The Dog Crusoe and his Master

by R. M. Ballantyne

  CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.

  SAVAGE SPORTS--LIVING CATARACTS--AN ALARM--INDIANS AND THEIR DOINGS--THESTAMPEDO--CHARLIE AGAIN.

  One day Dick Varley was out on a solitary hunting expedition near therocky gorge, where his horse had received temporary burial a week or twobefore. Crusoe was with him, of course. Dick had tied Charlie to atree, and was sunning himself on the edge of a cliff, from the top ofwhich he had a fine view of the valley and the rugged precipices thathemmed it in.

  Just in front of the spot on which he sat, the precipices on theopposite side of the gorge rose to a considerable height above him, sothat their ragged outlines were drawn sharply across the clear sky.Dick was gazing in dreamy silence at the jutting rocks and dark caverns,and speculating on the probable number of bears that dwelt there, when aslight degree of restlessness on the part of Crusoe attracted him.

  "What is't, pup?" said he, laying his hand on the dog's broad back.

  Crusoe looked the answer, "I don't know, Dick, but it's _something_, youmay depend upon it, else I would not have disturbed you."

  Dick lifted his rifle from the ground, and laid it in the hollow of hisleft arm.

  "There must be something in the wind," remarked Dick.

  As wind is known to be composed of two distinct gases, Crusoe feltperfectly safe in replying "Yes," with his tail. Immediately after headded, "Hallo! did you hear that?"--with his ears.

  Dick did hear it, and sprang hastily to his feet, as a sound like, yetunlike, distant thunder came faintly down upon the breeze. In a fewseconds the sound increased to a roar in which was mingled the wildcries of men. Neither Dick nor Crusoe moved, for the sounds came frombehind the heights in front of them, and they felt that the only way tosolve the question, "What can the sounds be?" was to wait till thesounds should solve it themselves.

  Suddenly the muffled sounds gave place to the distinct bellowing ofcattle, the clatter of innumerable hoofs, and the yells of savage men,while at the same moment the edges of the opposite cliffs became alivewith Indians and buffaloes rushing about in frantic haste--the formeralmost mad with savage excitement, the latter with blind rage andterror.

  On reaching the edge of the dizzy precipice, the buffaloes turnedabruptly and tossed their ponderous heads as they coursed along theedge. Yet a few of them, unable to check their headlong course, fellover, and were dashed to pieces on the rocks below. Such falls, Dickobserved, were hailed with shouts of delight by the Indians, whose soleobject evidently was to enjoy the sport of driving the terrified animalsover the precipice. The wily savages had chosen their ground well forthis purpose.

  The cliff immediately opposite to Dick Varley was a huge projection fromthe precipice that hemmed in the gorge, or species of cape or promontoryseveral hundred yards wide at the base, and narrowing abruptly to apoint. The sides of this wedge-shaped projection were quiteperpendicular; indeed, in some places the top overhung the base, andthey were at least three hundred feet high. Broken and jagged rocks, ofthat peculiarly chaotic character which probably suggested the name tothis part of the great American chain, projected from, and werescattered all round, the cliffs. Over these the Indians, whose numbersincreased every moment, strove to drive the luckless herd of buffaloesthat had chanced to fall in their way. The task was easy. Theunsuspecting animals, of which there were hundreds, rushed in a densemass upon the cape referred to. On they came with irresistibleimpetuosity, bellowing furiously, while their hoofs thundered on theturf with the muffled continuous roar of a distant, but mightycataract--the Indians, meanwhile, urging them on by hideous yell andfrantic gesture.

  The advance-guard came bounding madly to the edge of the precipice.Here they stopped short, and gazed affrighted at the gulf below. It wasbut for a moment. The irresistible momentum of the flying mass behindpushed them over. Down they came, absolutely a living cataract, uponthe rocks below. Some struck on the projecting rocks in the descent,and their bodies were dashed almost in pieces, while their blood spurtedout in showers. Others leaped from rock to rock with awful bounds,until, losing their foot-hold, they fell headlong, while othersdescended sheer down into the sweltering mass that lay shattered at thebase of the cliffs.

  Dick Varley and his dog remained rooted to the rock, as they gazed atthe sickening sight, as if petrified. Scarce fifty of that noble herdof buffaloes escaped the awful leap, but they escaped only to fallbefore the arrows of their ruthless pursuers. Dick had often heard ofthis tendency of the Indians, where buffaloes were very numerous, todrive them over precipices in mere wanton sport and cruelty, but he hadnever seen it until now, and the sight filled his soul with horror. Itwas not until the din and tumult of the perishing herd and the shrillyells of the Indians had almost died away that he turned to quit thespot. But the instant he did so another shout was raised. The savageshad observed him, and were seen galloping along the cliffs towards thehead of the gorge, with the obvious intention of gaining the other sideand capturing him. Dick sprang on Charlie's back, and the next instantwas flying down the valley towards the camp.

  He did not, however, fear being overtaken, for the gorge could not becrossed, and the way round the head of it was long and rugged; but hewas anxious to alarm the camp as quickly as possible, so that they mighthave time to call in the more distant trappers and make preparations fordefence.

  "Where away now, youngster," inquired Cameron, emerging from his tent asDick, taking the brook that flowed in front at a flying leap, camecrashing through the bushes into the midst of the fur-packs at fullspeed.

  "Injuns!" ejaculated Dick, reining up, and vaulting out of the saddle."Hundreds of 'em. Fiends incarnate every one!"

  "Are they near?"

  "Yes; an hour 'll bring them down on us. Are Joe and Henri far fromcamp to-day?"

  "At Ten-mile Creek," replied Cameron with an expression of bitterness,as he caught up his gun and shouted to several men, who hurried up onseeing our hero's burst into camp.

  "Ten-mile Creek!" muttered Dick. "I'll bring 'em in, though," hecontinued, glancing at several of the camp horses that grazed close athand.

  In another moment he was on Charlie's back, the line of one of the besthorses was in his hand, and almost before Cameron knew what he was abouthe was flying down the valley like the wind. Charlie often stretchedout at full speed to please his young master, but seldom had he beenurged forward as he was upon this occasion. The led horse being lightand wild, kept well up, and, in a marvellously short space of time, theywere at Ten-mile Creek.

  "Hallo, Dick, wot's to do?" inquired Joe Blunt, who was up to his kneesin the water, setting a trap at the moment his friend galloped up.

  "Injuns! Where's Henri?" demanded Dick.

  "At the head o' the dam there."

  Dick was off in a moment, and almost instantly returned with Henrigalloping beside him.

  No word was spoken. In time of action these men did not waste words.During Dick's momentary absence, Joe Blunt had caught up his rifle andexamined the priming, so that when Dick pulled up beside him, he merelylaid his hand on the saddle, saying, "All right!" as he vaulted onCharlie's back behind his young companion. In another moment they wereaway at full speed. The mustang seemed to feel that unwonted exertionswere required of him. Double weighted though he was, he kept well upwith the other horse, and in less than two hours after Dick's leavingthe camp the three hunters came in sight of it.

  Meanwhile Cameron had collected nearly all his forces, and put his campin a state of defence before the Indians arrived, which they didsuddenly, and, as usual, at full gallop, to the amount of at least twohundred. They did not at first seem disposed to hold friendlyintercourse with the trappers, but assembled in a semicircle round thecamp in a menacing attitude, while one of their chiefs stepped forwardto hold a palaver. For some time the conversation on both sides waspolite enough, but by degrees the Indian chief assumed an imperioustone, and demanded gifts from the trappers, taking care to enforce hisrequest by hinting that thousands of his countrymen were not f
ardistant. Cameron stoutly refused, and the palaver threatened to come toan abrupt and unpleasant termination just at the time that Dick and hisfriends appeared on the scene of action.

  The brook was cleared at a bound; the three hunters leaped from theirsteeds and sprang to the front with a degree of energy that had avisible effect on the savages, and Cameron, seizing the moment, proposedthat the two parties should smoke a pipe and hold a council. TheIndians agreed, and in a few minutes they were engaged in animated andfriendly intercourse. The speeches were long, and the compliments paidon either side were inflated, and, we fear, undeserved; but the resultof the interview was, that Cameron made the Indians a present of tobaccoand a few trinkets, and sent them back to their friends to tell themthat he was willing to trade with them.

  Next day the whole tribe arrived in the valley, and pitched theirdeerskin tents on the plain opposite to the camp of the white men.Their numbers far exceeded Cameron's expectation, and it was with someanxiety that he proceeded to strengthen his fortifications as much ascircumstances and the nature of the ground would admit.

  The Indian camp, which numbered upwards of a thousand souls, wasarranged with great regularity, and was divided into three distinctsections, each section being composed of a separate tribe. The GreatSnake Nation at that time embraced three tribes or divisions--namely,the Shirry-dikas, or dog-eaters; the War-are-ree-kas, or fish-eaters;and the Banattees, or robbers. These were the most numerous andpowerful Indians on the west side of the Rocky Mountains. TheShirry-dikas dwelt in the plains, and hunted the buffaloes; dressedwell; were cleanly; rich in horses; bold, independent, and goodwarriors. The War-are-ree-kas lived chiefly by fishing, and were foundon the banks of the rivers and lakes throughout the country. They weremore corpulent, slovenly, and indolent than the Shirry-dikas, and morepeaceful. The Banattees, as we have before mentioned, were the robbersof the mountains. They were a wild and contemptible race, and at enmitywith every one. In summer they went about nearly naked. In winter theyclothed themselves in the skins of rabbits and wolves. Being excellentmimics, they could imitate the howling of wolves, the neighing ofhorses, and the cries of birds, by which means they could approachtravellers, rob them, and then fly to their rocky fastnesses in themountains, where pursuit was vain.

  Such were the men who now assembled in front of the camp of thefur-traders, and Cameron soon found that the news of his presence in thecountry had spread far and wide among the natives, bringing them to theneighbourhood of his camp in immense crowds, so that, during the nextfew days, their numbers increased to thousands.

  Several long palavers quickly ensued between the red men and the white,and the two great chiefs who seemed to hold despotic rule over theassembled tribes were extremely favourable to the idea of universalpeace which was propounded to them. In several set speeches of greatlength and very considerable power, these natural orators explainedtheir willingness to enter into amicable relations with all thesurrounding nations as well as with the white men.

  "But," said Pee-eye-em, the chief of the Shirry-dikas, a man above sixfeet high, and of immense muscular strength,--"but my tribe cannotanswer for the Banattees, who are robbers, and cannot be punished,because they dwell in scattered families among the mountains. TheBanattees are bad; they cannot be trusted."

  None of the Banattees were present at the council when this was said;and if they had been it would have mattered little, for they wereneither fierce nor courageous, although bold enough in their own hauntsto murder and rob the unwary.

  The second chief did not quite agree with Pee-eye-em; he said that itwas impossible for them to make peace with their natural enemies, thePeigans and the Blackfeet on the east side of the mountains. It wasvery desirable, he admitted, but neither of these tribes would consentto it, he felt sure.

  Upon this Joe blunt rose and said, "The great chief of theWar-are-ree-kas is wise, and knows that enemies cannot be reconciledunless deputies are sent to make proposals of peace."

  "The Pale-face does not know the Blackfeet," answered the chief. "Whowill go into the lands of the Blackfeet? My young men have been sentonce and again, and their scalps are now fringes to the leggings oftheir enemies. The War-are-ree-kas do not cross the mountains but forthe purpose of making war."

  "The chief speaks truth," returned Joe, "yet there are three men roundthe council-fire who will go to the Blackfeet and the Peigans withmessages of peace from the Snakes if they wish it."

  Joe pointed to himself, Henri, and Dick as he spoke, and added, "Wethree do not belong to the camp of the fur-traders; we only lodge withthem for a time. The Great Chief of the white men has sent us to makepeace with the Red-men, and to tell them that he desires to trade withthem--to exchange hatchets, and guns, and blankets for furs."

  This declaration interested the two chiefs greatly, and after a gooddeal of discussion they agreed to take advantage of Joe Blunt's offer,and appoint him as a deputy to the court of their enemies. Havingarranged these matters to their satisfaction, Cameron bestowed a redflag and a blue surtout with brass buttons on each of the chiefs, and avariety of smaller articles on the other members of the council, andsent them away in a particularly amiable frame of mind.

  Pee-eye-em burst the blue surtout at the shoulders and elbows in puttingit on, as it was much too small for his gigantic frame, but, neverhaving seen such an article of apparel before, he either regarded thisas the natural and proper consequence of putting it on, or was totallyindifferent to it, for he merely looked at the rents with a smile ofsatisfaction, while his squaw surreptitiously cut off the two backbuttons and thrust them into her bosom.

  By the time the council closed the night was far advanced, and a brightmoon was shedding a flood of soft light over the picturesque and busyscene.

  "I'll go to the Injun camp," said Joe to Walter Cameron, as the chiefsrose to depart. "The season's far enough advanced already; it's time tobe off; and if I'm to speak for the Red-skins in the Blackfeet Council,I'd need to know what to say."

  "Please yourself, Master Blunt," answered Cameron. "I like your companyand that of your friends, and if it suited you I would be glad to takeyou along with us to the coast of the Pacific; but your mission amongthe Indians is a good one, and I'll help it on all I can. I suppose youwill go also?" he added, turning to Dick Varley, who was still seatedbeside the council-fire caressing Crusoe.

  "Wherever Joe goes, I go," answered Dick.

  Crusoe's tail, ears and eyes demonstrated high approval of the sentimentinvolved in this speech.

  "And your friend Henri?"

  "He goes too," answered Joe. "It's as well that the Red-skins shouldsee the three o' us before we start for the east side o' the mountains.Ho! Henri, come here, lad."

  Henri obeyed, and in a few seconds the three friends crossed the brookto the Indian camp, and were guided to the principal lodge byPee-eye-em. Here a great council was held, and the proposed attempt atnegotiations for peace with their ancient enemies fully discussed.While they were thus engaged, and just as Pee-eye-em had, in the energyof an enthusiastic peroration burst the blue surtout _almost_ up to thecollar, a distant rushing sound was heard, which caused every man tospring to his feet, run out of the tent, and seize his weapons.

  "What can it be, Joe?" whispered Dick, as they stood at the tent doorleaning on their rifles, and listening intently.

  "Dunno," answered Joe shortly.

  Most of the numerous fires of the camp had gone out, but the bright moonrevealed the dusky forms of thousands of Indians, whom the unwontedsound had startled, moving rapidly about.

  The mystery was soon explained. The Indian camp was pitched on an openplain of several miles in extent, which took a sudden bend half a miledistant, where a spur of the mountains shut out the further end of thevalley from view. From beyond this point the dull rumbling soundproceeded. Suddenly there was a roar as if a mighty cataract had beenlet loose upon the scene. At the same moment a countless herd of wildhorses came thundering round the base of the mount
ain and swept over theplain straight towards the Indian camp.

  "A stampedo!" cried Joe, springing to the assistance of Pee-eye-em,whose favourite horses were picketted near the tent.

  On they came like a living torrent, and the thunder of a thousand hoofswas soon mingled with the howling of hundreds of dogs in the camp, andthe yelling of Indians, as they vainly endeavoured to restrain therising excitement of their steeds. Henri and Dick stood rooted to theground, gazing in silent wonder at the fierce and uncontrollable gallopof the thousands of panic-stricken horses that bore down upon the campwith the tumultuous violence of a mighty cataract.

  As the maddened troop drew nigh, the camp horses began to snort andtremble violently, and when the rush of the wild steeds was almost uponthem, they became ungovernable with terror, broke their halters andhobbles, and dashed wildly about. To add to the confusion at thatmoment, a cloud passed over the moon and threw the whole scene into deepobscurity. Blind with terror, which was probably increased by the dinof their own mad flight, the galloping troop came on, and, with a soundlike the continuous roar of thunder that for an instant drowned the yellof dog and man, they burst upon the camp, trampling over packs andskins, and dried meat, etcetera, in their headlong speed, andoverturning several of the smaller tents. In another moment they sweptout upon the plain beyond, and were soon lost in the darkness of thenight, while the yelping of dogs, as they vainly pursued them, mingledand gradually died away with the distant thunder of their retreat.

  This was a "_stampedo_," one of the most extraordinary scenes that canbe witnessed in the western wilderness.

  "Lend a hand, Henri," shouted Joe, who was struggling with a powerfulhorse. "Wot's comed over yer brains, man? This brute 'll git off if yedon't look sharp."

  Dick and Henri both answered to the summons, and they succeeded inthrowing the struggling animal on its side and holding it down until itsexcitement was somewhat abated. Pee-eye-em had also been successful insecuring his favourite hunter, but nearly every other horse belonging tothe camp had broken loose and joined the whirlwind gallop, but theygradually dropped out, and, before morning, the most of them weresecured by their owners. As there were at least two thousand horses andan equal number of dogs in the part of the Indian camp which had beenthus over-run by the wild mustangs, the turmoil, as may be imagined, wasprodigious! Yet, strange to say, no accident of a serious natureoccurred beyond the loss of several chargers.

  In the midst of this exciting scene there was one heart there which beatwith a nervous vehemence that well-nigh burst it. This was the heart ofDick Varley's horse, Charlie. Well-known to him was that distantrumbling sound that floated on the night air into the fur-trader's campwhere he was picketted close to Cameron's tent. Many a time had heheard the approach of such a wild troop, and often, in days not longgone by, had his shrill neigh rung out as he joined and led thepanic-stricken band. He was first to hear the sound, and by his restiveactions, to draw the attention of the fur-traders to it. As aprecautionary measure they all sprang up and stood by their horses tosoothe them, but as a brook with a belt of bushes and quarter of a mileof plain intervened between their camp and the mustangs as they flewpast, they had little or no trouble in restraining them. Not so,however, with Charlie. At the very moment that his master wascongratulating himself on the supposed security of his position, hewrenched the halter from the hand of him who held it, burst through thebarrier of felled trees that had been thrown round the camp, cleared thebrook at a bound, and, with a wild hilarious neigh, resumed his oldplace in the ranks of the free-born mustangs of the prairie.

  Little did Dick think, when the flood of horses swept past him, that hisown good steed was there, rejoicing in his recovered liberty. ButCrusoe knew it. Ay, the wind had borne down the information to hisacute nose before the living storm burst upon the camp, and when Charlierushed past with the long tough halter trailing at his heels, Crusoesprang to his side, seized the end of the halter with his teeth, andgalloped off along with him.

  It was a long gallop and a tough one, but Crusoe held on, for it was asettled principle in his mind _never_ to give in. At first the checkupon Charlie's speed was imperceptible, but by degrees the weight of thegigantic dog began to tell, and, after a time, they fell a little to therear; then, by good fortune, the troop passed through a mass ofunderwood, and the line, getting entangled, brought their mad careerforcibly to a close; the mustangs passed on, and the two friends wereleft to keep each other company in the dark.

  How long they would have remained thus is uncertain, for neither of themhad sagacity enough to undo a complicated entanglement; fortunately,however, in his energetic tugs at the line, Crusoe's sharp teethpartially severed it, and a sudden start on the part of Charlie causedit to part. Before he could escape, Crusoe again seized the end of itand led him slowly but steadily back to the Indian camp, never haltingor turning aside until he had placed the line in Dick Varley's hand.

  "Hallo, pup! where have ye bin. How did ye bring him here?" exclaimedDick, as he gazed in amazement at his foam-covered horse.

  Crusoe wagged his tail, as if to say, "Be thankful that you've got him,Dick, my boy, and don't ask questions that you know I can't answer."

  "He must ha' broke loose and jined the stampedo," remarked Joe, comingout of the chief's tent at the moment; "but tie him up, Dick, and comein, for we want to settle about startin' to-morrow or nixt day."

  Having fastened Charlie to a stake, and ordered Crusoe to watch him,Dick re-entered the tent where the council had re-assembled, and wherePee-eye-em--having, in the recent struggle, split the blue surtoutcompletely up to the collar, so that his backbone was visible throughoutthe greater part of its length--was holding forth in eloquent strains onthe subject of peace in general and peace with the Blackfeet, theancient enemies of the Shirry-dikas, in particular.