Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1869-09-08

, Tor the life to come. Then the six broth
ers took up the cedar coffin and laid it in
the grave, which a sturdy old settler, who
acted as our sexton, had opened overnight;
every brother and nearly all the tribe
uttered some words in their own language
over it, which we believed to be a form of
farewell to the dead. The old chief spoke
last, and though we could not guess the
meaning of his words, his voice told us
that they came from a broken heart. The
mourning women raised their wild wall
once more the sexton heaped the earth
above the dead, replaced the f-ower-covered
turf and the simple maidstone, on which
they soon after inscribed her name. and
Lanoma rested with the young girl of a
diffe rent race, whose story had first opened
to her mind the way of salvation.
My father preached her funeral sermon
in the churchyard, for our small church
could not contain the congregation of
settlers and Indians; few of the latter
understood a single word of it, but they
listened in the grave and silent manner of
their race, and were pleased at the re-
speet shown to their chiefs daughter; the
gentle, patient girl was evidently as much
nlccC0 b1 iuC luQC bIiBC dS SuC nuu DtGu
by ourselves.
When all the solemnities were over, the
chief announced his intention of encamping
on the old ground beside the river, in order
to protect the settlement from any hostile
incursion which might be attempted du-
ring the war. He said his heart was now
laid in the white mans land, and no enc
my should set foot upon it; he and his
people eneamped accordingly, and to the
knowledge of their presence and friendship
for the settlers all our safety was probably
owing. Fortunately, the war did not last
long it began and ended within two years.
May we never see another between Eng
land and America But to return to my
story the tribe encamped on their old
ground on the American side of St. Clair
river, and by the very same ford which
Lanoma used to cross, the old chief came
every day to sit beside her grave. There
we found him in nearly all weather rs seated
on the grass with his head bowed upon his
hands, and there our old people at length
began to speak to him rs they had spoken
to his daughter but she that was dead yet
spake in his memory the Indian girl
whom we thought so imperfectly instructed
had been able to impart to her father in
her dying days the saving truths Of Chris
tianity, On which her own faith had taken
hold. The Huron leader was a man of
singular intelligence; his great loss made
HIM think as probably he had never
thought before. Old prejudiees were brok-
en- down by the new sorrow the recollec-
ton of his child's dying words prepared
his mind to receive the teaching BY which
she had learned, and at last the proud
barbarian became n humble Christian, and
then a member ofmy fathers church in the
wilderness. He did much TO spread the
knowledge of the gospel among his own
tribe, and SOM of them, especially his
sons, seemed to profit by the old chiefs ex-
hortations, for they gave up many oftheir
heathenish and barbarous customs, and
promised to go on the war-path no more if
they could help it.
When peace was fully restored, and the
usual time had come for the Hurons to 90
westward IN their hunting expeditions, the
chief took a kindly and solemn farewell of
all our family, saying we had been the
best friends he ever knew, but he should
see our faces no more till the meeting
NAAt IA - dAAI : nOuNC dbOhI- "
hoped better, but his prediction was fulfil
led. When his tribe returned in the fol-
lowing spring to St. Glars river, they
brought with them his coffin. as they had
brought that OF his daughter and IN COM
phanee with his last request, made known
TO Us by his sons, the once dreaded chief
Of the Hurons was laid beside his much
loved and lamented Lanoma. The same
simple headstonc marks their resting place,
il Is covered with names now-my aged
grandfather and grandmother, ms own
honored father and mother, Robin Ross
and his good Janet sleep there. The small
churchyard has become a large cemetery ;
a handsome country church occupies the
site ofthe log house where my young days
were spent the sister and brothers who
that home with me are old people
like myself, and looking forward to the
passing over Jordan, and entering on the
promised land but when we meet together
and talk of old times and places, there still
returns to Us, fresh and sweet as the breath
Of forest flowers, some memory of the In
daughter.-Sa65ath at Home.