The Hunters' Feast Part 26

"`For your life don't!' cried Garey, catching at the gun of one of the hunters.

"The caution came too late: half-a-dozen bullets were already whistling upwards.

"The effect was just what the trapper had antic.i.p.ated. The bears, maddened by the bullets, which had harmed them no more than the p.r.i.c.king of as many pins, dropped to their all-fours again, and, with fierce growls, commenced descending the cliff.

"The scene of confusion was now at its height. Several of the men, less brave than their comrades, ran off to hide themselves in the snow, while others commenced climbing the low pine-trees!

"`Cache the gals!' cried Garey. `Hyar, yer darned Spanish greasers! if yer won't light, hook on to the weemen a wheen o' yer, and toat them to the snow. Cowardly slinks,--wagh!'

"`See to them, doctor,' I shouted to the German, who, I thought, might be best spared from the fight; and the next, moment, the doctor, a.s.sisted by several Mexicans, was hurrying the terrified girls towards the spot where we had left the cimmaron.

"Many of us knew that to hide, under the circ.u.mstances, would be worse than useless. The fierce but sagacious brutes would have discovered, us one by one, and destroyed, us in detail. `They must, be met and fought!' that was the word; and we resolved to carry it into execution.

"There were about a dozen of us who `stood up to it'--all the Delaware and Shawanoes, with Garey and the mountain-men.

"We kept firing at the bears as they ran along the ledges in their zigzag descent, but our rifles were out of order, our fingers were numbed with cold, and our nerves weakened with hunger. Our bullets drew blood from the hideous brutes, yet not a shot proved deadly. It only stung them into fiercer rage.

"It was a fearful moment when the last shot was fired, and still not an enemy the less. We flung away the guns, and, clutching the hatchets and hunting-knives, silently awaited our grizzly foes.

"We had taken our stand close to the rock. It was our design to have the first blow, as the animals, for the most part, came stern-foremost down the cliff. In this we were disappointed. On reaching a ledge some ten feet from the platform, the foremost bear halted, and, seeing our position, hesitated to descend. The next moment, his companions, maddened with wounds, came tumbling down upon the same ledge, and, with fierce growls, the five huge bodies were precipitated into our midst.

"Then came the desperate struggle, which I cannot describe,--the shouts of the hunters, the wilder yells of our Indian allies, the hoa.r.s.e worrying of the bears, the ringing of tomahawks from skulls like flint, the deep, dull `thud' of the stabbing-knife, and now and then a groan, as the crescent claw tore up the clinging muscle. O G.o.d! it was a fearful scene!

"Over the platform bears and men went rolling and struggling, in the wild battle of life and death. Through the trees, and into the deep drift, staining the snow with their mingled blood! Here, two or three men were engaged with a single foe--there, some brave hunter stood battling alone. Several were sprawling upon the ground. Every moment, the bears were lessening the number of their a.s.sailants!

"I had been struck down at the commencement of the struggle. On regaining my feet, I saw the animal that had felled me hugging the prostrate body of a man.

"It was G.o.de. I leaned over the bear, clutching its s.h.a.ggy skin. I did this to steady myself; I was weak and dizzy; so were we all. I struck with all my force, stabbing the animal on the ribs.

"Letting go the Frenchman, the bear turned suddenly, and reared upon me.

I endeavoured to avoid the encounter, and ran backward, fending him off with my knife.

"All at once I came against the snow-drift, and fell over on my back.

Next moment, the heavy body was precipitated upon me, the sharp claws pierced deep into my shoulder,--I inhaled the monster's fetid breath; and striking wildly with my right arm, still free, we rolled over and over in the snow.

"I was blinded by the dry drift. I felt myself growing weaker and weaker; it was the loss of blood. I shouted--a despairing shout--but it could not have been heard at ten paces' distance. Then there was a strange hissing sound in my ears,--a bright light flashed across my eyes; a burning object pa.s.sed over my face, scorching the skin; there was a smell as of singeing hair; I could hear voices, mixed with the roars of my adversary; and all at once the claws were drawn out of my flesh, the weight was lifted from my breast, and I was alone!

"I rose to my feet, and, rubbing the snow out of my eyes, looked around.

I could see no one. I was in a deep hollow made by our struggles, but I was alone!

"The snow all around me was dyed to a crimson; but what had become of my terrible antagonist? Who had rescued me from his deadly embrace?

"I staggered forward to the open ground. Here a new scene met my gaze: a strange-looking man was running across the platform, with a huge firebrand,--the bole of a burning pine-tree,--which he waved in the air.

He was chasing one of the hears, that, growling with rage and pain, was making every effort to reach the cliffs. Two others were already half-way up, and evidently clambering with great difficulty, as the blood dripped back from their wounded flanks.

"The bear that was pursued soon took to the rocks, and, urged by the red brand scorching his s.h.a.ggy hams, was soon beyond the reach of his pursuer. The latter now made towards a fourth, that was still battling with two or three weak antagonists. This one was `routed' in a twinkling, and with yells of terror followed his comrades up the bluff.

The strange man looked around for the fifth. It had disappeared.

Prostrate, wounded men were strewed over the ground, but the bear was nowhere to be seen. He had doubtless escaped through the snow.

"I was still wondering who was the hero of the firebrand, and where he had come from. I have said he was a strange-looking man. He was so-- and like no one of our party that I could think of. His head was bald,--no, not bald, but naked,--there was not a hair upon it, crown or sides, and it glistened in the clear light like polished ivory. I was puzzled beyond expression, when a man--Garey--who had been felled upon the platform by a blow from one of the bears, suddenly sprang to his feet, exclaiming,--

"`Go it, Doc! Three chyars for the doctor!'

"To my astonishment, I now recognised the features of that individual, the absence of whose brown locks had produced such a metamorphosis as, I believe, was never effected by means of borrowed hair.

"`Here's your scalp, Doc,' cried Garey, running up with the wig, `by the livin' thunder! yer saved us all;' and the hunter seized the German in his wild embrace.

"Wounded men were all around, and commenced crawling together. But where was the fifth of the bears? Four only had escaped by the cliff.

"`Yonder he goes!' cried a voice, as a light spray, rising above the snow-wreath, showed that some animal was struggling through the drift.

"Several commenced loading their rifles, intending to follow, and, if possible, secure him. The doctor armed himself with a fresh pine; but before these, arrangements were completed, a strange cry came from the spot, that caused our blood to run cold again. The Indians leaped to their feet, and, seizing their tomahawks, rushed to the gap. They knew the meaning of that cry--it was the death-yell of their tribe!

"They entered the road that we had trampled down in the morning, followed by those who had loaded their guns. We watched them from the platform with anxious expectation, but before they had reached the spot, we could see that, the `stoor' was slowly settling down. It was plain that the struggle had ended.

"We still stood waiting in breathless silence, and watching the floating spray that noted their progress through the drift. At length they had reached the scene of the struggle. There was an ominous stillness, that lasted for a moment, and then the Indian's fate was announced in the sad, wild note that came wailing up the valley. It was the dirge of a Shawano warrior!

"They had found their brave comrade dead, with his scalping-knife buried in the heart of his terrible antagonist!

"It was a costly supper, that bear-meat, but, perhaps, the sacrifice had saved many lives. We would keep the `cimmaron' for to-morrow; next day, the man-root; and the next,--what next? Perhaps--the man!

"Fortunately, we were not, driven to this extremity. The frost, had again set in, and the surface of the snow, previously moistened by the sun and rain, soon became caked into ice strong enough to bear us, and upon its firm crust we escaped out of the perilous pa.s.s, and gained the warmer region of the plains in safety."

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.

THE SWANS OF AMERICA.

In our journey we had kept far enough to the north to avoid the difficult route of the Ozark Hills; and we at length encamped upon the Marais de Cygnes, a branch of the Osage River. Beyond this we expected to fall in with the buffalo, and of course we were full of pleasant antic.i.p.ation. Near the point where we had pitched our camp, the banks of the river were marshy, with here and there small lakes of stagnant water. In these a large number of swans, with wild geese and other aquatic birds, were swimming and feeding.

Of course our guns were put in requisition, and we succeeded in killing a brace of swans, with a grey goose (Anser _Canadensis_), and a pair of ducks. The swans were very large ones--of the Trumpeter species--and one of them was cooked for supper. It was in excellent condition, and furnished a meal for the whole of our party! The other swan, with the goose and ducks, were stowed away for another occasion.

While "discussing" the flesh of this great and n.o.ble bird, we also discussed many of the points in its natural history.

"White as a swan" is a simile old as language itself. It would, no doubt, puzzle an Australian, used to look upon those beautiful and stately birds as being of a very different complexion. The simile holds good, however, with the North-American species, all three of which--for there are three of them--are almost snow-white.

We need not describe the form or general appearance of the swan. These are familiar to every one. The long, upright, and gracefully-curving neck; the finely-moulded breast, the upward-tending tail-tip, the light "dip," and easy progression through the water, are points that everybody has observed, admired, and remembered. These are common to all birds of the genus _Cygnus_, and are therefore not peculiar to the swans of America.

Many people fancy there are but two kinds of swans--the white and black.

It is not long since the black ones have been introduced to general notoriety, as well as to general admiration. But there are many distinct species besides--species differing from each other in size, voice, and other peculiarities. In Europe alone, there are four native swans, specifically distinct.

It was long believed that the common American swan (_Cygnus America.n.u.s_) was identical with the common European species, so well-known in England. It is now ascertained, however, not only that these two are specifically distinct, but that in North America there exist two other species, differing from the _Cygnus America.n.u.s_, and from each other.

These are the Trumpeter (_Cygnus buccinnator_) and the small swan of Bewick (_Cygnus Bewickii_), also an inhabitant of European countries.

The common American species is of a pure white, with black hill, logs, and feet. A slight tinge of brownish red is found on some individuals on the crown of the head, and a small patch of orange-yellow extends from the angles of the mouth to the eye. On the base of the bill is a fleshy tubercle or k.n.o.b, and the upper mandible is curved at the tip.

The young of this species are of a bluish-grey colour, with more of the brown-red tinge upon the head. The naked yellow patch, extending from the angles of the mouth to the eye, in the young birds, is covered with feathers, and their bills are flesh-coloured. This description answers in every respect for the swan of Bewick; but the latter species is only three-fourths the size of the former; and, besides, it has only eighteen tail feathers, while the American swan has twenty. Their note is also entirely unlike.