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Show 26 THE CALIFORNIA AND OREGON TRAIL. tendenco, in feeding a large flock of turkeys that were flutter. I.n <.r an d o.o bbl'm g .., bout the door. But no offers of money' or u o 0 b ld induce her to part with one of her fa-even of to acco, cou . . 1 1 rifle to see if the woods or the nver vontes : so too { my ' . . U ld furnish us any thing. A multitude of quails were plain-co h' tively whistling in the woods and meadows ; but not Ing appro. pn.a te to t h e n' fl. e was to be seen ' exco1)t three buzzards, seated on the spectra1 1I. m b s of an old dead sycamore, that thrust itself out over t h e n·v er from th· e dense sunny wall of fresh foliage. Their ugly heads were drawn down between the~r shoulders, an d t h ey seeme d to luxuriate in the soft sunshine that was pourina frorn the west. As they offered no epicurean tempta. tions ; refrained frorn disturbing their enjoyment ; but contente~ myself with admiring the calm beauty of the sunset, for the river, eddying swiftly in deep purple shadows between the ilnpending woods, formed a wild but tranquillizing scene. When I returned to the camp, I found Shaw and an old Indian seated on the ground in close conference, passing the pipe between them. The old man was explaining that he lov.ed the whites, and had an especial partiality for tobacco. Deloner was arranging upon the ground our service of tin cups and plates ; and as other viands were not to be had, he set before us a repast of biscuit and bacon, and a large pot of coffee. Unsheathing our knives, we attacked it, disposed of the greater part, and tossed the residue to the Indian. Meanwhile our horses, now hobbled for the first time, stood among the trees, with their fore-legs tied together, in great disgust and astonishment. They seemed by no means to relish this foretaste of what was before them. Mine, in particular, had conceived a mortal aversion to the prairie life. One of them, christened BREAKING THE ICE. 27 Hendrick, an animal whose strength and hardihood were his only merits, and who yielded to nothing but the cogent argu. ments of the whip, looked toward us with an indignant countenance, as if he meditated avenging his wrongs with a kick. The other, Pontiac, a good horse, though of plebeian lineage, stood with his head drooping and his mane hanging about his eyes, with the grieved and sulky air of a lubberly boy sent off to school. Poor Pontiac ! his forebodings were but too just; for when I last heard from him, he was under the lash of an Ogillallah brave, on a war party against the Crows. As it grew dark, and the voices of the whippoorwills succeeded the whistle of the quails, wo removed our saddles to the • tent, to serve as pillows, spread our blankets upon the around 5 ' and prepared to bivouac for the first time that season. Each man selected the place in the tent which he was to occupy for the journey. To Delorier, however, was assigned the cart, into which he could creep in wet weather, and find a much better shelter than his bourgeois enjoyed in the tent. The river ICanzas at this point forms the boundary line between the country of the Shawanoes and that of the Delawares. We crossed it on the following day, rafting over our horses and equipage with much difficulty, and unlading our cart in order to make our way up the steep ascent on the farther bank. It was a Sunday morning; warm, tranquil and bright ; and a perfect stillness reigned over the rough inclosures and neglected fi~lds of the Delawares, except the ceaseless hum and chirrupping of myriads of insects. Now and then an Indian rode past on his way to the meeting-house, or through the dilapidated e~trance of some shattered log-house, an old woman might be discerned, enjoyin all the luxury of idleness. There was no |
