CHAPTER XXVII
FROM SADDLE TO CANOE AGAIN
IT was soon planned that a short stop should be made here, in order torecuperate to some extent after their recent strenuous experiences. Anumber of the men had become ill through long exposure to the burningsun, and the lack of proper food. Captain Lewis hoped to have them ingood shape presently, so that they could start forth upon the last dashfor the Pacific Coast.
Besides, the chief being absent, there was really no one of authorityin the Nez Perces village with whom to deal; and just then theexplorers wished to make a covenant, or bargain.
From now on they could make much better use of boats than of horses,and it was hoped to effect an arrangement with the Nez Perces chieftainto care for the animals they owned through the coming winter. Then,the adventurers hoped to borrow canoes and to finish the long journeyby the water. When, in the spring, they returned that way, they couldchange back, and reward the friendly Indians for taking care of thehorses, which would, of course, be needed again in crossing to themountains.
Several pleasant days in September passed away, while the members ofthe expedition waxed hale and hearty again. They had plenty to eat, andeven made out to secure an amount of food from the Indians to last themfor some time ahead, in case game proved to be scarce.
No one anticipated such a thing, however, because from all reports theyjudged there was great hunting along the lower river that emptied intothe sea; Then there was the multitude of splendid fishes, the flesh ofwhich they were told resembled that of the mountain trout.
These the travelers had already classified as salmon, because CaptainLewis had seen that noble game fish caught in Maine and Canada, whereit came in fresh from the ocean to spawn in the headwaters of therivers.
Many were the stories the Nez Perces told, in their sign languagemostly, about the Indians who frequented the lower reaches of thisbroad river, where the "shining fish" swarmed at times so that no mancould count their number, which was like the grains of sand on thebeach.
As near as the boys could make out these natives, from some peculiarityconnected with their person, were known far and wide as the Flat Heads.They seemed to be of an exceedingly warlike disposition, and greathunters, as well as persistent fishermen.
Their method of taking the salmon was with a spear, and in the seasonan adept could daily throw up on the bank a glittering pile of the bigfish calculated, when dried after a manner in vogue among them, to lasthis lodge all winter.
Many were the interesting things the boys learned when they found ameans of talking with the peaceful Nez Perces. The days passed almosttoo quickly for even Roger, impatient as he was to set eyes on the goalof their hopes.
And, just as had been anticipated, the fame of Dick as a "big medicine"spread through all the skin lodges of the tribe. People even came fromother settlements to consult the "wonder boy," who could chase theevil spirits out of a suffering body by simply sending down a pill towrestle with the monster.
Dick had his hands full, much to the amusement of his cousin. He didnot shirk his duty, though careful not to utterly exhaust his preciousstore of drugs, compounded for the most part by his mother's own hands.
The head chief finally returned, and with him the band of warriors whohad been on the grand hunt. They brought back with them a large storeof fresh meat, which the squaws immediately set to work to dry aftertheir crude fashion, thus converting it into "pemmican," black, toughstuff which made the boys shudder to look at, but which could sustainthe human frame wonderfully.
Success having attended the annual hunt, the chief was in aparticularly good humor. He felt that the coming of these "palefaces"must have had something to do with the bountiful supply of game he andhis warriors had come across.
Besides, the whites intended going down into the country of the dreadedFlat Heads, and their influence might be exerted to make peace betweenthose Indians and the Nez Perces. So a feast was spread, at which allof the whites had the pleasure of tasting baked dog, which they agreedwas fair eating, though none of them came back for a second helping.
The chief readily entered into a covenant whereby, for a certainconsideration, he agreed to care for the horses of the whites untilthey came up the river in the spring, upon which the animals were to bereturned to their owners.
Besides this, canoes were loaned to the "palefaces," boats made ofskin, and a little insecure, but nevertheless serviceable for thepurposes of the explorers.
"Do you think the chief will keep his word about the horses, Dick?"asked Roger, after they had heard of the arrangement between the twocaptains and the head men of the tribe, after passing the pipe solemnlyaround the circle at the council fire.
"Yes, I feel sure he will," Dick replied. "I like his looks, and innearly every case the word of an Indian, once given, is better than thebond of many white men."
"But you remember how that false guide deceived us in the desert, andran away with one of our horses?" objected Roger.
"There never was a rule that did not have an exception," Roger wastold. "Now and then you may find a red man who dishonors his word, butin the main they would sooner be torn to pieces than betray a trust. Weshall see our horses when we come back this way, Roger, if we are solucky as to be able to return."
"Then there was that news we had about those two white men who wereseen by a Nez Perces hunter far down the river," said Roger, uneasily."They were in a canoe, and had evidently passed the village in thenighttime, unseen. At the time the Nez Perces saw them they weredickering with some of the Flat Heads, as though meaning to make alliesof those fighters."
"It sounds as if we might be in for another lot of trouble, before wereach the end of our voyage," admitted Dick.
"Then you agree with me, Dick, that those two men must be our bitterfoes, Francois Lascelles and Andrew Waller?"
"Yes, I'm sorry to say they must be those men and no others. But,Roger, something seems to tell me that we may not be bothered muchlonger by their dark plotting. They are apt to overdo the matter, andperhaps be slain by the very power they set in motion to destroy us."
"You mean the fighting Flat Heads may turn on them, sooner or later; isthat it, Dick?" asked Roger, eagerly.
"That is a fate which has overtaken many such schemers," came theanswer. "Unscrupulous men often start fires that, in the end, consumethem. My father has told me that many a time. We have been preservedthrough all our adventures, and for one I can face the future withoutflinching. I do not believe it will be our fate to die at the hands ofsuch rascals as those men are."
It was on the following day after this talk between the two chums that,all preparations having been completed, the little party embarked forthe last lap of their long trip, which in the case of Captain Lewismeant from coast to coast.
The friendly Nez Perces gave them a good send-off. There were even somewhoops, and waving of hands, after the whites had pushed off from theshore.
Perhaps of all the party Dick would be most missed. His numerouspatients would mourn the absence of the "big medicine," should therebe a return of their maladies later on. Perhaps they feared that theEvil Spirit might venture to take double toll on account of the serioussetback received during the presence in their midst of the "wonderdoctor."
"And one thing sure," Roger told his cousin, as they worked theirpaddles industriously to keep ahead of the other boats, "you will haveto get to work and make up a new stock of medicine after the manneryou've seen your mother do it; for, when we come back this way in thespring, if we ever do, there'll be a crop of ailments waiting for youto take care of."
Dick only laughed good-naturedly.
"I was thinking about that myself," he stated; "and I believe I coulddo it, provided we can find the same kind of herbs growing out here.But it certainly feels good to me to be in a boat again, after all thathard work riding a horse across a hot desert."
Roger felt the same way, for the boys were much more at home with apaddle in their hands than in the saddle. Brought
up on the bank of theMissouri, they had early become adepts on and in the water, and theyspent much of their time fishing, in order to supply the families withthe food that was needed.
That night they made camp on the bank of the Lewis. They weresurrounded by the great trees that have since then made Oregon andWashington forests famous; and all this was so vastly different fromtheir recent experiences amidst desert sands that it was no wonderevery one's spirits were buoyant.
Of course the boys wanted to take a little turn around the camp beforenight set in, hoping to come across some game. This they could easilydo because, at the time, they had nothing to do with getting supperready, as it was not their turn to serve as cooks.
Once again success came their way, for they succeeded in starting abuck, and, although it took a double shot to bring the fleet animaldown, Dick proved equal to the occasion, after Roger's bullet seemed tobe wasted.
This circumstance seemed to annoy the latter very much, for he wasjealous of his well-earned reputation as a marksman. It did notsurprise Dick, then, when the other's first move upon reaching thefallen buck was to examine eagerly the quarry.
"I thought it was queer if I missed him entirely," declared Roger,with a ring of triumph in his voice; "you can see where my bulletpassed through his body, but, as luck would have it, no vital part wastouched. I'm glad you managed to finish him, Dick."
"Yes, so am I for several reasons," remarked the other; "in the firstplace we need the meat. Then again, it would be too bad for him to runfor miles and in the end drop, and that wound you gave him would haveproved fatal finally."
Of course the party rejoiced to see a supply of meat come in. They knewthey could depend on the boys to procure it if there chanced to be anygame in the vicinity; and when they heard the double shot more than oneof the men licked his lips in full expectation of a treat.
It is a good thing to have a reputation for accomplishing things, forthere are times when it spurs the possessor on, in order that he maynot lose caste with his admirers.
Roger was not fully satisfied with the shooting of the buck. Hisfishing instinct had been aroused by the tales he had heard concerningthe great finny prizes to be had in these rivers that ran down to thesea, and he longed to be able to capture his first prize in the shapeof a salmon.
So, immediately after supper, he got his line in readiness, and setit in hope of a strike. Many times during the evening he left thevicinity of the campfire, where the men were sitting at their ease andexchanging stories, to make an eager investigation of his line.
Roger was, however, doomed to disappointment that night. Either thesalmon did not run so far from the sea at this time of the year, orelse his bait had not proven satisfactory. In time, no doubt, he wouldlearn better; or he could possibly find a chance to make use of thespear he had secured from a Nez Perces brave, and which was used forstriking the great fish as they passed through some narrow estuary ofthe river, running between the rocks.
The Pioneer Boys of the Columbia; or, In the Wilderness of the Great Northwest Page 30