ck with amazement that his features had assumed a settled expression
of surprise that could not be increased, so that when he beheld Bounce a
prisoner before him, although he certainly felt astonishment, he could
by no means increase the expression of that sensation. The Indians,
therefore, passed away from him with a howl of derision, and tied Bounce
to a tree beside his comrades, concluding that, instead of a plotter,
they had, in him, made another lucky capture. Anxiety to taste their
beloved beverage had something to do with their haste in this matter, no
doubt.

No one who has not seen it can conceive of the intense passion the North
American Indian has for ardent spirits. He seems to have no power of
restraint whatever when the opportunity of indulging that passion
presents itself.

The head of the keg was quickly knocked in, and the eyes of the savages
seemed positively to flash as they gazed upon the precious fluid. The
chief advanced first with a little tin mug, such as was sold to them by
traders, and drank a deep draught; he then handed the cup to another,
but the impatience of the others could not be restrained--they crowded
round with their mugs, and dipping them into the keg drank eagerly,
while the squaws, who loved the fire-water as much as did their masters,
formed an outer circle, and, as patiently as they could, awaited their
turn. They knew full well that it would soon come.

The Indians, being unaccustomed to frequent potations, were quickly
maddened by the spirit, which mounted to their brains and rushed through
their veins like wildfire, causing every nerve in their strong frames to
tingle. Their characteristic gravity and decorum vanished. They
laughed, they danced, they sang, they yelled like a troop of incarnate
fiends! Then they rushed in a body towards their prisoners, and began a
species of war-dance round them, flourishing their tomahawks and knives
close to their faces as if they were about to slay them; shrieking and
howling in the most unearthly manner, and using all those cruel devices
that are practised by Red Indians to terrify those unfortunates whom
they intend ultimately to kill.

Suddenly one of the warriors observed that the squaws were stealthily
approaching the spirit keg, and rushed towards them with a howl of fury,
followed by his comrades, who drove the women away and recommenced
drinking. And now a fiercer spirit seemed to seize upon the savages;
old feuds and