Читать книгу The Backwoodsman; Or, Life on the Indian Frontier - Various - Страница 12

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A LONELY RIDE.

My route led me from here through a very fine country, consisting of undulating plateaux, covered with splendid mosquito grass, and picturesquely broken up by post oaks; here and there a single conical mound, whose top was covered with a thicket, rose some hundred feet from the plain. It was still early in the evening when I neared one of these mounds, and let my horse refresh itself in a rippling stream at its base. The stream came straight down from the thicket on the mound, and the spot pleased me so well, that I resolved to pass the night there. I rode up the hill to the wood, whose tall trees chiefly consisted of holm oaks, with a thick undergrowth of rhododendra and azaleas. A creeping bignonia was remarkably beautiful as it clambered to the tops of the trees and spread over them its scented blossoms like a shower of fire. The shady green of this wood was relieved by flowers of the most varied hues, one of which I can still remember that is rightly called "the traveller's delight." The flowers of this plant hang in clusters two feet long, rivalling the purest blue of the sky above them, and greet the approaching traveller with a perfume which the fabled East could not surpass. The sources of the stream welled up in the centre of the copse, and were girdled by beds of flowers which, as regards colour and form, could not have been better arranged by an artist.

Here I encamped and hobbled Czar, who mercilessly plucked many a beautiful flower and champed it between his teeth with the tender grass. I then took my rifle in order to see whether there was any dangerous animal in the wood, which was about a thousand yards in diameter. I had crept through it and met nothing except a few old does that had their fawns hidden here, and when I stepped out on to the prairie I saw a herd of large male antelopes grazing about a thousand yards from me. This graceful animal, though frequent in our parts, is rarely killed by the sportsman, for it is the most shy of animals. Great curiosity alone brings it at times in the vicinity of the watching gun, and hence I tried to attract the bucks grazing ahead of me. I chose a spot covered with rather tall grass, lay down on it with my cocked rifle by my side, but drew my ramrod out and fastened my handkerchief to it. I then whistled so loudly that the sound reached the antelopes. All looked round towards me at once, and I raised one foot in the air and lowered it again a minute after. I saw that they had noticed it and were leaping about; I then raised the pocket-handkerchief and lowered it again, upon which the herd got in motion, led by one of the largest bucks. They came near me in a large circle, but I continued my telegraphic motions till the antelopes, urged by their fatal curiosity, came within shot, and their leader fell bleeding among the flowers, giving the flying herd a sad parting glance with its large beauteous eyes. I jumped up and fired my second barrel after the fugitives. Clap! I heard the bullet enter the mark, and another buck fell on the grass after a few more bounds.

Hunting is the most cruel sport to which a man can devote himself; I repented of my second shot, for I could make no use of the animal, as a few pounds of the meat amply satisfied my wants. The charm lay solely in the query, "Can you hit or not?" If this doubt be removed, it is all over with the passion, and no one would go out sporting for the pleasure. I must naturally see where the animals were hit, for that is the real enjoyment to know how near you have gone to the right spot, and hence I walked up to the bucks to choose the best of the meat for my consumption at the same time. The one first shot was the plumpest, and carried a pair of large beautiful horns which I regretted I could not take with me. The antelopes do not shed their horns like stags; they are formed more like goat's horns, and annually grow further out of the head: they are brown and bent back at the point like chamois horns. The form of the antelope much resembles that of the deer, but it is rather lighter on the legs and of a brighter hue; its weight does not exceed 120 lbs. The eye of this graceful creature is certainly one of the loveliest that nature has given to any of her creatures, and I have often turned away from the look of a dying antelope because I could not endure the reproach that it expressed.

I cut off the best lumps of game and went back to the dark shade, in which Czar greeted me with a whinny of delight, and rested on my horse-rug, refreshed by the delicious perfumes of hyacinths, jonquils, daffodils, and narcissuses, that surrounded me. The night was warm, and I required no fire after I had finished supper. I slept splendidly, with Czar at my side, and the sun was high when I awoke, to find my horse browzing on the grass within reach of his tether. I washed Czar clean, which I never neglected when I had the chance, and rode out of my arbour down the side of the hill, whence I could survey the country before me for many miles.

A glorious picture was spread out. The sun was not very high yet, so that the shadows over the landscape were rather long, and the light mist gave the distance that reddish-blue tone which renders a landscape with a rich bold foreground so exquisite. I remained for some time at the spot, examining the road to the hills whither I was going, but which were still too far for me to reach them on this day. Up to these blue mountains the ground appeared to be much the same as I had ridden over yesterday; rich in arable land, supplied with the most luxuriant pastures and abundance of wood, and watered by magnificent streams. This earthly paradise awaited men to raise the unlimited treasures which it promised to bestow so bountifully. It was a saddening thought, that these boundless plains were entirely uninhabited, for the nomadic hordes of savages cannot be called such. From where I stood to the north pole, with the exception of a few trading ports of the fur companies, no white man had yet erected his cabin. Westward the enormous regions were unpopulated almost to the Pacific, and even eastward the distance to the first settlement was so great that I felt very solitary, and for the first time was overpowered by a sort of yearning for the social life which I had left in vexation. Still these feelings took no deep root in my breast; they were soon driven away by the joys of hunting, which can only be found in their full extent far away from the civilized world.

For two days I wandered through these gardens of nature without being checked by any material obstacle. On the third day I reached the mountains, and at evening found myself at the height where the limestone leaves off and the red granite begins. To my surprise I saw a splendid spring flowing from a narrow fissure in the granite, with sufficient grass growing near it to give Czar his supper and breakfast. I stopped here for the night, and had a glorious view from this stony height. The misty blue outlines of the Rocky Mountains were only just visible; between them and myself I looked down on the most fertile valleys, which were begirt by lofty mountains. The precipice behind me was overgrown with splendid cactuses, which were just opening their cups after sunset, and diffusing their fragrance. The moon had risen; it illumined the large snow-white clustering flowers of the yucca which grew in the rock fissures, and spread over the whole scene a silvery light, which, though inferior to that of the day in brightness, was far superior to it in pleasantness.

It was a rather cool night, so that from time to time I made up my fire with the dry wood of old mimosas, the only tree that finds nourishment on these stony heights. Many of these grew round my fire, which when it flared up, displayed the beautiful pink flowers with which these trees are literally covered, so that the delicate pendulous leaves can scarce be distinguished. Rarely did a sound disturb the surrounding silence; now and then the yelp of a white wolf reached my ear through the cold damp fog from the valley below me, or the hoot of an owl was repeated by the echoes among the rocks.

Day awoke me from a refreshing sleep as the sun was gilding the summits of the mountains that emerged from the sea of fog at my feet, round which the large eagles were circling. Greatly invigorated, I bade adieu to my pleasant resting-place, and led Czar over the rocks to the nearest valley, which soon received us under its shady trees. I traversed the valley for about two hours in a northern direction, following the course of a clear stream which ran through, with a thousand windings, like a mighty snake, and was framed in on both sides by thick bushes and old overgrown trees.

About mid-day, as I was following one of these windings, I suddenly found myself a few paces from a camp of Cato Indians, and a general "ugh" reached my ear, as the men, about thirty in number, sprang up, and we gazed at each other in surprise, watching for a signal of peace or war. My presence of mind did not desert me; and knowing that these savages, when they have their wives and children with them, prefer a peaceful understanding, I waved a good morning to them with a pleasant smile, and rode, holding my rifle and watching every movement of the men, to the next bend in the river, while the savages looked after me with open mouth, as if petrified. When I had got round a curve and was protected by the bushes, my first idea was to give Czar the spur and gallop away, but this would only have been a challenge to the Indians to pursue me; hence I made him amble, as well as he could manage it in the tall grass, and hastened to get out of this unpleasant company. It was highly probable that the savages would follow me, if only to get hold of my fine horse; hence I was obliged to calculate my next steps. I had but the choice of two ways—either to throw out the savages by riding in the water and on stony ground, where they could not follow my trail, and then concealing myself at some easily defended spot—or else to ride quickly away from them so far that they could not follow me on their wretched horses. The former was difficult and dubious, as the Indian's eye surpasses the nose of the best pointer, and hence I chose the other, trusting to my horse's speed.

I cut off a slice of the antelope's leg, which was hanging on my saddle, about enough for supper, and left the rest behind, not to give my horse any unnecessary weight; then I set Czar at a sharp trot where the grass was dry, and when I reached barren ground made him amble—a pace at which he could do his mile in three minutes when put to it, though he took eight minutes when not hurried, and could go on for hours without a rest. I followed the course of the water, and at the end of some hours reached a gorge where the river ran through perpendicular rocks, and where my horse had scarce room to pass. I could see the water for nearly two miles ahead; the current was wilder and swifter here, and on looking down at its surface I noticed several spots where the water rippled and foamed as it ran over rocks and stones. On both sides of the pass the granite walls rose many hundred feet, so that it was impossible to scale them; and though, farther to the right and left, buffalo paths ran up them, the Indians must be well aware of this fact, and were probably lying in ambush for me there, as they must have noticed from my course that I was quite a stranger to the country. There was only one choice for me, and I quickly made up my mind. I put my holsters over my shoulder, placed in them those articles which must not be wetted, and guided Czar into the river, in which he floated down with me at a tremendous pace past the rock walls. I was not at all afraid about swimming him for an hour; the sole danger of the undertaking consisted in the large masses of rock over which the stream broke, and against which we ran in less than ten minutes. The river bed was here rather wider, and hence fortunately the stream not so violent, or else we should probably both have found a watery grave. Czar raised himself by his forefeet on the rock, which was not covered by more than a foot of water, but his hind-quarters sank as he did so, for he found no bottom, and the waves dashed over my saddle. The current had turned us against the rock, when I pressed Czar with my thighs, and with a frightful effort he worked his way along to the end of the rock, where I felt that he had a footing, though it only consisted of a few boulders. I was compelled to cross this dam, as I could not go back, and the uncertain ground threatened every moment to bury us between its rocks. My horse, first slipping off the smooth stones, and then leaping up again, struggled in vain to find a footing in the rapid stream, and I saw that any hesitation would be certain destruction. I therefore dug both spurs into the flanks of my brave steed; he leaped desperately out of the foaming waves, sprang on the rocks before us, and scrambled over them into the river on the other side, where he sank up to the nostrils, and the waves met over my head. My alarm lest Czar had injured himself was alleviated by his speedy return to the surface, and as he blew the water from his nostrils we followed the stream to a wall of rock, where I noticed that the water was calm at the right hand end. I steered for this point, and we swam unimpeded through this channel into the deep water till the valley opened again before us, and my brave horse trod on the sand. I led him into the grass, examined him carefully, and found that he was slightly grazed on the near foreleg and the knee, but this caused me no apprehension. I let him rest in the shade for half an hour, as he was greatly excited, gave him all the white sugar I had brought expressly for him, and which was now wet, and then continued my journey along the river, as the grass, which must have been burnt here late in winter, and the fresh grown crop had not yet sprung up, did not impede Czar's speed.

The valley constantly grew wider, and trended to the west. I left it at about 6 P.M., and followed a stream which ran from the north. Going along it till nightfall, I reached its source in the mountains, and was at least forty miles from the Indians, when I unsaddled Czar, and hobbled him in the soft grass. I felt quite secure here, for I was no longer frightened about pursuit by the Catos, and it was not probable that accident would lead other Indians here at so late an hour, when they never march except for some special reason. My bivouac was in the only coppice far and wide, in which the springs bubbled up at the foot of a very tall cypress. All around me was a glorious meadow, and, further north, rose barren rocks, on which only a mimosa, a yucca, and varieties of brambles and cactus grew. Czar was tired, and soon came to me, holding up his hobbled leg, begging me to set him at liberty; and when I had thrown the lasso over his neck, he stretched his delicate limbs on the grass. I too fell back on my saddle, and slept so soundly till morning, that I did not once look after the fire, and on waking did not find a spark among the ashes. It was soon lighted again and breakfast prepared, before which I had a bathe in the spring. Then I lit a pipe, washed Czar all over, and left the well-head, going toward the mountains in the north.

The road was so steep and fatiguing that I dismounted; still, I seemed to be on a path at times trodden by buffaloes, which was continued when I reached the top, where a wide tableland covered with rich vegetation was expanded before me. This plain, only interrupted by a few hillocks, was about twenty miles in diameter: it was covered with very high grass and small patches of mosquito trees, elms, dwarf oaks, and yuccas. The ground was quite black and very rich, and this earth was in some places fifteen feet deep, as I could see by the numerous channels cut by rain storms. I did not see a trace of spring water. This country is entirely dependent on the rains, which are frequent in these mountains, as well as the peculiar nature of the soil, which long resists evaporation of the humidity. On all sides I saw herds of grazing buffalo, but, though my mouth watered for a slice of hump and a marrow bone, I did not like to distress my horse, or go too far away from him while stalking. More antelopes were feeding here together than I had ever seen, and the same was the case with deer. I rode quietly on through the tall grass, resolved only to shoot some animal I could ride up to, and succeeded in doing so toward evening, when I saw something dark moving in the grass, which I recognised as a black wolf. In a second I was off Czar's back, as I should be very glad of such a skin, and was just about to fire, when I saw, on the other side of a ditch I had not observed in the tall grass, a very large bear running away. Owing to the high plants, I could not fire, and, forgetting my former resolution, I leapt on Czar's back, and flew after the fat fellow. His road led through a number of low mosquito trees, so that I was obliged to bend down over my horse's neck to escape being caught in the branches. I was close to the bear, but it coursed so rapidly under the branches, that I could not give it a shot from my revolver. At length we emerged from the trees, and I flew a few yards after the bear, when suddenly Czar made such a leap to the right, that I must have been thrown, had it not been for the heavy holsters that kept me on. I turned the horse round again, and then noticed that the bear had disappeared in a gap before me; and on drawing near, I found a cañon, going down a hundred feet sheer, and about twenty feet wide at this part. It was a gully washed out by the rain, which I had not observed owing to the tall grass. I dismounted, and walked to the spot where the bear had disappeared: saw that the bushes had been uprooted about thirty feet lower down, but could not discover a trace of the bear. What I had been told by old hunters now appeared to me probable—that a bear will, in a case of need, put its head between its legs, and roll like a ball from some height, without hurting itself; which can be explained by the remarkable elasticity of its bones, and the thickness of the fat over its body, I owed it solely to the agility of my horse, that I had not followed the bear down the precipice, and I willingly resigned the delicate ribs which, in imagination, I had seen roasting at my camp fire.

I continued my journey over the grassy plateau. The sun poured its last vertical beams on the dry soil, which was intersected by deep cracks a foot in breadth. This bursting of the ground during great heat is very common on plateaux where the earth is very rich, and often endangers the rider, as the fissures, being covered by the long grass, are difficult to detect. There was not a breath of air; my horse became very warm, and looked in vain for water in the deep dry ditches. I also pined for a fresh draught, for the water in my pouch had become quite warm, and Czar could not swallow it when I poured some into his mouth. My horse rug was so hot that I was hardly able to sit on it, and the barrels of my rifle almost blistered my hand. I stopped several times in the shade of an isolated tree to draw a little breath, but this did not advance my journey, and I could not possibly spend the night here without water. How far I still had to ride to the next stream I did not know, but I was aware that I might travel for days in these mountains without finding a spring or a stream. The sun was on my left hand when I reached the end of this plateau, but, instead of perceiving the longed-for sign of water, a poplar tree, I saw before me almost impassable hills covered with loose stones, that rose behind one another like sugar-loaves. I could only reckon on an hour's daylight, and it was highly probable that I should have to pass an unpleasant night. So far as I could see northward, the hills were piled on each other, without offering a prospect of water, hence I turned my horse westward, on the chance of reaching the valley which ran along parallel with the plateau. I was obliged to dismount, for in the hollows between the hills the torrents had torn deep ravines in which old trees washed down were piled up and became very dangerous to pass. The rocks over which I wearily climbed were red hot and burnt my feet, and at the same time I suffered intolerable thirst. I had shared the last water in my flask with Czar. My mouth was very dry and my tongue clove to the palate. In vain I looked from every height I reached for the longed-for sign, and wandered up hill and down, till the sun sank behind the distant blue mountains, and the first shadows of night spread over the land. I had passed over several hills in this manner, when I saw a valley before me in the twilight which I greeted with renewed hopes, but the darkness set in so rapidly, that I was unable to continue my journey. Feeling quite knocked up, I threw myself on the warm rocks, holding Czar by the rein, to wait for the rising moon. The sky behind me grew more and more red; the anxiously awaited light rose slowly about the hills, and looked down on the deadly silence that was spread over the whole landscape.

I had rested about an hour ere it grew light enough to continue my journey, and I soon reached the plain, where unfortunately the grass grew very high. I was obliged to mount my horse again, for it was impossible to walk through the grass; and though I was very sorry to do it, I urged the poor creature on, while he continually strove, by hanging his head and shaking his neck, to make me understand it was high time to go to rest. I had continued my journey for two hours without stopping, when the grass grew shorter, my horse every now and then stepped on stones, and I saw a tree or two again. I had probably passed the lowest part of the valley, and as I had found no water in it, there was no prospect of doing so at a greater elevation. I was awfully tired and sleepy, and my horse was quite as bad; I therefore unsaddled under an elm, fastened Czar to the tree by his long lasso, and in ten minutes I was dreaming of cool crystalline water; but for all that woke at daybreak exhausted and feverish, and to my horror missed my horse.

I sprang up, surveyed the wide plain, and who can describe my delight when I saw Czar's white coat shining a few hundred yards off over a small mimosa bush, behind which he was enjoying the fresh grass in a hollow. The knot of the lasso had come undone, and thus Czar had been able to look about for more agreeable fodder. I led him nearer my bivouac, and was just going to light my fire, when I saw smoke rising in the west, about three miles from me. I quickly pocketed my flint and steel, saddled, and rode toward the highest part of the ridge which divided the valley in half. When I had nearly reached the top I dismounted and crawled to the highest point, whence I surveyed the valley, and observed an Indian camp, round which some three hundred horses and mules were grazing. I saw through the grass that the various families were sitting at the fires in front of their leathern tents, with the exception of a few children that were playing about. The camp was on the other side of a stream which wound through the valley from the north. Though I longed so for water, I must avoid the neighbourhood of these savages, who might prove very dangerous to me in such an unknown and desolate country. I rode back through the valley in which I had spent the night, and into the mountains on its eastern side; for, if I had followed the valley to reach the river, I must have been noticed by the Indians on my white horse. The road was tiring, as I was frequently obliged to walk, and the heat on these barren hills soon rendered my thirst intolerable.

It was midday when I with a firm resolution to ride to the water, cost what it might, guided my horse down a ravine, and suddenly saw before me the fresh verdure of plants which only grow at very damp spots, under a heap of dry piled-up trees, among which a number of turkeys were running; I forgot the Indians and the risk, shot two old gobblers, and threw myself between the tall ferns, over the cold springs that welled up among them, in order to quench my fearful thirst. I lay for nearly half-an-hour, ate a bit of biscuit, and as I could not fully quench my thirst, continually applied to the spring. This was one of the most glorious meals I ever enjoyed, and I believe that I would sooner have defended myself against a whole tribe of Indians than leave this spot unsatisfied. The shade here was not sufficient, however, and hence I went a little lower down the stream with Czar and my two turkeys, where I found a cooler resting-place under a group of elms and oaks. After this hunger began to be felt, for, with the exception of a small slice of antelope and a little biscuit, I had eaten nothing since the preceding morning. I set to work on one of the turkeys, and spitted such a quantity of the meat, fat and lean, that I was obliged to laugh at myself. The exterior of the meat hardly began to get roasted ere I cut it away. In the meanwhile, the coffee was getting ready and I concluded my repast; after which I found great difficulty in keeping my eyes open. I fetched Czar, who had also enjoyed himself, and fastened him to a tree, took my rifle in my arms, and in a few minutes was fast asleep, forgetting all the dangers that surrounded me.