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Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851

"Oak Openings"

"
"What you say may be true enough. We are not to suppose that the
canoes you saw pass are all that are on the lake. But let the
savages be whom they may, prudence tells us to keep clear of them if
we can; and this more so than ever, now I can see that Pigeonswing,
who I know to be an American Injin, is treated by them as an enemy."
"How are the savages employed now, Bourdon? Do they prepare to eat,
or do they torture their prisoner?"
"No fear of their attempting the last to-night. There is an
uneasiness about them, as if they still smelt the liquor; but some
are busy cooking at the fire. I would give all my honey, pretty
Margery, to be able to save Pigeonswing! He is a good fellow for a
savage, and is heart and hand with us in this new war, that he tells
me has begun between us and the English!"
"You surely would not risk your own life to save a savage, who kills
and scalps at random, as this man has done!"
"In that he has but followed the habits of his color and race. I
dare say WE do things that are quite as bad, according to Injin ways
of thinking. I DO believe, Margery, was that man to see ME in the
hands of the Pottawattamies, as I now see HIM, he would undertake
something for my relief.


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