Little was said during the meal. Dorothy was habitually silent; the
result of grief and care. As for her husband, he was too stupid to
talk, though usually somewhat garrulous; while the Indian seldom did
two things at the same time. This was the hour for acting; when that
for talking should arrive, he would be found equal to its duties.
Pigeonswing could either abstain from food, or could indulge in it
without measure, just as occasion offered. He had often gone for
days without tasting a mouthful, with the exception of a few
berries, perhaps; and he had lain about the camp-fire, a week at a
time, gorging himself with venison, like an anaconda. It is perhaps
fortunate for the American Indian, that this particular quality of
food is so very easy of digestion, since his excesses on it are
notorious, and so common to his habits as almost to belong to his
nature. Death might otherwise often be the consequence.
When the breakfast was ended, it was time to consult about the
future course. As yet, the Pottawattamies had made no new discovery;
but the sagacity of the red man was ever to be feared, when it came
to be merely a question of finding his foe in a forest.
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