ope of escape existed. I caught
hold of the side of the canoe with one hand, and with the other, letting
go my rifle, I felt about for my knife, which, with my powder-flask and
other things, I had thrown into the bottom of the canoe. If I could
find it, I had little fear that I should know how to use it.

"The Indian guessed what I was about, and pressed my throat tighter and
tighter, till I felt myself growing black in the face. He saw his
advantage; the time was come, he thought, to gain the victory. Letting
go his hold of the canoe, he seized his knife with his right hand, and
attempted to haul himself on board by means of my throat. His naked
knee was on the gunwale, when at the same moment my fingers discovered
my knife. I clutched the handle. My enemy's knee slipped off the
smooth wood--his weapon missed its aim, scarcely grazing my side, and I
plunged mine up to the hilt in his breast. His hand relaxed his hold of
my throat, and he dropped back lifeless into the stream.

"I cannot describe my sensations; there was no time to think about them,
at all events. I finished ramming down the bullet into my rifle, and
while the rest of the Indians were hesitating whether to follow me or
not, I pointed it at them, to show them what the first who might venture
into the stream would have to expect. They watched me for some time,
uttering howls of the most intense rage and hatred; and then, seeing
that I was a good match for them, they turned back up the stream again,
to wreak their vengeance, as I feared, on my companions. I pretended to
be paddling down the stream, till I was certain they were out of sight;
but I was not going to desert my friends in that way; such is not the
backwoodsman's law. When I knew that they were well ahead, I ceased
descending the stream, and, pulling to the south bank, I made fast my
canoe to some bushes, and waited till dark.

"I thought about all that had occurred; Blount, I hoped, might possibly
have escaped, but I greatly feared that Noggin would have fallen into
the power of our enemies. Waiting till I could not be seen from the
north shore, keeping on the opposite side, I paddled cautiously and
slowly up the stream. I kept as much as possible in the eddies and
little bays, and thus avoided the strength of the current, against which
I could not otherwise have pulled. The nearer I got to the spot where I
had left my companions, the more cautiously I proceeded; I knew that if