The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1850-12-18

on the shores Of the beautiful Cuyugn
Lake, no. then as now bordcre1 by hap.
py and thriving homcs,cads, but one
unbrokcn mass magnificent woods &c
the waters edge. y human habilation
10 these ill-stared, lost wanderers, was
rs grateful as the distant view Of the
holy city 10 the pilgrims of old. Joy
fully did they accept the Indians prof:
fered hospitality. The fish and veni.
son prepared with rude inarlistic skill,
never tasted more delicious than now
A II their troubles vanished in n moment,
and after satisfying the craving Of their
inordinate uppet'cs, the head surveyor
OF the party, (whom we will now intro
ducc to our readers ms a Mr.. Shom
berg, nowisc extraordinary IN his up-
pearance, save peculiar and at the
same time disugrccabc cast Of countc-
nance, which somehow conveyed to the
| beholdcr an impression that was unfa-
vorablc TO the wcurcr; his character,
| however, bclicd his face; he was much
esteemed and respected by all who
knew him,) questioned the Indians rs
to thcirprcscnt position, and where they
| ought to have been. Strange as it NAV
appear, they were within few miles of
where their labors were to commence,
and one and all agreed that their loss
was extraordinary, inns,nuch us they
must have passed over the very ground
that they had been in search Of.
| While they were thus working up
their reckoning aud smoking their
| pipes, Shombcrg cast his eyes on n su-
perb looking heavy Tyrolcsc rifle stand
ing in the corner Of The wigwam. The
rich plating and peculiar make Of the
weapon attracted his attention, parlcu-
larly Us being so mal.apropos to the
owner. The Indian, however, soon
relieved Shomberg's mind as 70 his hav..
ing acquired possession Of it, by stating
that il was a present to him from on
English officer, whose life he had saved
during tho late war, and who, TO reward
slis Ind Ireseaseiif d 4Sa Weapon
Ssliicl fso excite sSi ombe S curiosity.
The execution, so said tho Indian, far
exceeded the beauty Of the external
workmanship, and his praises OF his
loved weapon were so cX,rnvagam that
Shomberg offered TO buy il at n large
price, provided such was The case.
s.Nle no sell hm--bu, me show you, )"
said The Indian, and twas determined
that this much vnuntcd rifle should be
tried in the morning, ere they started
back. Various attempts did Shombcrg
make TO come to tcrms--his own rifle,
tobacco, powder, lead, money, in tact,
every induccmcnt 10 tempt nn Indian
trade was used, but all in, vain. Night
found him no nearer the much coveted
prize than did the morning. And as
the party retired 10 rest; more correctly
we should say, stretched themselves
out 10 rest.
Morning found the whole party re.
frcshcd md ready 10 renew ,hcir march
after the settlement. Aitcr hearty
breakfast, at Sho'nbcrg's request The In
dian cut small chip out Of an oak
some $50 yards from the wigwag. AT
| this he fred, an. the ball struck scarce
! an inch from the mark. Again he hrcd ,
and this time hi, the mark Shombcrg
now tried his hand, and was very sue.
cessiul, so much so, that Of six shots
! fired, circle Of four inches would have
covered the chip and all the bullet
| holes beside. Loud were all Of them
in praise Of the weapon on--nonc moro 50
than Shombcrg. Mos! literally did he
offer blankets, money, rifle, tobacco.
even spirits were added with the hope
Of inducing the Indian 10 par, with the
weapon. All efforts were unavailing,
the Indian most firmly refused every
offer; he would not par! with his rifle,
so he said, but with his life. lie had,
it seems, taken charge Of the English
officer when desperately wounded, and
had conceived strong affection for
him while Tending TO his wounds, and
highly did he prize the present Of his
white brother.
Finding the Indian firm in his rcfu
sal, the party gathered together their
instructions and arms, bestowed almost
the whole Of their scanly stock Of to-
bacco on their generous hearted enter
,ainer, and with every expression OF
good feeling they parted. An hour
had scarcely passed, when a man gldcd
into the open space in front Of the In
dams wigwam. In the sunny nook
sat dccrcpid, driod.up old woman, fast
tottering 20 the grave. Near a, hand
sal the Indian repairing moccasns.
Greatly TO the Indians surprise he re-