matched than might at first be supposed.
The Indian was more active, but Holden was stronger, and towered above
him. The habits of Holden had been eminently conducive to health and
strength. There was no superfluous flesh about him, and his sinews
were like cord. But, on the other hand, the youth of the Indian was
a great advantage, promising an endurance beyond that to be expected
from one of the years of Holden.

With desperate struggles each strove to gain an advantage; but
strength on the one side, and activity on the other, foiled their
opposing exertions. The turf was torn up under their feet, and they
were whirled round, now in this direction, and now in that, until,
maddened by the contest, neither thought of his personal safety,
nor heeded the frightful abyss on the brink of which they fought. At
length, foaming and endeavoring to throttle each other, the foot of
one tripped and he stumbled over the precipice, carrying the other
down with him in his arms. The grappled foes turned over in the air,
and then fell upon the edge of a projecting shelf of a rock, some half
a dozen feet below. Ohquamehud was undermost, receiving the full force
of the fall, and breaking it for Holden, who, as they touched the
rock, threw one arm around the trunk of a small tree that grew out
of a fissure. The Indian must have been stunned, for Holden felt
his grasp relax, and, still clinging to the tree, he endeavored to
withdraw himself from the other's hold. He had partially succeeded,
when the Indian, recovering consciousness, made a movement that threw
his body over the precipice, down which he would have fallen had he
not blindly caught at the freed arm of Holden, which he clutched
with the tenacity of despair. The Indian had now recovered from the
stunning effect of the fall, and become sensible of his danger. In
rolling over the edge of the rock, his moccasined feet had come into
contact with a slight projection where his toes had caught, and by
means of which, Holden, as well as himself, was relieved in part of
the weight of his person. Using this as a support, he made repeated
and frantic attempts to spring to the level surface, but the steepness
of the rock, and the lowness at which he hung, combined with the
exhaustion occasioned by the fierce and prolonged conflict, foiled
every effort. At last, he abandoned the attempt to save himself as
hopeless, and directed all his exertions to drag his enemy down
with him to destructi