Лучшие романы Томаса Майна Рида / The Best of Thomas Mayne Reid

The ten large waggons of Pittsburgh[12 - Pittsburgh – the city in Pennsylvania on the Monongahela River; the first settlement was founded in 1758] build, each hauled by eight able-bodied mules; their miscellaneous contents: plenteous provisions, articles of costly furniture, even of luxe, live stock in the shape of coloured women and children; the groups of black and yellow bondsmen, walking alongside, or straggling foot-sore in the rear; the light travelling carriage in the lead, drawn by a span of sleek-coated Kentucky[13 - Kentucky – the state in the south of the United States (104,664 square kilometres); it was admitted as the 15

state in 1792] mules, and driven by a black Jehu[14 - Jehu – the King of Israel (842–815 BC) who was a great chariot driver], sweltering in a suit of livery; all bespeak, not a poor Northern-States settler in search of a new home, but a rich Southerner who has already purchased one, and is on his way to take possession of it.

And this is the exact story of the train. It is the property of a planter who has landed at Indianola[15 - Indianola – the city in central Iowa founded in 1849; there used to be a town of the same name in Texas], on the Gulf of Matagorda[16 - the Gulf of Matagorda – the Bay of Matagorda, an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico in southern Texas]; and is now travelling overland – en route[17 - en route – on the way to/from (French)] for his destination.

In the cortège[18 - cortège – a procession (French)] that accompanies it, riding habitually at its head, is the planter himself – Woodley Poindexter – a tall thin man of fifty, with a slightly sallowish complexion, and aspect proudly severe.

He is simply though not inexpensively clad: in a loosely fitting frock of alpaca cloth, a waistcoat of black satin, and trousers of nankin[19 - nankin – a kind of rich cloth]. A shirt of finest linen shows its plaits through the opening of his vest – its collar embraced by a piece of black ribbon; while the shoe, resting in his stirrup, is of finest tanned leather. His features are shaded by a broad-brimmed Leghorn hat[20 - A Leghorn hat is a hat made of straw imported from Livorno, a town in Italy].

Two horsemen are riding alongside – one on his right, the other on the left – a stripling scarce twenty, and a young man six or seven years older.