"
"But the object, that you saw--was it a Sioux?"
"What the world of America is coming to, and where the machinations
and inventions of its people are to have an end, the Lord, he only
knows. I have seen, in my day, the chief who, in his time, had beheld
the first Christian that placed his wicked foot in the regions of
York! How much has the beauty of the wilderness been deformed in two
short lives! My own eyes were first opened on the shores of the
Eastern sea, and well do I remember, that I tried the virtues of the
first rifle I ever bore, after such a march, from the door of my
father to the forest, as a stripling could make between sun and sun;
and that without offence to the rights, or prejudices, of any man who
set himself up to be the owner of the beasts of the fields. Natur'
then lay in its glory along the whole coast, giving a narrow stripe,
between the woods and the ocean, to the greediness of the settlers.
And where am I now? Had I the wings of an eagle, they would tire
before a tenth of the distance, which separates me from that sea,
could be passed; and towns, and villages, farms, and highways,
churches, and schools, in short, all the inventions and deviltries of
man, are spread across the region.
Pages:
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543