The pioneers, or The sources of the Susquehanna a descriptive tale |
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| 10. | CHAPTER X. |
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 | CHAPTER X. The pioneers, or The sources of the Susquehanna |  |
10. CHAPTER X.
“It is noised he bath a mass of treasure.”
Timon of Athens.
When Marmaduke Temple and his cousin rode
through the gate of the former, the heart of the
father had been too recently touched with the
best feeling of our nature, to leave inclination for
immediate discourse. There was an importance
in the air of Richard, which would not have admitted
of the ordinary informal conversation of
the Sheriff, without violating all the rules of consistency;
and the equestrians pursued their way
with great diligence, for more than a mile, in profound
silence. At length the soft expression of
parental care, blended with affection, was slowly
chased from the handsome features of the Judge,
and was gradually supplanted by the cast of humour
and benevolence that was usually seated on
his brow.
“Well, Dickon,” he said, “since I have yielded
myself, so far, implicitly to your guidance, I
think the moment has arrived, when I am entitled
to further confidence. Why and wherefore are
we journeying together in this solemn gait?”
The Sheriff gave a loud hem, that rung far in
his eyes fixed on objects before, him, like a
man who is looking deep into futurity, he replied
as follows:—
“There has always been one point of difference
between us, Judge Temple, I may say, since our
nativity; not that I would insinuate that you are
at all answerable for the acts of nature; for a man
is no more to be condemned for the misfortunes of
his birth, than he is to be commended for the natural
advantages he may possess; but on one
point we may be said to have differed from our
births, and they, you know, occurred within two
days of each other.”
“I really marvel, Richard, what this one point
can be; for, to my eyes, we seem to differ so materially,
and so often”—
“Mere consequences, sir,” interrupted the Sheriff,
“all our minor differences proceed from one
cause, and that is, our opinions of the universal
attainments of genius.”
“In what, Dickon!” exclaimed the Judge.
“I speak plain English, I believe, Judge Temple;
at least I ought; for my father, who taught
me, could speak”—
“Greek and Latin,” interrupted Marmaduke—
“I well know the qualifications of your family in
tongues, Dickon. But proceed to the point; why
are we travelling over this mountain to-day?”
“To do justice to any subject, sir, the narrator
must be suffered to proceed in his own way,” continued
the Sheriff. “You are of opinion, Judge
Temple, that a man is to be qualified by nature
and education to do only one thing well, whereas
I know that genius will supply the place of learning,
and that a certain sort of man can do any
thing and every thing.”
“Like yourself, I suppose,” said Marmaduke,
smiling.
“I scorn personalities, sir,” returned the Sheriff;
“I say nothing of myself; but there are
three men on your patent, of the kind that I
should term talented by nature for her general
purposes, though acting under the influence of
different situations.”
“We are better off, then, than I had supposed,”
said Marmaduke. “Who are they?”
“Why, sir, one is Hiram Doolittle; he is a
carpenter by trade, as you know, and I need only
point to the village to exhibit his merits. Then
he is a magistrate, and might shame many a man,
in his distribution of justice, who has had better
opportunities than himself.”
“Well, he is one,” said Marmaduke, with the
air of a man that was determined not to dispute
the point.
“Yes, sir, and Jotham Riddel is another.”
“Who!” exclaimed the Judge.
“Jotham Riddel.”
“What, that dissatisfied, shiftless, lazy, speculating
fellow! he who changes his county every
three years, his farm every six months, and his
occupation every season! an agriculturist yesterday,
a shoemaker to-day, and a schoolmaster tomorrow!
that epitome of all the unsteady and
profitless propensities of the settlers, without one
of their good qualities to counterbalance the evil!
Nay, Richard, this is too bad for even—but who
is the third?”
“As the third is not used to hearing such comments
on his character, Judge Temple, I shall not
name him,” said the indignant Sheriff.
“The amount of all this, then, Dickon, is, that
the trio, of which you are one, and the principal,
have made some important discovery.”
“I have not said that I am one, Judge Temple.
As I told you before, I say nothing of myself.
But a discovery has been made, and you are deeply
interested in it.”
“Proceed—I am all ears.”
“No, no, 'duke, you are bad enough, I own,
but not so bad as that either; your ears are not
quite full grown.”
The Sheriff laughed heartily at his own wit,
and put himself in good humour thereby, when
he gratified his patient cousin with the following
explanation:—
“You know, 'duke, that there is a man living
on your estate that goes by the name of Natty
Bumppo. Here has this man lived, by what I can
learn, for more than forty years—by himself,
until lately; and now with strange companions.”
“Part very true, and all very probable,” said
the Judge.
“All true, sir; all true. Well, within these last
few months have appeared as his companions,
an old Indian chief, the last, or one of the last of
his tribe that is to be found in this part of the
country, and a young man, who is said to be the
son of some Indian agent, by a squaw.”
“Who says that!” cried Marmaduke, with an
interest that he had not manifested before.
“Who! why common sense—common report.
But listen till you know all. This youth has very
pretty talents—yes, what I call very pretty talents—and
has been well educated, has seen very
tolerable company, and knows how to behave
himself, when he has a mind to. Now, Judge
Temple, can you tell me what has brought three
such men as Indian John, Natty Bumppo, and
Oliver Edwards, together?”
Marmaduke turned his countenance, in evident
surprise, to his cousin, and replied quickly—
“Thou hast unexpectedly hit on a subject,
Richard, that has often occupied my mind. But
knowest thou any thing of this mystery, or are
they only the crude conjectures of”—
“Crude nothing, 'duke, crude nothing; but
facts, stubborn facts. You know there are mines
in these mountains; I have often heard you say
that you believed in their existence”—
“Reasoning from analogy, Richard, but not
with any certainty of the fact”
“You have heard them mentioned, and have
seen specimens of the ore, sir; you will not deny
that! and, reasoning from analogy, as you say, if
there be mines in South America, ought there
not to be mines in North America too?”
“Nay, nay, I deny nothing, my cousin. I
certainly have heard many rumours of the existence
of mines, in these hills; and I do believe
that I have seen specimens of the precious metals
that have been found here. It would occasion
me no surprise to learn that tin and silver, or,
what I consider of more consequence, good
coal,”—
“Damn your coal, sir,” cried the Sheriff; “who
wants to find coal, in these forests? No, no, silver,
'duke; silver is the one thing needful, and silver
is to be found. But listen: you are not to be
told that the natives have long known the use of
gold and silver; now who so likely to be acquainted
where they are to be found, as the ancient inhabitants
of a country? I have the best reasons
for believing that both Mohegan and the Leather-stocking
have been privy to the existence of a
mine, in this very mountain, for many years”
The Sheriff had now touched his cousin in a
sensitive spot, and Marmaduke lent a more attentive
ear to the speaker, who, after waiting a moment,
proceeded—
“Yes, sir, I have my reasons, and at a proper
time you shall know them.”
“No time is so good as the present,” exclaimed
Marmaduke.
“Well, well, be attentive,” continued Richard,
looking cautiously about him, to make certain
that no eavesdropper was hid in the forest, though
they were in constant motion. “I have seen
Mohegan and the Leather-Stocking, with my own
eyes—and my eyes are as good as any body's
eyes—I have seen them, I say, both going up the
mountain and coming down it, with spades and
picks; and others have seen them carrying things
into their hut, in a secret and mysterious manner,
after dark. Do you know what they could be?”
The Judge did not reply, but his brow had contracted,
with a thoughtfulness that he always wore
when much interested, and his eyes rested on his
cousin in expectation of hearing more. Richard
continued—
“It was ore. Now, sir, I ask if you can tell
me who this Mr. Oliver Edwards is, that has made
a part of your household since last Christmas?”
Marmaduke again raised his eyes, but continued
silent, shaking his head in the negative.
“That he is a half-breed we know, for Mohegan
does not scruple to call him, openly, his kinsman;
that he is well educated we know. But as
to his business here—do you remember that
about a month before this young man made his
appearance among us, Natty was absent from
home several days? You do; for you inquired
for him, as you wanted some venison to take to
your friends, when you went for Bess. Well, he
was not to be found. Old John was left in the
hut alone; and when Natty did appear, although
of those jumpers that they carry their grain to
mill in, and to take out something, with great care,
that he had covered up under his bear-skins. Now
let me ask you, Judge Temple, what motive could
induce a man like the Leather-stocking to make
a sled, and toil with a load over these mountains,
if he had nothing but his rifle or his ammunition to
carry?”
“They frequently make these jumpers to convey
their game home, and you say he had been absent
many days.”
“How did he kill it? His rifle was in the village
to be mended. No, no—that he was gone to
some unusual place is certain; that he brought
back some secret utensils is also certain; and
since then he has not allowed a soul to approach
his hut.”
“He was never fond of intruders”—
“I know it,” interrupted Richard; “but did he
drive them from his cabin morosely? Within a
fortnight of his return, this Mr. Edwards appears.
They spent whole days in the mountains, pretending
to be shooting, but in reality exploring; the
frosts prevented their digging at that time, and he
availed himself of a lucky accident to get into good
quarters. But even now, he is quite half of his
time in that hut—many hours in each night. They
are smelting, 'duke, they are smelting, and as they
grow rich you grow poor.”
“How much of this is thine own, Richard, and
how much comes from others? I would sift the
wheat from the chaff.”
“Part is my own, for I saw the jumper, though
it was broken up and burnt in a day or two. I
have told you that I saw the old man with his
spades and picks. Hiram met Natty, as he was
crossing the mountain, the night of his arrival
Hiram is good-natured—to carry up part of his
load, for the old man had a heavy pull up the
back of the mountain, but he wouldn't listen to
the thing, and repulsed the offer in such a manner
that the Squire said he had half a mind to
swear the peace against him. Since the snow
has been off, more especially after the frosts got
out of the ground, we have kept a watchful eye on
the gentlemen, in which we have found Jotham
very useful.”
Marmaduke did not much like the associates of
Richard in this business; still he knew them to
be cunning and ready in expedients; and as there
was certainly something mysterious, not only in
the connexion between the old hunters and Edwards,
but in what his cousin had just related,
he began to revolve the subject in his own mind
with more care. On reflection, he remembered
various circumstances that tended to corroborate
these suspicions, and, as the whole business favoured
one of his infirmities, he yielded the more
readily to their impression. The mind of Judge
Temple, at all times comprehensive, had received
from his peculiar occupations, a bias to look far
into futurity, in speculations on the improvements
that posterity were to make in his lands. To his
eye, where others saw nothing but a wilderness,
towns, manufactories, bridges, canals, mines, and
all the other resources of an old country, were constantly
presenting themselves, though his good sense
suppressed, in some degree, the exhibition of these
expectations.
As the Sheriff allowed his cousin full time to
reflect on what he had heard, the probability of
some pecuniary adventure being the connecting
link in the chain that brought Oliver Edwards into
the cabin of Leather-stocking, appeared to him
too much in the habit of examining both sides
of a subject, not to perceive the objections, and
reasoned with himself aloud:—
“It cannot be so, or the youth would not be
driven so near the verge of poverty.”
“What so likely to make a man dig for money,
as being poor?” cried the sheriff.
“Besides, there is an elevation of character about
Oliver, that proceeds from education, which would
forbid so clandestine a proceeding.”
“Could an ignorant fellow smelt?” continued
Richard.
“Then Bess hints that he was reduced to his
last shilling, when we took him into our dwelling.”
“He had been buying tools. And would he spend
his last sixpence for a shot at a turkey, had he not
known where to get more.”
“Can I have possibly been so long a dupe! His
manner has been rude to me, at times; but I attributed
it to his conceiving himself injured, and to his
mistaking the forms of the world.”
“Haven't you been a dupe all your life, 'duke?
and an't what you call ignorance of forms deep
cunning, to conceal his real character?”
“If he were bent on deception, he would have
concealed his knowledge, and passed with us for an
inferior man.”
“He cannot. I could no more pass for a fool,
myself, than I could fly. Knowledge is not to be
concealed, like a candle under a bushel.”
“Richard,” said the Judge, turning to his cousin,
“there are many reasons against the truth of
thy conjectures; but thou hast awakened suspicions
which must be satisfied. But why are we traveling
here?”
“Jotham, who has been much in the mountain
made a discovery, which he will not explain, he
says, for he is bound by an oath; but the amount
is, that he knows where the ore lies, and he has this
day begun to dig. I would not consent to the thing,
'duke, without your knowledge, for the land is
yours;—and now you know the reason of our
ride. Don't you call this a countermine for their
mine, ha!”
“And where is the desirable spot?” asked the
Judge, with an air half comical, half serious.
“Close by; and when we have visited that, I
will show you one of the places that we have
found within a week, where our gentlemen hunters
have been amusing themselves for six months
past.”
The gentlemen continued to discuss the matter,
while their horses picked their way under the
branches of trees, and over the uneven ground of
the mountain. They soon arrived at the end of
their journey, where, in truth, they found Jotham
already buried to his neck in a hole that he had
been digging.
Marmaduke questioned the miner very closely,
as to his reasons for believing in the existence of
the precious metals near that particular spot; but
the fellow maintained an obstinate mystery in his
answers. He asserted that he had the best of reasons
for what he did, and inquired of the Judge
what portion of the profits would fall to his own
share, in the event of success, with an earnestness
that proved his faith. After spending an hour near
the place, examining the stones, and searching for
the usual indications of the proximity of ore, the
Judge remounted, and suffered his cousin to lead the
way to the place where the mysterious trio had been
making their excavation.
The spot chosen by Jotham was on the back
and the place selected by Natty and
his companions was on the other side of the same
hill, but above the road, and, of course, in an opposite
direction to the route taken by the ladies in their
walk.
“We shall be safe in approaching the place
now,” said Richard, while they dismounted and
fastened their horses; “for I took a look with the
glass, and saw John and Leather-stocking in their
canoe fishing, before we left home, and Oliver is in
the same pursuit, but these may be nothing but
shams, to blind our eyes, so we will be expeditious,
for it would not be pleasant to be caught here by
them.”
“Not on my own land!” said Marmaduke,
sternly. “If it be as you suspect, I will know their
reasons for making this excavation.”
“Mum,” said Richard, laying his finger on his
lip, and leading the way down a very difficult descent
to a sort of a natural cavern, which was formed
in the face of the rock, and not unlike a
fire-place in shape. In front of this place lay a
pile of earth, which had evidently been taken
from the recess, and part of which was yet
fresh. An examination of the exterior of the
cavern, left the Judge in doubt whether it was
one of nature's frolics that had thrown it into that
shape, or whether it had been wrought by the
hands of man, at some earlier period. But there
could be no doubt that the whole of the interior
was of recent formation, and the marks of the
pick were still visible, where the soft, lead-coloured
rock had opposed itself to the progress of the miners.
The whole formed an excavation of about twenty
feet in width, and nearly twice that distance in
depth. The height was much greater than was
required for the ordinary purposes of experiment;
roof of the cavern was a natural stratum of rock,
that projected many feet beyond the base of the pile.
Immediately in front of the recess, or cave, was a
little terrace, partly formed by nature, and partly
by the earth that had been carelessly thrown aside
by the labourers. The mountain fell off precipitately
in front of the terrace, and the approach by its
sides, under the ridge of the rocks, was difficult, and
a little dangerous. The whole was wild, rude, and
apparently incomplete; for, while looking among
the bushes, the Sheriff found the very implements
that had been used in the work.
When the Sheriff thought that his cousin had
examined the spot sufficiently, he cried—
“Well, Judge Temple, are you satisfied?”
“Perfectly that there is something mysterious,
and to me perplexing in this business. It is a secret
spot, and cunningly devised, Richard; yet I see
no symptoms of ore.”
“Do you expect, sir, to find gold and silver
lying like pebbles on the surface of the earth?—
dollars and dimes ready coined to your hands! No,
no—the treasure must be sought after to be won.
But let them mine; I shall countermine.”
The Judge took an accurate survey of the place,
and noted in his memorandum-book such marks
as were necessary to find it again, in the event of
Richard's absence; when the cousins returned to
their horses.
On reaching the highway they separated, the
Sheriff to summon twenty-four “good men and
true,” to attend as the inquest of the county, on the
succeeding Monday, when Marmaduke held his
stated court of “common pleas and general sessions
of the peace,” and the Judge to return, musing
deeply on what he had seen and heard in the course
of the morning.
When the horse of the latter reached the spot
where the highway fell towards the valley, the eye
of Marmaduke rested, it is true, on the same scene
that had, ten minutes before, been so soothing to
the feelings of his daughter and her friend, as they
emerged from the forest; but it rested in vacancy.
He threw the reins to his sure-footed beast, and suffered
the animal to travel at its own gait, while he
soliloquized as follows:—
“There may be more in this than I at first supposed.
I have suffered my feelings to blind my reason,
in admitting an unknown youth in this manner
to my dwelling;—yet this is not the land of suspicion.
I will have the Leather-stocking before
me, and, by a few direct questions, extract the
truth from the simple old man.”—
At that instant the Judge caught a glimpse of the
figures of Elizabeth and Louisa, who were slowly
descending the mountain, but a short distance before
him. He put spurs to his horse, and riding up
to them, dismounted, and drove his steed along
the narrow path. While the agitated parent was
listening to the vivid description that his daughter
gave of her recent danger, and her unexpected escape,
all thoughts of mines, vested rights, and examinations,
were absorbed in his emotions; and
when the image of Natty again crossed his recollection,
it was not as a lawless and depredating
squatter, but as the preserver of his child.
| CHAPTER X. The pioneers, or The sources of the Susquehanna | |