The attenuated1 frame of this son of the soil, his hollow cheeks and glaring eye-balls, his belt drawn2 with extreme tightness round his waist, to repress the gnawings of hunger, as well as his enfeebled gait, proved that he was approaching the last stage of starvation.
For many weeks Wapaw had been travelling in the woods, guided on his way by the stars, and by those slight and delicate signs of the wilderness3—such as the difference of thickness in the bark on the north, from that on the south side of a tree—which are perceptible only to the keen eye of an Indian, or a white man whose life has been spent in the wilderness.
But Wapaw was a very different man when he quitted his tribe from what he was at the time we introduce him to our reader. Strong, wiry, upright, and lithe4 as a panther, he left his wigwam and his wife, and turned his face towards the rising sun; but the season was a severe one, and game was scarce; from the very beginning of his journey he had found it difficult to supply himself with a sufficiency of food. Towards the middle of it he was on short allowance, and much reduced in strength; and now near its termination, he was, as we have said, almost in the last stage of starvation.
Fort Enterprise was Wapaw’s goal. He had never been there before, but from the description of the place and its locality, given by those of his kindred who had visited Robin5 Gore6, he was able to direct his march with unerring certainty towards it. Of course, as he drew near to it he could not ascertain7 his exact distance—whether he was a day or several days’ journey off—but from the tracks of Robin’s snow-shoes, which he crossed more than once, he guessed that he was nearing the Fort, and pushed on with renewed hope and energy.
Robin, however, was an active hunter. He often made long and rapid marches from his lonely dwelling—sometimes staying away a week or two at a time even in winter; so that Wapaw thought himself nearer Fort Enterprise than he really was when he first discovered the bold hunter’s tracks. When, at length, he did arrive at less than a day’s journey from the Fort, he was not aware of its close proximity8, and, having tasted nothing whatever for two days, he felt the approach of that terrible state of exhaustion9 which precedes death.
It was a somewhat stormy day when the poor Indian’s strength finally broke down. Hitherto he had pushed forward with some degree of hope, but on the morning of this day a broken branch caught his snow-shoe and tripped him. At any other time the fall would have been a trifle, but in his weak condition it acted like the last straw which breaks the camel’s back. Wapaw rose with difficulty, and brushing the snow from his eyes, looked earnestly at his snow-shoes, well knowing that if they had been broken in the fall his power of advancing would have been taken away and his fate sealed, for he had neither strength nor energy left to repair them. They were uninjured, however; so he once more attempted to stagger on.
A slight rising ground lay before him. To ascend10 this was a labour so great that he almost sank in the midst of it. He reached the top, however, and gazed eagerly before him. He had gazed thus at the top of every rising ground that he had reached during the last two days, in the hope of seeing some sign of the Fort.
A deep sigh escaped him as he rested his hands on the muzzle11 of his gun, and his grave countenance12 was overspread with a look of profound melancholy13. For the first time in his life, the once stout14 and active Wapaw had reached the point of giving way to despair. A wide open plain stretched out before him. The cold wind was howling wildly across it, driving the keen snow-drift before it in whirling clouds. Even a strong man might have shrunk from exposing himself on such a plain and to such a blast on that bitter arctic day. Wapaw felt that in his case to cross it would be certain death; so, with the calm philosophy of a Red Indian, he made up his mind to lay him down and die!
His manner of preparing for his end was somewhat singular. Turning aside into the woods, he set about making an encampment with as much vigour15 as he could summon up. Clearing away the snow from the roots of a large spreading pine-tree, he strewed16 branches on the ground, and thus made a rude couch. On this he spread his blanket. Then he cut some firewood with the axe17 that hung at his side, and soon kindled18, by means of flint, steel, and tinder, a good fire. Seating himself before the warm blaze, the exhausted19 man rested awhile, with his legs drawn together and his head resting on his knees.
He sat so long thus that he nearly fell asleep. Presently he roused himself, and proceeded to make a close examination of his wallet and firebag—the latter being a beautifully ornamented20 pouch21, which Indians and fur-traders wear at their belts, for the purpose of containing the materials for producing fire, besides pipes and tobacco.
Poor Wapaw had already searched his wallet and firebag twice, without finding a crumb22 of food or a morsel23 of tobacco. He knew well that they were empty, yet he turned them inside out, and examined the seams and corners with as much earnestness as if he really expected to find relief from his sufferings there.
There was no expression of pain on the red man’s face—only a look of profound melancholy.
He laid aside the firebag after a little while, and then quietly drew his knife, and cut a piece of leather from the skirt of his hunting coat.
The leather had been dried and smoked, and contained no substance whatever that could sustain life. Wapaw was aware of this—nevertheless he singed24 a portion of it until it was reduced almost to ashes, and mingling25 a little snow with this, ate it greedily.
Then, raising his eyes to the sky with a long earnest gaze, he sat immovable, until the sinking fire and the increasing cold recalled his wandering faculties26.
There was a wild, glassy look about the Indian’s eyes now, which probably resulted from exhaustion. He seemed to struggle several times to rouse himself before he succeeded; shuddering27 with intense cold, he crept to the little pile of firewood, and placed several billets on the fire, which speedily blazed up again, and the dying man cowered28 over it, regardless of the smoke which ever and anon wreathed round his drooping29 head.
In a few minutes Wapaw started up as if new energy had been infused into him. He placed his gun, axe, firebag, and powder-horn by themselves on the ground; then he wrapped himself in his blanket and lay slowly down beside them with his feet towards the fire. For a few minutes he lay on his back, gazing earnestly upwards30, while his lips moved slowly, but no sound issued from them. Then he turned wearily on his side, and, covering his head with the blanket and turning his face towards the ground, he resigned himself to death.
But God had ordained31 that, at that time, the red man should not die.
About the time when he lay down, our hunters emerged upon the plain which had caused the Indian to despair.
“It’s of no use goin’ farther,” observed Robin, as he and his companions stood at the edge of the forest and looked across the plain; “the wind blows too hard, and the drift is keen; besides there ain’t much to be got hereaway, even in seasons of plenty.”
“Father! is that smoke risin’ over the bluff32 yonder?” asked Roy, pointing with his finger as he spoke33.
“No doubt of it, lad.”
“Indians, may be,” said Walter.
Robin shook his head. “Don’t think so,” said he, “for the redskins don’t often come to see me at this time o’ the year. But we’ll go see; an’ look to your primin’, lads—if it’s a war-party we’ll ha’ to fight, mayhap, if we don’t run.”
The three hunters crossed the plain in the teeth of the howling drift, and cautiously approached the bluff referred to by Roy, and from behind which the smoke ascended34.
“It’s a camp fire,” whispered Robin, as he glanced back at his companions, “but I see no one there. They must have just left the place.”
There was a shade of anxiety in the hunter’s voice as he spoke, for he thought of Fort Enterprise, its defenceless condition, and the possibility of the Indians having gone thither35.
“They can’t have gone to the Fort,” said Walter, “else we should have seen their tracks on the way hither.”
“Come,” said Robin, stepping forward quickly, “we can see their tracks now, anyhow, and follow them up, and if they lead to the Fort.”
The hunter did not finish his sentence, for at that moment he caught sight of the recumbent form of Wapaw in the camp.
“Hist! A redskin alone, and asleep! Well, I never did ’xpect to see that.”
“Mayhap, he’s a decoy-duck,” suggested Walter. “Better look sharp out.”
Robin and Roy heeded36 not the caution. They at once went forward, and the father lifted the blanket from the Indian’s head.
“Dead!” exclaimed Roy, in a solemn tone.
“Not yet, lad! but I do b’lieve the poor critter’s a’most gone wi’ starvation. Come, bestir you, boys—rouse up the fire, and boil the kettle.”
Walter and Roy did not require a second bidding. The kettle was ere long singing on a blazing fire. The Indian’s limbs were chafed37 and warmed; a can of hot tea was administered, and Wapaw soon revived sufficiently38 to look up and thank his deliverers.
“Now, as good luck has it, I chanced to leave my hand-sled at the Wolf’s Glen. Go, fetch it, Roy,” said Robin.
The lad set off at once, and, as the glen was not far distant, soon returned with a flat wooden sledge39, six feet long by eighteen inches broad, on which trappers are wont40 to pack their game in winter. On this sledge Wapaw was firmly tied, and dragged by the hunters to Fort Enterprise.
“Hast got a deer, father?” cried little Nelly, as she bounded in advance of her mother to meet the returning party.
“No, Nelly—’tis dearer game than that.”
“What? a redskin!” exclaimed Dame41 Gore in surprise; “is he dead?”
“No, nor likely to die,” said Robin, “he’s in a starvin’ state though, an’ll be none the worse of a bit of our New Year’s dinner. Here is game enough for one meal an’ more; come, lass, get it ready as fast as may be.”
So saying the bold hunter passed through the Fort gate, dragging the red man behind him.
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1
attenuated
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| v.（使）变细( attenuate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）变薄；（使）变小；减弱 | |
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2
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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robin
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| n.知更鸟，红襟鸟 | |
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6
gore
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| n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶 | |
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7
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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8
proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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10
ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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11
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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12
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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15
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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16
strewed
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| v.撒在…上( strew的过去式和过去分词 )；散落于；点缀；撒满 | |
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17
axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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18
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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19
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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20
ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
pouch
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| n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件 | |
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22
crumb
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| n.饼屑，面包屑，小量 | |
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23
morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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24
singed
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| v.浅表烧焦( singe的过去式和过去分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿] | |
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25
mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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26
faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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27
shuddering
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| v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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28
cowered
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| v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的过去式 ) | |
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29
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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30
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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31
ordained
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| v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定 | |
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32
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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33
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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34
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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35
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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36
heeded
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| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 )；变平，使（某物）变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37
chafed
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| v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的过去式 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
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38
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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39
sledge
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| n.雪橇，大锤；v.用雪橇搬运，坐雪橇往 | |
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40
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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41
dame
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| n.女士 | |
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