by Mayne Reid
CHAPTER EIGHT.
OLD IKE'S ADVENTURE.
Now a panther story was the natural winding-up of this day, and it hadbeen already hinted that old Ike had "rubbed out" several of thesecreatures in his time, and no doubt could tell more than one "painter"story.
"Wal, strengers," began he, "it's true thet this hyur ain't the fustpainter I've comed acrosst. About fifteen yeern ago I moved toLoozyanny, an' thur I met a painter, an' a queer story it are."
"Let us have it by all means," said several of the party, drawing closerup and seating themselves to listen attentively. We all knew that astory from Ike could not be otherwise than "queer," and our curiositywas on the _qui vive_.
"Wal then," continued he, "they have floods dowd thur in Loozyanny, sichas, I guess, you've never seen the like o' in England." Here Ikeaddressed himself specially to our English comrade. "England ain't bigenough to hev sich floods. One o' 'm ud kiver yur hul country, I hevheern said. I won't say that ar's true, as I ain't acquainted with yurjography. I know, howsomdever, they're mighty big freshets thur, as Ihev sailed a skift more 'n a hundred mile acrosst one o' 'm, whur thurwan't nothin' to be seen but cypress tops peep in out o' the water. Thefloods, as ye know, come every year, but them ar big ones only oncest ina while.
"Wal, as I've said about fifeteen yeern ago, I located in the Red Riverbottom, about fifty mile or tharabout below Nacketosh, whur I built me ashanty. I hed left my wife an' two young critters in Massissippi state,intendin' to go back for 'em in the spring; so, ye see, I wur all aloneby meself, exceptin' my ole mar, a Collins's axe, an' of coorse myrifle.
"I hed finished the shanty all but the chinkin' an' the buildin' o' achimbly, when what shed come on but one o' 'm tarnation floods. It wurat night when it begun to make its appearance. I wur asleep on thefloor o' the shanty, an' the first warnin' I hed o' it wur the feel o'the water soakin' through my ole blanket. I hed been a-dreamin', an'thort it wur rainin', an' then agin I thort that I wur bein' drownded inthe Massissippi; but I wan't many seconds awake, till I guessed what itwur in raality; so I jumped to my feet like a started buck, an' gropedmy way to the door.
"A sight that wur when I got thur. I hed chirred a piece o' groundaround the shanty--a kupple o' acres or better--I hed left the stumps agood three feet high: thur wan't a stump to be seen. My clearin',stumps an' all, wur under water; an' I could see it shinin' among thetrees all round the shanty.
"Of coorse, my fust thoughts wur about my rifle; an I turned back intothe shanty, an' laid my claws upon that quick enough.
"I next went in search o' my ole mar. She wan't hard to find; for ifever a critter made a noise, she did. She wur tied to a tree close bythe shanty, an' the way she wur a-squealin' wur a caution to cats. Ifound her up to the belly in water, pitchin' an' flounderin' all roundthe tree. She hed nothin' on but the rope that she wur hitched by.Both saddle an' bridle hed been washed away: so I made the rope into asort o' halter, an' mounted her bare-backed.
"Jest then I begun to think whur I wur agoin'. The hul country appearedto be under water: an' the nearest neighbour I hed lived acrosst theparairy ten miles off. I knew that his shanty sot on high ground, buthow wur I to get thur? It wur night; I mout lose my way, an' ride chuckinto the river.
"When I thort o' ibis, I concluded it mout be better to stay by my ownshanty till mornin'. I could hitch the mar inside to keep her frombein' floated away; an' for meself, I could climb on the roof.
"While I wur thinkin' on this, I noticed that the water wur a-deepenin',an' it jest kim into my head, that it ud soon be deep enough to drowndmy ole mar. For meself I wan't frightened. I mout a clomb a tree, an'stayed thur till the flood fell; but I shed a lost the mar, an' thatcritter wur too valleyble to think o' such a sacryfize; so I made up mymind to chance crossin' the parairy. Thur wan't no time to be wasted--ne'er a minnit; so I gin the mar a kick or two in the ribs an' started.
"I found the path out to the edge of the parairy easy enough. I hedblazed it when I fust come to the place; an', as the night wur not avery dark one, I could see the blazes as I passed atween the trees. Mymar knew the track as well as meself, an' swaltered through at a sharprate, for she knew too thur wan't no time to be wasted. In fiveminnites we kim out on the edge o' the pairairy, an' jest as I expected,the hul thing wur kivered with water, an' lookin' like a big pond, Icould see it shinin' clur acrosst to the other side o' the openin'.
"As luck ud hev it, I could jest git a glimp o' the trees on the furside o' the parairy. Thur wur a big clump o' cypress, that I could seeplain enough; I knew this wur clost to my neighbour's shanty; so I ginmy critter the switch, an' struck right for it.
"As I left the timmer, the mar wur up to her hips. Of coorse, Iexpected a good grist o' heavy wadin'; but I hed no idee that the waterwur a-gwine to git much higher; thur's whur I made my mistake.
"I hedn't got more'n a kupple o' miles out when I diskivered that thething wur a-risin' rapidly, for I seed the mar wur a-gettin' deeper an'deeper.
"'Twan't no use turnin' back now. I ud lose the mar to a dead sartinty,if I didn't make the high ground; so I spoke to the critter to do herbest, an' kep on. The poor beast didn't need any whippin'--she knew aswell's I did meself thur wur danger, an' she wur a-doin' her darndest,an' no mistake. Still the water riz, an' kep a-risin', until it comeclur up to her shoulder.
"I begun to git skeart in airnest. We wan't more 'n half acrosst, an' Iseed if it riz much more we ud hav to swim for it. I wan't far astrayabout that. The minnit arter it seemed to deepen suddintly, as if thurwur a hollow in the parairy: I heerd the mar give a loud gouf, an' thengo down, till I wur up to the waist. She riz agin the next minnit, butI could tell from the smooth ridin' that she wur off o' the bottom. Shewur swimmin', an' no mistake.
"At fust I thort o' headin' her back to the shanty; an' I drew her roundwith that intent; but turn her which way I would, I found she could nolonger touch bottom.
"I guess, strengers, I wur in a quandairy about then. I 'gun to thinkthat both my own an' my mar's time wur come in airnest, for I hed noidee that the critter could iver swim to the other side, 'specially withme on her back, an' purticklarly as at that time these hyur ribs had asight more griskin upon 'em than they hev now.
"Wal, I wur about reckinin' up. I hed got to thinkin' o' Mary an' thechilder, and the old shanty in the Mississippi, an' a heap o' thingsthat I hed left unsettled, an' that now come into my mind to trouble me.The mar wur still plungin' ahead; but I seed she wur sinkin' deeper an'deeper an' fast loosin' her strength, an' I knew she couldn't hold outmuch longer.
"I thort at this time that if I got off o' her back, an' tuk hold o' thetail, she mout manage a leetle hotter. So I slipped backwards over herhips, an' grupped the long hair. It did do some good, for she swumhigher; but we got mighty slow through the water, an' I hed but leetlebehopes we should reach land.
"I wur towed in this way about a quarter o' a mile, when I spiedsomethin' floatin' on the water a leetle ahead. It hed growedconsiderably darker; but thur wur still light enough to show me that thething wur a log.
"An idee now entered my brain-pan, that I mout save meself by takin' tothe log. The mar ud then have a better chance for herself; an' maybe,when eased o' draggin' my carcass, that wur a-keepin' her back, she moutmake footin' somewhur. So I waited till she got a leetle closter; an'then, lettin' go o' her tail, I clasped the log, an' crawled on to it.
"The mar swum on, appeerintly 'ithout missin' me. I seed her disappearthrough the darkness; but I didn't as much as say good-bye to her, for Iwur afeard that my voice mout bring her back agin', an' she mout strikethe log with her hoofs, an' whammel it about. So I lay quiet, an' lether hev her own way.
"I wan't long on the log till I seed it wur a-driftin', for thur wur acurrent in the water that set tol'uble sharp acrosst the parairy. I hedcrawled up at one eend, an' got stride-legs; but as the log dippedconsiderable, I wur still over the hams in the water.
"I thort I mout be more comfor
table towards the middle, an' wur about topull the thing more under me, when all at once I seed thur wur somethin'clumped up on t'other eend o' the log.
"'Twan't very clur at the time, for it had been a-growin' cloudier eversince I left the shanty, but 'twur clur enough to show me that the thingwur a varmint: what sort, I couldn't tell. It mout be a bar, an' itmout not; but I had my suspects it wur eyther a bar or a painter.
"I wan't left long in doubt about the thing's gender. The log kepmakin' circles as it drifted, an' when the varmint kim round into adifferent light, I caught a glimp o' its eyes. I knew them eyes to beno bar's eyes: they wur painter's eyes, an' no mistake.
"I reckin, strengers, I felt very queery jest about then. I didn't tryto go any nearer the middle o' the log; but instead of that, I wriggledback until I wur right plum on the eend of it, an' could git no further.
"Thur I sot for a good long spell 'ithout movin' hand or foot. Idasen't make a motion, as I wur afeard it mout tempt the varmint toattackt me.
"I hed no weepun but my knife; I hed let go o' my rifle when I slid fromthe mar's back, an' it hed gone to the bottom long since. I wan't inany condition to stand a tussle with the painter nohow; so I 'wurdetermined to let him alone as long's he ud me.
"Wal, we drifted on for a good hour, I guess, 'ithout eyther o' usstirrin'. We sot face to face; an' now an' then the current ud set thelog in a sort o' up-an'-down motion, an' then the painter an' I kepbowin' to each other like a pair o' bob-sawyers. I could see all thewhile that the varmint's eyes wur fixed upon mine, an' I never tuk minefrom hisn; I know'd 'twur the only way to keep him still.
"I wur jest prospectin' what ud be the eendin' o' the business, when Iseed we wur a-gettin' closter to the timmer: 'twan't more 'n two milesoff, but 'twur all under water 'ceptin' the tops o' the trees. I wurthinkin' that when the log shed float in among the branches, I mout slipoff, an' git my claws upon a tree, 'ithout sayin anythin' to mytravellin' companion.
"Jest at that minnit somethin' appeared dead ahead o' the log. It wurlike a island; but what could hev brought a island thur? Then Irecollects that I hed seed a piece o' high ground about that part o' theparairy--a sort o' mound that hed been made by Injuns, I s'pose. This,then, that looked like a island, wur the top o' that mound, sure enough.
"The log wur a-driftin' in sich a way that I seed it must pass withintwenty yards o' the mound. I detarmined then, as soon as we shed gitalongside, to put out for it, an' leave the painter to continue hisvoyage 'ithout me.
"When I fust sighted the island I seed somethin' that; hed tuk forbushes. But thur wan't no bushes on the mound--that I knowd.
"Howsomdever, when we got a leetle closter, I diskivered that the busheswur beests. They wur deer; for I spied a pair o' buck's horns atween mean' the sky. But thur wur a somethin' still bigger than a deer. Itmout be a hoss, or it mout be an Opelousa ox, but I thort it wur a hoss.
"I wur right about that, for a horse it wur, sure enough, or rayther Ished say, a _mar_, an' that mar no other than my ole crittur!
"Arter partin' company, she hed turned with the current; an', as goodluck ud hev it, hed swum in a beeline for the island, an' thur she stoodlookin' as slick as if she hed been greased.
"The log hed by this got nigh enough, as I kalklated; an', with aslittle rumpus as possible, I slipped over the eend an' lot go my hold o'it. I wan't right spread in the water, afore I heerd a plump, an'lookin' round a bit, I seed the painter hed left the log too, an' tuk tothe water.
"At fust, I thort he wur arter me; an' I drawed my knife with one hand,while I swum with the other. But the painter didn't mean fight thattime. He made but poor swimmin' himself, an' appeared glad enough toget upon dry groun' 'ithout molestin' me; so we swum on side by side,an' not a word passed atween us.
"I didn't want to make a race o' it; so I let him pass me, rayther thanthat he should fall behind, an' get among my legs.
"Of coorse, he landed fust; an' I could hear by the stompin' o' hoofs,that his suddint appearance hed kicked up a jolly stampede among thecritters upon the island. I could see both deer and mar dancing allover the groun', as if Old Nick himself hed got among 'em.
"None o' 'em, howsomdever, thort o' takin' to the water. They hed allhed enough o' that, I guess.
"I kep a leetle round, so as not to land near the painter; an' then,touchin' bottom, I climbed quietly up on the mound. I hed hardly drawedmy drippin' carcass out o' the water, when I heerd a loud squeal, whichI knew to be the whigher o' my ole mar; an' jest at that minnit thecritter kim runnin' up, an' rubbed her nose agin my shoulder. I tuk thehalter in my hand, an' sidling round a leetle, I jumped upon her back,for I still wur in fear o' the painter; an' the mar's back appeared tome the safest place about, an' that wan't very safe, eyther.
"I now looked all round to see what new company I hed got into. The daywur jest breakin', an' I could distinguish a leetle better every minnit.The top o' the mound which, wur above water wan't over half an acre insize, an' it wur as clur o' timmer as any other part o' the parairy, sothat I could see every inch o' it, an' everythin' on it as big as atumble-bug.
"I reckin, strengers, that you'll hardly believe me when I tell you theconcatenation o' varmints that wur then an' thur caucused together. Icould hardly believe my own eyes when I seed sich a gatherin', an' Ithort I hed got aboard o' Noah's Ark. Thur wur--listen, strengers--fustmy ole mar an' meself, an' I wished both o' us anywhur else, I reckin--then thur wur the painter, yur old acquaintance--then thur wur fourdeer, a buck an' three does. Then kim a catamount; an' arter him ablack bar, a'most as big as a buffalo. Then thur wur a 'coon an' a'possum, an' a kupple o' grey wolves, an' a swamp rabbit, an', darn thething! a stinkin' skunk. Perhaps the last wan't the most dangerousvarmint on the groun', but it sartintly wur the most disagreeableest o'the hul lot, for it smelt only as a cussed polecat kin smell.
"I've said, strengers, that I wur mightily tuk by surprise when I fustseed this curious clanjamfrey o' critters; but I kin tell you I wurstill more dumbfounded when I seed thur behaveyur to one another,knowin' thur different naturs as I did. Thur wur the painter lyin'clost up to the deer--its nat'ral prey; an' thur wur the wolves too; an'thur wur the catamount standin' within three feet o' the 'possum an' theswamp rabbit; an' thur wur the bar an' the cunnin' old 'coon; an' thurthey all wur, no more mindin' one another than if they hed spent allthur days together in the same penn.
"'Twur the oddest sight I ever seed, an' it remembered me o' bit o'Scripter my ole mother hed often read from a book called the Bible, orsome sich name--about a lion that wur so tame he used to squat downbeside a lamb, 'ithout layin' a claw upon the innocent critter.
"Wal, stranger, as I'm sayin', the hul party behaved in this very way.They all appeared down in the mouth, an' badly skeart about the water;but for all that, I hed my fears that the painter or the bar--I wan'tafeard o' any o' the others--mout git over thur fright afore the floodfell; an' thurfore I kept as quiet as any one o' them during the hultime I wur in thur company, an' stayin' all the time clost by the mar.But neyther bar nor painter showed any savage sign the hul o' the nextday, nor the night that follered it.
"Strengers, it ud tire you wur I to tell you all the movements that tukplace among these critters durin' that long day an' night. Ne'er a oneo' 'em laid tooth or claw on the other. I wur hungry enough meself, andud a liked to hev taken a steak from the buttocks o' one o' the deer,but I dasen't do it. I wur afeard to break the peace, which mout a ledto a general shindy.
"When day broke, next mornin' arter, I seed that the flood wur afallin';and as soon as it wur shallow enough, I led my mar quietly into thewater, an' climbin' upon her back, tuk a silent leave o' my companions.The water still tuk my mar up to the flanks, so that I knew none o' thevarmint could follow 'ithout swimmin', an' ne'er a one seemed inclinedto try a swim.
"I struck direct for my neighbour's shanty, which I could see aboutthree mile off, an', in a hour or so, I wur at his door. Thur I didn'tstay long, but borrowin' an ext
ra gun which he happened to hev, an'takin' him along with his own rifle, I waded my mar back to the island.We found the game not exactly as I hed left it. The fall o' the floodhed given the painter, the cat, an' the wolves courage. The swamprabbit an' the 'possum wur clean gone--all but bits o' thur wool--an'one o' the does wur better 'n half devoured.
"My neighbour tuk one side, an' I the other, an' ridin' clost up, wesurrounded the island.
"I plugged the painter at the fust shot, an' he did the same for thebar. We next layed out the wolves, an' arter that cooney, an' then wetuk our time about the deer--these last and the bar bein' the onlyvalley'ble things on the island. The skunk we kilt last, as we didn'twant the thing to stink us off the place while we wur a-skinnin' thedeer.
"Arter killin' the skunk, we mounted an' left, of coorse loaded with ourbar-meat an' venison.
"I got my rifle arter all. When the flood went down, I found it nearthe middle of the parairy, half buried in the sludge.
"I saw I hed built my shanty in the wrong place; but I soon looked out abetter location, an' put up another. I hed all ready in the spring,when I went back to Massissippi, an' brought out Mary and the two younguns."
The singular adventure of old Ike illustrates a point in natural historythat, as soon as the trapper had ended, became the subject ofconversation. It was that singular trait in the character of predatoryanimals, as the cougar, when under circumstances of danger. On suchoccasions fear seems to influence them so much as to completely subduetheir ferocity, and they will not molest other animals sharing thecommon danger, even when the latter are their natural and habitual prey.Nearly every one of us had observed this at some time or other; and theold naturalist, as well as the hunter-guides, related many incidentsconfirming the strange fact. Humboldt speaks of an instance observed byhim on the Orinoco, where the fierce jaguar and some other creatureswere seen quietly and peacefully floating together on the same log--allmore or less frightened at their situation!
Ike's story had very much interested the doctor, who rewarded him with a"nip" from the pewter flask; and, indeed, on this occasion the flask waspassed round, as the day had been one of unusual interest. The killingof a cougar is a rare adventure, even in the wildest haunts of thebackwoods' country.