CHAPTER XI
THE RETREAT
It was noon the next day before the various chores about camp were done.The dishes and some small packages of food that had been left in thetent were badly mixed up and a number of packages torn open and theircontents ruined. Hugh, fortunately, had put most of the coffee in one ofthe caches in the trees, but that which had been left in the tent hadbeen scattered and trodden into the ground, so that only two or threecupfuls of the berries could be picked up and used.
"I tell you, Hugh," said Jack, "it was mighty lucky that you put thatfood in the trees. If it hadn't been for that I expect we should havehad to go back to the Agency to get more grub."
"Yes," replied Hugh, "I reckon we would, but I knew there were bearsaround here, and you never can tell just what a bear will do when itcomes to a camp. Sometimes they are so shy that they will run away assoon as they smell the camp, at others they will prowl around it for aday without touching anything, or again, maybe they'll go right into thetent and destroy everything that is there. I remember, one time down inColorado, a bear came into camp while we were out prospecting and toreup and scattered around everything that we had; he even tore ourblankets to pieces. We had to start into the settlements at once for anew outfit. Of course, we followed up the bear and killed him, but thatwasn't much satisfaction.
"We are mighty lucky that some of these horses did not break theirnecks, or get away and get lost in this brush. Of course, the chancesare we could have trailed them and found them, but on the other hand ifa snow had come before we did find them, we might have lost them forgood. They'd have been likely to get tied up in the brush with theirropes and to have starved to death."
"Yes," said Joe, "we came out of it mighty lucky, but I never expect tounderstand how that bear wrapped herself up in that tent so that shecouldn't move."
"No," said Hugh, "that's a mighty curious performance, and the queerpart of it is that the tent is just as good as ever it was, except forthe bullet holes and the blood on it. She didn't tear it a mite, andthat, of course, shows that somehow she must have got wrapped up in itjust as the tent fell. If she'd had a chance to use her arms at all shewould have torn the canvas to ribbons and we would never have got her.
"Well," he continued, "it's too late to start out prospecting now, and Ireckon I'll stay in camp the rest of the day and maybe clean the bloodoff this tent and generally get things in shape. What do you boys meanto do?"
"Why," said Jack, "I don't know. I believe I'd like to go up around thislake and follow up the valley until I come to that wall of rock at thehead. I expect that must be the divide, isn't it?"
"I reckon so," said Hugh. "I believe if we get up on top of this nextridge ahead of us, we'll see the waters running the other way and downinto Flat Head Lake and so on into the Columbia and the Pacific Ocean."
The boys started and proceeded up the valley. Close to the margin of thelake was a thick growth of alders, but these extended only a few yardsback, and between them and the sharp slope of the mountain there was alevel space thickly covered with huge rock fragments, among which theypicked their way without much difficulty.
The day was bright and still, but the air so keen that the mosquitoesand flies were not troublesome.
Part way up the lake, Jack, who had been watching something on a greatrock which rose above the water's surface, reached out his hand andmotioned to Joe not to move, and then, taking out his glasses, looked atthe moving object, which proved to be two tiny harlequin ducks busilyengaged in dressing their feathers.
The boys approached them slowly and carefully, stopping whenever theducks ceased the operations to look about them, and then going on whenthe birds were busy, and at last they had come to within thirty or fortyyards of them, and through the glasses could see them almost as plainlyas if they had been within arm's length.
They were beautiful birds and their curiously variegated colors stoodout plainly. The deep rich blue of the body, spotted here and there withwhite and rich brown and black, and their trim smooth appearance madethem very pretty objects. During one of Jack's inspections, Joe, whoseeyes were wandering about up the valley and over the mountainside,touched Jack's arm, and said, "I think I see a goat."
"Where?" asked Jack, without moving.
"Look up the valley down close to the grass on that red cliff. There'ssomething white lying against it. I thought I saw it move just now."
Jack turned his glasses in the direction in which Joe pointed, and aftera little search, discovered a goat lying in what looked like a sort ofcave in the rock. "Sure enough," he said, "it's a goat, Joe, but how canwe get at it? It will surely see us before we can reach any cover."
"Yes," said Joe, "pretty sure to see us, of course; nothing to hidebehind at all."
"I don't see how to get at it, except to crawl up to the edge of thehill and there maybe we'll find rocks to get behind. Let's try itanyway," said Jack.
They started, Joe in the lead, and crept slowly toward the edge of thevalley, but before they had reached it the goat slowly rose to its feet,and immediately the two boys sank to the ground and waited, withoutmoving. The goat did not seem to be alarmed. It took a long look downthe valley and then looked up at the mountainside opposite. Then itturned and very slowly walked away from the cave by which it had beenlying, and, turning, began to ascend what looked to the boys like anabsolutely perpendicular cliff. The animal did not hurry, but walkedalong in deliberate fashion, sometimes stopping and lowering its head,as if to take a bite of grass, and again, turning and looking back overthe way it had come or out over the valley. Still its advance wassteady, and presently it walked behind a projection of rock and was notseen again.
"Well," said Jack, "did you ever see anything like that? That beast justwalked right straight up the face of that cliff as a fly would walk upthe wall of a room."
"It's queer," answered Joe; "I could hardly believe that I saw what Isaw. Those goats must have powerful medicine to be able to do thingslike that."
"It sure looks so," replied Jack, "but I tell you what I want to do.Let's notice just where that goat was lying and where it went, and let'sgo over there and see if the rock is right up and down, as it looks. I'dlike to see whether a man could go up where that goat went."
"Yes," said Joe, "so would I."
Rising, the boys walked over to the place and had no great difficulty inscrambling up to where the goat had been lying. The tracks which theysaw before they got there told them that during the night the goat hadbeen down in the valley feeding, and had gone up to this cave to rest,in the heat of the day. The goat's bed had been stamped out among theshale where a trickle of water came down from the slate above, and thisaccounted for a dark patch on the goat's side that both boys hadnoticed. It had been lying in the mud.
Then they followed where the goat had gone after leaving its bed. Ashelf of rock about a foot wide led along the face of the precipice forthirty or forty yards and was evidently a much-used goat trail. It waspretty narrow for the boys, but by going very gingerly, holdingthemselves as close as possible to the rocks, they got to the pointwhere the animals had turned off up the hill. Here the water had worn alittle course by following a crack in the shale, and there was a ravine,if it could be called that, a foot or two deep and as wide at the top.Moreover, the face of the precipice, instead of being vertical, leanedback a little from the valley. In the ravine and on both sides of it therocks were much worn by the passage of animals, and to both the boys itseemed clear that this was the regular trail followed by the goats.
"What do you think, Jack?" said Joe. "Could a man climb up there?"
"Well, I tell you what," said Jack. "If you will hold my gun I'm goingto try. I believe anybody can climb up there, but, of course, hewouldn't want to do it with much of a load on his back."
"I'll take the guns," said Joe, "but don't you climb too far, and lookout that you don't slip and fall. A man might bump himself pretty badlyrolling down here, and it's quite a drop down to the rocks below."
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"All right," said Jack, "I'll look out."
He gave Joe the gun and started to climb. It was slow work, for in manyplaces the rock was very smooth, and in others, where there was a littleknob or protuberance on which to rest hand or foot, it was rotten andbroke under his weight. On the whole, however, the going was easier thanhe had thought, and he went thirty or forty yards to a point where theclimbing became easy, and then determined to return. Going back washarder than coming up, for he could not see where to put his feet andwas obliged to feel around blindly for footholds. Sometimes, when hehad found one and tested it by resting his weight on it, it broke andgave him a little start, but, on the whole, he had little difficulty ingetting down to Joe, and together they retraced their steps to thevalley.
"Well," said Joe, "I reckon you had quite a time finding places for yourfingers. You cut 'em up considerably."
Then for the first time Jack looked at his hands and found that, in halfa dozen places, his fingers were lacerated by the sharp slate fragmentsto which he had clung.
The boys went on up the valley and, presently, found themselves underthe tremendous wall of its head. There was no water falling over herenow, but it was evident that in times past there had been a great rushof water at the very head of the valley, for the ground was strewn withwater-worn pebbles and fine gravel, among which grew grass and othervegetation. The valley here was rather larger than at the lake below,and there was a wide, level amphitheater, walled in on three sides bythe great cliff and by mountainsides that were almost as steep as thecliff.
Sitting down here, the boys studied the sides of the mountains with theglasses and soon made out a number of goats lying in the shade orfeeding. In one group there were fifteen and, on the side of the tallmountain to the north, they counted forty-two white spots, most of whichthey felt sure were goats, though some of the spots showed no motion.
It was the middle of the afternoon and they were talking of going backto camp. Jack was taking a last look with his glasses at the goats onthe mountainside, when, suddenly, Joe's gun sounded immediately behindhim. Jack dropped his glasses and reached for his gun, asking, "Joe,what is it?"
"I think it was a skunk bear," said Joe, "what you call wolverine. Itjust came up on top of that rock over there, about a hundred yards off,and I shot at it. I knew if I moved or spoke to you, it would jump downand be out of sight in a second."
"Did you get it?" said Jack.
"I don't know," was the reply. "Let's go up there and see. If I didn'thit it, we'll never see it again. These rocks are full of holes andhiding places, and if it's only wounded it will sure get away."
They hurried up to the rock, which Joe pointed out again as theyapproached it, and walking around on the other side saw a great splashof blood on the stones below and a moment later, behind a small stone,they found a splendid wolverine, kicking in his last gasp. The ball hadpassed through both shoulders, making the fore-legs useless. If it hadnot been for that they would, very likely, not have found the animal,although its wound was mortal. Jack shook hands with Joe and said, "Thatwas a good shot, Joe, and mighty lucky, too. This is a splendid hide.I'd have given a good deal for such a chance as that."
"Well," said Joe, "I'd have spoken to you if there'd be any chance thatyou would have got the shot, but, as I said before, if the beast hadseen me move or heard me speak, he would have dodged out of sight andyou wouldn't have seen him again."
"Nonsense," said Jack, "there's no reason why you should have given methe shot. You saw him, and he was yours if you could kill him. It wouldhave been throwing away the chance, if you had tried to get me to seehim. Of course, he would not have stayed for me to shoot at. Now, whatshall we do; skin him here or take him into camp?"
"Well," said Joe, "I'd rather skin him here, only I don't know muchabout skinning a wolverine. I don't know whether it ought to be cased orsplit."
"Neither do I," said Jack; "but I reckon we'll be safe if we case it.Then if it ought to be split we can do that afterward, can't we?"
"Maybe," said Joe. "I don't know. Let's case it, anyhow, and saveourselves the trouble of lugging the carcass back."
The boys' knives were sharp and the skinning did not take them long. Itwas an admirable fur, and as they worked, Jack did not tire of admiringit.
Soon the job was completed and they started for camp.
Hugh looked at them with some curiosity, as they approached the tent,and was much interested to see the wolverine's skin.
"Who killed it?" he asked, finally.
"Joe," said Jack. "He made a mighty good shot from about a hundred yardsoff and broke both shoulders. The animal was just dying when we got upto it and had gone hardly any distance."
"You were lucky to kill it, Joe," said Hugh. "It isn't often one gets achance at one of these fellows, and up here in the mountains--or for thematter of that anywhere else--if you wound one, that's the end of it.You can never find him."
"We didn't know how to skin it, White Bull," said Joe, "and we didn'twant to pack it into camp, so, finally, we cased it. Ought we to havesplit it?"
"Why," said Hugh, "it don't make much difference. I've seen plenty ofwolverine cased, and plenty stretched flat. In old times they used tostretch 'em flat, but I never heard they were worth more one way thananother. Nice piece of fur, ain't it?" he said, as he ran his fingersthrough it. "Up here in the high mountains they haven't begun to shedyet and he's just as smooth and glossy as a beaver."
That night, while they were sitting around the fire after supper, Hughsaid, "Now, boys, I don't know whether you've noticed it, but feed isgetting mighty short here. We've only got a few head of horses, but thegrass is only just started and in about one day more they will begnawing up its roots on this little flat. We didn't find any feed up thevalley, though a couple of weeks later, when the snow has melted and theground has warmed up, there'll be grass growing everywhere. We came inhere a little too early. None of us could have known that, because noneof us have ever been up here before. It looks to me as if it was a longtime since anybody had been here; I don't see any signs of camps, orhorses, or chopping. I think we've got to get out of this and do itpretty quick. If we don't, our horses will begin to get poor."
"That's so, White Bull," said Joe. "I noticed to-day that the feed wasgetting powerful short, and I don't know where we can go except down thevalley toward the prairie, where the weather is warm and the grass hasstarted."
"Well," said Jack, "I suppose that's so, but just think how bad theflies will be down there."
"They will," said Hugh, "surely. But we've got to stand them if we'regoing to be in the mountains for the next month. It's better to be ateup by flies than to have the horses get poor."
"Well, Hugh," said Jack, "isn't there any place we can go, up here inthe high mountains, where there will be feed? We crossed a big stream alittle lower down. How would it be up on the head of that?"
"I don't know, son," said Hugh. "You know just as much about thiscountry here as I do. It's new to both of us. If you like, we can take aday off to-morrow and prospect a little more. If we could get up to thetop of this high mountain on the north side of the valley, we might beable to see something, but, at a distance, it's pretty hard to tellwhether ground where there isn't any snow is covered with grass, orweeds, or willows. If you feel like it, we all can make a climbto-morrow, and see if we can get up to the top of this mountain and lookover. If we do, I expect we'll find on the other side some valleys andflats, but it's mighty doubtful if there will be any place where there'sfeed for the animals. I think the best thing we can do is to go on backand maybe camp on those high ledges we passed over coming up. There'ssome feed there and then we can climb up to the top of Goat Mountain andsee whether from there we can see any country that is without snow.There must be quite a basin in back of Goat Mountain, where that bigstream that we camped on the other night comes out. It must be a coldplace there with big mountains all around it, but we can take a lookinto it, and, anyhow, at our camp the horses will be able
to findsomething to eat."
"I guess that is so, White Bull," said Joe. "That's the best thing todo."
"Well," said Jack, "I suppose it is. I hate to leave here when there'sso much new country to be seen, but we can't stay without feed for thehorses."
Early next morning the tent was pulled down and, while Hugh cooked thebreakfast, the beds were rolled, the packs made up and the horsessaddled. A little later, while Hugh was washing his dishes and puttinghis kitchen together, ready for packing, the boys loaded the beds, tentand provisions on two of the horses and, as soon as the third waspacked, the train moved off down the valley.
The journey down stream seemed much shorter than the ascent had been.The big river which came in from the north was passed withoutdifficulty, and two or three hours later all the snow had been leftbehind, and they were traveling in the warm sun, over the grassy ledgesof Goat Mountain. Here, on a level spot, camp was made, several of thehorses staked out in a place where they could not get cast on thehillside, and Joe and Jack set out to try to reach the crest of themountain.
It was a long, hard climb, breasting the steep shale slopes and thenclambering up narrow ravines worn by water falling for ages down the redcliffs. The boys moved along slowly, for neither was in good conditionfor mountain-climbing, yet their progress was steady, for though theyfrequently stopped to catch their breath, these pauses were not long. Atlast they reached the mountain's crest and, standing upon it, lookedover into the valley.
A few stunted wind-swept pines crowned the ridge and under them the snowlay deep, while on the north fall of the ridge, the white slope, dottedhere and there with black pines or broken by projecting rock points,stretched down into the basin, in which rose the stream on which theyhad camped a few nights before.
The basin looked dreary, cold and lifeless. No bare ground was to beseen, only the snow, now and then broken by the fresh tracks of goatswhich seemed to have been crossing the slope.
Jack and Joe followed the crest of the ridge for some distance, and thenturned down the hill toward camp, walking among the scattered, stuntedpines, over the steeply inclined slide rock. Gradually they worked downthe hill, but, at length, Joe made a little sign, at which Jack stoppedand looked in the direction in which Joe was pointing. Sure enough,there, a long way off, was a white spot lying at the foot of one of thered cliffs, and the glasses showed it to be a goat.
The boys set out to stalk it, passing very carefully from tree to tree,until, at length, a point of rock hid the animal from sight. Then theyhurried forward, but when they peered carefully over the last point ofrocks, behind which the goat should have been, they could not see it. Itdid not seem possible that they could have frightened it. The wind wasright, and while they had been within sight, the animal had made nomovement.
After a little looking over the ground, they decided that they hadmistaken the place which they were now looking at for the one where thegoat had been, and that the right place must be beyond one of two pointsjust before them.
On rounding the first of these, they saw no signs of the animal, but onlooking beyond the second, there was the goat, on the little shelf,where he had first been seen. He was just a fair rifle shot from them,and Jack drew back, telling Joe to go ahead and take a shot. Jack hadkilled a number of goats, but Joe had still his first to shoot at.
The Indian boy crept forward and, resting his gun against a rock, tookcareful aim and fired. The goat sprang to its feet and, as it rushedacross the narrow shelf where it had been lying, the boys could see itsfore-leg swinging as if it had been broken high up. The animal had beenlying a little quartering toward the gun, and the ball that had brokenits shoulder must have passed through the heart or lungs. The goat ranto the edge of the shelf, as if to leap off, but the plunge of sixtyfeet was too much for it. It turned and ran back toward the crevice downwhich it had come and reared against the rocks as if to ascend, but Jackfired a hasty shot, which struck the rocks in front of it, and made itrun back to the edge of the shelf. Just as it reached the brink itsknees gave way and it pitched forward, whirled over and over, struck aledge, bounded out again, and rolled, an inert mass, down themountainside and out of sight.
"Hurrah, Joe!" shouted Jack, "you got him, all right."
"Maybe so," said Joe, "I don't want to be too sure, for I have heardthat these animals are hard to kill."
Without waste of time Joe started down the mountainside after theanimal, springing from rock to rock, almost like a goat or sheep.
"Look out, Joe," called Jack, "you'll break your neck."
But Joe kept on. Where the goat had tumbled into the ravine the rockswere smeared with blood, and fifty or sixty yards further down, at thefoot of a steep cliff, the animal lay dead.
It took some time to drag the carcass to a place convenient for workingon it and to get it in shape to carry down the mountain. The sun wasgetting low, and as they worked the sky became overcast. After they hadpartly skinned the goat, Joe wrapped the hide around the shoulders andput it on his back, while Jack followed with the hams. They traveled asfast as possible, but it was dusk before they reached the ledge on whichthe camp was located.
"Well, boys," said Hugh, who was sitting by the fire and had supperready, "what did you find and what have you got? I heard you shoot acouple of times."
"Joe killed a fat nanny-goat," replied Jack, "and we brought in the meatand the hide. The hide, of course, doesn't amount to anything, becausethere isn't much hair on it, but the meat ought to be good."
"Well," said Hugh, "we'll try it. I am no great hand to eat goat meat,but that sheep that we got down on the lower lake is about all gone andit's time we had some fresh meat. What did you see on the other side ofthe mountain? Is there any feed there? Any show at all for the stock?"
"No," replied Jack, "nothing there but snow and rocks. A goat might livethere, but a horse would quickly starve."
"Well, then," said Hugh, "there's nothing left for us to do but to getdown toward the prairie. Maybe we've got to go away from the hills towhere the grass is good and the flies won't bother much, or else, on apinch, we can go up Swift Current. There's likely to be feed all the wayup there until we get into the right high mountains."
"I've heard a lot about Swift Current, Hugh," said Jack. "What is thereup there?"
"Why," Hugh answered, "I don't rightly know. I've only been up it a fewmiles and hunted in some of the hills there. There's plenty of game, Ireckon; moose and elk and bear and sheep and goats, and perhaps a fewdeer. It's not a long stream and there's a good trail up to the falls; atrail that's traveled by the Indians every year, for the Kootenays orStonies or Bloods generally make a hunting camp there for some weeks inthe fall. There are some beaver there, too, I think, though not as manyas there used to be before the Indians took to trapping them. I expectwe'll find the flies pretty bad, but we'll sure find feed for thehorses, and there's some high mountains that are mighty sightly."
"Well," said Jack, "I'd like to go up and look round, since we can't doanything at the head of the river until the grass starts, and, if youand Joe think best, I say Swift Current."
"Swift Current will suit me," assented Joe, and Hugh added, "It's a go."
Accordingly the next morning the train continued on down the lakes, andabout the middle of the afternoon they camped at the foot of the lowerlake. Just as they were about to ford the river, a man on horsebackappeared on top of a hill behind them. Hugh happened to look back andsaw him signal to call a companion to him by riding in a circle, on thetop of the hill where he could be seen by anyone at a distance.
A little later, the man with his companion rode down to the river,crossed it and came to their camp. He was a Kootenay Indian, who couldtalk some Piegan and some Chinook, and it soon appeared that he wascamped with fifteen lodges of his people under the chief Back In Sight,not far off on Swift Current Creek.
Jack the Young Explorer: A Boy's Experiances in the Unknown Northwest Page 14
