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

by St. George Rathborne

  CHAPTER XX

  THE TWO-LEGGED WOLF

  "I'M glad to be afloat once more!"

  Of course that could be no one but Sandy making such a remark, underthe circumstances. He was leaning over the side of the bulwark of theflatboat, and looking back up the river toward Fort Washington.

  It was all very nice, stopping with friends who were interested intheir welfare, as all pioneers must be; but for Sandy delay becamemonotonous. He liked action, and plenty of it.

  Besides, his ambition to set eyes on that wonderful river of the westgrew in volume, the further they advanced along their journey. Itwas now in the nature of a passion with the lad. And of course, hisfather and mother would never be happy again until they had selecteda location for the new homestead in the wilderness bordering theMississippi; so the sooner they reached their destination the betterSandy--yes, and Bob also--would be pleased.

  Their plans had been talked over so often at the frontier post thatseveral others manifested a desire to accompany the four families tothe country they had heard so much about; but, although Mr. Armstrongdeclared he would be only too well pleased to have such a nobleaddition to their number, the capacity of the flatboat had already beenreached, so that there was really no opportunity to stow even one morefamily on board.

  It was settled, however, that they would leave some sign of theirlocation, if the opportunity came about; or, failing that, get wordback to these new friends, so that they too might build an ark, andfloat down to the Mississippi in turn, to join their fortunes withthose of the first adventurous party.

  Bob was not far away from his brother when Sandy made the remark withwhich this chapter opens, and he smiled to hear what the younger ladsaid.

  "Well, I can understand what you mean, Sandy," he replied, "for I feela little that way myself. But just now I was wondering where he canbe, and how he makes his way across from one side of the river to theother?"

  "Oh! now you're speaking of the mysterious Indian who sends thoseDelaware arrows every little while, and seems to mean to keep alongwith us, just like he was a shadow?" the other returned.

  "Hardly that, Sandy," said Bob, "because you can see a shadow; butnever once up to now have either of us set eyes on this queer friendwho likes to work in secret. Think of how far away from his villagehe must have wandered; and it begins to look as if we might have himaround to protect us even after we get to our new home down below."

  "I heard father speaking about another difficulty we have ahead of us,which is the falls of the Ohio, down about where Harrodsburg lies," Bobwent on presently.

  "Oh! will we have to abandon our fine flatboat there, and take up thejourney on foot?" cried Sandy, to whom the thought of a falls meantsome grand cataract, like the famous one at Niagara, of which he hadheard many times.

  "Well, if there is water enough in the river, we expect to pass rightthrough; but, if there seems to be any danger, father says he willanchor the boat above, and either investigate the conditions himself,or find some man who knows the channel. Hunters and trappers areused to passing down that way, and shoot through without botheringthemselves about danger. And we'll get along all right, I guess, Sandy."

  "Then the falls aren't so very high, after all?" asked the other,heaving a sigh of genuine relief.

  "Oh! no," laughed Bob; "they are what some hunters call rapids. Athigh water you'd never know they were there, Pat says. He has seen theplace only once, and never shot them, so father could hardly dependon him for a pilot. But you wait and see. We are in too great luck toget wrecked on the rocks like that. There will be a way for us to getthrough."

  Several days later they saw smoke ashore, and discovered a party ofhunters in camp. They were a hardy lot, ready to fight Indians ascheerfully as they were willing to shoot deer or buffalo.

  The flatboat was anchored as close to the shore as seemed wise, and Mr.Armstrong invited the others to come out and visit; but they said theyhad no boat. One of them Pat immediately recognized.

  "Sure that looks like me ould frind, Jo Davies," he remarked; and theman hearing what he said, called back:

  "Just who it is, Pat O'Mara, and glad to see you again."

  Thereupon Pat became wild to take the boat and go ashore after thehunter who had more than once been in his company when on the trail, ora trapping expedition.

  Of course, by this time Pat's lame ankle had mended so that he couldwalk about as well as ever, though for perhaps a whole year he wouldhave to favor the left foot a little, when he could.

  He brought the four men out with him, and they spent a couple of hoursaboard, asking for the latest news from the distant sea-coast.

  In this far away country news travelled very slowly; yet evidentlythese pioneers understood the conditions existing between the Crown andthe rebellious colonies; for their first question was whether there hadbeen an open break as yet.

  The moon had come and gone, so that there was no longer a chance tofloat down the river after nightfall, since it would be too dangerousin the darkness. Accordingly they determined to spend the night wherethey were, supper being cooked ashore, after the boat had been urged inby means of the stout poles.

  The four hunters remained to partake with them, and Jo Davies evenpromised to stay with the party to see them safely over the falls,which he said were just below a few miles, and would be reached earlyon the morrow. Afterwards, he would rejoin his companions at a certainrendezvous; when the bold quartette, already on their way back fromthe Mississippi, where they had been annoying the French trappersexceedingly, intended setting out for that region where the settlementsfounded by Boone were struggling hard to hold their own against thesavage foe.

  Thus they found the needed pilot; for Jo Davies had been over theground many times, so that he knew well the channel that was safest,between the rocks that might destroy the boat if an inexperienced handsought to show the way.

  This undertaking was successfully accomplished on the next day. Theboys were of course particularly fascinated by the passage of the fallsof the Ohio. Sandy was sorry when it had been accomplished, and theywere safely moored to the bank below the dangerous zone. But as forBob, he breathed much easier; for at one time he had feared that theywere bound to strike heavily against a snag that looked wicked enoughto do them considerable damage, and perhaps bring about a wreck.

  But now all was well; and presently, after they had put their kindfriend ashore again, so that he might rejoin the other three huntersand hasten to the assistance of their old comrade, Boone, they couldresume the voyage with no further obstacle in the way worth mentioning.

  And now began glorious days for the boys. They could see the woodedhills of Kentucky on the left, and the prairie lands of what is nowIndiana and Illinois off to the right, across the widening river.Crossing over, they even went ashore at a place where there seemed tobe no danger of an Indian ambush, and here spent one whole day.

  During that time Mr. Armstrong and the other heads of families showeda keen interest in the nature of the soil, and the wonderful growth offlowers and grass that it seemed to support, all of which pleased themimmensely.

  Of course Sandy and Bob, being wild for another hunt after fresh meat,easily persuaded their father to let them go forth; and, as before, Pataccompanied them.

  As they had discovered many signs that showed that buffalo roamed overthese prairie lands, the young hunters were of course eager to get achance to shoot one of these animals. Such splendid quarry would yielda good supply of fresh meat, and be a change besides from the jerkedvenison, of which they were growing heartily tired.

  In this particular Pat's previous acquaintance with the country cameinto good service. He knew just where the buffalo were apt to be foundat that time of day, and at the season of the year, for it was now notfar from early summer.

  "We'll be afther takin' up our way among thim bunches av trees beyantthe knoll yonder," he remarked, leading them forth; "and the chances betin to wan we'll say somethin' worth while before we come back.
Be aisynow, and walk in Injun file, bendin' low, an' saying niver so much as asingle worrd."

  They went in this way for a mile or more, and then Pat declared he knewthey were near the game. Sure enough, peeping up over the top of thetall grass in which they were hidden, the boys discovered that a numberof buffalo were either eating lazily, or else lying down; for the sunseemed rather hot at this noonday hour, and the shade cast by thefoliage of the trees felt grateful.

  How to crawl close enough to pour in a hot fire was the question Pathad to decide; but it did not give him any great amount of trouble tosettle that. He noted which way the wind, what little there chancedto be at the time, was blowing; for, in a case like the one nowconfronting them, that was a prime factor. Then they began to glidealong like so many snakes.

  From time to time they would cautiously raise their heads, in order totake an observation, and, so far as they could see, the buffalo did notappear to be alarmed.

  "We ought soon to be close enough to shoot," whispered Sandy, after hehad raised his head for one of these inspections. "They don't seem tobe afraid of anything right now. Why, would you believe it, there's asneaking old gray wolf prowling around there; and none of them pay anyattention to him. Looks like they only have fear of wolves when theycome in packs."

  "What's that ye say; a wolf, is it?" whispered Pat; "whist! now, till Ibe afther takin' a peep at the same."

  Ten seconds later, and he drew back his head; and Bob could see thatthere was a black frown on the face of the jovial Irish trapper.

  "Bad cess to the luck, it do be surely irritatin'," he whispered again,as they put their heads close to his. "Be careful now, lads, an' takeanother look, to say what that blissed wolf do be afther."

  And as Bob and Sandy did so, they saw the big gray wolf raising upuntil he almost stood on his hind legs, while the twang of a bow-stringcame to their astonished ears.