The Dog Crusoe and His Master - Robert Michael Ballantyne
"Ho! ho!" exclaimed the Indians, which expression might be translated,
"Hear! hear!"
"But," continued Cameron, "we wish to have no war. We wish to see the
hatchet buried, and to see all the red men and the white men smoking
the pipe of peace, and hunting like brothers."
The "Ho--ho--ing" at this was very emphatic.
"Now," resumed the trader, "the Peigans have got two prisoners--two
Pale-faces--in their camp, and as we cannot be on good terms while our
brothers are detained, we have come to ask for them, and to _present
some gifts_ to the Peigans."
To this there was no "Ho" at all, but a prolonged silence, which was
at length interrupted by a tall chief stepping forward to address the
trappers.
"What the Pale-face chief has said is good," began the Indian. "His
words are wise, and his heart is not double. The Red-men are willing
to smoke the pipe of peace, and to hunt with all men as brothers, but
they cannot do it while many of their scalps are hanging in the lodges
of their enemies and fringing the robes of the warriors. The Peigans
must have vengeance; then they will make peace."
After a short pause he continued,--
"The chief is wrong when he says there are Pale-faces in the Peigan
camp. The Peigans are not at war with the Pale-faces; neither have
they seen any on their march. The camp is open. Let the Pale-faces
look round and see that what we say is true."
The chief waved his hand towards his warriors as he concluded, as if
to say, "Search amongst them. There are no Pale-faces there."
Cameron now spoke to Dick in a low tone. "They speak confidently," he
said, "and I fear greatly that your poor comrades have either been
killed or conveyed away from the camp and hidden among the mountains,
in which case, even though they should not be far off, it would be
next to impossible to find them, especially when such a band of
rascals is near, compelling us to keep together. But I'll try what a
little tempting them with goods will do. At any rate, we shan't give
in without a scuffle."
It now, for the first time, flashed across Dick Varley that there was
something more than he imagined in Crusoe's restless anxiety, which
had not in the least abated, and the idea of making use of him now
occurred to his mind.
"I've a notion that I'll settle this matter in a shorter time than you
think," he said hurriedly, "if you'll agree to try what _threatening_
will do."
The trader looked grave and undecided. "I never resort to that except
as a last hope," he answered; "but I've a good deal of confidence in
your prudence. What would you advise?"
Dick and the trader whispered a few minutes together, while some of
the men, in order to show the Indians how perfectly unconcerned they
were, and how ready for _anything_, took out their pipes and began
to smoke. Both parties were seated on the ground, and during this
interval the Indians also held eager discussion.
At length Cameron stood up, and said to his men in a quiet tone, "Be
ready, lads, for instant action. When I give the word 'Up,' spring to
your feet and cock your guns; but _don't fire a shot till you get the
word_." He then stepped forward and said,--
"The Peigan warriors are double-tongued; they know that they have hid
the Pale-face prisoners. We do not wish to quarrel, but if they are
not delivered up at once the Pale-faces and the Peigans will not be
friends."
Upon this the Indian chief again stood forward and said, "The Peigans
are _not_ double-tongued. They have not seen Pale-faces till to-day.
They can say no more."
Without moving hand or foot, Cameron then said in a firm tone, "The
first Peigan that moves shall die! Up, lads, and ready!"
In the twinkling of an eye the trappers sprang to their feet, and
cocking their rifles stood perfectly motionless, scowling at the
savages, who were completely taken by surprise at the unusual
suddenness and informality of such a declaration of war. Not a man
moved, for, unlike white men, they seldom risk their lives in open
fight; and as they looked at the formidable row of muzzles that waited
but a word to send instant death into their midst, they felt that
discretion was at that time the better part of valour.
"Now," said Cameron, while Dick Varley and Crusoe stepped up beside
him, "my young warrior will search for the Pale-face prisoners. If
they are found, we will take them and go away. If they are not found,
we will ask the Peigans to forgive us, and will give them gifts. But
in the meantime, if a Peigan moves from the spot where he sits, or
lifts a bow, my young men shall fire, and the Peigans know that the
rifle of the Pale-face always kills."
Without waiting for an answer, Dick immediately said, "Seek 'em out,
pup," and Crusoe bounded away.
For a few minutes he sprang hither and thither through the camp, quite
regardless of the Indians, and snuffed the air several times, whining
in an excited tone, as if to relieve his feelings. Then he put his
nose to the ground and ran straight forward into the woods.
Dick immediately bounded after him like a deer, while the trappers
kept silent guard over the savages.
For some time Crusoe ran straight forward. Then he came to a spot
where there was a good deal of drifted snow on the ground. Here
he seemed to lose the trail for a little, and ran about in all
directions, whining in a most piteous tone.
"Seek 'em out, pup," repeated Dick encouragingly, while his own breast
heaved with excitement and expectation.
In a few seconds the dog resumed its onward course, and led the
way into a wild, dark spot, which was so overshadowed by trees and
precipitous cliffs that the light of the sun scarce found entrance.
There were many huge masses of rock scattered over the ground, which
had fallen from the cliffs. Behind one of these lay a mound of dried
leaves, towards which Crusoe darted and commenced scraping violently.
Trembling with dread that he should find this to be the grave of his
murdered companions, Dick rushed forward and hastily cleared away the
leaves. The first handful thrown off revealed part of the figure of a
man. Dick's heart beat audibly as he cleared the leaves from the face,
and he uttered a suppressed cry on beholding the well-known features
of Joe Blunt. But they were not those of a dead man. Joe's eyes met
his with a scowl of anger, which instantly gave place to one of
intense surprise.
"Joe Blunt!" exclaimed Dick in a voice of intense amazement, while
Crusoe snuffed round the heap of leaves and whined with excitement.
But Joe did not move, neither did he speak a word in reply--for the
very good reason that his mouth was tightly bound with a band of
leather, his hands and feet were tied, and his whole body was secured
in a rigid, immovable position by being bound to a pole of about his
own length.
In a moment Dick's knife was out, bands and cords were severed, and
Joe Blunt was free.
"Thank God!" exclaimed Joe with a deep, earnest sigh, the instant his
lips were loosened, "and thanks to _you_, lad!" he added, endeavouring
to rise; but his limbs had become so benumbed in consequence of the
cords by which they had been compressed that for some time he could
not move.
"I'll rub ye, Joe; I'll soon rub ye into a right state," said Dick,
going down on his knees.
"No, no, lad, look sharp and dig up Henri. He's just beside me here."
Dick immediately rose, and pushing aside the heap of leaves, found
Henri securely bound in the same fashion. But he could scarce refrain
from laughing at the expression of that worthy's face. Hearing the
voices of Joe and Dick Varley in conversation, though unable to see
their persons, he was filled with such unbounded amazement that his
eyes, when uncovered, were found to be at their largest possible
stretch, and as for the eyebrows they were gone, utterly lost among
the roots of his voluminous hair.
"Henri, friend, I knew I should find ye," said Dick, cutting the
thongs that bound him. "Get up if ye can; we haven't much time
to lose, an' mayhap we'll have to fight afore we're done wi' the
Redskins. Can ye rise?"
Henri could do nothing but lie on his back and gasp, "Eh! possible!
mon frere! Oh, non, non, _not_ possible. Oui! my broder Deek!"
Here he attempted to rise, but being unable fell back again, and the
whole thing came so suddenly, and made so deep an impression on his
impulsive mind, that he incontinently burst into tears; then he burst
into a long laugh. Suddenly he paused, and scrambling up to a sitting
posture, looked earnestly into Dick's face through his tearful eyes.
"Oh, non, non!" he exclaimed, stretching himself out at full length
again, and closing his eyes; "it are too goot to be true. I am dream.
I vill wait till I am wake."
Dick roused him out of this, resolute sleep, however, somewhat
roughly. Meanwhile Joe had rubbed and kicked himself into a state of
animation, exclaiming that he felt as if he wos walkin' on a thousand
needles and pins, and in a few minutes they were ready to accompany
their overjoyed deliverer back to the Peigan camp. Crusoe testified
his delight in various elephantine gambols round the persons of his
old friends, who were not slow to acknowledge his services.
"They haven't treated us overly well," remarked Joe Blunt, as they
strode through the underwood.
"Non, de rascale, vraiment, de am villains. Oui! How de have talk,
too, 'bout--oh-o-oo-ooo-wah!--roastin' us alive, an' puttin' our scalp
in de vigvam for de poo-poose to play wid!"
"Well, niver mind, Henri, we'll be quits wi' them now," said Joe, as
they came in sight of the two bands, who remained in precisely the
same position in which they had been left, except that one or two of
the more reckless of the trappers had lit their pipes and taken to
smoking, without, however, laying down their rifles or taking their
eyes off the savages.
A loud cheer greeted the arrival of the prisoners, and looks of
considerable discomfort began to be evinced by the Indians.
"Glad to see you, friends," said Cameron, as they came up.
"Ve is 'appy ov de same," replied Henri, swaggering up in the
joviality of his heart, and seizing the trader's hand in his own
enormous fist. "Shall ve go to vork an' slay dem all at vonce, or von
at a time?"
"We'll consider that afterwards, my lad. Meantime go you to the rear
and get a weapon of some sort."
"Oui. Ah! c'est charmant," he cried, going with an immense flounder
into the midst of the amused trappers, and slapping those next to
him on the back. "Give me veapon, do, mes amis--gun, pistol,
anyting--cannon, if you have von."
Meanwhile Cameron and Joe spoke together for a few moments.
"You had goods with you, and horses, I believe, when you were
captured," said the former.
"Ay, that we had. Yonder stand the horses, under the pine-tree, along
wi' the rest o' the Redskin troop; an' a hard time they've had o't,
as their bones may tell without speakin'. As for the goods," he
continued, glancing round the camp, "I don't know where--ah! yes,
there they be in the old pack. I see all safe."
Cameron now addressed the Indians.
"The Peigans," he said, "have not done well. Their hearts have not
been true to the Pale-faces. Even now I could take your scalps where
you sit, but white men do not like war, they do not like revenge. The
Peigans may go free."
Considering the fewness of their numbers, this was bold language to
use towards the Indians; but the boldest is generally the best policy
on such occasions. Moreover, Cameron felt that, being armed with
rifles, while the Indians had only bows and arrows, the trappers had a
great advantage over them.
The Indian who had spoken before now rose and said he was sorry there
should be any cause of difference between them, and added he was sorry
for a great many more things besides, but he did not say he was sorry
for having told a lie.
"But, before you go, you must deliver up the horses and goods
belonging to these men," said Cameron, pointing to Joe and Henri.
This was agreed to. The horses were led out, the two little packs
containing Joe's goods were strapped upon them, and then the trappers
turned to depart. The Indians did not move until they had mounted;
then they rose and advanced in a body to the edge of the wood, to see
the Pale-faces go away. Meanwhile Joe spoke a few words to Cameron,
and the men were ordered to halt, while the former dismounted and led
his horse towards the band of savages.
"Peigans," he said, "you know the object for which I came into this
country was to make peace between you and the Pale-faces. I have often
told you so when you would not listen, and when you told me that I had
a double heart and told lies. You were wrong when you said this; but I
do not wonder, for you live among nations who do not fear God, and
who think it right to lie. I now repeat to you what I said before.
It would be good for the Red-men if they would make peace with the
Pale-faces, and if they would make peace with each other. I will now
convince you that I am in earnest, and have all along been speaking
the truth."
Hereupon Joe Blunt opened his bundle of goods, and presented fully
one-half of the gaudy and brilliant contents to the astonished
Indians, who seemed quite taken aback by such generous treatment.
The result of this was that the two parties separated with mutual
expressions of esteem and good-will. The Indians then returned to the
forest, and the white men galloped back to their camp among the hills.
CHAPTER XX.
_New plans_--_Our travellers join the fur-traders, and see many
strange things_--_A curious fight_--_A narrow escape, and a prisoner
taken_.
Not long after the events related in the last chapter, our four
friends--Dick, and Joe, and Henri, and Crusoe--agreed to become for a
time members of Walter Cameron's band of trappers. Joe joined because
one of the objects which the traders had in view was similar to his
own mission--namely, the promoting of peace among the various Indian
tribes of the mountains and plains to the west. Joe, therefore,
thought it a good opportunity of travelling with a band of men who
could secure him a favourable hearing from the Indian tribes they
might chance to meet with in the course of their wanderings. Besides,
as the traders carried about a large supply of goods with them, he
could easily replenish his own nearly exhausted pack by hunting wild
animals and exchanging their skins for such articles as he might
require.
Dick joined because it afforded him an opportunity of seeing the wild,
majestic scenery of the Rocky Mountains, and shooting the big-horned
sheep which abounded there, and the grizzly "bars," as Joe named them,
or "Caleb," as they were more frequently styled by Henri and the other
men.
Henri joined because it was agreeable to the inclination of his own
rollicking, blundering, floundering, crashing disposition, and because
he would have joined anything that had been joined by the other two.
Crusoe's reason for joining was single, simple, easy to be expressed,
easy to be understood, and commendable. _He_ joined--because Dick did.
The very day after the party left the encampment where Dick had shot
the grizzly bear and the deer, he had the satisfaction of bringing
down a splendid specimen of the big-horned sheep. It came suddenly
out from a gorge of the mountain, and stood upon the giddy edge of a
tremendous precipice, at a distance of about two hundred and fifty
yards.
"_You_ could not hit that," said a trapper to Henri, who was rather
fond of jeering him about his shortsightedness.
"Non!" cried Henri, who didn't see the animal in the least; "say you
dat? ve shall see;" and he let fly with a promptitude that amazed his
comrades, and with a result that drew from them peals of laughter.
"Why, you have missed the mountain!"
"Oh, non! dat am eempossoble."
It was true, nevertheless, for his ball had been arrested in its
flight by the stem of a tree not twenty yards before him.
While the shot was yet ringing, and before the laugh above referred to
had pealed forth, Dick Varley fired, and the animal, springing wildly
into the air, fell down the precipice, and was almost dashed to
pieces at their feet. This Rocky Mountain or big-horned sheep was a
particularly large and fine one, but being a patriarch of the flock
was not well suited for food. It was considerably larger in size than
the domestic sheep, and might be described as somewhat resembling a
deer in the body and a ram in the head. Its horns were the chief point
of interest to Dick; and, truly, they were astounding! Their enormous
size was out of all proportion to the animal's body, and they curved
backwards and downwards, and then curled up again in a sharp point.
These creatures frequent the inaccessible heights of the Rocky
Mountains, and are difficult to approach. They have a great fondness
for salt, and pay regular visits to the numerous caverns of these
mountains, which are encrusted with a saline substance.
Walter Cameron now changed his intention of proceeding to the
eastward, as he found the country not so full of beaver at that
particular spot as he had anticipated. He therefore turned towards
the west, penetrated into the interior of the mountains, and took a
considerable sweep through the lovely valleys on their western slopes.
The expedition which this enterprising fur-trader was conducting was
one of the first that ever penetrated these wild regions in search of
furs. The ground over which they travelled was quite new to them, and
having no guide they just moved about at haphazard, encamping on the
margin of every stream or river on which signs of the presence of
beaver were discovered, and setting their traps.
Beaver skins at this time were worth 25s. a-piece in the markets of
civilized lands, and in the Snake country, through which our friends
were travelling, thousands of them were to be had from the Indians for
trinkets and baubles that were scarce worth a farthing. A beaver skin
could be procured from the Indians for a brass finger-ring or a penny
looking-glass. Horses were also so numerous that one could be procured
for an axe or a knife.
Let not the reader, however, hastily conclude that the traders cheated
the Indians in this traffic, though the profits were so enormous. The
ring or the axe was indeed a trifle to the trader, but the beaver skin
and the horse were equally trifles to the savage, who could procure as
many of them as he chose with very little trouble, while the ring and
the axe were in his estimation of priceless value. Besides, be it
remembered, to carry that ring and that axe to the far-distant haunts
of the Red-man cost the trader weeks and months of constant toil,
trouble, anxiety, and, alas! too frequently cost him his life! The
state of trade is considerably modified in these regions at the
present day. It is not more _justly_ conducted, for, in respect of the
value of goods given for furs, it was justly conducted _then_, but
time and circumstances have tended more to equalize the relative
values of articles of trade.
The snow which had prematurely fallen had passed away, and the
trappers now found themselves wandering about in a country so
beautiful and a season so delightful, that it would have seemed to
them a perfect paradise, but for the savage tribes who hovered about
them, and kept them ever on the _qui vive_.
They soon passed from the immediate embrace of stupendous heights and
dark gorges to a land of sloping ridges, which divided the country
into a hundred luxuriant vales, composed part of woodland and part of
prairie. Through these, numerous rivers and streams flowed deviously,
beautifying the landscape and enriching the land. There were also many
lakes of all sizes, and these swarmed with fish, while in some of them
were found the much-sought-after and highly-esteemed beaver. Salt
springs and hot springs of various temperatures abounded here, and
many of the latter were so hot that meat could be boiled in them.
Salt existed in all directions in abundance and of good quality. A
sulphurous spring was also discovered, bubbling out from the base of a
perpendicular rock three hundred feet high, the waters of which were
dark-blue and tasted like gunpowder. In short, the land presented
every variety of feature calculated to charm the imagination and
delight the eye.
It was a mysterious land, too; for broad rivers burst in many places
from the earth, flowed on for a short space, and then disappeared
as if by magic into the earth from which they rose. Natural bridges
spanned the torrents in many places, and some of these were so
correctly formed that it was difficult to believe they had not been
built by the hand of man. They often appeared opportunely to our
trappers, and saved them the trouble and danger of fording rivers.
Frequently the whole band would stop in silent wonder and awe as they
listened to the rushing of waters under their feet, as if another
world of streams, and rapids, and cataracts were flowing below the
crust of earth on which they stood. Some considerable streams were
likewise observed to gush from the faces of precipices, some twenty or
thirty feet from their summits, while on the top no water was to be
seen.
Wild berries of all kinds were found in abundance, and wild
vegetables, besides many nutritious roots. Among other fish, splendid
salmon were found in the lakes and rivers, and animal life swarmed on
hill and in dale. Woods and valleys, plains and ravines, teemed with
it. On every plain the red-deer grazed in herds by the banks of lake
and stream. Wherever there were clusters of poplar and elder trees and
saplings, the beaver was seen nibbling industriously with his sharp
teeth, and committing as much havoc in the forest as if he had been
armed with the woodman's axe; others sported in the eddies. Racoons
sat in the tree-tops; the marten, the black fox, and the wolf prowled
in the woods in quest of prey; mountain sheep and goats browsed on the
rocky ridges; and badgers peeped from their holes.
Here, too, the wild horse sprang snorting and dishevelled from his
mountain retreats--with flourishing mane and tail, spanking step, and
questioning gaze--and thundered away over the plains and valleys,
while the rocks echoed back his shrill neigh. The huge, heavy,
ungainly elk, or moose-deer, _trotted_ away from the travellers with
speed equal to that of the mustang: elks seldom gallop; their best
speed is attained at the trot. Bears, too, black, and brown, and
grizzly, roamed about everywhere.
So numerous were all these creatures that on one occasion the hunters
of the party brought in six wild horses, three bears, four elks, and
thirty red-deer; having shot them all a short distance ahead of the
main body, and almost without diverging from the line of march. And
this was a matter of everyday occurrence--as it had need to be,
considering the number of mouths that had to be filled.
The feathered tribes were not less numerous. Chief among these were
eagles and vultures of uncommon size, the wild goose, wild duck, and
the majestic swan.
In the midst of such profusion the trappers spent a happy time of it,
when not molested by the savages, but 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.