The Prairie (Fiscle Part 3) Of 2, J Fenimore Cooper [best e reader for manga txt] 📗
- Author: J Fenimore Cooper
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Listen To What Comes From A Grey-Head, And Then Speak Accordingly. My
People Is A Mighty People. The Sun Rises On Their Eastern And Sets On
Their Western Border. The Land Is Filled With Bright-Eyed And Laughing
Girls, Like These You See--Ay, Teton, I Tell No Lie," Observing His
Auditor To Start With An Air Of Distrust--"Bright-Eyed And Pleasant To
Behold, As These Before You."
"Has My Father A Hundred Wives!" Interrupted The Savage, Laying His
Finger On The Shoulder Of The Trapper, With A Look Of Curious Interest
In The Reply.
"No, Dahcotah. The Master Of Life Has Said To Me, Live Alone; Your
Lodge Shall Be The Forest; The Roof Of Your Wigwam, The Clouds. But,
Though Never Bound In The Secret Faith Which, In My Nation, Ties One
Man To One Woman, Often Have I Seen The Workings Of That Kindness
Which Brings The Two Together. Go Into The Regions Of My People; You
Will See The Daughters Of The Land, Fluttering Through The Towns Like
Many-Coloured And Joyful Birds In The Season Of Blossoms. You Will
Part 3 Chapter 26 Pg 93Meet Them, Singing And Rejoicing, Along The Great Paths Of The
Country, And You Will Hear The Woods Ringing With Their Laughter. They
Are Very Excellent To Behold, And The Young Men Find Pleasure In
Looking At Them."
"Hugh," Ejaculated The Attentive Mahtoree.
"Ay, Well May You Put Faith In What You Hear, For It Is No Lie. But
When A Youth Has Found A Maiden To Please Him, He Speaks To Her In A
Voice So Soft, That None Else Can Hear. He Does Not Say, My Lodge Is
Empty And There Is Room For Another; But Shall I Build, And Will The
Virgin Show Me Near What Spring She Would Dwell? His Voice Is Sweeter
Than Honey From The Locust, And Goes Into The Ear Thrilling Like The
Song Of A Wren. Therefore, If My Brother Wishes His Words To Be Heard,
He Must Speak With A White Tongue."
Mahtoree Pondered Deeply, And In A Wonder That He Did Not Attempt To
Conceal. It Was Reversing All The Order Of Society, And, According To
His Established Opinions, Endangering The Dignity Of A Chief, For A
Warrior Thus To Humble Himself Before A Woman. But As Inez Sat Before
Him, Reserved And Imposing In Air, Utterly Unconscious Of His Object,
And Least Of All Suspecting The True Purport Of So Extraordinary A
Visit, The Savage Felt The Influence Of A Manner To Which He Was
Unaccustomed. Bowing His Head, In Acknowledgment Of His Error, He
Stepped A Little Back, And Placing Himself In An Attitude Of Easy
Dignity, He Began To Speak With The Confidence Of One Who Had Been No
Less Distinguished For Eloquence, Than For Deeds In Arms. Keeping His
Eyes Riveted On The Unconscious Bride Of Middleton, He Proceeded In
The Following Words--
"I Am A Man With A Red Skin, But My Eyes Are Dark. They Have Been Open
Since Many Snows. They Have Seen Many Things--They Know A Brave From A
Coward. When A Boy, I Saw Nothing But The Bison And The Deer. I Went
To The Hunts, And I Saw The Cougar And The Bear. This Made Mahtoree A
Man. He Talked With His Mother No More. His Ears Were Open To The
Wisdom Of The Old Men. They Told Him Every Thing--They Told Him Of The
Big-Knives. He Went On The War-Path. He Was Then The Last; Now, He Is
The First. What Dahcotah Dare Say He Will Go Before Mahtoree Into The
Hunting Grounds Of The Pawnees? The Chiefs Met Him At Their Doors, And
They Said, My Son Is Without A Home. They Gave Him Their Lodges, They
Gave Him Their Riches, And They Gave Him Their Daughters. Then
Mahtoree Became A Chief, As His Fathers Had Been. He Struck The
Warriors Of All The Nations, And He Could Have Chosen Wives From The
Pawnees, The Omawhaws, And The Konzas; But He Looked At The Hunting
Grounds, And Not At His Village. He Thought A Horse Was Pleasanter
Than A Dahcotah Girl. But He Found A Flower On The Prairies, And Be
Plucked It, And Brought It Into His Lodge. He Forgets That He Is The
Master Of A Single Horse. He Gives Them All To The Stranger, For
Mahtoree Is Not A Thief; He Will Only Keep The Flower He Found On The
Prairie. Her Feet Are Very Tender. She Cannot Walk To The Door Of Her
Father; She Will Stay, In The Lodge Of A Valiant Warrior For Ever."
When He Had Finished This Extraordinary Address, The Teton Awaited To
Have It Translated, With The Air Of A Suitor Who Entertained No Very
Part 3 Chapter 26 Pg 94Disheartening Doubts Of His Success. The Trapper Had Not Lost A
Syllable Of The Speech, And He Now Prepared Himself To Render It Into
English In Such A Manner As Should Leave Its Principal Idea Even More
Obscure Than In The Original. But As His Reluctant Lips Were In The
Act Of Parting, Ellen Lifted A Finger, And With A Keen Glance From Her
Quick Eye, At The Still Attentive Inez, She Interrupted Him.
"Spare Your Breath," She Said, "All That A Savage Says Is Not To Be
Repeated Before A Christian Lady."
Inez Started, Blushed, And Bowed With An Air Of Reserve, As She Coldly
Thanked The Old Man For His Intentions, And Observed That She Could
Now Wish To Be Alone.
"My Daughters Have No Need Of Ears To Understand What A Great Dahcotah
Says," Returned The Trapper, Addressing Himself To The Expecting
Mahtoree. "The Look He Has Given, And The Signs He Has Made, Are
Enough. They Understand Him; They Wish To Think Of His Words; For The
Children Of Great Braves, Such As Their Fathers Are, Do Nothing With
Out Much Thought."
With This Explanation, So Flattering To The Energy Of His Eloquence,
And So Promising To His Future Hopes, The Teton Was Every Way Content.
He Made The Customary Ejaculation Of Assent, And Prepared To Retire.
Saluting The Females, In The Cold But Dignified Manner Of His People,
He Drew His Robe About Him, And Moved From The Spot Where He Had
Stood, With An Air Of Ill-Concealed Triumph.
But There Had Been A Stricken, Though A Motionless And Unobserved
Auditor Of The Foregoing Scene. Not A Syllable Had Fallen From The
Lips Of The Long And Anxiously Expected Husband, That Had Not Gone
Directly To The Heart Of His Unoffending Wife. In This Manner Had He
Wooed Her From The Lodge Of Her Father, And It Was To Listen To
Similar Pictures Of The Renown And Deeds Of The Greatest Brave In Her
Tribe, That She Had Shut Her Ears To The Tender Tales Of So Many Of
The Sioux Youths.
As The Teton Turned To Leave His Lodge, In The Manner Just Mentioned,
He Found This Unexpected And Half-Forgotten Object Before Him. She
Stood, In The Humble Guise And With The Shrinking Air Of An Indian
Girl, Holding The Pledge Of Their Former Love In Her Arms, Directly In
His Path. Starting, The Chief Regained The Marble-Like Indifference Of
Countenance, Which Distinguished In So Remarkable A Degree The
Restrained Or More Artificial Expression Of His Features, And Signed
To Her, With An Air Of Authority To Give Place.
"Is Not Tachechana The Daughter Of A Chief?" Demanded A Subdued Voice,
In Which Pride Struggled With Anguish: "Were Not Her Brothers Braves?"
"Go; The Men Are Calling Their Partisan. He Has No Ears For A Woman."
"No," Replied The Supplicant; "It Is Not The Voice Of Tachechana That
You Hear, But This Boy, Speaking With The Tongue Of His Mother. He Is
The Son Of A Chief, And His Words Will Go Up To His Father's Ears.
Part 3 Chapter 26 Pg 95Listen To What He Says. When Was Mahtoree Hungry And Tachechana Had
Not Food For Him? When Did He Go On The Path Of The Pawnees And Find
It Empty, That My Mother Did Not Weep? When Did He Come Back With The
Marks Of Their Blows, That She Did Not Sing? What Sioux Girl Has Given
A Brave A Son Like Me? Look At Me Well, That You May Know Me. My Eyes
Are The Eagle's. I Look At The Sun And Laugh. In A Little Time The
Dahcotahs Will Follow Me To The Hunts And On The War-Path. Why Does My
Father Turn His Eyes From The Woman That Gives Me Milk? Why Has He So
Soon Forgotten The Daughter Of A Mighty Sioux?"
There Was A Single Instant, As The Exulting Father Suffered His Cold
Eye To Wander To The Face Of The Laughing Boy, That The Stern Nature
Of The Teton Seemed Touched. But Shaking Off The Grateful Sentiment,
Like One Who Would Gladly Be Rid Of Any Painful, Because Reproachful,
Emotion, He Laid His Hand Calmly On The Arm Of His Wife, And Led Her
Directly In Front Of Inez. Pointing To The Sweet Countenance That Was
Beaming On Her Own, With A Look Of Tenderness And Commiseration, He
Paused, To Allow His Wife To Contemplate A Loveliness, Which Was Quite
As Excellent To Her Ingenuous Mind As It Had Proved Dangerous To The
Character Of Her Faithless Husband. When He Thought Abundant Time Had
Passed To Make The Contrast Sufficiently Striking, He Suddenly Raised
A Small Mirror, That Dangled At Her Breast, An Ornament He Had Himself
Bestowed, In An Hour Of Fondness, As A Compliment To Her Beauty, And
Placed Her Own Dark Image In Its Place. Wrapping His Robe Again About
Him, The Teton Motioned To The Trapper To Follow, And Stalked
Haughtily From The Lodge, Muttering, As He Went--
"Mahtoree Is Very Wise! What Nation Has So Great A Chief As The
Dahcotahs?"
Tachechana Stood Frozen Into A Statue Of Humility. Her Mild And
Usually Joyous Countenance Worked, As If The Struggle Within Was About
To Dissolve The Connection Between Her Soul And That More Material
Part, Whose Deformity Was Becoming So Loathsome. Inez And Ellen Were
Utterly Ignorant Of The Nature Of Her Interview With Her Husband,
Though The Quick And Sharpened Wits Of The Latter Led Her To Suspect A
Truth, To Which The Entire Innocence Of The Former Furnished No Clue.
They Were Both, However, About To Tender Those Sympathies, Which Are
So Natural To, And So Graceful In The Sex, When Their Necessity Seemed
Suddenly To Cease. The Convulsions In The Features Of The Young Sioux
Disappeared, And
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