Music 1st Line
"Oh, there's some folks say a nigger won't steal,But I caught one in my corn-fiel'.
Music 2nd Line
And there's other folks say that a Bear will tame,But I wouldn't trust him with my——"
he hesitated, and then, with a final flourish,
"with my money all the same."
The little boy laughed. The Bear seemed to have forgotten the cruel Italian and was in his usual good humor.
"I think I can trust you, Horatio; I'm not a bit afraid of you."
"Bo," said Ratio, speaking suddenly, "speaking of Christmas trees, we ought to have one. I saw a beautiful one up thestream yonder. I think I'll go and get it, if you'll look after the supper while I'm gone."
"Why, yes, Horatio, only don't be long about it."
Horatio struck the violin with a long vigorous sweep.
Music 3rd Line
"Oh, we'll have a tree for Christmas in this Louisiana isthmus,Where the orange trees are waving and the jasmines are in bloom;
Music 4th Line
And I'll have a Christmas dinner, if I don't I am a sinner,And I'll eat it if it sends me to my doom—doom—doom."
Bo laughed again. He had never seen Horatio in a better humor.
"If you eat too much pie it may send you to your doom—doom—doom," he said. "Hurry back, now, with that tree. You can pull it up by the roots and we'll plant it again here. Then it will keep right on growing."
The bear set out up the stream and the boy busied himself with building a fire and taking out of a sack a lot of food that had been given them by the planters during the afternoon. He spread this on the leaves and moss and then sat down and gazed into the bright blaze. It was pleasant and warm and he was quite tired. After a while he wondered sleepily why the Bear didn't come back, and concluded he was having a hard time pulling up the tree. Then he began thinking of all the adventures they had had together and of the little cub bear and the cruel Italian.
"I was tempted to let Horatio at him," he thought. "A man like that should be beaten until he couldn't stand. That poor little creature! How wistfully he looked at us. He kept whining—perhaps he was telling Ratio something."
The little boy's head nodded forward now and then and presently he slept. He slept soundly and the moments flew by unheeded. He was having a long dream about old man Todd and the girls and the two candy hearts, when suddenly there arose close at hand such a commotion, such a mingling of excited language, fierce snarls and crashing of brush that the little boy leaped to his feet wildly.
"Ratio!" he shouted. "Ratio! where are you?"
The only answer was the redoubled fury of the furious uproar, which Bo now located at the edge of the road but a few feet away. He tore through the brush hastily in that direction. As he reached the spot the turmoil ceased and he heard the sound of running feet. Dashing through into the road he beheld a strange sight. A half-naked man was disappearing over the hill just beyond, and Horatio, holding some rags of clothing in one hand and the paw of the little bear in the other, was looking after him hungrily, as if about to pursue. Before him lay the Christmas tree badly broken and bruised.
"Ratio!" exclaimed Bo. "What have you been doing?"
The Bear looked at Bo sheepishly.
"I went for the Christmas tree," he said, meekly, "and just as I was coming back the Italian man came along, and he was beating this little chap, and so I tried the Christmas tree on him to see how he liked it. Then we got into an argument, and when he went away he left the cub with us and didn't take all of his clothing."
The little boy reflected a moment.
"I hope, Horatio," he said, gravely, "you did not mean to break your agreement about, you know—about dinners."
"I didn't, Bo; honest, I didn't. I wouldn't touch that fellow if I was starving. But I did pretty nearly break his neck, Bo, and I'm glad of it!"
GOING BACK TO ARKANSAW.GOING BACK TO ARKANSAW.
"Ratio," said Bo, solemnly, "it's very wrong, I suppose; very wrong, indeed; but I'm glad, too. Only we've got to postpone that Christmas dinner. That fellow will be back here to-night with officers, and we've had all the law we want. We start for Arkansaw in five minutes. A bite of supper and then right about! ready! march!"
And this was the reason Horatio and Bosephus and the little cub bear were travelling swiftly northward in spite of the winter weather that was not yet over. The cub was small and weak and Horatio, who loved him and sometimes called him "little brother," often carried him. They gave no performances, but only pushed forward, mile after mile, chanting solemnly:—
"Going back to Arkansaw as fast as we can go—Never mind the winter time and never mind the snow,For the weather's not so chilly as the Louisiana law,And we'll feel a good deal safer in the Ar—kan—saw."
HORATIO WAS LOOKING AT HIM HUNGRILY.HORATIO WAS LOOKING AT HIM HUNGRILY.
"Oh, the wind blows fair and the snow is goneIn the Arkansaw when the spring comes on.Oh, the sun shines warm and the wind blows fair,For the boy and the cub and the Old—Black—Bear."
SO sang Bosephus and Horatio as they sat side by side in the doorway of a deserted lumberman's cabin in the depths of an Arkansaw forest. The cub rescued from the brutal Italian and brought with them on their hasty journey out of Louisiana, stood a few feet away watching them intently. Now and then he made an awkward attempt at dancing, which caused Bosephus and Horatio to stop their music and laugh. He had grown fat and saucy with good treatment, and seemed to enjoy the amusement he caused. At a little distance behind him, some seated and some standing, and all enjoying the entertainment, were seven other bears of various sizes. The colony so long planned by Horatio and Bosephus was established.
The long journey out of Louisiana had been made rapidly and with no delays. Though midwinter when begun, the weather had been beautiful at the start, and there had been few storms and but little cold since. The cub had gradually confided his story to Horatio, who loved him and continued to call him affectionately "little brother." He had been captured in a very deep woods, he said, by hunters, who sold him to the Italian.He did not know where these woods were, but as the friends crossed the Louisiana line and entered lower Arkansaw he grew more and more excited every day, for he declared these were so like his native woods that he could almost hear his mother's voice crooning the evening lullaby. Soon after, they came one evening upon a deserted lumberman's camp and took possession of the one cabin that still remained. It was a good shelter and there was a stream with fine fish in it close at hand. But when the friends awoke next morning the little bear was gone.
They were very sorry, for they had grown much attached to the little chap and he had seemed to be fond of them also. It was very lonely in the deep forest without him. Horatio sighed.
"He didn't appreciate us, Bo," he said, sadly. "He's gone back to be a wild bear. He never got the taste of men—tastes, I mean, and I suppose these woods made him homesick. They are like my old woods, too, and I get homesick sometimes—even now." Then the boy and the Bear went to the brook to fish and the day passed gloomily.
But that night, when Bo had built a fire in the big fireplace which almost filled one end of the cabin, and was cooking the fish, there came a muffled scratching sound at the door. Horatio sprang to his feet instantly.
"That's Cub," he said, excitedly.
The boy ran to the door and opened it. Sure enough, the little cub stood before him, and out of the darkness behind gleamed seven other pairs of eyes. The boy was brave, but as he saw that row of fiery orbs he felt his flesh creep and his hair began to prickle.
"Horatio!" he called, softly, "come quick."
THE POOR BEAR GAVE WAY COMPLETELY.THE POOR BEAR GAVE WAY COMPLETELY.
The Bear was already by his side, and a moment later with the cub stepped out into the night. Then Bosephus heard low growls followed by a strange commotion, which he at first tookto be the sound of fighting. Suddenly Horatio ran to him in great excitement.
"Bo, Bo!" he exclaimed, "it's my family! and, oh, Bosephus, it's Cub's family, too! We're really brothers, and we didn't know it!" Then he ran back into the dark and presently returned with the cub and the seven other bears, following. The newcomers stared and blinked at the little boy as they entered the lighted cabin and then withdrew to a darker corner, where they sat silently regarding everything that passed, like strangers from the country. The cub sat with them and whispered softly, in the bear tongue, and Horatio now and then went over, too, and no doubt told them marvellous tales of his strange adventures. Late that night all lay down to sleep—the little boy in the arms of his faithful friend.
And so the Bear Colony had begun, even sooner than Bo and Ratio had expected, and they had given up all notion of travelling any further. The lumber camp was deserted for good by the woodcutters, for the largest trees had been cut out and taken away long before. The cabin was headquarters—Bosephus was president, Horatio prime minister, and the cub, because of his adventures and slight educational advancement, was chief assistant. Early spring was upon the land, and the woods were beginning to be sweet with song and blossom. Bosephus was almost afraid at first that, with the native woods and the renewal of home ties, Horatio might return more or less to his savage instincts, but he became gentler and more docile than ever. His place as prime minister and chief instructor made him realize his advancement and the importance of good behavior. He was grave and dignified, and about the fire in the evening, played the violin with an air of skill and superiority that was very impressive. Bosephus at first enjoyed it all immensely. The bears were obedient and submissive, and were graduallylearning to understand his language. He had more money than he would ever need and was lord of all he surveyed.
But gradually there came a change. He grew tired of seeing only the black faces and shining eyes of his subjects and of hearing only the singing of bees and birds. At first he did not realize what was the matter. Then it came to him at last that this life of the forest was palling upon him and that, like the cub, he yearned for his own kind—the faces of men.
One morning he divided up the money into two equal parts and slipped out to where Horatio was sunning himself and playing softly before the cabin.
"Horatio," he said, tenderly, "I have divided up the money. Here is your half. You have been the best friend I ever had and it breaks my heart to leave you, but I can't live away from my own race any longer. I am going back to Louisiana, to the planter who told me to come back and he would send me to school and college and make a man of me," and then the little boy suddenly broke down and fell weeping into his companion's arms.
For some moments Horatio could not speak. Then he spoke, sobbing between every word.
"Bo—Bo—you—you're—not—not going to—to leave me! Oh, Bo!" and the poor Bear gave way completely and wept on the little boy's shoulder. They were all alone, as the others had gone out together for a walk. At last Horatio put the boy gently from him and took up his violin. He began to play very softly and sang in a breaking voice:—
"Oh, he's going away to leave me to the Lou'siana shore,And I'll never see my darling, my Bosephus, any more;He's divided up the money, and he's going far away,And my poor old heart is breaking but he—will—not—stay.We have battled with the weather—we have faced the world together—Never caring why or whether—never minding when or where—But he says we now must sever—happy days are done forever,For Bosephus and the fiddle and the Old—Black—Bear!"
FELL WEEPING INTO HIS COMPANION'S ARMS.FELL WEEPING INTO HIS COMPANION'S ARMS.
An hour later Bo was wending his way southward through the sweet spring woods alone. In his inner breast pocket was stored every dollar the friends had earned together.
"I will never need it now, Bo," Horatio had said at parting, "and you will need a great many times as much. Take it and sometimes think of your far off faithful Ratio." And then, after one long embrace, they had parted. And now the little boy was trying to keep up courage to carry out what he had undertaken. At every turn in the path he was tempted to return and throw himself in Horatio's arms. But he pressed on, hoping to arrive at some sort of habitation for the night, which he did not like to pass alone in the woods.
"Poor old Ratio," he thought. "He will be happier with his own people after a while. And perhaps he will really civilize them." He turned and cast one long look in the direction of the colony which he could no longer see. Then facing about again he hurried forward. About a mile further on he paused at a little brook for a drink. He was bending over the water when he heard a sudden crashing in the bushes behind him. He started up instantly and seized a heavy stick that lay close at hand. Nearer and nearer came the tearing through the brush, like some heavy animal in fierce chase. The boy stepped out of the path to let the creature pass, and then, all at once, he gave a cry of joy and surprise. Headlong out of the bushes, stumbling and rolling at his feet, with tears streaming from his eyes and violin under his arm, was Horatio.
"Bo, Bo!" he cried. "I couldn't stand it. I'm going with you. That kind planter will give me a place to stay, I know, and maybe if he sends you to college he'll let me go, too. I could play for the college boys, Bo, and help pay your way. Don't send me back, Bo! Don't send me back!"
Bo embraced him silently.
"Why, of course not, Ratio," he said at last, "but I thought you wanted to have a colony of your own people."
"I did, Bo, but I have turned it over to Cub. He can take care of it. Like you, Bo, I have been civilized too long to live away from men! And, besides, Bo, you need me to protect you." Horatio recovered his dignity at this point and continued, gravely, "You are brave and noble, Bosephus, but you need some one near you who is ever ready to face any danger. Let us sing now, Bosephus, as we travel onward."
And with a joyful scrape of the strings and a sweet burst of melody the friends set their faces once more to the South.
Music 1st Line
"Oh, there was a little boy and his name was Bo,Went out into the woods when the moon was low.
Music 2nd Line
And he met an Old Bear who was hungry for a snack,And the folks are still waiting for Bosephus to come back.
Music 3rd Line
"For the boy became the teacher of this kind and gentle creature,Who was faithful in his friendship and was watchful in his care,
Music 4th Line
And they travelled on forever and they'll never, never sever,Bosephus and the fiddle and the Old—Black—Bear."
"And they traveled on forever"
Transcriber's Note:To hear complete song, clickhere.
Emblem
Transcriber's Notes:Obvious punctuation errors repaired.Page 20, "TO" changed to "BO" (BO was awake first)Page 66, two lines of text were transposed. The original read:of them——"down here are mighty fond of bear meat, and there's such a lot
Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
Page 20, "TO" changed to "BO" (BO was awake first)
Page 66, two lines of text were transposed. The original read:
of them——"down here are mighty fond of bear meat, and there's such a lot