“Thou’rt passing from the lake’s green side,
And the hunter’s hearth1 away;
For the time of flowers, for the summer’s pride,
Daughter! thou canst not stay.”
Mrs. Hemans, “Edith. A Tale of the Woods” II. 191–94
Our two adventurers had not far to go. Hurry knew the direction, as soon as he had found the open spot and the spring, and he now led on with the confident step of a man assured of his object. The forest was dark, as a matter of course, but it was no longer obstructed2 by underbrush, and the footing was firm and dry. After proceeding3 near a mile, March stopped, and began to cast about him with an inquiring look, examining the different objects with care, and occasionally turning his eyes on the trunks of the fallen trees, with which the ground was well sprinkled, as is usually the case in an American wood, especially in those parts of the country where timber has not yet become valuable.
“This must be the place, Deerslayer,” March at length observed; “here is a beech4 by the side of a hemlock5, with three pines at hand, and yonder is a white birch with a broken top; and yet I see no rock, nor any of the branches bent6 down, as I told you would be the case.”
“Broken branches are onskilful landmarks7, as the least exper’enced know that branches don’t often break of themselves,” returned the other; “and they also lead to suspicion and discoveries. The Delawares never trust to broken branches, unless it is in friendly times, and on an open trail. As for the beeches8, and pines, and hemlocks9, why, they are to be seen on all sides of us, not only by twos and threes, but by forties, and fifties, and hundreds.”
“Very true, Deerslayer, but you never calculate on position. Here is a beech and a hemlock —”
“Yes, and there is another beech and a hemlock, as loving as two brothers, or, for that matter, more loving than some brothers; and yonder are others, for neither tree is a rarity in these woods. I fear me, Hurry, you are better at trapping beaver10 and shooting bears, than at leading on a blindish sort of a trail. Ha! there’s what you wish to find, a’ter all!”
“Now, Deerslayer, this is one of your Delaware pretensions12, for hang me if I see anything but these trees, which do seem to start up around us in a most onaccountable and perplexing manner.”
“Look this a way, Hurry — here, in a line with the black oak-don’t you see the crooked13 sapling that is hooked up in the branches of the bass-wood, near it? Now, that sapling was once snow-ridden, and got the bend by its weight; but it never straightened itself, and fastened itself in among the bass-wood branches in the way you see. The hand of man did that act of kindness for it.”
“That hand was mine!” exclaimed Hurry; “I found the slender young thing bent to the airth, like an unfortunate creatur’ borne down by misfortune, and stuck it up where you see it. After all, Deerslayer, I must allow, you’re getting to have an oncommon good eye for the woods!”
“’Tis improving, Hurry —’tis improving I will acknowledge; but ’tis only a child’s eye, compared to some I know. There’s Tamenund, now, though a man so old that few remember when he was in his prime, Tamenund lets nothing escape his look, which is more like the scent14 of a hound than the sight of an eye. Then Uncas, the father of Chingachgook, and the lawful15 chief of the Mohicans, is another that it is almost hopeless to pass unseen. I’m improving, I will allow — I’m improving, but far from being perfect, as yet.”
“And who is this Chingachgook, of whom you talk so much, Deerslayer!” asked Hurry, as he moved off in the direction of the righted sapling; “a loping red-skin, at the best, I make no question.”
“Not so, Hurry, but the best of loping red-skins, as you call ’em. If he had his rights, he would be a great chief; but, as it is, he is only a brave and just-minded Delaware; respected, and even obeyed in some things,’tis true, but of a fallen race, and belonging to a fallen people. Ah! Harry16 March, ‘twould warm the heart within you to sit in their lodges17 of a winter’s night, and listen to the traditions of the ancient greatness and power of the Mohicans!”
“Harkee, fri’nd Nathaniel,” said Hurry, stopping short to face his companion, in order that his words might carry greater weight with them, “if a man believed all that other people choose to say in their own favor, he might get an oversized opinion of them, and an undersized opinion of himself. These red-skins are notable boasters, and I set down more than half of their traditions as pure talk.”
“There is truth in what you say, Hurry, I’ll not deny it, for I’ve seen it, and believe it. They do boast, but then that is a gift from natur’; and it’s sinful to withstand nat’ral gifts. See; this is the spot you come to find!” This remark cut short the discourse18, and both the men now gave all their attention to the object immediately before them. Deerslayer pointed20 out to his companion the trunk of a huge linden, or bass-wood, as it is termed in the language of the country, which had filled its time, and fallen by its own weight. This tree, like so many millions of its brethren, lay where it had fallen, and was mouldering21 under the slow but certain influence of the seasons. The decay, however, had attacked its centre, even while it stood erect22 in the pride of vegetation, bellowing23 out its heart, as disease sometimes destroys the vitals of animal life, even while a fair exterior24 is presented to the observer. As the trunk lay stretched for near a hundred feet along the earth, the quick eye of the hunter detected this peculiarity25, and from this and other circumstances, he knew it to be the tree of which March was in search.
“Ay, here we have what we want,” cried Hurry, looking in at the larger end of the linden; “everything is as snug26 as if it had been left in an old woman’s cupboard. Come, lend me a hand, Deerslayer, and we’ll be afloat in half an hour.”
At this call the hunter joined his companion, and the two went to work deliberately27 and regularly, like men accustomed to the sort of thing in which they were employed. In the first place, Hurry removed some pieces of bark that lay before the large opening in the tree, and which the other declared to be disposed in a way that would have been more likely to attract attention than to conceal28 the cover, had any straggler passed that way. The two then drew out a bark canoe, containing its seats, paddles, and other appliances, even to fishing-lines and rods. This vessel29 was by no means small; but such was its comparative lightness, and so gigantic was the strength of Hurry, that the latter shouldered it with seeming ease, declining all assistance, even in the act of raising it to the awkward position in which he was obliged to hold it.
“Lead ahead, Deerslayer,” said March, “and open the bushes; the rest I can do for myself.”
The other obeyed, and the men left the spot, Deerslayer clearing the way for his companion, and inclining to the right or to the left, as the latter directed. In about ten minutes they both broke suddenly into the brilliant light of the sun, on a low gravelly point, that was washed by water on quite half its outline.
An exclamation30 of surprise broke from the lips of Deerslayer, an exclamation that was low and guardedly made, however, for his habits were much more thoughtful and regulated than those of the reckless Hurry, when on reaching the margin31 of the lake, he beheld32 the view that unexpectedly met his gaze. It was, in truth, sufficiently33 striking to merit a brief description. On a level with the point lay a broad sheet of water, so placid34 and limpid35 that it resembled a bed of the pure mountain atmosphere, compressed into a setting of hills and woods. Its length was about three leagues, while its breadth was irregular, expanding to half a league, or even more, opposite to the point, and contracting to less than half that distance, more to the southward. Of course, its margin was irregular, being indented36 by bays, and broken by many projecting, low points. At its northern, or nearest end, it was bounded by an isolated37 mountain, lower land falling off east and west, gracefully38 relieving the sweep of the outline. Still the character of the country was mountainous; high hills, or low mountains, rising abruptly40 from the water, on quite nine tenths of its circuit. The exceptions, indeed, only served a little to vary the scene; and even beyond the parts of the shore that were comparatively low, the background was high, though more distant.
But the most striking peculiarities41 of this scene were its solemn solitude42 and sweet repose43. On all sides, wherever the eye turned, nothing met it but the mirror-like surface of the lake, the placid view of heaven, and the dense44 setting of woods. So rich and fleecy were the outlines of the forest, that scarce an opening could be seen, the whole visible earth, from the rounded mountain-top to the water’s edge, presenting one unvaried hue45 of unbroken verdure. As if vegetation were not satisfied with a triumph so complete, the trees overhung the lake itself, shooting out towards the light; and there were miles along its eastern shore, where a boat might have pulled beneath the branches of dark Rembrandt-looking hemlocks, “quivering aspens,” and melancholy46 pines. In a word, the hand of man had never yet defaced or deformed47 any part of this native scene, which lay bathed in the sunlight, a glorious picture of affluent48 forest grandeur49, softened50 by the balminess of June, and relieved by the beautiful variety afforded by the presence of so broad an expanse of water.
“This is grand!—’tis solemn!—’tis an edication of itself, to look upon!” exclaimed Deerslayer, as he stood leaning on his rifle, and gazing to the right and left, north and south, above and beneath, in whichever direction his eye could wander; “not a tree disturbed even by red-skin hand, as I can discover, but everything left in the ordering of the Lord, to live and die according to his own designs and laws! Hurry, your Judith ought to be a moral and well disposed young woman, if she has passed half the time you mention in the centre of a spot so favored.”
“That’s naked truth; and yet the gal51 has the vagaries52. All her time has not been passed here, howsoever, old Tom having the custom, afore I know’d him, of going to spend the winters in the neighborhood of the settlers, or under the guns of the forts. No, no, Jude has caught more than is for her good from the settlers, and especially from the gallantifying officers.”
“If she has — if she has, Hurry, this is a school to set her mind right ag’in. But what is this I see off here, abreast53 of us, that seems too small for an island, and too large for a boat, though it stands in the midst of the water!
“Why, that is what these galantine gentry54 from the forts call Muskrat55 Castle; and old Tom himself will grin at the name, though it bears so hard on his own natur’ and character. ’Tis the stationary56 house, there being two; this, which never moves, and the other, that floats, being sometimes in one part of the lake and sometimes in another. The last goes by the name of the ark, though what may be the meaning of the word is more than I can tell you.”
“It must come from the missionaries57, Hurry, whom I have heard speak and read of such a thing. They say that the ‘arth was once covered with water, and that Noah, with his children, was saved from drowning by building a vessel called an ark, in which he embarked58 in season. Some of the Delawares believe this tradition, and some deny it; but it behooves59 you and me, as white men born, to put our faith in its truth. Do you see anything of this ark?”
“’Tis down south, no doubt, or anchored in some of the bays. But the canoe is ready, and fifteen minutes will carry two such paddles as your’n and mine to the castle.”
At this suggestion, Deerslayer helped his companion to place the different articles in the canoe, which was already afloat. This was no sooner done than the two frontiermen embarked, and by a vigorous push sent the light bark some eight or ten rods from the shore. Hurry now took the seat in the stern, while Deerslayer placed himself forward, and by leisurely60 but steady strokes of the paddles, the canoe glided61 across the placid sheet, towards the extraordinary-looking structure that the former had styled Muskrat Castle. Several times the men ceased paddling, and looked about them at the scene, as new glimpses opened from behind points, enabling them to see farther down the lake, or to get broader views of the wooded mountains. The only changes, however, were in the new forms of the hills, the varying curvature of the bays, and the wider reaches of the valley south; the whole earth apparently62 being clothed in a gala-dress of leaves.
“This is a sight to warm the heart!” exclaimed Deerslayer, when they had thus stopped for the fourth or fifth time; “the lake seems made to let us get an insight into the noble forests; and land and water alike stand in the beauty of God’s providence63! Do you say, Hurry, that there is no man who calls himself lawful owner of all these glories?”
“None but the King, lad. He may pretend to some right of that natur’, but he is so far away that his claim will never trouble old Tom Hutter, who has got possession, and is like to keep it as long as his life lasts. Tom is no squatter64, not being on land; I call him a floater.”
“I invy that man! I know it’s wrong, and I strive ag’in the feelin’, but I invy that man! Don’t think, Hurry, that I’m consorting65 any plan to put myself in his moccasins, for such a thought doesn’t harbor in my mind; but I can’t help a little invy! ’Tis a nat’ral feelin’, and the best of us are but nat’ral, a’ter all, and give way to such feelin’s at times.”
“You’ve only to marry Hetty to inherit half the estate,” cried Hurry, laughing; “the gal is comely66; nay67, if it wasn’t for her sister’s beauty she would be even handsome; and then her wits are so small that you may easily convart her into one of your own way of thinking, in all things. Do you take Hetty off the old fellow’s hands, and I’ll engage he’ll give you an interest in every deer you can knock over within five miles of his lake.”
“Does game abound68!” suddenly demanded the other, who paid but little attention to March’s raillery.
“It has the country to itself. Scarce a trigger is pulled on it; and as for the trappers, this is not a region they greatly frequent. I ought not to be so much here myself, but Jude pulls one way, while the beaver pulls another. More than a hundred Spanish dollars has that creatur’ cost me the last two seasons, and yet I could not forego the wish to look upon her face once more.”
“Do the redmen often visit this lake, Hurry?” continued Deerslayer, pursuing his own train of thought.
“Why, they come and go; sometimes in parties, and sometimes singly. The country seems to belong to no native tribe in particular; and so it has fallen into the hands of the Hutter tribe. The old man tells me that some sharp ones have been wheedling69 the Mohawks for an Indian deed, in order to get a title out of the colony; but nothing has come of it, seeing that no one heavy enough for such a trade has yet meddled70 with the matter. The hunters have a good life-lease still of this wilderness71.”
“So much the better, so much the better, Hurry. If I was King of England, the man that felled one of these trees without good occasion for the timber, should be banished72 to a desarted and forlorn region, in which no fourfooted animal ever trod. Right glad am I that Chingachgook app’inted our meeting on this lake, for hitherto eye of mine never looked on such a glorious spectacle.”
“That’s because you’ve kept so much among the Delawares, in whose country there are no lakes. Now, farther north and farther west these bits of water abound; and you’re young, and may yet live to see ’em. But though there be other lakes, Deerslayer, there’s no other Judith Hutter!”
At this remark his companion smiled, and then he dropped his paddle into the water, as if in consideration of a lover’s haste. Both now pulled vigorously until they got within a hundred yards of the “castle,” as Hurry familiarly called the house of Hutter, when they again ceased paddling; the admirer of Judith restraining his impatience73 the more readily, as he perceived that the building was untenanted, at the moment. This new pause was to enable Deerslayer to survey the singular edifice74, which was of a construction so novel as to merit a particular description.
Muskrat Castle, as the house had been facetiously75 named by some waggish76 officer, stood in the open lake, at a distance of fully39 a quarter of a mile from the nearest shore. On every other side the water extended much farther, the precise position being distant about two miles from the northern end of the sheet, and near, if not quite, a mile from its eastern shore. As there was not the smallest appearance of any island, but the house stood on piles, with the water flowing beneath it, and Deerslayer had already discovered that the lake was of a great depth, he was fain to ask an explanation of this singular circumstance. Hurry solved the difficulty by telling him that on this spot alone, a long, narrow shoal, which extended for a few hundred yards in a north and south direction, rose within six or eight feet of the surface of the lake, and that Hutter had driven piles into it, and placed his habitation on them, for the purpose of security.
“The old fellow was burnt out three times, atween the Indians and the hunters; and in one affray with the red-skins he lost his only son, since which time he has taken to the water for safety. No one can attack him here, without coming in a boat, and the plunder77 and scalps would scarce be worth the trouble of digging out canoes. Then it’s by no means sartain which would whip in such a scrimmage, for old Tom is well supplied with arms and ammunition78, and the castle, as you may see, is a tight breastwork ag’in light shot.”
Deerslayer had some theoretical knowledge of frontier warfare79, though he had never yet been called on to raise his hand in anger against a fellow-creature. He saw that Hurry did not overrate the strength of this position in a military point of view, since it would not be easy to attack it without exposing the assailants to the fire of the besieged80. A good deal of art had also been manifested in the disposition81 of the timber of which the building was constructed and which afforded a protection much greater than was usual to the ordinary log-cabins of the frontier. The sides and ends were composed of the trunks of large pines, cut about nine feet long, and placed upright, instead of being laid horizontally, as was the practice of the country. These logs were squared on three sides, and had large tenons on each end. Massive sills were secured on the heads of the piles, with suitable grooves82 dug out of their upper surfaces, which had been squared for the purpose, and the lower tenons of the upright pieces were placed in these grooves, giving them secure fastening below. Plates had been laid on the upper ends of the upright logs, and were kept in their places by a similar contrivance; the several corners of the structure being well fastened by scarfing and pinning the sills and plates. The doors were made of smaller logs, similarly squared, and the roof was composed of light poles, firmly united, and well covered with bark.
The effect of this ingenious arrangement was to give its owner a house that could be approached only by water, the sides of which were composed of logs closely wedged together, which were two feet thick in their thinnest parts, and which could be separated only by a deliberate and laborious83 use of human hands, or by the slow operation of time. The outer surface of the building was rude and uneven84, the logs being of unequal sizes; but the squared surfaces within gave both the sides and door as uniform an appearance as was desired, either for use or show. The chimney was not the least singular portion of the castle, as Hurry made his companion observe, while he explained the process by which it had been made. The material was a stiff clay, properly worked, which had been put together in a mould of sticks, and suffered to harden, a foot or two at a time, commencing at the bottom. When the entire chimney had thus been raised, and had been properly bound in with outward props85, a brisk fire was kindled86, and kept going until it was burned to something like a brick-red. This had not been an easy operation, nor had it succeeded entirely87; but by dint88 of filling the cracks with fresh clay, a safe fireplace and chimney had been obtained in the end. This part of the work stood on the log-door, secured beneath by an extra pile. There were a few other peculiarities about this dwelling89, which will better appear in the course of the narrative90.
“Old Tom is full of contrivances,” added Hurry, “and he set his heart on the success of his chimney, which threatened more than once to give out altogether; but perseverance91 will even overcome smoke; and now he has a comfortable cabin of it, though it did promise, at one time, to be a chinky sort of a flue to carry flames and fire.”
“You seem to know the whole history of the castle, Hurry, chimney and sides,” said Deerslayer, smiling; “is love so overcoming that it causes a man to study the story of his sweetheart’s habitation?”
“Partly that, lad, and partly eyesight,” returned the good-natured giant, laughing; “there was a large gang of us in the lake, the summer the old fellow built, and we helped him along with the job. I raised no small part of the weight of them uprights with my own shoulders, and the axes flew, I can inform you, Master Natty92, while we were bee-ing it among the trees ashore93. The old devil is no way stingy about food, and as we had often eat at his hearth, we thought we would just house him comfortably, afore we went to Albany with our skins. Yes, many is the meal I’ve swallowed in Tom Hutter’s cabins; and Hetty, though so weak in the way of wits, has a wonderful particular way about a frying-pan or a gridiron!
“While the parties were thus discoursing94, the canoe had been gradually drawing nearer to the “castle,” and was now so close as to require but a single stroke of a paddle to reach the landing. This was at a floored platform in front of the entrance, that might have been some twenty feet square.
“Old Tom calls this sort of a wharf95 his door-yard,” observed Hurry, as he fastened the canoe, after he and his Companion had left it: “and the gallants from the forts have named it the castle court though what a ‘court’ can have to do here is more than I can tell you, seeing that there is no law. ’Tis as I supposed; not a soul within, but the whole family is off on a v’y’ge of discovery!”
While Hurry was bustling96 about the “door-yard,” examining the fishing-spears, rods, nets, and other similar appliances of a frontier cabin, Deerslayer, whose manner was altogether more rebuked97 and quiet, entered the building with a curiosity that was not usually exhibited by one so long trained in Indian habits. The interior of the “castle” was as faultlessly neat as its exterior was novel. The entire space, some twenty feet by forty, was subdivided98 into several small sleeping-rooms; the apartment into which he first entered, serving equally for the ordinary uses of its inmates99, and for a kitchen. The furniture was of the strange mixture that it is not uncommon100 to find in the remotely situated101 log-tenements of the interior. Most of it was rude, and to the last degree rustic102; but there was a clock, with a handsome case of dark wood, in a corner, and two or three chairs, with a table and bureau, that had evidently come from some dwelling of more than usual pretension11. The clock was industriously103 ticking, but its leaden-looking hands did no discredit104 to their dull aspect, for they pointed to the hour of eleven, though the sun plainly showed it was some time past the turn of the day. There was also a dark, massive chest. The kitchen utensils105 were of the simplest kind, and far from numerous, but every article was in its place, and showed the nicest care in its condition.
After Deerslayer had cast a look about him in the outer room, he raised a wooden latch106, and entered a narrow passage that divided the inner end of the house into two equal parts. Frontier usages being no way scrupulous107, and his curiosity being strongly excited, the young man now opened a door, and found himself in a bedroom. A single glance sufficed to show that the apartment belonged to females. The bed was of the feathers of wild geese, and filled nearly to overflowing108; but it lay in a rude bunk109, raised only a foot from the door. On one side of it were arranged, on pegs110, various dresses, of a quality much superior to what one would expect to meet in such a place, with ribbons and other similar articles to correspond. Pretty shoes, with handsome silver buckles111, such as were then worn by females in easy circumstances, were not wanting; and no less than six fans, of gay colors, were placed half open, in a way to catch the eye by their conceits112 and hues113. Even the pillow, on this side of the bed, was covered with finer linen114 than its companion, and it was ornamented115 with a small ruffle116. A cap, coquettishly decorated with ribbons, hung above it, and a pair of long gloves, such as were rarely used in those days by persons of the laboring117 classes, were pinned ostentatiously to it, as if with an intention to exhibit them there, if they could not be shown on the owner’s arms.
All this Deerslayer saw, and noted118 with a degree of minuteness that would have done credit to the habitual119 observation of his friends, the Delawares. Nor did he fail to perceive the distinction that existed between the appearances on the different sides of the bed, the head of which stood against the wall. On that opposite to the one just described, everything was homely120 and uninviting, except through its perfect neatness. The few garments that were hanging from the pegs were of the coarsest materials and of the commonest forms, while nothing seemed made for show. Of ribbons there was not one; nor was there either cap or kerchief beyond those which Hutter’s daughters might be fairly entitled to wear.
It was now several years since Deerslayer had been in a spot especially devoted121 to the uses of females of his own color and race. The sight brought back to his mind a rush of childish recollections; and he lingered in the room with a tenderness of feeling to which he had long been a stranger. He bethought him of his mother, whose homely vestments he remembered to have seen hanging on pegs like those which he felt must belong to Hetty Hutter; and he bethought himself of a sister, whose incipient122 and native taste for finery had exhibited itself somewhat in the manner of that of Judith, though necessarily in a less degree. These little resemblances opened a long hidden vein123 of sensations; and as he quitted the room, it was with a saddened mien124. He looked no further, but returned slowly and thoughtfully towards the “door-yard.”
“If Old Tom has taken to a new calling, and has been trying his hand at the traps,” cried Hurry, who had been coolly examining the borderer’s implements125; “if that is his humor, and you’re disposed to remain in these parts, we can make an oncommon comfortable season of it; for, while the old man and I out-knowledge the beaver, you can fish, and knock down the deer, to keep body and soul together. I’ve always give the poorest hunters half a share, but one as actyve and sartain as yourself might expect a full one.”
“Thank’ee, Hurry; thank’ee, with all my heart — but I do a little beavering for myself as occasions offer. ’Tis true, the Delawares call me Deerslayer, but it’s not so much because I’m pretty fatal with the venison as because that while I kill so many bucks126 and does, I’ve never yet taken the life of a fellow-creatur’. They say their traditions do not tell of another who had shed so much blood of animals that had not shed the blood of man.”
“I hope they don’t account you chicken-hearted, lad! A faint-hearted man is like a no-tailed beaver.”
“I don’t believe, Hurry, that they account me as out-of the-way timorsome, even though they may not account me as out-of-the-way brave. But I’m not quarrelsome; and that goes a great way towards keeping blood off the hands, among the hunters and red-skins; and then, Harry March, it keeps blood off the conscience, too.”
“Well, for my part I account game, a red-skin, and a Frenchman as pretty much the same thing; though I’m as onquarrelsome a man, too, as there is in all the colonies. I despise a quarreller as I do a cur-dog; but one has no need to be over-scrupulsome when it’s the right time to show the flint.”
“I look upon him as the most of a man who acts nearest the right, Hurry. But this is a glorious spot, and my eyes never a-weary looking at it!”
“Tis your first acquaintance with a lake; and these ideas come over us all at such times. Lakes have a gentle character, as I say, being pretty much water and land, and points and bays.”
As this definition by no means met the feelings that were uppermost in the mind of the young hunter, he made no immediate19 answer, but stood gazing at the dark hills and the glassy water in silent enjoyment127.
“Have the Governor’s or the King’s people given this lake a name?” he suddenly asked, as if struck with a new idea. “If they’ve not begun to blaze their trees, and set up their compasses, and line off their maps, it’s likely they’ve not bethought them to disturb natur’ with a name.”
“They’ve not got to that, yet; and the last time I went in with skins, one of the King’s surveyors was questioning me consarning all the region hereabouts. He had heard that there was a lake in this quarter, and had got some general notions about it, such as that there was water and hills; but how much of either, he know’d no more than you know of the Mohawk tongue. I didn’t open the trap any wider than was necessary, giving him but poor encouragement in the way of farms and clearings. In short, I left on his mind some such opinion of this country, as a man gets of a spring of dirty water, with a path to it that is so muddy that one mires128 afore he sets out. He told me they hadn’t got the spot down yet on their maps, though I conclude that is a mistake, for he showed me his parchment, and there is a lake down on it, where there is no lake in fact, and which is about fifty miles from the place where it ought to be, if they meant it for this. I don’t think my account will encourage him to mark down another, by way of improvement.”
Here Hurry laughed heartily129, such tricks being particularly grateful to a set of men who dreaded130 the approaches of civilization as a curtailment131 of their own lawless empire. The egregious132 errors that existed in the maps of the day, all of which were made in Europe, were, moreover, a standing133 topic of ridicule134 among them; for, if they had not science enough to make any better themselves, they had sufficient local information to detect the gross blunders contained in those that existed. Any one who will take the trouble to compare these unanswerable evidences of the topographical skill of our fathers a century since, with the more accurate sketches135 of our own time, will at once perceive that the men of the woods had a sufficient justification136 for all their criticism on this branch of the skill of the colonial governments, which did not at all hesitate to place a river or a lake a degree or two out of the way, even though they lay within a day’s march of the inhabited parts of the country.
“I’m glad it has no name,” resumed Deerslayer, “or at least, no pale-face name; for their christenings always foretell137 waste and destruction. No doubt, howsoever, the red-skins have their modes of knowing it, and the hunters and trappers, too; they are likely to call the place by something reasonable and resembling.”
“As for the tribes, each has its tongue, and its own way of calling things; and they treat this part of the world just as they treat all others. Among ourselves, we’ve got to calling the place the ‘Glimmerglass,’ seeing that its whole basin is so often hinged with pines, cast upward to its face as if it would throw back the hills that hang over it.”
“There is an outlet138, I know, for all lakes have outlets139, and the rock at which I am to meet Chingachgook stands near an outlet. Has that no colony-name yet?”
“In that particular they’ve got the advantage of us, having one end, and that the biggest, in their own keeping: they’ve given it a name which has found its way up to its source; names nat’rally working up stream. No doubt, Deerslayer, you’ve seen the Susquehannah, down in the Delaware country?”
“That have I, and hunted along its banks a hundred times.”
“That and this are the same in fact, and, I suppose, the same in sound. I am glad they’ve been compelled to keep the redmen’s name, for it would be too hard to rob them of both land and name!”
Deerslayer made no answer; but he stood leaning on his rifle, gazing at the view which so much delighted him. The reader is not to suppose, however, that it was the picturesque140 alone which so strongly attracted his attention. The spot was very lovely, of a truth, and it was then seen in one of its most favorable moments, the surface of the lake being as smooth as glass and as limpid as pure air, throwing back the mountains, clothed in dark pines, along the whole of its eastern boundary, the points thrusting forward their trees even to nearly horizontal lines, while the bays were seen glittering through an occasional arch beneath, left by a vault141 fretted142 with branches and leaves. It was the air of deep repose — the solitudes143, that spoke144 of scenes and forests untouched by the hands of man — the reign145 of nature, in a word, that gave so much pure delight to one of his habits and turn of mind. Still, he felt, though it was unconsciously, like a poet also. If he found a pleasure in studying this large, and to him unusual opening into the mysteries and forms of the woods, as one is gratified in getting broader views of any subject that has long occupied his thoughts, he was not insensible to the innate146 loveliness of such a landscape neither, but felt a portion of that soothing147 of the spirit which is a common attendant of a scene so thoroughly148 pervaded149 by the holy cairn of nature.
收听单词发音 |
1
hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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obstructed
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| 阻塞( obstruct的过去式和过去分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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beech
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| n.山毛榉；adj.山毛榉的 | |
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hemlock
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| n.毒胡萝卜，铁杉 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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landmarks
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| n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址） | |
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beeches
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| n.山毛榉( beech的名词复数 )；山毛榉木材 | |
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hemlocks
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| 由毒芹提取的毒药( hemlock的名词复数 ) | |
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beaver
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| n.海狸，河狸 | |
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pretension
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| n.要求；自命，自称；自负 | |
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pretensions
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| 自称( pretension的名词复数 )； 自命不凡； 要求； 权力 | |
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crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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lawful
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| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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lodges
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| v.存放( lodge的第三人称单数 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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mouldering
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| v.腐朽( moulder的现在分词 )；腐烂，崩塌 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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bellowing
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| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的现在分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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peculiarity
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| n.独特性，特色；特殊的东西；怪癖 | |
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snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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limpid
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| adj.清澈的，透明的 | |
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indented
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| adj.锯齿状的，高低不平的；缩进排版 | |
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isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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41
peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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42
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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43
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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44
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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45
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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46
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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47
deformed
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| adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的 | |
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48
affluent
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| adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的 | |
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49
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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50
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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51
gal
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| n.姑娘，少女 | |
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52
vagaries
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| n.奇想( vagary的名词复数 )；异想天开；异常行为；难以预测的情况 | |
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53
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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54
gentry
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| n.绅士阶级，上层阶级 | |
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55
muskrat
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| n.麝香鼠 | |
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56
stationary
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| adj.固定的，静止不动的 | |
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57
missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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58
embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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59
behooves
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| n.利益，好处( behoof的名词复数 )v.适宜( behoove的第三人称单数 ) | |
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60
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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61
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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62
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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63
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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64
squatter
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| n.擅自占地者 | |
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65
consorting
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| v.结伴( consort的现在分词 )；交往；相称；调和 | |
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66
comely
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| adj.漂亮的，合宜的 | |
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67
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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68
abound
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| vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于 | |
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69
wheedling
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| v.骗取（某物），哄骗（某人干某事）( wheedle的现在分词 ) | |
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70
meddled
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| v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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71
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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72
banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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73
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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74
edifice
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| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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75
facetiously
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| adv.爱开玩笑地；滑稽地，爱开玩笑地 | |
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76
waggish
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| adj.诙谐的，滑稽的 | |
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77
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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78
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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79
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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80
besieged
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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81
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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82
grooves
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| n.沟( groove的名词复数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏v.沟( groove的第三人称单数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏 | |
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83
laborious
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| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
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84
uneven
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| adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的 | |
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85
props
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| 小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋 | |
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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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87
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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88
dint
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| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
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89
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
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92
natty
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| adj.整洁的，漂亮的 | |
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93
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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discoursing
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| 演说（discourse的现在分词形式） | |
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wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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bustling
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| adj.喧闹的 | |
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rebuked
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| 责难或指责( rebuke的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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subdivided
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| 再分，细分( subdivide的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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99
inmates
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| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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100
uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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101
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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102
rustic
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| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
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103
industriously
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104
discredit
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| vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑 | |
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105
utensils
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| 器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物 | |
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106
latch
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| n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁 | |
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107
scrupulous
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| adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的 | |
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108
overflowing
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| n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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109
bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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110
pegs
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| n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 )；挂钉；系帐篷的桩；弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 )；使固定在某水平 | |
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111
buckles
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| 搭扣，扣环( buckle的名词复数 ) | |
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112
conceits
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| 高傲( conceit的名词复数 )； 自以为； 巧妙的词语； 别出心裁的比喻 | |
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113
hues
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| 色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点 | |
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114
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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115
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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116
ruffle
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| v.弄皱，弄乱；激怒，扰乱；n.褶裥饰边 | |
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117
laboring
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| n.劳动，操劳v.努力争取(for)( labor的现在分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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118
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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119
habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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incipient
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| adj.起初的，发端的，初期的 | |
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vein
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| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
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124
mien
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| n.风采；态度 | |
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125
implements
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| n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效 | |
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126
bucks
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| n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃 | |
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127
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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128
mires
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| n.泥潭( mire的名词复数 ) | |
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129
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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130
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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131
curtailment
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| n.缩减，缩短 | |
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egregious
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| adj.非常的，过分的 | |
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133
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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135
sketches
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| n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概 | |
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136
justification
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| n.正当的理由；辩解的理由 | |
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137
foretell
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| v.预言，预告，预示 | |
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138
outlet
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| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
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139
outlets
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| n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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141
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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142
fretted
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| 焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的 | |
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143
solitudes
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| n.独居( solitude的名词复数 )；孤独；荒僻的地方；人迹罕至的地方 | |
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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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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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innate
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| adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的 | |
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soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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148
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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149
pervaded
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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