CHAPTER VI
STALKING THE BUFFALO
ON the following day orders were given to prepare to start once morein the direction of the beckoning West. There was not much to be done,for, knowing that their departure would soon be ordered, the men hadfor some time past been getting things in readiness.
Dick and Roger had looked their few possessions over, and were readyto move on short notice. It gave the boys a little feeling of distressto realize that they would be thus placing additional ground betweenthemselves and those dear ones left at home near the mouth of theMissouri.
"But we have embarked on the trip," said Dick, when his chum wasspeaking of this as something he did not like very much, "and must seeit through now. When we do get back home again, if we are so fortunate,think of all the wonderful things we shall be able to describe."
The coming of Captain Lewis just then interrupted their confidentialtalk. Dick expected that their leader had something of importance tocommunicate, and he could give a pretty accurate guess concerning itsnature.
Sure enough, the first words spoken by the President's privatesecretary explained the nature of his visit to the cabin of theArmstrong boys.
"I had an opportunity to examine your canoe, and there can be no reasonto doubt that some unknown miscreant planned to have you lose yourlives in the rapids. It was cleverly done, and at night-time doubtless,when no one would be apt to notice him working with your boat. Theknife went in just deep enough to weaken the whole skin of the bottom,and only a slight blow was needed to finish the treacherous work."
"Of course you have not been able to place your hand on the guiltyparty, Captain, have you?" asked Roger, eagerly.
"Nothing has been found out so far," came the reply. "One of myreasons for joining you just now is to ask if either of you have anysuspicions. Although of course we could not accuse any one on suchgrounds alone, at the same time it might narrow our search, and focusattention on the guilty one, so that he could be watched, and caughtin the act."
"We do not feel able to say positively, Captain Lewis," said Dick,"but when we came to look over the entire membership of the companywe finally figured it out that it must lie between three men. All theothers seemed to be above suspicion in our eyes."
"Tell me who they are, so that I can have them watched," demanded thecommander.
"There is, first of all, Drewyer, the Canadian scout. He never seemedto be very friendly with us, for some reason or other, though we havehad no quarrel. You are surprised to hear me mention his name, becauseyou have always trusted him fully. And the chances are, Captain, thatDrewyer is as faithful as the needle to the pole. I only include himbecause we know so little about him."
"Who is the next one you have on your list?" asked Captain Lewis. "Icount considerably on your natural sagacity to help in running thistraitor to earth. You boys have learned pretty well how to judge menfrom their actions and looks, rather than from their fair speech. Tellme the other names, please, Dick."
"Fields is the second man. I base my right to include him in the groupfrom the fact that there was a time when my cousin, here, and Fieldshad hot words over something the trapper had been doing in the village,and which Roger took him to task for. Since that time they have been onspeaking terms, but I do not think Fields likes us over much."
"I should regret very much to learn that Fields had turned traitor, forI have in the past been ready to trust him to any extent," remarkedCaptain Lewis.
"The third and last man is Andrew Waller," continued Dick. "Now, wehave never had a word with Andrew except in the best of ways. We havealways looked on him as a loyal friend, and faithful to the trust youput in him. It has only been of late that both of us noticed thatAndrew seems to try to avoid us, and when we do meet face to face helets his eyes drop."
"That is indeed a suspicious fact," commented the other, quickly. "Ifmoney has tempted him to play the part of a traitor it is easy tounderstand how he cannot look you squarely in the eye. Conscience flayshim every time he sees you near by. I shall certainly bear in mind whatyou have told me, and in due time results may spring from keeping aclose watch on the movements of these three men."
With that Captain Lewis left the boys, but they felt sure he wouldnot allow the matter to drop. The man whom President Jefferson hadpersonally selected to manage this big enterprise, and who had been hisown private secretary, was accustomed to getting results whenever heattempted anything.
It was on the following morning that camp was broken, and theexpedition once more started forward--down the Yellowstone to theMissouri, and up that muddy stream again. That was an event of vastimportance in the lives of those daring souls who were thus venturingto plunge deeper into the mysteries of the country that up to then hadnever known the imprint of a white man's foot.
Although filled with exultation, as were the rest of the travelers,Dick and his cousin looked back to see the last of the weird Mandanvillage which had long been a source of delight to their eyes. It waswith considerable regret that they took their farewell view of thepainted lodges, as well as the Indian cemetery on the side of the hill,where all those platforms, bearing their mummy-like burdens wrapped inbuffalo hides, told of superstitions that were a part of the Mandannature.
During that day they made considerable progress, and the first campof the new trail was pitched on a ridge close to the river. Here thehorses were put out to graze, and the boats drawn up on the shore,though a guard was constantly kept to insure against treachery.
Despite the apparent friendship shown by many of the Indian tribesthey encountered on their long journey of thousands of miles, the twocaptains never fully put their trust in the red men. They believedthem as a rule to be treacherous, and unable to resist pilfering ifthe opportunity offered. Especially was this true when the covetedobject was a horse or a "stick that spat fire," as the wonderful"shooting-irons" of the explorers were generally called.
Several days passed with nothing to break the monotony of the journey.Of course they often met with minor difficulties, but these werespeedily overcome by a display of that generalship which had so farmade the trip a success.
All this while the boys had not forgotten about the spy in the camp.Without appearing to do so, they kept a watch upon the three men uponwhom suspicion had fallen. Had any one of them offered to leave campafter nightfall, he would have been trailed by Dick and Roger, bent onlearning what could be the object of his wandering, and whether he hadan appointment with Francois Lascelles, the Indian trader.
But, as the days drifted along, and nothing happened, they began tocherish hopes that perhaps the accident to their canoe had been ratheran act of vandalism and malice than part of a deep plan to bring abouttheir death.
A week after leaving the winter camp the party found itself on theborder of a wide plain. Dick and Roger were mounted and were on aslight elevation down which they expected to pass to the level groundnear the river, and await the coming of the boats. From here they couldsee for a considerable distance around.
"Look at the herds of buffaloes feeding here and there, Dick!"exclaimed Roger, whose hunting instincts were easily aroused. "Itstrikes me we heard Captain Clark say the fresh meat was getting lowagain. What do you say to trying to knock over one or two of those finefellows?"
"We would have to go a considerable distance to do it, then," the othertold him, "and leave our horses in the bargain, because they are notused to approaching such fierce-looking animals as buffalo bulls."
"But we might be lucky enough to get one or two yearlings," persistedRoger, who dearly loved the excitement of the hunt, as well as thetaste of the well-cooked meat when meal time came. "I think we couldmanage to load our animals down with the spoils, and easily reach theplace where our friends mean to camp for the night."
Dick looked around him before replying to this tempting proposal. Heremembered that they had need to use particular care while away fromthe main body of explorers; but so far as indications went he couldnot discover the slighte
st sign of danger. Certainly there was nothingto be feared from Francois Lascelles out there on that wide stretchof plains, where in various places they could see timid antelopes andclumsy buffaloes feeding amidst the isolated stands of timber whichdotted the landscape.
"I see nothing to hinder our making the attempt, Roger," he finallyremarked.
"Then you agree, do you, Dick?" eagerly demanded the other youngexplorer, as he caressed his gun, and cast a happy look over thepanorama that was spread in front of them.
"Let's figure out just where our best chance lies, before we make astart," he was told. "We have to keep in mind that it's necessary tohide our mounts, so we can creep up on the herd close to some motte oftimber."
The boys had more than once shot the great, shaggy animals that inthose early days abounded in countless thousands on the prairies ofthe Far West. Their fathers had hunted buffaloes while on the trailfrom Virginia to the banks of the Ohio when boys no older than Dick andRoger. Hence they were familiar with the habits of the animals whichthey now meant to stalk.
Choosing their course so as to keep a patch of cottonwoods betweenthemselves and the small herd they had picked out as their prey, thetwo boys urged their horses on at a smart pace. In several quartersthey could see the swift-footed antelopes vanishing at a surprisingpace, frightened by the approach of these strange animals, bearingriders on their backs, the like of which they possibly had never beheldbefore that day.
The buffaloes, however, were not so easily alarmed. Unless they sawan enemy for themselves, or scented something that caused themuneasiness, they were likely to hold their ground where they chanced tobe feeding. (Note 5.)
Finally the boys decided it was no longer safe to take their horseswith them. The animals were accordingly secured in a patch of timber,and the lads, still screened by the other motte, set forth on foot.
They had possibly a quarter of a mile to walk before reaching theirintended shelter, from the other side of which they hoped to be ableto fire upon some of the nearest of the herd. The old grass still layon the ground, dead and brown; but shoots of the new spring crop hadbegun to thrust their heads up between. It was on this tender greenstuff that the buffaloes were browsing, and, as it grew more freely incertain places, such a fact would account for their presence near thetimber.
The one thing Dick and Roger had to be careful about was the chance ofany straggler from the herd discovering them, and with a bellow givingthe alarm. In order to avoid this if possible, Dick and his chum bentlow as they advanced, and kept a wary lookout on either side of thetimber.
The breeze blew from the trees toward them. This fact they had madesure of before starting, because, otherwise, such is the sense ofsmell in the buffaloes they would not have had the least chance ofgetting within shooting distance of the wary animals, who generallyfeed facing the wind.
When finally the boys arrived at the edge of the timber they believedeverything was working as well as they could wish. As yet no soundhad come to their ears that would indicate alarm on the part of theirintended quarry; and Roger allowed himself to indulge in high hopes ofa hunters' feast that night, with buffalo meat in plenty as the maindish.
The Pioneer Boys of the Columbia; or, In the Wilderness of the Great Northwest Page 9