A mission of peace--Unexpected joys--Dick and Crusoe set off forthe land of the Redskins, and meet with adventures by theway as a matter of course--Night in the wild woods. One day the inhabitants of Mustang Valley werethrown into considerable excitement by thearrival of an officer of the United States army and asmall escort of cavalry. They went direct to the blockhouse,which, since Major Hope's departure, had becomethe residence of Joe Blunt--that worthy having, bygeneral consent, been deemed the fittest man in thesettlement to fill the major's place.
Soon it began to be noised abroad that the strangershad been sent by Government to endeavour to bringabout, if possible, a more friendly state of feeling betweenthe Whites and the Indians by means of presents,and promises, and fair speeches.
The party remained all night in the block-house, andere long it was reported that Joe Blunt had been requested,and had consented, to be the leader and chiefof a party of three men who should visit the neighbouringtribes of Indians to the west and north of thevalley as Government agents. Joe's knowledge of twoor three different Indian dialects, and his well-knownsagacity, rendered him a most fitting messenger on suchan errand. It was also whispered that Joe was to havethe choosing of his comrades in this mission, and manywere the opinions expressed and guesses made as to whowould be chosen.
That same evening Dick Varley was sitting in hismother's kitchen cleaning his rifle. His mother waspreparing supper, and talking quietly about the obstinacyof a particular hen that had taken to laying hereggs in places where they could not be found. Fanwas coiled up in a corner sound asleep, and Crusoe wassitting at one side of the fire looking on at things ingeneral.
"I wonder," remarked Mrs. Varley, as she spread thetable with a pure white napkin--"I wonder what thesodgers are doin' wi' Joe Blunt."As often happens when an individual is mentioned,the worthy referred to opened the door at that momentand stepped into the room.
"Good e'en t'ye, dame," said the stout hunter, doffinghis cap, and resting his rifle in a corner, while Dickrose and placed a chair for him.
"The same to you, Master Blunt," answered the widow;"you've jist comed in good time for a cut o' venison.""Thanks, mistress; I s'pose we're beholden to thesilver rifle for that.""To the hand that aimed it, rather," suggested thewidow.
"Nay, then, say raither to the dog that turned it,"said Dick Varley. "But for Crusoe, that buck wouldha' bin couched in the woods this night.""Oh! if it comes to that," retorted Joe, "I'd lay itto the door o' Fan, for if she'd niver bin born notherwould Crusoe. But it's good an' tender meat, whativerways ye got it. Howsiver, I've other things to talkabout jist now. Them sodgers that are eatin' buffalotongues up at the block-house as if they'd niver ate meatbefore, and didn't hope to eat again for a twelvemonth--""Ay, what o' them?" interrupted Mrs. Varley; "I'vebin wonderin' what was their errand.""Of coorse ye wos, Dame Varley, and I've comedhere a purpis to tell ye. They want me to go to theRedskins to make peace between them and us; andthey've brought a lot o' goods to make them presentswithal--beads, an' knives, an' lookin'-glasses, an' vermilionpaint, an' sich like, jist as much as'll be a lightload for one horse--for, ye see, nothin' can be done wi'
the Redskins without gifts.""'Tis a blessed mission," said the widow; "I wish itmay succeed. D'ye think ye'll go?""Go? ay, that will I.""I only wish they'd made the offer to me," said Dickwith a sigh.
"An' so they do make the offer, lad. They've ginme leave to choose the two men I'm to take with me,and I've corned straight to ask you. Ay or no, for wemust up an' away by break o' day to-morrow."Mrs. Varley started. "So soon?" she said, with alook of anxiety.
"Ay; the Pawnees are at the Yellow Creek jist atthis time, but I've heerd they're 'bout to break upcamp an' away west; so we'll need to use haste.""May I go, mother?" asked Dick, with a look ofanxiety.
There was evidently a conflict in the widow's breast,but it quickly ceased.
"Yes, my boy," she said in her own low, quiet voice;"and God go with ye. I knew the time must comesoon, an' I thank him that your first visit to the Redskinswill be on an errand o' peace. 'Blessed are thepeace-makers: for they shall be called the children ofGod.'"Dick grasped his mother's hand and pressed it to hischeek in silence. At the same moment Crusoe, seeingthat the deeper feelings of his master were touched, anddeeming it his duty to sympathize, rose up and thrusthis nose against him.
"Ah, pup," cried the young man hastily, "you mustgo too.--Of course Crusoe goes, Joe Blunt?""Hum! I don't know that. There's no dependin' ona dog to keep his tongue quiet in times o' danger.""Believe me," exclaimed Dick, flashing with enthusiasm,"Crusoe's more trustworthy than I am myself.
If ye can trust the master, ye're safe to trust the pup.""Well, lad, ye may be right. We'll take him.""Thanks, Joe. And who else goes with us?""I've' bin castin' that in my mind for some time, an'
I've fixed to take Henri. He's not the safest man inthe valley, but he's the truest, that's a fact. And now,youngster, get yer horse an' rifle ready, and come to theblock-house at daybreak to-morrow.--Good luck to ye,mistress, till we meet agin."Joe Blunt rose, and taking up his rifle--withoutwhich he scarcely ever moved a foot from his own door--leftthe cottage with rapid strides.
"My son," said Mrs. Varley, kissing Dick's cheek ashe resumed his seat, "put this in the little pocket Imade for it in your hunting-shirt."She handed him a small pocket Bible.
"Dear mother," he said, as he placed the book carefullywithin the breast of his coat, "the Redskin thattakes that from me must take my scalp first. Butdon't fear for me. You've often said the Lord wouldprotect me. So he will, mother, for sure it's an errando' peace.""Ay that's it, that's it," murmured the widow in ahalf-soliloquy.
Dick Varley spent that night in converse with hismother, and next morning at daybreak he was at theplace of meeting, mounted on his sturdy little horse,with the "silver rifle" on his shoulder and Crusoe byhis side.
"That's right, lad, that's right. Nothin' like keepin'
yer time," said Joe, as he led out a pack-horse from thegate of the block-house, while his own charger was heldready saddled by a man named Daniel Brand, who hadbeen appointed to the charge of the block-house in hisabsence.
"Where's Henri?--oh, here he comes!" exclaimedDick, as the hunter referred to came thundering upthe slope at a charge, on a horse that resembled itsrider in size and not a little in clumsiness of appearance.
"Ah! mes boy. Him is a goot one to go," criedHenri, remarking Dick's smile as he pulled up. "Nohoss on de plain can beat dis one, surement.""Now then, Henri, lend a hand to fix this pack; we'veno time to palaver."By this time they were joined by several of thesoldiers and a few hunters who had come to see themstart.
"Remember, Joe," said one, "if you don't come backin three months we'll all come out in a band to seek you.""If we don't come back in less than that time, what'sleft o' us won't be worth seekin' for," said Joe, tighteningthe girth of his saddle.
"Put a bit in yer own mouth, Henri," cried another,as the Canadian arranged his steed's bridle; "yell needit more than yer horse when ye git 'mong the redreptiles.""Vraiment, if mon mout' needs one bit, yours willneed one padlock.""Now, lads, mount!" cried Joe Blunt as he vaultedinto the saddle.
Dick Varley sprang lightly on his horse, and Henrimade a rush at his steed and hurled his huge frameacross its back with a violence that ought to havebrought it to the ground; but the tall, raw-boned, broad-chestedroan was accustomed to the eccentricities of itsmaster, and stood the shock bravely. Being appointedto lead the pack-horse, Henri seized its halter. Thenthe three cavaliers shook their reins, and, waving theirhands to their comrades, they sprang into the woods atfull gallop, and laid their course for the "far west."For some time they galloped side by side in silence,each occupied with his own thoughts, Crusoe keepingclose beside his master's horse. The two elder huntersevidently ruminated on the object of their mission andthe prospects of success, for their countenances weregrave and their eyes cast on the ground. Dick Varley,too, thought upon the Red-men, but his musings weredeeply tinged with the bright hues of a first adventure.
The mountains, the plains, the Indians, the bears, thebuffaloes, and a thousand other objects, danced wildlybefore his mind's eye, and his blood careered throughhis veins and flushed his forehead as he thought ofwhat he should see and do, and felt the elastic vigourof youth respond in sympathy to the light spring ofhis active little steed. He was a lover of nature, too,and his flashing eyes glanced observantly from side toside as they swept along--sometimes through gladesof forest trees, sometimes through belts of more openground and shrubbery; anon by the margin of a streamor along the shores of a little lake, and often over shortstretches of flowering prairie-land--while the firm,elastic turf sent up a muffled sound from the tramp oftheir mettlesome chargers. It was a scene of wild,luxuriant beauty, that might almost (one could fancy)have drawn involuntary homage to its bountiful Creatorfrom the lips even of an infidel.
After a time Joe Blunt reined up, and they proceededat an easy ambling pace. Joe and his friend Henriwere so used to these beautiful scenes that they hadlong ceased to be enthusiastically affected by them,though they never ceased to delight in them.
"I hope," said Joe, "that them sodgers'll go theirways soon. I've no notion o' them chaps when they'releft at a place wi' nothin' to do but whittle sticks.""Why, Joe!" exclaimed Dick Varley in a tone ofsurprise, "I thought you were admirin' the beautifulface o' nature all this time, and ye're only thinkin' aboutthe sodgers. Now, that's strange!""Not so strange after all, lad," answered Joe. "Whena man's used to a thing, he gits to admire an' enjoy itwithout speakin' much about it. But it is true, boy,that mankind gits in coorse o' time to think little o'
the blissin's he's used to.""Oui, c'est vrai!" murmured Henri emphatically.
"Well, Joe Blunt, it may be so, but I'm thankfulI'm not used to this sort o' thing yet," exclaimedVarley. "Let's have another gallop--so ho! comealong, Crusoe!" shouted the youth as he shook his reinsand flew over a long stretch of prairie on which at thatmoment they entered.
Joe smiled as he followed his enthusiastic companion,but after a short run he pulled up.
"Hold on, youngster," he cried; "ye must larn to doas ye're bid, lad. It's trouble enough to be among wildInjuns and wild buffaloes, as I hope soon to be, withouthavin' wild comrades to look after."Dick laughed, and reined in his panting horse. "I'llbe as obedient as Crusoe," he said, "and no one canbeat him.""Besides," continued Joe, "the horses won't travelfar if we begin by runnin' all the wind out o'
them.""Wah!" exclaimed Henri, as the led horse becamerestive; "I think we must give to him de pack-hoss forto lead, eh?""Not a bad notion, Henri. We'll make that thepenalty of runnin' off again; so look out, Master Dick.""I'm down," replied Dick, with a modest air, "obedientas a baby, and won't run off again--till--thenext time. By the way, Joe, how many days' provisionsdid ye bring?""Two. That's 'nough to carry us to the GreatPrairie, which is three weeks distant from this. Ourown good rifles must make up the difference, and keepus when we get there.""And s'pose we neither find deer nor buffalo," suggestedDick.
"I s'pose we'll have to starve.""Dat is cumfer'able to tink upon," remarked Henri.
"More comfortable to think o' than to undergo," saidDick; "but I s'pose there's little chance o' that.""Well, not much," replied Joe Blunt, patting hishorse's neck, "but d'ye see, lad, ye niver can count forsartin on anythin'. The deer and buffalo ought to bethick in them plains at this time--and when the buffaloare thick they covers the plains till ye can hardly seethe end o' them; but, ye see, sometimes the rascallyRedskins takes it into their heads to burn the prairies,and sometimes ye find the place that should ha' binblack wi' buffalo, black as a coal wi' fire for miles an'
miles on end. At other times the Redskins go huntin'
in 'ticlur places, and sweeps them clean o' every hoofthat don't git away. Sometimes, too, the animals seemsto take a scunner at a place, and keeps out o' the way.
But one way or another men gin' rally manage toscramble through.""Look yonder, Joe," exclaimed Dick, pointing to thesummit of a distant ridge, where a small black objectwas seen moving against the sky, "that's a deer, ain'tit?"Joe shaded his eyes with his hand, and gazed earnestlyat the object in question. "Ye're right, boy; and bygood luck we've got the wind of him. Cut in an' takeyour chance now. There's a long strip o' wood as'lllet ye git close to him."Before the sentence was well finished Dick andCrusoe were off at full gallop. For a few hundredyards they coursed along the bottom of a hollow; thenturning to the right they entered the strip of wood, andin a few minutes gained the edge of it. Here Dickdismounted.
"You can't help me here, Crusoe. Stay where youare, pup, and hold my horse."Crusoe seized the end of the line, which was fastenedto the horse's nose, in his mouth, and lay down ona hillock of moss, submissively placing his chin on hisforepaws, and watching his master as he stepped noiselesslythrough the wood. In a few minutes Dickemerged from among the trees, and creeping from bushto bush, succeeded in getting to within six hundredyards of the deer, which was a beautiful little antelope.
Beyond the bush behind which he now crouched all wasbare open ground, without a shrub or a hillock largeenough to conceal the hunter. There was a slight undulationin the ground, however, which enabled him toadvance about fifty yards farther, by means of lyingdown quite flat and working himself forward like a serpent.
Farther than this he could not move withoutbeing seen by the antelope, which browsed on the ridgebefore him in fancied security. The distance was toogreat even for a long shot; but Dick knew of a weakpoint in this little creature's nature which enabled himto accomplish his purpose--a weak point which it sharesin common with animals of a higher order--namely,curiosity.
The little antelope of the North American prairies isintensely curious about everything that it does notquite understand, and will not rest satisfied until it hasendeavoured to clear up the mystery. Availing himselfof this propensity, Dick did what both Indians andhunters are accustomed to do on these occasions--heput a piece of rag on the end of his ramrod, and keepinghis person concealed and perfectly still, waved thisminiature flag in the air. The antelope noticed it atonce, and, pricking up its ears, began to advance, timidlyand slowly, step by step, to see what remarkable phenomenonit could be. In a few seconds the flag waslowered, a sharp crack followed, and the antelope felldead upon the plain.
"Ha, boy! that's a good supper, anyhow," cried Joe,as he galloped up and dismounted.
"Goot! dat is better nor dried meat," added Henri.
"Give him to me; I will put him on my hoss, vich isstrongar dan yourn. But ver is your hoss?""He'll be here in a minute," replied Dick, putting hisfingers to his mouth and giving forth a shrill whistle.
The instant Crusoe heard the sound he made a savageand apparently uncalled-for dash at the horse's heels.
This wild act, so contrary to the dog's gentle nature, wasa mere piece of acting. He knew that the horse wouldnot advance without getting a fright, so he gave himone in this way, which sent him off at a gallop. Crusoefollowed close at his heels, so as to bring the line alongsideof the nag's body, and thereby prevent its gettingentangled; but despite his best efforts the horse got onone side of a tree and he on the other, so he wisely letgo his hold of the line, and waited till more open groundenabled him to catch it again. Then he hung heavilyback, gradually checked the horse's speed, and finallytrotted him up to his master's side.
"'Tis a cliver cur, good sooth," exclaimed Joe Bluntin surprise.
"Ah, Joe! you haven't seen much of Crusoe yet.
He's as good as a man any day. I've done little elsebut train him for two years gone by, and he can domost anything but shoot--he can't handle the riflenohow.""Ha! then, I tink perhaps hims could if he wos try,"said Henri, plunging on to his horse with a laugh, andarranging the carcass of the antelope across the pommelof his saddle.
Thus they hunted and galloped, and trotted andambled on through wood and plain all day, until thesun began to descend below the tree-tops of the bluffson the west. Then Joe Blunt looked about him for aplace on which to camp, and finally fixed on a spotunder the shadow of a noble birch by the margin of alittle stream. The carpet of grass on its banks was softlike green velvet, and the rippling waters of the brookwere clear as crystal--very different from the muddyMissouri into which it flowed.
While Dick Varley felled and cut up firewood, Henriunpacked the horses and turned them loose to graze,and Joe kindled the fire and prepared venison steaksand hot tea for supper.
In excursions of this kind it is customary to "hobble"the horses--that is, to tie their fore-legs together, sothat they cannot run either fast or far, but are freeenough to amble about with a clumsy sort of hop insearch of food. This is deemed a sufficient check ontheir tendency to roam, although some of the knowinghorses sometimes learn to hop so fast with their hobblesas to give their owners much trouble to recapture them.
But when out in the prairies where Indians are knownor supposed to be in the neighbourhood, the horses arepicketed by means of a pin or stake attached to theends of their long lariats, as well as hobbled; for Indiansdeem it no disgrace to steal or tell lies, thoughthey think it disgraceful to be found out in doing either.
And so expert are these dark-skinned natives of thewestern prairies, that they will creep into the midst ofan enemy's camp, cut the lariats and hobbles of severalhorses, spring suddenly on their backs, and gallop away.
They not only steal from white men, but tribes thatare at enmity steal from each other, and the boldnesswith which they do this is most remarkable. WhenIndians are travelling in a country where enemies areprowling, they guard their camps at night with jealouscare. The horses in particular are both hobbled andpicketed, and sentries are posted all round the camp.
Yet, in spite of these precautions, hostile Indians manageto elude the sentries and creep into the camp. When athief thus succeeds in effecting an entrance, his chiefdanger is past. He rises boldly to his feet, and wrappinghis blanket or buffalo robe round him, he walks upand down as if he were a member of the tribe. At thesame time he dexterously cuts the lariats of such horsesas he observes are not hobbled. He dare not stoop tocut the hobbles, as the action would be observed, andsuspicion would be instantly aroused. He then leapson the best horse he can find, and uttering a terrificwar-whoop darts away into the plains, driving the loosenedhorses before him.
No such dark thieves were supposed to be near thecamp under the birch-tree, however, so Joe, and Dick,and Henri ate their supper in comfort, and let theirhorses browse at will on the rich pasturage.
A bright ruddy fire was soon kindled, which created,as it were, a little ball of light in the midst of surroundingdarkness for the special use of our hardy hunters.
Within this magic circle all was warm, comfortable, andcheery; outside all was dark, and cold, and dreary bycontrast.
When the substantial part of supper was disposed of,tea and pipes were introduced, and conversation beganto flow. Then the three saddles were placed in a row;each hunter wrapped himself in his blanket, and pillowinghis head on his saddle, stretched his feet towardsthe fire and went to sleep, with his loaded rifle by hisside and his hunting-knife handy in his belt. Crusoemounted guard by stretching himself out couchant atDick Varley's side. The faithful dog slept lightly, andnever moved all night; but had any one observed himclosely he would have seen that every fitful flame thatburst from the sinking fire, every unusual puff of wind,and every motion of the horses that fed or rested hardby, had the effect of revealing a speck of glitteringwhite in Crusoe's watchful eye.