MONSIEUR VIOLET (FISCLE PART-IV) by FREDERICK MARRYAT (leveled readers txt) π
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- Author: FREDERICK MARRYAT
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Too Great A Foreign Conquest Will Most Certainly Be Attempted. The
Northern Provinces Of Mexico Will Fall Into Their Hands, Even If Texas
Should First Take Possession Of Them.
"These Mormons Are Accumulating, Like A Snow-Ball Rolling Down An
Inclined plane. They Are Also Enrolling among Their Officers Some Of The
First Talent In the Country, By Titles Which They Give And By Money
Which They Can Command. They Have Appointed captain Henry Bennet, Late
Of The United states Army, Inspector-General Of Their Legion, And He Is
Commissioned as Such By Governor Carlin. This Gentleman Is Known To Be
Well Skilled in fortification, Gunnery, And Military Engineering
Generally; And I Am Assured that He Is Receiving Regular Pay, Derived
From The Tithing Of This Warlike People. I Have Seen His Plans For
Fortifying Nauvoo, Which Are Equal To Any Of Vauban'S.
"General John C. Bennet (A New England Man) Is The Prophet'S Great Gun.
They Call Him, Though A Man Of Diminutive Stature, The 'Forty-Two
Pounder.' He Might Have Applied his Talents In a More Honourable Cause;
But I Am Assured that He Is Well Paid For The Important Services He Is
Rendering This People, Or, I Should Rather Say, Rendering The Prophet.
This Gentleman Exhibits The Highest Degree Of Field Military Talent
(Field Tactics), United with Extensive Learning. He May Yet Become
Dangerous To The States. He Was Quartermaster-General Of The State Of
Illinois, And, At Another Time, A Professor In the Erie University. It
Will, Therefore, Be Seen That Nothing But A High Price Could Have
Secured him To These Fanatics. Only A Part Of Their Officers And
Professors Are Mormons: But Then They Are United by A Common Interest,
And Will Act Together On Main Points To A Man. Those Who Are Not Mormons
When They Come Here, Very Soon Become So, Either From Interest Or
Conviction.
"The Smiths Are Not Without Talent; Joe, The Chief, Is A Noble-Looking
Fellow, A Mahomet Every Inch Of Him; The Postmaster, Sidney Rigdon, Is A
Lawyer, A Philosopher, And A Saint. The Other Generals Are Also Men Of
Talent, And Some Of Them Men Of Learning. I Have No Doubt They Are All
Brave, As They Are Most Unquestionably Ambitious, And The Tendency Of
Their Religious Creed is To Annihilate All Other Sects. We May,
Therefore, See The Time When This Gathering Host Of Religious Fanatics
Will Make This Country Shake To Its Centre. A Western Empire Is Certain.
Ecclesiastical History Presents No Parallel To This People, Inasmuch As
They Are Establishing Their Religion On A Learned basis. In their
College, They Teach All The Sciences, With Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French,
Italian, And Spanish; The Mathematical Department Is Under An Extremely
Able Professor, Of The Name Of Pratt; And A Professor Of Trinity
College, Dublin, Is President Of Their University.
"I Arrived there, Incog., On The 1St Inst., And, From The Great
Preparations For The Military Parade, Was Induced to Stay To See The
Turn-Out, Which, I Confess, Has Astonished and Filled me With Fears For
The Future Consequences. The Mormons, It Is True, Are Now Peaceable, But
The Lion Is Asleep. Take Care, And Don'T Rouse Him.
"The City Of Nauvoo Contains About Fifteen Thousand Souls, And Is
Rapidly Increasing. It Is Well Laid Out, And The Municipal Affairs
Appear To Be Well Conducted. The Adjoining Country Is A Beautiful
Prairie. Who Will Say That The Mormon Prophet Is Not Among The Great
Spirits Of The Age?
"The Mormons Number, In europe And America, About One Hundred and Fifty
Thousand, And Are Constantly Pouring Into Nauvoo And The Neighbouring
Country. There Are Probably In and About This City, At A Short Distance
From The River, Not Far From Thirty Thousand Of These Warlike Fanatics,
And It Is But A Year Since They Have Settled in the Illinois."
Chapter XLWhile I Was At Mr. Courtenay'S Plantation I Had A Panther Adventure, A
Circumstance Which, In itself, Would Be Scarcely Worth Mentioning, Were
It Not That This Fierce Animal Was Thought To Have Entirely Left The
Country For More Than Twenty Years. For Several Days There Had Been A
Rapid Diminution Among The Turkeys, Lambs, And Young Pigs In the
Neighbourhood, And We Had Unsuccessfully Beaten The Briars And
Cane-Brakes, Expecting at Every Moment To Fall In with Some Large
Tiger-Cat, Which Had Strayed from The Southern Brakes. After Much
Fruitless Labour, Mr. Courtenay Came To The Conclusion That A Gang Of
Negro Marroons Were Hanging about, And He Ordered that A Watch Should
For The Future Be Kept Every Night.
It Happened that The Whole Family Was One Day Invited to A Wedding On
The Other Side Of The River. Not Having any Clothes Fit For A Party, I
Remained at Home, And At Mid-Day Started on Horseback Alone, With All
The Dogs, For A Battue. The Day Was Sultry, Although Windy; As The Roar
Of The Wind In the Canes Prevented me From Hearing The Barking Of The
Dogs, Having arrived at One Of Our Former Hunting Camping-Places,
Fifteen Miles From The House, I Threw Myself Upon The Ground, And
Allowed my Horse To Graze. I Had Scarcely Been Half-An-Hour Occupied in
Smoking My Pipe, When All The Dogs, In full Cry, Broke From The Briars,
And Rushed into The Cane-Brakes, Passing Me At A Distance Of Thirty
Yards. I Knew It Was Neither Bear Nor Deer That They Were Running after,
And As I Had Observed a Path Through The Canes, I Leaped upon My Saddle,
And Followed the Chase, Wondering What It Could Be, As, Had The Animal
Been Any Of The Smaller Feline Species, It Would Have Kept To The
Briars, Where Dogs Have Never The Least Chance Against Them.
I Rode Briskly Till I Arrived at A Large Cypress Swamp, On The Other
Side Of Which I Could Perceive Through The Openings Another Cane-Brake,
Higher And Considerably Thicker. I Fastened my Horse, Giving Him The
Whole Length Of The Lasso, To Allow Him To Browse Upon The Young Leaves
Of The Canes, And With My Bowie Knife And Rifle Entered the Swamp,
Following The Trail Of The Dogs. When I Came To The Other Cane-Brake, I
Heard The Pack Before Me Barking Most Furiously, And Evidently At Bay, I
Could Only Be Directed by The Noise, As It Was Impossible For Me To See
Anything; So High And Thick Were The Canes, That I Was Obliged to Open A
Way With My Knife, And It Was With Much Trouble And Fatigue That I
Arrived within Twenty Yards Of The Dogs. I Knew That I Was Once More
Approaching a Swamp, For The Canes Were Becoming Thinner; Raising My
Eyes, I Perceived that I Was In the Vicinity Of A Large Cotton-Tree, At
The Foot Of Which Probably The Dogs Were Standing. Yet I Could Not See
Them, And I Began To Examine With Care The Upper Limbs Of The Tree, To
Ascertain If Any Tiger-Cat Had Lodged itself Upon Some Of The Forks. But
There Was Nothing That I Could Discover; Cutting The Canes On The Left
And The Right, I Advanced ten Yards More, When, To My Surprise, I
Perceived, Thirty Feet Above Me, A Large Panther Embracing The Trunk Of
A Tree With Its Huge Paws, And Looking angrily Below At The Dogs.
I Would Have Retired, But I Dared not, As I Feared that The Least Noise
Would Attract The Attention Of The Animal, Who Would Spring Upon Me From
Its Elevated position. The Dogs Barked louder And Louder; Twice I
Raised my Rifle, But Did Not Fire, My Nerves Were Too Much Agitated, And
My Arms Shook. At Last I Regained my Self-Command, And Reflecting That
Among The Pack There Were Some Dogs Almost A Match For The Terrible
Animal, I Rested my Rifle Upon The Limb Of One Of The Heavy Canes, And
Fired: My Aim Was True, The Brute Fell Mortally Wounded, Though Not
Dead; Half Of The Dogs Were Upon It In a Moment, But, Shaking Them Off,
The Animal Attempted to Re-Ascend The Tree. The Effort, However, Was
Above Its Strength, And, After Two Useless Springs, It Attempted to Slip
Away. At That Moment The Larger Dogs Sprang Upon The Animal, Which Could
Struggle No Longer, As Life Was Ebbing Fast With The Stream Of Blood.
Ere I Had Time To Reload My Rifle, It Was Dead.
When I Approached, All The Dogs Were Upon The Animal, Except A Fierce
Little Black Bitch, Generally The Leader Of The Pack; I Saw Her Dart
Through The Canes With Her Nose On The Ground, And Her Tail Hanging Low.
The Panther Was A Female, Very Lean, And Of The Largest Size; By Her
Dugs I Knew She Had A Cub Which Could Not Be Far Off, And I Tried to
Induce The Pack To Follow The Bitch, But They Were All Too Busy In
Tearing and Drinking The Blood Of The Victim, And It Was Not Safe To Use
Force With Them. For At Least Ten Minutes I Stood Contemplating Them,
Waiting Till They Would Be Tired. All At Once I Heard A Bark, A Growl,
And A Plaintive Moan. I Thought At First That The Cub Had Been
Discovered, But As The Dogs Started at Full Speed, Following The Chase
For More Than Twenty Minutes, I Soon Became Convinced that It Must Be
Some New Game, Either A Boar Or A Bear. I Followed, But Had Not Gone
Fifty Steps, When A Powerful Rushing Through The Canes Made Me Aware
That The Animal Pursued had Turned back On Its Trail, And, Twenty Yards
Before Me, I Perceived the Black Bitch Dead And Horribly Mangled. I Was
Going Up To Her, When The Rushing Came Nearer And Nearer; I Had Just
Time To Throw Myself Behind A Small Patch Of Briars, Before Another
Panther Burst Out From The Cane-Brakes.
[Illustration: "With A Long And Light Spring It Broke Out Of The
Canes."]
I Had Never Seen Before So Tremendous, And, At The Same Time, So
Majestic And So Beautiful An Animal, As With A Long And Light Spring It
Broke Out Of The Canes. It Was A Male; His Jaws Were Covered with Foam
And Blood; His Tail Was Lashing Through The Air, And At Times He Looked
Steadily Behind, As If Uncertain If He Would Run Or Fight His
Pursuers. At Last His Eyes Were Directed to The Spot Where The Bitch Lay
Dead, And With A Single Bound He Was Again Upon The Body, And Rolled it
Under His Paws Till It Had Lost All Shape. As The Furious Animal Stood
Thus Twenty Yards Before Me, I Could Have Fired, But Dared not Do So,
While The Dogs Were So Far Off. However, They Soon Emerged from The
Brake, And Rushed forward. A Spirited young Pup, A Little Ahead Of The
Others, Was Immediately Crushed by His Paw, And Making a Few Bounds
Towards A Large Tree, He Climbed to The Height Of Twenty Feet, Where He
Remained, Answering To The Cries Of The Dogs With A Growl As Loud
As Thunder.
I Fired, And This Time There Was No Struggle. My Ball Had Penetrated
Through The Eye To The Brain, Yet The Brute In its Death Struggle
Still Clung On.
At Last The Claws Relaxed from Their Hold, And It Fell Down A Ponderous
Mass, Terrible Still In death.
The Sun Had Already Set, And Not Wishing To Lose Any Time In skinning
The Animal, I Merely Cut Off Its Long Tail, Which I Secured as A Trophy
Round My Waist. My Adventures, However, Were Not Yet Terminated, For
While I Was Crossing The Short Width Of Cane-Brake Which Was Between Me
And Where The She-Panther Laid Dead, The Dogs Again Gave Tongue, And, In
Less Than Three Minutes, Had Tracked another Animal. Night Was Coming On
Pretty Fast, And I Was Beginning To Be Alarmed. Till Now I Had Been
Successful, Each Time Having Destroyed, With A Single Ball, A Terrible
Enemy, Whom Even The Boldest Hunters Fear To Attack Alone; But Should I
Have The Same Good Luck In a Third Encounter? It Was More Than I Could
Expect, Especially As
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