But, as if he disdained the usual
artifices of his people, he bore none of those strange and horrid
devices, with which the children of the forest are accustomed, like
the more civilised heroes of the moustache, to back their reputation
for courage, contenting himself with a broad and deep shadowing of
black, that served as a sufficient and an admirable foil to the
brighter gleamings of his native swarthiness. His head was as usual
shaved to the crown, where a large and gallant scalp-lock seemed to
challenge the grasp of his enemies. The ornaments that were ordinarily
pendant from the cartilages of his ears had been removed, on account
of his present pursuit. His body, notwithstanding the lateness of the
season, was nearly naked, and the portion which was clad bore a
vestment no warmer than a light robe of the finest dressed deer-skin,
beautifully stained with the rude design of some daring exploit, and
which was carelessly worn, as if more in pride than from any unmanly
regard to comfort. His leggings were of bright scarlet cloth, the only
evidence about his person that he had held communion with the traders
of the Pale-faces.
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