The wilderness and the war path / by James Hall.

  • James Hall
Date:
1846
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The wilderness and the war path / by James Hall. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    did not stop to inquire their business, and-they, imitating his good manners, or equally willing to avoid recognition, suffered him to pass unchallenged. lie found several places where groups of horses were secured, but without discovering the one he sought; and fearing to excite attention by too minute a scrutiny, he was about to abandon the village for the night, when he perceived a horse standing before one of the lodges. Walking boldly up, he discovered, to his great joy, that it was the one he was seeking ; the colour, as nearly as he could tell by the murky starlight, was black, the hair, unlike that of most of the Indian horses, was smooth and silky to the touch, and the form was not to be mista- ken. The entrance of the lodge was unclosed, and as he stooped down to seek the end of the halter for the purpose of unloosing it, he discovered, to his surprise, that it was held in the hand of a sleeping man. It was no doubt the bold and wary chief, the Killer of many men, who, in consequence of previous attempts to steal so valua- ble an animal, had adopted this singular plan of securing him. He paused to consider how he should separate the halter from the hand that grasped it firmly even in sleep ; and now when about to succeed or to fail, in the scheme which had been prosecuted through such peril and fatigue, and when a single movement of his body, would consign him to immediate death, or gain a trophy which would place him high in honour among the braves of his nation, a nervous tremour shook his frame, and for a moment rendered him incapable of action. As he paused, to regain com- posure, the tempting thought occurred, of enhancing the brilliancy of the exploit, by the death of the chief. A new vigour braced his nerves. He grasped his knife; his finger touched the lock of hair placed there to remind him of the prize he sought; a step brought him within striking distance ; he stooped over the tall form of the slumberer, and with a rapid blow buried his knife in the heart of his victim. Thrice did he repeat the blow, in quick succession, while he grasped the dying man so as to suppress the sound of his voice. In a moment all was over. He took the scalp from the slaughtered chief, and disengaging the halter from the now powerless hand, led away his prize. There was less difficul-
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