The Prairie (Fiscle Part 3) Of 2 by J Fenimore Cooper (phonics reading books TXT) 📕

Man Alone Seemed Indifferent To The Usual Claims Of Nature. Although

But Little Accustomed To The Unusual Description Of Exercise He Had

Just Been Taking,  He Appeared To Bid Defiance To All The Usual Attacks

Of Human Infirmities. Though Evidently So Near Its Dissolution,  His

Attenuated Frame Still Stood Like The Shaft Of Seasoned Oak,  Dry,

Naked,  And Tempest-Driven,  But Unbending And Apparently Indurated To

The Consistency Of Stone. On The Present Occasion He Conducted The

Search For A Resting-Place,  Which Was Immediately Commenced,  With All

The Energy Of Youth,  Tempered By The Discretion And Experience Of His

Great Age.

The Bed Of Grass,  In Which The Doctor Had Been Met,  And In Which His

Ass Had Just Been Left,  Was Followed A Little Distance Until It Was

Found That The Rolling Swells Of The Prairie Were Melting Away Into

One Vast Level Plain,  That Was Covered,  For Miles On Miles,  With The

Same Species Of Herbage.

"Ah,  This May Do,  This May Do," Said The Old Man,  When They Arrived On

The Borders Of This Sea Of Withered Grass. "I Know The Spot,  And Often

Have I Lain In Its Secret Holes,  For Days At A Time,  While The Savages

Have Been Hunting The Buffaloes On The Open Ground. We Must Enter It

With Great Care,  For A Broad Trail Might Be Seen,  And Indian Curiosity

Is A Dangerous Neighbour."

Leading The Way Himself,  He Selected A Spot Where The Tall Coarse

Herbage Stood Most Erect,  Growing Not Unlike A Bed Of Reeds,  Both In

Height And Density. Here He Entered,  Singly,  Directing The Others To

Follow As Nearly As Possible In His Own Footsteps. When They Had

Paused For Some Hundred Or Two Feet Into The Wilderness Of Weeds,  He

Gave His Directions To Paul And Middleton,  Who Continued A Direct

Route Deeper Into The Place,  While He Dismounted And Returned On His

Tracks To The Margin Of The Meadow. Here He Passed Many Minutes In

Replacing The Trodden Grass,  And In Effacing,  As Far As Possible,

Every Evidence Of Their Passage.

In The Mean Time The Rest Of The Party Continued Their Progress,  Not

Without Toil,  And Consequently At A Very Moderate Gait,  Until They Had

Penetrated A Mile Into The Place. Here They Found A Spot Suited To

Their Circumstances,  And,  Dismounting,  They Began To Make Their

Dispositions To Pass The Remainder Of The Night. By This Time The

Trapper Had Rejoined The Party,  And Again Resumed The Direction Of

Their Proceedings.

The Weeds And Grass Were Soon Plucked And Cut From An Area Of

Sufficient Extent,  And A Bed For Inez And Ellen Was Speedily Made,  A

Little Apart,  Which For Sweetness And Ease Might Have Rivalled One Of

Down. The Exhausted Females,  After Receiving Some Light Refreshments

From The Provident Stores Of Paul And The Old Man,  Now Sought Their

Repose,  Leaving Their More Stout Companions At Liberty To Provide For

Their Own Necessities. Middleton And Paul Were Not Long In Following

The Example Of Their Betrothed,  Leaving The Trapper And The Naturalist

Still Seated Around A Savoury Dish Of Bison's Meat,  Which Had Been

Cooked At A Previous Halt,  And Which Was,  As Usual,  Eaten Cold.

A Certain Lingering Sensation,  Which Had So Long Been Uppermost In The

Mind Of Obed,  Temporarily Banished Sleep; And As For The Old Man,  His

Wants Were Rendered,  By Habit And Necessity,  As Seemingly Subject To

His Will As If They Altogether Depended On The Pleasure Of The Moment.

Like His Companion He Chose Therefore To Watch,  Instead Of Sleeping.

"If The Children Of Ease And Security Knew The Hardships And Dangers

The Students Of Nature Encounter In Their Behalf," Said Obed,  After A

Moment Of Silence,  When Middleton Took His Leave For The Night,

"Pillars Of Silver,  And Statues Of Brass Would Be Reared As The

Everlasting Monuments Of Their Glory!"

"I Know Not,  I Know Not," Returned His Companion; "Silver Is Far From

Plenty,  At Least In The Wilderness,  And Your Brazen Idols Are

Forbidden In The Commandments Of The Lord."

"Such Indeed Was The Opinion Of The Great Lawgiver Of The Jews,  But

The Egyptians,  And The Chaldeans,  The Greeks,  And The Romans,  Were

Wont To Manifest Their Gratitude,  In These Types Of The Human Form.

Indeed Many Of The Illustrious Masters Of Antiquity,  Have By The Aid

Of Science And Skill,  Even Outdone The Works Of Nature,  And Exhibited

A Beauty And Perfection In The Human Form That Are Difficult To Be

Found In The Rarest Living Specimens Of Any Of The Species; Genus,

Homo."

"Can Your Idols Walk Or Speak,  Or Have They The Glorious Gift Of

Reason?" Demanded The Trapper,  With Some Indignation In His Voice;

"Though But Little Given To Run Into The Noise And Chatter Of The

Settlements,  Yet Have I Been Into The Towns In My Day,  To Barter The

Peltry For Lead And Powder,  And Often Have I Seen Your Waxen Dolls,

With Their Tawdry Clothes And Glass Eyes--"

"Waxen Dolls!" Interrupted Obed; "It Is Profanation,  In The View Of

The Arts,  To Liken The Miserable Handy-Work Of The Dealers In Wax To

The Pure Models Of Antiquity!"

"It Is Profanation In The Eyes Of The Lord," Retorted The Old Man,  "To

Liken The Works Of His Creatur's,  To The Power Of His Own Hand."

"Venerable Venator," Resumed The Naturalist,  Clearing His Throat,  Like

One Who Was Much In Earnest,  "Let Us Discuss Understandingly And In

Amity. You Speak Of The Dross Of Ignorance,  Whereas My Memory Dwells

On Those Precious Jewels,  Which It Was My Happy Fortune,  Formerly,  To

Witness,  Among The Treasured Glories Of The Old World."

"Old World!" Retorted The Trapper,  "That Is The Miserable Cry Of All

The Half-Starved Miscreants That Have Come Into This Blessed Land,

Since The Days Of My Boyhood! They Tell You Of The Old World; As If

The Lord Had Not The Power And The Will To Create The Universe In A

Day,  Or As If He Had Not Bestowed His Gifts With An Equal Hand,  Though

Not With An Equal Mind,  Or Equal Wisdom,  Have They Been Received And

Used. Were They To Say A Worn Out,  And An Abused,  And A Sacrilegious

World,  They Might Not Be So Far From The Truth!"

Doctor Battius,  Who Found It Quite As Arduous A Task To Maintain Any

Of His Favourite Positions With So Irregular An Antagonist,  As He

Would Have Found It Difficult To Keep His Feet Within The Hug Of A

Western Wrestler,  Hemmed Aloud,  And Profited By The New Opening The

Trapper Had Made,  To Shift The Grounds Of The Discussion--

"By Old And New World,  My Excellent Associate," He Said,  "It Is Not To

Be Understood That The Hills,  And The Valleys,  The Rocks And The

Rivers Of Our Own Moiety Of The Earth Do Not,  Physically Speaking,

Bear A Date As Ancient As The Spot On Which The Bricks Of Babylon Are

Found; It Merely Signifies That Its Moral Existence Is Not Co-Equal

With Its Physical,  Or Geological Formation."

"Anan!" Said The Old Man,  Looking Up Enquiringly Into The Face Of The

Philosopher.

"Merely That It Has Not Been So Long Known In Morals,  As The Other

Countries Of Christendom."

"So Much The Better,  So Much The Better. I Am No Great Admirator Of

Your Old Morals,  As You Call Them,  For I Have Ever Found,  And I Have

Liv'd Long As It Were In The Very Heart Of Natur',  That Your Old

Morals Are None Of The Best. Mankind Twist And Turn The Rules Of The

Lord,  To Suit Their Own Wickedness,  When Their Devilish Cunning Has

Had Too Much Time To Trifle With His Commands."

"Nay,  Venerable Hunter,  Still Am I Not Comprehended. By Morals I Do

Not Mean The Limited And Literal Signification Of The Term,  Such As Is

Conveyed In Its Synonyme,  Morality,  But The Practices Of Men,  As

Connected With Their Daily Intercourse,  Their Institutions,  And Their

Laws."

"And Such I Call Barefaced And Downright Wantonness And Waste,"

Interrupted His Sturdy Disputant.

"Well,  Be It So," Returned The Doctor,  Abandoning The Explanation In

Despair. "Perhaps I Have Conceded Too Much," He Then Instantly Added,

Fancying That He Still Saw The Glimmerings Of An Argument Through

Another Chink In The Discourse. "Perhaps I Have Conceded Too Much,  In

Saying That This Hemisphere Is Literally As Old In Its Formation,  As

That Which Embraces The Venerable Quarters Of Europe,  Asia,  And

Africa."

"It Is Easy To Say A Pine Is Not So Tall As An Alder,  But It Would Be

Hard To Prove. Can You Give A Reason For Such A Belief?"

"The Reasons Are Numerous And Powerful," Returned The Doctor,

Delighted By This Encouraging Opening. "Look Into The Plains Of Egypt

And Arabia; Their Sandy Deserts Teem With The Monuments Of Their

Antiquity; And Then We Have Also Recorded Documents Of Their Glory;

Doubling The Proofs Of Their Former Greatness,  Now That They Lie

Stripped Of Their Fertility; While We Look In Vain For Similar

Evidences That Man Has Ever Reached The Summit Of Civilisation On This

Continent,  Or Search,  Without Our Reward,  For The Path By Which He Has

Made The Downward Journey To His Present Condition Of Second

Childhood."

"And What See You In All This?" Demanded The Trapper,  Who,  Though A

Little Confused By The Terms Of His Companion,  Seized The Thread Of

His Ideas.

"A Demonstration Of My Problem,  That Nature Did Not Make So Vast A

Region To Lie An Uninhabited Waste So Many Ages. This Is Merely The

Moral View Of The Subject; As To The More Exact And Geological--"

"Your Morals Are Exact Enough For Me," Returned The Old Man,  "For I

Think I See In Them The Very Pride Of Folly. I Am But Little Gifted In

The Fables Of What You Call The Old World,  Seeing That My Time Has

Been Mainly Passed Looking Natur' Steadily In The Face,  And In

Reasoning On What I've Seen,  Rather Than On What I've Heard In

Traditions. But I Have Never Shut My Ears To The Words Of The Good

Book,  And Many Is The Long Winter Evening That I Have Passed In The

Wigwams Of The Delawares,  Listening To The Good Moravians,  As They

Dealt Forth The History And Doctrines Of The Elder Times,  To The

People Of The Lenape! It Was Pleasant To Hearken To Such Wisdom After

A Weary Hunt! Right Pleasant Did I Find It,  And Often Have I Talked

The Matter Over With The