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BY GOULD & ELWELL,
¢ Office near Bearce & Racklyft’s, 77 Middle st.
Portland
TERMS: $1,50 IN ADVANCE. ,
pn Copies for Fifteen Dollars in Advance
AN INDEPENDENT FAMILY JOURNAL OF LITERATURE,
NEWS, &G.
VOLUME XIE.
PORTLAND, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY. 16,
1850.\
! NUMBER 44,‘
» PORTRY.
. > SONNET ON NIGHT.”
Col: leridge pronounces the. following sonnet on
Night, by ‘the late Rev. I. Blanco White, the finest
and most grandly conceived i in our language:—
“Mysterious Night! when our first parent knew
hee, from report divine, and heard thy name
Did he not, tremble for this lovely frame—
This glorious canopy of light and blae 2
Yet neath a current of translucent dew,
Bathed in the rays of the great settling flame,
Hesperus with the hosts of heaven came,
And, lo! Creation widened in man’s view.
Who could have thought such darkness lay con-
‘Within thy beams, O sun? or who could find,
Whilst fly, and leaf, ‘and insect stood reveale: d,
to such countless orbs thou mad’st us blind?
Wh ‘to awe, then, shan death with anxious strife—
If light can thus deceive, wherefore not life ?”
4 CIPITAL STORY,
* THE WILDLY WON:
OR LOVE ON .THE PRAIRIES.
*. BY PERCY B. ST. JOHN.
_ Deep in the center, of a sycamore , grove—
where the Peccan and the turtle-berry flourish
in open-glades, where the deer come at even-
tide to water, and where the turkey gobble in
the due season, thickly dight with wild grape
vines, and‘ other creeping plants—is- Peccan
Spring, a locality celebrated, far and wide, with
the hunters and trappers who frequent the bor-
ders of the Red River. . It is a sweet and re-
tired spot, a very woodland retreat, where fays
and sprites might be supposed to dwell, and
dance by the blue light of a summer moon,|leav-
ing mark and sign upon the rich prairie grass;
but which, in the land of the Anglo-American,
knows no other associations but those connected
with the copper-colored aboriginals, who some-
times visit it for a draught of fresh water, and
to rest after the chase. Many a sound of sav-
age feast, and many a wail of war victims had
been heard there_in its day, and many a tale of
wild interest and bloody event: was connected
with its history.
’ Around, as far as the eye could reach, was
prairie—a level surface of boundless extent,
swelling here and there like wavelets of the sea,
but to the roving eye, flat and unvaried. ~The
wood, which in part was filled with trees of dif-
ferent species, covered many miles of ground,
reaching to the border of a small but “muddy
stream, in part fed by the spring which .made
the locality so desirable. ~
The sun had gone angrily to rest, setting in
a flood of blood red light that yet illumined the
western horizon} a few ragged and. seattered
clouds were gradually increasing in numbers,
and threatening an overcast and | stormy night,
when a mounted traveler came trotting up to-
wards the center of the grove. He was a young
man of goodly’ mien and stalwart frame, clothed
in a complete suit of bunting clothes, with flan-
nel shirt, buckskin trowsers,” untanned boots,
shot-pouch, bag, and rifle of heavy ‘caliber—in
all no small Toad for a horse ot the dimensions
seen in the praries. The animal seemed to
scent the water, for, without hesitation, it trot-
ted towards the small open glade, where i it bub-
bled forth, and came toa dead halt.
«Well done, old girl !” said the traveler. » «I
conclade you recollect last fall, when the bloody
Sioux were out-lying for ‘our skins, and we
camped about these diggens. But softly, mare,
down below is your Jocation—leave ' this green
sward for your betters. Come ahead, Kelly !”
«Got the spring ?” growled a deep voice, at
some distance,
‘wT reckon I have,” continued the young man,
*| than the first.
«The very diggens !” said Kelly, also -dis-
mounting, and presenting to the eye the huge
rame and six feet two,of a Rocky. Mountain
trapper : «it’s raly juicy water, and small pota-
toes to spare.’
The second comer was far less well. favored
Dark haired and. eyed, with
huge whiskers and mustachoes, and eyebrows to
match, there was an unpleasant scowl about his
face, which was indivative of much evil passion,
which his apparent vast bodily strength tended
to render all the less agreeable. _ Ie ‘Tooked the
very man to hug a bear, eat an Indian, and I whip
a panther round his head, as he would swing a
cat by the tail.
«Wee shall do very well,I expect,” said James
Wharton, the first speaker. ,
«We're bound to do whar Iv am. * We've
meat and water, we’ve fire and bacey, - what
more can a man ax ?”
Wharton laughed, and without answering,
having hoffled his horse, began. collecting dry
stricks, while Kelley, with a huge axe, felled
the large branches, suited to the purpose of a
roaring fire.
«It’s nation cold,” said Kelley ;
if I mind the Ingins,
speak, I’m bound. ”
«As you please—) trust to you,” smiled
Wharton, complacently, with a look that plain-
ly said, «to save trouble, not because you know
any better.”
«You're wise, I reckon,” growled Kelley.
It was not long ere by the side of the Pec-
ean Spring, whi.’ ch gently bubbled up through a
bed of fine sand, there sparkled a huge: ‘and
speaking blaze, making merry the night air,and
chasing away all semblance of the storm.—
Then down sat the pair to provide the evening
meal—most welcome to the traveler, in the
wilds, after a day’s journey, with a bracing wind
in teeth. This concluded, both loaded’ their
pipes, and leaning against a friendly and con-
venient log, enjoy: yed the luxury of a smoke, 4
- «Ilow many days, do you reckon, to. Little
Rock ?” asked Wharton, clearing away a dense
cloud of smoke by the motion of his hand.
«Good ten, and long chalks at that, too,” re-
plied Kelly, without removing his pipe, which
was doing goodly service ; «but you ain’t tired,
are you?” :
«Not I; ripe for amonth.” . .
«Well then; keep first watch, while I snooze,”
continued the other, with a laugh; and, roll-
ing himself along, he stretched his buge limbs
athwart the fire, and in five minutes, gave evi-'
dent token of being ina state of somnolence.
James Wharton remained alone, and glanc-
ing around, noticed that deep night had set in,
and that the heavens were more and niore over-
cast and lowering; but he cared not.” Born in
the haunts of civilization, and amid the educa-
ted of his fellow men, a-roving taste had led
him to venture amid the wildest scenes, and to
depend for days and weeks, nay months, upon
his gun for subsistence ; to lie down -in’ peace
with the wolf, the bear, even “with the Indian
close at hand—and had taught him to’ feel ‘no
anxiety for his scalpas long as it was on his head.
Rain and wind, beat and cold,had become alike in-
different; and he cared not so that there hap-
pened not—the great scourges of the prairies—
hunger or thirst. The gusts came constant and
heavy amid the trees, and the howl of the cai-
otoe, an American wolf, was distinct and near,
in search of scraps left about by the traveler.
. «Hist ! whispered Wharton to himself, as he
sank beside his comrade, in the act of listening,
the gentle but still perceptible sound of a foot-
fall on the dry sticks beneath the trees reach-
ing his ear—«but I will not wake this brute, un-
jess need be ;” and, rolling himself out of the
glare of the fire, he rose on his feet, and. step:
ped, or rather glided, behind a tree. . -
and darn me
Til have a fire that. ull
dismounting, and unloading the jaded. brute,
while his companion rode up. ~~ :
' «Pat—pat! came some straggling and feels
steps, which sounded strangely to the woods
Dey
«Some Indian deviltry, or, a woman, I'll
swear ?” said Wharton; «but, however, here
goes.. Who comes? If friends, advance.—
There are none but white men here !””
A feeble groan followed ; and W! barton, whose
feelings were aroused, seizing a brand from the
fire, hurried in the direction of the sound, and,
to his inexpressible astonishment, discovered a
woman leaning for support against a tree. It
was apparent at a glance that she was in; the
last stage of exhaustion and suffering, and _ the
young man, without hesitation, took her in -his
arms, and bore her to the fire. | Opening his
flask, he poured a. small draught of brandy
down her throat, which instantly reviving her,
che hastened to cut from the buck which had
supplied them for supper, a few tender and del-
cate morsels.
«Water—water!” whispered the girl, for
Wharton had discovered his prizeto be a young
and handsome white.
« ’Tis done,” said he ; come, cheer up, maid ;
here is food, and drink, and christian compa-
«Stranger, Iam dying with hunger!” again
feebly cried the girl.
«That shall soon be remedied. To begin,
here is a small bit of maize bread,. and these
hot coals will give you as tender a broiled
steak in five minutes, as you could wish.”
The Indian corn cake was greedily devoured,
and as soon as the savoury morsel, which Whar-
too laid before her, was..also eaten .somewhai
‘more deliberately, a change for the better was
manifest in the lady, who ‘had thus unceremo-
niously intruded herself into the trappers’ camp.
As strength and life returned, the young crea-
ture seemed to think of the novelty of her po-
sition, and she ‘sat in some’ confusion, with
‘downcast eyes, in the presence of her presery-
er.
«You are better, Miss ?” said Wharton, gent-
ly, admiring by stealth, the returning beauties
of face and. expression. * - .
«Much, generous man,” she replied. «For
five days have I wandered, and endured . the
pangs 0 of f garvation, alleviated only by berries
and ri
“You ou were lost, of course ?” continued Whar-
ton, too much accustomed to such an event, to
be in any way surprised.
«Yes. Early in the morning, my party,
which was bound to Arkansas, from Lower Tex-
as, which we left because of the war—started,
while I lingered behind to gather some rare and
new flowers. This done, I followed, as 1 thought
in their trail, but, as I have since supposed,
must have taken the wrong one. _ For- hours I
never discovered my mistake; and then, in-
stead of retracing my steps, T attempted to
cross the prairie in search of the right one.”
$
«Which, of course, you never, found.”
«I never did; and since | then I have wan-
dered I know not how.”
«Well, never mind sad‘ reminiscences. ' “We
are for Arkansas, and will sce you safe there.
Strange garduains for one so young and fair,”
added | he, with a laugh, “but, trust me, I will
prove a true’one.”
«I will put faith in you,” she replied, gaily ;
«and if you take me to my friends, no thanks
of mine will be wanting. I would do anything
to show my gratitude.”
“ Anything ?” said Wharton, ‘with anima-
on.
«In reason,” she continued, with a blush; ‘for
the hunter’s eye, full of genuine, honest admira-
tion, was fall spon her, “But what am I to
call you _
He tad her.
-#Ab, well! and Tam “Mary Renshaw and
this huge hunter?” ‘
«Job Kelly—rough esoighb but 1 think true.
6
T have not been acquainted with him long, 1 but
I think I can say a good word.”
growling : : «what locrum is that you’ Te a carry~
ing on by yourself ?”
“sCaught for once, Job,” replied Wharton,
«for I am not alone; another traveller has
chanced this way.”
«Well, I’m bound to swar, but I won’ "t," said
Kelly, sitting bolt upright, and staring in mute
wonder at the strange company into which he
had fallen.
«T'd not advise you to,” continued Wharton,
“as you are in the company of a lady.”
«WellTllbe riglarly chawed dry for a month,” —
said Kelly, still staring, “but this is seeing the.
elephant, and no flies.”
Wharton, who was: laughing heartily, now
explained the accident to which they owed the
strange addition to their party,and conversation
became general, until the young man recollect-'
ed the fatigues and sufferings of: the girl; and,
making her a soft couch of Spanish moss and’
leaves, covered with a horse-cloth, she was in-
duced to lie down near the fire. In this her
two guardians presently imitated her, and the
night passed without further interruption.
awoke, when he foung, Kelly stirring about,
panion still heavily slept. Ever and anon, the
hunter cast curious glances at her calm upturn-
ed face, in which looks were visible considera
ble wonder at her fairness, mingled with ex.
ireme admiration of her beauls.
«Well, I am a riglar old hand, I know,” wid”
Kelly, drily, «and Tve seen above a. bit, in my
time; I’ve fought the Sioux for thirty mortal
days, alone, behind a’ stump, and knocked’em
down like butter birds; I’ve seen the Flatheads
and the Gros-ventres, and found many a stray ,
child in the woods, but this‘ do about fix me;
T'm ina rale jam, and that’s a fact.”
«It is a strange adventure, certainly.” ~
«Strange | Wi hy, Isay,I do, it don’t con-
vene to reason atall. I say Jim, what's to abe.
done with her ?”
«Take her to her friends, to be sure.”
«Jim Wharton,” said Kelly, row very red in
the face, «you’re about as silly as a heifer.”.
man, his native fierceness breaking forth.
«Don’t shoot up, ‘for allthe world, likea spruce
beer bottle; but just listen to me. -This gal
was picked’ up by, you; you want a wife, take-
her; you don’t, welbJ« do, and I'll take her—*
There ar’n’t no lar. here.”
«Job Kelly,” said Wharton firmly, “of course
you are poking fun; if not-——”
brutal, sneer.
“By the God that made you, my “knife and:
you heart would make acquaintance. She is.
under my protection, and there she remains,
free and safe, until in the hands of her triends.”*
: «She's opening her peepers,” said Ki Kelly, sul-
lenly, «so no more; but Pil be bound you'll”
listen to me..’ It don’t. convene to reason.
tering tone in which it was delivered.’ -
«I have overslept_ myself, “I fancy,” voried:
z.
“Nou ‘have just risen in time. for breakfast," ”.
yonder to the pool, and ‘swill, your hands and :
face, we shall then be ready.”
The young girl acquiesced, and tripping down:
to the pool, where the horses had drank the pre-.
ceeding night, and which lay. embowered in
trees, she soon came back, her hair smooth and
neat, and her face glowing with renewed loveli--
ness and health, -Much did both wondér at the
change which food and rest had brought about, °
nor were they backward in: expressing their:
It was sometime after dawn ere Wharton ~
busily preparing breakfast, while their fair com-:~
«What do you mean?” replied the young, .
Mary Renshaw, starting 5 “for you are stir- .
«Well, you aire a queer sort, said Kelly, - :
3
f
» «What, if not 2?” exclaimed the other, with Ay,
The rest of the sentence was lost in the mut--’
replied Wharton, «and if you like to run down: ,
Ov
