Bennett, Emerson - Prairie Flower 01

by The Prairie Flower (lit)

  But I was not in a condition to take his advice. True, I was bruised and fatigued, and should have rested satisfied to let the affair end thus. But my worst passions had now got the better of my reasoning powers. I fancied I had been insulted, disgraced, and that nothing but victory or death could remove the stigma. I saw some of the spectators smile, and some look pityingly upon me, and this decidee my course of action. My temper rose, my eyes flashed, and my cheeks burned, as I thought of the insulting words of the other.

  " Some men live by bullying," I replied, pointedly ; " and I suppose you are one of them ; if not, you will keep your advice till one of us is the victor."

  My opponent looked upon me with a mingled expression of surprise and rage-

  " Fool ! " he cried, "do you dare mo

  again to the fight ? By ! I'll whip

  you this time or die ! "

  " Make your words good," I retorted, springing forward, and pretending to aim a blow at his head.

  He prepared to ward it, and, in doing so, left his abdomen unguarded. He saw his mistake, but too late to retrieve it ; for instead of striking with my fist, I only made a feint, and doubling with great dex terity, took him with my nead just below the pit of the stomach, and hurled him over backward upon the ground. He threw out his hand, caught me as he fell,, and drew me upon him.

  Now came the contest in earnest. I had a slight advantage in being uppermost , but how long it would last was doubtful , for throwing his arms around, he strove to turn me. I seized him by the throat, and clung there with the tenacity of a

  ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST.

  23

  drowning man to a rope. He made a des perate effort to bring me under, but still I maintained my position. The force of my grasp now began to tell upon him. He strangled, and I could sensibly perceive he ras growing weaker. At length, just as I was about to relax my hold, for fear of choking him to death, he suddenly threw up one hand, buried it in my hair, twined a long lock around his finger, and the next moment placed his thumb to my eye, with a force that seemed to start the ball from its socket.

  Great Heaven ! what a feeling of horror came over me ! I was about to lose an eye be disfigured for life. Death, I fan cied, was preferable to this ; and instantly releasing his throat, I seized his hand with both of mine. This was exactly what he desired ; and the next moment I found myself whirled violently upon my back on the rough pavement, and my antagonist uppermost. I attempted to recover my former advantage, but in vain. My ad versary was by far too powerful a man. Grasping my throat with one hand, with Bnch a pressure that everything began to grow dark, he partly raised himself, plant ed, a knee upon my breast, and with the other hand drew a long knife. I just caught a glimmer of the blade, as he

  ...

  raised it to give me a fatal stab ; but I was too exhausted and overmastered to make any resistance ; and I closed my eyes in despair, and felt that all was over.

  Suddenly I heard the voice of Teddy, shouting :

  " To the divil wid ye, now, for a blath- ing spalpeen, that ye is ! " and at the same moment I felt the grasp of my opponent leave my throat, and his weight my body.

  With my remaining strength I rose to a sitting posture, and saw Teddy dancing around me, flourishing a hickory shelaleh over his head in the scientific manner of his countrymen, and whooping, shout ing, and cursing, in a way peculiar to himself.

  By some means he had been made aware of my danger, and, like a noble fellow, had rushed into the crowd and felled my adversary, with a blow so powerful that he still lay senseless upon the ground.

  " And who are you, that dares thus to Interfere?" cried a voice in the crowd,

  which found immediate echo with a dozen others.

  " Who am I, ye blaggards ? " roared Teddy : " Who should I be but a watch man, ye dirthy scull-mullions, yees ! Come," he cried, seizing me by the col lar, " ye'Il gi f a lock-up the night for this blaggard business of disturbing the slum bers of honest paaple afore they've gone to bid, jist."

  I saw his ruse at once, and determined to profit by it, and make my escape. To do this, I pretended, of course, that I was not the aggressor, and that it was very hard to be brought up before the Mayor for a little harmless fun.

  " Harmless fun ! " roared the cunning Irishman. " D'ye call it harmless fun, now, to have your throat cut, ye scoundrel ? Come along wid ye ! " and he pretended to jerk me through the crowd, which gave way before him.

  We had just got fairly clear of the mass, when we heard voices behind us shouting :

  " Stop 'em ! stop 'em ! he's no watch."

  " Faith, they're afther smelling the joke whin it's too late," said Teddy. " But run, your honor, or the divils will be howld of us."

  I needed no second prompting ; and with the aid of the Irishman, who partially sup ported me for I was still weak I darted down a dark and narrow street. For a short distance we heard the steps of pur suers behind us, but gradually one after another gave up the chase, until at last we found our course left free.

  It would be impossible for me to picture the joy 1 felt at my escape, or my grati tude toward my deliverer. Turning to the Irishman, I seized his hand, while my eyes filled with tears.

  " Teddy," I said, " you have saved my life, and I shall not soon forget it."

  " Troth, your honor," replied Teddy, with a comical look, " it was wor-r-th pre serving for it's the best and ounly one yees got."

  I said no more, but silently slipped a gold coin into his hand.

  " Howly mother ! how smooth it makes a body's hands to be butthered," observed the Irishman, as he carefully hid the coin in his pocket.

  Deep was the sympathy of Huntly for

  THE PRAIR IE FLOWER; OR,

  me, when, arrived at the hotel, I detailed what had occurred in my absence ; and as deep his gratitude to the preserver of my life.

  " Frank," he exclaimed, grasping my hand, "henceforth you go not alone, in the night, in a strange city."

  The next day, though stiff and sore from my bruises, I found myself gliding down the Ohio on a splendid steamer, bound for St. Louis, where, in due time, we all ar rived without accident or event worthy of note.

  CHAPTER Y.

 

  THE PRAIRIE SUNSET SCENE REFLEC TIONS OUtt FIRST CAMP COSTUME

  EQUIPMENTS THE TRAPPERS, ETC.

  THE prairie ! the mighty, rolling, and seemingly boundless prairie ! With what singular emotions I beheld it for the first time ! I could compare it to nothing but a vast sea, changed suddenly to earth, with all its heaving, rolling billows. Thousands upon thousands of acres lay spread before me like a map, bounded by nothing but the deep blue sky. What a magnificent . j sight ! A sight that made my soul expand with lofty thought, and its frail tern -ir^ni sink into utter nothingness before it. Talk of man his power, his knowledge, his' greatness what is he ? A mere worm, an insect, a mote, a nothing, vhcn brought, in compare with the grand, the sublime in na ture. Go, take the mighty one of cart;; the crimson-robed, diamond-decked mon arch, whose nod is law, and whose arro gant pride tells him he rules the land and sea take him, bring him hither, and place him in the center of this ocean of land far, far beyond the sounds of civilization and what does he become ? Talk to him then of his power, his greatness, his glory; tell him his word is law tc ecmmimd. and he shall be obeyed ; remind him of his treasures, and ten him now to try the power of gold ! What Av.vi;jd be the re sult ? He would deep'ij f» '--! the. mo'-kei-y of your words, and the nothingness of all he oti ce valued ; for, alas ! they would ,'uck the power to guide, to feed, or save him

  from the thousand dangers of the wilder ness.

  Similar ce iluiPe were my thoughts, as 1 stood alone, upon a slight rise of ground, and overlooked ;r.i!-.' upon miles of the most lovely, the most sublime scene I had ever beheld. Wave upon wave of land, if I may be allowed the expression, stretched away on every hand, covered with beauti ful, green prairie-grass, and the blooming wild flowers of the wilderness. Afar in the distance I beheld a drove of buffalo
quietly grazing ; and in another direction a stampede of wild horses, rushing onward with the velocity of the whirling car of modern days. Nearer me I occasionally caught glimpses of various other animals; while iiocks of birds, of beautiful plumage, skimming over the surface, here and there alighting, or starting up from the earth, gave the enchantment of hfe and variety to the picture.

  It had been a beautiful day, and the su;a was now just burying himself in the far off ocean of blue, and his golden rays were streaming along the surface of the waving grass, and tinging it with a delightful hue. Occasionally some elevated point like the one on which I stood, caught for a moment his fading rays, and shone like a ball of golden tire. Slowly lie took his diurnal farewell as- if loth to quit a scene so lovely and at la: ; .t hid himself fiom my view beyond she western. horizon. Then a bright, golden streak shot up toward the darkenirg dome of heaven, and, wideiiir.t' on cither hand, gradually became sweetly blended whh the cerulean blue. Then this slowly faded, and took a more crim son color ; then more purple ; until, at last, a faint tinge showed the point where the sun had disappeared, while the stars began to appear in the gray vault above.

  1 had stood and marked the whole change with that poetical feeling of plea sant sadness which a beautiful sunset rarely fails to awaken in the breast of the lover of nature. I noted every change thai was going on, and yet my thoughts were for, far away, in my native land. [ was thinking of the hundreds of miles that sep arated me from il e friends that, I loved. I was recalling the delight with which. I had, when a boy, viewed the farewell screes of day from some of the many romautie

  ADVENTURES IN THE FAR V EST.

  hills of old Now England. I pictured the once cheerful home of my parents, which 1 had forsaken, and which now peradven- ture was cheerful no longer, in consequence of my absence. I fancied I could see my mother move to the door with a slow step and heavy heart, and gaze with maternal affection toward the broad the mighty west, and sigh, and wonder what had become of him who should have been the stay and support of her declining years. I thought, and I grew more sad as I thought, until tears filled my eyes.

  Mother ! what a world of affection is compressed in that single word ! How lit tle do we, in the giddy round of youthful pleasures and folly, heed her wise coun sels ! How lightly do we look upon that jealous care with which she guides our Otherwise erring feet, and vratches with feelings which none but a mother can know, the gradual expansion of our youth to the riper years of discretion ! We may not think of it then, but it will be recalled to us in after years, when the gloomy grave, or a fearful living separation, has placed her far beyond our reach, and her sweet voice of sympathy and consolation, for the various ill's attendant upon us, Bounds in our ear no more. How deeply then we regret a thousand deeds that we have done contrary to her gentle admoni tions ! How we sigh for those days once ON.ii'e, that we may retrieve what we have done amiss, and make her sweet heart glad with happiness. Alas ! once gone, they can rarely be renewed and we grow mournfully sad with the bitter reflection.

  My mother my dearlj beloved mo therwould I ever behold her again ! Shou ] d 1 ever return to my native land, would I find her among the living ! If net- -if 'i,','.! Heavens! what a sad, what a p'xurfu! thought ! and instantly 1 found my eyes swimming in tears, and my frame trembling with nervous agitation. But I would hope for the best , I wDuld not "bor row trouble ; and gradually I became calm.- Then 1 thought of my father of many other dear friends and, lastly, though I strove to avoid it, I thought of Lilian sweet, lost, but ah ! dearly loved Lilian. I could see her gentle features, I could hear her plaintive voice soft and silvery *s running waters and I sighed, a long,

  deep sigh as I thought. Would I evor behold her again? I might, but (my blood ran cold) but wedded to another. "Ay! wedded to another !" I fairly groaueci aloud, with a start that sent the red cur rent of life swiftly through 7ny veins.

  1 looked around ioe, and iband it already growing dark. The beautiful scene 1 had so lately witnessed, was now faded from my sight ; and the gloomy howl of a dis tant pack of wolves, reminded me that I was now beyond civilization, in the wilder ness of an extensive prairie. I looked downward, and within a hundred yards of me beheld the fire of our first camp on the prairie ; and with a hasty step I de scended the eminence and joined my com panions.

  "Ah ! Frank," said Huntly, as I came up, " I war, beginning to fear something had happened you, and you can easily imagine my feelings. Why did you absent yourself so long ? "

  " I was on yonder eminence, enraptured with the glories of the sunset scene," I replied, somewhat evasively.

  " Ah ! was it not a splendid sight ? " he rejoined, enthusiastically, with sparkling eyes. " I too beheld it with rapture, and regretted that you were not by to sympa thise with me in my poetical feelings. But come, supper is preparing, and so let us regale ourselves at once, and afterward take our fust sl**ep in this magnificent wild." ' '/

  As I said before, this was our first camp on the prairie. On our way hither we had joined a party of four hunters or trappers, and in consequence our number was now augmented to seven. We had thrown off . the lighter and more costly apparel of the settlements, and were now costumed in the rougher garments worn by the hunters of the Rocky Mountains. This consisted of a frock or hunting-shirt, made of dressed buckskin, and ornamented with long and parti-colored fringes. Our nether garments were of the same material, ornamented in the same manner, and on our feet were moccasins. Round the waist of each was a belt, supporting a brace of pistols and a long knife, the latter in a sheath made of buffalo hide. A strip of leather passing over our right shoulders, suspended our powder horns 1 and bullet pouches under

  THE PRAIRIE FLOWER; OR,

  our left arms. In the latter we can-led flint and stee , and small etceteras of va rious kinds, that had been mentioned as being useful where we procured our tit-out. Among other things, we had taken care to secure plenty of ammunition, tobacco and

  Sipes, together with an extra supply of ap- urel for the cold regions toward which we were journeying, all of which were .igly stowed away in our. large buffalo skin wallets called by the trappers " pos sibles," or " possible sacks " which were either attached to or thrown across our saddles.

  In the description just given, I have been speaking of our party alone namely, Huntly, Teddy and myself without re gard to the trappers, who were costumed and equipped much like ourselves, with the exception that instead of horses their ani mals were mules ; and in place of one apiece, they had three. They, however, were bound on a regular trapping expedi tion, and carried their traps with them, and took along their mules for furs ; while we, going merely on adventure and not speculation, had only taken the animals upon which we rode. Our horses and ap pendages, what we had, were ail of the finest description ; and our long, silver- mounted rifles drew many a wistful look from our newly made companions. In joining them, our chief object was to learn their habits and customs in the wilderness, before we ventured forth upon our own resources ; and by being somewhat liberal in supplying them with tobacco and many small things of great value to the trapper, we secured their friendship and favor at once.

  The trapper of the Rocky Mountains is a singular being. Like the boatman of the river, the sailor of the ocean, or the scout of the forest, he has peculiar characteris tics, both as regards manners and d'alect. Constantly exposed to danger and hardship, he becomes reckless of the one and indiffer ent to the other. His whole life, from be ginning to end. is a constaat succession of perilous adventures ; *^. f l sc. infatuated does lie become with the exciU*nent attendant upon these, that, confine {-..-::: in a settle ment, and he would literd-j' pine to death for his free mountain air md liberty to roam as he lists.

  There is no polish, no sickly, sentimen tal refinement in his manners and conver sation but, on the contrary, all is rude, rough, blunt, and to the point. When he says a thing, he means it ; and, in general, has but little deceit. With death he be comes so familiar, that all fear of the dread king of mortality is lost. True
, he oling to life with great tenacity but then there is no whimpering and whining at his fate. When he finds his time has come to go, he stands up like a man, and takes the result with the stoicism of a martyr. He is fre quently a great boaster, and, like the sail or, delights in narrating strange tales of his wonderful advenUires and hairbreadth escapes. In his outward behavior, he is often sullen and morose ; but, as a general thing, his heart is in the right place. He will kill and scalp an Indian foe, with the same indifference and delight that he would shoot a bear or deer and yet you may trust your life and money in his hands with perfect safety. In fact, I may say, that his whole composition is a strange compound of odds and ends of inexplicable incon. gruities of good and evil.

  Until within the last few days, I had never seen a trapper ; and of course he was to me and my companions as great an object of curiosity, as would have been the aborigine himself. The four which we had joined, were genuine, bona fide speci mens of the mountaineers. Each had seen much service, had been more or less upon trapping expeditions, and one had actually grown gray in the hardy life of the wilder ness. Each had trapped on his own account and for others, and had scoured the coun try from the upper regions of Oregon to the Mexican latitude from the States to the Pacific ocean. They were acquainted with the land in every direction knew all the regularly organized fur companies all the trading forts and stations and conse quently wore just the men to initiate us into ali the peculiarities of the wilderness, all the mysteries of the trapper's life, and excite our marvellous propensities by their startling and wonderful tales. They glo ried in the soubriquets of Black George, Rash Will, Fiery Ned, and Daring Tom appellations which had been bestowed on them for some peculiar look in their pri sons, or trait in their characters.