was a pair of buckskin leggings that laced at the sides, and which were
gartered above the knees with the sinews of a deer. A pouch and horn
completed his personal accoutrements, though a rifle of great length,
which the theory of the more ingenious whites had taught them was the
most dangerous of all fire-arms, leaned against a neighboring sapling.
The eye of the hunter, or scout, whichever he might be, was small,
quick, keen, and restless, roving while he spoke, on every side of him,
as if in quest of game, or distrusting the sudden approach of some
lurking enemy. Notwithstanding these symptoms of habitual suspicion, his
countenance was not only without guile, but, at the moment at which he
is introduced, it was charged with an expression of sturdy honesty."

[87-8] The Huron tribe sided with the French, and as they were powerful
Indians, wise in woodcraft and fierce in battle, they were among the
most deadly foes whom the English colonists had to meet.

[91-9] _Le Gros Serpent_ is a French phrase meaning _The Great Serpent_,
or _The Big Snake_, a name which the Hurons gave to Chingachgook.

[91-10] _La Longue Carabine_ means _The Long Rifle_, and is the French
name which the Hurons gave to Hawkeye.

[91-11] _Le Cerf Agile_ is a French phrase which means _The Nimble
Deer_. It is the name given to Uncas by the Hurons.

THE BUFFALO

NOTE.--The following selections are taken from _The Oregon Trail_,
a narrative written by Francis Parkman describing the journey which
he undertook in order to study the manners, customs and character
of the Indians in their native state. Parkman planned this
investigation to prepare himself more fully for writing his
splendid _Histories of the French and Indians in America_, a series
of books which are not only the best accounts we have of the
period, but are also written in most charming style. His
_Conspiracy of Pontiac_ and _La Salle_ are among the most readable
of these works. The selections which we have made are peculiarly
interesting. His journey was begun in the spring of 1846, and in
the brief time that has elapsed the wilderness he describes has
given way to populous states and thriving cities. The red man is
seen there no longer, and the vast herds of buffalo whose numbers
seem to us incredible have become wholly extinct. In the United
States there remain almost no wild bison, and to st