CHAPTER XLIII.
Let us now examine into the political views of the Mormons, and followSmith in his lofty and aspiring visions of sovereignty for the future.He is a rogue and a swindler,--no one can doubt that; yet there issomething grand in his composition. Joe, the mean, miserable,half-starved money-digger of western New York, was, as I have beforeobserved, cast in the mould of conquerors, and out of that same claywhich Nature had employed for the creation of a Mahomet.
His first struggle was successful; the greater portion of his followerssurrounded him in Kirkland, and acknowledged his power, as that of God'sright hand; while many individuals from among the better classesrepaired to him, attracted by the ascendancy of a bold genius, or by theexpectation of obtaining a share in his fame, power, and glory.
Kirkland, however, was an inland place; there, on every side, Smith hadto contend with opposition; his power was confined and his plans had notsufficient room for development He turned his mind towards the westernborders of Missouri: it was but a thought; but with him, rapid actionwas as much a natural consequence of thought as thunder is of lightningExamine into the topography of that country, the holy Zion and promisedland of the Mormons, and it will be easy to recognize the fixed andunchangeable views of Smith, as connected with the formation of avast empire.
For the last twelve or fifteen years the government of the United Stateshas, through a mistaken policy been constantly engaged in sending to thewestern borders all the eastern Indian tribes that were disposed to selltheir land, and also the various tribes who, having rebelled againsttheir cowardly despotism, had been overpowered and conquered during thestruggle. This gross want of policy is obvious.
Surrounded and demoralized by white men, the Indian falls into acomplete state of _decadence_ and _abrutissement_. Witness the Choctawtribes that hover constantly about Mobile and New Orleans; theWinnibegoes, who have of late come into immediate contact with thesettlers of Wisconsin; the Pottawatomies, on both shores of LakeMichigan; the Miamis of North Indiana, and many more. On the contrary,the tribes on the borders, or in the wilderness, are on the increase. Ofcourse, there are a few exceptions, such as the Kanzas, or the poorMandans, who have lately been almost entirely swept away from the earthby the small-pox. Some of the smaller tribes may be destroyed bywarfare, or they may incorporate themselves with others, and thus losetheir name and nationality; but the increase of the Indian population isconsiderable among the great uncontrolled nations; such as the Chippewasand Dahcotahs (Siouxes), of the north United States; the Comanches andthe Pawnees, on the boundaries, or even in the very heart of Texas; theShoshones (Snakes), on the southern limits of Oregon; and the braveApaches of Sonora, those bold Bedouins of the Mexican deserts, who,constantly on horseback, wander, in immense phalanxes, from the easternshores of the Gulf of California to the very waters of the Rio Grande.
Admitting, therefore, as a fact, that the tribes on the borders doincrease, in the same ratio with their material strength, grows alsotheir invincible, stern, and unchangeable hatred towards the American.In fact, more or less, they have all been ill-treated and abused, andevery additional outrage to one tribe is locked up in the memory of all,who wait for the moment of retaliation revenge. In the Wisconsin war(Black Hawk, 1832), even after the poor starved warriors had surrenderedthemselves by treaty, after a noble struggle, more than two hundred oldmen, women, and children were forced by the Americans to cross the riverwithout boats or canoes. The poor things endeavoured to pass it with thehelp of their horses; the river there was more than half a mile broad,and while these unfortunates were struggling for life against a currentof nine miles an hour, they were shot in the water.
This fact is known to all the tribes--even to the Comanches, who are sodistant. It has satisfied them as to what they may expect from those whothus violate all treaties and all faith. The remainder of that bravetribe is now dwelling on the west borders of Iowa, but their wrongs aretoo deeply dyed with their own blood to be forgotten even bygenerations, and their cause is ready to be espoused by every tribe,even those who have been their hereditary enemies; for what is, afterall, their history, but the history of almost every Indian nationtransplanted on the other side of the Mississippi?
This belt of Indian tribes, therefore, is rather an unsafe neighbour,especially in the event of a civil war or of a contest with England.Having themselves, by a mistaken policy, collected together a cordon ofoffended warriors, the United States will some day deplore, when toolate, their former greediness, and cruelty towards the natural owners oftheir vast territories.
It is among these tribes that Joe Smith wishes to lay the foundation ofhis future empire; and settling at Independence, he was interposing as aneutral force between two opponents, who would, each of them, havepurchased his massive strength and effective energy with the gift ofsupremacy over an immense and wealthy territory. As we have seen, chanceand the fortune of war have thrown Smith and the Mormons back on theeastern shores of the Mississippi, opposite the entrance of Desmoinesriver; but when forced back, the Mormons were an unruly and turbulentcrowd, without means or military tactics; now, such is not the case.Already, the prophet has sent able agents over the river; the Sacs andFoxes, the same tribe we have just spoken of as the much-abused nationof Wisconsin, and actually residing at about eighty miles N.N.W. fromNauvoo, besides many others, are on a good understanding with theLatter-day Saints. A few bold apostles of Mormonism have also gone tothe far, far west, among the unconquered tribes of the prairies, toorganize an offensive power, ever ready for action.
Thus, link after link, Smith extends his influence, which is alreadyfelt in Illinois, in Iowa, in Missouri, at Washington, and at the veryfoot of the Rocky Mountains. Moreover, hundreds of Mormons, withoutavowing their creed, have gone to Texas, and established themselvesthere. They save all their crops, and have numerous cattle and droves ofhorses, undoubtedly to feed and sustain a Mormon army on any futureinvasion. Let us now examine further into this cunning and long-sightedpolicy, and we shall admire the great genius that presides over it. Weare not one of those, so common in these days, who have adopted the _niladmirari_ for their motto. Genius, well or ill guided, is still genius;and if we load with shame the former life of Smith and his presentabominable religious impositions, still we are bound to do justice tothat conquering spirit which can form such vast ideas, and work such amultitude to his will.
The population of Texas does not amount to seventy thousand souls, amongwhom there are twenty-five different forms of religion. Two-thirds ofthe inhabitants are scoundrels, who have there sought a refuge againstthe offended laws of their country. They are not only a curse and acheck to civilization, but they reflect dishonour upon the remainingthird portion of the Texans, who have come from distant climes for thehonest purposes of trade and agriculture. This mongrel and mixedcongregation of beings, though firmly united in one point (war withMexico, and that in the expectation of a rich plunder), are continuallyat variance on other points. Three thousand Texans would fight againstMexico, but not two hundred against the Mormons; and that for manyreasons: government alone, and not an individual, would be a gainer by avictory; in Texas, not a soul cares for anything but himself. Besides,the Mormons are Yankees, and can handle a rifle, setting aside theirgood drilling and excellent discipline. In number, they would also havethe advantage; while I am now writing, they can muster five thousandwell-drilled soldiers, and, in the event of an invasion of Texas, theycould easily march ten thousand men from the Sabine to the Rio Grande,from the Red River to the Gulf of Mexico. Opposition they will not meet.A year after the capture, the whole of Texas becomes Mormon, whileJoe--king, emperor, Pharaoh, judge or regenerator--rules over a host oftwo hundred and fifty thousand devoted subjects.
Let our reader observe that these are not the wild Utopias of a heatedimagination. No; we speak as we do believe, and our intercourse with theMormons during our travels has been sufficiently close to give us aclear insight into their designs for the future.
Joe's policy is
, above all, to conciliate the Indians, and that oncedone, there will not be in America a power capable of successfullyopposing him. In order to assist this he joins them in his new faith. Inadmitting the Indians to be the "right, though guilty," descendants ofthe sacred tribes, he flatters them with an acknowledgment of theirantiquity, the only point on which a white can captivate and even blindthe shrewd though untutored man of the wilds.
In explanation of the plans and proceedings of Joe Smith and theMormons, it may not be amiss to make some remarks upon the localitywhich he has designed as the seat of his empire and dominion, and wherehe has already established his followers, as the destined instruments ofhis ambition.
According to the Mormon prophets, the whole region of country betweenthe Rocky Mountains and the Alleghanies was, at a period of aboutthirteen hundred years ago, densely peopled by nations descended from aJewish family, who emigrated from Jerusalem in the time of the prophetJeremiah, some six or seven hundred years before Christ; immense citieswere founded, and sumptuous edifices reared, and the whole landoverspread with the results of a high and extensive civilization.
The Book of Mormon speaks of cities with stupendous stone walls, and ofbattles, in which hundreds of thousands were slain. The land afterwardsbecame a waste and howling wilderness, traversed by a few stragglingbands or tribes of savages, descended from a branch of the aforesaidJewish family, who, in consequence, of their wickedness, had theircomplexion changed from white to red; but the emigrants from Europe andtheir descendants, having filled the land, and God having been pleasedto grant a revelation by which is made known the true history of thepast in America, and the events which are about to take place, he hasalso commanded the Saints of the Latter Day to assemble themselvestogether there, and occupy the land which was once held by the membersof the true church.
The states of Missouri and Illinois, and the territory of Iowa, are theregions to which the prophet has hitherto chiefly directed his schemesof aggrandizement, and which are to form the nucleus of the Mormonempire. The remaining states are to be _licked up_ like salt, and fallbefore the sweeping falchion of glorious prophetic dominion, like thedefenceless lamb before the mighty king of the forest.
I have given the results of my notes taken relative to the Mormons, not,perhaps, in very chronological order, but as I gathered them from timeto time. The reader will agree with me, that the subject is well worthattention. Absurd and ridiculous as the creed may be, no creed ever, inso short a period, obtained so many or such devoted proselytes. Frominformation I have since received, they may now amount to three hundredthousand; and they have wealth, energy, and unity--they haveeverything--in their favour; and the federal government has been solong passive, that I doubt if it has the power to disperse them. Indeed,to obtain their political support, they have received so manyadvantages, and, I may say, such assistance, that they are now sostrong, that any attempt to wrest from them the privileges which havebeen conceded would be the signal for a general rising.
They have fortified Nauvoo; they can turn out a disciplined force aslarge as the States are likely to oppose to them, and, if successful,can always expect the co-operation of seventy thousand Indians, or, ifdefeated, a retreat among them, which will enable them to coalesce for amore fortunate opportunity of action. Neither do I imagine that the lossof their leader, Joe Smith, would now much affect their strength; thereare plenty to replace him, equally capable, not perhaps to have formedthe confederacy, religious and political, which he has done, but touphold it, now that it is so strong. The United States appear to me tobe just now in a most peculiar state of progression, and very soon theeyes of the whole world will be directed towards them and the result oftheir institutions. A change is about to take place; what that changewill be, it is difficult to say; but a few years will decidethe question.
CHAPTER XLIV.
Having now related the principal events which I witnessed, or in which Iwas an actor, both in California and in Texas, as these countries arestill new and but little known (for, indeed, the Texans themselves knownothing of their inland country), I will attempt a topographical sketchof these regions, and also make some remarks upon the animals whichinhabit the immense prairies and mountains of the wilderness.
Along the shores of the Pacific Ocean, from the 42 deg. down to the 34 deg.North, the climate is much the same; the only difference between thewinter and summer being that the nights of the former season are alittle chilly. The causes of this mildness in the temperature areobvious. The cold winds of the north, rendered sharper still by passingover the snows and ices of the great northern lakes, cannot force theirpassage across the rocky chain south of the latitude 44 deg. N., beingprevented by a belt of high mountains or by impenetrable forests. To theeastward, on the contrary, they are felt very severely; not encounteringany kind of obstacles, they sweep their course to the very shores of theGulf of Mexico, so that in 26 deg. N. latitude, on the southern boundariesof Texas, winter is still winter; that is to say, fire is necessary inthe apartments during the month of January, and flannel and clothdresses are worn; while, on the contrary, the same month on the shoresof the Pacific, up to 40 deg., is mild enough to allow strangers from thesouth, and even the Sandwich islanders, to wear their light nankeentrowsers and gingham round-abouts.
There is also a wide difference between the two coasts of the continentduring summer. In Upper California and the Shoshone territory, althoughthe heat, from the rays of the sun, is intense, the temperature is socooled both by the mountain and sea-breeze, as never to raise themercury to more than 95 deg. Fahrenheit, even in St. Diego, which liesunder the parallel of 32 deg. 39'; while in the east, from 27 deg. in SouthTexas, and 30 deg. at New Orleans, up to 49 deg. upon Lake Superior, the mercuryrises to 100 deg. every year, and frequently 105 deg., 107 deg. in St Louis, inPrairie du Chien, Green Bay, St. Anthony's Falls, and the Lake Superior.
The _resume_ of this is simply that the climate of the western coast ofAmerica is the finest in the world, with an air so pure, that during theintense heat of summer a bullock, killed, cleansed, and cut into slices,will keep for months without any salting nor smoking.
Another cause which contributes to render these countries healthy andpleasant to live in is, that there are, properly speaking, no swamps,marshes, nor bayous, as in the United States, and in the neighbourhoodof Acapulco and West Mexico. These lakes and bayous drying duringsummer, and exposing to the rays of the sun millions of dead fish,impregnate the atmosphere with miasma, generating typhus, yellow fever,dysenteries, and pulmonary diseases.
If the reader will look over the map I have sketched of the Shoshonecountry, he will perceive how well the land is watered; the lakes areall transparent and deep, the rivers run upon a rocky bottom as well asall the brooks and creeks, the waters of which are always cool andplentiful. One more observation to convince the reader of thesuperiority of the clime is, that, except a few ants in the forest,there are no insects whatever to be found. No mosquitoes, no prairiehorse-flies, no beetles, except the ceconilla or large phosphoric fly ofCalifornia, and but very few worms and caterpillars; the consequence is,that there are but two or three classes of the smaller species ofcarnivorous birds; the large ones, such as the common and red-headedvulture and crow, are very convenient, fulfilling the office of generalscavengers in the prairies, where every year thousands of wild cattledie, either from fighting, or, when in the central deserts, from thewant of water. On the western coast, the aspect of the country, ingeneral, is gently diversified; the monotony of the prairies in theinterior being broken by _islands_ of fine timber, and now and then bymountains projecting boldly from their bases. Near the sea-shore theplains are intersected by various ridges of mountains, giving birth tothousands of small rapid streams, which carry their cool and limpidwaters to the many tributaries of the sea, which are very numerousbetween the mouth of the Calumet and Buonaventura. Near to the coastlies a belt of lofty pines and shady odoriferous magnolias, whichextends in some places to the very beach and upon the high cliffs, u
nderwhich the shore is so bold that the largest man-of-war could sailwithout danger. I remember to have once seen, above the bay of SanFrancisco, the sailors of a Mexican brig sitting on the ends of theirtopsail yards, and picking the flowers from the branches of the trees asthey glided by.
In that part of the country, which is intersected by mountains, the soilis almost everywhere mineral, while the mountains themselves containrich mines of copper. I know of beds of gallena extending for more thana hundred miles; and, in some tracts, magnesian earths cover an immenseportion of the higher ridges. Most of the sandy streams of the Shoshoneterritory contain a great deal of gold-dust, which the Indians collecttwice a year and exchange away with the Mexicans, and also with theArrapahoes.
The principal streams containing gold are tributaries to theBuonaventura, but there are many others emptying into small lakes ofvolcanic formation. The mountains in the neighbourhood of the Coloradoof the West, and in the very country of the Arrapahoes, are full ofsilver, and perhaps no people in the world can show a greater profusionof this bright metal than these Indians.
The Shoshone territory is of modern formation, at least in comparisonwith the more southern countries where the Cordillieres and the Andesproject to the very shores of the ocean. It is evident that the bestportion of the land, west of the Buonaventura, was first redeemed fromthe sea by some terrible volcanic eruption. Until about two centuriesago, or perhaps less, these subterranean fires have continued toexercise their ravages, raising prairies into mountains, and sinkingmountains and forests many fathoms below the surface of the earth; theirsites now marked by lakes of clear and transparent water, frequentlyimpregnated with a slight, though not unpleasant, taste of sulphur;while precious stones, such as topazes, sapphires, large blocks ofamethysts, are found every day in the sand and among the pebbles ontheir borders.
In calm days I have often seen, at a few fathoms deep, the tops of pinetrees still standing in their natural perpendicular position. In thesouthern streams are found emeralds of very fine water; opals also arevery frequently met with.
The formation of the rocks is in general basaltic, but white, black, andgreen marble, red porphyry, jaspar, red and grey granite, abound east ofthe Buonaventura. Quartz, upon some of the mountains near the sea-shore,is found in immense blocks, and principally in that mountain range whichis designated in the map as the "Montagne du Monstre," at the foot ofwhich were dug up the remains of the huge Saurian lizard.
The greater portion of the country is, of course, prairie; theseprairies are covered with blue grass, muskeet grass, clovers, sweetprairie hay, and the other grasses common to the east of the continentof America. Here and there are scattered patches of plums of thegreengage kind, berries, and a peculiar kind of shrub oaks, never morethan five feet high, yet bearing a very large and sweet acorn; ranges ofhazel nuts will often extend thirty or forty miles, and are the abode ofmillions of birds of the richest and deepest dyes.
Along the streams which glide through the prairies, there is a luxuriantgrowth of noble timber, such as maple, magnolia, blue and green ash, redoak, and cedar, around which climb vines loaded with grapes. Near thesea-shores, the pine, both black and white, becomes exceedingly common,while the smaller plains and hills are covered with that peculiarspecies of the prickly pear upon which the cochineal insect feeds. Allround the extinguished volcano, and principally in the neighbourhood ofthe hill Nanawa Ashta jueri e, the locality of our settlement upon thebanks of the Buonaventura, the bushes are covered with a very superiorquality of the vanilla bean.
The rivers and streams, as well as the lakes of the interior, aboundwith fish; in the latter, the perch, trout, and carp are very common; inthe former, the salmon and white cat-fish, the soft-shelled tortoise,the pearl oyster, the sea-perch (Lupus Maritimes), the ecrivisse, andhundred families of the "crevette species," offer to the Indian a greatvariety of delicate food for the winter. In the bays along the shore,the mackarel and bonita, the turtle, and, unfortunately, the sharks, arevery numerous; while on the shelly beach, or the fissures of the rocks,are to be found lobsters, and crabs of various sorts.
The whole country offers a vast field to the naturalist; the most commonbirds of prey are the bald, the white-headed eagle, the black and thegrey, the falcon, the common hawk, the epervier, the black andred-headed vulture, the raven and the crow. Among the granivorous, theturkey, the wapo (a small kind of prairie ostrich), the golden andcommon pheasant, the wild peacock, of a dull whitish colour, and theguinea-fowl; these two last, which are very numerous, are not indigenousto this part of the country, but about a century ago escaped from thevarious missions of Upper California, at which they had been bred, andsince have propagated in incredible numbers; also the grouse, theprairie hen, the partridge, the quail, the green parrot, the blackbird,and many others which I cannot name, not knowing their genericdenomination. The water-fowls are plentiful, such as swans, geese, ducksof many different species, and the Canadian geese with their long blacknecks, which, from November to March, graze on the prairies inthousands.
The quadrupeds are also much diversified. First in rank, among thegrazing animals, I may name the mustangs, or wild horses, which wanderin the natural pastures in herds of hundreds of thousands. They vary inspecies and size, according to the country where they are found, butthose found in California, Sonora, and the western district of Texas,are the finest breed in the world. They were imported from Andalusia bythe Spaniards, almost immediately after the conquest of Grenada, theBishop of Leon having previously, by his prayers, "exorcised the devilout of their bodies."
Mr. Catlin says, that in seeing the Comanche horse, he was muchdisappointed; it is likely, Mr. Catlin having only visited the northernborders of Texas, and the poorest village of the whole Comanche tribe.If, however, he had proceeded as far as the Rio Puerco, he would haveseen the true Mecca breed, with which the Moslems conquered Spain. Hewould have also perceived how much the advantages of a beautiful climeand perpetual pasture has improved these noble animals, making themsuperior to the primitive stock, both in size, speed, and bottom. Withone of them I made a journey of five thousand miles, and on arriving inMissouri, I sold him for eight hundred dollars. He was an entire horse,as white as snow, and standing seventeen and a half hands high. Onethousand pounds would not have purchased him in England.
Next, the lordly buffaloes, the swift wild-goat, the deer, the antelope,the elk, the prairie dogs, the hare, and the rabbits. The carnivorousare the red panther, or puma[31], the spotted leopard, the ounce, thejaguar, the grizzly black and brown bear, the wolf, black, white andgrey; the blue, red, and black fox, the badger, the porcupine, thehedgehog, and the coati (an animal peculiar to the Shoshone territory,and Upper California), a kind of mixture of the fox and wolf breed,fierce little animals with bushy tails and large heads, and a quick,sharp bark.
[Footnote 31: The puma, or red panther, is also called "American lion,cougar," and in the western States, "catamount." It was once spread allover the continent of America, and is even now found, although veryrarely, as far north as Hudson's Bay. No matter under what latitude, thepuma is a sanguinary animal; but his strength, size, and thirst ofblood, vary with the clime.
I have killed this animal in California, in the Rocky Mountains, inTexas, and in Missouri; in each of these places it presented quite adifferent character. In Chili it has the breadth and limbs approachingto those of the African lion; to the far north, it falls away in bulk,until it is as thin and agile as the hunting leopard. In Missouri andArkansas, the puma will prey chiefly upon fowls and young pigs; it willrun away from dogs, cows, horses, and even from goats. In Louisiana andTexas it will run from man, but it fights the dogs, tears the horse, andkills the cattle, even the wild buffalo, merely for sport. In theAnahuar, Cordillieres, and Rocky Mountains, it disdains to fly, becomesmore majestic in its movements, and faces its opponents, from thegrizzly bear to a whole company of traders; yet it will seldom attackunless when cubbing. In Sonora and California, it is even moreferocious. When hungry, it wil
l hunt by the scent, like the dog, withits nose on the ground. Meeting a trail, it follows it at the rate oftwenty miles an hour, till it can pounce upon a prey; a single horseman,or an army, a deer, or ten thousand buffaloes, it cares not, it attackseverything.
I did not like to interrupt my narrative merely to relate a pumaadventure, but during the time that I was with the Comanches, a Mexicanpriest, who had for a long time sojourned as instructor among theIndians, arrived in the great village on his way to St. Louis, Mi.,where he was proceeding on clerical affairs. The Comanches received himwith affection, gave him a fresh mule, with new blankets, and mustered asmall party to accompany him to the Wakoes Indians.
The Padre was a highly talented man, above the prejudices of his cast;he had lived the best part of his life in the wilderness among the wildtribes on both sides of the Anahuar, and had observed and learned enoughto make him love "these children of nature." So much was I pleased withhim, that I offered to command the party which was to accompany him. Myrequest was granted, and having provided ourselves with a long tent andthe necessary provisions, we started on our journey.
Nothing remarkable happened till we arrived at the great chasm I havealready mentioned, when, our provisions being much reduced, we pitchedthe tent on the very edge of the chasm, and dedicated half a day tohunting and grazing our horses. A few deer were killed, and to avoid anocturnal attack from the wolves, which were very numerous, we hung themeat upon the cross-pole inside of the tent. The tent itself was aboutforty feet long, and about seven in breadth; large fires were lighted atthe two ends, piles of wood were gathered to feed them during the night,and an old Indian and I took upon us the responsibility of keeping thefires alive till the moon should be up.
These arrangements being made, we spread our buffalo-hides, with oursaddles for pillows, and, as we were all exhausted, we stretchedourselves, if not to sleep, at least to repose. The _padre_ amused me,during the major portion of my watch, in relating to me his pastadventures, when he followed the example of all the Indians, who wereall sound asleep, except the one watching at the other extremity of thetent. This Indian observed to me, that the moon would rise in a coupleof hours, and that, if we were to throw a sufficient quantity of fuel onthe fire, we could also sleep without any fear. I replenished the fuel,and, wrapping myself in my blanket, I soon fell asleep.
I awoke suddenly, thinking I had heard a rubbing of some body againstthe canvas outside of the tent. My fire was totally extinguished, but,the moon having risen, gave considerable light. The hour of danger hadpassed. As I raised my head, I perceived that the fire at the otheropening of the tent was also nearly extinguished; I wrapt myself stillcloser, as the night had become cool, and soon slept as soundlyas before.
Once more I was awakened, but this time there was no delusion of thesenses, for I felt a heavy pressure on my chest. I opened my eyes, andcould scarcely refrain from crying out, when I perceived that the weightwhich had thus disturbed my sleep was nothing less than the hind paw ofa large puma. There he stood, his back turned to me, and seeming towatch with great avidity a deer-shoulder suspended above his head. Myfeelings at that moment were anything but pleasant; I felt my heartbeating high; the smallest nervous movement, which perhaps I could notcontrol, would divert the attention of the animal, whose claws wouldthen immediately enter my flesh.
I advanced my right hand towards the holster, under my head, to take oneof my pistols, but the holsters were buttoned up, and I could not undothem, as this would require a slight motion of my body. At last I feltthe weight sliding down my ribs till it left me; and I perceived, thatin order to take a better leap at the meat, the puma had moved on alittle to the left, but in so doing one of his fore paws rested upon thechest of the _padre_. I then obtained one of the pistols, and was justin the act of cocking it under my blanket, when I heard a mingled shriekand roar. Then succeeded a terrible scuffling. A blanket was for asecond rolled over me; the canvas of the tent was burst open a footabove me; I heard a heavy fall down the chasm; the _padre_ screamedagain; by accident I pulled the trigger and discharged my pistol; andthe Indians, not knowing what was the matter, gave a tremendouswar-whoop.
The scene I have described in so many lines was performed in a fewseconds. It was some time before we could recover our senses and inquireinto the matter. It appeared, that at the very moment the puma wascrouching to take his leap, the _padre_ awaking, gave the scream; thisterrified the animal, who dashed through the canvas of the tent above mewith the _padre's_ blanket entangled in his claws.
Poor _padre_! he had fainted, and continued senseless till daylight,when I bled him with my penknife. Fear had produced a terrible effectupon him, and his hair, which the evening before was as black as jet,had now changed to the whiteness of snow. He never recovered,notwithstanding the attention shown to him by the Indians whoaccompanied him to St. Louis. Reason had forsaken its seat, and, as Ilearned some time afterwards, when, being in St. Louis, I went to themission to inquire after him, he died two days after his arrival at theJesuits' college.
As to the puma, the Indians found it dead at the bottom of the chasm,completely wrapped in the blanket, and with most of its bones broken.]
The amphibious are the beaver, the fresh-water and sea-otter, themusk-rat, and a species of long lizard, with sharp teeth, very like thecayman as regards the head and tail, but with a very short body. It is avery fierce animal, killing whatever it attacks, dwelling in damp, shadyplaces, in the juncks, upon the borders of some lakes, and is muchdreaded by the Indians; fortunately, it is very scarce. The Shoshoneshave no particular name for it, but would sooner attack a grizzly bearthan this animal, which they have a great dread of, sometimes calling itthe evil spirit, sometimes the scourge, and many other suchappellations. It has never yet been described by any naturalist, and Inever yet saw one dead, although I have heard of their havingbeen killed.
In Texas, the country presents two different aspects, much at variancewith each other, the eastern borders, and sea-coast being only acontinuation of the cypress swamps, mud creeks, and cane-brakes of southArkansas, and west Louisiana; while, on the contrary, the north and westoffer much the same topography as that of the countries I have justdelineated. The climate in Texas is very healthy two hundred miles fromthe sea, and one hundred west of the Sabine, which forms the easternboundary of Texas; but to the east and south the same diseases andepidemics prevail as in Louisiana, Alabama, and the Floridas.
The whole of Texas is evidently of recent formation, all the salineprairies east of the Rio Grande being even now covered with shells ofall the species common to the Gulf of Mexico, mixed up with skeletons ofsharks, and now and then with petrified turtle, dolphin, rock fish, andbonitas. A few feet below the surface, and hundreds of miles distantfrom the sea, the sea-sand is found; and although the ground seems torise gradually as it recedes from the shores, the southern plains arebut a very little elevated above the surface of the sea until you arriveat thirty degrees north, when the prairies begin to assume an undulatingform, and continually ascend till, at the foot of the Rocky Mountains,they acquire a height of four and five thousand feet above the levelof the sea.
Texas does not possess any range of mountains with the exception that,one hundred miles north from San Antonio de Bejar, the San Seba hillsrise and extend themselves in a line parallel with the Rocky Mountains,as high as the green peaks in the neighbourhood of Santa Fe. The SanSeba hills contain several mines of silver, and I doubt not that thismetal is very common along the whole range east of the Rio Grande. Goldis also found in great quantities in all the streams tributary to theRio Puerco, but I have never heard of precious stones of any kind.
Excepting the woody districts which border Louisiana and Arkansas, thegreater proportion of Texas is prairie; a belt of land commences uponone of the bends of the river Brasos, spreads northward to the veryshores of the Red River, and is called by the Americans "The CrossTimbers;" its natural productions, together with those of the prairies,are similar to those of the Shoshone country
. Before the year 1836, andI dare say even now, the great western prairies of Texas contained moreanimals and a greater variety of species than any other part of theworld within the same number of square miles; and I believe that theSunderbunds in Bengal do not contain monsters more hideous and terriblethan are to be found in the eastern portion of Texas, over which natureappears to have spread a malediction. The myriads of snakes of allkinds, the unaccountable diversity of venomous reptiles, and even thedeadly tarantula spider or "vampire" of the prairies, are trifles,compared with the awful inhabitants of the eastern bogs swamps, andmuddy rivers. The former are really dangerous only during two or threemonths of the year, and, moreover, a considerable portion of the trailsare free from their presence, owing to the fires which break out in thedry grass almost every fall. There the traveller knows what he has tofear, and, independent of the instinct and knowledge of his horse, hehimself keeps an anxious look-out, watching the undulating motion of thegrass, and ever ready with his rifle or pistols in the event of hisbeing confronted with bears, pumas, or any other ferocious quadruped. Ifhe is attacked, he can fight, and only few accidents have ever happenedin these encounters, as these animals always wander alone with theexception of the wolf, from whom, however, there is but little to fear,as, in the prairies, this animal is always glutted with food and timidat the approach of man.
As the prairie wolf is entirely different from the European, I willborrow a page of Ross Cox, who, having had an opportunity of meeting it,gives a very good description of its manners and ways of living. Yet asthis traveller does not describe the animal itself, I will add, that thegeneral colour of the prairie wolf is grey mixed with black, the earsare round and straight, it is about forty inches long, and possesses thesagacity and cunning of the fox.
"The prairie wolves," says Cox, "are much smaller than those whichinhabit the woods. They generally travel together in numbers, and asolitary one is seldom met with. Two or three of us have often pursuedfrom fifty to one hundred, driving them before us as quickly as ourhorses could charge.
"Their skins are of no value, and we do not therefore waste much powderand ball in shooting them. The Indians, who are obliged to pay dear fortheir ammunition, are equally careful not to throw it away on objectsthat bring no remunerating value. The natural consequence is, that thewolves are allowed to multiply; and some parts of the country arecompletely overrun by them. The Indians catch numbers of them in traps,which they set in the vicinity of those places where their tame horsesare sent to graze. The traps are merely excavations covered over withslight switches and hay, and baited with meat, &c., into which thewolves fall, and being unable to extricate themselves, they perish byfamine or the knife of the Indian. These destructive animals annuallydestroy numbers of horses, particularly during the winter season, whenthe latter get entangled in the snow, in which situation they become aneasy prey to their light-footed pursuers, ten or fifteen of which willoften fasten on one animal, and with their long fangs in a few minutesseparate the head from the body. If, however, the horses are notprevented from using their legs, they sometimes punish the enemyseverely; as an instance of this, I saw one morning the bodies of two ofour horses which had been killed the night before, and around were lyingeight dead and maimed wolves; some with their brains scattered about,and others with their limbs and ribs broken by the hoofs of the furiousanimals in their vain attempts to escape from their assailants."
Although the wolves of America are the most daring of all the beasts ofprey on that continent, they are by no means so courageous or ferociousas those of Europe, particularly in Spain or the south of France, inwhich countries they commit dreadful ravages both on man and beast;whereas a prairie wolf, except forced by desperation, will seldom ornever attack a human being.
I have said that the danger that attends the traveller in the greatprairies is trifling; but it is very different in the eastern swamps andmud-holes, where the enemy, ever on the watch, is also always invisible,and where the speed of the horse and the arms of the rider are of noavail, for they are then swimming in the deep water, or splashing,breast-deep, in the foul mud.
Among these monsters of the swamps and lagoons of stagnant waters, thealligator ranks the first in size and voracity; yet man has nothing tofear from him; and though there are many stories among the cottonplanters about negroes being carried away by this immense reptile, I dofirmly believe that few human beings have ever been seized alive by theAmerican alligator. But although harmless to man, the monster is ascourge to all kinds of animals, and principally to dogs and horses. Itoften happens that a rider loses his track through a swamp or a muddycane-brake, and then, if a new comer in East Texas, he is indubitablylost. While his poor steed is vainly struggling in a yielding mass ofmud, he will fall into a hole, and before he can regain his footing, anirresistible force will drag him deeper and deeper, till smothered. Thisforce is the tail of the alligator, with which this animal masters itsprey, no matter how strong or heavy, when once within its reach. M.Audubon has perfectly described its power: I will repeat his words:--
"The power of the alligator is in its great strength, and the chiefmeans of its attack or defence is its large tail, so well contrived bynature to supply his wants, or guard him from danger, that it reaches,when curved into a half-circle, to his enormous mouth. Woe be to him whogoes within the reach of this tremendous thrashing instrument; for, nomatter how strong or muscular, if human, he must suffer greatly, if heescape with life. The monster, as he strikes with this, forces allobjects within the circle towards his jaws, which, as the tail makes amotion, are opened to their full stretch, thrown a little sideways toreceive the object, and, like battering-rams, to bruise it shockingly ina moment."
Yet, as I have said, the alligator is but little formidable to man. InWestern Louisiana and Eastern Texas, where the animal is much hunted forthe sake of his grease, with which the planters generally oil themachinery of their mills, little negroes are generally sent into thewoods, during the fall, "grease-making," as at that season the men arebetter employed in cotton-picking or storing the maize. No danger everhappens to the urchins during these expeditions, as, keeping within thesweep of the tail, they contrive to chop it off with an axe.
M. Audubon says:--
"When autumn has heightened the colouring of the foliage of our woods,and the air feels more rarified during the nights and the early part ofthe day, the alligators leave the lakes to seek for winter-quarters, byburrowing under the roots of trees, or covering themselves simply withearth along their edges. They become then very languid and inactive,and, at this period, to sit or ride on one would not be more difficultthan for a child to mount his wooden rocking-horse. The negroes, who nowkill them, put all danger aside by separating at one blow with an axe,the tail from the body. They are afterwards cut up in large pieces, andboiled whole in a good quantity of water, from the surface of which thefat is collected with large ladles. One single man kills oftentimes adozen or more of large alligators in the evening, prepares his fire inthe woods, where he has erected a camp for the purpose, and by morninghas the oil extracted."
As soon as the rider feels his horse sinking, the first movement, if aninexperienced traveller, is to throw himself from the saddle, andendeavour to wade or to swim to the cane-brakes, the roots of which giveto the ground a certain degree of stability. In that case, his fate isprobably sealed, as he is in immediate danger of the "cawana." This is aterrible and hideous monster, with which, strange to say, thenaturalists of Europe are not yet acquainted, though it is too wellknown to all the inhabitants of the streams and lagoons tributary to theRed River. It is an enormous turtle or tortoise, with the head and tailof the alligator, not retractile, as is usual among the differentspecies of this reptile: the shell is one inch and a half thick, and asimpenetrable as steel. It lies in holes in the bottom of muddy rivers orin the swampy cane-brakes, and measures often ten feet in length and sixin breadth over the shell, independent of the head and tail, which mustgive often to this dreadful monster the length of
twenty feet. Such anunwieldy mass is not, of course, capable of any rapid motion; but in theswamps I mention they are very numerous, and the unfortunate man orbeast going astray, and leaving for a moment the small patches of solidground, formed by the thicker clusters of the canes, must of a necessitycome within the reach of one of these powerful creature's jaws, alwaysextended and ready for prey.
Cawanas of a large size have never been taken alive, though often, indraining the lagoons, shells have been found measuring twelve feet inlength. The planters of Upper Western Louisiana have often fished toprocure them for scientific acquaintances, but, although they takehundreds of the smaller ones, they could never succeed to drag on shoreany of the large ones after they have been hooked, as these monstersbury their claws, head, and tail so deep in the mud, that no power shortof steam can make them relinquish their hold.
Some officers of the United States army and land surveyors, sent on theRed River by the government at Washington for a month, took up theirresidence at Captain Finn's. One day, when the conversation had fallenupon the cawana, it was resolved that a trial should be made toascertain the strength of the animal. A heavy iron hand-pike wastransformed by a blacksmith into a large hook, which was fixed to aniron chain belonging to the anchor of a small-boat, and as thatextraordinary fishing-tackle was not of a sufficient length, they addedto it a hawser, forty fathoms in length and of the size of a woman'swrist. The hook was baited with a lamb a few days old, and thrown into adeep hole ten yards from the shore, where Captain Finn knew that one ofthe monsters was located; the extremity of the hawser was made fast toan old cotton-tree.
Late in the evening of the second day, and as the rain poured down intorrents, a negro slave ran to the house to announce that the bait hadbeen taken, and every one rushed to the river side. They saw that, infact, the hawser was in a state of tension, but the weather being toobad to do anything that evening, they put it off till the next morning.
A stout horse was procured, who soon dragged the hawser from the watertill the chain became visible, but all further attempts of the animalwere in vain; after the most strenuous exertion, the horse could notconquer the resistance or gain a single inch. The visitors were puzzled,and Finn then ordered one of the negroes to bring a couple of powerfuloxen, yoked to a gill, employed to drag out the stumps of old trees. Formany minutes the oxen were lashed and goaded in vain; every yarn of thehawser was strained to the utmost, till, at last, the two brutes,uniting all their strength in one vigorous and final pull, it wasdragged from the water, but the monster had escaped. The hook hadstraightened, and to its barb were attached pieces of thick bones andcartilages, which must have belonged to the palate of the monster.
The unfortunate traveller has but little chance of escaping with life,if, from want of experience, he is foundered in the swampy canebrakes.When the horse sinks and the rider leaves the saddle, the only thing hecan do is to return back upon his track; but let him beware of thesesolitary small patches of briars, generally three or four yards incircumference, which are spread here and there on the edges of thecanebrakes, for there he will meet with deadly reptiles and snakesunknown in the prairies; such as the grey-ringed water mocassin, thebrown viper, the black congo with red head and the copper head, all ofwhom congregate and it may be said make their nests in these little dryoases, and their bite is followed by instantaneous death.
These are the dangers attending travellers in the swamps, but there aremany others to be undergone in crossing lagoons, rivers, or small lakes.All the streams, tributaries of the Sabine and of the Red River belowthe great bend (which is twenty miles north of the Lost Prairie), haveswampy banks and muddy bottoms, and are impassable when the water is toolow to permit the horses to swim. Some of these streams have ferries,and some lagoons have floating bridges in the neighbourhood of theplantations; but as it is a new country, where government has as yetdone nothing, these conveniences are private property, and the owner ofa ferry, not being bound by a contract, ferries only when he chooses andat the price he wishes to command.
I will relate a circumstance which will enable the reader to understandthe nature of the country, and the difficulties of overland travellingin Texas. The great Sulphur Fork is a tributary of the Red River, and itis one of the most dangerous. Its approach can only be made on bothsides through belts of swampy canebrakes, ten miles in breadth, and sodifficult to travel over, that the length of the two swamps, short as itis, cannot be passed by a fresh and strong horse in less than fourteenhours. At just half-way of this painful journey the river is to bepassed, and this cannot be done without a ferry, for the moment youleave the canes, the shallow water begins, and the bottom is so soft,that any object touching it must sink to a depth of several fathoms.Till 1834, no white man lived in that district, and the Indians resortedto it only during the shooting season, always on foot and invariablyprovided with half-a-dozen of canoes on each side of the stream fortheir own use or for the benefit of travellers. The Texans are not soprovident nor so hospitable.
As the white population increased in that part of the country, a man ofthe name of Gibson erected a hut on the southern bank of the stream,constructed a flat-boat, and began ferrying over at the rate of threedollars a head. As the immigration was very extensive, Gibson soon grewindependent, and he entered into a kind of partnership with the freebands which were already organized. One day, about noon, a landspeculator presented himself on the other side of the river, and calledfor the ferry. At that moment the sky was covered with dark and heavyclouds, and flashes of lightning succeeded each other in everydirection; in fact, everything proved that the evening would not passwithout one of those dreadful storms so common in that country duringthe months of April and May. Gibson soon appeared in his boat, butinstead of casting it loose, he entered into a conversation.
"Where do you come from, eh?"
"From the settlements," answered the stranger.
"You've a ticklish, muddish kind of river to pass."
"Aye," replied the other, who was fully aware of it.
"And a blackish, thunderish, damned storm behind you, I say."
The traveller knew that too, and as he believed that the conversationcould as well be carried on while crossing over, he added:
"Make haste, I pray, my good man; I am in a hurry, and I should not liketo pass the night here in these canes for a hundred dollars."
"Nor I, for a thousand," answered Gibson. "Well, stranger, what will yougive me to ferry you over?"
"The usual fare, I suppose--two or three dollars."
"Why, that may do for a poor man in fine weather, and having plenty oftime to spare, but I be blessed if I take you for ten times that moneynow that you are in so great a hurry and have such a storm behind."
The traveller knew at once he had to deal with a blackguard, but as hewas himself an Arkansas man of the genuine breed, he resolved to givehim a "Roland for an Oliver."
"It is a shameful imposition," he cried; "how much do you want afterall?"
"Why, not a cent less than fifty dollars."
The stranger turned his horse round, as if he would go back; but, aftera few moments, he returned again.
"Oh," he cried, "you are a rogue, and take the opportunity of my beingin so great a hurry. I'll give you what you want, but mind I never willpass this road again, and shall undoubtedly publish your conduct in theArkansas newspapers."
Gibson chuckled with delight; he had humbugged a stranger, and did notcare a fig for all the newspapers in the world; so he answered, "Welcometo do what you please;" and, untying the boat, he soon crossed thestream. Before allowing the stranger to enter the ferry, Gibson demandedthe money, which was given to him under the shape of five ten-dollarnotes, which he secured in his pocket, and then rowed with allhis might.
On arriving on the other side, the stranger led his horse out of theboat, and while Gibson was stooping down to fix the chain, he gave him akick on the temple, which sent him reeling and senseless in his boat;then taking back his own money, he sprun
g upon his saddle, and passingbefore the cabin, he gently advised Gibson's wife to "go and see, forher husband had hurt himself a little in rowing."
These extortions are so very frequent, and now so well known, that thepoorer classes of emigrants never apply for the ferries, but attempt thepassage just as they can, and when we call to mind that the hundreds ofcases which are known and spoken of must be but a fraction of those whohave disappeared without leaving behind the smallest clue of theirformer existence and unhappy fate, the loss of human life within thelast four or five years must have been awful.
Besides the alligator and the cawana, there are in these rivers manyother destructive animals of a terrible appearance, such as the deviljack diamond fish, the saw fish, the horn fish, and, above all, the muchdreaded gar. The first of these is often taken in summer in the lakesand bayous, which, deprived of water for a season, are transformed intopastures; these lakes, however, have always a channel or deeper part,and there the devil jack diamond has been caught, weighing four hundredpounds and upwards.
The saw fish is peculiar to the Mississippi and its tributaries, andvaries in length from four to eight feet. The horn fish is four feetlong, with a bony substance on his upper jaw, strong, curved, and onefoot long, which he employs to attack horses, oxen, and even alligators,when pressed by hunger. But the gar fish is the most terrible among theAmerican ichthyology, and a Louisiana writer describes it in thefollowing manner:--
"Of the gar fish there are numerous varieties. The alligator gar issometimes ten feet long, and is voracious, fierce, and formidable, evento the human species. Its dart in rapidity equals the flight of a bird;its mouth is long, round, and pointed, thick set with sharp teeth; itsbody is covered with scales so hard as to be impenetrable by arifle-bullet, and which, when dry, answers the purposes of a flint instriking fire from steel; its weight is from fifty to four hundredpounds, and its appearance is hideous; it is, in fact, the shark ofrivers, but more terrible than the shark of the sea, and is consideredfar more formidable than the alligator himself."
It is, in fact, a most terrible animal. I have seen it more than onceseizing its prey, and dragging it down with the rapidity of an arrow.One day while I was residing at Captain Finn's upon the Red River, I sawone of these monsters enter a creek of transparent water. Following himfor curiosity, I soon perceived that he had not left the deep waterwithout an inducement, for just above me there was an alligatordevouring an otter.
As soon as the alligator perceived his formidable enemy, he thought ofnothing but escape to the shore; he dropped his prey and began to climb,but he was too slow for the gar fish, who, with a single dart, closedupon it with extended jaws, and seized it by the middle of the body. Icould see plainly through the transparent water, and yet I did notperceive that the alligator made the least struggle to escape from thedeadly fangs; there was a hissing noise as that of shells and bonescrushed, and the gar fish left the creek with his victim in his jaws, sonearly severed in two, that the head and tail were towing on eachside of him.
Besides these, the traveller through rivers and bayous has to fear manyother enemies of less note, and but little, if at all, known tonaturalists. Among these is the mud vampire, a kind of spider leech,with sixteen short paws round a body of the form and size of the commonplate; the centre of the animal (which is black in any other part of thebody) has a dark vermilion round spot, from which dart a quantity ofblack suckers, one inch and a half long, through which they extract theblood of animals: and so rapid is the phlebotomy of this ugly reptile,that though not weighing more than two ounces in its natural state, afew minutes after it is stuck on, it will increase to the size of abeaver hat, and weigh several pounds.
Thus leeched in a large stream, a horse will often faint before he canreach the opposite shore, and he then becomes a prey to the gar fish; ifthe stream is but small and the animal is not exhausted, he will runmadly to the shore and roll to get rid of his terrible blood-sucker,which, however, will adhere to him, till one or the other of them diesfrom exhaustion, or from repletion. In crossing the Eastern Texasbayous, I used always to descend from my horse to look if the leecheshad stuck; the belly and the breast are the parts generally attacked,and so tenacious are these mud vampires, that the only means of removingthem is to pass the blade of a knife under them and cut them off.
But let us leave these disgusting animals, and return to the uplandwoods and prairies, where nature seems ever smiling, and where theflowers, the birds, and harmless quadrupeds present to the eye a livelyand diversified spectacle. One of the prettiest _coups-d'oeil_ in theworld is to witness the gambols and amusements of a herd of horses, or aflock of antelopes. No kitten is more playful than these beautifulanimals, when grazing undisturbed in the prairies; and yet those who,like the Indian, have time and opportunity to investigate, will discovervices in gregarious animals hitherto attributed solely to man.
It would appear that, even among animals, where there is a society,there is a tyrant and paria. On board vessels, in a school, or anywhere, if man is confined in space, there will always be some onelording over the others, either by his mere brutal strength or by hischaracter; and, as a consequence, there is also another, who is spurned,kicked, and beaten by his companions, a poor outcast, whom everybodydelights in insulting and trampling upon; it is the same amonggregarious brutes. Take a flock of buffaloes or horses, or of antelopes;the first glance is always sufficient to detect the two contrasts. Twoof the animals will stand apart from the herd, one proudly lookingabout, the other timid and cast down; and every minute some will leavetheir grazing, go and show submission, and give a caress to the one, anda kick or a bite to the other.
Such scenes I have often observed, and I have also witnessed theconsequence, which is, that the outcast eventually commits suicide,another crime supposed to be practised only by reasoning creatures likeourselves. I have seen horses, when tired of their prairie life, walkround and round large trees, as if to ascertain the degree of hardnessrequired; they have then measured their distance, and darting withfurious speed against it, fractured their skull, and thus got rid oflife and oppression.
I remember a particular instance; it was at the settlement. I was yet aboy, and during the hotter hours of the day, I used to take my books andgo with one of the missionaries to study near a torrent, under the coolshade of a magnolia.?
All the trees around us were filled with numerous republics ofsquirrels, scampering and jumping from branch to branch, and, forgetfulof everything else, we would sometimes watch their sport for hourstogether. Among them we had remarked one, who kept solitary between thestems of an absynth shrub, not ten yards from our usual station. Therehe would lie motionless for hours basking in the sun, till some othersquirrels would perceive him. Then they would jump upon him, biting andscratching till they were tired, and the poor animal would offer noresistance, and only give way to his grief by plaintive cries.
At this sight, the good padre did not lose the opportunity to inculcatea lesson, and after he had finished speaking, he would strike his handstogether to terrify the assailants.
"Yes," observed I, using his own words, "it is nature."
"Alas! no," he would reply; "'tis too horrible to be nature; it is onlyone of the numerous evils generated from society." The padre was a greatphilosopher, and he was right.
One day, while we were watching this paria of a squirrel, we detected ayoung one slowly creeping through the adjoining shrubs; he had in hismouth a ripe fruit, a parcimon, if I remember right. At every moment hewould stop and look as if he were watched, just as if he feareddetection. At last he arrived near the paria, and deposited before himhis offering to misery and old age.
We watched this spectacle with feelings which I could not describe;there was such a show of meek gratitude in the one and happiness in theother, just as if he enjoyed his good action. They were, however,perceived by the other squirrels, who sprang by dozens upon them; theyoung one with two bounds escaped, the other submitted to his fate. Irose, all the squirrels
vanished except the victim; but that time,contrary to his habits, he left the shrub and slowly advanced to thebank of the river, and ascended a tree. A minute afterwards we observedhim at the very extremity of a branch projecting over the rapid waters,and we heard his plaintive shriek. It was his farewell to life andmisery; he leaped into the middle of the current, which in a momentcarried him to the shallow water a little below.
In spite of his old age, the padre waded into the stream and rescuedthe suicide. I took it home with me, fed it well, and in a short timeits hair had grown again thick and glossy. Although left quite free, thepoor animal never attempted to escape to the woods, and he had become sotame, that every time I mounted my horse, he would jump upon me andaccompany me on my distant excursions. Eight or ten months afterwards hewas killed by a rattle-snake, who surprised him sleeping upon myblanket, during one of our encampments.
THE END.
The Travels and Adventures of Monsieur Violet in California, Sonora, and Western Texas Page 43
