Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1856-02-01
EVENING STAR,
A LEGEND OF NEW ENGLAND.
BY JOHN G. WHITTIER.

| land, fought against other enemies than the
brown bear and the panther. The husband
man, as he toiled in the plain, or the narrow
clearing, kept closely at his side loaded vea.
pom; and wrought diligently and firmly in the
midst of peril. The frequent crack of the In
| dams rifle was heard in the still depths Of the
| forest-the death knell of the unwary hunter:
and, ever and anon, the flame of some devoted
farm house. whose dwellers had been slaugh
| tered by merciless foe, rose redly upon the
darkness of the night time. The wild and
| fiery eyes OF the heather CLEANED through the
thick underwood of the forest, upon the pass
ing 0t the worshippers Of the only true God;
and the war-whoop rang shrill and loud un-
| der the very walls of the sanctuary of PRAYER
Perhaps no part of New England affords a
wider field for the researches Of the Legendary,
than that portion of Massachusetts, Bay, for
merly known as the province of Maine. There
| the feroclous NerridgewOck held his stern
councils, and there the tribes of the Penobscot
went forth with song and dance to do battle
| upon the white man. There. the romantic and
| chlvalrOus Castine immured himself in the for
| est sohtudes, and there the high hearted Raj
le-the mild and gifted JeSuit-gathered to-
| gether the broken strength of the Norridpe
wock, and built up in the great wilderness a
temple to the true God. There, too, he per
| lshed In the dark onslaught of the Colonists-
| perlshed with many wounds at the very foot
| OF the Gross, which his own hands h ad pIa nted
And there the Norridgewocks fell-one after
another-in stern and accomplishing pride
neither asking. nor giving quarter, as they
| resisted the white spoiler upon the theshold OF
their consecrated place of worship. and in view
| OF their wives and children.
| Ine following Is one among many legends Of
| the strange rencontres Of the White Man and
| the Indian, which are yet preserved in the
ancient records and traditions of Maine. The
simple and unVarnished narrative is only
given:
1t was sultry evening towards the last of
June, l722, that Capt. Harmon and the East
ern Rangers urged their canoes up the Kenne-
bee river, in pursuit of their enemies For
hours they toiled diligently at the oar The
last trace of civilization was left behind, and
the long shadows of the skirting forest met
and blended in the middle IF the broad stream,
which wound darkly through them As every
sound from the adjacent shores-the rustIing
wing Of some night-bi or the quick footsteps
OF some wild beast-the dash Of the oar was
suspended, and the rangers grasp frightened on
his rifle. All knew the peril Of the enter
prise; and that silence, which is natural of
jeopardy, settled like a cloud upon the mid
night adventurers.
" Hush-softly men, said the watchful
Harmon, in voice which scarcely rose above
hoarse whisper, as the canoe swept around
ahead W
an eyes NeIo D6ul towards the shore. A
| tall Indian FIRE cleaned up amidst the great
oaks, casting red and strong light upon the
dark waters. For single and breathleSs mo-
ment the operation of the oar was suspended
| and every ear listened with painful earnest.
ness to catch the well-known sounds which
seldom failed to indicate the propinquity of the
savages. But all was now silent. With slow
and faint movements Of the oar, the canoes
gradually approached the suspected spot The
landing was effected in silence. After moving
cautiously for considerable distance in the
dark shadow, the party at length ventured
within the broad circle of the light, which at
hrst attracted their attention. Harmon was at
their head, with an eye and hand, quick as
those OF the savage enemy whem he sought
The body of fallen tree lay across the path
As the rangers were on the point of leaping
over 1t, the coarse whisper of Harmon again
broke the silence
Good of heaven" he exclaimed, pointing
to the tree. "See here its the work of the
cursed red skins -
A smOthered curse growled on the lips of the
rangers, as they bent grimIy forward in the
direction pointed out l,y their commander
Blood was sprinkled on the rank grass, and
human hand-the hand of white man-lsy
on the bloody log,
There was not a word spoken, but every
cOuntenance worked with terrible emotion
Had the rangers followed their own desperate
ly onward to the work of vengeance; but the
example Of their leader, who had regaiRed his
usual calmness and self-command, prepared
| them for less speedy, but more certain tri-
umph. Cautiously passing over the fearful
obstacle In the pathway, and closely followed
by his companions, he advanced stealthily and
cautiously upon the light, hiding himself and
his party as much as possible behind the thick
trees. In few moments they obtained afull
view Of the object Of their search Stretched
at their length around a huge FIRE, but at a
convenient distance from it, lay the painted
and half-naked forms of twenty savages. 1t
was evident from their appearance, that they
had passed the day in one of ther horrid revels,
and that they were now suffering under the
effects Of intoxication. Occasionally, grim
warrior among them started half upright,
grasping his tOmahawk, as if to combat some
vision Of his disordered brain, but, unable to
shake off the stupor from his senses, uniform
ly fell back into his former position.
The rangers crept nearer. As they bent
their keen eyes along their well-tired rifles,
each felt perfectly sure of his aim. They
waited for the signal of Harmon, who was en-
deavoring TO bring his long musket to bear
upon the head of the most distant Of the saw
ages.
!" Fire,' he at length exclaimed, as the sight
of his piece interposed full and distinct between
his eye and the wild scalp-lOck Of the Indian.
Fire, and rush on"
The sharp voice of thirty rifles thrilled
through the heart of the forest. There was
groan-a smothered cry-a wild and conyul-
sive movement among the sleeping Indians;
and all again was silent.
The rangers sprang forward with their club
bed muskets and hunting knives; but their
work was done. The Red Men had gone to
their last audit before the Great Spirit, and no
| sound was heard among them save the gurg-
| ling Of the hot blood from their lifeles s
bosomS.
They were left unburied on the place of
their reveling-s prey to the foul birds of the
air, and the ravenous beasts of the wilderness
Their scalps were borne homeward In triumph
| by the successful rangers, whose children and
grand children shuddered, long after, at the
| thrilling narration of the midnight adventure.
A MISSOURI WEDDING.
In particular vicinity Of Missouri, mar
riage was agreed upon between the favored