曾幾何時,并非遙遠(yuǎn)的過去,當(dāng)時這些相當(dāng)肥美的草地還是一片荒蕪和死寂,
scathed with fire, and strewn with the ghastly relics of an Iroquois victory. Now, all was changed.
一次易洛魁族人取得大捷,用火燒地,然后撒上草籽借此紀(jì)念那次勝利。現(xiàn)在,一切都已面目全非。
La Salle looked down from his rock on a concourse of wild human life. Lodges of bark and rushes, or cabins of logs,
拉薩爾從巖石處俯瞰著野蠻人的生活。在開闊的平原上,或者沿著森林邊緣,
were clustered on the open plain, or along the edges of the bordering forests.
用樹皮砌成的鄉(xiāng)間小屋、人們的忙碌,以及用木頭搭建的木屋,組成一番別樣的景象。
Squaws labored, warriors lounged in the sun, naked children whooped and gamboled on the grass.
印第安女人在辛勤勞作,勇士們在太陽底下懶洋洋地坐著休憩,赤身裸體的孩子在草地上高聲大叫,嬉戲著。
Beyond the river, a mile and a half on the left, the banks were studded once more with the lodges of the Illinois,
在河對岸左側(cè)一英里半處,伊利諾斯人的鄉(xiāng)間小屋點綴著堤岸,
who, to the number of six thousand, had returned, since their defeat, to this their favorite dwelling place.
有6000伊利諾斯人由于戰(zhàn)敗已經(jīng)回到這里,他們心儀的住處。
Scattered along the valley, among the adjacent hills, or over the neighboring prairie,
在相鄰的山丘之間,或者相鄰的大草原上,
were the cantonments of a half score of other tribes, and fragments of tribes,
沿著山谷稀稀拉拉地遙相守望的是其他部落十余座宿營地。部落零零散散的,
gathered under the protecting aegis of the French.
在法國人的庇護(hù)下聚在一起。