Headlong the party dashed along the winding path, and sometimes the terrified horses leaped into the tall grass, seeking a straighter course, or eager to pass by those who had fled before them.  But this was a vain attempt.  The wild pea-vines, and other creeping plants that stretched among the grass, offered such impediments to rapid flight, as forced them again into the path.

And now the wild inhabitants of the broad savanna came rushing on, and joined the furious flight, adding difficulty and confusion to the horror of the scene.  Buffaloes, elks, and antelopes, tore madly through the grass, jostling the horses and their riders, and leaving them far in the rear.  The screaming eagle rode high above among the clouds of smoke, and many smaller birds fell suffocated to the ground; while all the insect tribe took wing, and everything that had life strove to escape the dread pursuer.

It was a desperate race!  The strength of the fugitives began to fail, and no refuge, no hope, seemed near.  Alas! to some the race was lost.  The blinding effect of the dense smoke that filled the atmosphere, the suffocating smell of the burning mass of vegetable matter, and the lurid glare of the red flames that came on so rapidly, overpowered alike the horses and their riders:  while the roaring of the fire—­which sounded like a mighty rushing cataract—­and the oppressive heat, seemed to confuse the senses, and destroy the vital powers of the more feeble and ill-mounted of the fugitives.  Several of the horses fell, and their devoted riders sank to the ground, unable any longer to sustain the effort for life; and Henrich had the agony of passing by the wretched victims, and leaving them to their fate, for he knew that he had no power to save them.

Many miles were traversed—­and still the unbroken level of the prairie spread out before them—­and still the roaring and destructive flames came borne on the mighty winds behind them.  A few scattered trees were the only objects that broke the monotony of the plains; and the hills, at the foot of which they had traveled that morning, and where alone they could lock for safety, were still at a great distance.  At length, the aged Tisquantum’s powers of endurance began to give way.  The reins almost fell from his hands; and, in trembling accents, he declared his total inability to proceed any further.

Leave me, my children!’ he exclaimed, ’to perish here; for my strength is gone; and what matters it where the old Tisquantum breathes his last.  Mahneto is here, even in this awful hour, to receive my spirit; and I shall but lose a few short months or years of age and infirmity.’

‘Never, my father!’ cried H enrich, as he caught the reins of the Sachem’s horse; and while he still urged his own overloaded steed to fresh exertions, endeavored also to support the failing form of his father-in-law.  ’Never will we leave you to die alone in this fiery desert.  Hold on, my father! hold on yet a little longer till we gain the defile, where the flames cannot follow as, and all will yet be well!’