LA SALLE BEGINS ANEW.
His Constancy; his Plans; his Savage1 Allies; he becomes Snow-blind.—Negotiations2.—Grand Council.—La Salle's Oratory4.—Meeting with Tonty.—Preparation.—Departure.
In tracing the adventures of Tonty and the rovings of Hennepin, we have lost sight of La Salle, the pivot5 of the enterprise. Returning from the desolation and horror in the valley of the Illinois, he had spent the winter at Fort Miami, on the St. Joseph, by the borders of Lake Michigan. Here he might have brooded on the redoubled ruin that had befallen him,—the desponding friends, the exulting6 foes7; the wasted energies, the crushing load of debt, the stormy past, the black and lowering future. But his mind was of a different temper. He had no thought but to grapple with adversity, and out of the fragments of his ruin to build up the fabric8 of success.
He would not recoil9; but he modified his plans to meet the new contingency10. His white enemies had found, or rather perhaps had made, a savage ally in the Iroquois. Their incursions must be stopped, or [Pg 284] his enterprise would come to nought11; and he thought he saw the means by which this new danger could be converted into a source of strength. The tribes of the West, threatened by the common enemy, might be taught to forget their mutual12 animosities and join in a defensive13 league, with La Salle at its head. They might be colonized14 around his fort in the valley of the Illinois, where in the shadow of the French flag, and with the aid of French allies, they could hold the Iroquois in check, and acquire in some measure the arts of a settled life. The Franciscan friars could teach them the Faith; and La Salle and his associates could supply them with goods, in exchange for the vast harvest of furs which their hunters could gather in these boundless15 wilds. Meanwhile, he would seek out the mouth of the Mississippi; and the furs gathered at his colony in the Illinois would then find a ready passage to the markets of the world. Thus might this ancient slaughter17-field of warring savages18 be redeemed19 to civilization and Christianity; and a stable settlement, half-feudal, half-commercial, grow up in the heart of the western wilderness20. This plan was but a part of the original scheme of his enterprise, adapted to new and unexpected circumstances; and he now set himself to its execution with his usual vigor21, joined to an address which, when dealing22 with Indians, never failed him.
INDIAN FRIENDS.
There were allies close at hand. Near Fort Miami were the huts of twenty-five or thirty savages, exiles [Pg 285] from their homes, and strangers in this western world. Several of the English colonies, from Virginia to Maine, had of late years been harassed23 by Indian wars; and the Puritans of New England, above all, had been scourged24 by the deadly outbreak of King Philip's war. Those engaged in it had paid a bitter price for their brief triumphs. A band of refugees, chiefly Abenakis and Mohegans, driven from their native seats, had roamed into these distant wilds, and were wintering in the friendly neighborhood of the French. La Salle soon won them over to his interests. One of their number was the Mohegan hunter, who for two years had faithfully followed his fortunes, and who had been four years in the West. He is described as a prudent25 and discreet26 young man, in whom La Salle had great confidence, and who could make himself understood in several western languages, belonging, like his own, to the great Algonquin tongue. This devoted27 henchman proved an efficient mediator28 with his countrymen. The New-England Indians, with one voice, promised to follow La Salle, asking no recompense but to call him their chief, and yield to him the love and admiration29 which he rarely failed to command from this hero-worshipping race.
New allies soon appeared. A Shawanoe chief from the valley of the Ohio, whose following embraced a hundred and fifty warriors30, came to ask the protection of the French against the all-destroying Iroquois. "The Shawanoes are too distant," was La Salle's [Pg 286] reply; "but let them come to me at the Illinois, and they shall be safe." The chief promised to join him in the autumn, at Fort Miami, with all his band. But, more important than all, the consent and co-operation of the Illinois must be gained; and the Miamis, their neighbors and of late their enemies, must be taught the folly31 of their league with the Iroquois, and the necessity of joining in the new confederation. Of late, they had been made to see the perfidy32 of their dangerous allies. A band of the Iroquois, returning from the slaughter of the Tamaroa Illinois, had met and murdered a band of Miamis on the Ohio, and had not only refused satisfaction, but had intrenched themselves in three rude forts of trees and brushwood in the heart of the Miami country. The moment was favorable for negotiating; but, first, La Salle wished to open a communication with the Illinois, some of whom had begun to return to the country they had abandoned. With this view, and also, it seems, to procure33 provisions, he set out on the first of March, with his lieutenant34 La Forest, and fifteen men.
The country was sheeted in snow, and the party journeyed on snow-shoes; but when they reached the open prairies, the white expanse glared in the sun with so dazzling a brightness that La Salle and several of the men became snow-blind. They stopped and encamped under the edge of a forest; and here La Salle remained in darkness for three days, suffering extreme pain. Meanwhile, he sent forward La [Pg 287] Forest and most of the men, keeping with him his old attendant Hunaut. Going out in quest of pine-leaves,—a decoction of which was supposed to be useful in cases of snow-blindness,—this man discovered the fresh tracks of Indians, followed them, and found a camp of Outagamies, or Foxes, from the neighborhood of Green Bay. From them he heard welcome news. They told him that Tonty was safe among the Pottawattamies, and that Hennepin had passed through their country on his return from among the Sioux.[224]
ILLINOIS ALLIES.
A thaw35 took place; the snow melted rapidly; the rivers were opened; the blind men began to recover; and launching the canoes which they had dragged after them, the party pursued their way by water. They soon met a band of Illinois. La Salle gave them presents, condoled36 with them on their losses, and urged them to make peace and alliance with the Miamis. Thus, he said, they could set the Iroquois at defiance37; for he himself, with his Frenchmen and his Indian friends, would make his abode38 among them, supply them with goods, and aid them to defend themselves. They listened, well pleased, promised to carry his message to their countrymen, and furnished him with a large supply of corn.[225] Meanwhile he had rejoined La Forest, whom he now [Pg 288] sent to Michilimackinac to await Tonty, and tell him to remain there till he, La Salle, should arrive.
Having thus accomplished39 the objects of his journey, he returned to Fort Miami, whence he soon after ascended40 the St. Joseph to the village of the Miami Indians, on the portage, at the head of the Kankakee. Here he found unwelcome guests. These were three Iroquois warriors, who had been for some time in the place, and who, as he was told, had demeaned themselves with the insolence41 of conquerors42, and spoken of the French with the utmost contempt. He hastened to confront them, rebuked43 and menaced them, and told them that now, when he was present, they dared not repeat the calumnies44 which they had uttered in his absence. They stood abashed45 and confounded, and during the following night secretly left the town and fled. The effect was prodigious46 on the minds of the Miamis, when they saw that La Salle, backed by ten Frenchmen, could command from their arrogant47 visitors a respect which they, with their hundreds of warriors, had wholly failed to inspire. Here, at the outset, was an augury48 full of promise for the approaching negotiations.
There were other strangers in the town,—a band of eastern Indians, more numerous than those who had wintered at the fort. The greater number were from Rhode Island, including, probably, some of King Philip's warriors; others were from New York, and others again from Virginia. La Salle called [Pg 289] them to a council, promised them a new home in the West under the protection of the Great King, with rich lands, an abundance of game, and French traders to supply them with the goods which they had once received from the English. Let them but help him to make peace between the Miamis and the Illinois, and he would insure for them a future of prosperity and safety. They listened with open ears, and promised their aid in the work of peace.
GRAND COUNCIL.
On the next morning, the Miamis were called to a grand council. It was held in the lodge49 of their chief, from which the mats were removed, that the crowd without might hear what was said. La Salle rose and harangued50 the concourse. Few men were so skilled in the arts of forest rhetoric52 and diplomacy53. After the Indian mode, he was, to follow his chroniclers, "the greatest orator3 in North America."[226] He began with a gift of tobacco, to clear the brains of his auditory; next, for he had brought a canoe-load of presents to support his eloquence54, he gave them cloth to cover their dead, coats to dress them, hatchets55 to build a grand scaffold in their honor, and beads56, bells, and trinkets of all sorts, to decorate their relatives at a grand funeral feast. All this was mere57 metaphor58. The living, while appropriating the gifts to their own use, were pleased at the compliment offered to their dead; and their delight redoubled as the orator proceeded. One of their [Pg 290] great chiefs had lately been killed; and La Salle, after a eulogy59 of the departed, declared that he would now raise him to life again; that is, that he would assume his name and give support to his squaws and children. This flattering announcement drew forth60 an outburst of applause; and when, to confirm his words, his attendants placed before them a huge pile of coats, shirts, and hunting-knives, the whole assembly exploded in yelps61 of admiration.
"He who is my master, and the master of all this country, is a mighty63 chief, feared by the whole world; but he loves peace, and the words of his lips are for good alone. He is called the King of France, and he is the mightiest64 among the chiefs beyond the great water. His goodness reaches even to your dead, and his subjects come among you to raise them up to life. But it is his will to preserve the life he has given; it is his will that you should obey his laws, and make no war without the leave of Onontio, who commands in his name at Quebec, and who loves all the nations alike, because such is the will of the Great King. You ought, then, to live at peace with your neighbors, and above all with the Illinois. You have had causes of quarrel with them; but their defeat has avenged65 you. Though they are still strong, they wish to make peace with you. Be content with the glory of having obliged them to ask for it. You have an interest in preserving them; since, [Pg 291] if the Iroquois destroy them, they will next destroy you. Let us all obey the Great King, and live together in peace, under his protection. Be of my mind, and use these guns that I have given you, not to make war, but only to hunt and to defend yourselves."[227]
THE CHIEFS REPLY.
So saying, he gave two belts of wampum to confirm his words; and the assembly dissolved. On the following day, the chiefs again convoked66 it, and made their reply in form. It was all that La Salle could have wished. "The Illinois is our brother, because he is the son of our Father, the Great King." "We make you the master of our beaver67 and our lands, of our minds and our bodies." "We cannot wonder that our brothers from the East wish to live with you. We should have wished so too, if we had known what a blessing68 it is to be the children of the Great King." The rest of this auspicious69 day was passed in feasts and dances, in which La Salle and his Frenchmen all bore part. His new scheme was hopefully begun. It remained to achieve the enterprise, twice defeated, of the discovery of the mouth of the Mississippi,—that vital condition of his triumph, without which all other success was meaningless and vain.
To this end he must return to Canada, appease70 his creditors71, and collect his scattered72 resources. Towards the end of May he set out in canoes from [Pg 292] Fort Miami, and reached Michilimackinac after a prosperous voyage. Here, to his great joy, he found Tonty and Zenobe Membré, who had lately arrived from Green Bay. The meeting was one at which even his stoic73 nature must have melted. Each had for the other a tale of disaster; but when La Salle recounted the long succession of his reverses, it was with the tranquil74 tone and cheerful look of one who relates the incidents of an ordinary journey. Membré looked on him with admiration. "Any one else," he says, "would have thrown up his hand and abandoned the enterprise; but, far from this, with a firmness and constancy that never had its equal, I saw him more resolved than ever to continue his work and push forward his discovery."[228]
Without loss of time they embarked75 together for Fort Frontenac, paddled their canoes a thousand miles, and safely reached their destination. Here, in this third beginning of his enterprise, La Salle found himself beset76 with embarrassments77. Not only was he burdened with the fruitless costs of his two former efforts, but the heavy debts which he had incurred78 in building and maintaining Fort Frontenac had not been wholly paid. The fort and the seigniory were already deeply mortgaged; yet through the influence of Count Frontenac, the assistance of his [Pg 293] secretary Barrois, a consummate79 man of business, and the support of a wealthy relative, he found means to appease his creditors and even to gain fresh advances. To this end, however, he was forced to part with a portion of his monopolies. Having first made his will at Montreal, in favor of a cousin who had befriended him,[229] he mustered80 his men, and once more set forth, resolved to trust no more to agents, but to lead on his followers81, in a united body, under his own personal command.[230]
THE TORONTO PORTAGE.
At the beginning of autumn he was at Toronto, where the long and difficult portage to Lake Simcoe detained him a fortnight. He spent a part of it in writing an account of what had lately occurred to a correspondent in France, and he closes his letter thus: "This is all I can tell you this year. I have a hundred things to write, but you could not believe how hard it is to do it among Indians. The canoes and their lading must be got over the portage, and I must speak to them continually and bear all their importunity82, or else they will do nothing I want. I hope to write more at leisure next year, and tell you [Pg 294] the end of this business, which I hope will turn out well: for I have M. de Tonty, who is full of zeal83; thirty Frenchmen, all good men, without reckoning such as I cannot trust; and more than a hundred Indians, some of them Shawanoes, and others from New England, all of whom know how to use guns."
It was October before he reached Lake Huron. Day after day and week after week the heavy-laden canoes crept on along the lonely wilderness shores, by the monotonous84 ranks of bristling85 moss-bearded firs; lake and forest, forest and lake; a dreary86 scene haunted with yet more dreary memories,—disasters, sorrows, and deferred87 hopes; time, strength, and wealth spent in vain; a ruinous past and a doubtful future; slander88, obloquy89, and hate. With unmoved heart, the patient voyager held his course, and drew up his canoes at last on the beach at Fort Miami.
FOOTNOTES:
[224] Relation des Découvertes. Compare Lettre de La Salle (Margry, ii. 144).
[225] This seems to have been taken from the secret repositories, or caches, of the ruined town of the Illinois.
[226] "En ce genre90, il étoit le plus grand orateur de l'Amérique Septentrionale."—Relation des Découvertes.
[227] Translated from the Relation, where these councils are reported at great length.
[228] Membré in Le Clerc, ii. 208. Tonty, in his memoir91 of 1693, speaks of the joy of La Salle at the meeting. The Relation, usually very accurate, says, erroneously, that Tonty had gone to Fort Frontenac. La Forest had gone thither92, not long before La Salle's arrival.
[229] Copie du Testament93 du deffunt Sr. de la Salle, 11 Ao?t, 1681. The relative was Fran?ois Plet, to whom he was deeply in debt.
[230] "On apprendra à la fin16 de cette année, 1682, le succès de la découverte qu'il étoit résolu d'achever, au plus tard le printemps dernier ou de périr en y travaillant. Tant de traverses et de malheurs toujours arrivés en son absence l'ont fait résoudre à ne se fier plus à personne et à conduire lui-même tout94 son monde, tout son équipage, et toute son entreprise, de laquelle il espéroit une heureuse conclusion."
The above is a part of the closing paragraph of the Relation des Découvertes, so often cited.
点击收听单词发音
1 savage | |
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人 | |
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2 negotiations | |
协商( negotiation的名词复数 ); 谈判; 完成(难事); 通过 | |
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3 orator | |
n.演说者,演讲者,雄辩家 | |
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4 oratory | |
n.演讲术;词藻华丽的言辞 | |
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5 pivot | |
v.在枢轴上转动;装枢轴,枢轴;adj.枢轴的 | |
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6 exulting | |
vi. 欢欣鼓舞,狂喜 | |
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7 foes | |
敌人,仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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8 fabric | |
n.织物,织品,布;构造,结构,组织 | |
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9 recoil | |
vi.退却,退缩,畏缩 | |
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10 contingency | |
n.意外事件,可能性 | |
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11 nought | |
n./adj.无,零 | |
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12 mutual | |
adj.相互的,彼此的;共同的,共有的 | |
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13 defensive | |
adj.防御的;防卫的;防守的 | |
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14 colonized | |
开拓殖民地,移民于殖民地( colonize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15 boundless | |
adj.无限的;无边无际的;巨大的 | |
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16 fin | |
n.鳍;(飞机的)安定翼 | |
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17 slaughter | |
n.屠杀,屠宰;vt.屠杀,宰杀 | |
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18 savages | |
未开化的人,野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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19 redeemed | |
adj. 可赎回的,可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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20 wilderness | |
n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等,荒漠 | |
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21 vigor | |
n.活力,精力,元气 | |
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22 dealing | |
n.经商方法,待人态度 | |
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23 harassed | |
adj. 疲倦的,厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词 | |
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24 scourged | |
鞭打( scourge的过去式和过去分词 ); 惩罚,压迫 | |
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25 prudent | |
adj.谨慎的,有远见的,精打细算的 | |
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26 discreet | |
adj.(言行)谨慎的;慎重的;有判断力的 | |
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27 devoted | |
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的 | |
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28 mediator | |
n.调解人,中介人 | |
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29 admiration | |
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
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30 warriors | |
武士,勇士,战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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31 folly | |
n.愚笨,愚蠢,蠢事,蠢行,傻话 | |
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32 perfidy | |
n.背信弃义,不忠贞 | |
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33 procure | |
vt.获得,取得,促成;vi.拉皮条 | |
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34 lieutenant | |
n.陆军中尉,海军上尉;代理官员,副职官员 | |
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35 thaw | |
v.(使)融化,(使)变得友善;n.融化,缓和 | |
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36 condoled | |
v.表示同情,吊唁( condole的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37 defiance | |
n.挑战,挑衅,蔑视,违抗 | |
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38 abode | |
n.住处,住所 | |
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39 accomplished | |
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的 | |
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40 ascended | |
v.上升,攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41 insolence | |
n.傲慢;无礼;厚颜;傲慢的态度 | |
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42 conquerors | |
征服者,占领者( conqueror的名词复数 ) | |
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43 rebuked | |
责难或指责( rebuke的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44 calumnies | |
n.诬蔑,诽谤,中伤(的话)( calumny的名词复数 ) | |
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45 abashed | |
adj.窘迫的,尴尬的v.使羞愧,使局促,使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46 prodigious | |
adj.惊人的,奇妙的;异常的;巨大的;庞大的 | |
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47 arrogant | |
adj.傲慢的,自大的 | |
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48 augury | |
n.预言,征兆,占卦 | |
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49 lodge | |
v.临时住宿,寄宿,寄存,容纳;n.传达室,小旅馆 | |
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50 harangued | |
v.高谈阔论( harangue的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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51 harangue | |
n.慷慨冗长的训话,言辞激烈的讲话 | |
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52 rhetoric | |
n.修辞学,浮夸之言语 | |
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53 diplomacy | |
n.外交;外交手腕,交际手腕 | |
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54 eloquence | |
n.雄辩;口才,修辞 | |
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55 hatchets | |
n.短柄小斧( hatchet的名词复数 );恶毒攻击;诽谤;休战 | |
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56 beads | |
n.(空心)小珠子( bead的名词复数 );水珠;珠子项链 | |
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57 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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58 metaphor | |
n.隐喻,暗喻 | |
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59 eulogy | |
n.颂词;颂扬 | |
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60 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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61 yelps | |
n.(因痛苦、气愤、兴奋等的)短而尖的叫声( yelp的名词复数 )v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的第三人称单数 ) | |
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62 climax | |
n.顶点;高潮;v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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63 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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64 mightiest | |
adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 );巨大的;强有力的;浩瀚的 | |
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65 avenged | |
v.为…复仇,报…之仇( avenge的过去式和过去分词 );为…报复 | |
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66 convoked | |
v.召集,召开(会议)( convoke的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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67 beaver | |
n.海狸,河狸 | |
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68 blessing | |
n.祈神赐福;祷告;祝福,祝愿 | |
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69 auspicious | |
adj.吉利的;幸运的,吉兆的 | |
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70 appease | |
v.安抚,缓和,平息,满足 | |
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71 creditors | |
n.债权人,债主( creditor的名词复数 ) | |
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72 scattered | |
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的 | |
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73 stoic | |
n.坚忍克己之人,禁欲主义者 | |
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74 tranquil | |
adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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75 embarked | |
乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 ); 装载; 从事 | |
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76 beset | |
v.镶嵌;困扰,包围 | |
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77 embarrassments | |
n.尴尬( embarrassment的名词复数 );难堪;局促不安;令人难堪或耻辱的事 | |
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78 incurred | |
[医]招致的,遭受的; incur的过去式 | |
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79 consummate | |
adj.完美的;v.成婚;使完美 [反]baffle | |
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80 mustered | |
v.集合,召集,集结(尤指部队)( muster的过去式和过去分词 );(自他人处)搜集某事物;聚集;激发 | |
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81 followers | |
追随者( follower的名词复数 ); 用户; 契据的附面; 从动件 | |
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82 importunity | |
n.硬要,强求 | |
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83 zeal | |
n.热心,热情,热忱 | |
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84 monotonous | |
adj.单调的,一成不变的,使人厌倦的 | |
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85 bristling | |
a.竖立的 | |
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86 dreary | |
adj.令人沮丧的,沉闷的,单调乏味的 | |
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87 deferred | |
adj.延期的,缓召的v.拖延,延缓,推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 );服从某人的意愿,遵从 | |
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88 slander | |
n./v.诽谤,污蔑 | |
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89 obloquy | |
n.斥责,大骂 | |
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90 genre | |
n.(文学、艺术等的)类型,体裁,风格 | |
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91 memoir | |
n.[pl.]回忆录,自传;记事录 | |
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92 thither | |
adv.向那里;adj.在那边的,对岸的 | |
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93 testament | |
n.遗嘱;证明 | |
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94 tout | |
v.推销,招徕;兜售;吹捧,劝诱 | |
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