Wisconsin tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1847-1854, 1852-08-19
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Zelica; or the Indian Girls Revenge.


The golden sheen of summer sunset
stole through the openings of an old Penn
sylvanla forest, where toe growth of cen
turies and the tender saplings stood side
/ by side in beautiful contrast. Afar up il
! the sky lowered the giant form of the
brave old oak, whose broad, scoIlOp-edged
leaves turned lazily in the warm sunshine
or waved too and fro In the hazy atmos
phere, to suit the whim of the capracious
breeze
By its side, and still more aspiring, the
ancient, lightning scathed pine seemed to
date back to the period when the world
was enveloped in flood, and turned to one
mighty rolling sea.
The glossy-leaved maple stole soft SHIN
mers of sunlight. and tossed them about
with every variation of fancy The beech,
with It's heavy clusters ofhalf-grown burrs,
and anon white birch shooting upward
like the ghost of murdered hero, stood
out IN bold relief against the sombre as
pect of the surrounding scenery
Naturally the place was wild and drea-
ry-the solitude broken only by the sui
len murmur of a narrow stream that rush
ed impetuously along over its strong bed
and between banks rising perpendicular
ly twenty feet, covered with ragged cliffs
and dwarfed and deformed trees, thickly
lnterspersed with every variety of under
brush and long twangling vines and weeds
On both sides of the river the forest ex-
tended for several miles, relieved now and
then by newl = cleared patch of ground, or
a field of waving grain; occasionally rude
cabin, belonging to some late settler, ad-
ded rustic charm to the spot. One of
these openings was larger in It's extent
than any other within some eight or ten
miles of 1t, and contained a motley group
OF dwelling houses, which from their res
pectable appearance and number. induced
the honorary title of village The little
tiourIshlng shire town was vast amphi-
theatre of hills, and just above the line of
forest that borders the west rise the blue
Alleghanies, like cloud of vapor seen
against an azure canopy.
As a whole, its citizens were worthy, in
dustrious men, and open-hearted and hos
pltable, unacquainted with crime trickery.
and so forth, not having sufficient know
ledge Of the world at large to prevent their
becoming dupes of the sliful practitioner
of human arts and deception
Like all other places, B-had its
ldlers; and now and then a rogue or a
cut throat, by the most fraudulent meas
ures, found his way into the sympathies
OF the people, and fox-like committed de-
predatIons in their very midst.
One of those, a gambler Of the worst re-
pute, had been staying at the village inn
under the assumed name of Ralph Holt.
and by his gentlemanly address, and fas-
cInatlng appearance, had succeeded in
winning the affections Of the daughter of
an honest and influential tradesman He
pretended to have sprung from a respect
able family in Massachusetts,, part Of
which still resided there, his parents be-
ing dead The merchant having previous
ly resided in the town which Ralph claim
ed as a birthplace, he made no scruplcs
in regard to introducing him into the So
ciety of his family, and full Of sanguinity.
looked forward to the happy period when
the seeming man would become the pro-
tector Of his beloved daughter-the ami,
able and charming Emily Beid-little
dreaming what misery awaited her, should
fate cruelty reserve her for such a sacrifice
This young girl was what poets would
call divinity creature of rare beauty
and singular goodness, a combination of
all those excellencies of character. which
so adorn the family circle, and speak for
themselves both in the halls of elevated
society and in the humble walks of life
That the foul libertine should select such
a one for a victim is not marvellous since
it is a well known truth that where the
most purity and excellence exists, its aba
sers from very spite do most heartily re
solve to give them an overthrow
The young man alluded to, professed to
be a student of Law and also of Nature,
but when he took his evening rambles he
usually went unaccompanied, and no one
knew whether he went or whence he came.
An observer, however, might have noticed
that his path invariably led down the mar
row lane that terminated at the foot of
rising knoll upon the rivers bank. The
brow of this hillock frowned over the
stream below, precisely as the brow of
great ferce, dark visaged man looms over
a pair of evil eyes, throwing a cloud upon
the turbulent words that his harsh spirit
An aged, gnarled oak stood upon the
highest point of the ascent, whose leafy
branches, of a shade far darker than its
added still more to the gloomy
hue of the atmosphere This was just
within the edge of the forest, and on the
western side of the tree a rude stone seat
had been erected to accommodate the low
ers Of romance and solitude, who soaght
this place for an evening reverie.
1t was the close of a summers dav, the
description of which commences this mar
rative On the turf at the foot of spread
ing beech half way down the knoll, sat a
remnant of one of those wandering tribes
of Indians, that, driven from the haunts
of their nativity by the ruthless hand of
civilization, kept moving slowly westward,
but now and then passed unmolested
along the boarders of the white settle
ments, mournful representatives of a once
powerful and happy nation. 1t was a fe-
male. She was bending over basket of
wampum that rested in her lap, and you
might have traced the outlines Of slend-
er little form. and observed a skin scarce