In the Wilds of Florida: A Tale of Warfare and Hunting
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my guideand protector. He seemed by his actions to indicate that he wanted meto get up and follow him. I at once came to the conclusion that myfriends were encamped not far off, and that he would lead me to them. Iwas about to strap on the remainder of the venison, when the horriblesmell which proceeded from it showed that it was no longer fit for humanfood; though Caesar, who appeared to be very hungry, willingly made asubstantial meal off it, when I gave him leave to take what he wanted.As I looked round, great was my satisfaction to see, by the warm tintsin the sky, that day was already breaking.
Caesar, having finished his meal, once more bounded on, and then cameback to ascertain that I was doing as he wished. I followed him,eagerly running forward. He kept along the bank of the stream, whichapparently, in the wet season, spread out over the rocky bottom, nowperfectly dry. On either side grew oleander, acacia, laurel, paw-paw,and many flowering shrubs; while in the distance, against the sky, Icould see a tall tree scathed by lightning, and leafless.
In vain I looked out for a fire, to indicate the camp of my companions,when suddenly Caesar, starting forward, gave a loud bark. Hurrying onafter him, I caught sight of a man stretched on the ground, with hisrifle by his side; and, to my great joy, I recognised Tim Flanagan. Onhearing the dog bark, he started up and rushed towards me withoutstretched arms.
"Is it you, Mr. Maurice, yourself?" he exclaimed, as he eagerly took myhand. "I thought that you had been lost entirely; an' all yesterday,an' all this night, an' the best part o' last night, too, I've beenhuntin' for ye until my legs would carry me no longer; an' I sank downon the ground, thinkin' if I didn't find you I'd never show my face atCastle Kearney again. If it hadn't been for Caesar, I never should havefound ye, for not a foot farther could I have stirred without some food;an', sure, that's what I've not had since yesterday mornin'."
My first inquiry was as to where our friends were encamped.
"Faith, Mr. Maurice, that's jist what I cannot tell," he answered. "Iset off to try an' find ye as soon as Mounseer Jolly an' Mr. Carlos cameback; an' next mornin', when I returned, not a sign of them could I seeat the camp. Why they moved on is more than I can say, except that theythought we should follow in their trail. Maybe they imagined theIndians were comin' afther them; or perhaps they wanted water, and wentto look for it."
I, of course, could not conjecture what could have induced Lejoillie andCarlos to proceed on their journey without waiting for Tim and me. "Buthow came you not to shoot some game?" I inquired.
"Faith, Mr. Maurice, I had an accident, an' lost all my powder; an' it'sa mercy I didn't lose my life too. I was tryin' to light a fire, whichwouldn't blaze up, seein' the sticks were green, when what should I dobut take my powder-flask an' begin to shake a few grains on it. On asudden away went the flask out of my hand with a loud bang, gettin'shivered to pieces, an' knockin' me over. I picked myself up, thinkin'I was kilt entirely; but I wasn't the worse for it, barrin' the loss ofthe powder an' the duck which I had put ready to roast; an' Caesar had alittle of his coat singed. The worst of the business was, that I couldno longer hope to shoot any game.
"Fortunately I can spare you a few charges; and we must make our stocklast as long as possible," I said. "The first thing we have to do is toshoot something for breakfast, and to look out, on our way, for anyfruit which may help us to enjoy it."
While wandering alone, I had often been almost in despair of everfinding my way. With Tim as my companion my spirits rose, and I feltperfectly happy when, shortly afterwards, I brought down a fat gobbler,which Caesar routed out of a bush close to us; while Tim, the nextinstant, killed a duck. We lost no time in making up a fire to cook ourgame; and we enjoyed a hearty meal, while a neighbouring pool affordedus water to quench our thirst.
Greatly revived, we prepared to set off eastward fully expecting thatbefore nightfall we should be with our friends. Tim said he was certainthey were to the right of us. We had, however, gone on but a shortdistance when a thick mist came sweeping along from the eastward,completely shrouding the whole country, as well as the sun above ourheads, so that we had no object by which to direct our course. In acountry like Florida, where there are no mountains, and the taller treesgrow in hollows, it is most difficult to find one's way, except bycompass, when the sun is obscured; still we thought we knew thedirection of the east, and continued on, every now and then uttering aloud shout, hoping that our friends might be within hearing. We agreedat last that, although they might not hear our voices, they might hearthe report of our guns; but that we might expend our powder with somebenefit to ourselves, we agreed to wait until we saw an object to fireat.
We were passing, soon afterwards, near some ponds, when we shot three orfour birds, and coming near a hummock, we killed several others, whichwe thought would be welcome to our friends, or would, at all events,supply us and Caesar with food for the next day. We still fancied thatwe were going right. Shortly afterwards, we entered a pine-barren, or,rather, I might call it a pine-forest, through which we struck on awell-defined track, the grass on either side being so tall that we couldscarcely see over it.
We had been going on for several hours, when we suddenly found ourselvesin a more open space. On one side was a deserted hut, near a pool offresh-water, while a number of tall trees, which had been cut down bythe woodmen's axes, lay prostrate on the ground. We examined the hut.There were bed-places for three or four men; and just outside was acircle of blackened stones, with ashes in the centre, which hadevidently formed the fire-place; but everything else had disappeared.While searching about, Tim exclaimed that there were marks of blood inone of the bed-places; and, on examining the spots, I agreed with himthat the stains were those of blood. His opinion was, that one of theparty had been surprised asleep in the hut by the Indians, but that therest, being out at the time, had made their escape, and were afraid toventure back.
On leaving the hut, Caesar ran to a little distance from it and barked.We followed him, when great was our horror to see the body of a manstretched on the ground. The poor fellow had been scalped, clearlyshowing by whom he had met his death. His jacket had been carried off;his shirt was torn, as if the savages had been about to take it off himwhen they were interrupted. From the appearance of the body, he had, weconjectured, been dead two or three days, perhaps longer, for, as it layin the shade, it was not so decomposed as it might otherwise have been.
"I'm afther thinkin' the sooner we get away from this place the better,"said Tim, as, having hurried from the spot, we stood near the pool Ihave described, from which Caesar was lapping the water.
"I don't see that we run much risk while we remain here, as the Indiansare not likely to come back again," I answered; "at the same time, Imore than ever regret having parted from our companions, and I shall bethankful when we find them again."
The result of our consultation was, that we agreed to push forward aslong as daylight lasted, and should we not find our friends in themeantime, to camp at nightfall. Had we been amply supplied with powderI should have been less anxious about our possible fate. The Indianswho had murdered the poor woodcutter had, I trusted, passed by; and weearnestly hoped that we might not fall in with any other bands on theirway to the north. We thought it possible that we might come upon thesettlement to which the woodmen belonged; but we had, as yet, fallen onno trail which might lead to it, and as the mist still hung over theface of nature, we had nothing to guide us. Still we went on, both ofus believing that our faces were directed eastward.
CHAPTER NINE.
CAMPING OUT--SUFFERINGS FROM THIRST--NAPPING--HEAVY FOGS--THE PHANTOMDEER--REDUCED TO EXTREMITY--A TORTOISE GUIDES US TO WATER--FIGHT WITH ABEAR--RELIEF--CAMP FOR THE NIGHT--MARCH CONTINUED--INCREASEDSUFFERINGS--ON THE WRONG TRACK--SNAKE FOR BREAKFAST--HARD TRAINING--TIM'S AMMUNITION EXPENDED--WE REACH A LAKE--MY LAST SHOT--DEATH OFCAESAR--SINKING FROM PRIVATION--TIM PROCURES FOOD--DINE ON FROGS--OURUSUAL BILL OF FARE--I SUCCUMB AT LAST--I BEG TIM TO PROCEED ALONE--WECOME UPON SOME BLACK SETTLERS--HELP AT LAST--AN INVITATION
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Again Tim and I camped without having fallen in with Lejoillie andCarlos. Although we were anxious about ourselves, we had also reason tofear that they might meet with some disaster. They had, however, plentyof powder and shot. They had also a compass to guide them, so that,notwithstanding the foggy state of the atmosphere, they might be able tokeep a direct course towards the Saint John. The birds we had shotafforded us an ample meal; and by cooking them at night, we hadsufficient for breakfast the next day.
Notwithstanding the heat during the day-time, at night, owing to thethick fog, we felt it chilly in the extreme. The trees dripped withmoisture; and it was with difficulty we could find a dry place to campon. Tim insisted on watching,