back to their former
master. They were brothers, and being both very stout men, and able to
speak the Indian as well as the English language, were esteemed quite a
powerful reinforcement to the Crockett party.

They rode quietly along another hour and a half, when toward midnight
they saw in the distance the gleam of camp-fires, and heard shouts of
merriment and revelry. They knew that these must come from the camp of
the friendly Cherokees, to which their Indian guide, Jack Thompson, was
leading them. Soon a spectacle of wonderful picturesque beauty was
opened to their view.

Upon the banks of a beautiful mountain stream there was a wide plateau,
carpeted with the renowned blue-grass, as verdant and soft as could be
found in any gentleman's park. There was no underbrush. The trees were
two or three yards from each other, composing a luxuriant overhanging
canopy of green leaves, more beautiful than art could possibly create.
Beneath this charming grove, and illumined by the moonshine which, in
golden tracery, pierced the foliage, there were six or eight Indian
lodges scattered about.

An immense bonfire was crackling and blazing, throwing its rays far and
wide through the forest. Moving around, in various engagements and
sports, were about forty men, women, and children, in the fringed,
plumed, and brilliantly colored attire of which the Indians were so
fond. Quite a number of them, with bows and arrows, were shooting at a
mark, which was made perfectly distinct by the blaze of pitch-pine
knots, a light which no flame of candle or gas could outvie. It was a
scene of sublimity and beauty, of peace and loveliness, which no artist
could adequately transfer to canvas.

The Cherokees received very cordially the newcomers, took care of their
horses, and introduced them to their sports. Many of the Indians had
guns, but powder and bullets were too precious to be expended in mere
amusements. Indeed, the Indians were so careful of their ammunition,
that they rarely put more than half as much powder into a charge as a
white man used. They endeavored to make up for the deficiency by
creeping nearer to their prey.

Crockett and his men joined these barbarians, merry in their pleasant
sports. Such are the joys of peace, so different from the miseries of
demoniac war. At length the festivities were closed, and all began to
prepare to retire to sleep.

The Cherokees were neutral in the war between the whites and the Creek
Ind