The Backwoodsman Part 15

The next morning we finished packing our cattle at an early hour, and were about leaving our camp, when we saw behind the rock in the valley the smoke of many fires rising, which indicated a very large Indian camp. We must employ the precaution of first finding out to what tribe they belonged, and in which direction they were going: so we rode down into the glen and concealed ourselves in the thick wood. Tiger and I then went to the rock and climbed to the top of it, whence we could survey the valley on the opposite side. Who can describe our surprise on seeing at our feet a large, animated camp, with all the signs of civilization! From the numerous gay tents pennants blew out in the fresh breeze, and between men, horses, and mules were moving in the strangest confusion. Here and there laggards crept out of the tents and ran off to the stream to remove the last traces of sleep in its clear waters. Round the fire other men, in the strangest costumes, were busied in preparing breakfast, while others were proceeding to and from the stream with horses and mules. Our amazement was great, and our joy knew no bounds. I pulled out the last remnant of a pocket handkerchief, fastened it to the end of my rifle, and then discharged both barrels, while swinging my white flag high above my head. I saw that the attention of all the occupants of the camp was directed to us, and many arms were raised pointing at us. A salvo of at least fifty shots answered my greeting, and handkerchiefs were waved in the air. We soon descended from our observatory, and hurried back to our comrades to impart the pleasant news to them, and we galloped along the stream, round the rock, and toward the camp, where our little party were received with a thundering hurrah.

In an instant we were surrounded by a crowd of curious persons, who a.s.sailed us with a thousand questions. I gave Antonio and Konigstein the charge of our cattle and traps, and then went with my other friends into camp, following the eager crowd, who led us to a large marquee in the centre, from which a long white pennant floated. A man came to meet me whose features seemed familiar to me at the first glance, and on whose face I could plainly read that I produced the same impression on him. We offered each other a hand with an inquiring glance, and after the first few words of greeting, I recognised an old acquaintance, Lord S----, whom I had last seen ten years before on the east of the continent. The pleasure of meeting again was heightened by the most peculiar circ.u.mstances under which it took place.

We sat down at the fire, and I described my journey to this spot, and my plans for its continuation. A thousand questions interrupted my story, and when we reached the present moment, we leapt back to the time of our last meeting, and followed the course of my life up to the commencement of the present tour. His lordship was already acquainted with some of the details, but I had much to tell him of since the day when I bade farewell to civilization. I then heard from him in return the story of his life, which, though moving along a smoother surface, claimed my entire attention. During the period he had been back to Europe, and made a lengthened excursion to Asia; still his pa.s.sion for this great, unadulterated nature had brought him back to the mountains of the New World, to bid them a last farewell, as more serious duties recalled him home. He had started from Independence, in Missouri, with a large party of friends, Europeans and Americans, and a number of voyageurs and half-breeds, engaged for the tour, in a small steamer up the Missouri, and then proceeded up the Yellowstone as far as the depth of water allowed. They landed there numerous saddle and pack animals, provisions, tents, and other traps, and had gone overland through the mountains to the banks of the Platte, which they had followed to this point round the Black Mountains. The whole company consisted of about eighty persons: they had about one hundred animals with them, most of which they purchased of Indians at the fort where they left the steamer, and had also taken a dozen of the latter into their service.

This small army offered the most curious sight I ever beheld. All sorts of dresses, from the lightly-clad savage to the most elegant gentleman were before us. Many young swells from the Eastern luxurious cities of this continent, as well as from those of the Old World, educated in ballrooms, operas, and concert rooms, had followed their fancy in the selection of their costumes, and appeared in mediaeval garb, with broad-brimmed plumed hats, jerkins with slit sleeves, leathern breeches, tall Napoleon boots with enormous spurs, large gauntlets, and had put on the swords of their forefathers; others had preferred the old Spanish costume, and donned loose velvet blue or green paletots, while the hat of an Italian brigand chief, with its red-c.o.c.k's feather, covered their long perfumed locks, and a broad white shirt-collar was turned down over their shoulders. The open sleeves displayed the fine linen of their shirts; wide trousers were forced into long red morocco leather boots, on which large wheeled spurs rattled, and a brace of handsomely inlaid pistols and a long dagger ornamented their belt. Others, again, had read Cooper, and chosen his heroes as their model; they were dressed in leather from head to foot, with a broad-brimmed gray hat, a long heavy hunting-knife at their side, and leaning on an enormous rifle. They seemed to envy me my shabby clothes, all stiff with blood, while their dress, which had only just left the tailor's hands, had not a spot on it. Others, again, had remained faithful to the appearance of the gentleman of the Broadway, New York, had put on a broad-brimmed hat instead of the "chimney-pot" of civilization, and went about the camp in comfortable slippers, smoking fine Havannah cigars. Only one fashion had gained the victory over the national and fancy costumes here represented, this was the beard, which had not been troubled by a razor for a long time.

We soon formed acquaintances among this medley of characters, and led a life than which a better could not be found at the Palais Royal. The most delicate wines graced our table, which was covered by artistic cooks with the daintiest dishes; we smoked the best cigars and drank the finest mocha. All these things so precious to us were rendered more agreeable by the cheerful humour that prevailed all through the camp, and was displayed in every conversation. We spent the time in firing at a mark, in riding races, in various sports in which agility was displayed, in card-playing and in dicing, in hunting, which sport, however, only appeared popular with a portion, while the rest amused themselves nearer camp. Owing to the great number of animals our new acquaintances had with them, they had not always found sufficient forage for them on the mountains, whence they had selected this rich pasturage, to give them time to rest and to enjoy a little repose themselves.

I remained with my comrades four days in camp, during which time we were favoured with the most splendid weather, and on the fifth we got ready, after breakfast, to continue our journey and bid adieu to our friends, who intended to spend some time here. My friend S---- had supplied us with all the requisite stores for the pleasant continuation of our tour, had pressed upon us many luxuries, and given us a perfectly new outfit, so that we were now better equipped than when we began our journey. Owl and Tiger were handsomely remembered, at which they felt very happy, hung themselves and their horses with numerous ornaments, and never let their looking-gla.s.ses out of their hand. S---- and several others would have been glad to buy Tiger's piebald, and offered him about 200 dollars for it, but he had no thought of entering into any bargain of the sort, and he always pretended not to hear when the subject was brought up.

When we at last led our horses out of camp, S---- accompanied us with a few of his friends, while a final farewell was given us by a salvo of rifle shots. The gentlemen rode several miles with us, and then returned to their friends, accompanied by our warmest thanks and heartiest wishes for their welfare.

We were now reduced again to our own small number, but were in a very different state from that prior to our meeting with our new friends, as we had all our wants again supplied, and they now afforded us double enjoyment after the lengthened privation. Our pipes again burnt incessantly, at times we even had a cigar as a change, and at the spring we reached, brandy was often mixed with the water we drank. We halted at a very early hour, although we could easily have ridden for another hour, as we were following the river; but the supper that awaited us was too inviting for us to delay it any longer; for now once again coffee was drunk, our meat peppered and salted and biscuit eaten with it, and before going to bed a gla.s.s of grog swallowed; which comforts people cannot always value at home, but which afford great enjoyment after having been missed for so long a time.

We had again reached a valley which runs between the Rocky Mountains, and is called New Park. The mountains on both sides drew very closely together here, and at some spots hardly left s.p.a.ce for the river to pa.s.s, which was swollen by numerous torrents, and already had a rather powerful current. It was still only a torrent, however, which dashed over large rocks, and hurried along foaming and roaring between the hills. The mountains on our right hand are called by the Indians the "Medicine Mountains." Our road here was often very fatiguing, and was rendered smooth and slippery by several violent showers; so that we were often obliged to dismount and lead our horses on the descents, for fear of them falling.

One evening we reached a rather lofty point, where we found a little gra.s.s and a few live oaks; the river rustled below us, scarce a mile distant, through the rocks, and received there a spring which ran from a small coppice near us. We had been awakened on the previous night by a sudden shower, and as our traps had been lying about us uncovered, many of them were wet through before we could get them under shelter in the darkness. As the sky was also overcast this evening, we thought it advisable to put up our small tents. After supper we gathered our traps together under the tarpaulin, on which we laid large stones, and then crept into our tents, after wishing each other good-night. The night was calm and warm, so that when Konigstein lay down by my side, and fastened up the opening of our tent which faced to the north, I got up and opened it again, as it was oppressively hot in our confined s.p.a.ce. Our conversation was but short, our tongues grew heavy; the rustling of the neighbouring stream was blended with the sound of our broken sentences, and a deep sleep carried us into the land of dreams.

An icy-damp breeze awoke me suddenly, and when I started out of my sleep the storm drove the cold rain through the entrance of the tent into my face, and violently shook its sides. I roused Konigstein, and was about to jump up, when a violent blast raised the tent above us, and carried it off into the darkness, while streams of rain lashed us. All my companions shared the same fate, and ran about in the darkness seeking their blankets, hats, and articles of clothing. At the same time we heard the sound of flying horses, probably ours, which, startled by the flapping of our tents, had torn themselves loose. We ran to the spot where we had secured them, and only found Czar and John's mare, but no sign of the others except the broken la.s.soes. In the darkness I had thrown my large bearskin over me, and concealed my weapons under it. So I remained with Czar, turning my back to the storm, and bade him be quiet, while I saw the others running back and forwards like shadows.

The storm grew more furious still, and the powerful tornado seemed desirous of carrying away with it everything that did not bend before it. I leant my shoulder against a young oak in order to keep on my feet, but the tree often bent so low as to touch the ground with its foliage.

My comrades had disappeared--at least I could not notice them anywhere, for the darkness was so dense that I could not see a yard before me. It was impossible to call to each other, as you could not even hear your own voice. At the same time the rain still poured down in almost a horizontal direction, and formed a stream round my feet. There was lightning in the north, but neither thunder nor lightning had approached us, until suddenly the eastern mountains were lit up by brilliant flashes, which displayed their white peaks, and the ground trembled beneath a tremendous clap of thunder. For more than an hour the lightning did not cease for longer than a few seconds, and the thunder roared uninterruptedly between the hills. But at last the storm moved up the valley and left an impenetrable darkness behind. We gradually came together again, and would a.s.suredly have laughed at each other had this been the time for it, for we were wet to the skin, stood in the cold night breeze upon saturated, bottomless ground, and what was worst of all, most of our cattle had bolted. It was simply impossible to light a fire, so we made no attempt to do so, as we could not seek dry materials in the darkness. Nothing was left us but to wait quietly till day arrived, which on this occasion seemed to delay terribly.

At length the new light gleamed over the hills, and we could soon distinguish objects around. We had a melancholy prospect: here lay a wet buffalo robe, a blanket, or a leathern jacket; there some hats were half buried in the mud; farther on we saw one of our tents hanging on an oak; wherever we looked, storm and rain had left traces of their destruction.

A joyous surprise was prepared for us with the return of light: we saw honest Jack grazing higher up the valley, and Konigstein's cream-colour following him. Tiger and Owl soon set out to seek the other horses, which would be easily found if no accident had happened to them, and there were no thick woods in this valley to hide them from us. We fetched up Jack and the cream-colour, and while the Indians followed the trail of the horses, we sought under the stones dry gra.s.s and roots with which to light a fire, which caused us great difficulty, and only succeeded after several failures. Then we put up sticks round it in order to dry our traps, and finally looked up those which had been blown away. The articles under the tarpaulin had remained quite dry, as the water ran through the brushwood on which we had laid them, while the heavy stones kept the cover down. In time we got everything in order again, and about noon we saw our Indians coming down the valley and driving our animals before them, which they had found a long way in the mountains in two parties. During the whole day we were occupied in repairing damages. The tents had to be mended, the broken la.s.soes reknotted, the saddles and bridles cleaned from mud and dirt--in short, the whole day was spent in getting ready to start again. The next morning, however, we mounted again, and no one could notice that our equipment had suffered severely.

Since our leave-taking from Lord S---- and his friends about ten days had pa.s.sed, during which we never went far from the Platte River, as the impa.s.sable precipices of the mountains on both sides ran down almost close to the river. At last the latter opened, the mountains on our left trended to the west, and before us was spread out an extensive and hilly tract, which, offered rather decent pasturage for these rough regions. I intended to follow the river generally to the large prairies on the east of the Rocky Mountains, in order to visit Fort Lamarie, and then proceed homewards across the open plains to the south.

It was a warm afternoon when we cut off a large bend which the river described, and riding over a gra.s.sy plain got several miles away from it. The sun shone hotly on our backs, the horses walked with drooping heads through the tall gra.s.s, and we jolted silently in our saddles, every now and then putting straight the embroidered blankets on which we sat, as folds in them become disagreeable in hot weather. I was riding on the left wing of our cavalcade, and had turned to Trusty, who was stalking behind Czar with hanging tail, when, on looking across the prairie, I fancied I saw about half a mile off two human forms conceal themselves in the gra.s.s. Without checking my horse, I called Tiger up, and imparted to him what I fancied I had seen. He advised me not to look round, as he was riding on my right hand, and, without exciting suspicion, while talking to me, could keep in sight the entire plain on our left. We had been riding on for a long time when Tiger suddenly pulled round his piebald and galloped across the prairie, in the direction where I believed I had seen the men. We stopped to look after him and watched him ride through the gra.s.s, but presently turn his horse toward us. He told me they were probably Blackfoot Indians, who were following S----'s trail, in order to steal some horses from his party.

Close to the spot where he had seen one of them was a reed-covered pool, and hence it was useless to seek him, as he would have concealed himself in it. However, he was of opinion that we must be on our guard here, so that they might not get hold of any of our horses, for these Indians had eyes in the darkness, and could walk more softly than sleep.

During the following night, we again encamped on the river, and fastened our horses near camp, where Trusty mounted guard over them. He appeared extremely restless, got up several times, went growling round our camp, and barked frequently; but our rest was not otherwise disturbed. Early the next morning, as we were folding up our furs, Tiger returned to the fire saturated with dew. He had gone over the neighbourhood and said there was a number of Blackfeet close by; the dog had prevented them from approaching our camp at night; but they could not be an entire tribe, or else they would have ventured an attack by day. He had found several tracks going round our camp at some distance. Tiger told us that the Blackfeet live farther north, and only come so low down for purposes of plunder; but here they had to be on their guard against the Utahs, Sioux, p.a.w.nees, Sacs, and Foxes, who occupied this country and lived at war with them. The Blackfeet are pursued by nearly all the other Indian tribes when they venture south, and in former years, when they prowled about the present state of Missouri, they were hunted by the first settlers there like wild beasts. The power of these Indians is very considerable, and their number is probably the largest of all the numerous tribes of natives. They live between the sources of the Missouri and Yellow-stone River, tolerate no other tribe there, and are warlike and cruel to their conquered foes. The Crows, their neighbours, are much fewer in number, but for all that oppose them in the field and wage the most sanguinary wars with them. Neither nation, however, dares to cross the Yellow-stone, without being pursued by the Indians living on the opposite side; they only do so when they have a prospect of committing a robbery without any great risk, or capturing a few scalps from their enemies.

We followed the river to the spot where the Medicine-bow River falls into it, and Tiger and Owl made an excursion along its banks, and brought in the news that some forty Blackfeet had crossed the river, probably expecting that we would follow the Platte farther up to the Black Mountains, to watch for us and attack us in the narrow pa.s.ses.

They told us these enemies would not leave us till we had pa.s.sed that region, and we must constantly keep a watchful eye on them. We camped on this side of the Medicine-bow River, and talked over our further tour over the camp fire, and Owl was of opinion that we should do better by following the course of this river and effecting our retreat through Lamarie plains, between the Medicine and Black Mountains, as on this route we should be less troubled by Indians than on the great Eastern Prairies, and, with the exception of buffaloes and wild horses, might expect to find much more game there. We heard Tiger, who was of the same opinion, and soon agreed to follow this road.

We fished in the river till it grew quite dark, and had just put supper on the fire, when Tiger and Owl took their rifles, and, after telling us to keep a bright look-out for the Blackfeet, went up the river, and soon disappeared. I ordered Konigstein to mount guard at the end of the small wood in which we had camped, at the spot where it joined the Platte, and promised to relieve him in an hour. We thus changed sentries until about eleven o'clock, when I relieved John. It was not very dark, although the moon was not shining, and sitting on the ground I could not only see across the Platte, but distinguish objects in the gra.s.s for some distance. Trusty lay by my side, with his head resting on his crossed paws; suddenly, however, he raised his nose, and I heard his low growl, which I stopped by a wave of my hand. He kept his nose turned obstinately up stream, in which direction I also kept my eyes fixed on the gra.s.s. I felt with the hand I had laid on Trusty that his attention was growing greater, for he began trembling all over, which he did when he was forced to master his growing excitement.

Still I could not distinguish anything that appeared to me strange. The gra.s.s in front of me was not tall, and there were but few patches of scrub. All at once I fancied that a bush, about fifty yards from me, had moved, but it might be imagination, as I had been gazing at it so intently. A profound silence brooded over the landscape, which was only interrupted by the continuous monotonous rustling of the river. In our camp no voice was audible, and the bright fire, which had lit up the surrounding trees and bushes, had burned down, and only indicated its position by a glimmering light. When I took my post half an hour previously Owl and Tiger had not returned, and since then I had not heard them arrive. The air was very damp and cold, and the gra.s.s around me felt quite wet. I now fancied I could be certain that the bush had moved: I rose a little and looked at it more sharply; it moved again, and a dark object, in the shape of a large stone, slowly rose out of the gra.s.s. Now I could entertain no doubt it was a living creature: but what could it be? That was a matter of indifference to me, so long as it was not either Tiger or Owl, and they would not approach our camp so cautiously and suspiciously. It could be none but a Blackfoot. I rose on one knee, cautiously lifted my rifle, and aimed as well as I could for the darkness, at the object whose indistinct outline now covered nearly the whole bush.

Bang! the flame flashed from the rifle, and a hollow plump into the river followed a few seconds later, before the smoke had risen on the damp atmosphere. I looked at the dark, shining surface of the water, and noticed that large circles surrounded a black spot, and were moving with it toward the middle of the stream. I fired my second barrel at it: I clearly saw through the gloom that the motion of the water became very violent at the moment, but then it was all over, and the next minute the current flowed on as usual, and nothing on its surface revealed what was pa.s.sing in its depths. I had scarce fired the second shot when my comrades dashed up under arms. I quickly told them what had happened, and we remained under arms awaiting the return of our Indians, of whom we had as yet heard nothing. About an hour later they returned, and Tiger at once asked why we had been firing: then he told us what had happened to him, and that my shots had robbed them of several Blackfeet scalps. They had crossed the river a little higher up, at a point where it was shallow, and lay down on its banks, as they expected that the savages would return during the night to try and get hold of our horses.

Shortly before I fired, Tiger had heard and seen the branches of a neighbouring bush parted, but after that all became quiet again. Tiger fancied that their number was considerable; but we had nothing more to fear from them on this night, and could go to sleep in peace. However, we posted sentries till daybreak, when I and Tiger examined the spot at which I had fired. We found that my bullet had cut away a spray in the centre of the bush, and noticed the track of an Indian, which was distinctly marked on the bank, and Tiger recognised it as that of a Blackfoot. Owl swam across the river and examined the opposite sh.o.r.e to see whether he had landed there, but could not discover any sign, and, pointing to the river, supposed he was sleeping under that.

We slept quietly till eight o'clock, then breakfasted, and packed our animals, so as to continue our journey on the new plan. Tiger said that the Blackfeet would be cheated out of a day, for they were awaiting us farther down the Platte, and if they had not their horses with them they could not catch us up before morning: if their number was large, however, as he believed, they had their horses with them, and would be camping in the thickets on the opposite side of Medicine-bow River. It was nearly noon when we struck camp and marched up the river. The gra.s.s was not very high, and our path slightly covered with loose stones, so that we could keep our horses at an amble, and when the sun sank behind the distant hills on our right, we had covered a distance of at least twenty-five miles. After riding past a stony knoll, round which the river described a short curve, we reached a stream flowing between deep banks, which fell into the Platte, and was densely overgrown with alders. The spot pleased us to spend the night at, and we were engaged in unpacking our cattle, when suddenly a fearful yell rang behind us, which came toward us accompanied by a dense cloud of dust. The Blackfeet! all shouted, and seized their weapons. Tiger, however, shouted to us to follow him, as he led his piebald through the alders into the stream, and the next minute all the cattle were left in charge of Antonio, who fastened them to the bushes.

We had scarce returned to the bank when a body of forty Indians dashed up to us like a tornado; lying behind their horses' necks, and covering their left side with their large shields, they allowed a very small portion of their bodies to be seen. We permitted them to come within fifty yards before we fired. The band hesitated, and we saw through the dust several horses lying on the ground, and many of the hors.e.m.e.n engaged in taking others up behind them, while the greater number galloped back to the hill, and uttered a frightful yell. They had not galloped far, however, when one of them, mounted on a powerful black horse, darted to their head, and casting himself in their way, swung his long lance before them. His horse reared in front of the flying horde, and the thundering voice of the leader distinctly reached us through the yelling. At the next instant the band turned back, with the warrior on the black horse in front of them. We had reloaded, and I shouted to my comrades to expend but one bullet, and reserve the other for shorter range. The savages had galloped up to within about the same distance as before, when I shouted, Fire! and aimed myself at the leader of the band. The black horse reared and fell over with its rider, while another horse fell dead by its side, whose rider ran with the speed of an arrow after his comrades, who were now flying in the utmost confusion. The rider of the black horse, however, had scarce fallen with it ere he crept from under it, and at the same instant we saw Tiger leap out of the willow bushes on the river bank, and, swinging his tomahawk, catch up the Blackfoot warrior with a few leaps. The latter fell back a pace, and threw his iron axe at Tiger with such force that, missing its mark, it flew far out into the river. Tiger now buried his axe with lightning speed in the chest of his recoiling foe, and both fell to the ground like two intertwined snakes. It was the work of a few minutes, and the yell of the flying Indians was still ringing in our ears when we dashed up to the combatants in order to help Tiger. It was no longer necessary, however, for he rose from off his lifeless foe, and setting his knee on the other's bent-back neck, he pa.s.sed his knife round the head and tore off his scalp. During this time Owl had scalped the other Blackfoot, and our Indians danced frantically round the dead men, waving the reeking scalps and knives, while the blood poured down Tiger's back from a gaping wound in his left shoulder. At length they concluded their dance of victory, and then our Indians plundered their slain foes and the dead horses. The dress of these Blackfeet is made of leather, with remarkable taste, adorned with paintings and long fringes, porcupine quills, sh.e.l.ls, scalp-locks, and coloured pebbles; the leather is smoked of a very dark hue, and gives the savages a gloomy and terrifying aspect.

Their weapons are lances, bows and arrows, tomahawks, and knives; only a few have firearms.

I examined Tiger's wound, which had only cut the flesh obliquely, and was produced by his enemy's knife; while the latter had a bullet through his left thigh, a gaping wound in his chest, and a stab in his heart.

Tiger had run down to the willows on the river without our noticing him after the first attack of the Blackfeet, and had thence fired at the chief, whom he afterwards killed with his knife. "Now," he said, "we can sleep; the Blackfeet have lost their head, and will go home and tell how the Delawares have some more of their scalps in their tents; their squaws will not even take their dead with them, and not let them sleep with their fathers."

We camped close to the stream, but posted sentries all through the night, as I feared lest we might have to oppose a nocturnal surprise.

The night, however, pa.s.sed undisturbed; but we heard incessantly a fearful yelling of wolves, which prowled round our camp, but owing to the huge fire did not dare approach the corpses, which lay not far from us in the gra.s.s. The next morning we quitted the spot, for which movement the numerous wolves were watching, and they attacked the dead Indians and horses almost before we had crossed the stream.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

CHAPTER XXV.

ON THE PRAIRIE.

We hastened up the river for five days, during which time we crossed a number of small streams which fell into it. Then we reached the eastern spurs of the Medicine Mountains, in which the river rises and pours over the rocks in the shape of a large torrent. Here we crossed it, and following the base of these hills in the plain, we reached on the second evening a small stream, which flows for at least a hundred miles due east through this broad plain, which the Indians called Lamarie, to the Black Mountains bordering the plain, and, as Owl told us, winds through the latter till it falls into the Northern Platte to the east of Fort Lamarie. These mountains, which in height and shape exactly resemble the range from which the Bighorn rises, are to the north of that snow peak.

We marched along the stream to the eastward to the Black Mountains, and then turned up an arm of it coming from the south until it was lost in the plain. We marched from here for a whole day without water, and were obliged to pa.s.s the night, too, without it or fire, as the desolate plain over which we rode showed us not a single tree. Toward evening the next day we reached a lake, which was about three miles in circ.u.mference, but its waters were slightly impregnated with salt: following its banks, however, we arrived on its western side at some clear streams of fresh water. Here we refreshed ourselves and camped, though it was early in the afternoon, and amused ourselves with shooting geese and swans. On the next evening we came to a similar lake, with fresh-water streams on its western side, so that we again had a splendid camp, and took advantage of the opportunity to bathe in the lake.

During the next day our road again ran over a desolate, melancholy plain, but toward evening we saw a low wood in the distance, and reached another arm of the river which runs through the Black Mountains to Fort Lamarie. Here we had everything we could desire, a protected camp in the wood, and a splendid trout stream, in which we refreshed ourselves and our horses. We shot several fat buffaloes, and a few black-tailed stags.

The wood above us sufficed to put us in good spirits, for we were very tired of the monotonous, desolate plains over which we had been marching for a long time. Before sunset our horses neighed, and we heard them answered from, outside the wood. All at once there was a thundering burst through the low bushes, and the leader of a troop of wild horses fell in terror immediately in front of our fire, and the animals behind him one over the other, after which they got up again in the utmost fear and confusion and dashed out of the wood. The stallion was a splendid iron-grey, very powerfully built and finely shaped, and we all regretted that we were unable to take him home.

The next morning we left the river and went south, and for the whole day without finding water. The sun sank behind the hills, and nowhere was there a tree or a sign of water; the gra.s.s, too, was bad, but our cattle were very weary, and we too longed for rest. We made a poor fire of _bois de vache_ and small bushes, large enough to cook our supper, then we put up our tents and secured our traps under the tarpaulin on a bed of stones, for the sky was overcast and led to expectation of rain. At nightfall it began to blow and rain, and went on the whole night till daybreak, when the clouds gathered together again, and hanging on the base of the mountains displayed the snow peaks brilliantly illumined by the sun. We quickly started, and marched from this disagreeable spot, looking for pleasanter signs ahead. At length, toward noon, wood rose again from the barren surface. We drove our animals into a quicker pace, and in a few hours were resting again on a river fringed by trees, upon glorious gra.s.s, which our starving cattle eagerly devoured. It was still very early, and we all felt inclined to go hunting, as the rain had refreshed the country, and the verdure of the forest and the meadow does the eyesight good. A few preferred fishing in the neighbouring stream; several went up the river to hunt, while I went down it, accompanied by Trusty only. I had gone about a couple of miles along the skirt of the wood when I saw something moving on the prairie behind some very low bushes. I crept cautiously up to the last bush, and before me stood, at about the distance of a hundred and twenty yards, a herd of some forty large and old giant stags. The beautiful animals--the pride of the animal world--stood in a long line before me, with their faces turned to me, and raised their powerful antlers like a forest of horns.

It was a sight whose beauty only a sportsman can estimate. I lay for some minutes lost in contemplation, but when I raised my knee and rifle the whole herd turned and galloped past me. I had long had my eye on the largest stag, for its antlers rose far above the others with their broad lines. I aimed behind the shoulder and fired, heard the bullet distinctly go home, and saw, that though it was bleeding profusely, it kept up with the others. The next largest stag, being just behind this one, I fired the second barrel at it, heard the thud of the bullet again, and saw that it was mortally wounded; but it too remained in line, and I watched the stags till they disappeared a long way off in a hollow.

I loaded, and on reaching the spot where the stags were hit, Trusty at once put his nose to the blood trail and stopped, looking up at me. I made him a sign that it was all right, and when he had gone a little distance he went off slightly to the right, took up the trail of the second stag, and then again pointed with his nose to the ground, while looking at me inquiringly. I again urged him on, and he went first to one trail, then to the other, till I was able to look down into the valley, where I saw the two stags lying dead, hardly ten yards apart. I hastened up to them, and counted, on the antlers of the largest, eight-and-thirty tines, and on the smaller one six-and-twenty; the length of the two antlers was between five and six feet, and their weight between thirty and forty pounds. The antlers of this stag only differ from those of our stag through their size and the greater number of tines: the great difference between them is in the weight, as the giant stag is often double the size of ours. Both animals, it seemed, had died nearly at the same moment, for they lay side by side with their heads stretched out, as they had been running. After looking at them for awhile in delight, I broke them up, gave Trusty his share, cut out a couple of grinders as a recollection, and then went back to camp, when my comrades were equally pleased at the result of my sport. The other hunters had also been fortunate, and had killed a fat buffalo, while the anglers had pulled a number of large fish out of the river. Owl went with Antonio and Konigstein to my stags, in order to fetch their skins and meat, and I requested them to bring me the antlers of the largest one, as I wished, were it possible, to carry them home. Though we liked the place so much, we left it again next morning, abundantly supplied with the best game, and Jack trotted after us with the enormous antlers on the top of his packages.

The country here became again intersected by low ranges of hills, which crossed the plain from east to west; their heights were long and barren, but the large valleys between them ornamented with small prairies and woods, in the latter of which we frequently found springs. The variety was a relief to our eyes, and offered us many a fine prospect, with the mountains approaching each other. Isolated ma.s.ses of rock again rose out of these valleys, and before us in the far South were visible loftier ranges, some of them branching off from the Medicine Mountains, others from the Black Mountains. The colouring of these landscapes in the west of the continent is much warmer and more hazy than in the Eastern States, or in the countries of Old Europe. The distances, although transparent and extraordinarily distinct, float in a delicate reddish-blue tinge, in front of which the deep dark shadows and flashing lights produced by the glowing sun stand out the more powerfully. The shadows which the clouds throw on the landscape are also, like the latter, dyed with carmine and cobalt, and not, as in England, black and white, the mere sight of which produces a shudder. The streams reflect on their surface the dark ultramarine of the heavens, and the rich green of the woods and prairies loses through its countless tints and rich flora its wearisome monotony.

With every hour the beauty of the country increased, and the animal world became more animated. Countless wild horses of the most varying colours flew at our approach over the green hills, large herds of dark-haired buffalo galloped awkwardly over the wide stretches of gra.s.s, and from the stony heights the light-footed antelopes gazed down curiously at us. Up hill, down hill, we jolted in the saddles of our ambling steeds, when, on a calm warm evening toward sunset, we rode down from a gra.s.sy knoll to a stream, which was closely overhung with alder bushes, and separated the base of the hill from a wide prairie, round which it wound with numerous meanderings. Tiger was riding about forty yards ahead, and had just disappeared with his piebald in a patch of scrub, when he dashed out of the other side of it with a loud cry and an enormous grizzly bear after him. We galloped through the stream after him, while his rapid horse bounded over the gra.s.s toward us, and gained a slight advance on the grizzly. All our rifles were fired at the monster, and turning away from Tiger it came toward us with long leaps, and pursued John with an awful roar; once again our rifles cracked behind it, but the bullets did not check its clumsy but yet rapid course. John turned his mare again toward us, and had hardly joined our ranks when we fired a salvo from our revolvers at the maddened bear, and galloping after it, kept up our fire. Konigstein, on the cream-colour, was the nearest to it on the left, and gave the bear a shot at short range, when the latter turned on him and smashed his broad, wooden stirrup into a thousand chips between its savage teeth.

Konigstein, however, had pulled his foot out and flew with his horse to our side. Again we sent a hailstorm of bullets into the broad back of the infuriated animal, upon which it sank on its hind-quarters, as a bullet had smashed its spine. Its fury and the roars it uttered were fearful, and turning in a circle on its monstrous forepaws it covered a large s.p.a.ce around it with its blood, which streamed from its s.h.a.ggy carca.s.s.

I shouted to my friends not to fire, as I saw Tiger had dismounted and was hastily loading his rifle, and I wished to grant him the pleasure of killing the bear. He fired his bullet into its head, and then cut off its claws with great satisfaction. We took the paws, tongue, and liver of the huge animal, while Tiger rode back to the stream, and thence shouted to us to join him. We rode up, and found in the water a two-year old, very handsome chestnut horse, which the bear had captured on the prairie, and, as the trampled gra.s.s showed us, had dragged to the stream, in order to enjoy its meal without being disturbed. I took the tusks of the slain animal, and with the new matter for conversation which this fight gave us, we shortened the road to our camp, which lay in an exquisite hollow on the south side of lofty crags, under which a clear torrent rolled over loose stones that glistened like gold. They contained a substance which really resembled this metal, so that they shone through the water hurrying over them like lumps of pure gold. Some stately palms, maples, and oaks overshadowed our camp, and served as a cool retreat for the countless songsters that saluted us with their evening hymn.

It is incomprehensible why the belief prevails throughout Europe that American birds are very brilliantly plumaged, but cannot sing, while most certainly there are sweeter songsters and more varieties of them on this continent than in Europe. A single bird is wanting, the nightingale, but it is compensated a thousandfold by the mocking bird.

All other cla.s.ses of birds are represented, though with different and finer plumage. The belief may arise from the fact that emigrants from Europe land in the large eastern cities, and in their walks in their vicinity see no birds, from the circ.u.mstance that boys there of ten years old run about with guns and kill every bird that shows itself: and then again, these persons only seek the shade of the trees and bushes during the heat of the day, when all birds silently hide themselves from the burning sun. If they went out in the morning, however, when nature is awakening, they would hear quite as good singers as in their old home.

Before us the valley wound between partly wooded low hills, behind which the higher base now rose. For several days we marched along this valley, till on one afternoon we looked down from a hill on the blue crystalline waters of the southern Platte, which coming down from the Medicine hills, rustled through the valley at our feet. The river was large even here, and shot with the speed that characterizes the streams in this country, and with many windings between its wood-clad banks. Before us, where the river described a sharp curve, the banks were stony on both sides, and seemed from time immemorial to have been used by the inhabitants of these countries as a ford. At this moment, when probably for the first time the eyes of white men rested on this ford, a countless herd of buffaloes was occupied in crossing. They were coming southward from the mountains, and pressed shoulder to shoulder in dense ma.s.ses to water in the river, while others came down the hills in a black line. The roars of these thirsty wanderers filled the air and rang through the hills in a thousand echoes. They dashed by hundreds impetuously from the high bank into the deep, rapid stream, on either side of the ford, and drifted with it into the dark overarching wood.

We stopped for a long time gazing down at this scene and awaiting the end of the herd, whose head had disappeared some time previously in the valley on our left, while dense ma.s.ses still continued to pour down without a check from the hills to the water. At length, at the end of an hour, only a few laggards came, after at least five thousand buffaloes had crossed the river, and yet the number of these animals is said to be quite insignificant compared with what it was twenty years ago. Who knows whether fifty years hence they will exist anywhere but in natural history? We were obliged to let the wanderers pa.s.s, as we also wanted to cross the river, though in the opposite direction, and we should have run a risk of the whole herd marching over us, had we got in their way.

We now rode down into the river; but, although so great a number of huge animals had pa.s.sed through it, the water was as clear and bright as if a stone had never been stirred on its bottom. We watered our cattle, and followed the path by which the buffaloes had found their way to this ford, on the supposition that they had rendered it quite pa.s.sable, and that they had come from the southern prairies to which we were bound.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BUFFALOES CROSSING A RIVER. _p. 333._]

We had scaled the first hill, when we saw about two miles off a few buffaloes trotting towards us, which had probably lagged behind, and now wanted to catch up the herd. We rode about thirty yards off the path, to a spot where we were covered by rocks and commanded the sloping path down to the water. Ere long we heard the heavy trot of the approaching animals on the stony ground, and presently several cows, and behind them a fat old bull came past us. We all fired together, and the old bull rolled over and over down the slope, and lay dead at the bottom. We took as usual its tongue, marrowbones, and loins, and left the rest to those that came after us.

We could not have found a finer road through these hills: broad and trodden smooth, it wound along the crags, so that we were often able to advance at a quick amble. It frequently ran over dizzy precipices, whence we surveyed the pleasant valleys, whose dark shadow seemed to invite us, while the hot sun and its reflection from the bare rocks over which we were marching, was hardly rendered endurable by the fresh breeze blowing up here. We crossed a number of small streams, which came down from the western hills, and all flowed to the Platte, until at the end of a week we again reached the latter river, at the point where a large affluent, coming from the Bighorn, joined it. We appeared to be here on the last slopes of the enormous mountains, over which the snowpeak was visible in all its splendour as a farewell salutation. It rose higher above its smaller comrades, and glistened like the purest silver in the blue sky, while the edge of the mountains displayed no snow, and seemed like a thin strip of fog above the nearer hills.

Eastward we noticed on the horizon of the extensive plains only low ranges of hills, while to the north the Black Mountains raised their mighty crests and a few snow-clad peaks.

We crossed this southern arm of the Platte, and camped on the other side of it, in order to grant our cattle a few days' rest there, where the most splendid gra.s.s and a cool thick wood covered its bank. The bright streams offered us the most glorious fish, which can be almost selected in these streams, as we see them swarm round the bait, and the latter can be dropped before the fish you wish to catch. The neighbourhood of our camp was enlivened by game of every description; on the slopes of the neighbouring Black Mountains we found mountain sheep and black-tailed stags; in the forests between them and the Platte the majestic giant stag was preparing for the rutting season, and with swollen neck whetting the numerous tines of its splendid antlers on the trees. The prairies near us brought to us the elegant Virginian stag and the swift, black-eyed antelope, while the buffalo incessantly pa.s.sed in all directions: not far from our camp we also found a warren of those interesting little creatures, which are falsely called prairie dogs, as they do not belong to this family, but to that of the badger.

We went out and shot some dozen of these dogs, as they afford a nice dish for a change. They live in burrows under ground, which they throw up like the rabbits, and a hundred of them are frequently found close together. They are very shy, but easy to shoot, as, if you lie down for a little while in the gra.s.s, they come out of their holes and give a snapping cry, which has been falsely called barking by some naturalists.