The Young Trail Hunters Part 20

"No; but they're going to tire us out, for it'll soon be dark, and we've got neither water nor food here; besides them fellers' eyes arc like cats',--they kin see ez well in the dark, ez we kin in the daytime. We kin hold 'em safe enuff now, but we must git a way from here before dark.

There goes for _El Chico_," said Jerry, suddenly bringing his rifle to his face; and the next instant, an Indian fell heavily from his horse, and was instantly caught up from the ground by one of his companions, thrown across the horse before him and the party once more galloped out of range.

CHAPTER XIII.

"I reckon we'd better mount and ride slowly towards camp," said Jerry.

"Ef we do we shall get there some time ter-night, but ef we stay here we shan't, that's sartin."

"Do you suppose they'll follow us?" inquired I.

"Sartin sure," responded Jerry; "but I reckon by good engineerin' we kin keep 'em off, so that their arrers won't hurt us much: it's a mighty lucky thing they ain't got no firearms."

We immediately mounted our horses and rode out upon the plain. The instant the Indians saw us they began whooping and yelling, as though we had done the very thing, they most desired; but Jerry was strong in the opinion that it was our best course and we continued on.

Every few minutes they would make a rush towards us, and we would turn and bring our rifles up; and then they would wheel and rapidly ride away out of possible range, when we would continue our course towards camp.

We made but little progress; and, after riding a couple of miles in this way, determined to make a stand, in hopes of inducing some of them to advance within rifle-range; but they were too wary to be caught in this manner, although they would approach much nearer than they had done before.

While we were debating as to the best course to pursue, we were startled by the report of a rifle-shot, far in the rear of the Indians, who, upon hearing the sound, rode rapidly away to the right, just as a party of four persons came in sight.

They were soon near enough for us to distinguish Hal and Ned among the number, and we at once rode towards them, glad enough to know they were safe. Their companions proved to be a Mr. Mastin, with his Mexican servant, on his way from the copper-mines to Mesilla.

He had fallen in with the boys, and, upon their invitation, was accompanying them to our camp; but, having heard the sound of our rifles, and antic.i.p.ating an encounter, had hurried on to join us.

We were delighted to meet with the boys, safe and sound, and made good time towards camp, which we reached just about sundown.

We found Mr. Mastin a very intelligent American; and, as he informed us, the discoverer and part owner of the Pino Alto gold-mines, about fifty miles above, near the _Santa Rita del Cobre_. He had resided many years in the country, and was thoroughly acquainted with the Apaches, and familiar with their habits and customs.

We succeeded in making a very comfortable meal, notwithstanding our ill luck in procuring game; and, after supper was over, we seated ourselves around the camp-fire to hear Mr. Mastin discourse upon Apaches.

He had once met Mangas Colorado, the head chief of the tribe, who was called Red Sleeve, from the fact that he never failed to besmear his arms to the elbow, in the blood of his victims.

He described him as over six feet in height, with an enormously large head, a broad, bold forehead, large, aquiline nose, huge mouth, and broad, heavy chin. His eyes were small, but very brilliant, and, when under excitement, flashed like fire, although his demeanor was like that of a cast-iron man.

He said that Mangas was undoubtedly one of the ablest statesmen, as well as the most influential and sagacious of all the Chiefs of the Indian tribes of the southwest; and related many anecdotes ill.u.s.trative of his character,--incidents that had come under his own observation,--which entertained us until a late hour, and gave us an insight into Apache life, that was both amusing and instructive.

Notwithstanding we had all been so much interested in Mr. Mastin's conversation, the boys begged him to tell them one more story before they retired; and, as he seemed perfectly willing to comply with their request, we filled our pipes and again gathered about him, while he related the following:--

"A couple of years ago, I had occasion to visit a _rancheria_ of Pinal Apaches in the mountains just north of the copper mines.

"While there, my attention was called to one of the warriors, a tall, well-proportioned and very dignified Indian, about forty years of age. He weighed nearly two hundred pounds, and, with his broad shoulders, deep chest, and splendid muscle, was one of the finest-formed men I ever saw, as well as one of the ugliest; for his face was certainly the most hideous I ever beheld, being terribly disfigured by a broad, livid scar, that extended from the corner of his mouth to his ear. Notwithstanding this, the fellow was a great dandy, spending many hours each day in greasing and arranging his long coa.r.s.e hair, which he ornamented with plates of silver, bits of gaudy-colored cloth, bright feathers, and tinsel. Every hair was scrupulously plucked from his brows and eyelashes, and the lids of his eyes were painted a bright vermilion, giving to his face the expression of a demon rather than anything human.

"That he was hideously ugly, and never known to smile, were two indisputable facts; while it was equally sure that there was no greater favorite with the Apache belles, no braver warrior, more sagacious counselor, mighty hunter, or expert thief in the whole tribe.

"I learned that his name was Cadette, and that he obtained it in the following manner:--

"Upon the headwaters of the Rio Gila, in Arizona, is a vast forest, that has been the hunting-ground, as well as the home of the Apaches for centuries. Here they have never been disturbed by the visits of the 'White Eyes,' as they term all Americans.

"Occasionally a party of hardy prospectors, lured by reports of fabulous quant.i.ties of gold and silver in the possession of these Indians, would venture within the gloomy recesses of this unexplored region; but few of them ever returned.

"One day, while pa.s.sing near the banks of the river, Cadette discovered the footprints of a very large lion in the sand. Though armed with no weapon but his spear, he at once determined to follow the trail. This he decided, after a careful examination, to have been made some four hours previous, in the early morning. It led towards a dense jungle, some two or three miles down the river, which he concluded was the creature's lair.

"As he drew near the thicket, he dismounted from his pony and approached the jungle with great caution. At this place, the river was quite narrow and very deep, and upon its bank stood a large cedar, whose wide, spreading branches, extending far over the stream, afforded him an excellent opportunity to examine the interior of the thicket.

"Into this tree the Indian climbed, and crawled out upon a large limb directly over the river, which he fancied would enable him to obtain a view of the supposed lair.

"While he was peering into the jungle, he became suddenly conscious of a movement in the thick branches over his head. Looking up, he discovered, lying upon a large limb about ten feet above him, a panther. The animal was preparing to spring; and, in an instant, like a flash, it sprang towards him.

"Almost as quick as thought itself, Cadette dropped from the limb into the water beneath, just as the panther landed upon the spot he had so recently vacated.

"Once in the water, the Indian swam silently and expeditiously beneath the surface, until he was some distance down the stream and out of sight of the tree, when he landed under the shelter of the bank.

"Just then a slight noise attracted his attention, and he discovered his enemy, partially concealed in the tall bottom gra.s.s, and evidently determined that his prey should not escape so easily.

"Cadette was brave, but he fully realized that an unarmed Apache, courageous as he might be, was no match for a panther; and the wary Indian began to look about him for some means of retreat from his unpleasant situation. While he was doing this, the creature worked himself into a position between the Indian and the river, thus effectually cutting off his only hope of escape.

"What should he do? The panther was not twenty feet away from him: he well knew that the animal could reach him at a single bound. Keeping his eye fixed steadily upon the crouching form, the Indian began to slowly retreat backwards.

"While he was retreating before the stealthy, cat-like approach of the panther, the most piercing cries, as of some human being in terrible agony, filled the air, startling the Indian, and causing the panther to rise from its crouching position, and listen intently for a moment with well-erected ears, and tail gently lashing the earth. The cries were repeated. The next moment the great creature turned, and slowly moved away in the direction from whence the noise came, while Cadette hastily returned to the foot of the tree where he had left his spear.

"After securing his weapon, he started for the place where he had left his pony; but, to his surprise, the animal was not there. Following its trail, he soon came upon bear tracks, and concluded that his horse had been attacked by the bear, and in his agony had uttered the cries that had so startled him, and attracted the attention of the panther.

"Continuing his search, he found the dead body of his pony upon the ground. Near it was the panther, crouched, as though about to make a spring; while, at a short distance, standing erect upon his hind-legs, with his back against a large rock, was a huge cinnamon bear, evidently at bay.

"The Indian crept cautiously forward, and concealed himself behind a great stone, from whence he could watch the approaching combat.

"The panther lay close to the ground, with his eyes fixed intently upon the bear, his huge fore-paws nervously contracted, while the long claws grappled the rocks and gravel. Occasionally he uttered a low menacing growl that showed his gleaming white teeth and blood-red tongue, from which the saliva fell in great drops.

"Meanwhile, the bear remained on the defensive, apparantly fearing to move from his position, lest his more nimble adversary should take advantage of him.

"The savage creatures maintained their relative positions, eyeing one another for several minutes. Then the panther gave a tremendous leap, and grappled the bear. It was a frightful contest: each animal uttering the most piercing cries, biting, hugging, and tearing one another as they rolled over and over in the dust.

"It was evident to the Indian that this fearful struggle could last but a short time; and soon the animals, as if by mutual agreement, separated, and, moving a short distance from one another, lay down and began to lick their wounds.

"While thus engaged, the panther became by some means, aware of Cadette's presence. As though angry at such an interruption, he turned, and, with a fierce growl, sprang towards him, instead of the bear.

"Unexpected as was the movement, it did not find the Indian unprepared.

Planting the handle of his spear firmly in the earth, he so adroitly held it that the panther alighted upon its sharp iron head, which pa.s.sed directly through the creature's heart; not, however, before the maddened animal had dealt Cadette the blow that crushed his face, and inflicted a wound the scar of which, had so terribly disfigured him for life.

"As soon as the Indian recovered from the effect of the blow, he succeeded in withdrawing his spear from the carca.s.s of the panther, and went in search of the bear, who had retreated to some distance, and was engaged in licking the wounds he had received in his encounter with the panther.

"Cadette at once attacked the creature so vigorously with his spear, that he soon succeeded in killing him; and, although suffering great pain, managed to remove the skin from both animals; and, taking them upon his back, bore them in triumph to the _rancheria_, more than twenty miles distant, as trophies of his prowess in the chase."

After thanking Mr. Mastin for a very pleasant evening, we all retired, and were soon asleep, nor did we awake the next morning until the sun was far up in the heavens.

Breakfast over, we bid our guest a hearty farewell; and, with good wishes for our safe arrival upon the Pacific Coast, he left us to pursue our journey still further into the Apache country.

It was after we were comfortably seated about our camp-fire, in the evening, that I bethought myself that we had not as yet, heard Hal's story of his capture and adventures with the Apaches. So I called him, with the request he would narrate what had befallen him, from the time he left our camp at Dead-Man's Hole until his release by us in the Sacramento Mountains.