The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1858-05-13


: trand, was native Of Virginia, and descar
!. dant Of one of the Huguenot refugees, wh
t fled from their native land after the revocatio
s Of the edict Of Nan'z in 1868. He had bee
r an officer Of some note during the Revolutio
: "a warm political and personal friend of tn
author Of the Declaration Of Indepedence-
7 and gentleman who had always stood hig
3 in the esteem of his associates and cotempo
ra-ies.
Though at one time man of wealth, Colo
mel Bertrand had los. much, and suffer ed muc
through British invasion; and when, shortl
after the close Of the wa-, he had met with
few more serious reverses, he had been fail
to accept grant of land, near the Falls o
Ohio, now Louisville, rendered him by Vir
ginia, which then hello Jurisdiction over tn,
entire territory now constituting the State O
Kentucky.
The grant haj decided the Colonel upor
seeking his new possessions and building M a
new home in the then Far West, and as hi,
wife had insisted upon accompanying him or
his first tour, he had assented to her desire, or
condition that Blanche shonld he left among
her friends, till such time as place could be
prepared which might in some degree be con.
sider"d 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 thst she would have TO
remain at the East till he should see proper to
send for her; and as he was a man of positive
character, and rigid dsciplnarian, the mat
| ter had been settled without argument.
When Colonel Bertrand removed to the West.
Eugene Fairfax, as we have seen, accompa-
MED him; and coming Of age shortly after, he
had accepted the liberal offer of his noble ben.
efactor, to remain with him in the capac of
private secretary and confidential agent. On
taking possession OF his grant, the Colonel
had almost Immediately erected fort, and Of
fered such inducements to settlers as to speed-
lily collect around him quite little commune
ty-of which. as matter Of course, he be-
came the head and chief; and to -sn-rid in.
wants Of his own famlHmate wav. he had
cTease his gre. and filled it with goods from
rfe Eastern marts. which goods were trans
ported by land over the mountains to the Ka-
nawha, and thence by water to the Falls of
the Ohio, whence their removal 10 Fort Ber-
trand became an easy matter. To purchase
and ship these goods. and deliver package OF
letters TO friends in the East, Eugene has been
thrice dispatched-his third commission also
extending 10 the escorting of .he beautiful
heiress, with her servants. to her new home.
This last commission hal beea so far executed
at the time chosen for the opening of orr story
as TO bring the different parties to the mouth
of the great Kanawha, whence the reader has
seen .hem slowly floating off upon the still.
CLASSY bios m of s:the belle Of rivers"
The lay. which was a auspcons 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 a:
the lovely scene which surrounded her, she
saw seemingly flying body suddenly leave
limb of a gigantic tree, (whose mighty bran
ches extended far over the river, and near
which the boat was then swavel hy the ac-
tion of the currently and alight with crash
uron the deck Of tie boat, not more thar
eight feet from her. One glance sufficed to
show her wbat the object was, and to freeze
the blood in her veins. The glowing eyes Of
huge panther met her gaze. The srdden-
ness OF the shock which this discovery gave
her was overpowerne. Win deafening
shrek she fell upon her knees aud clasped her
han hoco hor tharc
ed for his deadly leap, but ere he sprang, the
hunting knife Of Eugene Fairfax (who was
with the steersman, the only person on deck
besides Blanch.) was buried to the hilt in his
! side, inficting severe but not fatal wound.
The infuriated beast at once turned upon Eu-
gene, and deadly struggle ensued. But it
was short one. The polished blade of the
knife played back and forth like lightning
flashes. and at every plunge it was buried to
the hill. in the ranther's oodv, who soon fell
to the deck, dragging the dauntless Eugene
with him. On seeing her protector fall,
Blanch uttered another shrek ard rushed to
| his aid; but assistance from stouter arms was
| at hand. The boatmen gathered around, aud
the savage mpnster was literally backed to
pieces with their knives and hatchets, and Eu-
gene, covered with blood, was dragged from
under his carcass. Supposing him to be dead
Or mortally wounded, Blanche threw her arms
around bis neck and gave way to a passionate
burst of grief. But he was not dead-he was
not even hurt, with the exception of 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
treasurer-an index to her hearts emotions
and affections. II was TO color his whole fu.
ture life, as will be seen in the progress Of our
| story.
Slowly and silently, save the occasional
creak, dip, and plash Of the steersman's oar,
the boat of our voyagers was borne along up
on the bosom of the current, on the third night
Of the voyage. The hour was waxing late,
and Eugene, the only one astir except the
watch, was suddenly startled, by rough hand
being placed upon his shoulder, accompanied
by the words, in the gruff voice Of the boat.
man.
81 sap, Cap'n, here's trouble'"
"WhAt is it, Dick?" inquired Eugene
starting TO his feet.
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