CHAPTER XVI.
On a Trail again—The Effect on Ourselves and the Horses—The Changed Aspect of the Country—Wild Fruits—Signs of Man Increase—Our Enthusiastic Greeting—Starving Again—Mr. O’B. finds Caliban—His Affectionate Behaviour to Him—The Indians’ Camp—Information about Kamloops—Bartering for Food—Clearwater River—Cross the Thompson—The Lily-Berries—Mr. O’B. and the Assiniboine Fall Out—Mr. O’B. flees to the Woods—Accuses the Assiniboine of an Attempt to Murder Him—Trading for Potatoes—More Shushwaps—Coffee and Pipes—Curious Custom of the Tribe—Kamloops in Sight—Ho! for the Fort—Mr. O’B. takes to his Heels—Captain St. Paul—A Good Supper—Doubts as to our Reception—Our Forbidding Appearance—Our Troubles at an End—Rest.
On a Trail again—The Effect on Ourselves and the Horses—The Changed Aspect of the Country—Wild Fruits—Signs of Man Increase—Our Enthusiastic Greeting—Starving Again—Mr. O’B. finds Caliban—His Affectionate Behaviour to Him—The Indians’ Camp—Information about Kamloops—Bartering for Food—Clearwater River—Cross the Thompson—The Lily-Berries—Mr. O’B. and the Assiniboine Fall Out—Mr. O’B. flees to the Woods—Accuses the Assiniboine of an Attempt to Murder Him—Trading for Potatoes—More Shushwaps—Coffee and Pipes—Curious Custom of the Tribe—Kamloops in Sight—Ho! for the Fort—Mr. O’B. takes to his Heels—Captain St. Paul—A Good Supper—Doubts as to our Reception—Our Forbidding Appearance—Our Troubles at an End—Rest.
Thetrail was well worn and cleared, and after we reached the little prairie we were able to proceed at a great pace; the horses as inspirited as ourselves by the pleasing change, occasionally broke into a trot, although, from their skeleton-like appearance, we almost expected the shaking would cause them to tumble to pieces. The river again became a rapid, and a dark hill, running east and west, loomed up ahead, as if closing in the valley. But the country around had assumed a Californian aspect—the colour of a lithograph—rolling swells, brown with bunch-grass, and studded with scattered yellow pines. Themore sandy hills were covered with small spruce, and there, too, grew quantities of bilberries as large as English grapes, and of delicious flavour. Here and there wild cherry-trees, or thorns loaded with large black haws, supplied us with a grateful though unsatisfying food. We were up before daylight on the 23rd, eager to reach the Fort, and journeyed through as pleasant a country and along as easy a road as the day before, revelling in the broad sunlight. At noon signs of man became more numerous. We found the print of a moccasin in the sand of the river-bank, and saw an old canoe on the opposite shore. Presently we were startled by the rustling of the bushes which closed in the track before us, and, directly after, an Indian appeared, followed by a squaw having a child upon her back. These were the first human beings we had seen since leaving the Tête Jaune Cache, and the man was immensely astonished by the greeting we gave him, shaking hands with him violently, laughing, and asking questions he could not understand. He evidently knew the word Kamloops, and we concluded from his signs that we should meet more Indians shortly, and might reach Kamloops that night. We hurried forward again for another ten or twelve miles, but there was not a sign of the Fort, nor did we meet more Indians. On this evening we ate the last morsel of dried horse, but resolved to trust now to obtaining food from the Indians whom we expected to meet before long.
By mid-day on the 24th we reached another beautiful little prairie, across which paths came into theone we followed from all directions. We had just crossed a clear shallow stream, which we named Wentworth River, when we heard Mr. O’B. shouting behind us, and calling loudly for Cheadle. We stopped, and he came up, leading affectionately by the hand a most hideously repulsive-looking Indian. He wore nothing but a pair of ragged trousers, his skin was dirty, and his face perfectly diabolical—a vast expanse of visage, in the midst of which a rugged, swollen nose stood out, a mouth which yawned like the gates of Gehenna, and eyes with a most malignant squint. Behind this monster, whom we at once named “Caliban,” followed a younger fellow of more prepossessing appearance; but Mr. O’B. regarded him not, pulling Caliban along, and crying out, “Look here, my lord! look here, Doctor! I’ve been the means of saving us, after all.” He chattered to his new-found friend incessantly, patting him lovingly on the shoulder, and looking in his face with most insinuating smiles. The two men made signs to us to follow them, and we went with them to a little open space. Two squaws and some children were seated over a fire, engaged in cooking berries in an iron pot. Directly we mentioned Kamloops, they exclaimed, “Aiyou muck-a-muck, aiyou tea, aiyou tobacco, aiyou salmon, aiyou whisky, Kamloops!” from which we inferred there were abundance of good things to be found there. The Assiniboine inquired by signs how long it would take us to reach Fort Kamloops, and the younger man, in reply, imitated fast walking, and then going to sleep four times in succession; meaningthereby it would take us four days’ hard travelling to get there. They offered us a portion of the berries, which we ate very greedily, and then produced two rabbits, for one of which Mr. O’B. gave a tattered shirt, and the other we bought for some needles and small shot. Presently the old Shushwap we had encountered the previous day turned up, hot and exhausted by his efforts to overtake us. He hurried away again immediately, but returned in a few minutes with some potatoes, to sell which he had come back in such haste. Mrs. Assiniboine, to our surprise, produced a nice clean linen shirt of Mr. Assiniboine’s, which she had managed by some means to save from the general wreck, offered it to the old Indian, and the potatoes were ours. We ate some raw at once, so famished were we; and when the remainder and the rabbits were cooked, had a great feast. The Indians agreed to raise camp and go with us, the younger fellow accompanying us on foot, while Caliban took charge of the women and children in two canoes. We came to a large stream flowing into the Thompson from the west (Clearwater River), where we found Caliban awaiting us with the canoes, by which we crossed to the southern bank, and there camped for the night.
During our journey the following morning we came upon the dead bodies of two Indians—a man and woman—lying festering in the sun. They were lying side by side, covered with a blanket, and all their goods and chattels undisturbed around. We saw several more of these ghastly spectacles afterwards, and made out from ourShushwap friends that there had been a fearful mortality amongst the Indians, owing, as we subsequently learnt, to the ravages of small-pox. At mid-day we found Caliban and his ladies waiting to transfer us to the eastern bank of the Thompson, whither the trail now led. We dined with them before crossing, our fare being the fruit of a kind of lily, which tasted much like the berry of the yew tree, and was exceedingly luscious. We ate freely of it, both cooked and raw, and suffered horribly in consequence.
When we had crossed the river, Milton and Mrs. Assiniboine accepted the Indians’ invitation to go with them in the canoes, whilst the rest brought the horses along the bank. Cheadle was shortly after seized with severe pains in the stomach, accompanied by violent nausea and vomiting. He was compelled to pull up and remain behind; and after remaining some two hours, seated on a log in most woful plight, crawled after the rest with some difficulty. He came up with them at the foot of a steep, rocky bluff—to which we afterwards gave the name of Assiniboine Bluff, from an incident which occurred there—up which the trail passed by a tortuous zigzag.
Up this the others led the horses one by one, the track, a mere ledge of rock, ascending the perpendicular face of the bluff nearly to the summit, and descending as rapidly by the other side. Last of all Cheadle led his horse up the perilous path, and when he gained the top, heard a great shouting and commotion going on amongst the party whohad descended before him. All was soon quiet, and by the time he got down every one had disappeared. Darkness came on rapidly, the road lay through thick wood, and Cheadle, hastening on, found The Assiniboine and his boy at a standstill, unable to distinguish the trail any longer. Although they had no provisions, there was nothing for it but to give up the idea of meeting the canoe-party, as had been agreed, and camp on the spot. Before very long it dawned upon Cheadle that Mr. O’B. was wanting, and he inquired of the Assiniboine what had become of him. The latter was evidently rather disconcerted by the question, and answered in some confusion, “Il est bête! il m’avait querellé, et puis s’est sauvé.” On cross-examination The Assiniboine confessed that he had lost his temper with “Le Vieux” about his management of the horses, and in his anger had struck him with his fist, whereupon Mr. O’B. fled in terror, and disappeared in the woods.
The night was pitch dark, the woods thick, and the trail very indistinct. Mr. O’B. had the habit of always losing a good track in broad daylight, and Cheadle felt serious apprehensions for his fate now. But it was useless to look for him until morning, and the party turned in supperless—the horses being in the same predicament. In the meantime Milton had arrived in the canoe at a little prairie, where were several Indian potato-gardens, from which Caliban and his party provided a plentiful supper, and after waiting in vain for the arrival of Cheadle and The Assiniboine,gave them up and sought their blankets. Shortly before daylight Milton was awakened out of a sound sleep by some one shaking him, and saying, “My lord! my lord! you must get up directly; something very serious has happened,” and Milton recognised the quivering accents of Mr. O’B. Quite at a loss to understand how he had got there alone at that time, Milton sat up and listened to his explanation.
“My lord,” said Mr. O’B., “I accuse The Assiniboine of attempting to murder me. We had some trouble with the horses, and as I stood by, not knowing how to help, he came up to me with most fiendish expression, and deliberately hit me a tremendous blow on the head with the back of his axe. I was stunned, but managed to run off into the woods—hardly recollect anything more—wandering about bewildered—‘Hic mihi nescio quod trepido male numen amicum confusam eripuit mentem’—until I caught sight of the fire, and found you here. You know, my lord, I warned you and the Doctor at Edmonton of the dangerous character you were trusting yourselves with. He is a most wicked man. I shall go on to Kamloops as soon as it is light, and get out a warrant for the apprehension of The Assiniboine immediately on his arrival.”
Milton could not help laughing at his earnestness and fright, told him that he must be mistaken as to the murderous intentions of The Assiniboine, for had he struck him as described, Mr. O’B. would not have wandered far. Cheadle’s partyarrived in the course of an hour or two, and we examined both The Assiniboine and his victim. A slight swelling on Mr. O’B.’s occiput was the only injury to be discovered, and we came to the conclusion that The Assiniboine’s account of the quarrel was substantially correct. We rebuked the man very severely, warning him of the danger of such behaviour in the country we were now entering; while to Mr. O’B. we represented the absurdity of supposing any murderous intent. But the latter was unconvinced. He dared not leave the side of one of us for a moment, and it was most laughable to observe how he watched every movement of The Assiniboine, apprehensive of a renewal of hostilities. From Caliban we purchased a bucketful of potatoes, for Milton’s embroidered Indian saddle and Mr. O’B.’s M.B. waistcoat, the last article of trade he could rake up. Caliban and his family bade us good-bye here, but the younger man and his squaw agreed to guide us within sight of Kamloops.
The following day we met some Indians, whom we took at first for Mexicans, so little did they resemble the Red Men of the eastern side. Their faces were of Asiatic cast, rather than the European character shown by the fine bold features of the true North American Indian, the countenance broader and rounder, the nose smaller and less prominent, and the complexion darker and less transparent. Their horses were equipped with Mexican saddles, and the bridles garnished by numberless little bells. Theytreated us to coffee and a smoke, and who will doubt the luxury of it to us, after six weeks’ abstinence? On the afternoon of the 28th our guide turned back, after showing us a distant range of hills which marked the position of Kamloops, and gave us to understand that we should sleep there that night. The man had treated us very kindly, and we presented him with the Assiniboine’s gun. We heard afterwards that he dared not visit the rest of the tribe near the Fort, afraid of retribution for a grievous offence against the Shushwap laws. It seems to be the rule with them, as with the Jews, that should a man die childless, his brother shall marry the widow. Our friend had carried off a widow, and married her, whereupon the injured brother-in-law vowed vengeance, and the offender feared to encounter him.
We walked on in the hot sun, weary, weak, and footsore, but at dusk could not see our destination. We had not yet recovered from the effect of the berries, and became so faint and exhausted that we yielded at length to the request of The Assiniboine to ride on ahead, and leave him to follow more slowly. Fortunately the horses had revived so much with the good pasture of the last few days, that two were found able to carry riders; and away we went, getting a canter out of our skeleton steeds with much difficulty. Mr. O’B. had walked on before the rest, in his eagerness to gain the protection of the law, and when we passed him, began to run after us, crying, “Don’t leave me, my lord!” “Do stop for me, Doctor! Please let me come with you!” Butwe had no compassion on him, and galloped on. Whenever we looked behind us, we saw Mr. O’B. still running at the top of his speed, afraid the bloodthirsty Assiniboine might overtake him. We entered on a sandy plain, on the further side of which were hills running east and west. The Fortcould notbe beyond them. On we went, hammering and shouting at our flagging beasts, and ever and anon looking behind, when Mr. O’B. could still be seen in the dim twilight, tearing after us with undiminished speed. At last, after it was quite dark, we caught sight of a house, galloped up to it, jumped off, left our horses to their own devices, and entered a sort of yard, where were several half-breeds and Indians just rising from their seats round a cloth spread on the ground, with the remains of supper. An old Indian came, introduced himself, in a mixed jargon of French, English, and Chinook, as Captain St. Paul, and inquired who we were. We told him we had come across the mountains, and were starving, begging him to give us some food as quickly as possible. He said we should have abundance immediately, but that we must pay “un piastre chaque.” We recklessly assured him that if it cost 100 dollars each we must have it; and before long we were devouring a greasy mess of bacon and cabbage and some delicious cakes, and drinking copiously the long-desired tea. Before we had eaten many mouthfuls, Mr. O’B. arrived breathless, but not the least exhausted, and attacked the good things as savagely as ourselves. He was the only one of the company who had thestrength to perform the feat of running three or four miles, which he had just accomplished. In about an hour The Assiniboine arrived with the horses, and soon shared the delights of an unlimited feed. The number of cakes we ate astonished even the Indians, whose views on this subject are broad enough. Presently Mr. Martin and several others arrived from the Fort, to be present at a half-breeds’ ball which was to take place at St. Paul’s that evening. Mr. Martin received us with great kindness, and invited us to take up our quarters with him the next day. We were surprised to meet with such unquestioning hospitality, for in truth we were as miserable and unprepossessing a company as ever presented itself for approval: our clothes in tatters, the legs of Milton’s trousers torn off above the knees, and Cheadle’s in ribbons; our feet covered only by the shreds of moccasins; our faces gaunt, haggard, and unshaven; our hair long, unkempt, and matted; and we had no means of proving our identity, where our appearance was so little calculated to inspire confidence or liking. But our story was believed at once, and our troubles were over at last—at last!