The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1860-12-19
THE WAGER;
OR,
The TraPper's Daughter.

hunter-had been a wanderer among the
Ottawas. Without society, except their oc-
casional companionship, and wholly welded
to wild life, yet as age came upon him, he
pined to return to his kind end wear social
letters.
Helen Heath inherited from her mother
the daughter Of Canadian hunter-both,
her name and the roaming spirit Of her race.
From the days Of earliest recollection she
had been at her fathers side on the wild
prairie, or ranging over the mountains.
The old hunter delighted in nothing more
than predatory skirmishes with the Indians,
who were wont to acknowledge the debt
with interest. Once, with only two com.
rades, he was surrounded in his trapping
lodge, and forced to stand weeks siege
Then the fearless conduct OF his daughter,
child as she was, won from him hunters
praise and fatherly pride.
1t wns singular training that she receiv-
ed; wandering over an uninhabited country
with rude hunter, shut out from education,
and only taught to read and write by an &C..
cidental visit for few weeks at a mission
ury station, without means of refinement,
and having for the language OF her mind
only what could be learned from the voice
Of nature 10 her deepest seclusion. She
ha ho irht for, cf-
for there her soul could live beyond the
rough influence OF the only life she had ever
known.
Such was the character OF our heroine,
when old Gabriel HEATH exchanged his
wandering life for residence in the little
cottage on the hill Here few acres sup
piled him with many of the necessaries of
life, and he had an opportunity to follow, at
bis pleasure, the business of his youth, and
comfort seemed to circle round the cottage
home, whose exterior WAS rendered some
what picturesque by the natural tOste of the
daughter.
In fine days old Heath titled his ground,
or hunted among the neighboring hills, and
by the side of the streams; and in npeas.
ant weather he sat by the iresidc, smoke
hs pipe, and told huge stories of old ndven-
tures.
A thriving village lay just behind the
range OF hills among which the cottage. WAS
nestled, though the cottagers formed but liz.
tie society with lie Inhabitants.
Long exposure to the sun had veiIcd but
not hidden Helena Heath's fair complexion
with rich olive, and added to her charms
Constant exposure had given firmnoes and
elasticity TO her limbs. No wonder, then,
that though but seldom seen, and still rarely
dressed, she was deemed the belle of the
surrounding country. Ramblers among the
hills had noticed the fair c0ttagcr, ard be-
come infatuated With her beauty und ivera
and even become suituors for her herd; but
they had all been repulsed. The bold and
adventurous she instnctiyeIy dis!iked for
their cosrseness which generally character.
lied them. The few Of different charac-
ter who occasionally visited her, she did not
trouble herself TO notice. OF this letter
number, the most prominent was Thomos
Clifford, a young lawyer who had opened his
Office in the village. Educated in an eastern
University, and naturally of e retired cast of
mind, Clifford had always avoided the world;
and lived only with his books; and conse
quenty, but n part of his character had as
yet been developed. In his eyes, the beau.
tiful young ,cottoger was the type of what
philosophers had long sought to find, and he
determined to obtain the reality of the child
freshness, while they could only conceive
the ideal. He therefore resolved to amend
his deficiencies in her eyes, and bis san.
guine nature hoped the rest
Old Heath looked upon m4rriog os q ne.
cessary evil, which oil ought to endure
sometime, and he was determined that none
but man after his own heart should possess
bis daughter, and the qualification necessary,
in his views, were strength and agility in
manly sports. He took no pains to conceal
his determination, and it was surprising how
suddenly such games rose in favor with the
young villagers.
Time passed, and among those who had
gained the applause Of the old hunter, was
a sturdy pioneer named Alexander Wilson,
though as yet he had never shown any pre-.
ference for the young forester. And time
had also brought the young lawy to theer
feet of the beautiful cottage girl, while to
her his breathings OF heart attachment had
become en- episode we'll cherished.
We had forgotten to mention that over
the range of hills that formed the picturesque
landscape about the mountain home. a noble
river spread its liquid waters. Clifford had
always enjoyed all the sporte that can be
gathered from life Of rural freedom.
Strong at the oar, unerring in the aim at
the target shot, end snewy In the leapiDg
wager, he had become quite a favorite, as
we'll as the envy of his contemporaries. s657
In all of his manly feats, Helena Heath
was the first to praise; and while her pride
Of his masculine requirements was increas-
ing, she could not but also feel admiration
for his mental attainments, which, after all,
found something kindred and ccngenial in
her own bosom. I..1
One afternoon, as young Clifford was
strolling along the chores Of the stream
above mentioned, he saw the favorite Of old