stion, and the Lord
knows, stranger, I'm always willing to tell the sad story of that lonely
grave. Well, well, it's no use to grieve always, the red whelps have
paid well for thar doins, and now, but few of 'em are spared to
repent--the Lord forgive 'em all," to which I involuntarily
echoed--"Amen!"

"Well, stranger, you see, about five-and-thirty years ago, I left
Western Virginia to come down 'yer in the Ohio valley. I well remember
the first glimpse I got of this stream; it war a big stream to me, and I
gloried in the sight of it. Thar war but few settlements then upon its
banks, and thar war none of your roarin', splashin' steamboats about;
but I like the steamboats--thar grand creatures, and go it like
high-mettled horses. Well, I war a young man then; me and my brother and
our old mother joined in with a neighbor, built a family boat, put in
our goods, and started off down the stream, towards the lower part thar
of Kentucky.

"Captain Paul, our neighbor, war an old woodsman, though he war a young
man; he had a wife and several fine, growin' children along with us, and
our journey for many days war prosperous and pleasant. Capt. Paul's
wife's sister war along with us, a fine young creature she war too. My
brother and her I always carc'lated would make a match of it when we
reached our journey's end; but poor Ben, God bless the boy, he little
dreampt he'd be cut off so soon in the prime of life, and leave his
bones 'yer to rot. I war young too, then, and little thought I should
ever come to be this old, withered-up creature you see me now,
stranger."

"Why, you appear to be a hearty, hale man yet," said I, encouraging the
old man to proceed in his narrative, "and no doubt shoot as well and see
as keenly and far as ever?"

"Ay, ay, I can drive a centre purty well yet; but my hand begins to
tremble sometimes, and I'm failing--yes, yes, I know I'm failing. But,
to go on with my story: I acted as sort of pilot. Then the country were
yet pretty full of Ingins, and mighty few cabins war made along the
river in them times. The whites and red-skins war eternally fighting. I
won't say which war to blame; the whites killed the creatures off fast
enough, and the Ingins took plenty of scalps and war cruel to the white
man whenever they fastened on him.

"Our old ark or boat war well loaded down; a few loose boards served as
a shelter from the sun and rain, and a few planks spiked to the sides
'bove water, kept the swell