Of houses, out-buildings, fences, stacks, and husbandry, there were
no signs; unless the even and verdant sward, that was spread like a
vast carpet, sprinkled with flowers, could have been deemed a sign
of the last. There were the glades, vistas, irregular lawns, and
woods, shaped with the pleasing outlines of the free hand of nature,
as if consummate art had been endeavoring to imitate our great
mistress in one of her most graceful moods.
The Indians present served largely to embellish this scene. Of late
years, horses have become so common among the western tribes, the
vast natural meadows of those regions furnishing the means necessary
to keep them, that one can now hardly form a picture of those
savages, with-out representing them mounted, and wielding the spear;
but such was not the fact with the time of which we are writing, nor
was it ever the general practice to go mounted, among the Indians in
the immediate vicinity of the great lakes. Not a hoof of any sort
was now visible, with the exception of those which belonged to a
herd of deer, that were grazing on a favorite spot, less than a
league distant from the place where le Bourdon and his companions
reached the prairie.
Pages:
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491