sat round ourcamp-fire eating our frugal supper, we anxiously discussed theprobabilities of recovering Juanita. Carlos spoke very strongly on thesubject. He regretted that he had not been at home when his sisterdisappeared, as he would, he declared, have collected every man capableof bearing arms in the neighbourhood, and at once proceeded with astrong force in pursuit. He still adhered to the belief that Rochfordhad carried her off, aided by a strong band of Indians.
"We shall hear of him before long acting as Powell's lieutenant, orperhaps raised to the chief command himself!" he exclaimed.
"I do not think that," observed Lejoillie. "He is very enthusiastic,and considers that the Indians have been ill-treated; but I do notbelieve that he would wish them to resort to force to enable them toobtain their rights. He spoke of going among them only for the purposeof giving them good advice, or trying to induce them to adopt thecustoms of civilisation."
I corroborated what Lejoillie said, as did my father. Captain Nortonexpressed the hope that we were right, though he had not had sufficientintercourse with his cousin to judge of his opinions.
I need not say I was very glad to roll myself in my blanket as soon assupper was over, and to fall fast asleep. I should, I believe, haveslept on far into the next day, had I not been aroused by my father, whohanded me a mug of coffee, some wild duck, and corn-cake for breakfast.Directly afterwards, the march was resumed. We were unable to obtainany game during the first part of the day, and were truly glad when, inthe afternoon, we came in sight of the thickly-growing trees of anextensive hummock. As it was important to obtain food, the men werehalted at some distance from its border, while my father, Lejoillie, andI, with Tim and three or four of the best shots of the party, made ourway as best we could amid the dense brushwood, in the hopes of getting ashot at some deer or any other game which might be taking shelter there.Pushing on through hydrangeas and azaleas, with lofty cabbage-palms,cotton, cedar, and other trees above our heads, festooned withwild-vines, convolvuli, air-plants, and numberless other creepers, Timand I, who were ahead, at length saw before us a small pool.
"Hist, Mr. Maurice!" he whispered; "I jist caught sight of somethingmoving. We must creep up carefully. Maybe it's a painter, or anocelot, or, what would be better, a deer; an' if we can escape thecreature windin' us, we may git up near enough to have a fair shot, forit won't be you or I that'll be afther missin'."
I followed his advice, eager to obtain the game, and trusting none ofour party would approach incautiously. In the meantime, by creepingslowly on, we at length came close to the pool, which was almost filledup with grass and water-lilies. Lifting up our heads, to our infinitesatisfaction, we saw a doe and her young one standing in the water, intowhich they had evidently gone to drink. At the same moment a heron,with a loud cry, rose from the sedgy banks; and the deer, as if its notehad been one of warning, turned her head towards where we were.
"Fire at the mother," I whispered to Tim; "I'll take the fawn."
We pulled our triggers, and almost at the same moment a third shot washeard at a distance; a bullet splashing the water close to where thedeer stood, but hitting neither of the animals.
Both deer fell, however, struggling in the water. We rushed forward tosecure our prey. Having put them out of suffering, I carried the fawnto a dry spot, and Tim followed with the deer, which was as much as hecould well stagger under. While we were looking about for a long poleby which we might suspend the animals, so as to carry them with greaterease to the camp, we heard a rustling sound made by some person oranimal approaching. We, of course, had both reloaded our rifles, butfully expected to see one of our party, attracted to the spot by ourshots. Our surprise, therefore, was great to see instead, standingclose to us, an Indian in the usual light hunting costume worn by hispeople, composed of skins embroidered in the ordinary fashion. Hisface, however, was painted in a way which gave him a far fromprepossessing expression.
"Who are you, Mr. Redface?" asked Tim, instinctively handling his rifleready for action.
"A friend!" answered the Indian. "You come kill my deer. What you wanthere?"
"Arrah, sure, do you call it your deer?" asked Tim. "A deer in thiscountry belongs to the man who kills it, I've a notion; and it was notyour bullet which brought either of the animals to the ground. Mr.Maurice here kilt one, and I the other; an' your bit of lead tumbledinto the water, a foot away at least from either of them. Sure, ifye'll be afther lookin' for it, you'll find it in the mud."
"Ugh!" ejaculated the Indian, who saw that he was not likely to get muchchange out of Tim, and knew from the distance he had fired that his aimwas uncertain. "Where are your people?"
"Come along, and you shall see," said Tim; "they'll be glad to have atalk with you about some matters, and you'll find it to your advantageto tell them what you know."
The Indian understood probably only a part of what Tim said, butnodding, he said, "Spotted Wolf will go with you."
"Oh, is that your name? Come along, then, Mr. Spotted Wolf; we'll takecare no harm happens to you."
The Indian laughed scornfully, as if he considered that he could takevery good care of himself; and as by this time we had hung the deer tothe pole, Tim told him we were ready to move. "I'll trouble ye,however, Mr. Spotted Wolf, to lead on ahead; you know the way out ofthis hummock, maybe, better than we do. An' see that you lead us right,if ye please."
He then turned to me, and in a lower voice said,--"It's as well to keepthis sort of gentleman in front, or maybe he'll be afther shootin' oneof us, an' stickin' his scalping-knife into the other."
The Indian, no ways displeased by the evident want of confidence placedin him, led the way, and managed to pick out a path with fewerobstructions than the one by which we had entered the hummock. As wecame in sight of the camp he hesitated for a moment, perhaps surprisedat seeing many more people than he might have expected. It is possiblethat he would have been welcomed by half-a-dozen rifle shots had we notappeared close behind him. Our friends were highly pleased at seeingthe game which we brought. Just then Lejoillie arrived, bringing threefat gobblers, some smaller birds, and a racoon, which he and the menattending him had shot. My father, who had only one companion, had notyet returned. I could not help fearing that he might have fallen inwith some other Indians, who might not have behaved in so pacific amanner as Spotted Wolf. I at once took the Indian up to Captain Norton,who rose to receive him, and being well accustomed to the habits of theRedskins, desired him to be seated on the ground near the camp-fire.The fact that Spotted Wolf spoke English showed that he had had frequentintercourse with the white men.
Captain Norton at once began questioning him as to whether he was alone,or had few or many companions.
He declared that he was alone; that he had separated from hiscountrymen, as he did not approve of their making war on the Palefaces,who, he knew, must conquer at last. At the same time, while making thisacknowledgment, he described the army of Oceola as very large,consisting of numerous warriors, well-armed, and with abundance ofammunition.
Captain Norton inquired if he knew where they were. He replied thatthey were now some distance away to the west, waiting for reinforcementsfrom the Cherokees and Creeks. Whether Spotted Wolf was giving a trueaccount or not, it was impossible to ascertain. He was consistent inall he said, and maintained a calm and unembarrassed manner. I waslittle accustomed to the countenances of Indians, who looked to me verynearly all alike, but I certainly did not admire the expression of thatof Spotted Wolf; and I found that Carlos had formed a bad opinion ofhim. He sat on in the ordinary inelegant position which Indiansmaintain round a council fire, deliberately smoking a pipe of tobaccowhich the captain had presented to him.
Captain Norton had hitherto said nothing about Juanita or Rochford. Hehoped apparently that, should the Indian know anything of them, he wouldhimself introduce the subject. At last he was obliged to ask SpottedWolf whether he had seen a Paleface girl and a young man in company withthe Indians, either together, or sepa
rately, or had heard of them.
"I have not seen any Palefaces such as you describe, nor have I heard ofthem," answered Spotted Wolf positively; or, at all events, he gave usto understand as much, for I cannot exactly describe the language inwhich he spoke.
"Can you, however, serve us by learning whether such persons as Imention are in this part of the country?" asked Captain Norton. "Thoughyou may not have heard of them, your friends may, and you can bring usthe information we require."
The Indian, resting his chin on his hand, appeared to consider what hadbeen said. He then replied that he would, if it were the wish of hisPaleface brother, endeavour to gain tidings of the girl, although, asthere were many of his people who looked upon him as
In the Wilds of Florida: A Tale of Warfare and Hunting Page 34