The Pioneer Boys of the Columbia; or, In the Wilderness of the Great Northwest

by St. George Rathborne

  CHAPTER V

  WHAT THE PICTURE WRITING TOLD

  IT was with the utmost eagerness that the two boys studied the strangecharacters depicted on the strip of bark. The hand that had drawn themthere must have been accustomed to the task, and doubtless the storythe message was meant to tell could have been easily read by the eyesof any Indian.

  Dick and his cousin had seen samples of this queer picture writingbefore that time, and understood how the Indians depend on the naturalsagacity of a woodsman, whether red or white, to decipher the meaningof the various characters. (Note 3.)

  "What can it all stand for?" demanded Roger, as he gazed blankly at theseveral lines of characters. "Perhaps we may have to call on some ofthe Mandans in the village to explain it to us."

  "We will do that in the end, anyway," Dick said, "in order to makecertain; but, if we look this over closely, right now, we may get anidea of what Beaver Tail meant by sending it."

  "You don't think then, Dick, it was intended just as a greeting to us,so as to let us know the chief has not forgotten his young palefacebrothers?"

  "No, I feel sure it has a more serious meaning than that," the otherdeclared. "In fact, Roger, something tells me it may be in the natureof a warning."

  "A warning, Dick! Do you mean the Sioux chief wants us to tell CaptainLewis it will be all his life is worth to keep heading into the land ofthe West, now that spring has come?"

  "I was thinking only of ourselves when I said that, Roger."

  "And that the warning would be for our benefit, you mean? But, Dick!how could Beaver Tail, so far away from here, know of any danger thathung over our heads?"

  "Let us examine the bark message, and perhaps we shall learn somethingthat may explain the mystery. The first thing we see is what looks tobe a man facing the sun that is half hidden by the horizon."

  "Yes, that hedgehog-looking half circle is meant for the sun, I can seethat. And, further along, we find it again, only on the left side ofthe man who is now creeping toward it. What do you make that out to be?"

  "It is plain that one represents the rising, and the other the settingsun," Dick explained, with lines of deep thought marked across hisforehead. "Now, an Indian always faces the north when he wants torepresent the points of the compass, so it is plain that the first sunlies in the east."

  "And he wanted us to know that this man was heading into the east firstof all; is that what you mean, Dick?"

  "Yes, and look closer at the figure, Roger. It is not intended to bean Indian, you can see, for he has a hat on his head. It strikes me weought to know that hat, cleverly imitated here; what do you say aboutit?"

  "Oh! it must be the odd-looking hat that French trader, FrancoisLascelles, always wore, Dick. He means that it was toward the risingsun Francois started last fall, just as we know happened. And nowhere he is, again, the same hat and all, creeping straight toward the_setting_ sun. Does that mean the trader came back again, in spite ofthe warning Captain Lewis gave him?"

  "I am sure it means that, and nothing else," replied the other, calmly."Stop and think, Roger. Only a little while ago, we were wonderingwhether such a thing had come about, because we found reason to believesome member of the expedition had been hired to do us an injury. Yes,that bitter Frenchman has dared to return, believing that he can keepout of the reach of our protectors, and manage in some way to get hisrevenge."

  "If that is what Beaver Tail is trying to tell us in this picturewriting, Dick, the rest of the screed must simply go on to explain it alittle further."

  "You notice that the same figure with the hat occurs always," continuedDick, as he examined the message again. "Here is what must stand fora fire, and two persons are sitting beside it, as if cooking. In whatseems to be a clump of bushes close by he has drawn that man again,this time lying flat."

  "That must mean that Francois is spying on the pair by the fire,"suggested Roger, "and as he has made both of them wear caps with 'coonor squirrel tails dangling down behind, I think they are meant torepresent us."

  "There can be no question about it," admitted the other, deeplyinterested. "And, going further, we see the snake in the grass creepingup as if he meant to surprise the two, who are now sleeping, for theylie flat on the ground."

  "Yes, even the fire burns low, for there is hardly any blaze," addedRoger, "which indicates that the hour is late. Why, Dick, we can readthe story as easily as any sign in the woods we ever tackled."

  "Then comes another scene," continued Dick, "where the creeper hasevidently sprung with uplifted knife, upon his intended prey, takenunawares. After that, we can see him crawling away, and there are twofigures lying stretched out on the ground close to the now dead fire.That needs no explanation, Roger; Francois Lascelles seeks our lives,because we baffled him in his scheme to win a fortune at the expense ofour folks at home!"

  The two boys looked at each other. Their eyes may have seemed troubled,but there was no sign of flinching about them. The lads had met toomany perils in times past to shrink, now that they were face to facewith another source of danger.

  "Shall we keep on now for the camp, and show this message on the barkto Captain Lewis?" asked Roger.

  "It would be the best thing to do, for he can advise us," his companionadmitted. "Besides, he will surely order every one in the camp to keepan eye out for Francois Lascelles."

  "We ought to take this brave with us, Dick, because he has come a longway, and is hardly fit to return without rest and food."

  Once again did Dick endeavor to make the Sioux warrior comprehend whathe wished him to do. He urged him to get upon his feet, then thrust anarm through that of the brave, after which he nodded his head, pointedto the north, made gestures as though feeding himself, and then startedto walk away, still holding on to the other.

  Of course it was easy for the Indian to understand that they wishedhim to accompany them to their camp, where he would receive food andattention. He simply gave a guttural grunt, nodded his head, and fellin behind Dick, after the customary Indian method of traveling insingle file. Then they moved along, Roger bringing up the rear.

  Little was said while they tramped onward, heading for the camp. Dickoccupied himself with making sure that he held to the right direction.He also found much food for thought in the startling information thatBeaver Tail had taken the pains to send all these miles to his youngfriends.

  In due time they came in sight of the camp where the expedition hadpassed the preceding winter. Rude cabins had sheltered them from thecold and the snow, both of which had been quite severe in this northernlatitude. Some distance beyond lay the Mandan village, always a sourceof deepest interest to the two boys. It contained so many strangethings, and the lads had never become weary of trying to understand theways of these "White Indians." (Note 4.)

  Upon seeing the boys come in with a strange Indian in their company,many curious glances were cast in their direction. Going straight tothe cabin where the two leaders of the expedition lived, the boys werefortunate enough to find Captain Lewis busily engaged in making up hislog for the preceding day, though of course there was little that wasnew to record.

  To the surprise of the boys the Sioux Indian produced another barkscroll from his ditty bag, which he handed to Captain Lewis. This factconvinced Dick that the brave must have been with the party in thefall, for he seemed to know that the white man he faced was the "bigchief."

  "What does all this mean, my boys?" asked the captain, looking puzzled.

  "We met with an accident in the rapids, and had to swim out," repliedDick. "Then, on the way back to camp, we came upon this Sioux bravein a tree with a dozen hungry wolves jumping up at him. We chased thewolves off, and looked after his wounds, when to our surprise he handedus this message from his chief, Beaver Tail."

  The captain examined the picture writing with considerable interest.He had been taking considerable pains since mingling with the Mandansto understand their ways, and this crude but effective method ofcommunication had aroused his curiosity
on numerous occasions.

  "Read it to me, if you managed to make it out, Dick," he told the boy,who only too willingly complied.

  The captain frowned upon learning that, despite his solemn warning, theFrench trader had returned to the neighborhood. That look boded ill forFrancois Lascelles, should he ever have the hard luck to be caught inthe vicinity of the camp.

  The captain's own communication from the Sioux chief was merely meantfor an expression of goodwill. Two figures, one plainly a Siouxchieftain, and the other a soldier, were seen to be grasping hands asthough in greeting. Beaver Tail by this crude method of picture writingevidently intended to convey the meaning that he had not forgotten hisfriend, the white chief, and, also, that he had kept his word that theSioux should remain on peaceful terms with the travelers.

  "But you spoke of meeting with an accident in the rapids," CaptainLewis presently remarked. "That is something strange for clever boyslike you to experience. Did you miscalculate the danger, or was itsomething that could not be helped?"

  "We closely examined our buffalo hide canoe yesterday, and it was inperfect condition, Captain," said Dick. "Yet, with only a slight blowagainst a perfectly smooth rock, it split open, and we had to jumpoverboard. We managed to get through the rough water safely, and drewthe damaged boat ashore. Imagine our surprise and consternation, sir,when we found that a sharp-pointed knife blade had been run along thebottom of the canoe, making a deep cut that had easily given way whenwe struck the rock."

  "You startle me when you say that, Dick," remarked the captain, lookinguneasy, though almost immediately afterward his jaws became set in adetermined fashion, while his eyes gleamed angrily. "It must mean thatwe have a traitor in the camp; some one who has been bought by the goldof Francois Lascelles."

  "That was what we began to fear, Captain," Dick continued, "and webelieved it only right to let you know what happened to us. We hope youwill send some of the Indians, and one of our men, for the canoe. Itcould be brought secretly to the camp and examined, without the guiltyone knowing about it."

  "A good idea, my boy, and one I shall act upon at once. Say nothingto a single soul concerning this outrage. If we expect to catch thetraitor napping, he must not be put on his guard. But none of us couldfeel safe, knowing we had a snake in our midst. Depend upon it, thetruth is bound to come out, and, when once we learn his identity, thetraitor will be kicked out of the camp, if nothing worse happens tohim."

  With this assurance the two boys rested content. They knew CaptainLewis was a man of his word, and felt sure that the man who had soldhis loyalty for a sum of money offered by the French trader wouldbefore long rue the evil day he allowed himself to be thus tempted.

  Soon afterward they saw Captain Clark and his companion officer inconference, after which the former went over to the Mandan village,and, later on, vanished in the dense forest accompanied by two stalwartbraves. They had gone, the boys knew to secure the hide canoe that toldthe story of treachery in the camp.