Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1851-03-10

|
the breeze, and cast ourselves among tn
tall croh grass, which grew aroundin abun
dance. .ast.ssyrae} t...,,s-,s
= While reclining here, gnawing our hart
{ ana rscanty fare,5 and morveling as to wha
would be the ultimate result ofour hazard
GUS experiment, we heard voices; and GU
hearts bounded with deligh, when we dis
, covered that they were not the voices o
| Indians. O! mother Tongue, with swha
power 90 you appeal to our tenderest sus
\ lceptbilisies! Tutored to fear nothing, we
did not hesitate 10 search for the authors
ofthe sounds which gave joy 10 our hearts.
4 Hastily finishing .nnr meal, we once more
strapped our packs 10 our rlbacks-they nov
, seemed as light as the down of the thistle
,I-apd scampered over the hill and down
on the other side. This led us into large
open space of quagmire, into which we
sank to our knees at about every STEP
But every now and then the voices pierced
the still air, and we toiled on cheerfully.
/ Half mile oftravel through-for dare
NOT wri e orer-this morass ushered us in.
to forest ofAsaplings. in which we made q
path with little difficulty, only once in a
while breaking The rest of d few lizards, or
upset.ing the equnnimi,y7 Of; q ssrpenl2-
We were used TO those ,ri1ng annoyances
Crossing the sapling forest we emerged
upon Il prairie, and there Happiness unuil
terable!-stood cabin. II was surround
ed by men who were, dressed in the, rude
costume Of the trapper. They, were, hur.
rying from point 10 point, as if excited pow
erfully, and nj very short intervals they
would pause to huzza,S or laugh ia con.
c-ri. -b~sfYss 5sz a1E 81
There was something wrong!-that was
apparent Bntwhat cared we-Stired .shel-
erlsss, pu.peseless and eompanionless, with
the memory Of two recent bloody execu-
tons dancing through our braina. Not a
j II. '..'' - ''is's'l 't'-
Ave reached the cabin. IL requires no
description, for one log cabin is like all of
itsskind. / pieneefed my friend, and the
FIRST salutation offered 10 me was from o
diminu,ive, shrivelled.up backwo ,dsman.
whose SIX in clothing was a mile too big for
him. and whose hands. (stretched forth 10
welcome us. )resemlled the tnlons Of q hugh
bird. more; than the digi,als of a NOR
"IIallor' cried he, s.wLar from, stran.
gsrsa'' n ai @7bi'"7q yaioa5a
''From nowhere in particularly I an.
swered zF& zs.a .ss.fssyT1 zf@a55s5seqz
s'.Wh bar for!''' .s4f--5 .--,sz,, ,s=F 80. Z
sssDid intend 20 60 trading in another di.
reciion. but the indians were rather
troublesome, and we ch,nged our route,
SCOT anything the red skin likesHhe in
q'sired, ey eidg our packs as inquisi,ively
as a dog views o bons. before hirn.s .,rf.
IN oi that ] know ol.''
1.chr' s1p'15' 20 s5'i75'3s'i 55,.:@2@ ~
BY this time The whole number we're
around! They comprised exactly n ba.
ker's dozen, and must declare that, born
and bred as | was among: squatters and
trappers, had never beheld such fero-
cious and unseemly appearing body of men
il. The whole course ofmy life.s Ny friend,
Jim Bowers. Ishou.d have given his name
before suggested that we had better. con-
iinue our jnurney,ns we would be late and
miss The accomplishment ofthe purpose for
which we had started, but | knew that if
our new acquaiftances possessed any dis.
position to injn us they would introduce
us 10 their tender mercies the moment we
made tracks from their vicinity. there
fore affected social reck klessness was far
from feeling, and replied thai | would mt
bulge q yard from good company that night
nj ienst 70 &@9ss@ e. l@flftaE 13Fs IL sEt
Is This speech was received with q cheer,
and was immediately offered a cup ofspir-
its. Truth to say, | required the draught.
Il not only restored what strength | had
lost. but fortified my courage. Jim swal-
lowed his share with the same good effect.
We were then osked to eat, and upon ac-
cepting the invitation we're shown to aai
rock. upon which stood an iron pot filled
| with an indiscribnble mess, which some
people at loss for term, might have de.
nominated stew. Our entertainers ate
with. us, and very conviyial repast they
made of it. was surprised that they did
not invite US to enter the cabin, and that
they made no allusion to it. l observed
that four Of them, however, kept watch at
| its door and about it, and that every man
was armed rs it were to the teeth. az e~
The shrivelled little note Of interroga-
ton kept his eyes SO earnestly and con.
stantly upon the movable properties in our
possession, that | had my doubts of his
honesty, q, aleast Notwithstanding my
hunger, which bad gained remarkable head
way during the forty-eight hours previous
| could not relish the meal. Half the men
were under the influence Of strong drink
| obtained, no one could scarcely imagine
i how, ard the other half were in semi jo
cose mood, which was ever suggesting te
their fancies such pleasant and humane re-
creations rs thron,cutling and Draining.
One Of these fnctetiously related at an
ocdote of combat he had, year or two
before, in remote cornerof Kentucky
i After he had gouged an eye out Of his ad
versary--kicked half.a dozen Of his uppe
teeth down his throat. and broken his nose
] he got bis ear between his teeth, and ther
Il expected him 10 ''give in" To afor'
him the opportunity, he paused ere hi
forced his grinders tegeher, but the fe,loy
was 'sclear grit" and only cried out t