Satanstoe; Or, the Littlepage Manuscripts. A Tale of the ColonyCooper, James Fenimore
General
Satanstoe; Or, the Littlepage Manuscripts. A Tale of the Colony
Cooper, James Fenimore
Antirent War, N.Y., 1839-1846 -- Fiction
As soon as this order was received, all the surveyor's men obeyed, opening
the order of their march, and spreading themselves in a way to extend their
means of observing materially. When all was ready, a sign was made to the
Indian to proceed. Susquesus obeyed, and we were all soon in quick motion
again.
Guert's activity enabled him to keep nearest to the Onondago, and a shout
from his clear, full throat, first announced the complete success of the
search. In a moment the rest of us pressed forward, and were soon at the
end of our journey. There was Susquesus, quietly leaning against the trunk
of the broken oak, without the smallest expression of triumph in either his
manner or his countenance. That which he had done, he had done naturally,
and without any apparent effort or hesitation. To him the forest had its
signs, and metes, and marks--as the inhabitant of the vast capital has his
means of threading its mazes with the readiness of familiarity and habit.
As for Traverse, he first examined the top of the tree, where he found the
indicated fracture; then he looked round for the three chestnuts, each of
which was in its place; after which he drew near to look into the more
particular signs of his craft. There they were, three of the inner sides of
the oak being blazed, the proof it was a corner; while that which had no
scar on its surface looked outward, or from the Patent of Mooseridge.
Just as all these agreeable facts were ascertained, shouts from the
chain-bearers south of us, announced that they had discovered the line--men
of their stamp being quite as quick-sighted, in ascertaining their own
peculiar traces, as the native of the forest is in finding his way to
any object in it which he has once seen, and may desire to revisit. By
following the line, these men soon joined us, when they gave us the
additional information that they had also actually found the skeleton of
the moose that had given its name to the estate.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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