美國語文第六冊 第314期:饑餓的巖石(2)
1682年12月，他們開始挖壕溝將拉薩爾和唐棣圍起來。
They cut away the forest that crowned the rock, built storehouses and dwellings of its remains,
他們伐掉巖石頂部生長的森林，建了倉庫和住處，
dragged timber up the rugged pathway, and encircled the summit with a palisade. Thus the winter was passed,
將木材拖到崎嶇不平的小路上，用柵欄將崖頂圍起來。就這樣，安然度過寒冬，
and meanwhile the work of negotiation went prosperously on. The minds of the Indians had been already prepared.
與此同時，談判事宜進行得很順利。印第安人在心里已經做好準備。
In La Salle they saw their champion against the Iroquois, the standing terror of all this region.
在拉薩爾，他們看到自己的擁護者反對易洛魁族人，該地區(qū)所有人都處于驚恐之中。
They gathered around his stronghold like the timorous peasantry of the Middle Ages
他們像中世紀膽怯的農民圍在
around the rock-built castle of their feudal lord. From the wooden ramparts of St. Louis,
他們封建領主石頭砌成的城堡周圍一樣，聚在要塞周圍。從圣路易斯用木頭搭成的防御工事，
for so he named his fort, high and inaccessible as an eagle’s nest, a strange scene lay before his eye.
他命名他的城堡——就像鷹巢一樣高高在上和難以接近，奇怪的一幕在他眼前出現(xiàn)了。
The broad, flat valley of the Illinois was spread beneath him like a map,
伊利諾斯寬闊且平坦的山谷像地圖一樣在他腳下展開，
bounded in the distance by its low wall of wooded hills.
通過樹木茂密的山丘那低矮的屏障與遠方連在一起。
The river wound at his feet in devious channels among islands bordered with lofty trees,
在與高聳入云的樹木接壤的小島之間。小河在下游分成迂回曲折的數(shù)條水道，
then, far on the left, flowed calmly westward through the vast meadows,
然后在左側的遠處，穿過廣闊的草地緩緩向西流去，
till its glimmering blue ribbon was lost in hazy distance.
直到閃閃發(fā)光的藍色水帶在薄霧微明的遠方消失不見了。
