The Pathfinder by James Fenimore Cooper (best book series to read TXT) ๐
"A pale-face's fire! Surely, uncle, he cannot know _that_?"
"Ten days since, child, I would have sworn to it; but now I hardlyknow what to believe. May I take the liberty of asking, Arrowhead,why you fancy that smoke, now, a pale-face's smoke, and not ared-skin's?"
"Wet wood," returned the warrior, with the calmness with whichthe pedagogue might point out an arithmetical demonstration to hispuzzled pupil. "Much wet -- much smoke; much water -- black smoke."
"But, begging your pardon, Master Arrowhead, the smoke is notblack, nor is there much of it. To my eye, now, it is as lightand fanciful a smoke as ever rose from a captain's tea-kettle, whennothing was left to make the fire but a few chips from the dunnage."
"Too much water," returned Arrowhead, with a slight nod of thehead; "Tuscar
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Cap was seated on a low thwart, in the centre of the canoe; the Big Serpent knelt near him. Arrowhead and his wife occupied places forward of both, the former having relinquished his post aft. Mabel was half reclining behind her uncle, while the Pathfinder and Eau-douce stood erect, the one in the bow, and the other in the stern, each using a paddle, with a long, steady, noiseless sweep. The conversation was carried on in low tones, all the party beginning to feel the necessity of prudence, as they drew nearer to the outskirts of the fort, and had no longer the cover of the woods.
The Oswego, just at that place, was a deep dark stream of no great width, its still, gloomy-looking current winding its way among overhanging trees, which, in particular spots, almost shut out the light of the heavens. Here and there some half-fallen giant of the forest lay nearly across its surface, rendering care necessary to avoid the limbs; and most of the distance, the lower branches and leaves of the trees of smaller growth were laved by its waters. The picture so beautifully described by our own admirable poet, and which we have placed at the head of this chapter, was here realized; the earth fattened by the decayed vegetation of centuries, and black with loam, the stream that filled the banks nearly to overflowing, and the โfresh and boundless wood,โ being all as visible to the eye as the pen of Bryant has elsewhere vividly presented them to the imagination. In short, the entire scene was one of a rich and benevolent nature, before it had been subjected to the uses and desires of man; luxuriant, wild, full of promise, and not without the charm of the picturesque, even in its rudest state. It will be remembered that this was in the year 175-, or long before even speculation had brought any portion of western New York within the bounds of civilization. At that distant day there were two great channels of military communication between the inhabited portion of the colony of New York and the frontiers which lay adjacent to the Canadas, โ that by Lakes Champlain and George, and that by means of the Mohawk, Wood Creek, the Oneida, and the rivers we have been describing. Along both these lines of communication military posts had been established, though there existed a blank space of a hundred miles between the last fort at the head of the Mohawk and the outlet of the Oswego, which embraced most of the distance that Cap and Mabel had journeyed under the protection of Arrowhead.
โI sometimes wish for peace again,โ said the Pathfinder, โwhen one can range the forest without searching for any other enemy than the beasts and fishes. Ahโs me! many is the day that the Sarpent, there, and I have passed happily among the streams, living on venison, salmon, and trout without thought of a Mingo or a scalp! I sometimes wish that them blessed days might come back, for it is not my real gift to slay my own kind. Iโm sartain the Sergeantโs daughter donโt think me a wretch that takes pleasure in preying on human naturโ?โ
As this remark, a sort of half interrogatory, was made, Pathfinder looked behind him; and, though the most partial friend could scarcely term his sunburnt and hard features handsome, even Mabel thought his smile attractive, by its simple ingenuousness and the uprightness that beamed in every lineament of his honest countenance.
โI do not think my father would have sent one like those you mention to see his daughter through the wilderness,โ the young woman answered, returning the smile as frankly as it was given, but much more sweetly.
โThat he wouldnโt; the Sergeant is a man of feeling, and many is the march and the fight that we have had โ stood shoulder to shoulder in, as he would call it โ though I always keep my limbs free when near a Frencher or a Mingo.โ
โYou are, then, the young friend of whom my father has spoken so often in his letters?โ
โHis young friend โ the Sergeant has the advantage of me by thirty years; yes, he is thirty years my senior, and as many my better.โ
โNot in the eyes of the daughter, perhaps, friend Pathfinder;โ put in Cap, whose spirits began to revive when he found the water once more flowing around him. โThe thirty years that you mention are not often thought to be an advantage in the eyes of girls of nineteen.โ
Mabel colored; and, in turning aside her face to avoid the looks of those in the bow of the canoe, she encountered the admiring gaze of the young man in the stern. As a last resource, her spirited but soft blue eyes sought refuge in the water. Just at this moment a dull, heavy sound swept up the avenue formed by the trees, borne along by a light air that hardly produced a ripple on the water.
โThat sounds pleasantly,โ said Cap, pricking up his ears like a dog that hears a distant baying; โit is the surf on the shores of your lake, I suppose?โ
โNot so โ not so,โ answered the Pathfinder; โit is merely this river tumbling over some rocks half a mile below us.โ
โIs there a fall in the stream?โ demanded Mabel, a still brighter flush glowing in her face.
โThe devil! Master Pathfinder, or you, Mr. Eau-douceโ (for so Cap began to style Jasper), โhad you not better give the canoe a sheer, and get nearer to the shore? These waterfalls have generally rapids above them, and one might as well get into the Maelstrom at once as to run into their suction.โ
โTrust to us, friend Cap,โ answered Pathfinder; โwe are but fresh-water sailors, it is true, and I cannot boast of being much even of that; but we understand rifts and rapids and cataracts; and in going down these we shall do our endeavors not to disgrace our edication.โ
โIn going down!โ exclaimed Cap. โThe devil, man! you do not dream of going down a waterfall in this egg shell of bark!โ
โSartain; the path lies over the falls, and it is much easier to shoot them than to unload the canoe and to carry that and all it contains around a portage of a mile by hand.โ
Mabel turned her pallid countenance towards the young man in the stern of the canoe; for, just at that moment, a fresh roar of the fall was borne to her ears by a new current of the air, and it really sounded terrific, now that the cause was understood.
โWe thought that, by landing the females and the two Indians,โ Jasper quietly observed, โwe three white men, all of whom are used to the water, might carry the canoe over in safety, for we often shoot these falls.โ
โAnd we counted on you, friend mariner, as a mainstay,โ said Pathfinder, winking to Jasper over his shoulder; โfor you are accustomed to see waves tumbling about; and without some one to steady the cargo, all the finery of the Sergeantโs daughter might be washed into the river and be lost.โ
Cap was puzzled. The idea of going over a waterfall was, perhaps, more serious in his eyes than it would have been in those of one totally ignorant of all that pertained to boats; for he understood the power of the element, and the total feebleness of man when exposed to its fury. Still his pride revolted at the thought of deserting the boat, while others not only steadily, but coolly, proposed to continue in it. Notwithstanding the latter feeling, and his innate as well as acquired steadiness in danger, he would probably have deserted his post; had not the images of Indians tearing scalps from the human head taken so strong hold of his fancy as to induce him to imagine the canoe a sort of sanctuary.
โWhat is to be done with Magnet?โ he demanded, affection for his niece raising another qualm in his conscience. โWe cannot allow Magnet to land if there are enemyโs Indians near?โ
โNay, no Mingo will be near the portage, for that is a spot too public for their devilries,โ answered the Pathfinder confidently. โNaturโ is naturโ, and it is an Indianโs naturโ to be found where he is least expected. No fear of him on a beaten path; for he wishes to come upon you when unprepared to meet him, and the fiery villains make it a point to deceive you, one way or another. Sheer in, Eau-douce, and we will land the Sergeantโs daughter on the end of that log, where she can reach the shore with a dry foot.โ
The injunction was obeyed, and in a few minutes the whole party had left the canoe, with the exception of Pathfinder and the two sailors. Notwithstanding his professional pride, Cap would have gladly followed; but he did not like to exhibit so unequivocal a weakness in the presence of a fresh-water sailor.
โI call all hands to witness,โ said he, as those who had landed moved away, โthat I do not look on this affair as anything more than canoeing in the woods. There is no seamanship in tumbling over a waterfall, which is a feat the greatest lubber can perform as well as the oldest mariner.โ
โNay, nay, you neednโt despise the Oswego Falls, neither,โ put in Pathfinder; โfor, thought they may not be Niagara, nor the Genessee, nor the Cahoos, nor Glennโs, nor those on the Canada, they are narvous enough for a new beginner. Let the Sergeantโs daughter stand on yonder rock, and she will see the manner in which we ignorant backwoodsmen get over a difficulty that we canโt get under. Now, Eau-douce, a steady hand and a true eye, for all rests on you, seeing that we can count Master Cap for no more than a passenger.โ
The canoe was leaving the shore as he concluded, while Mabel went hurriedly and trembling to the rock that had been pointed out, talking to her companion of the danger her uncle so unnecessarily ran, while her eyes were riveted on the agile and vigorous form of Eau-douce, as he stood erect in the stern of the light boat, governing its movements. As soon, however, as she reached a point where she got a view of the fall, she gave an involuntary but suppressed scream, and covered her eyes. At the next instant, the latter were again free, and the entranced girl stood immovable as a statue, a scarcely breathing observer
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