XV
Being the eighth and last item of this document containing some very interesting exploits of my father, which I know the reader will enjoy and profit by.
AND now I am in duty bound to add a bit of personal history that it may descend with the above historic accounts of the doings and sayings of my ancestry, in order that future generations may not become conceited in the contemplation of their achievements, as they must be of a less wonderful quality each succeeding year, for the great men are rapidly becoming fewer and fewer and the earth at length will not possess a single one whose deeds will be worthy of recording.
So, out of pride for the past and passing grandeur of my ancestors and their descendants, I yield to my sense of responsibility and pen asketch or two which should inspire my children and their children with gratitude that they should have been my children and therefore the children of my forefathers.
Be it known then that my great propensity was war. The clash of arms always possessed a fascination I could not withstand. And to that one fact my nation owes its existence, for had I remained at home on a certain day the entire country would have been devastated and the kingdom have gone into other hands. It happened in this wise:
The army of our king had been fighting continuously for many months and it was composed of such great numbers the provender had been exhausted and the warriors were beginning to die of starvation. While it is true a knight may live and fight many days without food and not lose in his execution, yet there is a limit beyond which his power wanes. This limit had been reached some time since and our knights were mere shadows while the forces of our enemies were still well provided with food, were lusty and rampant, and were hewing down great numbers of our chivalry with ease.
I had been detained from the field, for the king could not dispense with my personal service; but when this state of things became known to me I told the king he must excuse my absence, and I departed, much to his displeasure.
When I reached the camp my heart sank within me, for my sorrow was deep upon beholding the wasted forms of such mighty men, still determined of mind but incapacitated of body.
I had brought with me a great auger, which I could make of any length, and, after a few moments spent in calculation, I bored with such persistence the auger seemed to be forced downward by superhuman power. While I was boring with one hand, with the other I formed a great basin about me from softened rock or cement I had brought with me, which hardened as fast as I had it in proper shape, which happened at the time I had my auger at the proper depth.
I thereupon withdrew the auger, and with a single bound cleared the basin just as a stream of liquid, the full size of the hole made by the auger, shot upward and the basin was soon comfortably filled.
The men all being exceedingly thirsty ran withgreat speed to the edge of the basin, and began to drink. It did my heart good to note the expression of pleasure which instantly spread over their emaciated faces, and to see them motioning to their comrades with their hands to hurry up, but without removing their lips from the liquid. Their strength increased as their hunger decreased, and when they were satisfied they fell upon the enemy like a whirlwind, slaughtering them in every direction, and what were not killed fled precipitately from the country.
Then it became known what manner of spring it was that was so stimulating, and how it had been brought about.
Well knowing the geological formation of the neighborhood, I was aware that at a certain depth there flowed a stream of hot water; above this was a stratum of oysters and shellfish that had been left there by the drain-off of an inlet from the ocean; above this was a stratum of salt which had kept the oysters fresh and good; above this was a layer of pungent earth; above this the ordinary deposits. So that, first the hot water rushed up through the oyster bed, turned the oysters into soup, which next rushed throughthe salt and was thus seasoned agreeably, and next rushed through the pungent earth, and was given just enough spice to whet the appetite.
And thus it was that oyster soup furnished by Nature won the kingdom for our king.
At another time there was a great wolf hunt proposed by the king in my honor. As I knew the road would lead through a country well filled with streams both wide and narrow, I selected a very slender but exceedingly wiry steed for a purpose that will appear hereafter.
The wolf being located and started, the hounds came down the mountain side in full cry. I had alighted to tighten the girth when they got off; but this did not disconcert me in the least, being quite sure of myself and of my horse.
As I had expected, I overtook them at the bank of a very deep and violent stream. Some horses had refused the wading and some riders, thinking it imprudent to venture, had started around by another way. I sounded my horn as I came on at full speed, notwithstanding the cries of warning which rang from their throats. My horse struck the edge of the bank, made a gallant leap, but would have landed in the water about one-thirdthe way across, but being a man of extraordinary strength, just as he struck the surface of the water I lifted him by the pommel of the saddle, and he made another spring, and just as he struck the water again I lifted him once more, and by a magnificent leap we gained the other side, just as the hounds had brought the wolf at bay within a few hundred yards.
Thinking it unfair to rob my brethren of the pleasure of the death, I waited for them with my lance poised.
The wolf was a monarch of his race and very tough indeed, as was afterward proved. For, when my comrades arrived, he broke through the hounds and made off in long and speedy bounds.
Being at too great distance for my lance, I drew my Winchester, and taking deliberate aim with my horse at full speed I let drive. The wolf was so startled he turned abruptly right about just as the bullet reached his middle, on its course clear through him, and thus sent the bullet back with undiminished velocity, and it struck my good horse between the eyes and went through the entire length of him.
And ever after he was no use in the chase of wild beasts, for the bullet had left the bones of his head in such shape about the hole whenever he was put at a swift gait he became a gigantic organ pipe and frightened the game long before we came upon it.
As it was, however, the wolf was dead, and I had the honor of carrying his scalp home. The manner of his death I almost forgot to mention, for the bullet did not dispatch him.
Having turned about, and the missile’s passage having made him very irritable, he made directly for me. Turning my horse to one side just before he reached me I bent low and sent my lance down his throat, catching the head as it came through and bringing up the wolf nicely impaled upon it—he being then stone dead, for the lance had passed through his heart.