CHAPTER V.
PASS FORT BOIS—THE HOT SPRINGS—A CAPITAL JOKE — SUPERSTITION OF TEDDY— "THE DIVIL'S TAE-POT" —A NIGHT ATTACK— STRATAGEM OF THE INDIANS FOILED BY PIERRE—FOE PUT TO FLIGHT — FOUR SCALPS—A PACK OF WOLVES—IN DANGER OF BEING DEVOURED—A DISMAL NIGHT OF IT.
Pursuing our course along the banks of the Walla-Walla, we passed Dr. Whitman's station, and camped the following night in a romantic dell at the foot of a ridge adjoining the Grand Round. In the course of the evening we were visited by several Indians, with whom we held a small traffic for provisions. For fear of evil consequences, we kept well on out guard, but they displayed no hostile intentions. Pierre complained somewhat of his arm, which I had bandaged at the time as well as circumstances would permit. I advised him to consult the Indians, who are known to be great proficients in the healing art. He did so, and the result proved highly beneficial; so much so. that he was able to use it sooner than I expected. The next day we crossed the Grand Round, (a delightful valley of twenty miles in extent, watered by a pleasant stream,) also the Blue Mountains, and descended into the valley of the Snake River. The scenes we passed over were, many of them, wild, and some of them romantic in the extreme; but as more important matters press me, I cannot pause to describe them. The Indians we now beheld on every side of us—but they offered no violence. The third day from crossing the Grand Round we reached Fort Bois, where we passed the night. The next morning we pursued our journey, having learned, meantime, that Black George, for whom I made particular inquiries, had passed here a few days before, in company with two other trappers, on their way to Fort Hall. This was cheering news to me, and we pushed forward as fast as circumstances would permit, in the hope of overtaking him. About noon of the third day from leaving Fort Bois, we came upon some half a dozen fine-looking springs, when Teddy declared he must quench his thirst. As he descended from his horse, the Frenchman shrugged his shoulders and gave me a very significant wink. "What do you mean, Pierre?" I inquired, fully at a loss to comprehend what seemed to him a capital joke. "Paix! le diable!" he exclaimed, laying his hand on my arm and pointing to Teddy, who, having reached a spring, was just in the act of bending down to the water. "Monsieur sall see." "See?" I repeated. "Oui, Monsieur." "What shall I see?" "Och! howly murther! be St Pathrick! jabers!" cried Teddy at this moment, springing to his feet and running toward us with all his fleetness, holding his tongue with one hand, and pressing the other upon his forehead. "Och! murther! I'm dead intirely—bit—ate up—claan killed, I is!" "What is the matter?" I inquired, unable to comprehend the meaning of such strange actions, while Pierre leaned forward on his saddle and held both hands upon his ribs, fairly screaming with laughter. "Mather, is't?" rejoined Teddy. "Musha! but it's mather intirely. Me tongue's burnt out of me, jist, barring about sax inches on't." "Burned, Teddy?" "Ay, burnt your honor — that's the wor-r-rd, now. Sure, that's the divil's pool, and so it is—and hell must be hereabouts. Och! but I'm in a hurry to lave the spot betimes;" and springing into his saddle he rode away, in spite of my calls to the contrary, as fast as his beast could carry him. "What is it, Pierre?" I exclaimed; but Pierre was too much convulsed to answer me; and dismounting, I approached the miraculous water myself. Now I understood the joke; and to do myself justice, I must say I so far imitated the Frenchman, that I was unable to quit, the spot for at least ten minutes. In his eager desire for a cool, refreshing draught, Teddy had plunged his face into, and gulped a mouthful of boiling water, from what are known as the Hot Springs. Of these there are some five or six, the water of which bubbles up clear and sparkling, and, all meeting, form a small stream, which rolls away with a pleasing murmur. No wonder Teddy, not understanding the phenomenon, and being superstitious too, should imagine Old Nick had something to do with it. "Vell, you see, eh?" exclaimed Pierre, as I remounted. "By gar! him von ver moche good joke. He tink him von diable, eh?" and he ended with another hearty laugh, in which I was forced to join. About three miles further on we overtook Teddy, whose running ardor had cooled down to a quiet walk. "Ah, faith!" said he, dolefully, "it's mighty feared I's beginning to git, that ye'd not come at all, at all." "Why so, Teddy?" "Oh, worra! worra! that I should iver live to taste the divil's pool! And did ye sae him, body and bones, your honor?— and how did he look, if it's all the same to yees, and he no forbid your tilling raasonably?" "Why, Teddy, there was nothing to be alarmed at;" and I proceeded to explain the mystery. "It's a very natural phenomenon, I assure you." "Nath'ral, is it? Och! thin I have it, 'pon me sowl!" "Have what?" "Why sure, your honor, I sae claan through it." "Well, what do you see, Teddy?" "Musha! but it's the divil's tae-pot." "Tea-pot?" "Ah! troth and it is. Ould Sathan is at the bottom of it, does ye mind! He haats the wather there, now, to coax saints to dhrink tae wid him, the spalpeen! and thin he'll make the most of em, d'ye sae, your honor? Och! it's a lucky man Teddy O'Lagherty is for gitting off so asy, barring he's more unlucky by token he wint to the place at all, at all." It had become a fixed fact with Teddy, which all my jests and arguments failed to alter, that the Hot Springs and his Satanic majesty were indissolubly connected. But this did not lessen the joke, which for a long time afterward served Pierre and myself as a specific for blue devils and ennui. As I said before, we were now traveling through a country thickly peopled with savages. What we had seen of these appeared to be friendly; but knowing the treacherous nature of many, we felt that self-preservation demanded we should at all times be on our guard. For this purpose, our arms were always ready to our hands in the day time, and at night each took his turn of standing sentinel. Thus far we had escaped all difficulty; but Pierre often warned us not to be too sanguine of reaching Fort Hall without a brush of some kind, as he well knew the nature of those surrounding us. The sun was just sinking behind the Blue Mountains, when we came to a small stream—a tributary of Snake River—that took its devious course through a valley between two precipitous ridges, and thence t hrough a canon of a thousand feet in depth. The valley was shaded by large trees of various kinds, and was romantic in its appearance. It contained good grazing also, and good water, and this made it a desirable camp-ground. Hoppling our horses and setting them free, we kindled a fire, around which we squatted to cook our meat, smoke our pipes, and fill-up the intervals with the most amusing subjects, among which Teddy and his "divil's tae-pot" came in for their full quota of mirthful comment. At length we began to grow drowsy, and having seen our animals tethered within the circle of the fire, and it being Pierre's turn to stand guard, Teddy and I threw ourselves upon the ground, our blankets rolled around us, and soon were fast asleep. For an hour or two everything passed off quietly, when Pierre awoke me with a gentle shake. "Ver sorre, Monsieur, to—vot you call him—deesturb you, eh?—but de tam Injen— sacre le diable!" "Well," said I, starting up, "what is it? Are we attacked?" and at the same time I awoke Teddy. "By gar!" returned the Frenchman, "I see von leetle—vot you call him— sneaker, eh? Him creep—creep—creep— and I tink I wake you, sare, and soot him, by tam!" "Faith, that's it!" cried Teddy, grasping his rifle and springing to his feet: "That's it, now! Shoot the haathen!" By this time I was fully aroused to the sense of danger; and quickly learning from Pierre where he had seen the savage, I grasped my rifle and sprang beyond the fire-light, in an opposite direction, followed by my companions. We had not gained ten paces, when crack, crack, went some five or six muskets, the balls of which, whizzing over our heads, did not tend to lessen our speed. However, we reached the covert unharmed, and for the time considered ourselves safe. We turned to reconnoiter; but not a sign of a living thing could we see save our horses, which stood with ears erect, trembling and snorting, as if conscious of a hidden foe. For an hour we remained in this manner, when, concluding the enemy had departed, I proposed returning to the fire. "Hist!" whispered Pierre, grasping my arm. "You sall see, Monsieur." And he was right; for not ten minutes afterward, he silently directed my attention to some dark objects lying flat upon the ground, which, with all my experience and penetration, I coul
d not believe were savages, until I perceived them gradually near our horses. Then I became alarmed, lest, reaching them, they might speedily mount and escape, leaving us to make the best of a perilous and toilsome journey on foot. "What is to be done, Pierre? I fear we are in a bad fix." "Je me couche—je tire fur lui: I lie down, sare—I soot at him. You sall see. Wait von leetle minneet. Ven you hears my cannon, den you soot and run at him as le diable." Saving this, Pierre glided away as noiselessly as an Indian, and I saw nothing more of him for several minutes. Meantime, Teddy and I kept our eyes intently fixed upon our stealthy foes; and our rifles in rest, ready to give them their deadly contents at a moment's warning. Slowly, like a cat creeping upon her game, did these half naked Indians, serpent-like, steal toward our animals, every moment lessening the distance between them and the objects of their desires. I began to grow nervous. What had become of Pierre! If he intended to do anything, now I thought was the time. A few moments and it would be too late; and acting upon this thought, I drew a bead upon the most advanced savage, and was about pulling the trigger, when the latter suddenly bounded to his feet, uttered a yell of delight, and sprang toward the now frightened animals, imitated in his maneuver by some ten or twelve others. "Good Heaven! all is lost!" I exclaimed, bitterly. The words had scarcely passed my lips, when bang went a pistol from among the horses; and the foremost savage—the one I had singled out, and who was on the point of grasping one of the tether ropes— bounded into the air, with a horrible yell, and fell back a corpse. This was wholly unlooked for by his companions, and checked for an instant those pressing on behind. Remembering Pierre's request, I whispered Teddy to "throw" his man and charge. Both our rifles spoke together, and down tumbled two more. At the same moment Pierre's rifle sent another to his account; and simultaneously springing forward, all three of us made the welkin ring with our shouts of joy and defiance. This was the grand coup de grace of the night. The Indians were alarmed and bewildered. They had counted on certain success in stealing our horses without the loss of a man. Four had fallen in as many seconds; and fancying themselves in an ambuscade, they turned, with wild yells of affright, and disappeared in every direction; so that by the time I had joined Pierre, we were masters of the field, and not an unwounded foe in sight. "You see hoss safe, Monsieur," said Pierre, hurriedly, as we met; "and I see to tam Injen, eh?" and without waiting a reply, he darted forward, and the next moment was engaged in tearing off the bloody scalps of the slain. As every mountaineer considers this his prerogative, I did not interfere, but ordering Teddy to assist me, cut the lariats and led our horses back into the darkness, from fear of another attack, in which we might come out second best. In a few minutes Pierre approached me leisurely, and laughingly said: "Tout va bien: All pe vell, sare;" and he held up to the light four bloody scalps. "Von, two, tree, not pe dead, I kill him. Good for—vot you call him—stealer, eh?— ha, ha, ha!" and taking out his box, he deliberately proceeded to take snuff with his bloody fingers, adding, by way of accompaniment: "Von tam ver moche exsallant joke, him—ha, ha, ha! Sacre! me tink him get von leetle tam—vot you call him—astonishment, eh? By gar! ver moche good." As we did not consider it prudent to venture again within the fire-light, we decided to remain where we were through the night, and guard against surprise. All was dark around us, except in the direction of the roaring fire, which, flickering to the passing breeze, made the scene of our late encampment look dismal enough. To add to its gloom and cheerlessness, we were presently greeted with the distant howl of a hungry pack of wolves. Every moment these howls grew louder, showing the animals were approaching the spot, while our horses snorted and became so restless we could scarcely hold them. Nearer and nearer came the hungry beasts of prey, till at length we could perceive their fiery eyeballs, and occasionally catch a glimpse of their bodies, as they hovered around the circle of the fire, fearing to approach the carcasses they so much coveted. For an hour or two they prowled and howled around us, "making night hideous with their orgies," while the fire gradually growing less and less bright, increased their boldness accordingly. At last one, unable longer to bear the keen pangs of hunger, leaped forward and buried his teeth and claws in the carcass of one of our late foes. The others followed his example, and in less than a minute as many as fifty of these ravenous animals were growling, fighting, gnashing their teeth, and tearing the flesh from the bones of the dead Indians. Pierre now informed me we were in imminent danger of being attacked ourselves, as, having once tasted blood, and their appetites being rather sharpened than appeased, they would only become more bold in consequence. To my inquiry as to what should be done, he replied that we must continue to kill one of their number as fast as he might be devoured by his companions; and setting the example, he shot one forthwith. Sure enough! no sooner had the beast fallen, than the rest sprang upon and devoured him. By that time my rifle was loaded, and I knocked over another, which met the same fate. In this manner we kept firing alternately for a couple of hours, during which time the old stock was replenished by new comers, until I began to fancy all of the genus would be present before daylight. But at last one after another got satisfied, and slunk away licking his chops. No new ones appeared, and ere the stars grew dim, nothing was visible of the last night's butchery but a collection of clean-licked, shiny bones. While the fire lasted, we could see to take sight; but after that went out, we fired at random; though, knowing the exact location of the beasts, our shots generally proved successful in killing or wounding. When morning again put a smiling face upon the recent sable earth, we mounted our horses and quitted the loathsome spot, thanking God for our providential deliverance.
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