The opinion now became general, that the
youth had received his death- wound in the open prairie, and had
dragged his enfeebled form into the cover of the thicket for the
purpose of concealment. A trail through the bushes confirmed this
opinion. It also appeared, on examination, that a desperate struggle
had taken place on the very margin of the thicket. This was
sufficiently apparent by the trodden branches, the deep impressions on
the moist ground, and the lavish flow of blood.
"He has been shot in the open ground and come here for a cover," said
Abiram; "these marks would clearly prove it. The boy has been set upon
by the savages in a body, and has fou't like a hero as he was, until
they have mastered his strength, and then drawn him to the bushes."
To this probable opinion there was now but one dissenting voice, that
of the slow-minded Ishmael, who demanded that the corpse itself should
be examined in order to obtain a more accurate knowledge of its
injuries. On examination, it appeared that a rifle bullet had passed
directly through the body of the deceased, entering beneath one of his
brawny shoulders, and making its exit by the breast.
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