fort. Binkus knew every mile of the wilderness and had canoes hidden
near its bigger waters. He had crossed the lake on which his party had
been camping, and the swamp at the east end of it and was soon far
ahead of the marauders. A little after daylight, he had picked up the
boy, Jack Irons, at a hunting camp on Big Deer Creek, as it was then
called, and the two had set out together to warn the people in Horse
Valley, where Jack lived, and to get help for a battle with the savages.

It will be seen by his words that Mr. Binkus was a man of imagination,
but--again he is talking.

"I were on my way to a big Injun Pow-wow at Swegache fer Sir Bill--ayes
it were in Feb'uary, the time o' the great moon o' the hard snow. Now
they be some good things 'bout Injuns but, like young brats, they take
natural to deviltry. Ye may have my hide fer sole luther if ye ketch
me in an Injun village with a load o' fire-water. Some Injuns is
smart, an' gol ding their pictur's! they kin talk like a cat-bird. A
skunk has a han'some coat an' acts as cute as a kitten but all the
same, which thar ain't no doubt o' it, his friendship ain't wuth a dam.
It's a kind o' p'ison. Injuns is like skunks, if ye trust 'em they'll
sp'ile ye. They eat like beasts an' think like beasts, an' live like
beasts, an' talk like angels. Paint an' bear's grease, an' squaw-fun,
an' fur, an' wampum, an' meat, an' rum, is all they think on. I've et
their vittles many a time an' I'm obleeged to tell ye it's hard work.
Too much hair in the stew! They stick their paws in the pot an' grab
out a chunk an' chaw it an' bolt it, like a dog, an' wipe their hands
on their long hair. They brag 'bout the power o' their jaws, which I
ain't denyin' is consid'able, havin' had an ol' buck bite off the top
o' my left ear when I were tied fast to a tree which--you hear to
me--is a good time to learn Injun language 'cause ye pay 'tention