CHAPTER XII.
_Wanderings on the prairie_--_A war party_--_Chased by Indians_--_Abold leap for life_.
For many days the three hunters wandered over the trackless prairie insearch of a village of the Sioux Indians, but failed to find one, forthe Indians were in the habit of shifting their ground and followingthe buffalo. Several times they saw small isolated bands of Indians;but these they carefully avoided, fearing they might turn out to bewar parties, and if they fell into their hands the white men could notexpect civil treatment, whatever nation the Indians might belong to.
During the greater portion of this time they met with numerous herdsof buffalo and deer, and were well supplied with food; but they had tocook it during the day, being afraid to light a fire at night whileIndians were prowling about.
One night they halted near the bed of a stream which was almost dry.They had travelled a day and a night without water, and both men andhorses were almost choking, so that when they saw the trees on thehorizon which indicated the presence of a stream, they pushed forwardwith almost frantic haste.
"Hope it's not dry," said Joe anxiously as they galloped up to it."No, there's water, lads," and they dashed forward to a pool that hadnot yet been dried up. They drank long and eagerly before they noticedthat the pool was strongly impregnated with salt. Many streams inthose parts of the prairies are quite salt, but fortunately this onewas not utterly undrinkable, though it was very unpalatable.
"We'll make it better, lads," said Joe, digging a deep hole in thesand with his hands, a little below the pool. In a short time thewater filtered through, and though not rendered fresh, it was,nevertheless, much improved.
"We may light a fire to-night, d'ye think?" inquired Dick; "we've notseed Injuns for some days."
"P'r'aps 'twould be better not," said Joe; "but I daresay we're safeenough."
A fire was therefore lighted in as sheltered a spot as could be found,and the three friends bivouacked as usual. Towards dawn they werearoused by an angry growl from Crusoe.
"It's a wolf likely," said Dick, but all three seized and cocked theirrifles nevertheless.
Again Crusoe growled more angrily than before, and springing out ofthe camp snuffed the breeze anxiously.
"Up, lads! catch the nags! There's something in the wind, for the dogniver did that afore."
In a few seconds the horses were saddled and the packs secured.
"Call in the dog," whispered Joe Blunt; "if he barks they'll find outour whereabouts."
"Here, Crusoe, come--"
It was too late; the dog barked loudly and savagely at the moment,and a troop of Indians came coursing over the plain. On hearing theunwonted sound they wheeled directly and made for the camp.
"It's a war party; fly, lads! nothin' 'll save our scalps now but ourhorses' heels," cried Joe.
In a moment they vaulted into the saddle and urged their steedsforward at the utmost speed. The savages observed them, and with anexulting yell dashed after them. Feeling that there was now no needof concealment, the three horsemen struck off into the open prairie,intending to depend entirely on the speed and stamina of their horses.As we have before remarked, they were good ones; but the Indians soonproved that they were equally well if not better mounted.
"It'll be a hard run," said Joe in a low, muttering tone, and lookingfurtively over his shoulder. "The varmints are mounted on wildhorses--leastways they were wild not long agone. Them chaps canthrow the lasso and trip a mustang as well as a Mexican. Mind thebadger-holes, Dick.--Hold in a bit, Henri; yer nag don't need drivin';a foot in a hole just now would cost us our scalps. Keep down by thecreek, lads."
"Ha! how dey yell," said Henri in a savage tone, looking back, andshaking his rifle at them, an act that caused them to yell morefiercely than ever. "Dis old pack-hoss give me moche trobel."
The pace was now tremendous. Pursuers and pursued rose and sank on theprairie billows as they swept along, till they came to what is termeda "dividing ridge," which is a cross wave, as it were, that cuts theothers in two, thus forming a continuous level. Here they advancedmore easily; but the advantage was equally shared with their pursuers,who continued the headlong pursuit with occasional yells, which servedto show the fugitives that they at least did not gain ground.
A little to the right of the direction in which they were flying ablue line was seen on the horizon. This indicated the existence oftrees to Joe's practised eyes, and feeling that if the horses brokedown they could better make a last manful stand in the wood than onthe plain he urged his steed towards it. The savages noticed themovement at once, and uttered a yell of exultation, for they regardedit as an evidence that the fugitives doubted the strength of theirhorses.
"Ye haven't got us yet," muttered Joe, with a sardonic grin. "If theyget near us, Dick, keep yer eyes open an' look out for yer neck, elsethey'll drop a noose over it, they will, afore ye know they're near,an' haul ye off like a sack."
Dick nodded in reply, but did not speak, for at that moment his eyewas fixed on a small creek ahead which they must necessarily leap ordash across. It was lined with clumps of scattered shrubbery, and heglanced rapidly for the most suitable place to pass. Joe and Henri didthe same, and having diverged a little to the different points chosen,they dashed through the shrubbery and were hid from each other's view.On approaching the edge of the stream, Dick found to his consternationthat the bank was twenty feet high opposite him, and too wide for anyhorse to clear. Wheeling aside without checking speed, at the risk ofthrowing his steed, he rode along the margin of the stream for a fewhundred yards until he found a ford--at least such a spot as might becleared by a bold leap. The temporary check, however, had enabled anIndian to gain so close upon his heels that his exulting yell soundedclose in his ear.
With a vigorous bound his gallant little horse went over. Crusoe couldnot take it, but he rushed down the one bank and up the other, so thathe only lost a few yards. These few yards, however, were sufficientto bring the Indian close upon him as he cleared the stream at fullgallop. The savage whirled his lasso swiftly round for a second, andin another moment Crusoe uttered a tremendous roar as he was trippedup violently on the plain.
Dick heard the cry of his faithful dog, and turned quickly round, justin time to see him spring at the horse's throat, and bring both steedand rider down upon him. Dick's heart leaped to his throat. Had athousand savages been rushing on him he would have flown to the rescueof his favourite; but an unexpected obstacle came in the way. Hisfiery little steed, excited by the headlong race and the howls of theIndians, had taken the bit in his teeth and was now unmanageable. Dicktore at the reins like a maniac, and in the height of his frenzy evenraised the butt of his rifle with the intent to strike the poor horseto the earth, but his better nature prevailed. He checked the upliftedhand, and with, a groan dropped the reins, and sank almost helplesslyforward on the saddle; for several of the Indians had left the mainbody and were pursuing him alone, so that there would have been now nochance of his reaching the place where Crusoe fell, even if he couldhave turned his horse.
Spiritless, and utterly indifferent to what his fate might be, DickVarley rode along with his head drooping, and keeping his seat almostmechanically, while the mettlesome little steed flew on over wave andhollow. Gradually he awakened from this state of despair to a senseof danger. Glancing round he observed that the Indians were nowfar behind him, though still pursuing. He also observed that hiscompanions were galloping miles away on the horizon to the left, andthat he had foolishly allowed the savages to get between him and them.The only chance that remained for him was to outride his pursuers, andcircle round towards his comrades, and this he hoped to accomplish,for his little horse had now proved itself to be superior to those ofthe Indians, and there was good running in him still.
Urging him forward, therefore, he soon left the savages still fartherbehind, and feeling confident that they could not now overtake him hereined up and dismounted. The pursuers quickly drew near, but shortthough it was the rest did his
horse good. Vaulting into the saddle,he again stretched out, and now skirted along the margin of a woodwhich seemed to mark the position of a river of considerable size.
At this moment his horse put his foot into a badger-hole, and both ofthem came heavily to the ground. In an instant Dick rose, picked uphis gun, and leaped unhurt into the saddle. But on urging his poorhorse forward he found that its shoulder was badly sprained.
There was no room for mercy, however--life and death were in thebalance--so he plied the lash vigorously, and the noble steed warmedinto something like a run, when again it stumbled, and fell witha crash on the ground, while the blood burst from its mouth andnostrils. Dick could hear the shout of triumph uttered by hispursuers.
"My poor, poor horse!" he exclaimed in a tone of the deepestcommiseration, while he stooped and stroked its foam-studded neck.
The dying steed raised its head for a moment, it almost seemed asif to acknowledge the tones of affection, then it sank down with agurgling groan.
Dick sprang up, for the Indians were now upon him, and bounded like anantelope into the thickest of the shrubbery; which was nowherethick enough, however, to prevent the Indians following. Still, itsufficiently retarded them to render the chase a more equal one thancould have been expected. In a few minutes Dick gained a strip of openground beyond, and found himself on the bank of a broad river, whoseevidently deep waters rushed impetuously along their unobstructedchannel. The bank at the spot where he reached it was a sheerprecipice of between thirty and forty feet high. Glancing up anddown the river he retreated a few paces, turned round and shook hisclenched fist at the savages, accompanying the action with a shout ofdefiance, and then running to the edge of the bank, sprang far outinto the boiling flood and sank.
The Indians pulled up on reaching the spot. There was no possibilityof galloping down the wood-encumbered banks after the fugitive; butquick as thought each Red-man leaped to the ground, and fitting anarrow to his bow, awaited Dick's re-appearance with eager gaze.
Young though he was, and unskilled in such wild warfare, Dick knewwell enough what sort of reception he would meet with on coming to thesurface, so he kept under water as long as he could, and struck out asvigorously as the care of his rifle would permit. At last he rose fora few seconds, and immediately half-a-dozen arrows whizzed through theair; but most of them fell short--only one passed close to his cheek,and went with a "whip" into the river. He immediately sank again, andthe next time he rose to breathe he was far beyond the reach of hisIndian enemies.
The Dog Crusoe and His Master: A Story of Adventure in the Western Prairies Page 13
