do without a fire, and
one of us had better go cautiously to the top of the cliff yonder, and
reconnoitre."

"Whirlwind, will go. Keep watch of the squaw, or she will betray us."
So saying, the chief started on his scouting expedition.

Following the course of the brook until it curved around a sudden bend
of the cliff, he crossed it, and striking a narrow ravine overhung on
one side by shelving rock, he followed on within its shadows for over a
mile, when the ravine began to widen, the sides gradually lessen in
height, and which, a mile farther on terminated in rolling acclivities,
covered with verdure, while the ground between became a beautiful dell,
shaded with tall, stately trees, the branches of which were vocal with
a hundred bird voices, filling the air with their melody. The dell was
quite free from undergrowth, and the sun was excluded by the primitive
trees, that interlaced their branches, making the forest almost
impenetrable. The soul of the Indian was entranced, as he gazed on this
scene, so wild and silent in its beauty. It was his beau-ideal of the
Spirit-Land; and, as he gazed, he drew his hand across his eyes to see
if he, indeed, was waking. Still, there lay the landscape before him,
with the melody above. At that moment the spell was broken by a herd of
deer, leisurely crossing the dell. Drawing his bow, he was on the point
of shooting, when recollecting his errand thither, he recovered his
prudence; for, should the deer escape with an arrow sticking in it, and
be seen by the Indians, he was in search of, it would give them to
understand that others were near them.

Cautiously he proceeded across the enchanting landscape, and, after an
hour's walk, discovered an opening in the forest. "Here," thought the
chief, "I shall get a glimpse of the dogs, and if, as I think, they are
Snakes, it will go hard with me, if I don't carry off one scalp at
least," and his eyes glared with the ferocity of a tiger. He was as
much a savage still at heart as ever. Nearing the opening, he saw
before him a lake to which he approached by a smooth grassy plat, of
several rods wide, dotted here and there with mosses, ferns, and
beautiful wild flowers, with an occasional tree shorn of half its limbs
which lay scattered along the water's edge. The opposite bank skirted
the base of the hills they had seen from the encampment, rising in
peaks, barren and rocky on their summits. The water of the lake was
transparent and calm,