Elkswatawa : $b or, The prophet of the west. A tale of the frontierFrench, James Strange
General
Elkswatawa : $b or, The prophet of the west. A tale of the frontier
French, James Strange
Tippecanoe, Battle of, Ind., 1811 -- Fiction
Oloompa replied:—“See you yon fires which burn in the distance? There
are encamped the enemies of Oloompa's race. They come to drive the red
men from their town, and force them still farther into the depths of
the forest. Oloompa saw this, yet he brought the maiden to her lover.
He served the white man; he has redeemed his promise, and is now free.
Farewell!” and saying so, he turned to depart.
“Stay! stay! Oloompa!” cried Rolfe;—“oh! name some way in which I can
pay thee for all that thou hast done for me.”
“Oloompa wants nothing of the hunters,” was the answer.
“And what becomes of the red maiden?” inquired Rolfe.
“Oloompa knows not,” he replied. “Dark clouds hang over the land. He
cannot see through them. Oloompa has no time; the white maiden will
tell all.”
“Oh!” cried Gay, “should they escape, bring her,—Oloompa! do bring
her, with her mother, and dwell with me.—I owe them gratitude and
love, and even life.”
Oloompa made no reply, and Rolfe continued:—“Oloompa! do come. You
know where our wigwam is; my home will be that of the maiden, and we
shall ever be happy to see those who have loved and served us. The
time may come, when Oloompa will not think as he now does. Then,
should it please heaven to deliver from the Prophet's hands Netnokwa
and her daughter, oh! come with them to our lodge, and we will give
you a wigwam, supply all your wants, and love you as friends.”
Oloompa was still silent, and seeing that he would not reply, Gay
continued:—“Oloompa! will you leave us in anger, after having done so
much that we can never repay? Miskwa would not do so.”
“Maiden,” replied he, “could a pale face make Oloompa change, it would
be the one before me; and had Oloompa never known other whites than
those he now sees, he would never have hated their race as he does. As
a people, they have wronged him, and he has sworn in the bitterness of
his soul to be avenged. The white man knows Oloompa will keep his
promise. Oloompa's bosom is open; he does not wrap himself up when he
talks to the white man. Go, hunters, Oloompa hates the whites, but he
has given you his hand in friendship, and he would not harm you. Bear
the maiden away with the speed of an arrow, for, ere to-morrow's sun
goes down, death will be abroad in the land.”
“Oloompa,” said Rolfe, “once more let me entreat you to give up your
schemes of vengeance, and go and dwell with me.”
“Seek not vengeance!” answered Oloompa;—“when the fires of the whites
are kindled on the lands of the red men! Sooner bid a mother not seek
for the child she has lost. The hunter loves the white maiden; he has
travelled far to find her.—Does he now ask Oloompa to leave the red
maiden a prisoner in the Prophet's camp? Far sooner would Oloompa be
torn limb from limb, and thrown in fragments as food for dogs. Oloompa
has spoken,—we must now part,”—and saying so, he extended his hand to
Gay.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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