Sanders' Union Fourth Reader Part 43

13. "Wilt thou name," said the old Indian, "the red man who betrayed his tribe? I will ask thee three times." The mother answered not. "Wilt thou name the traitor? This is the second time." The poor mother looked at her husband, and then at her children, and stole a glance at Naoman, who sat smoking his pipe with invincible gravity.

14. She wrung her hands, and wept; but remained silent. "Wilt thou name the traitor? 'Tis the third and last time." The agony of the mother waxed more bitter; again she sought the eye of Naoman; but it was cold and motionless. A pause of a moment awaited her reply, and the tomahawks were raised over the heads of the children, who besought their mother not to let them be murdered.

15. "Stop!" cried Naoman. All eyes were turned upon him. "Stop!"

repeated he, in a tone of authority. "White woman, thou hast kept thy word with me to the last moment. _I am the traitor_. I have eaten of the salt, warmed myself at the fire, shared the kindness, of these Christian white people, and it was _I_ that told them of their danger. I am a withered, leafless, branchless trunk. Cut me down, if you will: I am ready."

16. A yell of indignation sounded on all sides. Naoman descended from the little bank where he sat, shrouded his face with his mantle of skins, and submitted to his fate. He fell dead at the feet of the white woman by a blow of the tomahawk.

17. But the sacrifice of Naoman, and the firmness of the Christian white woman, did not suffice to save the lives of the other victims. They perished,--how, it is needless to say; and the memory of their fate has been preserved in the name of the pleasant stream, on whose banks they lived and died, which, to this day, is called MURDERER'S CREEK.

QUESTIONS.--1. Where is Murderer's Creek? 2. What is said of Naoman and Stacy's family? 3. Why did Naoman, at first, refuse to tell Mrs. Stacy of her danger? 4. Did Stacy's family make their escape? 5. Where were they taken? 6. Did Mrs. Stacy tell who had informed her? 7. What measures did the Indians adopt, to make her tell? What did Naoman say?

9. What did the Indians do with Naoman and Stacy's family?

LESSON LIII.

PER' IL OUS, hazardous; dangerous.

DE FILES', narrow pa.s.sages.

PREC' I PIC ES, steep descents.

SOL'I TUDE, lonely places.

AM MU NI' TION, military stores, as powder, b.a.l.l.s, &c.

DRA GOONS, mounted soldiers.

SUM' MIT, top; highest point.

AV A LANCHE', snow-slip.

CROUCH' ED, cringed.

AD VANCE', forward; proceed.

BE NUMB' ED, deprived of feeling.

EX PLOITS', heroic deeds.

IL LUS' TRATES, explains; makes clear.

HE RO'IC, brave; fearless.

UN FLINCH'ING, determined; resolute.

BAY' O NET, a short, pointed instrument of iron, or broad dagger, fitted to the barrel of a gun. It is so called, because the first bayonets were made at Bayonne, in France.

NAPOLEON'S ARMY CROSSING THE ALPS.

1. When Napoleon was carrying war into Italy, he ordered one of his officers, Marshal Macdonald, to cross the Splugen with fifteen thousand soldiers, and join him on the plains below. The Splugen is one of the four great roads which cross the Alps from Switzerland to Italy.

2. When Macdonald received the order, it was about the last of November, and the winter storms were raging among the mountain pa.s.ses. It was a perilous undertaking, yet he must obey; and the men began their terrible march through narrow defiles and overhanging precipices, six thousand feet up, up among the gloomy solitudes of the Alps.

3. The cannon were placed on sleds drawn by oxen, and the ammunition was packed on mules. First came the guides, sticking their long poles in the snow, in order to find the path; then came workmen to clear away the drifts; then the dragoons, mounted on their most powerful horses, to beat down the track; after which followed the main body of the army.

4. They encountered severe storms and piercing cold. When half-way up the summit, a rumbling noise was heard among the cliffs. The guides looked at each other in alarm; for they knew well what it meant. It grew louder and louder. "_An avalanche! an avalanche!_" they shrieked, and the next moment a field of ice and snow came leaping down the mountain, striking the line of march, and sweeping thirty dragoons in a wild plunge below. The black forms of the horses and their riders were seen for an instant struggling for life, and then they disappeared forever.

5. The sight struck the soldiers with horror; they crouched and shivered in the blast. Their enemy was not now flesh and blood, but wild winter storms; swords and bayonets could not defend them from the desolating avalanche. Flight or retreat was hopeless; for all around lay the drifted snow, like a vast winding-sheet. On they must go, or death was certain, and the brave men struggled forward.

6. "Soldiers!" exclaimed their commander, "you are called to Italy; your general needs you. Advance and conquer, first the mountain and the snow, then the plains and the enemy!" Blinded by the winds, benumbed with the cold, and far beyond the reach of aid, Macdonald and his men pressed on.

Sometimes a whole company of soldiers were suddenly swept away by an avalanche.

7. On one occasion, a poor drummer, crawling out from the ma.s.s of snow, which had torn him from his comrades, began to beat his drum for relief.

The m.u.f.fled sound came up from his gloomy resting-place, and was heard by his brother soldiers; but none could go to his rescue. For an hour, he beat rapidly, then the strokes grew fainter, until they were heard no more, and the poor drummer laid himself down to die. Two weeks were occupied in this perilous march, and two hundred men perished in the undertaking.

8. This pa.s.sage of the Splugen is one of the bravest exploits in the history of Napoleon's generals, and ill.u.s.trates the truth of the proverb, "_Where there is a will there is a way_." No one can read the heroic deeds of brave men grappling with danger and death, without a feeling of respect and admiration; but heroic deeds are always the fruit of _toil_ and _self-sacrifice_. _No one can accomplish great things, unless he aims at great things, and pursues that aim with unflinching courage and perseverance._

QUESTIONS.--1. What orders had Napoleon given to Marshal Macdonald? 2.

What time of year was it? 3. Describe the march of the army over the Alps. 4. What disaster occurred to them? 5. How did their commander address the army? 6 Describe the drummer boy's fate. 7. How many men perished? 8. What does this exploit of the army ill.u.s.trate? 9. What is said of heroic deeds?

LESSON LIV.

PROV' ERBS, sayings; maxims.

TRAC' ED, shown; marked out.

WOO ERS, suitors; lovers.

DENSE, close; thick.

STRIV' ING, making efforts.

CON TROL', restraint; government.

COPE, strive; contend.

DE FY' ING, daring; outbraving.

GHOST, specter; apparition.

RE LY' ING, trusting; depending.

WIN' NING, getting; gaining.

BRAM' BLES, p.r.i.c.kly shrubs.

WHERE THERE'S A WILL THERE'S A WAY.

ELIZA COOK.

1. We have faith in old proverbs full surely, For wisdom has traced what they tell, And truth may be drawn up as purely From them, as it may from a "well."

Let us question the thinkers and doers, And hear what they honestly say, And you'll find they believe, like bold wooers, In "_Where there's a WILL there's a WAY._"

2. The hills have been high for man's mounting, The woods have been dense for his ax, The stars have been thick for his counting, The sands have been wide for his tracks.

The sea has been deep for his diving, The poles have been broad for his sway, But bravely he's proved by his striving, That "_Where there's a WILL there's a WAY._"

3. Have ye vices that ask a destroyer, Or pa.s.sions that need your control?

Let Reason become your employer, And your body be ruled by your soul.

Fight on, though ye bleed at the trial, Resist with all strength that ye may, Ye may conquer Sin's host by denial, For, "_Where there's a WILL there's a WAY._"

4. Have ye poverty's pinching to cope with'?

Does suffering weigh down your might'?

Only call up a spirit to hope with, And dawn may come out of the night.

Oh! much may be done by defying The ghost of Despair and Dismay, And much may be gained by relying On "_Where there's a WILL there's a WAY._"

5. Should ye see afar off that worth winning, Set out on a journey with trust, And ne'er heed though your path at beginning Should be among brambles and dust.

Though it is by footsteps ye do it, And hardships may hinder and stay, Keep a heart and be sure ye go through it, For, "_Where there's a WILL there's a WAY._"