Frank on the Prairie

by Harry Castlemon

  CHAPTER XVIII.

  Old Bob's Adventure.

  The old trapper paused for a moment to refill his pipe, and thencontinued--

  "I went out as usual with a party of trappers, fur in them days itwarn't no way safe fur a feller to go thar alone. We war a'most sartinto be chased by the Injuns, but them as got away with a hul skin,allers went back as soon as they could make up a comp'ny, fur it warthar the best trappin' war to be found.

  "If all the red-skins we have rubbed out thar could come to lifeag'in, I reckon thar would be lots of 'em, an' if all our poor fellerswho have had thar har raised on the plains of that same river, couldcome back, you'd see a heap of fine trappers. An' if me an' Dick couldhave all the furs we have lost thar, I'll allow it would keep us inpipes an' tobacker fur a year or two. In them days, a feller could gita good rifle fur a beaver or otter skin, an' a fust rate hoss fur twoor three mink skins. Our furs war the only thing we had to depend onto buy us a new outfit; so when we lost all our winter's work, itwarn't a thing to laugh at.

  "Wal, as I war sayin', I went out with this party of fellers, an', asusual, not the least bit of Injun sign did we see durin' the winter.As a gen'ral thing the red-skins don't run 'round much in coldweather--leastways, they don't go fur from their camps; but by thetime the snow is off the ground, they ar' well-nigh out of grub, an'have to start out on their huntin' expeditions. The Saskatchewan war agood place fur them to come to, fur thar war plenty of game; but thecountry warn't big enough for them an' us; so when they begun comin'in, it war high time fur us to be goin' out. Thar war five of us inthe party, an' as every man knowed his own bisness, by the time springcome we had as much spelter as four hosses could pack away. When thesnow commenced goin' off, we kept a good lookout fur Injuns--fur thetrappin' war so fine we didn't want to leave so long as it war safeto stay--an', one mornin', as I war comin' in from tendin' to mytraps, I seed whar two Injuns had crossed the creek. That war enoughfur me, so I put for the camp, but didn't find nobody thar. Thefellers war all out tendin' to their bisness; an', in course, I warn'tgoin' away without 'em; so I packed up my spelter ready fur the start,and while waitin' fur 'em, kept sharp watch on all sides fur Injuns.'Bout noon I heered a hoss comin', an', in a few minits, up rid one ofour fellers with his huntin' shirt all bloody. As soon as I seed him,I knowed that the game war up.

  "'Bob!' says he, 'Get away from here to onct. Bill Coffee is done fur(that war his chum), an' you can see how nigh they come to rubbin' meout too. Some varlet sent an arrer clean through my arm. Hand me mypack o' furs, and let's be off to onct, I tell you.'

  "This man--Bill Simons his name war--war the oldest an' bravest man inour comp'ny, an' he war our leader. Although I didn't like the idee ofleavin' them fellers out thar in the woods with them Injuns--fur everyone of 'em had done me a kindness--I knowed I couldn't do them no goodby stayin'; fur, when Bill Simons deserted his own brother, tharwarn't no use of any body's tryin' to help him. So I handed Bill hisfurs, grabbed up my own, jumped on my hoss, an' we started. It war nolight load them hosses had to carry, fur our spelter war a'most asheavy as we war. But we couldn't think of leavin' 'em behind withoutmakin' one effort to save 'em, fur we had worked hard fur 'em, an'didn't want 'em to fall into the hands of them lazy Injuns. As we ridalong, we made up our minds that we would stick together as long as wecould, an' that we wouldn't drop our furs as long as we seed the leastchance of escapin' with 'em. But if we had knowed any thing, we wouldhave throwed away them packs to onct, fur hangin' on to 'em so longwas jest the very thing that got us ketched. We run our hosses withthem heavy loads, till they war clean done out; an' when the Injunsgot arter us, they war a'most ready to drop. Wal, as I war sayin', werid along fur 'bout two mile, keepin' a good lookout on all sides furInjuns, an', finally, we seed 'em behind us. Thar war 'bout twenty of'em, an' as soon as I sot eyes on 'em, I somehow knowed that we warketched.

  "'Bob,' said Bill, turnin' to me, 'our scalps ar' wuth more nor thisspelter. It is time to run in 'arnest now.'

  "He throwed down his pack, as he spoke, an' then his hoss went faster.But I, bein' young an' foolish, didn't like the idee of losin' mywinter's work; so I held on to my pack, till, findin' that Bill warleavin' me behind, I throwed it away Thar war our eight months' wagesgone. We had worked hard an' froze among the snows of the mountainsfur nothin'. But we hadn't gone fur afore we diskivered that we hadoughter throwed 'em away long ago. Both our hosses run as though theyhad traveled all day, an' it war plain as bar's ears that theycouldn't go much further. Every time we looked back we seed that theInjuns war gainin' on us fast, an' the way they yelled told us thatthey, too, knowed that they would soon have us. I looked t'wards Bill,an' although I could read in his face that he knowed we war ketched,he didn't seem the least bit skeary. He had been in jest such scrapesafore. He had often been a pris'ner, but he war strong as a hoss,could run like a skeered deer, an' had allers succeeded in gittin'away from the Injuns at last. I, howsomever, had never been in thehands of the red-skins, but I knowed, from the stories I had oftenheered, that they didn't treat a feller very kind, an' this set me tothinkin'. The Injuns knowed Bill, an' wouldn't they know me to? Theyoung chief I had rubbed out b'longed to that same tribe, an' wouldn'this friends 'member the hoss, an' the knife, an' tomahawk I carried inmy belt? I could throw the we'pons away, an', arter thinkin' a leetle,I did. I unbuckled my belt, an', jest as we went over a swell out ofsight of the Injuns, I dropped knife, tomahawk, an' all, hopin' thatthe red-skins would never find 'em; fur I knowed that if they thoughtI had ever rubbed out any of the tribe, I would ketch the wust kind ofpunishment.

  "Wal, all this while the Injuns had been gainin' on us, fur, thefurther we went, the slower our hosses run, an' all the whippin' an'poundin' we could do, didn't make them go no faster. They warwell-nigh tuckered out. Purty quick I see Bill turn in his saddle an'draw up his ole shootin' iron. He war bound to die game. I watched theshot, an' couldn't help givin' a yell when I seed one of the varletsdrop from his hoss. The Injuns had all this while been ridin' closttogether; but findin' that we war goin to begin shootin', theyscattered, an' throwed themselves flat on their hosses' backs, so thatwe couldn't hit 'em. But we war sartin of our game, no matter howsmall a mark we had to shoot at, an' when I fired, I seed an Injun an'his hoss come to the ground together. By this time, Bill war readyag'in, an' down come another Injun.

  "If our hosses had only been fresh, we could have picked off the lastone of 'em afore they could have ketched us. But the varlets keptgainin' all the time, an' purty quick they got nigh enough to usetheir we'pons, an' the way the arrers whistled 'bout our heads warn'tpleasant, now I tell you. But we kept shootin' at 'em as fast as wecould load up, bringin' down an Injun at every pop--till some chapsent his arrer into my hoss's side--an' the next minit I war sprawlin'on the ground. Bill kept on, but he hadn't gone fur afore he got anarrer through his neck, which brought him from his saddle, dead. Ijest seed this as I war tryin' to get up; fur my hoss had fell on myleg, an' war holdin' me down. Jest arter Bill fell, the Injuns come upan' I war a pris'ner. I couldn't tell you how I felt, youngsters. Ihad heered enough to know that much depended on my showin' a boldfront; but it takes a man of mighty strong nerve to look a dozenyellin', scowlin' Injuns in the face, without onct flinchin'.Howsomever, I kept a leetle courage 'bout me, I guess, fur when onechap jumped, an' drawed his bow with an arrer p'inted straight at mybreast, I looked him in the eye without winkin'; an' when anotherketched me by the har, an' lifted his tomahawk as if he had a goodnotion to make an end of me to onct, I stood as still an' quiet asthough I didn't see him. Arter this had been goin' on fur a while, theInjuns seemed to grow tired of it, fur my hands war bound behind myback, an' one feller fetched up Bill's hoss, an' war goin' to put meon him, when the critter, bein' clean tired out, give a grunt an' layright down on the prairy. The Injuns seemed to think the hoss war no'count, fur they turned him loose, an' I war lifted on to a mustangbehind one of the savages. I didn't think much of this at the time,but I arterward had reason to
be glad that the varlets had left Bill'shoss out thar on the prairy.

  "It war 'bout five mile to the place whar the Injuns had made theircamp, an' while on the way thar I warn't bothered at all, fur theyseed that I warn't skeered easy. When we reached the village--whichmust have had nigh two hundred Injuns in it--I found that I warn't theonly pris'ner, fur thar war Pete Simons, Bill's brother, tied to apost in the middle of the camp, an' he war surrounded by men, women,and young uns, who war beatin' him with sticks, an' tormentin' himevery way they knowed how; but findin' that they couldn't make Peteshow fear--fur that war something he didn't have in him--they lefthim, when I came up, and pitched into me. I didn't mind 'em much,howsomever, although I _did_ wince jest the least bit when one fellerstruck at me with his tomahawk, and jest grazed my face; but theydidn't see it; an' purty quick one big feller ketched me by the har,an', arter draggin' me up to the post, tied me with my back to Pete's.It then wanted 'bout three hours of sundown, an' the Injuns, arterholdin' a leetle council, made up their minds to have some fun; sothey untied me an' Pete, an' led us out on the prairy 'bout three orfour hundred yards, an' thar left us. We looked back an' seed theInjuns all drawed up in a line, with their we'pons in their hands, an'knowed that the varlets had give us a chance to run for our lives. Incourse they didn't mean fur us to git away, but they wanted the funof seein' us run, never dreamin' but some of their fleet braves wouldketch us afore we had gone fur. I never looked fur 'em to give us sicha chance fur life as that, an' I made up my mind that I would learn'em to think twice afore they give a white trapper the free use of hislegs ag'in. I a'most knowed I war safe, but I felt shaky 'bout Peter,fur the Injuns had shot him with two arrers afore they ketched him,an' he war hurt bad. I didn't think he could run far--nor he didn't,neither; fur when we shook hands an' wished each other good luck, hesaid to me, 'Bob, I wish I had my rifle.' He meant by that, if he hadhis ole shootin' iron in his hands, he wouldn't die alone; he wouldhave fit the Injuns as long as he could stand. Wal, as I war sayin',we shook hands an' bid each other good-by, an' jest then I heered ayell. I jumped like a flash of lightnin', an' made t'wards a littlebelt of tim'er which I could see, 'bout two miles acrost the prairy. Iwar runnin' fur my life, an' I reckon I made the best time I knowedhow. I soon left poor Pete behind, an', when I had gone about a mile,I heered a yell, that told me as plain as words, that he had beenketched. I never stopped to look back, but kept straight ahead, an'in a few minits more I war in the woods. The yellin' of the Injuns hadbeen growin' louder an' louder, so I knowed that they were gainin' onme, an' that if I kept on they would soon ketch me; so, as soon as Ifound myself fair in the tim'er, I turned square off to the right, an'takin' to every log I could find, so as to leave as leetle trail aspossible fur them to foller, I ran 'bout a hundred yards further, an'then dived into a thick clump of bushes, whar I hid myself in theleaves an' brush. I had kinder bothered the varlets, for a leetlewhile arter, they came into the woods, an' went on through, as if theythought I had kept on t'wards the prairy. But I knowed that theywouldn't be fooled long; an' when I heered by their yellin' that theyhad left the woods, I crawled out of the bushes to look up a betterhidin'-place. Arter listenin' an' lookin', to be sartin that thar warno Injuns 'round, I ag'in broke into a run, an' finally found a hollerlog at the bottom of a gully, whar I thought I had better stop; so Icrawled into the log, an' jest then I heered the Injuns coming back.They knowed that I war hid somewhar in the tim'er, an' they allscattered through the woods, hopin' to find me afore it 'comedark--yellin' all the while, as though they didn't feel verygood-natured 'bout bein' fooled that ar' way. I knowed that theycouldn't foller my trail easy, but thar war so many of 'em, that I warafraid somebody might happen to stumble on my hidin'-place. But theydidn't; an' arter awhile it 'come dark, an' the varlets had to give upthe search. I waited till every thing war still, an' then crawled outof my log, and struck fur the prairy. I warn't green enough to b'lievethat they war all gone, fur I knowed that thar war Injuns layin''round in them woods watchin' an' waitin' fur me. In course I didn'twant to come acrost none of 'em, fur I had no we'pon, and I would havebeen ketched sartin; so I war mighty keerful; an' I b'lieve I war twohours goin' through the hundred yards of woods that lay atween me an'the prairy. When I reached the edge of the tim'er, I broke into a run.If thar war any Injuns 'round, they couldn't see me, fur the night wardark; an' they couldn't hear me, neither, fur my moccasins didn't makeno noise in the grass. I kept on, at a steady gait, fur 'bout twohours, an' finally reached the place whar I war captur'd. Arter aleetle lookin' and feelin', I found my belt and we'pons. I felt aheap better then, fur I had something to defend myself with; but stillI didn't feel like laughin', fur I war afoot, an', havin' no rifle, Icouldn't think how I war to git grub to eat. But I war better off norwhile I war a pris'ner 'mong the Injuns; so I knowed I hadn't oughtercomplain. Arter takin' one look at poor Bill, whom the Injuns, arterhavin' scalped, had left whar he had fallen, an' promisin' that everytime I seed a Blackfoot Injun I would think of him, I ag'in sot out.Arter I had gone 'bout half a mile further, the moon riz, an', as Iwar running along, I seed something ahead of me. I stopped to onct,fur I didn't know but it might be a Injun; but another look showed meit war a hoss. He war feedin' when he fust seed me, but, when heheered me comin', he looked up, an' give a leetle whinny that made mefeel like hollerin'. It war Bill Simons's hoss. How glad I war to seehim! An' he must a been glad to see me, too, fur he let me ketch him;an' when I got on his back, I didn't keer, jest then, fur all theInjuns on the plains. The critter had had a good rest, an', when Ispoke to him, he started off just as lively as though he war good fura hundred mile. Wal, I rid all that night, an', 'arly the nextmornin', I found myself nigh a patch of woods whar we allers made ourcamp when goin' to an' from the Saskatchewan, an' I thought I wouldstop thar and git a leetle rest, fur I war tired an' hungry. So I ridthrough the woods, an', when I come in sight o' our ole campin'ground, I seed something that made me feel like hollerin' ag'in; an' I_did_ holler; fur thar war two of our comp'ny--the only ones that'scaped 'sides me--jest gettin' ready to start off. They stopped whenthey seed me--an', youngsters, you may be sartin that we war glad tomeet each other ag'in. One of 'em war Bill Coffee, who I thought wardead. He war bad hurt, but he got off without losin' his har, an' hefelt mighty jolly over it. Arter they had told me 'bout their fightwith the Injuns--an' they jest _did_ get away, an' that war all--Itold 'em 'bout Bill Simons bein' killed, and how me an' Pete had run arace with the varlets, an' we all swore that the Blackfeet wouldn'tmake nothin' by rubbin' out them two fellers. I stayed thar longenough to rest a little an' eat a piece of meat that one of 'em giveme, an' then we all sot out fur the fort, which we reached all right.We laid 'round fur 'bout a month, an' then--would you b'lieve it?--wethree fellers made up another comp'ny, an' put fur the Saskatchewanag'in. None of us ever forgot our promise, an' every time we drawed abead on a Blackfoot, we thought of Bill an' Pete Simons."