CHAPTER IV.
THE "OLE SETTLER".
It was dark before they reached the cabin, but they found a goodsupper waiting for them. After they had eaten heartily, they drewtheir chairs up around the fireplace, and Uncle Joe inquired:
"Wal, youngsters, how do you like Injun-huntin'?"
"I don't believe we like it well enough to try it again," said Harry."I never was so completely tired out in my life."
"O, that wasn't nothin' at all," said Dick. "Such Injun-huntin' asthat we had to-day is fun. What would you have thought if we hadfollered them thieves for a week afore we found 'em? But, I must say,that you youngsters done very well. I'll own up, that when westarted, I thought I would see what sort o' stuff you wur made of; an'I thought I'd stretch your legs for you in a way that would make yougive in. But you fellers are purty good shakes at runnin', for boys ofyour age. But this reminds me o' a scrape I onct had near the ColoradoRiver. Do yer see this? If you can ketch as many grizzly bars in yourlifetime as this trap has, you are smarter nor I think you are. Thisis what I call the 'Ole Settler!'"
And, as the trapper spoke, he raised from the floor the object of hisadmiration, and held it up to the view of the boys. It was an ordinarybear-trap, with double springs, and huge jaws, which were armed withlong, sharp teeth. It had received a thorough rubbing and greasing,and shone in the fire-light like silver; but, after all, there wasnothing uncommon in its appearance. There were plenty of traps in thecabin that were quite as well made, and could, probably, do quite asmuch execution. In the trapper's mind, however, the "Ole Settler" wasevidently associated with some exciting event.
"The reason why I call this trap the 'Ole Settler'" continued Dick,"is, 'cause it has been in the service so long. My gran'father boughtit, when he war only a boy, of a Mexikin trader, an' he give twoten-dollar bar-skins for it. When he got too ole to trap, he give itto my father, an' he give it to me. It has been stole from me a goodmany times; but I allers made out to get it back agin. Onct ayaller-hided Mexikin Greaser bagged it, an' I didn't set eyes on itfor more 'n a year; but I knowed it in a minit when I did see it; an',arter a little brush with the Greaser, I made him give it up. The lasttime I lost it war while I war trappin' in Utah. It war stole from meby a Blackfoot Injun; and the way it happened war this:
"I allers had the name of bein' able to bring into market jest asmany an' jest as fine furs as any trapper in the mountains. But Ihad a good many good trappers to go agin, and arter awhile myhuntin'-grounds begun to give out; so, one summer, I packed myplunder, an' moved to the west side of the mountains. I war right inthe heart of the Pawnee region, the wust Injun country in the world;but I kalkerlated to get all my trappin' done arly in the spring, an'move out; 'cause as soon as the ice breaks up in the spring, thered-skins allers come round on a grand hunt, an' I didn't care to havethe rascals near me. I never yet see the Injun that I war afeared of,but it's mighty onpleasant to have them around; they go screechin'through the woods, shootin' at a feller, when he can't see 'em, an'steal his traps an' other plunder in a mighty onfriendly way.
"Wal, in less than a week arter I got to my new quarters, I warsettled. I had all my traps sot in the best places, an' had mightygood luck. The streams war full of beaver, otter, an' mink, an' I usedto have a fight with the grizzlies in the mountains every day. In thisway the winter passed; an' about the time that spring come, I hadwell-nigh trapped every thing in the valley. It war gettin' about timefor the Injuns to come round on their reg'lar hunts; so one mornin,'arter a good breakfast on buffaler hump, I started out an' begun togather up my traps. A'most every one had some kind o' game in it, an'I soon got as big a load as I could wag under. So I started back forcamp. I war goin' along mighty keerless like, an' wasn't thinkin' o'nothin', when all to onct I seed something that made me prick up myears, an' step a little lighter. I see that something had beenpassin' through the bushes. You, in course, wouldn't have noticed it,but I knowed in a minit that an Injun had been along; an', arterlookin' around a little, I found his track. It wasn't a Pawnee; but,arter examinin' the trail, I found that it war a Blackfoot. What oneof them should be doin' so far from home I didn't know, but mostlikely he war layin' around for scalps.
"'Wal,' thinks I, 'Dick Lewis, you had better be lookin' out for themtraps o' yourn;' so I hid my spelter in the bushes, an' started uptoward the mountains. I had sot the Ole Settler the day before, toketch a grizzly that had been botherin' me a good deal, an' I warafeared the Injun would come acrost it an' bag it. I saw plenty ofInjun signs all the way, but the tracks had all been made by the samefeller. I could see, by the way the rascal had moved, that he knowed Iwar in the valley; for he took mighty good care to cover up his trailas much as possible. Arter a few minits' walk, I come to the placewhere I had set the Ole Settler; but, just as I had expected, the trapwar gone. The Blackfoot had been there afore me, an' I knowed that ifI wanted my trap, I must look for it; an' I made up my mind that Idid want it, an' that I would have it, if I had to foller the Injunclar to his home. So I started arter him, an', for a mile or so, thetrail was toler'ble plain, an' I got along first-rate. I made up mymind that if the thief got away from me he would have to be smarternor I thought he war. But, at last, I come to where he had tuk to aswamp, an' two or three times I come mighty nigh losin' the trail. Theswamp war full o' logs, an' the Injun had walked on them, an', incourse, he didn't leave no trail. I follered him more 'n a mile by themarks on the bushes, an' finally I couldn't see a single sign. Therewar the print of one of his moccasins in the mud as plain as daylight;an' there the trail ended. I couldn't tell which way the rascal hadgone. I looked around, examinin' every bush an' twig, but it war nouse. Now, I s'pose you think I war beat at the Injun's own game, don'tyou? Wal, I wasn't. In course, I couldn't find the trail in the swamp;but I knowed which way the Blackfoot war goin', an' if I crossed theswamp, I knowed that I would find it on the other side. So I startedout, an' as it war gettin' late, I wanted to find the trail aginafore dark. I guess I made purty good time. I done my best, an' theway I got through that swamp war a thing to look at. The runnin' yousee to-day wasn't a patchin' to the runnin' I done that night. But Ituk mighty good care to keep my ears open, an' to make no more noisethan I could help; for, just as like as not, there war Injuns in theswamp, an' one of 'em might take it into his head to send a chunk oflead into me when I couldn't see him.
"About an hour afore dark, I reached the other side of the swamp; an'in less nor ten minits more I had found the trail, and wur follerin'it up as fast as my legs could carry me. But afore I had gone a mileit begun to grow dark. In course, I couldn't foller the trail nofurther; an' the only thing I could do, war to camp down where I war,an' wait for daylight. So, arter makin' my supper out o' parched corn,I picked out a nice place by the side of a log, and settled myselfdown to sleep.
"The next mornin', bright and arly, I war up, an' on the trail agin. Ifollered it all day, without onct stoppin' or losin' sight of it, an'about night it begun to grow fresher; but it came on dark agin, and Ihad to camp. Long about midnight I heerd a sort of rustlin' like inthe bushes. I war wide awake in a minit; for a feller that lives inthe woods larns to keep his ears about him. I lifted my head an'listened. Yes, thar war no mistake--I could hear something steppin'keerfully over the leaves, an' I thought it war comin' right towardme. At first I thought it war some wild varmint; but, as it comenigher, I found that it war a two-legged critter; so I cocked my riflean' waited for the Injun--for I knowed by the step that it war ared-skin--to come in sight. The steps sounded nigher an' nigher, an'all to onct the bushes parted without any noise, an' out come thebiggest Blackfoot that it ever war my luck to set eyes on. He didn'tseem to know that me an' my rifle war around; if he had, I reckon itwouldn't have made him feel very pleasant; but he walked past, withinten foot of me, an' disappeared in the darkness.
"Now, perhaps you would like to know why I didn't up and shoot him.Wal, I'll tell you. That would have jest knocked the hul thing in thehead, an' I should have had all my trouble for no
thin'. I knowed thatthe Injun that stole my trap wasn't a great way off, and I knowed,too, that the feller that jest passed war a sort of friend of his'n,an' that they war goin' to meet somewhere in the woods close by. So Ithought that perhaps, if I took matters easy, I could rub out both ofthe rascals.
"As soon as the Injun wur out o' hearin', I picked myself up, an'started along arter him, purty certain that before long I would comein sight of their camp-fire; an' I wasn't mistaken I hadn't gone halfa mile afore I see a light shinin' through the trees; an' droppin' onall-fours, I begun to crawl along through the bushes, until I come toa place where I had a full view of the fire. As I had expected, therewar two Injuns settin' by it. One of them--the one that had justpassed me--war eaten' his supper, an' the other lay stretched out onhis blanket, and war showin' his friend the trap he had stole from me;an' they war both laughin' over it, as though they thought it war amighty good joke. This kinder riled me, an' I knowed that I could soonput an end to their skylarkin'. I might have shot one of them where hesot easy enough, but that wouldn't do, for the other would haveescaped, an' I wanted to make sure of both of 'em. I wasn't foolenough to think of walkin' into their camp an' tacklin' both of 'em toonct; they would have made an end of me in the shake of a buck's tail.The only way I could work it war to get 'em apart, an' take 'em one ata time. So I dropped my rifle an' drawed my knife, an' gave two loudyells, which war a signal to let the Injuns know that one of 'em warwanted. They both sprang to their feet an' listened for a moment, an'one of 'em--the one that had stole my trap--picked up his rifle andcome toward me; an' the other went on eatin' his supper.
"I waited until the Injun had come within ten foot of me, then all toonct I stepped out from behind my tree an' stood before him. Bar an'buffaler! how the rascal started! He looked at me for a minit, as ifto make sure that I war a human critter, an' then, givin' an unarthlyyell, he dropped his rifle, an' made at me with his tomahawk. But Imet him half way, an' ketchin' hold of the hand that held thetomahawk, I give him a stab with my knife that settled his businessfor him. He fell to the ground like a log, an' I had hardly time tograb my rifle afore I seed the big Injun comin' toward me. But hehadn't made more'n two steps, afore a chunk of lead brought him to theground.
"I then walked up to the camp, and stretched myself out on one of theInjuns' blankets; and arter makin' a good supper on a piece of venisonI found hung up on a tree close by, I covered myself up, an' in a fewminits war fast asleep.
"The next mornin' I war up bright an' arly, an' pickin' up my trap,an' all the Injuns' plunder I wanted, I drew a bee-line for camp. Inanother day I had gathered up all the rest of my traps, without seein'any more Injun signs; but I knowed they would soon be around. As Ididn't care about bein' in their company, an' as game war gettin'scarce, I tumbled all my spelter into my canoe, an' started down theriver."
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