CHAPTER XVII.
"He stepped before the monarch's chair, And stood with rustic plainness there, And little reverence made; Nor head, nor body, bowed nor bent, But on the desk his arm he leant, And words like these he said."--_Marmion._
While the squatter was thus occupied in arranging his toilet, previouslyto taking his morning meal, I had a moment of leisure to look about in.We had ascended to the level of the mill, where was an open,half-cleared space, of some sixty acres in extent, that was under a rudecultivation. Stubs and stumps abounded, and the fences were of logs,showing that the occupancy was still of recent date. In fact, as Iafterward ascertained, Thousandacres, with his family of hopeful sonsand daughters, numbering in all more than twenty souls, had squatted atthat spot just four years before. The mill-seat was admirable, naturehaving done for it nearly all that was required, though the mill itselfwas as unartificial and makeshift as such a construction very well couldbe. Agriculture evidently occupied very little of the time of thefamily, which tilled just enough land "to make a live on't," whileeverything in the shape of lumber was "improved" to the utmost. A vastnumber of noble pines had been felled, and boards and shingles were tobe seen in profusion on every side. A few of the first were being sentto market, in order to meet the demands of the moment, in the way ofgroceries; but the intention was to wait for the rise of the littlestream, after the fall rains, in order to send the bulk of the propertyinto the common artery of the Hudson, and to reap the great reward ofthe toil of the summer and spring.
I saw, also, that there must be additions to this family, in the way ofmarriage, as they occupied no less than five cabins, all of which wereof logs, freshly erected, and had an air of comfort and stability aboutthem, that one would not have expected to meet where the title was soflimsy. All this, as I fancied, indicated a design not to remove verysoon. It was probable that some of the oldest of the sons and daughterswere married, and that the patriarch was already beholding a newgeneration of squatters springing up about him. A few of the young menwere visible, lounging about the different cabins, and the mill wassending forth that peculiar, cutting, grating sound, that had sodistinctly attracted the attention of Susquesus, even in the depth ofthe forest.
"Walk in, Trackless," cried Thousandacres, in a hearty, free manner,which proved that what came easily went as freely; "walk in, fri'nd; Idon't know your name, but that's no great matter, where there's enoughfor all, and a wilcome in the bargain. Here's the old woman, ready andwilling to sarve you, and looking as smiling as a gal of fifteen."
The last part of the statement, however, was not precisely accurate."Miss Thousandacres," as the squatter sometimes magnificently called hisconsort, or the dam of his young brood, was far from receiving us witheither smiles or welcomes. A sharp-featured, keen, gray-eyed, old woman,her thoughts were chiefly bent on the cares of her brood; and hercharities extended little beyond them. She had been the mother offourteen children herself, twelve of which survived. All had been bornamid the difficulties, privations and solitudes of stolen abodes in thewilderness. That woman had endured enough to break down theconstitutions and to destroy the tempers of half a dozen of the ordinarybeings of her sex; yet she survived, the same enduring, hard-working,self-denying, suffering creature she had been from the day of her bloomand beauty. These two last words might be supposed to be used inmockery, could one have seen old Prudence, sallow, attenuated, withsunken cheeks, hollow, lack-lustre eyes, and broken-mouthed, as I nowsaw her; but there were the remains of great beauty, notwithstanding,about the woman; and I afterward learned that she had once been amongthe fairest of the fair, in her native mountains. In all the intercourseI subsequently had with her family, the manner of this woman wasanxious, distrustful, watchful, and bore a strong resemblance to that ofthe dam that is overseeing the welfare of her cubs. As to her welcome atthe board, it was neither hearty nor otherwise; it being so much amatter of course for the American to share his meal with the stranger,that little is said or thought of the boon.
Notwithstanding the size of the family of Thousandacres, the cabin inwhich he dwelt was not crowded. The younger children of the settlement,ranging between the ages of four and twelve, appeared to be distributedamong all the habitations indifferently, putting into the disheswherever there was an opening, much as pigs thrust themselves in at anyopening at a trough. The business of eating commenced simultaneouslythroughout the whole settlement, Prudence having blown a blast upon aconch-shell, as the signal. I was too hungry to lose any time indiscourse, and set to, with the most hearty good-will, upon the coarsefare, the moment there was an opportunity. My example was imitated byall around our own particular board, it being the refined andintellectual only, who habitually converse at their meals. The animalhad too great a preponderance among the squatters, to leave them anexception to the rule.
At length, the common hunger was appeased, and I could see that thosewho sat around began to examine me with a little more curiosity thanthey had previously manifested. There was nothing in the fashion of myattire to excite suspicion, perhaps, though I did feel some littleconcern on account of its quality. In that day, the social classes werebroadly distinguished by dress, no man even affecting to assume thewardrobe of a gentleman, without having certain pretensions to thecharacter. In the woods, however, it was the custom to throw asideeverything like finery, and I wore the hunting-shirt already mentioned,as my outer garment. The articles most likely to betray my station inlife were beneath this fortunate covering, and might escape observation.Then our party was small, consisting, besides the parents and the twoguests, of only one young man, and one young woman, of about the ages oftwo-and-twenty and sixteen, whom the mother addressed as Zephaniah andLowiny, the latter being one of the very common American corruptions ofsome fine name taken from a book--Lavinia, quite likely.[14] These twoyoung persons deported themselves with great modesty at the table, oldThousandacres and his wife, spite of their lawless lives, havingmaintained a good deal of the ancient Puritan discipline among theirdescendants, in relation to things of this nature. Indeed, I was struckwith the singular contrast between the habitual attention that was paidby all in the settlement to certain appearances of the sort, and thatcertainty which every one must have possessed that they were livingdaily in the commission of offences opposed not only to the laws of theland, but to the common, inherent convictions of right. In thisparticular, they exhibited what is often found in life, the remains ofancient habits and principles, existing in the shape of habits, longafter the substance that had produced them had disappeared.
[Footnote 14: The commoner dialect of New England is as distinct fromthe language of the rest of the republic, cases of New England descentexcepted, as those of many of the English counties are from that ofLondon. One of the peculiarities of the former, is to pronounce thefinal of a word like y; calling America, Ameriky; Utica, Utiky; Ithaca,Ithaky. Thus, Lavinia would be very apt to be pronounced Lavinny,Lav_y_ny, or Lowiny. As there is a marked ambition for fine names, theeffect of these corruptions on a practised ear is somewhat ludicrous.The rest of the nation is quite free from the peculiarity. Foreignersoften mistake New Englandisms for Americanisms; the energy, importance,and prominency of the people of the former portion of the country,giving them an influence that is disproportioned to their numbers.]
"Have you asked these folks about Chainbearer?" said Prudence abruptly,as soon as the knives and forks were laid down, and while we stillcontinued in our seats at the table. "I feel a consarn of mind, aboutthat man, that I never feel about any other."
"Near fear Chainbearer, woman," answered the husband. "He's got hissummer's work afore him, without coming near us. By the last accounts,this young Littlepage, that the old rogue of a father has sent into thecountry, has got him out in his own settlement; where he'll be apt tokeep him, I calcerlate, till cold weather sets in. Let me once get offall the lumber we've cut, and sell it, and I kear very little aboutChainbearer, or his master."
"This is bold talk, Aaron;
but jist remember how often we've squatted,and how often we've been driven to move. I s'pose I'm talking aforefri'nds, in sayin' what I do."
"No fear of any here, wife. Trackless is an old acquaintance, and has aslittle relish for law-titles, as any on us; and _his_ fri'nd is _our_fri'nd." I confess, that I felt a little uncomfortable, at this remark;but the squatter going on with his conversation, there was noopportunity for saying anything, had I been so disposed. "As formoving," continued the husband, "I never mov'd, but twice, withoutgetting pay for my betterments. Now I call that a good business, for aman who has squatted no less than seventeen times. If the worst comes tothe worst, we're young enough to make an eighteenth pitch. So that Isave the lumber, I keer but little for your Littlepages or Greatpages;the mill is no great matter, without the gear; and that has travelledall the way from Varmount, as it is, and is used to moving. It can gofarther."
"Yes, but the lumber, Aaron! The water's low now, and you can never getit to market, until the rivers rise, which mayn't be these three months.Think how many days' labor that lumber has cost you, and all on us, andwhat a sight of it there would be to lose!"
"Yes, but we _wunt_ lose it, woman," answered Thousandacres, compressinghis lips, and clenching his hands, in a way to show how intensely hefelt on the subject of property himself, however dishonestly acquired."My sweat and labor be in them boards; and it's as good as sap, anyday.What a man sweats for, he has a right to."
This was somewhat loose morality, it is true, since a man might sweat inbearing away his neighbor's goods; but a portion of the human race is agood deal disposed to feel and reason on principles but little moresound than this of old Thousandacres.
"Wa-a-ll," answered the woman, "I'm sure I don't want to see you and theb'ys lose the fruits of your labors; not I. You've honestly toiled andwrought at 'em logs, in a way I never seed human beings outdo; and'twould be hard," looking particularly at me, "now that they've cut thetrees, hauled 'em to mill, and sawed the boards, to see another man stepin and claim all the property. _That_ could never be right, but is ag'inall justice, whether Varmount or York. I s'pose there's no great harm injist askin' what your name may be, young man?"
"None in the world," I answered, with a self-command that I could seedelighted the Onondago. "My name is Mordaunt."
"Mordaunt!" repeated the woman, quickly. "Don't we know suthin' of thatname?--Is that a fri'ndly name, to us Varmounters?--How is it, Aaron?you ought to know."
"No, I hadn't ought to, for I never heerd tell of any sich name afore.So long as 'tisn't Littlepage, I kear nothin' about it."
I felt relieved at this reply, for I will own, that the idea of fallinginto the power of these lawless men was far from pleasant to me. FromThousandacres, down to the lad of seventeen, they all stood six feet intheir stockings; and a stouter, more broad-shouldered, sinewy race, wasnot often seen. The idea of resisting them by force, was out of thequestion. I was entirely without arms; though the Indian was betterprovided; but no less than four rifles were laid on brackets in this onecabin; and I made no doubt that every male of the family had his ownparticular weapon. The rifle was the first necessary of men of thisstamp, being as serviceable in procuring food as in protecting them fromtheir enemies.
It was at this moment that Prudence drew a long sigh, and rose fromtable in order to renew her domestic labors. Lowiny followed her motionsin submissive silence, and we men sauntered to the door of the cabin,where I could get a new view of the nature of those "betterments" thatThousandacres so highly prized, and of the extent of the depredationsthat had been committed on Colonel Follock and my father. The last wereby no means insignificant; and, at a later day, they were estimated, bycompetent judges, to amount to fully a thousand dollars in value. Ofcourse these were a thousand dollars totally lost, inasmuch as redress,in a pecuniary sense, was entirely out of the question with men of thestamp of Thousandacres and his sons. This class of persons are fond ofsaying, "I'll guarantee," and "I'll bind myself" to do this or that; butthe guarantee and obligation are equally without value. In fact, thosewho are the least responsible are usually the freest with such pledges.
"This is a handsome spot," said Thousandacres, whose real name was AaronTimberman. "This is a handsome spot, Mr. Mordaunt, and one it would gokind o' hard to give it up at the biddin' of a man who never laid eyeon't. Be you any way acquainted with law?"
"A very little; no more than we all get to be as we move along throughlife."
"You've not travelled far on that journey, young man, as any one can seeby your face. But you've had opportunities, as a body can tell by yourspeech, which isn't exactly like our'n, out here in the woods, fromwhich I had kind o' thought your schoolin' might be more than common. Abody can tell, though his own l'arnin amounts to no great matter."
This notion of Aaron's, that my modes of speech, pronunciation, accent,and utterance had come from the schools, was natural enough, perhaps;though few persons ever acquire accuracy in either, except in thefamiliar intercourse of their childhood. As for the "common schools" ofNew York, they are perpetuating errors in these respects, rather thancorrecting them; and one of the largest steps in their improvement wouldbe to have a care that he who teaches, teaches accurately as to_sounds_, as well as to significations. Under the present system,vicious habits are confirmed by deliberate instruction and examplerather than corrected.
"My schooling," I answered modestly enough, I trust, "_has_ been alittle better than common, though it has not been good enough, as yousee, to keep me out of the woods."
"All that may be inclination. Some folks have a nat'ral turn for thewilderness, and it's workin' agin' the grain, and nearly useless, to tryto make settlement-bodies of 'em. D'ye happen to know what lumber islikely to bring this fall?"
"Everything is looking up since the peace, and it is fair to expectlumber will begin to command a price, as well as other property."
"Wa-a-l, it's time it should! During the whull war a board has been oflittle more account than a strip of bark, unless it happened to be inthe neighborhood of an army. We lumbermen have had an awful time on itthese last eight years, and more than once I've felt tempted to gi'n in,and go and settle down in some clearin', like quieter folks; but Ithought as the 'arth is to come to an eend, the war must certainly cometo an eend afore it."
"The calculation was a pretty safe one; the war must have truly made adull time to you; nor do I see how you well got along during the periodit lasted."
"Bad enough; though war-times has their windfalls as well aspeace-times. Once, the inimy seized a sight of continental stores, sichas pork, and flour, and New England rum, and they pressed all the teams,far and near, to carry off their plunder, and my sleigh and horses hadto go along with the rest on 'em. Waal, go we _did_; and I got ashandsome a load as ever you seed laid in a lumber-sleigh; what I call anassortment, and one, too, that was mightily to my own likin', seein' Iloaded it up with my own hands. 'Twas in a woody country, as you mayspose, or I wouldn't have been there; and, as I know'd all the byroads,I watched my chance, and got out of the line without being seen, anddruv' as straight to my own hum' as if I'd just come from tradin' in thenearest settlement. That was the most profitablest journey I ever tuck,and what is more, it was a short one."
Here old Thousandacres stopped to laugh, which he did in as hearty,frank a manner as if his conscience had never known care. This story, Ifancy, was a favorite one with him, for I heard no less than three otherallusions to the exploit on which it was based, during the short timeour communication with each other lasted. I observed the first smile Ihad seen on the face of Zephaniah, appear at the recital of thisanecdote; though I had not failed to notice that the young man, as finea specimen of rustic, rude, manly proportions as one could wish to see,had kept his eyes on me at every occasion, in a manner that excited someuneasiness.
"That was a fortunate service for you," I remarked, as soon as Aaron hadhad his laugh; "unless, indeed, you felt the necessity of giving backthe property to the continental officers."
r /> "Not a bit of it! Congress was poor enough, I'm willin' to own, but itwas richer than I was, or ever will be. When property has changed handsonce, title goes with it; and some say that these very lands, comingfrom the king, ought now to go to the people, jist as folks happen towant 'em. There's reason and right, I'm sartain, in the idee, and Ishouldn't wonder if it held good in law, one day!"
Alas! alas! for poor human nature again. Seldom does man commit a wrongbut he sets his ingenuity to work to frame excuses for it. When his mindthus gets to be perverted by the influence of his passions, and moreespecially by that of rapacity, he never fails to fancy new principlesto exist to favor his schemes, and manifests a readiness in inventingthem, which, enlisted on the side of goodness, might render him ablessing instead of a curse to his race. But roguery is so active, whilevirtue is so apt to be passive, that in the eternal conflict that iswaged between them, that which is gained by the truth and inherent powerof the last is, half the time, more than neutralized by the unweariedexertions of the first! This, I fear, may be found to contain the weakspot of our institutions. So long as law represents the authority of anindividual, individual pride and jealousy may stimulate it to constantwatchfulness; whereas, law representing the community, carries with it adivided responsibility, that needs the excitement of intolerable abusesere it will arouse itself in its own vindication. The result is merelyanother proof that, in the management of the ordinary affairs of life,men are usually found to be stronger than principles.
"Have you ever had occasion to try one of your titles of possession in acourt of law, against that of a landholder who got his right from agrant?" I asked, after reflecting a moment on the truth I have justnarrated.
Thousandacres shook his head, looked down a moment, and pondered alittle in his turn, ere he gave me the following answer:
"Sartain," he said. "We all like to be on the right side, if we can; andsome of our folks kind o' persuaded me I might make out, once, ag'in areg'lar landlord. So I stood trial with him; but he beat me, Mr.Mordaunt, just the same as if I had been a chicken, and he the hawk thathad me in his talons. You'll never catch me trusting myself in the clawsof the law ag'in, though that happened as long ago as afore the oldFrench war. I shall never trust to law any more. It may do for themthat's rich, and don't kear whether they win or lose; but law is adesp'rate bad business for them that hasn't got money to go into it,right eend foremost."
"And should Mr. Littlepage discover your being here, and feel disposedto come to some arrangement with you, what conditions would you be aptto accept?"
"Oh! I'm never ag'in trade. Trade's the spirit of life; and seein' thatGin'ral Littlepage has _some_ right, as I do s'pose is the case, Ishouldn't want to be hard on him. If he would keep things quiet, and notmake a fuss about it, but would leave the matter out to men, and theymen of the right sort, I shouldn't be difficult; for I'm one of thatkind that hates lawsuits, and am always ready to do the right thing; andso he'd find me as ready to settle as any man he ever had on his lands."
"But on what terms? You have not told me the terms."
"As to tarms, I'd not be hard, by any means. No man can say oldThousandacres ever druv' hard tarms, when he had the best on't. That'snot in my natur', which runs altogether toward reason and what's right.Now you see, Mordaunt, how matters stand atween this Littlepage andmyself. He's got a paper title, they tell me, and I've got possession,which is always a squatter's claim; and a good one 'tis, where there'splenty of pine and a mill-seat with a handy market!"
Here Thousandacres stopped to laugh again, for he generally indulged inthis way, in so hearty and deep a tone, as to render it difficult tolaugh and talk in the same breath. As soon as through, however, he didnot forget to pursue the discourse.
"No, no man that understands the woods will gainsay them advantages,"added the squatter; "and of all on 'em am I now in the enj'yment.Wa-a-l, Gin'ral Littlepage, as they call him about here, has a papertitle; and I've got possession. He has the courts on his side, I'llallow; but here are my betterments--sixty-three as large acres choppedover and hauled to mill, as can be found in all Charlotte, orWashington, as they tell me the county is now called."
"But General Littlepage may not fancy it an improvement to have his landstripped of its pine. You know, Thousandacres, as well as I do, thatpine is usually thought to greatly add to the value of lands hereabouts,the Hudson making it so easy to get it to market."
"Lord! youngster, do you think I hadn't all that in my mind, when I mademy pitch here? You can't teach old bones where it's best to strike thefirst blow with an axe. Now I've got in the creek" (this word is used,in the parlance of the state, for a small river, nine times in ten);"now I've got in the creek, on the way to the Hudson, in the booms belowthe mill, and in the mill-yard yonder, a hundred and twenty thousandfeet of as handsome stuff as ever was cribbed, or rafted; and there'slogs enough cut and hauled to make more than as much more. I some sorto' think you know this Littlepage, by your talk; and, as I like fairdealin's, and what's right atween man and man, I'll just tell you whatI'll do, so that you can tell him, if you ever meet, and the mattershould come up atween you, as sich things sometimes do, in all talklike, though a body has no real consarn in the affair; and so you cantell this gin'ral that old Thousandacres is a reasonable man, and iswilling to settle on these tarms; but he won't gi'n a grain more. If thegin'ral will let me get all the lumber to market peaceably, and take offthe crops the b'ys have put in with their own hands, and carry off allthe mill-gear, and take down the doors and windows of the houses, andall the iron-work a body can find about, I'm willing to agree to quit'arly enough in the spring to let any man he chooses come intopossession in good season to get in spring grain, and make garden. Therethem's my tarms, and I'll not abate on one on 'em, on no account at all.But that much I'll do for peace; for I _do_ love peace and quiet, mywoman says, most desp'ately."
I was about to answer this characteristic communication--perfectlycharacteristic as to feelings, one-sided sense of right, principles, andlanguage--when Zephaniah, the tall son of the squatter, suddenly laid ahand on his father's arm, and led him aside. This young man had beenexamining my person, during the whole of the dialogue at the door of thecabin, in a way that was a little marked. I was disposed at first toattribute these attentions to the curiosity natural to youth, at itsfirst meeting with one who might be supposed to enjoy opportunities ofascertaining the newest modes of dress and deportment. Rustics, inAmerica, ever manifest this feeling, and it was not unreasonable tosuppose that this young squatter might have felt its influence. But, asit soon appeared, I had altogether mistaken my man. Although both he andhis sister, Lowiny, had never turned their eyes from my person, I soondiscovered that they had been governed by totally opposing feelings.
The first intimation I got of the nature of the mistake into which I hadfallen, was from the manner of Thousandacres, as soon as his son hadspoken to him, apart, for a single minute. I observed that the oldsquatter turned suddenly, and began to scrutinize my appearance with ascowling, but sharp eye. Then he would give all his attention to hisson; after which, I came in for a new turn of examination. Of course,such a scene could not last a great while, and I soon felt the relief ofbeing, again, face to face with the man whom I now set down for anenemy.
"Harkee, young man," resumed Thousandacres, as soon as he had returnedand placed himself directly before me, "my b'y, Zeph, there, has got asuspicion consarning you, that must be cleared up, fairly atween us,afore we part. I like fair dealin's, as I've told you more than once,already, and despise underhandedness from the bottom of my heart. Zephtells me that he has a kind o' suspicion that you're the son of thisvery Littlepage, and have been sent among us to spy us out, and to l'arnhow things stood, afore you let on your evil intentions. Is it so, ornot?"
"What reason has Zeph for such a suspicion?" I answered, with suchcoolness as I could assume. "He is a perfect stranger to me, and I fancythis is the first time we have ever met."
"He agrees to that, himself;
but mankind can sometimes see things thatisn't put directly afore their eyes. My son goes and comes, frequently,between the Ravensnest settlement and our own, though I don't suppose helets on any great deal about his proper hum'. He has worked as much astwo months, at a time, in that part of the country, and I find himuseful in carrying on a little trade, once and awhile, with 'SquireNewcome."
"You are acquainted, then, with Mr. Jason Newcome, or 'Squire Newcome,as you call him?"
"I call him what's right, I hope!" answered the old man sharply. "He_is_ a 'squire, and should be called a 'squire. Give the devil his due;that's my principle. But Zephaniah has been out a considerable spellthis summer to work at Ravensnest. I tell him he has a gal in his eye,by his hankering so much after the 'Nest folks, but he won't own it; butout he has been, and he tells me this Littlepage's son was expected tocome into the settlement about the time he last left there."
"And you are acquainted with 'Squire Newcome?" I said, pursuing thesubject as its points presented themselves to my own mind, rather thanfollowing the thread of the squatter's discursive manner of thinking;"so well acquainted as to _trade_ with him?"
"Sartain; _well_ acquainted, I may say. The 'Squire tuck (took) all thelumber I cut 'arly in the spring, rafting and selling it on his ownaccount, paying us in groceries, women's cloth, and rum. He made a goodjob of it, I hear tell, and is hankerin' round a'ter what is now in thecreek; but I rather think I'll send the b'ys off with that. But what'sthat to the purpose? Didn't you tell me, young man, that your name isMordaunt?"
"I did; and in so saying I told no more than the truth."
"And what may you call your given name? A'ter all, old woman," turningto the anxious wife and mother, who had drawn near to listen, havingmost probably been made acquainted with the nature of her son'ssuspicions--"a'ter all the b'y may be mistaken, and this young man asinnocent as any one of your own flesh and blood."
"Mordaunt is what you call my 'given name,'" I answered, disdainingdeception, "and Littlepage----" The hand of the Indian was suddenlyplaced on my mouth, stopping further utterance.
It was too late, however, for the friendly design of the Onondago, thesquatters readily comprehending all I had intended to say. As forPrudence, she walked away; and I soon heard her calling all her youngerchildren by name, to collect them near her person, as the hen gathersits chickens beneath the wing. Thousandacres took the matter verydifferently. His countenance grew dark, and he whispered a word toLowiny, who departed on some errand with reluctant steps, as I thought,and eyes that did not always look in the direction she was walking.
"I see how it is! I see how it is!" exclaimed the squatter, with as muchof suppressed indignation in his voice and mien as if his cause werethat of offended innocence; "we've got a spy among us, and war-time'stoo fresh not to let us know how to deal with sich folks. Young man,what's your arr'nd down here, in my betterments, and beneath my ruff?"
"My errand, as you call it, Thousandacres, is to look after the propertythat is intrusted to my care. I am the son of General Littlepage, one ofthe owners of this spot, and the attorney of both."
"Oh! an _attorney_, be you?" cried the squatter, mistaking the attorneyin fact for an attorney at law--a sort of being for whom he necessarilyentertained a professional antipathy. "I'll attorney ye! If you or yourgin'ral father thinks that Aaron Thousandacres is a man to have histerritories invaded by the inimy, and keep his hands in his pockets thewhull time, he's mistaken. Send 'em along, Lowiny, send along the b'ys,and let's see if we can't find lodgin's for this young attorney gin'ral,as well as board."
There was no mistaking the aspect of things now. Hostilities hadcommenced in a certain sense, and it became incumbent on me for the sakeof safety to be on the alert. I knew that the Indian was armed; and,determined to defend my person if possible, I was resolved to availmyself of the use of his weapon should it become necessary. Stretchingout an arm, and turning to the spot where Susquesus had just stood, tolay hold of his rifle, I discovered that he had disappeared.