Far Past the Frontier

by James A. Braden

  CHAPTER XIV.

  Treed by Wolves.

  The disappearance of Tom Fish caused both boys considerable uneasiness.They at first thought that he might return during the evening, though thefact that the fire had gone out, indicated that he had left the cabinearly in the day. As they crept into their rough but comfortable bunks,however, and no sign of his coming had been heard, the lads realized thestrong probability that the woodsman had set out by himself to avenge thedeath of Arthur Bridges, and that he had intended going when he told Reethe strange story of that young man, the night before.

  What the consequences of Tom's undertaking might be, afforded grave causefor alarm. By reason of his having been looked upon as a member of theirparty, the Indians would consider the boys equally guilty in any offensewhich he might give.

  "We will have to make the best of it, though and if it comes to fighting,we will fight like Trojans," said Ree, with some cheerfulness as he sawthat John was quite depressed. "But our best plan will be to say nothingto Capt. Pipe's people about Tom. It may be that he left us on purpose toavoid getting us into trouble."

  John agreed to this way of reasoning, hoping as Ree did, that it would beonly a few days until they would see Tom and learn what his plans were.But time passed rapidly and nothing was seen or heard of the missing man.Had Tom been anything but a skilled woodsman the lads might probably haveworried for his safety. As it was, that phase of the situation wasscarcely thought of.

  By working early and late, thawing the frozen clay beside their fire,when the weather was cold, that they might quickly get all the cracks inthe cabin walls closed up, the boys accomplished a great deal in a week'stime. Several times little parties of Indians came to trade with them,but the savages never mentioned Tom Fish's name. Big Buffalo came onceand appeared more hateful than ever, suggesting the unpleasant thoughtthat perhaps he knew more concerning the absent man than he would havebeen willing to tell.

  The Delawares were not the only Indians who passed along the river andstopped to exchange skins for cloth, knives, beads or other articles. TheWyandots, Chippewas and Senecas had villages to the west and north andwere coming or going quite frequently. Sometimes wandering Mingoes camealong, and for them it may be said that they were more disposed to maketrouble than any of the others. The reason probably lay in the fact thatthey were still to some extent influenced by British traders who retainedfeelings of hostility toward the colonies, and used their influence tosecretly cause Indian disturbances along the borders.

  At no great distance from the cabin was the Portage trail referred to inthe previous chapter as passing near the Delaware town. This path wasmuch used by all the Indians in traveling between the Great Lakes and theOhio river, as it was the only stretch of land they must cross in makingall the remainder of the journey by water. Thus they willingly carriedtheir canoes over eight miles or so of land from the Cuyahoga to theTuscarawas river, or vice versa, for the sake of paddling on their waywith ease and rapidity the rest of the way, either north or south.

  Thus, as their visitors were many, the loft the boys had built in theircabin came to contain a richer and richer store, as they placed there thefurs they secured. Sitting before the fire at night they would sometimesestimate their probable profits, and as they discussed this and othersubjects, the lads never forgot that their safety was the very firstthing with which they must reckon. In this connection they were glad whenthey learned that Big Buffalo had gone away on a hunting trip with alarge party of Delawares and would probably not return until spring.

  There was another subject which was sometimes spoken of--the fact thatthe prowling enemy who had killed their horse had not for a long timegiven any sign of being in the vicinity. Out of these talks grew a theorythat, perhaps, that secret foe was Big Pete Ellis, and that having killedold Jerry he had at last decided that his revenge was complete.

  Their health, too, was a matter for daily thought with the boys, andremembering that they must be careful to guard against needless exposure,but both being hardy and robust, they were little troubled.

  So the time passed and all promised well. They contrived many traps forthe capture of fur-bearing animals, and to catch turkeys and other gamefor food. Chief of their traps was the dead-fall, made by propping up oneend of a short piece of puncheon or hewed plank, in such a way that itwould fall upon the animal which attempted to secure the bait placed on atrigger beneath it. This trigger was a part of the prop under thepuncheon and gave way at the slightest jar. As the plank fell it caughtthe creature which had disturbed it, and being weighted down with stones,held its victim fast.

  Wolf pens were also made and very successfully used. These were built ofsmall logs on the same principle as a box trap, having a very heavy lidwhich fell, shutting inside any animal which entered and attempted to eatthe bait placed on the spindle, which at the least pull, gave way,letting the lid fall.

  The turkey traps were made in the Indian fashion. A small, low enclosurewas built with sticks, a small opening or door being made close to theground. The pen was then covered with brush except for a passage wayleading to the door, and along this path beechnuts or other bait, werescattered, the trail of nuts extending into the enclosure. A turkeyfinding the food would follow it, its head near the ground, enter thepen, and having eaten all it could find, would raise its head and so beunable to see its way out.

  The boys did not have so much time for hunting as they had planned upon,and yet scarcely a day passed but one of them sallied forth, nearlyalways coming home with valued furs or meat for their table. They foundit advisable that one should remain near the cabin, both for itsprotection from Indians who might steal, and to trade with those whopassed. Thus, while Ree would be spending a day with his axe clearing theland near their home, John would be miles away, perhaps, rifle in hand,eyes and ears alert.

  The next day, perhaps, Ree would have his turn at hunting. Every day,too, they visited their traps to secure any creatures which had beencaptured and to reset the snares or change their location. Wood for thefire must be gathered, also, and it was wonderful how great a quantity offuel the big fire-place consumed; and pine knots from the rocky ravinefarther up the river, or hickory bark from the hillsides in the oppositedirection, must be secured every few days to afford light for theevenings. There were also furs to be cured, and much else to be done, alluniting to make the short winter days very busy ones, and to keep thelong winter evenings from being tedious.

  Night was the favorite time for baking and for the preparation of suchdishes as they thought they would most enjoy. Many were the feasts theyoung friends had, though their stock of supplies included little besidesmeal and fresh meat. At first they had occasionally secured beans andsquashes from the Indians, but the improvident savages soon exhaustedtheir supplies and were themselves dependent on corn and game.

  December had gone and January was well under way when there came a greatsnow storm, which, at the end of a week left drifts piled high in alldirections. The snow was soft and light but so deep that it was well nighimpossible for one to make his way through it, and Ree and John quicklyagreed to occupy themselves with work in and near the cabin. They setabout adding new conveniences to their home, such as shelves andcupboards, pegs, etc. They hewed and whittled out long, thin hickoryslats, which they placed lengthwise on the rough bedstead they had builtin one corner, and found them so springy and comfortable to sleep upon,when a couple of skins and a blanket had been spread over them, that theywere sorry they had not sooner thought of this improvement.

  John made a broom of hickory splints which did its work to perfection,and Ree sharpened up his knife and carved from a whitewood block severalplates and trays to add to their meager collection of dishes. Both boysimproved the opportunity also, while shut in, to give their wardrobesattention, making themselves stout moccasins, coon-skin caps and buckskinbreeches.

  Ree found time during many evenings to read again and again the few bookshe had. John was less given to reading, but with much care and di
ligencehe managed to make a fife by boring a maple stick through from end to endwith a thin piece of iron from their cart, much of which had been carriedpiece-meal to the cabin. Having natural musical talent, he learned toplay the instrument he thus fashioned, and though Ree had declared, as hepracticed, that he would surely bring the savages down upon them in warpaint, he liked the music as well as its maker.

  So, for a fortnight the boys were scarcely out of sight of the cabin. Theweather was bitter cold much of that time and no Indians came near. Thereat last came a day, however, when the wind blew steadily from thesouthwest, bringing with it at night a cold rain. Changing to the north,the wind turned the rain to sleet, followed by cold weather again.

  "We must have snow-shoes," said Ree, when he saw what was taking place,and the third day the boys ventured forth on such contrivances as theyhad made and did finely with them on the thick, slippery crust which hadformed. Taking their rifles, they made their way through the rivervalley, which, farther up the stream, became quite narrow, steep, rockybanks rising on both sides to a height of fifty feet or more. No soonerhad they entered this canyon than they found evidences of deer and otheranimals having taken shelter there.

  Going quietly forward, the lads discovered four of the timid, beautifulcreatures huddled together. They went quite near before the deer leapedaway through the frozen snow, and Ree quickly brought one down. John didbetter--or worse--killing one and wounding another. They secured theskins and choice parts of the meat and hanging these in a tree forsafety, pushed on after the two which had escaped. They especiallydesired to capture the doe which had been wounded, not so much for itsvalue, but because Ree insisted that it would be downright cruelty to letthe poor creature suffer from its injury for days, perhaps, then die atlast.

  But the young hunters traveled far before again coming upon the animalsthey sought. The trail took them out of the narrow valley or canyon, anda long distance through the woods to a locality they had never beforevisited, where the earth was cut by deep ravines, zig-zagging in nearlyall directions, and great rocks often obstructing the way. Here the trailof the deer they were following was lost amid the tracks of others whichhad gone into the deep rugged gullies to escape the stinging wind.

  "We may as well give it up, Ree," said John, as they sat down to rest.

  "Oh no, we mustn't give up," Ree answered, "but I'll tell you what we'dbetter do. It is more than likely the Indians will be out in snow shoesthe same as we are, and they may want to swap some dollar furs for pennyknick-knacks this afternoon. One of us should be at the cabin."

  "I'll go," John willingly responded, for he liked to trade with theIndians, and could make much better bargains than Ree; not but what hewas honest, but because Ree was so generous that he was often imposedupon.

  "Will you stop for the venison we left in the tree?" Ree asked.

  "I think I'd better; there is no knowing where you will be when you findthat wounded deer! But don't stay out all night!"

  With this sally John started homeward, and Ree resumed his search forblood-stains in the snow which would show him the trail he sought. Goingabout among the rocks he discovered an opening about half the size of adoor which seemed to lead straight back into a rocky cliff.

  "Some sort of a cave," he mused, inspecting it more closely and lookinginto it. He saw nothing, and, stooping down, ventured in a little way.His eyes accustomed to the bright light of the snow, he was unable to seeanything in the darkness, or he might not have been so bold; for the nextmoment a chorus of fierce growls caused him to retreat.

  "Bears, or wolves--bears, most likely," said Ree to himself. "At least ifthey are wolves there should be tracks about the mouth of the cave. Imust remember this place."

  Having first looked about to make sure of the exact location of thecavern, and resolving to explore it at some future time, the youthfulhunter hurried on. Under a clump of low pines he presently discovered aherd of seven deer. One lagged behind, as they fled at his approach, andRee knew at once that it must be the wounded animal. He followed at thebest pace possible, but the deer was soon lost sight of, though the poorthing had a difficult time of it to make any progress through the crustedsnow.

  However, Ree kept to the trail for he was sure the doe could not go far;yet hour after hour passed and he saw no hope of accomplishing hispurpose. Had it not been that the deer was traversing a circle, the trailnow taking him in the direction of the cabin, he would have been obligedto give up the pursuit. But now he passed through the ravine where thedeer had been wounded and up a steep slope towards home. By this time thesun was going down, and from not far ahead of him Ree heard the howlingof wolves. If he could have looked but a little way into the future, hewould have taken the shortest route to the cabin.

  However, wolves had never given much trouble and Ree had no thought ofbeing afraid, though the howling sounded nearer and nearer as hecontinued on. Soon, however, he guessed what had happened. The woundeddeer, unable to escape, had been killed by the fierce dogs of thewilderness which were now devouring it. And in another minute the boy sawthem at their awful feast. With anger and foolhardy courage he sprangdirectly among the struggling beasts, clubbing them with his rifle.

  Mad with starvation and the taste of fresh blood, one big wolf leapedtoward the courageous boy and others followed. He was barely able to holdthem at bay while he backed away toward a tree, swinging his rifle rightand left with desperate energy as he went. Closer and closer still thewolves pressed him, snapping, snarling, howling--their long sharp teethand red throats being so near that he could almost feel their hot breathon his face. But he reached the tree--a beech, one of whose lower limbswas almost within reach. He leaped upward to seize it, but as he did sohis rifle caught on a bush and was jerked from his hand. A great grayfoamy-jawed creature snapped closely at his heels and by a hair's breadthhe escaped, as he drew himself quickly upward.

  Howling like enraged demons the wolves gathered about the tree. Theyseemed to know that sooner or later they would drink human blood. Reethought of this. His only weapon was the knife Capt. Bowen had given him,which he always carried. But his active brain was busy and he determinedto take a desperate chance in an effort to secure his rifle.