2. Of all beasts he learned the language,
Learned their names and all their secrets,
How the beavers built their lodges,
Where the squirrels hid their acorns,
How the reindeer ran so swiftly,

Why the rabbit was so timid,

Talked with them whene'er he met them,
Called them "Hiawatha's brothers."

3. Then I a'goo, the great boaster,
He, the marvelous story-teller,
He, the traveler and the talker,
Made a bow for Hiawatha;

From a branch of ash he made it,

From an oak-bough made the arrows,

Tipped with flint, and winged with feathers,

And the cord he made of deer-skin.

4. Then he said to Hiawatha,

"Go, my son, into the forest,
Where the red deer herd together,
Kill for us a famous roebuck,
Kill for us a deer with antlers."
Forth into the forest straightway
All alone walked Hiawatha

Proudly with his bow and arrows.

5. And the birds sang round him, o'er him,
"Do not shoot us, Hiawatha."
Sang the robin, sang the bluebird,
"Do not shoot us, Hiawatha."
Up the oak-tree, close beside him,
Sprang the squirrel, lightly leaping

In and out among the branches;
Coughed and chattered from the oak-tree,
Laughed, and said between his laughing,
"Do not shoot me, Hiawatha."

6. And the rabbit from his pathway
Leaped aside, and, at a distance,
Sat erect upon his haunches,
Half in fear, and half in frolic,
Saying to the little hunter,

"Do not shoot me, Hiawatha."

7. But he heeded not nor heard them,

For his thoughts were with the red deer;
On their tracks his eyes were fastened,
Leading downward to the river,
To the ford across the river,

And as one in slumber walked he.

8. Hidden in the alder bushes,

There he waited till the deer came,
Till he saw two antlers lifted,
Saw two eyes look from the thicket,
Saw two nostrils point to windward,
And the deer came down the pathway,
Flecked with leafy light and shadow.
And his heart within him fluttered,
Trembled like the leaves above him,
Like the birch leaf palpitated,
As the deer came down the pathway.

9. Then, upon one knee uprising, Hiawatha aimed an arrow;

Scarce a twig moved with his motion,
Scarce a leaf was stirred or rustled,
But the wary roebuck started,
Stamped with all his hoofs together,
Listened with one foot uplifted,
Leaped as if to meet the arrow;

Ah, the singing, fatal arrow,

Like a wasp it buzzed and stung him.

10. Dead he lay there in the forest,
By the ford across the river;
Beat his timid heart no longer;
But the heart of Hiawatha
Throbbed, and shouted, and exulted,
As he bore the red deer homeward.

LESSON XXXIX.

TRAIL, track; footprints.

IN' DI CA TED, pointed out; shown.
MURK' Y, dark; gloomy.
FLAM' BEAU, (flam' bo,) lighted torch.
RE FLECT' ING, throwing back.
LU' RID LY, gloomily; dismally.
SUS PECT ING, mistrusting.
AS SAIL ANTS, assaulters.
ECH' 0, (ek' o,) sound reverberated.
RE LAPS' ED, fell back; returned.

EN VEL' OP ED, inwrapped.
SUF FO CA TED, smothered.
BRAND' ISH ING, flourishing; waving.
RIG' ID, stiff. [without tents.
BIVOUAC, (biv wak,) pass the night
PEER ED, came in sight; appeared.
DE CLIV' I TY, gradual descent.
PRO LONG' ED, lengthened; con-
tinued.

COM' RADE, companion; associate.

A DESPERATE ENCOUNTER WITH A PANTHER. Boy's BooK OF ADVENTURES.

1. I HAD left the hunting party more than an hour, when I came upon the track of my old friend Konwell, who was,

with his dogs, on the bloody trail of a panther. The animal must have had one of his legs broken; this was indicated by the marks on the soft ground, and it was plain that the tracks were made by three feet instead of four, and accompanied by blood at every leap.

2. I determined to follow; and, after a tramp of nearly an hour, I overtook my friend at the entrance of a cavern, where he stood waiting for me. The wounded animal had taken refuge in this cave, leaving us to do whatever we thought best. The poor beast doubtless supposed that within this murky recess he was safe from pursuit; but he was mistaken. Konwell informed me that he had hidden a bundle of pine splinters in a gulley, about half a mile distant, and that if I would keep guard over the mouth of the cave, he would go and bring it.

3. I agreed to this measure; and, with ready gun and drawn knife, prepared for any attack that might be made. I lay down at the entrance of the panther's cave. My friend soon returned, bringing the pine, as he had promised. His next movement was to kindle a large fire at the mouth of the cave, at which we lighted our torches; and, having taken the flambeaus in our left hand, while we carried our guns in the right, we cautiously entered the cave. I crept on before; but the space within soon became so high and roomy, that we could stand upright, and keep close to each other.

4. Bending toward the left, the cavity extended a considerable distance within the hill. After we had advanced about two hundred steps, we saw the glaring eyes of the wounded beast, which gleamed forth like two fiery balls, reflecting most luridly the light of our torches. Konwell now took my flambeau and stepped behind me. I leveled my gun in the direction of those flaming eyes, and fired.

After the report, we heard a bustle; but could not exactly make out what it meant.

5. I reloaded my gun, resumed my torch, and Konwell now took his place in front. But, as those flaming eyes were no longer to be seen, we felt obliged to go farther. Our guns ready loaded, we believed ourselves to be prepared for any thing. We proceeded carefully, as men are likely to do when suspecting danger, when, instantly, the panther started up from a hollow, in which he was lying, quite close to our feet.

6. It was a fearful sight to look upon him as he stood with ears laid back, his white teeth set together, as if in intense anger, and those wide open eyes glowing and sparkling as they rested upon us, his assailants. I can never forget his appearance. In a moment our guns were discharged, and the cave returned the thundering echo. We had both fired so precisely at the same moment, that neither of us could believe the other had discharged his gun.

7. We were certain that our enemy had been struck, but we knew not whether killed or only disabled. Quick as thought, we dropped our guns and drew our knives from the sheath. And haste was necessary; for the echo had not relapsed into silence, before we felt the weight of the panther against us; and we began cutting at him with our knives, and, at the same moment, in consequence of our hurried movements, our torches died out, and we were left in utter darkness.

8. Deafened by the noise and utterly bewildered, I turned to fly from the now raging enemy, and only became perfectly aware of what I was doing, when I found myself standing beside Konwell outside the cave in the open air. I only know now, that, enveloped in thick darkness, and almost suffocated with the smoke of gunpowder, I groped about,