RELATES HOW BIG BEN BECAME A TRAVELLING COMPANION, AND HOW A BIG BEAR
WAS CAPTURED--DISCUSSIONS AND MISFORTUNES.
To the great satisfaction of Will Osten and his friends, it was
discovered that Benjamin Hicks was a wandering trapper, whose avocations
led him to whatever part of the wilderness was most likely to produce
furs, and who had no particular objection to take a trip across the
mountains with our adventurers. Indeed Big Ben thought no more of a
ride of several hundreds of miles than most men do of an afternoon walk,
and, if particular business did not prevent him, he was always ready to
undertake a "venture" so long as it was, in his opinion, justifiable and
likely to pay.
"You see, sir," he said, as he and Will cantered together along the base
of a low hill one evening, "it's not that I'm of an unsettled natur',
but I've bin born to this sort o' life, an' it would be no manner o' use
in me tryin' to change it. Once upon a time I used to think o' settlin'
in one of the back settlements--that was when my poor old mother was
alive. I used to live with her and take care of her after my father's
death. Then I married and thought I was fairly fixed down for life, but
one night when I chanced to be out looking after my traps, a war-party
o' Injuns attacked the village and killed every soul in it. At least so
it was said at the time, but afterwards I met a lad who had escaped, an'
he told me that he had seen my mother and wife killed, but that a few of
the men escaped as well as him."
The trapper's voice deepened as he spoke, and he paused.
"Was it long ago?" asked Will, in a tone of sympathy.
"Ten years now," answered Ben, sadly--"though it seems to me but
yesterday. For many a day after that I tried to find the trail o' the
Redskins that did it, but never succeeded, thank God. If I had, it
would only have ended in the spillin' of more blood, without any good
comin' of it. It is long now since I left off thirstin' for revenge,
but I suppose I'll never cease wishin' that--that--well, well, God's
will be done," he added, as if rousing himself out of a sad reverie,
"I'm not used to speak about this, but somehow whenever I meet with
white men _o' the right sort_ in the plains or mountains, I always feel
a kind o' longin' to let my tongue wag raither too free. However, as I
was goin' to say, I've been a wanderer since then, goin' where I think I
can be o' use to myself or others; and so, as you don't appear to be
overly knowin' about the trail across the mountains, I'll go with 'ee a
bit o' the way an' pint it out, if you have no objections."
"No objections!" echoed Will; "I'll be delighted to have your company,
and would be only too glad if you could go all the way."
"Who knows but I might be willin' to go if I was asked," said the
trapper, with a slight approach to a smile.
"Are you in earnest?" asked Will Big Ben not only admitted that he was
in earnest, but said that he was quite ready to start at once, if they
would only consent to diverge from their route about thirty miles to a
small outpost belonging to the fur-traders, where he had deposited a lot
of peltries, which he wished to convert into supplies for the journey.
This was readily agreed to, and, accordingly, next day about noon, they
came in sight of Rocky Mountain Fort--so-called because of its being
situated in a somewhat wild glen, near the verge of one of the eastern
spurs of the Rocky Mountains.
While the fort was still far distant, though in sight, Larry O'Hale
uttered a sudden exclamation, and pointed to a black spot lying on the
side of one of the numerous mounds with which the country was
diversified.
"A black bear," said the trapper, quietly.
"Have at ye then!" shouted Larry, as he drove his heels against the ribs
of his steed and went off at full gallop.
"Stay, Bunco, let him have all the glory to himself," cried Will,
laughing.
Bunco, who had started to follow, reined up, and all three cantered to
the top of a neighbouring height, whence they could clearly see the
country for many miles in all directions.
Meanwhile the enthusiastic Larry had descended into a hollow, to leeward
of the bear. Along this he trotted smartly, following its windings and
keeping carefully out of sight, until he judged himself to be nearly
opposite to the spot where the bear lay, then breaking into a gallop he
turned at right angles to his former course, bounded over the ridge that
had concealed him, and rushed furiously on his victim. The bear was a
young one, but nearly full grown. On beholding the horseman it rose on
its hind legs and showed all its formidable teeth.
"Och! is it laughin' ye are?" exclaimed Larry, bringing forward the
muzzle of his gun, "it's cryin' ye'll be before long."
As he spoke the piece exploded. Whether it was that his finger had
pressed the trigger too soon, or that the aim, owing to the pace, was
unsteady, we know not, but Larry missed; the ball hit the ground just in
front of the bear, and drove such a quantity of earth into his facs,
eyes, and mouth, that he shook his head with a spluttering cough which
ended in a savage growl, but, on beholding the wild Irishman charging
down on him with the ferocity and thunder of a squadron of heavy
dragoons, he dropt on his fore-legs, turned tail, and fled. Larry tried
to re-load while pursuing, but, owing to the uneven nature of the
ground, which required him to devote earnest attention to the
badger-holes, he could not manage this. Without knowing very well what
to do, he continued the chase, meditating as to whether it were better
to try to ride over the bear, or to attempt the breaking of its skull
with the butt end of his gun. As, however, it was all he could do to
keep pace with the brute, he found either alternative impossible.
"Ochone! what'll I do wid ye?" cried the perplexed man, in despair.
The bear, as if in reply, glanced aside at him and grinned horribly.
"I do belaive it's laughin' again at me! Git on, ye baist," (to his
horse), "sure ye're four times as big, an' ought to run faster."
Larry forgot to do his steed the justice to add that it carried fourteen
stone weight on its back. The poor man tried hard to overtake the bear,
but failed to gain an inch on him. To make matters worse, he observed
that the brute was edging towards a wood which lay on his right. Seeing
this he diverged a little, and, by making a dive into a hollow, he
managed to cut off its retreat in that direction. Rocky Mountain Fort,
which lay on his left, was now within half a mile of him, and he could
see some of its inhabitants, who had observed the party coming from the
plains, standing at the gate of the fort watching the chase with much
interest. A glance over his shoulder showed him that his travelling
companions were in view behind. Keenly alive to the fact that he should
be overwhelmed with ridicule if he failed, the now desperate man
conceived the bold idea of driving the bear into the fort! He felt that
this feat was not beyond the bounds of possibility, for the bear was
beginning to flag a little, while his hardy steed was still in good
wind. He therefore applied the whip with greater energy, and soon came
alongside of the bear, which attempted to turn to the right, but Paddy
had become a good and alert horseman by that time, and was on his other
side in an instant. Again the bear tried to double, and again his enemy
checked him and urged him on. Thus they progressed until they drew near
to the gate of the fort. This was now deserted, for the fur-traders
soon understood the game that the wild horseman was playing, and made
way for the entrance of the stranger. At last the bear came so close to
the walls of the fort that it observed the open gateway. A way of
escape was here--it evidently imagined--so it went through at full
gallop! It was immediately met by a house. Turning quickly round, it
was met by another house. Dashing aside, it was brought up by a wall.
As a last resource it ran behind a pile of cut firewood and stuck its
head into a hole, just as Larry O'Hale bounded through the gateway with
a wild cheer of triumph. Will Osten, Big Ben, and Bunco quickly
followed, and the gates were shut by the men of the fort.
But the victory was by no means completed. The question still remained,
How was the enemy to be made prisoner? One of the fur-traders seized it
by the tail and tried to draw it out. He failed to do more than draw
forth a tremendous growl. Another fur-trader, aided by Larry, came to
the assistance of the first, and, by their united power, plucked Bruin
out of the hole like a cork out of a bottle. He turned with fury on his
enemies, two of whom sprang back, overturning Larry in the act. At that
moment one of the fur-traders, a stalwart Canadian, leaped upon the
bear, grasped him by the throat, and tried to strangle him. One of the
others, seeing this, caught at the brute's legs and tumbled him on his
side, for which he was rewarded with a scratch which tore his right arm
open from the elbow to the wrist. The hands of the stout Canadian were
at the same time severely lacerated by the brute's claws. During the
brief moments in which this struggle lasted, Big Ben had leaped from his
steed; detached the stout line which always hung at his saddle-bow; made
a noose as deftly as if he had been a British tar or a hangman, and
passed it quickly over the bear's muzzle. Drawing it tight he took a
turn round its neck, another round its fore-legs, and a third round the
body. After this the work of subjugation was easy, and Bruin was
finally reduced to slavery.
We know not, good reader, what you may think of this incident, but we
beg to assure you that, in its essence, it is a fact, and that that bear
was afterwards sent to England to suck its paws in a menagerie, and
delight the eyes and imaginations of an admiring public.
Again we change the scene to the heart of the Rocky Mountains, in which,
after many days of toil and trouble, heat and cold, hunger and thirst,
difficulty and danger, our travellers found themselves at the close of a
bright and beautiful day.
"I think," said Will Osten, reining up by the side of a copse which
crowned the brow of an eminence, "that this seems a good camping place."
"There is not a better within ten mile of us," said Big Ben,
dismounting. "This is the spot I have been pushing on for all day, so
let us to work without delay. We have a hard day before us to-morrow,
and that necessitates a hard feed an' a sound sleep to-night. Them's
the trapper's cure for all ills."
"They cure many ills, doubtless," observed Will, as he removed the
saddle from his jaded steed.
Larry, whose duty it was to cut firewood, remarked, as he administered
his first powerful blow to a dead tree, that "grub and slumber at night
was the chief joys o' life, and the only thing that could be compared to
'em was, slumber and grub in the mornin'!" To which sentiment Bunco
grinned hearty assent, as he unloaded and hobbled the pack-horses.
Soon the camp was made. The fire roared grandly up among the branches
of the trees. The kettle sent forth savoury smells and clouds of steam.
The tired steeds munched the surrounding herbage in quiet felicity, and
the travellers lay stretched upon a soft pile of brushwood, loading
their pipes and enjoying supper by anticipation. The howling of a wolf,
and the croaking of some bird of prey, formed an appropriate duet, to
which the trickling of a clear rill of ice-cold water, near by,
constituted a sweet accompaniment, while through the stems of the trees
they could scan--as an eagle does from his eyrie high up on the cliffs--
one of the grandest mountain scenes in the world, bathed in the soft
light of the moon in its first quarter.
"'Tis a splendid view of God's handiwork," said the trapper, observing
the gaze of rapt admiration with which Will Osten surveyed it.
"It is indeed most glorious," responded Will, "a scene that inclines one
to ask the question, If earth be so fair, what must heaven be?"
"It aint easy to answer that," said the trapper gravely, and with a
slight touch of perplexity in a countenance which usually wore that
expression of calm self-reliance peculiar to men who have thorough
confidence in themselves. "Seems to me that there's a screw loose in
men's thoughts when they come to talk of heaven. The Redskins, now,
think it's a splendid country where the weather is always fine, the sun
always shining, and the game plentiful. Then the men of the settlement
seem to have but a hazy notion about its bein' a place of happiness, but
they can't tell why or wherefore in a very comprehensible sort o' way,
and, as far as I can see, they're in no hurry to get there. It seems in
a muddle somehow, an' that's a thing that surprises me, for the works o'
the Almighty--hereaway in the mountains--are plain and onderstandable,
so as a child might read 'em; but man's brains don't seem to be such
perfect work, for, when he comes to talk o' God and heaven, they appear
to me to work as if they wor out o' jint."
The trapper was a naturally earnest, matter-of-fact man, but knew little
or nothing of the Christian religion, except what he had heard of it
from the lips of men who, having neither knowledge of it nor regard for
it themselves, gave a false report both of its blessed truths and its
workings. He glanced inquiringly at our hero when he ceased to speak.
"What is your own opinion about heaven?" asked Will Big Ben looked
earnestly at his companion for a few seconds and said--
"Young man, I never was asked that question before, an' so, of course,
never made a straightforward reply to it. Nevertheless, I think I have
a sort of notion on the pint, an' can state it, too, though I can't
boast of havin' much larnin'. Seems to me that the notion of the men of
the settlements isn't worth much, for few o' them can tell ye what they
think or why they think it, except in a ramblin' way, an' they don't
agree among themselves. Then, as for the Redskins, I can't believe that
it's likely there will be such work as shootin' an' fishin' in heaven.
So I'm inclined to think that we know nothin' about it at all, and that
heaven will be nothin' more nor less than bein' with God, who, bein' the
Maker of the soul an' body, knows what's best for both, and will show us
that at the proper time. But there _are_ mysteries about it that puzzle
me. I know that the Almighty _must_ be right in all He does, yet He
permits men to murder each other, and do worse than that."
"I agree with you, Ben," said Will Osten, after a moment's reflection.
"That everything in heaven will be perfect is certain. That we don't at
present see how this is to be is equally certain, and the most certain
thing of all is, that the very essence of heaven will consist in being
`for ever with the Lord.' I don't wonder at your being puzzled by
mysteries. It would be strange indeed were it otherwise, but I have a
book here which explains many of these mysteries, and shows us how we
ought to regard those which it does _not_ explain."
Here Will Osten drew a small volume from the breast-pocket of his coat.
"The Bible?" said the trapper.
"Part of it at all events," said Will. "It is the New Testament. Come,
let us examine it a little."
The youth and the trapper sat down and began to read the New Testament
together, and to discuss its contents while supper was being prepared by
their comrades. After supper, they returned to it, and continued for
several hours to bend earnestly over the Word of God.
In the wild remote part of the Rocky Mountains where their camp was
made, neither trappers nor Indians were wont to ramble. Even wild
beasts were not so numerous there as elsewhere, so that it was deemed
unnecessary to keep watch during the night. But a war-party of Indians,
out on an expedition against another tribe with whom they were at deadly
feud, chanced to traverse the unfrequented pass at that time in order to
make a short cut, and descend from an unusual quarter, and so take their
enemies by surprise.
Towards midnight--when the rocky crags and beetling cliffs frowned like
dark clouds over the spot where the travellers lay in deepest shade,
with only a few red embers of the camp-fire to throw a faint lurid light
on their slumbering forms--a tall savage emerged from the surrounding
gloom, so stealthily, so noiselessly, and by such slow degrees, that he
appeared more like a vision than a reality. At first his painted visage
only and the whites of his glittering eyes came into view as he raised
his head above the surrounding brushwood and stretched his neck in order
to obtain a better view of the camp. Then slowly, inch by inch, almost
with imperceptible motion, he crept forward until the whole of his gaunt
form was revealed. A scalping-knife gleamed in his right hand. The
camp was strewn with twigs, but these he removed one by one, carefully
clearing each spot before he ventured to rest a knee upon it. While the
savage was thus engaged, Larry O'Hale, who was nearest to him, sighed
deeply in his sleep and turned round. The Indian at once sank so flat
among the grass that scarcely any part of him was visible. Big Ben, who
slept very lightly, was awakened by Larry's motions, but having been
aroused several times already by the same restless individual, he merely
glanced at his sleeping comrade and shut his eyes again.
Well aware that in such a camp there must assuredly be at least one who
was acquainted with the ways and dangers of the wilderness, and who,
therefore, would be watchful, the savage lay perfectly still for more
than a quarter of an hour; then he raised his head, and, by degrees, his
body, until he kneeled once more by the side of the unconscious
Irishman. As he raised himself a small twig snapt under his weight.
The face of the savage underwent a sudden spasmodic twitch, and his dark
eye glanced sharply from one to another of the sleepers, while his
fingers tightened on the hilt of his knife, but the rest of his body
remained as rigid as a statue. There was no evidence that the sound had
been heard. All remained as still and motionless as before, while the
savage bent over the form of Larry O'Hale and gazed into his face.
But the snapping of that little twig had not been unobserved. The
trapper's eyes were open, and his senses wide awake on the instant.
Yet, so tutored was he in the ways and warfare of the wilderness that no
muscle of his huge frame moved, and his eyes were closed again so
quickly that the glance of the savage, sharp though it was, failed to
detect the fact of his having awakened. The busy mind of Big Ben was
active, however, while he lay there. He saw that the savage was armed,
but the knife was not yet raised to strike. He saw, also, that this man
was in his war paint, and knew that others were certainly around him,
perhaps close to his own back, yet he did not dare to look round or to
make the slightest movement. His spirit was on fire with excitement,
but his body lay motionless as if dead, while he rapidly considered what
was to be done. Presently the savage removed a corner of the blanket
which covered Larry's broad chest and then raised his knife. In another
moment the trapper's rifle sent forth its deadly contents, and the
Indian fell across the Irishman in the agonies of death.
Instantly the other sleepers sprang to their feet and seized their arms,
but before they had time to use them they were surrounded by the whole
band of savages, and, amid a hurricane of whoops and yells, were
overpowered and pinioned. Larry, with the fiery zeal of his countrymen,
struggled like a madman, until one of the savages gave him a blow on the
head with the flat of his tomahawk to quiet him, but the others, who
knew that to struggle against overpowering odds would only make matters
worse, at once surrendered.
"It is all over with us now," exclaimed Will Osten, bitterly; "if we had
only had the chance of a good fight beforehand, it would have been some
comfort!"
"When you have lived longer in the wilderness, lad," said Big Ben,
"you'll not give way to despair so easily."
These remarks were made as they sat on the grass while the Indians were
engaged in catching and saddling the horses. Soon after our travellers
were assisted to mount, having their wrists tied behind their backs; and
thus, with armed savages around them, they were led away prisoners--they
knew not whither.