Of course,
the parents of the young girl rejected the warriors suit, as soon as the
chief proposed himself. Time passed, and the young man, broken-hearted,
left all the martial exercises, in which he had excelled. He sought
solitude, starting early in the morning from the wigwam, and returning
but late in the night, when the fires were out. The very day on which he
was to lead the young girl to his lodge, the chief went bear-hunting
among the hills of the neighbourhood. Meeting with a grizzly bear, he
fired at him: but at the moment he pulled the trigger his foot slipped,
and he fell down, only wounding the fierce animal, which now, smarting
and infuriated with pain, rushed upon him.
The chief had been hurt in his fall, he was incapable of defence, and
knew that he was lost. He shut his eyes, and waited for his death-blow,
when the report of a rifle and the springing of the bear in the agonies
of death made him once more open his eyes; he started upon his feet,
there lay the huge monster, and near him stood the young warrior who
timely rescued him.
The chief recognized his rival, and his gratitude overpowering all other
feelings, he took the warrior by the hand, and grasped it firmly.
"Brother," he said, "thou hast saved my life at a time when It was
sweet, more so than usual.
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