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Show 412 'l'Hii: J.JI.Y AND THF. TOTEM. that rolled their blue nnd billowy smnmits in the east, circumscribing his Yision, and he murmured- " 1 shall be in time. Do not despair, my brother. I will soon be with you and bring you succor." And thus he ascended the stony ridges, height upon height, gradually ascending, till he came to a sudden gorge-a chasm rent ~y earthquake and convulsion from the bosom of the great moun tam for which be sped. Tie looked down upon tho gorge, and as he descended, he turned his eye to the lone plateau upon which his brother hnd been laid to dream, tmd cried : "I go from your eyes, my brother, but I go to bring you help." And he pMScd with tottering steps, and a feebleness still increasing, but which his sovereign will \VO.S loth to acknowledge, down into tho chasm, and was suddenly lost from sight. Scarcely had he thus passed into the great shadow of the gorge, when the howl of ,volvcs awakened the echoes of tho valley over which he had gone. And soon they appeared, five in number, trotting over the ground which he had traversed, and, with their noses mon:.ently set to earth, sending up an occasional cry which announced the satisfaction of their scent. Now they ascend the stony ridge8. For a moment they halt and gather upon the verge of the great chasm; then they scramble down into its hollows, and howling as they go and jostling in tho narrow gorges, they too pass from sight into the obscurity of the mountain shadows. Another spectacle follows in their place. Sudden, along the l'Ocky ledges of the high precipicc11 which overhang the gorge, ALPHONSE D1ERLAC!l. 413 darts forth a graceful and commanding form. It is a woman that appears, young and majestic, lofty in cnrriagc, yet winning in as~ pect. She belongs to the red races of the Apalachinn, but she is fnircst among her people. 1'be skin of a panther forms her mantle, nnd her garments are of cotton, richly stained. She carries a bow in her hand, and a quiver at her back. ITer brows nrc encircled by a tiara of crimson cotton, from which arise the long white plumes of the heron. She claps her hands, and cries aloud to others still in the shadows of the mountain. They dart out to join her, a group of graceful-looking women and of lofty and vigorous men. She points to the gorge beyond, and fits an arrow W her bow. The wnrriors do likewise, and her shaft speeds upon its mission of death, shot down amidst the shadows of the gorge. A cry of pain from the wolf,-nnother and another, as tho several shafts of the warriors speed in tho same direction. Then one of the warriors lmrls a blazing torch into the abyss, and tho wounded wolves speed back through the gorges, and the huntcn dart after them with shafts, and blazing t-orches, and keen pursuit. Menuwhile, the Apalachian princess descends tho precipice with footsteps wondrous sure and fast. Her damsels follow her with cries of eagerness, and soon they disappear-all save the bunters, who pursue the wolves with wcll-nimed darts, till they fall howling one by one, and perish in their tracks. Then tho warriors scalp their prey and turn back, pass through the gorge, and follow in the footstep~ of their princess. The sun sinks, the night closes upon the valley, and all is silent. |