The Prairie (Fiscle Part 3) Of 2, J Fenimore Cooper [best e reader for manga txt] 📗
- Author: J Fenimore Cooper
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To Have Traced A Single Distinct Emotion In The Lineaments Of The
Captive. He Had Heard His Release Proclaimed, With The Same
Indifference As The Order To Bind Him To The Stake. But Now, That The
Moment Had Arrived When It Became Necessary To Make His Election, He
Spoke In A Way To Prove That The Fortitude, Which Had Bought Him So
Distinguished A Name, Had In No Degree Deserted Him.
"My Father Is Very Old, But He Has Not Yet Looked Upon Every Thing,"
Said Hard-Heart, In A Voice So Clear As To Be Heard By All In
Presence. "He Has Never Seen A Buffaloe Change To A Bat. He Will Never
See A Pawnee Become A Sioux!"
There Was A Suddenness, And Yet A Calmness In The Manner Of Delivering
This Decision, Which Assured Most Of The Auditors That It Was
Unalterable. The Heart Of Le Balafre, However, Was Yearning Towards
The Youth, And The Fondness Of Age Was Not So Readily Repulsed.
Reproving The Burst Of Admiration And Triumph, To Which The Boldness
Of The Declaration, And The Freshened Hopes Of Revenge Had Given Rise,
By Turning His Gleaming Eye Around The Band, The Veteran Again
Addressed His Adopted Child, As If His Purpose Was Not To Be Denied.
"It Is Well," He Said; "Such Are The Words A Brave Should Use, That
The Warriors May See His Heart. The Day Has Been When The Voice Of Le
Balafre Was Loudest Among The Lodges Of The Konzas. But The Root Of A
White Hair Is Wisdom. My Child Will Show The Tetons That He Is Brave,
By Striking Their Enemies. Men Of The Dahcotahs, This Is My Son!"
The Pawnee Hesitated A Moment, And Then Stepping In Front Of The
Chief, He Took His Hard And Wrinkled Hand, And Laid It With Reverence
On His Head, As If To Acknowledge The Extent Of His Obligation. Then
Recoiling A Step, He Raised His Person To Its Greatest Elevation, And
Looked Upon The Hostile Band, By Whom He Was Environed, With An Air Of
Loftiness And Disdain, As He Spoke Aloud, In The Language Of The
Siouxes--
"Hard-Heart Has Looked At Himself, Within And Without. He Has Thought
Of All He Has Done In The Hunts And In The Wars. Every Where He Is The
Same. There Is No Change. He Is In All Things A Pawnee. He Has Struck
So Many Tetons That He Could Never Eat In Their Lodges. His Arrows
Would Fly Backwards; The Point Of His Lance Would Be On The Wrong End;
Their Friends Would Weep At Every Whoop He Gave; Their Enemies Would
Laugh. Do The Tetons Know A Loup? Let Them Look At Him Again. His Head
Is Painted; His Arm Is Flesh; His Heart Is Rock. When The Tetons See
The Sun Come From The Rocky Mountains, And Move Towards The Land Of
The Pale-Faces, The Mind Of Hard-Heart Will Soften, And His Spirit
Will Become Sioux. Until That Day, He Will Live And Die A Pawnee."
A Yell Of Delight, In Which Admiration And Ferocity Were Strangely
Mingled, Interrupted The Speaker, And But Too Clearly Announced The
Character Of His Fate. The Captive Awaited A Moment, For The Commotion
To Subside, And Then Turning Again To Le Balafre, He Continued, In
Tones Conciliating And Kind, As If He Felt The Propriety Of Softening
His Refusal, In A Manner Not To Wound The Pride Of One Who Would So
Gladly Be His Benefactor--
Part 3 Chapter 28 Pg 114"Let My Father Lean Heavier On The Fawn Of The Dahcotahs," He Said:
"She Is Weak Now, But As Her Lodge Fills With Young, She Will Be
Stronger. See," He Added, Directing The Eyes Of The Other To The
Earnest Countenance Of The Attentive Trapper; "Hard-Heart Is Not
Without A Grey-Head To Show Him The Path To The Blessed Prairies. If
He Ever Has Another Father, It Shall Be That Just Warrior."
Le Balafre Turned Away In Disappointment From The Youth, And
Approached The Stranger, Who Had Thus Anticipated His Design. The
Examination Between These Two Aged Men Was Long, Mutual, And Curious.
It Was Not Easy To Detect The Real Character Of The Trapper, Through
The Mask Which The Hardships Of So Many Years Had Laid Upon His
Features, Especially When Aided By His Wild And Peculiar Attire. Some
Moments Elapsed Before The Teton Spoke, And Then It Was In Doubt
Whether He Addressed One Like Himself, Or Some Wanderer Of That Race
Who, He Had Heard, Were Spreading Themselves, Like Hungry Locusts,
Throughout The Land.
"The Head Of My Brother Is Very White," He Said; "But The Eye Of Le
Balafre Is No Longer Like The Eagle's. Of What Colour Is His Skin?"
"The Wahcondah Made Me Like These You See Waiting For A Dahcotah
Judgment; But Fair And Foul Has Coloured Me Darker Than The Skin Of A
Fox. What Of That! Though The Bark Is Ragged And Riven, The Heart Of
The Tree Is Sound."
"My Brother Is A Big-Knife! Let Him Turn His Face Towards The Setting
Sun, And Open His Eyes. Does He See The Salt Lake Beyond The
Mountains?"
"The Time Has Been, Teton, When Few Could See The White On The Eagle's
Head Farther Than I; But The Glare Of Fourscore And Seven Winters Has
Dimmed My Eyes, And But Little Can I Boast Of Sight In My Latter Days.
Does The Sioux Think A Pale-Face Is A God, That He Can Look Through
Hills?"
"Then Let My Brother Look At Me. I Am Nigh Him, And He Can See That I
Am A Foolish Red-Man. Why Cannot His People See Every Thing, Since
They Crave All?"
"I Understand You, Chief; Nor Will I Gainsay The Justice Of Your
Words, Seeing That They Are Too Much Founded In Truth. But Though Born
Of The Race You Love So Little, My Worst Enemy, Not Even A Lying
Mingo, Would Dare To Say That I Ever Laid Hands On The Goods Of
Another, Except Such As Were Taken In Manful Warfare; Or That I Ever
Coveted More Ground Than The Lord Has Intended Each Man To Fill."
"And Yet My Brother Has Come Among The Red-Skins To Find A Son?"
The Trapper Laid A Finger On The Naked Shoulder Of Le Balafre, And
Looked Into His Scarred Countenance With A Wistful And Confidential
Expression, As He Answered--
Part 3 Chapter 28 Pg 115
"Ay; But It Was Only That I Might Do Good To The Boy. If You Think,
Dahcotah, That I Adopted The Youth In Order To Prop My Age, You Do As
Much Injustice To My Goodwill, As You Seem To Know Little Of The
Merciless Intentions Of Your Own People. I Have Made Him My Son, That
He May Know That One Is Left Behind Him. Peace, Hector, Peace! Is This
Decent, Pup, When Greyheads Are Counselling Together, To Break In Upon
Their Discourse With The Whinings Of A Hound! The Dog Is Old, Teton;
And Though Well Taught In Respect Of Behaviour, He Is Getting, Like
Ourselves, I Fancy, Something Forgetful Of The Fashions Of His Youth."
Further Discourse, Between These Veterans, Was Interrupted By A
Discordant Yell, Which Burst At That Moment From The Lips Of The Dozen
Withered Crones, Who Have Already Been Mentioned As Having Forced
Themselves Into A Conspicuous Part Of The Circle. The Outcry Was
Excited By A Sudden Change In The Air Of Hard-Heart. When The Old Men
Turned Towards The Youth, They Saw Him Standing In The Very Centre Of
The Ring, With His Head Erect, His Eye Fixed On Vacancy, One Leg
Advanced And An Arm A Little Raised, As If All His Faculties Were
Absorbed In The Act Of Listening. A Smile Lighted His Countenance, For
A Single Moment, And Then The Whole Man Sunk Again Into His Former
Look Of Dignity And Coldness, Suddenly Recalled To Self-Possession.
The Movement Had Been Construed Into Contempt, And Even The Tempers Of
The Chiefs Began To Be Excited. Unable To Restrain Their Fury, The
Women Broke Into The Circle In A Body, And Commenced Their Attack By
Loading The Captive With The Most Bitter Revilings. They Boasted Of
The Various Exploits, Which Their Sons Had Achieved At The Expense Of
The Different Tribes Of The Pawnees. They Undervalued His Own
Reputation, And Told Him To Look At Mahtoree, If He Had Never Yet Seen
A Warrior. They Accused Him Of Having Been Suckled By A Doe, And Of
Having Drunk In Cowardice With His Mother's Milk. In Short, They
Lavished Upon Their Unmoved Captive A Torrent Of That Vindictive
Abuse, In Which The Women Of The Savages Are So Well Known To Excel,
But Which Has Been Too Often Described To Need A Repetition Here.
The Effect Of This Outbreaking Was Inevitable. Le Balafre Turned Away
Disappointed, And Hid Himself In The Crowd, While The Trapper, Whose
Honest Features Were Working With Inward Emotion, Pressed Nigher To
His Young Friend, As Those Who Are Linked To The Criminal, By Ties So
Strong As To Brave The Opinions Of Men, Are Often Seen To Stand About
The Place Of Execution To Support His Dying Moments. The Excitement
Soon Spread Among The Inferior Warriors, Though The Chiefs Still
Forbore To Make The Signal, Which Committed The Victim To Their Mercy.
Mahtoree, Who Had Awaited Such A Movement Among His Fellows, With The
Wary Design Of Concealing His Own Jealous Hatred, Soon Grew Weary Of
Delay, And, By A Glance Of His Eye, Encouraged The Tormentors To
Proceed.
Weucha, Who, Eager For This Sanction, Had Long Stood Watching The
Countenance Of The Chief, Bounded Forward At The Signal Like A Blood-
Hound Loosened From The Leash. Forcing His Way Into The Centre Of The
Hags, Who Were Already Proceeding From Abuse To Violence, He Reproved
Their Impatience, And Bade Them Wait, Until A Warrior Had Begun To
Torment, And Then They Should See Their Victim Shed Tears Like A
Woman.
Part 3 Chapter 28 Pg 116
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