Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1848-09-20
= From the Philadelphia Enquirer.
Tho Indian Lovers.
!; L LEGEND OF NITEIRI.s

From the Philadelphia Enquirer.
- Tho Indian Lovers.
- LEGEND OF NIIEIRI.
BY HAnRIET MARION WARD.
To the couRtry-to the country with me-
dear readers. Put into the grey old woods
where twilight sleeps forever on beds O
golden moss shaded by tall trees whose limb.
are love laced by ivy! Out under the
wild green arches where mournfulIy sub
dued as if afraid Of its own brightness
where oil around, above nothing meets the
eye but an ocean of clustering leaves, ri
sing billow upon bllow to the very skies
Here let US wander, and people the fores
with people that must have lived beneath
its sheltering arm before the white man
broke in upon its solitude, and desecrated q
beautiful place reared by the Almighty
Away up among the cliffs forming boun-
dary between the States and Canada in the
centre OF wilderness, whose tall trees
fling their pail over the tomb of the past,
the silver bosom Of the lake booms out in
oil its purity rs if some bewldered fairy
had been lured into the forest, and lulled to
eternal slumber by the voluptuous breath
the wild thyme and honey suckle! All
around her bed,a chain of weeping willows
bend their long branches to kiss her bosom,
and ever as some stray zephyr lifts them
from their resting place, tears glister with
their folding leaves-a tribute, perhaps 10
the young impassioned hearts who lived
and withered beneath their shadows.
Let US follow this worn out path leading
down to the slope, round the velvet border
Of he lake and out thr ugh yonder vista
that opens like an arching door leading
from the portals of The forest. Hark! do
you not already hear the awful voice Of
Niag,ra come crashing down the huge
rock. Like some huge monster of the ante
deluvian world, struggling in his agony f,r
freedon4 See how he writhes and loams
in his giant strength, and tosses the white
h,wers up in the very skies! There is a
l.gend ab,ut this wild magnificent spot,
that comes back upon my memory, linked
with nil the dreaminess Of childhood A
legend ot'love-not the lass strong and deep
and holy, that it beamed The first star on
the midnight of an uncultivated heart
not the loss wild, intense, and fearful in lis
despair, that heart had le1rned its capabi!-
i,y of happiness an endurance in the great
school of Mature Down upon the very
verge Of the lake, where the wild flowers
were thickest, once rose the princely lodge
Of Palamato, the great. warrior of the
Wampanoaga. Long lines of lesser tents
were ranged around, some lost in the dense
foliage and only recognizable by smoke
struggling through the branches; others
looking out upon the waters Of the cataract,
that came tumbling down the rocks, in full
view of the encampment.
1t was an hour of strange wild beauty
(so ran the legend The setting sun
poured out his parting gifts most lavishly
and the tall trees waved to and fro IN the
rich light like emerald isles drifting in
seq of gold With fantastic creatures
grouped together around the huge tents
while the dark eyed maidens hinging aside
their basketstufs, sought the lake side tc
make their toilet, by its mirror, and with
womans pardonable vanity, admire for {
moment, the laughing faces that shone up
on its surface.
1t was the bridal night Of their beautiful
princess Natameeta, who had been proffer
ed by her father to the Narragansett King
as peace offering to lay upon the grave
Of the tomahawk, which was to lie buriet
forever in the ground. The farest ant
wisest Of his own and neighboring tribe
were assembled around the hearthstone o
the warrior, to witness the consumation o
his pledge, and the old forest had yieldet
its brightest treasures of wild roses and 9th
er flowers, and busy hands were waving
them over the bridal bed of his beautiful
child; while she the envied bride, was pin
ing almost to death with bitter heart-sick
ness. 1t was strange blending Of deter
animation and fear, of strong intellect up
rooted by passion, and made more fearfu
from its wasting energies, that glared from
the eyes and seemed burning their way to
the brain Of the princess! PROSTATE upo
a mat of costly furs, in the full splendor o
her bridal dress, she looked the perfect pic
ture of despair. For a moment q stately fg
ure darkened the entrance Of her lodge, .
heavy footstep, which even the rich mat
ting could no: subdue, sounded in the wig
wan, and Falamato stood gazing upon tn
heart-broken girl; but every trace of ar
euish had vanished, and her face had q
sumed the rigidty Of expression which
: said to be characteristic of the Indian rae
"The bowers are hung with wild thy n
nnd sweet FERN" said the warrior, "tl
torches are blazing upon the hills, and y
the daughter of Palamato tarries from t
side of her betrothed. Arouse thee, gli
so much weeping has stolen the lustu
from thine eyes,the roses from thy cheecl
and smiles, not tears,should be greeting
q King
q "lSnuzes!" exclaimed the young creatu
suddenly forgetting the part she had
sumed, and springing to her feet, "smi
when the heart is breaking! Smiles Ii
tas false light which dances on the bla