CHAPTER XIX.
And stretching out, on either hand, O'er all that wide and unshorn land, Till weary of its gorgeousness, The aching and the dazzled eye Rests, gladdened, on the calm, blue sky. --WHITTIER.
No other disturbance occurred in the course of the night. With the dawn,le Bourdon was again stirring; and as he left the palisades to repairto the run, in order to make his ablutions, he saw Peter returning toCastle Meal. The two met; but no allusion was made to the manner inwhich the night had passed. The chief paid his salutations courteously;and, instead of repairing to his skins, he joined le Bourdon, seeminglyas little inclined to seek for rest, as if just arisen from his lair.When the bee-hunter left the spring, this mysterious Indian, for thefirst time, spoke of business.
"My brother wanted to-day to show Injin how to find honey," said Peter,as he and Bourdon walked toward the palisades, within which the wholefamily was now moving. "I nebber see honey find, myself, ole as I be."
"I shall be very willing to teach your chiefs my craft," answered thebee-hunter, "and this so much the more readily, because I do not expectto pracTYSE it much longer, myself; not in this part of the country, atleast."
"How dat happen?--expec' go away soon?" demanded Peter, whose keen,restless eye would, at one instant, seem to read his companion's soul,and then would glance off to some distant object, as if conscious of itsown startling and fiery expression. "Now Br'ish got Detroit, where mybroder go? Bess stay here, I t'ink."
"I shall not be in a hurry, Peter; but my season will soon be up, and Imust get ahead of the bad weather, you know, or a bark canoe will havebut a poor time of it on Lake Huron. When am I to meet the chiefs, togive them a lesson in finding bees?"
"Tell by-'em-by. No hurry for dat. Want to sleep fuss. See so muchbetter, when I open eye. So you t'ink of makin' journey on long path. Ifcan't go to Detroit, where can go to?"
"My proper home is in Pennsylvania, on the other side of Lake Erie. Itis a long path, and I'm not certain of getting safely over it in thesetroubled times. Perhaps it would be best for me, however, to shape atonce for Ohio; if in that state I might find my way round the end ofErie, and so go the whole distance by land."
The bee-hunter said this, by way of throwing dust into the Indian'seyes, for he had not the least intention of travelling in the directionnamed. It is true, it was HIS most direct course, and the one thatprudence would point out to him, under all the circumstances, had hebeen alone. But le Bourdon was no longer alone--in heart and feelings,at least. Margery now mingled with all his views for the future; and hecould no more think of abandoning her in her present situation, than hecould of offering his own person to the savages for a sacrifice. It wasidle to think of attempting such a journey in company with thefemales, and most of all to attempt it in defiance of the ingenuity,perseverance, and hostility of the Indians. The trail could not beconcealed; and, as for speed, a party of the young men of the wildernesswould certainly travel two miles to Margery's one.
Le Bourdon, notwithstanding Pigeonswing's remonstrances, still had hiseye on the Kalamazoo. He remembered the saying, "that water leaves notrail," and was not without hopes of reaching the lake again, where hefelt he should be in comparative security; his own canoe, as well asthat of Gershom, being large, well fitted, and not altogether unsuitedto those waters in the summer months. As it would be of the lastimportance, however, to get several hours' start of the Indians, in theevent of his having recourse to such a mode of flight, it was of theutmost importance also to conceal his intentions, and, if possible, toinduce Peter to imagine his eyes were turned in another direction.
"Well, s'pose go dat way," answered the chief, quietly, as if suspectingno artifice. "Set 'bout him by-'em-by. Today muss teach Injin how tofind honey. Dat make him good friend; and maybe he help my pale-facebroders back to deir country. Been better for ebbery body, if none comehere, at all."
Thus ended the discourse for that moment. Peter was not fond of muchtalking, when he had not his great object in view, but rather kept hismind occupied in observation. For the next hour, every one in andabout Castle Meal was engaged in the usual morning avocations, that ofbreaking their fasts included; and then it was understood that all wereto go forth to meet the chiefs, that le Bourdon might give a specimen ofhis craft.
One, ignorant of the state of political affairs on the Americancontinent, and who was not aware of the vicinity of savages, wouldhave seen nothing that morning, as the party proceeded on its littleexcursion, in and around that remote spot, but a picture of ruraltranquillity and peace. A brighter day never poured its glories on theface of the earth; and the Openings, and the glades, and even the darkand denser forests, were all bathed in the sunlight, as that orb isknown to illuminate objects in the softer season of the year, and in theforty-third degree of latitude. Even the birds appeared to rejoice inthe beauties of the time, and sang and fluttered among the oaks, innumbers greater than common. Nature usually observes a stern fitness inher adaptation of means to ends. Birds are to be found in the forests,on the prairies, and in the still untenanted openings of the west--andoften in countless numbers; more especially those birds which fly inflocks, and love the security of unoccupied regions--unoccupied byman is meant--wherein to build their nests, obey the laws of theirinstincts, and fulfil their destinies. Thus, myriads of pigeons, andducks, and geese, etc., are to be found in the virgin woods, while thecompanionable and friendly robin, the little melodious wren, the thrush,the lark, the swallow, the marten, and all those pleasant little wingedcreatures, that flit about our dwellings and grounds, and seem to besent by Providence, expressly to chant their morning and evening hymnsto God in our ears, most frequent the peopled districts. It has beensaid by Europeans that the American birds are mute, in comparison withthose of the Old World. This is true, to a certain extent, as respectsthose which are properly called forest birds, which do, in general,appear to partake of the sombre character that marks the solemnstillness of their native haunts. It is not true, however, with thebirds which live in our fields, and grounds, and orchards, each of whichsings its song of praise, and repeats its calls and its notes, as richlyand as pleasantly to the ear, as the birds of other lands. One largeclass, indeed, possesses a faculty that enables it to repeat every noteit has ever heard, even to some of the sounds of quadrupeds. Nor is thisdone in the discordant tones of the parrot; but in octaves, and trills,and in rich contra-altos, and all the other pleasing intonations knownto the most gifted of the feathered race. Thus it is, that one Americanmocking-bird can outsing all the birds of Europe united.
It seemed that morning as if every bird that was accustomed to glean itsfood from the neighborhood of Castle Meal was on the wing, and ready toaccompany the party that now sallied forth to catch the bee. This partyconsisted of le Bourdon, himself, as its chief and leader; of Peter, themissionary, and the corporal. Margery, too, went along; for, as yet, shehad never seen an exhibition of Boden's peculiar skill. As for Gershomand his wife, they remained behind, to make ready the noontide meal;while the Chippewa took his accoutrements, and again sallied out ona hunt. The whole time of this Indian appeared to be thus taken up;though, in truth, venison and bear's meat both abounded, and there wasmuch less necessity for those constant efforts than he wished to make itappear. In good sooth, more than half his time was spent in making thoseobservations, which had led to the advice he had been urging on hisfriend, the bee-hunter, in order to induce him to fly. Had Pigeonswingbetter understood Peter, and had he possessed a clearer insight into theextent and magnitude of his plans of retributive vengeance, it is notprobable his uneasiness, at the moment, would have been so great, or theurgency for an immediate decision on the part of le Bourdon would haveappeared as urgently pressing as it now seemed to be.
The bee-hunter took his way to a spot that was at some distance fromhis habitation, a small prairie of circular form, that is now generallyknown in that region of the country by the name of Prairie Round. Threehours we
re necessary to reach it, and this so much the more, becauseMargery's shorter steps were to be considered. Margery, however, wasno laggard on a path. Young, active, light of foot, and trained inexertions of this nature, her presence did not probably retard thearrival many minutes.
The extraordinary part of the proceedings was the circumstance, that thebee-hunter did not tell any one whither he was going, and that Peter didnot appear to care about putting the question to him. Notwithstandingthis reserve on one side, and seeming indifference on the other, whenthe party reached Prairie Round, every one of the chiefs who had beenpresent at the council of the previous night, was there before it. TheIndians were straggling about, but remained sufficiently near the pointwhere the bee-hunter and his followers reached the prairie, to assemblearound the group in a very few minutes after it made its appearance.
All this struck le Bourdon as fearfully singular, since it proved howmany secret means of communication existed between the savages. Thatthe inmates of the habitations were closely observed, and all theirproceedings noted, he could not but suspect, even before receiving thisproof of Peter's power; but he was not aware until now, how completelyhe and all with him were at the mercy of these formidable foes. Whathope could there be for escape, when hundreds of eyes were thus watchingtheir movements, and every thicket had its vigilant and sagacioussentinel? Yet must flight be attempted, in some way or other, or Margeryand her sister would be hopelessly lost--to say nothing of himself andthe three other men.
But the appearance of the remarkable little prairie that he had justreached, and the collection of chiefs, now occupied all the presentthoughts of le Bourdon. As for the first, it is held in repute, evenat the present hour, as a place that the traveller should see, thoughcovered with farms, and the buildings that belong to husbandry. Itis still visited as a picture of ancient civilization, placed in thesetting of a new country. It is true that very little of this partof Michigan wears much, if any, of that aspect of a rough beginning,including stubs, stumps, and circled trees, that it has so oftenfallen to our share to describe. There are dense forests, and those ofconsiderable extent; and wherever the axe is put into them, the progressof improvement is marked by the same steps as elsewhere; but the lovelyopenings form so many exceptions, as almost to compose the rule.
On Prairie Round there was even a higher stamp of seemingcivilization--seeming, since it was nature, after all, that had mainlydrawn the picture. In the first place, the spot had been burnt sorecently, as to leave the entire expanse covered with young grasses andflowers, the same as if it were a well-kept park. This feature, atthat advanced period of the summer, was in some degree accidental, theburning of the prairies depending more or less on contingencies of thatsort. We have now less to do with the cause, than with its consequences.These were most agreeable to the eye, as well as comfortable to thefoot, the grass nowhere being of a height to impede movement, or,what was of still more importance to le Bourdon's present pursuit, toovershadow the flowers. Aware of this fact, he had led his companionsall that distance, to reach this scene of remarkable rural beauty, inorder that he might make a grand display of his art, in presence of theassembled chiefs of that region. The bee-hunter had pride in his craft,the same as any other skilful workman who had gained a reputation byhis cunning, and he now trod the prairie with a firmer step, and a morekindling eye, than was his wont in the commoner haunts of his calling.Men were there whom it might be an honor to surprise, and pretty Margerywas there also, she who had so long desired to see this very exhibition.
But to revert once more to the prairie, ere we commence the narrativeof what occurred on it. This well-known area is of no great extent,possessing a surface about equal to that of one of the larger parksof Europe. Its name was derived from its form, which, without beingabsolutely regular, had so near an approach to a circle as to justifythe use of the appellation. The face of this charming field was neitherwaving, or what is called "rolling," nor a dead flat, as often occurswith river bottoms. It had just enough of undulation to prevent too muchmoisture, and to impart an agreeable variety to its plain. As a whole,it was clear of the forest; quite as much so as if the axe had done itswork there a thousand years before, though wood was not wanting. On thecontrary, enough of the last was to be seen, in addition to that whichformed the frame of this charming landscape, to relieve the view fromall appearance of monotony, and to break it up into copses, thickets,trees in small clusters, and in most of the varieties that embellishnative scenery. One who had been unexpectedly transferred to the spot,might well have imagined that he was looking on the site of some oldand long-established settlement, from which every appliance of humanindustry had been suddenly and simultaneously abstracted. Of houses,out-buildings, fences, stacks, and husbandry, there were no signs;unless the even and verdant sward, that was spread like a vast carpet,sprinkled with flowers, could have been deemed a sign of the last. Therewere the glades, vistas, irregular lawns, and woods, shaped with thepleasing outlines of the free hand of nature, as if consummate arthad been endeavoring to imitate our great mistress in one of her mostgraceful moods.
The Indians present served largely to embellish this scene. Of lateyears, horses have become so common among the western tribes, the vastnatural meadows of those regions furnishing the means necessary to keepthem, that one can now hardly form a picture of those savages, with-outrepresenting them mounted, and wielding the spear; but such was not thefact with the time of which we are writing, nor was it ever the generalpractice to go mounted, among the Indians in the immediate vicinityof the great lakes. Not a hoof of any sort was now visible, with theexception of those which belonged to a herd of deer, that were grazingon a favorite spot, less than a league distant from the place where leBourdon and his companions reached the prairie. All the chiefs were onfoot, and very few were equipped with more than the knife and tomahawk,the side-arms of a chief; the rifles having been secreted, as it mightbe, in deference to the festivities and peaceful character of theoccasion. As le Bourdon's party was duly provided with rifles, themissionary and Margery excepted, this was a sign that no violence wascontemplated on that occasion at least. "Contemplated," however, is aword very expressive, when used in connection with the out-breakingsof human passions, as they are wont to exhibit themselves among theignorant and excited. It matters not whether the scene be the capital ofsome ancient European monarchy, or the wilds of America, the workings ofsuch impulses are much the same. Now, a throne is overturned, perhaps,before they who do it are yet fully aware of what they ought to set upin its place; and now the deadly rifle, or the murderous tomahawk isused, more in obedience to the incentives of demons, than in furtheranceof justly recognized rules of conduct. Le Bourdon was aware of allthis, and did not so far confide in appearances, as to overlook thewatchfulness that he deemed indispensable.
The bee-hunter was not long in selecting a place to set up hisapparatus. In this particular, he was mainly governed by a lovelyexpanse of sweet-scented flowers, among which bees in thousands werehumming, sipping of their precious gifts at will. Le Bourdon had a care,also, not to go far from the forests which encircled the prairies, foramong its trees he knew he had to seek the habitations of the insects.Instead of a stump, or a fallen tree, he had prepared a light frameworkof lath, which the corporal bore to the field for him, and on which heplaced his different implements, as soon as he had selected the scene ofoperations.
It will not be necessary for us to repeat the process, which has alreadybeen described in our opening chapters; but we shall only touch suchparts of it as have a direct connection with the events of the legend.As le Bourdon commenced his preparations, however, the circle of chiefsclosed around him, in mute but close attention to every-thing thatpassed. Although every one of them had heard of the bee-hunters of thepale-faces, and most of them had heard of this particular individualof their number, not an Indian present had ever seen one of these menpractise his craft. This may seem strange, as respects those who somuch roamed the woods; but we have already remarked that i
t exceeded theknowledge of the red man to make the calculations that are necessary totake the bee by the process described. Usually, when he obtains honey,it is the result of some chance meeting in the forest, and not thefruits of that far-sighted and persevering industry, which enables thewhite man to lay in a store large enough to supply a neighborhood, inthe course of a few weeks' hunting.
Never was a juggler watched with closer attention, than was le Bourdon,while setting up his stand, and spreading his implements. Every grave,dark countenance was turned toward him, and each keen, glistening eyewas riveted on his movements. As the vessel with the comb was set down,the chiefs nearest recognizing the substance murmured their admiration;for to them it seemed as if the operator were about to make honey withhoney. Then the glass was a subject of surprise: for half of thosepresent had never seen such an utensil before. Though many of the chiefspresent had visited the "garrisons" of the northwest, both American andEnglish, many had not; and, of those who had, not one in ten got anyclear idea of the commonest appliances of civilized life. Thus it was,then, that almost every article used by the bee-hunter, though so simpleand homely, was the subject of a secret, but well-suppressed admiration.
It was not long ere le Bourdon was ready to look for his bee. Theinsects were numerous on the flowers, particularly on the white clover,which is indigenous in America, springing up spontaneously wherevergrasses are permitted to grow. The great abundance of the bees, however,had its usual effect, and our hero was a little difficult to please. Atlength, a fine and already half-loaded little animal was covered by theglass and captured. This was done so near the group of Indians, thateach and all noted the process. It was curious, and it was inexplicable!Could the pale-faces compel bees to reveal the secret of their hives,and was that encroaching race about to drive all the insects from thewoods and seize their honey, as they drove the Indians before them andseized their lands? Such was the character of the thoughts that passedthrough the minds of more than one chief, that morning, though alllooked on in profound stillness.
When the imprisoned bee was put over the comb, and le Bourdon's capwas placed above all, these simple-minded children of the woods and theprairies gazed, as if expecting a hive to appear beneath the covering,whenever the latter should be removed. It was not long before the bee"settled," and not only the cap, but the tumbler was taken away. For thefirst time since the exhibition commenced, le Bourdon spoke, addressinghimself to Peter.
"If the tribeless chief will look sharply," he said, "he will soon seethe bee take flight. It is filling itself with honey, and the momentit is loaded--look--look--it is about to rise--there, it is up--seeit circling around the stand, as if to take a look that it may know itagain--there it goes!"
There it did go, of a truth, and in a regular bee-line, or as straightas an arrow. Of all that crowd, the bee-hunter and Margery alone sawthe insect in its flight. Most of those present lost sight of it,while circling around the stand; but the instant it darted away, tothe remainder it seemed to vanish into air. Not so with le Bourdon andMargery, however. The former saw it from habit; the latter from aquick eye, intense attention, and the wish not to miss anything that leBourdon saw fit to do, for her information or amusement. The animal flewin an air-line toward a point of wood distant fully half a mile, and onthe margin of the prairie.
Many low exclamations arose among the savages. The bee was gone, butwhither they knew not, or on what errand. Could it have been sent on amessage by the pale-face, or had it flown off to give the alarm to itscompanions, in order to adopt the means of disappointing the bee-hunter?As for the last, he went coolly to work to choose another insect; and hesoon had three at work on the comb--all in company, and all uncovered.Had the number anything to do with the charm, or were these three to besent to bring back the one that had already gone away? Such was the sortof reasoning, and such the queries put to themselves, by several of thestern children of nature who were drawn up around the stand.
In the mean time le Bourdon proceeded with his operations in the utmostsimplicity. He now called Peter and Bear's Meat and Crowsfeather nearerto his person, where they might share with Margery the advantage of moreclosely seeing all that passed. As soon as these three chiefs werenear enough, Ben pointed to one bee in particular, saying in the Indiandialect:
"My brothers see that bee in the centre--he is about to go away. If hego after the one that went before him, I shall soon know where to lookfor honey."
"How can my brother tell which bee will first fly away?" demanded Bear'sMeat.
The bee-hunter was able to foresee this, by knowing which insect hadbeen longest on the comb; but so practised had his eye become, that heknew with tolerable accuracy, by the movements of the creatures, thosethat had filled themselves with honey from those that had not. As it didnot suit his purpose, however, to let all the minutiae of his craft beknown, his answer was evasive. Just at that moment a thought occurred tohim, which it might be well to carry out in full. He had once saved hislife by necromancy, or what seemed to the simple children of the woodsto be necromancy, and why might he not turn the cunning of his regularart to account, and render it the means of rescuing the females, as wellas himself, from the hands of their captors? This sudden impulse fromthat moment controlled his conduct; and his mind was constantlycasting about for the means of effecting what was now his one greatpurpose-escape. Instead of uttering in reply to Bear's Meat's questionthe simple truth, therefore, he rather sought for such an answer asmight make the process in which he was engaged appear imposing andmystical.
"How do the Injins know the path of the deer?" he asked, by way ofreply. "They look at the deer, get to know him, and understand his ways.This middle bee will soon fly."
"Which way will he go?" asked Peter. "Can my brother tell us THAT?"
"To his hive," returned le Bourdon, carelessly, as if he did not fullyunderstand the question. "All of them go to their hives, unless I tellthem to go in another direction. See, the bee is up!"
The chiefs now looked with all their eyes. They saw, indeed, that thebee was making its circles above the stand. Presently they lost sight ofthe insect, which to them seemed to vanish; though le Bourdon distinctlytraced its flight for a hundred yards. It took a direction at rightangles to that of the first bee, flying off into the prairie, andshaping its course toward an island of wood, which might have been ofthree or four acres in extent, and distant rather less than a mile.
While le Bourdon was noting this flight, another bee arose. Thiscreature flew toward the point of forest, already mentioned as thedestination of the insect that had first risen. No sooner was this thirdlittle animal out of sight, than the fourth was up, humming around thestand. Ben pointed it out to the chiefs; and this time they succeeded intracing the flight for, perhaps, a hundred feet from the spot where theystood. Instead of following either of its companions, this fourth beetook a course which led it off the prairie altogether, and toward thehabitations.
The suddenly conceived purpose of le Bourdon, to attempt to mystify thesavages, and thus get a hold upon their minds which he might turn toadvantage, was much aided by the different directions taken by theseseveral bees. Had they all gone the same way, the conclusion thatall went home would be so very natural and obvious, as to deprivethe discovery of a hive of any supernatural merit, at least; and toestablish this was just now the great object the bee-hunter had in view.As it was, the Indians were no wiser, now all the bees were gone, thanthey had been before one of them had flown. On the contrary, they couldnot understand how the flights of so many insects, in so many differentdirections, should tell the bee-hunter where honey was to be found. LeBourdon saw that the prairie was covered with bees, and well knew that,such being the fact, the inmates of perhaps a hundred different hivesmust be present. All this, however, was too novel and too complicatedfor the calculations of savages; and not one of those who crowded near,as observers, could account for so many of the bees going differentways.
Le Bourdon now intimated a wish to change his ground. H
e had noted twoof the bees, and the only question that remained to be decided, as ITrespected THEM, was whether they belonged to the precise points towardwhich they had flown, or to points beyond them. The reader will easilyunderstand that this is the nature of the fact determined by taking anangle, the point of intersection between any two of the lines of flightbeing necessarily the spot where the hive is to be found. So far fromexplaining this to those around him, however, Boden kept it a secret inhis own breast. Margery knew the whole process, for to HER he had oftengone over it in description, finding a pleasure in instructing one soapt, and whose tender, liquid blue eyes seemed to reflect every movementof his own soul and feelings. Margery he could have taught forever, orfancied for the moment he could; which is as near the truth as men underthe influence of love often get. But, as for the Indians, so far fromletting them into any of his secrets, his strong desire was now tothrow dust into their eyes, in all possible ways, and to make theirwell-established character for superstition subservient to his ownprojects.
Boden was far from being a scholar, even for one in his class in life.Down to this hour, the neglect of the means of public instructionis somewhat of a just ground of reproach against the venerable andrespectable commonwealth of which he was properly a member, though herpeople have escaped a knowledge of a great deal of small philosophy andlow intriguing, which it is fair to presume that evil spirits thrustin among the leaves of a more legitimate information, when the book ofknowledge is opened for the instruction of those who, by circumstances,are prevented from doing more than bestowing a few hurried glances atits contents. Still, Ben had read everything about bees on which hecould lay his hands. He had studied their habits personally, and hehad pondered over the various accounts of their communities--a sort oflimited monarchy in which the prince is deposed occasionally, orwhen matters go very wrong--some written by really very observant andintelligent persons, and others again not a little fanciful. Among otherbooks that had thus fallen in le Bourdon's way, was one which somewhatminutely described the uses that were made of bees by the ancientsoothsayers in their divinations. Our hero had no notion of revivingthose rites, or of attempting to imitate the particular practices ofwhich he had read and heard; but the recollection of them occurredmost opportunely to strengthen and encourage the design, so suddenlyentertained, of making his present operation aid in opening the way tothe one great thing of the hour--an escape into Lake Michigan.
"A bee knows a great deal," said le Bourdon, to his nearest companions,while the whole party was moving some distance to take up new ground. "Abee often knows more than a man."
"More than pale-face?" demanded Bear's Meat, a chief who had attainedhis authority more by means of physical than of intellectual qualities.
"Sometimes. Pale-faces have gone to bees to ask what will happen. Let meask our medicine-man this question. Parson Amen, have YOU any knowledgeof the soothsayers of old using bees when they wished to know what wasabout to happen?"
Now, the missionary was not a learned man, any more than the bee-hunter;but many an unlearned man has heard of this, and he happened to be oneof the number. Of Virgil, for instance, Parson Amen knew but little;though in the progress of a very loose, but industrious course ofreading, he had learned that the soothsayers put great faith in bees.His answer was given in conformity with this fact, and in the mostperfect good faith, for he had not the smallest suspicion of what Bodenwished to establish.
"Certainly--most certainly," answered the well-meaning missionary--"thefortune-tellers of old times often went to their bees when they wishedto look into the future. It has been a subject much talked of amongChristians, to account for the soothsaying, and witchcraft, and othersupernatural dealings of those who lived in the times of the prophets;and most of them have held the opinion that evil spirits have been--nay,still are permitted to work their will on certain men in the flesh. Butbees were in much favor with the soothsayers of old."
This answer was given in English, and little of it was comprehended byPeter, and the others who had more or less knowledge of that language,beyond the part which asserted the agency of bees in witchcraft.Luckily, this was all le Bourdon desired, and he was well satisfied atseeing that the idea passed from one chief to another; those who did notknow the English at all, being told by those who had some knowledgeof the tongue, that "bees were thought to be 'medicine' among thepale-faces."
Le Bourdon gained a great deal of ground by this fortunate corroborationof his own still more fortunate thought Matters were pretty nearlydesperate with him, and with all his friends, should Peter reallymeditate evil; and as desperate diseases notoriously require remedies ofthe same character, he was ready to attempt anything that promised eventhe smallest chance of success.
"Yes, yes--" the bee-hunter pursued the discourse by saying--"bees knowa great deal. I have sometimes thought that bees know more than bears,and my brother must be able to tell something of them?"
"Yes; my name is Bear's Meat," answered that chief, complacently. "Injinalways give name that mean somet'ing. Kill so many bear one winter, gotdat name."
"A good name it is! To kill a bear is the most honorable thing a huntercan do, as we all know. If my brother wishes to hear it, I will ask mybees when he is to kill another."
The savage to whom this was addressed fairly started with delight. Hewas eagerly signifying his cheerful assent to the proposal, when Peterquietly interposed, and changed the discourse to himself, in a way thathe had, and which would not easily admit of denial. It was apparentto le Bourdon that this mysterious Indian was not content that one sodirect and impetuous in his feelings as Bear's Meat, and who was at thesame time so little qualified to manage his portion of an intellectualconversation, should be foremost any longer. For that reason he broughthimself more into the foreground, leaving to his friend the capacityof listener and observer, rather than that of a speaker and actor. Whattook place under this new arrangement, will appear as the narrativeproceeds.
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