The Pioneer Boys of the Mississippi; or, The Homestead in the Wilderness
by St. George Rathborne · English · Gutenberg #46796 · 406,318 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: The Pioneer Boys of the Mississippi; or, The Homestead in the Wilderness
Author: St. George Rathborne
Illustrator: H. Richard Boehm
Release date: September 7, 2014 [eBook #46796]
Most recently updated: October 24, 2024
Language: English
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE MISSISSIPPI; OR, THE HOMESTEAD IN THE WILDERNESS ***
[Transcriber's Note: Bold text is surrounded by =equal signs= and
italic text is surrounded by _underscores_.]
THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE MISSISSIPPI
[Illustration]
OR: THE HOMESTEAD IN THE WILDERNESS
THE YOUNG PIONEER SERIES
BY HARRISON ADAMS
ILLUSTRATED
[Illustration]
THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE OHIO,
Or: Clearing the Wilderness $1.25
THE PIONEER BOYS ON THE GREAT LAKES,
Or: On the Trail of the Iroquois 1.25
THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE MISSISSIPPI,
Or: The Homestead in the Wilderness 1.25
_Other Volumes in Preparation_
[Illustration]
L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
53 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass.
[Illustration: "'THE PRECIOUS WAMPUM BELT, SANDY!' HE CRIED."
_See page 332._]
The Young Pioneer Series
THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE MISSISSIPPI
OR: THE HOMESTEAD IN THE WILDERNESS
By HARRISON ADAMS
Author of "The Pioneer Boys of the Ohio," "The Pioneer
Boys on the Great Lakes," etc.
[Illustration]
Illustrated by
H. RICHARD BOEHM
L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
BOSTON [Illustration] MDCCCCXIII
[Illustration]
_Copyright, 1913, by_
L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
(INCORPORATED)
_All rights reserved_
First Impression, June, 1913
THE COLONIAL PRESS
C. H. SIMONDS & CO.
BOSTON, U. S. A.
[Illustration]
PREFACE
DEAR BOYS:--Those of you who have read the earlier volumes in this
series of backwoods stories may remember that I half-promised to follow
the "Pioneer Boys on the Great Lakes" with a third volume. I now have
the pleasure of presenting that story to you. In it you will renew your
acquaintance with the two stout-hearted lads of the border, Bob and
Sandy Armstrong, as well as several other characters you met before,
some of whose names have become famous, and are recorded in the history
of those early days that "tried men's souls." Besides this, there
are some new characters introduced, who, I hope, will appeal to your
interest.
It was hardly to be expected that such a restless spirit as that of
David Armstrong, the Virginia pioneer who built his log cabin on the
bank of the beautiful Ohio, would long rest contented when wonderful
stories constantly reached his ears concerning the astonishing
fertility of the black soil, as well as the abundance of fur-bearing
animals, to be found in the valley of the great river which De Soto
had discovered--the mighty Mississippi; and, as you will learn, his
first serious set-back caused him to start upon another long pilgrimage
toward the "Promised Land."
It was this constant rivalry among the early settlers, this
never-ending desire to find better homesteads in the new country,
always toward the setting sun, that gradually peopled our Middle West,
and finally reached out far across the plains to the shore of the
Pacific.
Trusting that you may enjoy reading the present volume, and that at
no distant day we may again renew our acquaintance, believe me, dear
readers, to be,
Cordially yours,
HARRISON ADAMS.
_May 1st, 1913._
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
PREFACE v
I. CAUGHT IN HIS OWN TRAP 1
II. THE BIRCH-BARK MESSAGE 13
III. FROM ONE PERIL TO ANOTHER 22
IV. AT THE MERCY OF THE FLOOD 35
V. FRIENDS IN TIME OF NEED 48
VI. SIMON GIRTY, THE RENEGADE 61
VII. THE FLINT-TIPPED ARROW ON THE ROOF 73
VIII. THE TREASURE BOX THAT WAS FORGOTTEN 87
IX. THE SPIRIT OF THE PIONEER 97
X. THE CABIN THAT BRAVED THE FLOOD 109
XI. DANIEL BOONE, THE PILOT OF THE SETTLERS 120
XII. STARTING FOR THE NEW WEST 131
XIII. BLUE JACKET GIVES WARNING 148
XIV. A TARGET FOR ARROWS AND BULLETS 157
XV. A HUNT FOR FRESH MEAT 169
XVI. THE FIGURES AGAINST THE SKY 179
XVII. SIGNAL SHOTS 189
XVIII. THE MAN WITH THE CHARMED LIFE 199
XIX. KENTON, THE RECKLESS BORDERER 209
XX. THE TWO-LEGGED WOLF 218
XXI. BAGGING A BUFFALO 228
XXII. AT THE SETTING OF THE EVENING STAR 241
XXIII. WHAT THE DEAD ASHES OF A FIRE TOLD 258
XXIV. A NEW HOME ON THE MISSISSIPPI 268
XXV. THE PERIL OF KATE 278
XXVI. THE DRIFTING DUGOUT 288
XXVII. ON THE TRAIL 298
XXVIII. CREEPING UP ON THE QUARRY 307
XXIX. THE MISSING WAMPUM BELT 317
XXX. THE MYSTERY SOLVED--CONCLUSION 327
NOTES 339
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
"'THE PRECIOUS WAMPUM BELT, SANDY!' HE CRIED"
(_See page 332_) _Frontispiece_
"HE WAS BEING STALKED BY ONE OF THE MOST DREADED
ANIMALS OF THE FOREST, A GRAY PANTHER" 12
"MADE A SPRING FOR THE SAFETY OF THE LOG THAT
HAD DONE THE DAMAGE" 35
"AT LAST THEY WERE AFLOAT ON THE OHIO, BOUND
INTO THE UNKNOWN COUNTRY THAT LAY FAR AWAY
TO THE WESTWARD" 136
"THEY COULD NOW PLAINLY DISCERN THE FIGURE UNDER
THE WOLFSKIN" 230
"'YES, YOU ARE RIGHT, SANDY, IT _IS_ A BOAT'" 291
[Illustration]
The Pioneer Boys of the Mississippi
CHAPTER I
CAUGHT IN HIS OWN TRAP
"PADDLE harder, brother. The current is stronger than I ever knew it to
be before."
"But, Bob, we must be very near the place where we always land when we
come over to look after our traps?"
"Once we are in the lee of that point ahead, Sandy, we can go ashore.
The river is so high that it's hard to recognize the old landmarks."
"Both together, then, Bob. There! that looks like business! and, just
as you say, our dugout can lie safely under the shelter of that tongue
of land, while we're off 'tending our traps. Another week, and we must
stop setting any snares, for the fur will be getting poor; so Pat
O'Mara said the last time he came to the settlement."
Five minutes later, the two Armstrong boys sprang ashore on the Ohio
side of the river, at a little distance below the spot where, across
the now unusually wide stream, their parents, together with other bold
pioneers from Virginia, had, not more than a year before, started a
frontier settlement.[1]
The clumsy, but staunch boat, fashioned from the trunk of a tree, was
drawn partly out of the water. They had made the passage of the river
with considerable hard labor, because of the vast volume of water which
the heavy spring rains had brought out of the hills all the way up to
and beyond old Fort Duquesne.[2]
Both boys were dressed after the fashion of that time among hunters and
trappers, who, scorning the homespun clothes of the Virginia settlers,
found garments made of buckskin, not unlike those worn by many of the
Indians, to give them the best service when roaming the great forests
that stretched from the Alleghanies, off to the border of the mighty
Mississippi, in the "Land of the Setting Sun."
Having picked up their guns, the brothers started through the thick
woods; but not before Sandy, the younger, had cast a last wistful look
back at the swollen waters of the Ohio, that, seen in the dull light of
the overcast afternoon, flowed steadily toward the west. Truth to tell,
that unknown western region was drawing the thoughts of the pioneer boy
very much of late; and, even as he tramped along at the side of Bob,
his first words told how he envied the rushing waters that were headed
into the country he longed to see.
"Abijah Cook is back at the settlement for a short spell, I heard Mr.
Harkness say," he remarked, with a long sigh that caused his brother to
turn an uneasy glance in his direction.
"And has he given up ranging the woods with young Simon Kenton?" the
older boy asked.
"Oh! no; but he brought his winter's catch of pelts in for Mr. Harkness
to dispose of, when he found the chance," Sandy replied.
"And I suppose the old woodranger has been talking again about the
region of the Mississippi," remarked Bob, who could guess what was on
the mind of his brother.
"Well," Sandy went on, "Abijah has seen that wonderful country, and he
knows how different it is from this hilly place, where the corn washes
down the sides of the slopes whenever a big rain comes. Out there it is
mostly prairie, and the soil, he says, is black and rich. It will grow
maize twice as high as your head. The stories he tells of what he saw
on those prairies fairly make my heart ache."
"But Sandy, you must try to forget all that," returned Bob, who often
found it necessary to restrain his impatient young brother. "You are
needed at home, for father is not able to hunt and trap, besides taking
care of his crops. Nobody in the whole settlement brings in as much
game as you do. Wait a few years, and then, when we are grown men,
perhaps we may strike out for that country you have been hearing so
much about; where De Soto discovered the greatest of rivers, and lies
buried under its waters."
Sandy sighed again.
"I suppose I must wait, just as you say, Bob," he observed, "but it
may not be for years, as you seem to think. Already some of the men
are beginning to talk of making a flatboat, and floating down the Ohio
until they reach the father of all the waters. They do not like the
idea of the rascally French taking possession of all that fine land,
which is a part of our own Virginia. And it may not be so very long
before we will lose some of our people in that way." (Note 1.)[3]
These brave men, who had already successfully braved the dangers that
beset them on their journey across the mountains to the Ohio valley,
had heard stories from the lips of trappers who had penetrated far
into the western land in pursuit of the rich skins of otter, beaver,
fox, mink and marten. When their crops failed to turn out as well as
they had anticipated, a spirit of unrest began to pervade the little
community; and these wonderful tales were repeated, from lip to lip,
always with a longing to obtain a glimpse of the country that offered
such astonishing opportunities.
It was this spirit of unrest that peopled our great West. Those who
found themselves out-distanced in the race, unwilling that others
should get ahead, gave up their holdings, partly improved as they might
be, and once more started out to get in the van of the procession
headed toward the setting sun.
"Do you think we will have any trouble getting back to the other shore
of the river, this afternoon?" Sandy asked, after they had walked along
for a few minutes in silence, headed for the first of their traps.
"I admit that I don't just like the way we were buffeted around on the
voyage over," replied Bob; "and, if the waters keep on rising to-night,
as I think they are going to, we will not be able to visit our traps on
this side for several days."
"Then had we better take them along with us?" asked Sandy.
"No, they would bother us in the dugout," replied Bob; then, noticing
the quick glance his brother shot in his direction, he added: "Yes, I
am figuring on the chance of our boat being upset in the flood; and,
if that happened, we'd have all we could do to save ourselves and our
guns, let alone half a dozen heavy traps. They can stay here until we
find a chance to cross again, after the water goes down."
"But, I wonder if Colonel Boone knew about such a thing as a flood when
he led us to where the settlement now stands?" remarked Sandy, with a
frown. "Because, if the water rises very much more, we, as well as some
of the other settlers, stand to lose our cabin. Already the water has
covered the land where open fields lay, ready to be planted in maize
this spring. All Mr. Bancroft's new fence has been taken down, to save
it from being swept away."
"No, I do not believe such a rise has been known for many years," Bob
went on to say. "You know how it flows between banks that are covered
with trees. These countless hills are crowned with great forests, and
under the trees the ground is carpeted with moss and dead leaves. This
is like a great sponge, father says, that soaks up the water during
rainy seasons, and lets it out again in time of drought. I heard him
say only this morning that the Indians never knew of a flood like this
one. They believe that the Great Spirit is angry because they have not
driven the palefaces from Kentucky. And there will be a renewal of the
fighting, after this rainy spell is over, he fears." (Note 2.)
"Well, here's where we set our first trap," Sandy cried. "And the next
is only a short distance along the trail. I'll take a look at this
one, while you go on and attend to the next."
"That is the best way, Sandy," returned Bob, with a quick glance toward
the darkening heavens. "I do not like the looks of those clouds, and it
may be that the rain will set in again. If that happens, we would find
it all we could do to make a safe passage across the river, for the
darkness will fall early to-night."
"And we must not forget to keep our eyes open for a sight of those
rascally French trappers, Jacques Larue and Henri Lacroix," remarked
Sandy, with a suggestive movement of his gun. "They have been reported
as being seen not far away from here of late, and you know, Bob, they
have never forgiven us the way we managed to outwit Larue last fall,
and bring Henri Lacroix's brother to justice."[4]
"But they also know," Bob replied, "that because you and I were able
to do the great Indian sachem, Pontiac, a favor, he gave us his wampum
belt, which has served to keep the Indians who were on the war-path
away from our little settlement. Those Frenchmen understand that, if
either of us were hurt, the Indians would visit vengeance on the head
of the guilty party. Larue learned that before he escaped from the
Indians." (Note 3.)
The boys had learned that Jacques Larue had loosened his bonds and
escaped from his Indian captors through the connivance of a young buck
for whom he had once performed some service, and was again free to work
with Henri Lacroix such damage against the latest English settlers as
their evil minds might suggest.
"I am convinced it was they who robbed our traps several times this
winter, so that we had to change their location," Sandy declared,
indignantly. "And, when that brush was piled up against our cabin, that
dark night, and fired, did we not find tracks that were never made by
Indian feet? I seem to feel that we have not seen the last of those
French trappers. And Pat O'Mara told me that, if ever I had to shoot to
defend myself against either of them, to get the full value of my lead!"
"Well, let us hope that they will go elsewhere, and do their trapping,"
said Bob, as he turned and left his brother. "I think it is a great
pity that, with a string of trading posts all the way from the big
lakes down to the sea, these greedy French from the North cannot let
us alone here. They seem to want the earth. But I'll wait for you at
the second trap, Sandy. Be as quick as you can."
Sandy made no reply, but hastened forward to where they had set the
first trap. He was filled with thoughts of the stories he had heard
connected with the Mississippi country, and he pictured in his mind the
loveliest scene that could ever greet the eager eyes of a pioneer--game
waiting to be shot and trapped; the earth so rich that it would grow
bountiful crops upon being simply stirred; the fields glorious with
myriads of wild flowers; and all to be had by simply reaching out a
hand and taking possession, in defiance of the French, who claimed
everything from the far North to the gulf.
He found in the trap a fine red fox, which he succeeded in knocking on
the head without injuring the pelt. Laying his gun aside, Sandy started
to reset the trap, believing that, as it seemed to be a lucky place,
perhaps the mate of the fox might come along, and also step into the
steel circle.
As he began his task, an accident occurred that had never happened to
Sandy before in all his trapping experience, and probably never would
again. In some manner, which he could not fully explain, in turning
around to secure something, he managed to thrust his foot into the set
trap, which he had quite forgotten.
There was a snap, and an acute feeling of pain that caused the boy to
give a startled cry. His heavy leggings saved him to a great extent
from the cruel teeth of the trap, for at that time the smooth jaws now
in universal use had not come into vogue; but the boy knew he would
have a sore ankle for some days because of his carelessness.
Sandy tried to get at the trap to release himself, and found that,
because of the formation of the ground at that particular spot, it
would prove a difficult task. He persisted in his efforts, however,
and refrained from calling out to his brother, not wishing the more
cautious Bob to learn what a foolish thing he had done.
He was still striving to squirm around so as to get at the double
spring, and by pressure release his foot, when he heard a sound close
by that riveted his attention. Looking up, what was the boy's dismay to
discover a creeping animal gradually drawing closer and closer to him.
It needed only that one look to tell Sandy that he was being stalked
by one of the most dreaded animals of the forest, a gray panther, that
had evidently scented the blood of the captured fox, and was bent on
securing a supper.
[Illustration: "HE WAS BEING STALKED BY ONE OF THE MOST DREADED ANIMALS
OF THE FOREST, A GRAY PANTHER."]
Of course, Sandy's first thought was of his musket. He remembered
placing this against a neighboring tree, and, sure enough, it still
stood there; but, when he made a movement to reach the weapon, he found
to his dismay that the chain of the fox trap was too short to allow his
fingers to come within a foot of the gun!
In vain he writhed and pulled; the trap had been made only too secure,
and Sandy realized that there was nothing he could do but lift up his
lusty young voice in an appeal for help.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See "The Pioneer Boys of the Ohio."
[2] Now known as Pittsburg.
[3] The notes will be found at the end of the book.
[4] See "The Pioneer Boys on the Great Lakes."
CHAPTER II
THE BIRCH-BARK MESSAGE
WHEN Bob Armstrong parted from his brother he quickened his steps. The
next trap was not very far away; but, as he had just said, he did not
like the looks of the cloudy sky, and began to fear that, after all,
the break in the heavy rainy spell was going to prove of but short
duration.
He knew that the little mother in that cabin on the other side of the
swollen water would be worried about her boys, and Bob disliked to give
her any more reason for anxiety than could be helped.
As he walked along he thought of what Sandy had said about his
determination, sooner or later, to follow the river down past Fort
Washington, and far away to where it united with the greatest of
watercourses, the mighty Mississippi. Bob, himself, was not so
indifferent to the beckoning finger of adventure as his words to his
brother might lead one to believe. He, too, had listened to those
marvelous stories told by trappers and traders, and, when twice a
flatboat had landed at their rude little float, giving the settlers a
chance to talk with the bold souls who were bent on risking the unknown
dangers that lay beyond, Bob had hung upon the adventurers' words,
and had longed to join the party as it continued its voyage down the
Ohio into the unknown land. He had, however, always thrust aside the
thought, feeling that neither he nor Sandy ought to think of leaving
the father, mother and sister Kate, who made up the Armstrong household.
As he approached the spot where the trap lay, Bob once more became the
trapper, and forgot all else. He saw that success had come to them, for
there was certainly some animal in the trap.
It had been set in a certain little gully, where the boys had
discovered the tracks of several mink, together with their holes. The
tiny stream that had trickled through this same gully in the preceding
fall, was now a rushing torrent, and the trap had lately been set high
up on the bank, just in front of a particularly inviting opening, where
many tracks told of its being a favorite haunt for the wandering males
of the furry tribe he hunted.
Yes, it was a mink he had captured, and really the largest and finest
of the whole winter's catch. Bob felt pleased to make this discovery,
for every pelt which they could gather meant more comforts in the
Armstrong home.
The mink seemed unusually fierce, and put up a savage fight when Bob
started to dispose of him; but the young trapper would not be denied,
and he quickly put an end to the animal's sufferings.
As a usual thing the traps for mink and muskrats were set in such
fashion that, after being caught, the animals would jump into the
water, and be drowned by the weight of the trap; so that it was seldom
they found one alive that had to be disposed of in this manner.
Having reset the trap, Bob sat down to wait for the coming of Sandy,
and, while sitting there, he drew something out of an inner pocket of
his hunting tunic, which he examined with considerable interest, as
well as with many shakes of the head, that told of bewilderment.
The object was a soft and pliable piece of clean birch bark, upon the
brown side of which were traced several rude drawings, such as a child
might make. This had been done with some sharp instrument, possibly the
point of a knife.
Bob Armstrong knew well that these crude figures of men, campfires,
streams and trails were not intended to express the idle whim of some
white child, beginning to draw the things he saw around him.
Bob had looked upon Indian picture-writing before now; indeed, a young
Shawanee brave, named Blue Jacket, whose life he had once saved, and
whose friendship the brothers prized very much, had shown them how to
read these symbols, by means of which the red men communicated after
their own fashion, just as the palefaces did by putting all those queer
little signs in a line, and calling it writing.
This was the second time that Bob had found a birch-bark letter left
mysteriously at the cabin. No one knew whence they came; but, when the
characters were deciphered, on each occasion it was found that some one
was warning them against danger that hovered over their heads.
On the first occasion, they read that two white men were hanging
around near the settlement, and meant to do the Armstrong family harm.
The careful mother's first thought was of Kate, her only daughter, a
pretty girl, who had already been once carried away by a young chief
of the Delawares, and rescued only after much trouble by her brothers,
assisted by Simon Kenton and several of the young woodranger's comrades.
That very night there had come the alarm of fire, with the greedy
flames doing their best to devour the cabin where David Armstrong and
his little brood lived. Only through the most valiant labor was the
fire conquered before it could do much harm. And, now, Bob had found
a second strange warning under the door of the cabin, on that very
morning, he being the first to arise.
He traced each symbol with his finger as he sat there and mused. There
were the same two men again, whom he believed must stand for the ugly
French trappers, because they wore hats, which no Indian ever was known
to do; and their feet "toed-out," which was another sure sign. In
addition, he could make out the cabins of the settlers, and the two
bent figures appeared to be creeping toward them.
Of course, word of the message had been carried to all the other men in
the community, and doubtless there would be a strict watch kept that
coming night. If Jacques Larue and his companion, Henri Lacroix, were
discovered approaching the settlement, other than erect on their feet,
the chances were that they would be given a very warm reception.
But Bob was not puzzling his head just now about what the symbols
meant. He had had little difficulty in understanding that some one
intended to warn them against the attacks of their old-time enemies.
The question that gave both Bob and Sandy cause for speculation was the
identity of the friend from whom these two birch-bark warnings came.
It was not Blue Jacket, Bob knew. He had seen the young Shawanee brave
draw similar figures, and they were slightly different from those now
in front of him; even as one person's handwriting looks unlike that of
another. And yet Bob felt positive that the work must have been done by
an Indian.
The mystery piqued his curiosity greatly. He and Sandy had tried to
reason it out, and discover the identity of this unknown and unseen
friend among the red men; but up to now they had not met with any
success.
After looking at the little strip of bark for a minute, Bob shook
his head, as though once more compelled to abandon the solution of
the puzzle; and, allowing it to roll up again of its own accord, he
replaced the message in his pocket.
"I'd give a lot to know who sent those two messages," he muttered, as
he started to take the skin off the mink, not wishing to carry any more
burden than seemed necessary, if they were to continue along the line
of traps. "But, anyway, it's nice to feel that we've got a good friend
among the Indians, who takes delight in upsetting the plans of those
two precious rascals. Some day he may see fit to make himself known to
us. But, I wonder what keeps Sandy. He surely ought to be here by now,
for he had plenty of time to get to that trap, and fix it fresh, if it
was sprung. I hope nothing has happened to him."
He looked eagerly along the back trail, but failed to see any sign
of the approaching figure of his younger brother. The afternoon was
more than three-quarters past, and in another hour they could expect
darkness to swoop down upon the land.
Bob noted this fact when he again looked up toward the darkening
heavens.
"We will have to leave the rest of the traps until another day," he
said to himself, uneasily. "I promised mother that I would not take
any more chances than necessary, and she did not seem any too well
satisfied about our crossing to-day, as it was. But, how queer Sandy
does not come! Perhaps I'd better start back after him."
Once this idea had taken root in his mind, Bob could not remain at
ease. He arose to his feet, took the mink in one hand, with his rifle
clutched in the other, and started off.
Hardly had he taken ten steps when he heard a call. It was certainly
his own name, and coupled with a word that sent a thrill through him.
"Bob! oh! Bob! Help!"
Instantly the boy dropped the mink, utterly unmindful of the value of
the fine pelt. He started off at a swift pace, heading in the direction
whence the shout came.
If Sandy was in danger, then it must be some of those hateful French
trappers again. Bob could remember how they had first met them, and
there were three at that time. A fine deer had fallen before the gun of
one of the brothers, and, upon rushing forward to bleed the prize, they
found themselves confronted by a trio of burly men whose appearance
told the lads that they were French trappers, even before they proved
this fact by their speech.
These fellows had claimed that they shot the deer, and there was
trouble in prospect that might have ended seriously, but for the
fortunate coming of Kenton and two companions, who proved the right of
the boys to the spoils, and sent the Frenchmen away, with a warning not
to look back or they would rue it.
Quickly Bob covered the ground. All the while he had his gun ready
for use in case of necessity. Now he could see Sandy, and, when he
discovered the other on hands and knees, great was his wonder, until he
heard him cry out:
"Take care, Bob, there's a big panther in the brush close by, and bent
on jumping on you! My foot's fast in the trap, and I can't get free. Go
slow, and be ready to shoot, for he's savage with hunger, and as fierce
as they make them. Look out! there he comes now!"
CHAPTER III
FROM ONE PERIL TO ANOTHER
BOB did not need the warning from Sandy to put him on his guard. The
mere fact that there was a panther near by was sufficient reason
for his alertness, because no animal that roamed the woods was more
respected than this sleek gray beast with the square jaws, the powerful
muscles and the sharp claws.
Every slight movement of the bushes caused Bob to turn his eyes in that
direction, with his gun half raised, ready to take a quick shot. And,
yet, he knew well how important it was that he use extreme care, when
the time came for firing. A wounded panther was a thing to be dreaded
by even the stoutest-hearted hunter. He had heard many stories told
around the family hearth at home about these animals, by such men as
Pat O'Mara, the jolly Irish borderer, old Reuben Jacks, the veteran
hunter, and others; all of whom agreed that they would sooner face a
bear, or a pack of wolves than a big "cat" that was wild with pain and
rage.
Bob could see his brother now, on his knees, still struggling to
release himself from the hold of the fox trap, that seemed to grip his
ankle with a stubborn determination to keep him from reaching his gun,
standing there so close, but beyond his itching fingers.
Once Bob thought he saw the beast crouching among some bushes that ran
down to the edge of the water; but he dared not waste his one shot on
an uncertainty, since he would then be compelled to defend himself with
his knife or hatchet. And, as it turned out, he showed considerable
wisdom in repressing his boyish desire to fire, for just then there was
a movement in an entirely different direction, and he had a glimpse of
a gray beast slinking past a small opening.
At this moment, Sandy made a new discovery that added a new note of
alarm to his voice:
"Oh! there are two of them, Bob! Be careful what you do, brother! Try
to scare them off without shooting, if you can! Oh! if I could only
reach my gun, it would be all right; but I'm held here, a prisoner!"
It was a time for doing the right thing, as Bob well knew. If there
were, indeed, a pair of the animals, eager to pounce upon the boy who
was so helpless there, he would certainly have his hands full.
Fire would frighten them away, Bob knew; but he had no means of quickly
igniting a handful of dead leaves. In those early days, long before
matches of any kind had come to be known, the only way to get fire
was by the use of flint and steel; and often it was a difficult task,
requiring a pinch of powder, the same as was used for priming in the
pan of a gun.
In this emergency there flashed into the active mind of the young
pioneer a dozen schemes for frightening the panthers away, or, at
least, make the brutes hesitate long enough for him to have a chance
to hand to his brother the gun that was so tantalizingly close to his
eager fingers. Both armed, they might, by two well-directed shots, put
an end to both of the panthers.
Each scheme was, however, dismissed as impracticable as soon as
thought of, and there remained to Bob only the one thought,--he must,
regardless of the danger, reach his brother's gun!
Believing that a sudden noise might momentarily disconcert the beasts,
he gathered himself for a spring, and then, with a shrill, piercing
cry, he leaped from the bushes, and dashed forward.
The distance was but a few yards, and was quickly covered. Seizing
Sandy's gun, he, by the same motion, tossed it to his eager brother,
and the two lads, back to back, stood with ready weapons, awaiting the
spring of the crouching panthers.
Moments passed and, to the boys, the tension was fearful. Suddenly the
silence was broken by a sharp, cracking sound, followed by a mighty
crash, as a huge dead tree toppled down, its bare, gaunt branches
grazing the boys, as they stood alertly eying the surrounding bushes.
This was followed by a slight rustling sound and then all was again
still.
For several minutes the lads maintained their tense attitude and then,
with a sigh of relief, Bob relaxed his strained muscles.
"I believe, Sandy, the fall of that dead tree scared the brutes away,"
he said, at last.
"You are right, Bob," answered the other, with a ring of disgust in his
voice; "I do believe the cowards are slinking off over there, for I
saw the brush moving. I wish we could have had a shot at them."
"Well, for one, I'm glad they've taken a notion to let us alone," Bob
remarked. "I was afraid that they would spring at any second, and we
might have missed, or only wounded, one or both of the panthers. It was
exciting while it lasted, Sandy."
"Yes, I can say it was," replied the other, with a shrug of his
shoulders. "Just think of me held up here like this, and with the teeth
of that old trap biting in deeper every time I pulled, or tried to turn
around. Please get me loose, Bob; my ankle will be pretty sore after
this, I'm afraid."
"So you couldn't turn around to unfasten it yourself," remarked the
other, as he hastened to turn the trap over, so that he might stand on
the double spring, and thus throw back the two jaws. "There, does that
fix it, Sandy? Looks like those teeth had chewed pretty well into your
buckskin legging, too. I hope you won't be crippled too badly to limp
back to the boat."
Sandy scrambled to his feet, and started to try his left leg. He
certainly did limp considerably, but only made a wry face as he said:
"I'll have to stand it, Bob. And, then, it might have been so much
worse. Think how those sharp teeth must have cut into my leg but for
the support of that stout deerskin legging. And even they would have
been nothing like the teeth of a panther. I honestly believe the savage
beasts meant to get me. And, after this, I'm just going to add as many
panther skins to our bag as I can, to pay up for the scare they gave
me."
"Well," Bob replied, "I think we'll give up all idea of keeping along
our line of traps to-day. Not to speak of your lame ankle, it seems
to get darker all the while; and, with the river before us, we'd be
foolish to stay over here any longer than we can help. You remember
what mother told us, Sandy?"
"Oh! I wouldn't bother my head about any trouble we might have in
making the other shore all right," declared the confident younger boy;
"but, then, with this pain in my leg, I don't see how I could manage to
get over much ground. However, if you care to go on alone, I can get
back to the boat, and wait there for you to come."
Bob shook his head resolutely.
"I'll return with you, Sandy," he said, "but first we will pick up the
mink I dropped, if, indeed, those hungry woods cats have not already
found it. It looks as if we will have to be contented with a fox and a
mink for this afternoon."
"With three more traps to hear from," grumbled Sandy, who hated
exceedingly to be kept from doing what he had planned. "This seemed to
be our lucky day, Bob; and the chances are we'd have found something in
every trap. Now those two panthers will just about run the line, and
clean everything out for us."
"Still, we have a whole lot to be thankful for," urged the older boy,
as he picked up the red fox, threw it over his shoulder, and offered
to assist Sandy in walking. The other, however, scorned to appear like
a cripple, and managed unaided to limp along close at his brother's
heels, though he made many a wry face, unseen by Bob, as pains shot
through the injured ankle.
They were fortunate enough to find the mink just where it had been so
hastily dropped when Bob heard the shouts of the trapped boy, and, as
soon as this had been secured, they turned their faces toward the point
where the dugout had been left.
"You see that I was right about the weather thickening up again," Bob
remarked, leading the way at as fast a pace as he believed the lame
member of the expedition could stand.
"It does grow gloomy right along, for a fact. As you say, Bob, perhaps
the bad spell was only broken for a short time, and the rains may come
on worse than ever. Ouch! that hurt like everything then. I didn't see
that root sticking up in the trail. Don't I wish I was over home right
now, so I could wash that sore spot with hot water, and have mother
apply some of that wonderful salve which she makes out of herbs."
"Only a little way more, and we'll strike the boat," called out Bob,
encouragingly; "there, I can see the place now."
"I was just thinking what a fix we'd be in if we found it gone!"
remarked Sandy. "With the river booming bank-full, and the current as
fierce as a wolf pack, how in the wide world would we ever manage to
get across, Bob?"
"I'm not going to bother my head trying to guess," answered the other.
"Time enough to cross a bridge when you come to it. Besides, I happen
to know that the boat is still there, for I just had a glimpse of it.
But, did you mean you thought the river could have risen enough, since
we left, to carry it off?"
"No," said Sandy, soberly, "I was thinking of that second warning you
found under the door of the cabin this very morning, and wondering
whether those French trappers could be around on this side of the
river. If they saw our boat, and guessed whose it was, they'd be ready
to send it adrift, and keep us from getting home to-night."
"That is just what I think, myself; and they would do even worse
than that, if they had the chance. The only thing that keeps them
from firing on us as we pass through the forest is their fear of the
vengeance of Boone and Kenton, not to speak of Pontiac, whose wampum
belt hangs in our cabin, a sign of his protecting hand over the
Armstrong family. But, here we are; and now to get started right away."
One glance out upon the heaving bosom of the flood told Sandy that they
had been wise to give up further idea of staying on the further shore.
Indeed, with the gathering darkness, it began to look as if, even now,
they had taken more chances than were wise or prudent.
The boys pushed out with a fearlessness that was characteristic of
their actions. Accustomed to facing perils by land or water, they
seldom hesitated, or allowed anything like alarm to influence them,
when duty called. And both lads knew that, should they fail to return
home on that night, there would be little sleep under the Armstrong
roof.
As usual, Sandy sat in the bow of the boat, while his brother managed
the stern paddle with considerable dexterity. Until they had come to
the Ohio country neither boy had had very much experience in boats;
but, after the dugout was built, they spent much of their time on the
water, shooting ducks for the family larder, fishing, or crossing over
to hunt on the other shore, where, later on in the fall, they had
stretched a line of traps that brought them in many a fine pelt.
They soon found that, somehow, owing to the trend of the shore,
perhaps, it was going to prove an even more difficult task to push the
heavy dugout back to the southern side of the river, than it had been
in coming across. The current added to their troubles, for it carried
them along faster than either of the boys had dreamed possible. For the
first time, possibly, they were learning of the power of the flood,
once it arose in its tremendous might.
Both lads strained every muscle as they drove the blades deeply into
the water. They had, by the hardest kind of work, managed to get about
half-way over, though both of them were somewhat winded by their
efforts, when they noticed that heavy clouds, rolling up across the
heavens, had begun to bring the dusk of night much earlier than even
the careful Bob had anticipated.
There were many obstructions that had to be avoided. Trees were
floating on the surface of the water in places, and logs seemed
plentiful. Altogether, it was an entirely new sight to both Bob and his
brother, for, until now, they had never known the beautiful Ohio to
rise to a point that could be called dangerous.
"Take care, and keep away from that tree!" warned Bob, as he saw a
particularly ugly snag, with broken branches sticking out along its
sides, bearing down upon them on the left.
They had to paddle furiously in order to keep clear of this
threatening object, and, possibly, in his eagerness, Sandy may have
bent too heavily on his paddle, for, just as they reached a point where
they would be safe from the floating tree, there was a sharp snap.
"What happened?" cried Bob, alarmed more than he would have liked to
confess.
For reply Sandy held up the stump of his paddle. It had broken off
clean, and, from that time on, only one could paddle at a time. This
catastrophe was sure to delay their passage, and doubtless cause them
to be swept some miles down-stream before they could land; but the boys
were hardy, and would not mind walking back, though doubtless Sandy
might complain a little on account of his lame leg.
Bob set to work again with a good will, and was making fair progress
when yet another peril came booming along, this time in the shape of a
heavy log that was sweeping with the speeding current.
Bob saw the danger and strove the best he could to avoid it; but, in
the clutch of the current, the little dugout seemed but a plaything,
and the log, driving three times as fast as they were going,
bore straight down upon them. When Bob saw that a collision was
unavoidable, he called at the top of his voice to his brother:
"It's going to strike us, Sandy. Hold on to your gun if you can, and
climb aboard the log as they come together; for I fear that the boat
will sink. Quick! jump now!"
CHAPTER IV
AT THE MERCY OF THE FLOOD
IN that moment of alarm Sandy forgot all about his lame ankle. He
realized, as soon as the crash came, that the dugout was about to sink,
for water began to pour in over the side. So he obeyed the cry of his
brother, and made a spring for the safety of the log that had done the
damage.
[Illustration: "MADE A SPRING FOR THE SAFETY OF THE LOG THAT HAD DONE
THE DAMAGE."]
How he managed to scramble on it he could never afterwards explain;
but, when he had done so, and looked around, it was to discover Bob
sitting astride the rolling log, close by, and the half-sunken boat
just vanishing from sight in the gathering gloom.
"How is it, Sandy; are you all right?" anxiously asked Bob.
"I'm on the log, if that is what you mean," gasped the younger boy,
noticing, however, that their strange craft began to roll less, now
that they had settled down upon its broad back.
"And I hope you held on to your gun?" Bob went on; for even in that
terrible moment he could remember such a thing. This was hardly to be
wondered at, because it had taken both of the boys many a long month's
work with their first traps, away off in Virginia, to gather together
enough money to purchase the flint-lock muskets they owned, and which
had always served their purpose well. To lose one meant another
expenditure of hard-earned shillings, and even pounds.
"I have it here, safe and sound," replied Sandy, not without a touch
of pride in his voice; for to have managed to get aboard that rolling
log in such a hurry, and to keep a grasp upon the long musket, was no
trifling task.
"That was a close shave," said the elder brother, with a long-drawn
sigh; since he had been terribly alarmed for the moment, more on
account of Sandy than for himself.
"We never had a more exciting time," admitted his brother, frankly.
"And we have much to be thankful for," continued Bob.
"For this old floating log, you mean?" observed Sandy, not without a
touch of sarcasm in his voice.
"Yes, because even an old log may turn out to be a pretty good friend,"
Bob went on, positively. "I've heard father declare that a sailor is
thankful for any port in a storm; and, only for this log, we might have
been swimming our level best right now, brother, to keep our heads
above water."
"That may be," answered Sandy, still unconvinced; "but you forget
that, only for this same log, we would have been safe and sound in our
dugout, and paddling as nice as anything for the bank. As it is, we've
lost our boat, paddle and all, as well as the fox and mink; and will
have to borrow Alexander Hodgson's craft until we can build another."
"Let us shout as loud as we can," proposed Bob. "Perhaps some of the
settlers will hear us, if they are down near the edge of the river,
watching how fast it keeps on rising."
Accordingly both lads sent out sturdy calls at the top of their voices;
but there came back no answering, reassuring shout. Only the murmur of
the flood could be heard, or it might be a grinding noise as the log
came in contact with other floating stuff.
So finally the boys, as if by mutual consent, gave up hallooing.
For a little time they sat there in silence, both looking uneasily
toward the shore which marked the connecting link between themselves
and their home, though it could only be faintly seen, where the
tree-crowned hills stood out against the dull, darkening heavens.
Bob suddenly aroused himself. This was no time for vain regrets. They
must be up and doing, if they hoped to cope with the new and strange
situation into which a freak of fortune had so suddenly thrust them.
"We must try to do something to get ashore, Sandy," he said, firmly.
"I was just thinking that way, myself," admitted the other; "but, since
we have no paddles, and this log chooses to remain out here in the
middle of the river, I'm bothered to know how it can be done."
As usual, Sandy was depending part upon his brother to suggest some
way out of their difficulty; not that he did not possess a bright mind
himself, but when it came to quick thinking, and the suggesting of a
reasonable plan, Bob was always to be relied on.
"Paddles would do us little good just now, I fear," said Bob. "We are
both of us good swimmers, and might be able to make the shore; but
the water is very cold, and there would be danger of a cramp catching
one of us. For that reason I don't like the idea of deserting this
friendly log. We are at least safe as long as we have it to cling to."
"But, Bob, what if we keep on floating all night? We will be chilled
to the marrow with this cold wind, and the rain that promises to fall.
Besides, when the dawn breaks, we will find ourselves many miles down
the river. And what would mother think?"
"Well, I've got a plan in my mind that might help us," the other went
on. "We don't want to lose our guns, to begin with; and, once we took
to the water in that way, how could we hold on to them? So here's what
I was thinking. Let us fasten the guns, and our clothes, as far as we
can, to this log. I always carry some buckskin thongs in the pocket of
my tunic, and there are knobs here and there, where branches have been
broken off."
Sandy broke out laughing.
"But, what good would that do us?" he demanded. "If ever we did get
ashore, think how cold we should be, and likely to starve to death. I
think I'd rather take my chances sitting right here, than try that."
"But you don't understand the whole of the plan yet, Sandy," the other
went on, steadily, for he was quite used to having his impatient
brother break in upon him in this way.
"Oh! if there is more of it, I'm glad to hear it," Sandy remarked.
"After we've tied our guns, and part of our clothes, to the log, what
do we expect to do then, Bob--fly away to the shore away over yonder?
We might,--if only we had wings!"
"Listen, then," Bob pursued. "We'll slip down into the water, and, one
on either side of the log, start steering it in the direction of land.
Do you understand now, brother?"
Sandy gave a shout, for he was always enthusiastic, once he discovered
any reason for being so.
"It is a great idea, Bob," he said, warmly. "And I never would have
thought it out in an hour. Just as you say, we can, by slow stages,
push the log ashore. Even if it is miles below the settlement, we will
have our clothes with us, and tinder bags to start a fire with. But
why, do you think, did no one answer our shouts back there?"
"In the first place," replied Bob, who was beginning to fumble around,
in a hunt for the best nubbin of a broken branch, to which he might
secure his valuables, consisting of his precious musket, powder horn,
bullet pouch, tinder bag, and last, if not least of all, his clothes,
which the loving fingers of their mother had fashioned out of pliable
deerskin; "in the first place, we must have been some distance below
the settlement at the time of our accident."
"Yes," added Sandy, at once, seeing how reasonable this sounded, "I
think you are right about that, Bob."
"And," continued the other, "even if they had guessed that the cries
came from down the river, what could they have done to help us? There
is no better boat than the one we owned; and, with night at hand, and
the sky as black as it is now, the women would not have let the men
venture out upon the water. They are always in mortal fear lest the
wily Indians lay some plan for the undoing of our settlement, and begin
with luring some of its defenders away."
Sandy, too, was beginning to secure some of his things to the novel
craft which a strange decree of fate had made them accept as a means of
riding the flood in safety. When he had received the several buckskin
thongs which his brother passed over to him, the task of securing the
gun to the two knobs he had selected was first of all begun, because
with that in his hands he could accomplish little.
But Sandy, dearly loved to talk. It was indeed hard to keep him quiet,
for he was always either seeking information from another, or else
desirous of imparting his own views upon various subjects.
So, even as he worked, he must needs start afresh.
"How far do you believe we will be from home when we get to land?" was
what he first of all asked his brother, just as though the other was a
knowledge box upon which he could draw at will.
"That would be hard to say," replied Bob. "It all depends on how long
we are in landing. This flood must be going anywhere from six to seven
miles an hour; and, even if we are lucky, we would find ourselves
perhaps ten miles below our home."
"That would be further than we have ever wandered down the river,"
remarked Sandy, for their trapping and hunting had all been done within
the immediate vicinity of the settlement, since game could often be
found inside of ten minutes' walk.
Once only had the brothers been tempted to take a long journey. This
was when their sister Kate, at a time when their father had gone in
Virginia on urgent business, had been carried off by a young chief of
the Delawares; and a pursuit was undertaken by the brothers that led
them to the far distant great lakes.[5]
"Well, if we can make the bank in safety, I, for one, will not complain
of the distance," declared Bob. "How is your gun fixed now; are you
sure that it will hold safe, even if we should knock up against another
log?"
"Yes, it is fast to the tree trunk, and can never slip loose," returned
Sandy. "The more I think of this plan of yours, the better I like it,
Bob. Once we are in the water, and swimming, we can urge the log toward
the shore, a foot at a time, it may be, but with a constant pressure,
until at last we find that we can touch bottom. Then for a fire, and
warming up, for I fear by that time both of us will be chilled to the
bone."
"And if your lame ankle is so bad that it prevents our getting back
to-night, why, Sandy, what should hinder us from making camp in the
forest, under some ledge, where we can keep out of the rain? Then,
when morning comes, we can follow up the river until we reach our home
again."
"It makes me feel better to hear you talk like that, Bob," declared the
younger of the two. "I wonder what I would have done without you?"
"Perhaps just what we mean to do right now," Bob went on to say. "The
trouble is, Sandy, you will not think for yourself, when you have me to
depend on. You must remember what father told you once, that every tub
ought to stand on its own bottom. But Simon Kenton tells me he was just
such a youngster, until he found himself thrown on his own resources.
It was the making of him, he declares; because such things are apt to
bring out all there is in a boy."
Both of them were still diligently working to secure their possessions
safely to the friendly trunk, which, having been the means of their
disaster, now seemed willing to make reparation as best it could by
offering them an asylum for those things which otherwise must have gone
into the river with them.
It had, by now, grown so dark that all they could see was a stretch
of about thirty feet or so of surging water on either side of them.
Ahead, a similar unending panorama opened up, and, had they chosen to
turn their heads in order to cast a backward glance, they would have
looked upon the same dismal spectacle.
"There," said Sandy at last, "that job is done, and I'm ready to pull
off my tunic, hunting shirt, and coonskin cap, which I'll make up into
a bundle, and fasten with this last long thong. But, Bob, before we do
that, and go overboard, it seems to me we ought to give a last shout
for help. There is about one chance in a thousand that some person in a
boat may hear us."
"We'll take that chance, then, Sandy," echoed Bob. "So, ready now, and
shout when I do, with all your might!"
Again did their lusty young voices ring out over the flood. Once,
twice, thrice they gave tongue, and then, pausing, listened to see if
by chance there came any welcome reply. Immediately Sandy gave a low
bubbling cry of satisfaction.
"Did you hear that?" he demanded. "Some one certainly answered us;
unless it was an echo from the hills away off yonder."
"It was no echo, Sandy," replied Bob. "Shout again, and louder than
before. There is hope of a rescue even now. That one chance looks
better! Now, let go!"
This time the answering hail seemed somewhat closer, as though they
were sweeping down toward the spot where the unknown must be sitting in
his boat, holding it to some degree against the rushing current.
Sandy became wild with excitement. He had almost despaired of
assistance coming to them before, and, now that this sudden chance
loomed up, the horizon seemed to brighten visibly.
"Oh! I can hear the sound of paddles, Bob!" he exclaimed.
"Yes, that is what I was just listening to," answered the other, and
Sandy was surprised to note a lack of the same enthusiasm about Bob
that reigned in his own heart.
"What ails you?" he demanded. "We are in a fair way of being taken
safely ashore, and yet you do not seem to be happy. Is there anything
wrong, do you think, about that answer to our shouts? Surely it could
not be an echo, for by now we can make out the dip of paddles plainly.
Tell me what worries you?"
"That is just it," replied Bob, soberly; "the dip of the paddles,
as you say, which tells us that others are on the flood as well as
ourselves. But I have never heard a white man handle a paddle just like
that, and there are many who have tried it all their lives."
Sandy asked no more questions. Doubtless, if his face could have been
seen just then, it would be found to have taken on a sudden pallor, as
he muttered to himself the one significant word:
"Indians!"
FOOTNOTE:
[5] See "The Pioneer Boys on the Great Lakes."
CHAPTER V
FRIENDS IN TIME OF NEED
THERE was really nothing that could be done.
In a choice between two evils, Bob Armstrong could always be depended
on to take that which seemed the less. To go on down the flood was a
dreadful outlook; and almost anything was to be preferred to facing
the unknown perils of the river, especially in the pitch darkness that
prevailed.
The sound of the paddles drew constantly nearer. Then they heard
voices, as if those in the canoe were asking each other whence it could
be that they had heard that last shout for help.
To the astonishment of the floating boys the words came in English,
though evidently one of the speakers was an Indian who had apparently
learned the tongue of the palefaces.
"Oh! it's Pat O'Mara, I do believe!" exclaimed Sandy, in his amazement
speaking loud enough for his voice to carry some distance away; for
immediately, even before Bob could add any words of his own to the
declaration, there came a hail out of the gloom.
"Avast there! Be ye the Arrmstrong byes I'm afther hearin' out on this
roarin', tearin' flood this night?"
"Yes, yes, that's who it is, Pat; and precious glad to hear the sound
of your voice, because we need help the worst way!" cried Sandy, always
impulsive.
"All right, we'll be wid yees in a jiffy, depind on it," came the
answer from a point close at hand. "Give us another few digs at the
paddle, chief, an', by the same token, we'll soon be alongside, so we
will."
A minute later the anxious boys began to detect some moving object,
as they strained their eyes to see. Then this turned out to be a long
canoe, in which two persons were sitting, the one in the stern using
a paddle with that grace and dexterity which only an Indian could
exhibit, just as Bob had wisely said.
Sandy craned his head forward to see better through the darkness.
Doubtless there must have been something familiar about the movements
of this paddler, for he certainly did not have enough light to
recognize his features, or even the feather that adorned his scalplock.
"Surely that must be Blue Jacket!" he ejaculated, with a thrill of
delight, as well as surprise noticeable in his quivering voice.
"Uh! that so, Sandy," came in a voice he knew almost as well as he did
that of his brother.
"What luck!" cried Sandy. "To think that such good friends should
happen to be on the river this night of all times, when we are in such
sore need."
Perhaps, had Bob Armstrong been asked his opinion, he might have
declared that it was something much higher than mere luck that brought
about such a happy conclusion to their adventure. Bob was a much
more serious fellow than his younger brother, and imbibed some of
the sentiments that influenced his gentle mother. To him there was
something especially Providential in this coming of help when the two
boys were in so great need, just as there had been in the falling of
the dead tree just as the panthers were about to attack them.
Quickly the canoe worked up alongside the log, to which both the Irish
trapper and his native companion fastened a firm grip.
"Come aboord, and be sinsible," said Pat O'Mara, who was one of the
oldest friends the Armstrong family had; and whom they had known away
back in Old Virginia, before the thought of daring the perils of the
unknown wilderness had ever entered David Armstrong's mind. "Sure,
'tis a mighty poor sort av a craft ye do be havin', if I might make so
bowld."
"But it was better than nothing," said Sandy, as he carefully placed
his musket in the canoe before even thinking of attempting to get
aboard himself.
Bob did not make a single move until he had seen his brother safely
over the side. Indeed, to judge from his actions, one might be inclined
to think that he even kept himself in readiness to clutch Sandy, should
the other manage to slide down the side of the log into the water,
instead of gaining a lodgment in the boat. Then Bob copied the other's
actions, his precious gun being first made secure before he would think
of himself.
It was rather a ticklish business leaving the log, and entering the
canoe that, being made of birch bark, was so light in build that it
careened under the passage of the boys, and might have tipped over had
not both Pat and the young Shawanee brave leaned far to the opposite
side while the embarkation was taking place.
"Good-bye, old log!" said Sandy, now in an exultant frame of mind that
contrasted strangely with his recent gloomy spirits. "We hope you will
have a good voyage down to the great Mississippi. Tell them that,
perchance, the Armstrong boys will be navigating that way to see some
of the wonders they have so long been hearing about. You were a pretty
fair kind of a log, though we are not sorry to part with you."
Already was the paddle, in the expert hands of Blue Jacket, busily
employed in sending the craft toward the southern shore of the swollen
river. Pat O'Mara had his share of curiosity, and he was not the one to
keep silent when desirous of knowing the true facts.
"Sure, 'tis a quare thing to be findin' the two av yees adrift on a
tree out on this high water," he started to say; "and, by the same
token, if yees have no objection, 'tis mesilf wud like to know how the
same came about."
"That is easy enough to tell, Pat," burst out Sandy. "Of course, you
mustn't think we started from the shore, to cross over on an old log.
It was just an accident, and that's all. My paddle broke under the
strain; and, when this log came whirling down on our boat, Bob alone
could not get it out of the way. So it was upset, and we were lucky
enough to scramble aboard, guns and all."
The Irish trapper was loud in his exclamations of wonder.
"It do bate iverything how ye two lads always manage to chate the
ould Reaper whin he thinks he has ye in the hollow av his hand," he
declared. "I warrant ye that nine out av tin min would have at laste
taken a dip in the water afore crawling aboord the log; and, be the
powers, ye do not same to be wit at all, at all."
"We were wondering how we could manage to get ashore, so as to head for
home," Sandy went on to say, "when Bob thought of a way. Just when we
heard your answer to our last shout we were about to fasten our guns
and clothing to the log, slip overboard, and, by swimming, push it
toward the shore."
"A cliver ijee, by me troth," remarked Pat, who was a great admirer of
both young pioneers; of Bob on account of his steady ways and quick
mind in emergencies, and of Sandy because he had a winning, sunny
disposition, which appealed especially to the genial, roving Irish
trapper. "But, afther all, 'tis just as will that Blue Jacket and
mesilf came upon the sane at the time we did, since 'tis a wet back
ye'd be havin', not to spake of many miles more to thramp back home.
And 'tis also will that ye are off the river before this same night is
many hours older."
Bob noticed that there was a peculiar significance to these last words
of their old friend, who had been many times tried, and found as true
as steel.
"What brings you and Blue Jacket here, and on your way to our cabin,
as I reckon you are from the way you head across the river?" he asked,
desirous of drawing the other out, and learning what new peril now
threatened the little settlement on the southern bank of the Ohio.
More than once had Pat brought news of the coming of Indians on the
warpath, so that the pioneers had learned to look upon him as their
best guardian. As he was forever roaming the great forests, sometimes
in the company of such noted men as Daniel Boone, Simon Kenton or
Harrod the surveyor, Pat was in a position to pick up intelligence
that could be obtained by no one else. (Note 4.)
And so Bob wondered whether it could be something of this character
that was now causing him to hasten to the relief of the struggling
settlement.
"Sure, 'twas by sheer accident that we came togither," the trapper
observed, as he bent his supple body quickly to one side, so as to
better balance the frail canoe, which at that instant was being
buffeted about in a swirl of waters, not unlike a miniature whirlpool.
"An', whin I larned that the chief was aven thin on his way to warrn
the white settlers as fast as he could go, I made up me mind to
accompany him. So that's how it happens we wor abroad on the river jist
at the same time ye naded hilp so bad. Troth, as Sandy jist said, 'twas
a lucky thing all around."
"But, Pat," Bob continued, "of what danger was Blue Jacket about to
warn our people? Have the Indians again taken to the warpath, after
their professions of peace, and after saying that the hatchet was
buried ever so deep?"
"Sure, there be always danger av that same," remarked the other,
grimly; "but, on this occasion, 'tis a peril av another color
intirely. The flood is bearin' down upon yees like a race horse, and,
befoor the dawn av another day, it may be the risin' water wull be
afther swapin' away some av the cabins in the settlement!"
"Oh! but how could Blue Jacket learn about that, when it must be many
miles up the river, and coming much faster than any Indian could run?"
demanded Sandy.
"Ye must know," went on the Irish trapper, impressively, "that these
rid hathen have a way av communicatin' news by manes av smoke signals
in the day time, and fires at night. From hill to hill, many miles
away, they sind these smokes; and, so I've been towld at laist, the
missage can be carried as much as a hundred miles in less time than it
wud take a horse to run tin."
"Yes, that is something I knew about, but had forgotten," admitted
Sandy.
"And this flood, does it come from the last rain, or has there been
what I heard my father call a cloud-burst?" asked Bob, anxiously; for
his thoughts were upon the little community some miles up the river,
which had already grappled with more perils than the settlers had ever
dreamed could be met with in this new country.
"That I do not chanct to know, me bye," replied Pat. "'Tis enough to
learn that the flood is comin' tearin' along down the river, and that
the water will rise in a way niver known before. The Injuns are wild
with alarrm. Their ould medicine-min do be on the rampage, and kape
tillin' thim they do be sufferin' from the anger av the Great Spirit,
becase av their allowin' the white trispassers till remain on the
sacred land that was given till their ancestors long years ago. It all
manes hapes av trouble for the pioneers, from Boonesborough till Fort
Washington, and all the way along the Ohio."
"I can see the shore again," called out Sandy at this moment; for,
while he had been listening with deep anxiety to what the trapper said,
at the same time his keen young eyes had been on the watch to detect
the first signs of land ahead.
A minute later, and Sandy again broke out with an exclamation, and this
time there was a note of wonder, not unmixed with anxiety, in his voice.
"Look! there is a fire burning on the shore below, and just about
where we will come to the land!" he cried out.
"And I can see one or two white men beside it; yes, with an Indian
also," added Bob, who had as sharp vision as his brother.
"And they must hear us talking, for they have jumped to their feet, and
seem to be looking this way. Can it be some of our friends from above,
brother?" asked the younger boy, eagerly.
"I do not think so," Bob answered. "They are not in the broad firelight
now; but, from the glimpse I had, I took them to be woodrangers like
Pat here, and some of the others we know."
"Oh! perhaps, then, it may be Boone and Kenton themselves," remarked
Sandy, who had secretly always admired the forest ranger, Kenton, and
aspired to follow in the footsteps of the daring young man, when he
grew older.
"Well, we shall soon know," Bob went on, "for Blue Jacket is heading
straight in to that point where they have built their fire, as though
he means to land on the lower side, where the current does not run so
fiercely."
Already they were in less turbulent waters, for, near the shore, the
river did not attain anything like the swiftness that marked the middle
of the stream. Under the skillful guidance of the sturdy young Shawanee
brave, whose name, although not very well known just then, was fated
later on to be on the lips of every settler who had built a cabin in
the wilderness along the Ohio, the canoe presently came against the
shore.
Sandy, as usual, was the first to jump on to the bank; but he was
careful to take his gun along with him. The Irish trapper quickly
reached his side, and then came Bob, and the dusky Blue Jacket, who
certainly could never be accused of being a talkative fellow, though
capable of expressing himself freely on occasion.
As if instinctively they allowed the young Shawanee to lead the
way toward the burning campfire, because the presence of an Indian
would seem to indicate that he might be better able to conduct
the intercourse with the strangers; for already Bob and Sandy had
discovered that the two white men were totally unknown to them.
Besides, since it was Blue Jacket's canoe, he seemed to be conducting
the expedition to the settlement, the others having just been taken on
as he happened to come across them.
But Bob Armstrong felt a new uneasiness creep over him when he heard
the Irish trapper mutter something half under his breath, and caught
the one significant word:
"Traitor!"
CHAPTER VI
SIMON GIRTY, THE RENEGADE
"WHO are they, Pat?" asked Bob, half under his breath, as he saw Blue
Jacket gravely salute the other Indian, whom he knew to be a chief
among the fierce Miamis, both by the feathers he wore in his scalplock,
and by the trimmings on his buckskin hunting shirt and nether garments.
"The Injun is Little Turtle, the greatest chief among the Miamis,"
replied the Irish trapper, also lowering his voice, for he saw the two
white men frowning in his direction. Bob noticed that his old friend
kept his long-barrelled rifle close under his arm, and his finger
touching the trigger.
"And the two others?" Bob went on. "I have never met either of them
before, that I can remember; and yet I have seen most of the white men
who roam the woods in this region of the Ohio."
"Wull," whispered Pat, "ye niver missed much, thin, for, by the same
token, there niver lived greater rascals than the same precious pair
ye say before yees this minute. The wan ag'inst the tree, wid the scowl
on his black face, is none ither than the infamous Simon Girty; while
his frind's name it do be McKee; and there are hapes av people thot say
he be the blackest renegade that iver wint over till the Injuns, to
wage war on his own kind." (Note 5.)
Both boys heard what Pat said, although he had lowered his voice to a
whisper; and, of course, they were chilled to the marrow at the idea of
looking upon such notorious persons, for already their names were being
held up to execration among all honest settlers. Both Girty and McKee
had been seen in the ranks of the hostile Shawanees when attacks were
made on frontier settlements; and there were threats going the rounds
as to what fate awaited them should the fortunes of war ever throw them
into the hands of the whites.
To the eyes of the pioneer boys they looked doubly ugly on this night,
when met so unexpectedly in company with a noted Miami chief, whose
hostility towards the invading palefaces was so well known.
Meanwhile the two Indians were engaged in a conversation that by
degrees became more and more heated. Indeed, neither Bob nor Sandy
could ever remember seeing their young friend, Blue Jacket, quite so
worked up. He made dramatic gestures when he talked, and seemed to be
replying to the taunts of the older chief.
It began to look as though there might be trouble, and Sandy fingered
the lock of his gun, taking a sly look down to make sure that there
was powder in the pan, for the spark from flint and steel to reach, in
case it became necessary for him to depend on a quick discharge of the
musket.
"What are they talking about, Pat?" asked Sandy; for he knew that the
Irish trapper was able to follow what the two Indians said in their
warm discussion.
"Sure, thot scum av the aarth, Little Turtle, do be taunting Blue
Jacket wid bein' frinds-like wid the palefaces," the other replied,
cautiously, keeping one eye all the while upon the pair of treacherous
renegades, whom he would not trust for a single second to get behind
his back. "He tills him thot ivery ridskin ought to be the mortual foe
av the palefaces who would stale their land away from thim. He kapes
on sayin' thot he hates the white men as hotly as the sun shines in
summer, and will niver, niver make frinds wid the same." (Note 6.)
"But, no matter what he says, it will not cause Blue Jacket to turn
against the Armstrong family, even if he some day takes up the hatchet
against the whites," Sandy went on to say, with a confidence born of
an intimate acquaintance with the young Shawanee brave, whose name was
also fated to figure in the history of the times.
"Av yees could but hear what he do be sayin' this blissed minit,"
declared Pat, "sure, it's on a good foundation ye build yer faith.
Listen to him till that he was sore wounded, and how ye two byes did
bring him intil yees own wigwam, h'alin' his hurts, so that instead av
dyin' he lived. Now, it is av thot same kind mither av yees that he
do be spakin', and how she bound up his bullet wound wid salve, an'
trated him as though he might be her own boy. For thot he can niver be
anything but the frind av the Arrmstrong family. An' already has he
parrt convinced Little Turtle, becase, ye know, gratitude is the bist
trait av the ridskins."
"But now the other seems to be changing his talk, and appealing to him
in another way. Tell us what he is saying, Pat, please," insisted Sandy.
The Irish trapper listened for a minute, and then nodded.
"That wor a cliver shot av Blue Jacket, on me worrd," he muttered.
"Yees say, the ould chief he do be tillin' him that his brothers, the
Shawanees, are always on the warpath aginst the palefaces; and that,
while it may be all right for him to keep frinds wid yer family, he
ought to take up arrms aginst the rist av the sittlement. But Blue
Jacket replied by tillin' him av what ye byes did for the great sachem,
Pontiac, only last autumn, and what it meant for the sacred wampum belt
of the same to be hangin' in the Arrmstrong cabin."
"Oh! yes," Sandy went on; "that ought to convince Little Turtle that
Pontiac is the friend of our settlement, just because we live there;
and an injury to one would be an injury to all. All these months, now,
while other places have been attacked, there has come no evil against
our neighbors. Much though they feared the coming of the Indians, not
once has a hostile shot been fired since that day when Pontiac gave us
his wonderful belt."
"Do you notice, Pat," remarked Bob just then, in a whisper intended
only for the ears of the one he addressed, "that the man you called
Simon Girty is edging off to the left, a little at a time? I do not
like the look in his eye. He scowls as though he meant us harm."
"'Tis mesilf that do be after watchin' the sarpint av the forest,"
replied the trapper. "And yees spake rightly whin ye say he has evil
in his mind; but me finger is on the trigger, an', be the powers, wan
hostile move on his parrt manes for me to fire. I cud hit the eye av a
rid squirrel at this distance, and surely must find his black heart wid
me bullet."
He spoke louder than before, and for a reason. Evidently his words must
have reached the ear of the renegade, for he no longer tried to keep on
moving, a little at a time, toward the left. Doubtless Girty knew well
what a splendid shot Pat O'Mara was; and also that the trapper would
willingly rid the border of such a pest, if given half an excuse.
The two Indians had by this time come to an understanding. What Blue
Jacket had told concerning the gratitude of Pontiac, and the bestowing
of his wampum belt on the young pioneers, because of their saving
his life, must have impressed the Miami chief greatly. At that time
Pontiac's name was one to conjure with among the confederated red men
of the region lying between the Alleghenies and the Mississippi; while
Little Turtle had not yet come to the zenith of his fame.
Turning to his white allies the Miami chieftain spoke in a rapid tone.
Although Bob could understand only a word or two, nevertheless he
grasped the meaning of what Little Turtle said; and knew that he was
warning Girty and McKee not to think of injuring either of the boys who
had been taken under the especial protection of Pontiac, the master
schemer.
"Are they going to let us pass on, or do they mean to start a fight?"
asked Sandy, whose manner showed that he was by no means averse to
trying conclusions with the two ugly desperadoes who had thrown their
fortunes in with the Indians, so that they could no longer find a
friendly greeting at the cabin of a single white settler.
"No danger of our being halted," Bob hastened to reply, fearful lest
the impulsive Sandy might attempt some sort of play that would open
hostilities, when there was no necessity.
"Come, we'd bist be on our way, av we hope to rach the sittlement
before the flood arrives," said Pat, beginning to retreat, still
keeping watch on the renegades; for no white man who had his senses
about him would ever be so foolish as to turn his back on such a
treacherous snake in the grass as Simon Girty.
They were soon far enough away from the camp to feel safe, especially
since the keen eyes of Blue Jacket saw that not one of the three whom
they had left there had made any move toward following them.
"How is your ankle going to hold out, Sandy?" asked Bob, who feared the
worst.
"It's just got to do," was the determined reply. "I mean to go on until
I drop; but I shall keep up with you. If the worst comes, you can leave
me behind somewhere, and the rest push on, for, unless the warning is
received, our people may be caught asleep in their cabins, and carried
away, like that log was."
Sandy was possessed of considerable grit, inherited from his sturdy
Scotch ancestors, no doubt. When he set those teeth of his firmly
together it meant that he was just bound to do, or die. And in many a
tight hole that stubborn trait served him a good turn, just as it had
also gotten the boy into heaps of trouble.
When he limped, Bob threw an arm around him; or it might be the genial
trapper gave him such assistance as lay in his power. Indeed, deep
down in his own mind, though he did not say as much, Pat O'Mara was
determined that if he had to take the lame boy upon his broad back, as
an Indian squaw would her little papoose, he was bound to see to it
that Sandy reached his home with the rest of them.
But Blue Jacket was familiar with every trail of the forest. He could
lead them over cut-offs that even the trapper did not know and which
saved many a weary step.
The boys began to recognize their surroundings after a while, although
the night was so dark that only the general conformation of the country
could be noticed.
"We're getting there, Bob," said Sandy, hopefully.
"To be sure we are!" declared the other. "See, that must be the tree we
shot the wildcat from, when he was eating the mink taken from our trap."
"And that means only another mile or so to go before we reach home,"
remarked the younger boy gladly; for Sandy was fast reaching a point
where even his remarkable grit could not carry him along, and he must
admit defeat.
But every step he knew took him that much closer to home. Even the
thought of his mother and father, as well as Kate, anxiously awaiting
news of the two who had crossed the raging river on the preceding
afternoon, buoyed him up, and lent him new strength.
By degrees they were coming near the settlement. This had been built
along a small elevation on the bank of the Ohio, from which the
pioneers were afforded a magnificent view up and down the river. At the
time of its selection by Daniel Boone, who had long admired the site as
an ideal place for a growing town, no one had so much as dreamed that
a flood might sooner or later come sweeping down from the hills away
beyond Fort Duquesne, and threaten the little colony with disaster. But
it had come, and this night was likely to prove the blackest in the
history of the settlement.
Now they could see the blockhouse that had been erected on the very
crown of the ridge, so that in times of danger all those having cabins
lower down along the face of the hill might flee thither for refuge.
And the wily Indians could not find any higher point whence to send
their arrows, winged with flame, to stick in the roof of the fort, and
set it ablaze.
"I can see a light in our cabin window," declared Sandy, presently, his
voice trembling with eagerness. "See, it is on the side that looks down
the river. I am sure mother must have put it there to serve as a guide
for her boys, if they chanced to be afloat on the dark waters. Oh! how
glad we will be to see her again."
The roar of the river was in their ears as they advanced further; but
their coming must have been detected by some sentinel, for a minute
later a harsh voice rang out, calling upon them to halt and explain who
they were, on pain of being fired on.
"It's we, Mr. Harkness," cried out Sandy, recognizing the voice of a
near neighbor, "brother Bob and myself; but with us come Pat O'Mara,
and our friend, Blue Jacket, the last bringing news that will tell you
his friendship still holds good. Oh! where will we find our mother and
father; can you direct us, sir?"
"They are at the cabin," replied the sturdy settler, as they advanced
to where he stood, gun in hand, "though I saw Neighbor Armstrong but
a few moments ago, and he was much cast down because his sons had not
arrived. Hasten then, and convince him of your safety; and meanwhile we
would like to know the nature of this warning brought by the Indian."
CHAPTER VII
THE FLINT-TIPPED ARROW ON THE ROOF
AS Bob Armstrong and his brother drew near the well-beloved cabin
which had now been their home for almost an entire year, their hearts
beat high with anticipation of a reunion with their mother, father and
sister.
The door stood partly open, as though, perhaps, Mr. Armstrong had just
entered, to bear the latest news concerning the rising of the river
to his family circle. And, looking through the opening thus formed,
the boys saw the three whom they loved standing by the table, on which
still rested the dishes of the evening meal, as if the fond mother had
not given up all hope that her sons might yet come in, tired and hungry.
They could see her face as she listened to what the good man of the
house was saying. It could not have been cheerful news, either, for the
concern deepened on the countenances of Kate and her mother.
The boys could stand it no longer, but, bursting through the door,
they were quickly in the arms of the mother for whom either of them
would have given his young life any day; nor did either Bob or Sandy
deem it unmanly in the least because tears ran down their cheeks,
induced by their great joy at once more being home.
Then came many questions; and, as the story was told, how those fond
ones hung upon every word! No doubt that brave little mother could see,
just as vividly as though she had been there, her younger boy caught in
his own trap, with that fierce woods tiger creeping closer and closer.
And then, later, when between them the boys had described the accident
out on the river, whereby the breaking of the paddle was responsible
for the collision with the great unwieldy log, and the loss of the
dugout, she realized the peril her sons had been in, even though they
strove to make light of it.
Last of all came the news that Blue Jacket was trying to fetch to
his friends at the time he and Pat had so opportunely come upon the
floating log in the middle of the Ohio.
"Let us hope and pray that it may not be so bad as that," Mrs.
Armstrong said; for, now that her boys had been restored to her,
she felt that she could face almost any calamity with calmness. "The
Indians may have over-estimated the force of the water, and it will not
rise higher than our doorstep, at most."
"It is not very far from that, even now," observed Bob, who had noted
before entering the cabin how terribly near that flowing flood came to
their home, and that already it had covered the patch of ground where
he and his brother were accustomed to work at odd times, when not
hunting, or attending to their string of traps.
"We shall not dare sleep much to-night," declared Mr. Armstrong. "You
see, my boys, we have been busy, and our few possessions are already
done up, ready to be carried to higher ground, if necessary--which we
hope may not be the case."
Then came Pat O'Mara, always a welcome guest at the Armstrong cabin;
for he had always shown himself one of their best friends.
"Sure, there be some av the settlers who make light av the direful news
Blue Jacket brings, becase, ye say, 'tis only an Injun that fetches
the same," the trapper remarked, after he had greeted the rest of the
family, and joined the circle. And then with the boys ate heartily of
the food Mrs. Armstrong had placed before them.
"A strange thing happened since you left home," remarked the owner of
the cabin, as he reached out, and, picking something up, laid it on the
heavy table, scoured snowy white by the hands of the good housewife.
Sandy uttered a cry of astonishment.
"Why, look at that, will you?" he exclaimed. "It must be another of
those strange warnings we have been getting for a long time past,
though we can never understand who sends them, for I can see the same
figures marked here on the birch bark that we settled before meant
those rascally French trappers."
"Yes," said Bob, who was closely examining the little roll of thin
bark, almost as light as a feather; "I am sure you are right about
that, Sandy; and these two creeping figures must be our enemies,
Jacques and Henri, the brother of the dead Armand. But where did you
get this, father?"
"Your mother and myself were talking here late in the afternoon, when
Kate came and told us she had heard a strange sound from the direction
of the roof, just as if some one had thrown a stone. I went out,
expecting to find that those small boys of the new settler, Seth
Smalley, had been pelting each other again; but, when I looked, no one
was in sight. Then, chancing to cast my eyes upward toward the roof,
what was my astonishment to see an arrow sticking there, to which was
attached that little roll of bark. So I climbed up, and possessed
myself of the whole. I do not much doubt but that this unknown friend,
who has several times tried to warn us about those bad men, the French
trappers, is again sending a message which is intended for you two
boys."
"What does he seem to say this time?" asked Sandy, as, with his brother
and the Irish trapper, he bent over the scroll which was being held
open in the extended fingers of Bob.
"Here is a cabin, which must be meant for our own home," commenced Bob;
"because, you see, it has a little flagstaff fastened to the top in
front. Well, two creeping figures are coming toward the cabin. One of
them holds something in his hand, which I can hardly make out, but it
may be a burning brand. Yes, it surely is, for here you can see smoke
curling up from the side of the cabin."
"Well, the whole settlement shall know about it at once," declared
Sandy, angrily; "and it will be a bad thing for Jacques Larue or Henri
Lacroix to be seen creeping up the rise. I do not believe we will ever
know peace until something happens to those bad men. Little they care
for the sacred belt of Pontiac, and even the death of Armand Lacroix
does not seem to have daunted them."
"I think you are wrong there," Bob went on, earnestly. "They have
been afraid to do either of us bodily injury, because they know what
the anger of Pontiac would mean to them. But they think they can find
other ways to annoy us, and those we care for. To burn our cabin to the
ground seems to be a favorite way of satisfying their idea of revenge;
but they will have a hard time doing it, now that we are warned."
"I read the scroll somewhat as you do," said Mr. Armstrong, "and at
once commenced to ask among the neighbors concerning them. One man, who
had been out hunting most of the day, told about seeing the Frenchmen
in the woods. They seemed to be heading this way, and acted as though
they were making sure of their ground as they advanced. As he did not
fancy running into trouble, he simply lay in the bushes until they had
passed on."
"Which proves that they are really around here again, urged on by some
foolish notion that they have suffered wrongs at our hands, and ought
to square the account," remarked Bob, seriously.
"It will be squared, one of these fine days," said Sandy, with a glance
in the direction of the corner where he had stood his musket after
entering, taking it from the hands of Pat, who had been carrying the
heavy piece for him, because of his lame leg.
"Yis," spoke up Pat, "there be but wan way to aven accounts wid such
spalpeens as thim Frinch trappers, who make most av their livin'
stalin' from the traps av honest min; and that is by diskiverin' the
same in some ugly thrick, an' wastin' a precious bit av lead."
"Here comes Blue Jacket to see you, mother," said Bob.
"Oh!" broke in Sandy, "if you could only have seen him when he was
telling that war-loving Little Turtle how much he was in debt to the
Armstrong family, it would have done you good, mother. Of course we
didn't just understand all they said; but Pat could, and he told us
how Blue Jacket was declaring he would lay down his life for any one of
us, if the need arose. He said you attended to his hurt just as if he
were your own son."
It could be easily understood, after that, what a warm welcome greeted
the young Shawanee brave when he strode into their midst. Doubtless
it was pleasant to him to know that they thought so much of him; but
he did not betray this fact even by a smile. An Indian learns from
childhood to repress all outward evidence of feeling springing either
from joy or pain. Anger alone will he allow himself to show, and that
only because it excites his ardor for the battlefield or to follow the
trail of his enemy.
Sandy was waiting to spring something upon the young Shawanee brave. He
had asked his father for the arrow which had been shot so as to drop
directly on the roof of the Armstrong cabin. This he suddenly laid
before Blue Jacket.
"You, who can tell the different arrow-points, and the way of
feathering the shaft, of every tribe along the Ohio, look at this, and
say whose was the hand that drew the bow from which it came," Sandy
went on to say.
Blue Jacket looked gravely at the flint tip that was bound in the
cleft of the straight shaft with strong fibres taken from some plant.
There must have been signs that immediately informed him as to what
tribe the party belonged who had made that arrow. (Note 7.)
"Ugh! Delaware arrow, him," grunted Blue Jacket; and no one dreamed of
disputing his simple assertion; indeed, Pat O'Mara was seen to wag his
head in a satisfied way, as though that declaration exactly coincided
with his own private opinion.
"So, you see," remarked Sandy, with an air of triumph, turning on his
brother, "I always said I believed it was an Indian who sent those
queer messages; but why do you suppose he does it? The Delawares as a
rule are not in love with the white settlers. When a colony is attacked
there are generally Delawares among the reds who creep up to surprise
the poor settlers. Why should a Delaware want to do us a good turn;
tell me that, Bob?"
"Well, now, I am just as much in the dark as you are," returned Bob;
"unless that was a Delaware youth you rescued, Sandy, from that
horrible quicksand late in the autumn on that day you went out hunting
alone."
"It might be," Sandy replied, looking thoughtful; "he never told me
who he was; but held out his hand to me, and then disappeared in the
bushes, from which fact I made up my mind that he must have been on
a very important errand at the time he got trapped in that slough. A
Delaware--well, perhaps he was. Seems to me he looked like the one who
was caught hanging around here early last summer, and who was allowed
to go, with a warning never to come back. But I suppose I never will
know the truth."
"But, it sames to me it's a mighty good thing to have sich a grand
fri'nd always on the watch till warrn yees whin danger draws nigh,"
remarked the trapper. "Now, av I'd had the same, 'tis manny a bad time
I might have been saved from goin' through wid, in me day. And marrk me
worrd, this same party must have a bad falin' towards the Frinchmin;
becase he sames to kape watch over them, so he do; plazed to upset anny
plans they might be after makin'."
Leaving the cabin in the charge of Mrs. Armstrong, Kate, and Sandy, the
last of whom wished to have some of the home-made salve applied to his
swollen ankle, the rest went out to watch the rising of the waters, and
to compare notes with others among the anxious settlers, now in fear
of having the little homes for which they had toiled so hard swept away
with the flood.
One who had been keeping close watch over the situation declared that
for more than half an hour now the river had been at a standstill.
Even such a small thing as this brought some ray of hope in its train;
though Pat warned them not to relax their vigilance one iota, because
the information sent down the Ohio by means of those signal smokes was
usually very accurate, and could be depended on.
It was after a time decided to set a watch, while the rest of the
settlers tried to obtain some sleep, of which they were in much need.
Should the river once more begin to rise, information of the event
would be carried around quietly from cabin to cabin, so as not to
awaken the women and children, and needlessly alarm them, even though
it were deemed the part of wisdom for the men to be abroad.
But, in case the water started to rise swiftly, as would be the case
should the flood predicted by the Indians arrive, then the alarm bell,
used only in cases of great necessity, like a threatened Indian attack,
would be rung.
Should that be heard, every one must immediately start to remove all
of his possessions, scanty as these were at the best, to a place of
security on higher ground.
It was an anxious group that gathered there for a last consultation,
before separating for the night. Bob missed Blue Jacket, and yet the
Indian came and went at will when visiting his white friends, so that
his absence caused no alarm.
Finally Mr. Armstrong took Bob by the sleeve, saying:
"Come, you and Pat, we will return home. We all of us need sleep, and
surely you in particular, my son, after the excitement of the perils
that hung over your head. Perhaps a kindly Providence, that has all
along watched over our fortunes, may see fit to ward off this new and
terrible danger. But, if it is to come, we could not help matters by
remaining awake. Let us then be securing some rest, so as to be ready
to work with a will, in case the worst comes."
Half an hour later perfect quiet seemed to surround the cabin of the
settlers from Virginia; but, nevertheless, Pat slept, as he himself
expressed it, "wid wan eye open." Besides, he kept his long rifle
close to his hand; and Sandy felt positive that, in case there came any
midnight alarm, O'Mara would be out of the cabin like a flash, and woe
to the skulking figure on which his eye rested.
Tired out after the labors of the day, and easily able to throw the
burden off his young mind, Bob Armstrong was not long in going to
sleep, once he had dropped down on his bed, covered with some of the
furs taken by himself and Sandy.
They had been warned not to undress, lest there might be need of sudden
action with the coming of the flood. But such a little thing as that
did not bother either of the Armstrong boys, who were used to roughing
it whenever they went into the woods.
Bob never knew how long he slept; but it must have been for several
hours, because the fire on the hearth had died down when he opened his
eyes again, and it had been looked after at the time he lay down.
But the condition of the fire gave the boy little or no concern at
the time he awoke; for, hardly had he opened his eyes, than he became
conscious of the thrilling fact that it had not been a dream after
all but the alarm bell was wildly pealing out its brazen notes; and
outside he could hear men's hoarse voices shouting:
"Up, every one of you! The flood is coming swiftly, and already the
water has commenced to rise at a fearful rate. Awake! Be up and doing,
if you would save your possessions! The flood! the flood!"
CHAPTER VIII
THE TREASURE BOX THAT WAS FORGOTTEN
AS this thrilling cry rang through the settlement, supplemented by the
wild peals of the alarm bell in the block house, all the inmates of
David Armstrong's cabin were on their feet.
Sleep had been banished as if by magic; indeed, the boys had never felt
more wide-awake in all their lives. And there was plenty to do, as well
as willing hands with which to accomplish the labor.
Fortunate indeed did it prove that everybody had anticipated this
sudden necessity, and that the scanty household goods, some of them
precious only through their associations with that Virginia of the
past, had been so packed that they could be carried to higher ground,
and a place of safety, in a very brief time.
Indeed, so rapidly was the water coming up now, that, by the time the
last piece had been taken from the Armstrong cabin it commenced to
trickle over the door-sill. Bob's last visit was made with more or less
splashing, as he strode around the familiar interior, now looking so
strange with the floor covered by the flood.
Some of the settlers, Mr. Armstrong among them, had made use of the
strongest ropes they could obtain, to tie their cabins to convenient
trees, hoping that in this way they might add to their security. When
the strength of the current and the hulk of those log cabins was taken
into consideration, however, this hope did not have a great deal to
rest upon.
There now seemed nothing left to do but cluster there beyond the edge
of the river, and take note of its constant rise. All whose cabins were
in danger had saved their goods, and in this considered themselves
lucky. New cabins could of course be built, since there was wood in
plenty, and stout arms to swing the axe; but these family possessions
could never have been replaced.
There was one little consolation, slender though it might appear; the
clouds had finally broken, and the stars were shining. It seemed almost
as though the myriad bright eyes of heaven were peeping out, to see the
extent of the damage and woe that had been wrought.
Unable to stand quiet and watch the raging waters creep up around
the walls of their late home, the Armstrong boys joined the group not
far away. Fires had been lighted, and the glow of these added to the
weirdness of the scene, as the settlers moved to and fro, comparing
notes, trying to find comfort in their mutual troubles, and seizing on
the slightest grain of hope afforded by reports that the crest of the
rise must surely have come, after which the waters would go down again.
"What is Pat O'Mara talking so fiercely about?" asked Bob, as he joined
the group, after having been off to see how things were getting on in
the direction of the river; and Sandy, who had remained where most of
the homeless families had congregated, turned with a frown on his face.
"It is about those miserable French trappers," he replied.
"But what of them?" persisted Bob; "surely we need not fear their
setting fire to our cabin just now; and even Pat, who hates those men
so much, could not well accuse them of having turned this water loose."
"That is all very true, Bob; but one of the settlers has just mentioned
the fact that he felt almost positive he ran across two men, dressed
like trappers, who were hurrying away from the settlement. He called
out to them, thinking that they might be friends, but they paid no heed
to his hail. And, as he got to thinking the matter over, all at once it
struck him who they must have been."
"When was it that he saw them?" demanded Bob, immediately concerned.
"It may have been an hour or so ago; about the time the water was
rising around our cabin, and, unable to bear the sight, we came here,"
Sandy replied. "They are all wondering what could have brought those
men here at such a time; and every one seems to think that it must
have been the hope of laying their hands on some valuables, while the
settlers were given up to excitement."
"That looks like it, Sandy," the other replied, quickly. "All have
piled up whatever they possess in a heap, not caring where it lies so
long as the waters cannot carry it off. But people are there on the
watch all the time, and children snuggled down in the midst of the
bedclothes; so it doesn't seem as if those men could find much worth
carrying off."
"Well, Pat is as angry as a bull at sight of a red kerchief," Sandy
continued. "You know how he hates and despises everything that is
French. He vows that, if he can only get one glimpse of either Jacques
or Henri, his rifle will speak; and it seldom does that without
something dropping."
"Were they leaving the settlement at the time this man saw them?" asked
Bob.
"That was what he thought," his brother replied. "When he called out,
they seemed to hasten their footsteps, as though fearful that he might
try to detain them. He says he stood and wondered who they could be,
and why they refused to answer his hail. It was only when too late that
the truth flashed into his mind."
"Well, if they are gone, let us hope it is for good," remarked Bob.
"But why should they be around here at all, when they know the
hostility of the English settlers toward the French?" asked Sandy. "It
is always war between them, and especially in the wilderness where
the trap lines run. Each claims all the country between here and the
Mississippi; together with all the fur-bearing animals that can be
found there. And that dispute will never be settled without a bloody
war."
"Perhaps they meant to either try and rob some of the settlers here,
or else set fire to our home," Bob ventured to say. "The coming of the
flood changed their plans; and, as the people were all aroused, they
must have decided that it was too dangerous for them to stay around
here. And so, at the time they were seen, Jacques and Henri may have
been scuttling out."
"How is it at the cabin?" asked Sandy, with a tremor in his voice; for,
truth to tell, he felt the impending catastrophe even more than his
brother did, and could not bear to look upon what seemed to be the doom
of their home.
"I'm sorry to say the water seems still to be rising, and we must not
allow ourselves to cling to much hope that it can be saved," was Bob's
reply. "I feel more for mother and Kate than the rest of us. They sit
there among our goods, white of face, but trying to bear up. Father
cheers them with a few words every now and then; but they know he only
talks that way because he cannot bear to see them so miserable, and not
that he really believes the flood is at a standstill."
"Poor father and mother, they have had so many things to bear with,"
said Sandy. "We must try to look cheerful, just for their sakes. And
besides, you know, at the worst it may mean a change of base for us,
Bob."
"I know what you are thinking of, Sandy," the other remarked, with a
shake of his head. "That Mississippi idea will not let go of you."
"But others are really talking about it right now, Bob, I tell you,"
Sandy insisted, earnestly. "You would be surprised to know how many
heads of families are thinking that it would be a splendid undertaking
to leave this country, where misfortune has overtaken them, and go
further into the golden west. There was Mr. Harness for one, Mr.
Bancroft for another, and possibly Mr. Wayne. Something seems to tell
me, brother, that the coming of this flood, terrible though it appears,
will be the very means of making our father decide to go upon this
undertaking. Oh! I hope so! I hope so! I surely know that it would be
for the best; and that we could have a homestead in that beautiful
wilderness out yonder, that would far exceed anything ever known along
the Ohio, with its floods and troublesome Indians."
"When father makes his mind up, then will be the time for the rest of
us to say what we think," Bob observed. "But we must wait and see.
Perhaps, when the waters go down again, our neighbors will forget what
they said this night, and think it best to rebuild, if their homes have
been swept away."
"Come, let us go over, and comfort our mother again," Sandy suggested.
"A good idea," returned Bob. "This is a time for us to try to look
cheerful, as you say. We are young, and can stand hardships easily; but
our parents are growing old now, and such things weigh heavily on them.
I'm with you; lead the way."
They found Mrs. Armstrong and Kate apparently hunting through the pile
of household goods for something that seemed to be missing.
"What is it, mother?" asked Sandy, quickly, scenting possible trouble.
"I cannot find my little treasure box, in which I kept what few
valuables I possessed, as well as your wampum belt which Pontiac gave
you as a pledge of his constant good will," Mrs. Armstrong replied.
"And, come to think of it, did any of you bring it out of the cabin?
You know I kept it on that small shelf above the window."
The two boys looked at each other in dismay. There was no need to ask
if either had seen the box of valuables, for the expression on their
faces told the story.
"It must be in the cabin still, then!" exclaimed Sandy.
Forgetting his lame ankle, he turned and hurried away, impulsive as
ever; and Mrs. Armstrong wrung her hands as she appealed to Bob to stop
him.
"Much as I value the things that are in that little box, not for ten
times their worth would I have one of my boys imperil his life in the
effort to save them. Go as fast as you can, then, Bob, and hold your
hasty brother in check before he takes that dreadful risk!"
Hardly waiting to hear the last word, Bob was off like a shot. He was
just in time, for as he came upon Sandy the latter had reached the edge
of the water, and was about to start boldly into the swift current,
meaning to swim out to the half-submerged cabin.
Bob gripped him by the arm, and shouted in his ear:
"You must not go out there, Sandy, mother says! It would be an act of
madness. Already the water is over our heads; and look at the way the
cabin trembles with the force of the current. It may be carried away
at any minute!"
And Sandy, with a groan, let his head drop until his chin rested on his
chest, for he saw that Bob spoke truly.
CHAPTER IX
THE SPIRIT OF THE PIONEER
"OH! there goes the Hutchinson cabin, swept away down the river!" arose
a cry from near by; and, looking out, the boys saw that it was indeed
too true.
With the rising of the water the stout cabin had finally been lifted
from its foundations, and, the last they saw of it, the current was
making a plaything of what had only a short time before been a happy
home.
"Ours may be the next!" was Sandy's choking exclamation, as he and Bob
continued to stand there and watch.
Every time there was a lurch to the log building that seemed to presage
its destruction, Sandy would press his hand over his eyes, as though he
could not bear the sight; and a moment later the cheering voice of his
brother would assure him that the peril had passed, at least for that
time, as the sturdily-built cabin still held out.
So the early dawn found the dismal settlement on the bank of the Ohio.
Men stood moodily about, watching the destruction of their homes,
and feeling very bitter toward the river that was robbing them so
mercilessly. Again and again did some one turn the conversation to
that subject which had engrossed the mind of Sandy Armstrong for so
long--the charms of the rich land to be found away off toward the
region of the setting sun, where the Mississippi rolled its mighty
flood, and abundance awaited the coming of bold pioneers capable of
turning the black soil that would grow fabulous crops.
One spoke of the vast herds of buffaloes that roamed unhindered through
the aisles of the dense forests; another had heard stories about the
vast quantities of the most valuable fur-bearing animals ever seen, and
which could be easily captured by energetic trappers.
"And the Indians are not of the same bloodthirsty stripe as the
Shawanees, the Iroquois, and the Delawares, with whom we have been
constantly threatened," was the argument a third settler advanced.
Sandy hovered around whenever the talk trended this way, eagerly
drinking in all that was said. He believed that, if only that
wonderful young forest ranger, Simon Kenton, were present, he would
willingly join his fortunes with a party that might be made up to start
toward the distant goal, as soon as a suitable flatboat could be built.
And Sandy only wished he might see the tall, sinewy figure of the
indomitable Kenton striding toward the fire at that very moment; since
his coming would certainly sway the weak members of the party toward a
conclusion.
Abijah Cook, the toothless old ranger, who had been entrusted with
the task of keeping track of the river's rise, came hastening toward
the gathering at this time. There was something about the way in
which he swung his old coonskin cap that aroused the curiosity of the
disconsolate settlers.
"Abijah brings good news!" some one called out, as the hunter drew near.
"The river is surely at a stand!" called the man who swung his hunter's
cap so vigorously. "For this half hour it has only risen an inch!"
"Then the worst must be over!" exclaimed a distracted father, hurrying
off to see if his cabin had stood through that period of stress and
strain.
It was a scene they would never forget that greeted the eyes of the
pioneers as the day came on.
Five cabins were no longer where they had been at the close of the
preceding day. They had fallen victims to the insatiable maw of the
river, and by this time must have been scattered over miles of the
watercourse, as roof and walls were torn apart by the force of the
current.
Sandy was in a fever of suspense. He came back again and again to see
if their cabin still resisted the grip of the flood.
"There is a chance that it will hold out to the end!" he cried, as the
boys stood there and watched the trembling roof of the home. "And, if
it does, why we can easily find mother's little treasure box, with the
valuables she thinks so much of; and then there is our wampum belt,
which Pontiac gave us with his own hands, to show all Indians, who
might threaten us, that we were the friends and brothers of the sachem.
Oh! I would feel pretty bad, I tell you, if that should be lost."
"So would I, Sandy," replied Bob; "because we've depended on that belt
to keep the torch away from our settlement. Once it is lost, we are no
better off than Boonesborough, or any other place around which the
Indians constantly hover, ready to use bullets or arrows or torch upon
the unsuspicious settlers. But, Sandy, cheer up. If the cabin does
hold out to the end, we are sure to find the treasure box again; for
you know it would float on the water, and could hardly escape from the
interior, since the door is shut."
"That's what I've been thinking, Bob," returned the other. "But when
will the water go down enough for us to cross over and find out the
truth? Every minute seems like a whole hour to me; and the hours are
like days."
"Well, we can't hurry the old river a bit by getting excited," Bob
continued, knowing of old the nervous nature of his brother; "so the
best we can do is to try to make our mother and sister comfortable.
They have gone into the blockhouse, you see, and it is there we must
carry some of our belongings; for the women and children will have to
sleep there for some days. Even the cabins that are left standing will
be so water-soaked that it would never do for children to sleep in them
until they are dried out by fires."
And so, in this labor of love, even Sandy was enabled to forget, for a
time at least, his troubles and anxieties.
The river, while at a stand, had not as yet started to go down, though
by night, the older and more experienced among the settlers declared,
they might expect to see some difference in the height of the waters.
Many anxious eyes were cast upward toward the heavens during the
morning; and hardly a fleecy cloud that came sailing into sight but was
viewed with more or less fear, lest it turn into a vapory billow that
would quickly overspread the blue arch, and let down another torrential
rain.
But the air was clear and crisp, and in truth it had apparently cleared
up for good, as if Nature were satisfied with the damage already
wrought.
The big blockhouse had been built with the thought that, in case of
an Indian attack, it would be called on to hold all in the little
settlement. Around it a high stockade or palisade had been erected,
behind the shelter of which the defenders might hold their own against
the crafty foe, shooting through loopholes that had been made for guns.
It was a two-story affair, the upper projecting a foot or more beyond
the lower, as was the ease with most blockhouses built in those dark
days, when enemies were apt to spring up in a night, surrounding
the fort, and striving by every device known to savage ingenuity to
encompass its destruction.
There were small openings in the floor of this second story where it
overlapped the lower walls, and through these the defenders might
protect the log foundations from being set on fire by the red fiends
who had besieged the occupants, and were bent on their destruction.
After all, it could be made fairly comfortable, and, as there is more
or less consolation in having companions in misery, the women were
beginning to pluck up a little heart, looking to the coming of better
times.
Those whose homes had been carried away were promised the assistance of
every strong arm in the community, in the effort to provide them with
new cabins, for, being so utterly aloof from contact with civilization,
the pioneers were dependent on one another for everything that went to
make up life.
Of course the boys could not long keep away from the bank, where they
might look out toward the upper part of their submerged cabin and
speculate on its ability to hold out to the end.
As the day wore on their hopes kept rising and falling. Sandy, in
particular, changed his mind about every ten minutes. Now he was
certain that the good old cabin was bound to defy the power of the
flood to move it from its foundations; then again he would call out
that he feared it must be about to give up the fight, because he had
seen its walls shake in a way that told they were near collapse.
But noon came and went, and found things just about the same as when
dawn broke over the cheerless scene. True, another cabin had succumbed
to the rush of swirling water, so that six in all had been destroyed;
but that circumstance alone need not fill them with dismay, since new
abodes could be erected, before many weeks had passed, that would in
all probability be an improvement on the old.
Around the fires the men gathered in clusters to talk over the
situation, and exchange opinions. And every time Bob chanced to draw
near one of these groups he discovered, to his surprise, that much of
the talk was about the chances of a venturesome party reaching the
fertile prairie land away off to the west, by following the course of
the Ohio.
Apparently, then, Sandy had spoken truly when he declared that the seed
had taken root in the hearts of several of the heads of families; and
Bob found that even his own father seemed to be as deeply interested in
the project as any of the others.
The very idea gave Bob a thrill. To the bold pioneer, be he boy or
man, there is always something very fascinating about heading into the
unknown land. Somewhere ahead there always exists a wonderful country
where marvellous things may be done. Just as the lure of gold led men
to cross the wide plains to California so this feverish desire to
possess the land appealed to our forefathers, and tempted them to brave
the perils that lay in wait along unknown trails, all leading westward.
Some of the men who had lost their hard-earned homes were especially
bitter concerning the location which had been picked out for them by
Daniel Boone; just as though the frontiersman could ever have foreseen
such an astonishing rise of the river as this flood had been, greater,
the Indians declared, than had ever been known before, as far back as
their traditions went.
But these grumblers declared that the place must have some sort of
curse resting upon it. They had met with troubles without end ever
since coming across the mountains to the new country on the Ohio.
To continue to bear up under the oppressive yoke was asking too much
of them; and, as they scorned the very idea of returning to Virginia,
there seemed but one alternative, which was to move on further into
the wilderness, found a new home there, and profit by being the first
English families to penetrate that hitherto unsettled region.
After they had eaten some lunch, which made things appear a bit more
cheerful, as a meal always does, the boys again wandered down to the
edge of the river, to look out over the flowing tide, and speculate on
its fast subsidence; for they had made marks themselves, and knew by
these that the flood was losing its grip.
Sandy was feeling much more cheerful now. He even expressed the opinion
that they were sure to find the little treasure box floating around
inside the cabin, once they could get out to see. And certainly the
precious wampum belt, that spelled safety for the Armstrong family, no
matter what tribe of Indians they happened to meet, could not be much
injured by a mere soaking.
Bob had heard the changes rung upon this subject half a dozen times
during that half of a day; and he fully anticipated finding his brother
breaking out into another lament before half an hour had passed, as the
whim seized him.
Nor was he mistaken about this, though the cause came from a quarter
least expected. It was while the boys were standing there, watching
the flow of the flood, and commenting on the fine stand taken by the
Armstrong cabin, which must always reflect credit on its builders,
themselves included, that Sandy gave a sudden exclamation that seemed
to sound an alarm.
"After all," he cried out, in a distressed tone, "we have been building
our hopes on a sandy foundation. The dear old cabin has stood up
against all the pull of the river; but, see yonder, there comes a
great tree floating down, as if it was in a mill race; and as sure as
anything it's headed straight for our poor home. Once that strikes
against the wall, we can say good-bye to the Armstrong cabin. Oh! it's
hard to have to stand here, and not be able to lift a hand to save
mother's home!"
CHAPTER X
THE CABIN THAT BRAVED THE FLOOD
THERE was nothing that mortal hand could do to ward off the impending
peril that threatened to take the Armstrong cabin down the river, after
those of the other settlers that had gone before.
That huge forest monarch was coming along with majestic power,
borne on the swift current, and apparently headed straight for the
half-submerged cabin that had made such a gallant fight against heavy
odds.
"If it hits the cabin, there can be but one end!" Bob was forced to say
aloud.
"But is there any chance at all that it may pass by without striking?"
demanded Sandy, unconsciously gripping the sleeve of his brother's
fringed hunting coat in his excitement, while his eyes were glued to
the fearful object that was causing this new alarm in his heart.
"A small one; hardly enough to build on," replied Bob, soberly. "It all
depends on the current right here. I noticed some time ago that it
seems to make a sharp swerve away from the shore. Perhaps that may be
just enough to send the tree on a new tack, and spare our cabin."
"Oh! I hope so; I hope so!" murmured Sandy.
"But we shall know the worst in another minute," declared Bob; "for it
is coming along pretty fast now."
The two boys stood there, almost holding their breath in suspense,
their eyes fixed on the object that held so much terror for them. Of
course they would hate to see the dear old cabin go; but, after all,
that was not what gave them the most concern. There was that little
treasure box, that held the few valuables of their mother; and,
besides, that precious belt, which meant more to the pioneer family
than untold gold, as it spelled protection from Indian perils.
"There, it is at the point where the outward sweep begins; but will
such a big object be influenced by so small a change in the current?"
Bob was saying.
"I can begin to see a shaking of the branches that stand up, as if they
felt a new hand at the helm!" declared Sandy.
"Yes, yes, that is so!" cried Bob, almost as keenly aroused as the
excitable Sandy.
"It moves, Bob, it moves! I can see it begin to swerve! Oh! if the
cabin were only fifty yards further down-stream, I do believe it would
escape!"
"And it may yet. Wait and see!" answered Bob, watching the course of
the tree with a critical eye.
"It is swinging around, so that the branches begin to turn toward the
cabin. If anything strikes, it will not be the heavy butt, but the
lighter end. Perhaps our home may be able to stand out against that
sort of a blow."
"There! it's coming now!" cried Bob.
The scraping of the branches, as the tree swung around, was plainly
heard. Sandy gave a gasp. He imagined that he saw the log structure
start after the floating tree; but in this his fears magnified things,
for it did not happen.
Instead, the cabin remained just where it had always stood, while the
floating derelict of the flood passed on to its destiny.
"Hurrah!" exclaimed Bob, waving his cap enthusiastically.
For the moment poor Sandy was incapable of making a single sound. He
trembled violently, gasping for breath, and could only give his brother
a wan smile in exchange for his warm greeting; such was the nervous
effect the crisis had upon the excitable lad.
But presently Sandy became himself, and was bubbling over with joy
because fortune had been so kind to them.
"Oh! look!" he shouted a little later, "what can that be on the big log
out yonder? It seems to me like a black bear."
"And that is just what it is," replied his brother, after a careful
survey.
"Yes, as sure as anything, it must be, for I saw him move his head
then," Sandy went on. "It makes me think of that panther in the tree
that was floating down the river once, when we had our adventure with
him. But how in the wide world do you suppose he came there; and why
doesn't he swim ashore? Bears can swim, all right, Bob; isn't that so?"
"To be sure they can," replied the other; "but I imagine that bear
must have been in a treetop, and changed his location to the log, as
being better to his liking. He is pretty far out, you see, and perhaps
the swift current scares the poor old fellow; so that he thinks he
had better hug close to his craft, and let it carry him along where it
will."
"Just to think how he takes that voyage into the unknown world without
a single care," remarked Sandy; "and why should pioneers be afraid to
accept the dangers of the wilderness boldly, when they are in force?
Think of him getting ashore, hundreds of miles it may be from his
starting place, which he will never see again. I suppose that is one
of the ways different kinds of wild animals are given a start in new
sections of the country."
"I have been told that by Daniel Boone, who has looked upon so many
strange things in his day," Bob went on. "See, the bear is looking
toward us now, as if he wonders what sort of creatures these two-legged
things can be. But he is safe from our guns out there, and can keep on
his ride in peace."
"Where is Mr. Armstrong?"
This question was asked by a neighbor, who had his small son by the
arm; and Bob could not but notice that Mr. Wayne looked somewhat
concerned.
"Over this way, sir, you will find him; I will show you where," Bob
answered; and Sandy trailed along, too, as if he believed that the
settler had some particular reason for wanting to see their father.
As Mr. Wayne was one of those who had been talking most vehemently
about emigrating further west, Sandy chose to think that his mission
now might have some bearing on that issue.
But it did not. On the contrary, both boys were astounded to hear what
Mr. Wayne had to say, when presently he came upon their father.
"It was the boy who saw them," the settler started to say, as he
glanced down at his son, about eight years of age, and rather a
manly little fellow. "It was at the time we were all so excited last
night that we missed him. I hunted wildly around, as perhaps you may
remember; and when I began to fear he had been carried off in the
river, I finally discovered him, standing there on the bank, watching
the water by the light of the fires."
"Yes, I remember," remarked Mr. Armstrong, as the other paused for
breath; "but you have something more to tell, because I do not see how
this has any connection with my affairs, neighbor."
"Wait," the other went on, "and you will see whether it has or not.
Only a little while ago my good wife called me to her, and said that
Rufus had been making certain remarks about two strange men he saw, and
that she thought he ought to repeat in my hearing. So I questioned the
lad, and learned this. While he was standing by the water's edge last
night, after you and your family had gone up to the blockhouse with all
your possessions, Rufus saw two burly men, who were dressed like Kenton
and Boone, he says, pass out to your cabin, Mr. Armstrong, and enter by
the door!"
"Oh!" exclaimed Sandy, with his usual impulsiveness.
"Those terrible French trappers!" murmured Bob; "what could they want
there?"
"They did not stay inside very long," the settler continued; "and then,
after looking out in a queer way, as if they did not wish to be seen,
he says they hastened to the bank, and went sneaking off, down-river
way."
"But why did he not tell this before?" asked Mr. Armstrong, plainly
disturbed by the news.
"Well, you see, he is only a child," the other went on; "and, in the
excitement of the hour, it passed from his mind; or else he thought
they might have been some of the men of the settlement whom he did
not know. But it came back to him a little while ago, and he started
talking about it in a way to attract the attention of his mother, who
listened long enough to make sure that I should know. And so I have
brought him here, that you might question him further if it so pleased
you."
"I am afraid they must have been those scoundrels," said Mr. Armstrong;
"but what could have induced them to take the chances they did in
entering my cabin? I can only account for it in one way. They wanted
that wampum belt which it is known my sons possess, and which entitles
its possessor to the good-will of nearly every tribe of Indians between
the Alleghanies and the Mississippi. That is why they have been
hovering around here so long, waiting for a chance to search our home.
And it came in a way they had perhaps never dreamed of."
"But surely the precious belt is safe with all your things in the
blockhouse?" remarked Mr. Wayne.
"That is the worst of it," replied the other settler; "in our
excitement we came away and forgot the little treasure box, which the
good wife kept on a shelf above one of the windows. Besides a few
valuables, which she would grieve to lose, it also holds that wampum
belt of the great chief, Pontiac."
"In which case, the chances are that those rogues have discovered it,
and carried it off with them," suggested Mr. Wayne.
"I am afraid so," answered Bob's father, disconsolately.
The two boys were chilled by the thought. After all, was the cabin to
stand through the flood, and then a bitter disappointment await them
when they entered the familiar room, in the hope that they would find
safe the object of their solicitude?
They hurried back again to the bank, and looked out to where their
half-submerged home still stood. Until they were able to reach the
door, and pass within, neither of them could know peace again.
"Oh! will the old river ever go down again, so that we can reach the
door and know the worst?" Sandy groaned as the afternoon wore slowly
away, and the glowing sun sank toward the west that constantly lured
his thoughts away from the region of the Ohio.
"But it is falling, and very fast now!" declared his brother, who had
been examining the marks closely and eagerly.
"But what are a few inches, when we will have to wait until it goes
down six or more feet?" grumbled Sandy; but nothing was to be gained
by complaining, and finally the boys concluded to camp right there on
the bank, where they could keep watch through the night, so that no one
might pass out to the cabin without being seen in the light of the fire
they would keep burning.
And this was what they did. One slept while the other stood sentry,
always keeping an eye on the cabin.
The river went down very fast during the hours of darkness; and there
came no fresh alarm to stir the tired souls from slumber. So another
morning found them; and the first thing Sandy noticed was that the
cabin stood free from the flood at last, though in the midst of a
wrecked garden.
"We can enter now!" he exclaimed to his brother.
They took off their moccasins, and waded through the pools of mud that
lay in place of the garden spot of a few days before.
It required considerable force to push open the door, because the water
had swollen the wood; but by putting their shoulders to the task in
unison the boys finally managed to swing it inward.
Then they entered, and looked around, holding their very breath in an
agony of suspense. The cabin had several inches of mud on the floor,
and its appearance would have struck dismay to the heart of the neat
housewife, had she seen it just then. But Bob and Sandy were not
thinking of this. They let their eyes roam all around the room, seeking
a sign of the well-remembered little box in which their mother kept
those small articles she prized; and which had also been the receptacle
in which the wampum belt had last reposed.
But only blankness met their view.
The little box was surely gone; and if, as they suspected, those bold
intruders had been the French trappers, Jacques and Henri, then it was
apparent that finally the fortunes of war had placed them in possession
of the article which they would prize more highly than almost anything
else that could be found--the belt decorated with the little shells,
and known as wampum, which was marked with the signet of the great war
chief and sachem, Pontiac, and would protect its possessor against the
fury of the confederated red men of the wilderness.
CHAPTER XI
DANIEL BOONE, THE PILOT OF THE SETTLERS
"WELL, that settles it!" said Sandy, disconsolately, as he looked at
his brother.
"The box is certainly gone," replied Bob, trying not to show his
feelings more than he could help, because he felt sure Sandy must be
close to the breaking-down point.
"And we'll never see our fine belt again," continued the other. "I
wonder if the chief would feel like giving us another, in case he
learned of our losing this one?"
"I'm afraid that's out of the question," Bob returned, with a shake of
his head. "In the first place, how could we hope to see Pontiac, when
by now he may be many hundreds of miles away from here, for he belongs
up near the lakes, where the Pottawottomies have their lodges, along
with the Sacs and the Chippewas? Then again, even if we dared take that
adventurous journey, and escaped all the perils of the wilderness,
perhaps Pontiac would believe he had done all he should for us, and
refuse to hand over another belt. I'm afraid we'll never set eyes on
that wampum again."
"Unless," remarked Sandy, with the sanguine nature of youth, "those
trappers should strike out for the trading posts along the Mississippi,
and we'd happen to run across them, some time or other. And I can tell
you this, Bob, if ever I do meet with either of those rascals, I'm
bound to make him hand over our property."
"I believe you would," declared Bob, his own eyes snapping as he saw
the look of determination on the face of his brother.
It was a hard task for Bob to inform his parents of their loss. Sandy
shirked the unpleasant duty, and remained away while his brother went
to find the others. He was moody and silent the rest of the day, a
most unusual circumstance for one possessed of so bright and sunny a
disposition. In the course of time this feeling would wear off in a
measure, but the loss of that valued wampum belt was going to worry
Sandy more than a little.
The river continued to fall very rapidly, and, in the course of a few
days, might be expected to get back into its natural channel. But
there was no great eagerness shown by the settlers to rebuild the
wrecked cabins.
Truth to tell, the more they talked about making a bold push further
westward, the stronger the idea began to appeal to them; until it was
now almost an assured fact that several families would throw their
fortunes in together, build a staunch flatboat, with a large log
cabin on it, upon which they could embark, with their few household
necessities, and trust to fortune to carry them safely through what
perils might lie in wait further down the Ohio.
It was just two days after the flood went down, that a council of war
was called among the families most directly interested in the new
venture. These were, besides the Armstrongs, the Harkness, Bancroft and
Wayne people, and several others who were as yet uncertain what course
to pursue.
It was in a serious frame of mind that they gathered there in the open,
to talk over what plans they had better arrange, looking to a migration
from the settlement on the bank of the Ohio to new fields.
Every scrap of information that could be unearthed was made to do duty
over again. Mr. Armstrong had become very much in earnest now, and he
was held in such respect by the others that his change of front had
considerable influence in causing the Waynes to decide.
Of course the younger element had nothing to say in this meeting; but
that did not prevent them from listening with the deepest interest as
the question was debated from all sides.
Sandy, especially, was filled with enthusiasm. His pet project, over
which he had spent many a sleepless hour, now seemed in a fair way of
being realized. Long had that mysterious West held out tempting hands
toward the pioneer boy. Just as Daniel Boone had come to believe that
it was his destiny to open up the wilderness to settlers, and plant new
colonies in the midst of fertile lands; so this lad, apparently, had
for some time felt that it was to be his fortune some day to look upon
that grand river, discovered by De Soto, which but few whites had ever
set eyes on, save the French traders and trappers, and they did not
count for much,--in Sandy's estimation, anyhow.
In the end there were just the four families who bound themselves
together in a little league, resolved to attempt to better their
conditions in this bold manner.
Some there were, among the others, who disliked exceedingly to see
them make preparations for leaving, and threw all manner of trifling
obstacles in the way. Whenever they had the chance they would work upon
the fears of the women belonging to the four households, by narrating
all manner of harrowing tales of the terror that lay in wait for
unfortunate voyagers down that mysterious lower Ohio.
But women were made of pretty good stuff in those early days, and
especially the wives of the pioneers. They had always faced trials that
would easily daunt their weaker sisters of to-day; and believed that
their place was beside the loyal men who were their only protectors,
and who stood ready to lay down their lives for those they loved.
There were others who, while they disliked to see their friends leaving
them, were ready and willing to do everything in their power to assist
the enterprise. These loyal ones gave many a hard day's work, helping
to fetch in the timber for the flatboat, and hew the straight logs that
were so necessary for its construction. Their good wives sacrificed
some of their treasured stores in order that those who were following
the beckoning finger of adventure might have an abundance with which
to start their new life.
Bob and Sandy worked hard, too, bringing in game that could be cured
after the Indian method, so that there need be no lack of food aboard
the flatboat, when once they started on their long journey.
The trapping season being over, the boys collected their traps, and
oiled them before storing them away, ready to be packed with their
other belongings. Sandy loved to picture the glorious time they would
have in their new surroundings, with not a white man, possibly, within
hundreds of miles, and the whole wilderness to draw upon for furs and
game and fish.
"I hope you may never be disappointed," Bob used to say to him, after
listening with a smile to one of these periodical outbursts. "But you
know things are not always what they seem. There may be plenty of game
away out there, and lots of fur-bearing animals; but what do we know
about the new dangers that we are apt to face? I do not speak in this
way before our mother and sister; but, between us, I do not like the
idea of being closer to those French than can be helped. They are a
villainous lot, as father says, and hold all English as their mortal
enemies."
"But, on the other hand," Sandy would reply, shrewdly, "there is a
change of heart coming to these same French. Have we not heard it
said that, should the Colonies break away from the Mother Country,
and rebel, France, being at war with England, would be on our side?
That might make some of these rascally French trappers our so-called
friends. I should not like that, and especially in the case of that
precious pair, Jacques Larue and Henri Lacroix, whom I hope to meet
face to face, at the muzzle of my gun, some happy day."
The Indians were beginning to show their teeth again, in a manner that
was not at all reassuring to the settlers who would make up the reduced
colony, after the flatboat had started down the Ohio.
Judge of the delight of the settlers, when one fine day, who should
appear at the colony that he had helped to found, but the backwoodsman,
Daniel Boone. He was on his way to Boonesborough, and in haste at that,
for the attitude of the Shawanees had become so threatening that there
was danger of the struggling little settlement falling into the hands
of the savages. (Note 8.)
He was keenly interested in all that had gone on since his last visit,
and was pleased when told that the bold adventurers had decided to take
their fate in their hands, and proceed far into the land of the setting
sun. Such a move his spirit could easily sympathize with, for most
of his life had been taken up with just such splendid and hazardous
enterprises.
"If only I had the time," he said to Mr. Armstrong, "dearly would I
love to accompany you in this venture, for I myself have long wished
to set eyes on that wonderful Mississippi of which you speak. My best
wishes will go with you; and, if a written word of mine may do you
any good by the way, you shall have it for the asking. Even among the
Indians I have a few good friends; for they know me as an honorable
enemy in time of war, and one whose word once given is never broken."
Sandy was of course anxious to know about the young hunter whom he
admired so much, often the companion of Boone; and, when he had a
chance, he made inquiries. The frontiersman had by no means forgotten
Bob and Sandy, and, indeed, one of his first questions when he met
Mr. Armstrong had been of them, and what new adventures they had been
having of late.
"I have not seen the young man for some time," Boone had answered, when
Sandy made his inquiry. "The last I heard of him, he had gone to the
Ohio, and was at Fort Washington, I believe. So that there is always a
slight chance that you may run across him during your voyage."
Of course Boone was able to give them a great deal of information, as
well as warn them against the tricks of the sly Indians, who would be
likely to resort to all manner of devices in order to overpower the
travellers.
"Above all things," he urged upon the men of the party before taking
his departure that same afternoon, to rejoin his companions, camped
not many miles away, "beware of the white man who appeals to you from
the shore, and tells a pitiful story of having been captured by the
Indians, from whom he has but recently escaped. The chances are as ten
to one that he is but one of those villainous renegades like Girty,
McKee or Butler, who act as decoys for their swarthy brothers; and that
he only means to lure you close to the shore, so that they can pour a
deadly volley into your midst, and board the boat in the confusion."
"But what if his story should be true?" objected Mr. Harkness. "We
should feel like murderers if we abandoned a poor wretch of our own
color. And surely success could not come to an expedition founded on
cruelty."
"Your first duty is toward your own families," spoke up Boone, sternly.
"If, then, his story is true, demand that he enter the river, and swim
out to you, while you hold the boat stationary by the anchor, but at a
safe distance away. If he refuse to do this, and suddenly disappear,
see to it that you lay low, for there will immediately rain a tempest
of bullets and deadly arrows from the bushes, behind which his red
allies lie hidden."
In this strain, then, did the great pioneer warn those who were about
to trust themselves and their precious families to the waters of the
lower Ohio. Hearing all he said, both Sandy and Bob were greatly
impressed, and secretly resolved to profit by the advice.
Boone admitted that it was a great misfortune to have lost that magic
wampum belt of Pontiac's, which he had seen on a former visit.
"I know Pontiac, and how far his influence goes with nearly every
tribe between here and the Mississippi," he said; "and there will be
many times, I fear, when you will deeply regret that you did not hold
tighter to his gift, as it would save you from troubles that ever beset
the pioneer's life."
When Boone shook hands with every soul in the settlement, kissed the
babies, and hurried away, to head for his own little settlement, there
was not one among them but felt that the mere presence of such a man
was a tower of strength to any struggling community on the border of
civilization.
CHAPTER XII
STARTING FOR THE NEW WEST
"THE great day has come at last!" said Sandy, early one morning, as
they started down toward the river from the blockhouse, where they had
been quartered ever since the flood, their cabin having been occupied
by a family with a numerous brood of young children, whose shelter had
been carried away by the ruthless waters.
"Yes," Bob replied, stretching himself; "days and weeks have crept
along, and this has been a busy hamlet, what with the rebuilding of
cabins, planting crops for those who expect to stay, and the fashioning
of our flatboat, with its strong cabin on deck. A busy time, everybody
says."
"But our boat is done at last!" Sandy declared, joyfully; "and most of
our things are packed aboard, for to-day we make a start, headed for
the Mississippi!"
Bob looked at his brother a little uneasily. He himself was feeling
more or less sad, because there were friendships that must be severed;
and the chances seemed to be that they would never again shake the
hands of some of those who had come out from Virginia with them.
But Sandy seemed to have no thought of this. His father, mother, sister
and brother were going along; and what need then to feel distressed?
That was the way the light-hearted lad felt about it; and the one great
dream of his young life seemed about to be realized. For many months
he had yearned to set eyes on that mysterious and mighty river, that
rolled toward the far-off gulf; and whose source was as yet a sealed
book to the world.
Sandy had hardly slept a wink all through the preceding night. Instead,
he tossed on his pillow, and kept picturing what the future would have
in store for them in that beautiful land toward the setting sun.
No doubt the little mother also lay awake; but for different reasons.
Brave wife of a pioneer that she was, surely Mrs. Armstrong must have
looked into the future with something of uneasiness. Many wild stories
had she listened to from the lips of Pat O'Mara and other valiant
souls, who had penetrated part of the distance toward the Mississippi;
and doubtless these all came to haunt her now, magnified by the fact
that they themselves were about to go forth into that wilderness to
build a new home, under conditions that no one could faithfully picture.
She managed, however, to conceal much of her womanly fears from the
eyes of her loved ones. There were dangers everywhere, and as they
supped with them each day that they lived, it was no wonder that by
degrees even the women learned to hold peril in contempt.
"Looks like it might be a fine morning for a start," Sandy remarked,
as they drew near the edge of the flowing current, at a place where a
ledge afforded an excellent foothold, when they wished to bend over and
wash their faces.
"Yes, the spring is here in truth," replied Bob, "and the birds are
singing in every tree. After all, this is a beautiful spot, and I fear
our mother is not one-half so anxious to leave it as the rest may be."
"But just wait till she sees what a glorious country we are going to,"
declared the ever-sanguine Sandy. "The birds may sing here, but it's
nothing to what they will do out there, where the land is so rich that
it grows everything they want to eat. And as for game, why, just think
of seeing a whole herd of buffaloes that no man could count! Oh! I do
wish we were there right now. It has been a long time since we shot a
buffalo."
"That's so, Sandy," replied Bob, just a little enthusiastic himself;
"and if things are half as fine as we've been told, we ought to soon
have a splendid little settlement, with a stockade, and gardens, and
cabins that will make it home to us."
Sandy bent over, and splashed for a minute. He thoroughly enjoyed
the cooling water, and, indeed, the boy was never so happy as when
swimming, having taken to it when a mere lad.
Then he broke out again, showing that, try as he might, he could not
keep his thoughts away from the one great subject that held them like a
magnet.
"We've got all our traps oiled, and stowed away on board the flatboat,
you know, Bob; and won't we have the time of our lives, once we get
settled in our new home, with the snow beginning to fly next autumn?
I'm glad now that I traded for those five traps Adam Shell had. It
gives us nearly double as many as we had before."
So they chatted as they finished their cleaning up. Meanwhile the
women were busily engaged in getting the last meal that they expected
to take among those whom they had known so long.
There were not many tears shed, for these hardy souls were accustomed
to meeting all sorts of happenings with the fortitude that makes
heroines. Indeed, Mrs. Armstrong admitted to herself that this parting
did not cause one-half the wrench that came when they pulled up
stakes, away off in Virginia, and first set out on the trail over the
mountains, headed into the great West. Then they knew nothing of the
Indian country, and a thousand fears assailed them; but now, the yell
of the savage foe had become familiar in their ears, and surely little
that was new in the form of peril could be awaiting them on their
further journey. It was but the turning over of the page and beginning
a second chapter in a tale that had already been started.
After breakfast had been disposed of, there was a great confusion all
through the little settlement. Work of all kinds was at a standstill
for that morning, as all wished to add their mite to giving the
adventurous families a hearty send-off.
[Illustration: "AT LAST THEY WERE AFLOAT ON THE OHIO, BOUND INTO THE
UNKNOWN COUNTRY THAT LAY FAR AWAY TO THE WESTWARD."]
Before the sun had mounted three hours high in the eastern heavens the
last word had been spoken; and amid the cheers of the assembled people,
old and young, the ropes that held the large flatboat to the shore were
cast off.
At last they were afloat on the Ohio, bound into the unknown country
that lay far away to the westward. Day after day, and week after week,
they expected to continue to float ever onward, spending the daylight
in making such progress as lay in their power, and either anchoring at
night in the stream, or else, if it were deemed safe, tying up to the
shore.
Again and again had they listened to the sober warnings from those who
expected to stick to the old settlement. And now the current had taken
hold of their clumsy, but staunch, craft, and was commencing to hurry
it along, as though anxious to sever the last ties binding them to
these good friends.
By degrees the shouts died out in the ever-increasing distance, and the
bold pioneers began to pay more attention to their duties.
Then a bend of the river shut out the last glimpse of the waving hats
and kerchiefs, and a great silence came upon the scene, broken only
by the creak of the big steering oar, or the gurgle of the river
against the planking below.
The start had been made, and all seemed well. They were headed into a
wilderness that was next to unknown, and it had required almost as much
courage for these valiant souls to thus break away from the settlement,
and start upon this voyage of discovery, looking for a new homestead
in the wilds, as was shown by Christopher Columbus, when, braving the
traditions that declared the world to be flat, he set sail into the
western seas, under the firm conviction that in this manner he could
reach the East Indies.
On board the flatboat things soon began to assume a settled condition.
Mr. Armstrong had been unanimously elected the leader of the
expedition, and every member was bound to yield him obedience.
System had been early established, and each one knew just what was to
be expected of him or her, so that there was no confusion.
The household goods, save what might be needed in the way of coverings
for the night, or additional clothing, had been stowed away in as
compact shape as their ingenuity could devise; and in the hold of the
boat a place had been found for the accommodation of this material.
It consisted chiefly of a few household treasures, handed down from
ancestors across the seas. The pioneers did not possess much in the way
of furniture. Tables, beds and chairs they expected to make afresh when
they had reached the Promised Land. A few strong oaken or cedar chests,
bound in brass it might be, contained their belongings for the most
part; with what few cooking utensils that were needed, these latter
also in brass or copper, which was much used in those early days.
Besides the Armstrongs, the passengers and crew of the flatboat
consisted of three families. First there was Mr. Harkness and his wife,
a fourteen-year-old daughter named Susan, and also a nephew, one Amos
Terry, from New England, and with some of the peculiarities of speech
that even at this early day marked the difference between those whose
ancestors came over on the _Mayflower_, and the descendants of those
settling in Virginia or Carolina.
Then there were the Bancrofts, father, mother, and three children, all
of the latter rather small; and the Waynes, who had a boy, Rufus, about
eight years of age, and a small baby.
Two more persons there were aboard the boat at the time of leaving. Pat
O'Mara, the good-natured Irish trapper, meant to stick to his friend,
Mr. Armstrong, through thick and thin, in this new venture, feeling
partly responsible through having told the wonderful tales that had so
stirred the ambitions of these voyagers. Blue Jacket, also, was with
them, though he only expected to go a few days' journey into the west,
when he would say good-bye, and return to his people, never expecting
to see these white friends again.
Seven men and two boys capable of bearing arms constituted their full
fighting force; a pitiful company when one considers the nature of the
dangers that were always awaiting the hardy pioneers whenever they
cut adrift and pierced the wilderness. But such a thing as fear was
next to unknown to any of them; and, as they turned successive bends
of the river, always unfolding some new and beautiful feature of the
remarkable scenery, both men and women felt that surely good fortune
must await them in the favored land beyond.
They were not much given to sentiment. The hardships of that time
made people very practical; and yet no nature could withstand the
magnificent sunset that greeted their eyes, hours later, when many
miles had been left behind.
It must have seemed to some of those who stood and drank in the
glorious picture with a feeling almost of awe, as though the sun had
never before gone down in the midst of such splendor and that he was
beckoning them onward to where their new homes were to be founded.
And yet, no doubt, as some of the women glanced at the grim
forest-lined shore so near by, they must have shuddered, remembering
how somewhere in the dark recesses of that wood, savage foes lurked,
hating the venturesome paleface who threatened to steal away their
lands, and only too eager to pounce down upon the little expedition,
could they find the means.
Blue Jacket went ashore as soon as the boat was tied up for the night,
in order to scout around, and ascertain whether there might be any
signs of hostile Indians in the vicinity. Pat O'Mara also took a little
turn, and both reported that the coast appeared to be clear, so the
voyagers took heart of grace, and supper was cooked in comfort.
There was no loud talking or laughter. Even the children had been
admonished to keep quiet, leaving their boisterous play until the
morrow, when, safe on the bosom of the broad stream, they might give
vent to their exuberant spirits.
All through the night a watch would be kept. Much of that duty was to
be undertaken by Blue Jacket and Pat, who had no family cares to attend
to; but every man slept on his arms, as it were, ready to leap to his
feet at the first alarm, with a clear idea as to the duties devolving
upon him in case of an attack.
The ropes were arranged so that they could be instantly cast off, and
the boat swung out into the stream, which, being quite deep just there,
would prevent the enemy from wading out after them.
While part of the force performed this duty, the others would send
a hot fire in among the Indians; and it must be remembered that in
pioneer days every woman had learned to handle a gun almost as well as
the male members of the family.
The first night passed, fortunately, without any alarm; which was a
good thing, since it gave them all a chance to get accustomed to their
strange surroundings. Later on, after they had fallen into the new
ways, if trouble came, as they fully anticipated, it would find them
better prepared to meet the situation.
All were early astir on the following morning, except that Pat and Blue
Jacket still lay under their blankets, since they had been ashore part
of the night, and secured scarce any sleep at all until an hour before
dawn. The men were busy, getting wood aboard with which to make a small
fire if necessary, a stone hearth having been constructed for this
purpose, when, suddenly, Sandy made a startling discovery.
"Oh! look! Bob, look, up there on the roof of the cabin!" he exclaimed;
and Bob, turning his eyes toward the boat, quickly saw the object that
had thus excited the other.
"Another arrow, with a birch-bark message, just as sure as anything,"
he cried, turning a puzzled face toward Sandy.
"Let me climb up and get it!" cried the younger lad; and, with the
words, he immediately started to clamber up the rough side wall of the
cabin, which had been made as near bullet-proof as possible, so as to
afford protection in case of an Indian attack; for the French traders
were selling the savages hundreds of firearms, and even teaching the
warriors how to use them in place of the more primitive bow and arrows.
Presently Sandy came back, bearing the arrow in his hand.
"It is exactly like the other, which Blue Jacket told us was surely
made by the hands of a Delaware brave," he said, holding the object up
before his brother.
Bob, just as he had expected, found a small piece of thin birch bark
rolled about the arrow, near the head, and secured there by means of
fibres taken from some plant.
Opening this, he discovered a series of crude, but plain pictures, made
after the fashion of the Indians.
"This time there are many figures, and, as they have scalplocks, they
must be Indians," Bob remarked, as he and Sandy eagerly examined the
message that had come from their unknown friend.
"Yes," the other boy went on, "and see how they are lying flat behind
bushes; while this must be the river flowing along. Some have guns, and
others bows. And, if you please, Bob, this must be meant for our fine
flatboat, though it looks more like an old ark than anything else.
What do you make of that part of the message!"
"Oh! it stands but for one thing, a warning to beware of the foes who
lurk on the shore, waiting to take us by surprise. But we already have
been told all about such dangers, though this kind friend may not know
that."
"But see, Bob, there is more to it this time," Sandy continued,
eagerly. "Here is our proud boat again on the river, and on the shore
stands a man, holding both his hands out. He is surely a white man,
because he has a hat on. And I think he must be begging us to come to
the shore and take him aboard."
"That is just it," Bob remarked, "and you remember what Daniel Boone
warned us against. This must be that terrible Simon Girty, or his
companion, McKee, for if you look once again, you will see those forms
concealed behind the grass and bushes, just as the panther lies in wait
for a deer at the salt lick. Is that all plain to you, Sandy?"
"Yes, and I would have seen through it, even if you hadn't spoken. But
here, for the third time, we have received a message from this friend,
who keeps his face hidden, so that we do not know who he is. What does
it mean, do you think, and who can he be?"
"He must have some object," replied Bob, his brow marked by a line of
perplexing thought; "and he certainly has a reason for not letting us
know who he is. If it is that young Delaware you helped, he has a queer
way of paying back his debt. But, after all, he is only an Indian, and
how can a white man understand his ways? We must show this to father,
even if it doesn't seem to tell us anything new."
"Yes," said Sandy, drawing a long breath, and glancing at the forest
so close at hand; "anyhow, it's nice to know we've got a friend who
watches over us all the time. There may come a day when his warning
will save us from a terrible danger. Delaware brave or not, I am going
to thank him for it, if ever I meet him face to face."
As they had already been told all about these perils, the men did not
experience any fresh alarm from seeing the message of the arrow. Mr.
Armstrong, thinking it wise to keep all such causes for uneasiness
away from the women as much as possible, bade the boys not to mention
finding it on the roof. Plainly the unknown Indian must have shot it
from some point close at hand, though how he had managed to approach
the boat, unheard by the keen, listening ears of Blue Jacket or Pat
O'Mara, was a mystery to both Bob and Sandy.
If he could do this, what was to prevent a dozen, or fifty, of his kind
from accomplishing the same thing? It was a thought calculated to cause
a timid person considerable uneasiness; and possibly this was what had
influenced Mr. Armstrong in his desire to keep the women from hearing
about the arrow that bore the new warning.
Again they were floating on the current, that bore the adventurers
along at the rate of some four miles an hour. While the river changed
its course from time to time, so that they headed now southwest, and
again toward the northwest, still their constant progress was such
that they had the morning sun behind them; and, when the orb of day
passed the zenith, it beckoned them onward until, nearing the horizon,
its slanting rays warned them that another night lay ahead, with the
dangers that darkness must ever bring in its train.
And so it would go, as the days slipped by, many miles being covered
between daybreak and darkness, and each span taking them further into
the unknown country.
CHAPTER XIII
BLUE JACKET GIVES WARNING
THREE days had now passed.
All this time the flatboat had made good progress down the river, which
continually opened up new and most beautiful pictures to the eyes of
the voyagers. It was very slow travelling, to be sure; but then the
early pioneers had never ridden on a lightning express train, nor sat
in an automobile that was flying along country roads at the rate of a
mile a minute; so such tedious progress was not irksome to them.
One night only had they anchored out from the shore, when Blue Jacket
and the Irish trapper did not like the idea of tying up to the trees on
the bank, having discovered some signs of Indians about.
As yet there had been no attack upon the people on the flatboat, and
perhaps a feeling of renewed confidence was beginning to steal into
their hearts. But the men knew better than to allow such immunity from
danger to render them a particle less cautious. And each evening they
kept up the same programme that had been first instituted.
One man was to be on guard aboard the boat, constantly watching the
shore for signs of anything moving. He had his orders to shoot, if an
approaching figure, upon being challenged, failed to give the correct
password. And then every one of the others knew just what his part of
the defence was to be, so that they would leap to their stations as one
man.
After supper on this night, when they were tied up again to the shore,
Blue Jacket went away to scour the immediate vicinity, and keep on the
alert for the first signs of an impending attack.
It was to be the very last night of the young Shawanee among them; for
he had announced that, since they were now far away from the lodges of
his people, he must on the morrow shake the hands of his white friends
in farewell, and turn his face toward the rising sun.
The boys would be sorry. They had come to think most highly of Blue
Jacket; and Bob predicted that, in time to come, the young brave would
make a name for himself among his people. (Note 9.)
The young moon was now getting of a size to give considerable light for
much of the night, and this fact afforded every one much satisfaction,
since it took away from the gloom of the dense forest, that was peopled
with unknown evil things.
Sandy and Bob sat on deck, after supper had been eaten, and the younger
members of the expedition were being put to sleep in the cabin. Some of
the men were smoking their long pipes, and talking in low tones near
by. Doubtless they felt well pleased over the way things were going,
and their conversation may have been along about the same lines as
marked that of the two lads.
"Three good days, and all is well," remarked Sandy, who had a fishing
line over the side, with which he expected to take in a number of fine
prizes before thinking of sleep.
"Yes, and if this sort of thing would only keep up right along, nobody
would complain, that I know of," Bob added; for he was feeling very
comfortable after the good supper he had enjoyed a short time before.
"Oh! that was a fierce bite, all right!" exclaimed Sandy, giving a jerk
to his stout line; "and I've got him, too, I do believe! My goodness!
how he pulls, Bob! Now, I hope he doesn't break loose! This must be the
biggest fish I've had hold of yet."
Bob, of course, offered to lend a hand in order to get the prize in;
but Sandy, with all a fisherman's ardor, would not think of allowing
such a thing.
And presently, after a deal of pulling, and expressing fears that he
might lose his hard-fighting prize, Sandy managed to drag the fish
aboard. It proved to be a very large specimen of what has since become
known as the buffalo fish, found along the whole length of the Ohio,
and which is considered fairly good for the table.
To these people of the early days such a feast was always eagerly
welcomed; and, of course, all the women had to come out to see the
noble proportions of Sandy's capture, even the children following,
filled with delight because it meant a feast for all.
Although the persistent fisherman kept up the good work, and landed
several more of the same species of fish, none approached in size his
first capture; but, then, by the time Sandy was ready to take in his
line, for he was yawning sadly, the moon had crept along to top the
trees toward the southwest, and he had secured an abundance for their
temporary wants.
Sandy had just completed winding up his line on the piece of smooth
wood he had prepared for this especial purpose, when suddenly the voice
of the sentry was heard calling out:
"Who goes there? Speak, and give the countersign!" for Mr. Armstrong
had organized his little company very much on a military basis.
Of course every one started up, and many a hand reached out for the gun
that was always kept within reach, day and night. Sandy and Bob were no
exception to the rule, and they scrambled to their feet, as, from the
tree-lined shore, came the word that had been selected for the night:
"Washington!"
It was Blue Jacket, coming hastily aboard. His actions told that he
must be bringing important news; and a thrill swept through the hearts
of the two lads at the prospect of immediate danger.
Mr. Armstrong was the first one to meet the Indian as he came crawling
over the side of the flatboat, which stood rather high out of the
water, despite the load it carried, thanks to the splendid construction
of the craft.
"Get away--quick--many Indians, like the leaves of the forest--come
creep up through trees. No say what, but slip loose, and run!" was the
way Blue Jacket expressed himself.
Upon hearing these significant words, every one started to carry
out his special part of the duty of freeing the boat. There was no
noise--no confusion; and this spoke well, not only for the brave hearts
that were aboard the boat, but for the rules of discipline instituted
by the commander.
Two men jumped ashore, and proceeded to unfasten the ropes; though
really this could have been done from aboard, as the painters had been
so fastened that all it required was a strong pull. Others stooped to
grasp the long, stout push poles, with which to urge the unwieldy craft
ahead. Once in the clutch of the current, of course that part of the
business would be ended; though they might continue to drop the poles
over, and strain their backs, as long as they were able to touch bottom.
Others, still, crouched, guns in hand, ready to commence shooting at
the first indication of the presence of the fierce enemy.
Everything worked smoothly. The ropes were unfastened, and brought
aboard, without any trouble. Already a load was lifted from the hearts
of the voyagers; and this lightened still more when they could feel the
heavy craft beginning to move in response to the muscular efforts of
those who were straining at the poles.
Soon the sweeps could be brought into play, when their movement would
become more rapid. Eager eyes scanned the line of trees from which two
dozen feet of sand and water now separated them. At any second they
expected to see dusky figures leap into view, followed by the crash of
many guns. Looking to such a contingency, Mr. Armstrong had sent around
a whispered caution that at the very first appearance of the wily foe
everybody should shelter themselves as best they could behind the
rampart afforded by the gunwale of the flatboat, expressly built up for
this purpose.
"Do you think they are really coming?" whispered Sandy, as he and Bob
crouched there, sheltered by the heavy bulwark, and keeping their eyes
fastened on the edge of the forest.
"Some of the men are already beginning to say that Blue Jacket must
have heard a buffalo passing, or deer hunting for new feeding grounds;
and that, after all, it may be only a false alarm; but I do not believe
that can be. You know, Sandy, how wonderfully he can tell just what
every sound means, when they seem alike to us. If Blue Jacket says
there are Indians afoot in the forest this night, I feel sure it must
be so."
"Oh! I thought I saw what looked like a feathered head thrust out of
the bushes up yonder!" exclaimed Sandy.
Hardly had he spoken than a single shrill yell rang out. It seemed to
be some sort of signal, and it must have conveyed the information that
the boat was slipping away; for Bob felt sure he could detect both rage
and disappointment in the loud cry.
"There, that tells the story!" he exclaimed, as he nervously handled
his musket, and made ready to give a good account of the bullet it
contained, if called up. "Blue Jacket knew what he was saying, just as
I told you."
"But we are far enough from the shore to be safe from an attack,"
declared the other lad, joyfully; "and moving further out in the stream
every second, now that they've got the big sweeps to working. Let the
Indians come, for all I care. They will be sorry if they try to swim
out to us, with that fine moon shining. Why, we could see their heads
easily, and hit them every time."
Sandy might have gone on talking in this boastful strain, only that his
words were deadened by a chorus of angry yells that broke out all along
the shore. It was as though the savage enemy had been creeping forward
in a long semi-circle, meaning to close in on the tied-up flatboat, and
render escape impossible. And now, on discovering that those they had
expected to make their victims were really beyond their reach, they
gave vent to this expression of their furious rage.
And women shuddered, while children held their very breath in fear,
when they, for the first time on the voyage, heard the savage outburst
that told of red-skinned foes lurking within the depths of the
primitive forest, eager to wipe out every member of that brave little
expedition.
CHAPTER XIV
A TARGET FOR ARROWS AND BULLETS
"LIE down, everybody!"
It was the voice of Mr. Armstrong that uttered these words; and
hardly had the men who manned the sweeps and poles thrown themselves
flat, than there came flashes of flame from the border of the trees,
accompanied by the crash of firearms and the thud of striking bullets
in the stout bulwark, behind which they had sought shelter.
Other missiles splashed in the water, falling short, or passing beyond
the boat. Arrows also struck the cabin, to remain imbedded there as
evidence of the muscular arms that sent them aboard.
But there was a way of working the sweeps from behind shelter; and
so, by slow degrees, the imperilled pioneers were carried further and
further from the shore.
No one fired back. In the first place, they saw but little of the
Indians, who held the marksmanship of the borderers in too high
respect to risk showing themselves needlessly. And then, besides,
ammunition was too precious and costly a commodity to waste, unless the
necessity seemed great.
Gradually the firing from the shore slackened, and finally died away
altogether, as did also the cries of bitter rage and disappointment.
Only for the warning of Blue Jacket the little company might have met
with disaster thus early in their adventurous voyage. There were no
longer heard murmurings because they had been compelled to make this
hasty departure from so comfortable a resting-place. Indeed, every one
was grateful to the young Shawanee, because of what he had done.
Blue Jacket wanted not their thanks. He had no love for the white men,
who were coming to drive his race away from the lands where they had
lived for many generations, carrying on their wars with neighboring
tribes, hunting the buffalo and the deer, and worshipping the Great
Manitou after the fashion of the red men.
He sat by himself, moody and silent. Perhaps he was thinking how sorry
he would be to part forever from the two paleface lads whom he had
grown to care for so much in this year he had known them. And then
there was the kind, motherly woman who had helped nurse him back to
life long ago, when he suffered from a severe bullet wound, received in
a battle with the whites, and which would have caused his death had he
not been found by Sandy, and taken into the care of the Armstrongs.
Then again, it might be that the young Shawanee brave was feeling the
bitterness of his situation, placed as he was in a position where,
for the time, he felt compelled by gratitude to warn these palefaces
against the coming of his own people. Perhaps it was well that no shot
had been fired from the flatboat; had a single Indian been killed as a
result of his warning, Blue Jacket would have cause for feeling more
moody than was now the case.
The boys must have guessed something of his feelings, for they did not
attempt to break in upon his solitude, as he sat with bowed head.
For several hours the voyage down the river was continued by moonlight;
and then Mr. Armstrong gave orders that they head in toward the shore,
and put out the anchor that had been brought along for the purpose.
A strict watch was kept until dawn; then Blue Jacket, going on shore,
soon signalled that there was no longer any danger; accordingly the
boat was pushed in, and, some of them landing, started a fire, at which
the breakfast of fresh fish was cooked.
So the waters and the woods were all made to pay tribute to the demands
of the sturdy early settlers. The rivers were teeming with fish, and
the forests contained innumerable deer, buffalo, and much smaller game,
so that it was easy as a rule to supply the table, if a hunter dared
venture abroad. Fear of an Indian surprise was the only thing that
deterred them. There was ever this dread possibility hovering over
their heads in the disputed land.
When the meal was over, Blue Jacket, with the same grave face that
always marked his character, came up, and held out his hand to Mrs.
Armstrong.
"Good-bye!" he said simply, with not a muscle quivering, such was the
splendid control he had over his feelings.
To Bob and Sandy he also gave his hand, and looked at them long and
earnestly, but said only that same one word:
"Good-bye!"
Then he turned and strode away, never giving any of the others so much
as a single look, for they were nothing to the young Shawanee warrior,
and, if ever he met any of them again, it would probably be with
weapons in his hands, and hatred for the mortal enemies of his race in
his Indian heart.
Neither of the boys ever saw Blue Jacket again, since their life
trails parted there on the flowery bank of the beautiful Ohio. Destiny
led them into the wilderness, to help clear a path for advancing
civilization; while the same power took Blue Jacket back into the
villages of his people, to carry out the scheme in life to which he was
appointed.
For a full hour after he had gone Sandy sat there, looking out upon the
river as the heavy craft glided steadily on its way, saying not a word
to any one.
Then all at once he called aloud:
"Oh! there's a man down on that point below, and a white man, too! He
seems to be in trouble, for he beckons to us all the while, and yet
seems afraid to shout out. Perhaps he's escaped from the Indians who
tried to catch us napping last night. It looks to me as if he wanted us
to push in, and take him aboard."
Instantly every one rushed to that side of the boat to look. And,
sure enough, there stood a white man, waving his hands to them in a
most beseeching manner. His whole appearance would indicate that he
had suffered all sorts of recent privations and was both hungry and
desperate.
"Shall we push in closer?" asked Mr. Wayne, who knew less about Indian
trickery than any one of the other men of the party.
"Not a foot!" declared Mr. Armstrong; "and every one keep low behind
the shelter of the sides; for, by my faith, I fancy, even now, that I
can see dusky figures gliding along back there among those trees."
The man, as they came opposite, commenced to run along the edge of the
shore, and make more urgent gestures than before.
"Don't desert me, if you be men with hearts!" he cried out, in seeming
agony.
"Who are you, and what ails you?" demanded Mr. Armstrong.
"My name is Elijah Fish, and with my mate I was taken prisoner by the
bloodthirsty Shawanees a moon ago. They have tortured us both, and my
comrade finally fell a victim to their savage hatred. I managed to
escape four days ago, and they have been hunting for me ever since. If
you leave me here, they will surely find me, and take my life. I beg of
you to pull in at least part way, and let me come aboard!"
"He talks straight, seems to me," declared young Amos Terry. "I don't
see no sign of any Indians, and for one I'd hate to think I left a poor
white man to be put to death. Ain't there some way he might be saved,
Mr. Armstrong?"
For answer the leader of the expedition put his hands to his mouth,
using them for a trumpet, and called aloud:
"We cannot come in any closer, because we must not risk chances of
being beset by the Indians; but, if you wish to come aboard, why not
enter the water, and swim out after us? That is your only chance,
Elijah Fish, which, for one, I do not believe to be your name."
"Why, who do you take me for?" asked the man, still running along the
sandy strip of shore between the edge of the water and the forest.
"Well, you might be the renegade, Simon Girty, or perhaps McKee. And so
we must refuse to risk the lives of all on board in order to do you a
good turn. If you can swim, enter the water. We will immediately anchor
the boat, and wait for you to come aboard. But that is as far as we
dare go!"
The man ceased running at hearing this.
"Yew must have broken his heart with that, Mr. Armstrong," said the
Yankee, Amos Terry.
"Look again!" exclaimed Sandy, quickly.
The man was shaking his clenched fist after them, and, even as they
looked, he uttered all sorts of horrible threats. Some one on board
fired a shot, and the bullet threw up the sand close to the feet of the
fellow, who, taking the hint, made haste to disappear in the bushes.
"Keep down!" called Mr. Armstrong; and hardly had he spoken than there
was heard a crackling of guns here, there and everywhere among the
trees, showing that the red foe had been cunningly concealed, in the
hope that the defenders of the flatboat might be lured into approaching
the shore.
This time those on board answered the fire, as they caught glimpses of
dusky figures dodging from tree to tree.
The duel of guns was kept up for some little time. Many a bullet,
as well as dozens of feathered barbs, struck the bulwarks or cabin
of the flatboat; but, since the white defenders were wise enough to
keep themselves well hidden, little damage resulted from the furious
bombardment, one man alone receiving a slight wound from a bullet, that
must have glanced off the side of the cabin wall.
On their part the pioneers believed that they had struck a number of
the enemy, although they could not be positive about this, since they
had not seen any actually fall. The Indians, however, found that they
were getting more than they bargained for, and when another half-hour
had passed the firing ceased.
"I hope they've given it up as a bad job," remarked Sandy, who had sent
several shots during the exciting time. "I wonder if I really did wound
that brave who was lying in that clump of bushes."
"I think you must have hit him," Bob replied; "because, as soon as you
fired, he came tumbling out, and plunged into that hole behind the
three trees, and I'm sure he acted as if something bothered him."
"That's so, Bob, he did make me think of the way I got around when
that hornets' nest upset, and they all came out to get at me. It felt
pretty warm for me just then; and I guess it did for that brave. But,
do you think they have drawn off, and mean to let us alone?"
"I'm afraid that in some way, perhaps by means of the smoke signals, we
know about, they may send word down the river of our coming; and that
would mean, you know, Sandy, a continual war all along the line to the
Mississippi. I'm afraid we'll have only too many just such fights on
our hands, before we get to where we want to settle down."
But even such a prospect did not daunt the spirit of Sandy, which was
not easily crushed.
"We have shown how easy it is to keep the Indians off, and we can do it
again and again, as long as our powder and ball hold out," he declared,
with the sanguine nature of youth, that borrows no trouble when the
skies seem clear. "I'm sure Pat O'Mara must have laid more than one of
those yelling rascals low, for every time he fired I saw him nod his
head and look pleased."
All the rest of that day they floated on, undisturbed by any signs
of an enemy. Once Sandy discovered a stately stag standing knee deep
in the water, surveying the approaching craft as if in wonder, and,
eager to land a shot that might give them a bountiful supply of fresh
venison, the boy made a hasty jump for his gun.
But perhaps it was this sudden movement on the part of the impetuous
Sandy that alarmed the deer, for, whirling like a flash, it vanished
amidst the brush that at this particular spot lined the bank.
"Too bad!" said Pat, who had witnessed all this; "but, take me worrd
for it, Sandy, av yees had been more deliberate like in your movements,
chances are ye might 'a' had a shot. 'Tis the same ould story av too
much haste, me bye. Next toime r'ach out yer hand, slow like, and pick
up the gun widout takin' yer eyes off the game."
Sandy thought he might do even better, and keep his musket in his
grasp; but, though he sat there faithfully for nearly two hours, the
chance did not come again. It seldom does, once we allow it to slip
past.
Of course, on that evening they decided that it was too risky to think
of going ashore to make their fire; and so supper was prepared on
board, after they had anchored.
So anxious were they to get as far as possible below the scene of their
encounter with the treacherous renegade and his red allies, that they
would have continued the voyage by moonlight, only that it had clouded
up with the coming of late afternoon, and there was every prospect of a
bad night ahead.
The weather had been very fair ever since the spring rains ceased; but,
warmer weather having now arrived, Mr. Armstrong warned them that a
storm was liable to swoop down upon them at any time, and they must be
prepared for it.
So, on this night they tried the best they could to have the anchor
well laid, for, if ever the wind came sweeping down the river, there
was a chance that the cabin of the flatboat would offer such a
resistance that, sooner or later, they must be swept away, to find
themselves at the mercy of the storm. And that was a possibility none
of them fancied very much.
CHAPTER XV
A HUNT FOR FRESH MEAT
"I FEEL just wild for fresh meat, and I mean to ask father if we can
take a little hunt this very afternoon," said Sandy, two days later,
while the flatboat was speeding quite merrily down the current.
"Well," remarked his brother, "I would like a chance to get ashore
and stretch my legs, just as much as you do. And I hope he says yes,
when you ask him. Fish is pretty good, but a fellow gets tired of it
as a regular thing, and I don't think that is the finest kind of fish
either, that we get. Why, when you took in that slippery mudcat, and we
had it for dinner, it tasted better to me."
"We haven't seen a solitary sign of Indians since they tried to get
us to come in to the shore," Sandy went on. "And that must have been
Girty, himself, who rumpled up his hair, and tried to look so hard
pushed. You remember we saw him that time after we got ashore, when
our boat was smashed, and when Blue Jacket told that Miami chief,
Little Turtle, why he stood up for the Armstrong boys. But I'll come
back and let you know what father says."
Ten minutes later he approached Bob again.
"You needn't say a single word," remarked the other, "for I can tell by
the look on your face that it's all right."
"Yes, he says that we have been making such good time we can afford to
lose an afternoon, or part of one, in order to try to get some fresh
meat, because we all feel the need of it. So, before the sun is more
than half-way down the sky, he will give orders for the boat to be tied
up, if everything looks safe, just like it is right now."
"I'm glad of that," declared Bob; "because, after being used to walking
nearly every day, for miles and miles, it comes pretty hard to just sit
here, push a sweep, or tramp up and down around the cabin."
"Oh! I just couldn't stand it much longer!" cried Sandy. "I was really
thinking that I'd have to jump overboard, and swim ashore, to try my
luck, if father didn't want to stop the boat, hoping to catch up with
you all below, when you hauled in for the night camp."
Bob looked uneasily at his impulsive younger brother.
"I don't know whether you are joking when you say that, or not, Sandy,"
he remarked; "but it would be a foolish move to make, and would bring
more worry to the heart of mother. I hope you won't think of such a
thing at any time. You are getting too big now to let these things have
hold of you so much. There are enough troubles to bother our parents
without you adding to the burden."
Sandy turned red, and then burst out into a confused laugh.
"Oh! I only said I was _thinking_ of doing something like that, you
know," he declared; "but that is as far as it would go, I give you my
word, Bob. Whenever I catch myself wanting to jump at things so, I
remember what Pat said that day we saw the big stag standing knee deep
in the water. Too much hurry, too sudden a move, spoils many a good
game. And I guess it's so. I'm trying as hard as I know how to think
twice, now, before doing anything."
"That sounds more like you, Sandy, and I'm glad to hear you talk so,"
continued Bob; "but did father say anything about how we were to hunt
this afternoon?"
"There is only one thing he insisted on," the other started to reply,
when Bob interrupted him by saying:
"I think I can guess what that was; we must take some one along with
us; and of course we'll be only too glad to do it, since it will be Pat
O'Mara, who knows more about hunting, and Indian fighting, and taking
all fur-bearing animals in traps and snares, than any three others on
board."
"Just what he said, I declare! Seems like you must have been close
enough to hear it all!" exclaimed Sandy, as if surprised; "and yet that
couldn't be, either, for I saw you sitting here all the time I was
speaking with father. But I'm glad it's settled. And I do hope we run
across plenty of excitement. It is getting what I call dull, with so
little happening."
To Bob there was so much to see in the new pictures presented with
every bend of the winding river, that he never found the time drag on
his hands; but then Sandy was made up along different lines, and could
not remain quiet any length, of time without getting nervous.
The time passed slowly, indeed, until they heard the order given to
edge the boat in toward the southern shore of the river, so that they
could observe it more closely, in order to make sure that enemies were
not lurking in the undergrowth.
Pat O'Mara gave it as his opinion that there seemed to be no evidence
that the Indians were near by; and, as he, too, wanted to stretch his
legs by a little side hunt, it was finally determined to land.
Of course, there must be more or less danger in leaving the protection
of the strong cabin of the flatboat, and venturing into the depths of
the forest; but, as has been said before, the life of a pioneer is so
made up of taking risks that he assumes chances without much thought or
anxiety. When the danger came along they would trust to their ability
to take care of themselves. And every one of the party felt pretty much
the same way.
Mr. Armstrong had a crude chart of the river, but it was founded on
almost guesswork, so little was the region to the westward known at
the time. The place where Cincinnati now stands was called Fort
Washington; and, an indefinite distance further down, another mark
on the map showed where Harrodsburg stood, about where the city of
Louisville can be found to-day, marking the falls of the Ohio during
low water times.
So, apparently, the early settlers had a pretty good eye for the most
advantageous natural sites, upon which to found the white man's cities
of the future.
What lay beyond Harrodsburg no one really knew. Somewhere, in some
manner, the Ohio joined forces with the mighty Mississippi; and this
bold little company of men and women were on the way to learn the
truth, taking their lives in their hands in so doing.
When the boat had been tied up, Pat and the two boys started into the
woods, bent upon bringing back fresh meat if it could be procured by
any means in their power.
"Sure," remarked the trapper, when they found themselves out of sight
of the river, and surrounded by the primeval forest, "we must be afther
kapin' clost enough till each ither to hear a signal whistle. If wees
do be afther catchin' that same, it wull mane to come tegither as
quickly as yees can. But only a cooie stands for 'all's well, kape on
a-huntin' right along wid yees, an' may the bist man win.'"
When they divided their forces, so as to cover more territory, Pat was
wise enough to station himself midway between the brothers. Here he
could keep in touch with either Sandy or Bob, a different sort of call
meaning that he wanted a response from the one it designated, and about
whom he might be getting a trifle anxious.
Pat had hunted many a time with such old frontiersmen as Jo Davies,
John Hardin and Silas Hardin. He knew pretty much all there was to be
learned about the ways of the cunning woods folks, from the little
mink up to the great buffalo that, if angered or wounded, would come
charging full at the hunter, ready to use his wicked short horns in
hurling him many feet into the air, or grinding him into the earth, if
he were so unlucky as to be caught napping.
No small game would do for them now. Birds might flush from the
thickets and offer splendid pot shots; but they had agreed not to think
of taking advantage of anything in the feathered line short of a big
wild turkey. And, with so many mouths to feed, Sandy was more inclined
to wish they might rout a buffalo out of some thicket, than anything
else.
They advanced for some time, without seeing anything that offered a
chance for a shot, and Sandy, of course, always impatient, began to
think they might, after all, be compelled to return to the boat without
any fresh meat, which would be a great pity, since every one yearned so
for a feast.
The afternoon was now waning, and they found themselves some distance
away from the place where the camp had been made. About this time Pat
called the boys to him for a little consultation. He believed that, by
altering their course, so as to come upon the river about two miles
below the spot where their friends were tied up, the prospects for game
would be vastly improved, because the country looked better to his eyes
in that quarter.
So the change in direction was made. Bob was just as well satisfied,
because he did not much like the idea of keeping on heading deeper and
deeper into the great hills that lay back from the river, and which
doubtless held more than one village of the hostile red men.
He noticed with some concern that it was even now beginning to grow a
little dusk under the tall trees that lifted their lofty heads almost
a full hundred feet in the air. And then, just when Bob was wondering
if they were to arrive at the river, which could not be more than a
quarter of a mile distant, without one single sign of game, he heard
the well-known crash of Sandy's gun away over to the left; because Pat
carried one of those long-barrelled rifles, with the small bore, that
took a patched bullet--one that was enclosed in a greased piece of
linen--and made a sharp report entirely different from that of a musket.
Hurrying that way, he found Pat and Sandy bending over a noble young
two-pronged buck that had jumped from a thicket where he had been
lying, and fallen when the young Nimrod hastily let fly; for Sandy was
a clever all-around shot.
Pat set to work, assisted by both the boys, to skin the game, and
secure all the edible portions. These parts were made up into three
packs, so that each might carry a share of the burden to camp, which
was at least two miles distant.
Wondering whether the shot had reached the ears of their friends, and
picturing their delight when they sighted all that fine fresh meat,
the three were trudging along through the gathering darkness, when,
without warning, Pat stumbled, having evidently caught his foot in some
trailing vine which he had not seen.
Bob hastened to drop his own burden, and bend over to assist Pat to
rise, for he saw that the other seemed to be having some difficulty
about doing so. When he heard the trapper groan, Bob's alarm increased.
"What has happened to you, Pat?" asked Sandy, who did not yet
understand the cause of the delay, save that their companion had
tripped.
"Bad cess to the thing; but I'm afther belavin' that I've gone an'
twisted me ankle so bad that 'tis mesilf that can't put the same to the
ground; and that manes a long time before we say camp agin, so it do,"
grumbled the trapper.
Somehow Bob began to feel a little anxiety, as though he scented new
difficulties looming up ahead.
CHAPTER XVI
THE FIGURES AGAINST THE SKY
"THIS is what I call hard luck," remarked Sandy, as he dropped his
bundle of deer meat close to where the trapper sat upon the ground,
rubbing his ankle.
"It is that same, by the token," grumbled Pat. "Av yees give me a hand,
byes, it's mesilf will thry to sthand up, and say how well I can walk."
Willingly each of the lads took hold of an arm, and assisted him to
gain an upright position; but, when Pat started bravely to walk, he
made a sorry mess of it. He was a game fellow, however, and would not
be dismayed.
"Sure, it may pass away afther I've given the ould thing a little
exercise, like, and av yees say the worrd we'll pick up our packs and
do be goin' on our way, rejoicin' becase it's no worrse. What if I'd
broke me nick--that would have been a nice pickle for a man to be in!"
He even insisted on carrying his share of the venison, though Bob
protested; but Pat was a stubborn man.
"Think av all the mouths to be fed, would ye; and why should I lit it
lay here, where it wull do no good at all, at all, save to fill the
stomach av a wolf, or make a wildcat feel happy? Sure it goes along wid
me if I can limp."
And it did,--that is, for some little time, though Pat had to call for
a stop, and rest, every hundred yards. Once he proposed that the two
boys desert him, and make for the place where the boat was tied up
above.
"'Tis only a matter av a mile or so, me lads," he said, "an' I'm dead
sure ye'd be able to find the same widout much throuble. In good time
Pat would come limpin' into camp. Kape the river on your lift, that do
be all yees have to do."
"Well, that's something we'll never do, Pat, desert a comrade in
trouble," was the vehement reply of Bob; and Sandy was even more
emphatic; so the pleased Irish trapper had to be content with the way
things were going.
"We've got the whole night before us," Bob remarked, in a low voice,
for Pat had warned them to be careful, because there was no telling
what might be abroad in the big timber bordering the river.
"And once we get aboard the flatboat," continued Sandy, in the same
vein, "Pat can have his sprain looked after by mother; and there's no
need of him setting his weight on that foot again till it's well."
It was at one of the resting spells that something occurred to Bob.
"I was thinking," he remarked in a whisper, "that, if we looked around,
we might find some good stuff here."
"Stuff for what?" asked Sandy.
"To make a litter out of," replied Bob.
"Oh! you mean so that we could carry Pat between us, and the venison,
too," Sandy whispered back.
"Yes, what do you think of it, Sandy?"
"Seems like a good idea to me; and, if you say the word, I'll begin to
look about here right now, Bob," the other answered.
He was about to make the first move when Pat, who had been listening,
broke in upon the conversation of the brothers.
"A litter is it that yees would be afther makin'," he remarked,
quickly; "and to kerry me to camp like I was a dead soldier, so it
be? Wull, I've no objections to ye makin' wan av the same to kerry the
mate; but, by me faith, ye'll niver get Pat O'Mara to rist his bones
on that litter unless he is out av his mind. An' av ye be falin' like
another spell, lit's be away."
Of course, after that Bob could not insist, for only too well did he
know the independent spirit of the Irish trapper. As long as Pat could
put one foot to the ground he would persist in moving along; nor could
Bob prevail on him to either throw his burden away, or divide it up
between the other two.
"I'll do me share av the worrk, or know the rason why," Pat would
answer back, every time the idea was mentioned; and, as long as he
showed this obstinate streak, they could do nothing but let him have
his way.
Bob was keeping his wits about him all this while. He noticed the
direction they were taking, and could even give a pretty fair guess as
to the distance yet to be traversed before they could hope to
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