The Pathfinder: Or the Inland Sea

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half a century later, the whole of that vast region which has been called the West, or the new countries since the war of the revolution, lay a comparatively unpeopled desert, teeming with all the living productions of nature that properly belonged to the climate, man and the domestic animals excepted. The f

keep the larder of an epicure amply supplied. Fish of various sorts abounded in its river, and the sportsman had only to cast his line to haul in a bass or some other member of the finny tribe, which then peopled the waters, as the air above the swamps of this fruitful latitude are known to be filled with insects. Among others was the salmon of the lakes, a variety of that well-known species, that is scarcely inferior to the delicious salmon of northern Europe. Of the different mi

ul commentary on the caprices of taste, and of the waywardness of human desires, that the very diet which in other scenes would have been deemed the subject of envy and repinings got to pall on the appetite. The coarse and regular food of the army, which it became necessary to

ous broiled salmon smoked on a homely platter, hot venison steaks sent up their appetizing odors, and several dishes of cold meats, all of which w

, Sergeant,” said Cap, after he had got fairly initiated into the myst

s garrison there are not half a dozen who will not swear that the fish is unfit to be eaten. Even some of the lads,

ays thankful for the food he gets, whether it be fat or lean, venison or bear, wild turkey’s breast or wild goose’s wing. To the shame

Even the major himself, old Duncan of Lundie, will sometimes swear that an oatmeal cake is better fare than the Oswego

ked Mabel, whose thoughts naturally turned

ing to wait, rather than suffer the hardships of service in this wild region; all of which, br

,” returned Cap gravely. “Our family has done its share in that w

any other regiment, I can promise you, brother; though I do thin

the

r I’ve seen it verified by experience, that he who would follow the trail of a virgin’s good-will m

t bit of a cold roasted pig is to yo

tinacious seaman. “Venison is well enough for your inland sailor

ed in a hearty laugh, though in his always silent manner

skin, Master Cap? don

k myself, Pathfinder; but I suppose it is a fashi

thing. If you had had the skinning of that pig, Master Cap,

!” returned Cap. “But then I believed even a pig might l

fall to my duty. Pathfinder, I hope you di

sper and Pathfinder as the Pathfinder and Jasper are satisfied wit

her opinion; and then, with an inborn delicacy, which proved he was far superior to the vulgar desire t

“and make proper allowances for nature and education. A recruit is not a veteran. Any ma

ld seamen are apt to think that six soldiers, ay, and capital sold

s one of the garrison in a seaport. You and I have conversed on the subject before and I’m afraid we shall never agree. But if you wish to know what the difference is between a real soldier and man in what I

t more than you’ll find between a brig and a snow. To me they s

e Sergeant with dignity; “but perhaps you are not aware t

tarting; for I have often heard that, on their marches, they

on of each of the disputants in favor of his own calling; “and when a man has his gift from Providence, it is commonly idle to endeavor to bear up against it. The 55th, Sergeant, is a ju

n with me again. We have neither of us half seen the lake, and it would be hardly seemly

abandoning it altogether never crossed the mind of one so dogmatical and obstinate. He accordingly accompanied his niece, leaving Sergeant Dunham and his friend, the Pathfinder, alone together. As soon as

is in a red coat or a black one, or, for that matter, in his shirt-sleeves, I don’t like to let a good opportunity slip of saying a word i

, and some that were great and beautiful; but never before did I meet with

rticularly the last, for kindness counts for more than half with females, my friend — and the first inspection seems to give satisfaction o

as pleasant in the eyes of Mabel as she is getting to be in mine. I cleaned and brightened up Killdeer this morni

but firearms should sparkle and glitter in the sun, an

ise, Sergeant; and he was

English church at Albany. No, no, my worthy friend, a soldier should be a soldier, and at no time ought he to be ashamed or afraid to car

und myself so much beneath her in idees, that I was afra

days when I could see that Mabel’s mother thought none the worse of me because I descended a little from my manhood. It is true, I was twenty-two years younger then than I am to-day; and, moreover, instead of being the oldest sergeant

, I sometimes fear

gly of a matter on which I thoug

nter and guide, that I should quit some of my wandering ways, and try to humanize my mind down to a

I not understand you to say that you were pleased? —

I am but a poor ignorant woodsman, after all; and perhaps

oubt mine. Am I not accustomed to judge men’s character? and am I often decei

er many services. When this is the case, men are apt to think over kindly of each other; and I fear me

young woman would overlook such a qualification. Then you are not one of the coxcombs that strut about when they first join a regiment; but a man who has seen service, and who

t what will it avail in gaining the goo

in love as in war. But you are as honest-hearted and as

he fancy of such a young and delicate girl as Mabel, who has been unused to our wilder

you, my friend; and I wonder t

t they were always too much above me to make me think of them as more than so many feeble ones I was bound to protect and defend. The case is now different. Mabel and I are so nearly alike, that I feel we

es you already, and a fortnight’s intercourse and kindness, down among the islands yonder

ut a poor hunter and Mabel, I see, is fit to be an officer’s lady. Do you think the girl will consent to quit all her beloved settlement usages, and her v

over, as a general does his campaign. At first, I thought of bringing you into the regiment, that you might succeed me when I retire, which must be sooner or later; but on reflection, Pathfinder, I think you are scarcely fitted for the office. Still, if not a soldier

! It does not seem that one like myself can ever be agreeable in her handsome eyes. If I were younger, and more come

returned the Sergeant, snapping his fingers. “If not actually a younger, you

is companion with an expression of doubt

han Jasper, or any of them; and there will be more of you, thirty years hence, than of al

outh I know, Sergeant, and is as likely to

zing the other’s hand, “my trie

, Sergeant, near twenty ye

riends; and the hussy would never dream of refusing to ma

Like loves like. The young prefer the y

oung wife. Then you are respected and esteemed by every officer in the fort, as I hav

ing down his hair meekly and speaking thoughtfully. “I’ve tried to d

d Duncan of Lundie is glad to see you, and you pass hours

as if I were their brother; but, Sergeant, I have never been puffed up by their company, f

eatest rifle shot that ever pul

Sergeant, I sometimes think that it is all as much owing to Killdeer as to any skill of

ou succeed too often with the rifles of other men, to allow me to agree with you. We will get up a shooting match in

lldeer seldom misses; and ought we to make a trial of

the smoke in a skirmish, you are the faintest-hearted suitor I ever met with. Remember, Mabel co

ng duties, without apology; the terms on which the guide stood with

which did not depend on personal merit. He was respectful to his superiors from habit; but had often been known to correct their mistakes and to reprove their vices with a fearlessness that proved how essentially he regarded the more material points, and with a natural discrimination that appeared to set education at defiance. In short, a disbeliever in the ability of man to distinguish between good and evil without the aid of instruction, would have been staggered by the character of this extraordinary inhabitant of the frontier. His feelings appeared to possess the freshness and nature of the forest in which he passed so much of his time; and no casuist could have made clearer decisions in matters relating to right and wrong; and yet he was not without his prejudices, which, though few, and colored by the character and usages of the individual, were deep-rooted, and almost formed a part of his nature. But the most striking feature about the moral organization of Pathfinder was his beautiful and unerring sense of justice. This noble trait — and without it no man can be truly great, with it no man other than respectable — probably had its unseen influence on all who associated with him; for the common and unprincipled brawler of the camp had been known to return from an expedition made in his company rebuk

place in his esteem on account of these very virtues. That his daughter could find any serious objections to the match the old soldier did not apprehend; while, on the other hand, he saw many advantages to himself in dim perspective, connected with the decline of his days, and an evening of life passed among descendants who were equa