CHAPTER XVI
A MOTHER'S COURAGE
As they turned north again and paddled on up the inlet the talk wasnaturally of the wonders that they had just left.
"Surely," said Jack, "this is the most wonderful place that I have everseen."
"Yes, indeed," said Hugh, "it beats all the countries that my eyes haveever rested on, and I never expect to see anything so wonderful again."
"It was beautiful," said Fannin, "and how cold and gloomy it was onemoment and how bright and beautiful the next."
"Yes," said Jack, "and yet when it was brightest and most beautiful itseemed cold all the time. It reminded me of what I've read about theArctic regions. There was not a thing but snow and ice and just a fewstraggling stunted trees. I remember reading somewhere about a pointdown at the other end of South America where there is nothing to beseen but rocks and a little timber and snow and icebergs. That is theway Princess Louise seemed to me, but I do wish that we had had time toland and follow up that big river toward those heights."
"That would have been a nice trip," said Fannin; "but I guess it wouldhave been an awful hard one. It looked to me as if those rocks were bigand hard to climb among. We'd have had to carry our beds and our grubon our backs, and it might have taken us a long time to get up even tothe foot of that big peak that stood up so high."
"Yet, I suppose there must be lots of life up there," said Jack; "birdsand animals, and of course if there are birds and animals there must bevegetation to support them."
"Sure," said Fannin. "I don't doubt but that there are goats and deerand ptarmigan, probably bears, and possibly other animals. Of coursethe sheep don't get down so close to the salt water, at least I havenever seen them there. I don't doubt, though, but there's plenty oflife up there."
"Anyhow," said Jack, "it looks as if the country had not changed abit since the glacier came pouring down through those valleys and wasworking its way toward the salt water."
"I don't believe it has," said Fannin, "except that trees have grown;perhaps some little soil has been made here and there; but except forthat I suppose the country is unchanged."
For a while they paddled on in silence, and then, as they rounded apoint, came a call from Fannin: "Hello! there's an Indian village."
Three or four houses stood on the bank but a short distance back fromthe water's edge, and near them were a few people busy at differenttasks. When they saw the canoe they all stopped and began to stareat it. Down on the beach, just above the water's edge was an old manworking over a canoe. Fannin said: "Let's push in there and see if wecan buy some potatoes or other food." They pushed up to the beach,and when close to it saluted the old man with the usual phrase,"_Kla-haw-ya tillicum?_" (How are you, friend?) The man gave ananswering shout, and Hamset turned to them and said: "I guess he can'ttalk with us"; which was Fannin's translation into English.
WHEN THEY SAW THE CANOE THEY ALL STOPPED AND BEGAN TO STARE AT IT--_Page 190_]
They landed and found that the man was mending some cracks in his canoeby fastening over them strips of tin, seemingly cut from an old tincan, by means of tacks and a primitive stone hammer--a cylinder ofstone with enlarged flat ends.
Hamset began to talk with him in Chinook, but the man apparently didnot understand, and replied by a speech in some language which Hamsetcould not comprehend. There was a long talk, in which each of the twoIndians made a speech, which was not understood by the other. Fannintried the old man in Canadian French, and Hugh made signs to him,but there seemed to be no common ground of communication. After eachremark by the old man, Hamset would hopelessly reply after hearing himthrough: "_Wake nika kumtux-mika wahwah_" (I don't understand yourtalk).
Within a rude fence near one of the houses was what looked like agarden, in which were growing plants that resembled potatoes. Presentlya bright thought came to Jack, and he walked down to the canoe, tookfrom the provision box a potato and handed it to the old man. It wasamusing to them all to see the expression of perplexity clear away fromthe old Indian's face and understanding and satisfaction appear. Helaughed delightedly and shouted to the women at the house, and a littlelater two of them came down carrying a large basket of potatoes--andvery good ones too. These were put into the canoe, and paid for by"four bits." Then at Hugh's suggestion Jack gave the old man a pieceof tobacco. They wandered up to the houses, looked into them, andpresently returned to the neighborhood of the canoe. Leaning againstone of the houses was a two-pronged salmon spear, which Jack wantedand which the old man sold him for half a dollar. Jack thought thatthe implement might be useful a little later, as the salmon were nowbeginning to run into the fresh water streams in considerable numbers.Hamset said that these Indians were called Hanehtsin. He declaredthat most of the people must be away fishing, and said that there mustbe many of them who could speak Chinook, although this man could not.
Next morning as they were eating breakfast a canoe came in sight fromthe direction of the village, and when it landed the paddlers provedto be their friends of the night before, who brought them some morepotatoes and several salmon just from the water. These having been dulypaid for at the rate of twenty-five cents each--for a twenty poundsalmon--they brought forth from the canoe a large basket of berrieswhich a small boy who was with them, and who had some knowledge of theChinook jargon, announced was a "potlatch," or gift--very likely inreturn for the bit of tobacco that Jack had given to the old man thenight before.
A little later, the canoe being loaded, the party pushed off from theshore, and, leaving the Indians sitting idly in their canoes, paddledback down the inlet.
"What I can't understand, Mr. Fannin," said Jack, "is how it is thatthese Indians don't understand one another. Of course, I don't supposethat all the different tribes on this coast speak the same language,any more than our Indians out on the plains, but I should suppose thatthere would be some common way of talking to each other, just as theplains Indians all understand the sign language."
"Well," said Fannin, "you'd think so, of course, but that's one ofthe queer things about this country. While often you'll find a greatmany villages that speak the same language, and while you'll findin most of the villages a number of people that can talk Chinook,it's nevertheless the fact that stowed away in bays and inlets allalong this coast are little tribes that speak a language that is notunderstood by any other tribe. I have talked with a few people outhere who were regular Indian 'sharps,' and who had been among Indiansover most of the country, and they say that there are a number ofIndian languages spoken here that are absolutely different from eachother and different from any other languages in North America. This isa mighty queer thing, and I can't understand it at all. I've alwayssupposed that it was this fact that obliged the Indians to get up thisChinook jargon, which is a kind of a trade talk, used all up and downthe coast and a good way inland, too, to enable these people to talkamong themselves. I have never seen any of these Indians here usingthe sign language, and you can see for yourself that this old chap didnot understand what it was that Hugh was trying to say to him with hishands. They do say that this Chinook jargon was gotten up before thewhite men came here to this country, and you can see how necessary itwould be to people coming in contact with others who spoke a languagedifferent from their own. Now, I suppose that in the old times thereused to be considerable travel along this coast, north and south, andconsiderable intercourse between the different tribes of Indians.And while we know that the northern Indians could not talk with thesouthern ones, yet they visited and traded, and made war and made peaceagain. It must have been necessary for them to understand each otherin some way, and that's the way this jargon came to be invented. Ofcourse, it's changed a lot, I fancy, and especially since the whitepeople got in here."
"But about this Indian here," said Hugh, "it seems to me that he oughtto be able to understand our Indians. Their villages cannot be morethan a hundred miles from one another, and to an Indian a hundred milesis nothi
ng. These Ucletah must sometimes come up to the head of thisInlet, and these people who live up here, Hanehtsin,--don't you callthem,--must go down the inlet and go up and down the shore. It wouldseem as if they must have met sometimes, and as if they would have somecommon speech."
"Yes," said Fannin. "They ought to, but I don't believe they have.Of course I know no more about them than you do, but you saw theexperiments that were tried upon that old chap that we've just left."
"Yes," said Hugh, "there's no going back on that. He didn't understand,no matter how much he ought to have understood."
"Hugh," said Jack, "did you count the number of people at the village?"
"Yes," said Hugh, "I did: three women, three children, and the old man."
"Well," said Jack, "did you count the dogs?"
"No," said Hugh; "I reckon I forgot to count the dogs. There were a lotof them, I know."
"Nineteen," said Jack. "I counted them. Three or four times I hadthem all counted, and then a lot more would show up. There were a lotlying down sunning themselves when I got there, and after they had gotup and come round to threaten us, a lot more came out of the house.This nineteen that I counted didn't include the pups. I looked into alittle pen built of sticks, near one of the houses, and there were ninepuppies in there, just able to waddle, and I saw some others not mucholder wandering about."
"Ah," said Charlie, "call it 'Dogtown'; we haven't any better name forit."
"All right," laughed Jack. "I'll put it down."
"Mr. Fannin," said Jack, after a pause, "I was thinking last night ofthe hammer that that old Siwash was using to mend his canoe. That was aregular primitive implement, wasn't it?"
"Yes," said Fannin; "you often see the Indians still using thesehammers. I suppose to an Indian they are just as good, and maybe lotsbetter, than a white man's hammer."
"Yes," said Jack, "I don't see why they shouldn't be; but while thehammer was old-fashioned and primitive, the strip of tin which he wasnailing over the cracks in the bottom of the canoe and the tacks weremodern. Where do you suppose he got them?"
"Why, from a trading schooner, of course," said Fannin. "There arethree or four small schooners that sail up and down the coast here,trading with the Indians for oil and fish, and a little fur, and thechances are that the tin came from some old tin can thrown overboard bysuch a schooner, and that the tacks were bought from it. Of course itmay be that these people have been to Comux or even to Nanaimo."
"That salmon spear is interesting, too," said Jack, "and I hope we'llhave a chance to get some food with it."
"These spears," replied Fannin, "are very useful to these people. Thisone, as you see, is about sixteen feet long, the main shaft beingabout twelve feet and the two prongs about four. It is a well finishedtool and rather attractive to the eye, wrapped as it is with the neatstrips of bark about the ends of the shaft. That flat handle with thedeep notches at the upper end, for two of the fingers of the man whois to throw it, give a good hold. Then the two prongs at the other endbound firmly to the shaft, and tapering to a point below, and slightlydiverging, make a good implement for throwing into a school of fish;but the interesting part of the thing is the way the spear heads arefastened on to make it effective. You see the line looped about theshaft close above the point where the diverging prongs leave it, thateach end of the line is long enough to reach clear to the end of theprongs, and that to each extremity of this line is attached a spearpoint. The socket which slips on the sharpened end of the prong ismade of the horn of the deer, or of the mountain goat, or even of bone;and the piercing point is either a sharpened nail or some other sharpbit of iron lashed to the socket with a fishing line or a strand ofkelp. When the spear is to be used, the heads are slipped on to thepoints of the prongs, and are held in position by the tension of thecord, which is so short that some little effort is needed to slip thesocket on to the point. When a salmon has been deeply pierced by theiron point, his struggles slip the socket off the prong and the fishstruggles about for a few moments at the end of the cord until he is soexhausted that he can be brought to the surface of the water and liftedinto the canoe. If the point were firmly attached to the prongs theattempt to haul a vigorous fish to the surface might very well resultin the pulling out of the spear point and the loss of the fish."
All the day long the canoe moved slowly down the Inlet, stemming theflood tide which at times made them all work at their paddles with anenergy that no one of the crew greatly enjoyed. Before them the snowytops of the mountains and the blue glaciers looked cool and inviting,but no breath of air ruffled the smooth surface of the Inlet, and thefierce rays of the sun, both direct and reflected from the water,scorched them all day long. About the middle of the afternoon, asthey were passing a point opposite Moorsam Bluffs, a level spot wasfound, covered with forest. A pleasant brook ran down here, and thespot looked like an attractive camping place. When they landed theyfound evidences that it was one favored by the Indians of the Inlet,for there were here relics of many a camp. Piles of stone blackenedby fire, white heaps of the bones of the deer and mountain goat,decayed vegetation and fragments of discarded clothing and skins,worn-out implements, a tiny baby basket or Indian cradle, and manyother articles left by former occupants were scattered about over theground, and showed that the Indians often stopped there and sometimesremained for a considerable time. In fact there were so many evidencesof human occupancy that it was agreed that some other spot which hadnot been quite so much frequented by Indians would be a better locationfor their camp; and moving a few hundred yards further down the Inletthey found such a place at the mouth of the boisterous brook which heretumbled into the salt water.
Here Jack and Hugh and Fannin, finding a good beach, took a plungein the salt water, and while thus engaged found that the little baywas alive with salmon. On shouting this to the others the Indians putoff in the canoe, and for half an hour Hamset perseveringly threw thesalmon spear into the school of fish that were breaking everywhereabout the canoe. For a few minutes Jack and Hugh watched him; but ashe failed to secure anything, they soon grew tired, and at length wentashore into the camp. Half an hour later the canoe returned to theshore, and the Indians had three good-sized fish to show for theirefforts.
"Well," said Hugh, "from the number of fish that seemed to be out therein that little piece of water, I should think these fellows might haveloaded the canoe with them in this time."
"Yes," said Fannin, "that's true; but it's wonderful how much roomthere is in the water around a salmon, and then you have got to hitthe fish just right or else you will not drive the spear into him.If you are not used to seeing salmon you will think there's an awfullot of fish out there; but you just ought to see them in some of therivers in the Province here. Why, sometimes they are so thick that youliterally can't see the bottom for their backs. A good many people,who have never been on a stream during the salmon run, think that thestories about their abundance must be lies; but they are not. You can'texaggerate their numbers. I have seen people go down to the stream witha pitchfork, and throw out the fish they wanted onto the bank, just asyou would lift a load of turnips on a fork if you thrust it into a pileof them. When the fish are running, of course, the bears and eagleshave no trouble at all in catching all they want. Even the hogs go downto the stream and take out the fish. In fact, during the salmon run,and for some months after it, settlers who expect to kill their hogskeep them shut up; because, if they are allowed to feed on the salmonthe flesh becomes flavored with fish to a point where people can't eatit. That sounds like a pretty good story too, but it's true. Laterin the season, when the dead fish are in the streams,--and there arealways many of them,--the hens of the settlers eat them, and often eatso many that their eggs can't be used on account of the fishy taste.That's another good one, but it's true."
"Well," said Hugh, "those stories sound pretty hard to believe, but Iguess they are true. Of course we've always heard about buffaloes, andhow many there used to be, and I expect I've told stories to people whohad
never seen them, about the numbers of these animals that soundedjust as hard to believe as your stories do to me. It don't trouble me alittle bit to believe what you told me about the taste of the flesh ofthese animals. Everybody knows, I reckon, that the food that an animaleats gives its flesh good flavor or bad flavor."
"Yes," said Jack, "that's so, of course. I have heard my uncle tell agreat many times about some kinds of ducks living up on Long Island andeating little clams and other shell-fish, and being strong and fishy tothe taste, while the same ducks, when they go down South and live inwater that is fresh or nearly so, eating nothing but grass and roots,are as delicate and fine flavored as can be."
"That's gospel truth, son," said Hugh, "and you see the same thingout on the plains and in the mountains. Take it early in the season,before the grass begins to grow, and the first green thing that growsout of the earth is a wild onion. If you kill, up at the edge of themountains, a buffalo or a mountain sheep, just after these onions havesprung up, you can hardly eat the meat."
"Yes," remarked Jack, "and I have heard, too, that the milk of the cowsis often flavored with these onions."
"I know that's so," assented Fannin.
"But what gets me," said Hugh, "is the multitude of these salmon thatthere must be. Of course we haven't seen many of them; but from whatyou say, Fannin, they just crowd every river that comes into the saltwater, and there are an awful lot of rivers along this coast."
The camp had a great dinner that night. The Indians transfixed a largefat salmon with a stick, which was thrust into the ground so that itoverhung the fire at an angle. There the salmon roasted until it wasdone, and then its bones were picked as clean as any bear could havepicked them. A smaller salmon, slim and red fleshed, was cut intosteaks and fried, and there was unlimited deer meat. It was all verydelicious; and after the meal was over the party sat around the firefor a little while, too lazy to talk, and then went to bed.
The next morning, before the canoe was loaded, Jack spent an hour ortwo leaning over its side, and watching the movements of the differentmarine animals at work in the shallow water near the shore. Therewere hundreds of little crabs, the largest about the size of a silverhalf-dollar, clambering over the stones like so many goats, andapparently feeding on the vegetable matter that grew on them. Theywalked slowly here and there, plucking the food with their curiouslyswollen white claws, using the right and left claw alternately, so thatwhile one was holding the food to the mouth the other was gatheringa fresh supply. They seemed wholly absorbed in what they were doing.Their jaws moved continuously, and they had a most businesslike andmethodical aspect. The larger crabs were of a deep purple color, whilethe smaller ones were mostly dull, grayish green, a protective colorwhich corresponded very closely with that of the stones on which theyfed. They seemed to get along peaceably; though once in a while,if a small crab came too near a large one, the latter would make athreatening dash at the little fellow, which would at once retreat withmany defensive demonstrations of its claws.
Fixed to the sides of many of the stones were the curved white tubes ofmarine worms; some of them deserted and empty; while from the mouths ofothers there protruded a cluster of deep crimson tentacles, the wholelooking like some beautiful white-stemmed flower. If the red clusterwas cautiously approached and touched it instantly withdrew into thetube which then appeared empty. But five minutes later a small spotof red began slowly to appear, far down in the tube; and graduallydrawing nearer the aperture, the arms would be gently thrust out, andthe animal would resume its flower-like appearance. On certain stonesand rocks were great numbers of barnacles, which were not the leastinteresting of the living creatures Jack saw. At those stages of thetide when the water did not reach them their shells remained closed,and showed no signs of life; but as soon as they were fairly covered bythe water, each little pair of valves opened, and the tiny arms wereextended and waved through the air with a regular motion which ceasedonly when they had grasped some morsel of food that was floating by.When this took place the arms were quickly drawn into the shell, andthe valves closed; and for some little time the animal remained quiet.On the beach and in the water were many sea urchins and starfish, someof which moved about over the bottom. Both progressed slowly; the seaurchins by a continuous motion of the long spines, with which theirshells are covered; and though the animal's rate of advance couldhardly be noticed if one kept looking at it, Jack found that they didmove, and seemed to be capable of quite long journeys. Jack took up oneof these sea urchins to look at its under side, and found that it hada continuous movement of the mouth and soft parts, as though strivingto obtain air. When he put it into the water again he placed it on itsback, on a flat stone, and was interested in seeing it turn over andright itself by the same quiet, but continuous, movement of the spines.
The starfish moved much more rapidly than the sea urchins. They seemedto drag themselves along by some slight up and down motion of theirarms, and also by hooking the ends of these arms around the anglesof the rocks, thus pulling themselves forward for a short distance.Starfish were very common along this coast, and were of all sizes andcolors. Jack had noticed them brown, black, yellow, orange, red, andpurple. They ranged in size from the diameter of a five-cent pieceup to ten inches across the arms. They seemed most abundant on theshore just about low water mark, but were by no means confined to thissituation.
Often they were seen clinging to the rocks where they had been leftbare by the tide; and sometimes a great cluster of the large red orpurple ones were collected in an angle of the rock, showing againsta background of shining black mussels and brown seaweed with verystriking effect.
A light breeze blowing down the Inlet made it possible to set thesail, and the canoe slipped rapidly along over the water. The tide wasebbing, and their progress was good; but at length a turn in the fiordshut off the breeze, the paddles were called for, and they had severalhours of hard paddling. The canoe was passing so close to the shorethat the mountains on that side were hidden from view, while on theother shore the hills were low and not especially picturesque. Jackkept looking at one point after another, hoping that each would be thelast, and that when the one ahead was rounded he would see the broadwaters of the beautiful bay into which they had looked some days beforetoward the Twin Falls. After several disappointments he said to Hugh:
"Hugh, this reminds me of riding over the plains. I have been watchingthese points, hoping that each would be the last, just as when ridingover the prairies I always looked at the hill ahead of me and thoughtthat from that hill I should be able to see some distance; but therewas always another one just beyond."
"Yes," said Hugh, "I know just what the feeling is, and I guesseverybody does who has ever travelled the prairies. Why, even theIndians tell about some man who prophesied to them long ago, when dogswere their only animals, about a time when they would get horses. Hesaid that when they got horses they would always be on the move, andthat they would ride up on a hill and see another hill beyond; and thenthey would want to get to that one to see what was beyond it; and sowould keep going all the time, and never be quiet."
It was the middle of the afternoon when the last point was rounded andthey came in sight of the Twin Falls. Even then an hour or two wasneeded to bring the canoe to what looked like a good camping place,near the falls. When they reached the shore they were disappointed,for the timber was so thick and high, and the cliff over which thewater fell was so nearly straight up and down, that it was impossibleto obtain any view of the cataract from the land. But by pushing outa few hundred yards from the shore its whole majesty was seen. Twowide streams of water flow on either side of an island in the river,plunging over the cliffs, and falling quite five hundred feet beforethey meet with any check; then from here are two more leaps of threehundred feet each, and then other lesser ones of two hundred or onehundred and fifty feet. The stream falls between dark green walls ofDouglas firs on either side; and the rocky face of the mountains isentirely hidden. Before the water strikes the rocks it
has becomespray, and from each little bench thin clouds of white mist rise tothe treetops and float off with the wind. The dull roar of the Fallsis almost deafening. Sometimes it sinks to the muttering of distantthunder, and then rises louder than before, sounding like the boomof heavy guns in the distance. Close over the tops of the trees theysaw, as they first approached the spot, a splendid white-headed eagle,swinging about on motionless wing. Now and then, as he turned, thebright sunlight flashed upon his head and tail, and caused them toshine like silver, while his dark body looked black against the sky.Unmoved by the tumult below him, and unshaken by the blasts that werenow causing the mighty trees to bend their heads, he floated to andfro in his broad eyrie, the only living thing seen in all the widelandscape.
On landing, it took some time to fix the tent and cut the fir andhemlock boughs which were needed to make comfortable the uneven groundwhere the beds were to be spread. But after this had been done Jacktook his rifle and declared that he was going up the hill to see whathe could see. Hugh said that he would go too, and the two set off.
From the spot where the camp had been pitched a broad, well-beatentrail led up to the mountains. But this soon grew very steep. Greatboulders had to be climbed over or gone around. Great green leaves anda slippery moss hid the ground and made it difficult to know just wherethey were stepping. More than once Jack, who was in the lead, narrowlyescaped an ugly fall. Presently the trail gave out or was lost, andthen the easiest mode of progress was to walk along the fallen treetrunks, which in many places lay piled high on one another, as a lotof jackstraws would look if thrown down at random. Even such a roadpresented some difficulty; for sometimes a span of the bridge would bemissing, and it would be necessary to descend to the ground and clamberup among the rocks.
At last the first leap of the falls was reached, but from here verylittle could be seen, for the foliage and mist entirely obscured theview. Further up, for a hundred yards on either side of the stream, theground and the foliage were damp and dripping from the heavy spray,and the wet moss which covered everything made climbing difficult andeven dangerous. The forest along the stream was open, and Jack and Hughpursued their way, sometimes being obliged to climb up walls that werealmost vertical. Still higher up the forest began to give way to littleopen parks, and before very long the appearance of the sky above themshowed that the timber was either much lower or entirely absent. Theywere not greatly surprised, then, when after a little time they cameout of the forest into an open country, in the midst of which was ahigh, naked, rocky hill.
At different points on the hill they saw a number of white objectswhich they recognized as goats. They did not feel that they neededany goats, but these animals were still sufficiently new to Hugh andJack to make them wish to see them again at closer range. A littlemanoeuvring took them out of the sight of the goats, and they beganto climb the hill. After they had ascended some distance they creptout onto a rocky point and could see, above, below, and on each sideof them, small groups of these animals feeding on the ledges and steepslopes. Quite close to them was an old goat, about which was playing alittle kid, not a beautiful or graceful object, but one very curious inits clumsiness and its high spirits. It ran about its mother before andbehind, sometimes climbing a little way up on a steep bank, and thenthrowing itself down on its side, rolling over and over until a levelplace was reached, when it would rise, and after a rest climb up theslope and repeat the performance. The mother paid little attention toher young one, but fed slowly along, constantly approaching closer andcloser to Jack and Hugh, who commented on the goats' odd appearance andtheir no less extraordinary actions.
DROVE HER SHORT HORNS DEEP INTO HIS SIDE--_Page 205_]
Suddenly Hugh stretched out his hand and caught Jack's arm andwhispered to him: "Look at that lion!" Jack looked, but could seenothing, and before he could ask the question "Where?" a great yellowanimal flashed out from the top of a bank close to the old goat, flewthrough the air, and fell upon the back of the kid, which sank tothe ground with a low, whining cry. Instantly the mother whirled onher hind legs, and with a swiftness hardly to be believed of such aclumsy-looking animal, plunged at the panther crouching on the groundover the kid and drove her short horns deep into his side back of theshoulder. The force of the blow knocked the animal to the ground, buthe turned, bent the fore part of his body round and grasped the goat bythe back and side with both paws, and seized her body with his teethback of the fore shoulder. The goat seemed to draw back a few inches,and then made another plunge forward, driving her horns into her enemyagain. The panther loosened his hold on the goat, struggled to hisfeet, and staggered a half dozen steps away, and then fell over on hisside. The mother goat made no effort to pursue him, but nosed at thedying kid, as if trying to induce it to get on its feet again. On herside were a few drops of blood, where the panther's claws had scratchedher, but on neither side of the ridge of the back where he had clawedher with the other foot and had bitten her was there to be seen anyevidence of an injury.
This had all happened so quickly that the watchers had no time tocomment on it nor to shoot. When it was over they sat up and looked ateach other, no longer thinking to hide from the goat.
"That's a wonderful thing to have seen, isn't it?" said Jack.
"Yes," said Hugh. "I confess it beats me. It reminds me a little bitof that story I was telling you the other night about the buffalo bullthat killed the bear. Who'd have thought that that goat could havekilled that panther. I've always heard that these mountain goats weregreat hands to fight, and that they didn't know enough to be afraid ofanything; but I never expected to see it myself as we have seen it."
"But where did that lion come from?" said Jack. "I didn't see him untilhe jumped."
"He was lying right on that ledge over there when I first saw him,crouched flat all except his head, which was lifted high enough to justsee over the bank. As soon as I saw him I grabbed you, and a minuteafter he jumped," explained Hugh.
"Well," said Jack, "we want to take his hide back with us to camp. Iexpect he's dead, all right."
"Yes," said Hugh, "I guess he's dead, but what about the old goat?She's going to stay with that kid of hers, and I surely don't want towalk up any too close to her. She's likely to treat us the way she didthe panther."
"Yes, I guess so," said Jack; "and, of course, we don't want to killher, though, to be sure, her head would go mighty well with thatpanther skin."
"I'll tell you," said Hugh, "let's go round a little bit and get aboveher and roll some rocks down, and perhaps she will walk off."
This suggestion was carried out, and the old goat at length was inducedto leave her kid and slowly go off, finally disappearing over a ledgeat some distance. Jack and Hugh went down to look at the panther. Theyfound in his side, just back of the shoulder, four round perforations,and discovered that four of his ribs had been broken where the goat'shead had struck him. After they had skinned him they found that thebeast's lungs had been pierced three times by the goat's horns and theheart once. It was no wonder that the cat had died.
"I suppose," said Hugh, "that we might as well take that kid along withus. It's eatable, and the Indians probably will like it just as well asdeer meat."
"All right," said Jack. "If you will take the skin, I will take thekid."
"Come on, then," said Hugh. "We had better hurry, it's getting ontoward dark; and the road down this hill is a rough one."
By the time that they reached the trail below it was quite dark, butthey met with no accident. When they reached camp again they had aninteresting story for Fannin. The Indians, too, gathered around andasked the meaning of the holes in the panther's skin, remarking thatthey did not look like bullet holes, and there were no places where theballs had come out. Fannin explained to them what had taken place. TheIndians nodded sagely, and Hamset said to Fannin: "Once before I'veheard of a thing like this. I have also heard of a goat fighting abear that had killed her kid, and driving it away. These white sheepare great fighters. I have seen them k
illed with many marks on theirskins, showing where they had been cut by the horns of others they hadbeen fighting with; and I have seen two which had in their hams thehorns of other goats that had been broken off in the flesh. They fighta good deal. One of my relations once told me that he had crept upclose to a goat, and rose up to shoot the animal. When it saw him, itput all its hair forward and rushed at him, but he killed it before itreached him."
Jack, Hugh, and Fannin spent some time that night over the pantherskin, cleaned it and laced it over a frame where it might dry. Whetherit would dry or spoil would, of course, depend upon the weather of thenext few days. Bright, dry weather with some wind would surely cure theskin; but continued damp weather, which would keep it moist, would assurely spoil it.
The camp ground that they occupied to-night had been used by Indians asa stopping place, and lying on the beach were a number of bones. One ofthe most oddly shaped ones was picked up by Fannin, who asked Jimmiewhat animal it belonged to. The boy did not hesitate, but answered inChinook, "_Tuicecolecou_" (porpoise neck). Jack and Hugh were mightilyastonished at this identification, but Fannin pointed out to them thatthis bone, which is made up of all of the vertebrae of the neck growntogether so as to form a single bone, is most characteristic, and couldscarcely have escaped the observation of the Indians, who kill greatnumbers of these marine mammals.
Jack the Young Canoeman: An Eastern Boy's Voyage in a Chinook Canoe Page 18
