III.

In[1] the meantime the spring returned, and the Indians again took the field. The old man, who was still vigorous, and able to bear the fatigues of war[2], set out with them, _and was_ accompanied by his prisoner. They marched above[3] two hundred leagues across the forests, and came at length to[4] a plain, where the British forces[5] were encamped. The old man showed his prisoner the tents at a distance[6]: “There,” said he, “are thy countrymen. There is the enemy who[7] waits to give us battle. Remember[8] that I have saved thy[9] life, that I have taught[10] thee to conduct a canoe, to arm thyself with[11] bow and arrows, and to surprise[12] the beaver in the forest. What wast thou when I first took thee to my hut? Thy hands were those of an infant. They could neither procure[13] thee sustenance nor safety. Thy soul was[14] in utter darkness. Thou wast ignorant of everything. Thou owest all things to me. Wilt thou, then[15], go over to thy nation, and take up the hatchet against us?”

[1] Say ‘Meanwhile it became spring’; to take the field, +ins Feld ziehen+.

[2] +die Kriegsbeschwerden+; ‘to set out’, here +ziehen+.

[3] more than.

[4] to = into.

[5] forces = troops; to encamp, +sein Lager auf´schlagen+.

[6] +von weitem+, which place before the accusative.

[7] who waits, +der darauf lauert+; to give battle = to attack.

[8] +Bedenke.+

[9] _A._ =The definite article= is often used =instead of the possessive adjective pronoun= in cases where the possessor is clearly seen from the context; as—

+Ich habe die Feder in ~der~ Hand.+

I have the pen in _my_ hand.

_B._ =The possessor is often indicated by a personal pronoun in the dative case=; as—

+Ich will ~mir die~ Hände waschen.+

I will wash _my_ hands.

The latter mode of construction must be applied in this case.

[10] ‘I have taught thee to conduct a canoe.’ Read once more S. 42, N. 4, and mark further that: =that which is taught is often expressed in the form of a Supine=, as in this instance.

[11] We say ‘+mit Pfeil und Bogen+’.

[12] +überfal´len+.

[13] +gewäh´ren+; sustenance, +Nahrung+, f.

[14] +lag in Finsternis gehüllt.+

[15] +also+; nation = people; to take up = to seize.

_Section 44._

THE INDIAN CHIEF.