8; 



nature ; when nought but the untamed vvan-^ 

 dere.rs of the woods, and men as unrestrained 

 as they were the lords of the soil ; a race of 

 animals existed, huge as the frowning precipice^ 

 cruel as the bloody pantlier, swift as the de- 

 scending ea^le, and terrible as the angel of 

 night. The pines crashed beneath their feet, 

 and the lake shri{2ik when they slaked their 

 thirst ; the forceful javelin in vain was hurled, 

 and the barbed arrow fell harmless nom their 

 side. Forests were laid waste at a meal *; the 

 groans of expiring animals were every where 

 heard, and v/hole villages, inhabited by men, 

 were destroyed in a mom.ent. The cry of uni- 

 versal distress extended even to the region of 

 peace in the west, and the good Spirit inter- 

 posed to save the unhappy. The forked light- 

 ning gleamed around, and loudest thunder 

 rocked the globe ! The bolts of heaven were 

 hurled upon tlie cruel destroyers alone, and 

 the mountains echoed with the bcilowings of 

 death. All were killed except one male, the 

 fiercest of tlie race, and him, even the artillery 



* These passages must allude to a herd of tliem. 



