dangers of the prairie--our travellers attacked by indians,and delivered in a remarkable manner.
there are periods in the life of almost all mena when misfortunes seem to crowd upon them inrapid succession, when they escape from one dangeronly to encounter another, and when, to use a well-knownexpression, they succeed in leaping out of thefrying-pan at the expense of plunging into the fire.
so was it with our three friends upon this occasion.
they were scarcely rid of the blackfeet, who found themtoo watchful to be caught napping, when, about daybreakone morning, they encountered a roving band ofcamanchee indians, who wore such a warlike aspectthat joe deemed it prudent to avoid them if possible.
"they don't see us yit, i guess," said joe, as he andhis companions drove the horses into a hollow betweenthe grassy waves of the prairie, "an' if we only can escape theirsharpeyes till we're in yonder clump o' willows, we're safe enough.""but why don't you ride up to them, joe," inquireddick, "and make peace between them and the pale-faces,as you ha' done with other bands?""because it's o' no use to risk our scalps for thechance o' makin' peace wi' a rovin' war party. keepyer head down, henri! if they git only a sight o' thetop o' yer cap, they'll be down on us like a breeze o'
wind.""ha! let dem come!" said henri.
"they'll come without askin' yer leave," remarkedjoe, dryly.
notwithstanding his defiant expression, henri hadsufficient prudence to induce him to bend his head andshoulders, and in a few minutes they reached theshelter of the willows unseen by the savages. at leastso thought henri, joe was not quite sure about it, anddick hoped for the best.
in the course of half-an-hour the last of the camancheeswas seen to hover for a second on the horizon,like a speck of black against the sky, and then to disappear.
immediately the three hunters vaulted on their steedsand resumed their journey; but before that eveningclosed they had sad evidence of the savage nature ofthe band from which they had escaped. on passingthe brow of a slight eminence, dick, who rode first,observed that crusoe stopped and snuffed the breeze inan anxious, inquiring manner.
"what is't, pup?" said dick, drawing up, for heknew that his faithful dog never gave a false alarm.
crusoe replied by a short, uncertain bark, and thenbounding forward, disappeared behind a little woodedknoll. in another moment a long, dismal howl floatedover the plains. there was a mystery about the dog'sconduct which, coupled with his melancholy cry, struckthe travellers with a superstitious feeling of dread, asthey sat looking at each other in surprise.
"come, let's clear it up," cried joe blunt, shakingthe reins of his steed, and galloping forward. a fewstrides brought them to the other side of the knoll,where, scattered upon the torn and bloody turf, theydiscovered the scalped and mangled remains of abouttwenty or thirty human beings. their skulls had beencleft by the tomahawk and their breasts pierced by thescalping-knife, and from the position in which many ofthem lay it was evident that they had been slain whileasleep.
joe's brow flushed and his lips became tightly compressedas he muttered between his set teeth, "theirskins are white."a short examination sufficed to show that the menwho had thus been barbarously murdered while theyslept had been a band of trappers or hunters, but whattheir errand had been, or whence they came, they couldnot discover.
everything of value had been carried off, and all thescalps had been taken. most of the bodies, althoughmuch mutilated, lay in a posture that led our huntersto believe they had been killed while asleep; but one ortwo were cut almost to pieces, and from the blood-bespatteredand trampled sward around, it seemed as ifthey had struggled long and fiercely for life. whetheror not any of the savages had been slain, it was impossibleto tell, for if such had been the case, theircomrades, doubtless, had carried away their bodies.
that they had been slaughtered by the party of camancheeswho had been seen at daybreak was quite clear tojoe; but his burning desire to revenge the death of thewhite men had to be stifled, as his party was so small.
long afterwards it was discovered that this was aband of trappers who, like those mentioned at the beginningof this volume, had set out to avenge the deathof a comrade; but god, who has retained the right ofvengeance in his own hand, saw fit to frustrate theirpurpose, by giving them into the hands of the savageswhom they had set forth to slay.
as it was impossible to bury so many bodies, thetravellers resumed their journey, and left them to bleachthere in the wilderness; but they rode the whole ofthat day almost without uttering a word.
meanwhile the camanchees, who had observed thetrio, and had ridden away at first for the purpose ofdeceiving them into the belief that they had passedunobserved, doubled on their track, and took a longsweep in order to keep out of sight until they couldapproach under the shelter of a belt of woodlandtowards which the travellers now approached.
the indians adopted this course instead of the easiermethod of simply pursuing so weak a party, becausethe plains at this part were bordered by a long stretchof forest into which the hunters could have plunged,and rendered pursuit more difficult, if not almost useless.
the detour thus taken was so extensive that the shadesof evening were beginning to descend before they couldput their plan into execution. the forest lay about amile to the right of our hunters, like some dark mainland, of whichtheprairie was the sea and the scatteredclumps of wood the islands.
"there's no lack o' game here," said dick varley,pointing to a herd of buffaloes which rose at theirapproach and fled away towards the wood.
"i think we'll ha' thunder soon," remarked joe. "inever feel it onnatteral hot like this without lookin' outfor a plump.""ha! den ve better look hout for one goot tree toget b'low," suggested henri. "voilà!" he added, pointingwith his finger towards the plain; "dere am a lotof wild hosses."a troop of about thirty wild horses appeared, as hespoke, on the brow of a ridge, and advanced slowlytowards them.
"hist!" exclaimed joe, reining up; "hold on, lads.
wild horses! my rifle to a pop-gun there's wilder menon t'other side o' them.""what mean you, joe?" inquired dick, riding closeup.
"d'ye see the little lumps on the shoulder o' eachhorse?" said joe. "them's injun's feet; an' if we don'twant to lose our scalps we'd better make for the forest."joe proved himself to be in earnest by wheelinground and making straight for the thick wood as fast ashis horse could run. the others followed, driving thepack-horses before them.
the effect of this sudden movement on the so-called"wild horses" was very remarkable, and to one unacquaintedwith the habits of the camanchee indiansmust have appeared almost supernatural. in the twinklingof an eye every steed had a rider on its back, andbefore the hunters had taken five strides in the directionof the forest, the whole band were in hot pursuit,yelling like furies.
the manner in which these indians accomplish thisfeat is very singular, and implies great activity andstrength of muscle on the part of the savages.
the camanchees are low in stature, and usually arerather corpulent. in their movements on foot they areheavy and ungraceful, and they are, on the whole, aslovenly and unattractive race of men. but the instantthey mount their horses they seem to be entirelychanged, and surprise the spectator with the ease andelegance of their movements. their great and distinctivepeculiarity as horsemen is the power they haveacquired of throwing themselves suddenly on either sideof their horse's body, and clinging on in such a waythat no part of them is visible from the other sidesave the foot by which they cling. in this mannerthey approach their enemies at full gallop, and, withoutrising again to the saddle, discharge their arrows atthem over the horses' backs, or even under theirnecks.
this apparently magical feat is accomplished bymeans of a halter of horse-hair, which is passed roundunder the neck of the horse and both ends braided intothe mane, on the withers, thus forming a loop whichhangs under the neck and against the breast. thisbeing caught by the hand, makes a sling, into which theelbow falls, taking the weight of the body on the middleof the upper arm. into this loop the rider drops suddenlyand fearlessly, leaving his heel to hang over thehorse's back to steady him, and also to restore him to hisseat when desired.
by this stratagem the indians had approached on thepresent occasion almost within rifle range before theywere discovered, and it required the utmost speed of thehunters' horses to enable them to avoid being overtaken.
one of the indians, who was better mountedthan his fellows, gained on the fugitives so much thathe came within arrow range, but reserved his shaft untilthey were close on the margin of the wood, when, beingalmost alongside of henri, he fitted an arrow to hisbow. henri's eye was upon him, however. letting gothe line of the pack-horse which he was leading, hethrew forward his rifle; but at the same moment thesavage disappeared behind his horse, and an arrowwhizzed past the hunter's ear.
henri fired at the horse, which dropped instantly,hurling the astonished camanchee upon the ground, wherehe lay for some time insensible. in a few secondspursued and pursuers entered the wood, where both hadto advance with caution, in order to avoid being sweptoff by the overhanging branches of the trees.
meanwhile the sultry heat of which joe had formerlyspoken increased considerably, and a rumbling noise,as if of distant thunder, was heard; but the flyinghunters paid no attention to it, for the led horses gavethem so much trouble, and retarded their flight so much,that the indians were gradually and visibly gaining onthem.
"we'll ha' to let the packs go," said joe, somewhatbitterly, as he looked over his shoulder. "our scalps'llpay for't, if we don't."henri uttered a peculiar and significant hiss betweenhis teeth, as he said, "p'r'aps ve better stopand fight!"dick said nothing, being resolved to do exactly whatjoe blunt bid him; and crusoe, for reasons best knownto himself, also said nothing, but bounded along besidehis master's horse, casting an occasional glance upwardsto catch any signal that might be given.
they had passed over a considerable space of ground,and were forcing their way at the imminent hazard oftheir necks through a densely-clothed part of the wood,when the sound above referred to increased, attractingthe attention of both parties. in a few seconds theair was filled with a steady and continuous rumblingsound, like the noise of a distant cataract. pursuersand fugitives drew rein instinctively, and came to adead stand; while the rumbling increased to a roar, andevidently approached them rapidly, though as yet nothingto cause it could be seen, except that there was a dense,dark cloud overspreading the sky to the southward.
the air was oppressively still and hot.
"what can it be?" inquired dick, looking at joe, whowas gazing with an expression of wonder, not unmixedwith concern, at the southern sky.
"dun'no', boy. i've bin more in the woods than inthe clearin' in my day, but i niver heerd the likes o'
that.""it am like t'ondre," said henri; "mais it nevair dostop."this was true. the sound was similar to continuous,uninterrupted thunder. on it came with a magnificentroar that shook the very earth, and revealeditself at last in the shape of a mighty whirlwind. ina moment the distant woods bent before it, and fell likegrass before the scythe. it was a whirling hurricane,accompanied by a deluge of rain such as none of theparty had ever before witnessed. steadily, fiercely,irresistibly it bore down upon them, while the crash offalling, snapping, and uprooting trees mingled with thedire artillery of that sweeping storm like the musketryon a battle-field.
"follow me, lads!" shouted joe, turning his horseand dashing at full speed towards a rocky eminencethat offered shelter. but shelter was not needed. thestorm was clearly defined. its limits were as distinctlymarked by its creator as if it had been a living intelligencesent forth to put a belt of desolation roundthe world; and, although the edge of devastation wasnot five hundred yards from the rock behind which thehunters were stationed, only a few drops of ice-coldrain fell upon them.
it passed directly between the camanchee indiansand their intended victims, placing between them abarrier which it would have taken days to cut through.
the storm blew for an hour, then it travelled onward inits might, and was lost in the distance. whence itcame and whither it went none could tell, but far asthe eye could see on either hand an avenue a quarterof a mile wide was cut through the forest. it hadlevelled everything with the dust; the very grass wasbeaten flat; the trees were torn, shivered, snappedacross, and crushed; and the earth itself in manyplaces was ploughed up and furrowed with deep scars.
the chaos was indescribable, and it is probable thatcenturies will not quite obliterate the work of thatsingle hour.
while it lasted, joe and his comrades remainedspeechless and awe-stricken. when it passed, no indianswere to be seen. so our hunters remounted theirsteeds, and, with feelings of gratitude to god for havingdelivered them alike from savage foes and from the destructivepower of the whirlwind, resumed their journeytowards the mustang valley.
