The Buffalo Runners: A Tale of the Red River Plains

by R. M. Ballantyne

  CHAPTER EIGHT.

  STIRRING EVENTS DESCRIBED.

  The proverbial slip 'twixt the cup and the lip, and the well-knownuncertainty of all human affairs, received striking illustration in theperson and prospects of our hero, Daniel Davidson, not long after theevents narrated in the last chapter.

  Up to this period the unfortunate colonists of the Red River Settlementhad led a life chiefly of disappointment and disaster. Althougheverything had been done for them by their patron the Earl of Selkirkwith the best intentions, the carrying out of his plans had beenfrustrated by the feuds of the rival fur companies, themisunderstandings and the jealousies of Indians and half-breeds, and, tosome extent, by the severity of the climate. An open rupture took placebetween them and the North-westers. Encounters between the contendingparties occurred, in which several on both sides were killed, and atlast the North-Westers, attacking the settlers in force, drove them fromthe colony and burnt their dwellings and homesteads.

  Retreating to the north end of Lake Winnipeg, the colonists found refugeat Jack River--three hundred miles distant. From this place they wereultimately recalled by the Hudson's Bay Company, which took them underits protection. Returning to Red River, the unfortunate but perseveringpeople proceeded to resume their farming operations. But the prospectbefore them was gloomy enough. The lawless proceedings of the rivalcompanies had convulsed the whole Indian country, and the evil seemed toculminate in the Red River Colony, to which retired servants of thefur-traders, voyageurs, adventurers, and idlers gravitated as to acentre; so that there was little prospect of their being allowed toprosecute their agricultural operations in peace.

  The dissensions at last became so great that a large proportion of thenew settlers, including many of the Scotch Highlanders, dispersed toseek a precarious livelihood among the Indians, on the prairiesbordering the waters of the Missouri, or to sustain themselves and theirfamilies by fishing in the distant lakes, and hunting on their shores.

  On the advent of spring, however, most of these returned to the colony,with renewed hope in agriculture, and set to work--every man, woman, andchild--to get some seed into the ground.

  But at this point an event occurred which threw the colony into greatconsternation, and induced vigorous action on the part of Lord Selkirk,which was the first step towards more peaceful times.

  The North-West party, consisting chiefly of half-breeds, had augmentedto upwards of three hundred warriors. It would be more correct,perhaps, to style them banditti; for they had penetrated through everypart of Rupert's Land, set law at defiance, pillaged and destroyed manyof the establishments of their rivals, and kept the whole country in astate of ferment and alarm.

  One band of these men, numbering between sixty and seventy, advancedupon Red River Colony. They were a motley crew, all mounted onhorseback and armed with guns, spears, tomahawks, bows, andscalping-knives, besides which they were painted and plumed _a lasauvage_, and were in the habit when rushing to battle, of yelling likethe Red-men whose blood mingled with that of the White-man in theirveins.

  What was the precise intention of these men at this time it is difficultto say, but it was not difficult to see that peace was not their object.

  Governor Semple, of the Hudson's Bay Company, a mild, just, and muchrespected man, was in charge of the colony at the time.

  Daniel Davidson was engaged in a very important conversation with oldDuncan McKay at the time the formidable troop of North-Westers sweptthrough the settlements. The old man was seated in the hall, parlour,drawing-room--or whatever you choose to call it--of Ben Nevis House. Itwas an uncarpeted, unpainted, unadorned room with pine plank flooring,plank walls, a plank ceiling, a plank table, and a set of plank chairs.Ornament was dispensed with in the hall of Ben Nevis House; for althoughElspie would fain have clothed it with a little feminine grace, itsproprietor would not hear of such proposals.

  "Stick as many gimcracks as you like about your own room, Elspie," hehad remarked when the first attempt was made, "but leave me my hall inpeace. It iss quite pleased with it I am as it iss."

  Opposite the door of the hall there was a large open fireplace without agrate. Doors all round the walls of the hall opened into the otherrooms of the establishment. Above what would have been the mantelpiece,had one existed, there was a row of tobacco pipes. Old Duncan was agreat smoker. Indeed he would have been almost unrecognisable withouthis pipe. He was smoking when Daniel Davidson visited him, in order tohold the very important conversation to which we have referred.

  "It iss as you say, Taniel," remarked the old man, frowning at his pipe,which was not drawing properly. "Marrit life iss more to be desiredthan single blessedness, whatever, an' it is a my opeenion that you willdo more work with Elspie helpin' you, than by yourself. When iss it youwill be wantin' to call me your father?"

  The old man asked the question with a somewhat humorous smile, for hewas, to say truth, not a little proud of the staid, sensible, and strongyoung fellow who aspired to his daughter's hand--besides, the pipe wasdrawing well by that time.

  "As soon as you like," answered Dan, "or, rather, as soon as Elspielikes. You see, things are beginning to look a little more hopeful now.People who seem to know best--or seem to think they do--tell us thatthe Nor'-Westers are beginning to see that a colony here won't interferein any way with their business; a good deal of seed has been sown, and,if all goes well, we may look for a better year than we have yet had;therefore I don't see why we should wait any longer."

  "Your observations are ferry true. There iss just wan little word youmention that requires consideration," returned the old man with a browwrinkled so as to suggest profound sagacity of thought. "You said `ifall goes well.' But supposin', for the sake of argument, that all does_not_ go well--what then?"

  "Why, then," answered the young man with a laugh, "we shall be no worseoff than other people, who have to make the best of things as they findthem."

  "No doubt--no doubt--that iss the true an' pheelosophical way to look atthe matter. But don't you think, Taniel, that it would be as well toputt off till our munister arrives? I would not be havin' my daughtermarrit without a munister if I can help it. An' you know his Lordshiphas promised more than wance to send us wan. He will not be long o'coming now."

  "Yes, a minister has been promised again an' again," returned Dan,somewhat bitterly, "an' I suppose he will go on promising again and overagain, but I have not much faith in these promises. The Earl has toomany agents who are not as true as himself. I would rather not delay mymarriage on that account. What ails you at Mr Sutherland?"

  "Well, Taniel, I hev nothing to say against Muster Sutherland. He iss aferry goot man--I will not be denyin' that, but--he iss not an ordainedmunister."

  "What of that?" retorted Dan. "He is an ordained elder of the Church ofScotland, and that is much the same thing. And he is a good, Christianman, respected by every one in the Settlement."

  "Well, well, Taniel; hev it your own way," returned old Duncan with aresigned look. "Of course, it would have been pleesanter if he had beena regular munister, whatever; but, as you say, my boy, `what of that?'So, as things look a little more peaceable than they wass--though notferry much--I will be--"

  He was interrupted at this point by the sudden entrance of JacquesBourassin with the astounding intelligence that a band of North-Westershad gone up the Settlement to attack Fort Garry.

  "Hoot! nonsense, man!" exclaimed old McKay, starting up and flinging hispipe away in the excitement of the moment.

  "No--not nonsense!" said Bourassin in broken English; "it be true. Iknows it. I come to say that we go to the fort to help them."

  "Right, boy, right!" exclaimed the old man, hastily belting on hiscapote. "Fergus! Tuncan!--Elspie! where are these boys?"

  "In the stable, father. I saw them just--"

  "Let them saddle all the nags--quick," cried the old man. "Taniel, youbetter--"

  He stopped; for Daniel had already run out to saddle and mou
nt his ownhorse.

  In a few minutes a cavalcade of a dozen powerful young fellows, headedby old Duncan McKay, and armed with guns, were galloping at full speedin the direction of Fort Garry.

  But before this cavalcade had set out, the rencontre at the fort hadalready taken place, and been fatally decided.

  The approach of the enemy had been announced to those nearest the sceneof action by the women and children of that part of the Settlement, whowere seen running about in frantic alarm trying to hide themselves, andsome of them seeking refuge in the fort.

  Among these were two brothers named Sinclair. One of them, Archie byname, was a stout healthy fellow of twelve or thereabouts, the other wasa thin delicate boy of ten, whose illness, whatever it was, had reducedhim to skin and bone, taken all the colour out of his cheeks, andrendered him quite unable to run or play like other boys. They hadrecently become orphans, their father and mother, who were among themost recent arrivals, having died suddenly within a few weeks of eachother. When the alarm of the threatened attack was given, the brotherswere amusing themselves on the sunny side of the cottage which had beenfor only one year their happy home.

  In a moment Archie took his brother on his back and scampered away withhim to a place near the river, and hid him in a hollow under the bank,where they had been wont to play at grizzly bears and hunters.

  Meanwhile Governor Semple, with several gentlemen and attendants, walkedout to meet the party of half-breeds and Indians, not to offer battle,but for the purpose of parlance and conciliation. It is admitted,however, that Governor Semple committed a grave error of judgment inallowing his small party to carry arms. They numbered only twenty-eightin all, and, being untrained, could have had no chance in an open fightwith such opponents. If the Governor had gone out unarmed with only oneor two attendants, he would, it was thought, have appealed irresistiblyto the honour of the party.

  As it was, when the Hudson's Bay party drew near they thought the lookof their opponents so suspicious that the Governor halted his men, andthey stood in a group as if in consultation. Seeing this, thehalf-breeds divided themselves into two bodies, and commenced firingfrom behind some willows--at first a shot or two, and then a mercilessvolley. No fewer than twenty-one of the twenty-eight fell to rise nomore, among whom were the Governor himself; Mr Wilkinson, hissecretary: Captain Rogers, a mineralogist; Mr White, the surgeon; MrHolt, of the Swedish navy, and Mr McLean, a principal settler.

  Indeed the whole party would have probably been killed and the settlersmassacred at that time, but for the courageous interposition of thechief of the half-breeds, Cuthbert Grant, who, at the risk of his life,stood between the settlers and their foes, only one of which last waskilled.

  When old McKay and his party drew near to the scene, the massacre wascompleted, and most of his little band--which had been slightlyaugmented on the way up--turned right-about, and rode away to defendtheir respective homes.

  But the warrior spirit of old McKay and his sons had been roused. Theyrefused to turn tail, and, in company with Dan and Peter Davidson, madea furious charge into a detached party of the half-breeds which theychanced to encounter. They scattered them like sheep, though they didnot succeed in killing any. Then they also wheeled round and gallopedback to their respective homes.

  "Come, Elspie, tear," said the old man as he dismounted, "putt what yevalue most in your pocket an' come away. The duvles are down on us, andwe are not able to hold out in Ben Nevis. The settlers must choinaltogether, an' do the best we can to defend ourselves."

  While he was speaking, the Highlander was busy stuffing some of thesmaller of his household goods into his pockets--amongst them a largequantity of tobacco.

  Meanwhile Fergus hastened to the stable to saddle Vixen for Elspie,while the poor girl ran to her room and secured some small objects whichshe valued--among them a miniature portrait of her mother, and a Biblewhich the good lady had given to her a short time before her death.There was no money, and no valuable documents had to be looked after, sothat preparations for fight were soon completed.

  Now there was a member of old Duncan McKay's household who has not yetbeen introduced to the reader, but whose character and influence in thehousehold were such as to demand special notice. This member was an oldwoman named Peg. Probably this was an abbreviation of Peggy, but wecannot tell. Neither can we say what her surname was, for we neverheard it, and no one spoke of the old creature by any other name thanthat of "Old Peg."

  Although Old Peg was by no means feeble--indeed, judged by hercapacities, she might have been pronounced middle-aged, for she couldwalk about the house all day, actively engaged in miscellaneousself-imposed duties, and could also eat like a man and sleep like adormouse--she was, nevertheless, withered, and wrinkled, and grey, andsmall. Her exact age nobody knew--and, for the matter of that, nobodyseemed to care.

  Extreme amiability and self-obliteration were the chief characteristicsof Old Peg. She was silent by nature, and deaf as a post--whether byart or nature we know not; probably both. Well, no--on second thoughts,not quite as deaf as a post, for by means of severe shouting she couldbe made to hear.

  Smiles and nods, however, were her chief means of communication with theouter world. When these failed, a yell might be tried with advantage.

  No one of the McKay household ever thought of giving Old Peg anything inthe shape of work to do, for the very good reason that, being anextremely willing horse, she was always working; and she possessed apeculiar faculty of observation, which enabled her to perceive, longbefore any one else, what ought to be done, and the right time to do it,so that, when any one bounced round with the sudden intention of tellingher to do anything, Old Peg was found to have done it already, or to bein the act of doing it. It is almost superfluous to say that shepatched and mended the household garments, washed the most of thingswashable, sewed the sewable, darned the sock, and, generally, did-up thewhole McKay family. When not engaged in definite or specific work, shehad a chronic sock-knitting which helped to fill up and round off thecorners of her leisure hours.

  Old Peg had been the nurse, consecutively, of Fergus, Elspie, and Duncanjunior. She was now equivalent to their second mother, having nursedtheir first mother to the end with faithful untiring affection, andreceived from the dying woman a solemn commission never to forsakeDuncan senior or his progeny.

  No sentiment of a religious nature ever escaped Old Peg, but it wasobserved that she read her Bible regularly, and was occasionally foundasleep on her knees--greatly to the amusement of that irritable oldrascal, Duncan senior, and to the gratification of Elspie, who came tothe conclusion that the old woman must have learned well off by heartsuch words as--"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do; do it with thymight." "Do good to all men as thy hand findeth opportunity." "Beclothed with humility." "Trust in the Lord at all times." ProbablyElspie was right, for she judged of people in the old-fashioned way,namely, "by their fruits." Her judgment of the two Duncans on thisprinciple, by the way, could not have been very exalted, but we cannottell. She was much too loyal and loving a daughter and sister to giveany sign or opinion.

  At the time of the sudden call to flight just described, the McKayfamily had totally forgotten Old Peg in their hurry. Elspie was thefirst to miss her.

  "Old Peg!" she exclaimed--almost screamed--while Fergus was assistingher to mount Vixen, "where is she?"

  "I'll find her," said Fergus, "and bring her on in the cart. You be offafter father. We've no time to lose."

  "Be _sure_ you bring her, Fergus," said Elspie.

  "All right; no fear!"

  Thus assured, Elspie was about to gallop away after her father--who hadstarted in advance, to overtake and stop the Prairie Cottage family, sothat they might travel in one band--when the clatter of hoofs was heard,and next moment Dan Davidson galloped round the corner of the house.

  "I came back for you, Elspie," he said, pulling up. "Why did you notcome on with your father?"

  "I expected to overtake him
, Dan. You know Vixen is swift. Besides, Imissed Old Peg, and delayed a few minutes on her account. Is she withyour party?"

  "No--at least I did not see her. But she may have been in the cart withLouise. Shall I look for her while you gallop on?"

  "No; Fergus has promised to find and bring her after us. Come, I amready."

  The two galloped away. As they did so young Duncan issued from thestable behind the house, leading out his horse. He was in no hurry,having a good mount. At the same time Fergus came out at the back-doorof the house shouting, "Old Peg! Hallo! old woman, where are ye?"

  "Hev ye seen her, Duncan?" he asked impatiently.

  "It iss seekin' high an' low I hev been, an' it iss of no use shoutin',for she hears nothin'."

  "I'm sure I saw her in the cart wi' the Davidsons," said Duncan.

  "Are you sure?" asked Fergus.

  "Weel, I did not pass quite close to them, as I ran up here for my horseon hearin' the news," replied Duncan; "but I am pretty sure that I sawher sittin' beside Louise."

  "Hm! that accoonts for her not being here," said Fergus, running intothe stable. "Hold on a bit, Duncan. I'll go with ye in a meenit."

  In the circumstances he was not long about saddling his horse. A fewminutes more, and the brothers were galloping after their friends, whohad got a considerable distance in advance of them by that time, andthey did not overtake them till a part of the Settlement was reachedwhere a strong muster of the settlers was taking place, and where it wasresolved to make a stand and face the foe.

  Here it was discovered, to the consternation of the McKay family, thatOld Peg was not with the Davidson party, and that therefore she musthave been left behind!

  "She _must_ be found and rescued," exclaimed Elspie, on making thediscovery.

  "She _must_!" echoed Dan Davidson: "who will go back with me?"

  A dozen stout young fellows at once rode to the front, and old McKayoffered to take command of them, but was overruled and left behind.