Chapter VIII.

by James Fenimore Cooper

　　The elfin cast a glance around, As he lighted down from his courser toad, Then round his breast his wings he wound, And close to the river's brink he strode; He sprang on a rock, he breathed a prayer, Above his head his arm he threw, Then tossed a tiny curve in air, And headlong plunged in the water blue. DRAKE.An hour had intervened between the time when le Bourdon had removedthe canoes of the Pottawattamies, and the time when he returnedalone to the northern side of the river. In the course of that hourthe chief of the savages had time to ascertain all the leadingcircumstances that have just been related, and to collect his peoplein and around the hut, for a passing council. The moment was one ofaction, and not of ceremonies. No pipe was smoked, nor any of theobservances of the great councils of the tribe attended to; theobject was merely to glean facts and to collect opinions. In all thetribes of this part of North America, something very like aprinciple of democracy is the predominant feature of their politics.It is not, however, that bastard democracy which is coming so muchin fashion among ourselves, and which looks into the gutters solelyfor the "people," forgetting that the landlord has just as muchright to protection as the tenant, the master as the servant, therich as the poor, the gentleman as the blackguard. The Indians knowbetter than all this. They understand, fully, that the chiefs areentitled to more respect than the loafers in their villages, andlisten to the former, while their ears are shut to the latter. Theyappear to have a common sense, which teaches them to avoid equallythe exaggerations of those who believe in blood, and of those whobelieve in blackguardism. With them the doctrines of "new men" wouldsound as an absurdity, for they never submit to change for change'ssake. On the contrary, while there is no positive hereditary rank,there is much hereditary consideration; and we doubt if a red mancould be found in all America, who is so much of a simpleton as tocite among the qualifications of any man for a situation of trustand responsibility, that he had never been taught how to perform itsduties. They are not guilty of the contradiction of elevating menbecause they are self-taught, while they expend millions on schools.Doubtless they have, after a fashion of their own, demagogues andCaesars, but they are usually kept within moderate limits; and inrare instances, indeed, do either ever seriously trespass on therights of the tribe. As human nature is everywhere the same, it isnot to be supposed that pure justice prevails even among savages;but one thing would seem to be certain, that, all over the world,man in his simplest and wildest state is more apt to respect his ownordinances, than when living in what is deemed a condition of highcivilization.

　　When le Bourdon reached the point whence he could get a good view ofthe door of the hut, which was still illuminated by the fire within,he ceased using the paddle beyond the slight effort necessary tokeep the canoe nearly stationary. He was quite within the range of arifle, but trusted to the darkness of the night for his protection.That scouts were out, watching the approaches to the hut, he feltsatisfied; and he did not doubt that some were prowling along themargin of the Kalamazoo, either looking for the lost boats, or forthose who had taken them away. This made him cautious, and he tookgood care not to place his canoe in a position of danger.

　　It was very apparent that the savages were in great uncertainty asto the number of their enemies. Had not the rifle been fired, andtheir warrior killed and scalped, they might have supposed thattheir prisoner had found the means of releasing his limbs himself,and thus effected his escape; but they knew that the Chippewa hadneither gun nor knife, and as all their own arms, even to those ofthe dead man, were still in their possession, it was clear that hehad been succored from without. Now, the Pottawattamies had heard ofboth the bee-hunter and Whiskey Centre, and it was natural enoughfor them to ascribe some of these unlooked-for feats to one or theother of these agents. It is true, the hut was known to have beenbuilt three or four years earlier, by an Indian trader, and no oneof the party had ever actually seen Gershom and his family inpossession; but the conjectures on this head were as near the fact,as if the savages had passed and repassed daily. There was only onepoint on which these close calculators of events were at fault. Sothoroughly had everything been removed from the chiente, and socarefully the traces of its recent occupation concealed, that no oneamong them suspected that the family had left the place only an hourbefore their own arrival. The bee-hunter, moreover, was well assuredthat the savages had not yet blundered on the hiding-place of thefurniture. Had this been discovered, its contents would have beendragged to light, and seen around the fire; for there is usuallylittle self-restraint among the red men, when they make a prize ofthis sort.

　　Nevertheless, there was one point about which even those keen-scented children of the forest were much puzzled, and which the bee-hunter perfectly comprehended, notwithstanding the distance at whichhe was compelled to keep himself. The odor of the whiskey was sostrong, in and about the chiente, that the Pottawattamies did notknow what to make of it. That there should be the remains of thispeculiar smell--one so fragrant and tempting to those who areaccustomed to indulge in the liquor--in the hut itself, was naturalenough; but the savages were perplexed at finding it so strong onthe declivity down which the barrels had been rolled. On thissubject were they conversing, when le Bourdon first got near enoughto observe their proceedings. After discussing the matter for sometime, torches were lighted, and most of the party followed a grimold warrior, who had an exceedingly true nose for the scent ofwhiskey, and who led them to the very spot where the half-barrel hadbeen first stove by rolling off a rock, and where its contents hadbeen mainly spilled. Here the earth was yet wet in places, and thescent was so strong as to leave no doubt of the recent nature of theaccident which had wasted so much of a liquor that was very preciousin Pottawattamie eyes; for accident they thought it must be, sinceno sane man could think of destroying the liquor intentionally.

　　All the movements, gestures, and genuflections of the savages wereplainly seen by the bee-hunter. We say the genuflections, for nearlyall of the Indians got on their knees and applied their noses to theearth, in order to scent the fragrance of the beloved whiskey; someout of curiosity, but more because they loved even this tantalizingindulgence, when no better could be had. But le Bourdon was right inhis conjectures, that the matter was not to end here. Although mostof the Indians scented the remains of the whiskey out of love forthe liquor, a few of their number reasoned on the whole transactionwith quite as much acuteness as could have been done by theshrewdest natural philosopher living. To them it was very apparentthat no great length of time, a few hours at most, could haveelapsed since that whiskey was spilled; and human hands must havebrought it there, in the first place, and poured it on the ground,in the second. There must have been a strong reason for such an act,and that reason presented itself to their minds with unerringaccuracy. Their own approach must have been seen, and the liquor wasdestroyed because it could not be removed in time to prevent itsfalling into their hands. Even the precise manner in which thewhiskey had been disposed of was pretty nearly conjectured by a fewof the chiefs, acute and practised as they were; who, accustomed tothis species of exercise of their wits, had some such dexterity inexamining facts of this nature, and in arriving at just results, asthe men of the schools manifest in the inquiries that moreespecially belong to their habits and training. But theirconclusions were confined to themselves; and they were alsosufficiently enveloped in doubts, to leave those who made them readyenough to receive new impressions on the same subject.

　　All this, moreover, le Bourdon both saw and understood; or, if notabsolutely all, so much of it as to let him comprehend the mainconclusions of the savages, as well as the process by which theywere reached. To obtain light, the Indians made a fire near thecharmed spot, which brought themselves and their movements intoplain view from the canoe of the bee-hunter. Curiosity now becamestrongly awakened in the latter, and he ventured in nearer to theshore, in order to get the best possible view of what was going on.In a manner, he was solving an enigma; and he experienced the sortof pleasure we all feel at exercising our wits on difficulties ofthat nature. The interest he felt rendered the young man careless asrespected the position of his canoe, which drifted down before thestrong breeze, until le Bourdon found himself in the very edge ofthe wild rice, which at this point formed but a very narrow beltalong the beach. It was this plant, indeed, that contributed to makethe young man so regardless of his drift, for he looked upon thebelt of rice as a species of landmark to warn him when to turn. But,at no other spot along that whole shore, where the plant was to befound at all, was its belt so narrow as at this, immediatelyopposite to the new fire of the savages, and almost within theinfluence of its rays. To le Bourdon's surprise, and somewhat to hisconsternation, just as his little craft touched the rice, the formsof two stout warriors passed along the beach, between him and thelight, their feet almost dipping in the water. So near were thesetwo warriors to him, that, on listening intently, he heard not onlytheir voices, as they communicated their thoughts to each other inlow tones, but the tread of their moccasined feet on the ground.Retreat, under the circumstances, would not be safe, for it musthave been made under the muzzles of the rifles; and but one resourcepresented itself. By grasping in his hand two or three stalks of therice-plant, and holding them firmly, the drift of the canoe wasarrested.

　　After a moment's reflection, le Bourdon was better satisfied withthis new station than he had been on first gaining it. To haveventured on such a near approach to his enemies, he would haveregarded as madness; but now he was there, well concealed among therice, he enjoyed the advantages of observation it gave him, andlooked upon the chance that brought him there as lucky. He found athong of buckskin, and fastened his canoe to the stalks of theplant, thus anchoring or mooring his little bark, and leavinghimself at liberty to move about in it. The rice was high enough toconceal him, even when erect, and he had some difficulty in findingplaces favorable to making his observations through it. When thebee-hunter made his way into the bow of his canoe, however, which hedid with a moccasined and noiseless foot, he was startled atperceiving how small was his cover. In point of fact, he was nowwithin three feet of the inner edge of the rice-plant, which grewwithin ten feet of the shore, where the two warriors alreadymentioned were still standing, in close communication with eachother. Their faces were turned toward the fire, the bright lightfrom which, at times, streamed over the canoe itself, in a way toillumine all it contained. The first impulse of le Bourdon, onascertaining how closely he had drifted to the shore, was to seize apaddle and make off, but a second thought again told him it would befar safer to remain where he was. Taking his seat, therefore, on abit of board laid athwart, from gunwale to gunwale, if such a craftcan be said to have gunwales at all, he patiently waited the courseof events.

　　By this time, all or nearly all of the Pottawattamies had collectedon this spot, on the side of the hill. The hut was deserted, itsfire got to be low, and darkness reigned around the place. On theother hand, the Indians kept piling brush on their new fire, untilthe whole of that hill-side, the stream at its foot, and the ravinethrough which the latter ran, were fairly illuminated. Of course,all within the influence of this light was to be distinctly seen,and the bee-hunter was soon absorbed in gazing at the movements ofsavage enemies, under circumstances so peculiar.

　　The savages seemed to be entranced by the singular, and to most ofthem unaccountable circumstance of the earth's giving forth thescent of fresh whiskey, in a place so retired and unknown. While twoor three of their number had certain inklings of the truth, as hasbeen stated, to much the greater portion of their body it appearedto be a profound mystery; and one that, in some inexplicable manner,was connected with the recent digging up of the hatchet. Ignoranceand superstition ever go hand in hand, and it was natural that many,perhaps most of these uninstructed beings should thus consider sounusual a fragrance, on such a spot. Whiskey has unfortunatelyobtained a power over the red man of this continent that it wouldrequire many Fathers Matthew to suppress, and which can only belikened to that which is supposed to belong to the influence ofwitchcraft. The Indian is quite as sensible as the white man of themischief that the "fire-water" produces; but, like the white man, hefinds how hard it is to get rid of a master passion, when we haveonce submitted ourselves to its sway. The portion of the band thatcould not account for the fact of the scent of their belovedbeverage's being found in such a place, and it was all but three oftheir whole party, were quite animated in their discussions on thesubject, and many and crude were the suggestions that fell fromtheir lips. The two warriors on the beach were more deeply impressedthan any of their companions, with the notion that some "medicinecharm" was connected with this extraordinary affair.

　　The reader will not be surprised to hear that le Bourdon gazed onthe scene before him with the most profound attention. So near didhe seem to be, and so near was he, in fact, to the savages who weregrouped around the fire, that he fancied he could comprehend whatthey were saying, by the expressions of their grim and swarthycountenances. His conjectures were in part just, and occasionallythe bee-hunter was absolutely accurate in his notions of what wassaid. The frequency with which different individuals knelt on theground, to scent an odor that is always so pleasant to the red man,would of itself have given a clew to the general character of thediscourse; but the significant and expressive gestures, the rapidenunciation, and the manner in which the eyes of the speakersglanced from the faces near themselves to the spot consecrated bywhiskey, pretty plainly told the story. It was while thus intentlyoccupied in endeavoring to read the singular impression made on theminds of most of those wild beings, by an incident so much out ofthe usual track of their experience, that le Bourdon suddenly foundthe bow of his canoe thrusting itself beyond the inner margin of therice, and issuing into open water, within ten feet of the very spotwhere the two nearest of the savages were still conferring together,apart. The buckskin thong which served as a fastening had gotloosened, and the light craft was again drifting down before thestrong southerly wind, which still continued to blow a little gale.

　　Had there been an opportunity for such a thing, the bee-hunter wouldhave made an effort to escape. But so sudden and unexpected was thisexposure, that he found himself almost within reach of a rifle,before he was aware of his approaching the two warriors on theshore, at all. His paddle was in the stern of the canoe, and had heused the utmost activity, the boat would have grounded on the beach,ere he could have obtained it. In this situation, therefore, he wasabsolutely without any other means than his hands of stopping thecanoe, had there even been time.

　　Le Bourdon understood his real situation without stopping toreflect; and, though his heart made one violent leap as soon as heperceived he was out of cover, he immediately bethought him of thecourse he ought to pursue. It would have been fatal to betray alarm,or to attempt flight. As accident had thus brought him, as it mightbe on a visit, to the spot, he at once determined to give hisarrival the character of a friendly call, and the better to supportthe pretension, to blend with it, if possible, a little of theoracular, or "medicine" manner, in order to impose on theimaginations of the superstitious beings into whose power he had sounwittingly fallen.

　　The instant the canoe touched the shore, and it was only a momentafter it broke through the cover, le Bourdon arose, and extendinghis hand to the nearest Indian, saluted him with the mongrel term of"Sago." A slight exclamation from this warrior communicated to hiscompanion an arrival that was quite as much a matter of surprise tothe Indians as to their guest, and through this second warrior tothe whole party on the hill-side. A little clamor succeeded, andpresently the bee-hunter was surrounded with savages.

　　The meeting was marked by the self-command and dignified quiet thatare so apt to distinguish the deportment of Indian warriors, whenthey are on the war-path, and alive to the duties of manhood. Thebee-hunter shook hands with several, who received his salutationswith perfect calmness, if not with absolute confidence and amity.This little ceremony gave our hero an opportunity to observe theswarthy countenances by which he was surrounded, most of which werefierce in their paint, as well as to reflect a little on his owncourse. By a fortunate inspiration he now determined to assume thecharacter of a "medicine man," and to connect his prophecies andjuggleries with this lucky accident of the whiskey. Accordingly, heinquired if any one spoke English, not wishing to trust hisexplanations to his own imperfect knowledge of the Ojebway tongue,which is spoken by all the numerous tribes of that widely-extendednation. Several could render themselves intelligible in English, andone was so expert as to render communication with him easy, if notvery agreeable. As the savages, however, soon insisted on examiningthe canoe, and taking a look at its contents, previously tolistening to their visitor's explanations, le Bourdon was fain tosubmit, and to let the young men satisfy their curiosity.

　　The bee-hunter had come on his hazardous expedition in his owncanoe. Previously to quitting the south shore, however, he hadlightened the little craft, by landing everything that was notessential to his present purpose. As nearly half of his effects werein the canoe of Whiskey Centre, the task was soon performed, andlucky it was for our hero that he had bethought him of the prudenceof the measure. His sole object had been to render the canoe swifterand lighter, in the event of a chase; but, as things turned out, hesaved no small portion of his property by using the precaution. TheIndians found nothing in the canoe, but one rifle, with a horn andpouch, a few light articles belonging to the bee-hunter's domesticeconomy, and which he had not thought it necessary to remove, andthe paddles. All the honey, and the skins and stores, and sparepowder, and lead, and, in short, everything else that belonged to leBourdon, was still safe on the other side of the river. The greatestadvantage gained by the Pottawattamies was in the possession of thecanoe itself, by means of which they would now be enabled to crossthe Kalamazoo, or make any other similar expedition, by water.

　　But, as yet, not a sign of hostility was betrayed by either party.The bee-hunter seemed to pay no attention to his rifle andammunition, or even to his canoe, while the savages, after havingwarily examined the last, together with its contents, returned totheir visitor, to re-examine him, with a curiosity as lively as itwas full of distrust. At this stage in the proceeding, somethinglike a connected and intelligible conversation commenced between thechief who spoke English, and who was known in most of the north-western garrisons of the Americans by the name of Thundercloud, orCloud, by way of abbreviation, on account of his sinister looks,though the man actually sustained a tolerably fair reputation forone of those who, having been wronged, was so certain to becalumniated. No man was ever yet injured, that he has not beenslandered.

　　"Who kill and scalp my young man?" asked Cloud, a little abruptly.

　　"Has my brother lost a warrior?" was the calm reply. "Yes, I seethat he has. A medicine-man can see that, though it is dark."

　　"Who kill him, if can see?-who scalp him, too?"

　　"An enemy did both," answered le Bourdon, oracularly. "Yes; 'twas anenemy that killed him; and an enemy that took his scalp."

　　"Why do it, eh? Why come here to take Pottawattamia scalp, when nowar-path open, eh?"

　　"Pottawattamie, the truth must always be said to a medicine-man.There is no use in trying to hide truth from him. There is a war-path open; and a long and a tangled path it is. My Great Father atWashington has dug up the hatchet against my Great Father at Quebec.Enemies always take scalps when they can get them."

　　"Dat true--dat right, too--nobody grumble at dat--but who enemy?pale-face or red-skin?"

　　"This time it was a red-skin--a Chippewa--one of your own nation,though not of your own tribe. A warrior called Pigeonswing, whom youhad in thongs, intending to torture him in the morning. He cut histhongs, and shot your young man--after which he took his scalp."

　　"How know dat?" demanded the Cloud, a little fiercely. "You 'long,and help kill Pottawattamie, eh?"

　　"I know it," answered le Bourdon, coolly, "because medicine-men knowmost of what happens. Do not be so hasty, chief, for this is amedicine spot--whiskey grows here."

　　A common exclamation escaped all of the red men, who comprehendedthe clear, distinct, and oracular-like language and manner of thebee-hunter. He intended to make an impression on his listeners, andhe succeeded admirably; perhaps as much by means of manner as ofmatter. As has been said, all who understood his words--some four orfive of the party--grunted forth their surprise at this evidence oftheir guest's acquaintance with the secrets of the place, in whichthey were joined by the rest of their companions, as soon as thewords of the pale-face had been translated. Even the experienced andwary old chiefs, who had more than half conjectured the truth, inconnection with this mysterious odor of whiskey, were much unsettledin their opinions concerning the wonder, and got to be in thatcondition of mind when a man does not know what to think of anyparticular event. The bee-hunter, quick-witted, and managing for hislife, was not slow to perceive the advantage he had gained, and heproceeded at once to clinch the nail he had so skilfully driven.Turning from Cloud to the head-chief of the party, a warrior whom hehad no difficulty in recognizing, after having so long watched hismovements in the earlier part of the night, he pushed the samesubject a little further.

　　"Yes; this place is called by the whites Whiskey Centre," he added--"which means that it is the centre of all the whiskey of the countryround about."

　　"Dat true," said Cloud, quickly--"I hear so'ger at Fort Dearborncall him Whiskey Centre!"

　　This little circumstance greatly complicated the mystery, and leBourdon perceived that he had hit on a lucky explanation.

　　"Soldiers far and near--soldiers drunk or sober--soldiers withscalps, and soldiers without scalps--all know the place by thatname. But you need not believe with your eyes shut and nosesstopped, chief, since you have the means of learning for yourselvesthe truth of what I tell you. Come with me, and I will tell youwhere to dig in the morning for a whiskey spring."

　　This communication excited a tremendous feeling among the savages,when its purport came to be explained to the whole party. Apart fromthe extraordinary, miraculous nature of such a spring, which initself was sufficient to keep alive expectation and gratifycuriosity, it was so comfortable to have an inexhaustible supply ofthe liquor running out of the bowels of the earth, that it is nowonder the news spread infinite delight among the listeners. Eventhe two or three of the chiefs who had so shrewdly divined themanner in which the liquor had been spilled, were staggered by thesolemnity and steadiness of the bee-hunter's manner, and perhaps alittle carried away by sympathy with those around them. Thisyielding of the human mind to the influence of numbers is so commonan occurrence as scarcely to require explanation, and is the sourceof half the evils that popular associations inflict on themselves.It is not that men capable of seeing the truth are ever wanting; butmen capable of maintaining it, in the face of clamor and collectedpower.

　　It will be readily conceived that a medicine-man who is supposed topossess the means of discovering a spring that should overflow withpure whiskey, would not be left without urgent demands for a speedyexercise of this art. This was now the case with le Bourdon, who wascalled on from all sides to point out the precise spot where theyoung men were to commence digging in order to open on the treasure.Our hero knew that his only hope of escape was connected with hissteadily maintaining his assumed character; or of maintaining thisassumed character, with his going on, at once, to do something thatmight have the effect, temporarily at least, of satisfying theimpatience of his now attentive listeners. Accordingly, when thedemand was made on him to give some evidence of his power, he setabout the task, not only with composure, but with a good deal ofingenuity.

　　Le Bourdon, it will be remembered, had, with his own hands, rolledthe two barrels of whiskey down the declivity. Feeling the greatimportance of effectually destroying them, he had watched theirdescent, from the top to the bottom of the hill, and the finaldisappearance of the staves, etc., into the torrent which brawled atits foot. It had so happened that the half-filled cask broke and letout its liquor at a point much more remote from the stream, than thefilled. The latter had held together until it went over the lowrocky precipice, already mentioned, and was stove at its base,within two yards of the torrent, which received all its fragmentsand swept them away, including most of the liquor itself; but notuntil the last had been spilled. Now, the odorous spot which hadattracted the noses of the savages, and near which they had builttheir fire, was that where the smallest quantity of the whiskey hadfallen. Le Bourdon reasoned on these circumstances in this wise:--ifhalf a barrel of the liquor can produce so strong a scent, a barrelfilled ought to produce one still stronger; and I will manifest mymedicine-character, by disregarding for the present moment the spoton the hill-side, and proceed at once to that at the foot of therocks. To this latter point, therefore, did he direct all theceremony, as well as his own footsteps, when he yielded to thesolicitations of the Pottawattamies, and undertook to point out theposition of the whiskey spring.

　　The bee-hunter understood the Indian character too well to forget toembellish his work with a proper amount of jugglery and acting.Luckily, he had left in the canoe a sort of frock of mottled colorsthat he had made himself, to wear in the woods in the autumn as ahunting-dress, under the notion that such a covering would concealhis approach from his game, by blending its hues with those of theautumn leaf. This dress he now assumed, extorting a good deal ofhalf-suppressed admiration from the younger warriors, by the gayappearance he made. Then he drew out his spy-glass to its greatestlength, making various mysterious signs and gestures as he did so.This glass proved to be a great auxiliary, and possibly alone keptthe doubters in awe. Le Bourdon saw at once that it was entirelynew, even to the oldest chief, and he felt how much it might be madeto assist him. Beckoning to Cloud, and adjusting the focus, hedirected the small end of his glass to the fire, and placed thelarge end to that Indian's eye. A solitary savage, who loved thescent of whiskey too much to tear himself away from the spot, waslingering within the influence of the rays, and of course was seenby the chief, with his person diminished to that of a dwarf, and hisform thrown to a seeming distance.

　　An eloquent exclamation followed this exhibition of the medicine-man's power; and each of the chiefs, and most of the other warriors,were gratified with looks through the glass.

　　"What dat mean?" demanded Cloud, earnestly. "See Wolfeye well'nough--why he so little?--why he so far off, he?"

　　"That is to show you what a medicine-man of the pale-faces can do,when he is so minded. That Indian is named Wolfseye, and he loveswhiskey too well. That I know, as well as I know his name."

　　Each of these exhibitions of intelligence extorted exclamations ofwonder. It is true, that one or two of the higher chiefs understoodthat the name might possibly have been obtained from Cloud; but howwas the medicine-man to know that Wolfseye was a drunkard? This lasthad not been said in terms; but enough had been said, to let thosewho were aware of the propensity feel that more was meant than hadbeen expressed. Before there was time, however, to deliberate on, orto dissect this specimen of mysterious knowledge, le Bourdonreversed the glass, and applied the small end to the eye of Cloud,after having given it its former direction. The Indian fairlyyelled, partly with dread, and partly with delight, when he sawWolfseye, large as life, brought so near him that he fancied hemight be touched with his own hand.

　　"What dat mean?" exclaimed Cloud, as soon as surprise and aweenabled him to find his voice. "Fuss he little, den he big--fuss hegreat way, den he close by--what dat mean, eh?"

　　"It means that I am a medicine-man, and this is a medicine-glass,and that I can see with it into the earth, deeper than the wells, orhigher than the mountains!"

　　These words were translated, and explained to all three. Theyextorted many ejaculations of wonder, and divers grunts ofadmiration and contentment. Cloud conferred a moment with the twoprincipal chiefs; then he turned eagerly to the bee-hunter, saying--

　　"All good, but want to hear more--want to l'arn more--want to seemore."

　　"Name your wants freely, Pottawattamie," answered le Bourdon, withdignity, "they shall be satisfied."

　　"Want to see--want to taste whiskey spring--see won't do--want totaste"

　　"Good--you shall smell first; then you shall see; after that youshall taste. Give me room, and be silent; a great medicine is near."

　　Thus delivering himself, le Bourdon proceeded with his necromancy.