The Pioneer Boys of the Mississippi; or, The Homestead in the Wilderness

by St. George Rathborne

  CHAPTER XII

  STARTING FOR THE NEW WEST

  "THE great day has come at last!" said Sandy, early one morning, asthey started down toward the river from the blockhouse, where they hadbeen quartered ever since the flood, their cabin having been occupiedby a family with a numerous brood of young children, whose shelter hadbeen carried away by the ruthless waters.

  "Yes," Bob replied, stretching himself; "days and weeks have creptalong, and this has been a busy hamlet, what with the rebuilding ofcabins, planting crops for those who expect to stay, and the fashioningof our flatboat, with its strong cabin on deck. A busy time, everybodysays."

  "But our boat is done at last!" Sandy declared, joyfully; "and most ofour things are packed aboard, for to-day we make a start, headed forthe Mississippi!"

  Bob looked at his brother a little uneasily. He himself was feelingmore or less sad, because there were friendships that must be severed;and the chances seemed to be that they would never again shake thehands of some of those who had come out from Virginia with them.

  But Sandy seemed to have no thought of this. His father, mother, sisterand brother were going along; and what need then to feel distressed?That was the way the light-hearted lad felt about it; and the one greatdream of his young life seemed about to be realized. For many monthshe had yearned to set eyes on that mysterious and mighty river, thatrolled toward the far-off gulf; and whose source was as yet a sealedbook to the world.

  Sandy had hardly slept a wink all through the preceding night. Instead,he tossed on his pillow, and kept picturing what the future would havein store for them in that beautiful land toward the setting sun.

  No doubt the little mother also lay awake; but for different reasons.Brave wife of a pioneer that she was, surely Mrs. Armstrong must havelooked into the future with something of uneasiness. Many wild storieshad she listened to from the lips of Pat O'Mara and other valiantsouls, who had penetrated part of the distance toward the Mississippi;and doubtless these all came to haunt her now, magnified by the factthat they themselves were about to go forth into that wilderness tobuild a new home, under conditions that no one could faithfully picture.

  She managed, however, to conceal much of her womanly fears from theeyes of her loved ones. There were dangers everywhere, and as theysupped with them each day that they lived, it was no wonder that bydegrees even the women learned to hold peril in contempt.

  "Looks like it might be a fine morning for a start," Sandy remarked,as they drew near the edge of the flowing current, at a place where aledge afforded an excellent foothold, when they wished to bend over andwash their faces.

  "Yes, the spring is here in truth," replied Bob, "and the birds aresinging in every tree. After all, this is a beautiful spot, and I fearour mother is not one-half so anxious to leave it as the rest may be."

  "But just wait till she sees what a glorious country we are going to,"declared the ever-sanguine Sandy. "The birds may sing here, but it'snothing to what they will do out there, where the land is so rich thatit grows everything they want to eat. And as for game, why, just thinkof seeing a whole herd of buffaloes that no man could count! Oh! I dowish we were there right now. It has been a long time since we shot abuffalo."

  "That's so, Sandy," replied Bob, just a little enthusiastic himself;"and if things are half as fine as we've been told, we ought to soonhave a splendid little settlement, with a stockade, and gardens, andcabins that will make it home to us."

  Sandy bent over, and splashed for a minute. He thoroughly enjoyedthe cooling water, and, indeed, the boy was never so happy as whenswimming, having taken to it when a mere lad.

  Then he broke out again, showing that, try as he might, he could notkeep his thoughts away from the one great subject that held them like amagnet.

  "We've got all our traps oiled, and stowed away on board the flatboat,you know, Bob; and won't we have the time of our lives, once we getsettled in our new home, with the snow beginning to fly next autumn?I'm glad now that I traded for those five traps Adam Shell had. Itgives us nearly double as many as we had before."

  So they chatted as they finished their cleaning up. Meanwhile thewomen were busily engaged in getting the last meal that they expectedto take among those whom they had known so long.

  There were not many tears shed, for these hardy souls were accustomedto meeting all sorts of happenings with the fortitude that makesheroines. Indeed, Mrs. Armstrong admitted to herself that this partingdid not cause one-half the wrench that came when they pulled upstakes, away off in Virginia, and first set out on the trail over themountains, headed into the great West. Then they knew nothing of theIndian country, and a thousand fears assailed them; but now, the yellof the savage foe had become familiar in their ears, and surely littlethat was new in the form of peril could be awaiting them on theirfurther journey. It was but the turning over of the page and beginninga second chapter in a tale that had already been started.

  After breakfast had been disposed of, there was a great confusion allthrough the little settlement. Work of all kinds was at a standstillfor that morning, as all wished to add their mite to giving theadventurous families a hearty send-off.

  "AT LAST THEY WERE AFLOAT ON THE OHIO, BOUND INTO THEUNKNOWN COUNTRY THAT LAY FAR AWAY TO THE WESTWARD."]

  Before the sun had mounted three hours high in the eastern heavens thelast word had been spoken; and amid the cheers of the assembled people,old and young, the ropes that held the large flatboat to the shore werecast off.

  At last they were afloat on the Ohio, bound into the unknown countrythat lay far away to the westward. Day after day, and week after week,they expected to continue to float ever onward, spending the daylightin making such progress as lay in their power, and either anchoring atnight in the stream, or else, if it were deemed safe, tying up to theshore.

  Again and again had they listened to the sober warnings from those whoexpected to stick to the old settlement. And now the current had takenhold of their clumsy, but staunch, craft, and was commencing to hurryit along, as though anxious to sever the last ties binding them tothese good friends.

  By degrees the shouts died out in the ever-increasing distance, and thebold pioneers began to pay more attention to their duties.

  Then a bend of the river shut out the last glimpse of the waving hatsand kerchiefs, and a great silence came upon the scene, broken onlyby the creak of the big steering oar, or the gurgle of the riveragainst the planking below.

  The start had been made, and all seemed well. They were headed into awilderness that was next to unknown, and it had required almost as muchcourage for these valiant souls to thus break away from the settlement,and start upon this voyage of discovery, looking for a new homesteadin the wilds, as was shown by Christopher Columbus, when, braving thetraditions that declared the world to be flat, he set sail into thewestern seas, under the firm conviction that in this manner he couldreach the East Indies.

  On board the flatboat things soon began to assume a settled condition.Mr. Armstrong had been unanimously elected the leader of theexpedition, and every member was bound to yield him obedience.

  System had been early established, and each one knew just what was tobe expected of him or her, so that there was no confusion.

  The household goods, save what might be needed in the way of coveringsfor the night, or additional clothing, had been stowed away in ascompact shape as their ingenuity could devise; and in the hold of theboat a place had been found for the accommodation of this material.It consisted chiefly of a few household treasures, handed down fromancestors across the seas. The pioneers did not possess much in the wayof furniture. Tables, beds and chairs they expected to make afresh whenthey had reached the Promised Land. A few strong oaken or cedar chests,bound in brass it might be, contained their belongings for the mostpart; with what few cooking utensils that were needed, these latteralso in brass or copper, which was much used in those early days.

  Besides the Armstrongs, the passengers and crew of the flatboatconsisted of three f
amilies. First there was Mr. Harkness and his wife,a fourteen-year-old daughter named Susan, and also a nephew, one AmosTerry, from New England, and with some of the peculiarities of speechthat even at this early day marked the difference between those whoseancestors came over on the _Mayflower_, and the descendants of thosesettling in Virginia or Carolina.

  Then there were the Bancrofts, father, mother, and three children, allof the latter rather small; and the Waynes, who had a boy, Rufus, abouteight years of age, and a small baby.

  Two more persons there were aboard the boat at the time of leaving. PatO'Mara, the good-natured Irish trapper, meant to stick to his friend,Mr. Armstrong, through thick and thin, in this new venture, feelingpartly responsible through having told the wonderful tales that had sostirred the ambitions of these voyagers. Blue Jacket, also, was withthem, though he only expected to go a few days' journey into the west,when he would say good-bye, and return to his people, never expectingto see these white friends again.

  Seven men and two boys capable of bearing arms constituted their fullfighting force; a pitiful company when one considers the nature of thedangers that were always awaiting the hardy pioneers whenever theycut adrift and pierced the wilderness. But such a thing as fear wasnext to unknown to any of them; and, as they turned successive bendsof the river, always unfolding some new and beautiful feature of theremarkable scenery, both men and women felt that surely good fortunemust await them in the favored land beyond.

  They were not much given to sentiment. The hardships of that timemade people very practical; and yet no nature could withstand themagnificent sunset that greeted their eyes, hours later, when manymiles had been left behind.

  It must have seemed to some of those who stood and drank in theglorious picture with a feeling almost of awe, as though the sun hadnever before gone down in the midst of such splendor and that he wasbeckoning them onward to where their new homes were to be founded.

  And yet, no doubt, as some of the women glanced at the grimforest-lined shore so near by, they must have shuddered, rememberinghow somewhere in the dark recesses of that wood, savage foes lurked,hating the venturesome paleface who threatened to steal away theirlands, and only too eager to pounce down upon the little expedition,could they find the means.

  Blue Jacket went ashore as soon as the boat was tied up for the night,in order to scout around, and ascertain whether there might be anysigns of hostile Indians in the vicinity. Pat O'Mara also took a littleturn, and both reported that the coast appeared to be clear, so thevoyagers took heart of grace, and supper was cooked in comfort.

  There was no loud talking or laughter. Even the children had beenadmonished to keep quiet, leaving their boisterous play until themorrow, when, safe on the bosom of the broad stream, they might givevent to their exuberant spirits.

  All through the night a watch would be kept. Much of that duty was tobe undertaken by Blue Jacket and Pat, who had no family cares to attendto; but every man slept on his arms, as it were, ready to leap to hisfeet at the first alarm, with a clear idea as to the duties devolvingupon him in case of an attack.

  The ropes were arranged so that they could be instantly cast off, andthe boat swung out into the stream, which, being quite deep just there,would prevent the enemy from wading out after them.

  While part of the force performed this duty, the others would senda hot fire in among the Indians; and it must be remembered that inpioneer days every woman had learned to handle a gun almost as well asthe male members of the family.

  The first night passed, fortunately, without any alarm; which was agood thing, since it gave them all a chance to get accustomed to theirstrange surroundings. Later on, after they had fallen into the newways, if trouble came, as they fully anticipated, it would find thembetter prepared to meet the situation.

  All were early astir on the following morning, except that Pat and BlueJacket still lay under their blankets, since they had been ashore partof the night, and secured scarce any sleep at all until an hour beforedawn. The men were busy, getting wood aboard with which to make a smallfire if necessary, a stone hearth having been constructed for thispurpose, when, suddenly, Sandy made a startling discovery.

  "Oh! look! Bob, look, up there on the roof of the cabin!" he exclaimed;and Bob, turning his eyes toward the boat, quickly saw the object thathad thus excited the other.

  "Another arrow, with a birch-bark message, just as sure as anything,"he cried, turning a puzzled face toward Sandy.

  "Let me climb up and get it!" cried the younger lad; and, with thewords, he immediately started to clamber up the rough side wall of thecabin, which had been made as near bullet-proof as possible, so as toafford protection in case of an Indian attack; for the French traderswere selling the savages hundreds of firearms, and even teaching thewarriors how to use them in place of the more primitive bow and arrows.

  Presently Sandy came back, bearing the arrow in his hand.

  "It is exactly like the other, which Blue Jacket told us was surelymade by the hands of a Delaware brave," he said, holding the object upbefore his brother.

  Bob, just as he had expected, found a small piece of thin birch barkrolled about the arrow, near the head, and secured there by means offibres taken from some plant.

  Opening this, he discovered a series of crude, but plain pictures, madeafter the fashion of the Indians.

  "This time there are many figures, and, as they have scalplocks, theymust be Indians," Bob remarked, as he and Sandy eagerly examined themessage that had come from their unknown friend.

  "Yes," the other boy went on, "and see how they are lying flat behindbushes; while this must be the river flowing along. Some have guns, andothers bows. And, if you please, Bob, this must be meant for our fineflatboat, though it looks more like an old ark than anything else.What do you make of that part of the message!"

  "Oh! it stands but for one thing, a warning to beware of the foes wholurk on the shore, waiting to take us by surprise. But we already havebeen told all about such dangers, though this kind friend may not knowthat."

  "But see, Bob, there is more to it this time," Sandy continued,eagerly. "Here is our proud boat again on the river, and on the shorestands a man, holding both his hands out. He is surely a white man,because he has a hat on. And I think he must be begging us to come tothe shore and take him aboard."

  "That is just it," Bob remarked, "and you remember what Daniel Boonewarned us against. This must be that terrible Simon Girty, or hiscompanion, McKee, for if you look once again, you will see those formsconcealed behind the grass and bushes, just as the panther lies in waitfor a deer at the salt lick. Is that all plain to you, Sandy?"

  "Yes, and I would have seen through it, even if you hadn't spoken. Buthere, for the third time, we have received a message from this friend,who keeps his face hidden, so that we do not know who he is. What doesit mean, do you think, and who can he be?"

  "He must have some object," replied Bob, his brow marked by a line ofperplexing thought; "and he certainly has a reason for not letting usknow who he is. If it is that young Delaware you helped, he has a queerway of paying back his debt. But, after all, he is only an Indian, andhow can a white man understand his ways? We must show this to father,even if it doesn't seem to tell us anything new."

  "Yes," said Sandy, drawing a long breath, and glancing at the forestso close at hand; "anyhow, it's nice to know we've got a friend whowatches over us all the time. There may come a day when his warningwill save us from a terrible danger. Delaware brave or not, I am goingto thank him for it, if ever I meet him face to face."

  As they had already been told all about these perils, the men did notexperience any fresh alarm from seeing the message of the arrow. Mr.Armstrong, thinking it wise to keep all such causes for uneasinessaway from the women as much as possible, bade the boys not to mentionfinding it on the roof. Plainly the unknown Indian must have shot itfrom some point close at hand, though how he had managed to approachthe boat, unheard by the keen, listening ears of Blue Jacket or PatO'Mara
, was a mystery to both Bob and Sandy.

  If he could do this, what was to prevent a dozen, or fifty, of his kindfrom accomplishing the same thing? It was a thought calculated to causea timid person considerable uneasiness; and possibly this was what hadinfluenced Mr. Armstrong in his desire to keep the women from hearingabout the arrow that bore the new warning.

  Again they were floating on the current, that bore the adventurersalong at the rate of some four miles an hour. While the river changedits course from time to time, so that they headed now southwest, andagain toward the northwest, still their constant progress was suchthat they had the morning sun behind them; and, when the orb of daypassed the zenith, it beckoned them onward until, nearing the horizon,its slanting rays warned them that another night lay ahead, with thedangers that darkness must ever bring in its train.

  And so it would go, as the days slipped by, many miles being coveredbetween daybreak and darkness, and each span taking them further intothe unknown country.