CHAPTER I.
"See, Winter comes, to rule the varied years, Sullen and sad, with all his rising train; Vapors, and clouds, and storms."--Thomson.
Near the centre of the State of New York lies an extensive district ofcountry whose surface is a succession of hills and dales, or, to speakwith greater deference to geographical definitions, of mountains andvalleys. It is among these hills that the Delaware takes its rise; andflowing from the limpid lakes and thousand springs of this region thenumerous sources of the Susquehanna meander through the valleys until,uniting their streams, they form one of the proudest rivers of theUnited States. The mountains are generally arable to the tops, althoughinstances are not wanting where the sides are jutted with rocks that aidgreatly in giving to the country that romantic and picturesque characterwhich it so eminently possesses. The vales are narrow, rich, andcultivated, with a stream uniformly winding through each. Beautiful andthriving villages are found interspersed along the margins of the smalllakes, or situated at those points of the streams which are favorablefor manufacturing; and neat and comfortable farms, with every indicationof wealth about them, are scattered profusely through the vales, andeven to the mountain tops. Roads diverge in every direction fromthe even and graceful bottoms of the valleys to the most rugged andintricate passes of the hills. Academies and minor edifices of learningmeet the eye of the stranger at every few miles as be winds his waythrough this uneven territory, and places for the worship of God aboundwith that frequency which characterize a moral and reflecting people,and with that variety of exterior and canonical government which flowsfrom unfettered liberty of conscience. In short, the whole district ishourly exhibiting how much can be done, in even a rugged country andwith a severe climate, under the dominion of mild laws, and where everyman feels a direct interest in the prosperity of a commonwealth of whichhe knows himself to form a part. The expedients of the pioneers whofirst broke ground in the settlement of this country are succeededby the permanent improvements of the yeoman who intends to leave hisremains to moulder under the sod which he tills, or perhaps of the son,who, born in the land, piously wishes to linger around the grave ofhis father. Only forty years * have passed since this territory was awilderness.
* Our tale begins in 1793, about seven years after the commencement of one of the earliest of those settlements which have conduced to effect that magical change in the power and condition of the State to which we have alluded.
Very soon after the establishment of the independence of the States bythe peace of 1783, the enterprise of their citizens was directed toa development of the natural ad vantages of their widely extendeddominions. Before the war of the Revolution, the inhabited parts of thecolony of New York were limited to less than a tenth of its possessions,A narrow belt of country, extending for a short distance on either sideof the Hudson, with a similar occupation of fifty miles on the banks ofthe Mohawk, together with the islands of Nassau and Staten, and a fewinsulated settlements on chosen land along the margins of streams,composed the country, which was then inhabited by less than twohundred thousand souls. Within the short period we have mentioned, thepopulation has spread itself over five degrees of latitude and seven oflongitude, and has swelled to a million and a half of inhabitants, whoare maintained in abundance, and can look forward to ages before theevil day must arrive when their possessions shall become unequal totheir wants.
It was near the setting of the sun, on a clear, cold day in December,when a sleigh was moving slowly up one of the mountains in the districtwe have described. The day had been fine for the season, and but two orthree large clouds, whose color seemed brightened by the light reflectedfrom the mass of snow that covered the earth, floated in a sky of thepurest blue. The road wound along the brow of a precipice, and on oneside was upheld by a foundation of logs piled one upon the other, whilea narrow excavation in the mountain in the opposite direction had made apassage of sufficient width for the ordinary travelling of that day. Butlogs, excavation, and every thing that did not reach several feet abovethe earth lay alike buried beneath the snow. A single track, barely wideenough to receive the sleigh, * denoted the route of the highway, andthis was sunk nearly two feet below the surrounding surface.
* Sleigh is the word used in every part of the United States to denote a traineau. It is of local use in the west of England, whence it is most probably derived by the Americans. The latter draw a distinction between a sled, or sledge, and a sleigh, the sleigh being shod with metal. Sleighs are also subdivided into two-horse and one-horse sleighs. Of the latter, there are the cutter, with thills so arranged as to permit the horse to travel in the side track; the "pung," or "tow-pung" which is driven with a pole; and the "gumper," a rude construction used for temporary purposes in the new countries. Many of the American sleighs are elegant though the use of this mode of conveyance is much lessened with the melioration of the climate consequent to the clearing of the forests.
In the vale, which lay at a distance of several hundred feet lower,there was what, in the language of the country, was called a clearing,and all the usual improvements of a new settlement; these even extendedup the hill to the point where the road turned short and ran acrossthe level land, which lay on the summit of the mountain; but the summititself remained in the forest. There was glittering in the atmosphere,as if it was filled with innumerable shining particles; and the noblebay horses that drew the sleigh were covered, in many parts with a coatof hoar-frost. The vapor from their nostrils was seen to issue likesmoke; and every object in the view, as well as every arrangement of thetravellers, denoted the depth of a winter in the mountains. The harness,which was of a deep, dull black, differing from the glossy varnishingof the present day, was ornamented with enormous plates and buckles ofbrass, that shone like gold in those transient beams of the sun whichfound their way obliquely through the tops of the trees. Huge saddles,studded with nails and fitted with cloth that served as blankets to theshoulders of the cattle, supported four high, square-topped turrets,through which the stout reins led from the mouths of the horses to thehands of the driver, who was a negro, of apparently twenty years ofage. His face, which nature had colored with a glistening black, was nowmottled with the cold, and his large shining eyes filled with tears;a tribute to its power that the keen frosts of those regions alwaysextracted from one of his African origin. Still, there was a smilingexpression of good-humor in his happy countenance, that was createdby the thoughts of home and a Christmas fireside, with its Christmasfrolics. The sleigh was one of those large, comfortable, old-fashionedconveyances, which would admit a whole family within its bosom, butwhich now contained only two passengers besides the driver. The color ofits outside was a modest green, and that of its inside a fiery red, Thelatter was intended to convey the idea of heat in that cold climate.Large buffalo-skins trimmed around the edges with red cloth cut intofestoons, covered the back of the sleigh, and were spread over itsbottom and drawn up around the feet of the travellers--one of whom wasa man of middle age and the other a female just entering upon womanhood.The former was of a large stature; but the precautions he had taken toguard against the cold left but little of his person exposed to view.A great-coat, that was abundantly ornamented by a profusion of furs,enveloped the whole of his figure excepting the head, which was coveredwith a cap of mar ten-skins lined with morocco, the sides of which weremade to fall, if necessary, and were now drawn close over the ears andfastened beneath his chin with a black rib bon. The top of the cap wassurmounted with the tail of the animal whose skin had furnished the restof the materials, which fell back, not ungracefully, a few inches behind the head. From beneath this mask were to be seen part of a fine,manly face, and particularly a pair of expressive large blue eyes, thatpromised extraordinary intellect, covert humor, and great benevolence.The form of his companion was literally hid beneath the garments shewore. There were furs and silks peeping from under a large camlet cloakwith a thick flannel lining, that by its cut and
size was evidentlyintended for a masculine wearer. A huge hood of black silk, that wasquilted with down, concealed the whole of her head, except at a smallopening in front for breath, through which occasionally sparkled a pairof animated jet-black eyes.
Both the father and daughter (for such was the connection between thetwo travellers) were too much occupied with their reflections to breaka stillness that derived little or no interruption from the easy glidingof the sleigh by the sound of their voices. The former was thinking ofthe wife that had held this their only child to her bosom, when, fouryears before, she had reluctantly consented to relinquish the society ofher daughter in order that the latter might enjoy the advantages of aneducation which the city of New York could only offer at that period. Afew months afterward death had deprived him of the remaining companionof his solitude; but still he had enough real regard for his child notto bring her into the comparative wilderness in which he dwelt, untilthe full period had expired to which he had limited her juvenile labors.The reflections of the daughter were less melancholy, and mingled witha pleased astonishment at the novel scenery she met at every turn in theroad.
The mountain on which they were journeying was covered with pines thatrose without a branch some seventy or eighty feet, and which frequentlydoubled that height by the addition of the tops. Through the innumerablevistas that opened beneath the lofty trees, the eye could penetrateuntil it was met by a distant inequality in the ground, or was stoppedby a view of the summit of the mountain which lay on the opposite sideof the valley to which they were hastening. The dark trunks of the treesrose from the pure white of the snow in regularly formed shafts, until,at a great height, their branches shot forth horizontal limbs, that werecovered with the meagre foliage of an evergreen, affording a melancholycontrast to the torpor of nature below. To the travellers there seemedto be no wind; but these pines waved majestically at their topmostboughs, sending forth a dull, plaintive sound that was quite inconsonance with the rest of the melancholy scene.
The sleigh had glided for some distance along the even surface, and thegaze of the female was bent in inquisitive and, perhaps, timid glancesinto the recesses of the forest, when a loud and continued howling washeard, pealing under the long arches of the woods like the cry of anumerous pack of hounds. The instant the sounds reached the ear of thegentleman he cried aloud to the black:
"Hol up, Aggy; there is old Hector; I should know his bay among tenthousand! The Leather-Stocking has put his hounds into the hills thisclear day, and they have started their game. There is a deer-track a fewrods ahead; and now, Bess, if thou canst muster courage enough to standfire, I will give thee a saddle for thy Christmas dinner."
The black drew up, with a cheerful grin upon his chilled features, andbegan thrashing his arms together in order to restore the circulation ofhis fingers, while the speaker stood erect and, throwing aside his outercovering, stepped from the sleigh upon a bank of snow which sustainedhis weight without yielding.
In a few moments the speaker succeeded in extricating a double-barrelledfowling-piece from among a multitude of trunks and bandboxes. Afterthrowing aside the thick mittens which had encased his hands, therenow appeared a pair of leather gloves tipped with fur; he examined hispriming, and was about to move forward, when the light bounding noise ofan animal plunging through the woods was heard, and a fine buck dartedinto the path a short distance ahead of him. The appearance of theanimal was sudden, and his flight inconceivably rapid; but the travellerappeared to be too keen a sportsman to be disconcerted by either. As itcame first into view he raised the fowling-piece to his shoulder and,with a practised eye and steady hand, drew a trigger. The deer dashedforward undaunted, and apparently unhurt. Without lowering his piece,the traveller turned its muzzle toward his victim, and fired again.Neither discharge, however, seemed to have taken effect,
The whole scene had passed with a rapidity that confused the female,who was unconsciously rejoicing in the escape of the buck, as he ratherdarted like a meteor than ran across the road, when a sharp, quick soundstruck her ear, quite different from the full, round reports of herfather's gun, but still sufficiently distinct to be known as theconcussion produced by firearms. At the same instant that she heard thisunexpected report, the buck sprang from the snow to a great height inthe air, and directly a second discharge, similar in sound to the first,followed, when the animal came to the earth, failing head long androlling over on the crust with its own velocity. A loud shout was givenby the unseen marksman, and a couple of men instantly appeared frombehind the trunks of two of the pines, where they had evidently placedthem selves in expectation of the passage of the deer.
"Ha! Natty, had I known you were in ambush, I should not have fired,"cried the traveller, moving toward the spot where the deer lay--near towhich he was followed by the delighted black, with his sleigh; "but thesound of old Hector was too exhilarating to be quiet; though I hardlythink I struck him, either."
"No--no----Judge," returned the hunter, with an inward chuckle, andwith that look of exultation that indicates a consciousness of superiorskill, "you burnt your powder only to warm your nose this cold evening.Did ye think to stop a full-grown buck, with Hector and the slut openupon him within sound, with that pop-gun in your hand! There's plenty ofpheasants among the swamps; and the snow-birds are flying round your owndoor, where you may feed them with crumbs, and shoot them at pleasure,any day; but if you're for a buck, or a little bear's meat, Judge,you'll have to take the long rifle, with a greased wadding, or you'llwaste more powder than you'll fill stomachs, I'm thinking."
As the speaker concluded he drew his bare hand across the bottom of hisnose, and again opened his enormous mouth with a kind of inward laugh.
"The gun scatters well, Natty, And it has killed a deer before now,"said the traveller, smiling good-humoredly. "One barrel was charged withbuckshot, but the other was loaded for birds only. Here are two hurts;one through the neck, and the other directly through the heart. It is byno means certain, Natty, but I gave him one of the two.
"Let who will kill him." said the hunter, rather surily.
"I suppose the creature is to be eaten." So saying, he drew a largeknife from a leathern sheath, which was stuck through his girdle, orsash, and cut the throat of the animal, "If there are two balls throughthe deer, I would ask if there weren't two rifles fired--besides, whoever saw such a ragged hole from a smooth-bore as this through the neck?And you will own yourself, Judge, that the buck fell at the last shot,which was sent from a truer and a younger hand than your'n or mineeither; but, for my part, although I am a poor man I can live withoutthe venison, but I don't love to give up my lawful dues in a freecountry. Though, for the matter of that, might often makes right here,as well as in the old country, for what I can see."
An air of sullen dissatisfaction pervaded the manner of the hunterduring the whole of his speech; yet he thought it prudent to utter theclose of the sentence in such an undertone as to leave nothing audiblebut the grumbling sounds of his voice.
"Nay, Natty," rejoined the traveller, with undisturbed good-humor, "itis for the honor that I contend. A few dollars will pay for the venison;but what will requite me for the lost honor of a buck's tail in my cap?Think, Natty, how I should triumph over that quizzing dog, Dick Jones,who has failed seven times already this season, and has only brought inone woodchuck and a few gray squirrels."
"Ah! The game is becoming hard to find, indeed, Judge, with yourclearings and betterments," said the old hunter, with a kind ofcompelled resignation. "The time has been when I have shot thirteen deerwithout counting the fa'ns standing in the door of my own hut; and forbear's meat, if one wanted a ham or so, he had only to watch a-nights,and he could shoot one by moonlight, through the cracks of the logs, nofear of his oversleeping himself neither, for the howling of the wolveswas sartin to keep his eyes open. There's old Hector"--patting withaffection a tall hound of black and yellow spots, with white belly andlegs, that just then came in on the scent, accompanied by the slut hehad mentioned; "s
ee where the wolves bit his throat, the night I druvthem from the venison that was smoking on the chimney top--that dog ismore to be trusted than many a Christian man; for he never forgets afriend, and loves the hand that gives him bread."
There was a peculiarity in the manner of the hunter that attracted thenotice of the young female, who had been a close and interested observerof his appearance and equipments, from the moment he came into view. Hewas tall, and so meagre as to make him seem above even the six feetthat he actually stood in his stockings. On his head, which wasthinly covered with lank, sandy hair, he wore a cap made of fox-skin,resembling in shape the one we have already described, although muchinferior in finish and ornaments. His face was skinny and thin al mostto emaciation; but yet it bore no signs of disease--on the contrary, ithad every indication of the most robust and enduring health. The coldand exposure had, together, given it a color of uniform red. His grayeyes were glancing under a pair of shaggy brows, that over hung them inlong hairs of gray mingled with their natural hue; his scraggy neck wasbare, and burnt to the same tint with his face; though a small part ofa shirt-collar, made of the country check, was to be seen above theoverdress he wore. A kind of coat, made of dressed deer-skin, withthe hair on, was belted close to his lank body by a girdle of coloredworsted. On his feet were deer-skin moccasins, ornamented withporcupines' quills, after the manner of the Indians, and his limbs wereguarded with long leggings of the same material as the moccasins,which, gartering over the knees of his tarnished buckskin breeches, hadobtained for him among the settlers the nickname of Leather-Stocking.Over his left shoulder was slung a belt of deer-skin, from whichdepended an enormous ox-horn, so thinly scraped as to discover thepowder it contained. The larger end was fitted ingeniously and securelywith a wooden bottom, and the other was stopped tight by a little plug.A leathern pouch hung before him, from which, as he concluded his lastspeech, he took a small measure, and, filling it accurately with powder,he commenced reloading the rifle, which as its butt rested on the snowbefore him reached nearly to the top of his fox-skin cap.
The traveller had been closely examining the wounds during thesemovements, and now, without heeding the ill-humor of the hunter'smanner, he exclaimed:
"I would fain establish a right, Natty, to the honor of this death; andsurely if the hit in the neck be mine it is enough; for the shot inthe heart was unnecessary--what we call an act of supererogation,Leather-Stocking."
"You may call it by what larned name you please, Judge," said thehunter, throwing his rifle across his left arm, and knocking up a brasslid in the breech, from which he took a small piece of greased leatherand, wrapping a bail in it, forced them down by main strength on thepowder, where he continued to pound them while speaking. "It's fareasier to call names than to shoot a buck on the spring; but the creaturcame by his end from a younger hand than either your'n or mine, as Isaid before."
"What say you, my friend," cried the traveller, turning pleasantly toNatty's companion; "shall we toss up this dollar for the honor, and youkeep the silver if you lose; what say you, friend?"
"That I killed the deer," answered the young man, with a littlehaughtiness, as he leaned on another long rifle similar to that ofNatty.
"Here are two to one, indeed," replied the Judge with a smile; "I amoutvoted--overruled, as we say on the bench. There is Aggy, he can'tvote, being a slave; and Bess is a minor--so I must even make the bestof it. But you'll send me the venison; and the deuce is in it, but Imake a good story about its death."
"The meat is none of mine to sell," said Leather-Stocking, adopting alittle of his companion's hauteur; "for my part, I have known animalstravel days with shots in the neck, and I'm none of them who'll rob aman of his rightful dues."
"You are tenacious of your rights, this cold evening, Natty," returnedthe Judge with unconquerable good-nature; "but what say you, young man;will three dollars pay you for the buck?"
"First let us determine the question of right to the satisfaction of usboth," said the youth firmly but respect fully, and with a pronunciationand language vastly superior to his appearance: "with how many shot didyou load your gun?"
"With five, sir," said the Judge, a little struck with the other'smanner; "are they not enough to slay a buck like this?"
"One would do it; but," moving to the tree from be hind which he hadappeared, "you know, sir, you fired in this direction--here are four ofthe bullets in the tree."
The Judge examined the fresh marks in the bark of the pine, and, shakinghis head, said with a laugh:
"You are making out the case against yourself, my young advocate; whereis the fifth?"
"Here," said the youth, throwing aside the rough over coat that he wore,and exhibiting a hole in his under-garment, through which large drops ofblood were oozing.
"Good God!" exclaimed the Judge, with horror; "have I been triflinghere about an empty distinction, and a fellow-creature suffering from myhands without a murmur? But hasten--quick--get into my sleigh--it is buta mile to the village, where surgical aid can be obtained--all shallbe done at my expense, and thou shalt live with me until thy wound ishealed, ay, and forever afterward."
"I thank you for your good intention, but I must decline your offer.I have a friend who would be uneasy were he to hear that I am hurt andaway from him. The injury is but slight, and the bullet has missed thebones; but I believe, sir, you will now admit me title to the venison."
"Admit it!" repeated the agitated Judge; "I here give thee a right toshoot deer, or bears, or anything thou pleasest in my woods, forever.Leather-Stocking is the only other man that I have granted the sameprivilege to; and the time is coming when it will be of value. But I buyyour deer--here, this bill will pay thee, both for thy shot and my own."
The old hunter gathered his tall person up into an air of pride duringthis dialogue, but he waited until the other had done speaking.
"There's them living who say that Nathaniel Bumppo's right to shoot onthese hills is of older date than Marmaduke Temple's right to forbidhim," he said. "But if there's a law about it at all, though who everheard of a law that a man shouldn't kill deer where he pleased!--butif there is a law at all, it should be to keep people from the use ofsmooth-bores. A body never knows where his lead will fly, when he pullsthe trigger of one of them uncertain firearms."
Without attending to the soliloquy of Natty, the youth bowed his headsilently to the offer of the bank-note, and replied:
"Excuse me: I have need of the venison."
"But this will buy you many deer," said the Judge; "take it, I entreatyou;" and, lowering his voice to a whisper, he added, "It is for ahundred dollars."
For an instant only the youth seemed to hesitate, and then, blushingeven through the high color that the cold had given to his cheeks, as ifwith inward shame at his own weakness, he again declined the offer.
During this scene the female arose, and regardless of the cold air, shethrew back the hood which concealed her features, and now spoke, withgreat earnestness.
"Surely, surely--young man--sir--you would not pain my father so muchas to have him think that he leaves a fellow-creature in this wildernesswhom his own hand has injured. I entreat you will go with us, andreceive medical aid."
Whether his wound became more painful, or there was somethingirresistible in the voice and manner of the fair pleader for herfather's feelings, we know not; but the distance of the young mansmanner was sensibly softened by this appeal, and he stood in apparentdoubt, as if reluctant to comply with and yet unwilling to refuse herrequest. The Judge, for such being his office must in future be histitle, watched with no little interest the display of this singularcontention in the feelings of the youth; and, advancing, kindly took hishand, and, as he pulled him gently toward the sleigh, urged him to enterit.
"There is no human aid nearer than Templeton," he said, "and the hutof Natty is full three miles from this--come, come, my young friend, gowith us, and let the new doctor look to this shoulder of thine. Here isNatty will take the tidings of thy wel
fare to thy friend; and shouldstthou require it, thou shalt return home in the morning." The young mansucceeded in extricating his hand from the warm grasp of the Judge, buthe continued to gaze on the face of the female, who, regardless of thecold, was still standing with her fine features exposed, whichexpressed feeling that eloquently seconded the request of her father.Leather-Stocking stood, in the mean time, leaning upon his long rifle,with his head turned a little to one side, as if engaged in sagaciousmusing; when, having apparently satisfied his doubts, by revolving thesubject in his mind, he broke silence. "It may be best to go, lad, afterall; for, if the shot hangs under the skin, my hand is getting too oldto be cutting into human flesh, as I once used to, Though some thirtyyears agone, in the old war, when I was out under Sir William, Itravelled seventy miles alone in the howling wilderness, with a riflebullet in my thigh, and then cut it out with my own jack-knife.Old Indian John knows the time well. I met him with a party of theDelawares, on the trail of the Iroquois, who had been down and takenfive scalps on the Schoharie. But I made a mark on the red-skin thatI'll warrant he'll carry to his grave! I took him on the posteerum,saving the lady's presence, as he got up from the ambushment, andrattled three buckshot into his naked hide, so close that you might havelaid a broad joe upon them all"--here Natty stretched out his longneck, and straightened his body, as he opened his mouth, which exposeda single tusk of yellow bone, while his eyes, his face, even his wholeframe seemed to laugh, although no sound was emitted except a kindof thick hissing, as he inhaled his breath in quavers. "I had lost mybullet-mould in crossing the Oneida outlet, and had to make shift withthe buckshot; but the rifle was true, and didn't scatter like yourtwo-legged thing there, Judge, which don't do, I find, to hunt incompany with."
Natty's apology to the delicacy of the young lady was unnecessary, for,while he was speaking, she was too much employed in helping her fatherto remove certain articles of baggage to hear him. Unable to resist thekind urgency of the travellers any longer, the youth, though still withan unaccountable reluctance, suffered himself to be persuaded to enterthe sleigh. The black, with the aid of his master, threw the buck acrossthe baggage and entering the vehicle themselves, the Judge invited thehunter to do so likewise.
"No, no," said the old roan, shaking his head; "I have work to do athome this Christmas eve--drive on with the boy, and let your doctor lookto the shoulder; though if he will only cut out the shot, I have yarbsthat will heal the wound quicker than all his foreign 'intments." Heturned, and was about to move off, when, suddenly recollecting himself,he again faced the party, and added: "If you see anything of IndianJohn, about the foot of the lake, you had better take him with you, andlet him lend the doctor a hand; for, old as he is, he is curious at cutsand bruises, and it's likelier than not he'll be in with brooms to sweepyour Christmas ha'arths."
"Stop, stop," cried the youth, catching the arm of the black as heprepared to urge his horses forward; "Natty--you need say nothing of theshot, nor of where I am going--remember, Natty, as you love me."
"Trust old Leather-Stocking," returned the hunter significantly; "hehasn't lived fifty years in the wilderness, and not larnt from thesavages how to hold his tongue--trust to me, lad; and remember oldIndian John."
"And, Natty," said the youth eagerly, still holding the black by thearm. "I will just get the shot extracted, and bring you up to-night aquarter of the buck for the Christmas dinner."
He was interrupted by the hunter, who held up his finger with anexpressive gesture for silence. He then moved softly along the margin ofthe road, keeping his eyes steadfastly fixed on the branches of a pine.When he had obtained such a position as he wished, he stopped, and,cocking his rifle, threw one leg far behind him, and stretching his leftarm to its utmost extent along the barrel of his piece, he began slowlyto raise its muzzle in a line with the straight trunk of the tree. Theeyes of the group in the sleigh naturally preceded the movement of therifle, and they soon discovered the object of Natty's aim. On a smalldead branch of the pine, which, at the distance of seventy feet from theground, shot out horizontally, immediately beneath the living membersof the tree, sat a bird, that in the vulgar language of the country wasindiscriminately called a pheasant or a partridge. In size, it was butlittle smaller than a common barn-yard fowl. The baying of the dogs, andthe conversation that had passed near the root of the tree on which itwas perched, had alarmed the bird, which was now drawn up near the bodyof the pine, with a head and neck so erect as to form nearly a straightline with its legs. As soon as the rifle bore on the victim, Natty drewhis trigger, and the partridge fell from its height with a force thatburied it in the snow.
"Lie down, you old villain," exclaimed Leather-Stocking, shaking hisramrod at Hector as he bounded toward the foot of the tree, "lie down,I say." The dog obeyed, and Natty proceeded with great rapidity, thoughwith the nicest accuracy, to reload his piece. When this was ended, hetook up his game, and, showing it to the party without a head, he cried:"Here is a tidbit for an old man's Christmas--never mind the venison,boy, and remember Indian John; his yarbs are better than all the foreign'intments. Here, Judge," holding up the bird again, "do you think asmooth-bore would pick game off their roost, and not ruffle a feather?"The old man gave another of his remarkable laughs, which partook solargely of exultation, mirth, and irony, and, shaking his head, heturned, with his rifle at a trail, and moved into the forest with stepsthat were between a walk and a trot. At each movement he made his bodylowered several inches, his knees yielding with an inclination inward;but, as the sleigh turned at a bend in the road, the youth cast his eyesin quest of his old companion, and he saw that he was already nearlyconcealed by the trunks of the tree; while his dogs were followingquietly in his footsteps, occasionally scenting the deer track, thatthey seemed to know instinctively was now of no further use to them.Another jerk was given to the sleigh, and Leather-Stocking was hid fromview.
The Pioneers; Or, The Sources of the Susquehanna Page 2
