Once within this little forest of
the wild rice, he was enabled to drag the canoe farther and farther
from the north shore, though his progress was both slow and
laborious, on account of the resistance met.
All this time, the savages were not idle. Until the canoe got within
its new cover, it was at no instant fifty yards from the beach, and
the yells, and orders, and whoopings sounded as if uttered directly
in le Bourdon's ear. A splashing in the water soon announced that
our fugitive was pursued by swimmers. As the savages knew that the
beehunter was without a paddle, and that the wind blew fresh, the
expectation of overtaking their late captive, in this manner, was by
no means chimerical. Half a dozen active young men would prove very
formidable to one in such a situation, more especially while
entangled in the mazes of the rice-plant. The bee-hunter was so well
convinced of this circumstance, that no sooner did he hear the
splashes of the swimmers, than he redoubled his exertions to pull
his canoe farther from the spot. But his progress was slow, and he
was soon convinced that his impunity was more owing to the fact that
his pursuers did not know where to find him, than to the rapidity of
his flight.
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