“’For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

“’So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

“‘Oh death, where is thy sting?  Oh grave, where is thy victory?—­’”

The hands of Oonomoo and Fluellina, which had still remained clasped upon the lap of the missionary, suddenly closed with incredible force, and rising to the sitting position, as if assisted by an invisible arm, they both opened their eyes to their widest extent, and fixing them for a moment upon the clear sky above, sunk slowly and quietly back, dead!  A profound stillness reigned for several minutes after it was certain the spirits of Oonomoo and Fluellina had departed.  Gently removing their heads from his lap to the ground, the missionary arose, and in so doing, broke the spell that was resting upon all.  Niniotan stood like a statue, his arms folded and his stony gaze fixed upon the senseless forms of his parents.  Placing his hand upon his head, the man of God addressed him in the tones of a father: 

“Let Niniotan heed the words of Oonomoo; let him grow up a Christian warrior, and when his spirit leaves this world, it will join his and Fluellina’s in the happy hunting-grounds in the sky.  Niniotan, I offer you a home at our mission-house so long as you choose to remain.  Your mother was brought to me when an infant, and I have educated her in the fear of God.  Will you go with me?” The boy replied in his native dialect:  “Niniotan will never forget the words of Oonomoo.  His heart is warm toward the kind father of Fluellina, and he will never forget him.  The woods are the home of Niniotan, the green earth is his bed and the blue sky is his blanket.  Niniotan goes to them.”

[Illustration:  Niniotan stood like a statue, his arms folded and his stony gaze fixed upon the senseless forms of his parents.]

Turning his back upon his white friends, the young warrior walked away and soon disappeared from sight in the arches of the forest. [He kept his word, living a life of usefulness as had Oonomoo, being the unswerving friend of the whites all through Tecumseh’s war, and dying less than ten years since in the Indian Territory beyond the Mississippi, loved and respected by the whites as well as by all of his own kindred.]

“Friends,” said the missionary, “you have witnessed a scene which I trust will not be lost upon you.  Live and die in the simple faith of this untutored Indian and all will be well.”

“Captain,” added the speaker, addressing Captain Prescott, “he has been a true friend to our race for years, and we must do him what kindness we can.  If we leave these bodies here, the Shawnees will return and mutilate them—­”

“God bless me! it shan’t be done! it shan’t be done!  Form a litter, boys, form a litter, and place them on it.  We’ll bury them at the settlement, and build them a monument a thousand feet high—­yes, sir—­every inch of it.”