Altsheler, Joseph - [Great West 01]
Page 1
THE GREAT SIOUX TRAIL
By JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER
THE CIVIL WAR SERIES
The Guns of Bull Run The Star of Gettysburg
The Guns of Shiloh The Rock of Chickamaugua
The Scouts of Stonewall The Shades of the Wilderness
The Sword of Antietam The Tree of Appomattox
THE WORLD WAR SERIES
The Guns of Europe The Forest of Swords The Hosts of the Air
THE YOUNG TRAILERS SERIES
The Young Trailers The Free Rangers
The Forest Runners The Riflemen of the Ohio
The Keepers of the Trail The Scouts of the Valley The Eyes of the Woods The Border Watch
THE TEXAN SERIES
The Texan Star The Texan Scouts The Texan Triumph
THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR SERIES
Th Hunters of the Hills The Shadow of the North The Rulers of the Lakes
BOOKS NOT IN SERIES The Great Sioux Trail A Soldier of Manhattan
Apache Gold The Sun of Saratoga
The Quest of tb Fwir A Herald of the West
The Last of tfc Chiefs The Wilderness Road
In Circling Camps My Captive
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK
167-G.
A stroke of a great paw and the rifle was dashed from the hands of the old chief. [PAGE 288.]
THE GREAT SIOUX TRAIL
A STORY OF MOUNTAIN AND PLAIN
BY
JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER
AUTHOR OF
"THE RULE s OP THE LAKES," "THE SHADOW or THE NORTH," ETC.
ILLUSTRATED BT
CHARLES L. \RENN
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
NEW YORK LONDON
1918
Copyright, 1918, by D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
Printed in the United States of America
FOREWORD
"The Great Sioux Trail" is the first of a group of romances concerned with the opening of the Great West just after the Civil War, and having a solid historical basis. They will be connected by the presence of leading characters in all the volumes, but every one will be in itsalf a complete story.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I THE Sioux WARNING i
II THE NARROW ESCAPE 25
III THE LITTLE GIANT 53
IV THE FLIGHT 84
V THE WHITE DOME in
VI THE OUTLAW 134
VII THE BEAVER HUNTER 157
VIII THE MOUNTAIN RAM 177
IX THE BUFFALO MARCH 199
X THE WAR CLUB'S FALL 229
XI THE YOUNG SLAVE 246
XII THE CAPTIVE'S RISE 266
XIII THE REWARD OF MERIT 290
XIV THE DREADFUL NIGHT 315
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
A stroke of a great paw and the rifle was dashed from the hands of the old chief . . . Frontispiece
FACING PAGE
The rifle sprang to his shoulder, a jet of flame leaped from the muzzle 48
The body of a warrior shot downward, striking on the ledges 190
"If he ever looks upon a white face again it will be the face of one who is a friend of the Sioux" . 256
THE GREAT SIOUX TRAIL
CHAPTER I
THE SIOUX WARNING
THE scene cast a singular spell, uncanny and exciting, over young Clarke. The sweep of plains on one side, and on the other the dim outline of mountains behind which a blood-red sun was sinking, gave it a setting at once majestic and full of menace. The horizon, as the twilight spread over its whole surface, suggested the wilderness, the unknown and many dangers.
The drama passing before his eyes deepened and intensified his feeling that he was surrounded by the unusual. The fire burned low, the creeping dusk reached the edge of the thin forest to the right, and soon, with the dying of the flames, it would envelop the figures of both Sioux and soldiers. Will's gaze had roved from one to another, but now it remained fixed upon the chief, who was speaking with all the fire, passion and eloquence so often characteristic
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THE GREAT SIOUX TRAIL
of the great Indian leaders. He was too far away to hear the words, as only the officers of the troop were allowed at the conference, but he knew they were heavy with import, and the pulses in his temples beat hard and fast.
"Who is the Indian chief?" he said to Boyd, the scout and hunter, who stood by his side. "He seems to be a man."
"He is," replied Boyd with emphasis. "He's a man, and a great man, too. That's Red Cloud, the war chief of the Ogalala Sioux, Mahpeyalute, they call him in their language, one of the bravest war- riors that ever lived, and a thinker, as well. If he'd been born white he'd be governor of a big state by this time, and later on he might become president of 'em all."
"I've heard of him. He's one of our most danger-
ous enemies."
"So he is, Will. It's because he thinks we're going to spread over the Sioux country in which he's right and not because he hates us as men. I've known him in more peaceful times, and we've done each other good turns, but under that black hair of his beats a brain that can look far ahead and plan. He means to close to us the main trail through the Sioux country, and the Sioux range running halfway across the continent, and halfway from Canada to Mexico. Mountain and plain alike are theirs."
"I can't keep from having a certain sympathy with him, Jim. It's but natural that they should want to keep the forests and the great buffalo ranges."
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THE SIOUX WARNING
"I share their feelings, too, though white I am, and to the white people I belong. I hate to think of the continent ploughed into fields everywhere, and with a house always in sight. Anyhow, it won't happen in my time, because in the west here there are so many mountains and the Sioux and Cheyennes are so war- like that the plough will have a hard time getting in."
"And the country is so vast, too. But watch Red Cloud. He points to the west! Now he drops his hand, doubles his fist and stretches his arm across the way. What does it mean, Jim?"
"It's a gesture telling Captain Kenyon that the road is barred to soldiers, settlers, hunters, all of us. Far to the south we may still follow the gold trails to California, but here at the edge of this mighty wilder- ness we must turn back. The nations of the Dakota, whom we call the Sioux, have said so."
Mahpeyalute lowered his arm, which he had thrust as a barrier across the way, but his fist remained clenched, and raising it he shook it again. The sun had sunk over the dim mountains in the north and the burning red there was fading. All the thin forest was clothed now in dusk, and the figure of the chief himself grew dimmer. Yet the twilight enlarged him and lent to him new aspects of power and menace. As he made his gesture of defiance, young Clarke, despite his courage, felt the blood grow chill in his veins. It seemed at the moment in this dark wilderness that the great Indian leader had the power to make good his threats and close the way forever to the white race.
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THE GREAT SIOUX TRAIL
The other Indians, ten in number, stood with their arms folded, and they neither stirred nor spoke. But they listened with supreme attention to every word of their redoubtable champion, the great Mahpeyalute. Will knew that the Sioux were subdivided into nations or tribes, and he surmised that the silent ones were their leaders, although he knew well enough that Red Cloud was an Ogalala, and that the Ogalalas were merely one of the Tetons who, federated with the others, made up the mighty Sioux nation. But the chief, by the force of courage and intellect, had raised himself from a minor place to the very headship.
Red Cloud was about fifty years old, and, while at times he wore the white man's apparel,
at least in part, he was now clothed wholly in Indian attire. A blanket of dark red was looped about his shoulders, and he carried it with as much grace as a Roman patrician ever wore the toga. His leggings and moc- casins of fine tanned deerskin were decorated beau- tifully with beads, and a magnificent war bonnet of feathers, colored brilliantly, surmounted his thick, black hair.
He was truly a leader of wild and barbaric splendor in surroundings that fitted him. But it was not his tall, powerful figure nor his dress that held Will's gaze. It was his strong face, fierce, proud and menacing, like the sculptured relief of some old Assyrian king, and in very truth, with high cheek bones and broad brow, he might have been the reincarnation of some old Asiatic conqueror.
The young officer seemed nervous and doubtful.
THE SIOUX WARNING
He switched the tops of his riding boots with a small whip, and then looked into the fierce eyes of the chief, as if to see that he really meant what he said. Ken- yon was fresh from the battlefields of the great civil war, where he had been mentioned specially in orders more than once for courage and intelligence, but here he felt himself in the presence of an alarming puzzle. His mission was to be both diplomat and warrior. He was not sure where the duties of diplomat ceased and those of warrior began.
Meanwhile his protagonist, the Indian chief, had no doubt at all about his own intentions and was stating them with a clearness that could not be mis- taken. Captain Kenyon continued to switch his boot uneasily and to take a nervous step back and forth, his figure outlined against the fire. Young Clarke felt a certain sympathy for him, placed without experi- ence in a situation so delicate and so full of peril.
The Ogalala stopped talking and looked straight at the officer, standing erect and waiting, as if he ex- pected a quick answer, and only the kind of answer, too, that he wished. Meanwhile there was silence, save for an occasional crackle of burning wood.
Both young Clarke and the hunter, Boyd, felt with all the intensity of conviction that it was a moment charged with fate. The white people had come from the Atlantic to the great plains, but the mighty Sioux nation now barred the way to the whole No rthwest, it was not a barrier to be passed easily. Will, as he said, understood, too, the feelings of Mahpeya- lute. Had he been an Ogalala like the chief he
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THE GREAT SIOUX TOAIL
would have felt as the Ogalala felt. Yet, whatever happened, he and Boyd meant to go on, because they had a mission that was calling them all the time.
The Captain at last said a few words, and Red Cloud, who had been motionless while he waited, took from under his blanket a pipe with a long curved stem. Will was surprised. He knew something of Indian custom, but he had not thought that the fierce Ogalala chief would propose to smoke a pipe of peace at a time like the present. Nor was any such thought in the mind of Red Cloud. Instead, he suddenly struck the stem of the pipe across the trunk of a sapling, breaking it in two, and as the bowl fell upon the ground he put his foot upon it, shattering it. Then, raising his hand in a salute to Captain Kenyon, he turned upon his heel and walked away, all the other Indians following him without a word. At the edge of the thin forest they mounted their ponies and rode out of sight in the darkness.
Captain Kenyon stood by the fire, gazing thought- fully into the dying coals, while the troopers, directed by the sergeants, were spreading the blankets for the night. Toward the north, where the foothills showed dimly, a wolf howled. The lone, sinister note seemed to arouse the officer, who gave some orders to the men and then turned to meet the hunter and the lad.
'Tve no doubt you surmised what the Indian meant," he said to Boyd.
"I fancy he was telling you all the trails through the Northwest were closed to the white people," said the hunter.
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THE SIOUX WARNING
"Yes, that was it, and his warning applied to hunt- ers, scouts and gold-seekers as well as settlers. He told me that the Sioux would not have their hunting grounds invaded, and the buffalo herds on which they live destroyed."
"What he told you, Captain, is in the heart of every warrior of their nation. The Northern Cheyennes, a numerous and warlike tribe, feel the same way, also. The army detachments are too few and too scattered to hold back the white people, and a great and terrible war is coming."
"At least," said Captain Kenyon, "I must do my duty as far as I may. I can't permit you and your young friend, Mr. Clarke, to go into the Sioux coun- try. The Indian chief, Red Cloud, showed himself to be a fierce and resolute man and you would soon lose your lives."
Will's face fell, but the hunter merely shrugged his great shoulders.
"But you'll permit us to pass the night in your camp, Captain?" he said.
"Of course. Gladly. You're welcome to what we have. I'd not drive anybody away from company and fire."
"We thank you, Captain Kenyon," said Will warmly. "It's a genuine pleasure to us to be the guests of the army when we're surrounded by such a wilderness."
Their horses were tethered nearby with those of the troop, and securing their blankets from their packs they spread them on dead leaves near the fire.
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THE GREAT SIOUX TRAIL
"You'll take breakfast with us in the morning," said Captain Kenyon hospitably, "and then I'll decide which way to go, and what task we're to undertake. I wish you'd join us as scout, hunter and guide, Mr. Boyd. We need wisdom like yours, and Mr. Clarke could help us» too."
"I've been independent too long," replied the hunter lightly. "I've wandered mountain and plain so many years at my own free will that I couldn't let myself be bound now by military rules. But I thank you for the compliment, just the same, Captain Kenyon."
He and Will Clarke lay down side by side with their feet to the fire, their blankets folded about them rather closely, as the air, when the night advanced and the coals died completely, was sur'e to gr'ow cold. Will was troubled, as he was extremely anxious to go on at once, but he reflected that Jim Boyd was one of the greatest of all frontiersmen and he would be almost sure to find a way. Summoning his will, he dismissed anxiety from his mind and lay quite still, seeking sleep.
The camp was now quiet and the fire was sinking rapidly. Sentinels walked on every side, but Will could not see them from where he lay. A light wind blowing down from the mountains moaned through the thin forest. Clouds came up from the west, blot- ting out the horizon and making the sky a curving dome of blackness. Young William Clarke felt that it was good to have comrades in the immense desola- tion, and it strengthened his spirit to see the soldiers rolled in their blankets, their feet to the dying coals.
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THE SIOUX WARNING
Yet his trouble about the future came back. He and Boyd^jvere in truth and reality prisoners. Cap- tain Kenyon was friendly and kind, but he would not let them go on, because the Sioux and Cheyennes had barred all the trails and the formidable Red Cloud had given a warning that could not be ignored. Making another effort, he dismissed the thought a second time and just as the last coals were fading into the common blackness he fell asleep.
He was awakened late in the night by a hand push- ing gently but insistently against his shoulder. He was about to sit up abruptly, but the voice of Boyd whispered in his ear :
"Be very careful ! Make no noise ! Release your- self from your blanket and then do what I say 1"
The hand fell away from his shoulder, and, moving his head a little, Clarke looked carefully over the camp. The coals where the fire had been were cold and dead, and no light shone there. The figures of the sleeping soldiers were dim in the dusk, but evi- dently they slept soundly, as not one of them stirred. He heard the regular breathing of those nearest to him, and the light step of the sentinel just beyond a clump of dwarf pines.
"Sit up now," whispered Boyd, "and when the sen- tinel passes a little farther away well creep from the camp. Be sure you don't step on a stick or trip over anything. Keep close behind me. The night's as black as pitch, and it's our one chance to escape
from friends who are too hospitable."
Will saw the hunter slowly rise to a stooping po-
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THE GREAT SIOUX TRAIL
sition, and he did likewise. Then when the sound of the sentinel's step was lost at the far end of his beat, Boyd walked swiftly away from the canfldknd Will followed on his trail. The lad glanced back once, and saw that the dim figures by the dead fire did not stir. Weary and with the soothing wind blowing over them, they slept heavily. It was evident that the two who would go their own way had nothing to fear from them. There was now no bar to their depar- ture, save the unhappy chance of being seen by the sentinel.
A rod from the camp and Boyd lay flat upon the ground, Will, without the need of instruction, imi- tating him at once. The sentinel was coming back, but like his commander he was a soldier of the civil war, used to open battlefields, and he did not see the two shadows in the dusk. He reached the end of his beat and turning went back again, disappearing once more beyond the stunted pines.
"Now's our time," whispered Boyd, and rising he walked away swiftly but silently, Will close behind him. Three hundred yards, and they stopped by the trunk of a mountain oak.
"We're clear of the soldiers now," said the hunter, "but we must have our horses. Without 'em and the supplies they carry we'd be lost. I don't mean any- thing against you, Will. You're a likely lad and you learn as fast as the best of 'em, but it's for me to cut out the horses and bring 'em here. Do you think you can wait patiently at this place till I come with 'em?"