The Hunters' Feast Part 25

"Thur wur the bar wi' his head right a-through the blanket. One minnit, he 'ud rear up on his hind-feet, an' then the thing hung roun' him like a Mexikin greaser. The next minnit, he 'ud be down on all-fours, an'

tryin' to foller me; an' then the Mackinaw 'ud trip him up, an' over he 'ud whammel, and kick to get free--all the while routin' like a mad buffalo. Jehosophat! it wur the funniest sight this child ever seed.

Wagh!

"Wal, I watched the game awhile--only a leetle while; for I knowd that if the bar could git clur o' the rag, he mout still overtake me, an'

drive me to the tree. That I didn't wan't, eyther, so I tuk to my heels agin' and soon reached camp.

"Thur I saddled my mar, an' then rid back to git my gun, an', perhaps, to give ole Eph'm a fresh taste o' lead.

"When I clomb the hill agin, the bar wur still out on the parairy, an' I cud see that the blanket wur a-hanging around 'im. Howsomdever, he wur makin' off torst the hills, thinkin', maybe, he'd hed enuf o' my k.u.mpny.

"I wan't a-gwine to let 'im off so easy, for the skear he hed 'gin me; besides, he wur traillin' my Mackinaw along wi' 'im. So I galluped to whur my gun lay, an' havin' rammed home a ball, I then galluped arter ole grizzly.

"I soon overhauled him, an' he turned on me as savagerous as ever. But this time, feeling secure on the mar's back, my narves wur steadier; an'

I shot the bar plum through the skull, which throwed him in his tracks wi' the blanket wropped about 'im.

"But sich a blanket as that wur then--ay, sich a blanket! I never seed sich a blanket! Thur wunt a square foot o' it that wan't torn to raggles. Ah, strangers, you don't know what it are to lose a five-point Mackinaw; no, that you don't. Cuss the bar!"

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.

A BATTLE WITH GRIZZLY BEARS.

As adventure with grizzly bears which had befallen the "captain" was next related. He had been travelling with a strange party--the "scalp-hunters,"--in the mountains near Santa Fe, when they were overtaken by a sudden and heavy fall of snow that rendered farther progress impossible. The "canon," a deep valley in which they had encamped, was difficult to get through at any time, but now the path, on account of the deep soft snow, was rendered impa.s.sable. When morning broke they found themselves fairly "in the trap."

"Above and below, the valley was choked up with snow five fathoms deep.

Vast fissures--_barrancas_--were filled with the drift; and it was perilous to attempt penetrating in either direction. Two men had already disappeared.

"On each side of our camp rose the walls of the canon, almost vertical, to the height of a hundred feet. These we might have climbed had the weather been soft, for the rock was a trap formation, and offered numerous seams and ledges; but now there was a coating of ice and snow upon them that rendered the ascent impossible. The ground had been frozen hard before the storm came on, although it was now freezing no longer, and the snow would not bear our weight. All our efforts to get out of the valley proved idle; and we gave them over, yielding ourselves, in a kind of reckless despair, to wait for--we scarce knew what.

"For three days we sat shivering around the fires, now and then casting looks of gloomy inquiry around the sky. The same dull grey for an answer, mottled with flakes slanting earthward, for it still continued to know. Not a bright spot cheered the aching eye.

"The little platform on which we rested--a s.p.a.ce of two or three acres-- was still free from the snow-drift, on account of its exposure to the wind. Straggling pines, stunted and leafless, grew over its surface, in all about fifty or sixty trees. From these we obtained our fires; but what were fires when we had no meat to cook upon them!

"We were now in the third day without food! Without food, though not absolutely without eating--the men had bolted their gun-covers and the cat-skin flaps of their bullet-pouches, and were now seen--the last shift but one--stripping the _parfleche_ from the soles of their moccasins!

"The women, wrapped in their _tilmas_, nestled closely in the embrace of father, brother, husband, and lover; for all these affections were present. The last string of _tasajo_, hitherto economised for their sake, had been parcelled out to them in the morning. That was gone, and whence was their next morsel to come? At long intervals, `_Ay da mi!

Dios de mi alma_!' were heard only in low murmurs, as some colder blast swept down the canon. In the faces of those beautiful creatures might be read that uncomplaining patience--that high endurance--so characteristic of the Hispano-Mexican women.

"Even the stern men around them bore up with less fort.i.tude. Rude oaths were muttered from time to time, and teeth ground together, with that strange wild look that heralds insanity. Once or twice I fancied that I observed a look of still stranger, still wilder expression, when the black ring forms around the eye--when the muscles twitch and quiver along gaunt, famished jaws--when men gaze guilty-like at each other. O G.o.d! it was fearful! The half-robber discipline, voluntary at the best, had vanished under the levelling-rod of a common suffering, and I trembled to think--

"`It clars a leetle, out tharawa!'

"It was the voice of the trapper, Garey, who had risen and stood pointing toward the East.

"In an instant we were all upon our feet, looking in the direction, indicated. Sure enough, there was a break in the lead-coloured sky--a yellowish streak, that widened out as we continued gazing--the flakes fell lighter and thinner, and in two hours more it had ceased snowing altogether.

"Half-a-dozen of us, shouldering our rifles, struck down the valley. We would make one more attempt to trample a road through the drift. It was a vain one. The snow was over our heads, and after struggling for two hours, we had not gained above two hundred yards. Here we caught a glimpse of what lay before us. As far as the eye could reach, it rested upon the same deep impa.s.sable ma.s.ses. Despair and hunger paralysed our exertions, and, dropping off one by one, we returned to the camp. We fell down around the fires in sullen silence. Garey continued pacing back and forth, now glancing up at the sky, and at times kneeling down, and running his hand over the surface of the snow. At length he approached the fire, and in his slow, drawling manner, remarked--

"`It's a-gwine to friz, I reckin.'

"`Well! and if it does?' asked one of his comrades, without caring for an answer to the question.

"`Wal, an iv it does,' repeated the trapper, `we'll walk out o' this hyar jug afore sun-up, an' upon a good hard trail too.'

"The expression of every face was changed, as if by magic. Several leaped to their feet. G.o.de, the Canadian, skilled in snow-craft, ran to a bank, and drawing his hand along the combing, shouted back--

"`_C'est vrai; il gele; il gele_!'

"A cold wind soon after set in, and, cheered by the brightening prospect, we began to think of the fires, that, during our late moments of reckless indifference, had been almost suffered to burn out. The Delawares, seizing their tomahawks, commenced hacking at the pines, while others dragged forward the fallen trees, lopping off their branches with the keen scalping-knife.

"At this moment a peculiar cry attracted our attention, and, looking around, we perceived one of the Indians drop suddenly upon his knees, striking the ground with his hatchet.

"`What is it? what is it?' shouted several voices, in almost as many languages.

"`_Yam-yam! yam-yam_!' replied the Indian, still digging at the frozen ground.

"`The Injun's right; it's _man-root_!' said Garey, picking up some leaves which the Delaware had chopped off.

"I recognised a plant well-known to the mountain-men--a rare, but wonderful convolvulus, the _Iponea leptophylla_. The name of `man-root'

is given to it by the hunters from the similarity of its root in shape, and sometimes in size, to the body of a man. It is esculent, and serves to sustain human life.

"In an instant, half-a-dozen men were upon their knees, chipping and hacking the hard clay, but their hatchets glinted off as from the surface of a rock.

"`Look hyar!' cried Garey; `ye're only spoilin' yer tools. Cut down a wheen o' these pine saplin's, and make a fire over him!'

"The hint was instantly followed, and in a few minutes a dozen pieces of pine were piled upon the spot, and set on fire.

"We stood around the burning branches with eager antic.i.p.ation. Should the root prove a `full-grown man,' it would make a supper for our whole party; and with the cheering idea of supper, jokes were ventured upon-- the first we had heard for some time--the hunters tickled with the novelty of unearthing the `old man' ready roasted, and speculating whether he would prove a `fat old hoss.'

"A hollow crack sounded from above, like the breaking of a dead tree.

We looked up. A large object--an animal--was whirling outward and downward from a ledge that projected half-way up the cliff. In an instant it struck the earth, head foremost, with a loud `b.u.mp,' and, bounding to the height of several feet, came back with a somersault on its legs, and stood firmly.

"An involuntary `hurrah!' broke from the hunters, who all recognised, at a glance, the `Carnero cimmaron,' or `bighorn.' He had cleared the precipice at two leaps, alighting each time on his huge crescent-shaped horns.

"For a moment, both parties--hunters and game--seemed equally taken by surprise, and stood eyeing each other in mute wonder. It was but for a moment. The men made a rush for their rifles, and the animal, recovering from his trance of astonishment, tossed back his horns, and bounded across the platform. In a dozen springs he had readied the selvedge of the snow, and plunged into its yielding bank; but, at the same instant, several rifles cracked, and the white wreath was crimsoned behind him. He still kept on, however, leaning and breaking through the drift.

"We struck into his track, and followed with the eagerness of hungry wolves. We could tell by the numerous _gouts_ that he was shedding his life-blood, and about fifty paces farther on we found him dead.

"A shout apprised our companions of our success, and we had commenced dragging back the prize, when wild cries reached us from the platform,-- the yells of men, the screams of women, mingled with oaths and exclamations of terror!

"We ran on towards the entrance of the track. On reaching it, a sight was before us that caused the stoutest to tremble. Hunters, Indians, and women were running to and fro in frantic confusion, uttering their varied cries, and pointing upward. We looked in that direction--a row of fearful objects stood upon the brow of the cliff. We knew our enemy at a glance,--the dreaded monsters of the mountains--the grizzly bears!

"There were; five of them--five in sight--there might be others in the background. Five were enough to destroy our whole party, caged as we were, and weakened by famine.

"They had reached the cliff in chase of the cimmaron, and hunger and disappointment were visible in their horrid aspects. Two of them had already crawled close to the scarp, and were pawing over and snuffing the air, as if searching for a place to descend. The other three reared themselves up on their hams, and commenced manoeuvring with their forearms, in a human-like and comical pantomime!

"We were in no condition to relish this amus.e.m.e.nt. Every man hastened to arm himself, those who had emptied their rifles hurriedly re-loading them.