Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1858-05-12

selves as having just escaped from the Indi-
| ans, and beg Of you. for the love Of God. in
the most piteous tones to come to their relief
but turn a deaf car 10 theIi-to each and
all Of them-even should you know the
pleaders TO be Of your own kin for in such
q case your own brother might deceive YOU
NOT wilfully and voluntarily, perhaps
but because OF being goaded on by the saw
| ages, Themselves concealed. Yes, such
things have been known a. one friend being
TINS used to lure another to his destruction !;
and 80 be cautious, vigilant, brave and true,
and may the good God keep you all from
HARM
As he finished speaking. Blanche proceed
ed to take an affeciionate leave of all, re-
ceiviDg many tender message for her pa
rents from those who held them in love and
veneration and the boat swung out, and
began to float down with the current. now
fairly entered upon the most dangerous por.
tiou Of long and perllous journey.
The father Of Blanche, Col Philip Ber-
trand, was native of Virginia, and q de-
scendant Of one Of the Huguenot refugees,
who fed from their native land after the
revocation Of the eiict OF Nantz in l6s5.-
He had been an officer Of some note during
the Reyolution-a warm political and per-
sOnal friend of the author Of the Declaration
of Independence and gentleman who
had always stood high in the esteem of his
associates ard contemporaries.
Though at one time a man Of wealth, Col.
Bertrand had lost much, and suffered much,
through British invasion; and when, short
| ly after the close of the war, he hal met
with o few more serious reverses, he had
been fain TO accept grant of land, near the
Falls of the Ohio now Louisville, rendered
him by Virginia, which then held iurisdic-
ton over the entire territory now constitn,
ting the State of Kentucky.
| The grant had decided the Colonel upon
seeking his new possessions and building up
home in the then Far w est, and as his wife
had insisted upon accompanying him on his
| first tour, he had assented to her desire.
on condition that Blanche should be left
among her friends, till tuch time as place
could be prepared which might in some de-
gree be considered a fit abode for one so
carefully and tenderly reared.
| Blanche would have gladly gone with
her parents; but on this point. her father
had been exorable-declaring that she
would have to remain at the East till he
should see proper to send for her; and as he
was man ofpositive character, and rigid
disciplinarian, the matter had been settled
without argument
When Colonel Bertrand removed to the
West, Eugene Fairfax, AS we have seen, ac-
companied him; and coming of age shortly
after, he had accepted the liberal offer OF his
noble benetactor, to remain with him in the
capacity of private secretary and confiden-
al agent On taking possession ofhis grant,
theColonel had almost Immediately erected
fort, and offered such inducements to
settlers rs to speedily collect around him
quite a little communicate which, as a
matter of course, he became the head and
chief, and to supply the wants Of his own
family and Others and increase his gains
in legitimate way, he had opened a store,
and filled it with goods from Eastern marts,
which goods were transported by land over
the mountains to the Kenawha and thence
by water to the Falls of the Ohio, whence
their removal to Fort Bertrand became an
easy matter. To purchase and ship these
goods, and deliver package Of letters to
friends in the East, Eugene had been thrice
| dispaiched-his third commission also ex-
tending to the escorting of the beautiful
heiress with her servants, to herlnew home.
This last commission had been SO far execu-
ted at the time chosen for the opening of
our story, as to bring the different parties
to the mouth of the great kenawha, whence
the reader has seen them slowly floating
off upon the still, CLASSY bosom of ''the belle
Of rive!s.
The day, which was an suspicious one,
passed without anything occurring worthy
of note, until near four O'Clock, when, as
Blanche was standing on the fore part Of
the deck gazing at the lovely scene which
surrounded her. she saw a seemingly fiving
body suddenly leave the limb Of 81 .antic
tree, (whose mighty branches extended far
over the river, and near which the boat
was then swayed by the action of the cur
remit and aligh with a crash upon the
deck Of the boat, not more than eight feet
from her. Ore glance suiiiced to show her
what the object was, and to freeze the blood
in her veins. The glowing eyes of huge
panther met her gaze. The sudlenness OF
the shock which this discovery gave her
was overpowering. With "a deafening
shrek she fell upon her knees and casped
her hands before her breast The panther
crouched for his deadly leap, but ere he
sprang, the hunting knife of Eugene Fairfax
(who, with the steersman, was the only per-
son on deck besides Blanche), was buried
to the hilt in his side, inflicting a severe
but not fatal wound. The Infatuated beast
at once turned upon Eugene, and a deadly
struggle ensued But it was short one -
The polished blade of the knife played back
and forth like lightning flashes, and at eve
ry plunge it was buried to the hilt in the
panther's body, who soon fell to the deck
| Al, i
On seeing her protector fall, Blanche ut
tered another shrek and rushed to his aid
but assistance from stouter arms was al
hand. The boatmen gathered round, and
the savage monster was literally hacked in
pieces with their knives and hatchets, and
Eugene, covered with blood, was dragged
from under his carcass. Surprising him to
be dead or mortally wounded, Blanche
threw her arms around his neck anu gave
way to passionate burst of grief But he
was not dead-he was not even hurt, with
the exception of a few slight scratches
The blood with which he was covered was
the panther's, not his own. But Blanche's
embrace was his-a priceless treasure-an
index of her hearts emotions and affections
1t was to color his whole future life as will
be seen in the progress of our story.
Slowly and silently. save the occasional
creak, dip, and splash of the steersman oar
the boat of our voyagers was borne along
upon the bosom of the current, on the third
night of the voyage. The hour was wax
ing late, and Eugene, the only one astir ex-
cept the watch, was suddenly startled, by a
rough hand being placed upon his shoulder
accompanied by the words, in the grun
voice of the boatman;
81 say, Cap'n, here's troubled"