These were small and deep-set, though sharp and piercing, and overhung by eyebrows of the same gigantic pattern as his beard and hair.
A strange and forbidding appearance the man presented about the head, and his form kept it company.
It was covered with the skins of wild animals, worn with the hair-side out, so that at a glance one would have supposed that it was his own natural covering, so much in keeping was it with that about his head.
As he lay there, one could see that his form was crooked and distorted, until it had hardly the shape of a human being.
But still it was not so noticeable as it was when he was upon his feet, and as erect as it was possible for him to be.
His altitude then was not more than five feet, with a monstrous hump upon his shoulders, which, if any thing, made him look shorter than he really was.
A rifle, almost as long as himself, was lying by his side, so close that he could place his hand upon it at a moment’s notice.
A huge knife was thrust into his belt, and the hand that rested upon the handle thereof, showed plainly that it had the strength to use it to a purpose when the occasion warranted.
Though that portion of his face which was not covered by a beard was turned to a dark brown, an observer would have said that he was a white man, though a long residence in the forest had almost changed his appearance and his nature.
The name this uncouth person had once borne was Richard Higgins.