ARKANSAS, AND “DOWN RIVER” TO NEW ORLEANS.
Wild turkeys--Spring river--Traces of earlier inhabitants of North
America--An eagle--Quack-doctors in Arkansas--My unsuccessful
hunting-dog--Little Red river--German and Polish settlers--Hilger
and Turoski--Encampment of Indians--Their love for ardent
spirits--Little Rock--Engagement as stoker on board the
“Fox”--Unhealthiness of the stoker’s avocations--Quarrel with the
captain, and conclusion of the engagement--Night in the woods--A
panther--Bear hunt--Great Red river--Slave plantations--Cruelty of
the overseers towards the negroes--Large herd of deer--Capture of a
panther--Dangerous encounter with a bear--Excursion with an Indian
tribe--Their mode of life--Canoe travelling--The Mississippi--New
Orleans--Its appearance, and unhealthy situation.
I was now in Arkansas. Game seemed to abound. Flocks of wild turkeys
filled the forests as thick as partridges in Germany, and deer were
equally plentiful; in one day I saw several herds of ten or twelve head
each. On the 23rd I came to Spring river, so named from the crystalline
clearness of its waters. I had intended to continue my journey on the
following morning, but my talkative hostess, among other things, spoke
of her husband, an old Pennsylvanian, who understood German, and who
could give a great deal of information about Indian burial-places. The
chance of hearing any thing about the natives was a strong magnet to my
curiosity, so I decided to await his arrival, and, as I did not wish to
diminish unnecessarily my small stock of money, I assisted to gather in
the Indian corn, so as to earn my food. As my host arrived in the
evening, I had not long to wait. He informed me that there were a number
of sepulchral monuments on the banks of the Spring river, or in its
neighborhood, and spoke of gigantic bones and skeletons which had been
found there. When in Illinois, I had heard of such remains of a colossal
race of men, and among others of a human lower jaw, whose owner must
have been about nine feet high. He also said that he had found urns and
weapons in the graves; but he had none to show me, for these people have
no regard for any thing that does not offer some immediate prospect of
gain.
On the banks of the neighboring White river, they had found bricks some
feet under the surface in several places, laid as if they had formed a
street or road, and my host, as well as several others, maintained that
there must have been a town there.
There is a strong probability that, before the modern race of Indians, a
stronger and more civilized people must have inhabited North America, as
several ancient and magnificent buildings in Mexico also tend to prove.
If my host had had time to show me any of the mounds, I would have
devoted a day or two to their examination, but he was obliged to take
another journey on the following day, and I could not well await his
return. Perhaps some one else may find time to make excavations.
On the following morning I set off again on my travels, and turned a
little out of my way to climb a rocky height, when an eagle suddenly
rose before me. I fired. For a minute or two he floated motionless in
the air, then, flapping his wings, he mounted higher and higher till I
could hardly distinguish him. I concluded that I must have missed him,
and was reloading, when he turned in the air, and fell dead to the
ground. He was a large bird, measuring seven feet from wing to wing. I
was pleased with my shot, as it was the first eagle I had killed. He was
of a dark-brown color, with white head and tail. In imitation of the
Indians, I ornamented my cap with one of his feathers.
On the evening of the 27th of January, as I was occupied in breaking up
a deer that I had shot, a lad of about thirteen or fourteen, with a
fowling-piece on his shoulder, came to help me, and showed that he was
by no means an unskilled hand. We packed the two legs and the back in
the skin, and bore it between us to the abode of the youth, only a few
miles distant, where I decided on passing the night. I have met, in all
parts of America, with a number of very worthy, amiable people, as also
with some very bad characters: this is to be expected in a country with
such a mingled population; but here, in this solitude, I found a family
not to be surpassed in worth and amiable qualities in any part of the
world. An old man, with trembling hands, sat by the fire, and though
many winters had bleached his locks, his rosy cheeks showed that he was
still strong and hearty. Opposite sat a noble-looking matron,
considerably younger than her husband, but still of great age. By her
side was a young and pretty woman of the neighborhood, whose husband
had taken a journey to the north on business. Three stout, blooming
youths came in one after the other from shooting, bringing four wild
turkeys.
I was already far enough advanced in English to be able to take part in
the conversation, the educated American being very indulgent to
foreigners in this respect. We sat talking together till about ten
o’clock. The young wife had just received a letter from her husband,
which she read through and through ten times over. She had been very
unfortunate in Arkansas. The doctors had killed three of her children,
and she herself was suffering from inflamed eyes through their
ignorance. The fact is, that there is no sufficient authority to control
their practice in these new States, and every quack who chooses may call
himself doctor. They prescribe calomel for every disorder, and decayed
teeth, inflamed eyes, spongy gums, and shattered health are the
universal consequences.
My next night was passed at a Kentucky-man’s, who had settled here. He
had about a dozen dogs in his house, and he willingly made one over to
me, which, according to his account, was a capital dog for hunting wild
turkeys, running them to a tree, so that they could be more easily shot.
Lounging along the road, I saw, at a good distance in front of me, a
buck quietly feeding right in the path, and, rather distrusting the good
education of my dog, I fastened him to a tree with my pocket-handkerchief
and the string of my powder-horn. The buck continued feeding
unsuspiciously, till I came within about eighty-five paces from him,
when, as I had the wind at my back, he scented my approach, and bounded
over a fallen tree to gain the thicket; my buck shot flew after him, but
I must have fired low, for at about 150 paces he began to limp with his
hind leg. By this time my dog must have thought that he had played the
mere spectator long enough, and having bitten through the powder-horn
string, he bounded after the deer with my handkerchief about his neck,
and neither deer, dog, nor handkerchief have I ever seen since.
About sunset I arrived at a house where I purposed to pass the night,
and had placed my hand on the fence to jump over, when I saw the
mistress of the house sitting before the door, occupied with her
children’s heads in a way that suppressed all inclination to speak on my
part. I turned away, resolving rather to pass the night in the forest
than with such a family; yet this alternative was unnecessary, for
before dark I reached the dwelling of a man who had fought under
Washington in the war of independence; of course he was very old, but he
moved about with considerable vigor.
On the following evening I came to the Little Red river. It was growing
dark, but a man was still at work on the other side. I called to him,
asking where I could pass. He answered: “You see that house there?” By
his accent I knew that he was a German, and asked again, in good Saxon:
“What house?” He replied again, in a mixture of German and English, and
in a tone of vexation at having forgotten his pure mother tongue: “Go a
little way down the river, and you will find a canoe.” We were already
good friends, although divided by the river. I found the canoe, paddled
over, and went to the nearest house, before which a number of people
were standing, and amongst them the owner, Von G., formerly an officer
in the army, now an industrious farmer, and zealous sportsman. He
possessed two slaves, and was well contented with his new condition. He
kindly offered me a bed in his house. In the evening the German came in,
whose acquaintance I had made on the banks of the river. He was a very
worthy, though rather an eccentric man. He must have been equally
pleased with me, for he insisted that I must not think of going away so
soon, but must come and pass some days with him in order to see the
country. Having nothing to hurry me, I willingly accepted his kind
invitation, and went on the following day to his house, where he made me
quite at home. He had a nice little wife, and five strong healthy
children.
In the afternoon it began to rain. Travelling was not to be thought of;
even had I wished it, these kind people would not have let me go. We
chatted away till deep in the night, and it did me a world of good to be
able to converse again to my heart’s content in my mother tongue. My
host was a Rhenish Bavarian, named Hilger, a builder by trade, and by no
means uneducated.
On the next day we had a visit from a neighbor, a man of about
thirty-five, with a short green shooting jacket, and a German rifle; but
his accent betrayed him to be no German. Hilger addressed him by the
name of Turoski. He was a Polish officer, who sought and found in
America security against the political persecutions that he would have
been exposed to in Europe. He was unmarried, and a little ten-year-old
daughter of Hilger’s minded his house. This child was often alone for
days and nights together in Turoski’s log-house, miles away from other
habitations; yet she cared nothing whether it was the storm or the
wolves that howled round the hut.
After a short conversation, Turoski proposed that I should come and stay
with him. I passed some very agreeable days with these estimable men,
sometimes with one, sometimes with the other. To give my reader an idea
of the bachelor-life of an American backwoodsman, I will describe one of
the nights that I passed at Turoski’s. Hilger’s daughter had gone home
to visit her parents, who lived three miles off, and we two were alone.
The Pole’s dwelling was nothing but a simple rough log-house, without
any window, and all the chinks between the logs were left open, probably
to admit fresh air. Two beds, a table, a couple of chairs, one of them
with arms, some iron saucepans, three plates, two tin pots, one saucer,
several knives, and a coffee-mill, formed the whole of his furniture and
kitchen utensils. A smaller building near the house contained the store
of meat for the winter. There was a field of four or five acres close to
the house, and another about a quarter of a mile off on the river. He
had some good horses, a great many pigs, quantities of fowls, and
several milch cows.
Being deeply interested in our conversation, we forgot to prepare any
supper, and it was not till the cold made itself felt that we went to
bed. It may have been about half-past twelve, when Turoski woke up, and
swore by all the saints, that he could lie no longer in bed for
ravenous hunger, and that he must have something to eat, even if it were
a piece of raw meat. I laughed, and told him to draw his hunger-belt
tighter, but he jumped up and gave me no more rest. We made up the fire,
which was nearly burnt out, and then held a council as to what we should
cook. We had shot nothing, the bread was all gone, and we had eaten our
last bit of pork for dinner. What was to be done? Turoski decided the
point. The Indian corn of last harvest was in a small building in a
field by the river; I was to go and fetch an armful, while he would
prepare something in the mean time. The night was dark as pitch; I was
often obliged to feel with my feet for the path like a blind man, that I
might not lose myself in the forest. When, in the course of half an
hour, I returned with the maize, Turoski had killed one of the fowls
that were roosting on a low tree, plunged it in hot water, and while he
cleaned it I fried the corn; then, while the fowl was being grilled, I
ground the corn in the coffee-mill, which by no means reduced it to the
consistence of flour. I moistened the grist with water, added a little
salt, made a cake of it about three-quarters of an inch thick, and set
it in a saucepan cover to bake. So far so good; but I wanted a couple of
eggs. There was a kind of shed attached to the house, in which leaves of
Indian corn, plucked green, and then dried, were kept as fodder, and
here the hens came to lay their eggs. Turoski crept in, and feeling
about, soon came to a nest with five, of which he brought away only two,
having broken the others in his hurry. Coffee was then made, and we had
a very good supper, or rather breakfast, for it was now past two
o’clock. But we were not yet to repose in safety; the monster log of
hickory, that we had laid on the hearth, flared up and set fire to the
chimney: Turoski mounted on the roof, while I handed him some buckets of
water, and the fire was soon extinguished. At last we got to sleep, and
remained so till the sun was high in the heavens.
My unquiet spirit drove me forth again on the morning of the 7th of
February. I took a warm farewell of these kind people, and went in a
south-west direction through the forest, hoping soon to reach the high
road. The sun disappeared behind dark clouds, but thinking I was sure of
my way, I walked quickly on. Who could paint my astonishment at finding
myself, after two hours’ walking, in front of the very house I had
started from! This was vexatious, but I slipped off again into the
forest without being perceived, took out my compass, and made a straight
course.
In the evening I shot a deer, but was obliged to leave the greater
portion of it, as it was too heavy to carry. Long after sunset on the
9th I arrived on the Arkansas river; the lights of Little Rock shone
from the opposite bank, but a strange fantastic scene presented itself
on this side of the river, on which I stared with astonishment. An
Indian tribe had pitched their tents close to the banks of the river. A
number of large crackling fires, formed of whole trunks of dry fallen
trees, which lay about in abundance, offering good shelter against the
wind; over the fires were kettles with large pieces of venison, bear,
squirrels, raccoons, opossums, wild-cats, and whatever else the fortune
of the chase had given them. Here young men were occupied securing the
horses to some of the fallen trees, and supplying them with fodder;
there lay others, overcome by the firewater, singing their national
songs with a mournful and heavy tongue. I stood for a long time watching
the animated scene.
A tall powerful Indian, decked out with glass beads and silver
ornaments, came staggering towards me, with an empty bottle in his left
hand and a handsome rifle in his right, and, holding them both towards
me, gave me to understand that he would give me the rifle if I would
fill his bottle. The dealers in spirituous liquors are subject to a
heavy fine if they sell any to soldiers, Indians, or negroes. The poor
Indians have fallen so low, and become so degraded by the base
speculations of the pale faces, that they will give all they most value,
to procure the body and soul-destroying spirits. Though I had but little
money left, only twelve cents, I declined the exchange; he turned
sorrowfully away, probably to offer the advantageous bargain to some one
else, in which case I thought it best to indulge the poor savage, and
save him his handsome rifle; I took the bottle out of his hand, filled
it, and gave it back to him. On my refusing to accept his rifle, he laid
hold of me, and dragged me almost forcibly to his fire, obliged me to
drink with him, to smoke out of his pipe, and eat a large slice of
venison, while his wife and three children sat in the tent staring with
surprise at the stranger. He then stood up, and in his harmonious
language related a long history to me and to some sons of the forest who
had assembled round us, and of which I did not understand a word. At
last as the noise became annoying, I stole away quietly to seek a berth
for the night.
When I came again to the ferry on the following morning, the encampment
was broken up, and the Indians had embarked on board a steamer, which
was to carry them further west. I crossed by the ferry, and had now no
longer any cause to be anxious about spending too much money, having
paid away my last twelve cents. Rarely has a traveller entered a strange
town with so light a purse. My situation in such a place was not at all
enviable. The soles of my boots had disappeared, and then the feet of my
stockings, so that latterly I had gone barefoot on the frozen ground.
Yet my self-confidence and courage did not fail me. My first object was
to find a house where I could pass the night, my second to get my boots
repaired: I found board and lodging at a German wheelwright’s, named
Spranger, for three dollars a week, and although with all my searching I
could not find three cents in my pockets, I agreed to the bargain,
giving my gun in pawn; then taking my hunting-knife I hastened to a
shoemaker’s, who asked two and a half dollars to re-sole my boots, and
accepted my knife as a pledge, lending me a pair of shoes to wear till
the boots should be finished. When this was all arranged, I looked about
for work, and took many a walk in vain.
On the second day, having nothing else to do, I went with Spranger to
Von Seckendorf’s farm to saw down some trees that S. required for his
business. In Little Rock many had referred me to a Mr. Fisher, who was
well known among the Germans, and who at all events would give me work.
He had just finished a large frame house, and wanted to make some
addition to it. I went to every door in the building to seek some one
who could tell me where to find him, but all was as quiet as the grave.
I then went to a smaller building, and knocked. As no one answered,
after knocking three times, I pushed open the door, and entered. In one
corner of a miserable room I found an empty bedstead, with broken legs;
carpenter’s tools lay on the table and floor, and a coffin stood in
another corner. At the foot of the bed, on the bare earth, lay a man,
with his head on one of the broken legs of the bedstead; his right arm
was under his head, the left lay across his face, so that I could only
see the dark hair; the hands were spotted red and black, I thought from
the paint of the coffin. I asked him if he knew where Mr. Fisher was. He
gave no answer: I supposed him to be asleep, and he appeared to be ill.
I went out again quite quietly, and tried some other doors; but they
were all locked, and not a soul to be seen. I went back again to the
sleeper, and although I called loudly, and shook him by the shoulder, I
could get no answer, and came away much vexed. At length, after a great
deal of trouble, I found Mr. Fisher, and had my trouble for my pains,
for he had no work to give me. In the course of conversation, I inquired
about the man in the hut, and was told that he had died the day before
of smallpox: my blood ran cold at the words. The doctor had stated the
nature of his disease, and desired that nobody should go near him; and
as the man was poor, without a cent in the world, he had shut the door,
and never been near him again. The poor fellow had been left to himself
for three days, without even a drink of water, and at last had died
miserably on the floor. Little Rock is a vile, detestable place in this
respect, and the boatmen on the Mississippi have good reason when they
sing--
“Little Rock in Arkansaw,
The d----dest place I ever saw.”
Yet several Germans inhabit the town and neighborhood.
As nothing in the way of work was to be found in the town, I went to the
river to try and get something to do on board a steamer. The steamers
“Fox” and “Harp” were moored side by side. I went first on board the
“Fox,” and was engaged as fireman, at thirty dollars a month. In an hour
the boat started. I was quite contented, and had no trouble with my
luggage. We ran down the Arkansas to its mouth, then up the Mississippi
to Memphis, and back again to Little Rock. The work of a fireman is as
hard as any in the world; though he has only four hours in the day and
four in the night to keep up the fires, yet the heat of the boilers, the
exposure to the cutting cold night air when in deep perspiration, the
quantity of brandy he drinks to prevent falling sick, the icy cold water
poured into the burning throat, must, sooner or later, destroy the
soundest and strongest constitution. How I, unaccustomed to such work,
managed to stand it, has often surprised me.
In addition, there was the dangerous work of carrying wood, particularly
in dark and wet nights. One has to carry logs of four or five feet in
length, six or seven at a time, down a steep, slippery bank, sometimes
fifteen or twenty feet in height when the water is low, and then to
cross a narrow, tottering plank, frequently covered with ice, when a
single false step would precipitate the unfortunate fireman into the
rapid deep stream, an accident which indeed happened to me another time
in the Mississippi. It is altogether a miserable life, offering,
moreover, a prospect of being blown up, no uncommon misfortune, thanks
to the rashness of the American engineers.
I carried on this work for some time, till the desertion of the cook at
Memphis caused a vacancy in that department. Just as the boat was about
to start, I offered myself for the place, and was accepted, although I
knew nothing more than how to boil a kettle; yet I very soon learned as
much as was necessary.
When I returned to Little Rock I released my gun and hunting-knife. The
next voyage was to the mouth of the Arkansas and back. The rude coarse
life among the lowest class of people soon disgusted me, and, in
addition to this, I had incurred the enmity of the captain, who disliked
me, probably only because I was a German. Yet he could not do without
me; but as I could not find a substitute, I was obliged to make another
voyage, and this time up the river. I already had an idea how my service
would terminate, and having my game-bag packed, and my gun,
hunting-knife, and a tomahawk that I had purchased, all at hand, I was
prepared for any thing that might happen.
Two days after our departure, the captain came down to me as I was in
the act of giving the remains of a meal to a poor old woman, who was on
her way to join her children, but who had not wherewithal to pay her
passage. An old Pennsylvanian had informed me that the captain had been
abusing me. This, and the question, “Who gave me permission to give away
the provisions?” put me in a rage, and I asked him, rudely, in return,
“If he would rather that I should throw them overboard?” The “yes” was
hardly out of his mouth, when plate and food were floating in the
Arkansas. He gave vent to his rage by springing on me, and seizing me by
the breast; in return I sent him sprawling against the opposite side. He
was quickly up again, and snatching up a piece of broken hand-spike,
made a desperate blow at me, which I luckily avoided. My fury now knew
no bounds; I grasped his throat, and was dragging him to the side to
throw him overboard, when his cries brought the engineer and boatswain
to the rescue. One of them pulled the captain away by his legs, while
the other took me by the shoulders, and then both carried the captain,
whose head was bleeding severely, into the cabin. I was ordered to go
directly to the book-keeper, received my pay, the steamer stopped, I was
landed on the bank, the boat returned on board, and I found myself in
quite a new and extraordinary position.
All around me was a solitary wilderness--the river behind me, the ground
frozen hard, and covered with a thin sheet of snow--a cold north wind
blowing through the leafless branches. I felt in my pocket for my fire
apparatus--it was all wet; not a single grain of powder in my
powder-horn, and only one barrel loaded. I thought it would never do to
discharge my gun for the sake of lighting a fire, and remain unarmed in
the wilderness. I cleared away the snow from under a tree, lay down, and
tried to sleep; but the wind was too sharp, the cold insupportable, and
I was afraid of being frozen. Driven to extremity, I discharged my gun
against the root of a tree, lighted a match by the burning wadding,
collected dry grass and wood, and in a minute or two had a glorious
fire.
Although I heard the howls of several wolves, I did not mind them, but
enjoyed a sound sleep. Certainly, on the following morning, I trudged on
rather out of spirits, with no powder, and a very hungry stomach.
I followed the direction of the river downwards, in hopes of finding a
house. After I had gone some distance, I saw an old, half-sunken canoe.
I baled out the water with my cap and found that she was still
serviceable. My former intentions of visiting Texas returned in full
force; I decided on crossing to the other side to look for a house, and
procure food and powder, and resolved then to strike off in a south-west
direction in search of the route to Texas.
I had hardly gained the opposite bank when I discovered a large flock of
wild turkeys. I took aim, and pulled the trigger, forgetting that I had
not loaded: they took to the trees on my approach, and I suffered the
tortures of Tantalus at the sight; but there was no help for it, and I
was obliged to pass on. As it always happens in such cases, I saw
quantities of game this day.
Cold and cloudy descended the night, bringing with it the dreaded north
wind; I was obliged to lie down without a fire. In order to avoid the
bears and panthers, I had climbed up a tree, but the wind was too sharp
to make such an airy perch endurable. At length I found a hollow tree,
crept in, covered my feet with my game-bag, placed my gun on my left
side, and, with my knife in my right hand, I passed one of the most
uncomfortable nights of my life. I heard the howling of the wolves, and
once the roar of a panther in the distance; but nothing came to disturb
me, and the bright morning sun saw me early on the march, for my couch
was not inviting enough to detain me. At length, what music to my ears!
the crow of a cock and bark of a dog announced the neighborhood of a
farm. I soon perceived the thin, blue smoke of a chimney ascending into
the beautiful clear sky, and, with a quickened pace made towards it,
hoping soon to refresh both body and soul.
The good people gave me such a hospitable reception, and placed so much
on the table, that, notwithstanding my fearful appetite, there was a
great deal more than I could eat. Fortunately, the farmer had a stock of
gunpowder, and filled my powder-horn for a quarter of a dollar.
As I was about to depart, he asked if I would not like to join a
shooting party; several of his neighbors were coming this morning to
search a thicket not far from his house, where they expected to find a
bear which had robbed him of many of his pigs. I did not long hesitate,
cleaned my gun, loaded the left hand barrel with ball and the right with
buck-shot, and so was ready for any thing. We had not long to wait, and
all mounted on horseback. We soon arrived at the spot, and rode round
and round it; it was the thickly overgrown bed of a former spring.
Suddenly the dogs gave tongue, and immediately afterwards the bear
started out of his hiding-place. Eager as we were we could only follow
him slowly, on account of the thick underwood; so we hobbled the horses’
fore-legs, and pressed forward on foot.
One of the party soon proclaimed that, judging by the bark of the dogs,
the bear must have climbed up a tree. Such proved to be the case, and we
had hardly discovered him, when I and one of the farmers fired: both
balls had taken effect, but a dull cry was the only consequence: two
others of the party coming up, fired. He was mortally wounded, drew
himself together, and hung by one paw from the tree; as I hit him on the
paw with my buck-shot, he fell, and died under the bites of the dogs,
who threw themselves furiously on him. His flesh was savory and tender,
but he was not so fat as was expected. I remained the night with these
kind people, and set off again on the following morning.
Without any thing further worth noticing, I came, on the 15th March, to
the bank of the Great Red river, the boundary between the United States
and Texas. A farmer who had a canoe set me over the river, and,
following a well-trodden path on the other side, I came to a large slave
plantation. The overseer, who directed the labors of the negroes, said
at first that he had no room for me to sleep in; but as there was no
other house far and wide where I could find shelter, he at last agreed,
and I found a sumptuous supper and comfortable bed.
The land near the river was very swampy, and overgrown with thick canes,
but the wood became more open and the ground dryer as I left the river.
On the evening of the third day, I again slept at a plantation, and this
was the last night I passed in a house for some time to come. The
overseer lived in a block-house, and all around stood the smaller huts
of the slaves, one for each family. During the hours of labor, he
carried a heavy whip to keep the blacks in order; yet he did not seem to
feel quite safe amongst these poor, ill-treated people, for he had a
pair of pistols in his saddle holsters.
An overseer once assured me that the whip was the best doctor for the
slaves, and that when any one of them fell sick, he was flogged till he
was well again. It might sometimes happen that a poor negro pretended to
be sick to get a day or two’s rest; but how often must the really sick
slave be most atrociously treated by the inhuman overseer!
From these quarters I marched along fresh and in good spirits into the
forest, which already began to look green. The birds sang so sweetly on
the branches, that my heart was joyful and mournful at the same time; I
longed in vain for a companion, with whom I could exchange thoughts. A
shot echoed from the plantation, and innumerable wild geese rose from
the cotton-fields behind me; with a deafening noise they formed their
usual triangle, and flew all in the same direction.
Luckily for me, I had in my bag a couple of wild ducks that I had killed
and roasted the day before. The forest was mortally dull, and the march
began to grow rather tedious, for my rambles in the north were still
fresh in my memory. I passed the night very pleasantly by a fire, while
my hunger took the second duck into consideration.
Towards noon I came to the little river Sulphurfork, which I was obliged
to wade through, after many vain attempts to find a shallow place, the
water coming up to my chest. I began to despair of getting any thing to
eat, and, being thoroughly wet, I resolved to come soon to a halt, and
dry myself by a fire, when all at once I saw about fifty deer, within
shot, all quietly feeding, and taking no notice of me. For an instant I
stood petrified; then every fibre in my body beat and trembled with
delight. The suddenness of the sight had so excited me that I could not
take aim, and I was obliged to wait to collect myself. It was a glorious
sight, such a number of these noble animals together; I counted
fifty-seven, and derived particular pleasure from the antics of two
fawns, which made the most comical bounds, and came very near me without
any suspicion. Regret to kill such a beautiful innocent creature
withheld my hand for some time, but hunger was not to be cajoled,--I
fired, and one of them fell without a cry. The effect of the report upon
the herd was quite ludicrous,--each of the hitherto unsuspicious animals
became an image of attention, then fled with immense bounds towards the
thicket. As I did not move they stopped again, and began to feed, but
not without frequently raising their heads to listen. The impression
which the fall of his playfellow had produced on the other fawn was very
different. Far from flying, he came nearer, smelt the poor animal as if
he thought it was play, setting his fore-foot several times on the body
of his comrade as if to induce him to get up. I had the other barrel
still loaded, but thought it would be like murder to injure a hair of
the little creature.
As I stepped out from the bushes, the fawn stared at me with
astonishment in his large clear eyes; probably he had never seen a man
before. He then flew like the wind towards his dam, but stopping now and
then as if he expected his comrade. I quickly made a fire on the spot to
roast my game, putting the greater part of the back and the brisket on
sticks before the fire with hollow bark underneath to catch the dripping
for basting; and a delicious meal was very soon the result of this
simple proceeding.
Next day, as I was going quietly along through forest and prairie,
looking out right and left for game or amusement, I caught sight of
something in a large oak. Fixing my eyes steadily on it, and coming
closer, I recognized the glowing eyes of a panther crouched on a bough,
and seemingly ready to spring. I gave him both barrels, one after the
other, when he fell from the tree, and died with a fearful howl. He was
a large handsome beast, of an ashy gray color, and measuring from seven
to eight feet from the nose to the end of the tail.
It was well that I had venison in my game-bag, for the panther would
have been a tough morsel. I dragged the rather heavy skin with me till
the evening, and slept soundly on it for my trouble. A damp fog came on
towards morning, which soon turned to fine penetrating rain, seeming to
foretell a disagreeable day; but as I had enjoyed beautiful weather in
general, I could not complain. The sky became quite dark, the rain fell
heavier, and I was soon wet through. I left the panther skin where I had
slept, so that I had no heavy burden to carry. I found my stomach
beginning to loathe the quantity of animal food that was put into it,
and to long for bread, but I was obliged to divert my thoughts from the
subject, and the last remains of the venison were discreetly devoured.
Meantime I had killed a turkey, so that at all events I had something in
store.
My plan hitherto had been to push on to the nearest eastern settlement;
but the road was too long and tedious, so I turned southwards, in order
afterwards to proceed eastward towards Louisiana and the Red river. The
constant rain made it impossible to light a fire this evening, and I
passed a miserable night, for though I tried to make a shelter of pieces
of bark, I could not manage it; however, the night came at last to an
end, and cold, cross, and hungry as a lion, I went along with only a
plucked turkey in my bag.
About noon my day’s journey was brought to an unexpected end by a river
that had overflowed its banks. The rain had ceased, so that, with better
fortune than yesterday, I succeeded in making a fire, and my turkey,
divided into four quarters, was soon in front of it. Now, comfortably
stretched before my fire, I considered whether I should cross the river;
I had no sort of business on the other side, and it seemed absurd to
swim across for nothing--so I settled on quitting Texas, and returning
to the United States. If I had a friend with me I could have gone on to
the shores of the Pacific, but I had no mind to do it alone. When I had
finished my repast, I got up and made my way in an E. S. E. direction.
As the rain had left off, I made up to-night for the wakefulness of the
last; when I awoke the fire had burnt out, and the sun was shining
through the bursting buds of the trees. I had a good wash in a
neighboring spring, and felt like a giant refreshed.
After taking my frugal breakfast, the remains of yesterday’s meal, I
drew more towards the east, in order the sooner to fall in with human
beings, to eat bread, and taste salt. I had occasionally used gunpowder
instead of salt, but my store of powder was not sufficient for such a
luxury, and it was better to be without salt than without powder.
Gun on shoulder, I trudged slowly and surely on, over hill and dale,
through prairies and forest streams, towards the sun-rising, taking
sharp notice of all around. While thus proceeding, wrapped in my
thoughts, suddenly something rustled in a bush in front of me, and a
bear started out and took to flight. My ball was soon in his interior;
on being hit he stopped and looked round at me in a fury. Expecting
nothing less than an attack, I quietly cocked the other barrel; but his
intentions of attacking me seemed to pass off, and he crept into a
thicket instead. I quickly loaded with ball and followed him: as I
approached he retreated slowly, probably suffering from his wound: as
soon as I got a clear view of his head, I fired again, but only grazed
his skull. As I ran towards him his fury increased, and he turned to
meet me; on taking aim with my second barrel at about thirty paces, it
missed fire. With open jaws and ears laid back, he rushed towards me;
in this mortal danger, I preserved my presence of mind. Dropping my gun,
and drawing my knife, I sprang back a couple of paces behind a small
tree; at this moment the bear was only a few feet from me. As he rose on
his hind legs to embrace me, he was almost as tall as I, and his fiery
eyes and long teeth had nothing very attractive; but he was not destined
to know the taste of my flesh.
I was quite collected, feeling sure that one or the other must die. The
moment he tried to grasp me, I thrust my long double-edged hunting knife
into the yawning abyss of his jaws, and boring it into his brain, I
brought him to the ground. I did not then know better, but I ought to
have sprung back after wounding him, and then I should have escaped
unhurt. As it was, he dragged away my coat in falling, and tore my arm
slightly. I thanked God that it was no worse. There I sat on the sweet
smelling heath, with my coat all in rags, and no other to put on. To
assuage my sorrow, I cut a large steak from the bear, which tasted
particularly good after my severe exertions. I carried away the skin. In
the evening I fell in with a herd of deer, but did not fire at them, as
I was well provided with meat.
On the following evening I heard a shot. The sound ran through me like
an electric shock. There were, then, other people in this wilderness,
and not very far off, for the shooter must be on the other side of the
nearest hill. I turned rapidly in the direction whence the sound came,
and had hardly gained the crest of the hill, when a romantic and
variegated scene spread itself before my eyes.
It was an Indian camp, and all were occupied in pitching their tents,
and preparing for the night. Here, were some cutting tent-poles with
their tomahawks; there, women collecting firewood for cooking; men
securing the horses by hobbling their fore-legs; another skinning a
deer. In short, it was life in the wilds in highest force. I should
never have tired of looking at these noble muscular figures, their faces
marked with various ochres, their heads adorned with feathers, and their
bright-colored dresses.
I was not long allowed to remain a spectator, for the dogs barked and
ran at me. Breaking off a green bough, I went with it to the camp. The
Indians called off the dogs, and all eyes were now directed towards the
stranger. Going up to a group of young men, who were stretching a
deer-skin, I asked if any of them spoke English, and was directed to an
elderly man, who was sitting smoking under a tree and watching me. I
told him that I was a traveller, that I wished to return to the banks of
the Red river, and asked if I could pass the night in his camp. A
considerable group of young men had in the mean time assembled round us.
At length the old man asked--“Are white men so scarce that you come
alone into the wilderness?” I replied that I had only come for the sake
of shooting, and now wished to return. Instead of an answer, he silently
gave me his pipe, out of which I took a few whiffs, and then handed it
to one of the Indians standing near me. He did the same, and returned it
to the chief. I now sat down beside him. He asked a great many
questions, amongst others, how I had torn my coat so badly? Whereupon I
related my affair with the bear. He smiled, and translated my account
to the others, who also showed interest in my adventure.
The chief then told me that it was highly dangerous for any one unused
to these encounters to risk such a fight, and that it was necessary to
spring quickly back after the thrust, the dying bear having sometimes
succeeded in killing his enemy. He took particular notice of my
double-barrelled gun and hunting-knife, and said that he had never
before seen two barrels joined together. He spoke English better than I
did, and, what was very agreeable, he spoke slowly.
The Indians belonged to the Choctaw tribe, and were come out of Arkansas
in search of game. As night came on, fires were burning all around us,
and the women, among whom were some beautiful figures, cooked the
suppers, while the men quietly smoked their pipes. Finding the Indian
fashion of staring at the fire rather tedious, I made several attempts
to engage the chief in conversation, but only received short answers, so
that at last there was nothing left for it but to play the Indian, and
maintain a dignified silence.
At length we retired to rest. I slept on a bear-skin beside the fire, in
front of the chief’s tent. Before sunrise, I was awakened by the noise
and songs of the Indians, who were preparing for a shooting excursion. I
jumped up, and was getting ready to join them, but soon remembered that,
with my ragged coat, I could not venture among the thorns;--I should
have been caught every moment. I showed it to one of the young men, he
immediately ran off, and soon returned with a sort of coat, or rather
hunting-shirt, made out of a blanket. He made signs that he would sell
it to me, and was delighted to receive a dollar for it, with the rags of
my green coat into the bargain. For a second dollar I obtained his
embroidered belt, and was now quite set up again. Resolving to be quite
an Indian for the time, I left my game-bag in the camp.
We set off, sixteen in number, all on foot, some of the Indians with
firearms, others with bows and arrows, with which they can hit their
mark at a great distance. I attached myself to one of the young men with
a bow and arrows, and, as we could not understand each other’s language,
we proceeded in silence. Each of us had provisions, which we ate as we
went along. It may have been about noon when we saw a herd of deer. My
companion went round to gain the wind of them, and shot a couple with
his unerring arrows. Away flew the others in headlong fright, coming
directly towards me, in such blind haste, that the leader of the herd, a
fat buck of eleven, was little more than ten paces off, when he
discovered me. My ball pierced his heart, and he fell without a cry. The
rest fled in all directions.
We were obliged to return to the camp for horses to carry our booty. My
companion started off in a straight line for the camp, which I should
never have been able to find again. It was only a few miles distant,
although I thought it must be at least half a day’s journey behind us.
On arriving at the camp, we each mounted on horseback, and rode off at a
quick trot to the place where our game lay, which we found without
difficulty, the Indian having marked several trees with his tomahawk as
we returned. The last prize we came to was my buck, and on him we saw a
wild-cat preparing to enjoy itself. The Indian rushed forward, and the
cat, which did not perceive him till too late, flew up a tree, whence an
arrow from the sure hand of my companion soon brought it to the ground.
It was of a gray color, and larger than the domestic cat. When these
animals are irritated they will attack men: my comrade carried off the
skin.
We rode back with our booty to the camp, and were received with cheers.
The party all returned one after the other, most of them with game, one
with an immense bear that he had killed, the largest I had yet seen.
While cooking was going on, the young men danced and sang, the women
taking no part in their amusements, but quietly continuing their
occupations.
On the following morning the chief said that he had set a wolf-trap, and
we went to see if any thing had been caught. As there was plenty of food
in the camp, we all went together, except three, who, having killed
nothing yesterday, set off to try their luck again to-day. We took four
large strong dogs with us, and followed the chief. With a triumphant
smile he showed me where he had set the trap, and near it a trace of
blood; it was shown to the dogs, and they followed it up in full cry.
After running about a mile, they barked louder and louder. We hurried on
as fast as we could, and found the wolf at his last gasp under the
furious attack of the dogs. They were immediately called off, and
appeared to have suffered considerably, particularly one, whose ear the
wolf, a great black beast, had bitten quite away.
These traps are set with a bait, but not fastened, for if the wolf is
caught, and the trap should be immovable, he would bite off his own leg
sooner than let himself be taken. So the trap is only fastened by a
chain to an iron clog with four hooks; as soon as the wolf finds himself
caught, he attempts to hurry away with the trap, but is detained every
moment by the hooks catching in the roots and bushes; yet he manages to
get clear again, and has been known to take the iron clog in his
mouth--but the trap still remains a hindrance, and he is easily traced.
By this time I had enjoyed Indian life long enough, and wished myself
back again in more civilized society; yet I remained another day with
them, during which we shot at a mark with bows and arrows, and I caused
many a smile among the Indians, as I shot a foot wide of the mark, which
they seldom missed. We next threw tomahawks at a tree, and in this
practice I was rather more successful.
On the following morning I resumed my journey to the east, provided with
venison and coarse salt, and as I saw the last Indians disappear behind
the trees, it seemed as if I was now for the first time alone in the
forest; but I soon became reaccustomed to my former life, and slept
again this night, as well as a man can sleep, on grass and fragrant
moss.
Next day I came to the Sabine, seeking in vain for a ford; and as the
river was considerably swelled, and seemed wider and deeper further
south, there was nothing for it but a swim. I made a small raft, which
I bound together with creepers, and securing my gun, game-bag, knife,
tomahawk, and powder-horn on the top of it, I pushed it before me to the
opposite bank.
On the 30th of January, as I arrived at the Great Red river, I saw a
farm-house, and the crow of a cock broke on my ear as the music of the
spheres. But the house was on the other side of the broad and swollen
stream, which rolled along its dirty red waves at a fearful rate. In
vain I shouted and roared myself hoarse; a shot had no better effect. I
had made up my mind to hide my gun and other things in the bush, and
swim over, when a second shot roused the farmer’s attention. He came to
the bank, and seeing some one calling and beckoning on the opposite
side, he cast off his canoe, and coming across, was not a little
astonished at finding me alone.
I received a hearty welcome from his family, who were exceedingly amused
at the appetite with which I made the bread disappear, and at my
enjoyment of the coffee.
As I did not wish to remain here long, I soon came to an agreement with
the farmer about the sale of his canoe; he let me have it for four
dollars, throwing a smoked leg of venison, a roast turkey, and some
loaves of maize bread into the bargain.
I was soon afloat in this hollowed trunk, drifting rapidly down the
stream, which carried gigantic trees along with it. The light craft
dashed forward like an arrow under the strokes of my paddle, so that,
according to a reckoning made afterwards, I must have gone about 400
miles in five days. It was not till late in the night that I ran in
among the reeds, and slept quietly in my own property.
[Illustration: THE ALLIGATOR.]
On the day after my departure, I fell in with a number of planks; they
had probably been washed away from some village on the banks. They had
floated against a tree, that was stuck fast in the bed of the river.
Intending to take them with me, in the hope of making something by their
sale, I paddled to the tree, and in attempting to secure the planks I
overreached myself; the current carried away the canoe from under me,
and in an instant I was in the water, holding on to the bough of the
tree, and close to an alligator. Luckily the beast was as much afraid of
me as I of him, and he disappeared under the water. I quickly swung
myself on the bough to reach my canoe, but too late, it was already in
the full strength of the current, leaving me hanging on the waving
bough, with canoe, gun, powder, and all that I possessed, a prey to the
waves. I saw perfectly well at once that I must either regain my canoe
or perish miserably of starvation, so I let go the bough, and swam with
all my might towards the fugitive. It cost a quarter of an hour’s
desperate exertion before I reached it, and then I had to push her to
the bank, in order to get on board, for any attempt to do so in the
middle of the stream would have upset her. In regaining the canoe I had
saved my life.
When my store of provisions was exhausted I shot wild-fowl, and got them
cooked at the nearest plantation, for now, as I approached Louisiana,
the land was more occupied.
Several hundred miles above its junction with the Mississippi, the Great
Red river is blocked up by numbers of trees that have been carried down
and become fixed, and although the United States Government has caused
a passage for steamers to be cut through them, yet I was advised not to
attempt it with my canoe, because the current ran through it with such
force, that the least obstacle I might encounter would infallibly
overset the canoe. I was therefore obliged to traverse two lakes, called
Clear Lake and Soda Lake, which are connected with the river above and
below the Raft, as the collection of matted trees is called.
I saw a great number of alligators sunning themselves on the warm sands.
I shot ten or eleven of them, but could never prevail on myself to touch
them. They were from three to twelve feet long, and sometimes even
eighteen feet. Not far from the mouth of the river, on the fifth day,
just about dusk, seeing something white in the water ahead of me, I
paddled to it, and laid hold of it, but drew my hand back with a
shudder, and the blood ran cold in my veins; it was a corpse--the naked
white back alone floated above the surface, head, arms, and legs hanging
down; a wound several inches long was visible on the left side, just
under the ribs. I paddled hastily away in sickening disgust, and left
the horrid object behind me.
On the following morning I entered the Mississippi, the excessively
dirty “Father of Waters.” The scenery assumed a more tropical character,
and the long waving moss hanging from the gigantic trees gave it a
peculiarly strange aspect. After entering this magnificent river I took
on board fresh provender, not far from the junction, and directed my
course towards that “New Orleans,” now some 240 miles distant, about
which I had heard so much. But on the second day, when I was still some
hundred miles from it, a little above Baton Rouge, it came on to blow
fresh, and the wind caused such a swell in the river, that I could no
longer keep my little craft free of water; indeed it was not without
great effort and difficulty that I was able to reach the shore.
There was a farm near the place where I landed, whose owner had a
quantity of wood for sale, ready cut, and piled up for the use of
steamers. A steamer, bound for New Orleans, was in the act of wooding at
the time. It would have been folly to have attempted to continue the
voyage in such a swell in so frail a craft as mine, and as I found the
farmer willing to buy her we soon agreed as to terms. I transferred my
effects to the steamer, and late on the same evening arrived at New
Orleans.
For the night I slept on board, but early the next morning went to a
German tavern to refresh myself after all the hardships I had undergone,
and to sleep in a regular bed. Oh, how comfortably I stretched myself on
the soft mattress! I got up very early to have a look at the place,
having no wish to show myself in the costume of a savage when the
streets were thronged. For nine months my hair had been uncut, and
during five no razor had approached my chin; then what with my old
woollen hunting-shirt, my embroidered belt, and the high waterproof
boots, which had faithfully held out to the last, people would have
thought me more like a scarecrow than a human being: my first visit was
to a barber.
I had heard too much boasting and bragging about New Orleans, not to be
disappointed in my expectations. I found it by no means so splendidly or
so tastefully built as was asserted, and as I walked along the narrow
streets my thoughts wandered to the far more agreeable Cincinnati. The
only handsome building in New Orleans, and one without a parallel, is
the St. Charles’ Hotel, which certainly is very magnificent.
It is no wonder that the air of New Orleans should be generally so
unhealthy, and in autumn quite pestilential, for the town is built in a
complete swamp, and required to be protected by a dam from being
submerged by the river. It certainly was never intended by nature for
the abode of man; at most it is fitted for alligators, frogs, and
mosquitoes. It is the churchyard of the United States.
[Illustration]