They were not troubled any more by Indian attacks, but the rest of the
way was not without other dangers. The rivers were swollen by the spring
rains, and they had great trouble in carrying the salt across on the
swimming horses. Once Paul was swept down by a swift and powerful
current, but Henry managed to seize and hold him until others came to
the rescue. Men and boys alike laughed over their trials, because they
felt now all the joy of victory, and their rapid march south amid the
glories of spring, unfolding before them, appealed to the instincts of
everyone in the band, the same instincts that had brought them from the
East into the wilderness.
They were passing through the region that came to be known in later days
as the Garden of Kentucky. Then it was covered with magnificent forest
and now they threaded their way through the dense canebrake. Squirrels
chattered in every tree top, deer swarmed in the woods, and the buffalo
was to be found in almost every glen.
"I do not wonder," said the thoughtful schoolmaster, "that the Indian
should be loath to give up such choice hunting grounds, but, fight as
cunningly and bravely as he will, his fate will come.
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