old gun, now!" would +Hector say, as he eyed the timorous flocks as they rose and fell upon +the lake; "but these foolish birds are so shy they are away before an +arrow can reach them." + +Indiana smiled in her quiet way; she was busy filling the canoe with +green boughs, which she arranged so as completely to transform the +little vessel into the semblance of a floating island of evergreen. +Within this bower she motioned Hector to crouch down, leaving a small +space for the free use of his bow; while concealed at the prow she +gently and noiselessly paddled the canoe from the shore among the +rice-beds, letting it remain stationary or merely rocking to and fro +with the undulatory motion of the waters. + +The unsuspecting birds, deceived into full security, eagerly pursued +their pastime or their prey, and it was no difficult matter for the +hidden archer to hit many a black duck, or teal, or whistlewing, as it +floated securely on the placid water, or rose to shift its place a few +yards up or down the stream. Soon the lake around was strewed with the +feathered game, which Wolfe, cheered on by Louis who was stationed on +the shore, brought to land. + +Indiana told Hector that this was the season when the Indians made +great gatherings on the lake for duck-shooting, which they pursued +much after the same fashion as that which has been described, only +instead of one, a dozen or more canoes would be thus disguised with +boughs, with others stationed at different parts of the lake, or under +the shelter of the island, to collect the birds. This sport generally +concluded with a great feast. + +The Indians offered the first of the birds as an oblation to the Great +Spirit, as a grateful acknowledgment of his bounty in having allowed +them to gather food thus plentifully for their families. Sometimes +distant tribes with whom they were on terms of friendship were invited +to share the sport and partake of the spoils. + +Indiana could not understand why Hector did not follow the custom of +her Indian fathers, and offer the first duck or the best fish to +propitiate the Great Spirit. Hector told her that the God he +worshipped desired no sacrifice; that his holy Son, when he came down +from heaven and gave himself as a sacrifice for the sin of the world, +had satisfied his Father, the Great Spirit, an hundredfold. + +They feasted now continually upon the water-fowl, and Catharine +learned from Indiana how to skin them, and so preserve the feathers +for making tippets, and bonnets, and ornamental trimmings, which are +not only warm, but light and very becoming. They split open the birds +they did not require for present consumption, and dried them for +winter store, smoking some after the manner the Shetlanders and the +Orkney people smoke the solan geese. Their shanty displayed an +abundant store of provisions--fish, flesh, and fowl, besides baskets +of wild rice and bags of dried fruit. + +One day Indiana came in from the brow of the hill, and told the boys +that the lake eastward was covered with canoes, she showed, by holding +up her two hands and then three fingers, that she had counted +thirteen. The tribes had met for the annual duck-feast and the +rice-harvest. She advised them to put out the fire, so that no smoke +might be seen to attract them, but said they would not leave the lake +for hunting over the plains just then, as the camp was lower down on +the point [Footnote: This point, commonly known as _Andersen's Point_, +now the seat of an Indian village, used in former times to be a great +place of rendezvous for the Indians, and was the scene of a murderous +carnage or massacre that took place about eighty years ago; the war +weapons and bones of the Indians are often turned up with the plough +at this day.] east of the mouth of a big river, which she called +"Otonabee." + +Hector asked Indiana if she would go away and leave them in the event +of meeting with any of her own tribe. The girl cast her eyes on the +earth in silence; a dark cloud seemed to gather over her face. + +"If they should prove to be any of your father's people, or a friendly +tribe, would you go away with them?" he again repeated; to which she +solemnly replied,-- + +"Indiana has no father, no tribe, no people; no blood of her father +warms the heart of any man, woman, or child, saving herself alone. But +Indiana is a brave, and the daughter of a brave, and will not shrink +from danger: her heart is warm; red blood flows warm here," and she +laid her hand on her heart. Then lifting up her hand, she said in slow +but impassioned tone, "They left not one drop of living blood to flow +in any veins but these." She raised her eyes, and stretched her arms +upwards toward heaven, as though calling down vengeance on the +murderers of her father's house. + +"My father was a Mohawk, the son of a great chief, who owned these +hunting-grounds far as your eye can see to the rising and setting sun, +along the big waters of the big lakes; but the Ojebwas, a portion of +the Chippewa nation, by treachery cut off my father's people by +hundreds in cold blood, when they were defenceless and at rest. It was +a bloody day and a bloody deed." + +Instead of hiding herself, as Hector and Louis strongly advised the +young Mohawk to do, she preferred remaining, as a scout, she said, +under the cover of the bushes on the edge of the steep that overlooked +the lake, to watch the movements of the Indians. She told Hector to be +under no apprehension if they came to the hut; not to attempt to +conceal themselves, but offer them food to eat and water to drink. "If +they come to the house and find you away, they will take your stores +and burn your roof, suspecting that you are afraid to meet them +openly; but they will not harm you if you meet them with open hand and +fearless brow: if they eat of your bread, they will not harm you; me +they would kill by a cruel death--the war-knife is in their heart +against the daughter of the brave." + +The boys thought Indiana's advice good, and they felt no fear for +themselves, only for Catharine, whom they counselled to remain in the +shanty with Wolfe. + +The Indians, intent only on the sport which they had come to enjoy, +seemed in high glee, and apparently peaceably disposed; every night +they returned to the camp on the north side. The boys could see their +fires gleaming among the trees on the opposite shore; and now and +then, in the stillness of the evening, their wild shouts of revelry +would come faintly to their ears, borne by the breeze over the waters +of the lake. + +The allusion that Indiana had made to her own history, though conveyed +in broken and hardly intelligible language, had awakened feelings of +deep interest for her in the breasts of her faithful friends. Many +months after this she related to her wondering auditors the fearful +story of the massacre of her kindred, which I will now relate, as I +have raised the curiosity of my youthful readers. + +There had been for some time a jealous feeling existing between the +chiefs of two principal tribes of the Ojebwas and the Mohawks, which +like a smothered fire had burned in the heart of each without having +burst into a decided blaze; for each strove to compass his ends and +obtain the advantage over the other by covert means. The tribe of the +Mohawks of which I now speak claimed the southern shores of the Rice +Lake for their hunting-grounds, and certain islands and parts of the +lake for fishing, while that of the Ojebwas considered themselves +masters of the northern shores and certain rights of water besides. +[Footnote: The facts of this narrative were gathered from the lips of +the eldest son of a Rice Lake chief. I have preferred giving it in the +present form, rather than as the story of the Indian girl. Simple as +it is, it is matter of history.] Possibly it was about these rights +that the quarrel originated; but if so, it was not openly avowed +between the "Black Snake" (that was the totem borne by the Mohawk +chief) and the "Bald Eagle" (the totem of the Ojebwa). + +These chiefs had each a son, and the Bald Eagle had also a daughter of +great and rare beauty, called by her people the "Beam of the Morning." +She was the admiration of Mohawks as well as Ojebwas, and many of the +young men of both the tribes had sought her hand, but hitherto in +vain. Among her numerous suitors, the son of the Black Snake seemed to +be the most enamoured of her beauty; and it was probably with some +intention of winning the favour of the young Ojebwa squaw for his son, +that the Black Snake accepted the formal invitation of the Bald Eagle +to come to his hunting-grounds during the rice-harvest, and shoot deer +and ducks on the lake, and to ratify a truce which had been for some +time set on foot between them. But while outwardly professing +friendship and a desire for peace, inwardly the fire of hatred burned +fiercely in the breast of the Black Snake against the Ojebwa chief and +his only son, a young man of great promise, renowned among his tribe +as a great hunter and warrior, but who had once offended the Mohawk +chief by declining a matrimonial alliance with one of the daughters of +a chief of inferior rank who was closely connected to him by marriage. +This affront rankled in the heart of the Black Snake, though outwardly +he affected to have forgiven and forgotten the slight that had been +put upon his relative. + +The hunting had been carried on for some days very amicably, when one +day the Bald Eagle was requested, with all due attention to Indian +etiquette, to go to the wigwam of the Black Snake. On entering the +lodge, he perceived the Mohawk strangely disordered: he rose from his +mat, on which he had been sleeping, with a countenance fearfully +distorted, his eyes glaring hideously, his whole frame convulsed and +writhing as in fearful bodily anguish; and casting himself upon the +ground he rolled and grovelled on the earth, uttering frightful yells +and groans. + +The Bald Eagle was moved at the distressing state in which he found +his guest, and asked the cause of his disorder, but this the other +refused to tell. After some hours the fit appeared to subside, but the +chief remained moody and silent. The following day the same scene was +repeated; and on the third, when the fit seemed to have increased in +bodily agony, with great apparent reluctance, wrung seemingly from him +by the importunity of his host, he consented to reveal the cause, +which was, that the Bad Spirit had told him that these bodily tortures +could not cease till the only son of his friend, the Ojebwa chief, had +been sacrificed to appease his anger, neither could peace long +continue between the two nations until this deed had been done; and +not only must the chief's son be slain, but his flesh must be served +up at a feast at which the father must preside. The Black Snake +affected the utmost horror and aversion at so bloody and unnatural a +deed being committed to save his life and the happiness of his tribe, +but the peace was to be ratified for ever if the sacrifice were +made,--if not, war to the knife was to be ever between the Mohawks and +Ojebwas. + +The Bald Eagle, seeing that his treacherous guest would make this an +occasion of renewing a deadly warfare, for which possibly he was not +at the time well prepared, assumed a stoical calmness, and replied,-- + +"Be it so; great is the power of the Bad Spirit to cause evil to the +tribes of the chiefs that rebel against his will. My son shall be +sacrificed by my hand, that the evil one may be appeased, and that the +Black Snake's body may have ease, and his people rest beside the fires +of their lodges in peace." + +"The Bald Eagle has spoken like a chief with a large heart," was the +specious response of the wily Mohawk, "moreover, the Good Spirit also +appeared, and said, 'Let the Black Snake's son and the Bald Eagle's +daughter become man and wife, that peace may be found to dwell among +the lodges, and the war-hatchet be buried for ever.'" + +"The Beam of the Morning shall become the wife of the Young Pine," was +the courteous answer; but stern revenge lay deep hidden beneath the +unmoved brow and passionless lip. + +The fatal day arrived. The Bald Eagle, with unflinching hand and eye +that dropped no human tear of sorrow for the son of his love, saw his +son bound to the fatal post and pierced by the arrows of his own +tribe. The fearful feast of human flesh was prepared, and the old +chief, pale but unmoved, presided over the ceremonies. The war-dance +was danced round the sacrifice, and all went off well, as if no such +horrible rite had been enacted, but a fearful retribution was at hand. +The Young Pine sought the tent of the Bald Eagle's daughter that +evening, and was received with all due deference, as a son of so great +a chief as the Black Snake merited. He was regarded now as a +successful suitor; and, intoxicated with the beauty of the Beam of the +Morning, he pressed her to allow the marriage to take place in a few +days. The bride consented, and a day was named for the wedding feast +to be celebrated; and, that due honour might be given to so great an +event, invitations were sent out to the principal families of the +Mohawk tribe, and these amounted to several hundreds of souls; while +the young Ojebwa hunters were despatched up the river and to different +parts of the country, avowedly to collect venison, beaver, and other +delicacies, to regale their guests, but in reality to summon, by means +of trusty scouts, a large war-party from the small lakes, to be in +readiness to take part in the deadly revenge that was preparing for +their enemies. + +Meantime the squaws had pitched the nuptial tent and prepared the +bridal ornaments. A large wigwam, capable of containing all the +expected guests, was then constructed, adorned with the thick branches +of evergreens, so artfully contrived as to be capable of concealing +the armed Ojebwas and their allies, who in due time were introduced +beneath this leafy screen, armed with the murderous tomahawk and +scalping-knife, with which to spring upon their defenceless and +unsuspecting guests. According to the etiquette always observed upon +such occasions, all deadly weapons were left outside the tent. The +bridegroom had been conducted with songs and dancing to the tent of +the bride. The guests, to the number of several hundred naked and +painted warriors, were assembled. The feast was declared to be ready. +A great iron pot or kettle occupied the centre of the tent. According +to the custom of the Indians, the father of the bridegroom was invited +to lift the most important dish from the pot, whilst the warriors +commenced their war-dance around him. This dish was usually a bear's +head, which was fastened to a string left for the purpose of raising +it from the pot. + +"Let the Black Snake, the great chief of the Mohawks, draw up the head +and set it on the table, that his people may eat and make merry, and +that his wise heart may be glad," were the scornful words of the Bald +Eagle. + +A yell of horror burst from the lips of the horror-stricken father as +he lifted to view the fresh gory head of his only son, the _happy_ +bridegroom the lovely daughter of the Ojebwa chief. + +"Ha!" shouted the Bald Eagle, "is the great chief of the Mohawks a +squaw, that his blood grows white and his heart trembles at the sight +of his son, the bridegroom of the Beam of the Morning? The Bald Eagle +gave neither sigh nor groan when he saw the arrows pierce the heart of +his child. Come, brother, take the knife; taste the flesh and drink +the blood of thy son. The Bald Eagle shrank not when you bade him +partake of the feast that was prepared from his young warrior's body." + +The wretched father dashed himself upon the earth, while his cries and +howlings rent the air. These cries were answered by the war-whoop of +the ambushed Ojebwas, as they sprang to their feet and with deafening +yells attacked the guests, who, panic-stricken, naked and defenceless, +fell an easy prey to their infuriated enemies. Not one living foe +escaped to tell the tale of that fearful marriage feast. A second +Judith had the chief's daughter proved. It was her plighted hand that +had severed the head of her unsuspecting bridegroom, to complete the +fearful vengeance that had been devised in return for the merciless +and horrible murder of her brother. + +Nor was the sacrifice yet finished; for with fearful cries the Indians +seized upon the canoes of their enemies, and with the utmost speed, +urged by unsatisfied revenge, hurried down the lake to an island where +the women and children and such of the aged or young men as were not +included among the wedding guests were encamped in unsuspecting +security. Panic-stricken, the Mohawks offered no resistance, but fell +like sheep appointed for the slaughter. The Ojebwas slew there the +gray-head with the infant of days. But while the youths and old men +tamely yielded to their enemies, there was one who, her spirit roused +to fury by the murder of her father, armed herself with the war-club +and knife, and boldly withstood the successful warriors. At the door +of the tent of the slaughtered chief the Amazon defended her children. +While the war lightning kindled in her dark eyes, she called aloud in +scornful tones to her people to hide themselves in the tents of their +women, who alone were braves, and would fight their battles. Fiercely +she taunted the men; but they shrank from the unequal contest, and she +alone was found to deal the death-blow upon the foe, till, overpowered +with numbers, and pierced with frightful wounds, she fell singing her +own death-song and raising the wail for the dead who lay around her. +Night closed in, but the work of blood still continued. Lower down +they found another encampment, and there also they slew all the +inhabitants of the lodges. They then returned to the island, to gather +together their dead and to collect the spoils of the tents. They were +weary with the fatigue of the slaughter of that fearful day. The +retribution had satisfied even their love of blood. And when they +found, on returning to the spot where the heroine had stood at bay, a +young solitary female sitting beside the corpse of that dauntless +woman, her mother, they led her away, and did all that their savage +nature could suggest to soften her anguish and dry her tears. They +brought her to the tents of their women, clothed and fed her, and bade +her be comforted; but her young heart burned within her, and she +refused consolation. She could not forget the wrongs of her people: +she was the only living creature left of the Mohawks on that island. +The young girl was Indiana--the same whom Hector Maxwell had found, +wounded and bound, and ready to perish with hunger and thirst, on Bare +Hill. + +Brooding with revenge in her heart, the young girl told them that she +had stolen into the tent of the Bald Eagle, and aimed a knife at his +throat; but the fatal blow was arrested by one of the young men, who +had watched her enter the old chief's tent. A council was called, and +she was taken to Bare Hill, bound, and left in the sad state already +described. + +It was with feelings of horror and terror that the Christian children +listened to this fearful tale, and Indiana read in their averted eyes +and pale faces the feelings with which the recital of the tale of +blood had inspired them. And then it was, as they sat beneath the +shade of the trees, in the soft, misty light of an Indian summer moon, +that Catharine, with simple earnestness, taught her young disciple +those heavenly lessons of mercy and forgiveness which her Redeemer had +set forth by his life, his doctrines, and his death--telling her that +if she, would see that Saviour's face in heaven, and dwell with him in +joy and peace for ever, she must learn to pray for those dreadful men +who had made her fatherless and motherless and her home a desolation; +and that the fire of revenge must be quenched within her heart, and +replaced by the spirit of love, or she could not become a child of God +and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven. How hard were these +conditions to the young heathen! how contrary to her nature, to all +that she had been taught in the tents of her fathers, where revenge +was virtue, and to take the scalp of an enemy a glorious thing! + +Yet when she contrasted the gentle, kind, and dove-like characters of +her Christian friends with the fierce, bloody people of her tribe and +of her Ojebwa enemies, she could not but own they were more worthy of +love and admiration. Had they not found her a poor, miserable, +trembling captive, unbound her, fed and cherished her, pouring the +balm of consolation into her wounded heart, drawing her in bands of +tenderest love to forsake those wild and fearful passions that warred +in her soul, and bringing her to the feet of the Saviour, to become +his meek and holy child--a lamb of his "extended fold"? [Footnote: The +Indian who related this narrative to the author was a son of a Rice +Lake chief, Mosang Pondash by name. He vouched for its truth as a +historic fact remembered by his father, whose grandsire had been one +of the actors in the massacre.] + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +"The horn of the hunter is heard on the hill" + +_Irish Song_ + +While the Indians were actively pursuing their sports on the lake, +shooting wildfowl, and hunting and fishing by torchlight, so exciting +was the amusement of watching them that the two lads, Hector and +Louis, quite forgot all sense of danger in the enjoyment of lying or +sitting on the brow of the mount near the great ravine and looking at +their proceedings. Once or twice the lads were near betraying +themselves to the Indians by raising a shout of delight at some +skilful manoeuvre that excited their unqualified admiration and +applause. + +At night, when the canoes had all retired to the camp on the north +shore, where the Indians assembled under the boughs of some venerable +trees, and round the evening fires related the deeds of the preceding +day, and all fear of detection had ceased for the time, they lighted +up their own shanty fire, and cooked a good supper, and also prepared +a sufficiency of food for the morrow. The Indians remained for a +fortnight. At the end of that time Indiana, who was a watchful spy on +their movements, told Hector and Louis that the camp was broken up, +and the Indians had gone up the river, and would not return again for +some weeks. The departure of the Indians was a matter of great +rejoicing to Catharine, whose dread of these savages had greatly +increased since she had been made acquainted with the fearful deeds +which Indiana had described. + +Once, and only once during their stay, the Indians had passed within a +short distance of their dwelling; but they were in full chase of a +bear, which had been seen crossing the deep ravine near Mount Ararat, +and were too intent upon their game to notice the shanty; for they +never turned out of their path, and Catharine, who was alone at the +time, drawing water from the spring, was so completely concealed by +the high bank above her that she had quite escaped their notice. +Fortunately, Indiana gave the two boys a signal to conceal themselves, +where, effectually hidden among the thick, gray, mossy trunks of the +cedars at the lake shore, they remained secure from molestation; while +the Indian girl dropped noiselessly down among the tangled thicket of +wild vines and brushwood, which she drew cautiously over her, and +closed her eyes, lest, as she naively remarked, their glitter should +be seen and betray her to her enemies. + +It was a moment of intense anxiety to our poor wanderers, whose +terrors were more excited on behalf of the young Mohawk than for +themselves, and they congratulated her on her escape with affectionate +warmth. + +"Are my white brothers afraid to die?" was the young squaw's +half-scornful reply. "Indiana is the daughter of a brave; she fears +not to die." + +The latter end of September and the first week in October had been +stormy and even cold. The rainy season, however, was now over. The +nights were often illuminated by the aurora borealis, which might be +seen forming an arch of soft and lovely brightness over the lake to +the north and north-eastern portions of the horizon, or shooting +upwards, in ever-varying shafts of greenish light, now hiding, now +revealing the stars, which shone with softened radiance through the +silvery veil that dimmed their beauty. Sometimes for many nights +together the same appearance might be seen, and was usually the +forerunner of frosty weather, though occasionally it was the precursor +of cold winds and heavy rains. + +The Indian girl regarded it with superstitious feelings, but whether +as an omen of good or evil she would not tell. On all matters +connected with her religious notions she was shy and reserved, though +occasionally she unconsciously revealed them. Thus the warnings of +death or misfortunes were revealed to her by certain ominous sounds in +the woods, the appearance of strange birds or animals, or the moanings +of others. The screeching of the owl, the bleating of the doe, or +barking of the fox, were evil auguries, while the flight of the eagle +and the croaking of the raven were omens of good. She put faith in +dreams, and would foretell good or evil fortune from them; she could +read the morning and evening clouds, and knew from various appearances +of the sky, or the coming or departing of certain birds or insects, +changes in the atmosphere. Her ear was quick in distinguishing the +changes in the voices of the birds or animals; she knew the times of +their coming and going, and her eye was quick to see, as her ear to +detect sounds. Her voice was soft, and low, and plaintive, and she +delighted in imitating the little ballads or hymns that Catharine +sang; though she knew nothing of their meaning, she would catch the +tunes and sing the song with Catharine, touching the hearts of her +delighted auditors by the melody and pathos of her voice. + +The season called Indian summer had now arrived. The air was soft and +mild, almost oppressively warm; the sun looked red as though seen +through the smoke-clouds of a populous city. A soft blue haze hung on +the bosom of the glassy lake, which reflected on its waveless surface +every passing shadow, and the gorgeous tints of its changing woods on +shore and island. Sometimes the stillness of the air was relieved by a +soft sighing wind, which rustled the dying foliage as it swept by. + +The Indian summer is the harvest of the Indian tribes. It is during +this season that they hunt and shoot the wild-fowl that come in their +annual flights to visit the waters of the American lakes and rivers; +it is then that they gather in their rice, and prepare their winter +stores of meat, and fish, and furs. The Indian girl knew the season +they would resort to certain hunting-grounds. They were constant, and +altered not their customs, as it was with their fathers, so it was +with them. + +Louis had heard so much of the Otonabee river from Indiana that he was +impatient to go and explore the entrance and the shores of the lake on +that side, which hitherto they had not ventured to do for fear of +being surprised by the Indians. "Some fine day," said Louis, "we will +go out in the canoe, explore the distant islands, and go up the river +a little way." + +Hector advised visiting all the islands by turns, beginning at the +little islet which looks in the distance like a boat in full sail, it +is level with the water, and has only three or four trees upon it. The +name they had given to it was "Ship Island." The Indians have some +name for it which I have forgotten, but it means, I have been told, +"Witch Island." Hector's plan met with general approbation, and they +resolved to take provisions with them for several days, and visit the +islands and go up the river, passing the night under the shelter of +the thick trees on the shore wherever they found a pleasant +halting-place. + +The weather was mild and warm, the lake was as clear and calm as a +mirror, and in joyous mood our little party embarked and paddled up +the lake, first to Ship Island; but this did not detain them many +minutes. They then went to Grape Island, which they so named from the +abundance of wild vines, now rich with purple clusters of the ripe +grapes--tart, but still not to be despised by our young adventurers, +and they brought away a large birch basket heaped up with the fruit. +"Ah, if we had but a good cake of maple sugar now, to preserve our +grapes with, and make such grape jelly as my mother makes!" said +Louis. + +"If we find out a sugar-bush we will manage to make plenty of sugar," +said Catharine; "there are maples not two hundred yards from the +shanty, near the side of the steep bank to the east. You remember the +pleasant spot, which we named the Happy Valley, where the bright creek +runs dancing along so merrily, below the pine-ridge?" + +"Oh yes; the same that winds along near the foot of Bare Hill, where +the water-cresses grow." + +"Yes, where I gathered the milk-weed the other day." + +"What a beautiful pasture-field that will make when it is cleared!" +said Hector thoughtfully. + +"Hector is always planning about fields, and clearing great farms," +said Louis, laughing. "We shall see Hec a great man one of these days; +I think he has in his own mind brushed, and burned, and logged up all +the fine flats and table-land on the plains before now--ay, and +cropped it all with wheat, and pease, and Indian corn." + +"We will have a clearing and a nice field of corn next year, if we +live," replied Hector; "that corn that we found in the canoe will be a +treasure." + +"Yes; and the corn-cob you got on Bare Hill," said Catharine. "How +lucky we have been! We shall be so happy when we see our little field +of corn flourishing round the shanty! It was a good thing, Hec, that +you went to the Indian camp that day, though both Louis and I were +very miserable while you were absent; but, you see, God must have +directed you, that the life of this poor girl might be saved, to be a +comfort to us. Everything has prospered well with us since she came to +us. Perhaps it is because we try to make a Christian of her, and so +God blesses all our endeavours." + +"We are told," said Hector, "that there is joy with the angels of God +over one sinner that repenteth: doubtless, it is a joyful thing when +the heathen, that knew not the name of God, are taught to glorify his +holy name." + +Indiana, while exploring, had captured a porcupine. She declared that +she should have plenty of quills for edging baskets and moccasins; +besides, she said, the meat was white and good to eat. Hector looked +with a suspicious eye upon the little animal, doubting the propriety +of eating its flesh, though he had learned to eat musk-rats, and +consider them good meat, baked in Louis's Indian oven, or roasted on a +forked stick before the fire. The Indian porcupine is a small animal, +not a very great deal larger than the common British hedgehog; the +quills, however, are longer and stronger, and varied with alternate +clouded marks of pure white and dark brownish-gray; they are minutely +barbed, so that if one enters the flesh it is with difficulty +extracted, but will work through of itself in an opposite direction, +and can then be easily pulled out. Dogs and cattle often suffer great +inconvenience from getting their muzzles filled with the quills of the +porcupine, the former when worrying the poor little animal, and the +latter by accidentally meeting a dead one among the herbage; great +inflammation will sometimes attend the extraction. Indians often lose +valuable hounds from this cause. Besides porcupines, Indiana told her +companions, there were some fine butter-nut trees (_Juglans cinerea_) +on the island, and they could collect a bagful of nuts in a very short +time. This was good news, for the butter-nut is sweet and pleasant, +almost equal to the walnut, of which it is a species. + +The day was passed pleasantly enough in collecting nuts and grapes; +but as this island did not afford any good cleared spot for passing +the night, and moreover, was tenanted by black snakes, several of +which made their appearance among the stones near the edge of the +water, they agreed by common counsel to go to Long Island, where +Indiana said there was an old log-house, the walls of which were still +standing, and where there was dry moss in plenty which would make them +a comfortable bed for the night. This old log-house, she said, had +been built, she had heard the Indians say, by a French Canadian +trapper, who used to visit the lake some years ago. He was on friendly +terms with the chiefs, who allowed him many privileges, and he bought +their furs, and took them down the lake, through the river Trent, to +some station-house on the great lake. They found they should have time +enough to land and deposit their nuts and grapes and paddle to Long +Island before sunset. Upon the western part of this fine island they +had several times landed and passed some hours, exploring its shores; +but Indiana told them that to reach the old log-house they must enter +the low swampy bay to the east, at an opening which she called Indian +Cove. To do this required some skill in the management of the canoe, +which was rather overloaded for so light a vessel, and the trees grew +so close and thick that they had some difficulty in pushing their way +through them without injuring its frail sides. These trees or bushes +were chiefly black alder (_Alnus incuna_), high-bush cranberries +(_Viburnum opulus_), dogwood, willows, as they proceeded further, +there was ground of a more solid nature, with cedar, poplar, swamp +oak, and soft maple, silver birch, and wild cherries. Long strings of +silver-gray tree-moss hung dangling over their heads, the bark and +roots of the birch and cedars were covered with a luxuriant growth of +green moss, but there was a dampness and closeness in this place that +made it far from wholesome. The little band of voyagers were not sorry +when the water became too shallow to admit of the canoe making its way +through the swampy channel, and they landed on the bank of a small +circular pond, as round as a ring, and nearly surrounded by tall trees +hoary with moss and lichens; large water-lilies floated on the surface +of this miniature lake; the brilliant red berries of the high-bush +cranberry and the purple clusters of grapes festooned the trees. "A +famous breeding-place this must be for ducks," observed Louis. + +"And for flowers," said Catharine, "and for grapes and cranberries. +There is always some beauty or some usefulness to be found, however +lonely the spot." + +"A fine place for musk-rats, and minks, and fishes," said Hector, +looking round. "The old trapper knew what he was about when he made +his lodge near this pond. And there, sure enough, is the log-hut, and +not so bad a one either;" and scrambling up the bank he entered the +deserted little tenement, well pleased to find it in tolerable repair. +There were the ashes on the stone hearth, just as it had been left +years back by the old trapper; some rough-hewn shelves, a rude +bedstead of cedar poles still occupied a corner of the little +dwelling; heaps of old dry moss and grass lay upon the ground; and the +little squaw pointed with one of her silent laughs to a collection of +broken egg-shells, where some wild-duck had sat and hatched her downy +brood among the soft materials which she had found and appropriated to +her own purpose. The only things pertaining to the former possessor of +the log-hut were an old, rusty, battered tin pannikin, now, alas! +unfit for holding water; a bit of a broken earthen whisky jar; a rusty +nail, which Louis pocketed, or rather pouched--for he had substituted +a fine pouch of deer-skin for his worn-out pocket; and a fishing-line +of good stout cord, which was wound on a splinter of red cedar, and +carefully stuck between one of the rafters and the roof of the shanty. +A rusty but efficient hook was attached to the line, and Louis, who +was the finder, was quite overjoyed at his good fortune in making so +valuable an addition to his fishing tackle. Hector got only an odd +worn-out moccasin, which he threw into the little pond in disdain: +while Catharine declared she would keep the old tin pot as a relic, +and carefully deposited it in the canoe. + +As they made their way into the interior of the island, they found +that there were a great many fine sugar maples, which had been tapped +by some one--as the boys thought, by the old trapper, but Indiana, on +examining the incisions in the trees, and the remnants of birch-bark +vessels that lay moldering on the earth below them, declared them to +have been the work of her own people, and long and sadly did the young +girl look upon these simple memorials of a race of whom she was the +last living remnant. The young girl stood there in melancholy mood, a +solitary, isolated being, with no kindred tie upon the earth to make +life dear to her; a stranger in the land of her fathers, associating +with those whose ways were not her ways, nor their thoughts her +thoughts, whose language was scarcely known to her, whose God was not +the god of her fathers. Yet the dark eyes of the Indian girl were not +dimmed with tears as she thought of these things, she had learned of +her people to suffer and be still. + +Silent and patient she stood, with her melancholy gaze bent on the +earth, when she felt the gentle hand of Catharine laid upon her arm, +and then kindly and lovingly passed round her neck, as she +whispered,-- + +"Indiana, I will be to you as a sister, and will love you and cherish +you, because you are an orphan girl and alone in the world; but God +loves you, and will make you happy. He is a Father to the fatherless, +and the Friend of the destitute and them that have no helper." + +The words of kindness and love need no interpretation; no +book-learning is necessary to make them understood. The young, the +old, the deaf, the dumb, the blind can read this universal language; +its very silence is often more eloquent than words,--the gentle +pressure of the hand, the half-echoed sigh, the look of sympathy will +penetrate to the very heart, and unlock its hidden stores of human +tenderness and love. The rock is smitten and the waters gush forth, a +bright and living stream, to refresh and fertilize the thirsty soul. + +The heart of the poor mourner was touched; she bowed down her head +upon the hand that held her so kindly in its sisterly grasp, and wept +soft, sweet, human tears full of grateful love, while she whispered, +in her own low, plaintive voice, "My white sister, I kiss you in my +heart; I will love the God of my white brothers, and be his child." + +The two friends now busied themselves in preparing the evening meal: +they found Louis and Hector had lighted up a charming blaze on the +desolate hearth. A few branches of cedar, twisted together by +Catharine, made a serviceable broom, with which she swept the floor, +giving to the deserted dwelling a neat and comfortable aspect; some +big stones were quickly rolled in, and made to answer for seats in the +chimney-corner. The new-found fishing-line was soon put into +requisition by Louis, and with very little delay a fine dish of black +bass, broiled on the embers, was added to their store of dried venison +and roasted bread-roots, which they found in abundance on a low spot +on the island. Grapes and butter-nuts, which Hector cracked with a +stone by way of a nutcracker, finished their sylvan meal. The boys +then stretched themselves to sleep on the ground, with their feet, +Indian fashion, to the fire; while Catharine and Indiana occupied the +mossy couch which they had newly spread with fragrant cedar and +hemlock boughs. + +The next island that claimed their attention was Sugar-Maple Island, a +fine, thickly-wooded island, rising with steep, rocky banks from the +water. A beautiful object, but too densely wooded to admit of our +party penetrating beyond a few yards of its shores. + +The next island they named the Beaver, [Footnote: Commonly called +Sheep Island, from some person having pastured a few sheep upon it +some few years ago. I have taken the liberty of preserving the name, +to which it bears an obvious resemblance, the nose of the Beaver lies +towards the west, the tail to the east.] from its resemblance in shape +to that animal. A fine, high, oval island beyond this they named Black +Island, [Footnote: Black Island, the sixth from the head of the lake; +an oval island, remarkable for its evergreens.] from its dark +evergreens. The next was that which seemed most to excite the interest +of their Indian guide, although but a small stony island, scantily +clothed with trees, lower down the lake. This place she called Spoke +Island, which means in the Indian tongue "a place for the dead." It is +sometimes called Spirit Island; and here, in times past, the Indian +people used to bury their dead. The island is now often the resort of +parties of pleasure, who, from its being grassy and open, find it more +available than those which are densely wooded. The young Mohawk +regarded it with feelings of superstitious awe, and would not suffer +Hector to land the canoe on its rocky shore. + +"It is a place of spirits," she said; "the ghosts of my fathers will +be angry if we go there." Even her young companions felt that they +were upon sacred ground, and gazed with silent reverence upon the +burial isle. + +Strongly imbued with a love of the marvellous, which they had derived +from their Highland origin, Indiana's respect for the spirits of her +ancestors was regarded as most natural, and in silence, as if fearing +to disturb the solemnity of the spot, they resumed their paddles, and +after a while reached the mouth of the river Otonabee, which was +divided into two separate channels by a long, low point of swampy +land, covered with stunted, mossy bushes and trees, rushes, driftwood, +and aquatic plants. Indiana told them this river flowed from the +north, and that it was many days' journey up to the lakes. To +illustrate its course, she drew with her paddle a long line, with +sundry curves and broader spaces, some longer, some smaller, with bays +and inlets, which she gave them to understand were the chain of lakes +that she spoke of. There were beautiful hunting-grounds on the borders +of these lakes, and many fine waterfalls and rocky islands; she had +been taken up to these waters during the time of her captivity. The +Ojebwas, she said, were a branch of the great Chippewa nation, who +owned much land and great waters thereabouts. + +Compared with the creeks and streams that they had seen hitherto, the +Otonabee appeared a majestic river, and an object of great admiration +and curiosity, for it seemed to them as if it were the highroad +leading up to an unknown, far-off land,--a land of dark, mysterious, +impenetrable forests,--flowing on, flowing on, in lonely majesty, +reflecting on its tranquil bosom the blue sky, the dark pines and gray +cedars, the pure ivory-white water-lily, and every passing shadow of +bird or leaf that flitted across its surface, so quiet was the onward +flow of its waters. + +A few brilliant leaves yet clung to the soft maples and crimson-tinted +oaks, but the glory of the forest had departed; the silent fall of +many a sere and yellow leaf told of the death of summer and of +winter's coming reign. Yet the air was wrapped in a deceitful +stillness; no breath of wind moved the trees or dimpled the water. +Bright wreaths of scarlet berries and wild grapes hung in festoons +among the faded foliage. The silence of the forest was unbroken, save +by the quick tapping of the little midland woodpecker or the shrill +scream of the blue jay, the whirring sound of the large white-and-gray +duck (called by the frequenters of these lonely waters the +whistlewing) as its wings swept the waters in its flight, or the light +dripping of the paddle,--so still, so quiet was the scene. + +As the day was now far advanced, the Indian girl advised them either +to encamp for the night on the river-bank or to use all speed in +returning. She seemed to view the aspect of the heavens with some +anxiety. Vast volumes of light, copper-tinted clouds were rising; the +sun, seen through its hazy veil, looked red and dim; and a hot, sultry +air, unrelieved by a breath of refreshing wind, oppressed our young +voyagers. And though the same coppery clouds and red sun had been seen +for several successive days, a sort of instinctive feeling prompted +the desire in all to return, and, after a few minutes' rest and +refreshment, they turned their little bark towards the lake; and it +was well that they did so. By the time they had reached the middle of +the lake, the stillness of the air was rapidly changing; the +rose-tinted clouds, that had lain so long piled upon each other in +mountainous ridges, began to move upwards, at first slowly, then with +rapidly accelerated motion. There was a hollow moaning in the +pine-tops; and by fits a gusty breeze swept the surface of the water, +raising it into rough, short, white-crested ridges. + +These signs were pointed out by Indiana as the harbingers of a rising +hurricane; and now a swift spark of light, like a falling star, +glanced on the water, as if there to quench its fiery light. Again the +Indian girl raised her dark hand and pointed to the rolling +storm-clouds, to the crested waters and the moving pine-tops; then to +the head of the Beaver Island,--it was the one nearest to them. With +an arm of energy she wielded the paddle, with an eye of fire she +directed the course of their little vessel; for well she knew their +danger and the need for straining every nerve to reach the nearest +point of land. Low muttering peals of thunder were now heard; the wind +was rising with electric speed. Away flew the light bark, with the +swiftness of a bird, over the water; the tempest was above, around, +and beneath. The hollow crash of the forest trees as they bowed to the +earth could be heard sullenly sounding from shore to shore. And now +the Indian girl, flinging back her black streaming hair from her brow, +knelt at the head of the canoe and with renewed vigour plied the +paddle. The waters, lashed into a state of turbulence by the violence +of the storm, lifted the canoe up and down; but no word was spoken; +they each felt the greatness of the peril, but they also knew that +they were in the hands of Him who can say to the tempest-tossed waves, +"Peace, be still," and they obey him. + +Every effort was made to gain the nearest island; to reach the +mainland was impossible, for the rain poured down a blinding deluge. +It was with difficulty the little craft was kept afloat by baling out +the water; to do this, Louis was fain to use his cap, and Catharine +assisted with the old tin pot which she had fortunately brought from +the trapper's shanty. The tempest was at its height when they reached +the nearest point of the Beaver, and joyful was the grating sound of +the canoe as it was vigorously pushed up on the shingly beach, beneath +the friendly shelter of the overhanging trees, where, perfectly +exhausted by the exertions they had made, dripping with rain and +overpowered by the terrors of the storm, they threw themselves on the +ground, and in safety watched its progress, thankful for an escape +from such imminent peril. + +Thus ended the Indian summer, so deceitful in its calmness and its +beauty. The next day saw the ground white with snow, and hardened into +stone by a premature frost. Our poor voyagers were not long in +quitting the shelter of the Beaver Island, and betaking themselves +once more to their ark of refuge, the log-house on Mount Ararat. + +The winter that year set in with unusual severity some weeks sooner +than usual, so that from the beginning of November to the middle of +April the snow never entirely left the ground. The lake was soon +covered with ice, and by the month of December it was one compact, +solid sheet from shore to shore. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + + "Scared by the red and noisy light." + + --COLERIDGE. + +Hector and Louis had now little employment, except chopping fire-wood, +which was no very arduous task for two stout, healthy lads used from +childhood to handling the axe. Trapping, and hunting, and snaring +hares were occupations which they pursued more for the excitement and +exercise than from hunger, as they had laid by abundance of dried +venison, fish, and birds, besides a plentiful store of rice. They now +visited those trees that they had marked in the summer, where they had +noticed the bees hiving, and cut them down. In one they got more than +a pailful of rich honeycomb, and others yielded some more, some less; +this afforded them a delicious addition to their boiled rice and dried +acid fruits. They might have melted the wax and burned candles of it; +but this was a refinement of luxury that never once occurred to our +young housekeepers: the dry pineknots that are found in the woods are +the settlers' candles. Catharine made some very good vinegar with the +refuse of the honey and combs, by pouring water on it, and leaving it +to ferment in a warm nook of the chimney, in one of the birch-bark +vessels; and this was an excellent substitute for salt as a +seasoning--to the fresh meat and fish. Like the Indians, they were now +reconciled to the want of this seasonable article. + +Indiana seemed to enjoy the cold weather. The lake, though locked up +to every one else, was open to her: with the aid of the tomahawk she +patiently made an opening in the ice, and over this she built a little +shelter of pine boughs stuck into the ice. Armed with a sharp spear +carved out of hardened wood, she would lie upon the ice, and patiently +await the rising of some large fish to the air-hole, when dexterously +plunging the spear into the unwary creature, she dragged it to the +surface. Many a noble fish did the young squaw bring home, and cast at +the feet of him whom she had tacitly elected as her lord and master: +to him she offered the voluntary service of a faithful and devoted +servant--I might almost have said, slave. + +During the middle of December there were some days of such intense +cold that even our young Crusoes, hardy as they were, preferred the +blazing log-fire and warm ingle-nook to the frozen lake and cutting +north-west wind which blew the loose snow in blinding drifts over its +bleak, unsheltered surface. Clad in the warm tunic and petticoat of +Indian blanket, with fur-lined moccasins, Catharine and her Indian +friend felt little cold excepting to the face when they went abroad, +unless the wind was high, and then experience taught them to keep at +home. And these cold gloomy days they employed in many useful works. +Indiana had succeeded in dyeing the quills of the porcupine that she +had captured on Grape Island; with these she worked a pair of +beautiful moccasins and an arrow-case for Hector, besides making a +sheath for Louis's _couteau de chasse_, of which the young hunter +was very proud, bestowing great praise on the workmanship. + +Indiana appeared to be deeply engrossed with some work that she was +engaged in, but preserved a provoking degree of mystery about it, to +the no small annoyance of Louis, who, among his other traits of +character, was remarkably inquisitive, wanting to know the why and +wherefore of everything he saw. + +Indiana first prepared a frame of some tough wood,--it might be the +inner bark of the oak, or elm, or hickory; this was pointed at either +end, and wide in the middle--not very much unlike the form of some +broad, flat fish. Over this she wove an open network of narrow thongs +of deer-hide, wetted to make it more pliable, and securely fastened to +the frame: when dry it became quite tight, and resembled a sort of +coarse bamboo-work, such as you see on cane-bottomed chairs and sofas. + +"And now, Indiana, tell us what sort of fish you are going to catch in +your ingenious little net," said Louis, who had watched her +proceedings with great interest. The girl shook her head, and laughed +till she showed all her white teeth, but quietly proceeded to commence +a second frame like the first. + +Louis put it on his head. No; it could not be meant to be worn there, +that was plain. He turned it round and round. It must be intended for +some kind of bird-trap; yes, that must be it, and he cast an inquiring +glance at Indiana. She blushed, shook her head, and gave another of +her silent laughs. + +"Some game like battledoor and shuttle-cock,"--and snatching up a +light bass-wood chip, he began tossing the chip up and catching it on +the netted frame. The little squaw was highly amused, but rapidly went +on with her work. Louis was now almost angry at the perverse little +savage persevering in keeping him in suspense. She would not tell him +till, the other was done:--then there were to be a pair of these +curious articles!--and he was forced at last to sit quietly down to +watch the proceeding of the work. It was night before the two were +completed and furnished with straps and loops. When the last stroke +was put to them, the Indian girl knelt down at Hector's feet, and +binding them on, pointed to them with a joyous laugh, and said, +"Snow-shoe--for walk on snow--good!" + +The boys had heard of snow-shoes, but had never seen them, and now +seemed to understand little of the benefit to be derived from the use +of them. The young Mohawk quickly transferred the snow-shoes to her +own feet, and soon proved to them that the broad surface prevented +those who wore them from sinking into the deep snow.--After many +trials, Hector began to acknowledge the advantage of walking with the +snow-shoes, especially on the frozen snow on the ice-covered lake. +Indiana was well pleased with the approbation her manufactures met +with, and very soon manufactured for "Nee-chee," as they all now +called Louis, a similar present. As to Catharine, she declared the +snow-shoes made her ankles ache, and that she preferred the moccasins +that her cousin Louis made for her. + +During the long bright days of February, they made several excursions +on the lake, and likewise explored some of the high hills to the +eastward. On this ridge there were few large trees; but it was thickly +clothed with scrub-oaks, slender poplars, and here and there fine +pines, and picturesque free-growing oaks of considerable size and +great age--patriarchs, they might be termed, among the forest growth. +Over this romantic range of hill and dale, free as the air they +breathed, roamed many a gallant herd of deer, unmolested unless during +certain seasons when the Indians came to hunt over these hills. +Surprised at the different growth of the oaks on this side the plains, +Hector could not help expressing his astonishment to Indiana, who told +him that it was caused by the custom that her people had had from time +immemorial of setting fire to the bushes in the early part of spring. +This practice, she said, promoted the growth of the deer-grass, made +good cover for the deer themselves, and effectually prevented the +increase of the large timbers, giving a singular aspect to the high +ridge of hills when contrasted with the more wooded portions to the +westward. From the lake these eastern hills look verdant, and as if +covered with tall green fern. In the month of October a rich rosy tint +is cast upon the leaves of the scrub-oaks by the autumnal frosts, and +they present a glowing unvaried crimson of the most glorious hue, only +variegated in spots by a dark feathery evergreen, or a patch of light +waving poplars turned by the same wizard's wand to golden yellow. + +There were many lovely spots,--lofty rounded hills, and deep shady +dells, with extended table-land, and fine lake views; but, on the +whole, our young folks preferred the oak openings and the beautiful +wooded glens of the western side, where they had fixed their home. + +There was one amusement they used greatly to enjoy during the cold +bright days and moonlight nights of midwinter. This was gliding down +the frozen snow on the steep side of the dell near the spring, seated +on small hand-sleighs, which carried them down with great velocity. +Wrapped in their warm furs, with caps fastened closely over their +ears, what cared they for the cold? Warm and glowing from head to +foot, with cheeks brightened by delightful exercise, they would remain +for hours enjoying the amusement of the snow-slide; the bright frost +gemming the ground with myriads of diamonds, sparkling in their hair, +or whitening it till it rivalled the snow beneath their feet. Then, +when tired out with the exercise, they returned to the shanty, stirred +up a blazing fire, till the smoked rafters glowed in the red light; +spread their simple fare of stewed rice sweetened with honey, or +savoury soup of hare or other game; and then, when warmed and fed, +they kneeled together, side by side, and offered up a prayer of +gratitude to their Maker, and besought his care over them during the +dark and silent hours of night. + +Had these young people been idle in their habits and desponding in +their tempers, they must have perished with cold and hunger, instead +of enjoying many necessaries and eyen some little luxuries in their +lonely forest home. Fortunately they had been brought up in the early +practice of every sort of usefulness, to endure every privation with +cheerful fortitude; not indeed quietly to sit down and wait for better +times, but vigorously to create those better times by every possible +exertion that could be brought into action to assist and ameliorate +their condition. + +To be up and doing is the maxim of a Canadian; and it is this that +nerves his arm to do and bear. The Canadian settler, following in the +steps of the old Americans, learns to supply all his wants by the +exercise of his own energy. He brings up his family to rely upon their +own resources, instead of depending upon his neighbours. + +The children of the modern emigrant, though enjoying a higher degree +of civilization and intelligence, arising from a liberal education, +might not have fared so well under similar circumstances as did our +Canadian Crusoes, because, unused to battle with the hardships +incidental to a life of such privation as they had known, they could +not have brought so much experience, or courage, or ingenuity to their +aid. It requires courage to yield to circumstances, as well as to +overcome them. + +Many little useful additions to the interior of their dwelling were +made by Hector and Louis during the long winter. They made a smoother +and better table than the first rough one that they put together. They +also made a rough partition of split cedars, to form a distinct and +separate sleeping-room for the two girls; but as this division greatly +circumscribed their sitting and cooking apartment, they resolved, as +soon as the spring came, to cut and draw in logs for putting up a +better and larger room to be used as a summer parlour. Indiana and +Louis made a complete set of wooden trenchers out of butter-nut, a +fine hard wood of excellent grain, and less liable to warp or crack +than many others. + +Louis's skill as a carpenter was much greater than that of his cousin. +He not only possessed more judgment, and was more handy, but he had a +certain taste and neatness in finishing his work, however rough his +materials and rude his tools. He inherited some of that skill in +mechanism for which the French have always been remarked. With his +knife and a nail he would carve a plum-stone into a miniature basket, +with handle across it, all delicately wrought with flowers and +checker-work. The shell of a butter-nut would be transformed into a +boat, with thwarts, and seats, and rudder, with sails of basswood or +birch-bark. Combs he could cut out of wood or bone, so that Catharine +could dress her hair or confine it in braids or bands at will. This +was a source of great comfort to her; and Louis was always pleased +when he could in any way contribute to his cousin's happiness. These +little arts Louis had been taught by his father. Indeed, the great +distance that their little settlement was from any town or village had +necessarily forced their families to depend on their own ingenuity and +invention to supply many of their wants. Once or twice a year they saw +a trading fur-merchant, as I before observed; and those were glorious +days for Hector and Louis, who were always on the alert to render the +strangers any service in their power, as by that means they sometimes +received little gifts from them, and gleaned up valuable information +as to their craft as hunters and trappers. And then there were +wonderful tales of marvellous feats and hair-breadth escapes to listen +to, as they sat with eager looks and open ears round the blazing +log-fire in the old log-house. Now they would in their turns have +tales to tell of strange adventures, and all that had befallen them +since the first day of their wanderings on the Rice Lake Plains. + +The long winter passed away unmarked by any very stirring event. The +Indians had revisited the hunting-grounds; but they confined +themselves chiefly to the eastern side of the Plains, the lake and the +islands, and did not come near their dwelling to molest them. The +latter end of the month of March presented fine sugar-making weather; +and as they had the use of the big iron pot, they resolved to make +maple sugar and some molasses. Long Island was decided upon as the +most eligible place. It had the advantage over Maple Island of having +a shanty ready built for a shelter during the time they might see fit +to remain, and a good boiling-place, which would be a comfort to the +girls, as they need not be exposed to the weather during the process +of sugaring. The two boys soon cut down some small pines and +bass-woods, which they hewed out into sugar-troughs Indiana +manufactured some rough pails of birch-bark. The first favourable day +for the work they loaded up a hand-sleigh with their vessels, and +marched forth over the ice to the island, and tapped the trees they +thought would yield sap for their purpose. And many pleasant days they +passed during the sugar-making season. + +They did not leave the sugar-bush for good till the commencement of +April, when the sun and wind beginning to unlock the springs that fed +the lake, and to act upon its surface, taught them that it would not +be prudent to remain longer on the island. The loud, booming sounds +that were now frequently heard of the pent-up air beneath striving to +break forth from its icy prison were warnings not to be neglected. +Openings began to appear, especially at the entrance of the river and +between the islands, and opposite to some of the larger creeks blue +streams, that attracted the water-fowl, ducks, and wild geese, which +came, guided by that instinct which never errs, from their +abiding-places in far-off lands. Indiana knew the signs of the wild +birds' coming and going with a certainty that seemed almost marvellous +to her simple-minded companions. + +How delightful were the first indications of the coming spring! How +joyously our young Crusoes heard the first tapping of the red-headed +woodpecker! The low, sweet, warbling note of the early song-sparrow, +and twittering chirp of the snow-bird, or that neat, Quakerly-looking +bird that comes to cheer us with the news of sunny days and green +buds; the low, tender, whispering note of the chiccadee, flitting +among the pines or in the thick branches of the shore-side trees; the +chattering note of the little, striped chitmunk, as it pursued its +fellows over the fallen trees; and the hollow sound of the male +partridge, heavily striking its wings against his sides to attract the +notice of the female birds, were among the early spring melodies. For +such they seemed to our forest dwellers, for they told them + + "That winter, cold winter, was past, + And spring, lovely spring, was approaching at last." + +They watched for the first song of the robin, [Footnote: _Turdus +migratorius_, or American robin.] and the full melody of the red +wood-thrush; [Footnote: _Turdus melodus_, or wood-thrush.] the rushing +sound of the passenger pigeons, as flocks of these birds darted above +their heads, sometimes pausing to rest on the dry limb of some +withered oak, or darting down to feed upon the scarlet berries of the +spicy winter-green, the acorns that still lay upon the now uncovered +ground, or the berries of hawthorn and dogwood that still hung on the +bare bushes. The pines were now putting on their rich, mossy, green +spring dresses; the skies were deep blue; Nature, weary of her long +state of inaction, seemed waking into life and light. + +On the Plains the snow soon disappears, for the sun and air have +access to the earth much easier than in the close, dense forest. +Hector and Louis were soon able to move about with axe in hand, to cut +the logs for the addition to their house they proposed making. They +also set to work as soon as the frost was out of the ground to prepare +their little field for the Indian corn. This kept them quite busy. +Catharine attended to the house; and Indiana went out fishing and +hunting, bringing in plenty of small game and fish every day. After +they had piled and burned up the loose boughs and trunks that +encumbered the space they had marked out, they proceeded to enclose it +with a brush fence. This was done by felling the trees that stood in +the line of the field, and letting them fall so as to form the bottom +log of the fence, which they then made of sufficient height by piling +up arms of trees and brushwood. Perhaps in this matter they were too +particular, as there was no fear of "breachy cattle," or any cattle, +intruding on the crop; but Hector maintained that deer and bears were +as much to be guarded against as oxen and cows. + +The little enclosure was made secure from any such depredators, and +was as clean as hands could make it. The two cousins sat on a log, +contentedly surveying their work, and talking of the time when the +grain was to be put in. It was about the beginning of the second week +in May, as near as they could guess from the bursting of the forest +buds and the blooming of such of the flowers as they were acquainted +with. Hector's eyes had followed the flight of a large eagle that now, +turning from the lake, soared away majestically toward the east or Oak +Hills. But soon his eye was attracted to another object. The loftiest +part of the ridge was enveloped in smoke. At first he thought it must +be some mist-wreath hovering over its brow; but soon the dense, +rolling clouds rapidly spread on each side, and he felt certain that +it was from fire, and nothing but fire, that those dark volumes arose. + +"Louis, look yonder! the hills to the east are on fire!" + +"On fire, Hector? you are dreaming!" + +"Nay, but look there!" + +The hills were now shrouded in one dense, rolling cloud. It moved on +with fearful rapidity down the shrubby side of the hill, supplied by +the dry, withered foliage and deer-grass, which was like stubble to +the flames. + +"It is two miles off, or more," said Louis; "and the creek will stop +its progress long before it comes near us, and the swamp there beyond +Bare Hill." + +"The cedars are as dry as tinder; and as to the creek, it is so narrow +a burning tree falling across would convey the fire to this side; +besides, when the wind rises, as it always does when the bush is on +fire, you know how far the burning leaves will fly. Do you remember +when the forest was on fire last spring how long it continued to burn +and how fiercely it raged? It was lighted by the ashes of your +father's pipe when he was out in the new fallow. The leaves were dry, +and kindled, and before night the woods were burning for miles." + +"It was a grand spectacle, those pine-hills, when the fire got in +among them," said Louis. "See! see how fast the fires kindle! That +must be some fallen pine that they have got hold of. Now, look at the +lighting up of that hill; is it not grand?" + +"If the wind would but change, and blow in the opposite direction," +said Hector anxiously. + +"The wind, mon ami, seems to have little influence; for as long as the +fire finds fuel from the dry bushes and grass, it drives on, even +against the wind." + +As they spoke the wind freshened, and they could plainly see a long +line of wicked, bright flames in advance of the dense mass of vapour +which hung in its rear. On it came, that rolling sea of flame, with +inconceivable rapidity, gathering strength as it advanced. The demon +of destruction spread its red wings to the blast, rushing on with +fiery speed, and soon hill and valley were wrapped in one sheet of +flame. + +"It must have been the work of the Indians," said Louis. "We had +better make a retreat to the island, in case of the fire crossing the +valley. We must not neglect the canoe. If the fire sweeps round by the +swamp, it may come upon us unawares, and then the loss of the canoe +would prevent escape by the lake. But here are the girls; let us +consult them." + +"It is the Indian burning," said Indiana; "that is the reason there +are so few big trees, on that hill. They burn it to make the grass +better for the deer." + +Hector had often pointed out to Louis the appearance of fire having +scorched the bark of the trees where they were at work, but it seemed +to have been many years back; and when they were digging for the site +of the root-house [Footnote: Root-houses are built over deep +excavations below the reach of the frost, or the roots stored would be +spoiled.] below the bank, which they had just finished, they had met +with charred wood at the depth of six feet below the soil, which must +have lain there till the earth had accumulated over it. A period of +many years must necessarily have passed since the wood had been +burned, as it was so much decomposed as to crumble beneath the wooden +shovel they were digging with. + +All day they watched the progress of that fiery sea whose waves were +flame--red, rolling flame. Onward it came with resistless speed, +overpowering every obstacle, widening its sphere of action, till it +formed a perfect semicircle about them. As the night drew on, the +splendour of the scene became more apparent, and the path of the fire +better defined; but there was no fear of the conflagration spreading +as it had done in the day-time. The wind had sunk, and the copious +dews of evening effectually put a stop to the progress of the fire. +The children could now gaze in security upon the magnificent spectacle +before them without the excitement produced by its rapid spread during +the day-time. They lay down to sleep in perfect security that night, +but with the consciousness that, as the breeze sprung up in the +morning, they must be on the alert to secure their little dwelling and +its contents from the devastation that threatened it. They knew they +had no power to stop its onward course, as they possessed no implement +better than a rough wooden shovel, which would be found very +ineffectual in opening a trench or turning the ground up, so as to cut +off the communication with the dry grass, leaves, and branches which +are the fuel for supplying the fires on the Plains. The little +clearing on one side the house they thought would be its safeguard, +but the fire was advancing on three sides of them. + +"Let us hold a council, as the Indians do, to consider what is to be +done." + +"I propose," said Louis, "retreating, bag and baggage, to the nearest +point of Long Island." + +"My French cousin has well spoken," said Hector, mimicking the Indian +mode of speaking; "but listen to the words of the wise. I propose to +take all our household stores that are of the most value to the +island, and lodge the rest safely in our new root-house, first +removing from its neighbourhood all such light, loose matter as is +likely to take fire. The earthen roof will save it from destruction. +As to the shanty, it must take its chance to stand or fall." + +"The fence of the little clearing will be burned, no doubt. Well, +never mind; better that than our precious selves. And the corn, +fortunately, is not yet sown," said Louis. + +Hector's advice met with general approval, and the girls soon set to +work to secure the property they meant to leave. + +It was a fortunate thing that the root-house had been finished, as it +formed a secure store-house for their goods, and could also be made +available as a hiding-place from the Indians, in time of need. The +boys carefully scraped away all the combustible matter from its +vicinity and that of the house; but the rapid increase of the fire now +warned them to hurry down to join Catharine and the young Mohawk, who +had gone off to the lake shore with such things as they required to +take with them. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + + "I know a lake where the cool waves break + And softly fall on the silver sand; + And no stranger intrudes on that solitude, + And no voices but ours disturb the strand." + + _Irish Song_ + +The breeze had sprung up, and had already brought the fire down as far +as the creek. The swamp had long been on fire; and now the flames were +leaping among the decayed timbers, roaring and crackling among the +pines, and rushing to the tops of the cedars, springing from heap to +heap of the fallen branches, and filling the air with dense volumes of +black and suffocating smoke. So quickly did the flames advance that +Hector and Louis had only time to push off the canoe before the +heights along the shore were wrapped in smoke and fire. Many a giant +oak and noble pine fell crashing to the earth, sending up showers of +red sparks as its burning trunk shivered in its fall. Glad to escape +from the suffocating vapour, the boys quickly paddled out to the +island, enjoying the cool, fresh air of the lake. Reposing on the +grass beneath the trees, they passed the day sheltered from the +noonday sun, and watched the progress of the fire upon the shore. At +night the girls slept securely under the canoe, which they raised on +one side by means of forked sticks stuck in the ground. + +It was a grand sight to see the burning Plains at night reflected on +the water. A thousand flaming torches flickered upon its still +surface, to which the glare of a gas-lighted city would have been dim +and dull by contrast. + +Louis and Hector would speculate on the probable chances of the shanty +escaping from the fire, and of the fence remaining untouched. Of the +safety of the root-house they entertained no fear, as the grass was +already springing green on the earthen roof; and, below they had taken +every precaution to secure its safety, by scraping up the earth near +it. [Footnote: Many a crop of grain and comfortable homestead has been +saved by turning a furrow round the field; and great conflagrations +have been effectually stopped by men beating the fire out with spades, +and hoeing up the fresh earth so as to cut off all communication with +the dry roots, grass, and leaves that feed its onward progress. Water, +even could it be got, which is often impossible, is not nearly so +effectual in stopping the progress of fire; even women and little +children can assist in such emergencies.] + +Catharine lamented for the lovely spring-flowers that would be +destroyed by the fire. + +"We shall have neither huckleberries nor strawberries this summer," +she said mournfully; "and the pretty roses and bushes will be +scorched, and the ground black and dreary." + +"The fire passes so rapidly over that it does not destroy many of the +forest trees, only the dead ones are destroyed; and that, you know, +leaves more space for the living ones to grow and thrive in," said +Hector. "I have seen the year after a fire has run in the bush, a new +and fresh set of plants spring up, and even some that looked withered +recover; the earth is renewed and manured by the ashes, and it is not +so great a misfortune as it at first appears." + +"But how black and dismal the burned pine-woods look for years!" said +Louis; "I do not think there is a more melancholy sight in life than +one of those burned pine-woods. There it stands, year after year, with +the black, branchless trees pointing up to the blue sky, as if crying +for vengeance against those that kindled the fire." + +"They do, indeed, look ugly," said Catharine, "yet the girdled ones +look very nearly as ill." [Footnote: The girdled pines are killed by +barking them round, to facilitate the clearing.] + +At the end of two days the fire had ceased to rage, though the dim +smoke-wreaths to the westward showed where the work of destruction was +still going on. + +As there was no appearance of any Indians on the lake, nor yet at the +point (Anderson's Point, as it is now called) on the other side, they +concluded the fire had possibly originated by accident,--some casual +hunter or trapper having left his camp-fire unextinguished; but as +they were not very likely to come across the scene of the +conflagration, they decided on returning back to their old home +without delay. It was with some feeling of anxiety that they hastened +to see what evil had befallen their shanty. + +"The shanty is burned!" was the simultaneous exclamation of both Louis +and Hector, as they reached the rising ground that should have +commanded a view of its roof. "It is well for us that we secured our +things in the root-house," said Hector. + +"Well, if that is safe, who cares? we can soon build up a new house, +larger and better than the old one," said Louis. "The chief part of +our fence is gone, too, I see; but that, we can renew at our leisure; +no hurry, if we get it done a month hence, say I.--Come, ma belle, do +not look so sorrowful. There is our little squaw will help us to set +up a capital wigwam while the new house is building." + +"But the nice table that you made, Louis, and the benches and +shelves!" + +"Never mind, Cathy; we will have better tables, and benches, and +shelves too. Never fear, ma chere; the same industrious Louis will +make things comfortable. I am not sorry the old shanty is down; we +shall have a famous one put up, twice as large, for the winter. After +the corn is planted we shall have nothing else to do but to think +about it." + +The next two or three days were spent in erecting a wigwam, with poles +and birch bark; and as the weather was warm and pleasant, they did not +feel the inconvenience so much as they would have done had it been +earlier in the season. The root-house formed an excellent store-house +and pantry; and Indiana contrived, in putting up the wigwam, to leave +certain loose folds between the birch-bark lining and outer covering, +which formed a series of pouches or bags, in which many articles could +be stowed away out of sight. [Footnote: In this way the winter wigwams +of the Indians are constructed so as to give plenty of stowing room +for all their little household matters, materials for work, &c.] + +While the girls were busy contriving the arrangements of the wigwam, +the two boys were not idle. The time was come for planting the corn; a +succession of heavy thunder-showers had soaked and softened the +scorched earth, and rendered the labour of moving it much easier than +they had anticipated. They had cut for themselves wooden trowels, with +which they raised the hills for the seed. The corn planted, they next +turned their attention to cutting house-logs; those which they had +prepared had been burned up, so they had their labour to begin again. + +The two girls proved good helps at the raising; and in the course of a +few weeks they had the comfort of seeing a more commodious dwelling +than the former one put up. The finishing of this, with weeding the +Indian corn, renewing the fence, and fishing, and trapping, and +shooting partridges and ducks and pigeons, fully occupied their time +this summer. The fruit season was less abundant this year than the +previous one. The fire had done this mischief, and they had to go far +a-field to collect fruits during the summer months. + +It so happened that Indiana had gone out early one morning with the +boys, and Catharine was alone. She had gone down to the spring for +water, and on her return, was surprised at the sight of a squaw and +her family of three half-grown lad, and an innocent little brown +papoose. [Footnote: An Indian baby, but "papoose" is not an Indian +word. It is probably derived from the Indian imitation of the word +"_babies_."] In their turn the strangers seemed equally astonished at +Catharine's appearance. The smiling aspect and good-natured laugh of +the female, however, soon reassured the frightened girl, and she +gladly gave her the water which she had in her birch dish, on her +signifying her desire for drink. To this Catharine added some berries +and dried venison, and a bit of maple sugar, which was received with +grateful looks by the boys; she patted the brown baby, and was glad +when the mother released it from its wooden cradle, and fed and nursed +it. The squaw seemed to notice the difference between the colour of +her young hostess's fair skin and her own swarthy hue; for she often +took her hand, stripped up the sleeve of her dress, and compared her +arm with her own, uttering exclamations of astonishment and curiosity: +possibly Catharine was the first of a fair-skinned race this poor +savage had ever seen. After her meal was finished, she set the birchen +dish on the floor, and restrapping the papoose in its cradle prison, +she slipped the basswood-bark rope over her forehead, and silently +signing to her sons to follow her, she departed. That evening a pair +of ducks were found fastened to the wooden latch of the door, a silent +offering of gratitude for the refreshment that had been afforded to +this Indian woman and her children. + +Indiana thought, from Catharine's description, that these were Indians +with whom she was acquainted; she spent some days in watching the lake +and the ravine, lest a larger and more formidable party should be +near. The squaw, she said, was a widow, and went by the name of Mother +Snowstorm, from having been lost in the woods, when a little child, +during a heavy storm of snow, and nearly starved to death. She was a +gentle, kind woman, and, she believed, would not do any of them hurt. +Her sons were good hunters, and, though so young, helped to support +their mother, and were very good to her and the little one. + +I must now pass over a considerable interval of time, with merely a +brief notice that the crop of corn was carefully harvested, and proved +abundant, and a source of great comfort. The rice was gathered and +stored, and plenty of game and fish laid by, with an additional store +of honey. + +The Indians, for some reason, did not pay their accustomed visit to +the lake this season. Indiana said they might be engaged with war +among some hostile tribes, or had gone to other hunting-grounds. The +winter was unusually mild, and it was long before it set in. Yet the +spring following was tardy, and later than usual. It was the latter +end of May before vegetation had made any very decided progress. + +The little log-house presented a neat and comfortable appearance, both +within and without. Indiana had woven a handsome mat of bass bark for +the floor; Louis and Hector had furnished it with seats and a table, +rough, but still very respectably constructed, considering their only +tools were a tomahawk, a knife, and wooden wedges for splitting the +wood into slabs. These Louis afterwards smoothed with great care and +patience. Their bedsteads were furnished with thick, soft mats, woven +by Indiana and Catharine from rushes which they cut and dried; but the +little squaw herself preferred lying on a mat or deerskin on the floor +before the fire, as she had been accustomed. + +A new field had been enclosed, and a fresh crop of corn planted, which +was now green and flourishing. Peace and happiness dwelt within the +log-house; but for the regrets that ever attended the remembrance of +all they had left and lost, no cloud would have dimmed the serenity of +those who dwelt beneath its humble roof. + +The season of flowers had again arrived; the earth, renovated by the +fire of the former year, bloomed with fresh beauty; June, with its +fragrant store of roses and lilies, was now far advanced--the +anniversary of that time when they had left their beloved parents' +roofs, to become sojourners in the lonely wilderness, had returned. +They felt they had much to be grateful for. Many privations, it is +true, and much anxiety they had felt; but they had enjoyed blessings +beyond what they could have expected, and might, like the psalmist +when recounting the escapes of the people of God, have said, "Oh that +men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodness, and the wonders +that he doeth for the children of men." And now they declared no +greater evil could befall them than to lose one of their little party, +for even Indiana had become as a dear and beloved sister; her +gentleness, her gratitude, and faithful trusting love seemed each day +to increase. Now, indeed, she was bound to them by a yet more sacred +tie, for she knelt to the same God, and acknowledged with fervent +love, the mercies of her Redeemer. She had made great progress in +learning their language, and had also taught her friends to speak and +understand much of her own tongue, so that they were now no longer at +a loss to converse with her on any subject. Thus was this Indian girl +united to them in bonds of social and Christian love. + +Hector, Louis, and Indiana had gone over the hills to follow the track +of a deer which had paid a visit to the young corn, now sprouting and +showing symptoms of shooting up to blossom. Catharine usually +preferred staying at home and preparing the meals against their +return. She had gathered some fine ripe strawberries, to add to the +stewed rice, Indian meal cake, and maple sugar, for their dinner. She +was weary and warm, for the day had been hot and sultry. Seating +herself on the threshold of the door, she leaned against the +door-post, and closed her eyes. Perhaps the poor child's thoughts were +wandering back to her far-off, unforgotten home, or she might be +thinking of the hunters and their game. Suddenly a vague, undefinable +feeling of dread stole over her mind. She heard no steps, she felt no +breath, she saw no form; but there was a strange consciousness that +she was not alone--that some unseen being was near, some eye was upon +her. I have heard of sleepers starting from sleep the most profound +when the noiseless hand of the assassin has been raised to destroy +them, as if the power of the human eye could be felt through the +closed lids. + +Thus fared it with Catharine. She felt as if some unseen enemy was +near her, and springing to her feet, she cast a wild, troubled glance +around. No living being met her eye; and, ashamed of her cowardice, +she resumed her seat. The tremulous cry of her little gray squirrel, a +pet which she had tamed and taught to nestle in her bosom, attracted +her attention. + +"What aileth thee, wee dearie?" she said tenderly, as the timid little +creature crept trembling to her breast. "Thy mistress has seared thee +by her own foolish fears. See, now, there is neither catamount nor +weasel here to seize thee, silly one;" and as she spoke, she raised +her head and flung back the thick clusters of soft fair hair that +shaded her eyes. The deadly glare of a pair of dark eyes fixed upon +her met her terrified gaze, gleaming with sullen ferocity from the +angle of the door-post, whence the upper part of the face alone was +visible, partly concealed by a mat of tangled, shaggy black hair. +Paralyzed with fear, the poor girl neither spoke nor moved; she +uttered no cry; but pressing her hands tightly across her breast, as +if to still the loud beating of her heart, she sat gazing upon that +fearful appearance, while, with stealthy step, the savage advanced +from his lurking-place, keeping, as he did so, his eyes riveted upon +hers, with such a gaze as the wily serpent is said to fascinate its +prey. His hapless victim moved not:--whither could she flee to escape +one whose fleet foot could so easily have overtaken her in the race? +where conceal herself from him whose wary eye fixed upon her seemed to +deprive her of all vital energy? + +Uttering that singular, expressive guttural which seems with the +Indian to answer the purpose of every other exclamation, he advanced, +and taking the girl's ice-cold hands in his, tightly bound them with a +thong of deer-hide, and led her unresistingly away. By a circuitous +path through the ravine they reached the foot of the mount, where lay +a birch canoe, rocking gently on the waters, in which a middle-aged +female and a young girl were seated. The females asked no questions, +and expressed no word indicative of curiosity or surprise, as the +strong arm of the Indian lifted his captive into the canoe, and made +signs to the elder squaw to push from the shore. When all had taken +their places, the woman, catching up a paddle from the bottom of the +little vessel, stood up, and with a few rapid strokes sent it skimming +over the lake. + +The miserable captive, overpowered with the sense of her calamitous +situation, bowed down her head upon her knees, and concealing her +agitated face in her garments, wept in silent agony. Visions of horror +presented themselves to her bewildered brain; all that Indiana had +described of the cruelty of this vindictive race came vividly before +her mind. Poor child, what miserable thoughts were thine during that +brief voyage! + +Had the Indians also captured her friends? or was she alone to be the +victim of their vengeance? What would be the feelings of those beloved +ones on returning to their home and finding it desolate! Was there no +hope of release? As these ideas chased each other through her agitated +mind, she raised her eyes, all streaming with tears, to the faces of +the Indian and his companions with so piteous a look that any heart +but the stoical one of an Indian would have softened at its sad +appeal; but no answering glance of sympathy met hers, no eye gave back +its silent look of pity--not a nerve or a muscle moved the cold, +apathetic features of the Indians; and the woe-stricken girl again +resumed her melancholy attitude, burying her face in her heaving bosom +to hide its bitter emotions from the heartless strangers. + +She was not fully aware that it is part of the Indian's education to +hide the inward feelings of the heart, to check all those soft and +tender emotions which distinguish the civilized man from the savage. + +It does indeed need the softening influence of that powerful Spirit, +which was shed abroad into the world to turn the hearts of the +disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to break down the strongholds +of unrighteousness, and to teach man that he is by nature the child of +wrath and victim of sin, and that in his unregenerated nature his +whole mind is at enmity with God and his fellow-men, and that in his +flesh dwelleth no good thing. And the Indian has acknowledged that +power; he has cast his idols of cruelty and revenge, those virtues on +which he prided himself in the blindness of his heart, to the moles +and the bats; he has bowed and adored at the foot of the Cross. But it +was not so in the days whereof I have spoken. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + + "Must this sweet new-blown rose find such a winter + Before her spring be past?" + + BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER + +The little bark touched the stony point of Long Island. The Indian +lifted his weeping prisoner from the canoe, and motioned to her to +move forward along the narrow path that led to the camp, about twenty +yards higher up the bank, where there was a little grassy spot +enclosed with shrubby trees; the squaws tarried at the lake-shore to +bring up the paddles and secure the canoe. + +It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an enemy, but doubly +so when that enemy is a stranger to the language in which we would +plead for mercy, whose god is not our God, nor his laws those by which +we ourselves are governed. Thus felt the poor captive as she stood +alone, mute with terror, among the half-naked, dusky forms with which +she now found herself surrounded. She cast a hurried glance round that +strange assembly, if by chance her eye might rest upon some dear +familiar face; but she saw not the kind but grave face of Hector, nor +met the bright sparkling eyes of her cousin Louis, nor the soft, +subdued, pensive features of the Indian girl, her adopted sister. She +stood alone among those wild, gloomy-looking men; some turned away +their eyes as if they would not meet her woe-stricken countenance, +lest they should be moved to pity her sad condition. No wonder that, +overcome by the sense of her utter forlornness, she hid her face with +her fettered hands and wept in despair. But the Indian's sympathy is +not moved by tears and sighs; calmness, courage, defiance of danger, +and contempt of death, are what he venerates and admires even in an +enemy. + +The Indians beheld her grief unmoved. At length the old man, who +seemed to be a chief among the rest, motioned to one of the women who +leaned against the side of the wigwam to come forward and lead away +the stranger. Catharine, whose senses were beginning to be more +collected, heard the old man give orders that she was to be fed and +cared for. Gladly did she escape from the presence of those pitiless +men, from whose gaze she shrunk with maidenly modesty. And now when +alone with the women she hesitated not to make use of that natural +language which requires not the aid of speech to make itself +understood. Clasping her hands imploringly, she knelt at the feet of +the Indian woman, her conductress, kissed her dark hands, and bathed +them with her fast-flowing tears, while she pointed passionately to +the shore where lay the happy home from which she had been so suddenly +torn. + +The squaw, though she evidently comprehended the meaning of her +imploring gestures, shook her head, and in plaintive earnest tone +replied in her own language that she must go with the canoes to the +other shore, and she pointed to the north as she spoke. She then +motioned to the young girl--the same that had been Catharine's +companion in the canoe--to bring a hunting-knife which was thrust into +one of the folds of the birch-bark of the wigwam. Catharine beheld the +deadly weapon in the hands of the Indian woman with a pang of agony as +great as if its sharp edge was already at her throat. So young--so +young, to die by a cruel bloody death! what had been her crime? How +should she find words to soften the heart of her murderess? The power +of utterance seemed denied. She cast herself on her knees and held up +her hands in silent prayer; not to the dreaded Indian woman, but to +Him who heareth the prayer of the poor destitute--who alone can order +the unruly wills and affections of men. + +The squaw stretched forth one dark hand and grasped the arm of the +terror-stricken girl, while the other held the weapon of destruction. +With a quick movement she severed the thongs that bound the fettered +wrists of the pleading captive, and with a smile that seemed to light +up her whole face she raised her from her prostrate position, laid her +hand upon her young head and with an expression of good-humoured +surprise lifted the flowing tresses of her sunny hair and spread them +over the back of her own swarthy hand; then, as if amused by the +striking contrast, she shook down her own jetty-black hair and twined +a tress of it with one of the fair-haired girl's, then laughed till +her teeth shone like pearls within her red lips. Many were the +exclamations of childish wonder that broke from the other females as +they compared the snowy arm of the stranger with their own dusky +skins: it was plain that they had no intention of harming her, and by +degrees distrust and dread of her singular companions began in some +measure to subside. + +The squaw motioned her to take a seat on a mat beside her, and gave +her a handful of parched rice and some deer's flesh to eat; but +Catharine's heart was too heavy. She was suffering from thirst; and on +pronouncing the Indian word for water, the young girl snatched up a +piece of birch-bark from the floor of the tent, and gathering the +corners together, ran to the lake, and soon returned with water in +this most primitive drinking-vessel, which she held to the lips of her +guest, and she seemed amused by the long, deep draught with which +Catharine slaked her thirst. Something like a gleam of hope came over +Catharine's mind as she marked the look of kindly feeling with which +she caught the young Indian girl regarding her, and she strove to +overcome the choking sensation that would from time to time rise to +her throat as she fluctuated between hope and fear. The position of +the Indian camp was so placed that it was quite hidden from the shore +and Catharine could neither see the mouth of the ravine, nor the steep +side of the mount that her brother and cousin were accustomed to +ascend and descend in their visits to the lake-shore, nor had she any +means of making a signal to them even if she had seen them on the +beach. + +The long, anxious, watchful night passed, and soon after sunrise, +while the morning mists still hung over the lake, the canoes of the +Indians were launched, and long before noon they were in the mouth of +the river. Catharine's heart sunk within her as the fast receding +shores of the lake showed each minute fainter in the distance. At +mid-day they halted at a fine bend in the river, and landed on a small +open place where a creek flowing down through the woods afforded them +cool water; here they found several tents put up and a larger party +awaiting their return. The river was here a fine, broad, deep, and +tranquil stream; trees of many kinds fringed the edge, beyond was the +unbroken forest, whose depths had never been pierced by the step of +man--so thick and luxuriant was the vegetation that even the Indian +could hardly have penetrated through its dark, swampy glades: far as +the eye could reach, that impenetrable, interminable wall of verdure +stretched away into the far-off distance. + +All the remainder of that sad day Catharine sat on the grass under a +shady tree, her eyes mournfully fixed on the slow-flowing waters, and +wondering at her own hard fate in being thus torn from her home and +its dear inmates. Bad as she had thought her separation from her +father and mother and her brothers, when she first left her home to +become a wanderer on the Rice Lake Plains, how much more dismal now +was her situation, snatched from the dear companions who had upheld +and cheered her on in all her sorrows! Now that she was alone with +none to love or cherish or console her, she felt a desolation of +spirit that almost made her forgetful of the trust that had hitherto +always sustained her in time of trouble or sickness. She looked round, +and her eye fell on the strange, unseemly forms of men and women who +cared not for her, and to whom she was an object of indifference or +aversion; she wept when she thought of the grief her absence would +occasion to Hector and Louis; the thought of their distress increased +her own. + +The soothing quiet of the scene, with the low, lulling sound of the +little brook as its tiny wavelets fell tinkling over the mossy roots +and stones that impeded its course to the river, joined with fatigue +and long exposure to the sun and air, caused her at length to fall +asleep. The last rosy light of the setting sun was dyeing the waters +with a glowing tint when she awoke; a soft blue haze hung upon the +trees; the kingfisher and dragon-fly, and a solitary loon, were the +only busy things abroad on the river,--the first darting up and down +from an upturned root, near the water's edge, feeding its younglings; +the dragon-fly hawking with rapid whirring sound for insects; and the +loon, just visible from above the surface of the still stream, sailing +quietly on companionless like her who watched its movements. + +The bustle of the hunters returning with game and fish to the +encampment roused many a sleepy brown papoose; the fires were renewed, +the evening was now preparing, and Catharine, chilled by the falling +dew, crept to the enlivening warmth. And here she was pleased at being +recognized by one friendly face; it was the mild, benevolent +countenance of the widow Snowstorm, who, with her three sons, came to +bid her to share their camp fire and food. The kindly grasp of the +hand and the beaming smile that were given by this good creature, +albeit she was ugly and ill-featured, cheered the sad captive's heart. +She had given her a cup of cold water and such food as her log-cabin +afforded; in return the good Indian took her to her wigwam and fed, +warmed, and cherished her with the loving-kindness of a Christian. +During all her sojourn in the Indian camp, the widow Snowstorm was as +a tender mother to her, drying her tears and showing her those little +acts of attention that even the untaught Indians know are grateful to +the sorrowful and destitute. Catharine often forgot her own griefs to +repay this worthy creature's kindness, by attending to her little +babe, and assisting her in her homely cookery or household work. She +knew that a selfish indulgence in sorrow would do her no good, and +after the lapse of some days she so well disciplined her own heart as +to check her tears, at least in the presence of the Indian women, and +to assume an air of comparative cheerfulness. Once she found Indian +words enough to ask the Indian widow to convey her back to the lake, +but she shook her head and bade her not think anything about it; and +added that in autumn, when the ducks came to the rice-beds, they +should all return, and then if she could obtain leave from the chief, +she would restore her to her lodge on the Plains; but signified to her +that patience was her only present remedy, and that submission to the +will of the chief was her wisest plan. Comforted by this vague +promise, Catharine strove to be reconciled to her strange lot and +still stranger companions. She was surprised at the want of curiosity +respecting her evinced by the Indians in the wigwam when she was +brought thither; they appeared to take little notice that a stranger, +and one so dissimilar to themselves, had been introduced into the +camp. Catharine learned, by long acquaintance with this people, that +an outward manifestation of surprise is considered a want of etiquette +and good-breeding, or rather a proof of weakness and childishness. The +women, like other females, are certainly less disposed to repress this +feeling of inquisitiveness than the men; and one of their great +sources of amusement, when Catharine was among them, was examining the +difference of texture and colour of her skin and hair, and holding +long consultations over them. The young girl and her mother, who had +paddled the canoe the day she was carried away to the island, showed +her much kindness in a quiet way. The young squaw was grand-daughter +to the old chief, and seemed to be regarded with considerable respect +by the rest of the women; she was a gay, lively creature, often +laughing, and seemed to enjoy an inexhaustible fund of good humour. +She extended her patronage to the young stranger by making her eat out +of her own bark-dish and sit beside her on her own mat. She wove a +chain for her of the sweet-scented grass with which the Indians +delight in adorning themselves, likewise in perfuming their lodges +with bunches or strewings upon the floor. She took great pains in +teaching her how to acquire the proper attitude of sitting, after the +fashion of the Eastern nations, which position the Indian women assume +when at rest in their wigwams. + +The Indian name of this little damsel signified the "snow-bird." She +was, like that lively, restless bird, always flitting from tent to +tent, as garrulous and as cheerful too as that merry little herald of +the spring. + +Once she seemed particularly attracted by Catharine's dress, which she +examined with critical minuteness, evincing great surprise at the cut +fringes of dressed doe-skin with which Indiana had ornamented the +border of the short jacket she had manufactured for Catharine. These +fringes she pointed out to the notice of the women, and even the old +chief was called in to examine the dress; nor did the leggings and +moccasins escape their observation. There was something mysterious +about her garments. Catharine was at a loss to imagine what caused +those deep guttural exclamations, somewhat between a grunt and a +groan, that burst from the lips of the Indians, as they one by one +examined her dress with deep attention. These people had recognized in +these things the peculiar fashion and handiwork of the young Mohawk +girl whom they had exposed to perish by hunger and thirst on Bare +Hill; and much their interest was excited to learn by what means +Catharine had become possessed of a dress wrought by the hand of one +whom they had numbered with the dead. Strange and mysterious did it +seem to them, and warily did they watch the unconscious object of +their wonder. + +The knowledge she possessed of the language of her friend Indiana +enabled Catharine to comprehend a great deal of what was said; yet she +prudently refrained from speaking in the tongue of one to whose whole +nation she knew these people to be hostile. But she sedulously +endeavoured to learn their own peculiar dialect; and in this she +succeeded in an incredibly short time, so that she was soon able to +express her own wants, and converse a little with the females who were +about her. + +She had noticed that among the tents there was one which stood apart +from the rest, and was only visited by the old chief and his +grand-daughter, or by the elder women. At first she imagined it was +some sick person, or a secret tent set apart for the worship of the +Great Spirit; but one day, when the chief of the people had gone up +the river hunting, and the children were asleep, the curtain of skins +was drawn back, and a female of singular and striking beauty appeared +in the open space in front. She was habited in a fine tunic of white +dressed doe-skin, richly embroidered with coloured beads and stained +quills; a full petticoat of dark cloth bound with scarlet descended to +her ankles; leggings fringed with deerskin, knotted with bands of +coloured quills, with richly wrought moccasins on her feet. On her +head she wore a coronet of scarlet and black feathers; her long +shining tresses of raven hair descended to her waist, each thick tress +confined with a braided band of quills, dyed scarlet and blue. She was +tall and well-formed; her large, liquid, dark eyes wore an expression +so proud and mournful that Catharine felt her own involuntarily fill +with tears as she gazed upon this singular being. She would have +approached nearer to her, but a spell seemed on her; she shrunk back +timid and abashed beneath that wild, melancholy glance. It was she, +the Beam of the Morning, the self-made widow of the young Mohawk, +whose hand had wrought so fearful a vengeance on the treacherous +destroyer of her brother. She stood there, at the tent-door, arrayed +in her bridal robes, as on the day when she received her death-doomed +victim. And when she recalled her fearful deed, shuddering with +horror, Catharine drew back and shrouded herself within the tent, +fearing again to fall under the eye of that terrible woman. She +remembered how Indiana had told her that since that fatal +marriage-feast she had been kept apart from the rest of the tribe,-- +she was regarded by her people as a sacred character, entitled the +_Great Medicine,_ a female _brave,_ a being whom they regarded +with mysterious reverence. She had made this great sacrifice for the +good of her nation. Indiana said it was believed among her own folk +that she had loved the young Mohawk passionately, as a tender woman +loves the husband of her youth; yet she had not hesitated to sacrifice +him with her own hand. Such was the deed of the Indian heroine--and +such were the virtues of the unregenerated Greeks and Romans! + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + + "Now where the wave, with loud, unquiet song, + Dashed o'er the rocky channel, froths along, + Or where the silver waters soothed to rest, + The tree's tall shadow sleeps upon its breast." + + --COLERIDGE. + +The Indian camp remained for nearly three weeks on this spot, and then +early one morning the wigwams were all taken down, and the canoes, six +in number, proceeded up the river. There was very little variety in +the scenery to interest Catharine. The river still kept its +slow-flowing course between low shores thickly clothed with trees, +without an opening through which the eye might pierce to form an idea +of the country beyond; not a clearing, not a sight or sound of +civilized man was there to be seen or heard; the darting flight of the +wild birds as they flitted across from one side to the other, the +tapping of the woodpecker, or shrill cry of the blue jay was all that +was heard, from sunrise to sunset, on that monotonous voyage. After +many hours, a decided change was perceived in the current, which ran +at a considerable increase of swiftness, so that it required the +united energy of both men and women to keep the light vessels from +drifting down the river again. They were in the rapids, and it was +hard work to stem the tide and keep the upward course of the waters. +At length the rapids were passed, and the weary Indian voyagers rested +for a space on the bosom of a small but tranquil lake. The rising moon +shed her silvery light upon the calm water, and heaven's stars shone +down into its quiet depths, as the canoes with their dusky freight +parted the glittering rays with their light paddles. As they proceeded +onward the banks rose on either side, still fringed with pines, +cedars, and oaks. At an angle of the lake the banks on either side ran +out into two opposite peninsulas, forming a narrow passage or gorge, +contracting the lake once more into the appearance of a broad river, +much wider from shore to shore than any other part they had passed +through since they had left the entrance at the Rice Lake. + +Catharine became interested in the change of scenery; her eye dwelt +with delight on the forms of glorious spreading oaks and lofty pines, +green cliff-like shores, and low wooded islands; while, as they +proceeded, the sound of rapid-flowing waters met her ear, and soon the +white and broken eddies, rushing along with impetuous course, were +seen by the light of the moon; and while she was wondering if the +canoes were to stem those rapids, at a signal from the old chief, the +little fleet was pushed to shore on a low flat of emerald verdure, +nearly opposite to the last island. + +Here, under the shelter of some beautiful spreading black oaks, the +women prepared to set up their wigwams. They had brought the poles and +birch-bark covering from the encampment below, and soon all was bustle +and business, unloading the canoes and raising the tents. Even +Catharine lent a willing hand to assist the females in bringing up the +stores and sundry baskets containing fruits and other small wares. She +then kindly attended to the Indian children--certain dark-skinned +babes, who, bound upon their wooden cradles, were either set up +against the trunks of the trees, or swung to some lowly depending +branch, there to remain helpless and uncomplaining spectators of the +scene. + +Catharine thought these Indian babes were almost as much to be pitied +as herself, only that they were unconscious of their imprisoned state, +having from birth been used to no better treatment, and moreover they +were sure to be rewarded by the tender caresses of loving mothers when +the season of refreshment and repose arrived but she, alas! was +friendless and alone, bereft of father, mother, kindred, and friends. +One Father, one Friend, poor Catharine, thou hadst, even he, the +Father of the fatherless. + +That night, when the women and children were sleeping, Catharine stole +out of the wigwam, and climbed the precipitous bank beneath the +shelter of which the lodges had been erected. She found herself upon a +grassy plain, studded with majestic oaks and pines, so beautifully +grouped that they might have been planted by the hand of taste upon +that velvet turf. It was a delightful contrast to those dense dark +forests through which for so many many miles the waters of the +Otonabee had flowed on monotonously; here it was all wild and free, +dashing along like a restive steed rejoicing in its liberty, uncurbed +and tameless. + +Yes, here it was beautiful! Catharine gazed with joy upon the rushing +river, and felt her own heart expand as she marked its rapid course as +it bounded murmuring and fretting over its rocky bed. "Happy, glorious +waters! you are not subject to the power of any living creature; no +canoe can ascend those surging waves. I would that I too, like thee, +were free to pursue my onward way; how soon would I flee away and be +at rest!" Such thoughts passed through the mind of the lonely captive +girl, as she sat at the foot of a giant oak, and looked abroad over +those moonlit waters, till oppressed by an overwhelming sense of the +utter loneliness of the scene, the timid girl with faltering step +hurried down once more to the wigwams, silently crept to the mat where +her bed was spread, and soon forgot all her woes and wanderings in +deep, tranquil sleep. + +Catharine wondered that the Indians in erecting their lodges always +seemed to prefer the low, level, and often swampy grounds by the lakes +and rivers in preference to the higher and more healthy elevations. So +disregardful are they of this circumstance, that they do not hesitate +to sleep where the ground is saturated with moisture. They will then +lay a temporary flooring of cedar or any other bark beneath their +feet, rather than remove the tent a few feet higher up, where a drier +soil may always be found. This arises either from stupidity or +indolence, perhaps from both, but it is no doubt the cause of much of +the sickness that prevails among them. With his feet stretched to the +fire, the Indian cares for nothing else when reposing in his wigwam, +and it is useless to urge the improvement that might be made in his +comfort; he listens with a face of apathy, and utters his everlasting +guttural, which saves him the trouble of a more rational reply. + +"Snow-bird" informed Catharine that the lodges would not again be +removed for some time, but that the men would hunt and fish, while the +squaws pursued their domestic labours. Catharine perceived that the +chief of the laborious part of the work fell to the share of the +females, who were very much more industrious and active than their +husbands; those, when not out hunting or fishing, were to be seen +reposing in easy indolence under the shade of the trees, or before the +tent fires, giving themselves little concern about anything that was +going on. The squaws were gentle, humble, and submissive; they bore +without a murmur pain, labour, hunger, and fatigue, and seemed to +perform every task with patience and good-humour. They made the +canoes, in which the men sometimes assisted them, pitched the tents, +converted the skins of the animals which the men shot into clothes, +cooked the victuals, manufactured baskets of every kind, wove mats, +dyed the quills of the porcupine, sewed the moccasins, and, in short, +performed a thousand tasks which it would be difficult to enumerate. + +Of the ordinary household work, such as is familiar to European +females, they of course knew nothing; they had no linen to wash or +iron, no floors to clean, no milking of cows, nor churning of butter. + +Their carpets were fresh cedar boughs spread on the ground, and only +renewed when they became offensively dirty from the accumulation of +fish-bones and other offal, which are carelessly flung down during +meals. Of furniture they had none; their seat the ground, their table +the same, their beds mats or skins of animals,--such were the domestic +arrangements of the Indian camp. [Footnote: Much improvement has taken +place of late years in the domestic economy of the Indians, and some +of their dwellings are clean and neat even for Europeans.] + +In the tent to which Catharine belonged, which was that of the widow +and her sons, a greater degree of order and cleanliness prevailed than +in any other; for Catharine's natural love of neatness and comfort +induced her to strew the floor with fresh cedar or hemlock every day +or two, and to sweep round the front of the lodge, removing all +unseemly objects from its vicinity. She never failed to wash herself +in the river, and arrange her hair with the comb Louis had made for +her; and she took great care of the little child, which she kept clean +and well fed. She loved this little creature, for it was soft and +gentle, meek and playful as a little squirrel; and the Indian mothers +all looked with kinder eyes upon the white maiden, for the loving +manner in which she tended their children. The heart of woman is +seldom cold to those who cherish their offspring, and Catharine began +to experience the truth that the exercise of human charities is +equally beneficial to those who give and those who receive; these +things fall upon the heart as dew upon a thirsty soil, giving and +creating a blessing. But we will leave Catharine for a short season, +among the lodges of the Indians, and return to Hector and Louis. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + + "Cold and forsaken, destitute of friends, + And all good comforts else, unless some tree + Whose speechless chanty doth better ours, + With which the bitter east winds made their sport, + And sang through hourly, hath invited thee + To shelter half a day. Shall she be thus, + And I draw in soft slumbers?" + + BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER. + +It was near sunset before Hector and his companions returned on the +evening of the eventful day that had found Catharine a prisoner on +Long Island. They had met with good success in hunting, and brought +home a fine half-grown fawn, fat and in good order. They were +surprised at finding the fire nearly extinguished, and no Catharine +awaiting their return. There, it is true, was the food that she had +prepared for them, but she was not to be seen. Supposing that she had +been tired of waiting for them, and had gone out to gather +strawberries, they did not at first feel anxious, but ate of the rice +and honey, for they were hungry with long fasting. Then taking some +Indian meal cake in their hands, they went out to call her in; but no +trace of her was visible. Fearing she had set off by herself to seek +them, and had missed her way home again, they hurried back to the +happy valley,--she was not there; to Pine-tree Point,--no trace of her +there; to the edge of the mount that overlooked the lake,--she was not +to be seen: night found them unsuccessful in their search. Sometimes +they fancied that she had seated herself beneath some tree and fallen +asleep; but no one imagined the true cause, nothing having been seen +of the Indians since they had proceeded up the river. + +Again they retraced their steps back to the house; but they found her +not there. They continued their unavailing search till the moon +setting left them in darkness, and they lay down to rest, but not to +sleep. The first streak of dawn saw them again hurrying to and fro, +calling in vain upon the name of the loved and lost companion of their +wanderings. + +Indiana, whose vigilance was untiring--for she yielded not easily to +grief and despair--now returned with the intelligence that she had +discovered the Indian trail, through the big ravine to the lake-shore; +she had found the remains of a wreath of oak leaves which had been +worn by Catharine in her hair; and she had seen the mark of feet, +Indian feet, on the soft clay at the edge of the lake, and the +furrowing of the shingles by the pushing off of a canoe. Poor Louis +gave way to transports of grief and despair; he knew the wreath, it +was such as Catharine often made for herself, and Mathilde, and petite +Louise, and Marie; his mother had taught her to make them; they were +linked together by the stalks, and formed a sort of leaf chain. Louis +placed the torn relic in his breast, and sadly turned away to hide his +grief from Hector and the Indian girl. + +Indiana now proposed searching the island for further traces, but +advised wariness in so doing. They saw, however, neither smoke nor +canoes. The Indians had departed while they were searching the ravines +and flats round Mount Ararat, and the lake told no tales, The +following day they ventured to land on Long Island, and on going to +the north side saw evident traces of a temporary encampment having +been made, but no trace of any violence having been committed. It was +Indiana's opinion that, though a prisoner, Catharine was unhurt, as +the Indians rarely killed women and children, unless roused to do so +by some signal act on the part of their enemies, when an exterminating +spirit of revenge induced them to kill and spare not; but where no +offence had been offered, they were not likely to take the life of a +helpless, unoffending female. The Indian is not cruel for the wanton +love of blood, but to gratify revenge for some injury done to himself +or to his tribe. But it was difficult to still the terrible +apprehensions that haunted the minds of Louis and Hector. They spent +much time in searching the northern shores and the distant islands, in +the vain hope of finding her, as they still thought the camp might +have been moved to the opposite side of the lake. + +Inconsolable for the loss of their beloved companion, Hector and Louis +no longer took interest in what was going on; they hardly troubled +themselves to weed the Indian corn, in which they had taken such great +delight; all now seemed to them flat, stale, and unprofitable; they +wandered listlessly to and fro, silent and sad; the sunshine had +departed from their little dwelling; they ate little, and talked less, +each seeming absorbed in his own painful reveries. + +In vain the gentle Indian girl strove to revive their drooping +spirits; they seemed insensible to her attentions, and often left her +for hours alone. They returned one evening about the usual hour of +sunset, and missed their meek, uncomplaining guest from the place she +was wont to occupy. They called, but there was none to reply,--she too +was gone. They hurried to the shore just time enough to see the canoe +diminishing to a mere speck upon the waters, in the direction of the +mouth of the river; they called to her, in accents of despair, to +return, but the wind wafted back no sound to their ears and soon the +bark was lost to sight, and they sat them down disconsolately on the +shore. + +"What is she doing?" said Hector. "It is cruel to abandon us thus." + +"She has gone up the river, in the hope of bringing us some tidings of +Catharine," said Louis. + +"How came you to think that such is her intention?" + +"I heard her say the other day that she would go and bring her back, +or die." + +"What! do you think she would risk the vengeance of the old chief +whose life she attempted to take?" + +"She is a brave girl; she does not fear pain or death to serve those +she loves." + +"How can she, unprotected and alone, dare such perils? Why did she not +tell us? We would have shared her danger." + +"She feared for our lives more than for her own; that poor Indian girl +has a noble heart. I care not now what befalls us; we have lost all +that made life dear to us," said Louis gloomily, sinking his head +between his knees. + +"Hush, Louis; you are older than I, and ought to bear these trials +with more courage. It was our own fault Indiana's leaving us; we left +her so much alone to pine after her lost companion, she seemed to +think that we did not care for her. Poor Indiana, she must have felt +lonely and sad." + +"I tell you what we will do, Hec,--make a log canoe. I found an old +battered one lying on the shore, not far from Pine-tree Point. We have +an axe and a tomahawk,--what should hinder us from making one like +it?" + +"True! we will set about it to-morrow." + +"I wish it were morning, that we might set to work to cut down a good +pine for the purpose." + +"As soon as it is done, we will go up the river; anything is better +than this dreadful suspense and inaction." + +The early dawn saw the two cousins busily engaged chopping at a tree +of suitable dimensions. They worked hard all that day, and the next, +and the next, before the canoe was hollowed out; but, owing to their +inexperience and the bluntness of their tools, their first attempt +proved abortive--it was too heavy at one end, and did not balance well +in the water. + +Louis, who had been quite sure of success, was disheartened; not so +Hector. + +"Do not let us give it up: my maxim is perseverance; let us try again, +and again--ay, and a fourth and a fifth time. I say, never give it up; +that is the way to succeed at last." + +"You have ten times my patience, Hec." + +"Yes; but you are more ingenious than I, and are excellent at starting +an idea." + +"We are a good pair then for partnership." + +"We will begin anew and this time I hope we shall profit by our past +blunders." + +"Who would imagine that it is now more than a month since we lost +Catharine?" + +"I know it--long, long, weary month," replied Louis; and he struck his +axe sharply into the bark of the pine as he spoke, and remained silent +for some minutes. The boys, wearied by chopping down the tree, rested +from their work, and sat down on the side of the condemned canoe to +resume their conversation. Suddenly Louis grasped Hector's arm, and +pointed to a bark canoe that appeared making for the westernmost point +of the island. Hector started to his feet, exclaiming, "It is Indiana +returned!" + +"Nonsense! Indiana!--it is no such thing. Look you, it is a stout man +in a blanket coat." + +"The Indians?" asked Hector, inquiringly. + +"I do not think he looks like an Indian; but let us watch. What is he +doing?" + +"Fishing. See now, he has just caught a fine bass--another--he has +great luck--now he is pushing the canoe ashore." + +"That man does not move like an Indian--hark! he is whistling. I ought +to know that tune. It sounds like the old _chanson_ my father used to +sing;" and Louis, raising his voice, began to sing the words of an old +French Canadian song, which we will give in the English, as we heard +it sung by an old lumberer,-- + + "Down by those banks where the pleasant waters flow, + Through the wild woods we'll wander, and we'll chase the buffalo. + And we'll chase the buffalo." + +"Hush, Louis! you will bring the man over to us," said Hector. + +"The very thing I am trying to do, mon ami. This is our country, and +that may be his; but we are lords here, and two to one, so I think he +will not be likely to treat us ill. I am a man now, and so are you, +and he is but one; so he must mind how he affronts us," replied Louis, +laughing. + +"Hark, if he is not singing now! ay, and the very chorus of the old +song"--and Louis raised his voice to its highest pitch as he repeated,-- + + "'Through the wild woods we'll wander, + And we'll chase the buffalo + --And we'll chase the buffalo.' + +"What a pity I have forgotten the rest of that dear old song. I used +to listen with open ears to it when I was a boy. I never thought to +hear it again, and to hear it here of all places in the world!" + +"Come, let us go on with our work," said Hector, with something like +impatience in his voice, and the strokes of his axe fell once more in +regular succession on the log; but Louis's eye was still on the +mysterious fisher, whom he could discern lounging on the grass and +smoking his pipe. "I do not think he sees or hears us," said Louis to +himself, "but I think I'll manage to bring him over soon;" and he set +himself busily to work to scrape up the loose chips and shavings, and +soon began to strike fire with his knife and flint. + +"What are you about, Louis?" asked Hector. + +"Lighting a fire." + +"It is warm enough without a fire, I am sure." + +"I know that; but I want to attract the notice of yonder tiresome +fisherman." + +"And perhaps bring a swarm of savages down upon us, who may be lurking +in the bushes of the island." + +"Pooh, pooh! Hec; there are no savages. I am weary of this place-- +anything is better than this horrible solitude." And Louis fanned the +flame into a rapid blaze, and heaped up the light dry branches till it +soared up among the bushes. Louis watched the effect of his fire, and +rubbed his hands gleefully as the bark canoe was pushed off from the +island, and a few vigorous strokes of the paddle sent it dancing over +the surface of the calm lake. + +Louis waved his cap above his head with a cheer of welcome as the +vessel lightly glided into the little cove, near the spot where the +boys were chopping, and a stout-framed, weather-beaten man, in a +blanket coat, also faded and weather-beaten, with a red worsted sash +and worn moccasins, sprang upon one of the timbers of Louis's old +raft, and gazed with a keen eye upon the lads. Each party silently +regarded the other. A few rapid interrogations from the stranger, +uttered in the broad _patois_ of the Lower Province, were answered in +a mixture of broken French and English by Louis. + +A change like lightning passed over the face of the old man as he +cried out--"Louis Perron, son of my ancient compagnon!" + +"Oui! oui!"--with eyes sparkling through tears of joy, Louis threw +himself into the broad breast of Jacob Morelle, his father's friend +and old lumbering comrade. + +"Hector, son of la belle Catharine Perron!" and Hector, in his turn, +received the affectionate embrace of the warm-hearted old man. + +"Who would have thought of meeting with the children of my old comrade +here at the shore of the Rice Lake? Oh! what a joyful meeting!" + +Jacob had a hundred questions to ask--Where were their parents? did +they live on the Plains now? how long was it since they had left the +Cold Springs? were there any more little ones? and so forth. + +The boys looked sorrowfully at each other. At last the old man stopped +for want of breath, and remarked their sad looks. + +Hector told the old lumberer how long they had been separated from +their families, and by what sad accident they had been deprived of the +society of their beloved sister. When they brought their narrative +down to the disappearance of Catharine, the whole soul of the old +trapper seemed moved; he started from the log on which they were +sitting, and with one of his national asseverations, declared "that +he, her father's old friend, would go up the river and bring her back +in safety, or leave his gray scalp behind him among the wigwams." + +"It is too late, Jacob, to think of starting to-day," said Hector. +"Come home with us, and eat some food, and rest a bit." + +"No need of that, my son I have a lot of fish here in the canoe; and +there is an old shanty on the island yonder, if it be still +standing--the Trapper's Fort I used to call it some years ago. We will +go off to the island and look for it." + +"No need for that," replied Louis, "though I can tell you the old +place is still in good repair, for we used it this very spring as a +boiling-house for our maple sap. We have a better place of our own +nearer at hand--just two or three hundred yards over the brow of +yonder hill. So come with us, and you shall have a good supper, and +bed to lie upon." + +"And you have all these, boys!" said Jacob opening his merry black +eyes, as they came in sight of the little log-house and the field of +green corn. + +The old man praised the boys for their industry and energy. "Ha! here +is old Wolfe too," as the dog roused himself from the hearth, and gave +one of his low grumbling growls. He had grown dull and dreamy, and +instead of going out as usual with the young hunters, he would lie for +hours dozing before the dying embers of the fire. He pined for the +loving hand that used to pat his sides, caress his shaggy neck, and +pillow his great head upon her lap, or suffer him to put his huge paws +on her shoulders, while he licked her hands and face; but she was +gone, and the Indian girl was gone, and the light of the shanty had +gone with them. Old Wolfe seemed dying of sorrow. + +That evening, as Jacob sat on the three-legged stool smoking his short +Indian pipe, he again would have the whole story of their wanderings +over, and the history of all their doings and contrivances. + +"And how far do you think you are from the Cold Springs?" + +"At least twenty miles, perhaps fifty; for it is a long, long time now +since we left home--three summers ago." + +"Well, boys, you must not reckon distance by the time you have been +absent," said the old man. "Now, I know the distance through the +woods, for I have passed through them on the Indian trail, and by my +reckoning, as the bee flies, it cannot be more than seven or eight +miles--no, nor that either." + +The boys opened their eyes. "Jacob, is this possible? So near, and yet +to us the distance has been as great as though it were a hundred miles +or more." + +"I tell you, boys, that is the provoking part of it. I remember, when +I was out on the St. John lumbering, missing my comrades, and I was +well-nigh starving, when I chanced to come back to the spot where we +parted; and I verily believe I had not been two miles distant the +whole eight days that I was moving round and round, and backward and +forward, just in a circle, because, d'ye see, I followed the sun, and +that led me astray the whole time." + +"Was that when you well-nigh roasted the bear?" asked Louis, with a +sly glance at Hector. + +"Well, no--that was another time; your father was out with me then." +And old Jacob, knocking the ashes out of his pipe, settled himself to +recount the adventure of the bear. Hector, who had heard Louis's +edition of the roast bear, was almost impatient at being forced to +listen to old Jacob's long-winded history, which included about a +dozen other stories, all tagged on to this, like links of a lengthened +chain; and he was not sorry when the old lumberer, taking his red +night-cap out of his pocket, at last stretched himself out on a +buffalo skin he had brought up from the canoe, and soon was soundly +sleeping. + +The morning was yet gray when the old man shook himself from his +slumber; and, after having roused up a good fire, which, though the +latter end of July, at that dewy hour was not unwelcome, he lighted +his pipe, and began broiling a fish for his breakfast; and was thus +engaged when Hector and Louis wakened. + +"I have been turning over in my mind about your sister," said he, "and +have come to the resolution of going up the river alone without any +one to accompany me. I know the Indians: they are a suspicious people; +they deal much in stratagems; and they are apt to expect treachery in +others. Perhaps they have had some reason; for the white men have not +always kept good faith with them, which I take to be the greater +shame, as they have God's laws to guide and teach them to be true and +just in their dealing, which the poor benighted heathen have not, the +more's the pity. Now, d'ye see, if the Indians see two stout lads with +me, they will say to themselves there may be more left behind, +skulking in ambush. So, boys, I go to the camp alone; and, God +willing, I will bring back your sister, or die in the attempt. I shall +not go empty-handed; see, I have here scarlet cloth, beads, and powder +and shot. I carry no fire-water: it is a sin and a shame to tempt +these poor wretches to their own destruction; it makes fiends of them +at once." + +It was to no purpose that Hector and Louis passionately besought old +Jacob to let them share the dangers of the expedition; the old man was +firm, and would not be moved from his purpose. + +"Look you, boys," he said, "if I do not return by the beginning of the +rice-harvest, you may suppose that evil has befallen me and the girl. +Then I would advise you to take care for your own safety; for if they +do not respect my gray head, neither will they spare your young ones. +In such case make yourselves a good canoe--a dug-out [Footnote: +Log-canoe] will do--and go down the lake till you are stopped by the +rapids; [Footnote: Heeley's Falls, on the Trent] make a portage there; +but as your craft is too weighty te carry far, e'en leave her and chop +out another, and go down to the falls; [Footnote: Crook's Rapids.] +then, if you do not like to be at any further trouble, you may make +out your journey to the bay [Footnote: Bay Quinte] on foot, coasting +along the river; there you will fall in with settlers who know old +Jacob Morelle, ay, and your two fathers, and they will put you in the +way of returning home. If I were to try ever so to put you on the old +Indian trail in the woods, though I know it myself right well, you +might be lost, and maybe never return home again. I leave my traps and +my rifle with you; I shall not need them. If I come back I may claim +the things; if not, they are yours. So now I have said my say, had my +_talk_, as the Indians say. Farewell. But first let us pray to +Him who alone can bring this matter to a safe issue." And the old man +devoutly kneeled down, and prayed for a blessing on his voyage and on +those he was leaving; and then hastened down to the beach, and the +boys, with full hearts, watched the canoe till it was lost to their +sight on the wide waters of the lake. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + + "Where wild in woods the lordly savage ran." + + --DRYDEN + +The setting sun was casting long shadows of oak and weeping elm +athwart the waters of the river; the light dip of the paddle had +ceased on the water, the baying of hounds and life-like stirring +sounds from the lodges came softened to the listening ear. The hunters +had come in with the spoils of a successful chase; the wigwam tires +are flickering and crackling, sending up their light columns of thin +blue smoke among the trees; and now a goodly portion of venison is +roasting on the forked sticks before the fires. Each lodge has its own +cooking utensils. That jar embedded in the hot embers contains +sassafras tea, an aromatic beverage in which the squaws delight when +they are so fortunate as to procure a supply. This has been brought +from the Credit, far up in the west, by a family who have come down on +a special mission from some great chief to his brethren on the +Otonabee, and the squaws have cooked some in honour of the guests. +That pot that sends up such a savoury steam is venison-pottage, or +soup, or stew, or any name you choose to give the Indian mess that is +concocted of venison, wild rice, and herbs. Those tired hounds that +lie stretched before the fire have been out, and now they enjoy the +privilege of the fire, some praise from the hunters, and receive +withal an occasional reproof from the squaws, if they approach their +wishful noses too close to the tempting viands. + +The elder boys are shooting at a mark on yonder birch-tree, the girls +are playing or rolling on the grass, the "Snow-Bird" is seated on the +floor of the wigwam braiding a necklace of sweet grass, which she +confines in links by means of little bands of coloured quills, +Catharine is working moccasins beside her. A dark shadow falls across +her work from the open tent door; an exclamation of surprise and +displeasure from one of the women makes Catharine raise her eyes to +the doorway. There, silent, pale, and motionless, the mere shadow of +her former self, stands Indiana; a gleam of joy lights for an instant +her large lustrous eyes. Amazement and delight at the sight of her +beloved friend for a moment deprive Catharine of the power of speech, +then terror for the safety of her friend takes the place of her joy at +seeing her. She rises regardless of the angry tones of the Indian +woman's voice, and throws her arms about Indiana, as if to shield her +from threatened danger, and sobs her welcome in her arms. + +"Indiana, dear sister! how came you hither, and for what purpose?" + +"To free you, and then die," was the soft, low, tremulous answer. +"Follow me." + +Catharine, wondering at the calm and fearless manner with which the +young Mohawk waved back the dusky matron who approached as if with the +design of laying hands upon her unwelcome guest, followed with beating +heart till they stood in the entrance of the lodge of the Bald Eagle. +It was filled with the hunters, who were stretched on skins on the +floor, reposing in quiet after the excitement of the chase. + +The young Mohawk bent her head down and crossed her arms over her +breast, an attitude of submission, as she stood in the opening of the +lodge; but she spoke no word till the old chief, waving back the men +who, starting to their feet, were gathering round him as if to shield +him from danger, and sternly regarding her, demanded from whence she +came and for what purpose. + +"To submit myself to the will of my Ojebwa father," was the meek +reply. "May the daughter of the Bald Eagle's enemy speak to her great +father?" + +"Say on," was the brief reply; "the Bald Eagle's ears are open." + +"The Bald Eagle is a mighty chief, the conqueror of his enemies, and +the father of his people," replied the Mohawk girl, and again was +silent. + +"The Mohawk squaw speaks well; let her say on." + +"The heart of the Mohawk is an open flower; it can be looked upon by +the eye of the Great Spirit. She speaks the words of truth. The Ojebwa +chief slew his enemies: they had done his good heart wrong; he +punished them for the wrong they wrought; he left none living in the +lodges of his enemies save one young squaw, the daughter of a brave, +the grand-daughter of the Black Snake. The Bald Eagle loves even an +enemy that is not afraid to raise the war-whoop or fling the tomahawk +in battle. The young girl's mother was a brave." She paused, while her +proud eyes were fixed on the face of her aged auditor. He nodded +assent, and she resumed, while a flush of emotion kindled her pale +cheek and reddened her lips:-- + +"The Bald Eagle brought the lonely one to his lodge; he buried the +hatchet and the scalping-knife, he bade his squaws comfort her: but +her heart was lonely, she pined for the homes of her fathers. She +said, I will revenge my father, my mother, and my brothers and +sisters; and her heart burned within her. But her hand was not strong +to shed blood; the Great Spirit was about my Ojebwa father. She +failed, and would have fled, for an arrow was in her flesh. The people +of the Bald Eagle took her; they brought her down the great river to +the council hill; they bound her with thongs, and left her to die. She +prayed, and the Great Spirit heard her prayer and sent her help. The +white man came; his heart was soft: he unbound her, he gave water to +cool her hot lips, he led her to his lodge. The white squaw (and she +pointed to Catharine) was there; she bound up her wounds, she laid her +on her own bed, she gave her meat and drink, and tended her with love. +She taught her to pray to the Good Spirit, and told her to return good +for evil, to be true and just, kind and merciful. The hard heart of +the young girl became soft as clay when moulded for the pots, and she +loved her white sister and brothers, and was happy. The Bald Eagle's +people came when my white brothers were at peace; they found a +trembling fawn within the lodge; they led her away; they left tears +and loneliness where joy and peace had been. The Mohawk squaw could +not see the hearth of her white brothers desolate. She took the canoe; +she came to the lodge of the great father of his tribe, and she says +to him, Give back the white squaw to her home on the Rice Lake, and +take in her stead the rebellious daughter of the Ojebwa's enemy, to +die or be his servant; she fears not now the knife or the tomahawk, +the arrow or the spear: her life is in the hand of the great chief." +She sank on her knees as she spoke these last words, and bowing down +her head on her breast remained motionless as a statue. + +There was silence for some minutes, and then the old man rose and +said:-- + +"Daughter of a brave woman, thou hast spoken long, and thou hast +spoken well; the ears of the Bald Eagle have been opened. The white +squaw shall be restored to her brother's lodge; but thou remainest. I +have spoken." + +Catharine, in tears, cast her arms round her disinterested friend and +remained weeping: how could she accept this great sacrifice? She, in +her turn, pleaded for the life and liberty of the Mohawk, but the +chief turned a cold ear to her passionate and incoherent pleading. He +was weary--he was impatient of further excitement--he coldly motioned +to them to withdraw; and the friends in sadness retired to talk over +all that had taken place since that sad day when Catharine was taken +from her home. While her heart was joyful at the prospect of her own +release, it was clouded with fears for the uncertain fate of her +beloved friend. + +"They will condemn me to a cruel death," said Indiana; "but I can +suffer and die for my white sister." + +That night the Indian girl slept sweetly and tranquilly beside +Catharine. But Catharine could not sleep; she communed with her own +heart in the still watches of the night; it seemed as if a new life +had been infused within her. She no longer thought and felt as a +child; the energies of her mind had been awakened, ripened into +maturity, as it were, and suddenly expanded. When all the inmates of +the lodges were profoundly sleeping, Catharine arose: a sudden thought +had entered into her mind, and she hesitated not to put her design +into execution. There was no moon, but a bright arch of light spanned +the forest to the north; it was mild and soft as moonlight, but less +bright, and cast no shadow across her path; it showed her the sacred +tent of the widow of the murdered Mohawk. With noiseless step she +lifted aside the curtain of skins that guarded it, and stood at the +entrance. Light as was her step, it awakened the sleeper; she raised +herself on her arm, and looked up with a dreamy and abstracted air as +Catharine, stretching forth her hand, in tones low and tremulous, thus +addressed her in the Ojebwa tongue:-- + +"The Great Spirit sends me to thee, O woman of much sorrow; he asks of +thee a great deed of mercy and goodness. Thou hast shed blood, and he +is angry. He bids thee to save the life of an enemy--the blood of thy +murdered husband flows in her veins. See that thou disobey not the +words that he commands." + +She dropped the curtain and retired as she had come, with noiseless +step, and lay down again in the tent beside Indiana. Her heart beat as +though it would burst its way through her bosom. What had she +done?--what dared? She had entered the presence of that terrible woman +alone, at the dead hour of night! she had spoken bold and presumptuous +words to that strange being whom even her own people hardly dared to +approach uncalled for! Sick with terror at the consequences of her +temerity, Catharine cast her trembling arms about the sleeping Indian +girl, and, hiding her head in her bosom, wept and prayed till sleep +came over her wearied spirit. It was late when she awoke. She was +alone; the lodge was empty. A vague fear seized her: she hastily arose +to seek her friend. It was evident that some great event was in +preparation. The Indian men had put on the war-paint, and strange and +ferocious eyes were glancing from beneath their shaggy locks. A stake +was driven in the centre of the cleared space in front of the chief's +lodge: there, bound, she beheld her devoted friend; pale as ashes, but +with a calm, unshaken countenance, she stood. There was no sign of +woman's fear in her fixed dark eye, which quailed not before the sight +of the death-dooming men who stood round her, armed with their +terrible weapons of destruction. Her thoughts seemed far away: perhaps +they were with her dead kindred, wandering in that happy land to which +the Indian hopes to go after life; or, inspired with the new hope +which had been opened to her, she was looking to Him who has promised +a crown of life to such as believe in his name. She saw not the look +of agony with which Catharine regarded her; and the poor girl, full of +grief, sunk down at the foot of a neighbouring tree, and, burying her +face between her knees, wept and prayed-oh, how fervently! A hope +crept to her heart--even while the doom of Indiana seemed +darkest--that some good might yet accrue from her visit to the wigwam +of the Great Medicine squaw. She knew that the Indians have great +belief in omens, and warnings, and spirits both good and evil; she +knew that her mysterious appearance at the tent of the Mohawk's widow +would be construed by her into spiritual agency; and her heart was +strengthened by this hope. Yet just now there seems little reason to +encourage hope: the war-whoop is given, the war-dance is begun--first +slow, and grave, and measured; now louder, and quicker, and more wild +become both sound and movement. But why is it hushed again? See, a +strange canoe appears on the river; anon an old weather-beaten man, +with firm step, appears on the greensward, and approaches the area of +the lodge. + +The Bald Eagle greets him with friendly courtesy, the dance ceases and +the death-song is hushed; a treaty is begun. It is for the deliverance +of the captives. The chief points to Catharine--she is free; his white +brother may take her--she is his. But the Indian law of justice must +take its course: the condemned, who raised her hand against an Ojebwa +chief, must die. In vain are the tempting stores of scarlet cloth and +beads for the women, with powder and shot, laid before the chief: the +arrows of six warriors are fitted to the string, and again the dance +and song commence, as if, like the roll of the drum and, clangour of +the trumpet, they were necessary to the excitement of strong and +powerful feelings, and the suppression of all tenderer emotions. + +And now a wild and solemn voice is heard, unearthly in its tones, +rising above the yells of those savage men. At the sound every cheek +becomes pale: it strikes upon the ear as some funeral wail. Is it the +death-song of the captive girl bound to that fearful stake? No; for +she stands unmoved, with eyes raised heavenward, and lips apart,-- + + "In still but brave despair." + +Shrouded in a mantle of dark cloth, her long black hair unbound and +streaming over her shoulders, appears the Mohawk widow, the daughter +of the Ojebwa chief. The gathering throng fall back as she approaches, +awed by her sudden appearance among them. She stretches out a hand on +which dark stains are visible--it is the blood of her husband, +sacrificed by her on that day of fearful deeds: it has never been +effaced. In the name of the Great Spirit she claims the captive +girl--the last of that devoted tribe--to be delivered over to her +will. Her right to this remnant of her murdered husband's family is +acknowledged. A knife is placed in her hand, while a deafening yell of +triumph bursts from the excited squaws, as this their great high +priestess, as they deem her, advances to the criminal. But it is not +to shed the heart's blood of the Mohawk girl, but to sever the thong +that bind her to the deadly stake, for which that glittering blade is +drawn, and to bid her depart in peace whithersoever she would go. + +Then, turning to the Bald Eagle, she thus addresses him: "At the dead +of night, when the path of light spanned the sky, a vision stood +before mine eyes. It came from the Great and Good Spirit, and bade me +to set free the last of a murdered race, whose sun had gone down in +blood shed by my hand and by the hands of my people. The vision told +me that if I did this my path should henceforth be peace, and that I +should go to the better land and be at rest if I did this good deed." +She then laid her hands on the head of the young Mohawk, blessed her, +and, enveloping herself in the dark mantle, slowly retired back to her +solitary tent once more. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + + "Hame, hame, hame, + Hame I soon shall be-- + Hame, hame, hame, + In mine own countrie" + + --_Scotch Ballad_ + +Old Jacob and Catharine, who had been mute spectators of the scene so +full of interest to them, now presented themselves before the Ojebwa +chief and besought leave to depart. The presents were again laid +before him, and this time were graciously accepted. Catharine, in +distributing the beads and cloth, took care that the best portion +should fall to the grand-daughter of the chief, the pretty, +good-humoured "Snow-bird." The old man was not insensible to the noble +sacrifice which had been made by the devoted Indiana, and he signified +his forgiveness of her fault by graciously offering to adopt her as +his child, and to give her in marriage to one of his grandsons, an +elder brother of the "Snow-bird;" but the young girl modestly but +firmly refused this mark of favour, for her heart yearned for those +whose kindness had saved her from death, and who had taught her to +look beyond the things of this world to a brighter and a better state +of being. She said "she would go with her white sister, and pray to +God to bless her enemies, as the Great Spirit had taught her to do." + +It seems a lingering principle of good in human nature that the +exercise of mercy and virtue opens the heart to the enjoyment of +social happiness. The Indians, no longer worked up by excitement to +deeds of violence, seemed disposed to bury the hatchet of hatred, and +the lodge was now filled with mirth and the voice of gladness, +feasting, and dancing. A covenant of peace and good-will was entered +upon by old Jacob and the chief, who bade Catharine tell her brothers +that from henceforth they should be free to hunt the deer, fish, or +shoot the wild-fowl of the lake whenever they desired to do so, "he, +the Bald Eagle, had said so." + +On the morrow, with the first dawn of day, the old trapper was astir; +the canoe was ready, with fresh cedar boughs strewed at the bottom. A +supply of parched rice and dried fish had been presented by the Indian +chief for the voyage, that his white brother and the young girls might +not suffer from want. At sunrise the old man led his young charges to +the lodge of the Bald Eagle, who took a kindly farewell of them. The +"Snow-bird" was sorrowful, and her bright, laughing eyes were dimmed +with tears at parting with Catharine. She was a gentle, loving thing, +as soft and playful as the tame fawn that nestled its velvet head +against her arm. She did not let Catharine depart without many tokens +of her regard, the work of her own hands,--bracelets of porcupine +quills cut in fine pieces, and strung in fanciful patterns, moccasins +richly wrought, and tiny bark dishes and boxes, such as might have +graced a lady's work-table, so rare was their workmanship. + +Just as they were about to step into the canoe, the "Snow-bird" +reappeared, bearing a richly worked bark box, "From the Great +Medicine," she said in a low voice, "to the daughter of the Mohawk +brave." The box contained a fine tunic, soft as a lady's glove, +embroidered and fringed, and a fillet of scarlet and blue feathers, +with the wings and breast of the war-bird as shoulder ornaments. It +was a token of reconciliation and good-will worthy of a generous +heart. + +The young girl pressed the gifts to her bosom and to her lips +reverentially, and the hand that brought them to her heart, as she +said in her native tongue, "Tell the Great Medicine I kiss her in my +heart, and pray that she may have peace and joy till she departs for +the spirit land." + +With joyful heart they bade adieu to the Indian lodges, and rejoiced +in being once more afloat on the bosom of the great river. To +Catharine the events of the past hours seemed like a strange +bewildering dream. She longed for the quiet repose of home; and how +gladly did she listen to that kind old man's plans for restoring +Hector, Louis, and herself to the arms of their beloved parents. How +often did she say to herself, "Oh that I had wings like a dove, for +then would I flee away and be at rest!"--in the shelter of that dear +mother's arms whom she now pined for with a painful yearning of the +heart that might well be called home-sickness. But in spite of anxious +wishes, the little party were compelled to halt for the night some few +miles above the lake. There is on the eastern bank of the Otonabee a +pretty, rounded knoll, clothed with wild cherries, hawthorns, and +pine-trees, just where a creek half hidden by alder and cranberry +bushes works its way below the shoulder of the little eminence. This +creek grows broader and becomes a little stream, through which the +hunters sometimes paddle their canoes, as a short cut to the lower +part of the lake near Crook's Rapids. + +To this creek old Jacob steered his little craft, and bidding the +girls collect a few dry sticks and branches for an evening fire on the +sheltered side of the little bank, he soon lighted the pile into a +cheerful blaze by the aid of birch bark, the hunter's tinder--a sort +of fungus that is found in the rotten oak and maple trees--and a knife +and flint. He then lifted the canoe, and having raised it on its side, +by means of two small stakes which he cut from a bush hard by, he +spread down his buffalo robe on the dry grass. + +"There is a tent fit for a queen to sleep under, _mes cheres filles_," +he said, eying his arrangements for their night shelter with great +satisfaction. + +He baited his line, and in a few minutes had a dish of splendid bass +ready for the fire. Catharine selected a large flat block of limestone +on which the fish when broiled was laid; but old Jacob opened his wide +mouth and laughed when she proceeded to lay her bush table with large +basswood leaves for platters. Such nicety he professed was unusual on +a hunter's table. He was too old a forester to care how his food was +dished, so that he had wherewithal to satisfy his hunger. + +Many were the merry tales he told and the songs he sung, to while away +the time, till the daylight faded from the sky, and the deep blue +heavens were studded with bright stars, which were mirrored in +countless hosts deep deep down in that calm waveless river, while +thousands of fire-flies lighted up the dark recesses of the forest's +gloom. High in the upper air the hollow booming of the night-hawk was +heard at intervals; and the wild cry of the night-owl from a dead +branch, shouting to its fellow, woke the silence of that lonely river +scene. + +The old trapper, stretched before the crackling fire, smoked his pipe +or hummed some French _voyageur's_ song. Beneath the shelter of the +canoe soundly slept the two girls; the dark cheek of the Indian girl +pillowed on the arm of her fairer companion, her thick tresses of +raven hair mingling with the silken ringlets of the white maiden. They +were a lovely pair--one fair as morning, the other dark as night. + +How gaily did they spring from their low bed, wakened by the early +song of the forest birds! The light curling mist hung in fleecy +volumes on the river, like a flock of sheep at rest; the tinkling +sound of the heavy dew-drops fell in mimic showers upon the stream. +See that red squirrel, how lightly he runs along that fallen trunk! +how furtively he glances with his sharp bright eye at the intruders on +his silvan haunts! Hark! there is a rustling among the leaves; what +strange creature works its way to the shore? A mud turtle: it turns, +and now is trotting along the little sandy ridge to some sunny spot, +where, half buried, it may lie unseen near the edge of the river. See +that musk-rat, how boldly he plunges into the stream, and, with his +oar-like tail, stems the current till he gains in safety the sedges on +the other side. + +What gurgling sound is that?--it attracts the practised ear of the old +hunter. What is that object which floats so steadily down the middle +of the stream, and leaves so bright a line in its wake?--it is a noble +stag. Look at the broad chest with which he breasts the water so +gallantly; see how proudly he carries his antlered head! He has no +fear in those lonely solitudes--he has never heard the crack of the +hunter's rifle--he heeds not the sharp twang of that bow-string, till +the arrow rankles in his neck, and the crimson flood dyes the water +around him. He turns, but it is only to present a surer mark for the +arrow from the old hunter's bow. And now the noble beast turns to bay, +and the canoe is rapidly launched by the hand of the Indian girl. Her +eye flashes with the excitement; her whole soul is in the chase; she +stands up in the canoe, and steers it full upon the wounded buck, +while a shower of blows is dealt upon his head and neck with the +paddle. Catharine buries her face in her hands: she cannot bear to +look upon the sufferings of the noble animal. She will never make a +huntress; her heart is cast in too soft a mould. See they have towed +the deer ashore, and Jacob is in all his glory. The little squaw is an +Indian at heart--see with what expertness she helps the old man. And +now the great business is completed, and the venison is stowed away at +the bottom of the canoe. They wash their hands in the river, and come +at Catharine's summons to their breakfast. + +The sun is now rising high above the pine-trees; the morning mist is +also rising and rolling off like a golden veil as it catches those +glorious rays; the whole earth seems wakening into new life: the dew +has brightened every leaf and washed each tiny flower-cup: the pines +and balsams give out their resinous fragrance: the aspens flutter and +dance in the morning breeze, and return a mimic shower of dew-drops to +the stream; the shores become lower and flatter; the trees less lofty +and more mossy; the stream expands, and wide beds of rushes spread out +on either side; what beds of snowy water-lilies: how splendid the rose +tint of those perseicarias that glow so brightly in the morning sun; +the rushes look like a green meadow, but the treacherous water lies +deep below their grassy leaves; the deer delights in these verdant +aquatic fields: and see what flocks of redwings rise from among them +as the canoe passes near--their bright shoulder-knots glance like +flashes of lightning in the sunbeams. + +This low swampy island, filled with drift-wood; these gray hoary +trees, half choked and killed with gray moss and lichens, those +straggling alders and black ash, look melancholy; they are like +premature old age, gray-headed youths. That island divides the channel +of the river: the old man takes the nearest, the left hand. And now +they are upon the broad Rice Lake, and Catharine wearies her eye to +catch the smoke of the shanty rising among the trees: one after +another the islands steal out into view; the capes, bays, and shores +of the northern side are growing less distinct. Yon hollow bay, where +the beaver has hidden till now, backed by that bold sweep of hills +that look in the distance as if only covered with green ferns, with +here and there a tall tree, stately as a pine or oak,--that is the +spot where Louis saw the landing of the Indians: now a rising +village--Gore's Landing. On yon lofty hill now stands the village +church,--its white tower rising amongst the trees forms a charming +object from the lake; and there, a little higher up, not far from the +plank road, now stand pretty rural cottages: one of these belongs to +the spirited proprietor of the village that bears his name. That +tasteful garden before the white cottage, to the right, is Colonel +Brown's, and there are pretty farms and cultivated spots; but silence +and loneliness reigned there at the time of which I write. + +Where those few dark pines rise above the oak groves like the spires +of churches in a crowded city, is Mount Ararat. The Indian girl steers +straight between the islands for that ark of refuge, and Catharine's +eyes are dimmed with grateful tears as she pictures to herself the +joyful greeting in store for her. In the overflowings of her gladness +she seizes the old man's rugged hand and kisses it, and flings her +arms about the Indian girl and presses her to her heart, when the +canoe has touched the old well-remembered landing-place, and she finds +herself so near, so very near her lost home. How precious are such +moments--how few we have in life! They are created from our very +sorrows; without our cares our joys would be less lively. But we have +no time to moralize. Catharine flies with the speed of a young fawn to +climb the cliff-like shoulder of that steep bank; and now; out of +breath, she stands at the threshold of her log-house. How neat and +nice it looks compared with the Indians' tents! The little field of +corn is green and flourishing. There is Hector's axe in a newly-cut +log: it is high noon; the boys ought to have been there taking their +mid-day meal, but the door is shut. Catharine lifts the wooden latch, +and steps in. The embers are nearly burned out to a handful of gray +ashes. Old Wolfe is not there--all is silent; and Catharine sits down +to still the beating of her heart, and await the coming of her slower +companions, and gladdens her mind with the hope that her brother and +Louis will soon be home. Her eye wanders over every old familiar +object. All things seem much as she had left them; only, the maize is +in the ear, and the top feather waves gracefully in the summer breeze. +It promises an abundant crop. But that harvest is not to be gathered +by the hands of the young planters: it was left to the birds of the +air and the beasts of the field--to those humble reapers who sow not, +neither do they gather into barns, for the heavenly Father feedeth +them. While the two girls busied themselves in preparing a fine roast +of venison, old Jacob stalked away over the hills to search for the +boys, and it was not long before he returned with Hector and Louis. + +I must not tell tales, or I might say what tears of joy were mingled +with the rapturous greetings with which Louis embraced his beloved +cousin; or I might tell that the bright flush that warmed the dusky +cheek of the young Indian and the light that danced in her soft black +eyes owed their origin to the kiss that was pressed on her red lips by +her white brother. Nor will we say whose hand held hers so long in +his, while Catharine related the noble sacrifice made for her sake, +and the perils encountered by the devoted Indiana, whose eyes were +moistened with tears as the horrors of that fearful trial were +described; or who stole out alone over the hills, and sat him down in +the hush and silence of the summer night to think of the acts of +heroism displayed by that untaught Indian girl, and to dream a dream +of youthful love: with these things, my young readers, we have nothing +to do. + +"And now, my children," said old Jacob, looking round the little +dwelling, "have you made up your minds to live and die here on the +shores of this lake, or do you desire again to behold your fathers' +home? Do your young hearts yearn after the hearth of your childhood?"' + +"After our fathers' home!" was Louis's emphatic reply. "After the home +of our childhood!" was Catharine's earnest answer. Hector's lips +echoed his sister's words, while a furtive troubled glance fell upon +the orphan stranger; but her timid eye was raised to his young face +with a trusting look, as if she would have said, "Thy home shall be my +home, thy God my God." + +"Well, I believe, if my old memory fails me not, I can strike the +Indian trail that used to lead to the Cold Springs over the pine +hills. It will not be difficult for an old trapper to find his way." + +"For my part, I shall not leave this lovely spot without regret," said +Hector. "It would be a glorious place for a settlement--all that one +could desire--hill and valley, and plain, wood, and water. I will try +and persuade my father to leave the Cold Springs, and come and settle +hereabouts. It would be delightful--would it not, Catharine?--especially +now we are friends with the Indians." + +With their heads full of pleasant schemes for the future, our young +folks laid them down that night to rest. In the morning they rose, +packed up such portable articles as they could manage to carry, and +with full hearts sat down to take their last meal in their home--in +that home which had sheltered them so long--and then, with one accord, +they knelt down upon its hearth, so soon to be left in loneliness, and +breathed a prayer to Him who had preserved them thus far in their +eventful lives; and then they journeyed forth once more into the +wilderness. There was one, however, of their little band they left +behind this was the faithful old dog Wolfe. He had pined during the +absence of his mistress, and only a few days before Catharine's return +he had crept to the seat she was wont to occupy, and there died. Louis +and Hector buried him, not without great regret beneath the group of +birch-trees on the brow of the slope near the corn-field. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + +"I will arise, and go to my father."--St. Luke. + +It is the hour of sunset; the sonorous sound of the cattle-bells is +heard, as they slowly emerge from the steep hill-path that leads to +Maxwell and Louis Perron's little clearing; the dark shadows are +lengthening that those wood-crowned hills cast over that sunny spot, an +oasis in the vast forest desert that man, adventurous, courageous man, has +hewed for himself in the wilderness. The little flock are feeding among +the blackened stumps of the uncleared chopping: those timbers have lain +thus untouched for two long years; the hand was wanting that should have +given help in logging and burning them up. The wheat is ripe for the +sickle, and the silken beard of the corn is waving like a fair girl's +tresses in the evening breeze. The tinkling fall of the cold spring in +yonder bank falls soothingly on the ear. Who comes from that low-roofed +log-cabin to bring in the pitcher of water--that pale, careworn, shadowy +figure that slowly moves along the green pasture, as one without hope or +joy; her black hair shared with silver, her cheek pale as wax, and her +hand so thin it looks as though the light might be seen through if she +held it towards the sun? It is the heart-broken mother of Catharine and +Hector Maxwell. Her heart has been pierced with many sorrows; she cannot +yet forget the children of her love, her first-born girl and boy. Who +comes to meet her, and with cheerful voice chides her for the tear that +seems ever to be lingering on that pale cheek,--yet the premature furrows +on that broad, sunburnt, manly brow speak, too, of inward care? It is the +father of Hector and Catharine. Those two fine, healthy boys, in homespun +blouses, that are talking so earnestly as they lean across the rail-fence +of the little wheat field, are Kenneth and Donald; their sickles are on +their arms--they have been reaping. They hear the sudden barking of Bruce +and Wallace, the hounds, and turn to see what causes the agitation they +display. + +An old man draws near; he has a knapsack on his shoulders, which he casts +down on the corner of the stoup; he is singing a line of an old French +ditty; he raps at the open door. The Highlander bids him welcome, but +starts with glad surprise as his hand is grasped by the old trapper. + +"Hah, Jacob Morelle, it is many a weary year since your step turned this +way." The tear stood in the eye of the soldier as he spoke. + +"Can you receive me and those I have with me for the night?" asked the +old man; in a husky voice--his kind heart was full. "A spare corner, a +shake-down, will do; we travellers in the bush are no wise nice." + +"The best we have, and kindly welcome, Jacob. How many are ye in all?" + +"There are just four, besides myself,--young people. I found them where +they had been long living, on a lonely lake, and I persuaded them to come +with me." + +The strong features of the Highlander worked convulsively, as he drew his +faded blue bonnet over his eyes. "Jacob, did ye ken that we lost our +eldest bairns some three summers since?" he faltered in a broken voice. + +"The Lord, in his mercy, has restored them to you, Donald, by my hand," +said the trapper. + +"Let me see, let me see my children! To Him be the praise and the glory," +ejaculated the pious father, raising his bonnet reverently from his head; +"and holy and blessed be His name for ever! I thought not to have seen +this day. O Catharine, my dear wife, this joy will kill you!" + +In a moment his children were enfolded in his arms. It is a mistaken idea +that joy kills; it is a life restorer. Could you, my young readers, have +seen how quickly the bloom of health began to reappear on the faded cheek +of that pale mother, and how soon that dim eye regained its bright +sparkle, you would have said joy does not kill. + +"But where is Louis, dear Louis, our nephew, where is he?" + +Louis, whose impetuosity was not to be restrained by the caution of old +Jacob, had cleared the log-fence at a bound, had hastily embraced his +cousins Kenneth and Donald, and in five minutes more had rushed into his +father's cottage, and wept his joy in the arms of father, mother, and +sisters by turns, before old Jacob had introduced the impatient Hector and +Catharine to their father. + +"But while joy is in our little dwelling, who is this that sits apart +upon that stone by the log-fence, her face bent sadly down upon her knees, +her long raven hair shading her features as with a veil?" asked the +Highlander Maxwell, pointing as he spoke to the spot where, unnoticed and +unsharing in the joyful recognition, sat the poor Indian girl. There was +no paternal embrace for her, no tender mother's kiss imprinted on that +dusky cheek and pensive brow; she was alone and desolate in the midst of +that scene of gladness. + +"It is my Indian sister," said Catharine; "she also must be your child." + +Hector hurried to Indiana, and taking her by the hand led her to his +parents, and bade them be kind to and cherish the young stranger, to whom +they all owed so much. + +Time passes on--years, long years have gone by since the return of the +lost children to their homes, and many changes have those years effected. +The log-houses have fallen to decay--a growth of young pines, a waste of +emerald turf with the charred logs that once formed part of the enclosure, +now scarcely serve to mark out the old settlement; no trace or record +remains of the first breakers of the bush--another race occupy the ground. +The traveller as he passes along on that smooth turnpike road that leads +from Coburg to Cold Springs, and from thence to Gore's Landing, may notice +a green waste by the roadside on either hand, and fancy that thereabouts +our Canadian Crusoes' home once stood: he sees the lofty wood-crowned +hill, and in spring time--for in summer it is hidden by the luxuriant +foliage--the little forest creek; and he may, if thirsty, taste of the +pure, fresh, icy water, as it still wells out from a spring in the +steep bank, rippling through the little cedar-trough that Louis Perron +placed there for the better speed of his mother when filling her water +jug. All else is gone. And what wrought the change a few words will +suffice to tell. Some travelling fur merchants brought the news to +Donald Maxwell that a party of Highlanders had made a settlement above +Montreal, and among them were some of his kindred. The old soldier +resolved to join them, and it was not hard to prevail upon his +brother-in-law to accompany him, for they were all now weary of living +so far from their fellow-men; and bidding farewell to the little +log-houses at Cold Springs, they now journeyed downwards to the new +settlement, where they were gladly received, their long experience of +the country making their company a most valuable acquisition to the +new-come colonists. + +Not long after, the Maxwells took possession of a grant of land, and +cleared and built for themselves and their family. Hector, now a fine +industrious young man, presented at the baptismal font, as a candidate +for baptism, the Indian girl, and then received at the altar his +newly-baptized bride. Catharine and Louis were married on the same day +as Hector and Indiana. They lived happy and prosperous lives; and +often, by their firesides, would delight their children by recounting +the history of their wanderings on the Rice Lake Plains. + + +THE END. + + + + + + +[About this edition: _Lost in the Woods_ was originally published in +1852 under the title _The Canadian Crusoes: A Tale of the Rice Lake +Plains_. After several editions, it was republished in 1882 under its +present title, as _Lost in the Backwoods_.] + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Lost in the Backwoods, by Catherine Parr Traill + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LOST IN THE BACKWOODS *** + +This file should be named lbkwd10.txt or lbkwd10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, lbkwd11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, lbkwd10a.txt + +Produced by Avinash Kothare, Tom Allen, Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team +This file was produced from images generously made available +by the Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions. + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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