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HARDSCRABBLE; or, The Fall of Chicago
A Tale of Indian Warfare
by John Richardson
CHAPTER I.
It was on a beautiful day in the early part of the month
of April, 1812, that four persons were met in a rude
farm-house, situated on the Southern Branch of the Chicago
river, and about four miles distant from the fort of that
name. They had just risen from their humble mid-day meal,
and three of them were now lingering near the fire-place,
filled with blazing logs, which, at that early season,
diffused a warmth by no means disagreeable, and gave an
air of cheerfulness to the interior of the smoke-discolored
building.
He who appeared to be master of the establishment was a
tall, good looking man of about forty-five, who had,
evidently, been long a denizen of the forest, for his
bronzed countenance bore traces of care and toil, while
his rugged, yet well-formed hands conveyed the impression
of the unceasing war he had waged against the gigantic
trees of this Western land. He was habited in a
hunting-frock of grey homespun, reaching about half way
down to his knee, and trimmed with a full fringe of a
somewhat darker hue. His trowsers were of the same
material, and both were girt around his loins by a common
belt of black leather, fastened by a plain white buckle,
into which was thrust a sheath of black leather also,
containing a large knife peculiar to the backwoodsmen of
that day. His feet were encased in moccasins, and on his
head, covered with strong dark hair, was carelessly donned
a slouched hat of common black felt, with several plaited
folds of the sweet grass, of the adjoining prairie for
a band. He was seemingly a man of strong muscular power,
while his stern dark eye denoted firmness and daring.
The elder of the two men, to whom this individual stood,
evidently, in the character of a superior, was a short
thick-set person of about fifty, with huge whiskers that,
originally black, had been slightly grizzled by time.
His eyebrows were bushy and overhanging, and almost
concealed the small, and twinkling eyes, which it required
the beholder to encounter more than once before he could
decide their true color to be a dark gray. A blanket coat
that had once been white, but which the action of some
half dozen winters had changed into a dirty yellow,
enveloped his rather full form, around which it was
confined by a coarse worsted sash of mingled blue and
red, thickly studded with minute white beads. His trowsers,
with broad seams, after the fashion of the Indian legging,
were of a dark crimson, approaching to a brick-dust color,
and on his feet he wore the stiff shoe-pack, which, with
the bonnet bleu on his grizzled head, and the other parts
of his dress already described, attested him to be what
he was--a French Canadian. Close at his heels, and moving
as he moved, or squatted on his haunches, gazing into
the face of his master when stationary, was a large dog
of the mongrel breed peculiar to the country--evidently
with wolf blood in his veins.
His companion was of a different style of figure and
costume. He was a thin, weak-looking man, of middle
height, with a complexion that denoted his Saxon origin.
Very thin brows, retrousse nose, and a light gray eye in
which might be traced an expression half simple, half
cunning, completed the picture of this personage, whose
lank body was encased in an old American uniform of faded
blue, so scanty in its proportions that the wrists of
the wearer wholly exposed themselves beneath the short,
narrow sleeves, while the skirts only "shadowed not
concealed," that part of the body they had been originally
intended to cover. A pair of blue pantaloons, perfectly
in keeping, on the score of scantiness and age, with the
coat, covered the attenuated lower limbs of the wearer,
on whose head, moreover, was stuck a conical cap that
had all the appearance of having been once a portion of
the same uniform, and had only undergone change in the
loss of its peak. A small black leather, narrow ridged
stock was clasped around his thin, and scare-crow neck,
and that so tightly that it was the wonder of his companions
how strangulation had so long been avoided. A dirty, and
very coarse linen shirt, showed itself partially between
the bottom of the stock, and the uppermost button of the
coat, which was carefully closed, while his feet were
protected from the friction of the stiff, though nearly
wornout, military shoes, by wisps of hay, that supplied
the absence of the sock. This man was about five and
thirty.
The last of the little party was a boy. He was a raw-boned
lad of about fourteen years of age, and of fair complexion,
with blue eyes, and an immense head of bushy hair, of
the same hue, which seemed never to have known the use
of the comb. His feet were naked, and his trowsers and
shirt, the only articles of dress upon him at the moment,
were of a homespun somewhat resembling in color the
hunting frock of his master. A thick black leather strap
was also around his loins--evidently part of an old bridle
rein.
The two men first described, drew near the fire and
lighted their pipes. The ex-militaire thrust a quid of
tobacco into his cheek, and taking up a small piece of
pine board that rested against the chimney corner, split
a portion off this with his jack-knife, and commenced
whittling. The boy busied himself in clearing the table,
throwing occasionally scraps of bread and dried venison,
which had constituted the chief portion of the meal, to
the dog, which, however, contrary to custom, paid little
attention to these marks of favor, but moved impatiently,
at intervals, to the door, then returning, squatted
himself again on his haunches, at a short distance from
his master, and uttering a low sound betwixt a whine and
a growl, looked piteously up into his face.
"Vat the devil is de matter wid you, Loup Garou?" remarked
the Canadian at length, as, removing the pipe from his
lips, he stretched his legs, and poised himself in his
low wood-bottomed chair, putting forth his right hand at
the same time to his canine follower. "You not eat, and
you make noise as if you wish me to see one racoon in de
tree."
"Loup Garou don't prate about coons I guess," drawled
the man in the faded uniform, without, however, removing
his eyes from the very interesting occupation in which
he was engaged. "That dog I take it, Le Noir, means
something else--something more than we human critters
know. By gosh, boss," looking for the first time at him
who stood in that position to the rest of the party--"If
WE can't smell the varmint, I take it Loup Garou does."
At this early period of civilization, in these remote
countries, there was little distinction of rank between
the master and the man--the employer and the employed.
Indeed the one was distinguished from the other only by
the instructions given and received, in regard to certain
services to be performed. They labored together--took
their meals together--generally smoked together--drank
together--conversed together, and if they did not
absolutely sleep together, often reposed in the same
room. There was, therefore, nothing extraordinary in the
familiar tone in which the ci-devant soldier now addressed
him whose hired help he was. The latter, however, was in
an irritable mood, and he answered sharply.
"What have you got into your foolish head now, Ephraim
Giles? You do nothing but prophesy evil. What varmint do
you talk of, and what has Loup Garou to do with it? Speak,
what do you mean?--if you mean anything at all."
As he uttered this half rebuke, he rose abruptly from
his chair, shook the ashes from his pipe, and drew himself
to his full height, with his back to the fire. There had
been nothing very remarkable in the observation made by
the man to whom he had addressed himself, but he was in
a peculiar state of mind, that gave undue importance to
every word, sounding, as it did, a vague presentiment of
some coming evil, which the very singular manner of the
dog had created, although he would scarcely acknowledge
this to himself.
The man made no reply, but continued whittling, humming,
at the same time, the air of "Yankee Doodle."
"Answer me, Ephraim Giles," peremptorily resumed his
master; "leave off that eternal whittling of yours, if
you can, and explain to me your meaning."
"Etarnal whittling! do you call it, Boss? I guess it's
no such thing. No man knows better nor you, that, if I
can whittle the smallest stick in creation, I can bring
down the stoutest tree as well as ere a fellow in Michigan.
Work is work--play is play. It's only the difference, I
reckon, of the axe and the knife."
"Will you answer my question like a man, and not like a
fool, as you are?" shouted the other, stooping, and
extending his left hand, the fingers of which he insinuated
into the stock already described, while, with a powerful
jerk, he both brought the man to his feet, and the blood
into his usually cadaverous cheek.
Ephraim Giles, half-throttled, and writhing with pain,
made a movement as if he would have used the knife in a
much less innocent manner than whittling, but the quick,
stern eye of his master, detected the involuntary act,
and his hand, suddenly relinquishing its hold of the
collar, grasped the wrist of the soldier with such a
vice-like pressure, that the fingers immediately opened,
and the knife fell upon the hearth.
The violence of his own act, brought Mr. Heywood at once
to a sense of the undue severity he had exercised towards
his servant, and he immediately said, taking his hand:
"Ephraim Giles, forgive me, but it was not intended. Yet,
I know not how it is, the few words you spoke just now
made me anxious to know what you meant, and I could not
repress my impatience to hear your explanation."
The soldier had never before remarked so much dignity of
manner about his Boss, as he termed Mr. Heywood, and this
fact, added to the recollection of the severe handling
he had just met with, caused him to be a little more
respectful in his address.
"Well, I reckon," he said, picking up his knife, and
resuming his whittling, but in a less absorbed manner,
"I meant no harm, but merely that Loup Garou can nose an
Injin better than ere a one of us."
"Nose an Indian better than any one of us! Well, perhaps
he can--he sees them every day, but what has that to do
with his whining and growling just now?"
"Well, I'll tell you, Boss, what I mean, more plain-like.
You know that patch of wood borderin' on the prairie,
where you set me to cut, t'other day?"
"I do. What of that?"
"Well, then, this mornin' I was cuttin' down as big an
oak as ever grew in Michigan, when, as it went thunderin'
through the branches, with noise enough to scare every
buffalo within a day's hunt, up started, not twenty yards
from it's tip, ten or a dozen or so of Injins, all gruntin'
like pigs, and looking as fierce as so many red devils.
They didn't look quite pleasant, I calcilate."
"Indeed," remarked Mr. Heywood, musingly; "a party of
Pottawattamies I presume, from the Fort. We all know
there is a large encampment of them in the neighborhood,
but they are our friends."
"May-be so," continued Ephraim Giles, "but these varmint
didn't look over friendly, and then I guess the
Pottawattamies don't dress in war paint, 'cept when they
dance for liquor."
"And are you quite sure these Indians were in their war
paint?" asked his master, with an ill-concealed look of
anxiety.
"No mistake about it," replied Giles, still whittling,
"and I could almost swear, short as the squint was I got
of 'em, that they were part of those who fought us on
the Wabash, two years ago."
"How so, den, you are here, Gile. If dey wicked Injin,
how you keep your funny little cap, an' your scalp under
de cap?"
This question was asked by the Canadian, who had hitherto,
while puffing his pipe, listened indifferently to the
conversation, but whose attention had now become arrested,
from the moment that his fellow-laborer had spoken of
the savages, so strangely disturbed by him.
"Well, I don't exactly know about that, myself," returned
the soldier, slightly raising his cap and scratching his
crown, as if in recollection of some narrowly escaped
danger. "I reckon, tho', when I see them slope up like
a covey of red-legged pattridges, my heart was in my
mouth, for I looked for nothin' else but that same
operation: but I wur just as well pleased, when, after
talkin' their gibberish, and makin' all sorts of signs
among themselves, they made tracks towards the open
prairie."
"And why did you not name this, the instant you got home?"
somewhat sternly questioned Mr. Heywood.
"Where's the use of spilin' a good dinner?" returned the
soldier. "It was all smokin' hot when I came in from
choppin', and I thought it best for every man to tuck it
in before I said a word about it. Besides, I reckon I
don't know as they meant any harm, seein' as how they
never carried off my top-knot;--only it was a little
queer they were hid in that way in the woods, and looked
so fierce when they first jumped up in their nasty paint."
"Who knows," remarked Mr. Heywood, taking down his rifle
from the side of the hut opposite to the chimney, and
examining the priming, "but these fellows may have tracked
you back, and are even now, lurking near us. Ephraim
Giles, you should have told me of this before."
"And so," replied the soldier, "I was goin' to, when Loup
Garou began with his capers. Then it was I gave a parable
like, about his scentin' the varmint better nor we human
critters could."
"Ephraim Giles," said Mr. Heywood, sharply, while he
fixed his dark eye upon him, as if he would have read
his inmost soul, "you say that you have been a soldier,
and fought with our army on the Wabash. Why did you leave
the service?"
"Because," drawled the ex-militaire, with a leering
expression of his eye, "my captin was a bad judge of good
men when he had 'em, and reckoned I was shammin' when I
fell down rale sick, and was left behind in a charge made
on the Injins at Tippecanoe. I couldn't stand the abuse
he gave me for this, and so I left him."
"Cool, indeed," sneered Mr. Heywood; "now then, Ephraim
Giles, hear my opinion. Your captain thought you were a
coward, for he judged you from your conduct. I, too,
judge you from your conduct, and have no hesitation in
pronouncing you to be a rogue or a fool."
"Well, I want to know!" was the only rejoinder of the
man, as he went on unconcernedly with his whittling.
"Le Noir," said his master to the Canadian, who, imitating
his example, had taken down a long duck gun from the same
side of the hut, "take your dog with you. and reconnoitre
in the neighborhood. You speak Indian, and if any of
these people are to be seen, ascertain who they are and
why--"
Here he was interrupted by the gradually approaching
sounds of rattling deer hoofs, so well known as composing
one of the lower ornaments of the Indian war-dress, while,
at the same moment, the wild moaning of Loup Garou, then
standing at the front door-way, was renewed even more
plaintively than before.
Mr. Heywood's cheek blanched. It was not with fear, for
he was a man incapable of fear in the common acceptation
of the word, but independently of certain vague
apprehensions for others, his mind had been in a great
degree unhinged by an unaccountable presentiment of evil,
which instinctively had come over it that day. It was
this, that, inducing a certain irresoluteness of thought
and action, had led him into a manifestation of peevish
contradiction in his address to Ephraim Giles. There are
moments, when, without knowing why, the nerves of the
strongest--the purposes of the wisest, are unstrung--and
when it requires all our tact and self-possession to
conceal from others, the momentary weakness we almost
blush to admit to ourselves.
But there was no time for reflection. The approach to
the door was suddenly shaded, and in the next instant
the dark forms of three or four savages, speedily followed
by others, amounting in all to twelve, besides their
chief, who was in the advance, crossed the threshold,
and, without uttering a word, either of anger or salutation,
squatted themselves upon the floor. They were stout,
athletic warriors, the perfect symmetry of whose persons
could not be concealed even by the hideous war-paint with
which they were thickly streaked--inspiring anything but
confidence in the honesty or friendliness of their
intentions. The head of each was shaved and painted as
well as his person, and only on the extreme crown had
been left a tuft of hair, to which were attached feathers,
and small bones, and other fantastic ornaments peculiar
to their race--a few of them carried American rifles--the
majority, the common gun periodically dealt out to the
several tribes, as presents from the British Government,
while all had in addition to their pipe-tomahawks the
formidable and polished war-club.
Such visitors, and so armed, were not of a description
to remove the apprehensions of the little party in the
farm-house. Their very silence, added to their dark and
threatening looks, created more than mere suspicion--a
certainty of evil design--and deeply did Mr. Heywood
deplore the folly of Ephraim Giles in failing to apprise
him of his meeting with these people, at the earliest
moment after his return. Had he done so, there might have
been a chance, nay, every assurance of relief, for he
knew that a party from the fort, consisting of a
non-commissioned officer and six men, were even now
fishing not more than two miles higher up the river. He
was aware that the boy, Wilton, was an excellent runner,
and that within an hour, at least, he could have reached
and brought down that party, who, as was their wont, when
absenting themselves on these fishing excursions, were
provided with their arms. However, it might not yet be
too late, and he determined to make the attempt. To call
and speak to the boy aside, would, he was well aware,
excite the suspicions of his unwelcome guests, while it
was possible that, as they did not understand English,
(so at least he took it for granted) a communication made
to him boldly in their presence, would be construed into
some domestic order.
"Wilton," he said calmly to the boy, who stood near the
doorway with alarm visibly depicted on his countenance,
and looking as if he would eagerly seize a favorable
opportunity of escape, "make all haste to the fishing
party, and tell Corporal Nixon who commands it, to lose
no time in pulling down the stream. You will come back
with them. Quick, lose not a moment."
Delighted at the order, the boy made no answer, but
hatless--shoeless as he was, disappeared round the corner
of the house. Strange to say, the Indians, although they
had seemingly listened with attention to Mr. Heywood
while issuing these directions, did not make the slightest
movement to arrest the departure of the boy, or even to
remark upon it--merely turning to their chief, who uttered
a sharp and satisfied "ugh."
During all this time, Mr. Heywood and Le Noir stood at
some little distance from the Indians, and nearly on the
spot they had occupied at their entrance, the one holding
his rifle, the other his duck-gun, the butts of both,
resting on the floor. At each moment their anxiety
increased, and it seemed an age before the succor they
had sent for could arrive. How long, moreover, would
these taciturn and forbidding-mannered savages wait before
they gave some indication of overt hostility, and even
if nothing were done prior to the arrival of the fishing
party, would these latter be in sufficient force to awe
them into a pacific departure? The Indians were twelve
in number, exclusive of their chief, all fierce and
determined. They, with the soldiers, nine; for neither
Mr. Heywood nor Le Noir seemed disposed to count upon
any efficient aid from Ephraim Giles, who, during this
dumb scene, continued whittling before the Indians,
apparently as cool and indifferent to their presence, as
if he had conceived them to be the most peaceably disposed
persons in the world. He had, however, listened attentively
to the order given to Wilton by his master, and had not
failed to remark that the Indians had not, in any way,
attempted to impede his departure.
"What do you think of these people, Le Noir," at length
asked Mr. Heywood, without, however removing his gaze
from his visitors. "Can they be friendly Pottawattamies?"
"Friendly Pottawattamies! no, sare," returned the Canadian
seriously, and shrugging up his shoulders. "Dey no dress,
no paint like de Pottawattamie, and I not like der black
look--no, sare, dey Winnebago."
He laid a strong emphasis on the last word, and as he
expected, a general "ugh" among the party attested that
he had correctly named their tribe.
While they were thus expressing their conjectures in
regard to the character and intentions of their guests,
and inwardly determining to sell their lives as dearly
as possible if attacked. Ephraim Giles had risen from
his seat in the corner of the chimney, and with his eyes
fixed on the stick he was whittling, walked coolly out
of the door, and sauntered down the pathway leading to
the river. But if he had calculated on the same indifference
to his actions that the Indians had manifested towards
the boy, he was mistaken. They all watched him keenly as
he slowly sauntered towards the water, and then, when he
had got about half way, the chief suddenly springing to
his feet, and brandishing his tomahawk demanded in broken,
but perfectly intelligible English, where he was going.
"Well, I want to know," exclaimed the soldier, turning
round, and in a tone indicating surprise that he had thus
been questioned--"only goin over thar," he continued,
pointing to the haystacks on the opposite side of the
river, around which stood many cattle, "goin I guess to
give out some grub to the beasts, and I'll he back in no
time, to give you out some whisky." Then, resuming his
course, he went on whittling as unconcernedly as before.
The chief turned to his followers, and a low, yet eager
conversation ensued. Whether it was that the seeming
indifference of the man, or his promise of the whisky on
his return, or that some other motive influenced them,
they contented themselves with keeping a vigilant watch
upon his movements.
Mr. Heywood and the Frenchman exchanged looks of surprise;
they could not account for the action of Ephraim Giles,
for although it was his office to cross the river daily
for the purpose he had named, it had never been at that
period of the day. How the Indians could suffer his
departure, if their intentions were really hostile, it
was moreover impossible for them to comprehend; and in
proportion as the hopes of the one were raised by this
circumstance, so were those of the other depressed.
Mr. Heywood began to think that the suspicions of the
Canadian were unfounded, and that their guests were,
after all, but a party of warriors on their way to the
Fort, either for purposes of traffic with the only merchant
residing in its vicinity, or of business with the officer
commanding. It was not likely, he reasoned, that men
coming with hostile designs, would have suffered first
the boy to be despatched on a mission which, obscurely
as he had worded his directions, must in some measure
have been understood by the chief; and, secondly, permitted
Ephraim Giles to leave the house in the manner just
seen--particularly when the suspicion entertained by him
as well as by Le Noir and himself, must have been apparent.
But the Canadian drew no such inference from these facts.
Although he could not speak the Winnebago language, he was
too conversant with the customs of the Indians, to perceive,
in what they permitted in this seeming confidence, anything
but guile. He felt assured they had allowed the boy to
depart on his errand SOLELY that they might have a greater
number of victims in their power. Nothing was more easy,
numerous as they were, than to despatch THEM, and then,
lying in ambush among the trees that skirted the banks, to
shoot down every one in the fishing boat before a landing
could be effected, and preparations made for defence; while,
in the indifference of their conduct in regard to the
departure of Ephraim Giles, he saw but a design to disarm
suspicion, and thus induce them to lay by their arms, the
reports of which would necessarily alarm the party expected,
and so far put them on their guard as to defeat their plans.
The very appearance of Giles, moreover, crossing the water,
if seen by the descending boat would, he thought they
imagined, be a means of lulling the party into security,
and thus rendering them a more easy prey.
While the master and the servant were thus indulging
their opposite reflections, without, however, making any
intercommunication of them, Ephraim Giles, who had now
thrust his knife and stick into the pocket of his short
skirt, shoved off the only canoe that was to be seen,
and stepping into it, and seizing the paddle, urged it
slowly, and without the slightest appearance of hurry,
to the opposite bank, where, within less than ten minutes,
he had again hauled it up. Then, as coolly ascending the
bank, he approached one of the haystacks, and drew from
it a few handfuls of fodder which he spread upon the
ground, continuing to do so, as the cattle assembled
around, until he had gained the outermost haystack
bordering immediately upon the wood. This reached, he
gave a loud yell, which was promptly answered by the
Indians, who had continued to watch his movements up to
the very moment of his disappearance; and darting along
a narrow path which skirted the wood, ran with all his
speed towards the Fort. His flight had not lasted five
minutes, when the reports of several guns, fired from
the direction he had just quitted, met his ear, and urged
him to even greater exertion, until at length, haggard
and breathless, he gained his destination, and made his
way to the commanding officer, to whom he briefly detailed
the startling occurrences he had witnessed.
CHAPTER II.
The Fort of Chicago, at that period, stood upon a portion
of the same ground occupied by its successor, and was,
in fact, a very epitome of a fortress. On the western
side, two block-houses constituted its chief defence,
while on the north, a subterranean passage led from the
parade-ground to the river, near the banks of which it
had been erected. The uses of this sally port were
two-fold--firstly, to afford the garrison a supply of
water in the event of a siege--secondly, to facilitate
escape, if necessary. The country around, now the seat
of fruitfulness and industry, was at that time a wilderness,
tenanted only by the savage, and by the few daring and
adventurous whites who had devoted their lives to purposes
of traffic, yet whose numbers was so small as to induce
them, with a view to their safety, to establish themselves
as near the Fort as possible. Roads, there were none,
and the half formed trail of the Indian furnished the
only means of communication between this distant port,
and the less thinly-settled portions of Michigan. Nor
were these journeys of frequent occurrence, but performed
at long intervals, by the enterprising and the robust
men--who feared not to encounter privations and
hardships--camping at night in the woods, or finding a
less desirable repose in the squalid wigwam of the
uncertain Indian.
The mouth of the Chicago River was then nearly half a
mile more to the southward than it is now. At a short
distance from the lake, which gives its name to the
territory, it soon branched off abruptly to the north,
and then again, taking another turn, pursued its original
westernly coarse, and, passing near the Fort, gave to
the latter the appearance of a slightly elevated peninsula,
separated only from the water by a gentle declivity of
no great extent. On the same side of the river was the
Government Agency House, and at about a quarter of a mile
from that, a spot generally used as a place of encampment
by the friendly Indians--at that moment occupied by a
numerous band of Pottawattamies. Immediately opposite to
the Fort, stood the residence and trading establishment
of Mr. Mackenzie--a gentleman who had long mixed with
the Indians--had much influence with, and was highly
regarded by them; and, close to his abode, lived with
his family, consisting of his wife and her sister, French
Canadians like himself, Ouilmette, one of the most attached
of his people, and enjoying almost equal popularity with
the red men. About a quarter of a mile beyond Ouilmettes,
and immediately opposite to the Pottawattamie encampment,
from which it was divided only by the river, was another
small but neat dwelling. This belonged to Mr. Heywood,
and was then inhabited by his wife and daughter, whom he
would not permit to reside at the farm, as well on account
of its rudeness of accommodation, as of the dread of
exposing them, in that remote situation, to the very
danger which we have seen he had himself so recently
encountered.
Such was the civilian population of that sparsely inhabited
country in 1812. Let us now see the strength of its
garrison.
For the defence of so distant an outpost, almost cut off,
as we have already shown, from communication with the
more inhabited portions of the States, the American
government had not thought it requisite to provide more
than a single company of soldiers, a force utterly
inadequate to contend in a case of emergency, with the
hordes of savages that could be collected around them
within a few hours, and WEEKS before any efficient succor
could be obtained. This error, grave at any time, in
those who sought to extend the influence of their name
and arms throughout that fertile region which has now,
within little more than a quarter of a century, become
the very head of American commerce and navigation, was
especially so at this particular epoch, when the Indian
spirit, stirred to action by the great chief who had so
recently measured his strength with his hated enemies at
Tippecanoe, was likely to be aroused on all occasions
where facility of conquest seemed to present itself. And,
yet, that government well knew that there were, even at
that moment, difficulties existing between themselves
and Great Britain of a character to lead to an interruption
of the friendly intercourse that had hitherto subsisted
between the two countries, and which, if suffered to
ripen into hostilities, would necessarily, associate many
of the Indian tribes with the forces of England, drawing
down certain destruction on those remoter posts, whose
chief reliance on immunity from danger, lay, in a great
degree, in the array of strength they could oppose to
their subtle and calculating enemy.
This company, consisting, of seventy-five men--many of
them married and with families--was under the command of
an officer whose conduct throughout the eventful and
trying scenes about to be recorded, has often been the
subject of much censure--with what justice our readers
must determine.
Captain Headley was one of those officers who, without
having acquired no greater rank at the age of forty than
he now possessed, had served in the army of the United
States from his boyhood, and was, in all the minutiae of
the service, a strict disciplinarian. He had, moreover,
acquired habits of deference to authority, which caused
him, on all necessary occasions, to regulate his conduct
by the orders of his superiors, and so strongly was this
engrafted on his nature, that while he possessed mind
and energy sufficient to plan the most feasible measures
himself, his dread of that responsibility which
circumstances had now forced upon him, induced the utmost
disinclination to depart from the letter of an instruction
once received, and unrevoked.
These, however, were purely faults of his military
education. To a commanding person and dignified manners,
Captain Headley united a mind highly cultivated, and
feelings and sentiments which could not fail to secure
the respect even of those who were most ready to condemn
that caution and prudence of character which so eminently
distinguished his career as a subordinate soldier. It
was well known and conceded that, if he erred, the error
grew not so much out of his own want of judgment, but
was rather the fruit of the too great deference to
authority which led him, implicitly, to adopt the judgment
of others. In the private relations of life, he was
deservedly esteemed, excelling in all those higher
accomplishments that ensure favor with society, and seldom
fail to win for their possessor the approbation of women.
Such, indeed, had been his success in this particular
application of the gifts with which nature had endowed
him, that he had, for some years, been the possessor of
the affections and the hand of one of the noblest of her
sex, whom, however, we shall take a later opportunity of
introducing to the reader.
The next officer in rank was Lieutenant Elmsley, married
also, and about ten years the junior of Headley. From
causes, which will be explained in the coarse of our
narrative, the subaltern did not incline to place that
confidence in the measures and judgment of his captain,
which, it has been shown, the latter almost invariably
accorded to HIS superiors, and hence arose feelings,
that, without absolutely alienating them--for, in their
relative military positions this could never be--rendered
their intercourse daily more and more formal, until, in
the end, a sentiment almost of enmity prevailed. In a
remote garrison like this such an evil was the more to
be regretted, even while there was the greater probability,
from absence of serious occupation, of its occurrence.
The junior subaltern was Ensign Ronayne, a high-spirited
young Southerner, who had now been three years at the
post, and within that period, had, by his frank demeanor,
and handsome person, won the regard of all--military and
civil--there and in the neighborhood. Enterprising,
ardent, fearless, and chivalrous, this young man had
passed the first year of what he, then, considered little
short of banishment, in a restless desire for adventure;
but at the end of that period, came a marked change over
him, and the spirit that had panted exclusively for
action, now bent before a gentler and a holier influence.
Last of the officers of this little fort, was the surgeon.
Doctor Von Vottenberg, who as his name would imply, was
a descendant from one of the earlier Dutch settlers in
the colonies. There was nothing remarkable about this
gentleman. He was short, stoat, rather of a bilious
temperament--clever in his profession, and much addicted
to compounding whisky punch, which he not only brewed,
but drank most satisfactorily. What other attributes and
accomplishments he possessed, the incidents herein related
must develop.
It has been said that, on its Western side, the Fort was
protected by two block-houses, while on the northern a
sally port communicated with the tower. On each side of
the sally port were two small stores, reserved for the
ammunition and arms, and for the provisions and spare
clothing of the garrison. On the north and south faces,
rose a series of small low wooden buildings, appropriated
to the officers, and capable of containing thrice the
number now occupying them. The southern face, or that
which looks towards the locale of the scene described in
our last chapter, was now the residence of the commanding
officer, and of his senior subordinate, who, with their
families and domestics, tenanted the whole of that range
of buildings, with the exception of one large room in
the centre, generally used as a hall of council with the
Indians. In the other range, precisely similar in
construction, were quartered Ensign Ronayne and the
surgeon Von Vottenberg, who each, however occupied but
one apartment. The central and largest serving as their
mess-room. The other half of the building was vacant, or
rather had been so, until the doctor obtained the permission
of the commanding officer to use it as a temporary
surgery--the hospital being a distinct edifice between
the two block-houses. These latter, capacious for the
size of the fort, accommodated the non-commissioned
officers and men--the company being divided as equally
as possible between the two.
Without the whole of these buildings stood a strong
stockade, about twelve feet high, loop-holed for musquetry,
with a bastion at each angle, facing the four principal
points of the compass, on each of which was placed a
small gun, that the men bad been trained to work. The
entrance to the fort was from the westward, and in the
direction of the agency house, which two of these bastions
immediately flanked.
The guard consisted of a non-commissioned officer and
nine men--three sentries being furnished for the necessary
duties--one for the stores already described--another
for the commanding officer's quarters--the mess-room and
the surgery, and the third for the, southern bastion,
upon which floated the glorious stars and stripes of the
Union. A fourth sentry at the gate had been dispensed
with, in consequence of the proximity to it of the
guard-house. This, was a small building immediately in
front of the hospital, which, with the gate, came
particularly under the surveillance of the non-commissioned
officer of the guard.
With the character for strict attention to discipline,
which has been ascribed to Captain Headley, it will be
easily understood that every man on duty was expected to
be as correct in the execution of its details, as though
he had been at the Head Quarters of his regiment, or at
the Seat of Government itself. The utmost regard to dress,
and to the efficiency of arms was moreover enjoined, and
so far did their commander feel indisposed to trust the
inspection of them to the non-commissioned officer of
the guard, that, although there were in the Fort, but
two regimental officers besides himself, he had, from
the moment of assuming the command, required them
alternately to perform the necessary duties; superintending
the relief of guards, and parading all men off duty and
out of hospital, in full dress, at least once in the
twenty-four hours.
At the outset, this had been a source of much discontent
with the men, who conceiving that, in that remote region,
the rigor of the service might be dispensed with, almost
openly expressed their desire that there might be sent
to command them, some officer less severe in his exactions.
This had been reported to Captain Headley by his senior
subaltern, from whose manner, while communicating the
information, it was apparent that he did not wholly
disapprove of a remonstrance against measures which
involved the sacrifice of his own comfort. His superior
was not slow to remark this, he, however, quietly observed
that he was not, at his years, and in his responsible
position, to be told the duty required to be performed
by the troops under his command; and that, if he perceived
any symptoms of insubordination, he would take the proper
means to suppress it. The lieutenant made no reply, but
bit his lip, and withdrew. This was the first manifestation
of any thing approaching to disunion, between these two
officers.
Lieutenant Elmsley, although by no means a negligent
officer, was no disciplinarian. He could not but look
upon formal guard mountings and parades, in that isolated
quarter, as unnecessary--serving only to create discontent
amongst the men, and to induce them--the unmarried
especially--to desert, whenever an opportunity presented
itself; while, bringing the subject more immediately home
to himself, he deemed it to be a needlessly severe tax
upon the only two subalterns of the garrison. This, he
thought might, situated as they were, have been dispensed
with, without the slightest inconvenience to the service;
and the duty left to the superintendence of the non-
commissioned part of the force. Hence his annoyance with
his superior.
But Captain Headley was of a different opinion. He thought
that the very remoteness of his post, rendered it the
more necessary that no appearance of carelessness should
be remarked by the tribes of Indians, who were in the
vicinity, and who, however amicable their relations THEN
with the United States, might later, from caprice or
events yet unforeseen, take advantage of the slightest
negligence, to attempt the destruction of all.
Better, he thought, that they who received the pay of
the Government, for upholding its interests and dignity,
should be subject to a frequent recurrence of duty--not
in itself particularly irksome-than that an important
post--the nucleus of the future prosperity of the
State--should be perilled by the absence of that vigilance
which ought to characterize the soldier. If he allowed
to be retrenched, or indeed left unemployed, any of that
military exhibition, which tends to impress upon the many
the moral superiority of the few, where, he argued, would
be their safety in the hour of need; and if those duties
were performed in a slovenly manner, and without due
regard to SCENIC effect, the result would be to induce
the wily savage to undervalue that superiority which
discipline chiefly secured to the white warrior. Captain
Headley was discriminating and observant. He had, more
than once, remarked the surprise and admiration created
among the Indians who had access within the stockade, at
the promptness and regularity of the system introduced
into it, and this, of itself, was a sufficient motive to
cause him to persevere in the course his judgment had
adopted.
Such was the condition of affairs at the moment when
Ephraim Giles, breathless with speed, and fancying the
party of Winnebagoes close upon his heels, made his entry
into the Fort. The news he brought was of a nature to
assemble the officers, as well as many of the men and
women, all anxious to hear the details of an occurrence,
which now, for the first time since their arrival at the
Fort, had created serious apprehension. But there was
one of the party who manifested more than ordinary
uneasiness. His impatience was great, and, after having
whispered a few words in the ear of Captain Headley, and
received an affirmative reply, coupled with an injunction
of caution, he left the building in haste, and proceeded
towards the block-houses, where, selecting half a dozen
men, and ordering them to arm on the instant, he passed
with them through the gate--sprang into a large scow
which was unchained from its moorings, on the bank of
the river, and pulled in the direction of the house
already said to have been occupied by the wife and
daughter of Mr. Heywood.
Meanwhile, Captain Headley closely interrogated the
fugitive as to the number and appearance of the Indians
who had created all this alarm, their probable object in
visiting the farm in this seemingly hostile manner, and
the number of shots he had heard fired. To all these
questions the soldier, who had now, in some degree,
recovered from his panic, replied in the usual drawling
tone, his stick and knife, which had been drawn forth
again from his pocket, in which he had deposited them in
crossing from the farm-house, affording him his usual
amusement, but nothing, of course, was elicited beyond
what has already been related. Whether any one had been
killed in the house, or the guns merely discharged to
frighten the fugitive, or that the reports had proceeded
from the fishing party that had been sent for, with a
view to alarm the Indians, and deter them from the
commission of outrage, were surmises that severally
occurred to Captain Headley, but without enabling him to
arrive at any definite opinion. That there was cause for
apprehension, there was no doubt. The appearance of a
band of strange Indians in the neighborhood, however
small in number, dressed in their war-paint, gave earnest
of coming trouble, not only through their own acts, but
through the influence of example on the many other tribes
whom they had been accustomed to look upon as friends
and allies. In the midst of these reflections arose a
feeling of self-gratulation that he had preserved that
discipline and strict attention to duty, which, he knew,
that all must now admit to have been correct, and which,
if any difficulty did occur, could not fail to prove of
the utmost importance.
His first consideration now was the safety of the small
fishing party, to which allusion has more than once been
made in the preceding pages, and which it was a source
of satisfaction to him to recollect were, in accordance
with an order never departed from on these and similar
excursions, furnished with the necessary arms and
ammunition, although only in their fatigue dress.
"Mr. Elmsley," he said turning to that officer, who stood
waiting big orders, "who commands the fishing party?"
"Corporal Nixon, sir," replied the lieutenant, at once
entering into his motive for the inquiry, "a brave, but
discreet soldier, and one who, I am sure, will evince
all necessary resolution, should he see anything of these
Indians. The men who are with him are also fine young
fellows, and among our best shots."
"I am glad to hear this," was the rejoinder, "but still,
twelve Indians firing from the woods upon half their
number in an open boat, and taken by surprise, would, I
fear, render the activity, courage, and skill of these
latter but of little avail. My hope is, that Corporal
Nixon may see nothing of them, but that, on the contrary,
if he has been apprised by the boy, as the fellow says
he was to be, of their presence at Heywood's farm, he
will make his way back without stopping, or at least,
use every precaution to conceal himself, until he can
drop down under cover of the darkness."
"What, sir," said the lieutenant, with a surprise he
could ill conceal, "would you desire him not to afford
the necessary succor to Mr. Heywood, if, indeed, he should
be in time to render any service?"
"Mr. Elmsley," remarked his captain, somewhat sternly,
"my sympathy for the fate of those at the farm, is,
perhaps quite as strong as yours, but I have a higher
stake at issue--a higher object than the indulgence of
personal sympathy. I can ill afford, threatening as
appearances are at this moment, to risk the lives of six
men, the best you say in the fort, out of the very small
force at my disposal. Nothing must be left undone to
secure their safety. Order a gun to be fired immediately
from the southern bastion. It will be distinctly heard
by the party, and if not already apprised of the existing
danger they will at once understand the signal. Moreover
the report may have the effect of alarming the savages."
Lieutenant Elmsley withdrew to execute the order, and
soon after the dull booming of a cannon was heard
reverberating throughout the surrounding woods, and
winding its echoes along the waters of the narrow and
tranquil Chicago. So unusual an event as this excited a
good deal of speculation, not only among the inmates of
the Fort, but among the numerous friendly Indians encamped
without, who, wholly unacquainted with the cause of the
alarm, were, by the strict orders of Captain Headley,
kept ignorant of the information of which Ephraim Giles
had been the bearer--
That night there was a more than usual vigilance exercised
by the sentinels, and although the rest of the garrison
were exempt from extraordinary duty, the watchful and
anxious commanding officer slept not until dawn.
CHAPTER III.
At a distance of about two miles above Heywood's farm,
and on the southern branch of the Chicago, which winds
its slightly serpentine course between the wood and the
prairie. There was at the period of which we treat, a
small deep bay formed by two adjacent and densely wooded
points of land, in the cool shades of which the pike,
the black bass, and the pickerel loved to lie in the heat
of summer, and where, in early spring, though in less
numbers, they were wont to congregate. This was the
customary fishing spot of the garrison--six men and a
non-commissioned officer, repairing there almost daily,
with their ample store of lines and spears, as much,
although not avowedly, for their own amusement, as for
the supply of the officer's table. What remained, after
a certain division among these, became the property of
the captors, who, after appropriating to themselves what
was necessary for their next day's meal, distributed the
rest among the non-commissioned, and men of the company.
As the season advanced, and the fish became more plenty,
there was little limitation of quantity, for the freight,
nightly brought home, and taken with the line and spear
alone, was sufficient to afford every one abundance. In
truth, even in the depth of winter, there was little
privation endured by the garrison--the fat venison brought
in and sold for the veriest trifle by the Indians--the
luscious and ample prairie hen, chiefly shot by the
officers, and the fish we have named, leaving no necessity
for consumption of the salt food with which it was but
indifferently stored.
On the day on which our narrative has commenced, the
usual fishing party had ascended the river at an early
hour, for the newness of the season and the shortness of
the days rendered it an object that they should be on
the accustomed haunt as soon as possible. They had left
the Fort at daylight, passing Heywood's farm at the moment
when, for the purpose of foddering the cattle on the
opposite bank, he, with the boy Wilton, was crossing to
the very canoe in which Ephraim Giles afterwards made
his escape--the latter with the Canadian, being engaged
in felling trees higher up the river.
Arrived at the little bay to which we have just adverted,
the boat was fastened to the gnarled trunk of a tree,
which projected over the deep water at the nearest point,
and the party, taking with them their fishing rods, baits,
and haversacks, but leaving their spears and muskets in
the boat, dispersed themselves at short distances along
the curve that formed the bay, which, however, was not
more than three hundred yards in extent, from point to
point.
When they first cast their lines into the water, the
sun's rays were clearly visible through the thick wood
in their rear. The early morning, too, had been cold--almost
frosty--so much so, that the wild ducks, which generally
evinced a good deal of shyness, NOW, seemingly emboldened
by the briskness of the atmosphere, could be seen gliding
about in considerable numbers, about half a mile below
them; while the fish, on the contrary, as though
dissatisfied with the temperature of their element,
refused to do what the men called "the amiable," by
approaching the hook. Their occupation had been continued
until long past mid-day, during which time not more than
a dozen fish had been taken. Vexed at his ill luck, for
he had not had even a nibble, one of the men flung his
rod upon the bank, impatiently, and then, seating himself
on the projecting root of a large tree, declared it was
all nonsense to play the fool any longer, and that the
most sensible thing they could do, was to take their
dinners--smoke their pipes--and wash the whole down with
a little of the monongahela.
"I say, Collins," remarked the corporal, good-naturedly,
"we shall have poor fare for the officers' mess, let
alone our own, if we all follow your example, and give
up so soon. But, as you say, it's time to have some grub,
and we'll try our luck afterwards."
"Rome wasn't built in a day," said the man who had been
fishing next to Collins, and drawing in his line also,
"we've a good many hours left yet."
Following the recommendation of the corporal, the rest
of the party sat down on the edge of the bank, and,
opening their haversacks, produced each. his allowance
of corn bread and venison, or salted pork, after dispatching
which, with the aid of their clasp knives, they took a
refreshing "horn" from the general canteen that Collins
carried suspended over his shoulder, and then drew forth
and lighted their pipes.
As the latter puffed away with a vigor that proved either
a preoccupied mind, or extreme gratification with the
weed, he cast his eyes carelessly down the stream, where
a large description of duck, called by the French natives
of the country, the cou rouge, from the color of their
necks, were disporting themselves as though nothing in
the shape of a fire arm was near them--now diving--now
rising on their feet, and shaking their outstretched
wings, now chasing each other in limited circles, and
altogether so apparently emboldened by their immunity
from interruption, as to come close to the bank, at a
distance of little more than fifty yards from the spot
where he sat.
"It's very ridiculous," he at length remarked, pouring
forth at the same time, an unusual volume of smoke, and
watching the curling eddies as they rose far above his
head--"it's very ridiculous, I say, the captin's order
that we sha'nt fire. Look at them ducks--how they seem
to know all about it, too!"
"By gosh!" said another, "I've a good notion to fetch my
musket, and have a slap into them. Shall I, corporal?"
"Certainly not, Green," was the answer. "If it was known
in the Fort I had permitted any of the party to fire, I
should be broke, if I did'nt get picketed for my pains,
and none of us would ever get out again."
"No great harm in that, either," said the man who had
made the novel observation that Rome had not been built
in a day.
The corporal looked sharply at the last speaker, as if
not fully comprehending his meaning.
"Jackson means no great harm if we never got out again,"
interposed Collins, "and I think as he does, for I see
no fun in rowing four or five miles to fish, and scarcely
getting a sight of one."
"Well, but Collins, that's not always our luck. I'm sure
we've had sport enough before. It must be because the
weather's rather cold today, that the fish won't bite."
"It's of no use his grumbling, Philips," remarked Corporal
Nixon, "we're here, not so much for own sport as on a
duty for the garrison. Let me hear no more of this,
Collins."
"Well, corporal that's true enough," said Green, "but
dash me if it isn't temptin' to see them fellows there
stealin' upon us, and we lookin' on, and doin' nothin'."
"What fellows do you mean?" inquired the corporal, suddenly
starting to his feet, and looking down the river.
"Why, them ducks to be sure, see how they come sailin'
up to us, as if they knowed all about the captin's
order--no jumpin' or friskin' now, but all of a heap
like."
"Yes, but I say, what's that black looking thing beyond
the ducks?" asked one who had not hitherto spoken, pointing
his finger.
"Where, where, Weston?" exclaimed one or two voices, and
the speakers looked in the direction indicated.
"Hang me if it isn't a bear," said Collins in a low,
anxious tone; "that's the chap that has sent the ducks
so near us. Do let me have a crack at him, corporal. He's
large enough to supply us all with fresh meat for three
days, and will make up for the bad fishing. Only one shy,
corporal, and I engage not to miss him"
Sure enough, there was, in the centre of the stream, a
dark object, nearly half a mile distant, which all joined
in pronouncing to be a bear. It was swimming vigorously
across to their aide of the river.
"I think we might take him as he lands," observed Green.
"What say you, corporal; I reckon you'll let us try THAT,
if you won't let us fire?"
"Stay all where you are," was the reply. "I can manage
him myself with a spear, if I can only be in time before
he reaches the shore. If not, it's no matter, for I won't
allow a trigger to be pulled."
Corporal Nixon was a tall, active, strong-limbed Virginian.
He soon cleared the space that separated them from the
boat, and jumping to the stern, seized one of the fishing
spears, and then moved on through: the wood that densely
skirted the bank. But he had not been five minutes gone
when he again made his appearance, not immediately by
the half-formed path he had previously taken, but by a
slight detour to the rear.
"Hist, hist," he said in an audible whisper, as soon as
he saw that he was perceived, motioning at the same time
with his hand to enjoin silence, and concealment. Then,
beckoning to Weston to join him; he again moved along
the path with the light tread of one who fears to alarm
an object unconscious of interruption.
All had the sense to understand that there was some good
reason for the caution of the corporal, and with the
exception of Weston, who had promptly obeyed the signal,
busily, but silently resumed their morning's occupation.
First, a quarter of an hour, and then minute after minute
passed slowly away, yet there was no sign of the return
of their companions. What could be the meaning of this?
If the bear had not proved to be too much for them, they
ought to have killed him, and rejoined them before this.
Curiosity, nay, apprehension finally overcame the strong
sense of obedience to orders, which had been literally
drilled into them, and they all, at the suggestion of
Green, dropped their rods on the bank, and moved cautiously
in the direction that had been taken by the corporal and
Weston. Great, however, was the surprise of Collins, then
a little in advance, when, on nearing the spot where the
boat lay moored, he beheld, not those of who they were
in search, but a naked, and hideously painted savage, in
the very act of untying the rope by which the skiff was
fastened to the knotted and projecting root of the tree.
Sensible that there was impending danger, although he
knew not of what precise kind, inasmuch as there was no
Reason to apprehend anything hostile from the Indians,
with--all of whom around the fort, they had always been
on friendly terms, he sprang forward to arrest the
movement. But the distance was several rods, and the
savage, alarmed by the rustling made among the foliage
and brushwood in his rear, now put his shoulder to the
boat, and, in the next instant would have had it far
across this stream, had not a hand suddenly protruded
from beneath the hollow clump of earth on which the tree
grew, grasped him firmly by the ankle, even while in the
act of springing into the forcibly impelled skiff. In
a moment or two, he grappled tightly with his hands upon
the bow of the boat, but, finding the pressure on his
imprisoned limb too great for resistance, he relinquished
his hold, falling upon his face in the water, from which
he was dragged, although without violence, by Corporal
Nixon, who had emerged from his hiding-place.
When the Indian was suffered to rise, there was a
threatening expression on his countenance, which, not
even the number of those by whom he was now surrounded
could check, and he made an involuntary motion of his
hand to his scalping knife, the only weapon with which
he was armed, that lay in the sheath dangling from his
girdle. Seeing, however, that there was no hostile
disposition manifested by the party, he speedily
relinquished his first impulse, and stood upright before
them with a bold, but calm look.
"What you want with boat?" asked the corporal, almost
involuntarily, and without the slightest expectation that
his question would be understood.
"Me want 'em cross," replied the Indian, pointing to the
opposite woods.
"But why you come in bear skin?" and, in his turn, the
corporal pointed with his finger in the direction in
which the supposed bear had been seen.
"Ugh!" grunted the savage doggedly, finding that he had
been detected in his disguise.
"What nation you?--Pottawattamie?"
"Wah! Pottawattamie!"
"Curious enough," pursued the corporal, addressing himself
to his comrades. "I don't half like the look of the
fellow, but I suppose it's all right. We musn't offend
him. You chief?", he continued, pointing to a large silver
medal suspended over the breast of the athletic and
well-proportioned Indian.
"Yes, me chief. Pottawattamie chief," and he made a sign
in the direction of the Fort, near which the encampment
of that tribe lay.
"You friend, then?" remarked the corporal, extending his
hand.
"Yes, me friend," he answered promptly, brightening up
and taking the proffered hand; "you give 'em boat?"
"Do you see any thing green in my eye?" asked the Virginian,
incapable, even under the circumstances, of repressing
the indulgence of his humor.
But the party questioned, although speaking a little
English, was not sufficiently initiated in its elegancies
to comprehend this; so, he merely answered with a "ugh!"
while the greater portion of the men laughed boisterously,
both at the wit of the corporal, and at the seeming
astonishment it excited.
This mirth by no means suited the humor of the Indian.
He felt that it was directed towards himself, and again
he stood fierce, and with a dilating frame before them.
Corporal Nixon at once became sensible of his error. To
affront one of the friendly chiefs would, he knew, not
only compromise the interests of the garrison, but incur
the severe displeasure of the commanding officer, who
had always enjoined the most scrupulous abstinence from
any thing offensive to them.
"I only meant to say," he added, as he again extended
his hand. "I can't give 'em boat. White chief" and he
pointed in the direction of the Fort, "no let me."
"Ugh!" exclaimed the Indian, his stern features again
brightening up with a last hope. "'Spose come with Injin?"
For a moment or two, the corporal hesitated whether or
not to put the man across, but when he reflected on the
singular manner of his advent, and other circumstances
connected with his appearance among them, his customary
prudence came to his aid, and while avoiding all ground
for offence by his mode of refusal, he gave him peremptorily
to understand that there was an order against his suffering
the boat to leave its present station.
Again the countenance of the Indian fell, even while his
quick eye rolled incessantly from one to the other of
the group. "You no give 'em boat--Injin swim," he at
length observed.
"Just as you please," answered corporal Nixon." By and
bye, sogers go to the Fort--take Injin with 'em."
"Wah! Injin cross here," and as he spoke, he sprang again
to the bow of the boat, and at a single bound cleared
the intervening space to the very stern.
Several heavy splashes in the water.--a muttered curse
from the corporal--some confusion among his men, and the
savage was seen nearly half-way across the river, swimming
like an eel to the opposite shore.
"Damn the awkward brute!" exclaimed the former, angrily.
"How many muskets are there overboard, Jackson?"
"Only three--and two cartouch boxes."
"ONLY three indeed! I wish the fellow had been at old
Nick, instead of coming here to create all this confusion.
Is the water deep at the stern?"
"Nearly a fathom I reckon," was the reply.
"Then, my lads, you must look out for other fish to-day.
Jackson, can you see the muskets at the bottom?"
"Not a sign of them, corporal," answered the man, as
lying flat on the boat, he peered intently into the water.
"The bottom is covered with weeds, and I can just see
the tails of two large pikes wriggling among them. By
Gemini, I think if I had my rod here, I could take them
both!"
"Never mind them," resumed the corporal, again delivering
himself of a little wit; "muskets will be of far more
use to us just now than pikes. We must fish them up--there
will be the devil to pay if we go home without them."
"Then there's no other way than diving for them," said
Jackson, still looking downwards. "Not even the glitter
of a barrel can I see. They must have buried themselves
in the weeds. I say, Weston," slightly raising his head
and turning his face to the party named, "You're a good
diver?"
"Yes, and Collins is better than me."
"Well then, here's at it," resumed Jackson, rising and
commencing to strip. "It's only by groping and feeling
that we can find the arms, and when once we've tumbled
on 'em, it will be easy enough to get 'em up with one
hand, while we swim with the other. We must plunge here
from the stern," he added, as the men whom he had named
jumped on board and commenced stripping themselves.
"How came the Injin to knock the muskets overboard,
Corporal?" inquired one of the party who had not yet
spoken--a fat, portly man, with a long hooked nose, and
a peaked chin.
"I'm dashed," replied Nixon, "if I can tell myself, though
I was looking at him as he jumped from one end of the
boat to the other. All I know is, the firelocks were
propped against the stern of the boat as we placed them,
with the backs of the cartouch boxes slung under the
ramrods, and I suppose, for I don't know how else it
could be done, that instead of alighting on the seat, he
must have passed it, and putting his foot on the muzzles,
tipped them with the weight of his body, head over heels
into the water."
"Corporal," Ventured Collins, as he removed his last
garment, "you asked that painted chap if he saw anything
green in your eye. Now, that's as it may be, but hang
me, if it wasn't a little green to take him for a
Pottawattamie?"
"And how do you know he was'nt a Pottawattamie? Who made
you a judge of Indian flesh?" retorted the corporal, with
an air of dissatisfaction.
"Didn't he say he was, and didn't he wear a chiefs medal?"
"Say? Yes, I'll be bound he'd say and wear anything to
gull us, but I'm sure he's no Pottawattamie. I never seen
a Pottawattamie of that build. They are tall, thin,
skinny, bony fellows--while this chap was square, stoat,
broad-shouldered, and full of muscle."
Corporal Nixon pondered a little, because half-convinced,
but would not acknowledge that he could have been mistaken.
"Are you all ready?" he at length inquired, anxious, like
most men, when driven into a corner on one topic, to
introduce another.
"All ready," answered Jackson, taking the first plunge
in the direction in which he knew the muskets must have
fallen.
Before following his example, the others waited for his
report. This was soon made. He had got hold of one of
the muskets, and partly lifted it from its bed, but the
net-work of strong weeds above it, opposing too much
resistance, he had been compelled to quit his hold, and
came to the surface of the water for air.
"Here's for another trial," shouted Collins, as he made
his plunge in the same direction. In a few seconds he
too, reappeared, bearing in his right hand, not a firelock,
but the two missing cartouch boxes.
"Better luck next time," remarked corporal Nixon. "I
think my lads, if two of you were to separate the weeds
with your hands, so as to clear each musket, the other
might easily bring it up."
The suggestion of the corporal was at once acted upon,
but it was not, until after repeated attempts had been
made to liberate the arms, from their Web-like canopy,
that two were finally brought up and placed in the boat.
The third they groped for in vain, until at length, the
men, dispirited and tired, declared it was utterly useless
to prosecute the search, and that the other musket must
be given up as lost.
This, however, did not suit the views of the correct
corporal. He said, pointedly, that he would almost as
soon return without his head as without his arms, and
that the day having been thus far spent without the
accomplishment of the object for which they were there,
he was determined to devote the remainder to the search.
Not being a bad diver himself, although he had not hitherto
deemed it necessary to add his exertions to those of his
comrades, he now stripped, desiring those who had preceded
him to throw on their shirts and rest themselves for
another plunge, when he should have succeeded in finding
out where the missing musket had lodged.
"What's that?" exclaimed Jackson, pointing to a small,
dark object, of a nearly circular shape, which was floating
about half way between the surface of the place into
which the divers had plunged, and the weeds below.
His companions turned their eyes in the direction indicated,
but, almost immediately after Jackson had spoken, it had
disappeared wholly from view.
"What did it loot like?" asked the corporal.
"It must have been a mush rat," returned Jackson, "there's
plenty of them about here, and I reckon our diving has
disturbed the nest."
Corporal Nixon now took his leap, but some paces farther
out from the shore than his companions had ventured upon
theirs. The direction was the right one. Extending his
arms as he reached a space entirely free from weeds, his
right hand encountered the cold barrel of the musket,
but as he sought to glide it along, in order that he
might grasp the butt, and thus drag it endwise up, his
hand disturbed some hairy substance which rested upon
the weapon causing it to float slightly upwards, until
it came in contact with his naked breast. Now, the corporal
was a fearless soldier whose nerves were not easily
shaken, but the idea of a nasty mush rat, as they termed
it, touching his person in this manner, produced in him
unconquerable disgust, even while it gave him the desperate
energy to clutch the object with a nervous grasp, and
without regard to the chance of being bitten in the act,
by the small, sharp teeth of the animal. His consternation
was even greater when, on enclosing it within his rough
palm, he felt the whole to collapse, as though it had
been a heavy air-filled bladder, burst by the compression
of his fingers. A new feeling-a new chain of ideas now
took possession of him, and leaving the musket where it
was, he rose near the spot from which he first started,
and still clutching his hairy and undesirable prize,
threw it from him towards the boat, into the bottom of
which it fell, after grazing the cheek of Collins.
"Pooh! pooh! pooh," spluttered the latter, moving as if
the action was necessary to disembarrass him of the
unsightly object no longer there.
A new source of curiosity was now created, not only among
the swimmers, but the idlers who were smoking their pipes
and looking carelessly on. All now, without venturing to
touch the loathsome looking thing, gathered around it
endeavoring to ascertain really what it was. "What do
you make of the creature?" asked corporal Nixon, who,
now ascending the side of the boat, observed how much
the interest of his men had been excited.
"I'm sure I can't say," answered Jackson. "It looks for
all the world like a rat, only the hair is so long. Dead
enough though, for it does not budge an inch."
"Let's see what it is," said the man with the long hooked
nose, and the peaked chin.
By no means anxious, however, to touch it with his hands,
he took up the spear and turned over and over the clammy
and motionless mass.
"Just as I thought," exclaimed the corporal, with a
shudder, as the weapon unfolding the whole to view,
disclosed alternately the moistened hair and thick and
bloody skin of a human head.
"Gemini," cried Jackson, how came this scalp here, it
has been freshly taken--this very day--yet how could it
get here?"
"Depend upon't," said Green, "that chief that was here
just now, could tell somethin' about it, if he had a
mind."
"Then he must have had it in his breech-cloth," remarked
the corporal seriously, for not a rag besides had he
about him." No, no it couldn't be him, and yet its very
strange."
"Of course it couldn't be him," maliciously interfered
Collins, who had so far conquered his first disgust, as
to take the object of discussion into his own hands, "for
you know he was a Pottawattamie, and therefore wouldn't
scalp for the world."
"But whose can it be?" resumed Jackson, and how did it
get here, I am sure its that of a boy."
"Could it have floated here from the farm?" half questioned
Green musingly.
"Somethin' struck me like shots from that quarter, about
an hour before the Injin swam across, and dash me, now
I recollect it, I'm sure I heard a cry, just after the
corporal left us to go after that bear."
"Nonsense," said the Virginian, "how could it float
against the stream, and as for the shots you think you
heard, you most have taken Ephraim Giles's axe blows for
them. Besides, you couldn't hear shots at that distance.
If you did, it most be from some of the hunters."
"But the cry, corporal," urged Jackson, "what say you to
the cry Green says he heard when you left us?"
"All stuff; did anybody else hear it besides Green, you
were all sitting on the bank with him?"
No one answering in the affirmative, Corporal Nixon
declared the thing to be impossible, or he should have
heard it too; nor could he see what connection there was
between that cry--supposing there had been one--and the
facts that had come immediately under their own observation.
"Hist," interrupted Collins, placing one hand upon the
speaker's shoulder, and with the other directing his
attention to what, now seen by the whole of the party,
was ill calculated to re-assure them.
CHAPTER IV.
Stealthily gliding through the fresh and thinly foliaged
wood, that skirted the opposite shore, yet almost concealed
from view, Corporal Nixon now beheld the crouching forms
of several armed Indians, nearly naked, and evidently in
war costume. They were following the serpentine course
necessitated by the interposing trees, and seeking
cautiously to establish themselves behind cover on the
very verge of the bank.
"Back men for your lives, there's nothing friendly there,"
exclaimed the Virginian the moment that his glance had
taken in the scene, "out with the arms, and divide the
dry ammunition. Collins, you are a smart fellow, do you
and Green set to work and light a fire, but out of sight,
and dry the muskets as fast as you can. There are twelve
pounds in each of the five remaining cartouch boxes,
these will do for a spell. Jackson, Philips, tree
yourselves, while Cass lies flat in the stern, and keeps
a good look out on the devils, without exposing himself.
Now, my lads, do all this very quietly, and as if you
didn't think there was danger at hand. If they see any
signs of fear, they will pitch it into you directly. As
it is, they are only waiting to settle themselves, and
do it at their leisure."
"Pity they don't make a general of you, corporal," remarked
Collins, as he proceeded quietly with Green to the execution
of the duty assigned to them. "I guess Washington himself
couldn't better command a little army. Is your battle order
finished, general?"
"None of your nonsense, master Collins, this is no time
for jesting. Go and dry these arms, and when you have
them so that they can send a bullet from their throats,
join Jackson and Philips in covering the boat. Weston
and I will take up our first station."
And in less time than we have taken to describe the cause
of the alarm, and the instructions given in consequence,
the men had hastened to execute the several duties assigned
to them on shore, while Cass remained, not only with a
view of showing the Indians that the boat was not wholly
unguarded, but to be enabled to inform his comrades, who
could distinctly hear him without rendering any particular
elevation of the voice necessary, of any important movement
on the part of the former. This quietude of arrangement
on the part of Corporal Nixon had, seemingly, been not
without effect. It was evident that the Indians had no
suspicion that they had been seen, and even when the men
coolly quitted the boat, they showed no impatience
indicative of an impression that the party were seeking
to shield themselves from an impending danger.
"This silence is strange enough," said the corporal to
his companion, after they had been some minutes secreted
in the cavity from which the departure of the Indian with
the boat had been arrested. "I almost wish they would
fire a shot, for that would at once tell us how to act,
and what we are to expect, whether they are friendly
Indians or not."
But no shot was fired, and from the moment when the men
quitted the boat, and took up their positions, everything
had continued silent as the grave on the opposite shore,
and not the vestige of an Indian could be seen.
"But for that scalp," again remarked the corporal, "I
should take the party to have been friendly Indians,
perhaps just returned from a buffalo hunt, and come down
to the water to drink. They are surely gone again."
"Look there," said Weston, in a subdued tone, while he
placed his hand on the shoulder of his superior, as both
lay crouched in their hiding-place, "look there, corporal,"
and he pointed with his finger to the opposite bank.
"Do you see that large, blackish log lying near the
hickory, and with its end towards us?"
"I do--what of it?"
"Well, don't you see something crouching like between
the log and the tree--something close up to both. See!
it moves now a little."
Corporal Nixon strained his gaze in the direction indicated,
but was obliged to admit that, although he distinctly
enough saw the log and the tree, he could not discern
any between thing them.
"NOW, do you see it?" again eagerly inquired Weston, as,
at that moment, the same animal was seen to turn itself
within the very limited space which had been indicated.
"Yes, I see it now," replied the Virginian, "but it's as
likely to be a hog as a man, for anything I can make of
that shape; a hog that has been filling his skin with
hickory nuts, and is but now waking out of his sleep.
Still, as the Injins were there just now, it may be that
if they're gone, they've left a spy behind them. We'll
soon know how matters stand, for it won't do to remain
here all night. Cass," addressing the man in the boat
who was seated low in the stern, only occasionally taking
a sly peep, and immediately withdrawing his head, "place
your cap on the rudder, and lie flat in the bottom. If
they are there, and mean to fire at all, they will try
their hands at THAT."
"I hope they are good marksmen, corporal," replied the
man, as raising his right arm, he removed his forage cap
and placed it so that the upper half only could be seen.
"I've no great fancy for those rifle bullets, and give
them a wide berth when I can."
"Now are you convinced?" asked Weston, addressing the
corporal, as both distinctly saw the object upon which
their attention had been anxiously fixed, raise his head
and shoulders, while he deliberately rested his rifle
against the log on his right.
"Close down, Cass--don't move," enjoined the Virginian;
"the bait has taken, and we shall have a shot presently."
Two almost imperceptible jets of spiral smoke, and crack,
crack, went two rifles, while simultaneously with the
report, fell back into the boat, the perforated forage
cap. Both balls bad passed through it, and lodged in the
heart of the tree to which the skiff was moored, and
behind which Jackson and Philips had taken their stand.
Evidently believing that they had killed a man, the whole
of the band, hitherto concealed behind logs and trees, now
rose to their feet, and uttered a fierce and triumphant yell.
"Devilish good firin', that," remarked Green, whose face
had been touched by a splinter of bark torn from the tree
by one of the balls.
"Don't uncover yourselves, my lads," hastily commanded
the corporal; "all the fellows want now is to see us
exposed, that they may have a crack at us."
"We've dried the muskets after a fashion," said Collins,
as he now approached Jackson and Philips. "Give us a
cartridge, and let's see if we can't match the varmint
at that sort of work." Then, having loaded, he, without
asking the corporal's permission, leaned his musket
against the tree, and taking a steady aim at the man who
had fired from the point first noticed by Weston, drew
the trigger.
The shot had evidently taken effect, for two other Indians
were now seen going to the assistance of their comrade,
whom they raised from the ground (where all had secreted
themselves after the yell), and hurried to the rear.
A loud cheer burst from the lips of Collins, which was
answered immediately by the whole of the savages, who,
from various contiguous points, sprang again to their
feet, and vociferating the war-whoop, dashed into the
river nearly up to their necks, seemingly thirsting to
overcome the only obstacle which prevented them from
getting at their desired victims.
But, at the very moment, when several of them were holding
their rifles aloft with their right hand, securing their
powder-horns between their teeth, while Corporal Nixon
issued to his men injunctions, not to pull another trigger
until the savages should begin to swim, to the astonishment
of all, came the sullen and unusual booming of the cannon
from the Fort.
For a moment, the men, taking their eyes off the sights
of their muskets, listened attentively for a repetition
of the shot, but no second report reached their ears.
"That," said Green, "was a warnin' for us."
"It was," observed the corporal. "Had the danger been
THERE, they would have fired again. Depend upon it, my
lads, there's more going on about here than we think. So
don't throw away your ammunition. Every bullet you send
must tell!"
"Well, we can but sell our scalps as dearly as possible,"
interposed Collins, who had again loaded, and was now in
the act of raising and supporting his, musket against
the tree. "But look--see how the fellows are stealing off?"
"Don't fire, then, don't fire," hastily enjoined the
corporal. "If they will go quietly, let them. We must
not lose our time dallying here, but make our way back
to the Fort. That gun was meant to recall us, as well as
to warn us, and luckily it has frightened the Indians,
so they won't care to attack us again."
Meanwhile the band of Winnebagoes, obeying, as it seemed,
the command of their leader, whom Collins swore he could
identify from his figure, even at that distance, to be
the man who had attempted to carry off the boat, quitted
the river for the cover of the woods, and, after an
earnest consultation, retreated slowly in the direction
of the prairie, without clamor of any description.
"Well rid of them, if they are gone," exclaimed the
corporal, not a little relieved by their departure. "We
must keep a sharp look out though, and see if they return."
"How many of them are there?" asked Jackson; "can you
give a guess, Collins?"
"About a dozen I should say--indeed I counted as many as
they passed through the small patch of clearing made by
Eph. Giles's axe."
"Can they have started for the farm?" observed the corporal
musingly; "if so, my lads, we had better get away as soon
as possible, for there they will find canoes to cross."
"Why, sure they can swim across well enough. The river
is not so wide as to prevent them from doing it on a
pinch," remarked Philips.
"Of course they can," answered Collins, "but not without
having their rifles as well soaked as our muskets were
a little while ago. I say, corporal, I understand now
the trick of that cunning chief. He jumped upon the arms
purposely to overturn them into the river, when he found
he couldn't get the boat, and all our firelocks over with
him."
"Yes, that WAS a trick," remarked Jackson, "but, corporal,
you havn't told us how the dickens that fellow came there,
instead of the bear you went to spear."
"There is no time to talk about it, seriously rejoined
the Virginian. Some night when we are on guard, I will
tell you what little I know. At present let us see to
getting back to our post. Collins, you are the crack shot
of the party, are you loaded?"
"I am, corporal," returned the man somewhat self-
sufficiently, "have you got another Injin for me to sink.
If so, just point him out, and if this good barrel of
Uncle Sam's don't do his job in no time, I'll give up
all claim to having hit the first fellow."
"Not just yet," answered his superior, "but hear my
orders. You'll follow the path along the bank, and move
along carefully, until you reach Heywood's stacks. Conceal
yourself behind one of them, until we come down with the
boat, and keep a sharp lookout on all that you see passing
in and round the farm. Now remember, Collins, not a shot,
unless it be to save your life, or else you will get us
all into a scrape."
"Never fear me, General Nixon, and he touched his cap
with all the respect he would have accorded to an officer
of that rank. I brought one of the imps down, and that,
I reckon, is nearly as good work for one day, as filling
the old boat with fish, or having a slap at them ducks,
as I wanted this morning. But now I'm off, if I see
anything shall I halloo out, and let you know there's
danger?"
"Not by a long chalk," returned the corporal. "All I want
you to do is to keep your tongue in your head and your
eyes open. If you see anything to alarm you, come back
quietly and let us know. We shall be moving down close
to the bank of the river; and now start."
Collins threw his musket to the trail, and advanced
cautiously, though fearlessly, along the scarcely
perceptible pathway--interrupted, at every third or fourth
step by creeping vines that protruded from the earth,
and rendered it necessary, in order to prevent his
tripping, that he should raise his feet somewhat in the
manner of a horse with the string-halt.
He had not proceeded half a mile, when, at an angle of
the ill-defined path, formed by a point where the river
was the narrowest, he was started at the sight of a human
body lying across his course, evidently on its face,
though the head was concealed from view by the trunk of
a large tree that bordered upon the road. His first
impulse was to turn back and acquaint the corporal with
what he had discovered; but a few minutes of reflection
satisfying him of the ridicule he should incur in reporting,
without being able to state with accuracy on WHAT, he
boldly advanced. On approaching it, he found that the
body was lifeless, while from the red and scalpless head,
previously hidden from his view, were exuding gouts of
thick blood that trickled slowly over the pale features
of a youth of tender age, the expression of which had
been worked up into an intensity of terror, and there
remained. At a few paces from the head, and close upon
the edge of the bank, lay a dressed bear skin which had
evidently been saturated with water, but was now fast
drying in the air and what little sunlight was occasionally
thrown upon it, through the dense branches of the forest.
There are situations in which the mind is moved to do
that from which in cooler moments it would shrink with
disgust. It chanced that Collins had retained the scalp
so singularly found at the bottom of the river, by Corporal
Nixon, and this circumstance at once determined him.
Instead of hastening by an object so appalling, Collins
rested his musket against a tree, and taking the scalp
from between the ramrod and the stock, where he had
introduced it, knelt by the body, and spreading out the
humid skin to its fullest extent, applied it to the
bleeding excavation. As he had suspected, they corresponded
exactly, making all due allowance for the time they had
been separated, and he had no longer a doubt that the
mutilated boy was Mr. Heywood's help, Wilton. A much more
important discovery than this, however, resulted from
his vain endeavor to recognise the boy from his features,
they were so contracted by terror, as has already been
said, and so covered with blood as to be indistinguishable.
But on turning him upon his back, and passing his hands
over his face, Collins was surprised to find that there
was not that icy chill which he had expected, but on the
contrary the faint warmth that indicates suspended,
animation; and deeper yet was the gratification of the
rude soldier, when, on opening the shirt and placing his
hand on the heart of the boy, he felt an occasional
spasmodic pulsation, denoting that life was not utterly
extinct.
With an eagerness to preserve life, strongly in contrast
with his recent exultation in destroying it, his anxiety
for the recovery of the boy was almost paternal. Fortunately
the latter part of the day had been free from the chilliness
of the morning, so that, although the naked skull must
have been some hours exposed, the comparatively bland
state of the atmosphere gave fair earnest that the brain
itself, even if affected, had not sustained a mortal
injury. Spreading wide the scalp in his open palm, Collins
now breathed heavily upon it, until it attained what he
conceived to be the necessary warmth, when gently applying
it to the denuded crown, to which be fitted it as well
as he could, he passed his handkerchief, which he had
removed from his throat, over it, and under the chin of
the boy in such a manner as to prevent the chill of the
approaching night from affecting the injured part. This
done, he poured through his closed lips a few drops of
whisky from the canteen, and then raising him gently on
his left shoulder, he rose from his stooping posture,
and seizing in his right hand his musket, which he
continued at the trail, pursued his route to the haystacks
as directed.
In the meantime, Corporal Nixon, with the remainder of
the fishing party, was slowly descending the river,
hugging the eastern shore as closely as possible, in
order that, if attacked suddenly, they might, on the
instant, leap into the river, and covering themselves by
the boat, fight their enemies at less disadvantage. The
corporal himself and Weston kept a vigilant look out,
the one at the bow, the other at the stern, while the
four remaining men, Jackson, Philips, Green, and Cass
pulled so noiselessly that the dip of their oars, and
their unavoidable jar in the row-locks, could not be
heard at a distance of more than ten yards. At this slow
rate much time was necessarily consumed, so that it was
quite dark when they reached the traverse opposite the
farm, where Ephraim Giles had crossed some hours before,
and whither Collins had been dispatched to make
observations.
The patience of the latter had been much tried, for it
seemed an age had elapsed before his comrades made their
appearance. The sun was just setting as he reached the
innermost haystack, and his anxiety for his charge had
become intense. Seeing the canoe drawn up on the beach,
and the paddles in it, he had a strong inclination to
cross and procure some efficient relief for the insensible
boy, but the silence that reigned around the dwelling
awed him, and he checked the natural impulse. Not a soul
was to be seen, not a voice to be heard, not even the
barking of Loup Garou, the bleating of a sheep, or the
lowing of an ox. What could this mean? and was the fate
of the boy connected with that of the other inmates of
the farm? If so, where were they?
Another consideration induced Collins to suppress his
first impulse, and that was the apprehension that his
strange charge would be detained by Mr. Heywood, when
his only chance of recovery lay in the speedy examination,
and dressing his injuries by the surgeon of the garrison.
There was no alternative then, but to wait patiently for
the arrival of the boat into which the boy could be
placed; and so conveyed to the fort. Meanwhile, as the
night air was becoming chill, and a slight fog rising
from the water, the considerate soldier did all he could
to shield his protege from their pernicious effect.
Strewing on the ground a few armfuls of hay, taken from
the nearest of the stacks, around which the hungry cattle
now gathered, eager for their food, he extended on it
the yet inanimate form of the youth, embracing the body
in order to impart to it the benefit of animal heat and
in this position, his head being slightly raised, eagerly
endeavored to discern through the darkness not only what
might be seen on the opposite shore, but the approach of
the party in the boat.
The sun had now been down some time, and so dark was it
that, in that narrow space, obscured by the blending
shadows of the tall forests on either shore, it was
difficult, at five yards distance, to make out anything
on the water, unaccompanied by light or sound. This
silence was anything but agreeable to Collins, whose
imagination, excited by the later occurrences of the day,
was filled with, strange misgivings, as he looked in vain
for the customary lights in the farm-house. The fishing
party had never been out so late, and yet, at the first
fall of darkness, they had been accustomed to see the
place exhibiting at least one light; and the absence of
this now caused Collins heartily to wish himself in the
boat, and safely moored under cover of the fort. Not that
the soldier was influenced by the apprehension of personal
danger, but because the deep gloom, the solitude and
silence of the scene, coupled with his newly-awakened
interest in the almost corpse that lay in close contact
with his person, impressed him with a sort of superstitious
feeling, not at all lessened by the knowledge that his
only companion, at that moment, belonged rather to the
grave than to the upper earth.
At length his anxiety was relieved. The sound of the
oars, cautiously pulled, faintly met his ear, and then
the boat could be indistinctly seen approaching the canoe.
To this succeeded a low call uttered by the corporal.
Collins replied in a similar tone, and then bearing the
body of the boy, still enveloped in the bear skin, he in
less than a minute, rejoined his party.
The astonishment of the latter may be conceived on
beholding so unexpected a sight, nor was their feeling
of awe diminished when their comrade had briefly related
what had occurred since he left them.
"Strange enough, this," remarked the corporal musingly;
"stranger still, there's no light in the house. It's
neither too early nor too late for that. I'll tell you
what, my lads, if any thing has happened we must know
the worst--it will never do to go back to the Fort,
without being able to give some notion of what took place
under our very noses."
"What would Mr. Ronayne say, if we did?" added Jackson.
"Yes! and what would that sweet young lady, Miss Heywood,
think of us, if we returned without giving some good news
of her father. Why she never would look upon us kindly
again."
"Right, Philips," said Weston, "and I'm sure I'd rather
offend the captain himself, any day, than do anything to
displease her. God grant we bring her no bad news."
"Amen," said the corporal, gravely, for he, like Collins,
had some strong misgivings, arising naturally from the
utter darkness and silence that continued to prevail in
and around the farm-house. "Are you all loaded? Look to
your primings, but make no noise. Somebody must take
charge of the beat though. Who volunteers to remain,
while the rest follow me to the house?"
"I do--I'll remain," said Collins, "one of you can take
my musket"
"What, Collins, do you shirk the thing," sneered the man
with the long nose and the peaked chin; "have you had
enough to-day, or do you fear the ghost of the fellow
you knocked over?"
"I fear neither man or ghost, as you well know,
Nutcrackers," warmly rejoined Collins, "but I take it,
there's no great courage in making a fuss about going
where there's no enemy to be found. If there has been
danger in that quarter, I take it, it's passed, and as
somebody must stop in the boat, why 'not me as well as
another?"
"Just so," said the corporal. "Cass, this is no time to
run your rigs. You see well enough that Collins wishes
to stop behind, on account of the boy he hopes to bring
to life. Little chance of that, I fear, but if he thinks
so, it would be unchristian to disappoint him. And now
push off, but make no noise."
The order was obeyed. In a few minutes the bow of the
boat touched the landing-place, when all but Collins,
who was at the helm, slipped noiselessly ashore. The
corporal repeated his instructions--how to act under
emergency and if separated--and moved along the path
leading to the house. Meanwhile Collins pulled back into
the stream, and remained stationary in the centre.
CHAPTER V.
The farm-house was, as we have said, of very rude
construction--such a one as could only spring up in so
remote a region, and among so sparse a population. With
the exception of the roof, the frame-work of which had
been covered with raw buffalo hides, it was built wholly
of rough logs, notched at the ends in a sort of dove-tail
fashion, and when not lying closely, filled in with chunks
of wood, over which a rude plaster of mud had been thrown,
so that the whole was rendered almost impervious to water,
while it ran little risk from the agency of fire. It had
two rooms on the ground floor--one smaller than the other,
used as a dormitory, and containing all the clothes or
"traps," as they designated them, of the household. The
other served as eating-room, parlor, and kitchen, and
extended over, at least, three-fourths of the area. It
was provided with two doors--one facing the river and
close to the partition which divided the rooms--the other
occupying a remoter position to the rear. The windows of
this apartment were two in number, and, equidistant from
the doors, were considerably elevated above the floor.
These apertures had been formed by simply sawing a few
of the logs, so as to complete squares, into which were
fitted rude sashes, each containing four small panes of
a greenish, and by no means, transparent glass, and
connected by strong leathern hinges. In winter the
necessary warmth was afforded, by shutters put up and
barred from within. The southern gable or dormitory, was
provided in the centre with one window of similar size
and construction. The upper floor, a sort of granary and
depot for the provisions of the family, was ascended by
means of a ladder, and through a square aperture just
large enough to admit with ease the body of a man.
There was, in rear of the house, a rather extensive
corn-field, and beyond the northern gable, where the
chimney stood, an orchard yet in its infancy, but promising
future abundance, while at the opposite, or south end of
the building, a large but very highly cultivated garden,
was now undergoing the customary spring process of digging
and manuring, and indeed on that very morning, Mr. Heywood
had been busily engaged in this occupation with the boy
Wilton, his men being employed, the one in field labor,
the other as we have seen, in chopping wood.
In the rear of the garden, and opposite to the corn-field,
from which it was separated by a road leading to the
wood, was a tolerably sized barn, likewise constructed
of rude logs, not, however, filled in. The lower part of
this was used as a stable; the upper or loft, roofed with
bark, contained the preceding year's unhusked crop from
the corn-field, while contiguous to it, and to the rear,
was another oblong square building, constructed in the
same manner, but without loft. This, partitioned and
covered simply with unhewn logs, served not only as a
pen for sheep and pigs, but as a roasting-place for the
feathered portion of the stock.
The orchard on the one side, and the garden on the other,
extended to the bank of the river--a zig-zag, or snake-fence
separating them from the road, in the centre of which,
and at about ten feet from the door of the dwelling,
rose a majestic walnut tree then in early blossom.
Immediately beyond this tree, was a low enclosure which
intersected the road, passing across from the kitchen-garden
to the orchard, and forming the only court or yard upon
the premises.
When Corporal Nixon, with his little party, had cautiously
advanced some few paces towards the house, he caused them
to separate, Cass and Jackson leaping the fence which
bounded the orchard, and Green and Philips that of the
garden, while he himself, with Weston, pursued the pathway
in front. The better to be prepared for any sudden
attack, bayonets had been quietly fixed, and the firelocks
at the full cock, carried at the trail--this latter
precaution after the detached files had crossed the
fences.
The night, as has already been said, was very dark, and
each succeeding minute seemed to increase the obscurity,
so that it was rather from their familiarity with the
ground, than from any clear indication of correctness of
course, that the little band were enabled to preserve
their necessary unity. At length the tall shadows of the
walnut tree came suddenly upon the sight of the corporal,
but so completely absorbing was the darkness in the
heavier gloom, that, without being aware of it's proximity,
he stumbled against the low and slight enclosure, which,
yielding to the impetus of his motion, feeble even as
that was, caused him to fall forward on his face, his
musket dropping from his grasp without, however, going off.
A low growl from a dog succeeded, and before the Virginian
could even make the attempt to rise, the animal had sprang
upon, and fastened his teeth into his shoulder, shaking
him so violently, that it was not until Weston, who had
now crossed the enclosure, came up to his assistance,
guided by the sound of the struggle, that the dog could
be made to relinquish his hold.
"Loup Garou--Loup Garou, old fellow, what's the matter
with you," said the latter coaxingly, as he caressed the
neck of the dog, which he had identified, and now sought
to appease.
Evidently recognising a friend in the utterer of his
name, the animal turned suddenly around, licked the hand
of Weston, and then sent forth a long and piteous howl.
"Mercy, what is that?" suddenly exclaimed the corporal,
who having regained his legs and musket, had moved on a
pace or two.
"Where! what?" asked Weston, coming up to his side.
In the darkness before them, there was a deeper darkness
that bore the indistinct appearance of a human form,
lying in a stooping posture close to the trunk of the
tree.
A vague presentiment of the truth flashed upon the mind
of the Virginian, who enjoining silence on his companion,
advanced close to the object, and laid his hand upon it.
There could be no longer a doubt. The blanket coat, and
woollen sash, which he first touched, and then the shoe
pack, told him in unmistakable language that it was Le
Noir, the Canadian owner of the dog. He shook him, and
twice, in a low voice called him by name. But there was
no answer, while the body stiff and motionless, fully
revealed the fate of the unfortunate man.
Meanwhile, Loup Garou, which had followed, squatted
himself at the head, which was hanging over the front of
what they knew, from its handles and the peculiar odor,
exhaling from it, to be a wheel-barrow filled with manure,
and then commenced licking--moaning at the same time in
a low and broken whine.
"What can the dog mean by that?" whispered Weston.
"Don't you hear him licking his dead master's face, and
telling his sorrow in his own way," answered the corporal
as, in order to assure himself, he dropped his hand to
the mouth of the dog; but no sooner had he done so, than
he drew it suddenly back with a shudder of disgust and
hastily wiped it, clammy with the blood that yet trickled
from the scalped head of the murdered man.
A low whistle was here given on the left, and a few yards
above, that startled the Virginian, for it was the signal
agreed upon if anything suspicious, should be noticed by
the other parties. He promptly answered it in a different
call, and in another minute Green and Philips had joined
him. "What have you seen?" he inquired, not regarding
the exclamation of surprise of the new comers, at the
unexpected sight before them.
"We've seen nothin' its so dark," answered Green, "but
unless the cattle have got into the garden, there's
somethin' else movin' there. Philips and I listened after
we heard the dog howl the first time, for we could hear
as if somethin' like steps were stopped suddenly when he
moaned the second time we listened again, and thought
the same thing."
"They couldn't be cattle," added Philips, "for the cattle
are all kept on the other side."
"Only the young stock, and them as ain't used about the
farm," remarked Weston.
"Well, but what kind of steps were they?" eagerly questioned
the corporal, whose, imagination was filled not more with
the danger that seemed to be near them, than with the
censure of himself he feared he should incur, on his
return to the fort, for having subjected the party to
risk. "Surely you can tell between the tread of cattle
and the steps of men."
"I should say they, weren't the steps of cattle; they
were too light for that. Though they couldn't help crushin'
the dry sticks and rubbish they couldn't help seein'
lyin' in the way. Don't you think so Philips?"
"I did, corporal, and so sure did I guess them to be no
cattle that it was me that whistled."
"Then there's no use in going farther," remarked the
Virginian gravely. "Even if we get to the house, we
can't see anything in it for the darkness, and the poor
fellow shows plain enough that it's to use looking out
to save Mr. Heywood or Ephraim Giles. Come, my lads, we
must get back to the boat, and down stream as quick and
as quiet as we can."
Giving his own low whistle of recall, he was answered
from the opposite direction, and in a few minutes Cass
and Jackson made their appearance.
These latter were, briefly questioned whether they had
seen anything, and great was the anxiety of all when it
was known that they had also heard in the orchard but in
a fainter manner, what had attracted the attention of
Green and Philips in the garden.
"Why didn't you give the signal then, as directed?"
"Because," answered Cass, "We weren't quite sure about
it, and feared the whistle might tell the Injins, if any
were near, our whereabouts."
Scarce had this explanation been given, when the attention
of all was arrested by a loud clear shout of the corporals'
name, evidently uttered by Collins.
"Into the house--into the house," exclaimed the same
voice. "The Injins are creeping up to you."
As these words came ringing upon the silence of the night
the dull steps in rapid advance through the two enclosures
were now distinctly heard, while the flash of a gun fired
in their rear, lighted up the forms of three or four
savages, gliding up to them by the pathway by which the
corporal had come.
The danger was imminent, the necessity for securing the
important position imperative, and without waiting for
the order of their superior, or even uttering a word,
the whole of the party, acting upon the caution of Collins,
made a rush towards the front entrance of the house,
which they gained at the very moment when the rattling
of the snake-fences, and the total overthrow of the slight
enclosure, announced that their enemies were thus near
in pursuit.
Fortunately the door was wide open, so that they had all
passed in, when the Indians on either flank, as though
by previous arrangement, poured in their cross fire,
towards that common centre, without, however, striking
anything but the logs.
Terrific and continuous yells succeeded, and well was it
that, with cool promptitude, the corporal had sought,
and found behind the door, where he knew they were usually
kept, the strong bars, three in number, that secured the
heavy panels, for as many of the Indians as could find
room to act together, now applied their shoulders to the
frame with such violence, that but for those timely
safeguards, it must have yielded. During more than five
minutes they persevered in their efforts, the men waiting
anxiously in attitude of preparation for the result, when
all at once they ceased, and their footsteps were heard
cautiously retiring.
"Quick, look to the back-door, two of you," commanded
the corporal in an eager, but low tone, "they are going
round; there, if that is not secured we are lost."
Green and Philips sprang forward towards the point
indicated, but the latter in his excitement stumbled
heavily against something, and fell at his length upon
the floor, exclaiming: "I've fallen over a dead man, and
am half drowned in his blood."
His companion who had escaped this obstruction, had
scarcely time to assure the corporal that the back door
was already barred, a fact which he had |
