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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as rsquired. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmAs A des taux de rAduction diff Arents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clichA, il est filmA A partir de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombra d'images nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ' ^^w "^ BESIEGED BY A HERD OF PECOARlEa Page i88. THE HUNTER AND THE TRAPPER IN NORTH AMKRICA; OR, ROMANTIC ADVENTURES IN FIELD AND FOREST. FROM THE FRENCH OF BENEDICT RivOIL. BY W. H. DAVENPORT ADAMS, ai;thor or "thr forest, the jumolb, and the frairir," " buried CITIES OF CAMPANIA," " QUrKN OP THE ADRIATIC," ETC. " Hunting he lovert .... It is no gentle chase, But the blunt boar, rough bear, or lion proud." Shakesphakr. LONDON: T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW; EDINBURGH ; AND NEW YORK. 1874. w I i \\ preface. [HE volume now submitted to the reader is a translation from the French of M. Benedict R6voil, who some years ago traversed many pai*ts of the United States, intent upon the pursuit of game. He has recorded his experiences and adventures in an unpretending but animated and enter- taining narrative, which is entirely free from exaggeration, and is commendably characterized by exceeding modesty in its references to the writer's own achievements. There can be no doubt about his enthusiasm ; as little about his powers of endurance. His skill, apparently, was considerable ; and if he had a quick eye for a victim to his rifle, he had also a keen perception of the beauties of Nature. And, indeed, if the following pages contained nothing more than a mere record of the " heads of game " daily slaughtered by himself, his hosts, and his friends, they would be of interest only to a limited circle of readers, and would scarcely have been worth the trouble of rendering into English. But M. R6voil had a faculty of observation which makes his volume pleasant reading. vi PUGKACE. fi'oui the ooouitite sketches it cuntains of American scenery under very vimous aspects. And it has otiier merits : it embodies a large number of details in reference to the habits and characteristics of the animals witli which our hunter and trapper was brought into contact; so that it may prove useful, either as an introduction to tlie study of Natural History, or as a companion and supplement to formal scientific treatises. We are not witliout hope that many young readers who would turn away from tlie latter with " cold indiflTerence " will peruse the story of M. R6voil*s adventures with breathless intei'est, and theroby be led to acquire a taste for a very agi'eeable and instructive pursuit, the investi- > gation of tlie Curiosities of Animal Life. We have only to add that we have allowed our hunter to tell his tale in his own way. We have made no alte- mtions except suoli as wero necessary to adapt the book for English readers, and have endeavoured to render the original with spirit and fidelity. W. H. D. A. ©Tontcnts. I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. XX. XXI. THE EAGLE, ... THE WILD HOKSE, THE TURKEYS, THE CAYEUTE ; OH, THE I'KAIUIE \V«)LF, THE OPOSSUM, THE KACOON, THE SWAN— THE HEUON— THE FALCON, THE PANTHEK, THE PA88ENGEK-PIGEON8, THE PRAIRIE DOGS, ... THE WILD CAT, THE WILD GOATS, THE PECCARY, THE STAG, ... THE ELK, THKKLK^continued, THE CARIBOO, OR AMERICAN REINDEER, THE CARIBOO, OR AMERICAN liKiyimER—COlUiuucd, THE GRISLY HEAP, THE BROWN BEAR, THE BISON, ... 0 30 42 55 an 80 W 113 126 13S 147 l(i2 175 lUl 223 240 255 271 282 315 346 CHAPTER I. THE EAGLE. LL honour to the lords of earth ! If I commence this record of my adventui'es as a spoi-tsman with the history of the eagle, it is not that I entertain the slightest respect for this bird of prey, — the type of brutal force, of rapacity, of carnage, of selfishness. But simply because the eagle, once the symbol of the imperial power of Rome, has become, since the great war of American independence, the heraldic embleri of the vast republic of the United States. 10 DKPIlECIATiOX OF TlIK EAOm. The illustrious Frnnklin, however, deplored the choioo made by his colleagues aud compatriots. Writing to a friend in 1783, he deolai'ed that he would have given the world the eagle had not been selected as the representative of his country, for he is a bird of a fierce and shameless character, who cannot gain his liveliliood honourably. He may frequently be seen, from the top of a decayed tree, carefully watching other inipucious birds in their aquatic depredations, with the view of profiting by a \Hjoty which he is too slothful to gain through his own exertions. The moment that one of these birds has seized on a fish, which he destines for his brood, the wretch descends upon him like a thunderbolt, and audaciously snatches it from b.' beak. He is not the happier for all his swiftness in flight and his supremacy over the other inhabitants of the air. Like the majority of robbers and vagabonds, he lives in poverty, solitude, and wretched- ness. In Franklin's belief he was a scoundrel of the worst kind, whom the tiniest wren, frequently no larger than a nut, does not fear to attack with the greatest courage, and to expel from his neighbourhood. The choice of the eagle was not, then, a felicitous one ; and it is to be regretted that the foundera of American independence, at whose head was a hero so pure-minded as Washington, did not choose a more appropriate emblem for the blazon of their republic. The letter in which Franklin recorded his sentiments was shown to me by a celebrated Philadelphian book- seller, who preserved it in his collection of autographs ; and I confess I am entirely of tli opinion of that eminent statesman. My bookseller knew me to be a passionate votary of the chase, and, at my request, he furnished the ■ ■>■■ I V • AN A5iEHlCAN ANKfDOTR. 11 It ite following particulars ralative to the history of the great American eagle : — " I descended the Mississippi some three yeara ago," ho said, " in the month of November, in a small, light boat, rowed by a couple of negroes, for the purpose of visiting Memphis. As it was the beginning of winter, the entire surface of the majestic r;ver was covered with Imttalions of aquatic birds, which had abandoned the northern sens " ▲ SMALL, LIGHT BOAT, UUWED BY A COUfLE OC NKUUUKS," and the great frozen lakes to seek a less rigorous it^fuge in the temperate climates of our Southern States. Sud- denly one of the boatmen pointed out with his finger a gigantic eagle, which, perched on the loftiest branch of an old oak, with keen eye surveyed the rolling tide, and listened intently to every distant sound. A moment afterwards the other boatman directed my attention to tlie opposite bank, where, perched at an equal height to 12 THE ATTACK ON VHE SWANS. - hei- impatient mate, a female eagle seemed anxious to persuade him not to abandon his watch, and accord- ingly uttered, at three slow intervals, a keen strident cry, which resounded along the river-border. At this signal the male partly opened his wings, and responded with a similar cry, which I can only compare to the wild shriek of laughter that occasionally breaks forth in a lunatic asylum. " While, with their hands upon their oars, my negroes abandoned the boat to the current of the river, I followed with my gaze every movement of the eagles, who suffered to pass by them undisturbed myriads of ducks and teals, as prey unworthy of their appetites : so I understood a moment later. " At length my ears were i*ent by s^ piercing cry, that of the female. At the same time I heard, like the hoarse sound of a trumpet, the voice of a troop of swans, which were cleaving the sky with snow-white pinions. Turning my eyes northwards I quickly caught sight of the voyagers, beating the air with their short wings, their necks out- stretched, their feet closed up against the belly, and their glances ranging the horizon in fear of danger. The floi^k was composed of five swans flying, as is their custom, in a triangular or wedge-like phalanx ; but the one at the head of the convoy seemed more fatigued than the others. It was this poor wretch whom the eagles selected as their prey. " At the moment of his flight past the oak where the male bird was in ambush, the latter suddenly unfurled his wings, raised a formidable cry, and, like a gloomy meteor, darted on his resigned victim, while his four companions allowed themselves to drop into the waters of the Mississippi. THE " DESOLATER DESOLATE." 13 " The swan made a vain attempt to escape ; but his enemy, striking him under the belly and under the wings, with restless eagerness, contrived in four or five minutes to fling him downward, with his back upon the earth. "The most hideous spectacle possible was then pre- sented to our horrified gaze. The fierce bird clasped the bleeding body of the beautiful northern pilgrim with his greedy talons ; he muttered with a terrible delight, as if , enjoying the sight of the last convulsions of his victim. Meantime the female remained perched upon her tree, calm and indifferent, trusting to the strength of her lord and master for the successful issue of their stratagem. " But from the moment the swan ceased to move, she understood that the banquet was ready for her partici- pation; and flinging herself into the air, she crossed the river in the twinkling of an eye, descended on the shore like an aerolite, and took her seat at the board without being invited and without inviting permission. " I had waited until now to act on my own behalf," continued my Philadelphian friend j " and I ordered my negroes to row softly in the direction of the spot where the two birds of prey thought themselves entirely free from danger. Without taking heed of our approach, they gorged themselves with blood and fragments of flesh, and we were able to drop do\ . within range. My car- bine was loaded with deer-shot. I raised it, took aim, and fired. My dear sir, it was a splendid shot. The female never stirred; she had been struck dead. As for the male, it was quite another affair. I had broken his two wings, but not hit his body ; and we hod to finish him off with a blow or two from our oars. This coup de grdce we gave with all possible care, for I wimted to u AT RAGLE LAKR. stuff my birds, and, consequently, to get hold of tliem without injuring their form or phimage. I succeedeil beyond all expectation j and see," said my interlocutor, throwing open the door of his dining-room, "here are the two feathered mui'derers of the Mississippi, stuffed and prepared by one of our most skilful naturalists." I could not but admire the beauty of these two speci- mens of the great species of eagles, vulgarly called, in the United States, the Bald-headed Eagle, although the head is garnished with feathers ; white, it is true, which, at a certain distance, gives it the appearance of baldness. I had never seen such enormous wings. From tip to tip they measui*ed, when expanded, upwards of eight feet. The first time I myself came in sight of one of these North American hmniergeiers was on the border of Eagle Lake, in Adirondack County, at the foot of the Catskill Mountains, in the State of New York. Let my readers figure to themselves a sheet of water three times as broad as the Lake of Enghieii, and as round as a crown-piece, encircled by precipitous rocks, and bearing a close re- semblance to a funnel about two-thirds full of water. On one of thp wave-washed i"ocks had flourished for cen- turies, to judge from its girth, a venerable oak, whose roots had obtruded themselves into every fissure and cavity, whose bark had flowed like lava over the wall of atone, where it adhered as if it had been rivetted with iron bands. This oak was some ninety feet high, and planted on the very edge of the abyss. I found myself in this romantic scene one morning, with a celebrated ' English hunter, an enthusiast, named Whitehead, who, probably as a satirical antithesis to his ST. HUBERTS BKOTIIERIIOOD OF HUNTERS. 15 name, covered his wrinkled brow with a wig blacker than bony. One of our Iiunting - companions, the famous Herbert, ^^^^^U=^ surnamed Frank For- t~^z'Z^f:^z^r: ester, who was tem- [p ^orarily absent, jested with Whitehead on this useless append- age to his toilet, as much too fantastic for a man of such gi'ave and decorous charac- ter. In their quips and jibes I had borne a part; but assuredly, when laughing at my brother in the frater- nity of Saint Hubert, I never once suspected that to his artificial scalp he would owe his life. From five o'clock in the morning we had» been traversing hills and valleys in pursuit of widgeons and qnails. Our game- ON THE VERY EDGE OF THE ABYSS." IG A DANOEROUS ENTERPRISE. bag was already three-quarters full, and we were think- ing of rejoining Frank Forester at our hut, when sud- denly, as he passed near the oak of which I have spoken. Whitehead raised his eyes in the air, and uttered an exclamation of joy. On one of the highest boughs of the time-honoured tree he had descried, and he pointed out to me through the branches, an eagle's nest. He had no doubt the eyrie was inhabited, for he had remarked an oscillation among the twigs of which it was composed. There were eaglets in the nest. To throw aside his gun and his hunting-bag, to mount, or rather haul himself up the trunk of the tree, was but the work of a moment ; and my comrade executed this gymnastic feat without consulting me, without listening to the cautions I thought it necessary to address to him. After disappearing for awhile in a labjrrinth of verdure, I saw him at the edge of the nest, raising his head so as to look into the interior. " Good ! good ! " he cried. " Here are a couple of oaglets, and they open their bills as if they would like to swallow me." " Take care ! take care ! " I replied. " I see the male or female bird — I cannot exactly say which — is coming in all haste towards the nest. Come down, I tell you — come down 1 " It was useless to call him. The madman would pay no attention, and continued climbing. Eventually, how- ever, and just an he had stowed away one of the eaglets in his flannel shirt, and was preparing to seize the ot^er, the male eagle— for it was he — swooped down upon the tree, and with a blow of his huge wing made my darii^g companion reel. But Whitehead did not lose his pre- (414) SAVED BY — HIP WIG ! 17 sence of mind, and drawing his hunting-knife from its sheath, prepared to defend himself. He drove the blade into the eagle's side ; but the wound was not mortal, and the bird rose anew in the air to hurl himself again on the imprudent hunter. I dared not fire for fear of wounding my comrade ; but I held my gun ready to succour him at the proper time and place.. What I most feared was that the eagle might stun Whitehead, and the latter, losing his hold, might fall into Eagle Lake. This apprehension was partly rea- lized ; for at the moment I was about to pull my trigger, the "bird of Jove," hoping to crush the skull of his enemy with one blow from his formidable beak, struck violently, and plucked away, not a piece of bleeding flesh, but — well — the defensive wig of my companion. The latter must have lost his footing, and infallibly fallen into the lake, from an elevation of six hundred and fifty ftiet, if his leg had not caught in a mass*"o branch, to which he clung stoutly, and which became his plank of safety. At the same time I had shouldered my carbine, taken aim at the eagle, and shot him in his right wing, so that, wheerfiig round and roimd, it dropped into the middle of the lake. Whitehead, recovering from bis emotion, let himself down as quickly as possible from his oak, carry- ing a young eaglet, which he had choked during his struggle with the parent bird. Very great caution was necessary in lowering himself into the Eagle Lake, where the bird, after a i)ainful con- vulsive effort, had yielded up its last sigh. I sprang into the water, and swimming lustily for some twenty fathoms, touched the extreme foathor of the eagle's wing, and bore 18 THE AMEUICAN EAGLE. it back triumphiuitly to land. Its left pinion still adoiTis the inkstand into which I dip my pen to write this nar- rative. As for my fViend Whitehead, thanks to his splendid ebon-hued wig, he escaped without a scratch. But ho afterwai*ds died, while himtiug, of a stroke of apoplexy. The eagle of the United States, like its European con- gener, rarely lives alone, and, according to Audubon, — the illustrious natumlist, whose premature death is to be regi'etted, — the mutual attachment of the male and female seems to last from their iii*st union down to the death of one or the other. Eagles hunt for their food, like a couple of piratical confederates, and eat their prey together. Their love-season commences in the month of ]>ecember, and thenceforth both male and female become very noisy. You may see them flying in company, whirl- ing in the azure space, crying with their uttermost force, plaj'ing and even fighting with one another (but in per- fect good temper), and finally retiring to rest on the diy branches of a tree, where the two have prepared the fii-st layer of theii* nest. Or, perhaps, they have contented them- selves with i-epairing that of the last incubatioftT The incubation begins, I may add, early in January. The nest is composed of sticks about three and a quarter feet in length, of fragments of turf and shreds of lichen ; and it measures, when completed, about five to six feet in cii'cumference. The eggs deposited by the female in this shapeless thicket are two, tlii*ee, and sometimes — though rarely — four in number, are of a greenish white, equally rounded at the two extremities. Incubation occupies from throe to four weeks. IIUNTEUM ON THE WATCH. 19 When the eaglets are hatched, they are covered with a reddish dowu, and possess legs and beak of most dispropor- tionate length. Their parents do not drive them out of the eyrie until their plumage is complete and they are able to fly. But before this decisive moment, when they in- troduce their progeny into society, the eagles abundantly provide them with game of every description, so that the ^ges of the nest are covered with fragments of bone and skin and putrid flesh. I was returning one winter evening, in the month of February, from trout-fishing in the mountains of Cum- berland, and we were descending, two friends and myself, from the abinipt escarpments abutting on the valley in whose midst was built the house of the farmer who gave us lodging, when I pointed out to my companions certain long whitish and chalky lumps of ordure, undoubtedly proceeding from a bird of prey. The peasant accompanying us informed me that there were eagles in the midst of these rocks, and pretended that he had seen them that same evening, but out of range. " Tfte'f oUffefsJ" he added, " have carried off more sheep and poultry of my master's than they are worth dollars." I resolved, while listening to our guide, to seize this opportunity of observing the habits of the American eagles, and after persuading my friends to halt, we con- cealed ourselves under a projecting crag, and remained there for what seemed to us a very long period. To say nothing of the weariness of " hope deferred," I was forced to listen to our peasant, who poured into my car all his private woes, and his particular giievances 20 COMING OF THE NOBLE BIRDS. against, not only the feathered denizens of the rocks, but the entira family of Fakonidce. The gaiTulous Yonkeo tissui^ed mo that, in the days of his grandfathef, who had boon a soldier in the armies of Washington, a child, two yoara old, had been seized by an eagle in the State of Connecticut, and hod owed his salvation to the gi-eat difficulty experienced by these birds in taking to the wing from level ground. The father of the inno- cent victim had slain the would-be ravisher with a stick. " Silence !" I exclaimed j " eagles can see and hear at tt very groivt distjmce." " Be not afraid," he replied, " I am keeping my eye open j luid tlio moment a bird hovers in sight, I will be as mute aa dejith." Our loquiveious narrator was about to resume his maundering luu'mtivo, to the great displeasure of my two friends and myself, when suddenly a shrill whistling was heai*d on one of tlie cornices of the rock near which we were hidden. I put my luuid on the Yankee's mouth, and looking up, I caught sight, on the edge of the crag, among some faggots of wood, of a couple of eaglets, whose sharp cries and fluttering wings announced the coming oi one or other of their parents, — a black point in space, which gi'adually grew larger and larger, and became clearly defined tigainst the azure of the heaven. In a few seconds the eagle alighted as softly as possible on the stony ridge nearest to his eaglets. He carried in his tiilons a piece of mw flesh, which he hastened to offer to his fledgelings, already covered with feathers, and very bold. As I put forth my head to see more distinctly, the female in her turn appeared, descried us, uttered a TAKING THE ALARM. 21 B£ CARRIED IN HIS TALONS A PIECE! OK RAW FLESH. U shriek of alarm, dropped the prey she was caiTying, and suddenly the little ones vanished in the chink of the rock. The male flew away with his utmost speed, but soon, I 22 THE EMPTY EYRIE. with an inexplicable instinct, as if both were convinced that we bore no fire-arms, they drew near, sweeping round and round above our heads, and giving utterance to loud unearthly screams, which seemed like a menace. We promised ourselves the satisfaction of returning next day, armed with rifle and carbine ; but on the mor- row a terrible storm was raging, and a week passed before we could undertake the expedition. I had taken cai'e to suggest to my companions the advisability of taking with us some rope-ladders, and all the apparatus necessary for escalading the cliff, and while some of the people of the farm climbed the summit of the mountain, the others stationed themselves at the foot of the rock. For ten hours did we wait with admirable patience, and nothing appeared on the horizon ; and when, by means of the ladders, we descended to the nest, we found it empty. The eagles, with their usual sagacity, had profited by our long interval of compulsory inaction, and carried off their progeny to some secure retreat, afar from human investigations. During my sojourn at New York, I often amused my- self with a trip on board one of the numerous steam-boats which plough the bay to the extreme point of Staten Island; and there, with no companion but my dog, I would make my way towards the basaltic rocks washed by the roaring waves of the Atlantic. Among the almost innumerable islets which cluster about this spot, from New York to Key West, I had discovered a little island, about a mile in length and breadth, and separated from the mainland by a channel of some three hundred yards, half empty at low water. Here, however, when the tide THE ISLAND-HUT. 23 floweil in, tlie tnmtilt and fury of tho jsfi-pnt Viillowa was like a seething chaos. In this wild solitude, i-emote from all civilization, and having no contact vith the rest of American society, rose a small rude hut; and in this hut, in 1846, abode a young woman of twenty-two, a mascu- line creatui'e, of an ^ispect severe and yet gentle, and possess- ing a peculiar sympa- thetic voice, which re- minded me of the babbling of the Ame- rican thrush when watching over her bi"ood. Jessie — for such was the name of the lonely inhabitant of this sea-side hut — had lost her mother; while her father, an aged invalid, dragged out the last sands of life, crouching before the " °' ^'^ ^''^"^^'^ "•'^'''^*=' ^'"^^ «Rntlk.". fire, smoking his pipe, and wrapped in a dismal silence. Grief had unsettled his mind ; the strings of the bl^in were loosened; he was almost imbecile. Jessie had bravely vaken charge of her four brothers ; and- thanks to the abundance of fish, to the sea-birds' nests, and the stags which she caught in snares, good and plentiful 24 A WAIF OF THE SEA-SHOKE. footl was never wanting in the hut. The eldest of the lads was about twenty years old, and the youngest, in giving birth to whom his mother had lost her life, was about fourteen. This little fellow — he was so little that you would h&ve thought him about eight yeara old — was the favourite of the family ; and if ever the father smiled upon any one, it was upon him. Ben neither knew how to manage a net, to cultivate the ground, or assist in the household work ; his . principal occupation consisted in weaving garlands of sea-weeds, in fabricating rush mats, and in gathering shells for his sister's collars and brace- lets. Often they would find him prone on a great level crag, behind which their hut was sheltered; and there, his eyes fixed upon the ocean, he followed with wistful gaze the white sails of the distant ships, or stared into the swift and flashing current which bore onward the wandering bonitos or the blue -backed dorados. Often, too, with the help of an ii*on crook, the boy collected the beautiful ulvas and algas, which the furious waves incessantly tore up from the submerged "meadows" of the ocean and cast upon the rocks. These were the only labours Ben ever succeeded in accomplishing, and he was so passionately addicted to them, that neither his sister nor brothers cared to re- proach him, or to complain of a desultory life which was evidently natural to him. From our very first interview Ben had conceived a gi*eat affection for me, though generally he was rendered wild and alarmed by the presence of a stranger on the solitary shore. The second time that I landed on the island, he pressed me to remain some days with him. I BEN THE NATUKALIST. 2r) boy " FOLLOWED WIXU WISTFUL QAZR THE WHITE SAILS OF THE DISTANT SHIPS." bhe he suffered myself to be persuaded, and all the more readily because Ben undertook to show me various kinds of fish, and birds, and animals with which I was unac- quainted. And, in truth, the little fellow did not deceive me ; he knew all their hiding-places, and could clamber unhurt the rough and dangerous crags, place his hand on the IX PERIL OP Ills LIFE. penguin while she brooded over her eggs without puttmg lier to flight ; and where I should have declared war, he made peace. One morning, the third day after my arrival at Jessie's hut, wishing to profit by a glorious sun, and to make a prolonged exploration of the coast, I asked Jessie where her brother was. She went in quest of him, called him, him and his three brothers. None of them were on the island. I swept the shores with my telescope, but could see nothing of them. Resolved, however, not to waste the day in-doors, I took my gun, and whistled for my dog ; but I had not gone twenty paces before I became conscious how much I missed my young companion in my solitary walk. Never- theless I continued my journey, traversing uncultivated heaths and marshy deserts; sometimes bringing down a wild duck, and sometimes a snipe; and directing my steps towards a group of fantastically-fashioned rocks, which rose perpendicularly along the ocean-strand. With great difficulty I forced a passage towards the summit of these rocks, attracted, as it were, by the irresistible influence of some magic loadstone. Suddenly a lamentable cry, repeated by a hundred echoes, broke on my ear. It was followed by a kind of sharp, yet, at the same time, plaintive howl. Rapidly doubling an angular projection, I remained, as it were, struck with stupor in presence of the alarming spectacle offered to my gaze. At the extremity of a cable twisted round the withei-ed trunk of an old oak, and suspended above the abyss of water, oscillated little Ben, — wavering to and fro like a reed, — while a formidal)le eagle, with open talons and THE BOY AND THE EAOLE. 27 greedy beak, with wings ex- panded and ferocious eye, flung itself upon him. I felt myself tremble from head to foot; I shut my eyes that I might not see ; but presently opening them again, I discovered two of Ben's brothers endeavouring to haul in the rope, while ^as a third threatened the eaglo with a huge stone, though unable to reach it. What pai-t to take in the affair, I knew not ; to fire at the eagle was impossible, for a shot might hit poor Ben. With open mouth I stood, rooted to the spot, equally unable to stir or speak. Under his arms the courage- ous lad clasped firmly a couple of eaglets, but just as the eagle was about to fly at his face, he suffered one of them to escape. My anguish was indescribable, but through my half-closed eyelids I saw the king of air dash head- long downwards to arrest in its fall his fluttering little one. WAVKKINO TO AND FRO," THE HOME OP THE EAGLE. Then I breathed again ; and the two lads, witli all their might, hauled on the rope. Ben drevr near the edge of the cliff, and his eldest brother saluted the eagle with a shower of stones. Swift as lightning, the angry bird returned to the combat; but alarmed by the open beak of his enemy, Ben let go the second eaglet and clung to the tree, while his brothers drew him towaixls them. At the same moment, securing a good aim at the for- midable bird, I fired at him both barrels, and stretched him dead at my feet, still holding in his talons the little eaglet. A few minutes later I clasped in my arms the young robber of eagles'-nesta, while scolding him for risking his life to please a fancy of mine. It was on purpose to gain this trophy that Ben and his brothel's had stolen away from the hut at early dawn, without informing any one of the exploit they meditated. I must add, to conclude this brief history, that I re- solved on making a descent to the eagle's eyrie, in search of the young eaglet which Ben had first let go. I there- fore reloaded my rifle, and slung it in my shoulder-belt ; then fastening the i-ope securely, and tying some strong knots in it, I lowered myself very slowly, until my foot touched the eaglet. The young bird was struggling in the middle of the neat, and I easily made myself master of it. It was on a smooth but narrow ledge that Jove's birds had prepared the couch of their off*spring ; an accumu- lation of branches, reeds, and heath ; a kind of pestifer- ous carrion-house, suiTounded by shreds of putrid carcasses and whitened bones. The eagle I had killed was a WHAT BECAME OF THE EAGLETo. ^ female, and measured twelve feet between the tips of her wings. Three days later I placed myself in ambush near the empty eyrie, waiting for the male, who, however, did not make his appearance. Either he had somewhere met with his death, or else, with the natural cunning of his *race, had seen the spectacle of his mate's murder and the capture of his young ones, and had prudently kept at a distance. I carried the two eaglets to Staten Island, where one of them, in spite of every care, died a few weeks afterwards. As for the other, he had grown fat and lazy in 1849, when I quitted the United States, and strutted com- placently to and fro on the terrace to which he was confined. There, as a prudent precaution, he was at- tached by a long chain to the trunk of the tree which, at night, served him for a resting-place. -5:;^ ^^^0. mkw^im^: ''^>^. r'*'%>r*~ .v^ ■-HV.4— --,, CHAPTEll II. THE WILD HORSE. N two occasions I have visited the Prairies, and lived among the Indians, during my long residence in the United States. On the second expedition my Redskin friends and I found ourselves one morning in the month of Octo- ber 1848, in front of a chain of bare, precipitous moun- tains which, at one place, sank into a kind of amphi- theatral valley, through whose green depths flowed, like a ribbon of silver, a bright and flashing rivulet, whose banks were clothed in flower - enamelled greensward. Far away, on the incline of the mountains bordering the valley, rose a few trees, with fresh green foliage, whose trunks were adorned with emerald moss. Upon these our eyes delightedly rested, for they made a plea- THE COUNCIL IN THE PKAIUIE. 31 saiit contrast with the monotony of the vast solitude we had been traversing since we hist quitted the mai-shy banks of the Mis8issipi>i. It seemed as if we had been introduced, by some sud- den enchantment, into the fair image of an English gar- den, designed by one of the most skilful horticulturists of Great Britain. On the horizon our gaze could first discover a maiiade, or troop, of wild horses feeding tranquilly at no great distance from a score of bisons, some of whom were rumi- nating in the shelter of a thicket of cotton-trees, while the others mounted guard. It would have been easy for us to fancy oureelves in front of a paddock belonging to an opulent Lancashire farmer. The chief of the Kedskins assembled round him the best hunters of his tribe, and held a solemn council. It was resolved that they should execute the great manoeuvre called, in the United States, among the emigrant-settlers of the Far West, the " Wild Horses' Ring." This species of chase requires a great number of skilful horsemen, who, echelonning in all dii'ections, at a distance of about one hundred paces from each other, complete a circle of about two thousand two hundred yards. The greatest silence is necessary, for wild horses are easily terrified, and their instinct is so keen that the slightest breath of wind brings to their nostrils the scent of their enemies, the Redskins of the desert. As soon as the circle is formed, four hunters, mounted upon magnificent steeds, begin to spur in the direction of the marmde. All the wild animals immediately precipi- tate themselves in the opposite direction. But the moment they appear inclined to break through the ring B2 A WILD-IIOKSE HUNT. ?/ of horsemen, the nearest hunter hastens to encounter them, and, terrified by his unexpected presence, con- strains them to retrace their steps. My readers will understand the excitement and tumult of the spectacle I am weakly endeavouring to describe. They cannot conceive a more splendid sight than this herd of horses galloping to and fro, with flying manes and outstretched necks, and breathing through their nostrils in abrupt and hasty snorts, which the surround- ing echoes have scarcely time to repeat, and to transmit from one mountain to another. u \\ The Pawnees, who had hospitably entertained me, noAv fastened their baggage-horses to trees and posts, lest, under the influence of the example of their congeners, they, too, should take to flight. Fifty Redskins, with the chief of the tribe at their head, glided along the woods which lined the hills on the right, leading their chargers by the hand. An equal number moved to the left, on the other side of the brook ; and a third body proceeded, by an immense circuit, to take ambush in a line parallel to the lower part of the valley, with the view of connect- ing the two wings, and of drawing close and filling up the circle, within whose area the wild horses were to be confined. This skilful manoeuvre was executed with wondei'ful precision ; the tliird line speedily joined itself to those on the right and left, and the mmmde evinced some symp- toms of alarm. Thoy neighed repeatedly ; they breathed violently; they cast around them furtive and anxious glances. Soon, at a gentle trot, they disappeared behind a leafy chimp of cotton-trees. A GENERAL " SAUVE-QUI-PEUT." 33 It happened that the Pawnee chief was nearest to the Hjx^t where the scene transpired which I have attempted to describe. He advanced slowly towards the animals, with the intention of driving them out of their concealment, when, unfortunately, three Americans, my hunting com- panions, emerged from the cover of the wood, and hastily galloped forward. This ill-advised movement deranged all the plans of the Redskins. At their appearance, the wild horses instantly dashed headlong down the valley, pursued by the Americans, who howled like demons. It was in vain that the Pawnees, who formed what I may call the transversal liney attempted to check the fugitives. In their mad impetuosity they broke through the rank, and sped across the plain. At this moment the Redskins gave utterance to their war-whoops, and spurred their steeds into a furious gallop. The mMee became general, and each horseman rode " for his own hand." The bisons, which had hitherto remained peacefully occupied in grazing on the sweet prairie-grass, seemed now to take council among themselves ; then, regarding with looks of surprise the human avalanche pouring down in their direction, they took to" flight " with one consent," and galloped towards a marsh sit'iated in the valley-bottom. As for the horses, they wheeled round into a narrow defile which struck into the heart of the mountains, and all disappeared pell-mell in a whirlwind of dust, with wild cries, and loud hurrahs, and a sound of voices and hoofs not unlike repeated claps of thunder. (414) 3 34 TIIR CAPTURED STEED. f Tlie threo Americnns, and nearly fifty Pawnees, fol- lowetl close in their rear ; but none of them as yet wsis near enough to hurl the lasso successfully. I must 1161*0 confess my want of skill as a horseman, and acknowledge that I formed one of the stragglera; though I was utounte OUR DOQS." nearest detachment of turkeys. These birds had made a flight of from one hundred tio one hundred and fifty paces ; then we had seen them, to use a vulgar but expressive phrase, take to their heels, and trot like ostriches. On 4G HUNTING DOWN THE OAMK. entering anotlier undulation of the prairie they were hidden among the herbage. Here we lost sight of them, but our dogs soon recovered the scent; yet, spite of their persevering search, they could find none of the turkeys. After wheeling about, and wandering to and fro, they halted before a thick mass of shrubs and reeds, which rose to an elevation of about thirteen feet. Once arrived at this point, where the game had disap- peared from our eyes, our dogs again recovered the scent. This manoeuvring lasted for nearly a quarter of >in hour ; but, at length, the Kedskin who accompanied us said to M. Simonton in his pictui*esque language : — " The black bird is cunning, and wishes to cheat the pale-face. He has mounted on legs of wood that he may leave no trace of his course. Cast thy glances among the trees, and thine eye shall discover the eye of the cun- ning biixi." Nothing could be truer. The turkeys had taken their flight to a few paces distant from the bush, and were crouch- ing down in the midst of the branches. Perched upon the lianas, pressmg close against one another like hens on the roosting-poles of a poultry-yard, they had depressed their neck to a level with their shoulders, and thus situated, patiently waited, even holding their breath, until tlie danger was past. Black and Nick darted into the thicket ; they seemed to have forgotten their early training, and drove forward the game instead of bringing them to a stand. The whole flock resumed their flight, letiving about five stragglers among the bushes. Three struggled in convulsions of agony ; two had fallen to the ground, sliot dead. SOMETHINtS ABOUT TIIK ITRKKV. From this moment I bold it as proved tliat nothing was easier than to kill a turkey; his enor- mous size and lumbering flight both contribute to render him the certain prey of the spoi-tsman; but if the wound is not mortal, if he is struck only in the wings, the turkey, instead of losing his time, like most of the galliuaceiB, in struggling on the ground, escapes innnediately, and his gait is so rapid that, unless you possess an excellent dog, he is soon beyond the reach of discovery. If the turkey is hit in the neck, throat, or breast, he is dead; while if the shot strike him in the middle of the back, he runs again to such a distance that he is nearly always lost. The dogs follow up the scent of the turkeys for alnRit a mile. I have seen some American dogs, PERCHED UPON TIIK LIANAS. 48 ADVICE GRATIS TO SPORTSMEN. tminotl to tho sport, which, when they come upon the trail of u flock, set out silently on a signal from their master; but, on arriving in sight of the birds, they bark incessantly, with the view of temfying them, and been making them fly in all directions. Once they have been separated in this manner, in calm warm weather, the sportsman's task is easy : bringing down his birds one after another, as quickly as he can load and fire his gun, he hands them over to his negro attendant to carry. r Turkeys generally live in the middle of the grassy savannahs which stretch along the border of the woods. In early morning and in the evening they are to be found near the marshes, sheltered by the tall herbs, and scratch- ing up the ground in search of worms and insects ; but at noon, and during the night, they return towards the threshold of tho forests, and perch themselves upon the trees to roost. It is difficult to descry them when in this position, for they are so motionless, that they seem to form an inherent part of the branch on which they repose. Qeneral rule : if the bird is crouching on his legs, he is asleep, and the hunter may approach him without fear. If he is standing upright, be sure he is on the watch, and at the slightest noise he will be off and away; very often flying to such a distance that it is impossible to trace him. Turkeys are frequently hunted in America by moon- light, when the birds are roosting among the trees. The I'eport of a g»m does not then terrify them, and you • may slaughter the whole flock without changing your position. One morning, when hunting in one of the countiel^f Missouri, I heard in the neighbourhood of a plantation, TURKEY-SLAUGHTER. 49 wliicli was surrounded by a hedge of oarob-trees, a re- peated cluck, cluck, which attracted iny attention. I advanced with light footsteps, and sjieediHy descried, perched on a leafless bough, a noble turkey, who cackled with amazing volubility. The bird was about iifteen paces distant ;. I was on the point of firing at him, when, on my laft, successive cluck, clucks warned me that several males were ireplying to the summons of the female. In fact, 1 soon distinguished jimong the high grass a score of turkeys advancing towards rtie. Their eyes blazed with an un- known fire, their gait was precipitate, and their amorous duckings reminded one of a cat miauling in the gutters. As soon as they were within ^fteen paces I fired among the flock, and had the pleasure of bringing down six enormous birds, of whom some were dead, and others too severely wounded to fly. Will the reader ^ believe me when I say that the remainder of the birds would not abandon those v/ho had fallen to my double-barrel, and that I was able to hit four of them in succession without quitting the spot where my six victims lay ? One of my friends, who had travelled on hortteback in the interior of Arkansas, told me that, having killed with a pistol-shot a superb turkey whom he found squatting on the earth, he went to pick her up, and, to liis astonish- ra^mt, discovered that she had been sitting on a nest con- taining fourteen little ones, evidently hatched within the last four and twenty hours. The poor mother, spite of the imminence of the danger, had scorned to abandon her l)rogeny. An United States farmer complained, and with justice, '*i, ,..-*v, ■■ »-''"*^^^,....., . 60 THE TtRKKYS OUOUND. of the dflinage coinmittcil in liis inai/e plantations by a flock of turkeys, which would not yield to intimidation, and seemed even to defy the murderous gun. He adoptetl the following method of obtaining his end. A large trench was excavated by his orders ; he sj)rinkled grains of maize over the bottom ; and having loaded a blunderbuss to the very muzzle, he so fixed the murderous weapon that, being elevated on a couple of spars, it commanded the whole trench. To the trigger of the blunderbuss he fastened a tln*ead, which he proposed to pull at a suitable oi>portunity, from the covert afforded by a neighbouring bush. The turkeys soon discovered the trench and the maize, and devoured every grain, without ceasing, how- e\er, to commit their depredations in the neighbouring tiehls. The gentleman farmer renewed the bait several times, and tho poultry soon grew so accustomed to seek their food in this particular locality, that the negroes of the plantation christened it with the name of the ** Turkey.s' Ground." One evening, before sunset, the squire thought an opportune moment had arrived for making use of his in- fernal machine. Behold him creeping along, on hands and knees, to the spot where his blunderbuss was secreted. He pulls the thread, the powder ignites, and he hears, predominant above the explosion, a terrible noise — the cries of the dying, and the flutter of the wings of those who, having escaped death, were flying afar from the scene of slaughter. Forty-three victims were found in the trench ; some dead, others still stumbling to and fro, and others struggling in the last convulsions. " It was an amazing sight ! " said the Yankee farmer, AN AMERICAN " INVENTION." 01 who told nie the tale ; and when I asked him what ht^ hml done with all this game, since his family consisted of only ten pei'sons, including two valets, he told me he had salted thirty-five, and had found thein an economical addition to his winter stores of provision. And, more- over, this turkey-massacre had so terrified the birds of the neighbomhootl, that they had retreated to a distance, luid, consequently, his next crop of mai/e was us abun- dant as could be desired. Tiu'keys are also caught in the iJnited States by means of snai'es. These instruments consist of a small bone, which, fashioneil in a certain manner, and attached to a HuuUl skin-bag full of dried peas or beans, produces a sound like the cry of a female turkey. To this api;)eal the males j'eadily i*espond, hasten to the spot, and are incontinently " bagged." The Americans make use of another device, a trap, which deserves to be described. When in any particular wood the turkeys are found to be numerous, the spot which they most frequent is duly noticed, and over an area of about sixty paces in length is built up a kind of cage, made of branches wattled together, so as to form an impenetrable rampart, but admitting nevei*theless the passage of light. This cage is carefully hollowed underneath, and the ground is cleared of every kind of plant and gi'ass. One of the extre> inties of this immense vault or cellar is heimetically sealed up, while the other pi'esents a passage, or rather a gully, about three feet high, having the form of an ogive. At intervals the two sides of the cage are connected by roosting-poles. When once the trap is finished, the sportsman covers the 62 A SUCCESSFl'T< EXPRDITIOX. . ground inside with grains of niiiize, and isBuing by the ogive-like oi)oning, he doubles round one side of the trap, scattering a train of seed thick enough to render it impos- sible to be overlooked. The flocks of turkeys soon discover the seeds, and as they eat them follow up the train to the opening, which they enter without much hesitation. Once they are in, they cannot get out again ; and fi*e- quently a fortunate sportsman, on visiting his trap in the morning, will find a score of turkeys to reward his toil. But we must add, as the shadow to our picture, that hurtful animals, such as foxes, prairie wolves, and lynxes, which breed in the North American forests, sometimes anticipate the sportsman's morning visit ; and when the latter penetrates into his cage, he often finds nothing but feathers and a few half-gnawed bones. I shall conclude this chapter on the American tui by describing one of the most successful sporting expe- ditions ever accomplished — at least, I believe so — in the prairies of the New World. My friend and I had been with the Redskins about a fortnight, when, one morning, an Indian hastened to inform the chief of his tribe that, at about five miles from the camp, he had fallen in with a flock of turkeys, consisting of nearly two hundred. Although, as a rule, the Redskins do not value very highly the flesh of these birds, whom they catch only by means of snares, the chief's desire to render himself agreeable to his pale-faced guests suggested to him the idea of giving immediate orders, that the opportunity of affording them an addi- tional pleasure should not be let slip. ^ • A CURIOUS 81'K(;TA(XK. 53 In lialf an hour evoryWly wa« on the niaifli — men, women, and children — and silently we took our way towards tlie j)lace where tlie Indians hiul encountered the turkeys. About lialf a mile from this sjwt the whole tribe, at a signal from the chief, divided into two detach- ments, one proceeding in a northward, and the other in a southward direction. It waa a curious spectacle to see about two hundred and eighty Redskins marching in file, in single rank, with the hotly half bent, so that their IT WAS A OUHIOV8 gFEOTACLB TO SEE. head might not rise above the grass through which they forced their passage. Soon a clucking, repeated by several cocks, warned us that we had been perceived or heard by the turkeys. The whole flock appeared before us ; and when the chief of the Bedskins gave the signal of attack, by raising his war-whoop, all his tribe rushed forward headlong, making the air resound with piercing and guttural cries. Suddenly, as at a single bound, the mob of turkeys 54 A HECATOMB OF VICTIMS. flew before us, puraued by the Indinns, who halted as soon as they thought the birds were in want of rest. The same manoeuvre was successfully essayed five times ; and in the end the weary birds, unable to fly any longer, trotted in front of us, tmppoi-ting themselves on their legs and on the extremities of their wings, but closely puraued by the Indians, who caught them by the neck and killed them on the grouiKi. When they returned to the camp, and befoi-e the chief's tent counted up the results of the hunt, one hundred and sixty turkeys lay piled up in a single heap. The re- mainder of the flock had escaped this murderous " steeple- chase," either by concealing themselves among the herb- age, or by allowing our company to pass onward, and then escaping in the rear. i ciiArj>:n iv. THE cayeute; or, the prairie wolf. MONG the most rapjicious and most dangerous animals of Noitli -Aniorica, the wolf (coni- nionlv called the cayeiite in some of the Southern States) is one with whom the hunters consider an encounter to ho as fonnidable as with a panther or a grisly bear. Wolves, far more numerous in North America than in Eui'ope, are perhaps more horrible to the sight than they are in the old con- tinent. Everywhere along the trj ;ks of the dreary wil- derness, as well as in inhabited localities, in the environs of farms and villages, in the prairies or in the woods, the wolf — the ghoul of the animal race — bursts upon the 56 ABOUT THE C'AYEUTES. traveller with foaming jaws and glaring eyes, and with a deep harsh growl, which betrays the mingled feelings of cowardice and audacity. It is very difficult to ensnare the cayeutes, but they arc frequently hunted with dogs and horses. Their skin is of a dull reddish colour, mixed with white and gray hairs. Such is their ordinary colour ; but, as in other animals, the varieties ai-e numerous. Their bushy tail, black at the tip, is nearly as long as one-third of their whole body. They closely resemble the dogs which one sees in the Indian wigwams, and which are certainly descended from the same species. "Wo meet with them in the regions between the Mississippi and the Pacific, and to the south of Mexico. They hunt in troops, like jackals, and pursue goats and bisons, and such other animals as they think they can master. They do not dare to attack a herd of bisons, but, follow them in numerous bands until some straggler falls off from the main body — a young calf, for example, or an old male — then they pounce upon him, and rend him in pieces. They accompany the caravans of travellers or parties of huntei*s, take possession of the camps which they abandon, and devour the fragments of the morning or evening meal. Sometimes they steal into the encampment during the night, and seize the rations put aside by the emigi^ants for the morrow's breakfast. These thefts sometimes exasperate their victims, and, growing less greedy of jwwder and shot, they pursue them with resolute anger until several of the depredators have bit the dust. This species of wolf is the most numerous of all the American carnivora, and hence the cayeutes are not in- frequently (lociniatod by famine. Then, but only then; A FAVOURITE PLUNDER-GROUND. 57 they feed upon fioiits, roots, and vegetables, or upon any- thing else which can satisfy their raging hunger. The cayeute ignores every sentiment of sympathy, and for this very reason inspires none. I subjoin, however, an anecdote which proves that the thieving robber of the woods is capable of a certain sensibility ; of the nerves, at all events, if not of the heart. It was told to me in my tent one evening, while I sojourned among the Pawnee Indians. During the first epoch of the colonization of Kentucky, the cayeutes were so numerous in the prairie south of that State that the settlers durst not quit their dwellings unless armed to the teeth. The children and women were kept strictly shut up within the house. The cayeutes which infested the country belonged to the race with a dark gray skin ; a species very abundant in the districts of the north, in the centre of the d*uise forests and unexplored mountains of the Green River. The village of Henderson, situated on the left bank of the Ohio, near its point of confluence with the Green River, was the cantonment most frequented by these four- footed plunderers. The pigs, calves, and sheep of the ]>l;inters paid :i heavy tribute to them. In the heart of winter, \\ hen the snow lay thick on the ground, and tLo cattle \s ere confined to their stalls, the famished cayeutes would even attack men ; and moi'e than one belated farmer, as he returned to his home in the evening, vvjis sur- rounded by a furious pack, from whom he escaped with tlifficulty. Among the horrible adventures of this kind winch I have heard related around the camp-fire, I do not know 58 " OLD RICHARD." of any more impressive than one in which Richard, the old negro violin-player, figured as hero. Kichard was neither more nor less than a fine old good- for-nothing darkie. The whole district acknowledged that his only merit was his skilful scraping ; and this merit — which is not one in our eyes — was highly esti- mated by all " the gentlemen of colour," and even by those whites who li^ cd within a circuit of forty miles. What is certain is, that no f&te ever took place to which Dick the fiddler was not invited. Marriage feasts, christening feasts, those soirees i)ro- longed to dawn which are called " breaks-down " in the United States, — none could be carried on without the assistance of his violin ; and old as was the negro fiddler, bald as was his head, and black as was his skin, Richaixl was not the less welcome wherever he presented himself, with his fiddle wrapped up in a striped handkerchief under his arm, and a knotty stick in his hand. Old Richard was " the property " of one of the Hen- dersons, a member of the family who have given their name to a county and a village in Kentucky. His master was very partial to him on account of his obedient disposition, and the slave, instead of toiling at field labour, was left entirely free to do whatever he pleased. No one objected to this tolerance, for Richard, whom his master called " a necessary evil," had the valuable talent of keeping in good liumour the negroes of the plantation by means of his wonder-working fiddle. Richard, who fully comprehended the importance of his high functions, was most attentive to his duty, and his punctuality was admirable when those who honoured him with their confidence made known their need of his HIS FESTIVAL SUIT. 59 services. In this respect one thing irritated him ; any mishap or disarrangement rendered him ferocious. In spite of the timidity proverbially considered a character- istic of the children of genius, old Kichard was fierce as an hycena when, at any of the negro f&tes over which he presided, there was the .slightest failure in etiquette or the convenances. As for himself, he was scinipulous to a fault in every minute observance; and since he hiid been called to the position whose high functions he discharged so admirably, no one had ever been kept wait- ing for him. And yet — one day — poor Dick ! The fol- lowing plain, unvarnished narrative will show that it wiis not his fault if he once failed in his engagement. A negro marriage was to take place on a plantation situated about six miles from that whore the old fiddler lived. To make the feast complete, he had been duly invited, and by common consent was appointed master of the ceremonies. It wjis winter-time; the cold was ex- cessive ; and the snow, having fallen for three days con- tinuously, covered the ground to a depth of several feet. While all Mr. Henderaon's negi-oes, with their master's kind permission, hastened to repair to the scene of fes- tivity, the black Apollo had attended to his toilette with even more than his wonted pai*ticularity. A shirt collar of white linen, as immeasurably long in front as it was high behind, so that Richard's head resembled a ball of charcoal in a sheet of white paper — a blue coat with gilt buttons — long full trousers down to the heels of his boots — a red silk cravat fringed at both ends — a green waist- coat ornamented with a patch of orange where the watch- l»ocket was formerly placed — boots which, alas ! had seen theu- best days — and a hat of the Calabrian shape; — such 60 " EN ROUTE " FOR THE FEAST. was the excessively elegant and fashionable costume in which Dick, the old fiddler, disix)i'ted himself on this occasion, as proud as any Greek Adonis or Koman An- tinous. After a last glance in the bit of looking-glass fastened with three nails to the wall of his bedroom, and a low sigh expressive of his entire satisfaction with the coup iVceU which he saw reflected in it, Kichard took his fiddle under his arm and started. The moon shone brightly above his head, and the stars spai'kled in the firmament like — to use the fiddler's picturesque expression — gilt-headed nails hammered into the celestial ceiling by an audacious upholsterer ! Not a sound was audible, except the sharp crackling of the snow, as Richard planted his heavy feet on the frozen crust. The road which he had to traverse was very narrow; its tortuous meanders threaded a dense forest never opened up by axe or saw, and whose recesses were still as unknown as at the epoch when the Bedskins alone were in possession of the territory. The path could only be tmcked out by a foot ti-aveller ; no road passable for carria^'es was to be found within a circuit of several miles. The deep and silent solitude of the scene had infallibly produced ts natural efiect, that of terror, or, at least, of apprehen.:iion, on a member of the great human family, but that the old man was temporarily lost in absorbing reflections, and in his overpowering anxiety to arrive at the rendezvous in due time. He doubled his pace as he thought of the angry glances which would await him from negroes and negresses impatient to begin the dance, and he deeply regretted the time he had lost in giving an UNWELCOME COMPANIONS. 61 ime in •n this m An- Eustencd a low le coup IS fiddle ihe stars fiddler's red into Not a / of the le frozen (vas very se forest jses were :ins alone )uld only sable for f several extra polish to the metal buttons of his coat, and smooth- ing out the splendid points of his shirt collar. While thmking of the reproaches that threatened Jiim, old Dick cast his eyes upon the horizon, and the moon shining above his head showed him that he was considerably later than he had thought His two legs then began to move like tlie wheels of a locomotive, in such wise as to keep him ever in advance of certain black shadows which seemed to track his steps along the forest-path. These shadows were cast by the cayeutes, the horrible cayeutes, which at intervals gave vent to a yelp of greedy impatience ; but old Dick took no heed of them. Nevertheless, he was soon compelled to devote all his attention to what was passing in his reai*. He had ac- complished one half of his journey, and through the openings in the trees could already perceive the clearing he must traverse to reach the place where he was expected. The furious cries of the rapacious beasts were now re- doubled, and the noise of their feet as the snow crackled beneath them, inspired the unfortunate old man with in- describable hon-or. The number of the animals seemed to increase with eveiy step he took, until the pack resembled an ant-hill seen through the lens of a gigantic microscope. Wolves, in all regions of the world, look twice be- fore they pounce upon a man ; they study the groimd, and wait for a favourable opportunity. This character- istic was a fortunate one for old Dick, who saw more and more clearly the extent of the danger, and increased the rapidity of his march in proportion as his pursuers be- came moi-e daring, lightly touching his legs, and frolic- «4v- tdMm- W'" wii.' 'wwni ,»»»■,.-■»■• - 62 THE VALUE OF A FIDDLE. r somely endeavouring to get ahead of one another. Dick was well acquainted with the customs of his enemies, and was careful not to run : anj such movement would have been the signal for a general assault ; but the cayoutes seldom attack men unless they show signs of fear. His only chance of safety was to prolong this dangerous escapade us far as the boixler of the forest. There he hoped tlie cayeutes, who do not dare to venture into open ground, would quit him, and allow him to finish his journey unmolested. He remembered also that in the midst of the clearing stood an abandoned hut, and the tliought that he might reach this refuge partially restored his courage. Every moment the audacity of the cayeutes increased, and the unfortunate negro could not look around him without seeing the brilliant eyes which glittered in eveiy dii'eotion, like the phosphorescent gleams of fire-flies in tlie summer air. One after another, the quadrupeds tried tlieir teeth against the meagre legs of the fiddler, who, having lost his stick, had I'ecourse to his violin to keep tlie enemy at a distance. With the fii-st blow, the strings produced a jar, thix)wn back simultaneously by the sound- post of the instrument ; and this ^olian utterance had the immeiliate effect of making the cayeutes spring back several paces, in gi*im astonishment at the unexpected music. Dick, always observant by nature, and now by necessity, began to thrum his violin with his fingers : the carnivor- ous animals instantly gave new signs of surprise, as if a ohai'ge of shot had riddled their hides. This fortunate divei-sion, several times repeated, carried Dick to the '.j,^ lother. of his vemsnt but the ligns of ,ngevous here he lire into to finish » that in i, and the r restored increased, 3und him in every ire-flies in ipeds tried [dler, who, ^n to keep ;he strings |the sound- jrance had )ring ba€k mexpected necessity, le camivor- |ise, as if '^ fortunate lick to the MUSIC HATH CHARMS. 63 iivm edge of the forest ; and profiting by a favourable oppor- tunity, he glided into the open, still working away at his violin strings, and moving in the direction of the deserted cabin. The cayeutes, with tail between their legs, halted a moment, and watched their intended victim flying before them ; but their devouring instinct soon regained the ascendant, and, uttering a unanimous howl, they sprang forward m pursuit of the unhappy negro. If by any chance the brutes had overtaken Dick in their mad out- bui-st of rage, he would in vain have had recourse to his fiddle. By running he had destroyed the charm, and the cayeutes would not have halted to listen to him, had he played like the ancient Orpheus or the modern Paganini. Happily, the old man reached the hut just as the wolves were at his heels. With a hand rendered doubly vigorous by the imminence of the danger, he pushed open the door, sprang inside, shut back the door, and secured the latch with a piece of wood which he found lying within reach. Then he hoisted himself, though not without some danger to his apparel, to the summit of the open roof, of which the joists alone remained in their places, supported by the wooden blocks at the four cornera of the walls. Old Dick was now comparatively out of danger ; but the cayeutes manifested a fury which every minute in- creased, and threatened to become terrible. Several of them had found their way into the hut, and conjointly with those remaining outside, sprung at the fiddler's limbs, which were barely protected by nimble movements and manifold kicks from numerous bites. In spite of his alarm and anguish, Dick had not for- 64 A VIOLIN SOLO. ■ gotten liis violin, which had saved his life in the middle of the forest. Seizing his bow with a firm hand, he drew from the instrument a strident discord which rose above the deafening howls of the cayeutes, and silenced them as if by enchantment. And the silence for awhile con- tinued, except when interrupted by the fitintic sounds awakened from the violin by the old negro's agitated fingers. This inharmonious medley could not long satisfy the famished carnivora, and from their renewed efforts to reach their prey, Dick understood that music hath not always charms to soothe the savage breast j they rushed more furiously than ever against the wall, and began to scale it. He thought himself lost, especially when at a couple of feet from his tremulous legs he discovered the enormous head of a cayeute, whose great eyes seemed to cast forth fire and flame. " Heaven help me ! " he cried, " or T am an eaten man." And without even knowing what he did, he let his agi- tated fingers wander over the strings with a nervous, un- conscious movement. He began to play the famous national air of Yankee Doodle ; it was the swan chanting his requiem in the hour of death. But suddenly — oh, miracle of harmony! — tranquillity prevailed around the negro musician. Orpheus was not a myth ; the animals obeyed the new enchantment, and when Dick, recovering from his terror, was able to com- prehend what passed around him, he perceived that his auditors were a hundred times more attentive to the charms of music than those who were accustomed to laud his skill as an executant. This was so true, that the AX ASSEMULAGEf OF CONNOISSEURS. 65 moment his bow ceased to move, the cayeutes leaped for- ward to renew the battle. • Dick now percseived what was his only chance of safety : he must continue playing his violin until human succour arrived. And ere long, yielding to the magical influence of his art, he forgot the peril of his singular position ; abandoning himself to all the phantasies of his imagina- tion, he treated his quadrupedal audience to a fantasia in which he surpassed himself. Never had he played with more taste, more soul, more expression. And in the intoxication of his triumph he forgot the marriage feast, and the brilliant illumination, the punch, and the supper which awaited him at no great distance. But, alas ! every medal has its reverse in this world ; the to-day of pleasure is succeeded by the to-moiTow of anguish. As the night crept on, the old negro felt t)ie cold piercing to his very bones. In vain he sought to gain a moment's repose : if the bow abandoned the strings of the violin, the cayeutes dashed themselves against the sides of the hut ; if, on the contrary, he con- tinued to wander through the maze of harmony, these novel dilettanti seated themselves on their hind-quarters, their bushy tails stretched out upon the snow, their ears pricked up, their tongues pendent from their open jaws ; and they followed, with a measured cadence of the head and body, every rhythm which flowed from old Dick's violin. While this fantastic scene, illuminated by the silver heaxns of the moon, was being enacted in the open plain, the negroes who awaited the arrival of their comrade to begin the bridal festivities, grew angrily impatient, though unable to account for the unusual delay of one so («*) 5 60 WIIRRE IS OUR FIDDLER 1 l#W6*HI,v THE OLD MUSICIAN MAINIAINBD WITHOUT CESSATION HIS CONCEIIT, scrupulously punctual. At l&ngth, after a long and fruit- loss discussion of a subject which no one could clear up, HELP AT HAND. 07 8ix set fortli from tlie house on an expedition of dincovery, and arriving near the cabin on whose roof Dick was so uncomfortably mounted, they discovered a horde of wolves on harmony intent. The old musician maintained without cessation his compulsory concert, his eyes fixed upon his mortal enemies. Immediately the six negroes uttered a simultaneous cry, and the carnivorous audience, startled into a panic of terror, thought of nothing but flight. In the twinkling of an eye every one had vanished, and the musician, frozen and half dead, fell fainting into the arms of his saviours. His frizzled hair, which, despite of his old age, was black as jet that evening when he performed his fastidious toilette, had, in the space of a couple of hours, turned white as the snow which lay in glittering masses all around. And thus ends my stoi-y of tlie Negro Fiddler and the Praii'ie Wolves. CHAPTER V. THE OPOSSUM. GASCON, very garrulous and very amusing, with whom I was well acquainted in the United States, told me that, one d'^y, when walking in the woods, he met with an opos- sum. Struck by the quaint appearance of this new species of game, he hurled at him a simple stick v^hich he held in his hands. " This rogue," said he, narrating his further adventures, •' stopped short, just as if his ribs had been broken by the salute ; so I picked him up, and slid him delicately into my v/aistcoat pocket, satisfied that I should not return home empty-handed. At all events, thinks I to myself, I shall have a roast for my dinner. But, * Confusion ! what is this 1 * I cried, as I felt a number of sharp teeth M. A STRANGE STORY. 69 a penetrating through the stuff of my waistcoat, and gnaw- ing at something below my waist. * This rascally animal will spoil my pantaloons ! * I extracted him from my |K)cket, and holding him by the feet, I gave him blow with my fist on his little snout which would have stunned an ox * Have you had enough, you scoundrel 1 ' cried I, flinging him over my shoulder. " Will you believe it, my dear? that abominable opossum had not had enough, for he bit me in the ear. This time T squeezed his sides, and I neard his bones crack ; then, taking hold of him by the tail, lest he should dirty my hands, I went on my way. But lo ! he made a sort of summerset and bit my fingers ! Ah, well, as a punish- ment for such misbehaviour, I first strangled him ; and — you may believe me if you like — I would rather be hung from the highest yard of the tallest ship in Bordeaux harbour than stoop one inch to pick up another opossum !" This strange animal, indigenous to North America, be- longs to the family of the Didelphidee. On first catching sight of him you would think he was wholly devoid of instinct, while, on the contrary, he is as full of tricks as the most cunning of foxes. The female opossum carries a natural pouch, into which, at the least sign of danger, her little ones fly for refuge ; and at the bottom of it are placed the teats which provide them with nourishment. Another peculiarity of the anatomical structure of these animals is, that the first toe of their hind-feet has no nail, and is separated from the others like the thumb of the human hanu ; while the other fingers, set close together, are armed with long, crooked nails. On the subject of the opossv.m I was animated witli A 70 " PLAYING 'possum." the liveliest curiosity. I had often heard the animal spoken of; and many persons iiad told me of the device to which he resorts when, suiprised by the hunter, he finds escape impossible, — how he falls to the ground ap- parently lifeless, as if mortally wounded by his pursuer's gun. If by chance, thinking him really dead, you turn aside your gaze, or thi*ow him negligently into your game-bag, he watches for a favourable moment, and glides beyond your reach, just when you are thinking least about him. Tliis stratagem of his has given rise to the popular proverbial phrase in the United States of " playing 'possum," which may be compared with the English "shamming Abra- ham" and the French *\faire le mort" It is enough, I have been told, to tap his head so lightly that the tap would not kill a fly, for him immediately to stretch out his limbs with all the rigidity of a corpse. In a word, he " shams Abraham." In this situation you may torture him, cut his skin, almost flay him, and ho will not move a single muscle. His eyes grow dull and glazed, as if covered with a film ; for he has no eyelids to protect his organs of sight. You may even throw him to your dogs in the belief he is dead; but forget him only for a minute, and he opens his half-closed eyes, and when the opportunity appears favourable, turns tail without a word of warning ! In the course of my hunting expeditions no opossum had ever Come within gunshot. Perhaps, had it not been for my strong curiosity, I should have hesitated before I wasted any powder on such an animal, when informed by II planter of Tjouisiana, with whom I was spending a few 1j HOW THE OPOSSUM 18 HUNTED. 71 weeks, that the neighbouring woods v»ere full of his congenera. " Frequently," he said, " my negroes will quit their huts at full moon, armed with axes, and followed by a hairless dog, which, spite of its ugliness, possesses an unparalleled nose. He follows up the scent, and guides the party to the foot of the tree where the animal has sought a refuge. ** A torch of resin is immediately lighted, and the axe vigorously plied at the roots of the sheltering tree, with- out any regard for its strength or venerable age. You should hear the songs and jests and guttural cries of my negroes : no words can describe them adequately. In due time the tree yields ; and this unusual movement, incomprehensible to the opossum, instead of warning him of the coming danger, induces him to hoist himself further forward anwng the branches. Patatraa I the tree is on the ground, and with it the opossum, who sometimes drops right into the dog's jaws. If by any accident he finds means to escape, his safety is by no means certain. In a couple of minutes the teeth of his enemy fasten on his hind-legs ; and though he * plays 'possum,* the negro who plucks him from the mouth of his favourite d(jg never forgets to convert the sham into a reality. " My negroes weary themselves more in a few hours for the sake of pleasure than they will do in as many days in working for my behoof. These 'unfortunate slaves,' as the Abolitionists call them, generally kill three or four opossums in one of their expeditions ; and if I should happen to have attired them in a yellow waistcoat, a pair of blue stockings, and red trousers, they never fail to complete theu' elegant toilet with a cap made out of 72 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION. 'possum's skin. I must own," he added, " that I havo frequently entered very heartily into an opossum-hunt." . I could not help smiling when my host spoke so ettt- phatically of this distinguished variety of the chase ; but he answered, veiy seriously, that I was wrong in jesting on so interesting a subject, and that if I wished to ascer- tain the reasons which hail encouraged his partiality for this kind of sport, I would discover that it was neither so trifling nor so ridiculous as it seemed. His proposal was immediately accepted, and the master gave ordera for all the necessary preparations to be com- pleted before evening. When we set out night was already far advanced. Naturally I remarked that in so dense an obscurity it would be very difficult to catch sight of the game ; but my friend, on the contrary, replied that nothing could be easier. To this assertion I did not venture upon an answer. I could only utter a mental protest, and suffer him to guide me ; and this is what I really did. The American waggon, drawn by a robust horse, on whose benches were installed the opossum-hunter, two of his friends, and myself, soon deposited us in the centre of a woody thicket, and therein we moved forward on foot, in perfect silence, preceded by a gigantic negro, who carried a blazing torch. Our two dogs, having discovered the scent of an opussum, barked loudly, and darted ahead of us, guiding us quickly to the foot of an old tree, which, from every sign, we concluded to be the retreat of our wary game. I confess I was much puzzled to know in what manner our 'possum-hunter would bring down this patriarchal oak; for he had no hatchet with him, and the HITTING THE WRONG TARGET. 73 darkness was so great tha]b the torch, instead of ilhimin* ating the space above our heads, only increased the ob- scurity. The negro who accompanied ns, having fixed this same torch in the ground, accumulated at about twenty feet distant from the oak an enormous quantity of bushes, twigs, and dead wood ; and having kindled the pile, he sat himself down in such a position that the trunk of the tree rose between him and the blazing mass. At a signal which he gave me, I placed myself by his side, awaiting with anxiety the explanation of these mysterious preparations. The pile flung all around the glare of a crackling, leaping flame ; and our eyes, soon growing accustomed to it, distinguished the boughs of the ti*ee as plainly as if they were outlined upon an illumin- ated horizon. " Now," exclaimed the opossum-hunter, " the animal is ours ! Look above you, near that knotty branch which is curved like a bent arm ; do you see a black object moving 1 What may it be V And, at the same instant, a rifle-shot brought down at our feet an enoiTnous branch, which the negro picked up, his sides shaking with violent laughter. " What a blockhead I am !" cried our hunter, as he re- loaded his gun. Paying no attention to the grimaces of his negi'o, or to the smile which hovered on my lips, he again examined very carefully the branches of the tree. Twice more did he discharge his rifle without result ; but the fourth time, a prolonged howl, similar to that of a pig, uttered by the object which fell in front of us, was followed by a re- sounding hurrah. An enormous opossum was stniggling in convulsions of agony ; and the negro, delicately taking 74 HOMEWARD BOUND. i HE AOAIN EXAMINED VBHY CAREFULLY THE BRANCHES OF THE TREE." it Up by the tail, rekindled his torch with a brand from tho flickering fire, to light us on our way home, where, i COLONEL CROCKETT. 75 I TREK." U from where, seated around a well-spread board, and stimulated by some glasses of excellent wine, we congratulated the skilful inventor of the opossum-hunt upon his imjiortant discovery. During a residence in Philadelphia, in 1845, I became acquainted with that celebrated " original," Colonel David Crockett, whom his compatriots had raised to the i*ank of commander of the national guard of that city. This thorough American, among other manias, cherished the notion that he was a second Robin Hood. He was wont to assert that he never drew his trigger without hitting his mark. Hair or feather, nothing escaped his eagle eye. One of his friends, introducing me on a certain evening to the Philadelphian Nimrod, said, in his presence, — " You see our good friend David ? Well, his accuracy of sight is such, that when he goos hunting in the woods, if an opossum perceives him, he raises his paw as a sign for him to wait a moment before firing. the terrified " * Is it you. Colonel Crockett 1 ' says 'possum. " ' Yes.' " * Then, in that case, I'll just come down. Wait for me. I know I'm a dead 'possum, and that I have no chance of escaping you.' " And the opossum is as good as his word. He de- scends the tree, and crawls to the feet of Colonel Crockett, who delicately gives him a back-handed stroke on his neck, and pitches him into his game-bag." At this eulogistic stretch of "the long-bow," David Crockett laughed ; but he took care not to contradict it. 76 THE COLONEL S SECRET. One day the colonel, who had conceived k great friend- ship for me, meeting me in Chestnut Street, invited me to accompany him on a 'possum-hunt. " Willingly," I replied. " But whither will you take me 1 Must we go any distance 1 " *' Oh no," he answered ; " we shall hunt along the bank of the Delaware, about ten miles from Philadel- phia, and we shall set out this evening." I accepted the invitation immediately, for I was curious to see whether Colonel Crockett's skill had been overrated. I (MUSS over the details of our journey, which we accom- plished in a light waggon, guided by a mulatto ; the said mulatto never ceasing to whistle from the moment we quitted Philadelphia to the moment of our arrival at Mao-Comb-Dam.* * Early in the morning, my American Nimrod, myself, and Dolly, our mulatto, began the hunt. A couple of iirat-rate terriei-s frolicked in front of us. Suddenly one of them gave tongue, the other replied, and after pushing forward a short distance into the brushwood, they started an opossum, who with one bound jumped upon the branch of a beech-tree, and from thence clambered to its topmost bough. Colonel Crockett took aim; I allowed him to do so, holding myself ready to fire if he should miss ; but, to my utter astonishment, I saw the opossum tumble, though no report reached my ears. I was about to interrogate the colonel, but with his hand he signed to me not to speak. The dogs had just roused a second 'possum, who resorted to the samja stratagem as his unfortunate predecessor. In my turn I prepared to fire, but my comrade, who had shouldered his gun before * So spelt in the original " THEREBY HANGS A TAIL ! " 77 me, again brought down his game without a sound ; it fell at my feet, dropping from branch to branch until it reached the ground. I could keep silent no longer, for I was at a loss to understand how the colonel brought down his opossums without firing a shot, though going through all the manoeuvres of raising his gun, taking aim, and pulling the trigger. " Are you a magician, my dear sir 1 " said I. " I ? You ai-e joking ! You don't think so," and with- out another word, he put his gun in my hand. It was cm air-gun / The mystery was solved ; I had before me the key of the enigma. Shakespeare has somewhere written the following hemistich, which — I have alway believed so since I held in my hand the first opossum killed before my eyes ! — refers to t^is extraordinary mammal : " Thereby hangs a tail ! " And, certainly, the appendage has not its match imder the roof of heaven. About fifteen inches in length, black, and without hair, it is of great service to the opossum in climbing trees, and he holds himself sus- pended by it to a branch, while watching for the prey on which he feeds. Nothing is more curious than to see an opossum balancing in this fashion, either for amusement, or during sleep; as if, to preserve or abandon his position, he has only to say, *I will,' or, 'this suits me.* So great is the strength of this natural attachment, that you may kill the animal, without his weighing anchor from the tree to which he hung suspended. Even when the head has been struck off with a discharge of deer-shot, the body will preserve its clinging position until devoured by birds of prey. 78 A METHODIST SERMOX. A Methodist preacher, who, obeying the precept of tho apostles, went from village to village, and hamlet to hamlet, exhorting his Christian brethren to think of eternity, was pronouncing, one evening, a diffuse inter- minable discourse, when, desirous of enforcing his ad- vice to his hearers to remain constant in good works, he compared the true Christian to an opossum suspended by his tail to the summit of a fir-tree shaken by a violen^t tempest ! " Yes, my brothers," he cried, " such is your image : the wind, whose violence might tear you away from that Tree of the Gospel on which you rely for salvation, is formed by the gathering of the corrupt breath of the world, the passions, and the devil. Do not let go I Hold firm, like the opossum during the stor \ ! If the fore-feet of your passions abandon their mainstay, hold on with the hind- feet of your conscience ; and, finally, if this support should fail you also, there remains one last grappling-iron which shall be your safety, and by whose means yoi^ may join the saints of heaven, who have persevered to the end." Considered as game, the opossum is esteemed by many people a dainty dish. In taste it is not unlike tender pork, except that it has a somewhat wilder flavour. To cook it, the Indians suspend it by its long tail to a stick, and take care to keep it constantly turned. Although the flesh cannot be pronounced uneatable, I must confess that when I first tasted it, I found it im- possible to eat anything afterwards, I had been so over- come by the odour and savour of musk. But the second time my teeth came in contact with opossum meat, I was less fastidious. The dish had been prepared, I must own, A DTSn FOR A GOURMAND. 79 Ity the negroes, who, as a rule, are excellent cooks, and especially so when they are cooking on their own account. And this is how they proceed when preparing a plump and juicy ojx)8sum. They put it into a large ii*on pot, on a layer of sweet potatoes, and above it they spread a similar layer; the mess is seasoned with Cayenne pepper, and, to increase the gravy, one or two spoonfuls of hog's lard is added ; the whole simmera for about five hours, and is served up hot. Thus prepai*ed, the meat is delicious, and I know of nothing, in fact, more succulent or strengthening. And, for this reason, I advise all our modern gourmands to go and taste it for themselves ! I am confident they will pronounce the dish well worth the trouble of a voyage to the United States. ♦ CHAPTER VI. THE RACOON. WAS tmvelling in Kentucky, towai'ds the close of autumn. A farmer in the neigh- bourhood of Rialton, — a small town situated at the foot of the Cumberland Mountains, — to whom I brought a letter of recommendation, had kindly offered me his hospitality. I had arrived in the evening, frozen, half-dead, and with the cold penetrating to the marrow of my bones. The temperature had sunk quite suddenly, thanks to whirlwinds of sleety rain, im- pelled by a violent gale from the north. The cold was very severe ; but the unexpected change had not taken Mr. Danielson, my host, by surprise; for the wood- stacks which rose on either side of his house might well have kept alive the hearths of ten families. Wood, FACTS AUOUT TIIE RACOOX. 81 however, us you will 'readily believe, is by no means rare in Kentucky forests, and the inhabitants ai'e not slothiul in handling the axe. The sun had disappeared about two houra behind the horizon of the Cumberland Mountains, and all the family of the Danielsons were seated before a blazing fire, con- versing on those subjects most likely to interest and amuse people dwelling in a wild region, in the centre of a wooded country. The talk was all about clearings, and cultivated lands, and plantations, and the ravages com- mitted and still being committed by malicious beasts and malignant birds in the poultry-yard ; and the havoc «ifiected in the barley-field and the maize-field by crows and ravens, gray squiirels and racoons. "Above all," exclaimed Mr. Danielson, "the racoons are the most terrible robbers I have ever met with. What gluttons ! "What thieves ! The first-fruits of our hai-vest fall entirely to them, and the first juicy shoots of maize will attract them from a distance of several miles. Woe to them if they come within range of our rifles ! As some compensation for what they have plim- dered, they leave us then their skin, which is very useful as a lining for our garments, and their flesh, which makes a capital stew ! In our neighbourhood they abound, and on a night as bright as this a racoon-hunt is a thing not to be despised. We rarely return to the farm with our game-bags empty. It is an amusement, my dear sii', which we will ask you to share with us, if you are so inclined, on the first opportunity." " Why not this evening, then 1" I replied. " I am not so fatigued, after the excellent supper you have set before me, but that I can accompany you in the chase." I' i 82 ** ALL HANDS MAKE READY ,, ( » "I am afraid," said the farmer, " you may suffer severely from the cold and sleei— " " Be under no alarm, my dear sir ; I am at your ordera." " Then we will start this evening; all hands make ready ! " And without more ado, Mr. Danielson took down a couple of rifles slung to a magnificent pair of antlers which adorned the chimney panel, and wiping them with a bit of greased cloth, — a precaution almost useless with weapons kept in such admirable condition, — he loaded them with all the caution peculiar to a Kentucky hunter. Then, seizing a, bull's horn, en- circled with a silver mouth- piece, which hung to the lower branch of the antlers, he opened a door leading out into the courtyard, advanced a few steps, placed his primi- tive trumpet to his lips, and blowing with all the strength 'I'LACBD HisTKUMPKTTo HIHLIP3." of Ms lungs, drcw from it AWAY TO THE FOREST. 83 sounds capable, like the horn of Aatolphua, of putting to flight an army. All this had passed without a word being uttered, l»;it my host, now turning towai-ds me, explined, that his horrible tintamarre was designed to frighten the racoons who were foraging in the maize-fields, and whom the unwonted sounds would frighten bajk to the woods in all haste. " It is in the forest, luy friend," continued Mr. Daniel- son, *' that we must wage war against them, and not in the middle of my corn and maize, where we and the dogs would do more injury in half an hour than all the racoons of the country in a twelvemonth." While we were thus conversing, Mr. Daniel son's two sons had hastened to the kennel and releis^d the dogs ; a negro, my host's favourite domestic, had lighted a torch of resin to assist our progress through the wood ; each of us was provided with a well-tempered and keen-edged a -e ; (xnCi we set out in the following order : the negro in advance, whistling and leaping — Mr. Daniolson's two sons as the main body— my host and myself bringing up the rear. Tlie farmer's sons, however, soon outstripped the negro, whose pace was neither as light nor as swift as theirs. ** Trust to me, mj- dear friend," said Mr. Danielson, " and let the two sciitterbrains push on ahead ; they will be compelled to wait for us, after all, when once they have gained the rendezvous. Pay attention to all the obstacles in the path, and, as far as possible, keep exactly in my footsteps. The road is not one of the most prac- ticable; take care that you do not trip youi*self up .'igainst any old root or stump, or get entangled in tho rn^ 84 A llACOON DESCRIBED. i :iii lianas which droop IVoni the branches overhead. Don't be afraid of the rattlesnakes, though they abound in our neighbourhood ; for they are so benumbed with the cold, you might kick them without any danger. Hallo ! mind what you ai'e about ! You are carrying your rifle so awkwardly, that a bullet will go right through my head if a twig should happen to catch in your trigger ! Dolly ! " he shouted to his domestic, " come here, you rascal ! Bring the light. Cannot you see that this stranger is unaccustomed to night excursions in a Ken- tucky forest T' In fact, while their father was employing all the necpjisary precautions to spare mo a painful fall in the midst of the obstacles of a woodland path, the young people had taken the lead, guided by the barking of the dogs, who had 8\u'i)rised a racoon in an isolated bush, and hemmed him in with remai'kable instinct. When we came up with them, the animal was dead. The eldest of Mr. Danielson's sons had stunned him with a blow from a stick. I halted, naturally, to examine at leisure the strange quadruped, which I then saw for the first time. He was about the size of a fox, with this distinction, that his body was larger and more compact. Like the snout of the milpes of France, that of the racoon was narrow and pointed, the head enlarged on the side of the temples. What distinguished him from a fox was his ears. These were very difierontly shaped, and gave the animal a physiognomy wlioliy unlike that of his congener. His tail was bushier, and divided into bands of brown and black. The fore-logs were shorter thiui the hind, so that, when standing on ;dl fours, the ravoon was more elevated AX UNPLEASANT ROAD. 8D behind than in front, and consequently his back was arched. A racoon, when walking, places on the ground simply the ball of his feet, like the dog ; it is only when he is at rest that he supports himself with his claws. Owing to this point cCappui he is able to move his body in a manner at once vertical and oblique, a faculty which is peculiar to him as well as to the squirrel. It is with his fore-feet that a racoon carries his food to his mouth, and keeps it within reach of his teeth. The racoon's fur is of a reddish-brown on the sides, shaded with black over the loins, and nearly white under the belly. Tlie ears are black, as well as the tip of the snout, while the cheeks are of a bright red. From this description the reader will see that he is an animal of a singular aspect, who well deserves the digression which I have made in my narrative. To my hunting companions in the forests of Kentucky I hasten to return. Mr. Danielson's dogs had come upon a new scout, and started in pursuit of it ; without the slightest hesitation, they followed a path thi-ough the forest, and we kei)t in their track as best we could, fighting with lianas, and brambles, and sharjj-leaved shrubs. The r(jad was fully as bad as my ost had indicated. At length we arrived in a marshy locality, where the grovuid was so miry that we stumbled at every footstep. At one time I fell against the trunk of a prostrate tree ; at anothei-, a bramble threatened the equilibrium of my liat and glasses ; next, when I least expected it, I was brought to a complete stand. My foot, or rather my boot, had sunk into a hole I'ormed by a couple of roots shaped like bootjacks, and T was unable to extricate myself, until my companions had 86 THE DOG VERSUS RACOOX. plied their axes lustily. But for their help I should have been held by the foot as firmly as ever was Milo of Crotona by the hand. Should I have experienced a similar fate to that of the famous athlete 1 I cannot say j but if I did not fear the racoons, I should have been afraid of being devoured by the cayeutes, and bitten by rattlesnakes in spite of the cold. But this ludicrous incident, instead of discouraging mo, had, on the contrary, reanimated my ardour. We re- sumed our march, and, not without tripping at every step, arrived on the brink of a bayou, into whose mud and slime the racoon had penetrated to sa\e himself from the murderous teeth of the dogs. Thaiiks to the glare of Dolly's torch, we soon " sighted " the animal crouching in the midst of the mud, which reached up to his belly, his hair bristling, and his tail so swollen that you might almost have sworn it was the caudal appendage of a very large wolf. His mouth was white with foam, his eyes flashed flame and fire, and, without losing sight of any of the dogs' movements, he held himself ready to seize by the nose the first who ventured near him. The dogs were afraid to close, and limited themselves to a few feints of attack, with the result their instinct taught them to expect, of fatiguing the beleaguered animal. He soon manifested unequivocal symptoms of weariness. Though he miauled more loudly and more vehemently than ever, our dogs, without sufFeriig themselves to be intimidated by the frightful noise, which was repeated by all the echoes of the forest, began to pen him in more narrowly. One of them, bolder th.ai the others, con- trived to seize hia tail ; but a sliarp bite forced him THE BITER BIT. 87- 'THB POGS were AKKAIP TO ^> ^. ^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /. V] v: "^ 7 z!^ 1.0 I.I i;i|28 |2.5 N 1^ 18. Photographic Sciences Corporation L25 iU 11.6 23 WtiT MAIN STMRT W1BSTM,N.Y. 'elonged to the tiibe of the Osages, but a few to tl.ac ui' the loways. They lived entirely on the pro- ducts of their skill in hunting the eland and the bison, which abounded in these parts. Sometimes, too, the loways directed their arrows at the opossums and wild turkeys ; and the address with which they shot a bird in its flight, or a hare while running, was really wonderful. Our days glided by very swiftly. From morning to night we hunted the larger game, and the birds which covered the small fresh-water lakes so numerous along the Mississippi. In the evening we pursued the bands of cayeutes which prowled around our camp in quest of the bones and fragments we threw out as bait. By the light of our fire we could perceive their glaring eyes, which seemed to us like two flaming brands in the black- FOOTI'lUNTS IN THE SNOW. 103 nes8 of the night ; and with the help of so excellent a mark we could easily lodge a bullet in their skull. But if, after bringing down the animal, we neglected to bring him in, on the following morning we found the ground clear. His comrades had devoured him, flesh and bone. We remained in this place for a fortnight, and our provisions began rapidly to diminish ; thanks to our In- dian friends, who " borrowed " assiduously our whiskey and our bi'eail. My friend and I decided, therefore, that we would cross the Mississippi, in quest of some village where we could lay in a supply of flour and eiivrde-vie. The next morning we set out alone, leaving our camp under the protection of the Osages ; but we had scarcely arrived within thirty paces of the river when we fell in with a troop of deer, which we pursued in the direction of the praiiies. One of these animals being killed by my comrade, we hoisted it on the branch of a tree, and having marked the spot, resumed our march. But we had lost our way, and wandered all through the night without coming upon the river-bank. Great was our terror when, on the glittering snow, we saw the imprints of a number of feet ! But ten minutes later, we sud- denly found ourselves at the entrance of our log-cabin, surrounded by the Indians, who laughed gaily at our misadventure, and jested at our want of perspicacity. As the reader will guess, we had described a vicious circle, and returned to the spot from which we had started. After a night's rest we felt recovered from our fatigue, and set out again at early morning, this time marching straight for the river. Nothing checked us ; neither flights of wild turkeys nor troops of deer ; and at about 104 ON THE BANK OF THE MISSISSIPPI. one o'clock we arrived opjiosite the village. But the dilliculties of our entorprise liad scai'cely begun. The Mississippi was canying down enormous masses of ice ; and, spite of our signals, no fenyman ventured across the river. We were comj^elled, therefore, to pass the night on the spot. Fortunately we found a deserted hut, which provided us with an asylum. With my gun and a little powder we soon kindled a fire ; and a turkey which we grilled, we devoured to the very feet. A litter of straw and heath served us instead of a mattress ; and the night, thanks to the blazing pile which we heaped up in front of us, passed by without much suffering. Tlie moment day dawned, my friend and I issued from our shelter. Cold was the, >>tmo8phere, and pure. The fi-ost, hanging to the branch us of the trees like stalactites to the roof of a grotto, rendered them so brilliant, when the sun rose above the horizon, that it seemed as if wo had suddenly entered a forest of crystal. At our feet the Mississippi rolled its bluish waters, whirling and eddying round drifting s^^ow-white icebergs. After having made numerous signals, we saw a boat throw off its moorings, and gradually make its way across the stream, through the sinuous channels formed by the floating ice. Thanks to efforts almost herculean, the two men who rowed her succeeded in reaching us, and we explained to them the object of our summons. As soon as we had struck a bai'gain with them, they re- sumed their dangerous course, premising to return the same evening. That we might utilize to the best advantage the long and dreary interval, my friend and I agreed to explore the environs and fill our game-bags. We might thus be f ^i^^h A MORNING 8 BOOTY. 100 |e able, on regaining the encampment, to offer somoUiing besides bread to our friendly Indians. We set out, therefore, on the hunt, and before noon BY DINT or HARNESiJIMU UUBSELVGS TO IT IN TURN.' had "bagged" a scoie of snipes and two magnificent moor-hens. According to agreement, the two boatmen returned at 106 DIES DIEM SEQUITUR. sunset with a Liirrel of wheaten flour, several large loaves of bread, and a bag of maize. All this was placed on a hastily -constructed sledge ; and by dint of harnessing oui'selves to it in turn, we arrived about midnight, safe and sound, and not over-weary, at the camp of the Osages, and in front of our log-cabin. Meantime the Mississippi began to decrease, and the ice, receding with the level of the water, imperilled our keel-boat. As an useful precaution we lightened it, with the help of the Indian women, of its heavier stores ; and, with some trunks of trees, which we felled for the pur- pose, we constmcted around it a kind of jetty, to protect it from collisions. After these arrangements had been completed, our days rolled joyously by ; and our numerous sporting expedi- tions provided us with so much game that the carcassfes of bears, stags, moor-fowl, and snipes brought down by our guns, joined to the hares which we entrapped, being suspended to the trees around our camp, gave it all the appeamnce of the bazaar of a provision-merchant. The lakes in the vicinity teemed with excellent fish ; and, by means of nets or harpoons, the Redskins supplied us daily with beautiful trout and enormous pikes. Tlie Indians passed their days in tanning the skins of stags and otters, and weaving rush baskets. In the evening my fiiend, who liad brought with him an indif- ferent fiddle, set the "ladies" dancing; and the crew of our boat disputed with the Osages and the loways the palm of gallantry. Had it not been for the pipes of tobacco, which gave to the picture a modern aspect, one might have thought one's-self a witness of some ancient idyll. CAPTURE OF THE GRAY HERON. 107 Three weeks had thus swept by, when, one morning, our camp was iuvaded by a tribe of Blackfeet Indians, who had come to conclude terms of amity with the Osages. At first the two tribes regarded one another with evil eye and frowning brow ; but the discourse of a sachem soon produced a favourable impression, and peace was made. Thanks to our new companions, my fiiend and I could enjoy a pastime no longer practised in Europe, except in Holland and Scotland : I mean, hunting the heron with falcons trained for the purpose. The American falcons resemble those of Europe in size and strength : the solo distinction is the colour of their plumage, which is much deeper. As for the education which adapts them for the chase, and renders them obedient to the call of man, my ignorance of the Indian language precludes me from say- ing what means were employed by the Redskins to obtain these results. The day after the arrival of the Blackfeet at our camp, we wended our way, in the most profound silence, to- wards a marsh formed by several springs of fresh water. Two dogs, darting into the middle of the reeds which fringed its borders, immediately started an enomious gray heron, of an immense width of wing, who, taking flight with the wind, mounted before . as if he wished to lose himself in space. In ten seconds we could only just discern him as a black spot on the clear azure of the sky. But scarcely had he accomplished half his flight before one of the five falcons, carried by the Bedskins in little reed cages, was let loose against him. At fii-st the bird remained immovable on the edge of 108 THE FALCON S VICTORY, PURSUED BY HIS BNEMY. his cage; but, suddenly, his gaze having embraced the horizon, he caught sight of the long-necked bird, uttered two or three angry cries, and with a strident dight, like the hissing of a bullet, mounted, in his turn, perpendicularly. Still the heron continued to ascend, until he almost dis- appeared from our sight. We could only descry a couple of black points, which apparently dashed against one another, receded, again drew together, and whirled round and round in wild gyrations. Suddenly these two black points be- came more visible ; the birds resumed their proper forms in our eyes. The heron re- gained the swamps, pursued by his enemy ; and the elon- gated legs, the straight neck, the stiflf head, the wings half furled, might well have been taken for an aerolite detached from one of the unknown worlds. Like a skilful blood- hound, the falcon had beaten back the heron in our direc- tion ; but the latter, gaining A MOVING SPF.CTACLE. 109 new strength from the danger which threatened him, by a rapid movement deceived the eye of the falcon, and the latter was carried some twenty feet beyond. This space was soon crossed anew ; and by an abinipt summerset, he contrived to seize the heron by the throat, and the battle recommenced, body to body. All at once a large plume, empur{)led with blood, and belonging to one of the two combatants, fell in our midst, and the falcon — ^for the feather wms his — rolled wildly over, as if 3tricken by a deadly ball. We thought all was finished ; but this was only a swoon, not a defeat. With augmented fury the brave bird dashed against his foe ; and the fight which took place before our eyes it is impossible to describe. The two birds wheeled round in immense orbits, some- times ciixsular, sometimes oval, sometimes broken and irregular. At length, after many useless stratagems and a thou- sand hopeless detoui^s, the heron, caught between the powerful talons of the bird of prey, and his stomach torn by his crooked beak as by a scythe — that of Death — ^fell headlong on the boixler of the morass. But barely had he touched the soU before the falcon again pounced upon him, rose with him in the air, and not until he had breathed his last did the furious bird throw him to the ground, heavy, lifeless, and motionless. Three times during the day was this spectacle repeated ; one of the most moving on which my eyes had ever rested. S The cold still continued, and the ice accumulated on the shoi-es of the Mississippi, leaving in the centre only a very narrow canal free from obstacles. We resolved on setting out for Cajie Girartleau. no RESTING AT SATNTE-GENEVIEVE. We were, therefore, compelled to quit our friendly Redskins; and we parted from each other with many protestations of life-long amity. We arrived at the cape on the same evening ; and next morning, after passing the Grande Tour, — an im- mense rock, forming a lofty circular island, forty feet high, in the centre of the Mississippi, — ^we rowed towards Sainte-Genevi^ve, where we might rest after our fatigues. During the night we heard, on the Illinois shore, the howls of the cayeutes in pursuit of the deer. By the light of the moon, which illuminated the earth like the electric light in an operatic scene, we could see a hundred cayeutes grouped in a pack like bloodhounds, hunting a stag, and driving him towards a point of the coast where another troop lay in ambush. Suddenly, the harassed animal found himself in the presence of his concealed enemies, and after running a few paces further, fell a victim to theL voracity. At this moment a cloud not unfitly obscured the picture, and everything passed into shadow. One might have thought the whole to be a hurried vision, but for the hoarse voices of the cayeutes as they revelled in their unexpected feast. After resting at Sainte-Genevi^ve for a couple of days, we began to think of returning home. Crossing the Mississippi, we soon found ourselves in the wood which leads across the mountains to the bank of the Wabash. We travelled on foot ; but before reach- ing the first slope of the hills, we met with wide mea- dows, flooded over, wlich we were compelled to traverse. The slippery skin of our mocassins rendering our walk- ing painful, gi'eatly retarded our efforts, and prevented i»' A PLAGUK OP EOYPT. Ill US from advancing as we could have done on dry ground. Nevci*theless we accomplished ten leagues on the first day, preceded by a lieinl of deer, whose graceful move- ments and tossing antlera we could discei^u for several miles ahead of us. &ar 30. These pi-airies, at the epoch of which I speak, were dreary and barren j but when the sweet spring-time comes, they bloom like gardens of flowei^s, whose delight- ful odours please the smell, just as their beautiful colonics gi-atify the sight. Clouds of butterflies, with brilliantly- spotted wings, dispute with the humming-birds the plunder of all this honied wealth ; but, alas ! every medal has its reverae, and innumerable mosquitoes — a time plague of Egypt — render this Eden uninhabitable. Collecting in dense swarms, like bees on emerging from their hives, they form in bodies so compact that a hun- dred swarms will be found in a square inch. When these cruel insects attack a bison or a stag, they torture it to death in a most agonizing manner. It is a remark- able fact that they never pursue man ; and it ib ^nly in the hottest hours of summer that they rise above the marshes. The stags, to escape their attacks, plunge underneath the water, allowing only their nostrils to remain uncovered. Three days after our departure from Sainte-Genevi6ve we arrived on the bank of the Ohio ; and a wreath of light smoke, rismg from the roof of a house a hundred yards in front of us, promised us a dinner and a bed. The mistress, an excellent woman, received us with cordial hospitality. While her two sons admiringly re- garded otir two-barrelled rifles, and we dried oin- clothes 112 AN HOSPITABLE RECEPTION. before a large fire, a beautiful young girl, tall and slender as a maid of Artois, placed upon the table some fried venison, eggs, milk, and coffee. A glass of whisky in- creased the pleasure of the repast. In this hospitable house we passed the night; and next day, after breakfast, as our hostess would not accept any pay, my friend gave her sons a horn full of powder, a precious gift for the pioneers of the western prairies. In my turn I begged the darighter to accept a new red silk handkerchief, which I had found at the bottom of my knapsack. She appeared delighted with the present. At noon we boarded a steam-boat which ascended the Ohio ; and the same evening, my friend reconducted me to his father's house, where we were received as prodigal sons, though no calf was killed for us. \ •J-A' ». CHAPTHK VIII. THE PANTHER. N a certain clay in winter, I was wandering among the forests which extend — or in those times did extend — along tlic line of the great Erie Railroad. I was accompanied by two friends, who were tried and skilful hunters. We were all three mounted on the horses of the country, aruied with rifles, and attended by a pack of six dogs. The j)articular wood into whose dei)ths we had strayed was thick and tangled, comi)osed of cedais, cypresses, and reeds, and besprinkled — so to speak — with basins of water, which, in Louisiana, aie called bayous, and in the Nor- thern States 2^omls. The densest shadow prevailed in the forest, which appeared to be frequented by numerous animals of all descriptions. The atmosphere was heavy, (410 8 f 114 IX THE BUSH. the horizon dark and foggy, but, despite the obscurity, wo h'A made up our minds not to return to our dwelling- places until we had killed a stag. We were delighted, therefore, when one of our hounds " gave tongue," and after a long circuit brought us in front of a cane-bush, rendered impenetrable by a multitude of interwoven lianas. There the dogs halted, and, after a moment's hesitation, followed their leader areund the inextricable thicket, with oars pricked upright, eyes casting forth fire and flames, nostrils open, and hams outstretched. Their barks were frantic, terrible, and repeated at such short intervals as to seem continuous. Echo reproduced the clamour, which glided over the liquid surftu5e of a neigh- bouring lake, and faded away in the far distance, like the flourish of a huntsman sounding his horn. We followed closely on the track of our dogs, and putting aside with one hand the branches of the trees which Ktnick our faces, with the other supported our horses, lest they should make a false step. On the farther side of the cane-bush, the dogs had found a passage through the reedy undergrowth, and we could hear them in the middle yelping loudly. I begged my com- panions to let me take the adventure upon myself ; and throwing ofl" my upper coat, I bound a handkerchief about my head to save my face and glasses. Putting fresh caps on my gun, I penetrated with great difficulty into the kind of alley made by the dogs. I was careful not to make a noise, and trod as silently as possible in the midst of the bush, where no human being had ever been before. And soon, through the curtains of verdure which obscured the sight, I came within two paces of the pack. One of them was springing against the tinink of a tree, and biting customed to tho obs^ritvTr 'T*'' "^-""K «- ' P»o«. above my W^ V*^"*^' "* «'»'" tWrty specie,, who, iihit 4 r ; '*""'" "^ *•"> '•"««•» ^ their orbits .i«.i ;%'^„re "'!^. '" *»"' ""«» » "W'm^oy of my Si-e the L ^ '' ' ''"*• '''«?''» the With his two Le-LfheT '"/'" """ '^'»«' outright, if he defied death B^t^L- f ''" •"-<""»- 'o«t m the middle of the^™ 1. '^^P»°ther fell at my luonts. rending his carcass into frag- f'ei.' ™ady helpf I eortriv^t„™'"' "''' ""''• '""-^ *» ous exelamationa. ite ?„t' T '™'^ "^''"' '» "»">»- y»t he was fa.. fn.JZZmlZ "" T™""^ "'"'' '««' "'• " H««i. Ihe pantW oflt ^r/T *" " ''^' evceods the size of a We f„v „. . '*"'' ^'^^'^ ""Worn >volf. The one which h!l b V ' '"°''' """ "^ " ^""U white skin, eove.«jl^l'"'T f^^y- had a n^ldish- t,ul with oblong siJHf tdun^*" *« «-tn>mityof the -hlaeh. Th«ide;lrthX"r£- il 116 A COUPLE OP VICTIMS. smooth ; the oyen wore a yellow-green, large and shining ; the ears pointed ; the feet armed with claws about half an inch in length. While my companions and myself were admiring the panther, the hounds had hit upon another scent, and I'esumed their headlong race. We hastened to remount our steeds, and a quarter of an hour afterwards, spite of the enormous circuit we had made in the forest, we all three met tigain at the cane-bush. This time, hastening to attach our horses to the neighbouring trees, we entered the thorny labyrinth together. At the very place where I had killed my panther the female was standing erect, roaring with rage, and her jaws reeking with greenish foam. Throe rifles, simultaneously fired, stretched the beast upon the ground. Our balls had penetrated through the skin ; one entering the chest, another the head, and a third the belly. Without hesitation, I drew my bowie-knife from its sheath, and, assisted by my two companions, bravely undeHook the task of butcher — opening the skin under the belly of the two panthers, stripping it off, and ampu- tating the head and the four feet. This double flaying terminated, we abandoned the flesh of the animals to o\u' dogs. In great glee we took our way towards Grammercy Ltuid House, the abode of a wealthy farmer, our common friend. On the confines of the forest, close to a lagoon formed by one of the windings of the little lake, our dogs found a new scent. Was this another panther ? Was it a racoon, or, perhaps, a stag ? None could say ; but certainly we had then no hope of completing our standard A TIIKEE-TAILKI) STANDAUD. 117 of a three-tailed pacha. We were Ratisfietl with tlie two imnthers' tails which we already possessed ; but lo ! in front of us, and not twenty paces distant, there sprang from the middle of a copse a graceful animal, who with it single bound gained the crest of a birch-tree, and from thence appeared to defy our attack and the assaults of our dogs. But all three of us again discharged our rifles, and our victim, with a frightful yell, fell to the gi'ound dead. It proved to be a young and handsome male pantlier, as lithe and supple as one of those American dandies who strut along the Broadway pavement, and insolently stare out of countenance the beauties of New York. He mea- sured five feet and a half in length. The three-tailed standard was ours, and we had only to settle who of us should be pacha ! During this last expedition, night had come on, with- out any transition from day to twilight. We looked for our road, but could not find it. Densely tufted cane- bushes bristled in front of us, as if a malicious enchanter had raised them across our path to obstruct our steps ; and we had no Ariadne's thread for a clue through the labyrinth. At length the moon rose. We steered our course as best we could, in a north-easterly direction, so as to gain Grammercy Land House. It was ten o'clock in the evening when our foaming horses deposited us before the verandah of the farm. A good fire, an excellent supper, the kind attentions of charming ladies, and we soon forgot our trials in the midst of a truly patriarchal hospitality. The triple spoil of the panthers was displayed before our kindly Yankee friends, — three charming sisters, with 118 HABITS OF THE PANTHER. a fusoinating smile, white teeth, dark glancing eyes, and rounded Hhoiildors, — who overwhelmed us with praises doubly sweet to hear when uttered by rosy lips. The panther's skin is highly esteemed by the furriera of the United States, who fabricate it into splendid carpets, trimmed with the black bear's skin. I have seen at Philadelphia a saloon entirely carpeted with pan- thera' skins ; it was a magnificent sight, and of inestimable value. The sofas, the cushions, the chairs, the fauteuils, the consoles, all were covered with this fur — as fantastic as a page written in Arabic characters. The panther is an animal of very carnivorous habits. He pursues his prey principally at night, qtunrens quent devoret ; and, though his walk is slow, he elongates the pace with so much agility, that he will traverse immense distances between sunset and sunrise. If the country be full of game, the panther soon finds his sup})er. One or two bounds will place in his claws a prey worthy of his appetite. But if the paths are rendered impracticable by deep snow, or a boisterous wind, the panther hides himself in the shadows of a rock, in some locality fre^ quented by stags or the smaller animals, and sheltered, perhaps, by a gi'ove of cedars ; and there, patiently await^ ing the troop of deer, whose habits he knows by instinct, or the turkeys which plunder at the foot of the trees, or the hai'es whose burrows open right before his eyes, he will profit by the favourable^ opportunity, and, taking his spring, he rarely misses his prey. Sometimes the panther venyures even on attacking man, but only when hunger has driven him from the AN UNWELCOME INTRUDER. 110 TTOods, Olid he has his whel[)N to feed. In sup)K>i*t of tliiH fiict, permit me to relate the following imecdote : — My second imnther-hunt took place at Shenandoah, in Virginia; along the small stream of Cedar Ci-eek, which flows at the foot of lofty mountains, clothed to the very summit with pines, cedars, and brushwood. At Mr. Pendleton's house I hod enjoyed the most cordial hospitajity ; and one evening, after supper, four of us were seated round a table loaden the infant's cradle. The cries of the mother and nui*se brought us immedi- ately to the chamber ; but the animal had taken fright, and we learned what had transpired when it was too late to puiuue him. The house dogs were immediately let loose in his traces ; but soon returned, like cowards, with tails between their legs, as if they had fled from too immi- nent a danger. Next morning, long before day had dawned, the three Messrs. Pendleton and myself, accompanied by two negroes and a pack of light bloodhounds of magnificent breed, pur- sued the panther's scent along the most difficult paths, the most thickly beset with brambles and briers and sliaq)- edged reeds, I had ever seen. Finally we arrived at a Bort of clearing, in the middle of which lay the half- 120 A NATURAL GROTTO. ilevoureil carcass of a kid. The game had been killed during the night, for it was fresh and without odour. Everything showed that we had at length reached the spot to which the panther had retired to pass the day. The snow which had fallen for the last eight and forty hours covered the ground, like a vast shroud ; and the animal's footprints could })e traced upon it, like a seal upon sealing-wax. These traces guided ua to the summit of the Paddy Mountains, and to a rock which, cloven in twain, formed a natural grotto, whose recesses were hidden in the deepest darkness. One of our dogs thrust his head into the rocky fissure, and immediately "gave tongue;" a proof that the panther was within a few paces of us. I do not know whether nature has endowed dogs with more courage by day than by night ; but it is certain that the very hounds which, on the preceding evening, had returned with drooping head and tail between their legs from their pursuit of the panther, now hesitated not one moment before rushing headlong into the narrow opening of the grotto to attack tlie enemy. Two of them had forced their way in before the Messrs. Pendleton could prevent them. A terrible yell was immediately heard, followed by the howls of the two hounds. We were at a loss what steps to take. Unless the dogs could be got out, they would be killed. Mr. Rudolph, Mr. Pendleton's eldest son, ordered the two negroes to creep into the hole and draw forth the dogs by their feet or tail. Adonis and Jupiter (as the two slaves were ludicrously called) immediately obeyed, and contrived to extricate the dogs fixim their pei'ilous position, (^no of them had received no injury, THE TWO BROTHERS. 121 lid the I be leiv Ijut tlie other had been dangerously wounded by the panther. At this moment the negro Jupiter, who had returned to the cleft of the grotto, naively exclaimed : — •' " Oh, Massa Pendleton, the eyes of this panther shine like a couple of new dollars ! Yah, yah, yah ! " At their master's orders the negroes then freed the mouth of the grotto from all the wood and leaves obstruct- ing it, and Mr. Rudolph in his turn penetrated into the little orifice. At this moment a deep silence prevailed ; the hounds themselves seemed to understand that they must not bark or move. In about two minutes our adventurous ex- })lorer returned to us : he had seen two beasts instead of one. The first was crouching in the bottom of the cavern ; the second stood on a ledge of rock, which projected on the left hand side. My three hosts decided that Mr. Rudolph should enter first, his carbine in his hand, while his brother Harry followed with a second weapon, in case the fii-st discharge did not kill the first panther. Mr. Charles Pendleton a: id myself were to hold ourselves on the alert, with rifles cocked ; while the negroes who had coupled the blood- hounds held them in leash. My heart throbbed violently with the anxiety of the dr;ana which was on the point of being enacted in the entrails of the earth ! Suddenly we heard a deafening exi>losion ; it seemed as if the earth trembled under our feet, or as if a mine had been fired close to our ears. The two Pendletons soon reappeared ; one carrying his brother's carbine, and the other dragging by the tail an eiioruious animal upwards of five feet in length. 1 1 122 I\ A FLORIDA FOREST. While we were examining him the dogs broke from tlieir leash, and two of them, darting anew into the cavern, engaged in a deadly combat with the second panther, which had kept to his rocky ledge. Fortunately for onr dogs, the brute trembled with terror, and durst not defend himself; so that they strangled him easily. When this subterranean battle was over, Adonis entered the grotto in his turn, and brought back into the light of day a young panther, whom he flung by the side of his mother. Both were dead. I I I shall terminate this chapter with an episode fi'om an exploring expedition which I undertook, some years ago, in the forests of Florida. It was a frosty morning, and an American friend and myself were hunting on the river St. John, at about sixteen miles from St. Augustine. Our three dogs had pursued a panther, who, to avoid them, had leaped into the river, as if to swim across to an island which lay about a gimshot from the shore. All at once the animal re- turned, seized by the head the nearest dog, and dragging him under the water, succeeded in suffocating him. Our remaining dogs discerned the danger, and returned to our side. The panther reached the opposite bank. We watched its movements in sore disappointment, for we knew the im- possibility of crossing the river in pursuit. On issuing from the water, he leaped upon a rock overhanging the current, clambered along a tiee, and crouched upon a branch exposed to the sun, as if to dry its magnificent fur. THE INDIAX AND PANTHER. 123 Soon our iistonislied eyes discovered a Carib creeping along the ground. In his turn he ascended a tree, the nearest to that which sheltered the panther, the branches of the two being interlaced ; and, with all an Indian's astuteness, crawled along until within a few yards uf tlio animal. Ah-eady the latter seemed to calculate the force and range of his spring ; only, he hesitated from a fear that tlie branches miglit not be strong enough to suppoi-t both himself and the enemy he was about to attack. As for the Indian, armetl with a wooden stake and a bowie- knife, he awaited the beast of prey, who lifted his feet very cautiously, dug his sliai'p claws into the smooth bark of the tree, advanced inch by inch, while liis emerald eye burned witli sanguinary ardour. This moving spectacle rivetted us to the ground ; yet a secret instinct appeared to warn us that, though the peril was gi*eat, the man would conquer the animal. Therefore, our sympathies did not prevent us from admir- ing the elegance, the vigour, and the suppleness of the panther. The hot breath, issuing from his open jaws, seemed to reach the face of the Redskin, who, raising his pole, dealt liim a violent blow on the head, to which he lesponded with a deep hoarse roar. Thus warned, the animal turned about so as to place his sno\it under a branch which covered and protected him. But the Indian, observing his open jaws, thrust into them his pointed stake, eliciting a howl far more terrible than the first. The panther collected his body, and stretched forward one of liis legs, to reach a branch which would place him on a level with his enemy. The situation became critical ; liis enormous claws already touched the Kedskin's knee ; 124 A MOMENT OF SUSPENSi:. Ills EMERALD EYE BURNED WITH SANGUINARY ARDOUR. liis panting breath indicated the vigorous efibrt he was on the point of essaying ; and my friend and I would have brought the horrible struggle to a close, if we had not " niLLY BOW-LEGS." 125 been afmid of hitting both the man and the animal, as our guns were loaded with deer-shot. At this critical moment, the Indian making a violent movement, plunged the blade of his knife into the eye of his enemy, who, equally unable to recede or advance — held fast as he was by the weapon planted in the orbit of his eye — gave vent to his impotent rage by long and re- peated yells. His rage finally prevailed over the instinct of prudence peculiar to his race ; he prepared to spring ; but a second blow of the stake overthrew his balance, and he fell on the river-bank within gunshot range. A loud report, produced by the simultaneous discharge of our four barrels, nailed the animal to the ground, where he struggled for a few moments, and grew rigid in one final convulsion. The Indian whom accident had thus thrown in our route, and who afterwards followed us to St. Augustine, was no obscure hunter, but the celebrated " Billy Bow- legs," who became chief of the Caribs of the Florida pen- insula, and whose tribe frequently disturbed the repose, and threatened the life, of the planters of Tallahassee. * j^t^ •''*'" Is on have not I CHAPTER IX. THE PASSENGER-PIGEONS. '4 jNE autumn morning of 1847, before day, I was wandering along the heights which overhang the town of Hartford, in Kentucky, driving before me the robins, mavises, and rice-birds, •when all at once, on emerging from the wood, I observed that the horizon was darkling ; and, after having atten- tively examined what could have caused so sudden a change in the atmosphere, I discovered that the clouds — as I had supposed them to be — were neither more nor less than numerous enormous flocks of pigeons.* These birds * The passenger-pigeon of North America belongs to a peculiar species, which is found in all the northern states of the great republic, as well as in Upper and Lower Canada. Numbers of these birds pass the winter as low as tlie 60th degree of latitude, and live upon worms and the berries of junipers and thorns. Their beauty of plumage is truly remarkable ; it is a dazzling MIGRATIONS OF THE PIOEONS. 127 in- less fds tiios, ill as bers (low out of range, and I had no chance, therefore, of making a gap in their serried ranks ; so I conceived the idea of counting how many troops flew over my head in niixtttro of azure, gold, purple, and emerald, unequalled In the whole feathered race, except in the humming-bird. The head of the male is of an ashy blue ; his breast of a nut-like colour, tinged with red ; his neck is diapered with emerald, gold, and scarlet ; the blue wings are thickly sprinkled with black and brown spots ; the belly is white as snow. The tail, wedge-shaped, and of great length, is traversed by a band of brilliant black, and the legs are red like those of the hartavelle partridge. The female of the American pigeon has no daiiling colours ; her feathers are of an ashy gray, mingled with black and deep chestnut. The only graces which she derives from nature are those of her forms, which are supple and slender, and the limpidity of her flame-hued eyes. The migrations of these passenger-pigeons have been attributed by different naturalists to the imperious necessity of avoiding the rigorous cold of the misty climates of the north, and seeking a milder temperature. Such, how- ever, is not the cause ; they are brought southwards by the scarcity of the fruits which form their principal subsistence. It is only after having ex- hausted all the resources of the territory on which they settle that they resume tlicir flight, and move to another district. Several inhabitants of Kentucky and Illinois have assured me, that after dwelling for three or four years in the woods of those two states, the pigeons all disappeared in a single morning, be- cause they could And no more nuts to feed upon. It was not until 1845 that < hey returned in great numbers. The harvest in that year was magnificent, and the thieves came to take their share of it. Belonging to the species known in England as the carrier-pigebn, and em- ployed in the transmission of intelligence (at least, before the invention of the electric telegraph), American pigeons possess a prodigious power of flight. Thus, I have killed in the state of New York several individuals of the species whosu stomachs were still full of grains of rice gathered by them in Georgia or Carolina ; and as it is known that the most indigestible substances cannot resist for more than twelve hours the action of the gastric juice, we must hence conclude that my pigeons in six hours had traversed a space of three to four liundred miles, or about one mile per minute. If this be correct, in two days- they could cross the Atlantic, and fly from New York to London. The American pigeons, thanks to their faculty of flight, which surpasses that of any other bird, are also endowed, in a very remarkable degree, with the gift of sight. They do not need to pause for the purpose of exploring the district over which they speed, and discovering whether it possesses their favourite seeds and fruits. Sometimes you will see them rise to a great height, and extend their battalions in all directions; they are then engaged in it.'^on- noltring the ground. Sometimes they close up in a compact body, descend towards earth, and seem to consult with one another ; they have then made a fortunate discovery, and the supplies beneath them are abundant. Kverytliing in the structure of these birds — their nervous wings, their bifur- cated tails, the oval of their bodies — points to an organization adapted to sustain a rapid flight and prolonged respiration ; and although such an organi- zation would seem incompatible with tenderness of flesh, this game is much sought aftur in America, and rogardea as an exquisite di^h. \ 128 A WONDERFUL FLIGHT. i the course of an hour. Accordingly, I seated myself tmnquilly; and drawing from my pocket pencil and paper, I began to take my notes. In a short time the Cocks succeeded each other with so much rapidity that the only way I could count them was by tracing manifold strokes. In the space of thirty-five minutes, two hundred and twenty bands of pigeons had passed before my eyes. Soon the flocks touched each other, and were arrayed in so compact a manner that they hid from my sight the sun. The ordui-e of these birds covered the ground, fall- ing thick and fast like winter's snow; On returning at noon to the inn at Hartford for din- ner, I had leisure to examine the continuation of this truly miraculous flight. The pigeons did not halt in the surrounding plains ; for the nuts and acorns had every- where failed that year. I had, therefore, no chance of burning powder among their serried files, which kept out of the range of the best rifle. From time to time, as a merlin or a gray eagle pounced upon their rear- guard, a compact mass was formed, which, like to a ser- pent, wreathed in a thousand folds, to avoid the attacks of the bird of prey ; then, the danger escaped, or somo poor victim carried ofl", the column resumed its rajjid progress through the transparent azure. During the three days of my stay at Hartford, the population never laid aside their weapons. All — men and children — had a double-barrelled gun or a rifle in their hands ; and ambushed in a wood, behind a rock, or on the banks of a river, wherever a sufficient covert could be obtained, they waited a favourable moment to test their skill and thin the immense body above their heads. In the evening the conversation of everybody turned << TOUJOURS PERDBIX 1 129 upon the pigeons, on the conditions of each fortunate or unfortunate shot, and on the chances of the morrow's sport. For three days nothing was eaten but boiled, or broiled, or stewed, or baked pigeons ; and the air was so impreg- nated with their odour, that one seemed to be living in an immense poultry-yard. An arithmetician of the district made a sufficiently curious approximative calculation of the number of indi- viduals composing these extraordinary legions, and of the enormous quantity of food necessary to their sustenance. Taking, for example, a coliunn about five hundred yards in breadth — which is much below the ordinary measurement — and allowing three hours for the birds composing it to accomplish their flight, as its swiftness was five hundred yards a minute, its length would be two hundred thou- sand yards. Supposing, now, that each square yard was occupied by ten pigeons, we may conclude that their total number amounted to a billion, one hundred and twenty millions, one hundred and forty thousand ; and as each member of a pigeonry daily consumes a quarter of a bushel of seeds or fruits, the daily nourishment of a single band would not require less than one hundred millions, seven hundred and eighty thousand bushels of all kinds of pro- visions. What a formidable appetite ! Immediately the pigeons discover, in the territory over which they aie passing, whether upon the trees or the ground, a quantity of food sufficient to make it worth their while to hpit, tou may see them whirl round and round, the azure prisms of their splendid plumage flash- ing in the sun, and passing thus from bright blue to 130 PIQEON-SHOOTINO EXTRAORDINARY. deep purple and the most sparkling gold. Observe them disappearing behind yon wood of oaks, and plunging into the midst of their foliage. Suddenly, the boldest reap- pear. At a single bound they precipitate themselves to the earth, and cover the soil. If a sudden terror seizes them, they resume their flight with such rapidity, that the rustling of their wings produces a commotion which may well terrify a person ignorant of the cause. But if the alarm be groundless, and their apprehensions are re- moved, again they scatter themselves all over the ground, coming and going, crossing each other in every direction, and displaying, in short, a series of movements impos- sible to be described in words. The ground on which they settle is soon so completely stripped that it would be lost labour to seek for a single grain i This is the moment selected by the Kentucky hunters for filing upon the horde, and making terrible gaps in its multitudinous ranks. At mid-day the birds, well-fed and with their crops full of food, repose on the neighbouring trees and digest their booty ; but no sooner does the sun sink below the horizon than all take flight, and hasten to regain the general rendezvous, which is sometimes more than forty leagues distant from the spot where they have passed the day. Along the waters of the Green River, in Kentucky, I saw the most magnificent roosting-place which came across my notice during my residence in the United States. It was situated on the threshold of a forest, whose trees were of immense height; trunks upright, tall, and isolated, starting up straight from the soil. A \ TREPARING FOR THE SPORT. 131 company of sixty hunters had gust installed themselves in the environs, escorted by vehicles loaded with provi- sions and warlike munitions. They had raised their tents, and a couple of negro cooks were preparing the dinner. Among them were two Glasgow farmers, who had brought a herd of three hundred pigs to fatten upon pigeons, and thus, in a very short time, fit them for the market. On my arrival in the camp I was astonished, nay, stupified, by the quantity of slaughtered pigeons which strewed the ground. Fifteen women were engaged in plucking them, cleansing and salting them, and pack- ing them in barrels. What surprised me most was to learn from the hunters that, though the roosting-place was empty through the day, every night it was covered with myriads of pigeons returning from Indiana, where they had spent the day in the vicinity of the village of Condon, thus accomplishing a flight of one hundred leagues. It is useless to say that next morning they re- sumed the same route at early dawn. The ground over the whole area of the roosting-place was covered with guano, one or two inches thick. At your first view of this gray-coloured soil, these denuded trees — their bi'anches leafless and without sap — you would have supposed that it was already the middle of winter, or that some tornado had devastated the forest and withered the surrounding scenery. The hunters began their spoi-t in the evening, and lost no time in making the necessary preparations. Some packed up sulphur in small iron pots; others armed themselves with long poles, like bakers* peels ; some carried torches made of resin and branches of pine; 132 " THE CllY IS, STILL THEY COME." others — and these the leaders of the troop — were armed with single and double-barrelled guns, loaded almost to the muzzle with powder and shot. At sunset each man took up his position in silence, though not a bird was yet visible on the horizon. Sud- denly, I heard these words repeated by every hunter : — " Here they come ! " In fact, the horizon grew dark ; and the noise made by the pigeons resembled that of the terrible mistral of Provence as it plunges into the gorges of the Apennines. When the column of pigeons swept above my head, I experienced a shudder, the effect partly of astonishment and partly of cold ; for the displacement of air occasioned an unusual atmospheric current. Meantime, the poles were waving to and fro, bringing down thousands of pigeons. The fires had all been kindled as if by magic. I was witness of an admirable spectacle. The pigeons arrived by millions, rushing headlong one upon another, pressing close together like the bees in a swarm which has escaped from its hive in the month of May. The lofty tops of the overloaded roosting-place cracked, and, falling to the ground, carried down with them the pigeons which had perched upon the branches. So great was the noise, that you could not hear your neighbour speak, though he exerted himi^;elf with all his strength. It was with difficulty you could distinguish an occasional shot, though you saw the hu iters constantly reloading their weapons. We all kept to the edge of the wood, out of the reach of the falling branches ; and thus the massacre continued throughout the night, though after eleven o'clock the passage of the pigeons had wholly ceased. A DEPARTURE AT DAYBREAK. 133 A peculiarity worthy of being mentioned here is, that despite of the terror which they experienced, the pigeons did not abandon the accustomed roosting -place; and that neither the blazing torches, nor the fusillade, nor the shouts, were able to stir them into flight. A man who arrived at our camp in the morning, assured us that he had heard the clang and clamour a quarter of a league before he came upon the scene of action. At daybreak the whole army of pigeons sprung into the air to fly in search of their daily food. The noise was then indescribable and truly frightful. It could only be compared to the simultaneous discharge of a battery of cannon. And scarcely was the roosting-ground vacated, before wolves and panthers and foxes and ja- guars, and all the rapacious animals of the American forests, came forward in great numbers to take part in the quarry. At the same time, falcons and buzzards and tawny and gray eagles, to say nothing of crows and screech-owls, hovered above our heads, to carry away a portion of the booty. The hunters levied their tithe, and out of this mass of dead and dying selected the plumpest pigeons, with which they loaded their waggons, leaving the young fry to the dogs and pigs of the association. As for myself, since I had taken part in the general massacre rather as an amateur than as an interested person, I only carried off" a magnificent feather, snatched from the wing of an eagle which I had knocked down on a pile of carcasses. Two months after this memorable hunt, of which I have preserved a very lively recollection, I found myself, 134 SWARMS UPON SWARMS. one morning, on the quay of East River, at New York, when my eyes were attracted by the following inscription, painted in black letters on a strip of sail-cloth : " WUd Pigeons for Sale" I proceeded on board a small coast- ing-vessel, and 'vas shown by the captain several baskets of dead pigeons, which had been killed inland, and which he offered for sale at three cents a piece. • A Tennessee planter once assured me, that in a single day he had caught, with a net, four hundred dozen pigeons. His negroes, twenty in number, were thor- oughly worn, out in the evening with knocking down the birds that had traversed his estate. In the month of October 1848, the flights of pigeons in the state of New York were so considerable, that these birds were sold on the quays and in the principal markets at the rate of a penny a piece. Heads of fami- lies fed their servants upon them ; and the latter, could they have foreseen the event, would assuredly have in- cluded a clause in their agreements providing that they should not have pigeons for dinner oftener than twice a week, — just as in Scotland the servants in the great houses made it an express condition that they should not be compelled to eat salmon above three times. One morning, in this same month of October 1848, on the heights of the village of Hastings, which stretches along the Hudson River, I fired some thirty times into a swann of pigeons, securing a booty of one hundred and thirty-nine birds. This number included about eighty enormous birds, fat and plump as young chickens. I was obliged to hail a negro, who passed by the place where I PIGEONS AT HOME. 135 "was seated with my feathered spoil ; and I gave him half a dollar to carry it to the steam-boat bound for New York. American pigeons are found everywhere in the terri- tory of the Union j but, in general, these birds select the secluded and unfrequented woods on the borders of the civilized districts, and the vast deserts which abut on the "thk male mounts ouard, and protects his companion." prairies. The season of incubation offers a striking con- trast to the chaotic and confused scenes which I have been describing. If my readers accompanied me into the leafy depths of the forests of the Ohio and the Missis- sippi, they would hear nothing but incessant cooings ; would be witnesses only of proofs of tender aflfection and marks of tenderness on the part of the male pigeon to- wards his mate. Above their heads, in the tree-tops, they would perceive a host of close-packed nests, constructed of -^:^- 136 PIGEON-MASSACRE. interlaced and interwoven twigs, so as to form a slight concavity, in which two or three eggs are deposited. Upon these the male and female sit alternately. The male alone mounts guard, and protects his companion. It is he who goes forth in quest of provisions, and who i*etums in due time to place himself on the nest and shelter its treasures with his wings. "Very fi-equently the incubation succeeds, and crowns the tender efforts of the affectionate couple. But this fortunate result only takes place when man has not dis- covered the frail atrial dwelling. Woe to the bii"ds if any hunters or settlers pass in their vicinity ! Massacres far more terrible than those I have described " incarna- dine " the ground, and strike terror in the heart of each inoffensive household. The axe strikes at the trunks of the trees, which fall in the clearing, and bring down with them the young pigeons, and the nests where they were hatched. Caught, killed, and roasted, they are eaten before the very eyes of their parents, who fly around the butchers of their progeny, and fill the echoes of the forest with pitiful cries, which pass all unheeded by the savage hunters. As the reader will infer from the foregoing remarks, this variety of game is, in America, threatened with destruction. In proportion as civilization extends into the vast wildernesses of the West, men increase in number, and the human race, which everywhere reigns despotically, and permits no restraint upon its tyranny, gradually destroys the communities of animals. Already the deer, the goats, and the great horned cattle which peopled the ancient colonies of England, have almost dis- appeared in the principal states of the Union. The herds / PROBABLE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE GAME. 137 of bisons which, a hundred years ago, pastured peacefully on the savannahs beyond the Mississippi, see their ranks thinning daily ; while the skeletons of their fellows, slain by trappers and emigrants and Indians, whiten on the ground, and mark the gradual advance of man. Every- thing leads to the belief that the pigeons, which cannot endure isolation, forced to fly or to change their habits as the territory of Noi*th America shall become peopled with the overplus of Europe, will eventually disappear from this continent ; and if the world endure a century longer, I will wager that the amateur of ornithology will find no pigeons except in select Museums of Natural History f^ ^i^A CHAPTEll X. THE PRAIRIE DOOS. F ever an inoffensive r^ublic existed in the world, it is certainly that of the American marmots, the so-called prairie dogs. Among them, each individual lives as he pleases, in entire simplicity, without dreaming of evil, without thought of injury to his neighbour, of dispossessing him, or cheat- ing him, or living at his expense. There no government exists, and no conspiracies occur. There are neither presidents, nor consuls, nor magistrates, nor militia, nor policemen. What would be the good of them 1 If the marmot of the prairies — little member as he is of the great family of the Rodents ! — be vivacious, headstrong, and sometimes even potulant, he is, on the other hand, a social and sociable animal, who never dis- A PRAIRIE DOa VILLAGE. 139 turbs the public order. He is, in a word, a pattern for all created beings. I had 4>ften wished, during my residence in the United States, to visit one of their gigantic burrows; an ani- mated; buzzing, and swarming labyrinth. No opportun- ity offered, until, one evening, after a hunt with the Kedskins. One of the companions of the Pawnee chief, Rahm-o-j-or, who had strayed to some distance from our troop, had fallen in with a picturesque little valley, on - the sunny slope of a hill, and here, in the solitude, he had discovered " a village of prairie dogs." In the evening, coming up with our caravan, he informed us of what he had seen. Early the next morning, all my friends and I mounted our horses for the purpose of visiting this curious phaHan- atery. What I had heard about the prairie dogs made me approach their vast burrow with a sportsman's curi- osity added to a naturalist's scientific interest. Before reaching the summit of the hill whose slope was occupied by the marmots, we dismounted from our steeds, and, fastening them to a row of trees, advanced cautiously and silently in the direction of the village. I know not whether the instinct of the prairie dogs had been awakened by the sound of our footsteps, but, on our approach, their sentinels gave the alarm, and decamped towards the nearest openings to seek shelter with their comrades. The latter, prudently maintaining their position on their hind-legs at the entrance of their burrows, aroused the echoes with a peculiar yelping, and then, after engaging in some fantastic capers, disappeared each into his respective cell. The "village of prairie dogs" lying before our eyes 140 SEEING, BUT NOT SEEN. occupied an area of about twenty acres. Eveiy where the ground was mined, and opened up, and covered with indurated cones which bore witness to the assiduous sub- terranean toil of these animals. We sounded several of the holes with our ramrods; but so great was their depth that we could not reach a single individual of the re- public. There was but one resource left us, if we would see the marmots at our ease ; namely, to conceal ourselves, and wait with patience until mistrust had given place to con- fidence. Nature favoured our design; for, on the borders of the village, and in the hollow of the valley, she had planted a row of dwarf cedars, whose tufted branches were well adapted to hide us from the sharpest eyes, and permit us to see without being seen. We withdrew, therefore, with the least possible noise, and, each having chosen his position, we remained almost motionless, preserving entire silence, and our eyes fi^ed on the village, whose gates and windows, though wide open, did not appear to be frequented. After awhile, a few cunning old fellows cautiously thrust forth the tip of their nose at the entrance of one of the galleries, and then immediately vanished. Others made a rapid leap outside, but only to rush from one orifice to another. At length, some of the marmots, reassured by the tran- quillity which reigned around, and persuaded that all danger was past, glided out of their dens ; they traversed hastily a space tolerably distant from the hole whence they had emerged, to enter into another burrow. You might have thought they were going to visit a friend or relation to relate the fright they had experienced, to dis- AN ORATOR AND HIS AUDIENCE. 141 c ss with him the probable causes of the alarm j to ex- change, in a word, their mutual impressions and compare observations on the vision which had passed before their eyes. Other and more audacious marmots collected in small groups in the middle of the streets, and their discussions, I doubt not, turned upon the outrage committed by the invasion of the republic, as well as upon the best means of defence. Sometimes an orator sprang upon the sum- mit of a hillock which commanded the whole assemblage, and thence explained his views, his piojecte, and his principles of strategy. Sometimes, seized with unwonted fear, all the crowd dashed headlong into the various orifices, and vanished quickly, to reappear at a consider- able distance, and recommence the same manoeuvres. It was very curious to observe the braggart ways of these marmots ; they seemed as if they would defy the thunder, and yet they fled at the least whisper of the breeze, at the most imperceptible agitation of the atmosphere. an- all 'sed nee ou or is- After watching the spectacle for some time, I proposed to my comrades the termination of a uselessly protracted " stance." And we agreed that each should mark down a marmot in an opposite direction, and that we should fire simultaneously on my clucking my tongue against my palate. This was done : a simultaneous discharge was effected, and when the smoke cleared away, there remained not a prairie dog before us, except the six which lay at the mouth of their burrows. It is asserted that of these burrows the prairie dogs are not the only inhabitants, and that they have for 142 OWLS AND MARMOTS. companions owls and rattlesnakes. The parasites live at the expense of the prairie dogs, who serve them as builders, and too often, it is said, for food. They prey upon the industrious little creatures who provide them with a dwelling-place. We were desirous of obtaining a confirmation of this statement, but all our researches proved fruitless; we did not see the tail of an owl, nor hear the slightest rustling of a rattlesnake. This republic of the prairie of the Pawnees was, perhaps, more fortunate than others, and had succeeded in expelling from its limits the in- truders who do so much injury in similar communities. I was informed that the owls who generally secrete themselves in the burrows of the American marmots belong to a very peculiar race; their eyes are moro brilliantly transparent, their flight is more rapid, and their feet are more erect than those of the common owls. Daylight does not frighten them as it does their congeners. The American naturalists affirm that, as a rule, these owls do not take possession of the burrows ex- cavated by the marmots unless th^ latter have aban(loned them on account of the death of one of their number. For it would seem that the American marmot carries his sensibility to such an excess, as, immediately a single member of his community dies, to emigrate from the place. Others have assured me that the owl acted as a pro- tector, as a sentinel, as a tutor even to the young mar- mots, whom he taught to cry — even before he strangled them I ' So fai' as relates to the rattlesnake, he seems to play a RECONNOITRING THE ENEMY. 143 more decided and more skilfully meditated part than the bird of prey. In the domestic economy of these interest- ing phalansteries, he acts as a true sycophant, who audaciously invades the asylum of the honest and credu- lous marmot. Nevertheless, in his leisure hours he crunches one of the offspring of his hosts, and we may easily infer that he secretly permits himself some com- pensations beyond and in addition to those accorded to drudging parasites. «i 4- A few weeks later, as we were returning to Saint Louis, we discovered one evening, near the camp, an immense burrow of prairie dogs, excavated in a valley formed by two ridges of calcareous rocks, not far from a spring flowing in the midst of these rocks, and feeding a silvery brook, which watered the entire length of the valley. The clatter of our horses' hoofs had terrified all the inhabitants of the subterranean village; two enormous owls alone, perched upon a hillock, remained to recon- noitre the enemy who was invading their territory. Proud and bold as fighting-cocks, they seemed to defy danger ; their large open eyelids discovered eyes shining like phos- phorus. Two long plumes, like horns, surmounted their head, and gave them a very fantastical aspect. You would readily have taken them to be the guardians of a devastated graveyard. So they waited our coming, until we had got them within rifle range; then suddenly, and without our being able to explain how it was done, they disappeared in the bowels of the earth, like Bertram in the fifth act of Meyerbeer's Robert le Diable. One of my hunting companions even went so far as to declare that he saw a flame leap up from the spot where each 144 A NOCTURNAL COMPANION. owl had mysteriously vanished; — but this is not his- tory! The countryside where we had pitched our evening en- campment was picturesquely diversified by coppices of every kind of wood — pines, oaks, firs, cedars, wild cherries, and American hawthorns. Groups of hickory and sumac completed this rich variety. We therefore experienced no difficulty in kindling our bivouac fire. The atmos- phere was fresh ; and my comrades stretched themselves, according to custom, upon beds of dried leaves, the head and body well wrapped up in a woollen coverlet, and the feet turned towards the fire. I had been absent all the evening, in the hope of hunting down a deer ; on my re- turn, I began to prep'jire a litter for my own accommodation. At the foot of an old oak, in a hollow of the rock, the wind had accumulated a great quantity of leaves ; nothing, I thought, could be easior than to lay down my wrapper nd pile upon it all this debris. I returned to the fire, where a place had been reserved for me, and, without more ado, got ready my bed. All at once a strange noise arose in the middle of the heaped-up leaves. I exi mined my litter, and started back in afiright before a horrible . .fctlesnake, which, with uncoiled body and head erect, daited at me its forked tongue. To snatch from the fire a burning brand, and beat the reptile to death, was the work of a moment. I turned over my litter, to make sure that it contained no similar occupant. Conceive; if you can, my horror and disgust ! Nearly a dozen young serpents, coiled to- gether, aroused by my pokes and thrusts, emerged from the pile of leaves, and took flight in every direction. My comrades, aroused by my cries, immediately sprung to A BATTLE WITH RATrLESNAKES. 145 TO SNATCH FROM TUK FIRE A BURKINO BRAND. their feet, and assisted me to pursue them ; but such were the agility and diligence of the young rattlesnakes, that all but two escaped. (4U) iQ I 146 A SINGULAR SPECTACLE. This incident naturally kept us awake for a graat part of ^he night.. The rattle of the abominable creatures echoed in pur eavfi ; and so great was the abhorrence which we all <^ntertained for them, that though, according to all appear- ance, our presence had put them effectually to flight, we ^elt just as uneasy as if we were still surrounded by them. Fatigue and sleepiness, however, finally prevailed over our imagination. We fell asleep, and did not wake until the day was far advanced. Before us rose, on the slope of the hill, the phalanstery of the prairie dogs ; and as our horses weve asleep, as our fire was extinguished, and as no human movement troubled the tranquillity of nature, our eyes were struck by a singu- larly fantastic spectacle. Before us were upwards of a thousand marmots, a hundred owls, and as many rattlesnakes, leaping from one burrow to another, flying and hovering, crawling and hissing. Our blood froze in our veins, and yet we were chained to the spot. At length we were compelled to quit this dangerous neighbourhood. We arose, and all disappeared, except the serpents, which from time to time raised their heads above the openings to the burrows, and glided outside. An hour after sunrise we had reached the banks of the Mississippi. We had no more danger to fear, and felt ourselves secure under the segis of American civilization. CHAPTER X;. THE WILD CAT. [ILD cats are most numerous in the southern states of Louisiana and the two Carolinas. The marshes and marshy brushwood which extend along the banks of the Mississippi, and the dense forests inundated by the overflow of the rivers Pamlico and Santee, afford a covert and an asylum to these dangerous animals, which commit such havoc among game of every description. And what is worst is, that, in spite of the persistent manner in which they are hunted by the American farmers and sportsmen, they are as numerous now as they ever were : it would seem as if the destruction of the race were an impossibility. The Americans look upon the chase of the wild cat us 148 THS^ILD CAT OP AMERICA. one of the most exciting of their national sports. It is a pastime which they appreciate as highly as Englishmen appreciate a fox-hunt. In fact, the cat is in the United States what the fox is in Oreat Britain. It is true, how- ever, that there are no red coats among its hunters ; the costume of the planters and their friends is exceedingly simple, and, apart from the great boots which come mid- way up the thigh, the remainder of their attire is of un- paraUeled plainness. The only thBig borrowed by the hunters of the New World from those of the Old is the horn, which they make use of ad lihitum, without con- fining themselves to the notes used by the huntsmen of Europe. The horn with them has but one object : to make a noise, and celebrate a victory. The wild cat of the United States is an enormous animal, with no relation to that of Europe, except in form, and sometimes in its fur. I do not think I have seen anywhere such large cats as those of the two Caro- linas. Their reddish skin, diagonally streaked with deep coloured bands ; their tail, as bushy as that of a fox ; their velvety ears, not unlike those of a lynx, — all to- gether gives one a complete idea of a small tiger of a particular species. The negroes of the Southern States, in their picturesque, familiar language, describe the character of the cat in the following manner : — ^A vermin as voracious as a pawn- broker, stingy as a briefless lawyer, wild as a peccary, and as insensible to pain, as a Southern planter or a turtle. Finally, say they, to shorten the picture, this wild beast is like a woman, because you cannot compare her with any other than herself. On examining, for the first time, the head of a wild 1 ? A MORTAL COMBAT. 149 cat, I was singularly struck by its close res<^mb]ance to that of a rattlesnake; it had the same exp^jssion of wickedness, tLe same jaws, the same structure of the teeth. I made this comparison all the more easily be- cause one of the negroes who accompanied us had killed a rattlesnake, and carried it triumphantly at the end of a cai'ob branch. This reminds me that, one morning, in South Carolina, on the borders of the immense marsh called the Great Dismal Swornip^ I had strayed from the hunt, followed by my faithful dog Black ; I endeavoured to retrace iny route, and was returning towards the house where I spent my holidays, when, on doubling a project- ing rock, my dog suddenly started back, with bristling hair, and tail between his legs, and howling hoarsely to attract my attention. I looked before me, and could not repress a cry of horror. About forty paces distant a wild cat and a i*attlesnake were defying each other to the combat ; theii* eyes shot forth flame and fire ; one hissed, the other mewed. The serpent moved in folds, marked by grace and suppleness ; the cat raised his back, and appeared to wait for an opportunity of pouncing upon his enemy. Suddenly the serpent made a spring, but the cat anticipated it, and leaped aside j but as he returned to the attack, the ser- pent bit him in the lip, and though grasped immedi- ately in the wild cat's claws, succct;ded in infolding his body and violently compressing it. I put an end to the agony of both; my two barrels stretched them on the ground, dead, and incapable henceforth of doing any injury. According to the Indians, the rattlesnake lives on the pestiferous air of the marshes, and on all corrupted matter, 150 FATTENING WILD CATS. I I I "their eyes shot forth flame AMD FIRE." while the wild cat is nourished by the result of the quarrels of headstrong and deceitful persons ; so, when the Red- skins would refer to the internal dissensions of a family of their tribe, they say, in their semi-oriental language : " In the wigwam of X wild cats are fattened." In hunting the " tom-cats " of the American swamps, UNSUCCESSFUL SHOOTING. 151 the huntrra generally make use of pistols. It is not that the majority are unskilled in the management of this weapon j but, by means of theii* revolvers, it is possible for them to wound the cat, when he begins to leap from tree to tree, and renders the fun of the sportsmen more complete. Tn a woixi, the animal is a living target, against which each person displays his skill. Such a mode of hunting is not in agreement, certainly, with the " law Gmmmont ;" but as the French legislator is un- known across the seas, and as, in general, hunters are not gifted with any very tender sensibilities, especially towards wild beasts, amongst which the wild cat is accorded a foremost place, I will abstain from any further remarks upon this point. On one occasion T was witness of a wild cat hunt, which terminated in a very extraordinary manner. The tree on which the animal had sought refuge was a monster poplar, tall as a mast, all of one giith, and with its umbrageous crest aj rcuitly lost among the clouds. The cat, having dodged ihf liounds, had clam- bered up the trunk to the leafy tuft f< uiing its crest, whose form resembled that of a mushroom placed on the summit of a cane. At length we discovered him crouch- ing on one of the thicker branches, close to the sten i . and from thence looking down upon us as inferior crea inures, with an impertinence amounting to a defiance. In vain we tired at the creature a dozen pistols ; he was so wpI ! concealed, or rather, let me confess it, we were so dii- skilful that we found ouraelves without munitions. The dogs dashed themselves against the foot of the tree, bark- ing furiously, but just as i)owerless as their masters. All at once we caught sight of a liana, whose sprigs * 152 THIEVES IN A POU LTRY-YAllD. passed between the branch on which the cat reposed and the body of the animal. Twining round the jx)plar, it de- scended to the ground. After unfolding it carefully, we pro- ceeded to separate the parasitical plant into two portions, and so well contrived our measures that, by giving them a violent shake, we sent the < at flying into the air, and had the pleasure of seeing him, after several revolu- tions, fall plump upon the ground, in the very midst of our dogs, whose teeth quickly finished him. I must confess that I never laughed so much in all my life, and my comrades did not fail to give free course to their hilarity. I shall terminate this chapter on the wild cat by relat- ing one of the incidents of my residence on a plantation of South Carolina, situated at no great distance from Beau- fort, the most picturesque town in that state, built in the centre of the island of Port Royal. The hour of eight was sounded one morning by the great clock in the house of Mr. Potter, the host to whom I had been introduced by a friend, with the view of join- ing in an exterminating foray against some wild cats, whose murderous fangs had committed gi*eat ravages in Mr. Potter's poultry-yard. Our horses had been saddled and bridled, and we set out, five in number, including the doctor of the plantation and myself, and accompanied by a mounted huntsman and an outrider, holding in leash four bloodhounds, before whom frisked and gambolled three pointers and a spaniel. At about a mile from the house we entered into the wood, where the dogs, con- tinuing to advance as we did, soon started, uow a snipe, A SENTENCE OF DEATH. 153 and then a pheasant, on which wo fired as best we could, without always bringing down our game. Our two-barrelled rifles were loaded with ball in one barrel, and fowling-shot in the other ; so that we were prepared for every hazard. At the moment the bloodhounds were uncoupled and let loose in the forest, the outrider discovered the carcass of a hare, half-devoured, and still fresh, — a proof that a wild cat was somewhere in the neighbourhood. Almost immediately the dogs discovered the scent, and a few minutes afterwards started the animal, which flew past us like an arrow, and disappeared in the middle of a thicket impracticable for human beings. We hastened to encircle the bush, with our guns to our shoulders, and endeavoured to penetrate the obscurity of the leafage ; but this was not easy. The cat kept still in his fastness, and would not budge; the dogs made numerous desperate efforts to force a passage through the thorns. Suddenly, the report of a gun was heard, and then another. " Ah," cried one of us, " is he dead ? " A voice replied, " He has got some shot in him." " It is possible !" thought I to myself, but no one would say anything, the dogs barked so lustily. Bang ! a third report ! « Who fired 1 " " Judge Daniel," replied the huntsman, who was stand- ing a few paces from me. " A sentence of death, then, that means," I replied to my neighbour ; " lawyers utter no other." But what is all this stamping ) It was Judge Daniel's horse. Not accustomed to the reports of fire-arms, and paying no attention to the oaths of his master the judge. ^B 154 A DOSE OF MEDICINE. the horse carried him away in the direction of his stable, where he not unreasonably hoped to find a more tranquil condition of affairs. " A prosperous journey, Judge Daniel ! Don't break your neck, and we will continue our sport without you ! " Patatras ! Behold him dismounted ! The untamed and victorious horse saved himself at full gallop ; but the judge, far from paying any attention to our sarcasms, coolly mounted the outrider's anim£d. Bang ! another detonation ! " It is the doctor," cried a voice, " giving Master Tom a dose of medicine ! The rascal, however, won't die of it ! I begin to think the beast has a talisman under his tail." All of us laughed at the mild joke, and the doctor himself found no fault with it. The dogs renewed the attack ; their voice was louder and more vehement. At this moment, between the branches of a tulip-tree, I caught sight of a hairy body hoisting itself along with every precaution. I fired in great haste; a stifled mew was heard; Tom was dead. I had given him the covp de grace. The huntsman, N'ith his bowie-knife, soon cut a path into the thicket, and seizing the cat, deposited him at my feet. The gigantic animal weighed fourteen pounds; and w^hile we were examining him, and preventing the dogs from tearing his splendid fur. Judge Daniel approached, and exclaimed, — " This is not the cat I fired at ! This is a leopard, while the other was much larger and much blacker ; I saw it clearly at the moment it rolled on the ground, after the discharge of my fowling-piece." KILLED BY SIX SHOTS. 155 " I agree with you, judge," said the doctor ; " I fired at a black cat j the dogs have changed our cats in the middle of this confounded bush ! " " So much the better, gentlemen," said I, in my turn ; " we shall have two cats instead of one. Hallo there, my dogs ! tally ho ! " And I hallooed the hounds to- wards the thicket, at the point where the judge had fired on his mysterious black quadruped. But they returned to my cat, and would not listen to the huntsman, who vainly attempted to bring them back upon the second trail. " Positively and really," cried the judge, " I must have been blind!" We wished to throw the quarry to the dogs, and the outrider immediately began to skin it. After he had stripped off the skin and laid open the chine, it was easy enough to recognize the cat as the same at which each of us had fired in his turn. Out of the six shots four had hit it, and the orifices made by the bullets showed ^that both the judge, the doctor, my host, and myself had fired at the same animal. Our dogs* scent was better, therefore, than the doctor's sight. Our "medicine-man" confessed his error when his ball was found in the creature's body, lodged between a couple of muscles in the hind-quarters. According to all probability, my cat had a changing skin, and belonged to the race of chameleons. I confess that I was not weary of admiring the sharp, pointed claws of the beast — a gigantic one for his species — his flattened skull, his green eyes, his teeth as sharp as a bodkin, and his reddish skin, spotted with white, and diagonally traveraed by black bands. Finally, when the 156 IN A MARSHY HOLLOW. operation of flaying was terminated, when the dogs hud devoured the animal's smoking entrails, the body hang- ing suspended to a branch of a tree, I folded up the skin, which the huntsman thrust into a canvas bag ma The hounds sprang forward, howling as if tliey were mad, ahd in the track which they forced through, the bushes glided the outrider, just in time to snatch from their claws and teeth a second cat, of smaller size than the firat, but of a brilliantly-coloured skin, marked by fantastic designs. Still, even this was not enough to satisfy us ; so it was decided that we should press forward, without regarding the difficulties of the route. " Ijet us stai*t, gentlemen," cried the doctor, " I answer for the life, and still more for the health, of everybody. Hallo ! Here are our dogs giving tongue again ! Bravo ! m dogs, bravo ! " And we spurred our horses into a smart trot, over a drier and more open ground — a kind of wild English garden, half wood, half greensward — while the outrider indicated the various phases of the hunt in his own pecu- liar manner : " There you go ! — Good ! — On with you, Bello ! — Here you are, Annabella ! — Ah, they keep to the right ! — Good, now they return this way ! — Take carey of yourselves, gentlemen ! — How they bark ! — Steady !— Close in !— Good !— Find him!— Good!— Thei-e he is ! " During the deliverance of this soliloquy, the pack con- tinued their advance, followed by all the himters, and by the whipper-in himself, who ran as quickly as we trotted, shouting all the time. In this manner we arrived at a very thick coppice, where the scent was so fresh that the dogs did not hesitate a single moment. Mr. Potter cried out to us, in his unparalleled ardour for this certainly attractive sport, — "Take care, my friends; don't throw the dogs out; 158 LOSING THE SCENT. keep close to mo. Listen to the peculiar voice of the Jogs as they come near the brute. It is the key of Sol. I recognize it, and yet, certainly, it is not a stag which they are following ; of that I am sure. Everything leads me to think that it is a cat. Beware of that prostrate trunk. — Well leapt, doctor ! — Well leapt also. Monsieur le Fran9ais ! " Obedient to the command of our leader, we halted our horses before another bit of jungle, bordered on one side "tub cat HA1> HUISTUU HlMUELr UP A TRKE." by a reedy marsh. It was composed of dwarf palms, oaks, cedars, and carob-trees interlaced with lianas and wild vines. At intervals a gap was found, through which wo hoped to discover the animal. Each chose his place, with his eye on the watch, and his gun to his shoulder. Meanwhile, the ardour of the dogs had relaxed, and it seemed as if they had lost the scent. The whipper-in brought them back to the first track, and then made AGAIN ON THE TBACK. 159 them try each clearing; his efforts were useless. Wo wei*e about to give our tongue to the cat, when suddenly the noble Black gave forth a single bark which to him alone was worth — a long poem. Thereafter he set to work to run at full speed, until he was stopped by a barrier of logs and posts which marked the boundary of an estate. £v/reka / He had recovered the scent. Everything encouraged the belief that while we had been galloping round the thicket, following with our eyes the movements of the dogs, the cat — for it was one — concealing himself from our sight, and from the scent of the pack, had glided from branch to branch, without touching the ground, and profited by the interval to gain the neighbouring wood behind the fence of which I have just spoken. Black, with his nose in the air, had discovered this fraudulent escapade, and the good dog had put us again upon the beast's track. We continued then our pursuit, until, at a winding of the wood, we were startled by a gun, fired by a new hunter, one of Mr. Potter's neighbours, who came up to join the chase. He had caught sight of the cat at the moment he attempted to escape. Unfortunately, his gun was loaded with small shot ; the animal was stung to the quick, but not wounded. In front of us, at a short distance, the cat had hoisted himself up a tree, and leaped from branch to branch, without venturing again to touch the ground. Will he play us another of his tricks? thought I. Come, my little tiger ; this time you shall not escape us. We all dismounted, attached our horses to the trees, and stood immovable, with our fingera on our triggers. 160 A FEMALE VICTIM. wratching for a favourable opportunity. Three guns were simultaneously discharged, and yet the animal was not touched. " Good ! " I cried ; " I see him ; he is clambering up a high branch. Now it is my turn." My gun was loaded with six deer-shot ; I fired ! The cat climbed much higher. I had another barrel to dis- charge, and selecting the moment when Master Tom was going to jump on a neighbouring tree, I let go the trigger. I had the satisfaction of killing him " flying," and of seeing him fall from a height of fifty feet, in the presence of all my comrades assembled expressly to ap- plaud my address, into the jaws of our dogs, which ap- peared open for the purpose of receiving it. Alas ! my dear readers, this cat was — a female cat, much smaller than my great Tom cat number one ; but, by way of compensation, she was more beautiful and of a far more brilliant fur than her congener. Our admiration of this last piece of booty was of brief duration, for the sun sunk towards the horizon, and we had to accomplish a five miles' ride to retuiii to our dinner and the charming Creoles, daughters of our host, at whose feet we purposed laying the spoils of our three cats. Behold, then, our horses urged to the gallop ; and as soon as we entered the long avenue of acacias leading to the lawn in front of Mr. Potter's villa, a shrill blast of our bugle-horn announced at once our return and our victory. The cloth was spread on the table; the covers were set J and the dinner was ready. We dressed as rapidly as possible, and before long were passing a hearty A DEDICATION. IGl eiilogium on the carefully prepared dishes of our host's sable cook, — to whom I now dedicate this chapter of my volume, a remote souvenir of a true and ever-present friendship — the friendship of the stomach ! * *[Tbe wild cat {FelU cattuferus) has a shorter tail than the domestic cat, a flatter and larger head, and stouter limbs. In colour he is generally of a pale yellowish-gray, with dusky stripes; those on the back running longi- tudinally, those on the sides transversely, and with a curved direction. The tail is embellished with several rings of blackish-brown and dull white alter- nately ; the tip of the nose, and the lips, are black. He lives in woods, and preys on hares, birds, and other animals. He is now very rare in England, and will soon be known only by the stuffed specimens in our Museums.] (414) 11 CHAPTER XII. THE WILD GOATS. «• Y ascending the course of the river Arkansas, which has given its name to one of the largest stat"^-) in the North American Republic, in- corporated some forty years ago, the traveller soon arrives ab the foot of the Masstrna Mountains, — a range of precipitous peaks in continuation of the great chain of the Cordilleras. This vast desert, whose soil is ohiefly trodden by a few nomadic Indian tribes and a legion of wild animals, the only beings which relieve Avith an a^nect of life its wide and awful solitudes, is covered for eight months in the year with a spotless carpet of thick THE WILD GOAT. 163 1' isaa, •gest in- eller — a jreut )il is gion 1 an i for hick snow. Numerous glaciers feed the cascades and water- courses which tumble down from ledge after ledge, to lose themselves in the boundless wastes of the American Sahara. Bears abound in the ravines of these mountains ; and grouse are met with at every step under the cover of the cotton-trees, the cedars, and dwarf oaks, which grow between every fissure of the rocks. The racoons, the cougars, and the cayeutes dispute with each other for the countless prey ; the geese, the turkeys, the qiunils, the cranes, and even the ostriches — for there are ostriches in the United States* — swarm throughout the territory, to the great delight of the hunter and the trapper. But the most elegant quadruped, innumerable herds of whom graze in freedom on the turfed peaks of the Ameri- can Switzerland, is, undoubtedly, the wild goat, called by the Shoshone and Creek Indians Apertachoekoos, and by the naturalists Sprong-hxmi. The pioneers who formed part of Lewis and Clarke's expedition, during their journey across the prairies be- tween the chain of the Masseme and that of the Rocky Mountains, were the first to describe this graceful animal. Like the chamois and the isards, the American wild goats are so timid and mistrustful, that they never rest except on the summits of the precipices and the rocky ridges, whence they can overlook all the approaches to their lofty asylums. So keen is tlieir sight, so subtle their faculty of smell, that it is always very difficult to ap- proach them within gunshot ran^j. No sooner do they * The American ostrich Averages five feet in height, and four feet and a half in length, from the stomach to the extremity of the tail. Their beak mea- sureK &ve inches, and is very pointed. 164 A FLOCK OP GOATS. comprehend the danger which threatens them, than they dart forward, and sweep past the vision of the hunter with greater velocity than a bird on the wing. Every evening, the troops of wild goats cautiously quit the precipitous plateaux, descend into the plains which extend at the foot of the mountains, and march in single file to quench their thirst at the nearest spring. But let the slightest peril threaten the herd, and the male, who marches at the head, utters a shrilJ cry, and suddenly, wheeling completely round, like a well-disciplined bat- talion, the animals scamper away with the rapidity of lightning, the male always keeping in the rear, ready to confront the attacks of the hunter or of any other enemy, as frequently occurs. I remember to have heard Colonel Kearney one day relate, that during his journey across the prairies, having pursued a flock of seven wild goats, he succeeded in get- ting up with them, against the wind, on a height over- hanging a waterfall, whose clash and clang had deadened the sound of his footsteps. The male of the flock stood sentinel, and promenaded around the rock in the middle of six goats. Suddcinly the wind changed, and brought to the wild goat the human odour, betraying the colonel's presence. A sharp shrill noise was immediately heard, and the seven animals disappeared afar like a vision. To run to the summit of the rock which rose about two hundred paces in front of him, to cast an anxious glance over the surrounding country, was for Colonel Kearney the affair of a moment; but the animals had already cleared a space of five hundred yards, and when the panting and exhausted hunter arrived at the point where THE SHOSHONE INDIANS. 165 the goats had pastured, lie perceived them disappearing in a ravine to which no visible means of access existed. HjwI they made a leap of one hundred and eighty feet from the summit of the rock to the bottom of the ravine 1 Had they dived into the depths of the abyss by some route known only to themselves? It was im- possible to say, and neither the colonel nor his com- ptuiions could solve the mystery. The flight remained u miracle ; it was so incomprehensible and inexplicable. On another occasion. Colonel Kearney fell in with a flock of wild goats, whom the heat and the drought had di'iven to the banks of the Missouri to quench their thirst. A tribe of five himdred Indians had surrounded them, and forced them right into the river. There these quadru- peds, who dread the water nearly as much as the rifle, nearly all fell victims to their imprudence. The wild goats are frequently beguiled by the devices with which the Indians excite their curiosity — concealing themselves behind a tree, and waving a bit of cloth or a white handkerchief. The lure draws the animal forward until he comes within range of the hunter's gun. Of all the North American Indians, the Shoshones are the most skilful in chasing the wild goat. When they contrive to surround a troop, they drive it before them into the middle of the plain. There, mounted upon excel- lent horaes, they separate into parties of three, and suc- cessively pui*sue the terrified animals, who find themselves met at every turn by their new enemies, before whom they are forced to " wheel about face." Hemmed in on every side, they are at a loss what direction to follow, and each becomes the prey of the hunter, falling before his arrows. 166 A " KARA AVIS." Among the passengers of the steam-boat Argo, on board of which I sailed for the United States, nearly thirty years ago, was a Swiss, from Appenzell, whose open honest countenance, genial manners, and natural affability, attracted me from the very first. By a lucky chance his cabin was next to mine, which I shared with a mission- ary bound for Canada, to teach the Catholic faith to the Redskins of the northern deserts. An agreeable inti- macy soon arose between the Swiss and myself; and we were so often together, on deck and at table, that the Jesuit most obligingly offered to take the berth of my new friend, and give up his own. The exchange was quickly made, and I myself assisted in the removal of the goods and chattels. Behold us then installed, M. Simond and myself, in the same cabin, rejoicing that we were at full liberty to con- verse, dream, and poetize together. It is rare enough that in life one finds one's alter ego, — a friend who thinks like one's-self, whose tastes are the same, whose principles are identical, whose reveries are as bold ; well, this rara avis I had discovered, and without being either of us perfect, we agreed together on all important points. The chase, and its irresistible attraction, frequently served as the theme of our long evening conversations on the quarter-deck. M. Simond, after completing his edu- cation at the University of Fribourg, had returned to the home of his father, a rich farmer, cultivating an immense estate between Claris and Schwytz, and near Mount St. Gothard. The life of a shepherd and a hunter, rude as it may be, had from the first been the coveted goal of my young friend's desires ; he accepted with intense delight APPENZELL BOTTOM. 167 the duties of the profession which he embraced without having chosen it, because it was exactly adapted to his tastes and the bent of his mind. Game abounded over all the ten'itory owned by the Simond family, and the fanner's eldest son soon became famous far and wide for his unsurpassed skill as a marksman. His favourite chase was that of the chamois, which, forty years ago, were numerous enough in the Alpine district around St. Gothard. It is no part of my province to relate the causes which, in 1841, brought M. Simond to the United States : to understand the following narrative, the reader needs only to be informed that my friend, after losing all the mem- bers of his family, emigrated to America, taking with him several Swiss shepherds, to found a little colony on tho confines of the Western Prairies. At New York, much to our regret, we separated, — the one going straight to his goal, towards the unknown ; the other remaining in the midst of unknown men and women, in a half-civilized world. We promised to keep up a corresi)oudonce ; and I engaged, on my word of honour, to pay a visit at some future time to the Euro- pean trapper, wherever he might have established his log- cabin ; — and each of us kept liis promise. It was the year of grace 1845 : M. Simond, settled on the western slope of the Masseme Mountains, in the northern corner of tho State of Arkansas, had for three years solicited " the pleasure " of my visit to his out- lying plantation, which he had baptized with a name dear to his i*ecollections — Appenzell Bottom. The holidays having arrived, I decided, one fine morning, to trust my- 168 A MEETING OF FRIENDS. self to a railway-train ; and behold me en route for my Swiss-American friend ! Ten days after my departure from New York I arrived at Fayetteville ; and the day following, at sunset, my guide led me to the banks of a small lake, surrounded by magnificent poplar-trees, and covered with half-tame aquatic birds of nearly every species, at whose extremity rose a picturesque and skil- fully constructed Swiss ch&let. Some tiny huts, intended for various farming and domestic purposes, enhanced the beauty of the landscape. It was the abode of my friend Simond. How great was our joy to greet one another again ! How swiftly flew the hours which followed upon this happy reunion ! I leave my brother sportsman to imagine what questions I addressed to the hardy pioneer, whose spirit had not quailed at a banishment into the heart of the wilderness, and who lived there in single-blessedness, a bachelor, with a score of negro farm-labourers, and seven shepherds of his own country, whose only occupation was to watch over the numerous flocks that prospered so sur- prisingly among the green rich pastures of Appenzell Bottom. Naturally enough, our conversation turned upon hunt- ing ; and among other sports to which my host promised me an introduction was a battue of wild goats on the peaks of the Massorne Mountains. I had often heard of chamois-hunting in Europe, without over having essayed its adventurous enjoyments; my host's promise, there- fore, filled me with delight. A few days afterwards, all our preparations having been completed, it was decided we should join M. A ROMANTIC LANDSCAPE. 169 Siniond's Swiss shepherds ; and accordingly we both set out one Sunday evening to ask a lodging at a neighbour's farm-house, about five miles from Appenzell Bottom. M. Simond's friend and countryman was an old man of seventy, surrounded by a numerous family, whose hospi- tality was Suriss in the true sense of the word. In these wild regions of the central prairies, where the baneful influence of the European population has not yet penetrated, where men's manners are still pure and patriarchal, the religious usages of the Old World are observed with scrupulous fidelity. So, after the evening repast, our aged host took down Luther's Bible, and read a chapter aloud in a clear, strong voice. The women were seated on one side of the room, the men on the other ; and Simond and I did not refuse to join in their simple worship. On the following morning, soon after dawn, armed with our guns and loaded with our game-bags, we let loose our dogs, and started on our adventure. The path we ascended was full of windings, and imperfectly made. Deep night prevailed in the mountain gorges and their dangerous abysses; all around us bristled sombre and l)recipitous rocks, illuminated by the rays of a moon half veiled with clouds. Such was the fantastic aspect of these masses of stone, that one might well have mistaken them for an array of giants stationed to watch over the solitude of the mountains. As our footsteps startled the silence, crowds of noc- turnal birds sprang up before us, and fluttering above our heads, quickly disappeared in the obscurity. As we moved forward the day appeared to rise in company with us ; the stara vanished, absovbed in the ethereal azure ; 170 THE MASSEllNE SHEPHERD. ! I the moon, wan and white as a phantom, seemed to recede behind the elevated points of the Masserne chain. Our dogs, left at liberty to follow their own devices, frequently started a covey of moorfowl from the shelter of an overhanging crag, or the branches of whortleberries which embellished the leeward sides of the rocks. At length, after a day's painful march, we arrived at the sheep-folds of my friend Simond, situated on one of the table-lands of the Majsserne Mountains. Every year, in the month of June, the shepherds of Appenzell Bottom conducted their flocks to this immense plateau for pasturage. On the summit of an eminence sheltered from the wind by a mass of granite, they had constructed a group of huts, half excavated from the solid stone, and covered with roofs of clay, — whose existence could only have been suspected by their buildera. These huts were so arranged as to surround the flock and defend it, in case of attack, from the cayeutes, w^o abound in the neighbourhood. A bundle of whortleberry twigs closed the low and narrow entrance of each primitivo lodging. The circumstance which revealed to me these huts waa the dense smoke escaping from one of them. On ap- proaching its threshold we were received by a shepherd, who had been waiting for us from the day before, notice of our coming having been given by a negro, whom M. Simond had sent in advance with provisions and muni- tions. The Masserne pastor was a man in the prime of life ', he appeared to be some forty years old ; his healthy face, and his long curled locks falling down his neck, gave him a somewhat wild look, to say nothing of the ursine character which he derived from his robe of furs — A NUMEROUS FLOCK. 171 a robe enveloping him from head to foot. He had been loft at home to pi-epare supper for his companions, and we had scarcely seated ourselves in front of the door of their principal residence before they debouched, one by one, through one of the cols, or passes, of the table-land, partly es- coi*ting, and partly driving before them, a flock of ten thousand sheep, goats, alpacas, cows, and oxen. It was truly a sight to see all these domestic animals, passing slowly, chiming their bells, and kept in per- fect order by a dozen enormous dogs, ^vith jet - black skins and tufted tails. In a very short time the flock was penned up for the night, and then each shepherd began to think of his supper. And while they ate their onion soup and u ration of boiled meat, washed down by a dram of brandy, each gave in his report for the day. A herd of nineteen wild goats had been sighted at about five miles from the sheep-farm, tranquilly feed- ing on a precipitous table-land, bor- dered on one side by a ravine, at the bottom of which rolled a torrent, fed by the springs and snows of the Masserne chain. For five whole icmwm^m ONE OF THE COLS. 172 THE devil's peak. days they had not quitted this pasturage ; and that same morning one of the shepherds had caiight sight of them, tranquilly shimbering amongst the herbage, under the guardianship of a sentinel who watched on the summit of the rock. We decided on the instant that we would start before day and repair directly to the Devil's Peak ; for such was the name which the shepherds had given to the table-land occupied by the wild goats. The sun rose radiantly ; the day was magnificent ; and when the first beams gilded the snowy crests of the Mas- seme Mountains, we were all posted — M. Simond, one of the shepherds, my host's negro, arr^ myself — at the differ- ent passes of the table-land. The pastor, who was to conduct the hunt, had placed me near a crevasse, about twenty-six feet wide, whose depth I durst not measure for fear of dizziness. After recommending me to keep completely silent, and to preserve a perfect immobility, while holding myself ready to fire, he quitted me to drive back the game. Half an hour passed in silent expectation. I had pro- vided myself with a telescope, and surveyed, to kill the time, the acclivities and summit of the precipices. At length I descried a goat bounding and leaping at about a quarter of a league from me ; and this first animal was soon followed by five or six others, who stopped short, with pricked ears, eyes wide open, nose sniffing the wind, and occasionally pawing with their hoofs, in readiness to take to flight. It was an auspicious moment ; my joy could no longer be controlled. By a phenomenon of very common occurrence in the Masseme chain, a thick mist suddenly enveloped us ; the ON THE WATCH. 173 heat was overwhelming; everything presaged a storm, and before long it came. The thunder pealed hoarsely above our heads, beside us, and beneath our feet ; I took shelter under a wide-spreading cedar, in the belief that lightning would not touch a resinous tree. I had a nar- row escape. The electric shaft fell within thirty paces of my covert, and clove open an enormous rock. The pro- found obscurity which reigned around me ; the flights of crows which hovered to and fro unable to find a shelter, — everything combined to render the scene I am attempt- ing to describe equally sublime and horrible. Soon large drops began to fall ; they increased in size and number ; the rain fell like a deluge ; the ravines roared with innumerable torrents, with foaming cascades, which swept onward in their boiling floods the trunks and branches of uprooted trees. The cedar which pro- tected me, as it was beaten by the rain and shaken by the wind, seemed to utter cries of anguish. The water poured in all directions through its leafy screen. By degrees, however, a north wind rose, which scat- tered the frowning clouds; the sun reappeared, and nature gradually recovered her primitive calm. I soon discovered the shepherd on the summit of one of the hil- locks which surmounted the table-land, and a few seconds afterwards five reports of rifles were repeated by all the mountain echoes. The pastor, like a statue, held himself upright on a rock ; I saw him make me a sign with his hand ; my heart throbbed as if it would break ; my eyes opened wide and immovable. I held my double-barrel at full-cock. At length five goats darted past within twenty paces ; I picked out one, and took aim ; my cap missed fire. I drew the trigger of the second 174 ONE TO HIS GUN. barrel, and the animal fell dead within a few feet of the abyss. I should have felt well satisfied with the fortunate shot which enabled me to boast of having killed a wild goat, but for the unlucky chance of my missing my first firo, through the efiect of the damp on the charge of powder. But for this mishap, I might have carried off two proofs of my skill and prowess. I hailed the other hunters, and they joined me in a few moments. M. Simonds had killed two, and his negro one; but the latter animal, hit in the shoulder, had tumbled from crag to crag, and fallen headlong into the toiTent. As for the shepherd, he had seen three members of the troop, but had been unable to bring them within range. With our enormous prizes we returned to the huts of the shepherds, and after rest and refreshment betook ourselves to M. Simond's chS,let. srv^SC^ ^^:^'. ■■ .^ . .^&f(^ CHArTER XIII. THE PECCAFwY. [S a general rule, all animals are seized with a panic-terror at the discharge of a gun ; and if they escape the murderous lead, they fly as best they can, with all the speed which fear can lend to their wings or feet. The peccary is, I sup- pose, the only being in nature which cannot be accused of this pusillanimity. I will say more. It has been proved to me that the report of a gun as loud as the volcanic detonations of Hecla or Chimborazo wiU but redouble the rage of the peccary, who becomes more and more irritated as the danger inci-eases. The animal seems completely insensible to those nervous influences, those inevitable sensations which noise, under whatever form it may be produced, excites in man and the brute. Though the size of the peccary does not ordinarily exceed twenty to twenty-four inches in height, and three and iJ 176 ABOUT THE PECCARY. a half feet in length, from the groin to the root of the tail, not the less is he one of the most dangerous animals of North America. The peccaries live in herds, whose number varies from ten to fifty. Their jaws are Ornamented with tusks like that of a wild boar; but they are straight instead of curved, as with their congeners, and, perhaps on account of this very difference, they are more terrible and mur- derous. Those formidable tusks, as trenchant as a razor- blade, vary in length from four to five inches. The movements Oi the peccaries are as rapid as those of the squirrel ; and such is the strength of* their shoulders, neck, and head, that nothing can resist their impetuous attack. Experience has taught the hunters that, the peccaries never hesitating to spring upon aught which comes in their way, be its object animate or inanimate, the safest plan is to take to flight upou encountering them. As they habitually msh en mctsse on whatever interrupts their march, and as they will fight until the last one of them perishes, it is absolutely useless to make head against them ; for they will cover with wounds ani- mal or man, whate\er his strength and stature, and victory will cost much more than it is worth. When a herd of peccaries comes in sight, then, men, dogs, horses, all seek safety in flight. It is a general sauve-qui-peut ; and the American peccary is the terror of the Nimrods of the New World. This fantastic animal is, undoubtedly, an intermediate link between the domestic pig and the wild boar of the woods. In form his body more nearly approximates to that of the swine ; but h^!s bristles, thinly scattered over a wrinkled hide, have the faculty of stiffening, like the THE PECCARY S LAIR. 177 quills of the porcupine, immediately he is angerel, — and in this he more resembles the boar than any other of the race. The hair of the peccaiy is coloured in zones or rmgs, — the part nearest to the skin being white, and the tip of a chocolate shade. The peccaries have no tail. This appendix is replaced by a fleshy protuberance, which the negroes of Texas call the "hind navel." Another })eculiarity is, that the navel properly so called is not found in these animals in its ordinary place. On the back is a small, shapeless rugosity, containing a deposit of musky liquid, which evaporates on the animal's grow- ing irritated, as is the case with the civet and the musk- cat of i::' ^11 til America. The shoulders, the neck, and the head of the peccary belong to the wild boar ; but the extreme part of the groin is generally slenderer and more delicate. The feet and legs resemble those of the wild boar. His favourite food is berries, acorns, roots, sugar-canes, seed, and rep- tiles of all kinds. We have spoken at some length of the conformation and habits of this animal ; and it still remains for us to allude to the curious fashion in which he takes his rest. His lair is always situated among the tufted, luxuriant, and inextricable cane-bushes, which flourish in marshy localities, round lofty and veneiable trees. The wind and the lightning seem to attack in preference those iso- lated oaks and maples, the giants of the Texan forests, which one sometimes meets with prostrate on the river- bank, and covered with a network of lianas and wild vines. The tnmks of these trees, which ordinarily mea- sure twenty-five to thirty feet in circumference, are nearly always hollow, and serve as a night abode for the pec- («*) 12 'm 178 ORGANIZING A HUNT. I caries. They retire every evening into a trunk large enough to contain about thirty of them. There they huddle together, the snout of one resting on the hind- quarter of another, and the last-comer keeping guard. The Texan planters dread the peccaries, and have vowed against them a deadly hati'ed, not only on account of the ravages they commit in their cultivated fields, and the way in which they slaughter their dogs and muti- late their horses, but also on account of the ridiculous position in which an encounter with peccaries frequently j)laces them, compelling them either to take to their heels lielter-skelter, or to seek safety ignominiously up the nearest tree ; — the planters, I say, seize all the oppor- tunities offered to them of destroying these dangerous [)arasites. As soon as one of them discovers the trunk of a tree which appears to be frequented by his enemies, he organizes a hunt of the most amusing though dan- gerous description. To ensure its success, heavy rain, or, at all events, a thick fog, is necessary ; for, as a rule, peccaries do not quit their asylum in bad weather. Half an hour before daybreak, the hunter, armed with a car- bine and numerous cartridges, lies in ambush opposite the entrance of their customary retreat. There, concealed from every eye, he waits until there is liglit enough to enable him to fire. The moment he can discern the piercing eyes of the peccary posted as sentinel, in whoso rear the entire herd lies asleep, he shoulders his gun, takes carefid aim, and lets go the trigger. The shot takes effect. The peccary s[)rings from the tree, and sinks on the ground in the convulsions of death. The hunter has scarcely time to reload his piece before VICTIM UPON VICTIM. 179 "OONOKALED FKOM EVERY KYK, HR WAIFS." a siibtorranean growling becomes audible, and anotli(M' pair of eyes glare at the opening which, a few minutes before, wius occupied by the sentinel. A second dis- cliarge, and another victim ; and thus the slaughter con- tiniies to the twentieth, and even to the thirtieth, — unless, indeed, one of the animals, excited by the fre- quent explosions, does not wait for the impending blow, but makes a dash towards the hunter, followed by all the other survivors ; in which case there remains for the hunter but one resource, — to fly with all speed, and chuuber up the first tree within his reach. If, during the fusillade, the sentinel-peccaiy lies dead in the trunk of the tree, obstructing the opening, the animal behind it pushes forward the inert mass with his slunddor, until he clears the passage. These animals, being ignorant of the danger, and not knowing whence it arises, are utterly fearless, and spring forth boldly. 180 A VISIT TO CANNEY CREEK. from the first to the last, to encounter the peril. They never throw themselves upon any enemy they cannot see. Their instinct will not guide them, unless the hunter stirs the branches behind which he is concealed, or they hear any sound indicating his place of ambuscade. However incredible may seem the foregoing details, I solemnly declare that such is the mode of hunting adopted by the inhabitants of Texas at Canney Creek and Brazos Bottom, where, some years ago, the country was impass- able from the hosts of peccaries which infested it. At the present day, owing to the indefatigable exertions of the I)lanters and their friends, the Texan wild boars have become almost as rare as those of Europe in the noithern forests. If need were, they could be counted. I shall never forget my first experiment in peccary- hunting. I was enjoying the hospitality of a planter of Canney Creek, to whom I had carried letters of recom- mendation from his brother, a resident at New Yoi'k, and one of my warmest friends. Mr. John Morgan had emigrated to Texas in 1837, with another brother, the youngest of the three ; and his plantation, when I visited it, was unquestionably the finest in the whole country. Compared with these hardy pioneers, I was but a poor hunter ; so they took a pleasure in initial ing me in the dangers of a trapper's life in this primitive region. I listened with a pleasure indescribable to their numerous s]iorting narratives, which, round the evening fire, are the favourite themes of conversation with the inhabitants of the fr<»ntiors. For KOine time tlio peccaiies had Ijeen committing AN AWKWARD POSITION. 181 great ravages in the maize and barley fields of Messrs. Morgan, who waged against them a deadly war; and naturally they delighted to discourse of their numeroup exploits. I exi>erionced a genuine pleasure in hearing them fume and fi-et as they showed me their finest dogs accidentally ripped and torn by the Texan wild boars ; accidentally, I say, for no dog willingly entei-s on a pec- cary-hunt after his first experience of it. One morning, Mr. John Morgan, on entering the room at breakfast-time, informed us that he had been to judge for himself of the ravages committed in his maize-fields by a bear and a herd of peccaries. He had had no difficulty in Killowing up tlie traces of the bear, and while thus engaged had come face to face with the peccaries, who were whetting their tusks against the stems of his maize, and cutting tluuu down like the sickle of a cunning reaper. It was too late for him to effect an honourable retreat ; for his enemies had caught sight of him, and, according to their wont, immediately staited in pursuit, growling, and at every step gnashing their hungry teeth. To stop and discharge his rifle was an impossibility : to save his neck, Mr. Morgan took to his heels. He I'an in the direction of a barrier, and fortunately got there before the peccaries. He climbed to the top of the highest rail, and close upon him came his pursuers, standing on their hind-legs and tearing the wood with their tusks. The lower portion of the fence gave way, and Mr. Mor- gan assured us that he felt much in the position of a hen dancing on a rod-hot bar of iron, while he fired with all possible rai)idity. Ho had already killed several pec- caries, but the rjtge of those who rcniaiucd seemed to in- ■, ft. 182 MAKING ALL READY. crease. All at once he felt the rail on which he sat bend and break ; and before he could find a fresh support, he found himself lying on his back in the middle of a cane- bush on the other side. To spring to his feet, and re- sume his flight, was the work of a second ; and he happily- contrived to reach his residence without further molesta- tion from the peccaries. We hastened to finish our breakfast, and afterwards to make preparations for an expedition in quest of the bear, who was even a more dangerous neighbour for my friends than the peccaries. All three mounted on horseback, precoded by a negro, who blew lustily through a cow's horn, for the purpose, he said, of terrifying those " vermin swine." The pack of hounds was superb. Th«v had been trained to hunt the bear, and belonged to a breed crossed with bull-dogs and greyhounds. Their hide bore traces of wounds inflicted by the tusks of the peccaries and the formidable claws of the bears. While advancing in the direction of the projected hunt, Mr. Morgan gave me the instructions necessary for avoiding an awkward rencontre with the peccaries. He recommended me with particular emphasis not to attempt a stand, but to fly with all speed, unless I wished to see my horse ripped uj), and to get my own limbs torn and broken. Natu- rally, J proruisod to be very prudent; but the yelps and joyous biU'ks of the dogs soon drove from my mind all recollection of the dangerous game we were about to attack. We had ruaohod the cane })ii.shos ; and our liorsos ex- perienced the greatest diiliuulty iu forcing a passagqf tJ IN THE THICKET. 183 through the lianas and vines which interlaced and inter- tangled one another, and rendered the route almost impracticable. Even an iguana would not have found it easy to glide lihrough the tracks trodden down by our horses. So long as it was possible to remain in the passes all went well. We followed with eagerness our dogs, who ever and anon startled the aii* with formidable barkmgs ; but suddenly we heard, right in front of us, a still more terrible noise, accompanied by horrid howls, enough to make one's hair stand erect. Each of us then trusted to his own inspiration, and took what seemed to be the best road for coming up with the bear, the object of our expedition. The horse on which I was mounted dashed into the thickest of the jungle, indulging in leaps and bounds which tried all my skill as a cavalier to prevent myself from being thiown. Meantime, the bear stood at bay before the dogs, in a covert near the route taken by my steed. Suddenly he darted forward, and passed within a few paces of me, unperceived through the dense screen of verdure which rose between us. At this moment my horse became furious : I found it impossible to guide him, and I felt myself lifted from my saddle by the lianas which everywhere surrounded me. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to cling tenaciously to the bridle, and I recovered my equilibrium, without giving a thought to the contusions I had experienced. The shock, how- ever, forced me to comprehend the perplexed position in which I found myself, and I then began to think of clear- ing a way through the thicket with my hunting-knife. Just at this crisis, the bear, having been stopped short in his route by my three comj)iiiiions, returnoil in uiy 184 HORSE AND BEAK. direction, pursued by the dogs, and breaking and tearing away the lianas and canes in his passage. My horse was seized with a frenzy of terror much worse than his former outburst. He woiild fain have gone forward ; but, turn- ing and re-turning to disengage himself, he found himself soon caught in a network of climbing and creeping shioibs of all kinds, whose solidity would have defied the mus- cular arm of a Samson or a Hercules. In this supremo moment the bear again swept by me, harassed by the dogs, who bit him in their rage. On catching sight of the ferocious animal — the first, perhaps, he had ever seen — my horse began to recoil with such nervous force, that I felt myself strangled and suffo- cated by the pressure of the lianas which opposed my retreat from the thicket. By great efforts, and with the sacrifice of my coat-sleeve, whose tatters fluttered on the roods of the cane-bush, I contrived to release my arm, and with the assistance of my bowie-knife cut away so many branches, that I succeeded in forcing my way out of the labyrinth in which I had been entangled. I was then free to listen to the formidable concert of ncighings, barkings, bowlings, and yelpings, in which Injur, and dogs, and horses sonorously joined. I did my best to reach the scene of combat, which, as fur as T could judge, was at the foot of a gigantic troo. I dis- tinctly heard the shouts of my hosts, and in due tiuus they and I arrived at the centre of operations. Suddenly Mr. John Morgan and I broke through the hedge of canes which had obstructed our vision, and before us, in the centre of a space of about twelve yards in circumference, which had been cleared by the com- batants, we discovered the bear attempting to haul hia SAUVE QUI PEUT ! 185 ungainly body up the trunk of the tree. The dogs, de- riving encouragement from the approach of the hunts- men, made a final attack upon their enemy, whose body they literally covered ; so that, in fact, we could not find an inch of skin where we might direct a bullet. While we were thus hesitating to make use of our fire- arms, and while the bear shook his opponents right and loft, and in every direction, a troop of peccaries made their appearance, and simultaneously charged the bear, the dogs, and the huntsmen. The cries, the howls, the gene- ral sauve qui peut, can only be imagined by those of my i*eaders who have been placed in an analogous situation. The dogs, with their tails between their legs, rushed towards us; the bear, maddened by his wounds, de- moaned himself like an unchained lunatic, and with his feet and his teeth blindly dealt death around him. The first sentiment experienced by my friends and myself had been one of stupor ; but from this we were soon awakened by the consciousness of our danger. " Sauve qui 2Jeut" cried Mr. Morgan, in a voice ex- pressive of anger and astonishment. His brother, and the iiogro who had followed us, joined him in shouting, " The peccaries, the peccaries ! Save youi*self, save your- self!" To this unwonted cry was jiddcd the repoit of our car- bines in the middle of the cane-bush, where the peccaries were heedlessly stami)ing to and fro. The swiftness of our horses, stimulated by fear much more than by our spurs, soon brought us back to Mr. Morgan's plantation. 1'hcre I carefully folded in my portmanteau the hunting- coat, that it might in aft(!r-days r(;mind me of my first encounter with the American I\;ccarics. tuiuwu-""" I 18G A TEXAN hunter's STORY. A slioi't time aftor this adventure I embarked at Gal- veston, on my return to New Orleans, and from thence to the Northern States. In the evening, in the cabin of the Star of the West steamer, a pioneer from Western Texas, who, with his fi'iends, was seated round a table loaded with glasses of " brandy punch," related a story of peccary-hunting, which, I think, will interest the reader, and which, therefore, I shall here reproduce exactly as he told it. " I was staying," said the Texan hunter, " with one of my friends, a farmer at Trinity Swamp. You know that we [tlanters are passionately fond of hunting ; so my friend and I spent all our days rifle in hand. One morning, when I was walking alone on the threshold of a wood, I fell in with a herd of peccaries. I was ignorant then of the vindictive temper of these accursed wild swine ; so I imprudently fired at one of them, and killed hiin. Imme- diately the rest of the troop rushed upon me, and attacked me with their tusks. I had much ado to defend myself with the aid of the butt of my carbine, and as soon as one old fellow rolled on the ground, another took his place. Weary of the struggle, I sprang towards the trunk of a tree, and catching hold of one of its branches, hauled myself up to a forked bough about seventeen or eighteen feet from the ground. " Here I found myself, I confess, in a very i)ainful position. One hour, two hours, three houi-s passed ; no help arrived. My terrible besiegers surrounded the tree, where I was perched like St. Simeon Stylites on his colinnn, and did not appear to have any intention of re- tiring. Suddenly an idea passed through my head : Per- haps my friend is looking about for me, I said to myself; " OATHEIUNO AS IT ROLLS." 187 if I dischargo my giin, he will hear it and coine to my deliverance. And while summoning him, could I not turn my powder to some profit, and kill one of these Satanic peccaries] Immediately I carried my thought into practice, and the biggest of the troo[) rolled at the foot of the tree in convulsions of agony. One idea led to another. I had twenty bullets in my game-bag, and I could count just nineteen peccaries at the foot of the tree. Nothing could be easier than to kill them all, one after another ! I began my musketry exercise, incessantly reloading and tiring, and at each victory uttering an * Hurrah ! * which awoke every echo in the forest. At length, this continuous fusillade attracted my friend's attention ; but just as he appeared on the scene, I slew the last peccaiy. You may conceive his astonishment at the spectacle of the wholesale slaughter I had committed." The Texan hunter's hearers had listened to his recital with great interest, and now heartily congratidated him on his skill as a marksman. Two months afterwards, I descended the Mississippi from St. Louis to New Orleans, on board the steam-boat Black Eagle, and my Texan hunter happened to be one of my travelling companions. In the evening, the pas- sengers, gathering around the stove, discussed political and commercial subjects, and adventures by flood and field. My Tf'xan took care that his peccaries should not be for- gott<"n. I did not think it my business to remind him that I had already heard his narrative ; but judge of my surprise when he varied the latter part of it as follows : — " One hour, two hours, three hours passed ; no help arrived. Both physically and morally I felt ill at ease. ™rJH ^ >, 9. ^^O. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 •" 140 mil 2.0 12.2 Hill— f '/a % •> 7 HV^ 7 Photographic Sciences Corporation V, WEST MAIN STREET wiBSTER.N.y. useo (716) •72-4503 %0 ^ \ V ;V 188 A WONDERFUL NARRATIVE. I made a movement to change my position, but lost my equilibrium and fell. Happily, I let go my rifle, stretched out my arm, and seized a branch. Then I found myself suspended in a very awkward fashion ; my feet were not more than five feet from the ground, and below me the peccaries were tossing to and fro, in hungry expectation of seizing and rending their prey. Fortunately their efforts were vain. I thought myself saved ; but mark now the extraordinary instinct of these animals ! Several of them lay down on their bellies ; others mounted on the backs of these ; and so they formed a kind of ladder, on the top of which an enormous peccary mounted to the attack, and seized me by my right heel. With the other leg T resisted stoutly, and struck out like a horse. During the struggle the living staircase gave way, and there was the peccary himself suspended to my foot by his tusks, while his companions growled and grunted around us with an infernal clamour. My arms began to feel the* strain, and I saw with alarm that I should be forced before long to let go my grasp of the branch. Suddenly the report of a gun sounded in my ears. The shock flung me to the ground ; I rolled over the enraged peccary : he was dead ! My friend, coming up in the nick of time, had shot him through and through. Immediately picking up my rifle, I placed myself at his side, and we both took ven- geance on the enemy j twenty five peccaries lay dead on the field of battle." This narrative, told with imperturbable assurance, and the most dramatic gestures, in a voice full of emotion, turned pale the cheeks of many of the Texan's auditors, of those especially who had never been initiated into the wild life of the Backwoods. MORE WONDERFUL THAN EVER. 189 A fortnight later — an unfortunate rencontre ! — among the passengers of the Red Rover steamer, which was ascending the Mississippi as far as St. Louis, I found my Texan adventurer. A numerous group of Kentuckians surrounded him, and lent a willing ear to his hunting narratives. I did as they did ;'but the reader may con- ceive my astonishment, nay, my stupefaction, when I heard our raconteti/r's well-known romance undergo a third and still more wonderful transformation. "One hour, two hours, three hours passed; no help arrived; and I felt that my strength was failing. I should have essayed to kill all the peccaries ; but unfor- tunately, in order to climb the tree, I had flung my rifle on the gi'ound. What should I do ] I was on the point of abandoning myself to despair, of leaping into the midst of my besiegers, and making a hopeless sortie, when my friend suddenly appeared upon the scene. As soon as he saw my terrible position, he, without giving a thought to the risk he ran, took aim at the largest peccary, fired, and killed him. Immediately the whole herd turned upon him, growling frightfully. The instinct of self- preservation led my friend to imitate my example, and clamber up the nearest tree. Then I descended, while the peccaries raged at the foot of the tree where my friend was . posted. I seized my gun, reloaded it, and sent a ball through the head of one of the animals. They straightway rushed upon me ; but, nimble as a squirrel, I regained my branch. My friend descended in his turn, regained his rifle, advanced within mnge, killed one of our adversaries, and rapidly remounted into his tree. " Tlien I redescftpf^ed ; reloaded ; shot another peccary ; was again pui*sued ; but again made good my retreat, 190 THE GASCONy OP NORTH AMERICA. without suffering injury. Will you believe it, gentlemen 1 fifteen times I repeated this manoeuvre ; fifteen times my friend repeated it ; and these stupid animals never failed to rush after the last person who had fired upon them. When we had killed them all, we counted the spoil ; there lay exactly fifteen peccaries at the foot of m^ tree, and exactly fifteen others at the foot of the tree where my friend had sought refuge." The fertile imagination of the Texan hunter far exceeded, in reference to this particular line of exploit, anything I had ever been able to dream of. I inquired of the steam- boat captain, who appeared to know him intimately, the place of his birth, and was informed that this hero of the woods first saw daylight on the banks of the Wabash. I was much edified by this information, and so will be my readers, when I tell them that the Wabash is the Ga- ronne of North America ; in other words, that the terri- tory of the Wabash is the North American Gascony 1 Here I conclude my chapter on the Peccary, for after the Texan hunter's adventure I could relate nothing which would not appear flat and uninteresting. Truth is not always stranger than fiction ; and my genuine ex- periences assuredly do not approach in excitement and singularity to the adventure in which the Texan, accord- ing to his own account, played so prominout a part. 19 ■.■^> _^i'- CHAPTER XIV. THE STAG. 'N the wave-worn coast of South Carolina lies a magnificent island called Edisto, plantetl with cotton-trees in the cultivated portions, and clothed, in the centre and at the northern extremity, with an immense forest abounding in all kinds of game. The colonists who have subdivided it, or mther to whom the different farms and plantations have de- scended by inheritance, wei*e the most hospitable and genial persons whom I met with during my whole sojourn in the United States. The elegant villas which tliey inhabit during the beautiful seasons of the year, — spring, autumn, and winter, — are fitted up with every comfort and luxury which the heart could desire. In a word, the life which men lead at Edisto has always seemed to mo, I 192 A PLEASANT SCENE. with but little difference, like that which lulled the heroic Hannibal to sleep during his fatal residence at Capua. As for myself, I declare that I have never spent hap- pier hours than those which I passed with my good friends the owners of Schooley's Mansion; and if this page should ever be unfolded before them, let it bear witness to my sincere gratitude to Mr. Dallifold and all his family. Let my readers picture to themselves a very attractive brick-built mansion, painted of a rose-tinted white, the colour of the magnolia flower. A green vei-andah, su]>- ported by a colonnade embellished with lianas, and nmning all round the house, gives it a fairy-like aspect, rendered still more graceful by the flowering trees planted on every side ; so that the house, embosomed in the shadow, re- sembles a nest of humming-birds concealed in a bush of odorous acacias. The balmy breath of the orange and citron trees are so much the sweeter, that they are borne on the wings of a warm and gentle breeze which rises from the sea, whose waves wash the sloping greensward of the garden-lawn. Gilded pheasants, and the biinls of China and Japan, daintily pick up in the avenues the grains distributed by the planter's two pretty Creole daughters; and in ponds and canals of salt-water, re- newed at every tide, fishes of all kinds disport, perfectly acclimatized, and resigned, so to speak, to their transient captivity. This flowery Eden is, I think, the most pic- tui'esque in the world. I have thought it my duty to describe it as best I could, before resuming my details of the chase. I had brought, along with my portmanteau, an excel- AT BREAKFAST. 193 lent rifle by Lepage, which hod ah'eady done good sei'vico in my swan-hunting expedition. On the day after my aiTival at Edisto, taking with me a negro of the planta- tion, I set forth to explore the ground, following up the course of the lolof. In two hours I had the luck to see numerous flocks of wild ducks, several pairs of pheasants, a dozen or so of turkeys, two deer, and, better still, a catamount (cat of the mountains), one of the most voracious of the North American camaria. Of all this game I killed my share, and with a dozen trophies hanging on the shoulders of Adonis, — for such was my attendant's mythological name, — we returned to Mr. Dallifold's villa. During breakfast, my host proposed that I should accompany him and his friends in a grand hunting ex- cursion to the island of St. John, which lies contiguous to Edisto, and whose woods ave frequ«inted by numbers of the Virginian deer.* The project pleased me, and I gladly assented to it. In the course of the day, my host sent word to several of his neighbours ; and on the follow- ing day, at five o'clock in the morning, we crossed in a light boat the arm of the sea which separates Edisto fi*om St. John, to land in front of a little hut occupied as a stable and stable-house by some negro keepers of a, manfida of mustangs, belonging to Mr. Dallifold. The dogs were coupled, the horses saddled, the break- fast served on a rustic table covered with a white cloth ; * This is a generic name given by Audubon to tlie noble animal described by Gaston Phoebus and so many other authors. Observe, by the way, that the stag of the United States is of about the same siie and appearance as that of France, and is only distinguished from the European kind by its antlers, which are curved inwards, with the point towards the snout ; so that while the European stag strikes and defends himself with raised head, the American acts in an exactly opposite manner, like the hammer on the anvil. (414) 1.*^ ,1 'I I in ' II''' iiiJI|lW4IM>i^pHWP»li<^|llltllll>^ 194 A PARTY OP SIX. SO, when Vre had satisfied an appetite whetted by the keen air of the ocean, each hastened to select the t« ._, r-<— fc- ■jl'JIMMl'.fiJi^ 202 AN AWKWARD SHOT. Silence again prevailed, and the two men continued to advance on all-fours in the furrows of the bean-field. Suddenly the first halted, and with his foot struck tho shoulder of the negro, who stopped in his turn. At fifty feet, in the track of the moonlight, stood a second stag as big as the former. To advance further would have been imprudent. So Slouch shouldered his rifle, and after having taken aim for a few seconds, let go the trigger. The stag made a bound, and fell back heavily on the ground. He was dead ! The report had awakened all the neighbouring echoes, and the owls, who were brooding among the boughs, flew into the air, terrified by the unaccustomed sounds. It was a solemn spectacle. To spring towards the {$lace where the noble animal lay extended, to make sure that he had ceased to live, to cut him and remove the intestines, to tie his feet together and throw him over the horse's crupper, was the work of a quarter of an hour. These operations were performed in silence. So, when all was finished, at the moment that Pompey, who held the horse's bridle, made ready to take the road back to Mr. Ramson's house, the two poachers trembled, for a sudden noise disturbed the intense hush. Slouch, who had hastily reloaded his carbine, turned *n the direction of the fire, which was still burning; his eyes encountered those of an animal advancing towards it. Another report was heard. Immediately, Pompey, springing to the front, cried out, in terror, — " Alas, alas ! you have killed the colt of Squire Ram- son's favourite mare ! " And, true enough, there lay in the stiflhess of death u THE UNFAITHFUL OVERSEER. 203 ^; magnificent two years old colt : the ball had stinick him in the shoulder, and sunk deep into the flesh. " What on earth shall we do ? " said Slouch ; " shall we bury the beast 1 — The stench will betray it. Or throw it into the pond 1 — That will be just as bad. Oh, I have it ! " said he, as if struck by a sudden thought. " Help me, Pompey ; I have hit on a means of concealing my ill-luck, and no one will be a whit the wiser." The two poachers dragged the animal towards a hedge composed of stakes piled one upon another, and thrust the pony on one of them, exactly at the place where the bullet had penetrated his body. "To-morrow," said Slouch, "the eagles and buzzards will attack the beast, and before evening not e soul will be able to tell how he met his death ; it can only be guessed that he impaled himself in attempting to leap the hedge. Now, Pompey, while I return to the house, do you go as far as the postmaster's, and take to Jack the stag I have killed. Tell him to place it on the coach for Charleston, and see that it is delivered at the address he knows of. Go, and remember to be silent and prudent. You shall have a dollar for your trouble, and two pounds of tobacco. One moment ! A thought has occuired to me : instead of riding my horse, mount Mr. Ramson's mare; this will keep her away from the grounds, and prevent her looking after the colt. On your return, let her loose in the fields, and if anything happens to her, so much the worse ! " The two poachers separated ; and while Slouch, the un- faithful overseer, went to sleep tranquilly, Pompey, obey- ing his orders, found out the mare, saddled her, placed on her back the venison intended for sale at Charleston, and , as 204 A BAD NIGHT S WORK. repaired to the postmaster's house, whei-e Jack the driver was in waiting. The business was concluded, and Fompey, mounted on the mare, had regained the vicinity of Squire Ramson's house, when the beast made a sudden start and threw him on the ground. A shot had been fired, and loud groans disturbed the calm of the night. To jump to his feet, and hasten in the direction of the sufferer, was the affair of a moment with the negro poacher. Before him, at the foot of a tree, a man lay prostrate on the ground, murmuring a prayer, and in the last agonies of death. Pompey recognized in the dying wi-etch his brother Caesar, mortally wounded by a rifle ball, and bathed in blood. . " Oh, is it you, my dearest brother 1 Is it you 1 " he exclaimed in frantic tones. "Who has done you this evil turn) Was it Slouch, the overseer? Tell me, tell me ; for if it was he, I will kill him ! " Ceesar made a sign to his brother to place him with his back against the tree; and then, in broken accents, and at intervals, the unfortunate negro contrived to tell his melancholy tale. His wife, about two houra before, had been taken seriously ill, and he therefore started off in haste, without saying a word to any one, in search of the district surgeon. When near the bean-field he caught sight of the fire burning in the pan. Curiosity attracted him towards it, and, despite the kicks and struggles of the horse he rode, he had advanced almost up to the hedge. Suddenly he heard the report of a gun, and felt himself struck by a ball. At his scream of agony a poacher had rushed to his assistance, and, throwing himself on h's knees, implored him to pardon his fatal error : seeing the \ DEATH OF THE NEGRO. 205 oycs of the mule, lie had thoi.ght to fire on a stag. Ceeaar gave him his forgiveness, and the poacher, fearing to bo surprised, mounted his mare and rode away for dear life. " Thank God," added Ccesar, " you have come just in time ; I feared I should die alone in the middle of the woods. Oh, if I could only once embrace my wife and THANK GOD, YOU HAVE tlOME JUST IN TTMB.. ) her little one ! But I must die without seeing tlieni. Pompey, my brother, be as a father to the new-born, and teach it my name. Adieu, adieu ! Oh ! " The unfortunate negro was dead ! This event produced a powerful impression on the negi'o Pompey. Seized with remorse, he confessed to Mr. Ram- son, when he returned home on the following day, all the details of the poaching expedition. The overseer Slouch, the i)rimary cause of the misfortune that had occurred, was dismissed ; and as ho could not, for want of the necessary certificate, obtain a place on any plaii- : 1 ttidMlMiHilBMtaMtaHNrilMI^'^ 206 ANOTHER HUNTING STORY. tation in the Carolinas, he quitted the coiintiy, and em- barked for California. Pompey still lives at Ramson House. He has replaced Slouch in the management of his master's business trans- actions, and Mr. Ramson has lost nothing by the change. I will now relate another hunting stoiy, in which I myself played the hero «« part : — On a beautiful day in autumn — this is the ordinary commencement of romances, but mine will be a perfectly true history — I found myself, some twenty-five years ago, at a tavern kept by an Irishman on the borders of Big Wolf Lake, about thirty miles from the great sheets of water named the Paranacs, in the northern district of the State of New York. I had been invited by a gentleman farmer, whose acquaintance I had made at Newport during the season of the baths, to spend a week or two with him, and hunt the stag after every American fashion. According to Mr. Eustace, — a charming companion at the table and in the hunting-field, a gay devotee of " sport," whatever the kind, and wherever it was to be found, — the woods sur- rounding his farm of Crow's Nest swarmed with animals, and I might easily enjoy the gratification of bringing down a dozen or two of roebucks. Assuredly, a dozen stags — that is, two a day for a week — would have sufficed me ; but four a day seemed an exceptional figure, and I was anxious to ascertain whether Mr. Eustace had not drawn a little too freely on his imagination, and boasted too extravagantly of his hunting domain. \ I had arrived at Crow's Nest on a fine October day, and been received by Mr. Eustace with a truly American THE crow's nest. 207 cordiality. The lady of the house, a very amiable woman, — originally of Baltimore, the city in the United States w^here blood is purest and race most i*espected, — immedi- ately set me quite at my ease, and treated me as a friend and a brother. This may seem to the reader a trifle, but it is an important fact for a guest on his first visit to a family. Mrs. Eustace had a son, a beautifid child of seven, who, the moment he saw me, leaped upon my neck, calling me his " pet friend," and declaiming with a silvery voice he would not leave me. By what mysteri- ous affinity did this gentle little creature conceive at first sight so fond a friendship for me 1 I caimot say : what is certain is, that he did not quit my side until I reached the threshold of the room set apart for my use ; and that on the following day at early dawn, when his father summoned me to breakfast, and to set out afterwards for the chase, James (for this was the child's name) accom- panied him, delighted at the opportunity of bidding his friend the Frenchman a hearty welcome. Mrs. Eustace, like a true housewife, — like a woman who knows her influence, and underatands that youth and freshness have no need of elaborate toilettes, — was already at her post, seated before a table abundantly covered with cold meats, boiled eggs, miiffins, and steam- ing hot cakes of maize and black barley. Everything was cooked " to a turn," and served up with the most admirable neatness; but what doubled the pleasure of the eye and the enjoyment of the taste was the good humour of my hostess, the gentleness of her child, and the joyous temperament of the master of the house. The week which I spent with the amiable farmers of Crow's Nest appears, in the mist of the years passed in 208 A COUPLE OF LANTERNS. the United Stjites, like a fresh oasis, wliere I forgot all my previous fatigues and anxieties. The fii*st day after my an'ival at Crow's Nest was spent in walking about the grounds and plantations ; in the evening we discussed the prospects of the morrow's hunting expedition, and we sat around the tea-table until ten o'clock — a late hour for the people of Crow's Nest, who retired early in order that they might rise in the morning befoi*e dawn. It was the custom, and certainly a custom better than many others, for the maintenance of health. Next morning we were all four seated, including my little friend James, enjoying the good things presented to us by the negro David, our valet de chamhre and coach- man,— in a woixl, the factotum of the house, — when the door-bell rang with a ti*emendous peal, which made us ti-emble on our chaii*a. David went to see what the magisterial summons portended, and.a few seconds after- wards returned to inform his master that the locksmith had brought the lanterns. " Ah, ah, I know what he means ; let him come in." David executed his master's orders, and introduced the locksmith of the neighbouring village, who in each hand held a lantera, shaped like those In general use in the country, with the sole difference that his were hollow underneath like half a pumpkin, and provided in the interior with a reflector, intended to throw the light of the lamp to a distance. I must add to this description that to each lantern was adapted a visor like that of a helmet, and two chin-pieces identical with the straps which soldiei'S wear at the sides of their shakos. "Well," I oriorl, while closely examining the two objects. EVERY MAN HIS OWN LAMP-POST ! 209 whose use I could not understond, " what will you do with these engines 1 " "You do not comprehend?" answered Mr. Eustace. " Try, my dear sir, if you can guess what I intend to do with these lanterns, without my explaining myself further." Uttering these words, the good farmer placed on his Greek cap one of the two lanterns, and fastened under his chin the two straps appended to it. And my frien'^^! James, imitating his father, as all children do, covered his head with the other, to the great delight of the far- mer's dame, who laughed heartily, as she looked at the droll physiognomies of her husband and son. I was no longer able to presorN'^e my own gravity, and abandoned myself to the most immoderate merriment. " Good, good," cried the farmer, " all this is fair ; but at dark to-night you will not laugh, I am certain. You do not understand ; so much the worse for you. This shall be your punishment, and I will tell you nothing respecting it." As the reader will suppose, I was sensible of this reproach, and recovering myself at once, I swallowed my last cup of tea, and seized my double-barrelled gun, which was suspended, along with Mr. Eustace's, to a pair of magnificent antlers. " Let us start," said I, taking a courteous leave of the mistress of the house, and embracing my friend James ; and I set out, while the farmer informed his wife that she was not to expect our return before midnight, or rather before one or two in the morning. Mr. Eustace's house, situated in a valley watered by an olishoot of Big Wolf Lake, surrounded by time-old cedars, (414) .14 210 A WATER-SCENE AT NIGHT. gigantic oaks, and luxuriant walnuts, was admirably placed for an amateur of the chase. Wood on the right ; cultivated fields on the left; meadows sunx)unded by tininks of trees set like chevaux de friaef for the purpose of preventing the game from devastating the plantations of maize, potatoes, batatas, barley, and wheat ; a bright shining lake in front of the house, — a lake twelve miles long and three miles broad, — whose banks were covered with reeds, and frequented by herons, bustards, grebes, water-hens, geese, and ducks of every species — including the famous canvas-back, the king of the palmipeds of North America. Everything combined to make Crow's Nest one of the most magnificent of '' hunting-boxes." A boat awaited us in the creek, at about a gunshot from the farm. David stood in the bow, boat-hook in hand, keeping it close in to the bank until Mr. Eiistace and I had embarked. No sooner were we seated in the stem than Mr. Eustace took the rudder, and gave the signal of departure. David, disengaging the boat from the water-lilies and reeds which flourished on the bank, soon pushed out into the middle, and rowed us hastily in a northerly direction. It was, as I said at the beginning of this episode, a beautiful night; the sun shone on the horizon, water- birds fluttered around us, and befoi'e we reached the Irishman's hut Mr. Eustace and I had killed a score, which a capitally trained spaniel, my friend's faithful companion, hastened in search of without waiting for the word of command, and diving, if need were, when any wounded bird thought by this means to escape his obsti- nate pursuit. And, with but one or two exceptions, the quadruped always carried off the palmiped. HUNTING THE DEER. 211 The Irishman, Samuel Patrick O'Donoghue by name, more generally known by abbreviation as " Pat," was tlie landlord of a tavern, which supplied food and liquor to a company of workmen engaged in opening up a quicksilver mine for a citizen of Boston. Partly on this resource, and partly on the pi-oduce of the chase, lived Master Pat, who was justly esteemed the most skilful sportsman in the country-side. " Good day, Mr. Eustace; good day, sira," he exclaimed, lifting his foxskin cap, the tail of which, falling over his head, resembled the tassel to a life-guard's helmet. " Wel- come, master ! You have arrived in the very nick of time. I was exploring the wood this morning, and found, at about an hour's journey from hei'e, in the bushes of the 'Devil's Hole,* three troops of deer, numbering at least a score of heads." While Pat announced these welcome tidings, David, who had moored his boat, brought our game-bags in one hand, and in the other the lanterns manufactured by Mr. Eustace's locksmith. " Bravo !" cried Pat, overcome with joy at the sight of the two tin utensils painted black ; " bravo ! this will be a jolly affair ! We will just show your friend how we hunt the deer in this part of the country ! " " Good, but not a word more ! I want to surprise my French friend here; so, Pat, keep the secret until evening. Shut your mouth, or talk about something else." "All right," shouted the innkeeper; and without another word he entered the interior of his hut, took down his gun, whistled for his two hounds, and then pre- ceded us along a narrow pathway which led into the heart 212 A TRIPLE DISCHARGE. of the mountains surrounding Big Wolf Lake, and termi- nated at the Devil's Hole. The path was abrupt, very narrow, precipitous, sinuous, and sometimes dangerous; but we had all three the sailor's steady foot, and no accident befell us during our peregrination, which lasted for about an hour and a quarter. The cedars, close set one against another, rendered the passage very difficult. But, thanks to our vigorous hands, we cleared an issue, and finally arrived before a kind of clearing, in whose centre, at sixty yards' distance, some fifteen deer of every size and age, and of both sexes, were either standing or lying down, browzing on the herbage, with open eye and ear erect. " Now, then, my Nimrod from over the sea," whispered Mr. Eustace, " are you not content 1 You have nothing to do but to take good aim and fire straight. Attention ! We are in good wind, and have three rifles to discharge. Pat," added he in a low voice to our guide, " you fi.-e to the left, I will take the centre, and you, monsieur," turn- ing to me, " the right. That is agreed. Take your time; count twenty; and then, fire !" Each took up his position, and on a signal from Mr. Eustace, shouldered his weapon and began to count. Suddenly a threefold discharge rang through the wood, followed at a very brief interval by two fresh reports from my host and myself, who carried double-barrels. " Bravo, well shot ! " shouted Mr. Eustace, as he sprang into the open space and contemplated the victims of our quintuple discharge. . Four stags lay prostrate on the greensward, still writh- ing in the last convulsions of the death agony. . ,/ \ i TAKING TO THE WATER. 213 The fifth shot hud not been 80 well uiniod as the others. It WU8 I who had to confess myself guilty of the mistake, for emotion had paralyzed me, and I had hit the animal, — a fine full-grown deer, — in the left thigh instead of in the neck. So the beast had put foiiJi all the speed left in his three uninjured legs, and Master Pat's hounds darted in hot pursuit, barking their loudest, and behaving like the noble animals they really were. We left them at first to thoir own devices, while we examined our four victims : two males, a female, and a fawn. Then, while Pat undertook to cut open the deer and hang them to the trees out of the reach of cai'nivorous quadnipeds, Mr. Eustjice and myself started in the track of the dogs, who still continued thoir noisy concert, and made every echo ring with the clarion-like peals. Guided by the sounds, we retraced the path by which we had tii-st reached the stags* covert, and after about half-an-hour's journey discovered that the wounded animal had made for the lake. Harassed by Pat's hounds, he still sped onward, losing blood rapidly, but bent with all the energy of despair on preserving his life. All at once there burst upon our eyes the dazzling splendour of the water of a lagoon leading into Big Wolf Lake. It was there the stag must bo captured ; we were about to enjoy the spectacle of his taking to the water. On winding round a path which we had followed as " a short cut," wo perceived that he was already in the water up to his neck, and at bay against the dogs. Still he was evidently dying, for he feebly repelled the attacks of his adversaries, and just as we reached the shore he fell back, choked by his own blood. i 1 ^1 ii' after about ten minutes' exercise worthy of a Saxe ophi- cleide, we perceived a few yards in front of us, illumi- nated as if by magic, the windows of a habitation which Jack announced to be our halting-place. This unhoped-for vision reanimated our courage, and tliat I might I'each it the sooner, so as to share in the geniality of a blazing fire whose gleams seemed to brighten up the whole interior of the house, 1 sprang from the sledge. But, at the very first step, I sank in the snow up to my neck, and, to my great terror, saw engulfed by my side the horse who had alieady done me so much in- i i ; I f 230 A HOME IN THE WILDERNESS. iuiy. The harassed animal undoubtedly thought nie in the right road, and relied on reaching its stable much more quickly by following me. Neverthelc. s, we were both compelled to await the arrival of the Indians from the neighbouring house, who, provided with torches, came at length to rescue us from the tortures of a cold so excessive that it seemed to freeze the very maiTow of our bones. The owner of the house was named Joassin, and his mansion could not well have passed for a palace. We ■ soon discovered, too, that it gained nothing by be'''if!' better known. We entered into a large hall, about ' r; ! ;. feet square, furnished with a couple of beds placed in the farthest corner, with six unfinished chairs, and a rocking arm-chair or fauteuil. In the centre stood a i-ed-hot iron stove, choked with logs of wood ; so that the atmosphere around us was almost sutfocating. We found in readiness to receive us, and gathered close around the stove, the owner of the house, his wife, three tall, lean, and ugly daughters, three sons whom Natuie had favoured as little as their sisters, the five Indians who had extricated me from my bed of snow, and half-a- dozen dogs. While the men, with pipes in their mouths, filled the interior of the hall with a dense cloud of 'oba ;co smoke, the women were preparing on the top of the stove, in a dirty eai-then pan, a tasteless ragout, and a soup of much too Lacedemonian a character, judging by its colour, which gave forth pungent odours of onions and garlic, enough to have turned the stomach of the least fastidious Provencal. Naturally, all those who smoked spat all aiouiid thciii } UNWELCOME BED-FELLOWS. 231 as the floor consequently was not of the cleanest, the place did not appear well adapted for making our beds upon it. Before lying down to rest, we attempted to sup by the aid of a light collation of tea and cakes borrowed from our travelling stores. We afterwards sought, in the midst of this unclean cloaca, two isolated corners, where we might spread our bison-skins, and finish up the night for good or evil. The dogs followed our exami)le ; and as the warmth of our thick furs seemed to them preferable to the damj) ground, they gradually crept in close to our sides, and, in spite of the kicks with which they were greeted, in spite of the threats which we hurled at them, they kept their positions without listening to or heeding our abuse — the iust reward of an obstinate perseverance. For my part, I had an enoriuoua bed-fellow, with a thick shaggy skin, not unlike in figure and jaws the wolves of the wooded districts of France. To increase my felicity, I had placed my couch at the foot of a country clock, recently rei>aired, whose pendulvuii marked the flight of time in the most irritating manner. This deafening metronome, the nauseating odour which arose in every direction, and the suftbcating heat of the rarefied air, kept me long awake. At last, however, I fell asleej), anrl I dreamed an atrocious dream, which repi'c- sented to my abused senses the chamber peopled with clocks, all smoking and expectorating violently, while a Fvodskin of herculean stature marked the seconds on a colossal bell ! Captain Maclean, less nice than myself, sloi)t like a true soldier, and was neithei" to be aroused by the deafening sounds nor the unwholewome atmosphere. hi tf I I' t 1:1 "W 232 THE HURON INDIANS. As soon as the first beams of day appeared, everybody was on foot; and after we had conchided our morning meal, which resembled the evening repast, the Indians hastened to deposit our kettles and travelling effects in their tobogins. The tobogin of the Canadians is a small sledge built up of a few planks as thin as the bark of trees, and shaped in front like a ship's bow. These terrestrial " tenders " are mod ! xtely loaded, and, with the assistance of a leather strap ] ( over the shoulder, the Canadians drag the vehicle an .. its contents over the hardened snow without any very gi-eat exertion. These preparations completed, we set out, accompanied by the five Indians and their pack of dogs. The Red- skins who acted as our huntsmen belonged to the Huron tribe, and were a part of its unfoi-tunate remains nowa- days inhabiting the village of Loretto ; the said villago consisting of a hundred huts clustering round a wooden church. During the winter, the Hurons live on the pro- ducts of the chase, and the money they receive for the assistance they render to the farmer and the traveller; an assistance for which they make the whites pay dearly, who, unfortunately, are compelled to have recourse to them. In the summer-time, they cultivate their fields, and manufacture clothing and fishing apparatus, Jis well as those glass-beaded mocassins, bags, and head-dresses which are sold everywhere in the Northern and Southern States. To speak the truth, they are degenerate savages, whose race, nowadays, is embruted and servile, and nuuiifosts, especially, an irresistible partiality for the most horrible uncleanness imaginable. And besides, little genuine In- THE HURON INDIANS. 233 dian l)lood flows in their veins, for their contiict with the Canadians and Europeans has contributed to inoculate the European blood in place of. that of their ancestors. Of this fact you may convince yourself by a glance at their faces, whose sun-burn does not prevent you from detecting the mongrel complexion which has taken the place of that of the original Hurons. Nay, more : their physiognomy has assumed an expression, as it were, of astuteness and falsehood which was no characteristic of the race from whom they have spning. Their clotliuig consists of a wrapper tied round the waist by a coloured girdle, of woollen gaiters rolled round their logs, mocassins of deer-skin, and a woollen bonnet dyed red or blue. In winter, as well as in summer, such is the costume of the Hurons. Their special accomplishment consists in travei'siug im- mense distances by means of those rackets, or snow-shoes, so much in vogue in Canada. Our coverings, our cloaks, and the bison-skins which served us both for mattresses and travelling cloaks, formed a very heavy luggage ; so we thought it best to place it in the custody of three of our Indians, who might march at their ease, and rejoin us a little further on. We donned our rackets, and, guided by the other Indians, moved forward in advance. Though thinly clad, the violent exercise in which we were engaged made us persj)ire as much as if we had been in the midst of the dog-days. It was a glorious morning, and the sun shone with un- equalled brilliancy ; sometimes, however, a little subdued by the reverberation of the whitened soil which paled its rays. The gale of the preceding day had rippled the snow into light waves, and this silvery sand crackled I < 1 m ii < >'. I k 5!;t !r 234 THE CEDAll FOllEST. crisply iis wo trod it beneath our feet. It was the only sound we could hoar ; for nature was hushed in an im- pressive tranquillity. Kot a cloud obscured the horizon ; the wind had completely subsided, and the pine branches, covered with thick snow, remained as motionless as a theatrical decoration. Spite of the intensity of the cold, we experienced no disagreeable sensations ; the air sur- rounding us was pure and light as that which one breathes on the mountain-tops. Every trace of the path had disappeared under the snow ; but the Indians, our guides, recognized the road by the trees and the variations of the soil. They con- ducted us in the first place to the foot of an ancient cedar, flourishing on the border of a wood, above whose green tops it rose more than one hundred and fifty feet. Before us extended the wilderness, wild and gloomy, which prevails to the extreme limits of the Arctic Pole ; and it was not v.'ithout a certain emotion that we pene- trated into this venerable forest of great cedars scattered at wide intervals, under whose sweeping branches we made our way with all the skill we could command. At length we reached the base of a hill, and halted to tiiko breath. Our Indians prepared the spot by beating down the snow until it was thoroughly hard ; then they heaped up some branches to serve for seats, and went in quest of a spring, which they found close at hand, bubbling with a fresh and dcliciously transparent water. Thanks to the silence, we could easily distinguish the murmur of the brook, wliich fiowed slowly under the snow, only re- vealing itself to the eye here and there, when some obstacle ill the soil had caused the snow to crumble, and the water-course to descend the slope in a microsco[)ic cascade. A HOUSE OF SNOW. 235 Towards noon, aftiT a hearty breakf>:st, wo resumed our route, and having made our way for three hours and a half over a difficult country, we found in front of us a small river, on wlioso bank we determined to encamp for the night. This was undoubtedly the best decision we could arrive at, for Maclean and myself were thoroughly worn out, neither of us being accustomed to a snow-shoe journey of this kind, nor to the speed at which we were forced to travel to keep up with our guides. The Indians sot to work to construct a cabin for our shelter during tho night. First, they took oft' their jhoos, and making use of thorn for shovels, they hollowed out tho snow so as to form a circular chamber, about twenty feet in diameter, whose widls were built of snow, hardened by the hands and foiot. Afterwards they cut down a few young firs, which they proi)pod up against one another iu the shape of a tent, and these they covered with inter- twined branches and boughs, and, finally, with large pieces of tho bark of the birch, which in the Canadian forests is as thick as a bull's hide. An opening for a doorway was left o.a one side of this curiously constructed hut; another, in tho roof, served as a chimney. Two enormous logs of green wood represented the fireplace, and on these were spread the twigs and loose branches to which they set light. Against the walls our Indians ar- ranged two rows of pillows, fashioned out of the indurated snow, in such a manner that our feet might come within the beneficial influence of the fire. The dry boughs on which we extended oiu* furs made us a tolerably soft couch, while our coverlets preserved us from the cold. As soon as all these preparations were completed, Maclean, tho Indians luul niystjlf made for the ri\cr- 'I I: I i'\ 236 AX IMPROMPTU SUPPER. bttnk to procure our supper. With a hatchet our Hurons dug two hirge holes in the ice. The admission of the fresh air had probably the effect of giving the trouts an unreflecting appetite; for scarcely had we dropped our lines into the water before one of those which were swarming to the surface seized upon the bait, and im- mediately found itself gently transported into a basket, lined with moss, which one of our Indians had placed close at hand. The existence of the poor fishes which were thus secured was not prolonged beyond a few minutes. After five or six blows of the tail, and as many flutterings, their body stiffened, and a thin coat of ice covered their scales. So that when we returned to our hut, and di*ew our trout from the basket, you would have supposed them to be fish which had been salted and barrelled for years. While the captain and I were so successfully angling in the river, the Redskins had felled as much fuel as would be required for our fire ; and we found that they had piled up the logs, all split and cut of the same size, at one side of the door of our hut. Over the fire, sus- l)ended from the roof by a cord woven out of flexible lianas, boiled a great iron pot, filled to the very brim with salt pork, pease, and biscuit. Beneath, on a bed of ashes, simmorcd the tea-kettle, whose refreshing emana- tions reached us in intermittent jots. The interior of the hut was thoroughly warmed, and, thanks to o\ir mantles stretched along the sides, we were safe from all attacks of the icy temperature which reigned without. Our Indians had manufactured some torches of strips of birchen bark rolled round and round, and in- A SERIOUS DISAPPOINTMENT. 2.3; [nd, rere led Hies in- serted between the clefts of two sticks fastened into one of the walls of snow ; and this dubious gleam of light gave a picturesque and not unconifortable aspect to our situa- tion. A large leather bag was converted into a strong-box, in which, that the cupidity of our guides might not be excited, we deposited our money, our watches, and our supply of brandy. Our supper consisted principally of fish : the trouts were delicious ; and they appeared to us all the more savoury because we were unable to appreciate the primi- tive compound of the Bedskins. We wished afterwards to turn our attention in due succession to a roast joint, or rather to one of the dishes borrowed from the bills of fare of civilization, with which we had provided ourselves for our journey. We therefore ordered Jack to open one of the tins of preserved meat, which were lodged in a bag on one of the sledges. He acquitted his task with due fidelity ; but scarcely had he placed the tin beneath our nostrils than each of us experienced an irresistible nausea. The truffle-stuffed pheasant was so thoroughly corrupted, that he might have walked alone if he had dared. We pro- ceeded to examine a second tin ; it was a partridge pS,t6 : it spread ai'ound us a most deleterious odour. Such was the case with all the rest of the four-and-twenty boxes, which were successively opened before us : green peas, green haricots, cauliflowers, soup, julienne, con- somme, milk, and cream ; all was so putrefied as to be un- fit even for dogs. Our Indians made haste to throw the whole into a ravine situated beyond gunshot, that the evening breeze might not bring us the emanations of if^^ 1 I ii ' 238 THE INDIANS AND TIIEIK DOGS. those delicacies, and so renew our regrets at being deprived of them. After all, this was a just punishment of the gluttony on whose altar we had cowardly sacrificed, instead of conforming to the sobriety of the camel of the desert. Before giving themselves up to repose, all our Indians threw themselves on their knees, and, with rosary in hand, recited in a low voice a long Latin prayer, of whicli you may be sure they did not underatand a word, though it seemed very familiar to them. I confess I wa« utterly unable to make out whether it was a p(iter or an ave, a litany or a psalm. While they were thus praying, an accident occurred, which greatly diverted Maclean and myself. The dogs brought with ns for hunting puq)oses had been relegated by the Indians to the exterior of our temporary tusylum. With the view of rendering them hardier, and more eager in the chase, they had been kept without food, and i)re- vented from even approaching the fire. The poor beasts prowled around our hut of snow, and we saw each of them in turn insinuate his muzzle through the doorway, and cast envious glances at their masters, so warmly in- stalled before a blazing fire. At the moment the Indians began their paternosters, the hounds profited by the general inattention to glide in, one after the other, and crouch down before the fire. Unfortunately, one of them touched the heel of the most devout of the Redskins, who, very much imtatod at the inteiTuption, turned hastily round to see what intruder had disturbed his prayers. Without laying aside his pipe, which he had not ceased to hold in his mouth, he arose, and pouring at the animal a broadside of the most expressive oaths in the Fi-ench language, drove him away ** now BKAUTIFUL IS NIGHT !" 230 with an accompaniniont ot whipcord and kicks. Tlien, after having inhaled a long whiff of tobacco, the absurd fellow again bent his knees and resumed his prayers, just as if nothing had happened. About midnight, I woke with a start. I dreamed that a hand of iron grasped my slumlders, and, when I comprehended the reality of my situation, I perceived that the sensation I experienced proceeded from the cold which had seized me. The fire, nevertheless, was still very gi'eat ; in fact, our sL es and cloaks were evidently roasting and smoking. But at a distance of only three feet from the flame the brandy froze in our bottles ! And thotigh we were very warmly clad, and wrapped up in thick furs, I humbly confess that, prior to this memorable night, I had never experienced so terrible a cold. I found it impossible to get to sleep again. I began to think, and almost mechanically cast my eyes towards the ethereal vault, which glittered with unnumbered fires. The moon's disc appeared to me immense, — much larger than ordinary, — more luminous than ever, — and the motion- less si)lendour of this unknown world enveloped the earth in an awful silence. It was to my mind an irrefutable evidence of the Divine majesty, which made me tremble. Let me add, without further dilating on a subject to which my pen is wholly inadequate, that no description can do justice to the brilliancy of the nights of Upper Canada during the winter season. " How beautiful is night ! In full-orbed glory yonder moon divine Rolls throiigh the dark-blue depths. Beneath her steady ray The desert circle spreads, Like the round ocean, girdled with the sky." m ii ^11 i;l 1 ■'■■ CHAPTER XVI. THE ELK — continued. O terrible was the cold, that, having made a movement for the purpose of -wrapping my- self up iTiore warmly in my bison-skin, I felt my hand, though only exposed for a mo- ment to the air, stiffen, as if caught in an invisible vice. I wrapped my head in a thick coverlet, and, ten minutes afterwards, my breath had formed on its haiiy surface a coat of ice which chilled my very lips. The rarefied air TRAVELLING IN THE SNOW. 241 gave a bluish tinge to the flame of our fii*e, whose heat was not sufficient even to melt the tliick layer of snow which rested on the extremity of the branches whose other end was burning in the fire. a At length the morning dawned, and we hastened to resume our journey. On this day it fell to our lot to traverse a rough mountainous country, so steep in various parts, that we were constrained to climb the abrupt ac- clivities clinging to every ledge and projection of the rock, and to the branches of every stunted bush which found a scanty nourishment in the barren soil. To descend the slopes, we acted in a different fashion ; that is, we placed our snov -shoes one against the other, and suffered ourselves to slide almost without effort over the thick frozen crust. In this way we advanced with very great rapidity, except when w^e encountered on our way an unforeseen obstacle; in which case we im- mediately came to grief, and frequently were thrown headlong into a kind of snow-pit. The reader may imagine the ludicrous character of our contortions and gi'imaces as we extricated ourselves from this embarrassment. It was truly comic. ' We halted ordinarily after an hour's walking along the side of a brook, on the banks of a torrent scarcely visible under the snow. Our object was to quench our thirst, and at the same time to rest ourselves for a few minutes. To trace out our route for us, our Indians placed them- selves alternately at the head of the small caravan. It was, I must confess, most fatiguing work ; but, guided by a special instinct, they directed their course with (414) 16 ■'I i" 242 WHAT IS A " RAVAGE " 1 wonderful skill through the windmgs of the desert, buried under a thick bed of ice. In this way we accomplished some eighteen miles before we reached the bank of a small river, whose watera were entirely frozen. From this moment our principal guide manifested an ecstacy of joy, expressed by a "ew shouts and two or three gambols; and after we had descended along the river for a distance of two or three hundred yards he announced to us that we were to halt there, for we were not more than two miles from the ravage of the deer, in pursuit of whom we had undergone so many labours. My readers have already guessed that a ravage, in the Canadian language, signifies the lair or hiding-place of the deer. These animals often, inhabit the same " ravages " for several weeks, browzing on the young shoots of the trees, and peeling the bark of the branches down to the very sap. They do not abantlon the work of destruction until their harvest, or rather their "ravage," is termi- nated, and then they move a little further onward, but without hurry, to continue their inactive life, which is rarely disturbed by the visit of men. It is for this reason these animals are so fat in the winter season. We hastened to raise a hut, to take our supper, and lie down around the fire. This evening passed in a very similar manner to the preceding one. Fortunately, the cold was less intense, and we were able by sound sleep to recruit our strength. Wheu wo awoke at daybreak the sky was very dull, the snow fell in thick flakes, and, spite of the gust, we set out for the " ravage," taking with us four of our Indians and a complete pack of hounds. FOLLOWING THE TRAIL. 243 lie lery Ithe to lull, we lour Tli(j freshly fallen snow retarded ou. progress, for it insinuated itself between the stitch^ of our shoes. And, worse still, at the slightest shake thb 't.unches of the trees undor which we passed poured down upon us an icy whirl- wind, whose thick particles, clinging to our gannents, quickly melted, thanks to the thaw, and penetrated them with a chill humidity. In spite of all these inconveniences, we gave no heed either to cold or fatigue : carried away by the ardour of the chase, our sole thought was of overtaking the deer. A-lready we perceived, deeply incrusted in the snow, the traces of these animals, and evidently of a numerous herd; the marks of their teeth on the branches of the trees were visible to all eyes, and when we reached the base of a small hill it was obvious that the animals could be at no great distance from us. The dogs were then uncoupled, and a few minutes later we heard all the modulations of their barkings. The snow ceased to fall, and the brightening atmosphere enabled us to follow the hunt. In the track of our dogs wo darted forwpid, — the captain, the Indians, and mys(}lf, — and ascended to the summit of the hill, where we found the fresh traces of numerous stags. Camed away by my ardour, and embarrassed by the confounded snow-shoes which I had on my feet, I stumbled at every step, and experiouced the greatest difficulty in following up the hunters and the hounds. It is necessary I should add, in passing, that Maclean, Jack, and his three companions were skilful in the use of their chanssurcs, and flew rather than walked along the snow. All at once the dogs halted, and just as we issued from ,iii 244 PURSUED AND PURSUER. a very dense thicket, we saw them sun-ound three enor- mous deer, whose aspect seemed to lend new strength to their resounding lungs. However, like prudent dogs, they durst not venture on an attack, and prudently held themselves on their guard. Immediately the deer perceived us, they slowly beat a retreat ; slowly, for their feet sank deep into the fresh fallen snow — they plunged into it up to the belly. The dogs, emboldened by this sign of fear, then rushed in pursuit, though still Keeping at a tolerable distance. Whether by chance or by peculiar tactics, the three stags took three different directions. Maclean dashed after the first, I puraued the second, and one of the Indians sped in the track of the third. At first the quadrupeds outran us : mine, especially, contrived to keep five or six hundred feet ahead ; but gradually his bounds became less rapid, and large gouts of blood showed that the hard ice, crushed by his hoofs imder the stratum of freshly fallen snow, had sorely wounded him. The dense brushwood choking the abrupt declivities of the hill hid from the eyes of each of us the animal he was pursuing ; but one could distinctly hear the noise of his breath through his snorting nostrils, and the crackling of the branches which he snapped in his rapid flight. Tlie earth, much torn and ploughed up in various places, showed where the animal had slipped or fallen; his despair, augmented by the instinct of danger a >d the impossibility of avoidmg H,. was manifested by unexampled leaps. The further we advanced the more terrible became the crackling of the branches, the more hurried and violent the respiration of the animal, the more deeply the snow BROUGHT TO BAY. 245 le was tinged with blood. The famished dogs redoubled their plaintive howls. We accelerated our pace ; our pur- suit grew so furious that we lost breath, and paid no heed to the difficulties of the ground or the enormous trunks of the forest cedars. In the midst of an intertangled copse I came upon an open space, which led me to a mai-shy valley besprinkled here and there with venerable trees, whose swart and rugged trunks rose up\j(ards of one hundi-ed feet above the ground. There my stag was brought to bay. Fatigue had exhausted his strength, his feet refused to second his courage ; but, despite of his weakness, he still reared his head on high, and at each motion of his rugose antlers the dogs bounded backward, their barks betraying a sentiment of fear. They fixed their greedy eyes upon the animal, and gnashed their teeth, without daring to venture within six or seven yards of him. The elk before my eyes was a truly splendid animal. From the sole of his foot to his hauncli he was at least six feet in height ; an it the moment of my advanoe I seemed to read in his large black eve a mute but el .quent supplication for mercy. Alas ! very huntei is pitiless ; this is a fact abundantly proved, and not one of the discii)les of St. Hubert would dare, on his retnn to his home, to commit, out of gaiety of heart, in his poultry- yard or garden, such barbarous slaughter as he joyously takes part in when armed with his rifle and in the heart of the wood. The elk's sentence of death was probably m iitten in my eyes. The poor animal knew that he was to die, and from that moment made no effort either in flight or defence. I took aim at my ease, let go the trigger, and 1^ m 246 A NOBLE ANIMAL. my ball hit him right in his chest. The pain aroused the noble beast, and raising himself in a burst of fury, ho rushed in my direction. To fly in snow-shoes was an impossibility; I therefore thought it wiser to wait for the elk, whose strength I knew must immediately fail him. I fired my second ba'l "with my muzzle almost touching him; immediately he halted, tottered, and grew stiff; his neck was stretched out, and the blood poured from his nostrils and mouth, which vas open to permit the protrusion of his panting tongue. A moment more and the poor animal sank in the snow, as if ho had wished to find some solace in his last severe agony. Spite of his death-fall, however, the dogs durst not approach him. The two Indians, who had followed mo, and been witnesses of the encounter, waited patiently ; they feared the last convulsions of that supremo moment, for the animal who feels himself dying is oftentimes more dangerous than he who possesses all the vigour of life. It is advisable therefore to bide your time; so, it was not until the eye of the elk had become glassy, and death had stiffened his nervous limbs, that wo thought it prudent to draw near and at our ease examine the inanimate mass lying before us. I had never seen n nioi'e enormous specimen of his tribe ; he might almost liave been mistaken for a young horse in body ; and the antlers which crowned his head measured nearly six feet in height. Hoofs as large as those of an ass terminated four legs as slender as those of a giraffe. As a whole, this elk — the first which I had seen out of a cabinet of natural history — ai>[)eured to me the most admirable of the animals of creation, THE HUNTEIIS AND THEIR SPOIL. o I ' I and I felt almost a remorse that I had be(?ii guilty of his murder. The Redskins hastily felled a dead tree which raised its gaunt red boughs in the midst of a clump of green cedars ; with their hands they tore off the bark, and speedily the flame rose in bluish spirals from a noble fire. The snow was afterwards well beaten all around, the axe brought down a couple of firs to serve as benches, and while I seated myself upon one of them, my two Indians set to work to flay and cut up the animal. Though they used all possible diligence, this operation lasted for upwards (if two hours. As may be supposed, the skin, the haunch, and the best portions of the flesh were deposited in a couple of tobogins hastily put together. We abandoned the rest to the dogs, who in their turn, having quickly satisfied themselves, left the lelics to the wolves, the kites, and tiio eagles : then wc? rosuinod the road to our liunting rendezvous. Captain Maclean arrived at the same time as we did ; he too had killed his elk, but the animal had gallantly defended himself, and had made him undertake a pro- longed and wearisome excursion. The keen air had whetted our appetite, and induced us to turn our thoughts towards a solid repast. Our Indians therefore cooked the marrow and the kidneys, which were devoured, and pro- nounced excellent. The remainder of our provisions, well wrapped up in a coverlet, was buried in the snow ; but befoi'o proceeding to this operation we flung all the pick- ings and parings to the dogs, who fell to the banquet with I'enewed ardour. I may add that the third elk, foi*tunately for himself, had escaped the pursuit of the Redskins. 218 FIRING THE FOREST. With the approach of night a thaw began, and the heat of the atmosphere quickly melted our roof of snow. The water trickled upon our clothing and imperceptibly soaked through it. Our situation therefore soon became critical. In order to warm ourselves, we thought of a pastime which is popular enough in the noi'thern districts of Upper Canada. Our encampment was surrounded by a dense forest- growth of cedars, pines, and birches. The latter trees change their bark yearly, as serpents slough their skins. This is one of the caprices of nature well known to botanical students. Now, the old bark, which frequently remains suspended in fragments to the trunks and branches of the trees, burns as rapidly as straw ; it produces a bright red flame like that of a coal fire, and the resin as it con- sumes exhales a camphor scent of peculiarly agreeable character. The Indians fashion this bark into close long rolls, like torches in shape ; and their brilliancy is equal to, if not more intense than, the brilliancy of torches of pitch. With the aid of these materials we resolved on organiz- ing a gigi ntic illumination as a worthy celebration of the exploits of ^he day. As soon as night had come, we all dispersed in^o the woods armed with our flaring torches, and resolutely began to ignite, as we advanced, the frag- ments of bark and the tiamks of the bii'ch-trees. Never in my life have I seen a more magnificent spectacle ! Figure to yourself, dear reader, fifty to sixty trees in a perimeter of a quarter of a mile, wrapped in crimson flames, which floated in spiral waves around each trunk and branch, and rose even to the dim tops of the lofty pines, to fall back afterwards in a thousand luminous A NIOIIT IN THE CABIN. 249 sheaves, whose brilliant resin brightened simultaneously the blue*black heaven and the flashing snow. We wan- dered in this " ciifle of light " for some time, setting fire to everything in our path ; but, at length, the distant voices of the Indians, who had regained the encampment, wai'ned us that wo must think o.' r-utuming. It was not without some difficulty we made our way to the cabin. The trees all around it hail burned them- selves out, and our " hunting-box " lay buried in the pro- foundost darkness. This wild insensate pastime, in which Maclean and I had taken part as if we had been genuine Redskins, destioyed about a hundred magnificent trees, each one of which would in itself have been a noble ornament to the finest park in Europe ; but we may plead as an excuse that we were two days' journey from any habitation, and we thought, not unreasonably, that numerous yeara would glide away before human feet trod the savage wilderness; that centuries perhaps would pass before civilization advanced to so remote a goal. The Indians had icturncd to our encampment that they might gorge themselves anew with venison; we found them still eating — yet they had eat so much that, out of very weariness, they could scarcely open their jaws. Soon they fell into a complete lethargy, like that of the boa-constrictor after he has swallowed his prey ; then, after smoking a pij)0, they all dropped into a deep slumber, with mouths half open, apparently dead, but snorting like so many steam-engines ! Old Jack did not imitate his comrades until he had 250 SLUMniill AND SMOKE. made iniiny fruitless attempts to get hold of the jbrandy bottle. But fortunately he had to do with persons as astute as himself ; we resisted all his supplications, and eventually ho condescended to leave us at peace. " I'llAMSPOHTEn INTO THE LAND OF DREAMS." The wind rose during the night, and as it beat down upon us the smoke of the green trees, we soon experienced a smarting of the eyes which by the morning became intolerable. We suffered from this inconvenience much more than we had suffered from the cold two niglits before. 'I'he Indians did not complain of the smoke. It is true that the orgy in which they had taken part had trans- ported them into the land of dreams, and rendered thorn insensible to the miseries of this commonplace world. As soon as day reappeared, Jack and his comrades pressed us to continue the chase; but Maclean and myself hiul cxjierienccd that the trouble exceeded the A IIEUD OF CARIBOOS. 251 pleiisuro; so, with a common accord, wo dccickd on ro- turning. We busied ourselves in putting our >)agguge in order, adding to it the elk meat, the two haunches, and the two skins; the whole was placed upon the tobogins, and towards noon wc resumed our route to Quebec. Two houra after our departure, the dogs suddenly darted towards a hill, at whose base we were advancing witli difficulty over a bed of half-melted snow. They barked in a most plethoric fashion, thanks to the previous day's l)anquet, whose digestion was not yet completed. Soon we heard a great noise, caused by the snapping and crackling of shrubs and cedar boughs, and a moment afterwards five enormous "cariboos," the reindeer of North America, swept past on our right, at about a hundred paces from our caravan. In vain Maclean and myself discharged our four bariels at them ; our bullets were spent among the branches of the forest, and the whole herd speedily vanished in the depths of the cedar wood. We did not even think of pursuing the five fugitives ; it would have been madness, for they were as swift as the wind, and their light feet scarcely dinted the snow, whose surface began to grow much firmer, thanks to the colder air of the afternoon. This hunting incident beguiled for us the wearisome ness of our route, and we arrived without any mishap at the first hut we had constinicted. It was unoccupied, as the reader will suppose; but the snow, driven by the wind, had to some extent invaded the interior. While we were clearing out the doorway, two or three cliiitter- 252 A DAINTY DI8II. ing bii'ds of tho pie B[)ecie8, wliich the Indians name moose birds, perched on the cedar boughs alK)ve our hut, made numerous attacks on tho tobogin whei*ein wo had stored our venison. But the dogs whom we had ap- pointed as its custodians, kept careful watch, and persever- ingly drove away the winged robbers. At intervals the captain and T fired several shots at them ; but as we had only bullets, and not a grain of lead in our stores, to hit them was a difficult matter. The bullet often broke tho branch on which they were perched, but the moose bii*ds coolly flew away to an(^ther tree, renewing their fright- ful uproar with angry vivacity. The next day we started at an early hour, so that before noon we reached Mr. Joassiii's mansion, where wo did not sojourn longer than was necessary, or rather indis- pensable. The landlord of the " King George" Hotel, where we halted in the course of the afternoon, received us with enthusiasm. He taught us the high favour bestowed by professors of the culinary art upon the deer's muzzle — two specimens of which were included among the trea- sures of our tobogins. In fact, the upper lip of the elk. to which the nose adheres, grows to an enormous size, and when treated like turtle-flesh, forms a dish of the greatest delicacy. Among Canadian gourmands, thh plat of venison is even more esteemed than the green turtle of the seas of the South. When we passed in front of the terrible precipice in whose vicinity our vehicle had capsized on the Loretto THE OVERTHROW OF THE SLEDGE. 253 route, we could not help trembling. An involuntary shudder shot through every limb, and we felt, with grate- ful hearts, that it was only by the mercy of Providence we had escaped a frightful death. ( "We still continued our journey in the direction of Que- bec ; but as night came on, our guide mistook his route at a point where two roads branched off. A stout fence of thorns, whose tops alone were visible above the level of the snow, at length interposed itself as an effectual bar- rier to our advance. Fortunately, a house was situated at no great distance from the spot, and on the threshold of the door stood a kindly old woman, who hailed us to make knowii the error into which we had unwittingly fallen. The reader will scarcely believe that our conductor, in- stead of endeavouring to extricate us from our embar- rassment, began to bellow like a calf ! Tlien all at once, having offered up this sacrifice to Despondency, he re- covered breath, and began to curse and swear like a shame- less miscreant ! Finally, he seized the two horses of the sledge by the bridle, and precipitating them and himself into the midst of the snow, he contrived to wheel us into the right direction. For a few seconds the horses reared and kicked ; the conductor redoubled his oaths and shouts ; we leaped the hedge, and with a sudden and wholly unparalleled sum- mersault, came down on the other side, the sledge with its bottom upwards, the horses on their backs, the driver on his head, and Maclean and I on onr stomachs, at about ten paces from our vehicle and our steeds. Fortunately, nothing was broken ; neither our ribs nor the traces of ii 254 AHRIVING AT QUKBEC. our hoi'ses, and us soon as order was re-ostablishetl, wo continued our maixh. At ten o'clock on the evening of tlie same day, we re-entered Quebec. I will not dwell, to the fatigue of the reader, on the delight we experienced in once more ohttiining the advun tnges of warm water, soap, razors, hair-brushes, and a feather-bed in a well-warmed chamber. One must have been deprived of these indispensable articles of civiliza- tion, to feel the charm which one experiences on recover- ing them after a few days' separation. In s])ite of my passion for the chase, friendly reader, 1 declare that I have no desire again to try the expeiiment of a sledge-journey in the snow. If ever I experience a fancy to renew my acquaintance with the elks, I shall take a cab to the Zoological Gardens, where I can seat myself at my ease, near the " ravage " of these animals, and observe their habits without any fear that one of them will make a rush at me. To conclude : I cannot say that I regret having once in my life paid a visit to the solitudes of Canada. I pro- tost only against the pretended pleasure of adventuiing through hjrperborean cold in pursuit of elks ; and I defy Nimrod himself to prove to me that it is " a royal sport," — at least, unless he can succeed in demonstrating at the same time that the ignoble Redskins of Loretto are the worthy descendants of the Indian heroes who figure in (Jooper's brilliant pages, of the Uncas and the Chingach- Kooks. CHAPTER XVII. THE CARIBOO, OR AMERICAN REINDEER.* N the month of January 1843, and in one of the coldest winters ever experienced in the United States, I was seated, in the evening, by the fii-eside of the vast dining-room of a farmer in New Brunswick. Mr. Thomas Howard, my host, was one of the most intrepid hunters in the colony, and, thanks to the recommendation of my friend, Mr. William Porter, the able editor-in-chief of the New York sporting journal, the Spirit of the Times, I had been re- * The cariboo is the largest of the North American deer. In form he closely resembles the reindeer of Lapland, but their habits are completely different. There can bo no doubt, for instance, that the cariboo is as dan- gerous as the bison ; and though it is said he will not attack man, we must not confide too much in the timidity with which naturalists are pleased to adorn him. As game, he in a delicious food ; delicate as the kid, juicy as the hare. if f 256 SNOW-SHOES. ceived by this American Nimrod with a truly Scottish hospitality. Without, the snow fell in thick flakes, and lashed the windows of the apartment in which Mr. How- ard and I were regaling ourselves over a bottle of good sherry wine. " Fill your glass and mine, Benedict," said Mr. How- ard ; " I wish to drink to France, to your dear country, and to all hunters who, like yourself, are animated with the sacred fire. I have not forgotten, my gallant friend, that I have promised to help you kill a cariboo before you return to New York. You are aware that the brute runs with an almost incredible rapidity, and that, to ap- proach him, you must follow up his trail in snow-shoes — in those great rackets which you see hanging tc yonder wall." And Mr. Howard showed me two immense pattens of an oval form, shaped like the rexjkets with which we play in England and France. It is the chausaure which the Indians use to pre- vent their sinking in the snow. " You will have some trouble," he continued, " in making use of these rackets the first time you put them on; but I PTii. sure that after fifteen to twenty paces, at the iitmost, you will soon surmount that difficulty. You know," he added, "that my friend, the Indian Monai, has promised to come here as soon as the weather is favourable for hunting the caril oo. Now, as no time is more favourable for this kind of sport than when the ground is covered with snow, I opine that he Will before long make his appearance, perhaps even this very even- SNOW-BHOB. A GENUINE INDIAN. 257 ing. His tribe are encamped about five miles from my liouse ; and an Indian, my dear friend, never breaks his plighted word." He had scarcely finished these words, when the pro- longed barking of the dogs announced a stranger's arrival. A moment afterwards, a sharp whistling like that of a locomotive was heard without; and the dogs, changing their note, uttered loud yelps of joy, which proved that the person entering the farmyard was intimately known to them. "That is Monai !" cried Mr. Howard; "tal|c of the wolf, my friend, and — ^you know ! My dogs look upon the Redskin as a friend, and make him welcome." Just at this moment the door opened, and the Indian entered the dining-room. He was a man of middle stature, stoutly built ; his face was fine and expressive, though a profouTid melancholy was visible in his looks ; his eyes shone like carbuncles. After a rapid glance all round the room, he advanced silently towards the chimney. His attire consisted of a blouse of bufialo-skin, orna- mented with embroideries made of the bristles of the porcupine, and with a fringe worked into the skin icself. His legs were encased in skin breeches, which were turned into gaiters upon the calves, and buttoned, from the knee to the ankle, where they were adorned with fringes like those of the blouse. Two small mocassins of peccary- skin pLod Monai's feet, which were as well shaped as those of a Spanish seiiorita. To a broad girdle was suspended a pouch made of otter-skin, and enriched ndth designs similar to those which embellished the entire costume of this child of the forest. (414) 17 i ■'a : 258 MONAI S " WEED. Monai took from a corner of the room a wooden stool which usually served as the seat of a little girl, Mr. Howard's only child ; drew near the fire, seated himself, and, without speaking, took from his pouch a case like that which we use in Europe for holding cigars, and offered it to me with a singularly charming grace. While I admired the Redskin's present, he tranquilly filled his pipe with tobacco, lighted it at the fire, and, after emitting a few puffs, passed it on to me with a look that meant I should follow his example. Tha^ care little for the pipe, I confess ; the tobacco smoked in these calumets always nauseates me ; so I was about to refuse, when Mr. Howard said, — ; " Don't be afraid, my friend ; this tobacco will do you no harm. Try it, and you will see that Monai has no wish to poison you." And, in truth, I found Monai's ** weed " so delicious, that I was imprudent enough to fill the pipe afresh, when I had finished smoking the first " priming." Meanwhile, Mr. Howard filled a glass with sherry, and handed it to Monai. " My brother," he said to him, " will you remain with us to-night 1" Monai, before replying, swallowed his sherry to the very last drop. " The Indian," he replied, " goes to-morrow to the chase. The weather is good for attacking the cariboo ; the snow is nine and a half inches deep. Will my white brother accompany me ? I have brought two new paii*s of snow-shoes ; one for him, and one for myself." " In what direction shall we hunt, MonaKl" " Towards the north ; towards the country where we MAKING READY. 259 went last year. The cariboos are numerous, for the Indians have not yet visited the forest." " Ah well, Monai, if you will allow me to bring my friend here," said Mr. Howard, pointing me out to the Redskin, " I will go with thee." Monai, at these words, cast a rapid glance upon me ; and after a moment's silence, addressed me directly, — " Does the pale-face my brother know how to make use of the snow-shoes V* To tell the truth, I dared not assure Monai of my ability to walk easily in so novel a chatisaiure. I was therefore on the point of answering in the negative, when Mr. Howard, comprehending my hesitation, said to Monai, — " I will take charge of my brother the pale-face ; if he cannot follow us to the chase, he will remain at the camp and prepare our food." Though the Indian did not appear to appreciate this arrangement very warmly, he made a sign of assent ; and we began to discuss what was necessary to be done in order that we might start at daybreak on the morrow. lo the Iriboo ; Iwhite pairs kve we We had five and twenty leagues to traverse before we could arrive at our rendezvous. Mr. Howard imme- diately set to work to get ready the rifles, powder, balls, clothing, and provisions. I assisted him in all these preparations, which had forced us to quit the apartment where we had been seated before the Indian's arrival ; and when we returned, half an hour afterwards, our ears were disagreeably surprised by a sonorous snore which awoke every echo in the dining-room : it was Monai, who, stretched full-length on the rug before the fire, had 260 AN EARLY MORNING-CALL. judged it prudent to prepare himself by sleep for the fatigues of the morrow's chase. "This original," said Mr. Howard, "prefera yonder fragment of carpet to the best bed in the house. We have only to leave him wood enough to keep up the fire, and he will be as happy as a king. Come, my friend, let us retire to rest. If you are aroused to-morrow by a Redskin, don't be afraid; it will only be Monai come, after his custom, to pull you out of bed by your feet." At half-past three in the morning, the light of a lamp falling oil my half-closed eyelids awoke me with a start. I thought I saw Monai before me, when Mr. Howard's voice relieved me from the uncertainty into which I had been thrown by the sight of a man so capriciously at- tired I " Up, up, my friend ! " he cried ; " all is ready ; the coffee is getting cold, and if you don't make haste, MonaK, who is already seated at table, will leave you neither a cutlet nor a slice of ham for your breakfast. Here is a costume as elegant as mine; dress, and come down." U The breakfast being finished, and our stomachs warmed by a glass of whisky, we all three sprang into a light sleigh, and in seven hours our horse carried us bravely to a village situated about a couple of miles from our ren- dezvous. In an inn, which bore for its sign the head of the im- mortal Washington, but had only one comfortable apaii;- ment — the tabagie, or bai'-room — ^we found beds as hard as boards; but as we were in no position to be fastidious, we threw ourselves upon them, and got what rest we A HARD UOAD TO TRAVEL. 261 a led to Iren- im- jart- Ihard ions, we MODE OF FASTENING SNOW-UIIUK. could. Next morning at daybreak wo made ready to stai*t. I was finishing my toilette by putting on my mo- cassins, when Mr. Howard arrested my arm, saying, — " Listen, my friend, to your first lesson. Fii'st put on these woollen hose; now wrap these two pieces of felt around your feet, and next don your mocas- sins; finally, let me fas- ten to your feet these formidable snow-shoes. Now, Benedict, stretch your legs wide apart when you walk ; for if you adopt your ordinary gait, your new chaussure being throe foot long, you will be sure of a downfall." And without another word he seized his gun, and fol- lowed Monai, who was about fifty paces ahead of me. I had scarcely made three steps forward, before down I went on my nose. Without a groan I rose again ; and after two or three similar capsizes, which, fortunately, owing to the thickness of the snow, were not dangerous, I learned how to make use of my snow-shoes. After two hours* walking in the midst of a dense forest of cedars and pines, we arrived on the banks of a spring of hot water, where we took a few moments' repose ; then we resumed our route. I observed that Monai, who iicted as our guide, advanced very cautiously, examined the imprints on the snow and the fractures in the branches of the trees. At length he stopped short before a pros- trate trunk, and, bending over one of its sides, he thrust his arm into the snow. " There are stags close at hand," said Mr. Howard ; " see, their ordure is quite fresh. These animals cannot 262 FOOTPRINTS IN THE SNOW. move over so thick a snow ; we shall find them shortly in their haaae-cowr.* " Now, my friend," he continued, " observe the greatest silence ! If a stag come within your reach, I beg of you not to fire; for though we are still about three miles from the cariboos, their hearing is so fine that they will hear us, and disappear before our arrival. Here, Jack ! behind ! " added Mr. Howard, speaking to a magnificent deerhound. "Do you see, friend? He has found the scent." I ALONE STOOD KREOT As we advanced, the imprints became more marked. Jack was put in leash ; Mona'i marched in advance ; and Mr. Howard and myself followed him in silence. Jack foamed at the mouth ; his eyes seemed starting from his head; but he did not bark. Suddenly, Monai threw himself on the ground; Mr. Howard imitated his * Basae-eour, the name given to a spot of ground cleared out bjr the stag)*, who trample down the snow in some sheltered corner ; under a great cedar, for instance, or in the face of a roclc. THK FLIGHT OF THE STAG. 263 ted. land Tack his irew his I stagH. Icedar, example ; I alone stood ei'ect, until a blow on the shin from the butt-end of my friend's musket forced me also to adopt a recumbent position. I was on the point of asking him the meaning of such mysterious conduct, when, raising my head, I saw, at two hundred feet befora us, a stag and six females lying on the snow, probably asleep. In spite of Mr. Howard's prohibition, I had i-aised my rifle to my shoulder, and was about to Are, when another blow from the butt-end of his musket reminded me of the warning I had i*eceived. Mr. Howard soon arose, and gliding stealthily from tree to tree, and bush to bush, endeavoured to approach as near as possible to the herd, while Monai and myself remained motionless spec- tators of this sth'ring scene, which every hunter will ap- preciate as it deseiTes. All at once the entire herd arose, with outstretched neck and eager eyes, endeavouring to distinguish the enemy whom their instinct warned them was at hand. Their scent, however, seemed to be at fault, and to bring them only the sweet breath of the cedar forests, when the male of the troop advanced in Mr. Howard's direction, fol- lowed by his mates, and came to within ten paces of the tree behind which Mr. Howard was concealed. At the same instant a I'ed handkerchief, waved by my friend, caught the animal's eye. Instead of halting, the noble stag, raising his head, which was crowned by the noblest antlers I had ever seen, continued to advance ; and he had almost touched the handkerchief with his muzzle, when Jack, springing upon him, caught him by the neck, and inflicted a severe wound. It is useless to say that the stag and his mates scampered away before us with the 2G4 " TALLY-HO ! TALLY-HO ! " i-apidity of lightning, pursued by Jack, Mr. Howard, und Mona'i, who soon outstripped me ; gliding over the snow in their snow-shoes as rapidly as a Dutch skater along the frozen waters of the Zuyder Zee. Soon I lost sight of them, though I did my best to follow up their traces. At length I reached a spot where the ap})ourance of the ground showed that a combat had talKn place, for the snow was covered with largo gouts of blood. In the distance, and still in front of me, I could hear the voices of Mr. Howard and Monai (echoing in the forest. I still pursued the path hollowed out in the snow by my hunting companions, and, after a few minutes, arrived on a gentle slope leading to- waixls a valley in whose centre extended a lake as round as the great basin of the Tuileries. My eyes had never i*ested on a more admirable spectacle. The wind had swept away the snow which covered the frozen lake, and the rays of the sun glittered on the icy surface like a Venetian glass with manifold facets. Mr. Howard and Mona!, whom I found on the border of the wood, showed me the wounded stag pursued in the distance by Jack, and wheeling around the lake with arrow-like rapidity. "Is not this a glorious sight?" cried Mr. Howatd, as the stag passed within forty paces of us; " and don't you feel tempted to lodge a ball in the animal's sides? Come, come," he added, resuming his course, "we must make for the end of the lak^e, and anticipate our gaine. See, my friend ! he is down ; Jack leaps at his throat ! No, he is up again! Brave dog ! Tally-ho ! tally-ho ! Sus, sus ! Ah, see, the cariboo is off once more, carrying Jack along with him, whose fangs have sunk pi-etty deeply into VICTORIOUS JACK. 265 as his ildsh. It is tiko a mouse ridiiig a-hoi'seback on a cat ! Hurrah, hurrah ! " While thus speaking, Mr. Howai-d fell like a thunder- bolt on the harassed stag, which struggled with the last strength of a dying animal, and plunged his hunting- knife into his breast. Wlien I arrived, panting, on the scene, Mr. Howard was caressing Jack, who, without caring particularly for the flattery, lapped up leagerly the blood escaping from the yawning wound. " Good hound ! " cried Mr. Howard ; " brave Jack ! The best deerhounds of England could not have done better than you have done ; and besides, instead of glid- ing over the snow, like Jack, they sink into it too deeply ; and then, not one of them can grapple a stag by the throat without loosing his hold ! — Monai," said he, addressing the Indian, who regarded the picture with the impassability of a statue, "go and cut up the animal before he is frozen ; select the best pieces, and leave the remainder for the cayeutes. We have quite enough venison for our hunting supplies. — Come with me, Bene- dict. I am going to dig a hole in the ice, and see if I can catch a few trout for you, that we may have both flesh and fish for our dinner. I don't think you would get better fare in Paris, either at Very's, or at the Fr6res-Pro- ven9aux." Soon said, soon done; the axe quickly reached the limpid water of the lake, which splashed its brilliant pearly drops about our leather leggings. Monai baited a couple of fishing-lines with a fragment of the stag's liver ; and while I held them with either hand, Mr. Howard prepared the fii-e for cooking our repast. 1 '1 ■ 266 BROILING TROUT. One by one, I caught four magnificent trout, and I wm beginning to enjoy this new kind of sport, when Mr. Howard hailed me, to rejoin him with the results of my angling. The trout were handed over to Monai, who I'emoved their scales, gutted them, and splitting them open from " I WAH BEUINNINQ TO ENJOY THIS NBW KINO OF SPOHT." head to tail, spitted them on a wooden skewer, four other twigs, placed crossw?se, keeping them open like a fan. On a glowing fire, over which some slices of venison were roasting, we placed the trout thus prepared. Afterwards, we spread beneath some pieces of bread on a couple of stones to catch the fat of the succulent fish. In due time the repast was ready; and I was calling the Indian to take his share, when Mr. Howard said, — " Do not lose your time in inviting Monai, who takes his food only once a day, and never drinks except at that A JACK-OF-ALL-TKADES. 2G7 of me to :es lat solitary meal. But as ive ai'o not accustomed to such sobriety, let us fall to." And, seating himself on the trunk of a prostrate tree, he eagerly attacked the good things set before him. I must here confess, apaii; from the fact that hunger is the best sauce, that the deer-steaks and the trout were worthy of the table of the most fastidious epicure. It was with difficulty Jack could obtain a few fragments of the dinner to appease his hunger ; fortunately, he did not dislike raw meat, and Monai cut for him two or three large slices, which more than satisfied his wants. A pipe of Indian tobacco brought our banquet to a satisfactory termination, and we stretched ourselves on the ground, waiting until Monai had finished cutting up the stag. Mr. Howard and myself had enjoyed in this way about three-quarters of an hour's rest, when Monai advanced towards us, drawing with a leather thong a sledge on which he had deposited all the venison. Not only had the Indian flayed the animal, and wrapped up in the skin all the portions he had selected for our use, but he had also constructed, in less than an hour, the sledge which carried them; and the rude vehicle was so substantial that it was capable of bearing one liundred and fifty pounds of meat. We continued our route; but did not reach the country where we expected to find our cariboos until the sun was on the point of disappearing below the horizon. The region into which we had penetrated was covered with wood. In front of us rose a lofty mountain, and in the valley beneath our feet flowed, over a bed of rock, a torrent whose waters boiled like those of a thermal spring. Everywhere upon the snow the ordure of the deer was i I, 4 m 268 A HUNTING HENDEZVOUS. visible, and Mr. Howard, jwintiiig to a broad mark on the frozen gi-ound, said, — " As this is the first time you have seen a cariboo's track, please remember that it resembles that of a bull's hoof — is as large and as heavy ; and when you catch sight of the gigantic animal, I promise you a pleasure which will repay you for all your fatigue." After a series of marches and counter-marches, or rather of glissades upon the snow, we arrived at a cabin which htvd been constructed many years before as a hunting rendezvous for Mr. Howard and Monai. It was square built, and consisted of trees placed one upon an- other, and maintained in this horizontal position by poles or posts, outside and inside, thmst deep into the eai*th. The roof, also formed of trunks of ti-ees in a slanting l)ositioh, was covered, like the sides of the hut, with bark and plastei'ed mud. This log-cabin, though uninhabited, was in a capital condition, and the thick snow-covering which enveloped it i-endered it a vBry comfortable abode. Monai' soon cleared the entrance, swept out the interior-, and lit, in a rude kind of chimney, where the fireplace consisted of rough stones untouched by a workman's hammer, a blaz- ing fire which recruited our stiffened and weary limbs. While the Indian was thus engaged, Mr. Howard and myself cut up a supply of fuel, and cut down some cedar boughs for the mattresses on which we were to pass the night. Upon this improvised litter we spread our woollen wrappers ; and I can assure my readers it made a by no means uncomfortable bed. Twilight gave place to darkness ; Monai lighted a torch of resin, and fixed it in one comer of the hut ; our sui»- A MUSICAL HUNTER. 269 per was speedily devoured, and soon afterwards, with our feet before the fire, and our heads wrapped in our cover- lets, we were all three snoring our loudest. f! Two hours before dawn I was aroused by Mona!, who was making his preparations for the hunt. The door of the log-cabin was open, and from my bed of cedars I could perceive a cloudless sky, and the star of morning glittering on the horizon. The air was very keen ; but as there was not a breath of wind, the cold was endur- able. With a single bound I arose ; and, thanks to the water of a spring which I heard murmuring at the foot of a gigantic pine, a few paces from the hut, I speedily recovered from the stiffness which one always feels after sleeping in one's clothes. I felt so fresh and lively, that, without thinking, I began to sing aloud, — "Amis, la mntinfie est belle !" But I had scarcely terminated this first line before Mr. Howard, rushing headlong from the hut, cried to me, in a terrible voice, — " Hold your tongue, simpleton ! Silence ! You will set our game flying though they may be two leagues off ! The cariboos have as fine an ear as the hares of Europe, and their instinct is much greater than that of a fox." Mona.i, on his part, murmured a. malediction on my maladroitness, in his own language, which only Mr. How- ard could comprehend. :f *■ H i 1 )rch sui>- The breakfast was excellent and abundant; so our strength was doubled, and we hastened to don our snow- shoes. The rays of the sun streamed on the horizon 'ij IJ II Hi I'l M 270 ON THE TRACK OP THE CARIBOO. through the dense morning mist, which they gradually dissipated. We all three set out, observing the most profound silence ; ar.d I think, to speak the truth, that nothing was audible but the beating of my own heart, so much was I moved at the idea of encountering that mar- vellous animal, the king of the North -A merican forests. The aspect of the landsca^fi 1 [ (U4) 18 274 THE TABLES TURNED. nai, he would reserve his fire, to come, if necessary, to my assistance. "We fired simultaneously, and, without thinking, I rose to see the result of my skill ; but Monai, seizing me with a hand of iron, abruptly threw me down on the snow. When I i-aised my head, I saw the, animal at which Mr. Howard had levelled his rifle trampling the snow, and endeavouring, with angry eyes, to discover the place where his enemies lay concealed. While contemplating his immense antlers, his size and strength, I began to think of the danger we were incurring. At the same time, Monai, resting his carbine on one of the branches of our protecting tree, slowly took aim at the cariboo, and let go the trigger : alas ! the cap missed fire, and the cariboo, thus made aware of the place of our ambuscade, dashed towards us, boiling* with frightful energy. To defend ourselves against the furious animal, or to attempt to escape him by flight, was impossible, considering that we were buried up to the waist in snow. 1 was expecting to feci the antlers of tlie cariboo tickling my ribs, when Mr. Howard's brave dog sprang forward, and seized him by the lips. Meanwhile, Monai and Mr. Howard used every exertion to readjust their snow-sliocs to their feet ; as for myself, less skilful than they, my hands were almost paralyzed by the emotion of the danger and the novelty of the chase. Happily for us. Jack had not let go his hold of the animal, which he embarrassed rather than retained ; so, shaking his monstrous head, the cariboo dashed the dog on the snow and against th'" branches of the tree. It seemed as if he would beat Jack * A tcclinical term for the noiso mado by door. I^KATH OF THE CAttifioo. .,7, »m the carib«>'s heel, mt Z " "'^ *»""<»• -hilo the dog ag^rpCt ."•'""; ^'"""- ^'" J«tK '-ok, ..tainted tZl^'^JZ T"*° "«' ■""»-''« "'tlez^, contrived to 8^1;°" "^ ''"^ ""•^''^ i*? the "owarf in,n,ediaW,f^;f ^Z.TL^'. T^ ^r. I'hmged it up to the haiidJe ii, T> . " "" '"»''. """l beast. "^ '"""""^ "' the breast of the colossal In one suj^reme effort the nnl.lo • , ■ over his head; then falli'; , 1^ """""' '"•■•'«' Monal 'le'-ed his laatUath t^Vlt'T "'" «™™''' -''- A3 I have alreadvc!nfel? "^ "•' "'""«'""' »oul. ehained ^7 hands a;;dtS 2 IT;* "'"•'"' ''"" ">»g of the struggle: I hI/„ f °'" "'" ''"'•''"■ necessary for refasTenin. mv "w T" "'" """"-■^""'^ f i 276 THE WOUNDED REDSKIN. i\ r n li tJio snow in the presence of a furious cariboo, whose antlers threatened inevitable doatli. At length we found it possible to approach the king of the forest, who lay prostrate at our feet. Mr. How- ard's bullet had struck him in the shoulder, and under no circumstances could he have lived. " Hallo," cried Mr. Howai*d, addressing Monai, who was stretched on his back, " are you wounded, Hed- skinl" " The cariboo is strong," replied the Indian, " but man is stronger than he. Friend, apply to the wound a little of this pine-tree resin, and I shall be cured." Obeying his injunction, Mr. Howard spread some of tlr'a new remedy on a handkerchief folded in four, and having stanched the flowing blood, he made the plaster adhere to the skin. "What has become of your cariboo?" he said to rae, while bandaging the Indian ; " did you hit it 1" " Yes, undoubtedly : I wager my rifle against the rustiest old musket in the United States that the animal is badly wounded." " See, Jack has caught the scent, and is off* and away ! Hurry on your snow-shoes, and follow him : the blood will guide you as well as the furrow of a sledge. If you get within range of the animal, don't fire unless you can get a good aim. As for me, I will soon follow you, but I must see that Monai is not dangerously hurt. I must also dry my rifle ; but take things calmly, I will not long delay. Off, oil, my friend !" I darted forwaj-d efigerly, following up the bloody uiiirk which had enabled Jack to take up the trail. The 1 A FAIRY CASCADF;. 277 1 kod rou ian lilt ist, IlliT Ihe faithor I advanced the more plainly I saw that tlie cariboo had slackened his coiii'se, and had several times fallen to the ground. My self-love was engaged in brin^tiiig down my cariboo before Mr. Howard and Monai rejoined me : I flew over the snow, until I was arrested on the bank of a torrent of fresh water where the frost had taken no hold. There I lost all trace of the cariboo ; but Jack's paws pointed out the road I was to follow, and soon I heard distinctly the gallant dog's repeated barking. The current, as I advanced, became more rapid, and its waters, pent up between two elevated rocks, suddenly disappeared in an abyss, forming a cascade one hundred feet in height. Beyond the seething caldron of this pic- turesque fall the stream had frozen hard ; along its banks the water, flung up in spray, was transformed into beds of ice, and at the extremity of the pine branches which flourished on the rocks glittered icy stalactites of the most fantastic aspect. Beneath the cascade the water leaped on high m a sheaf of foam, forming a dense mist, which, as soon as it fell back on the liquid surface, was immediately metamorphosed into little drops. The rays of the sun piercing the obscurity, gave to each detail of this marvel of nature a spiu'kling golden tint. Moreover, the ice suiTounding the cascade was so transparent that the eye could perceive the golden sand at the bottom of the water, and detect the rapidity of the current. Ten feet above the semicircle formed by the cascade, on an isolated rock which rose in the middle of the waters, the cariboo whom I had wounded had sought refuge. *^rhe current around him swirled so impetuously, that, if liis foot had slipped, he would have been carried away 278 A ROMANTIC SPFX'TACLE. I; r and dashed below the cascade. Jack, my faithful dog, had not deemed it prudent to attack the animal in his dangerous entrenchment; but as my arrival, and the ex- citement under which he was labouring, would pi-obably have induced him to brave the danger, I fastened a cord round his neck, and tied him up to a tree. The cariboo had truly chos- en an unapproachable refuge, where no living being could safely attack him: on each side of his position rose per- pendicular palisades, between which the stream was forcing a passage; and before him, the yawning precipice seemed to await a victim. After I had sufficiently ad- mired this romantic spectacle, which was well adapted to affect the mind and heart of : a European, J. approached as 1 near as the ruggedness of the \ ground permitted. Immedi- I ately the cariboo caught sight [1 of me he raised his head, " iiAviNo TAKEN AIM, I MRBD." crowned wlth magnificent antlera, shook it with rage, and seemed to defy jae to the combat. Tims placed, he presented to my eye his chest, SHOOTING THE CARIBOO. 279 to le li- lt •> ^t broad as that of a bull. I say it without any false shame, I felt at ease now that I was separated from my formidable enemy by unconquerable obstacles ; for I have not the slightest hesitation in assei*ting my belief that, if it had been in his power to cross the distance which sepa- riited us, he would have precipitated himself upon mo with a desperate rage. Besides, as my readers have seen already in the course of my narrative, I was not a suf- ficiently skilful skater to have avoided his pursuit, in- asmuch as my snow-shoes impeded rather than accelerated my progress. It was necessary, then, to terminate once for all any longings of the cariboo to attack me, and the apprehen- sion which he inspired. Therefore, I loaded my carbine, and aftor having taken aim with the utmost precision, I fired. My bullet hit him between the eyes ; the cariboo was dead. With a last effort he bounded forward, and falling over the brink of the rock, disappeared in the current, which dragged him down the cascade. A moment afterwards I saw his immense body reappear on the surface of the water, and whirl around and among the masses encircling the borders of the abyss. " Well hit ! " cried Mr. Howard, who had arrived in time to see the result of my shot ; "let us make haste to descend, and get hold of our game." After a tolerably long circuit we arrived in the valley at the foot of the cascade, but, to our great astonishment, the animal had disappeared. " Forward ! forward ! " shouted my host ; " see, the dog will be our guide : he has started alongside the stream." Five minutes later, we perceived the cariboo floating down the current, and Jack, who had flinig himself intt> 280 A POET R DESCRIPTION'. the water, makiHg marvellous etfoi'tH to bring ashore his prey, which he held by one ear. Mr. Howard, not losing a moment, ran forward, and with his hatchet cut down the trunk of a tree gi'owing on the bank, in such a manner that it fell across the stream. By means of this obstacle we were able to seize on the cariboo. " It grows late, my friend," said Mr. Howard ; " and as it will be impossible for us to carry away our game this evening, we must make some arrangement to prevent the wolves from devouring it. To work ! Let us cut out the entrails, and hang the body to this branch, out of the reach of all intruders." This was done almost as soon as said ; and leaving the cariboo safe from all attack, we resumed the road to the log-cabin, lighted by the moon and by the gleam of stai-s, which shone like diamonds. Monai had anticipated us : with a hastily built up sledge he had hauled away the cariboo killed by Mr. Howard, and the animal's skull and antlers appeared above the doorway of our hut, the glorious trophy of a magnificent chase ! [As a relief to M. R^voil's nari'ative, we may quote Longfellow's animated description of " luinting the deer," from his poem of " Hiawatha " : — ' Hidden in the alder-buslies, There he waited till the deer came, Till he 8aw two antlers lifted, Saw two eyeH look from the thicket, Saw two nostrils point to windward. And a deer came down the pathway. Flecked with leafy light and shadow ; And his heart within him fluttered, Trembled like the leaves above him. Like the birch-leaf palpitated, As the deer came down the pathway. QUOTATION FROM LONGFELLOW. Then, upon one knee uprttlnr Hiawatha aimed an arrow Scarce a twig moved with his motion. 1^*'^ • ^"' ^"""rred or rustled. ' But the wary roebuck started. S ampea with all his hoofs together. Listened with one foot uplifted 7t?!u "," *° "««* *»>« wow '; Ah t the singing, fatal arrow. Like a wasp It buMed and stung him "J 281 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) '^ 1.0 t^ 12.5 1^ *^ 140 m 1.25 1 1.4 Jj6 .. ^ 6" — ► /A '^ '/ Photografiiic Sdences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STRUT WEBSTER, N.Y. 14SS0 (71e) S73-4S03 6^ CHAPTER XIX. THE GRISLY BEAR. jHE life of an Indian hunter is daily broken up by feats of daring, which, to be faithfully described, would need the pen of a Cooper. The different tribes of these children of the desert have each their hero, famous for a courage and skill of which he has given proof in various ways — the one by the intelligence with which he followed up an enemy's trail, the other by the number of wild animals ho has killed. To be a great hunter is to hold a high posi- tion, an elevated rank, among the Indians ; in the eyes of these peoples it is a title almost equivalent to that of " prince " in Europe ; and the exploits which have pro- cured him the dignity are for him, as it is for us, civilized men, a trophy comi)osed of the decorations of all the king- doms and empires of the univ erse. 1 AN INDIAN HUNTER. 283 [It is true, however, that much of the glory of the Indian hunter has departed. Not only are wild beasts becoming scarcer in the North American forests, but the waste and the wilderness &ve rapidly disappearing before the steady advance of civilization. Many of the Indian tribes have abandoned a nomadic life, and no longer trust for their support to the products of the chase or of fishing : they live in the towns, adopting various occupations, or cluster together in the neighbouring villages, tilling the grounil after the white man's fashion. And where the passion for, and the necessity of, hunting still exists, the intro- duction of the riiie and gunpowder has taken away so much of the excitement of the sport as formerly arose from its evident danger. To confront a bison with a gun that will kill at two hundred or three hundred yards is a very different matter from facing it with bow and arrow that will not prove fatal at more than half that distance. We have already quoted from Longfellow's " Hiawatha." Tlie reader will remember, perhaps, the picture of au Indian hunter given in that charming poem : — " He could shoot ten arrowu upward, Shoot them with such strength and swiftness, That the tenth had left the bow-string Ere the first to earth had fallen ! . . . . From his lodge wont Hiawatha, Dressed for travel, armed for hunting ; Dressed in deer-sldn shirt and leggings, Bichly wrought with quills and wampum ; On his head his eagle-feathers. Round his waist the belt of wampum. In his hand his bow of ash-wood. Strung with sinews of >lie reindeer ; Tn his quiver oaken arrows, Tipped with jasper, winged with feathers." -^1 It may safely be said that such a picture is now impoasi))Io, and that th? Indian hunter of to-day, compared with this 284 FIRST OF THE " BRAVES." romantic personage, is a very prosaic aiid commonplace individual.] Still, it must be owned that the plains and woods of North America still afford ample scope for the exercise, on a moderate scald, of the hunter's craft. Under the zone where the tribe of the Osages is located — in the 38th parallel of latitude, and the 19th meridian of longitude — the hunter still meets, and not infrequently, with the grisly bear, the most formidable animal in the North American forests, who shows himself insensible to the pain of a se\ ere wound, and whose strength is so great that he crushes like a grain of sand the enemy who falls into his deadly grasp. The Indian warriors, whatever the tribe to which they belong, in the regions haunted by the grisly bear, regard his claws as the fittest and noblest ornament for a muscular neck. This ornament, added to the feather of an eagle shot while flying y which the Red- skin fastens in the centre of the tuft of hair, raised above his head and tied up so as to resemble a helmet, gives him a bold and daring mien, and entitles him to a place in the first rank of the " braves." The fire lighted in the shelter of a rocky crag, arou, ;d which the Indians assemble at the evening watch, does not glow more brightly than the astonishing spirit dis- played by this primitive race of men in the narration of their exploits. While listening to their wild, fierce stories one finds the hours glide by with surprising rapidity, and the time of repose always arrives too quickly. Very frequently, in the course of this exciting talk, an old sachem who, during the day, has not uttered ten words successively, suddenly recovers his speech, babbles like a INDIAN STORIES. 285 woman,'* and gi'adually increases in animation as ho ralates the incidents of his stirring life. No story of tho chase can be compared to an Indian brave's account of a combat with his great enemy, the Grisly. The death of a foeman on the field of battle becomes comparatively a flat ..^d uninteresting subject if related after this moving adventure. We Europeans, accustomed to the modem hunts, — tho most dangerous of which is against the boar, tearing and rending with his tusks every obstacle that falls in his way : trees, men, and dogs, — are little inclined to accredit these {)erilous attacks, are little able to understand these emo- tions which so agitate the heart as to make it throb like a timid girl's ; and in our scepticism we are always tempted to regard as a fiction any fact which rises above the dull level of our hunting experience. in a Keposing in the rude tent of the Bedskins, I have often listened to the stories toid by men, who, surrounded by the vastness of seemingly boundless plains, living in the midst of apparently interminable forests, compared with whose aged giants the tallest trees of Europe are but as pygmies, have no need to deepen the shadows of the picture to bring its beauties into brighter relief. Tlio reality is too sublime and too terrible for exaggeration. For the very reason that the Indian has not profited by civilization, he has not been sullied by it. For me, ex- aggeration and braggadocio are proofs of feebleness, and these two signs of degeneracy have not yet penetrated into the midst of the North American prairies. * [This unoourteouB comparison is tlie author's, not the translator's.] 280 SINGULAR INSIGHT OF THE INDIANS. As a general loile, the hunter, whether white ot copper- coloured, possesses by instinct extraordinary faculties of sight and touch, hearing and smelling, and these arc daily more and more developed by practice. An unfortunate blind man is able, by the organ of touch, to recognize his food and clothing; he contrives to divine everything which is of value and importance to him, for it is upon this single sense that he brings to bear all the powers of his mind. The hunter of the desert I)Ossesses a faculty of sight rendered so keen and acute by practice that the lightest trace left upon the leaves, on the batk of trees, or even on the ground, he readily and unerringly detects ; yet these signs, to any other person, would be as imperceptible as the course of a bird's wing in space. It is this singular insight which guides the Indian in his warfare against his fellows or the wild beasts of the forest ; it -is this extraordinary gift of divination which, carried to its highest degree, compels the " pale-face " to proclaim a Redskin the notable hunter of the American wilderness; for the best of all hunters is he who can follow up the least perceptible trail, while, so far as he himself is concerned, he leaves no imprint on the ground where he places his stealthy feet. The hunter who goes forth against the grisly bear can only be guided by sight, and yet this instinct is much more certain than the scent of a pointer. The marks of the bear's paws upon the leaves, — ^the broken branches, — finally, his lair, — are much more quickly, found than the animal himself; and the experienced hunter who follows up his trail can describe beforehand, and without mistake, the animal's sex, weight, and age. It is for this reason IIADITS OF THE GRISLY BEAU. 287 that he will often abandon a trail because it is that of a small-sized beast; another, because it is that of a bear with young; or yet another, because the aiiimal is too fat, and his flesh would be unwholesome : and finally a fourth, because the beast is not worth the trouble of u pursuit. It is this knowledge, in my opinion, which dis- tinguishes the true hunter from him who hunts for occa- sional amusement. The former requires no assistance in following the game, while the second can do nothing with- out the help of a well-trained dog. The means employed in America for destroying the grisly bears ai*e perhaps as numerous as the bears them- selves. None of these animals can be attacked by an uniform process; and this, without doubt, it is which renders them so dangerous and so difficult to kill. The device which has once succeeded may, a second time, de- liver the hunter into the fatal grip of his adversary; and it is needless to say that this enormous beast, whoso strength i«* so great that he can cany off a horse to his distant den, finds in the stoutest and strongest man a mere plaything ! The grisly beara, like the lion and the tiger, generally retire during the day to their secret laii-s. Here, in winter, they abandon themselves to a profound slumber, which is, so to speak, doubled in proportion to the inten- sity of the frost. They select their retreats at the end of autumn, and do not quit them until the snows are melted, and the spring has revived the young grass of the prairies. It sometimes happens that one of these recesses is inhar bited by a couple of bears, but this is a rare occurrence, for the unsocial humour of these quadrupeds is proverbial in 288 « THE MAN OF THE WOODS. the United States ; they prefer to live alone. The hunter arrives in front of the bear's retreat, guided either by his natuml instinct, or 'by the knowledge he has acquired of the different passes of the forest. Once the animal is discovered, he prepares to attack him in his den, without hesitation, without any lingering fear, — and this is how he proceeds : — But a word. I see here, with my mind's eye, my readers trembling at the idea of venturing alone into the midst of the chasms of the rocks, where the least false step, where the slightest trembling, may deliver them over to the tender mercies of a gigantic bear. But this terror is irrational ; you only require to grow accustomed to the hazard. How many men there are in the forests of North America who risk this hazardous enterprise with the solo object of amusing themselves, or of procuring the materials of a good repast. The first thing done by the hunter who wishes to attack the '' lion in his laii'," is to examine the immediate vicinity of the den whither he designs to penetrate. He takes due account of the animal's isolation or sociability. In the latter case, if the bear has a companion, he will leave them undisturbed. The Indian recognizes also the size and age of the animal, the date at which he took up his winter-quarters — and this perspicacity of divination is one of the most astonishing mysteries of the natural knowledge of the Indians. The European hunter, oi whom " the man of the woods" should inquire if a par- ticular cave was or was not inhabited, would be unable to reply either affirmatively or negatively, while, on the contrary, a genuine trapper would answer; — " From the marks left by the animal all around the i A DANGEROUS ANTAGONIST. 289 entrance to his den, I am sure that ho lias not emerged from it for the last three months. Observe : the herbage is not bent or trodden down — there are no imprints on the soil. I am persuaded that the bear is in his retreat, for the marks of his paws all point towards it. He is alone, because these marks are regular, and alike in all points ; from the size of his feet he must be of a great size ; and I am sure he is very fat, because his hind-paws do not join the imprints of his fore-paws, as is always the case with a lean bear." Such are the judicious remarks of a genuine hunter ; and mysterious as they seem when one does not under- stand them, no sooner are they explained than one sees with what skilfulness Nature has taught her children. > 1 Why — the reader, perhaps, will inquire — why is the grisly bear so formidable to a company of hunters en- countering him in the heart of a wood, if, when he is lurking in his den, he is so little to be feared that a single hunter will attack and slay him 1 I reply that in the latter case the hunter goes in search of his quarry, in the darkness, at an epoch when the bear is rendered lethargic by the cold, and consequently he is easily surprised. Certain indispensable precautions must be observed to insure a successful issue of the enterprise; and if these are neglected, neither rapidity of eye, nor cool- ness, nor skill, can for a single moment protect the daring adventurer who disturbs the grisly bear in his liiding-place. As soon as the trapper has acquainted himself with the locality of the bear's retreat, he provides himself with a candle made of common wax mixed with fat, whose wick (4") 19 • 290 THE BEAR AND THE HUNTER. iH very thick, and able to give forth a steady flaiiio. Armed only with his rifle, — for a knife is generally use- less, a body-to-body encounter with the animal being seldom possible, — the Indian lights his steps by means of his taper, and advances without knowing in what direction the giisly bear may rush to attack his aggressor. Soon ho places his brilliant light in one of the crevices of the rock, and lies down on his belly, su as to conceal himself from view, and to be ready to fire at the animal the moment ho shows himself. Do you hear that tenible growU It is the bear awakening. See, he raises himself; he stands erect; he shakes his shaggy haii*, which is like that of a New- foundland dog, and yawning, like one just aroused from slumber, he makes a few steps in advance. The trapper remains immovable, and, with his rifle ready to fire, waits with anxiety until the bear comes in sight and within range. What emotion stirs the nerves of the daring adventurer, for whom retreat is impossible, and whose life depends on the accuracy of his eye and the dryness of the powder with which his gun is loaded. Should the bullet miss its aim, he is a dead man ! The common bear is tenacious of life, and frequently, after being too severely wounded for flight, will sustain a com- bat for several hours ; but the grisly bear is still more terrible: the thickness of his fur, the strength of his bones, serve to shelter his heart from the bullets, and his brain is encased in a skull whose bones are as hard as granite. A shot striking the grisly bear in the middle of his forehead will be flattened against it as against a plate of iron ; it is therefore in the eye-ball that tho Indian endeavours to hit tho animal ; this is the only road by AMONG TUB ClIKKOKEES. 291 which the bullet will peuetrnte into the heacl, and paralyze the creatui'e's foixse. Look ! — the bear, having anivetl opposite to the candle, has lifted his enomious paw, as if to strike it out ; at the same moment tho Indian fires, and in the midst of tliu obscurity prevailing over the scene which I have attempted to describe, you may hear a fantastic huniUi, the triumph- song of the fortunate conqueror ! The tmpper has killed the giisly beai*. During my sojourn among the Cherokee Indians, in their wigwam on the Creek River, one of them observed in my presence, during the evening watch, that he hoped for a good hunt on the following day, because, that very morning, he had discovered the lair of a Grisly, and in- tended to attack him alone. However, I asked per- mission to accompany him, that I might have an oppor- tunity of witnessing this new kind of combat. Naturally all the men in the encampment followed us, and wo had made our way, with great difficulty, through a thicket of cotton-trees and lianas, when the Indian informed us he had come upon the animal's traces. Following them up, we arrived in front of a gigantic tree, whose circumference was nearly one hundred feet. It was a maple of vener- able antiquity, in whose hollow trunk, according tc the Indian, the bear had taken up his abode, and where he intended to arouse him from his tranquillity. Never have I seen anything more admirable than this man calmly preparing to encounter one of the most terrible risks which the world of peril knows of. A ferocious joy sparkled in his eyes. Throwing away the coverlet under i 292 A BANQUET ON DEAR-STEAKS. wliioh his broad shoulders were sheltered, he waved his arms in the air, brandishing a formidable bowie-knife, and recommended us by a significant look to observe the completest silence. I imitated the Indians who had come, like myself, to be present at this unique species of sport, and climbed a young tree which bent under my weight — recollecting that the bear.^ clamber up the larger trees as nimbly as squirrels. As soon as he saw us all in safety, the Indian hunter penetrated into the bear's retreat. A moment or two afterwards we heard a hoarse growl, and almost immediat.ely the Indian leapt out of the trunk of the maple, exclaiming that the bear luid lived ! Each of us quitter' lis atrial post, and two Cherokees, gliding through the narrow opening in the tree, attached the pjiimal's hind-paws to a rope made of lianas, and with the assistance of his companions, drew out the carcass of an enormous beast, weighing nearly twenty hundred- weight. With the same cord the grisly bear was sus- pended about two feet above the ground, and each re- sumed his road to the Creek River camp. All along the path the Cherokees cut numerous notches in the trees; and as soon as we had arrived, four Indians, guiding their steps by these indications, started off to cut up the animal, and bring back the flesh and skin. I do not think I need here insist on the ample banquet provided for us by Master Martin's flesh ; but I seize the occasion to justify the great novelist, Alexandre Dumas, from the reproach of mendacity levelled against him on the subject of bear- ateaksj which he asserted that he had eaten. In the United States bears' hams are sold in the market, just as at Paris lamb, venison, or poultry. It is an ordinary dish, AMONG THE ALLEOIIANIES. 293 whose savour recalls that of a " confused " mixture of beef and pork, with an additional " wildness " of tasto about it. And now for an anecdote of bear-hunting, in which I was one of the principal heroes during my i-esidence in the United States. The scene lies 'n the slope of the Alleghany Mountains. I was returning, accompanied by two friends, from a day's sport against the birds of passage who crowded the waters of a fine lake. The sixow covered its shore, where wo hod moored our little bavk. Before us rose a forest of cedars, and our guide made us remark, at the foot of one of these venerable trees, a mass of leaves, moss, and boughs, in the middle of which an opening had been effected. He was persuaded that it was the retreat of a Grisly. With a hatchet, which he carried in his belt, our guide cut down a young cedar, and sharpened the extremity ; posting himself at tho entrance to the den, with the stake in one hand and his hatchet in the other, he began to forage among the decayed timber. He had scarcely com- menced this game before a bear sprang to the opening; but the guide dealt him on the skull so terrible a blow that, growling and moaning, ho retired to the further end of his asylum. The stake was again thrust into the opening, and the stirring recommenced. As the noise had ceased, I pro- posed, at all hazards, to fire a bullet into the interior. The ball went on its way whistling, and a few seconds afterwards a cub, scarcely so big as a fox, sprang out, bounded to the edge of the lake, and plunged into its 294 DEATH OF THE SHE-BRA tt. V, aters. One of my comrades and myself discharged our guns at him ; I was the more fortunate of the two ; my 1)8,11 struck the animal, who ceased all movement, and^ by the aid of the boat, was soon brought back to the shore. Meanwhile the third himter had fired again into the bottom of the cave. Nothing stirred. A profound silence prevailed in the dark burrow. We resolved to open it " HE BKQAN TO FOBAQB AMONO THE DKOAYED TIMBER." up to the day by removing all the leaves and branches, and lo ! in the lair lay dead the she-bear, whose skull had been split open by our guide's hatchet. A single bullet — it was mine — had terminated her days. We found it in her body when stripping off the skin; and as my gun was the only one of No. 16 calibre, my comrades weiv compelled to own that I was king of the cliase. The guide alone divided with me the honours of victory. Here follows another story of hunting the giisly bear, which was told to me by the hero of it : — AN ENGLISH SETTLKR. 295 During my residence in tlie town of St. Louis, in the United States, I had occasion to associate myself witli some of those adventurous merchants who carry on a dangerous but lucrative traffic in the centra of the Ame- rican desert. Their absence is sometimes prolonged for upwards of six months ; they go from one tribe to another, with their vehicles and servants, until all their merchand- ize is disposed of; then they regain Fort Leaven worth with skins, and gold, and other precious commoilitieu, which jdeld them a profit of from 400 to 500 per cent. Most of my acquaintances confined their operations to the regions along the western coast of America, between the Mississippi and the Portuguese possessions of Ben- guela. One of the most enterprising, as well as one of the most fortunate, of these merchants, was named John Jefirey, an Englishman by birth, who had amassed a small fortune in his excursions among the Bedskins, and wished to retire from business. He had been described to me not only as a man very skilful in his profession, and as a valiant hunter, but also as one of the most in- telligent explorers in North America. I had had an opportimity of rendering him a small service, and he gave me, in reference to this coimtry, all the information I could desire. My assistance, however, had not been very considerable. A sUve whom he had purchased in Cuba having been thrown into prison, I had succeeded, through my influence with the authorities, in obtaining his release. The affectionate solicitude which Jefirey displayed in this affair surprised me. How originated his strong attachment for the young mulatto 1 Tliere was nothing 296 HOW HE TOLD HIS STORV. very pleasing either in the person or manners of Nar- cissus. He seemed to love his master ; but his character was not more agreeable than his physiognomy, and his intelligence did not appear brilliant. I had heard it said that Mr. Jeffrey, in spite of bis commercial shrewdness and his passion for the chase, was honest, and possessed a sensible heart. I supposed that Narcissus had been sold to him by his father and mother, on his giving a solemn promise that he would take care of their son, and that the merchant's tenderness originated in his honourable desire to be " as good as his word." It chanced that on the very same evening he paid me a visit to thank me for my services. In the course of conversation, I took the liberty of telling him that his mulatto was, undoubtedly, an excellent ser'/ant, since he had inspired him with so strong an affection. " I ought to take care of him," replied the merchant, " for he once saved my life." " What ! that ugly rascal ! " I exclaimed, not stopping to choose my expressions. " I confess that this astonishes me." " Yet it is a certain fact," answered the nomadic merchant. "It is nearly two years ago since I bought Narcissus. He was then a child of about twelve years old — so far as I can guess ; for in this country it is difficult to guess the age of the blacks. He had been left alone, devoured by fever and half dead, under a small shelter of boughs and turf. The Maroon negroes are accustomed to abandon in this way the invalids and the aged who can no longer keep up with them in their migratory marches. This frightful custom, the least moral of theii' habits, has THE MULATTO NARCISSUS. 297 led, perhaps, to their being judged too severely ; for in other respects they are not so vicious as some travellers have pretended. " But to be brief : I placed the poor boy in one of my vehicles, and gave him some doses of quinine, and other remedies. At the end of a few days, he trotted and gambolled about as if he had never been ill." "Then you saved hia life," I observed, "before he saved yours % " " Probably," answered Mr. Jeffrey ; " though his wound might, perhaps, have healed of itself, if I had not foimd him on my road. The mulattoes are singularly tenacious of life. It requires long fasts and terrible diseases to drive them out of the world ; but listen while I tell you how Narcissus showed his gratitude : — ;;! ; **I had set 'out en route for Santa F6, with two waggons, and about a dozen servants. Two of the latter were blacks, who had come from the Mozambique coast ; the others, Canadians, whom I took into my service after my departure. The majority of them I had picked up at St. Louis. These men were tolerably well acquainted with their work ] they had acquired quite a singular topographical knowledge of the country I was about to traverse ; they could, therefore, assist me in guiding the cattle; and often I started them in pursuit of game, whose scent they followed up with admirable accuracy. " But if they knew the country well, I must confess that they required my constant surveillance. Nature had cursed them with an excessive poltroonery, and though several knew how to handle fire-arms, I could never persuade them to confront, with any degree of M': i f 298 CROSSING THE PRAIRIES. coolness, an animal as formidable as a bison. If you only pronounced the name of the gidsly bear, you threw them into a panic ! I killed two or three bisons without receiving the slightest help from my people — Narcissus excepted ; and he, I must own, stood bravely by my side under all circumstances, though his teeth began to chatter, and his eyes to stream like springs, when we approached the enemy. " One day, after noon," continued Mr. Jeffrey, " I drew up my waggons in the vicinity of a pool, whither different species of animals resorted at night to drink. We could see their traces all along the shore. The locality being well known to the Canadians, they begged of me to encamp at some distance off; because, said they, the Grislys were very dangerous in these parts, and if we remained on the border of the lake, we should probably lose some of our horses, and perhaps be ourselves attacked. It is a curious fact that when once a Grisly has tasted human flesh, he seems to prefer it to all 'other food, and disdains all other prey when he can seize a man. Of course I did not wish to imperil either my servants or my cattle; and when the latter had fully quenched their thirst, I marched about two miles further, and halted in a little valley, from which it was impossible to see the pond. " We kindled a great fire to keep off the wild beasts, and allowed our horses to gather here and there a few blades of grass in the midst of the surrounding rocks. As for myself, I eagerly longed for an opportunity to salute a Griily with a rifle-bullet, since I had not shot one for at least three years. " Still, as I had not been very fortunate in some rifle- A NOCTURNAL AMBUSCADE. 299 \ Bhooting paHies, I feared I might not be better adapted for this kind of pastime, which requires gi*eat skill and firm nerves. I soimded four or five of my men, including Narcissus, to see if they would accompany me during the forthcoming night in a search after the Grislys. Only three accepted my proposal j the others we left in charge of the waggons, with directions to keep the fire a-light, and to watch that the hoi*ses did not stray too far. We reached the pond as the sun set, and having brought with us some pickaxes and spades, set to work to dig, at about a hundred yards from the bank, a ditch or trench, three to four feet deep. On the edge we piled up the ex- cavated soil, till it formed a kind of mmpart. These operations occupied fully an hour. We then posted our- selves in our entrenchment, and, with our guns loaded, awaited the arrival of the enemy. "We spent the night there all in vain. A great number of wild beasts came to quench their thii'st ; but the king of bears did not choose to put in an appearance. Cayeutes came, and panthers, and ov. .cr quadrupeds ; but we did not waste our powder in firing upon them, since a single shot might alaim the Grislys, and prevent them from approaching the lake. Yet we gained nothing by our excessive precautions. When the morning dawned, we emerged from our ambuscade, stifi*, benumbed, out of humour, and overcome with sleep. " We had not caught sight even of the shadow of a Grisly, though we heard them growling in the distance. " They had been attracted by our waggons and horses, for we afterwards learned that they had prowled all night in the environs of our camp. " The men whom we had left there in charge had ex- M(tl I ^ v 300 A PANIC OP TERROR. perienced a panic of terror, but preserved sufficient presence of mind to keep up a huge fire. Our cattle showed such violent alarm that they nearly planted them- selves in the flames ; and it was, of course, the brilliancy of the blazing pile which prevented the Grislys from attacking them. "I now abandoned all hope of bringing down one of these animals ; yet I was unwilling to regain the encampment without securing some game to compensate me and my men for our dreary and fruitless watch. We had already crossed a ravine which separated us from the camp, when a herd of deer darted past us through the thorny bushes ; they ran and leaped as if under the influence of violent terror. " "Without thinking of what might have caused this excess of alarm, I discharged my two barrels into the midst of the troop, and brought down one of the largest ; but scarcely had I removed the butt end of my gun from my shoulder, when an enormous Grisly, issuing fro'm the underwood, marched slowly towards us. He was not above a hundred yards off", so that I had no time to re- load my rifle. " I was so overcome, I confess, with terror that, for a few seconds, I remained completely motionless and un- certain what I ought to do ; but I soon perceived that there remained but one means of extricating ourselves from this unpleasant position. " When the Redskins make an attack, with knife and gun, upon the Grislys, they are accustomed to seat them- selves, side by side, on the approach of the enemy. If the animal be in an aggressive humour, he singles out one of them, and pounces upon him. It does sometimes happen ( I, \ THE SUDDEN ONSLAUGHT. 301 that the unfortunate individual is killed with the first blow of the Grisly's paw, but generally he escapes with a few more or less severe wounds. His companions then make a simultaneous rush on the formidable animal : some seize him by the hind-paws and lift him up, which pre- vents him from turning round, while the others stab him with their knives. Frequently they kill him, and not one of their number is seriously injured ; but occasionally the Grisly proves victorious : he teara in pieces two or three of the hunters, and the rest take flight. " It seemed to me possible to adopt the same strata- gem. By all seating ourselves, and presenting to the ferocious beast a resolute front, we should, perhaps, in- timidate him, and prevent him from attacking us before I had reloaded my weapon. " * Seat yourselves ! — seat yourselves ! ' I cried with all my might, while I bent one knee to the ground, and pre- pared to reload in case I should get an opportunity ; but a swift glance around me showed that my men had all saved themselves the moment they caught sight of the Grisly, and had already climbed half up the hill which separated us from the camp. Narcissus had accompanied them in their flight, from a belief, as ho afterwards told me, that I should also run ; but I could not have followed them without losing ground, owing to my want of agility. As he dared not turn his head to look behind, poor Narcissus only discovered his mistake when he had reached the encampment. " Thus, then, I alone remained to face the bear. " And not only was my gun unloaded, but more, while digging out the trench I had handed to Narcissus my hunting-knife, because it embarrassed mo. I was, there- i tij 302 CONFRONTING THE ENEMY. fore, entirely disarmed ; and, as was natural, thought it was all over with me. " * O God ! ' I said, * have pity on my wife and my poor children ! ' " And, tortured with an anxiety you will easily under- stand, I waited for the creature to make his spring. " However, he seemed in no hmiy. He advanced with a heavy step, gradually slackening his pace ; then, when within about a dozen feet, he halted, and crouching upon the ground like a cat, regarded me with a fixed gaze. I seated myself in my turn, and in the same HE IlEOABDEO HE WITH A FIXED GAZE. manner looked at him as steadily as I could. In my younger days I had somewhere read that no animal could sustain the fixed gaze of the human eye, and though my experience had never confirmed the truth of the opinion, 1 resolved to try if, on this occasion, the device could help me. Unhappily, it produced little efiect. At intervals the bear closed his eyes, or turned his glance to the right or left ; but that was all. At length he laid himself down, his paws folded under him, his chin resting THE REDSKIN S ESCAPE. 303 on the ground ; exactly like a cat when watching a mouse. At intervals, he licked his lips ; undoubtedly ho had just finished a repast, and I divined his intention. Having been eating fresh meat, probably he was not hungry ; but he had resolved to keep me until the moment his appetite revived ; and, as the Grislys are very partial to human flesh, the droll rascal coolly waited until his recruited dyspeptic powers would enable him to enjoy me thoroughly ! " Was not this, as the Canadians say, an agrecRble position for a Christian ) " You cannot deny that mine was a truly critical situation. I had read in the narrative of a missionaiy that a Bedskin had been kept all day in this fashion by a Grisly, until, in the evening, overcome by fatigue, he fell asleep. When he awoke, the Grisly had disappeared ! " " I remember the story," said I, inteirupting Mr. Jeffrey ; " and the Redskin had a lucky escape." '. 1 !!?; Mi " The Grisly," resumed the merchant, " is ferocious in his organization and his habits ; but if he meets with a prey when ho is not anhungered, he often passes by it without taking notice. At times he kills for the pleasure of killing and the lust of carnage; but frequently, through indifference, he abstains from bloodshed, and con- tinues his road. " The Bedskins assert that the Grisly often waits until a man is asleep, and detecting his first movement when he awakes, pounces upon him. My opinion is, that the Grisly who kept watch over the Indian was put to flight by some noise, or some temole object, during the sleep 304 A HORRIBLE SUSPENSE. of his captive. As for myself, I did not doubt that the carnivorous beast only waited for the moment when fatigue should seal my eyelids, or I should fall from utter weariness, to precipitate himself upon me. " < I shall live/ said I to myself, ' as long as my eyes will keep open ; but if I go to sleep, I shall wake again between the jaws of the Grisly." As Mr. Jeffrey pronounced these words I shuddered in spite of myself, and could not refrain from an exclamation of horror. " Do not be alarmed as to my fate," said he with a smile ; " you see me alive, and in the best of health ! " I wished to make you comprehend the full extent of the peril in which I found myself, before telling you how I escaped from it. " I had passed the night, as you know, without food ; I felt painfully hungry, and very prone to sleep. For- tunately, I had brought with me a flask of water, and as I had drank all its contents in the morning, I was not thirsty. Otherwise I could not possibly have supported the emotions and fatigues of the day. " The sun rose irradiant, as generally happens in these deserts, and immediately spread abroad vast sheets of flame which kindled the sand into a glow. Between this twofold heat I felt my skin parched and burning. I wore a broad-brimmed felt hat, which sheltered my head from the sun's direct rays, and yet never before had I found the sun so oppressive ; perhaps this was because I had neither eaten nor slept ; nevertheless I preserved all my presence of mind, and watched keenly for an opportunity STILL ON GUAnn. 305 to eHcapo. My people might perhapH take courage, and come to my deliverance ; yet, aloH ! I knew their pusillan- imity too well ; I feared they would not venture to approach within a quarter of a mile ; and in this case, if the Giisly caught sight of them, he would probably rush upon me, and terminate all my uncertainty." 1 " But why," said I, interrupting Mr. Jeffrey — " why did you not reload your gun ?" "I attempted to do so," he replied; "but at every movement the animal raised his head, and began to gi-owl, as if to say, 'None of that, my fine fellow, or, if you stir — !' Had I persisted, he would unquestionably have rushed upon me, before I had poured out a sufficient charge of powder. " He was an enormous bear, — the largest I had ever seen, — ^with a long gray shaggy mane, and small tvdukling eyes. You will not believe how great is the cunning of the old bears. My gentleman knew perfectly well that my gun was a weapon of some kind ; lie also understood, — I am sure of it, — that my people were in the neighbour- hood, for from time to time he threw an unquiet look in the direction of the waggons. I could then feel my heart throb violently in my breast, and the sweat poured copiously all over my body." " And with good reason !" cried I. " But did the Grisly remain motionless all the day ?" " Far, very far from that," replied the merchant ; " his perpetual restlessness kept me in a state of constant («4) 20 I I: 30G 8YMFTOMS OF EXCITEMENT. anxiety. A troop of young deer passed very near us, but disooveiing the Grisly, they precipitately wheeled about, and darted madly away in a diffei'ent direction. The Qrisly raised himself on his paws, turned half round, and eagerly eyed the fugitives. The grislys are passion- ately fond of venison ; I therefore hoped my bear would abandon his watch of me, and start in pursuit of the deer. But he undoubtedly thought it wise to prefer the positive U> the uncertain ; a man in the hand was worth a herd of door in the bush ! So he resumed his former position, lay down again on the ground, growling in a frightful manner, and looking at me more covetously than ever, as if to say, ' You see, my friend, I have let the deer go for your sake; so I am determined to hold you fast.' You may believe that in my heart I cursed the old brigand a thousand times ; but I took good care not to articulate a word, lest it should bring evil upon me. "Soon I experienced a new alarm in another direc- tion: I perceived the bear attentively looking towards the camp, as he had done twice or thrice before ; then he reared himself on his paws, and roared with rage, licking his lips, and showing his teeth, as if he perceived something disagreeable. I afterwards ascertained that my men, encoui'aged by Narcissus, hod armed themselves from head to toe, and advanced to the top of the hill. There they could see the Grisly keeping watch over me ; but the moment he stood erect, and turned towards them, they took to flight in a complete stampede, and leaped into the waggons half dead with fear. " After awhile, the bear again lay down in front of me, stretching out his paws, yawning, closing his eyes, and seemingly very weary of his watch. But he had indubi- THE NIOHT WATCH. 307 11. tably resolved to remain there until night ; otherwise he would have torn me to pieces immediately. " Towards evening, I heard a distant roar, which appeared to vex my guardian greatly. From the intona- tion of the voice I knew it was that of a she-bear, and I thought she must be in search of her companion. The latter rose and lay down several times, going to and fro with a wild fierce air, and smelling the ground, as if he were troubled in mind, and undecided ; but he remained silent, and the female's voice gradually grew weaker. It was at this part of the day that I felt the liveliest anxiety ; for if the Grisly had replied to his mate, and had summoned her to the spot, she would have thrown herself without delay, as she was probably hungry, on the dainty supper which her lord had reserved for her. From all ap- pearances, I judged that the old scoundrel hod the same idea, and thought it prudent to hold his peace. " The night at length anived. The stars shone, but no moon appeai'ed in the sky. Even at a short distance I could only perceive objects very dimly, and in the east nothing was visible but the outline of the hills. The Grisly, still immovable, formed a confused mass close at hand. I was certain that he did not sleep, but watched my every movement. At intervals, his eyes, turned towards me, shone like burning coals. I had but one chance of safety ; by remaining motionless and silent, I hoped to fatigue him, or, at least, to prevent him from flinging himself upon me, until some accident or other might attract him elsewhere. But, not to lose this last chance, I had to keep awake, — a very difficult thing. For I was thoroughly spent and weary, not having slept for thirty-six hours, nor eaten for twenty-four ; what cruel 308 IS IT COME 1 emotions, moreover, had I not experienced ! Tlie air was fresh, and this delicious freshness, after a scorching day, seemed to woo me to repo30. A profound silence reigned around me, and I had gi*eat need of continual efforts to keep my eyelids open. " From time to time I felt my head sink ; tlien I raised myself upright with a shudder of terror at the idea that the bear, perhaps, was making ready for his spring. It was something homble ! Even now I cannot bear to think of the horrors of that night. I was like one con- demred to death, who, pursued by a frightful nightmare, wakes with a start to remember that he will be executed on the following morning. I do not think it possible that I could have muoli longer supported this awful pressure ; it was too much for human strength." The merchant ceased to speak for a few minutes ; he wore the melancholy and downcast air of a man tormented by painful recollections. But he soon recovered himself, and went on with his narrative : — "Two or three hours after the beginning of night, when both earth and sky were enveloped in shadow, I heard different animals come down to the watering-place. Some passed close by me, but I could not see them. Thb Grisly, who saw them perfectly, contented himself with slightly moving his head when they came near him ; and I soon abandoned the hope that he would take to their pursuit. " Suddenly, however, he raised his head, looked at me and began to roar. "'My last inoment is como ! Goil help me !* I exclaimed. A VAIN ALARM. 309 "He reared himself erect, and while eyeing mo still more menacingly, as I thought, roared louder and yet louder. " I prepared for a struggle, clutching my gun in my left hand, and wrapping my handkerchief round my right. My intention was, to smite him across the jaw with th(! but-end of my musket, and to choke him by thrusting my handkerchief down his throat. This was no easy or probable scheme, but it was my last chance; and I re- solved, at all events, to sell my life as deai-ly as possible. " Really I did not cherish any hope ; my sole desire was to struggle against the villanous bear which had persecuted me since the morning, and to inflict upon him all the harm I could. " However, it was a vain alarm. After a few minutes, the savage animal once more grew tranquil, and crouched down, — not exactly as before, but with his neck out- stretched towards me, like a cat who is closely examining some particular object. At length, having satisfied him- self, I suppose, that I was still in his power, he laid him- self full length on the ground. But again, at the expiry of about ten minutes, he suddenly arose, and roared in a more ferocious manner than ever. The idea then occurred to me that another animal of his species was stealthily approaching from the rear, and that my Grisly objected to any division of the spoil. If I had not deceived my- self, my fate would be soon decided. I also cherished a faint hope that my people, perhaps, were attempting to succour me under cover of the darkness j but was it l>robable they would have courage enough to dare anything] That I had no longer any wish to sleep, you may readily conjecture. 310 A WELCOME ARRIVAL. " The Grisly, standing erect, growled continiially, and paced to and fro, as if uncertain what decision he should arrive at. Finally he decided : I saw that he was mak- ing ready for a leap ; my hour had come ! " At this moment an unexpected howl echoed behind me, and a blaze of flame illuminated every surrounding object. The howl lasted for one or two minutes, and an "l REOOUNIZEU THE FAITHFUL NAB0I88U8." individual, whose head as well as shoulders seemed to be on fire, burst into the interval between me and my enemy ! " The animal gave a terrible roar, rather of fear than rage, and with a bound sprang away into the deep dark- ness. " Then, in the person who had arrived so opportunely to ray assistance, I recognized the faithful Narcissus. The flame with which at first he was crowned, had ceased to shine, but in each hand he held a couple or more of SAVED ! SAVED ! 311 lighted branches, which he waved around his head, leaping and shouting, and whirling in a frantic manner; he had the air of a demon, but for me he was a liberating angel ! The poor fellow suffered from so great an alarm that he could hardly speak, and did not hear a word which I said to him. " 'Master, load your gun ! load your gim !' he cried incessantly ; ' the great beast will return ; load your gun !* "This was excellent counsel, and I followed it as quickly as I could. On rising from the ground I found myself as stiff as if I had been stricken with palsy. But the blood was not long before it circulated anew; and when I had loaded my gun, we proceeded in all haste in the direction of the waggons. Narcissus ran all the way in front of me, with a frying-pan on his head, and a torch in his right hand, leaping and shouting like a madman, to keep off the wild beasts. "At length we reached our encampment. When T had satisfied my appetite, I asked my deliverer what had passed in my absence, and what means he had taken to rescue me from my peril. It appeared that the poor boy had endeavoured, all day, to induce my men to make an effort for my deliverance. As I have told you, they made an attempt in the morning, but their courage failed them. In the evening Narcissus resolved on venturing by him- self alone, and for this purpose resorted to an ingenious device. He took one of my large frying-pans, and covered the bottom of it with a layer of gunpowder, sufficiently moistened to prevent it from burning rapidly ; on the top of this he piled some straw ; poured intx) the middle of it a little dry powder ; and topped up the \ 312 THE STOHY FINISHED. whole with a small bundle of sticks and twigs. With the frying-pan upon his head, he stai-ted late at night ; and when he had accomplished about half the journey, he changed his posture, and crawling slowly and cautiously along, an-ived within a hundi*ed paces of the spot where I was seated, without the- Grisly suspecting his approach. " It was at this moment the ferocious beast had raised himself upright, for the first time, and had begun to roar. * That formidable voice,* said Narcissus, * froze my heart, and I was on the point of swooning away.* " Remaining immovable until the Grisly was onco more calm, my mulatto again dragged himself through the grass, not advancing above an inch or two at each movement, and when he had accomt)lished a few paces, he halted anew for about one minute. " At last, when he thought himself sufficiently close to make his coup cPetat, he drew a chemical match from a box which he found in the waggons, and lighted it. " He had but to touch the straw for it to kindle into a blaze immediately. It was during the preparations for this grand denouement that the bear had broken out into his greatest access of rage. But Narcissus gave him no time to act ; ruf'iing towai-ds me with the frying-pan on his head, and a lighted branch in either hand, he put my adversary to fiight at the first charge. "And now, my friend," said Mr. Jefirey, turning towards me, " you will understand why I am so attached to this brave boy, who, under such critical circumstances, displayed more wit and courage to save mi/ life, than, perhaps, he would have shown to have saved his own." SETTLING AN ACCOUNT. 313 "I warmly approve of your gratitude," I replied to Mr. Jeffrey j " so faithful a servant is worthy of a faithful master. But, let me ask you, what became of your Grisly ] I hope you ndver heard again of your abominable and patient old persecutor." " There you are mistaken," answered the merchant. "I had a heavy account to settle with the brigand — should I not say the would-be-murderer ? — for all the torture he had made me suffer. As, moreover, he was a Grisly anthropoph agist, it was not pi*udent to allow him to prowl at large, if by any means we could check his caieer. " I felt certain that he would not wander far from the little lake, — at least, so long as my horses remai'ied in its vicinity. I knew, also, that two of my fellow-traders were following at a day or two's distance ; therefore, while plotting the Grisly's destruction, I thought it ad- visable to wait until they had rejoined me. We might then undertake an united expedition with all our people and all our dogs. " In due time they arrived in the camp, and when my proposal was submitted to them they eagerly embraced it. " For a couple of days we harassetl the old cannibal without succeeding in driving him out of his cavern, which was situated in a sequestered glen, and carefully concealed by rocks and bushes. " At length one of our hunters, who had contrived to get up close to his retreat, shot the old rascal dead as he incautiously showed himself among the underwood. It was a splendid, a masterly shot ; the ball penetrated under the right shoulder, and came out on the left side. It f i 314 TRUTH IS STRANGE ! I gave to the conqueror a hundred dollars for the skin, which I wished to have stuffed, and preserved in my museum at home, — as a souvenir of the long, long day I had spent face to face with the animal, the most terrible of all which people the deserts of North America," Such was the conclusion of Mr. Jeffrey's story, which I place before the reader without any commentary of my own. " Truth is sti'ange—- stranger than fiction." CHAPTER XX. THE BROWN BEAR. |N 1847 I was despatched by the proprietors of an influential New York journal, to whose staff I belonged, to the camp of General Tay- lor, in the character of Correspondent. Gen- eral Taylor was then at the head of the United States army, engaged in the invasion of Mexico. I occupied the leisure which my position afforded me in traversing the country around the camp with one of the new friends I was fortunate enough to make. On a certain morning, however, I undertook, unaccompanied, a journey as far as San Antonio de Bexar, one of the posts on the extreme frontier. On my arrival, I found the companies of rifle- men established there in a very bad humour. The reason was very simple : upwards of a month had elapsed since they had enjoyed an opportunity of firing a shot against the enemy. 316 PLANNING A FOllAY. And, let me ask the reader, what is the use or value of repose to people accustomed to an active life and almost dally combats 1 "Who will wonder, then, that they poured out their complaints against the entire world, and treated as conspirators, not only the Indians and Mexicans, but also the celestial powers, and, among others, the sun, which, they said, had sworn by its absence that they should perish of very weariness of spirit 1 To break up the monotony of their existence, they resolved at last, either on a raid on the other bank of the Rio Grande, to sack some Mexican villages, or on a tour among the mountains, to harass with fire and sword a few " haci- endas,"— hoping, by these mild means, to rouse the wasps out of their nests, and find occasion for a little rifle practice ! After a prolonged deliberation on this important sub- ject, their brave captain, a man named Shark, determined that they should undertake an expedition in the mountains, — that is, against the Redskms. Every one looked upon the foray as a grand ffete ; and as- suredly it was a pleasure not within the reach of all, for one had to traverse a wild desert, to pass through the midst of Mexican and Indian populations, to run the risk of great dangers, and, indeed, of death itself, — all for the satisfaction, as these brave fellows said, of " bringing one's hand in," and of " stretching one's legs." The motive which had great weight with Captain Shark in deciding him to take the direction of the San Saba mountains was, that he was a hunter and a gourmand, and that he counted upon finding in the mountains both beara to shoot and wild honey to collect; for, let me add, in passing, the captain loved wild honey with an unbridled passion. .'H./MUAkl, l^...^u' A CURIOUS COMRADE. 317 This prospeot of obtaining a supply of honey likewise affected the resolution of a little, fat, short, jolly fellow, who had recently arrived, like myself, from the United States ; and on the day of our departure we saw him join our troop, attired in the most singular fashion conceivable, and armed with two old pistols, besides a rusty spear, — ^which latter he maintained to be the best of all weapons in hunting bears. To his saddle-bow hung suspended a large iron vessel, intended for the reception of the honeyed stores he hoped to gather among the mountains. Thus equipped, he appeai'ed the most resolute of all our phalanx. We attempted to induce him, but in vain, to substitute a gun for his spear. He refused with dogged obstinacy, and, despite our railleries, continued to assei-t that he could handle his lance so as to put to shame the most skilful of sharp-shooters. And so saying, he dug his spurs into the flanks of his dock-tailed pony, and started off at a gallop, with everybody following in his rear. Riflemen require but little time to prepare for an ex- pedition; troops of their class are rarely caught by surprise. A rifle, a couple of pistols, a hunting-knife, a tin pomnger, a gourd, a bison-skin, a lasso, bridle, saddle, and spurs, — such is their complete equipment ; they care for nothing else : and as for the next day's provision, never disquiet themselves about it ; it is the business of their rifle, on which devolves the duty of supplying its master both with the food and the clothing he may require while he is in the field. Our company presointed a most picturesque appearance. We were all attired in garments of skins, fashioned and embroidered according to each individual's peculiar taste, 11 318 " IN HOT HASTE." for we sconied the idea of a regular uniform. Our equi]>- inent was a medley of Mexican, Indian, and American styles; none of our arms even were of the same make or calibre. The more experienced huntei-s earned long-bar- relled rifles, according to the old fashion, simple pistols, and hunting-knives; while those who, like myself, had recently arrived from the United States, were provided with quite an arsenal of new inventions, six-barrelled re- volvers, double-barrelled rifles, and a variety of other weapons, — which were veiy beautiful, without doubt, but in practice proved to be rather embarrassing than useful. Our horses, some of whom were mustangs, and others of American blood, had all been selected with the greatest care; and, therefore, they were admirable beasts — with the exception, however, of tlie little man's pony, which could not be included in any category of known horses. Our phalanx of warrior-hunters, after quitting the streets of the wretched little town of San Antonio, plunged into the open plain, which spreads beyond it like a vast and boundless sea. It was, I assure you, a magnificent spectacle to see so many noble steeds galloping " in hot haste " over this wild area ; and one's imagination grew more and more exalted as we advanced toward the moun- tain, and felt more keenly the breeze which came down from its verdurous heights. We arrived, after a rapid journey across a charming country, whose aspect changed every moment like the varied scenes of a panorama, on the banks of a little stream, where it was decided we should halt for the night. Our encampment resounded with mirth and hil- arity; we emptied the contents of our gourds, and as SURPRISED BY MCXICANS. 319 there were no enemies to foar in the neighbourhood, we slept without placing any sentinels. Great, nevertheless, was our disappointment, when, on waking ili the morning, we ascertained that we had lost several horses, and, among others, the superb animal, which had carried me the day before, and upon whose sei'vices I had gi-eatly relied. Wo had been followed by some Mexican brigands, well ac- quainted with the habits of riflemen, and who, knowing with how entire an absence of precautions these peoi)lo always pass their first nights in the field, had profited by our profound sleep, — the necessary consequence of our excesses at table, — to pounce down upon, and carry off, our horses. Vexed as each one was at so annoying a misadventure, a general amusement prevailed in camp when it was dis- covered that the little fat man's dock-tailed pony had also been exposed to the covetousness of the robbers. But the enraged animal, much more wicked of temper than for- midable in size, had, as it appeared, compelled the thief to retreat, and not without punishing him for his attempted theft ; for under the hoofs of the little horse we found a crushed sombrero,* and on the grass we traced the out- line of a man who had evidently been upset with vio- lence while endeavouring to secure his spoil. So vigorous a defence raised the pony, as you will suppose, cent, per cent, in everybody's estimation. By this mishap we were compelled to await the return of the messengers whom we sent to the nearest hacienda, with orders to carry off the horses necessary to remount our troopers. We were well aware that our purveyors would find no lack of animals to choose from, and yet we * A broad-brimmed hat of straw or felt. 3t>0 TlIK HUNTEH AND HIS STEED. awaited their return with 8ome anxiety ; for, in OA'prnli- tiona of this kind, not only the comfort but safety of the cavalier depend in a great degree on the quality of his steed. As for myself, I deeply regretted the noble animal I had lost; but my regrets were bb vain as the impre- cations which I hurled against all those scoundrels, the Mexicans. The conclusion of my story will show of what urgent importance to us were the qualities of our horses. When the detachment returned, and presented me with the charger intended for my own use, I was agreeably surprised to find an animal of magnificent bearing, whose glances were full of fire; but my joy was singularly abated when I found, at the first essay, that he had never been broken in. What was I to do with an untamed mustang^ — vigorous, it is true, and strong as a bison, but, on the other hand, as wild as a mountain-cat? My comrades watched my attempts, and laughed at my emban*assment. When they had jeered me to their hearts* content, they assured me that I had but to give a few dollars to one of our Mexican guides, and he would willingly ride the horse for a day or two, and render him as supple as a glove. In the twinklirrg of an eye, a copper-complexioned groom sprang on the back of my steed, and started off like the wind, leaving me alone with my jesters, who con- tinued to affirm that, at the end of a day or two, I should have a capital charger. Tlie Mexican did not return until very late in the evening, bringing back the animal white with foam, and spent with fatigue, thanks to a gallop of tw^enty mile? out and in. He returned him to me with DIFFICULT TO TAMR. 321 led off |on- liild itil liite of riih tlie assumnce that he was a horse of tlio piiivst blootl, — " muy bonito" as he said ; and tlie brilliant manner in which the brave beast had accom])lished this long course was, according to him, the best proof of his excellence. As, however, I was not without a horrible fear lest he should cripple my horse by his too violent means of educa- tion, I resolved to mount him myself on the morrow. I rose at daybreak, and approached him without any great precaution, despising the reiterated warning of my guide, who kopt shouting — " No, no, por Dios ! " I was punished for my temerity. At the very moment 1 was about to lay my hand on his mane, the mustang gave a start, wheeled round abruptly, and darted his two hind- feet so near my face, that I could distinctly read on the sole of his hoof a counsel not to draw near him again with- out the greatest wariness ! Furious at so uncoutteous a reception, and indignant at the ingratitude of the brute, whom I had wished to save from a day's ill-treatment, I delivered him anew into tlie hands of the Mexican, recommending him to kill or drive out of his body the evil spirit with which he was possessed. My recommendation was superfluous ; but I have always since believed that the horse understood tlie meaning of my cruel words, and that he resolved from that moment to execute the startling vengeance which he afterwards took, as the reader will duly learn. My travelling companions were all as joyous as brave, and gaiety reigned throughout our ranks. The ad- A-enturous life which they led furnished, for the greater ])art of the time, the theme of their conversation, and to the astonishing stories they related, I listened with tiie (414) 21 r*- 322 CROSSING THE PRaiRIR. liveliest attention. Thus we wont on our way without fatigue. Ihe Mexican had restored to me my horse, who was now, he declared, perfectly disciplined, and I was comfort- ably installed upon his back. It needed, however, all these circumstances to render the journey endurable ; for we quitted the broken country through which we had been travelling since our departure, to enter upon a vast, bare, and sterile phiin, devoid of everything attractive to WB WENDED OUU DREARY WAY AOROSS THE WASTE. the eye. The monotony of the landscape was unrelieved by hills, trees, or even a simple bush. We wended our dreary way across the waato for about three days. At length, on tho evening of the third, when we were beginning to find the spectacle immeasurably fatiguing, we discovered a huge mass outlined against the horizon, like a group of sombre clouds. It was the lofty range of the summits of San Saba. At this sight, our little fat man, whom the dreary ^6> THE DOCTOR S MISHAP. 323 breadth of the desert plain had wearied more than any other, showed himself full of vivacity : — " Hurrah ! " he cried, " now is the time for tasting the bear ! I bet, gentlemen," and he brandished his lance with a martial air, " I bet that the first eaten shall be killed by your humble sen'ant, and with this lance, whicli lias been the object of your railleries. You may laugh, but I will keep my word, and that ]>efore to-morrow evening." While uttering his bellicose defiance, the little man dug his spurs into the sides of his dock-tailed pony, and this in so vigorous a manner that the courser, little flat- tered by the attention paid to him, reared and capered so much and so well as to fling the doctor and his spear clean out of the saddle. We laughed heartily at his misadventure, — the more so because it cost him nothing but a fright, — and he rose, and sprang again into his saddle, with a skill and a promptitude to which he had not previously accustomed us. Before nightfall we were near enough to distinguish the peaks of the chain, as well as the valleys which sepa- rated them. We encamped at the foot of the mountains. All hearts were astir, for we approached the country of the Indians, and were already so close upon the mountains that we might reasonably anticipate a hunt on the mor- row. And, therefore, at a very early hour on the following morning we were up, and under arms. The day was to be a rough one, and we prepared ourselves for its fatigues by a substantial breakfast. As we approached the mountains, those masses of granite presented to our eyes the most curions figures. 324 '• EN EVANT )» They rose abruptly, and almost precipitously, in the middle of the plain across which we were journeying. They seemed like an army of Titans drawn up in close array, several lines deep, the smallest in front, the hugest behind, in a gradual progression whose final stage was lost among the clouds. These mountains were separated from one another by vast, deep ravines, into whose furthest recesses the keenest glance could not penetrate. We marched in silence, absorbed in contemplation of the glorious scene ; when suddenly we were aroused by the little man, whose violent shouts were repeated l;"^ e, iv echo. " Forward, my friends," he cried, in his loudest voice ; " forward ! I have found them ! I am in the midst of them ! " And so saying, he pushed forward his pony at a gallop, bmndishing a lance. Greatly surprised, I cast a glance around me, and saw all my companions following at full speed in the rear of the pigmy hunter, whom they escorted with a half-serious, half-mocking air. I acted like the rest, and before long could distinguish the object of our wild ride. Three or four hundred yards before us, several enormous objects of a gloomy colour were moving across the grass at the foot of one of the nearest mountains. One of tlu se animals, for they could only be animals, raised his head at the same moment, and I recognized a gigantic bear. I also heard the voice of Captain Shark encouraging his companions and felicitating them on the politeness of the Ursidce, who were coming, he said, to meet and welcome them. Most of the soldiers f«jIiovved closely behind their leader, and galloped like so many madmen. As for myself, r BRUIN AND THE DOCTOR. 325 surpiised by the unforeseen event, I was among the laggards. Quite otherwise was it with our valiant little man. He rode from fifty to sixty paces m advance of everybody. His gallant pony carried him, with the swiftness of light- ning, in the direction of the nearest bear. The animal, seeing these unknown visitors approach, and ignorant a« yet in what way he should receive them, had risen on his hind-paws, and sniffed noisily, turning his head from side to side with a ferocious yet stupid air. The little man con- tinued to advance, and had already raised his spear to stick the brute before the latter had made up his mind for fight or flight. Deciding at length on the latter course, he waddled away in the manner peculiar to his race. The doctor pursued him so hotly that he several times touched his back with the end of his weapon; and his pony, carried forward in like manner by the ardour of the chase, galloped almost alongside of the shaggy brute. This proved too much for Master Martin's patience, and, incensed at the violence of the attack, he wheeled round abruptly, and seized with his claws the pony's houghs. Immediately the latter halted; and the shock was so violent that the cavalier, a second time unsaddled, was shot over his charger's head. We saw him hovering for a moment between earth and sky in so grotesque a posi- tion, that, despite the imminent peril he was incurring, his fall provoked a general burst of hilarity. Happily for our hero, the pony was much larger than himself. Thanks to this cii'cumstance, he absorbed for a moment the entire attention of the bear, which gave our maladroit cavalier sufficient time to rise, and run as fast ••■MNHHMI mmf 326 A SHOT IN TIME. as his legs would cany him towards a great oak growing at a few yards off: up its rugged trunk he scrambled with an agility of which no one would have supposed him cai)able. It was lucky for him : the bear, abandoning the pony, was already upon his heels. The little man mounted to the highest branch that would support him, and clung to it with his left hand, while, with his right, he used his lance to drive back the bear as he sought to clamber after him To complete the singularity of the scene, the pony ragec i demon at the foot of the tree, neighing, and striking t i ground with his feet, as if he understood his miister's danger, and would fain have lent him some assist- ance. All this had taken place in the course of a few seconds. The foremost of the troop, seeing their companion shel- tered in the tree, had no longer troubled themselves about him, but had started in pursuit of the other bears. As for those who, like myself, formed the rear-guard, they laughed so heartily at the adventure that, but for the in- tervention of Captain Shark, he might have been seized and strangled. The latter recovered sufficient composure to take aim at the bear, and put a bullet in his skull, which terminated the combat. We had, then, four bears in sight, all steering in the direction of the mountain. As the little hunter was out of all danger, we left him to extricate himself from his embarrassment as best he could, and pursued the animals, in the hope of overtaking them before they had quitted the plain. Turning to look after our fat friend, however, I saw that he had descended from his tree, and was THE LUCKY VIRGINIAN. 327 thrusting his hiiice again and again into the boily of tho bear, who, though grievously wounded, was still breathing. The chase grew full of fire and animation. Our com- pany was divided into four gi'oups, each launched in \mv- suit of one of the fugitive animals. We pushed them so vigorously, that, despairing, undoubtedly, of climbing the rocks before they were overtaken, they i>lunged into the narrow valleys, or ravines, to which I have already alluded. Chance ordained that the bear I was pursuing should also be followed up by a young Virginian. As we entered one of the mountain gorges, my companion and I found ourselves isolated from the rest of our troop, who had disappeared in different directions. I thought that I perceived, at this very moment, an unwillingness on the pait of my horse to obey either spur or bit. From the first appearance of the bears, he had pricked up his eai's, snorted, neighed, and evinced every sign of the greatest terror ; at intervals, too, he suddenly swerved aside, in a manner which took me by surprise, and threatened before long to pitch me out of my saddle. The Virginian's horse appeared to experience the same panic, but ho was more manageable, and his master, owing to his equestrian skill, contrived to regulate his movements. While I was stiTiggling with my horse, the bear had gained the road, and was making for the mountain. My comrade pursued him, and soon man and animal dis- appeared behind a clump of tall oaks. A moment after- wards I heard the Virginian's two barrels. Vexed at losing so admirable an oi)portunity of dis- playing my skill, and anxious to capture the bear, I gave mm 328 THE WAR-CRY OF THE INDIANS. to my horse, and dug my spurs into his the reins flanks. The animal darted ofi* like an arrow, and in five or six bounds I was on the other side of the thicket, facing the bear, whose ribs had been broken by my companion's shot. He writhed with pain, and howled horribly, grinding his teeth, and opening wide his red and foaming jaws. My horae seemed to have been suddenly changed into mai'ble, which I do not think could be more immovable than he was. Fright had completely paralyzed him. His body was covered with a cold sweat, which stood upon his skin in great drops; his eyes were rigid, his nostrils opened wide, his eyes haggard and fixed. The suddenness of the shock was terrible ; however, I with- stood it, and endeavoured with whip and spur to force my charger forward. All was useless ; his head remained motionless, and a light quiver of the muscles was his sole reply to my exertions. Then I broke into a violent rage; I stimulated him with furious shouts ; I oven struck him across the head with the but-end of my gun ; — in vain ! At the same instant, — for all this was the alfair of a second, — and while the Virginian was reloading his gun, our attention was arrested by a continual roll of thunder- claps. It was like volley-firing by platoons. The roar came up from the other side of the mountain; cries accompanied the discharges or reports, — cries which those who have once heard can never again forget : it was the war-shout, the slogan^ of the Comanches ! Almost sim- ultaneously we caught sight of the rapid movement of a trooj) descending the hill, and directing their course to- wards us ; — wo had not a moment to lose ! " SAUVE QUI PEUT." 329 " The Indians ! the Indians ! Take care of youi-self," cried the Virginian ; then turning the bridle of his horse, he set off at a gallop, repeating, — '• Take care of yourself! take care of yourself !" Oh, empty counsel ! I made another effort to rouse my panic-stricken steed, but not being successful, I leaped from the saddle, and speedily gained an old leafy oak, into whose boughs I mounted with the view of concealing myself behind their intertangled covert. I had scarcely installed myself behind a tuft of Spanish moss before twenty or thirty savages, — their faces streaked with the "war-paint," their heads covered with feathers, — debouched into the valley beneath me. They were Comanches. On catching sight of my horse, which still stood where I had left him, the Kedskins halted ; one of them ap- proached the animal, and caught the end of his bridle ; but the troop, discovering in the distance the fugitive Virginian, resumed theii* wild fierce gallop, with a shout so furious and loud that it shook the very leaves around me. It did more; it stai-tled my mustang into life. He shot away as abruptly as he had halted, — sweeping on- ward like a thunderbolt, — dragging with him the Indian, who still clung to the end of his bridle, — and over- whelming everything which seemed to oppose his im- petuous course. In the twinkling of an eye he had vanished from the scene ! Soon afterwardt', the Comanches also disappeared. I heard two or three straggling shots, — and found myself abandoned to a frightful solitude, whose silence was troubled only by the groans of the wounded bear, slowly expiring at my feet. 330 THE PANTHEll AND THE HUNTER. Those Strange events had succeeded each other witli such rapidity, that I was literally stunned. I could not collect my thoughts. Was I not the sport of a dream 1 No ; I recollected that I was three hundred miles beyond the limits of the furthest civilization, — planted on a tree, without a horse, without a friend, in the midst of a silence which, apparently, had never before been disturbed by man. Was I not rather in an enchanted region ? For a moment I was troubled with strange visions ; then my thoughts gradually grew calmer ; I hoped that my com- panions would remember and come in quest of me. I abandoned the wicked ideas of suicide which for a moment had taken possession of my brain; and, resolved to provide for the natural wants, I set myself to work to cut up the dead bear, and carry off the portions which were suitable for food. While engaged in this useful occupation, a roar at- tracted my attention. I looked all around, and in an oak near at hand detected a movement of the leaves wliich seemed to in- dicate the presence of a living being. Between a couple of branches a round bead was suddenly presented; it was that of a panther. On this terrible animal I fixed my gaze in affright. Yet the panther did not appear to perceive me, for his eyes, which I could see rolling from one side to another, did not wear a very ferocious ex- pression ; on the contrary, the calmness of liis physi- ognomy almost invited me to make his acquaintance. I soon became satisfied that he had not noticed me, for I saw him stretching his limbs with lazy indifference, and yawning with sleepiness or fatigue. Yet I was not the less terrified by the monster's appearance. I re- A pkf:carious asylum. 331 rnomljcred to have often heard it said that these ferocious aiiiiimls prefeiTed human flesh to every other, and I trembled lest the panther should have a very keen appetite for this kind of " game." But how rid myself of his dangerous neighbourhood 1 To send him a bullet was undoubtedly the surest means j but the report would attract the Indians, and I feared the Kedskins moi*e than I did panthers. I thought that, all circumstances con- sidered, the best thing I could do was to return to my tree, and place myself as high up in its branches as I conveniently could, so that I might not be attacked from above, but should always have the " upper hand " of my antagonists. To think, in this case, was to act; and in less time than it takes me to write these words I was perched on one of the loftiest boughs of the oak, and completely hidden among the foliage. To speak the tnith, the panther's vicinity disturbetl me excessively. The animal might at any time detect mo, and force me to a life-and-death struggle: it was imperative that I should get rid of him; but first I resorted to "gentle measui-es." I selected a deer-shot from the bag which I carried at my belt, and hurled it at the animal ; it struck the leaves just above his head. The surprised panther made a movement, and raised his eyes ; but so little suspected my presence that he never even looked in my direction. I took another bullet, and repeated my manoeuvre. Again I hit the branch; the animal turned round quickly, looking on every side but, happily, the one where I was seated. A third projectile struck his snout : at this last affront he was much annoyed, watched the bullet as it fell to the ground, then quitted his station, descended the tree, and went away, 332 A NIGHT IN THE WILDEUNESS. growling. I saw hiin disappear in the valley. It waH evident he thought the place suspicious, and though as long as daylight lasted I watched for his return, I saw him no more. Freed from my unwelcome neighbour, I decided on de- scending my tree to cut off a few slices of the boar's meat, which I had suspended to the branches of the oak. Having done so, I climbed back to my position ; away I climbed to the very top, so that I could see nothing above my head but the blue sky of night, in which the stars wore beginning to sparkle. I made my arrangements for passing the night as com- foi-tably as possible, and stretched myself along a forked bough, with my head resting on a kind of pillow formed by an accumulation ?f Spanish moss. I attempted to sleep; but the presence and cries of the owls rendered the thing difficult. These birds seemed to have undertaken the task of disturbing my rest; they ceased not to wheel around the tree where I was posted, striking the air with their wings, and heaving their lugubrious cries, while their round eyes shone in the darkness like flaming car- buncles. The moon soon reached its zenith, and its rays struck directly upon my head. In their sweet soft lustre the landscape assumed quite a different aspect; the valley, sxiddenly illuminated, shone like a broad ribbon of silver in the midst of the two sombre mountain-masses which inclosed it. The noisy cayeutes sallied forth to animate the scene, or rather to give it a drearier and more repul- sive character. These camivora, attracted by the smell of the dead flesh, arrived from all quarters, and rushing -"^'\ ALL ALONE IN THE WORLD. 333 upon the bear's carcass, eagerly tore it in pieces. I liad then good reason to congratulate myself on having taken the precaution of hanging to the branches of the oak u few morsels of venison out of the reach of their voracious teeth. It is needless to say that the presence of these animals drove away all inclination to sleep ; for, to say nothing of their frightful bowlings, I was also kept awake by the fear of falling plump into the midst of the famished pack, and being devoured. At length the morning came : I descended from my tree; roasted and ate a beefsteak off the bear; then quitting the valley where I had spent so unpleasant a night, I regained the prairie which I had traversed on the preceding day. Tlie space which extended before me seemed immense ; but, however widely I opened my eyes, not a trace could I discern of a living being. I re- cognized the spot where, the day before, the little fat man had so gallantly fought a bear, and on the gi'ound lay the skeleton of the animal killed by Captain Shark ; the bones had been completely cleaned during the night by the teeth of the cayeutes. Our captain's lance was still fixed in the animal's side, and fixed so firmly that my utmost efforts failed to extract it. I climbed again to the top of a tree, and threw my anxious glances around in every direction. Alas ! the plain was a boundless soliti. > e, a dreary desert. For a moment I felt as if I were alone in the world ; I imagined that the sun shone only for me ; for me diffused its light and warmth from its watch-tower in the heavens. I remained tw^o days in this vicinity, awaiting the return of my companions ; my supply of boar's flesh became com- 334 A BIRD OF ILL OMEN. plotely exhausted, — hunger began to trouble nie, — and once inoi*e I abandoned myself to ten*or and despair. Soon, however, the very magnitude of my misfortune re- stored me to myself. I wrestled against fate ; with all my might I shouted and sang, that I might free my mind from its enervating hallucinations. " No," I cried, " no, just Heaven ! I will not die of misery and hunger; and since the cayeutes can live in this frightful desei-t, I will learn to live like them. If needs be, I will acquire the strength and suppleness of the pan- ther, the foxhound's power of smell, the vulture's piercing vision. I will become nimbler than the goat; body to body will I contend with the beast of prey. Die of hunger 1 No, no, assuredly not ! Better would it be to kindle a thousand fires in the prairie and reveal my Hence to the Oomanches, — attract them hither,— force them to save me out of pity, or put an end to ray wretched existence ! " T mounted the tree again, in the hope of discovering some living creature, but it was fruitless ; my gaze sur- veyed the whole horizon, to rest only upon distant mountain-summits and a vast sweep of undulating plain. Then again I descended, and flung myself upon the grass. For a long time I remained in this position, my head on fire, my imagination filled with distressing ideas. Suddenly a bird perched himself on the bi-anch above my head. By his black plumage and strong bill I knew him to be a raven. What did he want ? Had he come to an- nounce the hour of my death ? " Away," I cried ; " away, accursed bird ! Away, I shall not yet serve you for a meal." A ME AG HE REPAST. 335 Regardless of my shouts, he quitted the bough where he had perched for a few moments, and posted himself upon the ground. At first I thought he intended to fly at me ; but I was mistaken. He contented himself with tranquilly picking A BIRO PEHCHRP himself OS THE BKANCH. Up a few rouiifl objects which lay here and there upon the sward. These objects caught my attention, and, on examining them, I discovered, to my great joy, that they were snails. Thenceforth I was safe from famine; I had no longer reason to dread the slow pangs of hunger. I arose, and collected a quantity of the molluscs, which I devoured with keen satisfaction. Somewhat recruited by this meagre repast, I began to examine my situation with greater composure. There was but one course to adopt : I must escape from this desert plain. My life depended on it ; and, therefore, the sooner it was done, the better. 33 u DAY BY DAY. But what direction should I take ? This was the £1*81 problem I had to sclve. I examined the position of the sun; he was on his decline, and slowly disappearing behind the mountains. We had therefore marched in a westerly direction to gain this accursed region ; to retm-n to San Antonio de Bexai', I must necessarily keep my face towards the oast. In the midst of the vast plain I had no landmark, no beacon to guide me; my shadow alone could serve me for compass. I had to march towards the east : well, then, I must take care that my shadow fell behind me in the morning, and strode before me during the afternoon. I must also keep my eyes constantly fixed on one particulai* point of the landscape, to prevent myself deviating from a straight line. CI > :3ing a goal, I set out, and steadfastly advanced in its direction; and this I did so long as daylight lasted. At nightfall I had still befot*o me the apparently illimit- able plain; but I was sure that I had not digressed from my prescribed route, and this was a great consolation. I halted before it was quite dark, to look for water and pick up snails. During the first two days, neither of those resources failed me; but from the third, the water and the crus- taceans became very rai^o, and eventually disappeared altogether. I then Imgan to suffer from the cruel attacks of hunger ftnd thirst, and was compelled to abandon my direct course in search of v«rater and food. At intei'vals I heard the soil reverbemte, and a troop of Thustangs made their appearance aa if to reconnoitre, and determine who or what I was; but they vanished almost immediately, before I had the tinne or the opportunity of AN ESCORT OF CAYEUTES. 337 my V of aiming at them a single shot. Someti ae&, too, I caught sight of P- stag, emerging from a growth of tall gi-asses, but always out of range. Several troops of cranes flew above my head, and I fired in their direction. Though I thought I heard the shot rattle among their feathers, I had not the satisfaction, of seeing a single one of them fall. These were the only living creatures I met with, ex- cept a few homed frogs; filthy animals, which, at any other time, would have excited in me an insurmountable disgust. But I was devoured by hunger, and turning to advantage the little energy I still retained, I limped about collecting this horrible provision. I am forgetting, however, to speak of the cayeutes. These animals followed me at a distance, ready to throw themselves upon me, and tear me to pieces, as soon as they saw me fall. I employed eveiy device I could think of to bring them within range; but they were too cun- ning and suspicious to be caught by my wiles. Following me, step by step, like famished ghouls, they seemed gifted with second sight, and to foreknow my death. Every time I turned to see if my shadow fell behind me, I was sure to discern them at a certain distance ; and every night I heard them prowling at my side, giving vent to tlndr sinister howls. At last the frogs failed, ;>s the water and the snails had done. The further I advanced into the plain, the more I felt myself succumbing to fatigue and thirst and hunger. Nevertheless, I still dragged myself along. The noise of a crane, which flapped its wings prepara- tory to taking flight, resounded on my excited and over- 1414) 22 ""T^mmmmmm wmmm 338 SINGULAB ILLUSIONS. wrought ear like a peal of thunder, and aroused a com- motion in my brain which threatened to shatter it. The exhalations of the earth struck my sense of smell like perfumes of too great a strength; at each breath of wind I staggered like a dnmken man. Still, I di-agged myself along. I began to experience the most singular illusions. I thought I saw an aiiiy defiling over the praiiie, with the pomp of banners and the glitter of bayonets ; or now it was a vast lake shining in the golden sunshine — all, deceitful vision ! it disappeared immediately I pressed forward to enjoy the refreshing waters. But it was more particularly during the night that I was haunted by fantastic forms. The stars darted at me their arrows, the moon showed its teeth ; I was cold, — I trembled, — I felt as if plunged into an ocean of ice ; and the howl of the prairie wolves I mistook for the roar of waves and the clash of tempests. My blood boiled in my veins, though my entrails were frozen, as if death had already paralyzed them. Then I folt as if I were cloven in twain; my body no longer existed, and my feet refused to support my limbs. Still, I dragged myself along. The torpor which benumbed me passed away, every now and then, under the exciting influence of hunger and thii'st; and then I was torn to pieces with emo ons of rage, and I tlung myself upon the gi*ass as if to browse upon it. Still I continued to creep forward; for the intensity of my pains was somewhat diminished by motion. By a strange phenomenon, my weakened frame resumed at intervals its vigour and its elasticity under the stimulus A JIAGICAL PANORAMA. 339 no reiy an«\ lis of )wse by of $y a Id at iulus " PEOPLED WITH VAPOROUS ANGELS." of certain ecstatic visions which charmed and transported mc. In those rare moments when I was free from pain, I saw unfold befoie me, as in a magical panorama, the -w 340 THE TENTH DAY. sweetest, brightest scenes of my past life, illuminated by the faces I most dearly loved; but all this, so to speak, was spiritualized. It was not the reaJ'ty which struck my eyes, but a kind of celestial worid peopled with vaporous angels; they looked at me with a touching and tender air, shed- ding abundant tears at my miserable fate, bending towards me, and wreathing themselves in mazy and voluptuous dances. I extended my arms to seize these enchanting images, and suddenly a terrible internal agony dissipated the intoxicating spectacle, and restored me to the awful reality. I began again to live; but what a life ! In this wise I dragged myself along for ten weary days ! I still retained my gun, but as it was a heavy weapon, it seemed to me that I was carrying a giant's club. Its weight bowed me down, and caused me the most horrible suffering; I sometimes thought that the shoulder which supported it was bare to the very bone. I often longed to rid myself of the burden; but I always resisted the temptation. I could not endure the idea of perishing without a struggle for life, and wished, if I should en- counter the Comanches, to die in battle. Moreover, it was my only means of keeping the cayeutes at a distance ; and nothing appeared to me more horrible than the pros- pect of falling a prey to these ferocious beasts. Almost dead with hunger, fatigue, and thirst, I felt myself incapable of struggling any longer t»fjainst the destiny which overwhelmed me, when I suddenly caught sight of a Something in the prairie which, from afar, had all the appearance of a clump of trees. At this spectacle A TERRIBLE DISAPPOINTMENT. 341 I collected all the remains of my strength ; for a moment I forgot my past sufferings, and I ran forward, at every step exclaiming joyfully, " Water ! water ! water ! " On approaching the point which had attracted my attention, I could make out cleai'ly the position of sevei'al mounds or knolls, at whose base the character of the ground gave me every reason to hope I should find a stream of running water. I had not then deceived myself; my hopes were about to be realized ; the spring which should cool my burning lips was no longer a delusion. An hour's walking was sufficient to bring me to tho nearest hillock : it was covered with shrubs and bushes, and at its base I perceived a shining surface which, mirror-like, reflected the rays of the sun. It was a tiny brook ! I flung aside my rifle, that I might run more quickly, and dashed headlong like a madman towards the longed- for water. I leaped into the current, and repeatedly plunged my head into it up to my shouldera. Horror ! the water was as salt as that of the sea ! At this frightful discovery the blood rushed to my head; a vertigo seized me; I lost all sensation; and fell prostrate upon the ground 1 * * * * J.V How long I remained in this position I am wholly un- able to say; but I was aroused at length from my swoon by the freshness of the water in which a part of my body was immersed. On recovering my senses, I felt much calmer than I had felt for days ; my mind was clearer, and yet my hopes were crushed. At least, I thought so, and the certainty restored all my presence of mind. 342 RESIGNED TO DIE. I recalled the incredible efforts I had made to protract my miserable existence, and, at the thought, a contemp- tuous smile contracted my lips. Was I not a madman, said I to myself, to struggle against unchangeable Fatel Let my destiny be accom- plished! I was content to die. And what, in truth, was death but a brief sleep, and a termination of all my physical sufferings) Yet I experienced a last caprice ; I now wished to die calmly, stretched upon the soft sward, in the shadow of leafy trees. I must make one last effort to reach them. I attempted it ; but I felt extremely feeble, and several times fell back on the earth, where I lay for some time longer. But the longing to dip, upon a mossy bed so predomi- nated over every other desire or thought, that, on my hands and knees, I contrived to crawl along the bank, and once more to stand erect. On the way 1 picked up my gui: , which, as I have said, I had thrown aside, and then directed my faltering steps towards the clump of trees. I resolved to die in peace, and my rifle was in- dispensable jO keep the cayeutes from my death-bed. With im^escribable difficulty I reached the bottom of the hillock. At the foot of one of the largest trees lay a smooth patch of greensward; it was the very spot I sought. Thither I dragged myself, and lay down on the turf, my head reclining against the tree, and my gun at my side. I closed my eyes, and a singular lethargy took possession of me : I felt that I should never r. was happy. agam: yet My pains were subdued; the fever had decreased for LIFE IN THE HOUH OF DEATH. 343 want of sustenance; and I was no longer sensible of any other effect than the delightful delirium which absorbed my mind. The graceful images which had formerly visited me came anew to hover about my solitaiy couch ; I saw the clouds open, revealing tii« heads of angels, who looked upon me smilingly. They waved their wings, and seemed to invite me to join them. I half raised myself to stretch my hands towards them. At the same moment a sunbeam darted through the thick foliage of the tree which sheltered me; the light fell full on my face, and forced me to draw a little further back. I opened my eyes before the shining visitant,'' and looked above. Immediately over my head, and not more than five or six feet distant, I perceived an enormous squirrel half concealed among the branches. At the sight, all my resignation vanished ; the sense of reality returned ; and with it the unconquerable love of life. I thought this creature might save me, and no longer doubted the possi- bility of reaching Bexar, if I contrived to kill it, and supply myself with a meal. For a minute or two I lay thinking how I could best secure my prey; my resolve was soon taken. I had my rifle beside me, and must make use of it : but had I the strength 1 I attempted it, and, extraordinary to relate, though but a moment before too weak to move one of my fingers, I contrived to seize my gun with a tolerably strong grasp, to raise it and take aim at the animal, without making a single movement to alarm him. I let go the trigger ; a report ! and the squirrel, shot dead, fell upon my chest. Immediately I drew my knife, and cut up the animal into minute pieces, which I swal- 344 AN OPPORTUNE RENCONTRE. lowed raw, without any preparation. Confidence returned with returning strength ; I murmured a biief but fervent thanksgiving to Almighty God, whose divine hand I recog- nized in this unhoped-for succour, and throwing myself back upon the moss, I fell into a profound and tranquil slumber. A slumber which lasted for four-and-twenty hours, at least, as well as I could judge when I awoke. I then de- voured the remainder of my squirrel, and felt myself capable of resuming my march. At first, on attempting to rise, I felt a sensation of feebleness, as if I were rooted to the ground; but I was so persuaded Heaven had taken pity on me, that, by a superhuman effort, I subdued my pain, and finally found myself once more on my feet. I staggered as I moved forward, but did not lose hope. Vi After a two hours* journey, I perceived in the distance three men on horseback driving a herd before them. The encounter did not surprise me : I almost expected it ; for, as I have said, I had regained my faith in my Maker ; I felt certain that He woiild not abandon me after the merciful interposition I had already experienced. The three men I speak of came towards me, and I dis- covered that they were Mexicans. Persuaded that from these wretches I should gain nothing by mild treatment, I carefully concealed my gun under my hunting-coat, and allowed them to approach unsuspiciously within musket- range. When they were about thirty paces from me I took aim at them. Greatly terrified, they suddenly checked their career, and seemed on the point of wheeling round and flying at full gallop; but my gestures arrested their intention. I ordered them, under pain of death, to FUIENDS AT LAST ! 345 wait for me ; which they did, trembling. Then I advanceil towards them, and forced the rider who seemed best mounted to alight and let me take his place in the saddle ; then, waving them an adieu, I left the creatures, com- pletely dumbfoundered at the adventure ! The horse's gait soon caused me horrible torture : I nearly fainted, and scarcely knowing what I did, I let go the bridle, and clutched with both hands at the pommel of the saddle. I remember that at length I was received by the tirail- leurs at the gate of Bexar, and I also remember to have heard a voice exclaim, — " Poor fellow, I did not think we should ever see him more ! " It seems they helped me down from my horse, carried me into the barracks, and laid me on a bed, where I was carefully attended to. Thus was I saved ! Afterwards I heard the story of my companions' for- tunes. The Redskins had attacked them singly, and a desperate struggle ensued, in the course of which two men were killed and several others left for dead. Captain Shark was taken prisoner and scalped, an operation which he did not long survive. The little man was wounded, but not desperately, and in company with most of his friends effected a gallant retreat, and returned to Bexar without further molestation. And this was the end of our hunting expedition. 'M:B.Wk "7^ ?^'^ J-v' r^-" "'''•^*^^' -1 ■^:"^ii*L, ^■$^- '''^> ■ r^^E-^"r^^g*'' ^ " biL mm ^ V^i * ■ j; . --,. ' ^: - -^, - J '/ fr'-m-^'^'^ : i 'M s.\ \ .» ■ '':~^; ^.mMv'' CHAPTER XXI. THE BISON. j|HEN he has quitted Fort Leavenworth, on the extreme frontier of the State of Illinois, at the confluence of the Missouri, and ascended north- ward the river Arkansas, the traveller soon enters upon those great verdurous savannahs, those Saharas full of freshness, those undulating prairies, of which no description can give a very complete or satisfactory idea. The prairies — as in the United States they are called — are no immense smooth plains, clothed with trefoil, lucerne, and similar herbage ; but undulating fields, fur- rowed by numerous brooks, on whose borders flourish dwarf cotton-trees, the buflalo-grass — an herb with an elongated stem, which furnishes the ruminants of these wilds with THE WESTERN PRAJRIES. 347 nourishment — and other plants, whose blue, and yellow, and red, and white flowers enamel the uncultivated sward. These oceans of verdure, whose grassy growth is some- times five feet high, roll in the wind like a billowy sea. Nothing is m4i*MMQA-