nor without a thought, I trust, of the great Providence | that some English officers quartered in Galway were which there was manifested, whereof the ungraven steep itself stands an eternal witness. NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. HAVING devoted some space in a former paper to particulars connected with my special favourite, the pretty and affectionate bullfinch, the very prince of European cage-birds, I shall here say a word about the house or dwelling usually provided for him. think that nothing can be more wantonly cruel than the common practice of leaving the poor bird exposed to the hourly danger of being dragged through his prison bars, and perishing miserably by the fangs of the cat. I have myself adopted the mode of placing the upright wires of the cage so close that no cat's paw could possibly pass between them, at the same time allowing the cross-wires to run within about an inch and a half of each other. I would suggest, as more elegant, a slight wire-lattice covering the whole cage, and the meshes of which should not leave more than a quarter of an inch opening. This might be made of very thin brass wire, and would not look amiss; at all events, it is to be hoped that cat-proof cages made on this principle, or some other, will one day be in general use. Apropos of bullfinches, it is generally thought that they will not breed in captivity: I know of at least one instance to the contrary: a large cage, and quiet, seem all they require. so delighted with its performance, that they resolved to have it at any price. The owner parted very reluctantly with his favourite, which was regularly installed at the barracks. Possibly, if his new friends had waited a sufficient time to gain his affections by kindness, all might have been well; but, anxious for sport, they took him on the water, and let him go. In a short time, the otter reappeared with a salmon in his jaws, and, as usual, swam for the boat. As he drew Inear, a thought seemed to strike him, and he hesitated, looked into the faces of those whom he could see, swam about a little, as if pursuing his scrutiny, and at last dived, and was seen no more! The probability is, that missing the master whom he knew, he had not sufficient acquaintance with his new possessors to care for their company. I have good information from other sources of the capacity of the otter for domestication. This capacity seems to be the distinguishing mark of certain races. I suppose it to represent organic differences in the brain and nervous system. We have seen that the pheasant and gray partridge are incapable of domestication, while other denizens of the wood and field yield to it at once. So it appears to be among quadrupeds. The fox and wolf, although often tried, never have been truly tamed, so far as I know. They do not seem to have brain enough for it; and the silly instinct of timidity-silly, I mean, when no cause justifies it-is too strong to be got over. Yet there are some few instances of an exceptional kind, in which even the wolf has shewn affection to the person by whom he was reared. The low cunning which is displayed by these animals in such perfection, must lie in some portion of cerebral matter quite apart from those developments which distinguish the cranium of the noble and magnanimous dog. How often do we see individuals of the human species who strikingly illustrate both temperaments! An ingenious mode of rearing birds is practised in France; at least, I have only seen it there. The young birds with the nest are placed in a small cage, and tied up near the place in which the nest itself lay. I have seen the old birds come and attend to the nursing of their offspring in this way with the utmost zeal and success. When we consider how much more skilful they are in finding the best food, and administering it in the best manner, we cannot be surprised that in this way the great losses, otherwise sure to occur, are avoided. Pigeons are certainly graceful creatures, and interesting from many qualities they possess. Some of the peculiar kinds are striking objects, from their odd appearance or graceful symmetry; but, on the whole, I think them little worth cultivating as pets, however amusing to boys. But they have one advantage to the dweller in cities who seldom gets a peep 'at nature in her green array;' they help to keep alive in his heart the soft and humanising impressions which nature alone can foster. There is something most delightful to the toil-worn mechanic who 'plies his sickly trade' in some forlorn garret, if he can see a pigeon or two of his own take wing from its window, and after wheeling gracefully about in mid-heaven, come soaring back again to their place. All the little domestic economy of the fond pair is, in such cases, an interesting study; and we seldom find pets like these, birds or flowers, in the dwellings of the spendthrift or the drunkard. There is something very interesting in contemplating those animals which, still in a wild state, represent the origin and source of our domestic servants and companions. I do not, for my own part, believe that the dog has any more family relationship to the wolf than the pheasant has to the domestic fowl. Many qualities they have in common, no doubt; but there would seem to be some radical difference, which no time can obliterate. My belief is, that the dog has, quite apart from the wolf, his wild prototype; and that, like the South Australian dingo, some animal of the tribe was to be found in primeval Europe, from which all our varieties may have sprung. Now that I have got upon the subject of dogs, I must restrain my garrulity, for the theme is inexhaustible. I shall content myself with alluding to the following curious instance of a voluntary association for a common purpose among them, which fell under my own observation. When a boy, I was engaged one evening in watching to get a shot at some rabbits in an ancient park, in which were many detached burrows. I was much surprised to see two dogs-one large, and the other very small-bound over the fence, and crouching Passing to another class of animals, I come upon down in a hollow space, as if to avoid observation, one I always regard with the greatest interest and gallop rapidly towards one of the warrens. They curiosity: I mean the otter. In a wild state, it is concealed themselves as well as they could, directing one of the most fierce and savage creatures possible. their approach by the course of an old ditch, and, Every one knows of its predatory habits, and the when near the holes, rushing furiously forward, with destruction of fish it occasions; but few are aware the evident design of surprising some outlier. Failing that, if taken very young, it may be brought up as in this, the small dog entered the burrow, and I could tame as a dog, and that it is susceptible of a high hear him barking underground, no doubt to bolt the degree of attachment to its master. I have it from rabbits from their refuge, while his companion stood authority on which I can implicitly rely, that an otter outside, waving his tail in the greatest excitement and was thus tamed, in the west of Ireland, some years watchfulness. At last the little dog returned, and the ago; and that it would descend into the waters of pair set off with all speed for another burrow, where the Lough Corrib, and return to the boat with its prey-same scene was repeated. I did not see that they met generally a salmon-in its mouth. My informant adds, with any success; but I suppose they must occasionally have done so; and, on the whole, it has always struck me as a very curious instance in its way. It illustrates this wonderful fact, that animals can interchange ideas without language; and is the more remarkable that they were not forced into this association, as wild dogs are, by any necessity for providing, by united efforts, for their common subsistence, or for the attack upon some prey, against which the strength of one would not avail. Among the creatures which, in a wild state, are interesting, may be mentioned the wild pig. There is something in the grisly majesty and fierce self-reliance of the full-grown boar which impresses itself on all minds. Nothing can be more savage and formidable than the countenance of this animal; and his strength and speed, when not checked in his range of ground, are wonderful. Yet he is very easily domesticated. A friend of mine supplied himself with pork and bacon for many years from a breed of pure German wild boars; and excellent they were. He had, when I first saw them, a magnificent patriarchal old fellow, of tremendous appearance, but as gentle as tame pig could be. This boar, as he had plenty of successors growing up about him, my friend bestowed upon a certain zoological garden, where he became a first-rate attraction. Whatever else was neglected, one was sure to see a crowd around the strong paling by which this fierce and dangerous wild beast was confined. 'Did you see the wild boar?' 'Oh, what a hideous monster!' was in every mouth. I remember one day creating quite a sensation of horror, by going up to the paling, calling my old acquaintance by name, and, when he came up grunting and barking to where I stood, scratching his jaws and poll to his infinite satisfaction. This reminds me of a wild-boar anecdote I had from the late Sir W. Maxwell. It would seem that a friend of his in Scotland had received from Germany a splendid boar, which soon after contrived to make his escape, by leaping a wall such as, it was presumed, no pig could possibly get over. He made his way into a park where a number of young cattle were grazing; and they, being excited by his strange appearance, gave chase at once, and ended by fairly bringing him to bay. I have always heard, on the continent, that a boar will overthrow horse and man, if they abide his onset, and I fully believe it; but so determined was the onslaught of these stots upon the present one, that, forming a circle around him, they contrived to trample him to death, and almost to atoms. I have had occasion to remark before, that some of the very wildest birds and animals are capable of being tamed with facility, if taken young; while others are just the reverse. The stag and deer tribe, generally, are instances of the former peculiarity; indeed, the boldness of tame stags renders them even dangerous. I take it for granted that they could scarcely ever be tolerated as domestic animals from their bold and fierce temper, and their tendency to use their horns when provoked. I have often seen it tried, but always with the result, that the bucks were found quite intolerable, and duly killed off.' An exception may be claimed for a very fine stag I once knew as forming part of the staff of a marching regiment. He went with his corps everywhere, was much admired at reviews and other such gatherings. I knew another case of a tame buck, which, in a country town, would stroll in from his master's house in the suburbs, and was constantly seen scampering back with a loaf of bread, a dried fish, or a cut of bacon in his mouth; for nothing came amiss to his appetite. He was the plague of the hucksters' shops in the vicinity, and cost, no doubt, a good sum for damages. The same tendency to ill-temper and ferocity runs through the antelope tribe; and the ibex and chamois are examples of it. I knew a case some years ago of a very fine chamois, in the collection of the Duke of Gotha, which became so dangerous that it had to be destroyed. By the way, I could not help feeling, when I saw these animals, what a pity it is that so little pains are taken to afford such as are kept in captivity some opportunity of shewing their native qualities. These chiamois were confined in a small court, with a miniature attempt at a rocky pinnacle in the centre. Now, it would have cost but a trifle to enclose with wooden poles from the adjoining forest a space considerably larger, and within this to have erected something which might have given these interesting creatures an opportunity of displaying their wondrous agility. Perhaps this additional space and climbingground might have saved the life of the beautiful buck, by giving him some vent for his pent-up energies. I was told that nothing could be more formidable than the way in which he had recently attacked a calf belonging to the keeper, which unluckily came in his way. He charged the poor beast with great violence, inserting the points of his little crooked horns with great dexterity in its side, and ripping it open in such a way as to cause almost instant death. It seems singular that we hear nothing of attempts to introduce the chamois and ibex into Scotland. Ought not the wild solitude of our Highland ranges to afford them a dwelling suitable to their nature and habits? It may indeed be doubtful whether any mountains below the level of perpetual snow would be cool enough for the ibex in summer; but the experiment would be well worth trial. What a noble animal is the now nearly extinet ibex! It is a great mistake to suppose that the chamois disputes with him the honour of the highest mountain throne. On the contrary, of all four-footed creatures, he alone breathes the keen air of the Alpine sunimits; and although descending at night to feed in the lower ranges, yet his home is the bosom of the eternal glacier, stretched at length upon which he passes the summer-day, and strives to cool by its contact his heated blood." What would one not give to see a herd of these wonderful creatures, with their huge horns recurved almost to the tail, yet skipping lightly from crag to crag, and finding a safe footing amongst the most appalling precipices! It is not surprising that the chase of the ibex has for the hunter of the Alps all the fascination of gambling. No laws, however strict, can restrain him; and although, at least in Savoy, it is penal to destroy the ibex, the work of slaughter goes on unchecked. The race is thinning out year by year; but it has survived the period assigned by De Saussure for its extermination. When taken, it is a valuable prize. The skin is of some importance in commerce; the flesh is excellent, and the horns, if good, will fetch from L.3 to L.4 sterling. Good horns are known by their size and the number of knobs along their edge. Each year of the animal's life, a knob is added, and they never exceed thirty, that being understood as the extreme age of the ibex. I was fortunate enough to procure, some years since, a fine pair of horns, which mark about twenty-nine years' growth; but such instances are now very rare, and will soon be unknown altogether. All the horns brought to market are not necessarily the result of poaching. Some are generally found, when the snow melts in spring, lying at the foot of precipices over which the poor beasts have been carried by the falling avalanches. Such must have been the fate of the bearer of the horns alluded to, and awful the crash with which the patriarch came to his end, for the strong bones of the skull were split in two, although apparently almost as hard as iron, and a portion went with each horn. I believe I am scarcely in order in speaking of the ibex among the antelopes; he is, after all, only a superior sort of goat. The chamois is allowed to hold an intermediate place, and act as a connectinglink between the goat and the true antelopes. OÇEOLA: A ROMANCE. CHAPTER LXI.-THE ROUTE. THE dispatch called for instant obedience. Fortunately my horse was still under the saddle, and in less than five minutes I was upon his back, and galloping for the volunteer camp. Among these eager warriors, the news produced a joyous excitement, expressed in a wild hurrah. Enthusiasm supplied the place of discipline; and, in less than half an hour, the corps was accoutred and ready for the road. There was nothing to cause delay. The command to march was given; the bugle sounded the 'forward,' and the troop filing by twos,' into a long somewhat irregular line, took the route for Fort King. I galloped home to say adieu. It was a hurried leave-taking-less happy than my last-but I rode away with more contentment, under the knowledge that my sister was now warned, and there was no longer any danger of an alliance with Arens Ringgold. The orderly who brought the dispatch rode back with the troop. As we marched along, he communicated the camp-news, and rumours in circulation at the fort. Many events had occurred, of which we had not heard. The Indians had forsaken their towns, taking with them their wives, children, cattle, and chattels. Some of their villages they had themselves fired, leaving nothing for their pale-faced enemies to destroy. This proved a determination to engage in a general war, had other proofs of this disposition been wanting. Whither they had gone, even our spies had been unable to find out. It was supposed by some that they had moved further south, to a more distant part of the peninsula. Others alleged that they had betaken themselves to the great swamp that stretches for many leagues around the head-waters of the Amazura river, and known as the Cove of the Ouithlacoochee.' informed frontiersmen could give only rude guesses on this point. For my part, I believed that there were more than a thousand warriors, even after the defection of the traitor clans; and this was the opinion of one who knew them well-old Hickman the hunter. How, then, were so many to find existence in the middle of a morass? Had they been provident, and there accumulated a grand commissariat? No: this question could at once be answered in the negative. It was well known that the contrary was the case-for in this year the Seminoles were without even their usual supply. Their removal had been urged in the spring; and, in consequence of the doubtful prospect before them, many families had planted little-some not at all. Their crop, therefore, was less than in ordinary years; and previous to the final council at Fort King, numbers of them had been both buying and begging food from the frontier citizens. What likelihood, then, of their finding subsistence throughout a long campaign? They would be starved out of their fastnesses-they must come out, and either stand fight, or sue for peace. So people believed. This topic was discussed as we rode along. It was one of primary interest to all young warriors thirsting for fame-inasmuch as, should the enemy determine to pursue so inglorious a system of warfare, where were the laurels to be plucked? A campaign in the miasmatic and pestilential climate of the swamps was more likely to yield a luxuriant crop of cypresses. Most hoped, and hence believed, that the Indians would soon grow hungry, and shew themselves in a fair field of fight. There were different opinions as to the possibility of their subsisting themselves for a lengthened period of time. Some-and these were men best acquainted with the nature of the country-expressed their belief that they could. The old alligator-hunter was of this way of thinking. "Thuv got,' said he, 'thet ere durned brier wi' the big roots they calls "coonty;" "it grows putty nigh over all the swamp, an' in some places as thick as a cane-brake. It ur the best o' eatin', an' drinkin' too, for they make a drink o' it. An' then thar's the akurns o' the live-oak-them ere ain't sech bad eatin', when This last conjecture was the more likely, though so well roasted i' the ashes. They may gathur thousands secretly and adroitly had they managed their migra- o' bushels, I reckon. An' nixt thar's the cabbidge in tion, that not a trace of the movement could be de- the head o' the big palmetter; thet ere'll gi' them tected. The spies of the friendly Indians-the keenest greens. As to thar meat, thar's deer, an' thar's barthat could be employed-were unable to discover a good grist o' em in the swamp-an' thar's allygatur, their retreat. It was supposed that they intended to a tol'ably goodish wheen o' them varmint, I reckon act only on the defensive-that is, to make plundering to say nothin' o' turtle, an' turkey, an' squrr'lls, an' forays on whatever quarter was left unguarded by snakes, an' sandrats; for, durn a red-skin! he kin eat troops, and then retire with their booty to the fast- anythin' that crawls-from a punkin to a polecat. nesses of the swamp. Their conduct up to this time Don't you b'lieve it, fellars? Them ere Injuns ain't rendered the supposition probable enough. In such a gwine to starve, s'easy as you think for. Thu'll case, the war might not be so easily brought to a hold out by thar teeth an' toe-nails, jest so long as termination; in other words, there might be no war thar's a eetable thing in the darnationed swampat all, but a succession of fruitless marches and pur- that's what thu 'll do.” suits; for it was well enough understood that if the Indians did not choose to stand before us in action, we should have but little chance of overhauling them in their retreat. The fear of the troops was, that their adversaries would take to the cover,' where it would be difficult, if not altogether impossible, to find them. However, this state of things could not be perpetual; the Indians could not always subsist upon plunder, where the booty must be every day growing less. They were too numerous for a mere band of robbers, though there existed among the whites a very imperfect idea of their numbers. Estimates placed them at from one to five thousand souls -runaway negroes included-and even the best This sage reasoning produced conviction in the minds of those who heard it. After all, the despised enemy might not be so helpless as was generally imagined. The march of the volunteers was not conducted in a strict military style. It was so commenced; but the officers soon found it impossible to carry out the 'tactics.' The men, especially the younger ones, could not be restrained from occasionally falling out of the lines-to help themselves to a pull out of some odd-looking flask; and at intervals one would gallop off into the woods, in hopes of getting a shot at a deer or turkey he had caught a glimpse of through the trees. * Smilax pseudo-china. Reasoning with these fellows, on the part of their officers, proved rather a fruitless affair; and getting angry with them, was only to elicit a sulky rejoinder. Sergeant Hickman was extremely wroth with some of the offenders. 'Greenhorns!' he exclaimed; 'darnationed greenhorns! let 'em go on at it. May a allygatur eet me, if they don't behave diff'rent by 'm by. I'll stake my critter agin any hoss in the crowd, that some o' them ere fellars 'l git sculped afore sundown; durned if they don't.' No one offered to take the old hunter's bet, and fortunately for them, as his words proved prophetic. A young planter, fancying himself as safe as if riding through his own sugar-canes, had galloped off from the line of march. A deer, seen browsing in the savanna, offered an attraction too strong to be resisted. He had not been gone five minutes-had scarcely passed out of sight of his comrades-when two shots were heard in quick succession; and the next moment, his riderless horse came galloping back to the troop. The line was halted, and faced in the direction whence the shots had been heard. An advance-party moved forward to the ground. No enemy was discovered, nor the traces of any, except those exhibited in the dead body of the young planter, that lay perforated with a brace of bullets just as it had fallen out of the saddle. It was a lesson-though an unpleasant one to his comrades-and after this, there were no more attempts at deer-stalking. The man was buried on the spot where he lay; and with the troop more regularly and compactly formed-now an easier duty for its officers-we continued the march unmolested, and before sunset were within the stockade of the fort. to think. The object of this fresh interview with the chiefs was stated in my hearing. It was to arrange a plan for concerted action between the troops and the friendly Indians, who were to act as our allies against their own countrymen; the latter-as was now known by certain information-being collected in large force in the Cove of the Ouithlacoochee.' Their actual position was still unknown; but that, it was confidently hoped, would be discovered by the aid of the friendly chiefs, and their spies, who were constantly on the run. The meeting had been already pre-arranged. The chiefs-who, as already stated, had gone to Fort Brooke, and were there living under protection of the garrison-were to make a secret journey, and meet the agent and general at an appointed place-the old ground, the hommock by the pond. The meeting had been fixed for that very night-as soon as it should be dark enough to hide the approach of both tempters and traitors. It was dark enough almost the moment the sun went down-for the moon was in her third quarter, and would not be in the sky until after sunset. Shortly after twilight, therefore, we three proceeded to the spot-the general, the agent, and the interpreter, just as we had done on the former occasion. The chiefs were not there, and this caused a little surprise. By the noted punctuality with which an Indian keeps his assignation, it was expected they would have been upon the ground, for the hour appointed had arrived. What is detaining them? What can be detaining them?' mutually inquired commissioner and general. Scarcely an instant passed till the answer came. It came from afar, and in a singular utterance; but it could be no other than a reply to the question-so both my companions conjectured. Borne upon the night-breeze was the sound of strife-the sharp cracking of rifles and pistols; and, distinctly heard above all, the shrill Yo-ho-chee. The sounds were distant-away amid the far woods; but they were sufficiently distinct to admit of the interpretation, that a life-and-death struggle was going on between two parties of men. It could be no feint, no false alarm to draw the soldiers from the fort, or terrify the sentinel on his post. There was an earnestness in the wild treble of those shrill cries, that convinced the listener human blood was being spilled. My companions were busy with conjectures. I saw that neither possessed a high degree of courage, for that is not necessary to become a general. In my warlike experience, I have seen more than one hiding It was not long before I was ordered upon duty-behind a tree or a piece of wall. One, indeed, who almost the moment after my arrival-and that, as usual, of a disagreeable kind. Before I had time to obtain a moment's rest after the long ride-even before I could wash the road-dust from my skin-I was summoned to the quarters of the commander-in chief. What could he want with me, in such hot haste? Was it about the duels? Were these old scores going to be reckoned up? Not without some apprehension did I betake myself into the presence of the general. It proved, however, to be nothing concerning the past; though, when I learned the duty I was to perform, I half regretted that it was not a reprimand. I found the agent closeted with the commander-inchief. They had designed another interview with Omatla and Black Dirt.' I was merely wanted as an interpreter. * In the United States army, these two offices are quite distinct. A commissary' caters only for the inner man; a quartermaster's duty is to shelter, clothe, arm, and equip. A wise regulation. was afterwards elected the chief of twenty millions of people, I have seen skulking in a ditch to screen himself from a stray shot, while his lost brigade, half a mile in the advance, was gallantly fighting under the guidance of a sub-lieutenant. But why should I speak of these things here? The world is full of such heroes. 'It is they, by ,'exclaimed the commissioner. "They have been waylaid; they are attacked by the others: that rascal Powell for a thousand!' It 'It is extremely probable,' replied the other, who seemed to have a somewhat steadier nerve, and spoke more coolly. Yes, it must be. There are no troops in that direction; no whites either-not a man. must therefore be an affair among the Indians themselves; and what else than an attack upon the friendly chiefs? You are right, Thompson; it is as you say.' 'If so, general, it will be of no use our remaining here. If they have waylaid Omatla, they will of course have superior numbers, and he must fall. We need not expect him.' 'No; he is not likely to come, neither he nor Lusta. As you say, it is idle for us to remain here. I think we may as well return to the fort.' There was a moment's hesitation, during which I fancied both generals were debating in their own minds whether it would be graceful thus to give up their errand and purpose. 'If they should come'- - continued the soldier. 'General,' said I, taking the liberty to interrupt him, if you desire it, I shall remain upon the ground for a while, and see. If they should come,' I added, in continuation of the broken sentence, 'I can proceed to the fort, and give you notice.' I could not have made a proposition more agreeable to the two. It was instantly accepted, and the brace of official heroes moved away, leaving me to myself. It was not long ere I had cause to regret my generous rashness. My late companions could scarcely have reached the fort when the sounds of the strife suddenly ceased, and I heard the caha-queene-the Seminole shout of triumph. I was still listening to its wild intonations, when half-a-dozen men-darkbodied men-rushed out of the bushes, and surrounded me where I stood. Despite the poor light the stars afforded, I could see shining blades, guns, pistols, and tomahawks. The weapons were too near my eyes to be mistaken for the fire-flies that had been glittering around my head; besides, the clink of steel was in my ears. My assailants made no outcry, perhaps because they were too near the fort; and my own shouts were soon suppressed by a blow that levelled me to the earth, depriving me as well of consciousness as of speech. CHAPTER LXIII. AN INDIAN EXECUTIONER. before me, 'friend of the Rising Sun! we will not do further harm to you; but you must go with us to the chiefs. They are not far off. Come!' I was once more upon my feet, and perhaps by a desperate effort might have escaped. The attempt, however, might have cost me a second knock-down -perhaps my life. Moreover, the courtesy of my captors at once set my mind at ease. Go where they might, I felt that I had nothing to fear from them; and, without hesitation, I consented to accompany them. My captors, throwing themselves into single file, and assigning me a position in their midst, at once started off through the woods. For some time we walked rapidly, the path taken by the leader of the party being easily followed, even in the darkness, by those behind. I observed that we were going in the direction whence had been heard the sounds of the conflict, that had long since ceased to vibrate upon the air. Of whatever nature had been the struggle, it was evidently brought to a close, and even the victors no longer uttered the caha-queene. We had advanced about a mile when the moon arose; and the woods becoming more open, I could see my captors more distinctly. I recognised the features of one or two of them, from having seen them at the council. They were warriors of the Micosauc tribe, the followers of Oçeola. From this I conjectured that he was one of the chiefs before whom I was being conducted. My conjecture proved correct. We had not gone much further, when the path led into an opening in the woods, in the midst of which a large body of Indians, about a hundred in all, were grouped together. A little apart was a smaller group-the chiefs and head warriors. In their midst I observed Oçeola. After a short spell of obliviousness, I recovered my The ground exhibited a singular and sanguinary senses. I perceived that the Indians were still around spectacle. Dead bodies were lying about gashed with me, but no longer in the menacing attitudes in which wounds still fresh and bleeding. Some of the dead I had seen them before being struck down; on the lay upon their backs, their unclosed eyes glaring contrary, they appeared to be treating me with kind-ghastly upon the moon, all in the attitudes in which ness. One of them held my head upon his knee, while another was endeavouring to stanch the blood that was running freely from a wound in my temples. The others stood around regarding me with interest, and apparently anxious about my recovery. Their behaviour caused me surprise, for I had no other thought than that they had intended to kill me; indeed, as I sank under the stroke of the tomahawk, my senses had gone out, under the impression that I was killed. Such a reflection is not uncommon to those whom a blow has suddenly deprived of consciousness. My surprise was of an agreeable character. I felt that I still lived-that I was but little hurt; and not likely to receive any further damage from those who surrounded me. They were speaking to one another in low tones, pronouncing the prognosis of my wound, and apparently gratified that they had not killed me. We have spilled your blood; but it is not dangerous,' said one, addressing himself to me in his native tongue. It was I who gave the blow. Hulwak! it was dark. Friend of the Rising Sun! we did not know you. We thought you were the yatika-clucco.* It is his blood we intended to spill. We expected to find him here; he has been here: where gone?' I pointed in the direction of the fort. 'Hulwak!' exclaimed several in a breath, and in a tone that betokened disappointment; and then turning aside, they conversed with each other in a low voice. 'Fear not,' said the first speaker, again standing *The 'great speaker'-the commissioner. they had fallen. The scalping-knife had done its work, as the whitish patch upon the crowns, laced with seams of crimson red, shewed the skulls divested of their hirsute covering. Men were strolling about with the fresh scalps in their hands, or elevated upon the muzzles of their guns. There was no mystery in what I saw; I knew its meaning well. The men who had fallen were of the traitor tribes-the followers of Lusta Hajo and Omatla. According to the arrangement with the commissioner, the chiefs had left Fort Brooke, accompanied by a chosen band of their retainers. Their intention had become known to the patriots-their movements had been watched-they had been attacked on the way; and, after a short struggle, overpowered. Most of them had fallen in the melee-a few, with the chief Lusta Hajo, had contrived to escape; while still another few-among whom was Omatla himself-had been taken prisoners during the conflict, and were yet alive. They had been rescued from death only to suffer it in a more ceremonial shape. I saw the captives where they stood, close at hand, and fast bound to some trees. Among them I recognised their leader, by the grace of Commissioner Thompson, 'king of the Seminole nation.' By those around, his majesty was now regarded with but slight deference. Many a willing regicide stood near him, and would have taken his life without further ceremony. But these were restrained by the chiefs, who opposed the violent proceeding, and who had come to the determination to give Omatla a trial, according to the laws and customs of their nation. |