Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1850-03-12

the Oplnlon MS lclloNs hau ol nllh' anu lcl
with degree Of pride that no one had oiIcrc'
even to accompany him. Besides, in ,h'
presence of her be loved, he had undertake.
hrs bold task. and WIS determined tina, sh'
,hould no, think him indihcrcn, and timid.-
A ride of half an hour brought him out o
the valley, and upon the skirt of a plain o
some extent. Here Ray halted, and gazing
upon the pralrie tha, Law a, his feet, cndcar'
orcd io discover some sign of the Blackfcet,
The moon shonc brightly upon the waters
and woods, and not sound disturbed the
stiffness Of an American night IN the wilder.
ness. Raw felt the influence Of the hour and
the place and forgetting all hut the delight
of travelling by the moonlight over that
plain, removed thousands Of miles from civil
iIation, st spun TO his mare, and ttotied
swiftly along the path leading IN the dircc-
ton ~ Ii, Indian mart, Il was some time
ere the Young clerk paused. and then sudden
hesitation on the pan II ms mare brought
HIM hack To CONSCIOUSNESS. Raising his eyes,
ho found himself close upon 4 wood, between
which and a somewhat broad riycr he had
now To pass, 4 single Clanc' told him that
Indians were near, as light smoke rus"
from among the trees whether they had yet
discovered him vas matter of uncertainty
RAY therefore determined TO make a bold
dash aud trusting to his beast, ro'le at a harl
gallop along the skirt Of the forest, Tn"
moment be- ucarrd the trees, his hand upon
hr, rifle. be- listened with the most anxious
attention. No, 4 sound. save the claucr oi
hrs unshnd mare. Was heard, until he had
half cleared the dangerous cover. Then
came the sodnd of horses IN pursuit, and then
the BlackircI war.whoop, with the crack Of
rifles. Ills cncmc, we're IN full chase
Now Il Was that the gallant s,ccd put forth
her energy. and now It was that Rays splr,t
ru~c. and ,ha, be- i,ll himself a man. with a
mans energies, and also with a mans love
uf hir. Looking hack. be- saw the Wild In
dian warriors coming fIS, towards him, but
,ull not gaining ground and be- fplt SURE.
Ird be- lops-n hls precious merchandise, and
give It mp iu hl, purucrs, iha, be- mirht With
.1~c uut,tup them. b., he determined tn
serve his masters interests, and hs urged hIs
l,dru ,lrrd Ia her utmost, An hour passed
ru lhrs manner The huwliuE, whoop,ng In.
Iians. half hundred in number, galIoP,d
madly after him. their long spears waving IN
.hc moonlight. and their black hltr streaming
,u the wind
Before hun lay a cano.brakc, where the
reed, ro,e TEN feet high, DRY, parchod, and
cracking, Through TIN, lay the path Of the
fugitive. RAY looked forward To the wclcom'
shelter. determined " make stand and
....... ,t th" very entrance stood, nounini un
d tall horse an opposing Toe. ClutchIug o
pistol. the clerk cIcuchcd hrs teeth, aud rudc
u,dly araln,, ihi, ncw opp"ucut, who, Iu',
.n umr ,o s,,c hln,rIf. cucd, " Al right
Saucy Nick o" There va, no time ior greet
.nr. and away they ~camp,rd through the
-arc-brakr not b,iurr. however, the half
bred had css, 4, dre-braDd amid the reeds
They had not proceeded a hundred wards crc
/, wall uf fire ru.- b,tVrcu ,hrm aud their
pursu,r,. Magnificent ~, Tho scene which
now greeted the admIrnr EYES of Edward
Raw. - be- halted ou the other side Of thu
brake. The reeds -rorrhcd hy the summer
,uu. were "a, uiamm,hlr 1s straw. and th"
namg, ,prr,d With astonishing r,pldtv t"thr
rirh, and lett The poor birds that wcrr
sheltered ln the morass below, alarmed, r",r
un the wing. and hylur ir~ hundred yards,
halted to gaze a, The FIRE, which seemed ,u
ftsciuatc them the wild animals, too, cling
ING 10 their lalrs until the FIRE touched ihrir
very nos,rils. would then unwrlhurly usr,
and, lcawnr over II, scour thg black plain OF
cindcrs IN the rear Of the flames As,hc two
fugitive, rr,rcltcd, the scene became morr
magnificent, fnr the blaze was then seen creep
ING to the right and len IN sparkling and hrll.
liant chains Then, as the wind rosc, II hur.
ricl after them, as the roar Of distant clta.
ract II Was heard while the heavens were
overcast with the dense clouds Of smoke rha,
lserudcd
Away" cried Mex, urging his siecd Ia
IN, utmost, 1.-THE Firr.splrt IS awake he
ride. IN Wonder cloud Away, or our bon-,
will be- mingled With those Of the rcd men up
uu ,his plain
Bu, Nick" said Ray, as side by side
they dashed across the prairie, "how met
wet I left you at the lort'"
No, Nick start half an hour before -
Wouldn't let brave warrior 20 by himself
Found HIM chased by lndiaus-Dlackicet but
Indians no take Master Ray Nick know
tuck worth two Of that, But hush :" he ad-
dcd as they gained the entrance Of valley I;
'' the hOois Oi our horses have walked the
grea, Flre-spir, but We are no, vet free
Blackieer IN valley
At this intima,ion Of their being again about
to mee, party OF their enemies, Ray prePar.
ed his arms once more, and then patting the
neck Of his gallant steed, urged her a, a rat
Ting pace through the valley. 4 flash, and
the crack Of guns fired IN haste, showed that
Nick Was not mistaken, bat giving yollcy
IN reply, aud not pausing To discover It's ei-
feet, the pair galloPed onwards, aud once more
emerged upon the plain. Nick now led the
way, and diyerging from the ordinary route,
entered a stream, the course Of which they
followed slowly for some tune. At length,
satisfied tha, he had baflcd pursuit, the half.
breed once more entered upon the usual track