by Mayne Reid
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.
A BATTLE WITH GRIZZLY BEARS.
As adventure with grizzly bears which had befallen the "captain" wasnext related. He had been travelling with a strange party--the"scalp-hunters,"--in the mountains near Santa Fe, when they wereovertaken by a sudden and heavy fall of snow that rendered fartherprogress impossible. The "canon," a deep valley in which they hadencamped, was difficult to get through at any time, but now the path, onaccount of the deep soft snow, was rendered impassable. When morningbroke they found themselves fairly "in the trap."
"Above and below, the valley was choked up with snow five fathoms deep.Vast fissures--_barrancas_--were filled with the drift; and it wasperilous to attempt penetrating in either direction. Two men hadalready disappeared.
"On each side of our camp rose the walls of the canon, almost vertical,to the height of a hundred feet. These we might have climbed had theweather been soft, for the rock was a trap formation, and offerednumerous seams and ledges; but now there was a coating of ice and snowupon them that rendered the ascent impossible. The ground had beenfrozen hard before the storm came on, although it was now freezing nolonger, and the snow would not bear our weight. All our efforts to getout of the valley proved idle; and we gave them over, yieldingourselves, in a kind of reckless despair, to wait for--we scarce knewwhat.
"For three days we sat shivering around the fires, now and then castinglooks of gloomy inquiry around the sky. The same dull grey for ananswer, mottled with flakes slanting earthward, for it still continuedto know. Not a bright spot cheered the aching eye.
"The little platform on which we rested--a space of two or three acres--was still free from the snow-drift, on account of its exposure to thewind. Straggling pines, stunted and leafless, grew over its surface, inall about fifty or sixty trees. From these we obtained our fires; butwhat were fires when we had no meat to cook upon them!
"We were now in the third day without food! Without food, though notabsolutely without eating--the men had bolted their gun-covers and thecat-skin flaps of their bullet-pouches, and were now seen--the lastshift but one--stripping the _parfleche_ from the soles of theirmoccasins!
"The women, wrapped in their _tilmas_, nestled closely in the embrace offather, brother, husband, and lover; for all these affections werepresent. The last string of _tasajo_, hitherto economised for theirsake, had been parcelled out to them in the morning. That was gone, andwhence was their next morsel to come? At long intervals, `_Ay da mi!Dios de mi alma_!' were heard only in low murmurs, as some colder blastswept down the canon. In the faces of those beautiful creatures mightbe read that uncomplaining patience--that high endurance--socharacteristic of the Hispano-Mexican women.
"Even the stern men around them bore up with less fortitude. Rude oathswere muttered from time to time, and teeth ground together, with thatstrange wild look that heralds insanity. Once or twice I fancied that Iobserved a look of still stranger, still wilder expression, when theblack ring forms around the eye--when the muscles twitch and quiveralong gaunt, famished jaws--when men gaze guilty-like at each other. OGod! it was fearful! The half-robber discipline, voluntary at the best,had vanished under the levelling-rod of a common suffering, and Itrembled to think--
"`It clars a leetle, out tharawa!'
"It was the voice of the trapper, Garey, who had risen and stoodpointing toward the East.
"In an instant we were all upon our feet, looking in the direction,indicated. Sure enough, there was a break in the lead-coloured sky--ayellowish streak, that widened out as we continued gazing--the flakesfell lighter and thinner, and in two hours more it had ceased snowingaltogether.
"Half-a-dozen of us, shouldering our rifles, struck down the valley. Wewould make one more attempt to trample a road through the drift. It wasa vain one. The snow was over our heads, and after struggling for twohours, we had not gained above two hundred yards. Here we caught aglimpse of what lay before us. As far as the eye could reach, it restedupon the same deep impassable masses. Despair and hunger paralysed ourexertions, and, dropping off one by one, we returned to the camp. Wefell down around the fires in sullen silence. Garey continued pacingback and forth, now glancing up at the sky, and at times kneeling down,and running his hand over the surface of the snow. At length heapproached the fire, and in his slow, drawling manner, remarked--
"`It's a-gwine to friz, I reckin.'
"`Well! and if it does?' asked one of his comrades, without caring foran answer to the question.
"`Wal, an iv it does,' repeated the trapper, `we'll walk out o' thishyar jug afore sun-up, an' upon a good hard trail too.'
"The expression of every face was changed, as if by magic. Severalleaped to their feet. Gode, the Canadian, skilled in snow-craft, ran toa bank, and drawing his hand along the combing, shouted back--
"`_C'est vrai; il gele; il gele_!'
"A cold wind soon after set in, and, cheered by the brighteningprospect, we began to think of the fires, that, during our late momentsof reckless indifference, had been almost suffered to burn out. TheDelawares, seizing their tomahawks, commenced hacking at the pines,while others dragged forward the fallen trees, lopping off theirbranches with the keen scalping-knife.
"At this moment a peculiar cry attracted our attention, and, lookingaround, we perceived one of the Indians drop suddenly upon his knees,striking the ground with his hatchet.
"`What is it? what is it?' shouted several voices, in almost as manylanguages.
"`_Yam-yam! yam-yam_!' replied the Indian, still digging at the frozenground.
"`The Injun's right; it's _man-root_!' said Garey, picking up someleaves which the Delaware had chopped off.
"I recognised a plant well-known to the mountain-men--a rare, butwonderful convolvulus, the _Iponea leptophylla_. The name of `man-root'is given to it by the hunters from the similarity of its root in shape,and sometimes in size, to the body of a man. It is esculent, and servesto sustain human life.
"In an instant, half-a-dozen men were upon their knees, chipping andhacking the hard clay, but their hatchets glinted off as from thesurface of a rock.
"`Look hyar!' cried Garey; `ye're only spoilin' yer tools. Cut down awheen o' these pine saplin's, and make a fire over him!'
"The hint was instantly followed, and in a few minutes a dozen pieces ofpine were piled upon the spot, and set on fire.
"We stood around the burning branches with eager anticipation. Shouldthe root prove a `full-grown man,' it would make a supper for our wholeparty; and with the cheering idea of supper, jokes were ventured upon--the first we had heard for some time--the hunters tickled with thenovelty of unearthing the `old man' ready roasted, and speculatingwhether he would prove a `fat old hoss.'
"A hollow crack sounded from above, like the breaking of a dead tree.We looked up. A large object--an animal--was whirling outward anddownward from a ledge that projected half-way up the cliff. In aninstant it struck the earth, head foremost, with a loud `bump,' and,bounding to the height of several feet, came back with a somersault onits legs, and stood firmly.
"An involuntary `hurrah!' broke from the hunters, who all recognised, ata glance, the `Carnero cimmaron,' or `bighorn.' He had cleared theprecipice at two leaps, alighting each time on his huge crescent-shapedhorns.
"For a moment, both parties--hunters and game--seemed equally taken bysurprise, and stood eyeing each other in mute wonder. It was but for amoment. The men made a rush for their rifles, and the animal,recovering from his trance of astonishment, tossed back his horns, andbounded across the platform. In a dozen springs he had readied theselvedge of the snow, and plunged into its yielding bank; but, at thesame instant, several rifles cracked, and the white wreath was crimsonedbehind him. He still kept on, however, leaning and breaking through thedrift.
"We struck into his track, and followed with the eagerness of hungrywolves. We could tell by the numerous _gouts_ that he was shedding hislife-blood, and about fifty paces farther on we found him dead.
"A shout apprised our companions of our success, and we had commenceddragging back the prize, when wild cries reached us from the platform,--the yells of men, the screams of women, mingled with oaths andexclamations of terror!
"We ran on towards the entrance of the track. On reaching it, a sightwas before us that caused the stoutest to tremble. Hunters, Indians,and women were running to and fro in frantic confusion, uttering theirvaried cries, and pointing upward. We looked in that direction--a rowof fearful objects stood upon the brow of the cliff. We knew our enemyat a glance,--the dreaded monsters of the mountains--the grizzly bears!
"There were; five of them--five in sight--there might be others in thebackground. Five were enough to destroy our whole party, caged as wewere, and weakened by famine.
"They had reached the cliff in chase of the cimmaron, and hunger anddisappointment were visible in their horrid aspects. Two of them hadalready crawled close to the scarp, and were pawing over and snuffingthe air, as if searching for a place to descend. The other three rearedthemselves up on their hams, and commenced manoeuvring with theirforearms, in a human-like and comical pantomime!
"We were in no condition to relish this amusement. Every man hastenedto arm himself, those who had emptied their rifles hurriedly re-loadingthem.
"`For your life don't!' cried Garey, catching at the gun of one of thehunters.
"The caution came too late: half-a-dozen bullets were already whistlingupwards.
"The effect was just what the trapper had anticipated. The bears,maddened by the bullets, which had harmed them no more than the prickingof as many pins, dropped to their all-fours again, and, with fiercegrowls, commenced descending the cliff.
"The scene of confusion was now at its height. Several of the men, lessbrave than their comrades, ran off to hide themselves in the snow, whileothers commenced climbing the low pine-trees!
"`Cache the gals!' cried Garey. `Hyar, yer darned Spanish greasers! ifyer won't light, hook on to the weemen a wheen o' yer, and toat them tothe snow. Cowardly slinks,--wagh!'
"`See to them, doctor,' I shouted to the German, who, I thought, mightbe best spared from the fight; and the next, moment, the doctor,assisted by several Mexicans, was hurrying the terrified girls towardsthe spot where we had left the cimmaron.
"Many of us knew that to hide, under the circumstances, would be worsethan useless. The fierce but sagacious brutes would have discovered, usone by one, and destroyed, us in detail. `They must, be met andfought!' that was the word; and we resolved to carry it into execution.
"There were about a dozen of us who `stood up to it'--all the Delawareand Shawanoes, with Garey and the mountain-men.
"We kept firing at the bears as they ran along the ledges in theirzigzag descent, but our rifles were out of order, our fingers werenumbed with cold, and our nerves weakened with hunger. Our bullets drewblood from the hideous brutes, yet not a shot proved deadly. It onlystung them into fiercer rage.
"It was a fearful moment when the last shot was fired, and still not anenemy the less. We flung away the guns, and, clutching the hatchets andhunting-knives, silently awaited our grizzly foes.
"We had taken our stand close to the rock. It was our design to havethe first blow, as the animals, for the most part, came stern-foremostdown the cliff. In this we were disappointed. On reaching a ledge someten feet from the platform, the foremost bear halted, and, seeing ourposition, hesitated to descend. The next moment, his companions,maddened with wounds, came tumbling down upon the same ledge, and, withfierce growls, the five huge bodies were precipitated into our midst.
"Then came the desperate struggle, which I cannot describe,--the shoutsof the hunters, the wilder yells of our Indian allies, the hoarseworrying of the bears, the ringing of tomahawks from skulls like flint,the deep, dull `thud' of the stabbing-knife, and now and then a groan,as the crescent claw tore up the clinging muscle. O God! it was afearful scene!
"Over the platform bears and men went rolling and struggling, in thewild battle of life and death. Through the trees, and into the deepdrift, staining the snow with their mingled blood! Here, two or threemen were engaged with a single foe--there, some brave hunter stoodbattling alone. Several were sprawling upon the ground. Every moment,the bears were lessening the number of their assailants!
"I had been struck down at the commencement of the struggle. Onregaining my feet, I saw the animal that had felled me hugging theprostrate body of a man.
"It was Gode. I leaned over the bear, clutching its shaggy skin. I didthis to steady myself; I was weak and dizzy; so were we all. I struckwith all my force, stabbing the animal on the ribs.
"Letting go the Frenchman, the bear turned suddenly, and reared upon me.I endeavoured to avoid the encounter, and ran backward, fending him offwith my knife.
"All at once I came against the snow-drift, and fell over on my back.Next moment, the heavy body was precipitated upon me, the sharp clawspierced deep into my shoulder,--I inhaled the monster's fetid breath;and striking wildly with my right arm, still free, we rolled over andover in the snow.
"I was blinded by the dry drift. I felt myself growing weaker andweaker; it was the loss of blood. I shouted--a despairing shout--but itcould not have been heard at ten paces' distance. Then there was astrange hissing sound in my ears,--a bright light flashed across myeyes; a burning object passed over my face, scorching the skin; therewas a smell as of singeing hair; I could hear voices, mixed with theroars of my adversary; and all at once the claws were drawn out of myflesh, the weight was lifted from my breast, and I was alone!
"I rose to my feet, and, rubbing the snow out of my eyes, looked around.I could see no one. I was in a deep hollow made by our struggles, butI was alone!
"The snow all around me was dyed to a crimson; but what had become of myterrible antagonist? Who had rescued me from his deadly embrace?
"I staggered forward to the open ground. Here a new scene met my gaze:a strange-looking man was running across the platform, with a hugefirebrand,--the bole of a burning pine-tree,--which he waved in the air.He was chasing one of the hears, that, growling with rage and pain, wasmaking every effort to reach the cliffs. Two others were alreadyhalf-way up, and evidently clambering with great difficulty, as theblood dripped back from their wounded flanks.
"The bear that was pursued soon took to the rocks, and, urged by the redbrand scorching his shaggy hams, was soon beyond the reach of hispursuer. The latter now made towards a fourth, that was still battlingwith two or three weak antagonists. This one was `routed' in atwinkling, and with yells of terror followed his comrades up the bluff.The strange man looked around for the fifth. It had disappeared.Prostrate, wounded men were strewed over the ground, but the bear wasnowhere to be seen. He had doubtless escaped through the snow.
"I was still wondering who was the hero of the firebrand, and where hehad come from. I have said he was a strange-looking man. He was so--and like no one of our party that I could think of. His head wasbald,--no, not bald, but naked,--there was not a hair upon it, crown orsides, and it glistened in the clear light like polished ivory. I waspuzzled beyond expression, when a man--Garey--who had been felled uponthe platform by a blow from one of the bears, suddenly sprang to hisfeet, exclaiming,--
"`Go it, Doc! Three chyars for the doctor!'
"To my astonishment, I now recognised the features of that individual,the absence of whose brown locks had produced such a metamorphosis as, Ibelieve, was never effected by means of borrowed hair.
"`Here's your scalp, Doc,' cried Garey, running up with the wig, `by thelivin' thunder! yer saved us all;' and the hunter seized the German inhis wild embrace.
"Wounded men were all around, and commenced crawling together. Butwhere was the fifth of the bears? Four only had escaped by the cliff.
"`Yonder he goes!' cried a voice, as a light spray, rising above thesnow-wreath, showed that some animal was struggling through the drift.
"Several commenced loading th
eir rifles, intending to follow, and, ifpossible, secure him. The doctor armed himself with a fresh pine; butbefore these, arrangements were completed, a strange cry came from thespot, that caused our blood to run cold again. The Indians leaped totheir feet, and, seizing their tomahawks, rushed to the gap. They knewthe meaning of that cry--it was the death-yell of their tribe!
"They entered the road that we had trampled down in the morning,followed by those who had loaded their guns. We watched them from theplatform with anxious expectation, but before they had reached the spot,we could see that, the `stoor' was slowly settling down. It was plainthat the struggle had ended.
"We still stood waiting in breathless silence, and watching the floatingspray that noted their progress through the drift. At length they hadreached the scene of the struggle. There was an ominous stillness, thatlasted for a moment, and then the Indian's fate was announced in thesad, wild note that came wailing up the valley. It was the dirge of aShawano warrior!
"They had found their brave comrade dead, with his scalping-knife buriedin the heart of his terrible antagonist!
"It was a costly supper, that bear-meat, but, perhaps, the sacrifice hadsaved many lives. We would keep the `cimmaron' for to-morrow; next day,the man-root; and the next,--what next? Perhaps--the man!
"Fortunately, we were not, driven to this extremity. The frost, hadagain set in, and the surface of the snow, previously moistened by thesun and rain, soon became caked into ice strong enough to bear us, andupon its firm crust we escaped out of the perilous pass, and gained thewarmer region of the plains in safety."
