CHAPTER TWENTY.
NEW PLANS--OUR TRAVELLERS JOIN THE FUR-TRADERS, AND SEE MANY STRANGETHINGS--A CURIOUS FIGHT--A NARROW ESCAPE, AND A PRISONER TAKEN.
Not long after the events related in the last chapter, our four friends,Dick, and Joe, and Henri, and Crusoe, agreed to become for a timemembers of Walter Cameron's band of trappers. Joe joined because one ofthe objects which the traders had in view was similar to his ownmission, namely, the promoting of peace among the various Indian tribesof the mountains and plains to the west. Joe, therefore, thought it agood opportunity of travelling with a band of men who could secure him afavourable hearing from the Indian tribes they might chance to meet within the course of their wanderings. Besides, as the traders carriedabout a large supply of goods with them, he could easily replenish hisown nearly exhausted pack by hunting wild animals and exchanging theirskins for such articles as he might require.
Dick joined because it afforded him an opportunity of seeing the wild,majestic scenery of the Rocky Mountains, and shooting the big-hornedsheep which abounded there, and the grizzly "bars," as Joe named them,or "Caleb," as they were more frequently styled by Henri and the othermen.
Henri joined because it was agreeable to the inclination of his ownrollicking, blundering, floundering, crashing disposition, and becausehe would have joined anything that had been joined by the other two.
Crusoe's reason for joining was single, simple, easy to be expressed,easy to be understood, and commendable. _He_ joined--because Dick did.
The very day after the party left the encampment where Dick had shot thegrizzly bear and the deer, he had the satisfaction of bringing down asplendid specimen of the big-horned sheep. It came suddenly out from agorge of the mountain, and stood upon the giddy edge of a tremendousprecipice, at a distance of about two hundred and fifty yards.
"_You_ could not hit that," said a trapper to Henri, who was rather fondof jeering him about his short-sightedness.
"Non!" cried Henri, who didn't see the animal in the least; "say youdat? ve shall see;" and he let fly with a promptitude that amazed hiscomrades, and with a result that drew from them peals of laughter.
"Why, you have missed the mountain!"
"Oh, non! dat am eempossoble."
It was true, nevertheless, for his ball had been arrested in its flightby the stem of a tree not twenty yards before him.
While the shot was yet ringing, and before the laugh above referred tohad pealed forth, Dick Varley fired, and the animal, springing wildlyinto the air, fell down the precipice, and was almost dashed to piecesat their feet.
This Rocky Mountain or big-horned sheep was a particularly large andfine one, but, being a patriarch of the flock, was not well suited forfood. It was considerably larger in size than the domestic sheep, andmight be described as somewhat resembling a deer in the body and a ramin the head. Its horns were the chief point of interest to Dick; and,truly, they were astounding! Their enormous size was out of allproportion to the animal's body, and they curved backwards anddownwards, and then curled up again in a sharp point. These creaturesfrequent the inaccessible heights of the Rocky Mountains, and aredifficult to approach. They have a great fondness for salt, and payregular visits to the numerous caverns of these mountains, which areencrusted with a saline substance.
Walter Cameron now changed his intention of proceeding to the eastward,as he found the country not so full of beaver at that particular spot ashe had anticipated. He therefore turned towards the west, penetratedinto the interior of the mountains, and took a considerable sweepthrough the lovely valleys on their western slopes.
The expedition which this enterprising fur-trader was conducting was oneof the first that ever penetrated these wild regions in search of furs.The ground over which they travelled was quite new to them, and havingno guide they just moved about at haphazard, encamping on the margin ofevery stream or river on which signs of the presence of beaver werediscovered, and setting their traps.
Beaver-skins at this time were worth 25 shillings a piece in the marketsof civilised lands, and in the Snake country, through which our friendswere travelling, thousands of them were to be had from the Indians fortrinkets and baubles that were scarce worth a farthing. A beaver-skincould be procured from the Indians for a brass finger ring or a pennylooking-glass. Horses were also so numerous that one could be procuredfor an axe or a knife.
Let not the reader, however, hastily conclude that the traders cheatedthe Indians in this traffic, though the profits were so enormous. Thering or the axe was indeed a trifle to the trader, but the beaver-skinand the horse were equally trifles to the savage, who could procure asmany of them as he chose with very little trouble, while the ring andthe axe were in his estimation of priceless value. Besides, be itremembered, to carry that ring and that axe to the far distant haunts ofthe Red-man cost the trader weeks and months of constant toil, trouble,anxiety, and, alas! too frequently cost him his life! The state oftrade is considerably modified in these regions at the present day. Itis not more _justly_ conducted, for, in respect of the value of goodsgiven for furs, it was justly conducted _then_, but time andcircumstances have tended more to equalise the relative values ofarticles of trade.
The snow which had prematurely fallen had passed away, and the trappersnow found themselves wandering about in a country so beautiful and aseason so delightful, that it would have seemed to them a perfectparadise, but for the savage tribes who hovered about them, and keptthem ever on the _qui vive_.
They soon passed from the immediate embrace of stupendous heights anddark gorges to a land of sloping ridges, which divided the country intoa hundred luxuriant vales, composed part of woodland and part ofprairie. Through these numerous rivers and streams flowed deviously,beautifying the landscape and enriching the land. There were also manylakes of all sizes, and these swarmed with fish, while in some of themwere found the much-sought-after and highly esteemed beaver. Saltsprings and hot springs of various temperatures abounded here, and manyof the latter were so hot that meat could be boiled in them. Saltexisted in all directions in abundance, and of good quality. Asulphurous spring was also discovered, bubbling out from the base of aperpendicular rock three hundred feet high, the waters of which weredark-blue, and tasted like gunpowder. In short, the land presentedevery variety of feature calculated to charm the imagination and delightthe eye.
It was a mysterious land, too, for broad rivers burst in many placesfrom the earth, flowed on a short space, and then disappeared as if bymagic into the earth from which they rose. Natural bridges spanned thetorrents in many places, and some of these were so correctly formed thatit was difficult to believe they had not been built by the hand of man.They often appeared opportunely to our trappers, and saved them thetrouble and danger of fording rivers. Frequently the whole band wouldstop in silent wonder and awe as they listened to the rushing of watersunder their feet, as if another world of streams, and rapids, andcataracts were flowing below the crust of earth on which they stood.Some considerable streams were likewise observed to gush from the facesof precipices, some twenty or thirty feet from their summits, while onthe top no water was to be seen.
Wild berries of all kinds were found in abundance, and wild vegetables,besides many nutritious roots. Among other fish splendid salmon werefound in the lakes and rivers; and animal life swarmed on hill and dale.Woods and valleys, plains, and ravines, teemed with it. On every plainthe red-deer grazed in herds by the banks of lake and stream; whereverthere were clusters of poplar and elder-trees and saplings, the beaverwas seen nibbling industriously with his sharp teeth, and committing asmuch havoc in the forests as if they had been armed with the woodman'saxe; otters sported in the eddies; racoons sat in the tree-tops; themarten, the black fox, and the wolf, prowled in the woods in quest ofprey; mountain sheep and goats browsed on the rocky ridges, and badgerspeeped from their holes.
Here, too, the wild horse sprang snorting and dishevelled from hismountain retreats--with flourishing mane and tai
l, spanking step, andquestioning gaze,--and thundered away over the plains and valleys, whilethe rocks echoed back his shrill neigh. The huge, heavy, ungainly elk,or moose-deer, _trotted_ away from the travellers with speed equal tothat of the mustang. Elks seldom gallop; their best speed is attainedat the trot. Bears, too, black, and brown, and grizzly, roamed abouteverywhere.
So numerous were all these creatures, that on one occasion the huntersof the party brought in six wild horses, three bears, four elks, andthirty red-deer; having shot them all a short distance ahead of the mainbody, and almost without diverging from the line of march. And this wasa matter of every-day occurrence--as it had need to be, considering thenumber of mouths that had to be filled.
The feathered tribes were not less numerous. Chief among these wereeagles and vultures of uncommon size, the wild goose, wild duck, and themajestic swan.
In the midst of such profusion the trappers spent a happy time of it,when not molested by the savages, but they frequently lost a horse ortwo in consequence of the expertness of these thievish fellows. Theyoften wandered, however, for days at a time without seeing an Indian,and at such times they enjoyed to the full the luxuries with which abountiful God had blessed these romantic regions.
Dick Varley was almost wild with delight. It was his first excursioninto the remote wilderness; he was young, healthy, strong, and romantic;and it is a question whether his or his dog's heart, or that of thenoble wild horse he bestrode, bounded most with joy at the glorioussights, and sounds, and influences by which they were surrounded. Itwould have been perfection had it not been for the frequent annoyanceand alarms caused by the Indians.
Alas! alas! that we who write and read about those wondrous scenesshould have to condemn our own species as the most degraded of all theworks of the Creator there! Yet so it is. Man, exercising his reasonand conscience in the path of love and duty which his Creator pointsout, is God's noblest work; but man, left to the freedom of his ownfallen will, sinks morally lower than the beasts that perish. Well mayevery Christian wish and pray that the name and the gospel of theblessed Jesus may be sent speedily to the dark places of the earth; foryou may read of, and talk about, but you _cannot conceive_ the fiendishwickedness and cruelty which causes tearless eyes to glare, and maddenedhearts to burst, in the lands of the heathen.
While we are on this subject let us add (and our young readers will cometo know it if they are spared to see many years) that _civilisation_alone will never improve the heart. Let history speak and it will tellyou that deeds of darkest hue have been perpetrated in so-calledcivilised, though pagan lands. Civilisation is like the polish thatbeautifies inferior furniture, which water will wash off if it be but_hot enough_. Christianity resembles dye, which permeates every fibreof the fabric, and which nothing can eradicate.
The success of the trappers in procuring beaver here was great. In allsorts of creeks and rivers they were found. One day they came to one ofthe curious rivers before mentioned, which burst suddenly out of aplain, flowed on for several miles, and then disappeared into the earthas suddenly as it had risen. Even in this strange place beaver wereseen, so the traps were set, and a hundred and fifty were caught at thefirst lift.
The manner in which the party proceeded was as follows: They marched ina mass in groups or in a long line, according to the nature of theground over which they travelled. The hunters of the party went forwarda mile or two in advance, and scattered through the woods. After themcame the advance-guard, being the bravest and most stalwart of the menmounted on their best steeds, and with rifle in hand; immediately behindfollowed the women and children, also mounted, and the pack-horses withthe goods and camp equipage. Another band of trappers formed therear-guard to this imposing cavalcade. There was no strict regimentalorder kept, but the people soon came to adopt the arrangements that weremost convenient for all parties, and at length fell naturally into theirplaces in the line of march.
Joe Blunt usually was the foremost and always the most successful of thehunters. He was therefore seldom seen on the march except at the hourof starting, and at night when he came back leading his horse, whichalways groaned under its heavy load of meat, Henri, being a hearty,jovial soul and fond of society, usually kept with the main body. Asfor Dick, he was everywhere at once, at least as much so as it ispossible for human nature to be! His horse never wearied; it seemed todelight in going at full speed; no other horse in the troop could comenear Charlie, and Dick indulged him by appearing now at the front, nowat the rear, anon in the centre, and frequently _nowhere_!--having goneoff with Crusoe, like a flash of lightning, after a buffalo or a deer.Dick soon proved himself to be the best hunter of the party, and it wasnot long before he fulfilled his promise to Crusoe, and decorated hisneck with a collar of grizzly bear claws.
Well, when the trappers came to a river where there were signs ofbeaver, they called a halt, and proceeded to select a safe andconvenient spot, near wood and water, for the camp. Here the propertyof the band was securely piled in such a manner as to form a breastworkor slight fortification, and here Walter Cameron establishedhead-quarters. This was always the post of danger, being exposed tosudden attack by prowling savages, who often dogged the footsteps of theparty in their journeyings to see what they could steal. But Cameronwas an old hand, and they found it difficult to escape his vigilant eye.
From this point all the trappers were sent forth in small parties everymorning in various directions, some on foot and some on horseback,according to the distances they had to go; but they never went furtherthan twenty miles, as they had to return to camp every evening.
Each trapper had ten steel traps allowed him. These he set every night,and visited every morning, sometimes oftener, when practicable,selecting a spot in the stream where many trees had been cut down bybeavers for the purpose of damming up the water. In some places as manyas fifty tree stumps were seen in one spot, within the compass of halfan acre, all cut through at about eighteen inches from the root. We mayremark, in passing, that the beaver is very much like a giganticwater-rat, with this marked difference, that its tail is very broad andflat like a paddle. The said tail is a greatly esteemed article offood, as, indeed, is the whole body at certain seasons of the year. Thebeaver's fore-legs are very small and short, and it uses its paws ashands to convey food to its mouth, sitting the while in an erectposition on its hind-legs and tail. Its fur is a dense coat of agreyish-coloured down, concealed by long coarse hair, which lies smooth,and is of a bright chestnut colour. Its teeth and jaws are of enormouspower; with them it can cut through the branch of a tree as thick as awalking-stick at one snap; and, as we have said, it gnaws through thicktrees themselves.
As soon as a tree falls, the beavers set to work industriously to lopoff the branches, which, as well as the smaller trunks, they cut intolengths, according to their weight and thickness. These are thendragged by main force to the water side, launched, and floated to theirdestination. Beavers build their houses, or "lodges," under the banksof rivers and lakes, and always select those of such depth of water thatthere is no danger of their being frozen to the bottom; when such cannotbe found, and they are compelled to build in small rivulets ofinsufficient depth, these clever little creatures dam up the watersuntil they are deep enough. The banks thrown up by them across rivuletsfor this purpose are of great strength, and would do credit to humanengineers. Their "lodges" are built of sticks, mud, and stones, whichform a compact mass; this freezes solid in winter, and defies theassaults of that house-breaker, the wolverine, an animal which is thebeaver's implacable foe. From this "lodge," which is capable often ofholding four old and six or eight young ones, a communication ismaintained with the water below the ice, so that, should the wolverinesucceed in breaking up the lodge, he finds the family "not at home,"they having made good their retreat by the back-door. When man acts thepart of house-breaker, however, he cunningly shuts the back-door_first_, by driving stakes through the ice, and thus stopping thepassage. Then he enters, and, w
e almost regret to say, finds the familyat home. We regret it, because the beaver is a gentle, peaceable,affectionate, hairy little creature, towards which one feels anirresistible tenderness! But, to return from this long digression.
Our trappers having selected their several localities, set their trapsin the water, so that when the beavers roamed about at night, they puttheir feet into them, and were caught and drowned; for, although theycan swim and dive admirably, they cannot live altogether under water.
Thus the different parties proceeded, and in the mornings the camp was abusy scene indeed, for then the whole were engaged in skinning theanimals. The beavers thus taken were always skinned, stretched, dried,folded up with the hair in the inside, laid by, and the flesh used forfood.
But oftentimes the trappers had to go forth with the gun in one hand andtheir traps in the other, while they kept a sharp look out on the bushesto guard against surprise. Despite their utmost efforts a horse wasoccasionally stolen before their very eyes, and sometimes even anunfortunate trapper was murdered, and all his traps carried off.
An event of this kind occurred soon after the party had gained thewestern slopes of the mountains. Three Iroquois Indians, who belongedto the band of trappers, were sent to a stream about ten miles off.Having reached their destination, they all entered the water to settheir traps, foolishly neglecting the usual precaution of one remainingon the bank to protect the others. They had scarcely commencedoperations, when three arrows were discharged into their backs, and aparty of Snake Indians rushed upon and slew them, carrying away theirtraps, and horses, and scalps. This was not known for several days,when, becoming anxious about their prolonged absence, Cameron sent out aparty which found their mangled bodies affording a loathsome banquet tothe wolves and vultures.
After this sad event the trappers were more careful to go in largerparties, and keep watch.
As long as beaver were taken in abundance the camp remained stationary,but whenever the beaver began to grow scarce, the camp was raised, andthe party moved on to another valley.
One day Dick Varley came galloping into camp with the news that therewere several bears in a valley not far distant, which he was anxious notto disturb until a number of the trappers were collected together to goout and surround them.
On receiving the information Walter Cameron shook his head.
"We have other things to do, young man," said he, "than go a-huntingafter bears. I'm just about making up my mind to send off a party tosearch out the valley on the other side of the Blue Mountains yonder,and bring back word if there are beaver there, for if not, I mean tostrike away direct south. Now, if you've a mind to go with them, you'rewelcome. I'll warrant you'll find enough in the way of bear-hunting tosatisfy you; perhaps a little Indian hunting to boot, for if theBanattees get hold of your horses, you'll have a long hunt before youfind them again. Will you go?"
"Ay, right gladly," replied Dick. "When do we start?"
"This afternoon."
Dick went off at once to his own part of the camp to replenish hispowder-horn and bullet pouch, and wipe out his rifle.
That evening the party, under command of a Canadian named Pierre, setout for the Blue Hills. They numbered twenty men, and expected to beabsent three days, for they merely went to reconnoitre, not to trap.Neither Joe nor Henri were of this party, both having been out huntingwhen it was organised. But Crusoe and Charlie were, of course!
Pierre, although a brave and trusty man, was of a sour, angrydisposition, and not a favourite with Dick, but the latter resolved toenjoy himself and disregard his sulky comrade. Being so well mounted,he not unfrequently shot far ahead of his companions, despite theirwarnings that he ran great risk by so doing. On one of these occasionshe and Crusoe witnessed a very singular fight, which is worthy ofrecord.
Dick had felt a little wilder in spirit that morning than usual, and oncoming to a pretty open plain he gave the rein to Charlie, and with an"_Adieu mes comerades_," he was out of sight in a few minutes. He rodeon several miles in advance without checking speed, and then came to awood where rapid motion was inconvenient, so he pulled up, and,dismounting, tied Charlie to a tree, while he sauntered on a short wayon foot.
On coming to the edge of a small plain he observed two large birdsengaged in mortal conflict. Crusoe observed them too, and would soonhave put an end to the fight had Dick not checked him. Creeping asclose to the belligerents as possible, he found that one was a wildturkey-cock, the other a white-headed eagle! These two stood with theirheads down and all their feathers bristling for a moment, then theydashed at each other, and struck fiercely with their spurs as ourdomestic cocks do, but neither fell, and the fight was continued forabout five minutes without apparent advantage on either side.
Dick now observed that, from the uncertainty of its motions, theturkey-cock was blind, a discovery which caused a throb of compunctionto enter his breast for standing and looking on, so he ran forward. Theeagle saw him instantly, and tried to fly away, but was unable fromexhaustion.
"At him, Crusoe," cried Dick, whose sympathies all lay with the otherbird.
Crusoe went forward at a bound, and was met by a peck between the eyesthat would have turned most dogs, but Crusoe only winked, and the nextmoment the eagle's career was ended.
Dick found that the turkey-cock was quite blind, the eagle having thrustout both its eyes, so, in mercy, he put an end to its sufferings.
The fight had evidently been a long and severe one for the grass allround the spot, for about twenty yards, was beaten to the ground, andcovered with the blood and feathers of the fierce combatants.
Meditating on the fight which he had just witnessed, Dick returnedtowards the spot where he had left Charlie, when he suddenly missedCrusoe from his side.
"Hallo, Crusoe! here, pup, where are you?" he cried.
The only answer to this was a sharp whizzing sound, and an arrow,passing close to his ear, quivered in a tree beyond. Almost at the samemoment Crusoe's angry roar was followed by a shriek from some one infear or agony. Cocking his rifle, the young hunter sprang through thebushes towards his horse, and was just in time to save a Banattee Indianfrom being strangled by the dog. It had evidently scented out thisfellow, and pinned him just as he was in the act of springing on theback of Charlie, for the halter was cut, and the savage lay on theground close beside him.
Dick called off the dog, and motioned to the Indian to rise, which hedid so nimbly that it was quite evident he had sustained no injurybeyond the laceration of his neck by Crusoe's teeth, and the surprise.
He was a tall strong Indian, for the tribe to which he belonged, so Dickproceeded to secure him at once. Pointing to his rifle and to theIndian's breast, to show what he might expect if he attempted to escape,Dick ordered Crusoe to keep him steady in that position.
The dog planted himself in front of the savage, who began to tremble forhis scalp, and gazed up in his face with a look which, to say the leastof it, was the reverse of amiable, while Dick went towards his horse forthe purpose of procuring a piece of cord to tie him with. The Indiannaturally turned his head to see what was going to be done, but apeculiar _gurgle_ in Crusoe's throat made him turn it round again verysmartly, and he did not venture, thereafter, to move a muscle.
In a few seconds Dick returned with a piece of leather and tied hishands behind his back. While this was being done the Indian glancedseveral times at his bow, which lay a few feet away, where it had fallenwhen the dog caught him, but Crusoe seemed to understand him, for hefavoured him with such an additional display of teeth, and such a low--apparently distant, almost, we might say, subterranean--_rumble_, thathe resigned himself to his fate.
His hands secured, a long line was attached to his neck with a runningnoose, so that if he ventured to run away the attempt would effect itsown cure by producing strangulation. The other end of this line wasgiven to Crusoe, who at the word of command marched him off, while Dickmounted Charlie and brought up the rear.
Great was
the laughter and merriment when this apparition met the eyesof the trappers; but when they heard that he had attempted to shoot Dicktheir ire was raised, and a court-martial was held on the spot.
"Hang the reptile!" cried one.
"Burn him!" shouted another.
"No, no," said a third; "don't imitate them villains; don't be cruel.Let's shoot him."
"Shoot 'im," cried Pierre; "Oui, dat is de ting; it too goot pour lui,mais, it shall be dooed."
"Don't ye think, lads, it would be better to let the poor wretch off?"said Dick Varley; "he'd p'raps give a good account o' us to his people."
There was a universal shout of contempt at this mild proposal.Unfortunately, few of the men sent on this exploring expedition wereimbued with the peacemaking spirit of their chief; and most of themseemed glad to have a chance of venting their hatred of the poor Indianson this unhappy wretch, who although calm, looked sharply from onespeaker to another, to gather hope, if possible, from the tones of theirvoices.
Dick was resolved at the risk of a quarrel with Pierre to save the poorman's life, and had made up his mind to insist on having him conductedto the camp to be tried by Cameron, when one of the men suggested thatthey should take the savage to the top of a hill about three milesfurther on, and there hang him up on a tree as a warning to all histribe.
"Agreed, agreed," cried the men; "come on."
Dick, too, seemed to agree to this proposal, and hastily ordered Crusoeto run on ahead with the savage, an order which the dog obeyed sovigorously that before the men had done laughing at him, he was a coupleof hundred yards ahead of them.
"Take care that he don't get off!" cried Dick, springing on Charlie andstretching out at a gallop.
In a moment he was beside the Indian. Scraping together the little ofthe Indian language he knew, he stooped down, and, cutting the thongsthat bound him, said--"Go, white men love the Indians."
The man cast on his deliverer one glance of surprise, and the nextmoment bounded aside into the bushes and was gone.
A loud shout from the party behind showed that this act had beenobserved, and Crusoe stood with the end of the line in his mouth, and anexpression on his face that said, "You're absolutely incomprehensible,Dick! It's all right, I _know_; but to my feeble capacity it _seems_wrong."
"Fat for, you do dat?" shouted Pierre in a rage, as he came up with amenacing look.
Dick confronted him. "The prisoner was mine. I had a right to do withhim as it liked me."
"True, true," cried several of the men who had begun to repent of theirresolution, and were glad the savage was off. "The lad's right. Getalong, Pierre."
"You had no right, you vas wrong. Oui, et I have goot vill to give youone knock on de nose."
Dick looked Pierre in the face, as he said this, in a manner that cowedhim.
"It is time," he said quietly, pointing to the sun, "to go on. Yourbourgeois expects that time won't be wasted."
Pierre muttered something in an angry tone, and, wheeling round hishorse, dashed forward at full gallop followed by the rest of the men.
The trappers encamped that night on the edge of a wide grassy plain,which offered such tempting food for the horses that Pierre resolved toforego his usual cautious plan of picketting them close to the camp, andset them loose on the plain, merely hobbling them to prevent theirstraying far.
Dick remonstrated, but in vain. An insolent answer was all he got forhis pains. He determined, however, to keep Charlie close beside him allnight, and also made up his mind to keep a sharp look out on the otherhorses.
At supper he again remonstrated.
"No fraid," said Pierre, whose pipe was beginning to improve his temper."The red reptiles no dare to come in open plain when de moon so clear."
"Dun know that," said a taciturn trapper, who seldom ventured a remarkof any kind; "them varmints 'ud steal the two eyes out o' you' head whenthey set their hearts on't."
"Dat ar' umposs'ble, for de have no hearts," said a half-breed; "deyhave von hole vere de heart vas be."
This was received with a shout of laughter, in the midst of which anappalling yell was heard, and, as if by magic, four Indians were seen onthe backs of four of the best horses, yelling like fiends, and drivingall the other horses furiously before them over the plain.
How they got there was a complete mystery, but the men did not wait toconsider that point. Catching up their guns they sprang after them withthe fury of madmen, and were quickly scattered far and wide. Dickordered Crusoe to follow and help the men, and turned to spring on theback of Charlie, but at that moment he observed an Indian's head andshoulders rise above the grass, not fifty yards in advance from him, sowithout hesitation he darted forward, intending to pounce upon him.
Well would it have been for Dick Varley had he at that time possessed alittle more experience of the wiles and stratagems of the Banattees.The Snake nation is subdivided into several tribes, of which thoseinhabiting the Rocky Mountains, called the Banattees, are the mostperfidious. Indeed, they are confessedly the banditti of the hills, andrespect neither friend nor foe, but rob all who come in their way.
Dick reached the spot where the Indian had disappeared in less than aminute, but no savage was to be seen! Thinking he had crept ahead heran on a few yards further, and darted about hither and thither, whilehis eye glanced from side to side. Suddenly a shout in the campattracted his attention, and looking back he beheld the savage onCharlie's back turning to fly. Next moment he was off and away farbeyond the hope of recovery. Dick had left his rifle in the camp,otherwise the savage would have gone but a short way--as it was, Dickreturned, and sitting down on a mound of grass, stared straight beforehim with a feeling akin to despair. Even Crusoe could not have helpedhim had he been there, for nothing on four legs, or on two, could keeppace with Charlie.
The Banattee achieved this feat by adopting a stratagem which invariablydeceives those who are ignorant of their habits and tactics. Whensuddenly pursued the Banattee sinks into the grass, and, serpentlike,creeps along with wonderful rapidity, not _from_ but _towards_ hisenemy, taking care, however, to avoid him, so that when the pursuerreaches the spot where the pursued is supposed to be hiding, he hearshim shout a yell of defiance far away in the rear.
It was thus that the Banattee eluded Dick and gained the camp almost assoon as the other reached the spot where he had disappeared.
One by one the trappers came back weary, raging, and despairing. In ashort time they all assembled, and soon began to reproach each other.Ere long one or two had a fight, which resulted in several bloody nosesand black eyes, thus adding to the misery which, one would think, hadbeen bad enough without such additions. At last they finished theirsuppers and their pipes, and then lay down to sleep under the trees tillmorning, when they arose in a particularly silent and sulky mood, rolledup their blankets, strapped their things on their shoulders, and beganto trudge slowly back to the camp on foot.
The Dog Crusoe and his Master Page 20