by J. B. Jones
WILD WESTERN SCENES: A NARRATIVE OF ADVENTURES.
CHAPTER I.
Glenn and Joe--Their horses--A storm--A black stump--A roughtumble--Moaning--Stars--Light--A log fire--Tents, and something toeat--Another stranger, who turns out to be well known--Joe has asnack--He studies revenge against the black stump--Boone proposes abear hunt.
"Do you see any light yet, Joe?"
"Not the least speck that ever was created, except the lightning, andit's gone before I can turn my head to look at it."
The interrogator, Charles Glenn, reclined musingly in a two-horsewagon, the canvas covering of which served in some measure to protecthim from the wind and rain. His servant, Joe Beck, was perched uponone of the horses, his shoulders screwed under the scanty folds of anoil-cloth cape, and his knees drawn nearly up to the pommel of thesaddle, to avoid the thumping bushes and briers that occasionallyassailed him, as the team plunged along in a stumbling pace. Theirpathway, or rather their direction, for there was no beaten road, layalong the northern bank of the "Mad Missouri," some two hundred milesabove the St. Louis settlement. It was at a time when there were nowhite men in those regions save a few trappers, traders, andemigrants, and each new sojourner found it convenient to carry withhim a means of shelter, as houses of any description were but few andfar between.
Our travellers had been told in the morning, when setting out from atemporary village which consisted of a few families of emigrants, withwhom they had sojourned the preceding night, that they could attainthe desired point by making the river their guide, should they be at aloss to distinguish the faintly-marked pathway that led in a moredirect course to the place of destination. The storm coming upsuddenly from the north, and showers of hail accompanying the gusts,caused the poor driver to incline his face to the left, to avoid thepeltings that assailed him so frequently; and the drenched horses,similarly influenced, had unconsciously departed far from the rightline of march; and now, rather than turn his front again to thepitiless blast, which could be the only means of regaining the road,Joe preferred diverging still farther, until he should find himself onthe margin of the river, by which time he hoped the storm would abate.At all events, he thought there would be more safety on the beach,which extended out a hundred paces from the water, among the smallswitches of cotton-wood that grew thereon, than in the midst of thetall trees of the forest, where a heavy branch was every now and thentorn off by the wind, and thrown to the earth with a terrible crash.Occasionally a deafening explosion of thunder would burst overhead;and Joe, prostrating himself on the neck of his horse, would, with hiseyes closed and his teeth set, bear it out in silence. He spoke not,save to give an occasional word of command to his team, or a briefreply to a question from his master.
It was an odd spectacle to see such a vehicle trudging along at suchan hour, where no carriage had ever passed before. The two young menwere odd characters; the horses were oddly matched, one being a littledumpy black pony, and the other a noble white steed; and it was an oddwhim which induced Glenn to abandon his comfortable home inPhiladelphia, and traverse such inclement wilds. But love can play the"_wild_" with any young man. Yet we will not spoil our narrative byintroducing any of it here. Nor could it have been love that inducedJoe to share his master's freaks; but rather a rare penchant for themiraculous adventures to be enjoyed in the western wilderness, and thegold which his master often showered upon him with a reckless hand.Joe's forefathers were from the Isle of Erin, and although he had lostthe brogue, he still retained some of their superstitions.
The wind continued to blow, the wolves howled, the lightning flashed,and the thunder rolled. Ere long the little black pony snorted aloudand paused abruptly.
"What ails you, Pete?" said Joe from his lofty position on the steed,addressing his favourite little pet. "Get along," he continued,striking the animal gently with his whip. But Pete was as immovableand unconscious of the lash as would have been a stone. And the steedseemed likewise to be infected with the pony's stubbornness, after thewagon was brought to a pause.
"Why have you stopped, Joe?" inquired Glen.
"I don't hardly know, sir; but the stupid horses won't budge an inchfarther!"
"Very well; we can remain here till morning. Take the harness off, andgive them the corn in the box; we can sleep in the wagon tilldaylight."
"But we have no food for ourselves, sir; and I'm vastly hungry. Itcan't be much farther to the ferry," continued Joe, vexed at theconduct of the horses.
"Very well; do as you like; drive on, if you desire to do so," saidGlenn.
"Get along, you stupid creatures!" cried Joe, applying the lash withsome violence. But the horses regarded him no more than blocks wouldhave done. Immediately in front he perceived a dark object thatresembled a stump and turning the horses slightly to one side,endeavoured to urge them past it. Still they would not go, butcontinued to regard the object mentioned with dread, which wasmanifested by sundry restless pawings and unaccustomed snorts. Joeresolved to ascertain the cause of their alarm, and springing to theground, moved cautiously in the direction of the dark obstruction,which still seemed to be a blackened stump, about his own height, anda very trifling obstacle, in his opinion, to arrest the progress ofhis redoubtable team. The darkness was intense, yet he managed to keephis eyes on the dim outlines of the object as he stealthily approachedAnd he stepped as noiselessly as possible, notwithstanding hemeditated an encounter with nothing more than an inanimate object. Buthis imagination was always on the alert, and as he often feareddangers that arose undefinable and indescribable in his mind, it wasnot without some trepidation that he had separated himself from thehorses and groped his way toward the object that had so much terrifiedhis pony. He paused within a few feet of the object, and waited forthe next flash of lightning to scrutinize the thing more closelybefore putting his hand upon it. But no flash came, and he grew tiredof standing. He stooped down, so as to bring the upper portion of itin a line with the sky beyond, but still he could not make it out. Heventured still nearer, and stared at it long and steadily, but to noavail: the black mass only was before him, seemingly inanimate, and ofa deeper hue than the darkness around.
"I've a notion to try my whip on you," said he, thinking if it shouldbe a human being it would doubtless make a movement. He started backwith a momentary conviction that he heard a rush creak under its feet.But as it still maintained its position, he soon concluded the noiseto have been only imaginary, and venturing quite close gave it a smartblow with his whip. Instantaneously poor Joe was rolling on the earth,almost insensible, and the dark object disappeared rushing through thebushes into the woods. The noise attracted Glenn, who now approachedthe scene, and with no little surprise found his servant lying on hisface.
"What's the matter, Joe?" demanded he.
"Oh, St. Peter! O preserve me!" exclaimed Joe.
"What has happened? Why do you lie there?"
"Oh, I'm almost killed! Didn't you see him?"
"See what? I can see nothing this dark night but the flying clouds andyonder yellow sheet of water."
"Oh, I've been struck!" said Joe, groaning piteously.
"Struck by what? Has the lightning struck you?"
"No--no! my head is all smashed up--it was a bear."
"Pshaw! get up, and either drive on, or feed the horses," said Glennwith some impatience.
"I call all the saints to witness that it was a wild bear--a greatwild bear! I thought it was a stump, but just as I struck it a flashof lightning revealed to my eyes a big black bear standing on his hindfeet, grinning at me, and he gave me a blow on the side of the face,which has entirely blinded my left eye, and set my ears to ringinglike a thousand bells. Just feel the blood on my face."
A dark encounter]
Glenn actually felt something which might be blood, and really hadthought he could distinguish the stump himself when the wagon halted;yet he did not believe that Joe had received the hurt in any othermanner than by striking his face against some hard substance which hecould
not avoid in the darkness.
"You only fancy it was a bear, Joe; so come along back to the horsesand drive on. The rain has ceased, and the stars are appearing."Saying this, Glenn led the way to the wagon.
"I'd be willing to swear on the altar that it was a huge bear, andnothing else!" replied Joe, as he mounted and drove on, the horses nowevincing no reluctance to proceed. One after another the stars cameout and shone in purest brightness as the mists swept away, and erelong the whole canopy of blue was gemmed with twinkling brilliants.The winds soon lulled, and the dense forest on the right reposed fromthe moaning gale which had disturbed it a short time before; and thewaves that had been tossed into foaming ridges now spent their fury onthe beach, each lashing the bank more gently than the last, until thepower of the gliding current swept them all down the turbid stream.Soon the space between the water and the forest gradually diminished,and seemed to join at a point not far ahead. Joe observed this withsome concern, being aware that to meander among the trees at such anhour was impossible. He therefore inclined toward the river, resolvedto defer his re-entrance into the forest as long as possible. As hedrove on he kept up a continual groaning, with his head hung to oneside, as if suffering with the toothache, and occasionally reproachingPete with some petulance, as if a portion of the blame attached to hissagacious pony.
"Why do you keep up such a howling, Joe? Do you really suffer muchpain?" inquired Glenn, annoyed by his man's lamentations.
"It don't hurt as bad as it did--but then to think that I was such afool as to go right into the beast's clutches, when even Pete had moresense!"
"If it was actually a bear, Joe, you can boast of the thrillingencounter hereafter," said Glenn, in a joking and partly consolingmanner.
"But if I have many more such, I fear I shall never get back to relatethem. My face is all swelled--Huzza! yonder is a light, at last! It'son this side of the river, and if we can't get over the ferryto-night, we shall have something to eat on this side, at all events.Ha! ha! ha! I see a living man moving before the fire, as if he wereroasting meat." Joe forgot his wound in the joy of an anticipatedsupper, and whipping the horses into a brisk pace, they soon drew nearthe encampment, where they discovered numerous persons, male andfemale, who had been prevented from crossing the river that day, inconsequence of the violence of the storm, and had raised their tentsat the edge of the woods, preferring to repose thus until thefollowing morning than to venture into the frail ferry-boat while thewaves yet ran so high.
There was no habitation in the immediate vicinity, save a rude hoveloccupied by Jasper Roughgrove and his ferrymen, which was on theopposite shore in a narrow valley that cleft asunder the otherwiseuniform cliff of rocks.
The creaking of the wheels, when the vehicle approached within a fewhundred paces of the encampment, attracted the watch-dogs, and theirfierce and continued barking drew the attention of the emigrants inthe direction indicated. Several men with guns in their hands came outto meet the young travellers.
"We are white men, friends, strangers, lost, benighted, and hungry!"exclaimed Joe, stopping the horses, and addressing the men before hewas accosted.
"Come on, then, and eat and rest with us," said they, amused at Joe'sexclamations, and leading the way to the encampment.
When they arrived at the edge of the camp, Glenn dismounted from thewagon, and directing Joe to follow when he had taken care of thehorses, drew near the huge log fire in company with those who had goneout to meet him. Several tall and spreading elms towered in majestyabove, and their clustering leaves, yet partially green,notwithstanding the autumn was midway advanced, were beautifullytinged by the bright light thrown upward from the glaring flames. Theview on one side was lost in the dark labyrinth of the moss-growntrunks of the forest. On the other swept the turbid river, bearingdownward in its rapid current severed branches, and even whole trees,that had been swept away by the continual falling in of the riverbank, for the sandy soil was always subject to the undermining of thoimpetuous stream. A circle of tents was formed round the fire,constructed of thin poles bent in the shape of an arch, and the endsplanted firmly in the earth. These were covered with buffalo skins,which would effectually shield the inmates from the rain; andquantities of leaves, after being carefully dried before the fire,were placed on the ground within, over which were spread buffalo robeswith the hair uppermost, and thus in a brief space was completedtemporary but not uncomfortable places of repose. The ends of thetents nearest to the fire were open, to admit the heat and a portionof light, that those who desired it might retire during their repast,or engage in pious meditation undisturbed by the more clamorousportion of the company.
Glenn paused when within the circle, and looked with some degree ofinterest on the admirable arrangement of those independent and hardypeople. A majority of the emigrants were seated on logs broughtthither for that purpose, and feasting quietly from several large pansand well-filled camp-kettles, which were set out for all in common.They motioned Glenn to partake with them; and although many curiouslooks were directed toward him, yet he was not annoyed by questionswhile eating. Joe came in, and following the example of the rest,played his part to perfection, without complaining once of his wound.
The feast was just finished, when the dogs again set up a furiousyelping, and ran into the forest. But they returned very quickly, someof them whining with the hurts received from the strangers theyencountered so roughly; and presently they were followed by severalenormous hounds, and soon after an athletic woodsman was seenapproaching. This personage was a tall muscular man, past the middleage, but agile and vigorous in all his motions. He was habited in abuck-skin hunting-shirt, and wore leggins of the same material.Although he was armed with a long knife and heavy rifle, and theexpression of his brow and chin indicated an unusual degree offirmness and determination, yet there was an openness and blandness inthe expression of his features which won the confidence of thebeholder, and instantly dispelled every apprehension of violence. Allof the emigrants had either seen or heard of him before, for his namewas not only repeated by every tongue in the territory, but wasfamiliar in every State in the Union, and not unknown in many parts ofEurope. He was instantly recognised by the emigrants, and crowdinground, they gave him a hearty welcome. They led him to a conspicuousseat, and forming a circle about him, were eager to catch every wordthat might escape his lips, and relied with implicit confidence onevery species of information he imparted respecting the dangers andadvantages of the locations they were about to visit. Boone hadsettled some three miles distant from the ferry, among the hills,where his people were engaged in the manufacture of salt. He hadselected this place of abode long before the general tide ofemigration had reached so far up the Missouri. It was said that hepitched his tent among the barren hills as a security against theintrusion of other men, who, being swayed by a love of wealth, wouldnaturally seek their homes in the rich level prairies. It is true thatBoone loved to dwell in solitude. But he was no misanthrope. And now,although questions were asked without number, he answered them withcheerfulness; advised the families what would be necessary to be donewhen their locations were selected, and even pressingly invited themto remain in his settlement a few days to recover from the fatigue oftravel, and promised to accompany them afterward over the river intothe rich plains to which they were journeying.
During the brisk conversation that had been kept up for a great lengthof time, Glenn, unlike the rest of the company, sat at a distance andmaintained a strict silence. Occasionally, as some of theextraordinary feats related of the person before him occurred to hismemory, he turned his eyes in the direction of the great pioneer, andat each time observed the gaze of the woodsman fixed upon him.Nevertheless his habitual listlessness was not disturbed, and hepursued his peculiar train of reflections. Joe likewise treated thepresence of the renowned Indian fighter with apparent unconcern, andbeing alone in his glory, dived the deeper into the saucepan.
Boone at length advanced to where Glenn was sitting, and afterscanning his
pale features, and his costly though notexquisitely-fashioned habiliments, thus addressed him:--
"Young man, may I inquire what brings thee to these wilds?"
"I am a freeman," replied Glenn, somewhat haughtily, "and may beinfluenced by that which brings other men hither."
"Nay, young man, excuse the freedom which all expect to exercise inthis comparative wilderness; but I am very sure there is not anotheremigrant on this side of the Ohio who has been actuated by the samemotives that brought thee hither. Others come to fell the forest oak,and till the soil of the prairie, that they may prepare a heritage fortheir children; but thy soft hands and slender limbs are unequal tothe task; nor dost thou seem to have felt the want of this world'sgoods; and thou bringest no family to provide for. Thou hast committedthat which banished thee from society, or found in society that whichdisgusted thee--speak, which of these?" said Boone, in accents, thoughnot positively commanding, yet they produced a sense of reverence thatsubdued the rising indignation of Glenn, and looking upon theinterrogator as the acknowledged host of the eternal wilds, andhimself as a mere guest, who might be required to produce histestimonials of worthiness to associate with nature's most honest ofmen, he replied with calmness, though with subdued emotion--
"You are right, sir--it was the latter. I had heard that you werehappy in the solitude of the mountain-shaded valley, or on theinterminable prairies that greet the horizon in the distance, whereneither the derision of the proud, the malice of the envious, nor thedeceptions of pretended love and friendship, could disturb yourpeaceful meditations: and from amid the wreck of certain hopes, whichI once thought no circumstances could destroy, I rose with adetermined though saddened heart, and solemnly vowed to seek such awilderness, where I could pass a certain number of my days engaging inthe pursuits that might be most congenial to my disposition. Already Iimagine I experience the happy effects of my resolution. Here thewhispers of vituperating foes cannot injure, nor the smiles of thosefondly cherished deceive."
"Your hand, young man," said Boone, with an earnestness whichconvinced Glenn that his tale was not imprudently divulged.
"Ho! what's the matter with _you_?" Boone continued, turning to Joe,who had just arisen from his supper, and was stretching back hisshoulders.
"I got a licking from a bear to-night--but I don't mind it much sinceI've had a snack. But if ever I come across him in the daytime, I'llshow him a thing or two," said Joe, with his fists doubled up.
"Pshaw! do you still entertain the ridiculous belief that it wasreally a bear you encountered?" inquired Glenn, with an increduloussmile.
"I'll swear to it!" replied Joe.
"Let me see your face," remarked Boone, turning him to where there wasmore light.
"Hollo! don't squeeze it so hard!" cried Joe, as Boone removed some ofthe coagulated blood that remained or the surface.
"There is no doubt about it--it was a bear, most certainly," saidBoone; and examining the wound more closely, continued: "Here are themarks of his claws, plain enough: he might easily be capturedto-morrow. Who will hunt him with me?"
"I will!" burst from the lips of nearly every one present.
"Huzza--revenge! I'll have revenge, huzza!" cried Joe, throwing roundhis hat.
"You will join us?" inquired Boone, turning to Glenn.
"Yes," replied Glenn; "I came hither provided with the implements tohunt; and as such is to be principally my occupation during my sojournin this region, I could not desire a more happy opportunity than thepresent to make a beginning. And as it is my intention to settle nearthe ferry on the opposite shore, I am pleased to find that I shall notbe far from one whose acquaintance I hoped to make, above all others."
"And you may not find me reluctant to cultivate a social intercourse,notwithstanding men think me a crabbed old misanthrope," repliedBoone, pressing the extended hand of Glenn. They then separated forthe night, retiring to the tents that had been provided for them.
It was not long before a comparative silence pervaded the scene. Thefierce yelpings of the watch-dogs gradually ceased, and the howlingwolf was but indistinctly heard in the distance. The katydid andwhippoorwill still sang at intervals, and these sounds, as well as theoccasional whirlpool that could be heard rising on the surface of thegliding stream, had a soothing influence, and lulled to slumber thewandering mortals who now reclined under the forest trees, far fromthe homes of their childhood and the graves of their kindred. Glenngazed from his couch through the branches above at the calm, blue sky,resplendent with twinkling stars; and if a sad reflection, that hethus lay, a lonely being, a thousand miles from those who had beenmost dear to him, dimmed his eye for an instant with a tear, he stillfelt a consciousness of innocence within, and resolving to execute hisvow in every particular, he too was soon steeped in undisturbedslumber.
