THE AMERICANS AND THE ABORIGINES. 409 



a dream, till the major, with Eosa and the militia, 

 were already far from the estaminet. Suddenly he 

 came bounding after them, and placing himself before 

 Rosa, took her hands, pressed them to his breast, and 

 bowed his head so mournfully, that the witnesses of 

 the scene stood silent, sympathising with his evident 

 affliction. 



" El Sol," whispered he, in a scarcely audible tone, 

 "has seen Eosa : he will never forget her." 



And without raising his eyes to her face, he turned 

 away. 



"As I live," exclaimed the squire, with some 

 emotion, " the noble savage weeps ! " 



VIII. 



An hour subsequently to this scene, the party of 

 Indians left the bayou in a canoe, and ascended the 

 Mississippi Upon reaching the mouth of the Eed 

 Eiver, they turned into it, and continued their route 

 up-stream. On the tenth day from that of their 

 departure, they found themselves upon the elevated 

 plain where the western district of Arkansas and 

 Louisiana joins the Mexican territory. To their 

 front were the snowy summits of the Ozark range, 

 beyond which are immense steppes extending towards 

 the Eocky Mountains. The sun sank behind the 

 snow-capped peaks, as the Indians landed at the 



