The Riflemen of the Ohio: A Story of the Early Days along "The Beautiful River"Altsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander)
General
The Riflemen of the Ohio: A Story of the Early Days along "The Beautiful River"
Altsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander)
Frontier and pioneer life -- Juvenile fiction; Ohio River -- Juvenile fiction
"Taweghskera must be flint," said Henry, and old Heno nodded. "Yes,
Thunder, I'd want the flint, too, or I couldn't do anything at all with
Whoraminta, Teghsto and Yeatara. I'll remember those words, my friend.
Thanks for your free teaching."
"You learn fast. You make good Wyandot," said Heno in the most friendly
manner. "You have your arms, your feet free, Whoraminta with you, you go
with the warriors on great hunt, you gone many moons, you kill the deer,
buffalo, bear, panther, you have no care, no sorrow, you live. I, too,
was a young hunter and warrior once."
Old Heno slowly drew his figure up at the glorious picture that he had
painted. His nostrils were distended, and the fire of his youth came
back into his eyes. He saw the buffaloes trampling down the grass, and
heard the shout of his enemies in the forest combat.
"I'm thinking, Heno," said Henry sincerely, "that you're yet a good deal
of a young hunter and warrior."
"You not only make good warrior, but you make good chief, too. You know
how to talk," said Heno.
Nevertheless, he was pleased, and he was still smiling when he left a
few moments later. Nobody else came for a day and night, old Heno
bringing him his food and water. He did not suffer any actual physical
pain, as his bonds permitted him to move a little and the circulation
was not impeded, but he chafed terribly. The picture that Heno had drawn
of the great forest and the great hunt was most alluring. He longed for
freedom and his "Whoraminta."
A visitor came on the second morning. The lodge door was opened and a
thick figure filled it a moment as a man entered. Henry was sitting on a
mat at the farthest part of the lodge, and he could see the man very
clearly. The stranger was young, twenty-seven or twenty-eight perhaps,
thick set and powerful, tanned to the brownness of an Indian by sun,
wind and rain, but the features obviously were those of the white race.
It was an evil face, but a strong one. Henry felt a shiver of repulsion.
He felt that something demoniac had entered the lodge, because he knew
that this was Simon Girty, the terrible renegade, now fully launched
upon the career that made his name infamous throughout the Ohio Valley
to this day.
But after the little shiver, Henry was without motion of expression.
Show apprehension in the presence of such a man! He would rather die.
Girty laughed and sat down on the mat on the other side of the lodge.
But it was a small lodge, and their faces were not more than four feet
apart. Henry read in the eyes of Girty a satisfaction that he did not
seek to conceal.
"It isn't so pleasant to be trussed up in that fashion, is it?" he
asked.
Henry refused to answer.
Girty laughed again.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account