On the west the velvet turf
began to unroll gently downward toward the river. The quiet stream ran
with molten silver on that flawless October day, and deep shadows of
royal purple hung curtains of wondrous beauty above the water. Back
under the trees the shadows were darkly blue, bluer even than the
cloudless sky arching so high above the tall tree-tops.
Nature indeed always made more preparations and much finer ones, for the
dance in the woods than the simple people of the wilderness ever thought
of making. The word merely went from one log house to another, fixing
the day for the dance. The hunters' daughters with the help of their
mothers, filled the big baskets with simple good things on the night
before; for the young hunters came very early to go with their
sweethearts to the festival, and there was no time to spare on the
morning of the dance. The dancing sometimes began at nine o'clock in the
morning. The three black men from Cedar House who played for the dancing
were in their places long before that hour, with their instruments
already in tune.
Pages:
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200