For well they knew in what manner of country
they were about to set unwilling foot--forest land occupied by the
fiercest and most treacherous of the hostile Indian tribes. Capture
meant death, probably with torture to precede it.
With great difficulty and some danger the ship-wrecked crew did at
length succeed in getting ashore, with their rifles and a fair supply of
powder and lead, and without an instant's delay they set about building
a rude breastwork for protection if matters should come to a fight. The
stranded vessel must certainly have been already seen by the Indians; at
any moment they might appear. But the breastwork was completed without
interruption, and still no sign of the Redskins had been seen. It was at
least breathing space, though all knew what must assuredly follow, and
to some the actual immediate combat would have been less unwelcome than
was now the suspense.
After consultation, a few of the party, including Kerr, whose knowledge
of Indian ways it was thought might be useful, left the breastwork to
spy on the enemy--or at least to try to pick up some knowledge of their
whereabouts. Had it been into that enchanted land that they now
entered, where lay the Sleeping Beauty, the forest shades could not have
been more still, more apparently devoid of life.
Pages:
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175