Oonomoo the Huron | Page 5

the water, and had been
used as a seat a great many times by him. Passing out to the extremity,
he was afforded a comfortable resting-place where he could sit hour
after hour smoking his pipe and engage in fishing. Had he noticed the
large branch of the tree upon which he seated himself, he would have
hesitated before trusting the weight of his body upon it, but his nature
was too unsuspicious to be attracted by anything trivial in its
appearance, and he made his way out upon it, as he had done scores of
times before.
Ensconcing himself in his seat, he gave his whole attention to his line
and his pipe, not noticing the interested glances which the Shawnees
along the bank bestowed upon his operations. After the space of a few
minutes, he felt something pull at his line, and doing the same, he
hauled a fine plump fish out of the water, casting it upon the land.
"Dat is purty goot," he mused, "and I will soon got a lot more, and my
Keewaygooshturkumkankangewock will feel goot too, when I takes
'em home. She won't-- Dunder and Blixen!"
The limb upon which he was seated suddenly broke short off, and Hans
dropped into the river out of sight. But such a ponderous body as his
could not sink, and upon coming to the surface, he paddled hurriedly to
the shore.
"Dem little Dutchmen, Quanonshet and Madokawandock, will be de
death of deir old fader afore long. Dat is deir work. I knows it, I knows
it, and I will pound 'em all up when I gits home."
Looking about his person, he found that one of the hooks, catching in
his clothes, had brought the line to shore; and, as his involuntary bath
had not really been unpleasant, he was able to continue his labor. But,
before going out upon the tree he examined the roots to satisfy himself
that no further mischief had been perpetrated by his hopeful sons.
Feeling assured upon this point, he again passed out on the tree, and
was soon engaged in fishing as before, totally unmindful of the broad

grins of the delighted Shawnees who had witnessed his discomfiture.
The fish bit readily. In a short time he had taken enough to insure him a
welcome reception in his own wigwam. He was debating with himself
whether it would not be better to return, especially as his pipe had been
extinguished by his immersion, when a piece of bark floated down
toward him and caught against his line.
There certainly was nothing remarkable in this. After freeing it of the
obstruction, he continued fishing. But, scarcely a minute had elapsed
before a second and a third piece of bark, precisely like the first, lodged
against his line, and remained there with such persistency that it
required considerable effort upon his part to remove them.
"Where in dunderation did dey come from?" he asked, looking
inquiringly about him. His first impression was that the Shawnees
along the banks were throwing these pieces out into the river for the
purpose of annoying him; but, on looking toward them, he could
discover nothing in their appearance to warrant such a supposition. He
turned elsewhere for the cause. Resuming his attention to his line, he
found several other pieces passing beneath him, and he began now to
feel really provoked at this repeated annoyance. He was about to break
out into some exclamation, when the appearance of these floating
objects arrested his attention. A glance showed him there was
something meant more than mere mischief. The pieces of bark were of
a peculiar construction, roughly cut into the shape of an Indian canoe,
showing unmistakably that they were sent down the stream for the
purpose of arresting his notice.
"Dat means something," exclaimed Hans, decidedly, "and I must find
out what it is."
By simply looking up-stream, he could discern this fleet of miniature
boats coming down toward him in a straight line. In the clear sunlight
they were visible for a great distance, and it was no difficult matter to
determine their starting point. Some two hundred yards above, another
tree projected out over the water very much the same as that upon
which Hans was seated, so similar in fact that he had often used it for

the same purpose. As the line of the pieces of bark pointed directly
toward these, there was but little doubt that here they were launched
upon the water.
"It can't be dat Quanonshet and Madokawandock is dere," mused Hans
Vanderbum, "for to try to worry deir poor old fader. Dey're too big
Dutchmen to build such boats, and dey wouldn't know how to make
'em float under me if dey did. No; dere's somebody out on