Chapter I.

by James Fenimore Cooper

　　"See, Winter comes, to rule the varied years,Sullen and sad, with all his rising train;Vapors, and clouds, and storms."--Thomson.

　　Near the centre of the State of New York lies an extensive district ofcountry whose surface is a succession of hills and dales, or, to speakwith greater deference to geographical definitions, of mountains andvalleys. It is among these hills that the Delaware takes its rise;and flowing from the limpid lakes and thousand springs of this regionthe numerous sources of the Susquehanna meander through the valleysuntil, uniting their streams, they form one of the proudest rivers ofthe United States. The mountains are generally arable to the tops,although instances are not wanting where the sides are jutted withrocks that aid greatly in giving to the country that romantic andpicturesque character which it so eminently possesses. The vales arenarrow, rich, and cultivated, with a stream uniformly winding througheach. Beautiful and thriving villages are found interspersed alongthe margins of the small lakes, or situated at those points of thestreams which are favorable for manufacturing; and neat andcomfortable farms, with every indication of wealth about them, arescattered profusely through the vales, and even to the mountain tops.Roads diverge in every direction from the even and graceful bottoms ofthe valleys to the most rugged and intricate passes of the hills.Academies and minor edifices of learning meet the eye of the strangerat every few miles as be winds his way through this uneven territory,and places for the worship of God abound with that frequency whichcharacterize a moral and reflecting people, and with that variety ofexterior and canonical government which flows from unfettered libertyof conscience. In short, the whole district is hourly exhibiting howmuch can be done, in even a rugged country and with a severe climate,under the dominion of mild laws, and where every man feels a directinterest in the prosperity of a commonwealth of which he knows himselfto form a part. The expedients of the pioneers who first broke groundin the settlement of this country are succeeded by the permanentimprovements of the yeoman who intends to leave his remains to moulderunder the sod which he tills, or perhaps of the son, who, born in theland, piously wishes to linger around the grave of his father. Onlyforty years * have passed since this territory was a wilderness.

　　* Our tale begins in 1793, about seven years after the commencement ofone of the earliest of those settlements which have conduced to effectthat magical change in the power and condition of the State to whichwe have alluded.

　　Very soon after the establishment of the independence of the States bythe peace of 1783, the enterprise of their citizens was directed to adevelopment of the natural ad vantages of their widely extendeddominions. Before the war of the Revolution, the inhabited parts ofthe colony of New York were limited to less than a tenth of itspossessions, A narrow belt of country, extending for a short distanceon either side of the Hudson, with a similar occupation of fifty mileson the banks of the Mohawk, together with the islands of Nassau andStaten, and a few insulated settlements on chosen land along themargins of streams, composed the country, which was then inhabited byless than two hundred thousand souls. Within the short period we havementioned, the population has spread itself over five degrees oflatitude and seven of longitude, and has swelled to a million and ahalf of inhabitants, who are maintained in abundance, and can lookforward to ages before the evil day must arrive when their possessionsshall become unequal to their wants.

　　It was near the setting of the sun, on a clear, cold day in December,when a sleigh was moving slowly up one of the mountains in thedistrict we have described. The day had been fine for the season, andbut two or three large clouds, whose color seemed brightened by thelight reflected from the mass of snow that covered the earth, floatedin a sky of the purest blue. The road wound along the brow of aprecipice, and on one side was upheld by a foundation of logs piledone upon the other, while a narrow excavation in the mountain in theopposite direction had made a passage of sufficient width for theordinary travelling of that day. But logs, excavation, and everything that did not reach several feet above the earth lay alike buriedbeneath the snow. A single track, barely wide enough to receive thesleigh, * denoted the route of the highway, and this was sunk nearlytwo feet below the surrounding surface.

　　* Sleigh is the word used in every part of the United States to denotea traineau. It is of local use in the west of England, whence it ismost probably derived by the Americans. The latter draw a distinctionbetween a sled, or sledge, and a sleigh, the sleigh being shod withmetal. Sleighs are also subdivided into two - horse and one-horsesleighs. Of the latter, there are the cutter, with thills so arrangedas to permit the horse to travel in the side track; the "pung," or"tow-pung" which is driven with a pole; and the "gumper," a rudeconstruction used for temporary purposes in the new countries. Manyof the American sleighs are elegant though the use of this mode ofconveyance is much lessened with the melioration of the climateconsequent to the clearing of the forests.

　　In the vale, which lay at a distance of several hundred feet lower,there was what, in the language of the country, was called a clearing,and all the usual improvements of a new settlement; these evenextended up the hill to the point where the road turned short and ranacross the level land, which lay on the summit of the mountain; butthe summit itself remained in the forest. There was glittering in theatmosphere, as if it was filled with innumerable shining particles;and the noble bay horses that drew the sleigh were covered, in manyparts with a coat of hoar-frost. The vapor from their nostrils wasseen to issue like smoke; and every object in the view, as well asevery arrangement of the travellers, denoted the depth of a winter inthe mountains. The harness, which was of a deep, dull black,differing from the glossy varnishing of the present day, wasornamented with enormous plates and buckles of brass, that shone likegold in those transient beams of the sun which found their wayobliquely through the tops of the trees. Huge saddles, studded withnails and fitted with cloth that served as blankets to the shouldersof the cattle, supported four high, square-topped turrets, throughwhich the stout reins led from the mouths of the horses to the handsof the driver, who was a negro, of apparently twenty years of age.His face, which nature had colored with a glistening black, was nowmottled with the cold, and his large shining eyes filled with tears; atribute to its power that the keen frosts of those regions alwaysextracted from one of his African origin. Still, there was a smilingexpression of good-humor in his happy countenance, that was created bythe thoughts of home and a Christmas fireside, with its Christmasfrolics. The sleigh was one of those large, comfortable, old-fashioned conveyances, which would admit a whole family within itsbosom, but which now contained only two passengers besides the driver.The color of its outside was a modest green, and that of its inside afiery red, The latter was intended to convey the idea of heat in thatcold climate. Large buffalo-skins trimmed around the edges with redcloth cut into festoons, covered the back of the sleigh, and werespread over its bottom and drawn up around the feet of the travellers- one of whom was a man of middle age and the other a female justentering upon womanhood. The former was of a large stature; but theprecautions he had taken to guard against the cold left but little ofhis person exposed to view. A great-coat, that was abundantlyornamented by a profusion of furs, enveloped the whole of his figureexcepting the head, which was covered with a cap of mar ten-skinslined with morocco, the sides of which were made to fall, ifnecessary, and were now drawn close over the ears and fastened beneathhis chin with a black rib bon. The top of the cap was surmounted withthe tail of the animal whose skin had furnished the rest of thematerials, which fell back, not ungracefully, a few inches be hind thehead. From beneath this mask were to be seen part of a fine, manlyface, and particularly a pair of expressive large blue eyes, thatpromised extraordinary intellect, covert humor, and great benevolence.The form of his companion was literally hid beneath the garments shewore. There were furs and silks peeping from under a large camletcloak with a thick flannel lining, that by its cut and size wasevidently intended for a masculine wearer. A huge hood of black silk,that was quilted with down, concealed the whole of her head, except ata small opening in front for breath, through which occasionallysparkled a pair of animated jet-black eyes.

　　Both the father and daughter (for such was the connection between thetwo travellers) were too much occupied with their reflections to breaka stillness that derived little or no interruption from the easygliding of the sleigh by the sound of their voices. The former wasthinking of the wife that had held this their only child to her bosom,when, four years before, she had reluctantly consented to relinquishthe society of her daughter in order that the latter might enjoy theadvantages of an education which the city of New York could only offerat that period. A few months afterward death had deprived him of theremaining companion of his solitude; but still he had enough realregard for his child not to bring her into the comparative wildernessin which he dwelt, until the full period had expired to which he hadlimited her juvenile labors. The reflections of the daughter wereless melancholy, and mingled with a pleased astonishment at the novelscenery she met at every turn in the road.

　　The mountain on which they were journeying was covered with pines thatrose without a branch some seventy or eighty feet, and whichfrequently doubled that height by the addition of the tops. Throughthe innumerable vistas that opened beneath the lofty trees, the eyecould penetrate until it was met by a distant inequality in theground, or was stopped by a view of the summit of the mountain whichlay on the opposite side of the valley to which they were hastening.The dark trunks of the trees rose from the pure white of the snow inregularly formed shafts, until, at a great height, their branches shotforth horizontal limbs, that were covered with the meagre foliage ofan evergreen, affording a melancholy contrast to the torpor of naturebelow. To the travellers there seemed to be no wind; but these pineswaved majestically at their topmost boughs, sending forth a dull,plaintive sound that was quite in consonance with the rest of themelancholy scene.

　　The sleigh had glided for some distance along the even surface, andthe gaze of the female was bent in inquisitive and, perhaps, timidglances into the recesses of the forest, when a loud and continuedhowling was heard, pealing under the long arches of the woods like thecry of a numerous pack of hounds. The instant the sounds reached theear of the gentleman he cried aloud to the black:

　　"Hol up, Aggy; there is old Hector; I should know his bay among tenthousand! The Leather-Stocking has put his hounds into the hills thisclear day, and they have started their game. There is a deer-track afew rods ahead; and now, Bess, if thou canst muster courage enough tostand fire, I will give thee a saddle for thy Christmas dinner."

　　The black drew up, with a cheerful grin upon his chilled features, andbegan thrashing his arms together in order to restore the circulationof his fingers, while the speaker stood erect and, throwing aside hisouter covering, stepped from the sleigh upon a bank of snow whichsustained his weight without yielding.

　　In a few moments the speaker succeeded in extricating a double-barrelled fowling-piece from among a multitude of trunks andbandboxes. After throwing aside the thick mittens which had encasedhis hands, there now appeared a pair of leather gloves tipped withfur; he examined his priming, and was about to move forward, when thelight bounding noise of an animal plunging through the woods washeard, and a fine buck darted into the path a short distance ahead ofhim. The appearance of the animal was sudden, and his flightinconceivably rapid; but the traveller appeared to be too keen asportsman to be disconcerted by either. As it came first into view heraised the fowling-piece to his shoulder and, with a practised eye andsteady hand, drew a trigger. The deer dashed forward undaunted, andapparently unhurt. Without lowering his piece, the traveller turnedits muzzle toward his victim, and fired again. Neither discharge,however, seemed to have taken effect,

　　The whole scene had passed with a rapidity that confused the female,who was unconsciously rejoicing in the escape of the buck, as herather darted like a meteor than ran across the road, when a sharp,quick sound struck her ear, quite different from the full, roundreports of her fathers gun, but still sufficiently distinct to beknown as the concussion produced by firearms. At the same instantthat she heard this unexpected report, the buck sprang from the snowto a great height in the air, and directly a second discharge, similarin sound to the first, followed, when the animal came to the earth,failing head long and rolling over on the crust with its own velocity.A loud shout was given by the unseen marksman, and a couple of meninstantly appeared from behind the trunks of two of the pines, wherethey had evidently placed them selves in expectation of the passage ofthe deer.

　　"Ha! Natty, had I known you were in ambush, I should not have fired,"cried the traveller, moving toward the spot where the deer lay--near towhich he was followed by the delighted black, with his sleigh; "butthe sound of old Hector was too exhilarating to be quiet; though Ihardly think I struck him, either."

　　"No--no----Judge," returned the hunter, with an inward chuckle, and withthat look of exultation that indicates a consciousness of superiorskill, "you burnt your powder only to warm your nose this coldevening. Did ye think to stop a full-grown buck, with Hector and theslut open upon him within sound, with that pop-gun in your hand!Theres plenty of pheasants among the swamps; and the snow-birds areflying round your own door, where you may feed them with crumbs, andshoot them at pleasure, any day; but if youre for a buck, or a littlebear's meat, Judge, youll have to take the long rifle, with a greasedwadding, or youll waste more powder than youll fill stomachs, Imthinking."

　　As the speaker concluded he drew his bare hand across the bottom ofhis nose, and again opened his enormous mouth with a kind of inwardlaugh.

　　"The gun scatters well, Natty, And it has killed a deer before now,"said the traveller, smiling good-humoredly. "One barrel was chargedwith buckshot, but the other was loaded for birds only. Here are twohurts; one through the neck, and the other directly through the heart.It is by no means certain, Natty, but I gave him one of the two

　　"Let who will kill him." said the hunter, rather surily.

　　"I suppose the creature is to be eaten." So saying, he drew a largeknife from a leathern sheath, which was stuck through his girdle, orsash, and cut the throat of the animal, "If there are two ballsthrough the deer, I would ask if there werent two rifles fired--besides, who ever saw such a ragged hole from a smooth-bore as thisthrough the neck? And you will own yourself, Judge, that the buck fellat the last shot, which was sent from a truer and a younger hand thanyourn or mine either; but, for my part, although I am a poor man Ican live without the venison, but I dont love to give up my lawfuldues in a free country. Though, for the matter of that, might oftenmakes right here, as well as in the old country, for what I can see."

　　An air of sullen dissatisfaction pervaded the manner of the hunterduring the whole of his speech; yet he thought it prudent to utter theclose of the sentence in such an undertone as to leave nothing audiblebut the grumbling sounds of his voice.

　　"Nay, Natty," rejoined the traveller, with undisturbed good-humor, "itis for the honor that I contend. A few dollars will pay for thevenison; but what will requite me for the lost honor of a bucks tailin my cap? Think, Natty, how I should triumph over that quizzing dog,Dick Jones, who has failed seven times already this season, and hasonly brought in one woodchuck and a few gray squirrels."

　　"Ah! The game is becoming hard to find, indeed, Judge, with yourclearings and betterments," said the old hunter, with a kind ofcompelled resignation. "The time has been when I have shot thirteendeer without counting the fans standing in the door of my own hut;and for bears meat, if one wanted a ham or so, he had only to watcha-nights, and he could shoot one by moonlight, through the cracks ofthe logs, no fear of his oversleeping himself neither, for the howlingof the wolves was sartin to keep his eyes open. Theres old Hector"--patting with affection a tall hound of black and yellow spots, withwhite belly and legs, that just then came in on the scent, accompaniedby the slut he had mentioned; "see where the wolves bit his throat,the night I druv them from the venison that was smoking on the chimneytop--that dog is more to be trusted than many a Christian man; for henever forgets a friend, and loves the hand that gives him bread,"

　　There was a peculiarity in the manner of the hunter that attracted thenotice of the young female, who had been a close and interestedobserver of his appearance and equipments, from the moment he cameinto view. He was tall, and so meagre as to make him seem above eventhe six feet that he actually stood in his stockings. On his head,which was thinly covered with lank, sandy hair, he wore a cap made offox-skin, resembling in shape the one we have already described,although much inferior in finish and ornaments. His face was skinnyand thin al most to emaciation; but yet it bore no signs of disease--on the contrary, it had every indication of the most robust andenduring health. The cold and exposure had, together, given it acolor of uniform red. His gray eyes were glancing under a pair ofshaggy brows, that over hung them in long hairs of gray mingled withtheir natural hue; his scraggy neck was bare, and burnt to the sametint with his face; though a small part of a shirt-collar, made of thecountry check, was to be seen above the overdress he wore. A kind ofcoat, made of dressed deer-skin, with the hair on, was belted close tohis lank body by a girdle of colored worsted. On his feet were deer-skin moccasins, ornamented with porcupines quills, after the mannerof the Indians, and his limbs were guarded with long leggings of thesame material as the moccasins, which, gartering over the knees of histarnished buckskin breeches, had obtained for him among the settlersthe nickname of Leather-Stocking. Over his left shoulder was slung abelt of deer-skin, from which depended an enormous ox-horn, so thinlyscraped as to discover the powder it contained. The larger end wasfitted ingeniously and securely with a wooden bottom, and the otherwas stopped tight by a little plug. A leathern pouch hung before him,from which, as he concluded his last speech, he took a small measure,and, filling it accurately with powder, he commenced reloading therifle, which as its butt rested on the snow before him reached nearlyto the top of his fox-skin cap.

　　The traveller had been closely examining the wounds during thesemovements, and now, without heeding the ill-humor of the huntersmanner, he exclaimed:

　　"I would fain establish a right, Natty, to the honor of this death;and surely if the hit in the neck be mine it is enough; for the shotin the heart was unnecessary--what we call an act of supererogation,Leather-Stocking."

　　"You may call it by what larned name you please, Judge," said thehunter, throwing his rifle across his left arm, and knocking up abrass lid in the breech, from which he took a small piece of greasedleather and, wrapping a bail in it, forced them down by main strengthon the powder, where he continued to pound them while speaking. "Itsfar easier to call names than to shoot a buck on the spring; but thecreatur came by his end from a younger hand than either yourn ormine, as I said before."

　　"What say you, my friend," cried the traveller, turning pleasantly toNattys companion; "shall we toss up this dollar for the honor, andyou keep the silver if you lose; what say you, friend?"

　　"That I killed the deer," answered the young man, with a littlehaughtiness, as he leaned on another long rifle similar to that ofNatty.

　　"Here are two to one, indeed," replied the Judge with a smile; "I amoutvoted--overruled, as we say on the bench. There is Aggy, he cantvote, being a slave; and Bess is a minor--so I must even make the bestof it. But youll send me the venison; and the deuce is in it, but Imake a good story about its death."

　　"The meat is none of mine to sell," said Leather-Stocking, adopting alittle of his companions hauteur; "for my part, I have known animalstravel days with shots in the neck, and Im none of them wholl rob aman of his rightful dues."

　　"You are tenacious of your rights, this cold evening, Natty," returnedthe Judge with unconquerable good-nature; "but what say you, youngman; will three dollars pay you for the buck?"

　　"First let us determine the question of right to the satisfaction ofus both," said the youth firmly but respect fully, and with apronunciation and language vastly superior to his appearance: "withhow many shot did you load your gun?"

　　"With five, sir," said the Judge, a little struck with the othersmanner; "are they not enough to slay a buck like this?"

　　"One would do it; but," moving to the tree from be hind which he hadappeared, "you know, sir, you fired in this direction--here are four ofthe bullets in the tree."

　　The Judge examined the fresh marks in the bark of the pine, and,shaking his head, said with a laugh:

　　"You are making out the case against yourself, my young advocate;where is the fifth?"

　　"Here," said the youth, throwing aside the rough over coat that hewore, and exhibiting a hole in his under-garment, through which largedrops of blood were oozing.

　　"Good God!" exclaimed the Judge, with horror; "have I been triflinghere about an empty distinction, and a fellow-creature suffering frommy hands without a murmur? But hasten--quick--get into my sleigh--it isbut a mile to the village, where surgical aid can be obtained--allshall be done at my expense, and thou shalt live with me until thywound is healed, ay, and forever afterward."

　　"I thank you for your good intention, but I must decline your offer.I have a friend who would be uneasy were he to hear that I am hurt andaway from him. The injury is but slight, and the bullet has missedthe bones; but I believe, sir, you will now admit me title to thevenison."

　　"Admit it!" repeated the agitated Judge; "I here give thee a right toshoot deer, or bears, or anything thou pleasest in my woods, forever.Leather-Stocking is the only other man that I have granted the sameprivilege to; and the time is coming when it will be of value. But Ibuy your deer--here, this bill will pay thee, both for thy shot and myown."

　　The old hunter gathered his tall person up into an air of pride duringthis dialogue, but he waited until the other had done speaking.

　　"Theres them living who say that Nathaniel Bumppo's right to shoot onthese hills is of older date than Marmaduke Temples right to forbidhim," he said. "But if theres a law about it at all, though who everheard of a law that a man shouldnt kill deer where he pleased!--but ifthere is a law at all, it should be to keep people from the use ofsmooth-bores. A body never knows where his lead will fly, when hepulls the trigger of one of them uncertain firearms."

　　Without attending to the soliloquy of Natty, the youth bowed his headsilently to the offer of the bank-note, and replied:

　　"Excuse me: I have need of the venison."

　　"But this will buy you many deer," said the Judge; "take it, I entreatyou;" and, lowering his voice to a whisper, he added, "It is for ahundred dollars."

　　For an instant only the youth seemed to hesitate, and then, blushingeven through the high color that the cold had given to his cheeks, asif with inward shame at his own weakness, he again declined the offer.

　　During this scene the female arose, and regardless of the cold air,she threw back the hood which concealed her features, and now spoke,with great earnestness.

　　"Surely, surely--young man--sir--you would not pain my father so much asto have him think that he leaves a fellow-creature in this wildernesswhom his own hand has injured. I entreat you will go with us, andreceive medical aid."

　　Whether his wound became more painful, or there was somethingirresistible in the voice and manner of the fair pleader for herfathers feelings, we know not; but the distance of the young mansmanner was sensibly softened by this appeal, and he stood in apparentdoubt, as if reluctant to comply with and yet unwilling to refuse herrequest. The Judge, for such being his office must in future be histitle, watched with no little interest the display of this singularcontention in the feelings of the youth; and, advancing, kindly tookhis hand, and, as he pulled him gently toward the sleigh, urged him toenter it.

　　"There is no human aid nearer than Templeton," he said, "and the hutof Natty is full three miles from this-- come, come, my young friend,go with us, and let the new doctor look to this shoulder of thine.Here is Natty will take the tidings of thy welfare to thy friend; andshouldst thou require it, thou shalt return home in the morning."The young man succeeded in extricating his hand from the warm grasp ofthe Judge, but he continued to gaze on the face of the female, who,regardless of the cold, was still standing with her fine featuresexposed, which expressed feeling that eloquently seconded the requestof her father. Leather-Stocking stood, in the mean time, leaning uponhis long rifle, with his head turned a little to one side, as ifengaged in sagacious musing; when, having apparently satisfied hisdoubts, by revolving the subject in his mind, he broke silence."It may be best to go, lad, after all; for, if the shot hangs underthe skin, my hand is getting too old to be cutting into human flesh,as I once used to, Though some thirty years agone, in the old war,when I was out under Sir William, I travelled seventy miles alone inthe howling wilderness, with a rifle bullet in my thigh, and then cutit out with my own jack-knife. Old Indian John knows the time well.I met him with a party of the Delawares, on the trail of the Iroquois,who had been down and taken five scalps on the Schoharie. But I madea mark on the red-skin that Ill warrant hell carry to his grave! Itook him on the posteerum, saving the lady's presence, as he got upfrom the ambushment, and rattled three buckshot into his naked hide,so close that you might have laid a broad joe upon them all"--hereNatty stretched out his long neck, and straightened his body, as heopened his mouth, which exposed a single tusk of yellow bone, whilehis eyes, his face, even his whole frame seemed to laugh, although nosound was emitted except a kind of thick hissing, as he inhaled hisbreath in quavers. "I had lost my bullet-mould in crossing the Oneidaoutlet, and had to make shift with the buckshot; but the rifle wastrue, and didnt scatter like your two-legged thing there, Judge,which dont do, I find, to hunt in company with."

　　Nattys apology to the delicacy of the young lady was unnecessary,for, while he was speaking, she was too much employed in helping herfather to remove certain articles of baggage to hear him. Unable toresist the kind urgency of the travellers any longer, the youth,though still with an unaccountable reluctance, suffered himself to bepersuaded to enter the sleigh. The black, with the aid of his master,threw the buck across the baggage and entering the vehicle themselves,the Judge invited the hunter to do so likewise.

　　" No, no," said the old roan, shaking his head; "I have work to do athome this Christmas eve--drive on with the boy, and let your doctorlook to the shoulder; though if he will only cut out the shot, I haveyarbs that will heal the wound quicker than all his foreignintments." He turned, and was about to move off, when, suddenlyrecollecting himself, he again faced the party, and added: "If you seeanything of Indian John, about the foot of the lake, you had bettertake him with you, and let him lend the doctor a hand; for, old as heis, he is curious at cuts and bruises, and its likelier than nothell be in with brooms to sweep your Christmas haarths."

　　"Stop, stop," cried the youth, catching the arm of the black as heprepared to urge his horses forward; "Natty--you need say nothing ofthe shot, nor of where I am going--remember, Natty, as you love me.""Trust old Leather-Stocking," returned the hunter significantly; "hehasnt lived fifty years in the wilderness, and not larnt from thesavages how to hold his tongue-- trust to me, lad; and remember oldIndian John."

　　"And, Natty," said the youth eagerly, still holding the black by thearm. "I will just get the shot extracted, and bring you up to-night aquarter of the buck for the Christmas dinner."

　　He was interrupted by the hunter, who held up his finger with anexpressive gesture for silence. He then moved softly along the marginof the road, keeping his eyes steadfastly fixed on the branches of apine. When he had obtained such a position as he wished, he stopped,and, cocking his rifle, threw one leg far behind him, and stretchinghis left arm to its utmost extent along the barrel of his piece, hebegan slowly to raise its muzzle in a line with the straight trunk ofthe tree. The eyes of the group in the sleigh naturally preceded themovement of the rifle, and they soon discovered the object of Nattysaim. On a small dead branch of the pine, which, at the distance ofseventy feet from the ground, shot out horizontally, immediatelybeneath the living members of the tree, sat a bird, that in the vulgarlanguage of the country was indiscriminately called a pheasant or apartridge. In size, it was but little smaller than a common barn-yardfowl. The baying of the dogs, and the conversation that had passednear the root of the tree on which it was perched, had alarmed thebird, which was now drawn up near the body of the pine, with a headand neck so erect as to form nearly a straight line with its legs. Assoon as the rifle bore on the victim, Natty drew his trigger, and thepartridge fell from its height with a force that buried it in thesnow.

　　"Lie down, you old villain," exclaimed Leather-Stocking, shaking hisramrod at Hector as he bounded toward the foot of the tree, " liedown, I say." The dog obeyed, and Natty proceeded with great rapidity,though with the nicest accuracy, to reload his piece. When this wasended, he took up his game, and, showing it to the party without ahead, he cried: " Here is a tidbit for an old mans Christmas--nevermind the venison, boy, and remember Indian John; his yarbs are betterthan all the foreign intments. Here, Judge," holding up the birdagain, "do you think a smooth-bore would pick game off their roost,and not ruffle a feather?" The old man gave another of his remarkablelaughs, which partook so largely of exultation, mirth, and irony, and,shaking his head, he turned, with his rifle at a trail, and moved intothe forest with steps that were between a walk and a trot. At eachmovement he made his body lowered several inches, his knees yieldingwith an inclination inward; but, as the sleigh turned at a bend in theroad, the youth cast his eyes in quest of his old companion, and hesaw that he was already nearly concealed by the trunks of the tree;while his dogs were following quietly in his footsteps, occasionallyscenting the deer track, that they seemed to know instinctively wasnow of no further use to them. Another jerk was given to the sleigh,and Leather-Stocking was hid from view.