On the Kentucky Frontier: A Story of the Fighting Pioneers of the West

by James Otis

  CHAPTER V.

  DOWN THE OHIO.

  Paul's question as to whether we would ever come back caused me to beattacked by timorousness, the first sensation of the kind I hadexperienced since the venture was proposed.

  Now the matter had been brought home to me in such an innocent way, Ibegan to realize all that this journey might mean. I had not spent mylife on the frontier without having heard of Major Clarke, and knew fullwell he would not turn his back because of danger; in fact, should hechance to lead his men into a place where their lives were imperiled,the major's first thought would be as to how he might get the best ofthe foe--not as to how he and his following could escape.

  In addition to this, only a single glance was needed to show that thework would be hot, once the force had come within striking distance ofthe enemy. Major Clarke had enlisted none save old frontiersmen, eachone of whom had battled for his life against the painted wolves a dozentimes over, and I question if there was a man in the forest who had notsome private wrongs to avenge upon both savages and Britishers.

  Knowing all this, one need be a simple who did not understand how sharpwould be the efforts to strike a telling blow once the company was inthe vicinity of the enemy, whether that enemy was a red-coated soldier,or a half-naked, feather-bedecked brute such as had lived a life ofmurdering and plundering since the first day the white men came intothat section of the country.

  And Paul and I were to act, as best we might, the part of scouts inadvance of such a force as was this which followed Major Clarke! Wewho, because of our ignorance, should have remained in the rear, wouldlead the way, taking perforce the hottest of the fights because of beingthe first to encounter the foe.

  It is little wonder that I was overwhelmed with timorousness onrealizing for the first time what I had taken upon myself; but Paul, whonever dreamed of all we might seek out, remained calm and placid as ifours was to be the most innocent of pleasure excursions.

  The lad was surprised at finding me silent when he had done no more thanrepeat what I had said to him a dozen times over, and asked solicitouslyif I was ill.

  It would have been little more than the truth had I told him I was sickwith fear; but such words would have shamed me, and I held my peace,allowing him to believe that I who had never known a day's sickness, hadsuddenly been overcome in some womanish fashion.

  It was Simon Kenton who broke in upon our not overly pleasantconversation, by saying gleefully, as one might who had just come intosome good fortune.

  "If you lads have settled all your business, we'll be off 'twixt now an'sunset, for I'm countin' on gettin' a good view of the river before wemake a halt."

  "Are the men ready to move?" I asked in surprise.

  "They will follow twenty-four hours later, provided we learn of nothin'to prevent the movement. It's our task to spy out the land, an' we'rebound to keep well in advance."

  I glanced quickly at Paul in order to see how the news affected him; butnot so much as a tremor of the eyelids followed this information.Perhaps if he had known all the danger as well as did I, he might havepresented a different appearance.

  It would have been shameful had I shown fear when this lad who knewnothing of life on the frontier remained unmoved, and I stiffened mylip as best I might, resolved that neither he nor Simon Kenton shouldguess of that which was in my heart.

  Not only did the scout intend to set forth on this day; but I understoodfrom his movements that he was eager to begin the work as soon aspossible, despite the fact of his having spoken as if an hour earlier orlater could make no difference to him, and I said with so much ofcalmness as might be forced into my voice:

  "If it so be you are minded to go at once, I can make ready within fiveminutes."

  "It would please me to be rid of this place. A crowd of people is not tomy likin' an' by settin' out now there will be no call for any greathaste, whereas the same cannot be said in case we are but a few hoursahead of the volunteers."

  "I wish only to have a word with my mother, and then we cannot leave theisland too soon to please me," I replied, and added on observing inPaul's face what I fancied was a wistful look, as if he was saying tohimself that it would be a consolation to have some one bid him Godspeed, "will you come with me, lad? I dare venture to say she will treatus both alike."

  He sprang forward eagerly, with the moisture of a coming tear in hiseyes, and we went toward that portion of the encampment where were thewomen, all of whom found ample occupation in cooking for the volunteers.

  Perhaps it is as well if I set down nothing regarding the parting withmy mother; it was painful to me, and cannot deeply interest any whoreads these lines, if peradventure they really have a reader.

  It is enough if I say that both us lads, for she gave Paul the same showof affection as was bestowed upon me, promised to be as careful of ourlives as one could who had set about such work as ours might prove, andin less than half an hour from the moment Simon Kenton announced hisintention of leaving the island, we were standing by the water's edgeawaiting his commands.

  The young scout did not delay once we were ready. A canoe such as isknown by the name of "dugout," was moored to a tree, and in her had beenloaded our scanty outfit.

  A supply of ammunition, pepper, salt, a few potatoes and three loaves ofcorn bread made up the list of our belongings such as we could not carryin the pockets of our hunting shirts. As a matter of course each had aknife and a rifle, which last would serve to provide us with more food,and we really needed nothing else.

  Paul had made an attempt to speak with his father before leaving; butMr. Sampson was so deeply engaged in laying plans for the future villagewhich was to spring up on the banks of the Ohio, that he had no time tospend on his son.

  Major Clarke was the only member of all that company who knew we were toset out at this time, and he remained in close conversation with SimonKenton a good half hour after Paul and I had taken our places in thedugout. Then, seeing that the scout was eager to be off, he steppedback, saying to us lads:

  "See to it that you follow closely the instructions given by Kenton;your lives may depend upon obedience, for the work you have undertakenis in the highest degree dangerous."

  He might have spared himself that much breath, so far as I wasconcerned, for there was in my mind a very good idea of the perils wewould be called upon to face, and I had little relish for such areminder, because my courage at this moment was none of the best.

  "So long as we remain in advance you may count on it that there isnothin' to fear," Kenton said as he unmoored the boat and sent hermoving out into the current with a single stroke of the paddle. "Weshall give you fair warnin' if we come across anything worth knowin',unless----"

  He did not finish the sentence; but I knew full well how to conclude it."Unless we are taken by surprise and all killed," is what he would havesaid but for the fear of alarming Paul and me.

  Before we were half a mile from the island I came to realize that I wasplaying the part of a fool by allowing my mind to dwell upon thepossibilities of the future, and, forcing thought into a differentchannel, I began to speak of the village which it was proposed to buildon the bank of the river, little dreaming that it would one day be agreat city known as Louisville, as if named for me.

  During ten minutes or more, not a word was spoken, and then as iftalking to himself, Kenton said:

  "The volunteers will set out sometime to-morrow, an' should move alongas fast as we can."

  "Are all the men coming down the river?" Paul said:

  "Some will be left behind to look after the women and children; but theremainder are to set off in the flat boats that were moored at the otherside of the island."

  "If they are to come in boats, I do not understand why we push onahead," I said stupidly, whereupon Kenton replied:

  "It's our business to know if the painted snakes are nearabout the riverin any great force."

  "And how may we learn that, unless we tramp along the shore?"

  "The
chances are that the snakes would fire at us, not countin' on themain force bein' so near."

  "In which case we should gain the information by being shot--perhapskilled."

  "I reckon one of us would come out alive, an' he could get back to givethe news," Kenton said quietly, as if the possibility of our losing ourlives was as nothing so long as the volunteers were warned. "But there'sa good chance we'd all slip through without a scratch, even though thereptiles had gathered in full force, for they're not the best marksmento be found hereabout, an' by keepin' well in the middle of the streamit should be safe sailin'. Now I'm thinkin' we'd better keep our tonguesquiet, and set our eyes at work, else there's a show of slippin' by whatwe've been sent to find. If you see the least auspicious looking thing,sing out, and we'll know what it means before goin' any further."

  Paul listened to these words as if they had no especial concern for him,and I was near to being vexed with the lad because of his seemingindifference when life was in danger; but checked myself with thethought that he would put on a different look if he fully understood thesituation.

  By this time Simon Kenton was keeping his eyes at work as he labored atthe paddle, refusing my proffer of assistance, and I question if asingle bent twig or broken bough escaped his notice. It was as if hesaw both sides of the river at the same instant, listening as eagerly ashe gazed, and it can be fancied that I did not dare attempt anything inthe way of conversation.

  It is needless for me to explain at length in what fashion we roundedthis point, or skirted that cove half hidden by the overhanging foliage,for all know full well how voyagers on the Ohio in the days of therevolution guarded against ambush or sudden attack.

  To my mind we might as well have remained with the volunteers duringthis portion of the journey, for in case we came upon any considerablebody of savages there was little chance either of us would succeed incarrying back the news to those who virtually placed their lives in ourkeeping.

  Within five seconds I had fired, using the curl of vapor for a target.--Page 108. _On The Kentucky Frontier._]

  We had been sailing three hours or more; the sun was low in the heavens,and the shadows were already so dense on the western bank that a hundredpainted brutes might have been concealed beneath the low hangingbranches without our being any the wiser.

  To me it seemed foolish to continue on any further, if our only purposewas to scan both sides of the river carefully, and I was on the point ofsaying as much to Kenton when a tiny puff of smoke darted out from amidthe foliage to the right of us, hardly more than fifty yards away; asharp report like unto the crack of a whip could be heard, while thesplinters flew from the paddle in the scout's hand.

  It goes without saying that I was startled; but not to such an extent asto deprive me of my wits.

  I knew full well none but a savage would have fired at us, and theknowledge that the villainous enemy was so near served to make me forgetthe fear which had beset me a short time previous.

  Within five seconds from the instant the tiny puff of smoke darted outlike the tongue of a snake, I had fired, using the curl of vapor for atarget, and Simon Kenton said approvingly, but with no trace ofexcitement in his tone:

  "That was well done! A lad who is so quick with a shot should not betaken at a disadvantage, whatever turns up."

  He had forced the bow of the dugout from the shore even before I fired,and, bending low, was paddling with all his strength as if the one ideaof escape was all that occupied his mind.

  Paul had neither spoken nor moved; at the moment his back was toward me,a fact which I regretted because I could not see his face to learn if hechanged color.

  We were no more than in mid-stream before a second shot was heard, thistime coming from a point lower down the river; but the bullet flewharmlessly over our heads.

  I made no effort to return the shot, for the very good reason that therewas no chance I could do any execution at such a distance, even thoughhe who had fired remained motionless, which was hardly to be expected.

  Kenton pulled around the next bend, hugging the eastern shore closely,and when we were come to a small creek he forced the canoe up the tinywater course until it was completely hidden by the foliage.

  "We might have gone on without fear," I said in a whisper, surprised bythis manoeuver, "We were traveling faster than the savages could walk,and might easily have outstripped them."

  "Which is exactly what we don't count on doin'," he said quietly,speaking in an ordinary tone, and thus showing he had no thought ofdanger while we remained on this side the river.

  "Why not?" Paul asked mildly.

  "Because it's our business to know how many of the reptiles are onyonder bank."

  "But how will you find out?"

  "Go back there, an' have a look at 'em. In less than an hour we can dothe trick in fine style."

  Paul and I looked at each other in mingled fear and amazement while onemight have counted ten, and then I turned my eyes away, understanding bythis time that to gather such information was the only reason why we hadcome down the river ahead of the volunteers.

  Kenton sat like a statue in the center of the canoe, we lads being ateither end, and it seemed to me as if a full hour passed before a wordwas spoken.

  Then the night was so near upon us that, save directly in the middle ofthe river, it was impossible to distinguish objects twenty pacesdistant.

  "I reckon we may as well get to work," and Kenton cautiously forced thecanoe out from amid the tangle of foliage until the current carried herdown stream.

  He did not use the paddle save to keep her from running afoul of drybrush or logs on the bank, and we had drifted two miles, perhaps, whenhe suddenly bent to his work, sending the light craft across the riverat a speed I had never before seen equaled, even by my father.

  I fully expected to hear the report of a rifle, or feel the sting of abullet when we were in the middle of the stream where a sharp-eyedsavage might see us; but nothing occurred to check our progress, and ina marvelously short space of time we were once more screened from view;but now on the same side of the river where we knew the painted snakeslurked.

  "You are to stay in the dugout," Simon Kenton whispered to me as heraised his rifle. "If it so chances that I'm not back here by sunrise,you must work your way up stream to warn Major Clarke."

  Had he given me the opportunity I should have urged that he take us withhim, or wait till near morning before undertaking so dangerous aventure; but the words had no more than been spoken when he was gone.

  At one instant he was speaking with me, and at the next he had vanishedas completely and silently as if the waters had covered him. No Indianwho ever lived could have equaled him in swiftness and noiselessness.

  Paul was mystified when he turned and failed to see Kenton, and I feltforced to explain in whispers what had happened, else I believe of averity the lad would have cried out in his bewilderment.

  It is not possible for those who have always lived in large settlementsor towns to realize the desolateness of such a position as was ourswhile we waited for the return of the scout.

  He had ventured into the forest where we knew to a certainty werebloodthirsty enemies, and that he realized all the possibilities hadbeen shown by the order for us to work our way up-stream to warn theon-coming boats, in case he failed to return by sunrise.

  My heart was almost in my mouth as I sat there holding Paul's hand,starting at the lightest sound, and hearing even in the rippling of thewater some token of the savages. My tongue was parched; I could nothave uttered a single word had it been necessary to speak, and only withthe greatest difficulty did I prevent my hand from trembling, thusexposing to my companion that I was wofully afraid.

  When perhaps an hour had passed it seemed to me as if we had been therea full night, and then came that sound which I had at the same time beenexpecting and fearing to hear.

  From the distance, half a mile away, I guessed, came the crack of arifle; then another and another, and after that th
e same deathly silenceas before.

  "Think you any harm has come to him?" Paul whispered tremulously, and Ireplied as I believed truly:

  "Not unless he met with an accident before that first shot was fired. Ifthere had been a large number of savages nearabout, he would have usedevery effort to return without loss of time, that we might go to warnthe volunteers. There may have been only a few, with, perhaps, acaptive, and he has attempted a rescue."

  I was heartened by my own words, which sounded plausible, and remainedon the alert ten minutes or more, expecting each instant to see Kentonappear as silently as he had vanished.

  When that length of time had elapsed, however, and he yet remainedabsent, fear crept over me, and I imagined the worst.

  After half an hour went by, and I kept note of time by counting, therewas no longer any hope in my heart.

  After firing a shot Kenton would, had he been able, come back to us atonce; for even though he had not learned all which seemed necessary, hemust have understood that he would no longer be able to spy upon thefoe.

  I tried to decide what should be done; but my brain was in a whirl. Icould hardly have defended myself if one of the painted brutes had shownhimself close at hand.

  It was Paul who aroused me from what was little less than thestupefaction of despair, by whispering in my ear:

  "He did not say that we should go up the river until sunrise. Why may itnot be possible for us to help him?"

  I shook my head, believing it was too late for us to effect anything inhis behalf; but the suggestion, coming from a lad who was ignorant ofall this wretched business, awakened me to a realization of my ownfolly.

  "I am the one to go," I said decidedly "You shall stay here, in case hecomes back."

  "By so doing I could be of no assistance. We will go together."

  Even now I fail to understand why my wits had so completely deserted me.I had no thought of what might be the result if we two made off into theforest in the darkness; but before we met Simon Kenton again I realizedmy folly most keenly.

  Without trying to persuade him to remain, as I should have done even inmy foolishness, I whispered:

  "You must move softly and keep close behind me, lest we be separated inthe thicket where it might mean death to cry out. Follow my everymotion, for I shall take the lead."

  He grasped his rifle in a manner which told he at least was no coward,and clutched my hunting shirt to make certain of obeying the command Ihad given.

  I stepped over the side of the canoe into the water; but not as silentlyas Simon Kenton had done, and we two waded ashore with no heed as towhere this rash move was likely to lead us.

  Ashamed though I am to confess it, I took no heed as to the location ofthe boat we were leaving--made no attempt to seek out what would serveas a guide when we returned, if in deed we ever did; but had only inmind the idea of proceeding up-stream toward where the reports of theweapons had come from.

  And into the blackness of the forest we plunged,I claiming to be better versed, in woodcraft than my companion, yetdoing that which the most ignorant townsman would never have dreamed ofattempting.

  It was the act of a fool, and I was to receive the punishment due myfolly.