streams
of Babylon.

"All nature seemed to invite us to repose, and the waters of Lethe swept
over us. As the Angel of Dreams threw his mantle over me, through this
gauzy mantle I seemed to trace the Queen of the Falls from earth, with
her guardian angels, to the fields of Paradise, which appeared in my
dream as described by the Jesuit that used to come and preach to the
tribe I lived with, and give me books, teach me to read them, and teach
me etiquette, such as used by the English and French. All of a sudden I
thought the bolts of hell had burst asunder, and the devil incarnate
walked again over earth and sea--that Gabriel had sounded his trumpet
for all to assemble at the judgment hall on the borders of two worlds.

"Slowly awaking to consciousness, I cast my eyes towards the big rock. I
felt the rain pattering down in my face from the tree-tops, and, lo!
there I saw two eyes that looked to me like two orbs swimming in liquid
fire, which frightened me to such a degree that I attempted to scream
for mercy.

"I seemed to be paralyzed. In this awful moment of fear, the Great
Spirit sent an arrow of electric fire from the darkest pavilion of the
storm-cloud, selected from the quiver of the Eternal Jehovah, down into
the top of a mighty oak that leaned over the dark ravine a few rods
above our camping ground, which tore off the top and splintered its
massive trunk to the ground. The awful crash frightened me nearly out of
my wits. I screamed with all the power of voice I possessed, for I
thought the ebon paw of Satan was upon me. The panther then set up the
most unearthly scream I had ever heard leaped from the rook, and seemed
to make the forest jar at every scream, until he was far away on the
lake shore. The clap of thunder awoke my father and mother. The chief,
hearing the screams of the panther, seized his weapons of war and tried
in vain to penetrate the surrounding gloom, for the blackness of the
storm-cloud made the forest a dungeon, occasionally illuminated by
flashes of electric fire from the arching clouds over our heads, which
could not be penetrated by mortal eye. The chief again gathered up the
few burning brands that remained, and piled high his fuel. This only
served to light a few rods from the fire, whilst all beyond seemed black
as the regions of darkness. There was no more sleep during the night.

"Morning dawned. The storm-cloud passed away, and we resumed our journey
with cautious and timid step