Wild Western Scenes

by J. B. Jones

  CHAPTER V.

  A strange excursion--A fairy scene--Joe is puzzled and frightened--Awonderful discovery--Navigation of the upper regions--A crash--Nobones broken.

  Several weeks had elapsed since the incidents recorded in the lastchapter. The repulse of the Osages was succeeded by the arrival of awar-party of Pawnees, and a deadly feud existing between these tribes,the latter readily joined the whites, and speedily chased the enemyfar beyond the settlements. Boone had returned to his family on theother side of the river; and Sneak, having made peace with Joe, hadlikewise withdrawn to his own domicil, to pursue his avocations ofhunting and trapping in solitude.

  Glenn sat before a blazing fire in his little castle, his left handclasping a closed book he had been reading, while his dextral elbowwas resting on the rude arm of a chair which he had constructed andcushioned with furs, and his palm supported his chin. He thus satsilently, looking steadfastly through one of the little square windowsat the snow-encrusted branches of the trees beyond the inclosure, andapparently indulging a pleasing train of reflections.

  Joe, on the contrary, was engaged in boisterous and mirthful exerciseon the deep and frozen snow without. He was playing with the kitten,the fawn, and the hounds, and occasionally ran into the stable tocaress the horses.

  At length, with no other object than a dreamy impulse to wander amongthe wild scenes in the vicinity, Glenn started up, and donning a warmovercoat and seizing his rifle, set out along the cliff up the river,(a direction which he had never yet traversed,) accompanied by Joe,who seemed to look upon his master's pale composed face, anddetermined though gentle motions, with curiosity, if not mystery.

  "Why do you stare at me so often?" inquired Glenn, pausing, after theyhad walked some distance in silence.

  "Because I don't know what you're after," replied Joe.

  "You'll see what I'm after," said Glenn, setting forward, andcontinuing his course along the cliff.

  A snow of several feet in depth rested on the earth, and the sun thatshone forth at noon had melted the surface so frequently, that thefreezing nights which had as often succeeded had formed an icyincrustation quite strong enough to bear the weight of a man. Thoughit was a dreary waste, yet Glenn gleaned a satisfaction in casting hiseyes around where his glance beheld no one striving to oppress hisfellow being that he might acquire riches and power, to be againsnatched from his grasp by others, but a peaceful scene, fresh fromthe hand of God, and unmarred by the workmanship of meaner creatures.The broad river far below was covered with a massy plate of ice, andthe snow that rested upon it gave it the appearance of an immenseplain, rather than an incrusted surface of the most perturbed anderratic stream in the world. The geese and other fowl that wanderedover the frozen surface in quest of their native element, from thegreat distance down, seemed to be no larger than sparrows.

  Ere long, Glenn and his man reached the valley above, and commenced adescent through the timber in a diagonal direction, that would conductthem, after numerous windings, to the edge of the frozen stream, alongwhich a narrow pathway ran northward about a mile. Glenn paused at anabrupt angle in his descent, after having proceeded a few pacesthrough the undergrowth, and stood long in wonderment and admiration,gazing at the scene that suddenly burst in view. His towering positionoverlooked the whole valley. The ten thousand trees beneath, and theirten million branches and twigs all completely clothed incrystal--while not the slightest breeze was stirring--presented a viewof fairyland, such as flits across the vision in dreams, that thememory fain would cling to, but which is lost in the real andconflicting transactions of returning day. The noonday sun wasmomentarily veiled by a listless cloud, which seemed to be stationaryin the heavens, as if designed to enhance the effect of the beautybelow, that outvied in brightness even the usual light above. Not asquirrel was seen to leap from bough to bough, nor a bird to flitacross the opening between the lofty trees; but all was stillness,silence, and beauty. As Glenn stood entranced, Joe seemed to be morestruck with the operation of the enchantment on his companion'sfeatures and attitude, than with any effect from the same sourceexperienced on himself.

  "Ain't you going down to the bottom of the valley?" asked Joe.

  "It is a scene such as is beheld by infants in their slumbers, whenthey dream of paradise!" said Glenn, paying no attention to Joe, hiseyes immovably riveted on the innumerable sprigs of alabaster whichpointed out in every direction in profuse clusters, while his palelips seemed to move mechanically, and his brow expressed a mournfulserenity, as if entertaining a regret that he should ever be separatedfrom the pearly labyrinths before him, amid which he would delight towander forever.

  "I think you must be dreaming yourself," said Joe, staring at him.

  "How composed is every object!" continued Glenn; "such must be theabode of angels and departed spirits, who are not permitted longer tobehold the strifes of earth and its contaminations, but rovecontinually with noiseless tread, or on self-poised wing, throughdevious and delightful paths, surrounded by sedges of silverembroidery, and shielded above by mazy fretwork spangled withdiamonds, or gliding without effort through the pure and buoyant air,from bower to bower of crystal"

  "Ugh--talking of the icy trees makes me chilly!" said Joe.

  "With life everlasting and unchangeable!" continued Glenn, after amomentary pause from the interruption of his man, which he onlynoticed by a significant motion of the hand for him to be silent.

  "But I wouldn't like the eternal _frost-work_," said Joe.

  "Pshaw!" replied Glenn, pursuing his way downwards. When they reachedthe bottom of the valley, they were yet a hundred paces distant fromits junction with the river, which was obscured by the manyintervening trees that grew along the frozen rivulet. Here Glenn againpaused to contemplate the scene. The hills that rose abruptly oneither hand, and the thick intertwining branches above, combined toproduce a dusky aspect scarce less dim than twilight. Glenn folded hisarms composedly, and looked thoughtfully round, as if indulging thedelightful fancies engendered when wandering forth on a summer'spleasant evening. "There seems to be a supernatural influencepervading the air to-day," he said, in a low-tone, "for I sometimesimagine that flitting spirits become partially visible. On the pendenticicles and jewelled twigs, me thinks I sometimes behold for aninstant the prismatic rays of elfins' eyes--"

  "Don't believe it," said Joe; "or if it is so, they are weeping at thecold, and will soon be frozen up."

  "And at each sudden turn," continued Glenn, "they seem to linger aninstant in view, and then vanish sportively, as if amused at theexpense of impotent mortals."

  "I can't hear 'em laugh," said Joe.

  "And then," continued Glenn, "although beyond human consciousness,there may be heavenly sounds in the air--the melody of aerial harpsand fairy voices--to which our ears may be sealed, when, perchance,our vicinity to their presence may inspire the peculiar sensation Inow experience."

  "I heard a heap of curious sounds one warm sunshiny morning," saidJoe; "but when I asked an old fellow jogging along the same road whatthey meant, he said the day before had been so cold when thestage-driver went by that his wind froze as it came out of the bugle,and was just then thawing."

  "If such beings do exist," continued Glenn, paying no attention toJoe, "it would delight me to commune with them face to face."

  "I see a buck's head!" cried Joe, looking down the dell, where theobject he mentioned was distinctly observable amid a cluster ofspicewood bushes, whence a slight jingling sound proceeded as theanimal plucked the nutritious buds bent down by the innumerableicicles.

  "Why should not the sylvan gods"--continued Glenn.

  "Hush! I'm going to fire!" said Joe.

  "Why should they not resort hither," said Glenn, unmindful of Joe,"where no meaner beings abide?"

  Joe fired, and Glenn started in astonishment, as if he had had nointimation of his companion's intention.

  "Hang it all! Isn't he going to die, I wonder?" said Joe, after thebuck had made one or two plunges in the snow, hi
s sharp hoofs piercingthrough the crust on the surface, and with much struggling extricatedhimself and stood trembling, and looked imploringly at his foe.

  "What in the world are you about?" exclaimed Glenn, casting a listlessglance at the deer, and then staring his companion in the face.

  "Whip me if there was any lead in the gun!" said Joe. "I drew thebullets out yesterday, and forgot to put them in again. But nomatter--he can't run through the snow--I'll kill him with the butt ofmy musket."

  "Move not, at your peril!" said Glenn, authoritatively, when Joe wasabout to rush on the defenceless buck.

  "I do believe you are out of your head!" said Joe, staring Glenn inthe face, and glancing at the tempting prize, alternately.

  "At such an hour--in such an elysian place as this--no blood shall bespilled. It were profanity to discolor these pearly walks with clottedgore."

  "The deuce take the pearls, say I!" said Joe.

  "Perhaps," continued Glenn, "a god may have put on the semblance of astag to tempt us."

  "And hang me, if I wouldn't pretty soon spoil his physiognomy, if youwould only say the word!" said Joe, shaking his head sullenly at thebuck.

  "Come," said Glenn, sternly; and, leading the way, he passed within afew feet of the terrified animal without turning his head aside, anddirected his steps down the valley towards the river. Joe said nothingwhen opposite the buck, awed by the impressive tone and mysteriousbearing of his master; but he grinned defiance at him, and resolved toembrace the first opportunity to steal out alone, and fully gratifyhis revenge; for such was the feeling he now harboured against theanimal.

  When they reached the margin of the river, they wandered along thenarrow path that turned to the left, and continued up the stream, withthe ice but a few feet distant on one hand, and the precipitousacclivity of rocks on the other. They maintained a brisk pace forabout thirty minutes, when the range of cliffs terminating abruptly,they entered a low flat forest.

  "_Now_, what do you say to my firing?" exclaimed Joe, staring at anenormous wolf, a short distance on the left, that seemed to be tearingthe flesh from the carcass of a deer.

  "You must not fire," replied Glenn, viewing the scene with nointerest.

  "Why not? If the deer's a sylvan god, the wolfs sure to be a blackdevil, and it's a duty to take the god's part," said Joe.

  "No!" replied Glenn, still striding on.

  "Where are you going to, I should like to know? I hope you haven't anyidea of going closer to the haunted island!" said Joe, followingreluctantly.

  "What haunted island?" asked Glenn.

  "Why that one right ahead of us!" replied Joe, pointing to a smallisland a few hundred paces distant.

  "Who says it is haunted?" demanded Glenn.

  "Why, everybody in the country _knows_ it's haunted. Didn't you hearMiss Mary telling all about it?"

  "What did she tell about it?"

  "That several years ago a man flew up the river riding on a blackcloud of smoke, and after scaring all the Indians and everybody elseaway, took up his abode in yonder island. Not a soul, from that day tothis, has ever been nearer to it than we are now. But strange sightshave been seen there. Once a great big swan, as large as our house,was seen to come out of the willows and leap into the water. Afterseeing it paddle about an hour or two in every direction, an oldbeaver trapper and deer hunter took it into his head that it wasnothing more than a water-fowl of some large species; and resolving tohave a crack at it anyhow, he crept behind the rocks at the end of thecliff, and blazed away when it swam past the next time. Mercy on us!when he fired, they say the thing turned his head towards him, andcame at him in a straight line, and as fast as lightning, blowingsparks of fire out of its nostrils, while the poor man stood stockstill, spell-bound, until it seized upon him, and he has never beenheard of since."

  "Nothing more?" asked Glenn, lightly, and smiling.

  "Good gracious! what more would you want? But there _was_ more; forthe very next day, when the people were looking at the island from adistance, and wondering what had been the fate of old Odell, anotherlarge bird came out. But this was like an eagle, and instead of goinginto the water, it flew up into the air, and kept going higher andhigher, until it was no bigger than a sparrow, and soon vanishedaltogether! I declare we are too near the island now, Mr. Glenn; letus go back; we have gone far enough!" said Joe, beseechingly, his owntale having roused all the terrors which his nature was capable ofharboring.

  Glenn seemed to pay no attention to what his companion was saying, butstrode onward directly towards the island.

  "Mr. Glenn!" continued Joe, stepping ahead, and facing him by turninground. "Oh, sir! you don't certainly intend to venture any closer tothat fatal spot?"

  "Pshaw!" replied Glenn, pushing him aside, and continuing on. Whenthey were opposite the island, Joe, whose alarm had almost deprivedhim of the power of motion, was now struck with horror as he beheldhis master pause, and then descend to the ice, and walk deliberatelyto the haunted ground! When Glenn reached the bank, he turned to hispale and shivering companion, and motioned him to follow.

  "Oh, Heaven! we'll never be seen any more!" cried Joe, between hischattering teeth.

  "Come on, Joe! I'll take care of you," said Glenn, encouragingly, ashis man hesitated in doubt when midway on the ice.

  "The holy saints preserve me!" said Joe, gliding over, quaking withfear, and clinging to Glenn's hand.

  They walked up a gentle ascent from the water's edge, whence Glennexpected to see nothing more than a surface of snow, and the densegrowth of young timber incident to such a place. But what was hissurprise, on beholding, in the midst of the island, and obscured fromview to the surrounding country by an almost impenetrable grove ofyoung willows, a round chimney-top rising over a high circular granitewall! Nothing daunted, he continued his steps directly towards themysterious dwelling, notwithstanding the protestations and prayers ofJoe. When they drew near, a thin slightly coloured vapor could bedistinguished ascending from the chimney, indicating that the tenementwas certainly inhabited. When they reached the wall, they pursuedtheir way round it until they found a small iron gate.

  "Rap there, Joe," said Glenn. Joe only turned his head, and looked athim in silence.

  "Knock," continued Glenn.

  "Oh!" exclaimed Joe, falling on his knees. "If ever you were prevailedon not to do any thing you were doing, let me this one time persuadeyou to leave this place."

  "Knock!" repeated Glenn, emphatically. Joe struck the gate severalblows with his knuckles, but so gently that he could not hear themhimself. Glenn seemed to grow angry, and seizing his man's musket, wasin the act of applying the end of it violently, when the gate flewopen at one spring, and a hoary porter stood bowing and beckoningbefore him.

  "Do not enter!" cried Joe, throwing his arms around Glenn.

  "It is too late, now--you have knocked, and it is opened untoyou--your mission must be accomplished before you turn back. Mine isnot yet effected--I am the one who dared to face the magic swan--andlike me, all who come hither must remain until it shall be thepleasure of the fire-wizard to release them," said the old attendant.

  "Lead me to this fire-wizard!" said Glenn, firmly, stepping into theinclosure. When they entered, the gate closed after them without anyapparent agency of the old hunter, and with such force that Joe sprangseveral feet forward.

  "Oh, goodness! we are nothing but poor rats in the trap, now!"exclaimed he.

  "I pledged myself for your safety, and will keep my word," said Glenn.

  "But what will the wizard care about your veracity?" asked Joe.

  "Follow!" said the old porter, leading the way towards the house.After passing several small buildings, Glenn found himself in aspacious area, over which were scattered various and strangeimplements, and divers nondescript machines. Some half dozen men werealso observed, their sleeves rolled up, and intently plying thechisel, the file and other tools. These men cast a momentary andsullen glance at the visitors, like convicts in the penitentiary, andresu
med their labours in silence. The party soon arrived at the doorof the main building, when the old porter entered alone, and afterremaining a few moments within, came forth and announced his readinessto conduct our hero into the presence of the fire-wizard. Glennmotioned him to lead on, and after following through a short hall, andturning into a large chamber, the mysterious lord of the island wasconfronted, reclining before them on a couch of furs. He appeared tobe an emaciated and decrepit old man, his long white beard extendingdown to his breast; and when he motioned our hero to a seat, his handseemed to tremble with feebleness. Yet there was something in his eyethat indicated no ordinary spirit, and instantly impressed Glenn withthe respect that he conceived to be due to superior genius; fornotwithstanding all the miraculous things told of the fire-wizard, herightly conjectured the personage before him to be nothing more than ahuman being, a recluse, perhaps, and, like himself, seeking insolitude the enjoyments which (for peculiar reasons) could not befound among mankind.

  "What brings thee hither?" demanded the aged man, after a few minutes'silence, during which his brilliant eyes were closely fixed upon thecomposed features of Glenn.

  "That which induced thee to seek such a solitary abode," replied ourhero.

  "Have you no fears?" continued the old man.

  "None!" replied Glenn, firmly.

  "Give me your hand!" exclaimed the old man; "you are the only beingthat ever confronted the fire-wizard without feeling terror--and forthose who know not fear there is no danger. Instead of a menial, or avictim, I will make you my companion."

  "Thank him, Mr. Glenn," whispered Joe, "and perhaps he won't hurt us."

  "I am seeking amusement," said Glenn; "and as long as I am pleased, itmatters not with whom or where shall be my abode. But the moment Idesire it, I will go hence."

  The fire-wizard motioned the attendant to withdraw, who instantlyobeyed, leading Joe out at the same time, the poor fellow evincinggreat reluctance to be separated from Glenn.

  "Before exhibiting to you the mysterious objects which have acquiredfor me the name of magician," said the old man, "I will briefly giveyou my history. I was, in youth, they termed an idle dreamer--ever onthe alert for new discoveries--and was more laughed at than encouragedin my pursuit of rare inventions. More than fifty years ago Iascertained that steam might be made to propel machinery. I attemptedto explain the principles of this discovery to my fellow-men, and toconvince them of the vast benefits that might result from it. I wasnot heeded--nay, I was insulted by their indifference--and made asolemn vow that its advantages should never be reaped through myinstrumentality. In secret I constructed a small steamboat, and havingplaced on board such materials as might be required, and secured theassistance of a requisite number of artisans, I came hither, resolvedto prosecute my experiments to my own satisfaction in solitude, wherethe taunts of skeptics could not reach me. Follow, and you shallbehold what has been the result of my unrestrained researches." Theold man arose, and conducted our hero across the yard to a curtainedshelter on one side of the inclosure.

  "La! if that ain't its foot!" exclaimed Joe, who joined our hero, andobserving a large foot, resembling in shape that of the swan, underthe folds of the curtain, while the old wizard paused a moment beforeunveiling the curious object. It was as Joe surmised: when the canvaswas withdrawn, an artificial swan of monstrous dimensions, thoughperfect in all its proportions, was revealed to their wondering gaze.A little beyond, another curtain was drawn aside, and an eagle,holding in its beak a bloody crown, and in its talons a silken bannerof stripes and stars, stood before them in the attitude of springingup in the air.

  "Which will you try first?" demanded the fire-wizard, while a proudsmile played on his lips.

  "Can _either_ of them be set in motion by your art?" asked Glenn.

  "Both!" exclaimed the wizard. "If you will tarry till the ice is gone,the swan shall rush through the strongest current as swiftly as thewild horse careers over the prairie; or the eagle shall even now dartbeyond the clouds, and transport you in a few brief hours to where youwill see the briny waves rolling against the distant Atlantic coast!"

  Glenn was incredulous, and his unbelief was betrayed by a smile, inspite of his efforts to the contrary.

  "Bring hither a lamp!" said the wizard to the attendant and wasquickly obeyed.

  "Oh, don't make him mad! He's going to do something now!" whisperedJoe to Glenn. The wizard touched a spring; the breast of the eagleflew open, and within could be seen polished wheels and other portionsof a complicated machinery. The old man next applied the blaze of thelamp to some spirits within, and in a very few minutes particles ofsteam could be seen to escape from the eagle's nostrils. The wizardtouched another spring, and the enormous bird strode out and paused inthe centre of the area.

  "If you would behold the home of your youth, be it whithersoever itmay, so that you name it, follow me, and your eyes shall gaze uponthat spot within a few hours," said the sage, as the wings of thestupendous eagle slowly unfolded, and rising to a horizontal position,uncovered a transparency in the side of the chest, through which couldbe seen a gorgeous couch within, sufficiently ample to contain twomen, and separate from the fire and machinery by a partition ofisinglass.

  "Come!" exclaimed the sage, opening the tortoise-shell door under thewing, and stepping into the couch.

  "Don't do any such thing!" said Joe.

  "Ha! ha! ha! Do you think it can fly, Joe?" remarked Glenn, laughing.

  "It _will_ fly!" said the old man, emphatically; "and I charge you tobe prepared to ascend beyond the clouds, if you have the courage tooccupy a portion of my couch."

  "Though I cannot believe it will rise at your bidding," replied Glenn,"yet, should it do so, I must be permitted to regard you as being onlyflesh and blood, and as such, I do not hesitate to venture as much asanother mortal will;" Baying which, our hero seated himself beside thereputed fire-wizard.

  The old man closed the door, and drawing forth a small compass (hiscompanion intimating the course,) adjusted several screws withinconvenient reach, accordingly; he then pressed a small lever with hisfoot, and the wings, after quivering a moment, flapped quickly, andthe great eagle darted almost perpendicularly up in the air, and wasbeyond the reach of vision in a very few seconds!

  When a certain height was attained, the wizard turned the bird in thecourse indicated by his companion.

  "What think you now of the fire-wizard!" demanded the sage, with anair of triumph.

  "Still that he is a man--but a great one--and this, the perfection ofhis art, the greatest extent the Supreme Being has permitted the mindof a man to attain!" replied Glenn, gazing in admiration at thecountries far below, which he was passing with the velocity of ahurricane.

  "And still you fear not!" demanded the wizard.

  "And shall not!" replied Glenn, "so long as your features arecomposed." The old man pressed his hand and smiled.

  "Yonder is St. Louis!" cried Glenn, running his eye along the valleyof the Missouri, down to its confluence with the Mississippi; and ashort distance beyond, descried the town in question, though it didnot seem to be larger than one ordinary mansion, with its garden andcustomary appendages.

  "We are far above the reach of vision from the earth," said thewizard, bounding forward to endeavour to regulate a part of themachinery that had for some time attracted his attention, and whichGlenn believed to be not altogether right, from the abrupt movement ofhis companion.

  "How far above the earth are we?' asked Glenn.

  "About twenty-five miles--but should this screw give way, it may beless very speedily!" exclaimed the old man, almost incoherently, andapplying all his strength to the loosened screw to keep it in itsplace.

  "Let me assist!" exclaimed Glenn, springing forward.

  "It's gone!" cried the old man; "you have knocked it out! we arefalling--crushed!"

  * * * * *

  "That's just what I expected," said Joe, addressing the fawn, whichhad been playing with the dogs, an
d at length ran against Glenn'schair so violently as to push it over.

  "Oh! oh! oh!" exclaimed Glenn.

  "Goodness! Are you hurt?" asked Joe.

  "Is it possible? Am I alive, and _here_?" exclaimed Glenn, staringwildly round, and doubting his own identity.

  "Well, I never heard a dead man talk, as I know of, before; and as toour being _here_, if your own eyes don't convince you, I'll swear toit," said Joe.

  "Did I not go up to the island this morning?" inquired Glenn.

  "No," said Joe.

  "Did you not accompany me, and fire at the buck?" interrogated Glenn,resuming his seat.

  "No--I'll be hanged if I did!" said Joe somewhat warmly.

  "What have I been doing all day?"

  "You've been sitting there fast asleep, and I presume you weredreaming."

  "Thank Heaven, it was but a dream!" exclaimed Glenn, laughing.

  "A dream?" responded Joe, sitting down on his stool, and solicitingGlenn to relate it to him. Glenn complied, and the narration wasnothing more than what the incredulous reader has been staring at allthis time. But we will make amends.