new plans--our travellers join the fur-traders, and see manystrange things--a curious fight--a narrow escape, anda prisoner taken.
not long after the events related in the last chapter,our four friends--dick, and joe, and henri,and crusoe--agreed to become for a time members ofwalter cameron's band of trappers. joe joined becauseone of the objects which the traders had in view wassimilar to his own mission--namely, the promoting ofpeace among the various indian tribes of the mountainsand plains to the west. joe, therefore, thought it agood opportunity of travelling with a band of men whocould secure him a favourable hearing from the indiantribes they might chance to meet with in the course oftheir wanderings. besides, as the traders carried abouta large supply of goods with them, he could easily replenishhis own nearly exhausted pack by hunting wildanimals and exchanging their skins for such articles ashe might require.
dick joined because it afforded him an opportunity ofseeing the wild, majestic scenery of the rocky mountains,and shooting the big-horned sheep which aboundedthere, and the grizzly "bars," as joe named them, or"caleb," as they were more frequently styled by henriand the other men.
henri joined because it was agreeable to the inclinationof his own rollicking, blundering, floundering, crashingdisposition, and because he would have joined anythingthat had been joined by the other two.
crusoe's reason for joining was single, simple, easy tobe expressed, easy to be understood, and commendable.
he joined--because dick did.
the very day after the party left the encampmentwhere dick had shot the grizzly bear and the deer, hehad the satisfaction of bringing down a splendid specimenof the big-horned sheep. it came suddenly outfrom a gorge of the mountain, and stood upon the giddyedge of a tremendous precipice, at a distance of abouttwo hundred and fifty yards.
"you could not hit that," said a trapper to henri,who was rather fond of jeering him about his shortsightedness.
"non!" cried henri, who didn't see the animal in theleast; "say you dat? ve shall see;" and he let fly with apromptitude that amazed his comrades, and with a resultthat drew from them peals of laughter.
"why, you have missed the mountain!""oh, non! dat am eempossoble."it was true, nevertheless, for his ball had been arrestedin its flight by the stem of a tree not twenty yards beforehim.
while the shot was yet ringing, and before the laughabove referred to had pealed forth, dick varley fired,and the animal, springing wildly into the air, fell downthe precipice, and was almost dashed to pieces at theirfeet.
this rocky mountain or big-horned sheep was a particularlylarge and fine one, but being a patriarch of theflock was not well suited for food. it was considerablylarger in size than the domestic sheep, and might bedescribed as somewhat resembling a deer in the bodyand a ram in the head. its horns were the chief pointof interest to dick; and, truly, they were astounding!
their enormous size was out of all proportion to theanimal's body, and they curved backwards and downwards,and then curled up again in a sharp point. thesecreatures frequent the inaccessible heights of the rockymountains, and are difficult to approach. they have agreat fondness for salt, and pay regular visits to thenumerous caverns of these mountains, which are encrustedwith a saline substance.
walter cameron now changed his intention of proceedingto the eastward, as he found the country not sofull of beaver at that particular spot as he had anticipated.
he therefore turned towards the west, penetratedinto the interior of the mountains, and took aconsiderable sweep through the lovely valleys on theirwestern slopes.
the expedition which this enterprising fur-trader wasconducting was one of the first that ever penetratedthese wild regions in search of furs. the ground overwhich they travelled was quite new to them, and havingno guide they just moved about at haphazard, encampingon the margin of every stream or river on whichsigns of the presence of beaver were discovered, andsetting their traps.
beaver skins at this time were worth 25s. a-piece inthe markets of civilized lands, and in the snake country,through which our friends were travelling, thousands ofthem were to be had from the indians for trinkets andbaubles that were scarce worth a farthing. a beaverskin could be procured from the indians for a brassfinger-ring or a penny looking-glass. horses were alsoso numerous that one could be procured for an axe or aknife.
let not the reader, however, hastily conclude that thetraders cheated the indians in this traffic, though theprofits were so enormous. the ring or the axe was indeeda trifle to the trader, but the beaver skin and thehorse were equally trifles to the savage, who could procureas many of them as he chose with very littletrouble, while the ring and the axe were in his estimationof priceless value. besides, be it remembered, tocarry that ring and that axe to the far-distant haunts ofthe red-man cost the trader weeks and months of constanttoil, trouble, anxiety, and, alas! too frequently costhim his life! the state of trade is considerably modifiedin these regions at the present day. it is not morejustly conducted, for, in respect of the value of goodsgiven for furs, it was justly conducted then, but timeand circumstances have tended more to equalize the relativevalues of articles of trade.
the snow which had prematurely fallen had passedaway, and the trappers now found themselves wanderingabout in a country so beautiful and a season so delightful,that it would have seemed to them a perfect paradise,but for the savage tribes who hovered about them,and kept them ever on the qui vive.
they soon passed from the immediate embrace of stupendousheights and dark gorges to a land of slopingridges, which divided the country into a hundred luxuriantvales, composed part of woodland and part of prairie.
through these, numerous rivers and streams flowed deviously,beautifying the landscape and enriching theland. there were also many lakes of all sizes, andthese swarmed with fish, while in some of them werefound the much-sought-after and highly-esteemed beaver.
salt springs and hot springs of various temperaturesabounded here, and many of the latter were so hot thatmeat could be boiled in them. salt existed in all directionsin abundance and of good quality. a sulphurousspring was also discovered, bubbling out from the baseof a perpendicular rock three hundred feet high, thewaters of which were dark-blue and tasted like gunpowder.
in short, the land presented every variety offeature calculated to charm the imagination and delightthe eye.
it was a mysterious land, too; for broad rivers burst inmany places from the earth, flowed on for a short space,and then disappeared as if by magic into the earth fromwhich they rose. natural bridges spanned the torrentsin many places, and some of these were so correctlyformed that it was difficult to believe they had not beenbuilt by the hand of man. they often appeared opportunelyto our trappers, and saved them the trouble anddanger of fording rivers. frequently the whole bandwould stop in silent wonder and awe as they listened tothe rushing of waters under their feet, as if anotherworld of streams, and rapids, and cataracts were flowingbelow the crust of earth on which they stood. someconsiderable streams were likewise observed to gushfrom the faces of precipices, some twenty or thirty feetfrom their summits, while on the top no water was tobe seen.
wild berries of all kinds were found in abundance,and wild vegetables, besides many nutritious roots.
among other fish, splendid salmon were found in thelakes and rivers, and animal life swarmed on hill andin dale. woods and valleys, plains and ravines, teemedwith it. on every plain the red-deer grazed in herdsby the banks of lake and stream. wherever there wereclusters of poplar and elder trees and saplings, the beaverwas seen nibbling industriously with his sharp teeth,and committing as much havoc in the forest as if hehad been armed with the woodman's axe; others sportedin the eddies. racoons sat in the tree-tops; the marten,the black fox, and the wolf prowled in the woods inquest of prey; mountain sheep and goats browsed onthe rocky ridges; and badgers peeped from their holes.
here, too, the wild horse sprang snorting and dishevelledfrom his mountain retreats--with flourishingmane and tail, spanking step, and questioninggaze--and thundered away over the plains and valleys, whilethe rocks echoed back his shrill neigh. the huge,heavy, ungainly elk, or moose-deer, trotted away fromthe travellers with speed equal to that of the mustang:
elks seldom gallop; their best speed is attained at thetrot. bears, too, black, and brown, and grizzly, roamedabout everywhere.
so numerous were all these creatures that on oneoccasion the hunters of the party brought in six wildhorses, three bears, four elks, and thirty red-deer; havingshot them all a short distance ahead of the main body,and almost without diverging from the line of march.
and this was a matter of everyday occurrence--as ithad need to be, considering the number of mouths thathad to be filled.
the feathered tribes were not less numerous. chiefamong these were eagles and vultures of uncommon size,the wild goose, wild duck, and the majestic swan.
in the midst of such profusion the trappers spent ahappy time of it, when not molested by the savages, butthey frequently lost a horse or two in consequence ofthe expertness of these thievish fellows. they oftenwandered, however, for days at a time without seeingan indian, and at such times they enjoyed to the fullthe luxuries with which a bountiful god had blessedthese romantic regions.
dick varley was almost wild with delight. it washis first excursion into the remote wilderness; he wasyoung, healthy, strong, and romantic; and it is a questionwhether his or his dog's heart, or that of the noblewild horse he bestrode, bounded most with joy at theglorious sights and sounds and influences by which theywere surrounded. it would have been perfection, had itnot been for the frequent annoyance and alarms causedby the indians.
alas! alas! that we who write and read about thosewondrous scenes should have to condemn our own speciesas the most degraded of all the works of the creatorthere! yet so it is. man, exercising his reason andconscience in the path of love and duty which his creatorpoints out, is god's noblest work; but man, left to thefreedom of his own fallen will, sinks morally lower thanthe beasts that perish. well may every christian wishand pray that the name and the gospel of the blessedjesus may be sent speedily to the dark places of theearth; for you may read of, and talk about, but youcannot conceive the fiendish wickedness and cruelty whichcauses tearless eyes to glare, and maddened hearts toburst, in the lands of the heathen.
while we are on this subject, let us add (and our youngreaders will come to know it if they are spared to seemany years) that civilization alone will never improvethe heart. let history speak, and it will tell you thatdeeds of darkest hue have been perpetrated in so-calledcivilized though pagan lands. civilization is like thepolish that beautifies inferior furniture, which water willwash off if it be but hot enough. christianity resemblesdye, which permeates every fibre of the fabric, and whichnothing can eradicate.
the success of the trappers in procuring beaver herewas great. in all sorts of creeks and rivers they werefound. one day they came to one of the curious riversbefore mentioned, which burst suddenly out of a plain,flowed on for several miles, and then disappeared into theearth as suddenly as it had risen. even in this strangeplace beaver were seen, so the traps were set, and ahundred and fifty were caught at the first lift.
the manner in which the party proceeded was asfollows:--they marched in a mass in groups or in a longline, according to the nature of the ground over whichthey travelled. the hunters of the party went forwarda mile or two in advance, and scattered through thewoods. after them came the advance-guard, being thebravest and most stalwart of the men mounted on theirbest steeds, and with rifle in hand; immediately behindfollowed the women and children, also mounted, andthe pack-horses with the goods and camp equipage.
another band of trappers formed the rear-guard to thisimposing cavalcade. there was no strict regimentalorder kept, but the people soon came to adopt thearrangements that were most convenient for all parties,and at length fell naturally into their places in the lineof march.
joe blunt usually was the foremost and always themost successful of the hunters. he was therefore seldomseen on the march except at the hour of starting, and atnight when he came back leading his horse, which alwaysgroaned under its heavy load of meat. henri, being ahearty, jovial soul and fond of society, usually kept withthe main body. as for dick, he was everywhere atonce, at least as much so as it is possible for humannature to be! his horse never wearied; it seemed todelight in going at full speed; no other horse in thetroop could come near charlie, and dick indulged himby appearing now at the front, now at the rear, anon inthe centre, and frequently nowhere!--having gone offwith crusoe like a flash of lightning after a buffalo or adeer. dick soon proved himself to be the best hunterof the party, and it was not long before he fulfilled hispromise to crusoe and decorated his neck with a collarof grizzly bear claws.
well, when the trappers came to a river where therewere signs of beaver they called a halt, and proceededto select a safe and convenient spot, near wood andwater, for the camp. here the property of the bandwas securely piled in such a manner as to form a breastworkor slight fortification, and here walter cameronestablished headquarters. this was always the postof danger, being exposed to sudden attack by prowlingsavages, who often dogged the footsteps of the party intheir journeyings to see what they could steal. butcameron was an old hand, and they found it difficult toescape his vigilant eye.
from this point all the trappers were sent forth insmall parties every morning in various directions, someon foot and some on horseback, according to the distancesthey had to go; but they never went fartherthan twenty miles, as they had to return to camp everyevening.
each trapper had ten steel traps allowed him. thesehe set every night, and visited every morning, sometimesoftener when practicable, selecting a spot in the streamwhere many trees had been cut down by beavers for thepurpose of damming up the water. in some places asmany as fifty tree stumps were seen in one spot, withinthe compass of half an acre, all cut through at abouteighteen inches from the root. we may remark, inpassing, that the beaver is very much like a giganticwater-rat, with this marked difference, that its tail isvery broad and flat like a paddle. the said tail is agreatly-esteemed article of food, as, indeed, is the wholebody at certain seasons of the year. the beaver's forelegs are very small and short, and it uses its paws ashands to convey food to its mouth, sitting the while inan erect position on its hind legs and tail. its fur isa dense coat of a grayish-coloured down, concealed bylong coarse hair, which lies smooth, and is of a brightchestnut colour. its teeth and jaws are of enormouspower; with them it can cut through the branch of atree as thick as a walking-stick at one snap, and, as wehave said, it gnaws through thick trees themselves.
as soon as a tree falls, the beavers set to work industriouslyto lop off the branches, which, as well as thesmaller trunks, they cut into lengths, according to theirweight and thickness. these are then dragged bymain force to the water-side, launched, and floated totheir destination. beavers build their houses, or"lodges," under the banks of rivers and lakes, and alwaysselect those of such depth of water that there isno danger of their being frozen to the bottom. whensuch cannot be found, and they are compelled to buildin small rivulets of insufficient depth, these clever littlecreatures dam up the waters until they are deep enough.
the banks thrown up by them across rivulets for thispurpose are of great strength, and would do credit tohuman engineers. their lodges are built of sticks,mud, and stones, which form a compact mass; thisfreezes solid in winter, and defies the assaults of thathousebreaker, the wolverine, an animal which is thebeaver's implacable foe. from this lodge, which iscapable often of holding four old and six or eight youngones, a communication is maintained with the waterbelow the ice, so that, should the wolverine succeed in breaking upthelodge, he finds the family "not athome," they having made good their retreat by theback-door. when man acts the part of housebreaker,however, he cunningly shuts the back-door first, bydriving stakes through the ice, and thus stopping thepassage. then he enters, and, we almost regret to say,finds the family at home. we regret it, because thebeaver is a gentle, peaceable, affectionate, hairy littlecreature, towards which one feels an irresistible tenderness.
but to return from this long digression.
our trappers, having selected their several localities,set their traps in the water, so that when the beaversroamed about at night they put their feet into them,and were caught and drowned; for although they canswim and dive admirably, they cannot live altogetherunder water.
thus the different parties proceeded; and in themornings the camp was a busy scene indeed, for thenthe whole were engaged in skinning the animals. theskins were always stretched, dried, folded up with thehair in the inside, and laid by; and the flesh was usedfor food.
but oftentimes the trappers had to go forth with thegun in one hand and their traps in the other, whilethey kept a sharp look-out on the bushes to guardagainst surprise. despite their utmost efforts, a horsewas occasionally stolen before their very eyes, andsometimes even an unfortunate trapper was murdered,and all his traps carried off.
an event of this kind occurred soon after the partyhad gained the western slopes of the mountains. threeiroquois indians, who belonged to the band of trappers,were sent to a stream about ten miles off. havingreached their destination, they all entered the water toset their traps, foolishly neglecting the usual precautionof one remaining on the bank to protect the others.
they had scarcely commenced operations when threearrows were discharged into their backs, and a party ofsnake indians rushed upon and slew them, carryingaway their traps and horses and scalps. this was notknown for several days, when, becoming anxious abouttheir prolonged absence, cameron sent out a party,which found their mangled bodies affording a loathsomebanquet to the wolves and vultures.
after this sad event, the trappers were more carefulto go in larger parties, and keep watch.
as long as beaver were taken in abundance, thecamp remained stationary; but whenever the beaverbegan to grow scarce, the camp was raised, and theparty moved on to another valley.
one day dick varley came galloping into camp withthe news that there were several bears in a valley notfar distant, which he was anxious not to disturb until anumber of the trappers were collected together to goout and surround them.
on receiving the information, walter cameron shookhis head.
"we have other things to do, young man," said he,"than go a-hunting after bears. i'm just about makingup my mind to send off a party to search out the valleyon the other side of the blue mountains yonder, andbring back word if there are beaver there; for if not, imean to strike away direct south. now, if you've amind to go with them, you're welcome. i'll warrant you'llfind enough in the way of bear-hunting to satisfy you;perhaps a little indian hunting to boot, for if the banatteesget hold of your horses, you'll have a long huntbefore you find them again. will you go?""ay, right gladly," replied dick. "when do westart?""this afternoon."dick went off at once to his own part of the camp toreplenish his powder-horn and bullet-pouch, and wipeout his rifle.
that evening the party, under command of a canadiannamed pierre, set out for the blue hills. theynumbered twenty men, and expected to be absent threedays, for they merely went to reconnoitre, not to trap.
neither joe nor henri was of this party, both havingbeen out hunting when it was organized; but crusoeand charlie were, of course.
pierre, although a brave and trusty man, was of asour, angry disposition, and not a favourite with dick;but the latter resolved to enjoy himself, and disregardhis sulky comrade. being so well mounted, he not unfrequentlyshot far ahead of his companions, despitetheir warnings that he ran great risk by so doing. onone of these occasions he and crusoe witnessed a verysingular fight, which is worthy of record.
dick had felt a little wilder in spirit that morningthan usual, and on coming to a pretty open plain hegave the rein to charlie, and with an "adieu, mes camarade,"he was out of sight in a few minutes. he rodeon several miles in advance without checking speed, andthen came to a wood where rapid motion was inconvenient;so he pulled up, and, dismounting, tied charlieto a tree, while he sauntered on a short way on foot.
on coming to the edge of a small plain he observedtwo large birds engaged in mortal conflict. crusoe observedthem too, and would soon have put an end to thefight had dick not checked him. creeping as close tothe belligerents as possible, he found that one was awild turkey-cock, the other a white-headed eagle. thesetwo stood with their heads down and all their feathersbristling for a moment; then they dashed at each other,and struck fiercely with their spurs, as our domesticcocks do, but neither fell, and the fight was continuedfor about five minutes without apparent advantage oneither side.
dick now observed that, from the uncertainty of itsmotions, the turkey-cock was blind, a discovery whichcaused a throb of compunction to enter his breast forstanding and looking on, so he ran forward. the eaglesaw him instantly, and tried to fly away, but was unablefrom exhaustion.
"at him, crusoe," cried dick, whose sympathies alllay with the other bird.
crusoe went forward at a bound, and was met by apeck between the eyes that would have turned mostdogs; but crusoe only winked, and the next momentthe eagle's career was ended.
dick found that the turkey-cock was quite blind, theeagle having thrust out both its eyes, so, in mercy, heput an end to its sufferings.
the fight had evidently been a long and severe one,for the grass all round the spot, for about twenty yards,was beaten to the ground, and covered with the bloodand feathers of the fierce combatants.
meditating on the fight which he had just witnessed,dick returned towards the spot where he had leftcharlie, when he suddenly missed crusoe from his side.
"hallo, crusoe! here, pup! where are you?" hecried.
the only answer to this was a sharp whizzing sound,and an arrow, passing close to his ear, quivered in atree beyond. almost at the same moment crusoe'sangry roar was followed by a shriek from some one infear or agony. cocking his rifle, the young huntersprang through the bushes towards his horse, and wasjust in time to save a banattee indian from beingstrangled by the dog. it had evidently scented outthis fellow, and pinned him just as he was in the act ofspringing on the back of charlie, for the halter was cut,and the savage lay on the ground close beside him.
dick called off the dog, and motioned to the indianto rise, which he did so nimbly that it was quite evidenthe had sustained no injury beyond the lacerationof his neck by crusoe's teeth, and the surprise.
he was a tall strong indian for the tribe to whichhe belonged, so dick proceeded to secure him at once.
pointing to his rifle and to the indian's breast, to showwhat he might expect if he attempted to escape, dickordered crusoe to keep him steady in that position.
the dog planted himself in front of the savage, whobegan to tremble for his scalp, and gazed up in his facewith a look which, to say the least of it, was the reverseof amiable, while dick went towards his horse for thepurpose of procuring a piece of cord to tie him with.
the indian naturally turned his head to see what wasgoing to be done, but a peculiar gurgle in crusoe's throatmade him turn it round again very smartly, and he didnot venture thereafter to move a muscle.
in a few seconds dick returned with a piece ofleather and tied his hands behind his back. while thiswas being done the indian glanced several times at hisbow, which lay a few feet away, where it had fallenwhen the dog caught him; but crusoe seemed to understandhim, for he favoured him with such an additionaldisplay of teeth, and such a low--apparently distant,almost, we might say, subterranean--rumble, that heresigned himself to his fate.
his hands secured, a long line was attached to hisneck with a running noose, so that if he ventured torun away the attempt would effect its own cure by producingstrangulation. the other end of this line wasgiven to crusoe, who at the word of command marchedhim off, while dick mounted charlie and brought upthe rear.
great was the laughter and merriment when thisapparition met the eyes of the trappers; but when theyheard that he had attempted to shoot dick their ire wasraised, and a court-martial was held on the spot.
"hang the reptile!" cried one.
"burn him!" shouted another.
"no, no," said a third; "don't imitate them villains:
don't be cruel. let's shoot him.""shoot 'im," cried pierre. "oui, dat is de ting; ittoo goot pour lui, mais it shall be dooed.""don't ye think, lads, it would be better to let thepoor wretch off?" said dick varley; "he'd p'r'aps givea good account o' us to his people."there was a universal shout of contempt at this mildproposal. unfortunately, few of the men sent on thisexploring expedition were imbued with the peace-makingspirit of their chief, and most of them seemed glad tohave a chance of venting their hatred of the poor indianson this unhappy wretch, who, although calm, lookedsharply from one speaker to another, to gather hope, ifpossible, from the tones of their voices.
dick was resolved, at the risk of a quarrel with pierre,to save the poor man's life, and had made up his mindto insist on having him conducted to the camp to betried by cameron, when one of the men suggested thatthey should take the savage to the top of a hill aboutthree miles farther on, and there hang him up on a treeas a warning to all his tribe.
"agreed, agreed!" cried the men; "come on."dick, too, seemed to agree to this proposal, and hastilyordered crusoe to run on ahead with the savage; anorder which the dog obeyed so vigorously that, beforethe men had done laughing at him, he was a couple ofhundred yards ahead of them.
"take care that he don't get off!" cried dick, springingon charlie and stretching out at a gallop.
in a moment he was beside the indian. scraping togetherthe little of the indian language he knew, he stoopeddown, and, cutting the thongs that bound him, said,--"go! white men love the indians."the man cast on his deliverer one glance of surprise,and the next moment bounded aside into the bushes andwas gone.
a loud shout from the party behind showed that thisact had been observed; and crusoe stood with the endof the line in his mouth, and an expression on his facethat said, "you're absolutely incomprehensible, dick!
it's all right, i know, but to my feeble capacity itseemswrong.""fat for you do dat?" shouted pierre in a rage, ashe came up with a menacing look.
dick confronted him. "the prisoner was mine. ihad a right to do with him as it liked me.""true, true," cried several of the men who had begunto repent of their resolution, and were glad the savagewas off. "the lad's right. get along, pierre.""you had no right, you vas wrong. oui, et i havegoot vill to give you one knock on de nose."dick looked pierre in the face, as he said this, in amanner that cowed him.
"it is time," he said quietly, pointing to the sun, "togo on. your bourgeois expects that time won't bewasted."pierre muttered something in an angry tone, andwheeling round his horse, dashed forward at full gallop,followed by the rest of the men.
the trappers encamped that night on the edge of awide grassy plain, which offered such tempting food forthe horses that pierre resolved to forego his usualcautious plan of picketing them close to the camp, andset them loose on the plain, merely hobbling them toprevent their straying far.
dick remonstrated, but in vain. an insolent answerwas all he got for his pains. he determined, however,to keep charlie close beside him all night, and also madeup his mind to keep a sharp look-out on the otherhorses.
at supper he again remonstrated.
"no 'fraid," said pierre, whose pipe was beginning toimprove his temper. "the red reptiles no dare to comein open plain when de moon so clear.""dun know that," said a taciturn trapper, who seldomventured a remark of any kind; "them varmints 'udsteal the two eyes out o' you' head when they set theirhearts on't.""dat ar' umposs'ble, for dey have no hearts," said ahalf-breed; "dey have von hole vere de heart vasbe."this was received with a shout of laughter, in themidst of which an appalling yell was heard, and, as ifby magic, four indians were seen on the backs of fourof the best horses, yelling like fiends, and driving all theother horses furiously before them over the plain!
how they got there was a complete mystery, but themen did not wait to consider that point. catching uptheir guns they sprang after them with the fury of madmen,and were quickly scattered far and wide. dickordered crusoe to follow and help the men, and turnedto spring on the back of charlie; but at that momenthe observed an indian's head and shoulders rise abovethe grass, not fifty yards in advance from him, so withouthesitation he darted forward, intending to pounceupon him.
well would it have been for dick varley had he atthat time possessed a little more experience of the wilesand stratagems of the banattees. the snake nation issubdivided into several tribes, of which those inhabitingthe rocky mountains, called the banattees, are the mostperfidious. indeed, they are confessedly the banditti ofthe hills, and respect neither friend nor foe, but rob allwho come in their way.
dick reached the spot where the indian had disappearedin less than a minute, but no savage was to beseen. thinking he had crept ahead, he ran on a fewyards farther, and darted about hither and thither,while his eye glanced from side to side. suddenly ashout in the camp attracted his attention, and lookingback he beheld the savage on charlie's back turning tofly. next moment he was off and away far beyond thehope of recovery. dick had left his rifle in the camp,otherwise the savage would have gone but a short way.
as it was, dick returned, and sitting down on a moundof grass, stared straight before him with a feeling akinto despair. even crusoe could not have helped himhad he been there, for nothing on four legs, or on two,could keep pace with charlie.
the banattee achieved this feat by adopting a stratagemwhich invariably deceives those who are ignorantof their habits and tactics. when suddenly pursued thebanattee sinks into the grass, and, serpent-like, creepsalong with wonderful rapidity, not from but towardshis enemy, taking care, however, to avoid him, so thatwhen the pursuer reaches the spot where the pursued issupposed to be hiding, he hears him shout a yell ofdefiance far away in the rear.
it was thus that the banattee eluded dick and gainedthe camp almost as soon as the other reached the spotwhere he had disappeared.
one by one the trappers came back weary, raging,and despairing. in a short time they all assembled,and soon began to reproach each other. ere long oneor two had a fight, which resulted in several bloodynoses and black eyes, thus adding to the misery which,one would think, had been bad enough without suchadditions. at last they finished their suppers and theirpipes, and then lay down to sleep under the trees tillmorning, when they arose in a particularly silent andsulky mood, rolled up their blankets, strapped theirthings on their shoulders, and began to trudge slowlyback to the camp on foot.
