Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1857-1865, 1858-05-14

INV 'SHOia1Vh anu 1uc DOat swung Out,
and began to float down with the current
: now fairly entered upon The most danger
Gus portion of long and perilous journey
! The father Of Blanche, Colonel Philip
Bertrand, was native of Virginia, and a
descendants tofone ofthe Huguenct refugees,
who fed from their native land after the
revocation of the edict of Nnatz in 1865.
: He had been an officer of some note dur
ing the Reyolution--a warm political and
personal friend of the auther Of the Dec
laration of Independence-an gentle
: man who had always stood hisn in the
esteem of his associates and cotemporaries.
Though at one time man of wealth,
Colonial Bertrand had lost much, and suf-
fered much, through British invasion and
when, shortly after the close of the war,
he had met with few more serious re-
verses, he had been fain to accept grant
of land, near the Falls of the Ohio, now
Louisville, rendered him by Virginia,
which then held Jurisdiction over the
entire territory now constituting the State
of Kentucky.
The grant had decided the Cololel upon
seeking his new possessions and building
up new home in the then Far West, and
as his wife had insisted upon accompany
ing him on his first tour, he had assented
to her desire, ON condition that Blanche
should be left among her friends, till such
time as place could be prepared which
might in some degree be considered fit
abode for one so carefully and tenderly
reared.
Blanche would gladly have gone with
her parents; but on this point her father
had been MISUNDERSTANDING that she
would have to remain at the East till he
should see proper to send for her and as
he was man of positive character, and
rigid disciplinarian, Che matter had been
settled without argument.
When Colonel Bertrand removed to the
West, Eugene Fairfax, as we have seen,
accompanied him; and coming of age
shortly after, he had accepted the liberal
offer of his noble benefactor, to remain
with him in the capacity of private secreta-
ry and confidential agent. On taking
possession of his grant, the Colonel had
almost Immediately erected fort, and
offered such inducements to settlers as to
speedily collect around him quite little
community-of 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 legiti-
mate way, had opener store, and filled
it with goods from the Eastern marts,
which goods were transported by land over
the mountains to the Kanawha, and thence
by water to the Fails 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 dispatched-hi third commission
also extending to the escorting of the
bea Etiful heiress, with her servants, to her
new home. This last commission had been
so far executed at the time chosen for the
opening of our story, as to bring the diff
ferent parties to the mouth of the great
kanawha, whence the reader has seen them
slowly floating off upon the still, CLASSY
bosom of "the belle of rivers"
The day, which was an auspicious 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 seemingly fly
ing body suddenly leave limb of a
gigantic tree, (whose mighty branches ex
tended far over the river, and near which
the boat was then swayed by the action of
the current, and alight with a crash upon
the deck of the boat, not more than eight
feet from her One glance sufficed to
show her what the object was, and to freeze
the flood in her veins The glowing eyes
of huge panther met her gaze. The
suddcnness of the shock which this dis |
covery gave her was overpowering With
deafening shrek she fell upon her knees
and clasped her hands before her breast.
The panther erouched for his deadly leap,
but ere he sprang, the hunting knife of
Eugene Fairfax (who, with the steersman,
was the only person on deck besides
Blanche), was buried to the hilt in his side,
inAicting severe but not fatal wound
The infuriated beast at once turned upon
Eugene, and deadly struggle ensued.-
But twas a short one. The polished blade
~ 4 L l. l. L 4 4 - -