Indian on hosrseback leaning over to scoop up girl with basket"I had nearly filled my basket."
"Buffalo Bill found your basket on the trail the other side of Bluff Creek ford," interrupted Joe, "and that is how we came to know that the Indians had captured you."
"I remember now," said Kate, "that I held on to it for a long time and then dropped it. I don't know why I kept it in my hand. Well, as I was saying, I rode out to the patch, tied Ginger to a sumac bush, and began to pick the berries, which were ripe as I had expected. I had nearly filled my basket when with a dash that nearly frightened me out of my senses, a band of Indians came from the other side of the big ledge, and before I knew where I was, Ifound myself in front of a horrible-looking savage, and the whole band started south as tight as their ponies could go. I remember hearing Ginger give a snort, as he jerked up by the roots the bush I had tied him to, and fairly flew towards the ranche—"
"There, mother," said Joe, "that's just what I told you when Ginger came home with the sumac fastened to his bridle!"
"Oh, if I could only have jumped on Ginger's back," continued Kate, "before the Indians had got me, they never would have had the ghost of a chance of catching me. But they came upon me before I had the least idea they were anywhere near.
"We rode all that afternoon, halting for a few moments, long after dark, for the Indians to change ponies, as they had some loose ones with them. We kept on at a good gait all that night, until about daylight, when we stayed for more than an hour on the other side of the Arkansas River, to graze the ponies among the sand hills, and for the Indians to eat their breakfast. They were quite kind to me; gave me some dried buffalo meat, and brought me somewater from the stream in a horn, and tried to make me understand that they did not intend to harm me.
"Of course, I was frightened at the idea of being carried off by the horrid savages, but I tried to keep my senses, and watched every tree and rock on the trail. I looked at the sun to learn which way we were going, and determined in my mind that I would escape at the first opportunity.
"On the tops of the highest points of the hills, I saw the stone monuments, which Joe had often told me were placed by the savages on their travels from place to place, as marks to show where water and wood are to be found."
"Yes," said Mr. Tucker; "you can see those piles of stones on every hill about here; and from them you can always see water or timber, indicating where to camp."
"They were to be seen on every divide we crossed," continued Kate; "and besides, I saw lots of the compass-plant, or rosin-weed, the leaves of which, Joe had told me, always pointed north, so I felt satisfied if I could ever escape, I would have no trouble in finding my way back to theOxhide.[2]After a long, wearisome ride, until the next morning, we arrived at the Canadian River, which the Indians called the 'Mai-om,' or Red, and on the bank of which was the village consisting of about a hundred lodges.
"There I was turned over to the women, who treated me very decently, and I immediately began to study the language, for I knew that that would help me in getting into their good graces. I willingly took hold of the work which falls to the lot of the squaws in every camp, and taught them how to cook after the white style. You may imagine I had plenty to do, for the warriors liked the biscuit I used to make, and they sometimes had a good deal of flour for which they had traded with the white men who bought their furs.
"I made friends of the dogs in the village, and there were hundreds of them, some of them miserable curs, but they could make more noise than a pack of wolves; and I thought if I could teach them to know me, they would not botherme when I attempted to run away; for you know that they are the most watchful animals imaginable. At night, not the slightest sound escapes their well-trained ears, and at the approach of a human being, they set up the most terrific barking and howling you ever heard. Well, I soon made friends with every one of them, and I could go around the village after dark, and they would not utter a growl.
"I watched very closely the large herd of ponies,—there were more than two hundred belonging to the village,—to find out which one of them was the fleetest, and had the most endurance. I picked out the little roan I rode here, and, Joe, I will make him a present to you; for if you had not taught me so much about plants, and the methods of the Indians, and before all things else, taken such pains with me when I wanted to ride a pony, I never should have been able to run away and come home safely."
"Thank you, Kate," said Joe. "We have kept Ginger just as finely as ever for you, and he is the best pony in the whole country, I don't care how many the Indians may have."
Kate went on with her wonderful experience. "Near the tepee where I slept I found an old elm tree that had a great hollow in it near the roots, and I determined to make it my storehouse for the food I should need when I ran away. I did not, of course, begin to hide anything in it until I had been in the village for over four months. Then I used to save little by little of my portion of the dried buffalo meat, as I knew that it would keep for a long time without spoiling.
"We ate all sorts of things that at first rather disgusted me; puppy-stew, for instance. Now, mother and Gertrude, don't laugh; I really soon learned to like it, though I never expect to be compelled to eat it again. It is the cleanest thing the Indians have, if you will only get over the natural prejudice against eating dog. Why, just think, the puppies are only sucklings when they are eaten; they have tasted nothing but their mother's milk, and the mothers are fed on buffalo meat only.
"I suppose that you, mother and Gert, want to know how puppy-stew is prepared? Well, when the little things are rolling fat, as round asa ball of butter, the old woman who has charge of the lodge takes them up and feels them all over, and if satisfactory, she chokes them to death by literally hanging them to a tree with a buffalo sinew. When dead, they are singed before the fire, just as you singe a fowl; the entrails are taken out, and then the flesh is boiled in a pot, and eaten as hot as possible. The savages, particularly the old squaws, can take up in their buffalo-horn spoons, meat which would scald a white person to death, and swallow it without the slightest difficulty. I suppose that that, and their constant brooding over a smoky fire in the tepees, makes them look so old and wrinkled at an early age. They are the most horrid-looking witches you ever saw, and they would need no 'fixing up' to play the part in Macbeth."
"Talking of curious dishes eaten by the Indians," said Mr. Tucker, "up in Oregon, where I was trapping a good many years ago, the squaws make what I call Indian jelly-cake. They take the black crickets, roasted, which form a large portion of their subsistence, and make a kind of bread of them, after having ground them on a flat stone. They then spread on it theboiled berries of the service tree or bush, and if it was not manipulated by their very dirty hands, it would be very palatable."
"The Indians of the great plains," continued Kate, "live almost exclusively on meat; they gather a few berries sometimes, but their principal diet is buffalo meat.
"After I had been in the village for over four months, I began to think of trying to escape. My clothes were becoming more ragged every day, and I was obliged to resort to the blanket as a covering, though I kept what I had worn there as long as I could.
"One day there was a great feast in the village, with dancing and carousing, which the warriors kept up until long after midnight, and consequently slept very soundly. Now, thought I, is my time. So after I found out that the old squaw with whom I lodged was sound asleep, I crept up, and looked out to see what kind of a night it was. The moon was low down in the western heavens, but bright enough for me to see the trail, so I determined to make the attempt. I took a piece of buffalo robe for a saddle, and went out to the herd to catch the pony on whichI had had my eyes for such a long time, and had petted whenever I was not watched. The dogs, of course, had come out of their holes to see what was going on, having heard my almost noiseless footsteps; but recognizing me instantly, they did not set up their customary howl. They went back to sleep without making any trouble, and I walked out to the herd about a quarter of a mile away, and soon found the little roan I wanted. He came up to me without a neigh, luckily, and I fastened the piece of robe on him, tucked the dried buffalo meat, which I had taken from my hiding-place, into my bosom, and jumping on, started at a pace which, if I had not been a good rider, would have tossed me off before I had gone half a dozen yards.
"The pony seemed to know just what I required of him, for he ran on a good lope, with his belly almost touching the ground, and in a little while I had crossed the ford of the Canadian, and was going up the divide on the other side as fast as I dared to force him. I took a glance at the north star to get my bearings, for I dared not follow the broad trail, as the Indians would be sure to track me, and struck across the country,up one hill and down the other until day began to break. Then I stayed a few seconds at a small branch to let my pony drink and to take a swallow myself, and on I went, not daring to let him graze yet.
"Mile after mile the noble little fellow carried me until late that afternoon. Of course I watered him at every creek I came to, but did not halt until it had grown quite dark. Then I took him about a mile down into a piece of timber, unsaddled him and let him graze for more than an hour. I kept my ears open, fearing every moment to hear the sound of ponies' hoofs, for I felt confident that the Indians would follow me the moment they discovered that I was gone.
"When I thought he had sufficiently rested, and I had eaten a small piece of the meat, I mounted him again and started on a lope northward. I kept the little gallop, changing into a brisk walk once in a while, until I could see by the daylight the long silvery line of the Arkansas, looking like a white snake in its many windings. Then I felt pretty safe, after I had stopped and watched the trail back as far as I could, whichwas for more than two miles. I could see nothing like dust, nor hear a sound, so I began to hope that I had really escaped, and my heart began to feel lighter than it had for many a long month.
"I crossed the Arkansas, which the Indians call 'Mit-sun,' meaning Big, and it was up to my pony's breast, but he struggled through splendidly, though I got my moccasins wet, for the water came to my knees. I did not mind that, as I had often got wet through in the Canadian where we used to go swimming almost every morning while at the village. The squaws are very fond of the water in that way, but are not so clean with their hands as I would many a time have liked them to be.
"On the other side of the divide separating the Arkansas from the Smoky Hill, I halted in a box-elder grove to rest my roan, and rest myself, for I was nearly worn out. I felt very safe then, for I knew that I was approaching the settlements on Plum Creek, and if I had known, what Joe has just told us, that the war was over, I might have been at my ease all the way from the Arkansas.
"Early this morning I came to Bluff Creek, at the very spot where I had crossed with the Indians, and how my heart fluttered when I knew I was so near dear Errolstrath! From that creek I rode slowly, as I knew I had nothing to fear from the Indians, for the settlements were too thick, and besides it was daytime, when the Indians rarely attack.
"I often got off my pony when it grew too dark to see, to feel the leaves of the compass-plant, that I could always find without much hunting on every hill. Now, mamma and father, don't you think that I have made a famous ride?"
"We all think so," said her father; "it is one of the most remarkable on record, and we rejoice more than even you can imagine, to have our dear daughter back again, well as ever, after such an experience."
"Why don't the Indians raise corn?" inquired Rob, in a general way; "it is so easily grown out here on the plains."
"Some of the tribes do," replied Mr. Tucker. "The Sioux and the Mandans have always had their corn-fields, but as usual the women have todo all the work. Do you know, Rob, that the corn is a native plant of North and South America, yet it has never been found wild?"
"Do tell us about it," said Mrs. Thompson; and Kate asked if there were not some legend connected with it, "for there is not a thing that they eat, without its wonderful story."
"Certainly," replied Mr. Tucker. "There is a beautiful legend among the Sioux, which I learned from them when I was among them in 1840, and as it is not late yet, if you like, I will tell it to you."
"Do! do!" all exclaimed in chorus.
"Of course," began Mr. Tucker, "among the Indians the origin of corn is wrapped up in the supernatural legends of the race, of which there are several, differing materially, however, in their details. Strange as it may seem, nowhere in all the vast domain of both Americas, has a wild species of corn been discovered; and yet the inhabitants of these continents have used it from the earliest times, of which even history has no record. Yet, at some time in the unchronicled past it must have grown wild. An unknown benefactor of his race—one whose name noteven tradition preserves, excepting in unintelligible myths—saw somewhere, the feathery tassels and glossy blades with their silken ears amidst the foliage of a sedgy river bank, and owing to his first care, the wild plant, after many ages, has become the maize of commerce, and the king of all the cereals of the nineteenth century.
"When Columbus found the New World, corn was the staple food of all tribes of Indians from the far north to the extreme south, who attempted to cultivate the soil at all.
"The celebrated Père Marquette, the Catholic priest who passed his life among the savages, met with it at every point, on his memorable journey down the Mississippi River, in 1763. It has been exhumed from tombs of a greater antiquity than those of the Incas of Peru. Darwin discovered heads of it embedded in an ancient beach that had been upheaved eighty-five feet above the sea-level.
"That Indian corn is indigenous to America, has never been questioned by botanists, for Europe knew nothing of it until Columbus returned home from our shores.
"Longfellow has poetically told of one of theIndian traditions of the origin of corn, in hisHiawatha's Fasting.
"The legend was first transmitted to the white men by Rattlesnake, and strange to say, he was a chief of the Kansas or Kaw tribe of Indians. He related it on an island at the mouth of the Kansas River, in 1673, as is recorded in the old French manuscript of an early traveller.
"It states that a band of a hundred Kansas Indians in returning from a successful raid on the Shawnees, of whom they had taken several prisoners, halted on the island, taking advantage of the thick timber which grew in groups, as a convenient spot to torture their captives.
"Père Marquette, whom the Indians called 'The White Prophet,' happened to be there most opportunely; for through the respect and veneration in which the monk was held, he saved the lives of the hapless Shawnees, who were set at liberty. That evening while eating their supper of cooked hominy, the good priest asked for the legend which told of the origin of Indian corn, and Rattlesnake gave it, as he said he had often heard it at his mother's knee.
"It is the same story the Sioux told me, but Iwill follow the language of the old manuscript, for I have often read it.
"Once when the world was young, and there were but few red men in it, there was a chief whose wife bore him many children. Every summer added one and sometimes two to his family. They became so numerous that the father could not give them sufficient food, and the hungry children were continually crying. By great patience and skill in hunting, however, the chief at length raised a large family, until his eldest son reached the stature of manhood.
"In those days the red men all lived in peace and friendship. There was no war, and no scalp-locks hung from the doors of the lodges. The eldest son had the fear of the Great Spirit in his heart, and, like his father, he toiled patiently in the chase that he might assist in procuring food for his brothers and sisters.
"In those days all of the promising young men, at their entrance into manhood, had to separate themselves from the tribe, and retire into the forest, to see if the Great Spirit would grant them some request. During this time there was to be neither eating nor drinking, but they wereto spend the hours in thinking intently on the request they were making of the Manitou.
"When the young man had gone a long distance in the forest, he began to pray to the Great Spirit, and to ask for a favor which he had long cherished in his heart for the occasion. He had often felt how frequently the chase had disappointed the red men, and how often their families had gone to sleep hungry, because they had no meat. He had always determined when his fasting and dreaming hour should come, that he would ask the Great Spirit to give the red men some article of food more certain than the meat obtained in the chase.
"All that day the youth prayed, and thought of his request, and neither water nor food entered his mouth.
"At night, with a bright hope in his young heart, he lay down to sleep. Soon he had a vision. He saw a magnificently attired youth coming toward him. He was clad in robes of green, and green plumes hung gracefully about his comely countenance.
"'My dear young friend,' said the stranger, 'the Great Spirit has heard your prayer, but theboon you ask is a great boon; and you must pass through a heavy trial of suffering and patience before you will see the realization of your wish.
"'You must first try your strength with me, and suffer nothing to enter your lips until I am overcome, before you will receive your reward. Come, the night wears apace, let us wrestle amid the trees.'
"The chief's son had a big heart, and knew no fear, so he closed with his graceful antagonist. He found him endowed with muscles like the oak, and he had the wind of a wolf, that never was exhausted by effort. Long and long they wrestled, but so equal was their strength that neither could claim any decided advantage. 'Enough, my friend, for this time. You have struggled manfully. Still resist your appetite, give yourself up wholly to prayer and fasting, and you will receive the gratification of your desires. Farewell until to-morrow night, when I will return to wrestle with you again.' Then the young visitor, with his green plumes waving over his head, took his flight toward the skies, the green and yellow vestments with which he was clad expanding like wings.
"When the Indian awoke, he found himself panting like a stag when chased by the wolves, and the perspiration dropped from his body; yet his heart was light, for he knew a sign had come from the Manitou. Although he was very hungry that day, and some berries and grapes tempted him sorely, he refrained from touching them, resisting successfully these natural desires.
"Night came, and the young Indian closed his eyes in sleep; and lo! there was a continuance of his former vision. He saw coming toward him the graceful being he had seen on the previous night. The silken wings of green and gold swept through the air with great velocity, and the green plumes on his head waved rhythmically in their beauty.
"They again wrestled, as before, and although the Indian had neither eaten nor drunk, he felt his strength greater than in the previous conflict; and he obtained some signal advantage over his celestial competitor. They were struggling together when the morning commenced to look upon the world, and he of the green plumes thus addressed the Indian youth:—
"'My friend, on our next trial you will be the victor. Now, listen how I instruct you to take advantage of your conquest. When my efforts cease I shall die. Strip me of my yellow garments and bury me in soft and new-made earth. Visit my grave week by week, for in a little time I shall return to life in the form of a plant, which you will readily recognize by its resemblance to me. Let no weeds or grass be near me to keep the dew and sunshine from my green leaves, and once a month draw the fresh earth to my body, that it may grow and strengthen. When ears have shot from my side, and the silk which shall fall from their tops commences to dry, then pull the ear, strip it of its garments as you will strip me when I am dead. Place the milky grains before the fire which will cook the outside, without destroying any of the juicy substance. Then all the race of man will have a sweeter and stronger food than they have ever known before. There shall be no more hunger upon the earth excepting among those who have a lazy spirit, or whom the Bad Manitou claims as his own.'
"When the Indian awoke, he felt very weak from hunger, and it required all the resolution of which he was master to restrain the gratification of his appetite, but he passed the day in fasting and prayer, and at nightfall laid himself down to sleep.
"True to his promise, his friend of the green plumes again appeared in his trance, and again the wrestle commenced. The young Indian was exceedingly weak from his long fasting, but when engaged in the conflict he felt his heart grow big within him; his arms became as strong as the young oaks of the forest, and after a short struggle he threw his antagonist to the ground. The young Indian stood by the side of his adversary who said that he was dying, and told him to remember the instructions he had given him. The young Indian accordingly stripped the body of its vesture of mingled green and yellow, and carefully digging a grave, deposited it in the soft earth. He thought that the earth adhered to his hand in a strange manner, and at that moment he awoke, and found in his hand a seed such as he had never before seen.
"The Indian then knew that the Manitou hadheard his prayer, and that the grain was the body of his friend. He then went from the forest to the prairie, made soft the earth, and planted the strange seed sent to him in his dream.
"He then returned to his father's lodge, and the whole family were anxious to know if he had received any sign from the Great Spirit, but he evaded all inquiries and kept his important secret. Every morning, before the sun's bright rays had looked upon the earth, he was beside the grave of the seed, and carefully kept the grass and weeds away.
"On the morning of the ninth day, the faithful youth saw a green plant shooting from the earth, and as he gazed on its green blades, he knew at once the friend with whom he had wrestled.
"Once each month he drew the fresh earth to the stalks, which grew day by day until they far overtopped his own stature, and then there began to protrude from their sides the shoots from which a mass of silken fibres issued. In a short time the plant began to dry, as had been foretold to him, and then he invited his father, mother, brothers, and sisters to the spot and showed themwhat the Great Spirit had sent him at his fasting season. He then pulled one of the two ears and roasted it before the fire.
"The whole family tasted the new food, and they liked it. The other ear was kept for seed, and in a few years the red man had plenty of the new food which the Manitou had sent him."
"That is a beautiful story," said Mrs. Thompson, and the others all agreed with her. "Kate, you must be very tired; don't you want to go to bed and sleep like a Christian once more?"
"No," replied the young girl, "my muscles are 'like the oak trees in the forest,' as were those of the Indian who got the corn from the spirit with the green wings. Besides, it's only seven o'clock, and I want to look at you all for some time yet."
Before eight o'clock, Buffalo Bill and Colonel Keogh came over from the fort, as they had heard from some one from Oxhide that Kate had come home, and they wanted to see her.
They were both surprised at her excellent condition, and Bill ventured the remark that the Indians had certainly used her much better than they would have used him had he been in her place.
"I've no doubt of that," said Mr. Tucker; "they would have had a roasting frolic if they had caught you instead of our little friend Kate!"
"Well," said Colonel Keogh, "the war is ended, and I guess we have had the last trouble in Kansas that we shall ever have. The Indians are going peacefully to their reservations, where the Government will feed them, which is cheaper than fighting them, at anyrate! General Custer is at the fort, and he has heard so much of Joe that he wants to see him, and take him on a wolf hunt in a day or two."
"I'll go, Colonel, for sure, for they are carrying off calves and hogs every night from some of the ranches on this creek," said Joe.
"Talking about wolves," said Colonel Keogh, "I never saw so many together in all my life as I did after the battle of the Washita. We found the bunch of ponies belonging to the Indians, numbering about twelve hundred, and General Custer ordered them all to be killed, as a necessity, to prevent other savages from getting them. A Plains Indian without a horse to ride is as helpless as a child. He won't walk, and it was thought that by killing all the ponies we found, itwould cripple the savages as effectually as if we killed the same number of warriors. The bunch was driven into a narrow cañon near their camp, and as they huddled against the high rocky wall, a detachment of the cavalry was detailed to shoot them. We camped near there for a few days, and at night the wolves would congregate there to feed upon the dead bodies of the ponies. I suppose they came from a distance of a hundred miles, for you know a wolf thinks nothing of going that far for a good meal. It happened to be the time of the full moon, and just after nightfall a lot of us used to go and ride on top of the bluff to watch the wolves come to the feast. I think it is no exaggeration to say that five thousand of the hungry creatures gathered there every evening, as long as any flesh remained on the bones of the slaughtered ponies. Such snapping, snarling, growling, and fighting was never heard before. You could hear them for two miles easily. Some of them were so pugnacious and ravenous that they actually killed and devoured each other! I do not believe such a scene was ever witnessed before or will be again."
"You have all heard that Sheridan has beenpromoted to be lieutenant-general, and Sherman to be general, as Grant has been elected to the Presidency?" said Buffalo Bill. "Sheridan received notice on Kansas soil of his well-deserved promotion, and it makes the place classic ground. I will tell you how it was. Of course, official notice of the promotion was daily expected, as it had been seen in the papers from Washington, but the mails were very irregular in the vast uninhabited region south of the Arkansas. It was carried by the scouts from Fort Hays, the nearest railroad point, and they also took despatches to the scattered military posts that had been established temporarily, in the form of camps, cantonments, or wherever a detachment of troops happened to be. Early one morning General Sheridan, accompanied by two officers of his personal staff, left Camp Supply in the Indian Territory for Fort Hays, to take the railroad for Washington, where he had been ordered to report. When the party had arrived at the foot of a high mountain, just on the border of this state, they saw far ahead of them on the trail made by the troops in going into the field, a dark object moving rapidly toward them. As the distancebetween them lessened, they noticed that it was a horseman whose animal, flecked with foam, and with distended nostrils, was straining every muscle to reach the ambulance. In a few moments the sound of the horse's hoofs were distinctly heard on the hard trail, and when he had approached near enough, its rider, the excited scout, recognized Sheridan among the occupants of the ambulance. He rose in his stirrups and waved his hat in one hand, while in the other he held up a piece of yellow paper, crying out at the top of his voice:—
"'Hurrah for the lieutenant-general!' The paper he handed to Sheridan was a telegram from the President, informing him of his promotion."
"Well," said Colonel Keogh, looking at the old-fashioned clock in the corner of the room, "I had no idea it was so late. It's nearly ten. Come, Cody; we must get back to the fort." Then saying good-night to all, with an admonition to Joe not to forget the wolf hunt, of which he said he would send him word, they mounted their horses and rode off.
Mr. Tucker was to remain until morning, so they all retired, after having passed one of the most cheerful Thanksgivings in their lives.
FOOTNOTE:[2]The compass-plant, or rosin-weed, as it is commonly called, is theSilphium laciniatumof the botanists. It is found in luxuriance on every hill-top on the great plains, and resembles an immense oak leaf, which, while growing, always points its thin edges north and south, consequently broad surfaces east and west.
[2]The compass-plant, or rosin-weed, as it is commonly called, is theSilphium laciniatumof the botanists. It is found in luxuriance on every hill-top on the great plains, and resembles an immense oak leaf, which, while growing, always points its thin edges north and south, consequently broad surfaces east and west.
[2]The compass-plant, or rosin-weed, as it is commonly called, is theSilphium laciniatumof the botanists. It is found in luxuriance on every hill-top on the great plains, and resembles an immense oak leaf, which, while growing, always points its thin edges north and south, consequently broad surfaces east and west.
A WOLF HUNT—TWO SNAKE STORIES—TERRIBLE STRUGGLE WITH A MOUNTAIN WOLF—A MAIL RIDER EATEN—THE OLD TRAPPER'S EXPERIENCE WITH FOUR OF THE FIERCE BEASTS
Theallied tribes of the plains, now thoroughly whipped into subjection by the gallant Sheridan and his intrepid subordinates, Custer and Sully, went sullenly to the reservations recently established by the Government in the Indian Territory, and "white-winged Peace" once more spread her pinions over the fair land of Kansas. The settlers could go from one village to another with perfect immunity from sudden attacks by savages hidden in some ambush on the trails, so the state made phenomenal strides toward a greater civilization.
Crops were enormous in their results when the virgin soil was turned to the sun, but the wolves, especially in the vicinity of Errolstrath, seemed to increase with the prodigality of Jonah's gourd. They became so persistent in their nightly depredationsat the ranches, that only by a concentrated effort of the neighborhood to exterminate them could stock-raising be made profitable.
A few days after Colonel Keogh's visit to Errolstrath on that happy Thanksgiving when Kate had come back safely to her home, an orderly from Fort Harker dismounted in front of the house, bearing a note to Joe from General Custer. It stated that the General proposed to hunt the wolves the day after to-morrow, and desired him to invite Mr. Tucker, the old trapper, and as many more of the neighbors who were good shots, as would like to go. He wanted the party to meet him at the mouth of the Oxhide as early as seven o'clock. From this point he intended to go to the general rendezvous of the beasts in the limestone region, down the Smoky Hill.
As soon as dinner was over at Errolstrath, Joe saddled his pony, and started for Mr. Tucker's ranche three miles away, to invite him to come over to stay all night and join Custer and the others of the party on the morning of the hunt.
Rob was at the same time told by his father to get his pony and deliver General Custer's invitationto as many of the neighbors as he could reach, and return by sundown. He left promptly on his mission, but went in a direction exactly opposite from that of his brother.
When he had loped along about a mile up the Oxhide, his attention was attracted by a curious noise which seemed to come from the bank of the stream. He rode his pony through the brush toward the strange sound, and what was his surprise to see two snakes fighting right on the extreme edge of the water where the bank was only just above its level. One of the reptiles was a black water-snake, and the other a bull-snake nearly twice as thick round as his opponent, but not quite as long. The bull-snake had his tail firmly wrapped around a sunflower stalk, and the other had his attached to a big weed. Each had hold of the other by the middle and was trying to pull in an opposite direction. It was evidently the intention of the black snake to drag his antagonist into the water and drown him, for he is a good swimmer, while the bull is not, and the latter was just as determined that his enemy should not get him into the stream.
They were both stretched to their utmost tension, and as Rob said, when he told about them on his return, he expected every moment to see them break in two; for both were drawn out as thin as a clothes-line. At last the hold of the bull-snake gave way, and the impetus, like the snapping of a whip, threw them both into the water. Now the black snake had a decided advantage, for he was in his element, and he immediately exerted every muscle to draw his antagonist's head under. Finally, after a severe struggle he succeeded in holding him there for a few moments, and when he let go, the bull-snake's dead body rose to the surface. Then the black snake gave a few shakes to his tail and darted off under the water, apparently not the least injured by his death-struggle with his larger antagonist.
Both boys returned to Errolstrath before sundown, and as it was Rob's month to take care of the cows and milk them, he went promptly about his business. Joe, after taking Mr. Tucker's horse to the stable, and feeding the other stock, returned to the house, and sat in the big room, talking to his guest for half an hour, until supper was announced.
Supper being cleared away, all adjourned to the sitting-room again, and the boys and girls proposed that the old trapper should relate some more of his experiences in the Rocky Mountains, when he was a young man; a request with which he cheerfully complied whenever he passed a night at Errolstrath.
After all were comfortably seated in their accustomed places, Rob told of his adventure with the two snakes on the bank of the Oxhide, when Joe, after his brother had finished, remarking that coincidences were curious, stated that he, too, that same afternoon, had had an adventure with three snakes—one more than Rob.
"When I reached the broad military road to Fort Sill," said he, "at the crossing of Mud Creek, I noticed some distance down the trail a terrible commotion. The dust was flying as if it had been twisted around by a whirlwind, and by looking steadily I could see something moving on the bare earth, where the grass is all worn off the road. I rode slowly up to the moving object, ready for any emergency, when I discovered three bull-snakes, two of them of immense size, the third one not so large. They had a half-growncottontail among them, and were fighting bravely for the sole possession of the little creature, which was already nearly dead. I thought I would stay to see the fun, so I whipped the smaller one, and one of the larger of the reptiles away. They went hissing into the grass, as I applied my riding-whip to them pretty lively. Then I sat still on my pony to watch the single snake enjoy the meal I had so opportunely provided for him.
"Presently he began to wind his long body around the rabbit, and I could hear the bones of the poor thing crack as the muscular pressure was applied. He then gradually unfolded himself, turned his head toward the muzzle of his prey, dislocated his jaws, and commenced to take in the rabbit.
"Little by little the rabbit, which was much larger than the snake's body, disappeared, until it was entirely enveloped by the reptile. Then he coolly reset his jaws, and after a series of hisses—perhaps he was thanking me for my kindness in interfering on his behalf—he crawled away into the thick grass. I let him go, Mr. Tucker; for we never kill a bull-snake, they aresuch good hunters for gophers, mice, and even rabbits, which are becoming such a nuisance here. I saw several wolves, of course; you can't go a mile anywhere without seeing them, but as I carried no gun with me I did not try to interview any of them."
"I expect to have a good time the day after to-morrow," said the old trapper, "and it will recall some of my own experiences with them years ago."
"Oh, do tell us about it!" said Kate; "I just love hunting adventures."
"All right, Kate; you have grown into a kind of savage since your life with the Indians, eh?"
"I heard lots of wonderful stories from the warriors when they sat around the fire at night, but they told such abominable yarns that I didn't believe them. They can stretch a thing pretty well, I tell you," answered Kate.
"Begin, please, Mr. Tucker," said Rob, who was as interested as any of the family.
"Well, then," said he, "I will tell you of the brave deed of a Mexican, which occurred a good many years ago, when I was down in Southern California.
"He was a native, and named Amador Sanchez,well known in the Sierra Nevadas as a brave and successful hunter. He had a terrible fight with one of those great shaggy, gray mountain wolves. The struggle lasted for several hours, and ended by both combatants being laid prostrate on the ground. They were so completely exhausted as to be unable to reach each other from want of sheer physical strength. In that condition they passed one whole night. On the following morning, when the Mexican had recovered sufficiently to be able to creep to his shaggy antagonist, he found him dead.
"The terrible conflict grew out of the Mexican's daring attempt to save the life of a boy who was about to be torn to pieces when the Mexican attacked the wolf.
"At one time the wolf had the youth under him in such a way that it was impossible for Sanchez to plant a ball in any vital organ without imperilling the boy's life. Nothing daunted, however, with both revolver and rifle, he succeeded in lodging several bullets in other parts of the savage beast. Still the enraged brute clung to the unfortunate child, using every endeavor to tear him to pieces andhorribly mangling every part of his body. At this juncture, the brave Mexican hunter could no longer refrain from active effort. He dropped his pistols and rifle, drew his sheath-knife and slung-shot; then winding his blanket around his left arm to protect it, he rushed in and compelled the animal to turn upon him, and so gave the boy a chance to escape.
"Wounds were freely given and returned, but the wary Sanchez fought with much dexterity and determination. The wolf finally became so mad with rage and pain, that he closed in upon the Mexican and threw him headlong upon the ground, where he remained almost senseless for a few moments before recovering his breath.
"Instead of following up his advantage, the beast, doubtless believing his enemy dead, because he did not move, commenced to examine and lick his own bleeding wounds. The spirit of the intrepid Mexican, however, was up, and he determined to conquer the wolf or die.
"Early in the struggle, by a blow from his slung-shot, Sanchez had succeeded in breaking the brute's lower jaw, and that was unquestionablythe fortunate wound which eventually gave the victory to the Mexican.
"Sanchez renewed the fight as soon as he felt himself sufficiently rested, and, by adopting some curious tactics, in which he was materially assisted by a clump of trees, he succeeded in putting some heavy blows with his knife right into its vitals. At this, the wolf was aroused again to an unendurable madness, and, gathering himself for one grand effort, he bit at the Mexican's head and once more felled him to the earth. From this final attack, and his previous loss of blood, the brave man fainted dead away. How long he remained in that state he could not tell; but when he became conscious again, he found that the victory was on his side, for the wolf had breathed his last.
"The poor boy, as soon as the battle was decided, as he supposed at the cost of his friend's life, started for the village, arriving there late the following afternoon. Upon hearing his story, a party of well-armed men immediately went to the scene of the struggle, to bury their brave comrade. They were guided by the boy, who was able to ride a pony.
"Arriving at the spot about midnight, they found Sanchez in a most pitiful condition. His flesh was terribly mangled, his clothes were torn to ribbons, and his back and shoulders were one mass of lacerated wounds, inflicted by the sharp teeth and claws of the wolf.
"Although he received the most delicate care and assistance at the hospital from those noble women, the Sisters of Charity, it was many weeks before he was able to resume his occupation of hunting. Even then he owed his life to his wonderful recuperative powers and his iron constitution."
"What a terrible time he must have had," said Kate. "The gray wolf is an awful animal to be attacked by. Do you know that they very frequently go mad, and then many savages are bitten, and die a horrible death from hydrophobia? One of the warriors was bitten while I was down in the Indian village. He had a hand-to-hand tussle with the wolf, and although he was only slightly bitten, he died raving."
"Yes, they are bad brutes to deal with," said the old trapper, "particularly those huge fellows that hunt in packs; a man has not theslightest chance with them. I know that in Oregon, about twelve years ago, the mail rider for the military posts of Forts Dallas and Simcoe was caught in the mountains by a pack of them, and nothing of him or his animal was found excepting the letter sack, the hoofs of his horse, and some buttons, with other portions of the rider's clothing."
"Have you ever had a personal encounter with any of the terrible beasts?" inquired Mrs. Thompson.
"Oh, yes!" replied the old man. "I'll tell you all about it."
"In 1856, I tried to ranche it in the central portion of Washington Territory. I had no neighbor nearer than thirty miles. I was a little lonesome at first, because it was really the first time I had been without partners, and I saw my neighbors but once in a whole year.
"I remember that I started to visit John Elliott. I felt that I needed company, and he and I had trapped together some years before, and were well acquainted.
"Towards evening, I started for my thirty-mile walk. It was in December, and of course,cool, with a magnificent full moon to light my trail through the deep forest and over the prairie.
"I had gone about two miles, I think, and as I neared a small lake, and was tramping along the edge of the water with my rifle carelessly swinging in my left hand, I suddenly heard a growl that startled me, and stopping at once, I saw a great wolf standing with his paw buried in the carcass of a red deer, and his mouth full of its flesh. The brute was not chewing, for his jaws were motionless, and he looked at me as if deciding which was the better meal for him, that which he had under his feet, or I. He was an immense animal. I don't think I have ever seen a larger wolf. If I had left him alone and gone about my business, he would not have troubled me. They are generally cowards, and will run at the sight of man, unless provoked or cornered, or are running in packs, when they will fight to the death.
"I, like the fool that I was, raised my rifle, took a quick aim at him, and pulled the trigger. He jumped at the instant I fired, and although I aimed at his heart, I missed it and hit him in the upper part of the fore leg.Then with his mouth wide open, showing his white teeth, and the froth running down the sides of his cheeks in his rage, he came for me with a howl, which I thought was answered by about fifty more in the timber.
"It didn't take me ten seconds to get up into the fork of an oak tree which stood only a few feet away. By the time I was safely settled in my seat, there were four more of the great grizzled beasts right under me, smacking their chops and whining as if their mouths watered for a taste of my flesh. If I could have talked to them in their own way, I would have suggested that they go and feast off of the deer which still lay intact.
"Then, as I could not make them go away by mere suggestions, I loaded my rifle and shot one of them as dead as the deer. That made more food for the others, as they will eat each other under certain circumstances, but that particular time was not one of them. I didn't blame them, for the brute I had killed was a long, gaunt, miserably thin, mangy-looking creature that seemed as if he had not had anything to eat for a month.
"The refuge I had sought from the ravenous beasts was but a sapling, and I expected it every moment to break with my weight. Presently, I heard the crotch begin to split, and letting my rifle drop, I was quick enough to catch my arms and legs around the trunk of the tree, and hold on for life until I could draw my knife and shove it into my belt ready for use.
"Having accomplished this, I watched my chance, and if there ever was such a scared wolf as the one round whose back I wound my arms when I fell, I'd like to see him!
"We rolled on the ground together, and the other three just backed off to watch the fight, and a pretty moonlight tussle it was. He got my body under him at last, and I thought I was done for.
"I felt a little faint when he sunk his teeth into me, but he didn't seem to like the hold he had, so he pulled his teeth out of me, tore my coat, shirt, and flesh, then seized my fur cap and shook it for a moment, which was a lucky mistake for me on his part. I felt his wet lips on my forehead, and had just time to let go my hold on his throat and clutch my knife, when he seizedmy cap again and made an attempt to swallow it. His throat was in no condition to get it down, however, for my knife-blade was through his jugular, and the point of it in his spinal marrow, and in another minute he was dead wolf!
"I bled considerably when I got up, but I wasn't weakened a bit. The whole affair had occurred in half a minute, and I was ready for the other three, who now all attacked me together. I caught up my rifle and struck one of them across the nose and floored him. As he picked himself up I seized him by the hind foot and fell upon him. If the first wolf was frightened when I tumbled on him from the tree, this one was more so. I can never forget the awful howl he gave as I stood up on my feet again, and swinging him into the air, struck one of the remaining two a terrible blow with his body.
"The first one I had wounded was scared at the novel fight, and tucking his tail between his legs, vanished into the woods, and I was left with only two on my hands. I caught up one of them as I had caught the other, and his comrade took to his heels and was soon out of sight.
"The one I held by the heels, I swung twice around my head and then let him fly. The centrifugal force, as they used to call it at college, forced out his wind, and his scream, as he shot through the air, was diabolical. He went fully a rod into the water, and his howl only stopped when he struck it. I was weak and faint now from the tremendous exertion. The beast came up again, and struck out for the shore. When he reached it, he did not dare to approach me, but stood there as if petrified.
"At last he began to move off. I followed him slowly, and saw that he was getting tired. Presently he stopped again and tried to climb on the top of a shelving rock, but he was very weak, and just as he was making the attempt a second time, I raised my rifle and sent a bullet into his heart.
"I was now rid of all my foes, but too weak to walk much further, so I went back to my cabin and gave up my proposed visit until I was recovered from my wounds."
"Well," said Joe, "that beats my fight with the panther. We sha'n't have any such trouble on the day after to-morrow, though, for we shallhave a big enough party to fight a whole mountain full of them."
It was long after ten o'clock when Mr. Tucker had finished the thrilling story of his fight, and then the family all retired—some of them to dream of wolves, bears, and panthers perhaps.