they frequently lost a horse or two in consequence of
the expertness of these thievish fellows. They often
wandered, however, for days at a time without seeing
an Indian, and at such times they enjoyed to the full
the luxuries with which a bountiful God had blessed
these romantic regions.
Dick Varley was almost wild with delight. It was
his first excursion into the remote wilderness; he was
young, healthy, strong, and romantic; and it is a question
whether his or his dog's heart, or that of the noble
wild horse he bestrode, bounded most with joy at the
glorious sights and sounds and influences by which they
were surrounded. It would have been perfection, had it
not been for the frequent annoyance and alarms caused
by the Indians.
Alas! alas! that we who write and read about those
wondrous scenes should have to condemn our own species
as the most degraded of all the works of the Creator
there! Yet so it is. Man, exercising his reason and
conscience in the path of love and duty which his Creator
points out, is God's noblest work; but man, left to the
freedom of his own fallen will, sinks morally lower than
the beasts that perish. Well may every Christian wish
and pray that the name and the gospel of the blessed
Jesus may be sent speedily to the dark places of the
earth; for you may read of, and talk about, but you
cannot conceive
the fiendish wickedness and cruelty which
causes tearless eyes to glare, and maddened hearts to
burst, in the lands of the heathen.
While we are on this subject, let us add (and our young
readers will come to know it if they are spared to see
many years) that
civilization
alone will never improve
the heart. Let history speak, and it will tell you that
deeds of darkest hue have been perpetrated in so-called
civilized though pagan lands. Civilization is like the
polish that beautifies inferior furniture, which water will
wash off if it be but
hot enough
. Christianity resembles
dye, which permeates every fibre of the fabric, and which
nothing can eradicate.
The success of the trappers in procuring beaver here
was great. In all sorts of creeks and rivers they were
found. One day they came to one of the curious rivers
before mentioned, which burst suddenly out of a plain,
flowed on for several miles, and then disappeared into the
earth as suddenly as it had risen. Even in this strange
place beaver were seen, so the traps were set, and a
hundred and fifty were caught at the first lift.
The manner in which the party proceeded was as
follows:--They marched in a mass in groups or in a long
line, according to the nature of the ground over which
they travelled. The hunters of the party went forward
a mile or two in advance, and scattered through the
woods. After them came the advance-guard, being the
bravest and most stalwart of the men mounted on their
best steeds, and with rifle in hand; immediately behind
followed the women and children, also mounted, and
the pack-horses with the goods and camp equipage.
Another band of trappers formed the rear-guard to this
imposing cavalcade. There was no strict regimental
order kept, but the people soon came to adopt the
arrangements that were most convenient for all parties,
and at length fell naturally into their places in the line
of march.
Joe Blunt usually was the foremost and always the
most successful of the hunters. He was therefore seldom
seen on the march except at the hour of starting, and at
night when he came back leading his horse, which always
groaned under its heavy load of meat. Henri, being a
hearty, jovial soul and fond of society, usually kept with
the main body. As for Dick, he was everywhere at
once, at least as much so as it is possible for human
nature to be! His horse never wearied; it seemed to
delight in going at full speed; no other horse in the
troop could come near Charlie, and Dick indulged him
by appearing now at the front, now at the rear, anon in
the centre, and frequently
nowhere
!--having gone off
with Crusoe like a flash of lightning after a buffalo or a
deer. Dick soon proved himself to be the best hunter
of the party, and it was not long before he fulfilled his
promise to Crusoe and decorated his neck with a collar
of grizzly bear claws.
Well, when the trappers came to a river where there
were signs of beaver they called a halt, and proceeded
to select a safe and convenient spot, near wood and
water, for the camp. Here the property of the band
was securely piled in such a manner as to form a breastwork
or slight fortification, and here Walter Cameron
established headquarters. This was always the post
of danger, being exposed to sudden attack by prowling
savages, who often dogged the footsteps of the party in
their journeyings to see what they could steal. But
Cameron was an old hand, and they found it difficult to
escape his vigilant eye.
From this point all the trappers were sent forth in
small parties every morning in various directions, some
on foot and some on horseback, according to the distances
they had to go; but they never went farther
than twenty miles, as they had to return to camp every
evening.
Each trapper had ten steel traps allowed him. These
he set every night, and visited every morning, sometimes
oftener when practicable, selecting a spot in the stream
where many trees had been cut down by beavers for the
purpose of damming up the water. In some places as
many as fifty tree stumps were seen in one spot, within
the compass of half an acre, all cut through at about
eighteen inches from the root. We may remark, in
passing, that the beaver is very much like a gigantic
water-rat, with this marked difference, that its tail is
very broad and flat like a paddle. The said tail is a
greatly-esteemed article of food, as, indeed, is the whole
body at certain seasons of the year. The beaver's fore
legs are very small and short, and it uses its paws as
hands to convey food to its mouth, sitting the while in
an erect position on its hind legs and tail. Its fur is
a dense coat of a grayish-coloured down, concealed by
long coarse hair, which lies smooth, and is of a bright
chestnut colour. Its teeth and jaws are of enormous
power; with them it can cut through the branch of a
tree as thick as a walking-stick at one snap, and, as we
have said, it gnaws through thick trees themselves.
As soon as a tree falls, the beavers set to work industriously
to lop off the branches, which, as well as the
smaller trunks, they cut into lengths, according to their
weight and thickness. These are then dragged by
main force to the water-side, launched, and floated to
their destination. Beavers build their houses, or
"lodges," under the banks of rivers and lakes, and always
select those of such depth of water that there is
no danger of their being frozen to the bottom. When
such cannot be found, and they are compelled to build
in small rivulets of insufficient depth, these clever little
creatures dam up the waters until they are deep enough.
The banks thrown up by them across rivulets for this
purpose are of great strength, and would do credit to
human engineers. Their lodges are built of sticks,
mud, and stones, which form a compact mass; this
freezes solid in winter, and defies the assaults of that
housebreaker, the wolverine, an animal which is the
beaver's implacable foe. From this lodge, which is
capable often of holding four old and six or eight young
ones, a communication is maintained with the water
below the ice, so that, should the wolverine succeed in breaking up
the
lodge, he finds the family "not at
home," they having made good their retreat by the
back-door. When man acts the part of housebreaker,
however, he cunningly shuts the back-door
first
, by
driving stakes through the ice, and thus stopping the
passage. Then he enters, and, we almost regret to say,
finds the family at home. We regret it, because the
beaver is a gentle, peaceable, affectionate, hairy little
creature, 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 beavers
roamed about at night they put their feet into them,
and were caught and drowned; for although they can
swim and dive admirably, they cannot live altogether
under water.
Thus the different parties proceeded; and in the
mornings the camp was a busy scene indeed, for then
the whole were engaged in skinning the animals. The
skins were always stretched, dried, folded up with the
hair in the inside, and laid by; and the flesh was used
for food.
But oftentimes the trappers had to go forth with the
gun in one hand and their traps in the other, while
they kept a sharp look-out on the bushes to guard
against surprise. Despite their utmost efforts, a horse
was occasionally stolen before their very eyes, and
sometimes even an unfortunate trapper was murdered,
and all his traps carried off.
An event of this kind occurred soon after the party
had gained the western slopes of the mountains. Three
Iroquois Indians, who belonged to the band of trappers,
were sent to a stream about ten miles off. Having
reached their destination, they all entered the water to
set their traps, foolishly neglecting the usual precaution
of one remaining on the bank to protect the others.
They had scarcely commenced operations when three
arrows were discharged into their backs, and a party of
Snake Indians rushed upon and slew them, carrying
away their traps and horses and scalps. This was not
known for several days, when, becoming anxious about
their prolonged absence, Cameron sent out a party,
which found their mangled bodies affording a loathsome
banquet to the wolves and vultures.
After this sad event, the trappers were more careful
to go in larger parties, and keep watch.
As long as beaver were taken in abundance, the
camp remained stationary; but whenever the beaver
began to grow scarce, the camp was raised, and the
party moved on to another valley.
One day Dick Varley came galloping into camp with
the news that there were several bears in a valley not
far distant, which he was anxious not to disturb until a
number of the trappers were collected together to go
out and surround them.
On receiving the information, Walter Cameron shook
his head.
"We have other things to do, young man," said he,
"than go a-hunting after bears. I'm just about making
up my mind to send off a party to search out the valley
on the other side of the Blue Mountains yonder, and
bring back word if there are beaver there; for if not, I
mean to strike away direct south. Now, if you've a
mind to go with them, you're welcome. I'll warrant you'll
find enough in the way of bear-hunting to satisfy you;
perhaps a little Indian hunting to boot, for if the Banattees
get hold of your horses, you'll have a long hunt
before you find them again. Will you go?"
"Ay, right gladly," replied Dick. "When do we
start?"
"This afternoon."
Dick went off at once to his own part of the camp to
replenish his powder-horn and bullet-pouch, and wipe
out his rifle.
That evening the party, under command of a Canadian
named Pierre, set out for the Blue Hills. They
numbered twenty men, and expected to be absent three
days, for they merely went to reconnoitre, not to trap.
Neither Joe nor Henri was of this party, both having
been out hunting when it was organized; but Crusoe
and Charlie were, of course.
Pierre, although a brave and trusty man, was of a
sour, angry disposition, and not a favourite with Dick;
but the latter resolved to enjoy himself, and disregard
his sulky comrade. Being so well mounted, he not unfrequently
shot far ahead of his companions, despite
their warnings that he ran great risk by so doing. On
one of these occasions he and Crusoe witnessed a very
singular fight, which is worthy of record.
Dick had felt a little wilder in spirit that morning
than usual, and on coming to a pretty open plain he
gave the rein to Charlie, and with an "
Adieu, mes camarade
,"
he was out of sight in a few minutes. He rode
on several miles in advance without checking speed, and
then came to a wood where rapid motion was inconvenient;
so he pulled up, and, dismounting, tied Charlie
to a tree, while he sauntered on a short way on foot.
On coming to the edge of a small plain he observed