CHAPTER XVI
A June sky and a resplendent sun, undimmed by cloud or mist, beamed uponthe camp next morning, as we made last preparations for our departure.Those of the men who had been detailed to "stay by the stuff," at theblock-house, were plainly dissatisfied, now that they realized that theywere to be left out of the adventures and chances, as well as the toilsand dangers of our enterprise. Those who had made the bolder choice wereas eager as boys starting on a first bear hunt. The uncertainty as towhat might befall us, the unknown country we must traverse, the verydangers we would probably encounter, all lent mystery and excitement toour undertaking.
The entire population of the settlement, and all the block-housegarrison were assembled on the river bank to say good-by to us. Thewomen were in tears, the men quiet and serious; we, on the contrary,were hilarious with excitement.
Colonel Clark again addressed the men in words stirring and heroic, andthe command to embark was given. Company by company we stepped upon theflat boats, and drifted rapidly down the Ohio to the falls, each raftguided by a skilled poleman, who stood erect, steering carefully for theone channel through which we could safely shoot the falls. The crowd onthe bank was still cheering the last boat load, as the first droppedover the edge of the rapids. At that moment the sun, which had beamedless fiercely for some time, though in our engrossment we had takenlittle notice of the fact, became suddenly obscured, and the dimness oftwilight fell upon gliding river, green banks, and tumbling falls. Onecould scarcely recognize the faces of his companions beside him in theboat, nor the polemen see to steer. The cheering ceased, and over man,beast and nature fell an awesome stillness. The birds in the branches ofthe overhanging trees ceased their glad caroling, the insects theirbuzzing, the fish their plunging, even the hurrying river seemed hushedinto a more subdued murmur, and the noise of the falls to subside into amuffled roar.
The men in my boat drew in their breath; one uttered a stifled sigh,another a low moan; and I realized that a word might precipitate apanic. I stood up and studied the sky for explanation of the phenomenon.The sun held his wonted place in a cloudless sky, but over his radiantface lay a black disc, leaving only a bright rim upon one edge.
"It is an eclipse, comrades," I called, in my loudest tones, "an eclipseof the sun. I take it for a good sign--symbol of what we shall do forautocratic power upon this continent, only that will be a lasting, aswell as a total, eclipse."
My words had magic effect upon the men in our boat, and in the twoothers near enough to hear my words. Clark must have said somethingsimilar to those in his, and adjacent boats, for I saw him spring to hisfeet, pointing to the sun, and simultaneously with our shouts of"Eclipse, eclipse! good sign, good omen! Thus we'll blot out the fortsin the northwest," came like cries from the other boats, and answeringcheers from the bank. So the ominous portent, as it seemed at first, waschanged into a symbol of encouragement.
Often since, I have thought of this incident, which seems to illustratethe way life should be met. Allow ourselves to be discouraged byapparent auguries of failure, and we will turn our backs upon success,when our feet are already pressing its threshold; yet such signs read bythe light of a steadfast purpose, and a courageous heart, may become butprophecies of victory, and encouragement to more strenuous effort.
Our journey down the river was as rapid and uneventful as the mosthopeful of us could have asked; we reached the mouth of the Tennesseewithout a single adventure worth recording. On the way, however, ColonelClark had learned a most cheering piece of news, and one momentous toour undertaking. The rumored French alliance was made public, and Francehad promised liberal and immediate aid of men, money, and a fleet. Thatnight when we had disembarked at the mouth of the Tennessee, after wehad tied up the boats, and killed and cooked our suppers, Clarkassembled the men, and announced the joyous intelligence he hadreceived, pointing out all the fortunate consequences to our expeditionto be expected from the French alliance. This was all that was needed togive the men assurance of success, and to make them ready to braveeverything.
Next morning we shouldered all the ammunition we could march under, andset out for Kaskaskia. We were still following the river, when, an hourafter starting, we hailed a boat load of hunters. They proved to beAmericans--a new appellation among us--but eight days out fromKaskaskia, and after a conversation between them and Colonel Clark, oneof them, a certain John Saunders, consented to act as our guide throughthe Illinois country, with which he professed to be perfectly familiar.This solved our one difficulty, for until now we had lacked a guide.With light hearts we resumed our tramp across prairie, marsh, andforest, seeing victory within our grasp--renown and wealth as theindividual reward of each, and for our country extended dominion, andadded glory.
Good luck continued to attend us, while six more days passed. We hadfine weather and made good progress, considering the unbroken;wilderness through which our route lay. Time was most precious, foreverything depended upon our reaching Kaskaskia before any rumors of ourapproach should get to the ears of the commandant. Signs of lurkingIndians, pointed out from time to time by Givens and Saunders, made theleast enthusiastic among the men eager to hurry on; but these filledThomas and me with impatience, because even Givens discouraged our wishto seek out their camps, and to question them in regard to Ellen. Itwould be foolhardiness, declared Givens, and result only in our beingambushed--he'd find "the gal" fast enough for us when once we were safebehind the walls of a fort, and could kill the "redskin devils" at ourleisure.
On the eighth morning, Saunders spread consternation among us by theannouncement that he was lost--that he did not know where we were, norcould he recognize a single landmark. The night before we had seen thesmoke from a distant camp fire, which Saunders said he doubted not wasthat of some roving Miamis or Kickapoos. This fact made our predicamentthe more serious. At once a halt was called, and Clark sternly declaredto the confused Saunders--who was half suspected of treachery by usall--that unless he quickly found the way, he might prepare for instantdeath. It was not possible, Givens declared, in his slow, emphaticdialect, for a scout and woodsman to lose his way in a country he hadonce traveled over, and Saunders had either lied to us in the firstplace, or was laying a trap for us now; therefore all were ready to backColonel Clark in his evident resolve to make short work of the suspectedtraitor, unless he speedily found himself. Saunders saw that his doomwas sealed if he could not quickly regain his bearings, and went to workdesperately, closely attended by two guards, retracing our way for somedistance, examining sky, stream and trees, then climbing to the tops ofthe tallest to overlook the landscape.
The men sat about smoking dejectedly, or muttering their suspicions toeach other. Meantime I grew restless, and the sight of the anxious faceof Saunders, and the stern face of Clark, oppressed me. So I picked upmy rifle, and plunged into the forest which fringed the higher groundstretching eastward. A small stream flowing out of the woods promisedeither spring or pond, and possibly rare game, within. As I started Icalled to Givens asking him to sound his turkey yelper should theyresume the march before my return.
The shade and freshness of the woods was most grateful and the tangle ofwell laden blackberry bushes in a more open space beguiled me to stopand pluck some of the fruit. The spring found, I looked about for signsof game, but seeing none, propped my rifle against a tree, laid flatdown upon my chest, and buried my face in the limpid sweetness of thepure, cool water. I drank till satisfied, then fell to dreaming. Thesame scenes under different aspects came to me always in my day visions,or night dreams--pictures of home, recollections of my childhood, andoccasionally some scenes from those few weeks of dissipation inPhiladelphia, with Nelly's witching face, swimming, amidst my memories.But I liked the home scenes best, and next to seeing them in the flesh,was the happiness of closing my eyes, and conjuring up visions of mymother, of Jean, and of Ellen.
What a glad day it would be when, Ellen having been found, and ourcountry's independence won, Thomas and I could go home and settle
downto peace and happiness!
Peace and happiness! Would it be ours after all, so long as Aunt Marthaset herself, in her narrow bigotry, to persecute Ellen? so long as therewas estrangement between husband and wife, mother and son in my uncle'sfamily? So tenderhearted was my mother, so loyal to her sister, thateven we could not be a happy family while there was discord andunhappiness in Aunt Martha's--for mother was our happiness barometer,and the family atmosphere went up or down with her feelings. But mothershould adopt Ellen, and we would make her happy, and Aunt Martha ashamedof her harshness and the narrowness of her religion.
Then and there I vowed a new crusade. I must be a soldier always,fighting upon one arena or another for some principle of humanliberty--for the love of liberty and a fervent zeal for it had, fromlong meditation and some sacrifices in its cause, gotten into my blood,and become a part of my nature. When this war against autocratic ruleshould be ended I would take my stand by Mr. Jefferson, and give all mytime and energies to the brave fight he was making for entire anduniversal religious liberty. Deeper and deeper had I plunged into thetrackless wilderness of my own thoughts, till I was lost toconsciousness of the place, the hour and myself.
Perhaps I had been dimly conscious of some slight movement in the bushesbehind me--afterward I remembered being subtly disturbed by it, and oflifting my head to listen--but the first sounds that really aroused mewere the short explosion of a rifle, followed, almost instantly, by thewhistle of a bullet cutting its way through the still air, and then,scarcely a second later, a wild weird whoop, close beside me, whichcaused me to spring to my feet, and turned me in its direction, as if Ihad been an automaton. There, beside the tree, against which I hadleaned, was stretched the quivering body of a dying Indian. One handstill grasped a tomahawk, while the other clutched frantically at theleaves and grasses. A last quiver and he was still, his set eyes staringinto the branches, rustling softly above him.
It was all a mystery to me. Where had the Indian come from? Who had shothim? I stood an instant gazing down upon the still savage in dumbfoundedamazement, then took my rifle and started back to the men in search ofan explanation of it all. Presently I overtook Givens' foster son, whowas hurrying forward as fast as he could. I caught up with him, haltedhim, and asked if he had shot the Indian. He did not answer, and onlypulled his cap farther over his eyes. I took his rifle, and looked intothe bore of it; it was warm, empty, and smelled strongly of powder.
"Givens," I said planting myself before him, and holding out my hand,"you have just saved my life, doubtless. Won't you let me thank you?"
The beardless lips of the lad, about all I could see of his face underhis wide brimmed cap, curved into a half smile, and he said, in muffledvoice, his head still on his chest:
"The savage had just poised his tomahawk for a blow when I saw him."
"You acted most promptly," I answered; "he might have brought a wholetribe down upon us, so that you have perhaps saved the entire band, aswell as Donald McElroy." I continued to talk, to praise his coolness,readiness, and marksmanship, and to repeat my thanks, but I got no moreout of the lad and it was so evident that I embarrassed and annoyed himthat presently I walked on and left him to follow. He seemed affectedwith a painful shyness, and apparently preferred solitude to the mostflattering society.
No immediate opportunity was given me to tell Givens of his boy's kindlydeed, for, just as I joined him and Colonel Clark, talking earnestlytogether, Saunders, still attended by his guards, came running towardus, waving his arms, and shouting joyously. He had found a landmark, andknew our locality! We were but a day's march from Kaskaskia, and the waywas safe and open!
Donald McElroy, Scotch Irishman Page 16