Two days did we remain in our shelter, to regain our strength and to
rest our horses. Thus deeply buried in the bosom of the earth, we were
safe from the devastating elements. On the second day we heard
tremendous claps of thunder; we knew that a storm was raging which would
quench the fire, but we cared little about what was going on above.
We had plenty to eat and to drink, our steeds were recovering fast, and,
in spite of the horrors we had just undergone, we were not a little
amused by the lamentations of the parson, who, recollecting the
destruction of his shirts, forgot his professional duty, and swore
against Texas and the Texans, against the prairies, the buffaloes, and
the fire: the last event had produced so deep an impression upon his
mind, that he preferred shivering all night by the banks of the torrent
to sleeping near our comfortable fire; and as to eating of the delicate
food before him, it was out of the question; he would suck it, but not
masticate nor swallow it; his stomach and his teeth refused to
accomplish their functions upon the abhorred meat; and he solemnly
declared that never again would he taste beef--cow or calf--- tame or
wild--even if he were starving.
One of the lawyers, too, was loud in his complaints, for although born
in the States, he had in his veins no few drops of Irish blood, and
could not forget the sacrifice Gabriel had made of the whisky. "Such
stuff!" he would exclaim, "the best that ever came into this land of
abomination, to be thrown in the face of dirty buffaloes: the devil take
them! Eh! Monsheer Owato Wanisha,--queer outlandish name,
by-the-bye,--please to pass me another slice of the varmint (meaning the
buffalo-calf). Bless my soul, if I did not think, at one time, it was
after the liquor the brutes were running!"
Upon the morning of the third day, we resumed our journey, following the
stream down for a few miles, over thousands of dead animals, which the
now foaming torrent could not wash away. We struck the winding path
which the "estampedados" had taken; and as it had been worked by the
millions of fugitives into a gentle ascent, we found ourselves long
before noon, once more upon the level of the prairie. What a spectacle
of gloom and death! As far as the eye could reach, the earth was naked
and blackened. Not a stem of grass, not a bush, had escaped the awful
conflagration; and thousands of half-burnt bodies of deer, buffaloes,
and mustangs covered the prairie in every direction.
The horizon before us was concealed by a high and rugged ridge of the
rolling prairie, towards which we proceeded but slowly, so completely
was the track made by the buffaloes choked by burnt bodies of all
descriptions of animals. At last we reached the summit of the swell, and
perceived that we were upon one of the head branches of the Trinity
River, forming a kind of oblong lake, a mile broad, but exceedingly
shallow; the bottom was of a hard white sandy formation, and as we
crossed this beautiful sheet of clear water, the bottom appeared to be
studded with grains of gold and crystals.
This brought round the characteristic elasticity of temper belonging to
the Americans, and caused the doctor to give way to his mental
speculations:--He would not go to Edinburgh; it was nonsense; here was a
fortune made. He would form a company in New York, capital one million
of dollars--the Gold, Emerald, Topaz, Sapphire, and Amethyst
Association, in ten thousand shares, one hundred dollars a-piece. In
five years he would be the richest man in the world; he would build ten
cities on the Mississippi, and would give powder and lead to the
Comanches for nothing, so that they could at once clear the world of
Texans and buffaloes. He had scarcely finished, when we reached the
other side of the lake; there we had to pass over a narrow ridge,
covered with green bushes, but now torn and trampled down; the herds had
passed over there, and the fire had been extinguished by the waters of
this "fairy lake," for so we had baptized it. Half an hour more brought
us clear out from the cover, and a most strange and unusual sight was
presented to our eyes.
On a rich and beautiful prairie, green and red, the wild clover and the
roses, and occasionally a plum-tree, varying the hues were lying
prostrate, as far as the eye could reach, hundreds of thousands of
animals of all species, some quietly licking their tired limbs, and
others extending their necks, without rising, to graze upon the soft
grass around them. The sight was beautiful above all description, and
recalled to mind the engravings of the creation affixed to the old
Bibles. Wolves and panthers were lying but a few paces from a small
flock of antelopes; buffaloes, bears, and horses were mixed together,
every one of them incapable of moving from the spot on which they had
dropped from exhaustion and fatigue.
We passed a large jaguar, glaring fiercely at a calf ten feet from him;
on seeing us, he attempted to rise, but, utterly helpless, he bent his
body so as to form a circle, concealing his head upon his breast under
his huge paws, and uttered a low growl, half menacing, half plaintive.
Had we had powder to waste, we would certainly have rid the gramnivorous
from many of their carnivorous neighbours, but we were now entering a
tract of country celebrated for the depredations of the Texans and
Buggles free bands, and every charge of powder thrown away was a chance
the less, in case of a fight.
As by this time our horses were in want of rest, we took off their
saddles, and the poor things feasted better than they had done for a
long while. As for us, we had fortunately still a good supply of the
cold calf, for we felt a repugnance to cut the throats of any of the
poor broken-down creatures before us. Close to us there was a fine
noble stag, for which I immediately took a fancy. He was so worn out
that he could not even move a few inches to get at the grass, and his
dried, parched tongue showed plainly how much he suffered from the want
of water. I pulled up two or three handfuls of clover, which I presented
to him; but though he tried to swallow it, he could not.
As there was a water-hole some twenty yards off, I took the doctor's fur
cap, and filling it with water, returned to the stag. What an expressive
glance! What beautiful eyes! I sprinkled at first some drops upon his
tongue, and then, putting the water under his nose, he soon drained it
up. My companions became so much interested with the sufferings of the
poor animals, that they took as many of the young fawns as they could,
carrying them to the edge of the water-hole, that they might regain
their strength and fly away before the wolves could attack them.
Upon my presenting a second capful of water to the stag, the grateful
animal licked my hands, and, after having drunk, tried to rise to follow
me, but its strength failing, its glances followed me as I was walking
to and fro; they spoke volumes; I could understand their meaning. I hate
to hear of the superiority of man! Man is ungrateful as a viper, while a
horse, a dog, and many others of the "soulless brutes," will never
forget a kindness.
I wondered what had become of our three lawyers, who had wandered away
without their rifles, and had been more than two hours absent. I was
about to propose a search after them when they arrived, with their
knives and tomahawks, and their clothes all smeared with blood. They had
gone upon a cruise against the wolves, and had killed the brutes until
they were tired and had no more strength to use their arms.
The reader, comfortably seated in his elbow-chair, cannot comprehend the
hatred which a prairie traveller nourishes against the wolves. As soon
as we found out what these three champions of the wilderness had been
about, we resolved to encamp there for the night, that we might destroy
as many as we could of these prairie sharks. Broken-down as they were,
there was no danger attending the expedition, and, tightening on our
belts, and securing our pistols, in case of an attack from a recovering
panther, we started upon our butchering expedition. On our way we met
with some fierce-looking jaguars, which we did not think it prudent to
attack, so we let them alone, and soon found occupation enough for our
knives and tomahawks among a close-packed herd of wolves.
How many of these detested brutes we killed I cannot say, but we did not
leave off until our hands had become powerless from exhaustion, and our
tomahawks were so blunted as to be rendered of no use. When we left the
scene of massacre, we had to pass over a pool of blood ankle-deep, and
such was the howling of those who were not quite dead, that the deer and
elk were in every direction struggling to rise and fly[26]. We had been
employed more than four hours in our work of destruction, when we
returned to the camp, tired and hungry. Roche had picked up a bear-cub,
which the doctor skinned and cooked for us while we were taking our
round to see how our _protégés_ were going on. All those that had been
brought up to the water-hole were so far recovered that they were
grazing about, and bounded away as soon as we attempted to near them. My
stag was grazing also, but he allowed me to caress him, just as if we
had been old friends, and he never left the place until the next
morning, when we ourselves started.
[Footnote 26: The prairie wolf is a very different animal from the
common wolf and will be understood by the reader when I give a
description of the animals found in California and Texas.]
The doctor called us for our evening meal, to which we did honour, for,
in addition to his wonderful culinary talents, he knew some plants,
common in the prairies, which can impart even to a bear's chop a most
savoury and aromatic flavour. He was in high glee, as we praised his
skill, and so excited did he become, that he gave up his proposal of the
"Gold, Emerald, Topaz, Sapphire, and Amethyst Association, in ten
thousand shares," and vowed he would cast away his lancet and turn cook
in the service of some _bon vivant_, or go to feed the padres of a
Mexican convent. He boasted that he could cook the toughest old woman,
so as to make the flesh appear as white, soft, and sweet as that of a
spring chicken; but upon my proposing to send him, as a _cordon bleu_,
to the Cayugas, in West Texas, or among the Club Indians, of the
Colorado of the West, he changed his mind again, and formed new plans
for the regeneration of the natives of America.
After our supper, we rode our horses to the lake, to water and bathe
them, which duty being performed, we sought that repose which we were
doomed not to enjoy; for we had scarcely shut our eyes when a tremendous
shower fell upon us, and in a few minutes we were drenched to the skin.
The reader may recollect that, excepting Gabriel, we had all of us left
our blankets on the spot where we had at first descried the prairie was
in flames, so that we were now shivering with cold, and, what was worse,
the violence of the rain was such, that we could not keep our fire
alive. It was an ugly night, to be sure; but the cool shower saved the
panting and thirsty animals, for whose sufferings we had felt so much.
All night we heard the deer and antelopes trotting and scampering
towards the lake; twice or thrice the distant roars of the panthers
showed that these terrible animals were quitting our neighbourhood, and
the fierce growling of the contending wolves told us plainly that, if
they were not strong enough to run, they could at least crawl and prey
upon their own dead. It has been asserted that wolves do not prey upon
their own species, but it is a mistake, for I have often seen them
attacking, tearing, and eating each other.
The warm rays of the morning sun at last dispersed the gloom and clouds
of night; deer, elks, and antelopes were all gone except my own stag, to
which I gave a handful of salt, as I had some in my saddle-bags. Some
few mustangs and buffaloes were grazing, but the larger portion,
extending as far as the eye could reach, were still prostrate on the
grass. As to the wolves, either from their greater fatigue they had
undergone, or from their being glutted with the blood and flesh of their
companions, they seemed stiffer than ever. We watered our horses,
replenished our flasks, and, after a hearty meal upon the cold flesh of
the bear, we resumed our journey to warm ourselves by exercise and dry
our clothes, for we were wet to the skin, and benumbed with cold.
The reader may be surprised at these wild animals being in the state of
utter exhaustion which I have described; but he must be reminded that,
in all probability, this prairie fire had driven them before it for
hundreds of miles, and that at a speed unusual to them, and which
nothing but a panic could have produced. I think it very probable that
the fire ran over an extent of five hundred miles; and my reason for so
estimating it is, the exhausted state of the carnivorous animals.
A panther can pass over two hundred miles or more at full speed without
great exhaustion; so would a jaguar, or, indeed an elk.
I do not mean to say that all the animals, as the buffaloes, mustangs,
deer, &c., had run this distance; of course, as the fire rolled on, the
animals were gradually collected, till they had formed the astounding
mass which I have described, and thousands had probably already
perished, long before the fire had reached the prairie where we were
encamped; still I have at other times witnessed the extraordinary
exertions which animals are capable of when under the influence of fear.
At one estampede, I knew some oxen, with their yokes on their necks, to
accomplish sixty miles in four hours.
On another occasion, on the eastern shores of the Vermilion Sea, I
witnessed an estampede, and, returning twelve days afterwards, I found
the animals still lying in every direction on the prairie, although much
recovered from their fatigue. On this last occasion, the prairie had
been burnt for three hundred miles, from east to west, and there is no
doubt but that the animals had estampedoed the whole distance at the
utmost of their speed.
Our horses having quite recovered from their past fatigue, we started at
a brisk canter, under the beams of a genial sun, and soon felt the warm
blood stirring in our veins. We had proceeded about six or seven miles,
skirting the edge of the mass of buffaloes reclining on the prairie,
when we witnessed a scene which filled us with pity. Fourteen hungry
wolves, reeling and staggering with weakness, were attacking a splendid
black stallion, which was so exhausted, that he could not get up upon
his legs. His neck and sides were already covered with wounds, and his
agony was terrible. Now, the horse is too noble an animal not to find a
protector in man against such bloodthirsty foes; so we dismounted and
despatched the whole of his assailants; but as the poor stallion was
wounded beyond all cure, and would indubitably have fallen a prey to
another pack of his prairie foes, we also despatched him with a shot of
a rifle. It was an act of humanity, but still the destruction of this
noble animal in the wilderness threw a gloom over our spirits. The
doctor perceiving this, thought it advisable to enliven us with the
following story:--
"All the New York amateurs of oysters know well the most jovial
tavern-keeper in the world, old Slick Bradley, the owner of the
'Franklin,' in Pearl-street. When you go to New York, mind to call upon
him, and if you have any relish for a cool sangaree, a mint-julep, or a
savoury oyster-soup, none can make it better than Slick Bradley.
Besides, his bar is snug, his little busy wife neat and polite, and if
you are inclined to a spree, his private rooms up-stairs are comfortable
as can be.
"Old Slick is good-humoured and always laughing; proud of his cellar, of
his house, of his wife, and, above all, proud of the sign-post hanging
before his door; that is to say, a yellow head of Franklin, painted by
some bilious chap, who looked in the glass for a model.
"Now Slick has kept house for more than forty years, and though he has
made up a pretty round sum, he don't wish to leave off the business. No!
till the day of his death he will remain in his bar, smoking his
Havanas, and mechanically playing with the two pocket-books in his deep
waistcoat pockets--one for the ten-dollar notes and above, the other for
the fives, and under. Slick Bradley is the most independent man in the
world; he jokes familiarly with his customers, and besides their bill of
fare, he knows how to get more of their money by betting, for betting is
the great passion of Slick; he will bet anything, upon everything:
contradict him in what he says, and down come the two pocket-books under
your nose. 'I know better,' he will say, 'don't I? What will you
bet--five, ten, fifty, hundred? Tush! you dare not bet, you know you are
wrong;' and with an air of superiority and self-satisfaction, he will
take long strides over his well-washed floor, repeating, 'I
know better.'
"Slick used once to boast that he had never lost a bet; but since a
little incident which made all New York laugh at him, he confesses that
he did once meet with his match, for though he certainly won the bet, he
had paid the stakes fifty times over. Now, as I heard the circumstance
from the jolly landlord himself, here it goes, just as I had it, neither
more nor less.
"One day, two smart young fellows entered the Franklin; they alighted
from a cab, and were dressed in the tip-top of fashion. As they were new
customers, the landlord was all smiles and courtesy, conducted them into
saloon No. 1, and making it up in his mind that his guests could be
nothing less than Wall street superfines, he resolved that they should
not complain of his fare.
"A splendid dinner was served to them, with sundry bottles of old wines
and choice Havanas, and the worthy host was reckoning in his mind all
the items he could decently introduce in the bill, when ding, ding, went
the bell, and away he goes up stairs, capering, jumping, smiling, and
holding his two hands before his bow window in front.
"'Eh, old Slick,' said one of the sparks, 'capital dinner, by Jove; good
wine, fine cigars; plenty of customers, eh?'
"Slick winked; he was in all his glory, proud and happy.
"'Nothing better in life than a good dinner,' resumed the spark No. 1;
'some eat only to live--they are fools; I live only to eat, that is the
true philosophy. Come, old chap, let us have your bill, and mind, make
it out as for old customers, for we intend to return often; don't we?'
"This last part of the sentence was addressed to spark No. 2, who, with
his legs comfortably over the corner of the table, was picking his teeth
with his fork.
"'I shall, by jingo!' slowly drawled out No. 2, 'dine well here! d---d
comfortable; nothing wanted but the champagne.'
"'Lord, Lord! gentlemen,' exclaimed Slick, 'why did you not say so? Why,
I have the best in town.'
"'Faith, have you?' said No. 1, smacking his lips; 'now have you the
real genuine stuff? Why then bring a bottle, landlord, and you must join
us; bring three glasses; by Jove, we will drink your health.'
"When Slick returned, he found his customers in high glee, and so
convulsive was their merriment that they were obliged to hold their
sides. Slick laughed too, yet losing no time; in a moment he presented
the gentlemen with the sparkling liquor. They took their glasses, drank
his health, and then recommenced their mirth.
"'And so you lost the wager?' asked No. 2.
"'Yes, by Heaven, I paid the hundred dollars, and, what was worse, was
laughed at by everybody.'
"Slick was sadly puzzled; the young men had been laughing, they were now
talking of a bet, and he knew nothing of it. He was mightily
inquisitive; and knowing, by experience, that wine opens the heart and
unlooses the tongue, he made an attempt to ascertain the cause of the
merriment.
"'I beg your pardon, gentlemen, if I make too bold; but please, what was
the subject of the wager, the recollection of which puts you in so good
a humour?'
"'I'll tell you,' exclaimed No. 1, 'and you will see what a fool I have
made of myself. You must know that it is impossible to follow the
pendulum of the clock with the hand, and to repeat "Here she goes--there
see goes," just as it swings to and fro, that is when people are talking
all round you, as it puts you out. One day I was with a set of jolly
fellows in a dining-room, with a clock just like this in your room; the
conversation fell upon the difficulty of going on "Here she goes," and
"there she goes," for half an hour, without making a mistake. Well, I
thought it was the easiest thing in the world to do it; and upon my
saying so, I was defied to do it: the consequence was the bet of a
hundred dollars, and, having agreed that they could talk to me as much
as they pleased, but not touch me, I posted myself before the clock and
went on--"Here she goes, there she goes," while some of my companions
began singing, some shouting, and some laughing. Well, after three
minutes I felt that the task was much more difficult than I had
expected; but yet I went on, till I heard somebody saying, "As I am
alive there is Miss Reynolds walking arm-in-arm with that lucky dog,
Jenkins." Now, you must know, landlord, that Miss Reynolds was my
sweetheart, and Jenkins my greatest enemy, so I rushed to the window to
see if it was true, and at that moment a roar of laughter announced to
me that I had lost the bet.'
"Now, Slick Bradley, as I have said, was very fond of betting. Moreover,
he prided himself not a little upon his self-command, and as he had not
any mistress to be jealous of, as soon as the gentleman had finished his
story he came at once to the point.
"'Well,' said he, 'you lost the wager, but it don't signify. I think
myself, as you did, that it is the easiest thing in the world. I am sure
I could do it half an hour, aye, and an hour too.'
"The gentlemen laughed, and said they knew better, and the now excited
host proposed, if the liberty did not offend them, to make any bet that
he could do it for half an hour. At first they objected, under the plea
that they would not like to win his money, as they were certain he had
no chance; but upon his insisting, they consented to bet twenty
dollars; and Slick, putting himself face to face with his great
grandfather's clock, began following the pendulum with his hand,
repeating 'Here she goes, there she goes.'
"The two gentlemen discovered many wonderful things through the window:
first a sailor had murdered a woman, next the stage had just capsized,
and afterwards they were sure that the shop next door was on fire. Slick
winked and smiled complacently, without leaving his position. He was too
old a fox to be taken by such childish tricks. All at once, No. 2
observed to No. 1, that the bet would not keep good, as the stakes had
not been laid down, and both addressed the host at the same time, 'Not
cunning enough for me,' thought Slick; and poking his left hand into the
right pocket of his waistcoat, he took out his pocket-book containing
the larger notes, and handed it to his customers.
"'Now,' exclaimed No. 2 to his companion, 'I am sure you will lose the
wager; the fellow is imperturbable; nothing can move him.'
"'Wait a bit; I'll soon make him leave off,' whispered the other, loud
enough for Slick to hear him.
"'Landlord,' continued he, 'we trust to your honour to go on for half an
hour; we will now have a talk with bonny Mrs. Slick.' Saying this, they
quitted the room without closing the door.
"Slick was not jealous; not he. Besides, the bar was full of people; it
was all a trick of the gents, who were behind the door watching him.
After all, they were but novices, and he would win their money: he only
regretted that the bet had not been heavier.
"Twenty minutes had fairly passed, when Slick's own little boy entered
the room. 'Pa,' said he, 'there is a gemman what wants you below in
the bar.'
"'Another trick,' thought the landlord; 'they shan't have me,
though.--Here she goes, there she goes.' And as the boy approached near
to him to repeat his errand, Slick gave him a kick. 'Get away. Here she
goes, there she goes.'
"The boy went away crying, and soon returned with Mrs. Slick, who cried
in an angry tone, 'Now, don't make a fool of yourself; the gentleman you
sold the town-lot to is below with the money.'
"'They shan't have me, though,' said Slick to himself. And to all the
invectives and reproaches of Mrs. Slick he answered only with, 'Here she
goes? there she goes.' At last the long needle marked the half hour, and
the landlord, having won the wager, turned round.
"'Where are they?' said he to his wife.
"'They?-who do you mean?' answered she.
"'The two gentlemen, to be sure.'
"'Why, they have been gone these last twenty minutes,'
"Slick was thunderstruck. 'And the pocket-book?' he uttered,
convulsively.
"His wife looked at him with ineffable contempt.
"'Why, you fool, you did not give them your money, did you?'
"Slick soon discovered that he was minus five hundred dollars, besides
the price of the two dinners. Since that time he never bets but cash
down, and in the presence of witnesses."