THE MOUTH OF THE ARKANSAS
I do not recall how many leagues we pushed our way up the stream, nor
could I name the length of time required for our journey, before we
arrived where a large river, bearing a muddier current, led toward the
north and west. Those were neither days nor miles that imprinted
themselves on memory; they left only vague impressions, as one
sometimes beholds objects through the dense haze of early morning. I
remember merely the low, flat line of shore, stretching away to a
darker green of the heavy forest behind, and the ever-moving flood of
changeless water, no sign of life appearing along its surface.
Nor was there any happening within our boat to reflect upon, excepting
that our new comrade proved himself a stanch man at the oars, thus
commending himself to me, in spite of a choleric temper apt to burst
forth over trifles. He and De Noyan would have quarrelled many times a
day, only neither comprehended the language of the other. The greatest
cause I found for criticism was his interminable prayers, and the bull
voice in which he offered them. I have never made mock of religion,
coming of a line of godly ancestors, yet I felt there could be no
necessity for making such noise over it morning, noon, and night. Yet
neither entreaty nor threat moved him to desist, so I came to the
conclusion that he either considered the Almighty deaf, or else was
totally unconscious of his own lung power. As to his appetite--but
there are things of which one may not justly write, so I content myself
by saying that, all in all, he was not so bad a comrade.
De Noyan kept to his nature, and I liked him none the worse for it,
although it is not pleasant to have at your side a gay cavalier one
moment and a peevish woman the next. You never know which may be
uppermost. Yet he performed his full share of toil like a man, and,
when not curling his long moustachios, or swearing in provincial
French, was mostly what he should be, a careless soldier of fortune, to
whom life appealed more as a play than a stern duty. He was of that
spirit most severely tried by such drudgery, and, looking back upon it,
I can only wonder he bore the burden as cheerfully as he did. Beneath
his reckless, grumbling exterior, the metal of the man was not of such
poor quality.
However continual labor and enforced companionship told upon the rest,
Madame retained her sweetness through it all, hushing our lips from
many a sharp retort that had threatened to disrupt our party long
before this time. She had merely to glance toward us to silence any
rising strife, for no man having a true heart beneath his doublet could
find spirit to quarrel before the disapproving glance of her dark eyes.
It was thus we toiled forward, until one frosty morning our boat
arrived where this great stream poured forth from the west, forcing its
reddish, muddy current far out into the wide river against which we had
struggled so long. Slowly rounding the low, marshy promontory, and
beginning to feel the fierce tug of down-pouring waters against our
bow, I observed the old Puritan suddenly cock up his ears, like some
suspicious watch-dog, twisting his little glittering eyes from side to
side, as though the spot looked familiar.
"Do you suspect anything wrong, my pious friend," I questioned
curiously, "that you indulge in such sniffing of the air?"
"'Tis a spot I know well, now it looms fairly into view," he answered
solemnly, continuing to peer about like one suddenly aroused from
sleep. "It was near here the Philistines made camp as I passed down
the river, but I perceive no signs now of human presence in the
neighborhood."
His words startled me, and I began looking anxiously about us. The low
shores consisted of the merest bog, overgrown heavily with stunted
bushes and brown cane, but some distance beyond rose the crest of a
pine forest, evidencing firmer soil. The opposite side of the stream
was no whit more inviting, except that the marsh appeared less in
extent, with a few outcropping rocks visible, one rising sheer from the
water's edge, so crowded with bushes as scarcely to expose the rock
surface to the eye.
"I discover no evidences of life," I answered at last, reassured by my
careful survey. "Nor, for the matter of that, Master Cairnes, can I
see any spot dry enough to camp upon."
"Up the stream a few strokes the Spaniards had camp; not so bad a
place, either, when once reached, although the current will prove
difficult to overcome as we turn."
Following his guidance we deflected the boat's head, and, by hard toil
at the oars, slowly effected a passage up the swift stream, keeping as
close as possible along the southern shore, until, having compassed
something like five hundred yards, we found before us a low-lying bank,
protected by rushes, dry and thickly carpeted with grass.
"What is the stream?" I questioned, marvelling at the red tinge of the
water.
"The Spaniards named it the Arkansas."
"Oh, ay! I remember, although I passed this way along the other shore.
It was here some of La Salle's men made settlement near a hundred years
ago, I 'm told. The stream has trend northward."
"So the Spaniards claimed to my questioning; they knew little of its
upper waters, yet possessed a map placing its source a few leagues from
where the Ohio joins the great river. It was yonder they were encamped
when I was here before."
He pointed toward a ridge of higher ground, where two trees hung like
sentinels above the bank. Madame immediately turned the prow that way,
and, bending our heads low, we shot beneath their trailing branches,
grounding softly on the red clay of the bank. A brief search disclosed
remains of camp-fires, testimony to the Puritan's remembrance of the
spot. Evidently the place had been frequently occupied, and by sizable
parties, yet the marks were all ancient; we discovered no signs that
any one had been there lately.
It was barely daylight, although the sun was above the horizon. A vast
bank of cloud hung so dense across the eastern sky as to leave the
whole scene in shadow, making the hour appear much earlier. I felt, as
we searched the camp-fires, a strange uneasiness, for which I could not
account--it was a premonition of approaching peril. This sense is the
gift of many accustomed to border life, and compelled to rely for
safety upon minute signs scarcely observable to the eyes of others. I
had noticed a broken reed near where we turned into this new stream, so
freshly severed as to show green from sap yet flowing, while the soft
mud about the base of the big rock bore evidence of having been
tramped, although the distance was so great the nature of the marks was
not discernible. To be sure, native denizens of the forest might
account for this, yet the sight aroused suspicion and a determination
to examine more closely, while the fear of prowling enemies made me
strenuous in objecting to the building of any fire with which to cook
our morning meal.
The eating came to a conclusion at last, although not without
grumbling, in both French and English, at being obliged to subsist on
cold fare. By use of threats I succeeded in inducing the Rev. Mr.
Cairnes to retire without indulging in his usual devotional exercise.
Discovering De Noyan comfortably settled against a tree-trunk, pipe in
mouth, already beginning to look sleepy about the eyes, I muttered in
his hearing a word or two regarding a fishing trip into deeper water
along the opposite shore, and, quietly leaving him to unsuspicious
repose, slipped down to where our boat was tied beneath the tree
shadows. As I bent, loosening the rope, I felt rather than perceived
the presence of Madame upon the bank above. Turning as she addressed
me, I glanced up, holding the untied rope in my hand.
"You fear Spaniards may be near," she said quickly, as if she had
deciphered my hidden thought.
"No, Madame," I replied, scarcely able to conceal astonishment at her
penetration, yet eager to quiet alarm, particularly as I had no
occasion for uneasiness. "I merely feel a curiosity to examine that
odd rock beside the entrance--the one we passed on the right."
"Geoffrey Benteen," she said firmly, stepping down the sloping bank
until she stood beside me, "there is no occasion for your attempting
deceit with me. Besides, you are too open-hearted a man to deceive any
one. I have noticed your glances, and interpreted your thoughts, ever
since we turned into this stream. I am certain you fear at this moment
we have been beguiled into a trap. Tell me, is this not true?"
Her clear, questioning eyes gazed so directly into my own, and were so
honestly courageous, I up and told her what I had observed, and where I
was then bound.
"It is better to trust me," she commented simply, as I ended my
recital. "My eyes have not been altogether idle, although I am no
borderer to observe such faint signs. There were several reeds bent
low in the water a hundred yards back; their sides scraped as if a
large boat had been dragged through them. I thought nothing of it,
until I observed how intently you were studying each mark left by man.
While you are gone yonder, what would you wish me to do?"
I looked at her attentively, noting how heavy her eyes were from
weariness.
"You are too tired to remain on guard, Eloise," I said, forgetting I
should not use that name, "or I might bid you watch here, and, if any
misfortune befall me, call the others. Besides, if there are enemies
at hand there is no knowing from what direction they may chance upon
us. However, all we have observed were probably old marks, or made by
roving beasts, and I shall soon return to fling myself on the ground,
seeking sleep also. So go and rest those weary eyes, while I scout to
satisfy myself. It is only the doubt of a suspicious man."
"I shall not sleep until your safe return," she replied firmly. "You
shall not go forth thus without one to pray for your safe return. I
beg you, exercise care."
"Have no fear, Madame, I am no reckless hot-head at such work, and
shall continue to guard my life while it remains of value to you and
yours. Try to rest at ease, for I will soon return, with a laugh at my
foolish suspicions."
I forced the boat into the swollen stream, and, using one oar as a
paddle, silently and swiftly propelled it directly across. Discovering
a spot seemingly fit for travel, I pushed the prow through the long
marsh grass, and stepped ashore. She still stood in the tree shadow of
the opposite bank, and waving a hand in reassurance, I drew forth my
long rifle from beneath the seat. Advancing silently, I pressed
forward into the thick bed of cane, thinking more of Eloise de Noyan
than of the task before me. It proved a hard passage, so extremely
difficult as to call back my mind from foolish day-dreams to save
myself an ugly fall, for the grass under-foot was matted and tangled,
interspersed with marshy pools of brackish water, amid which
innumerable projecting roots spread snares for the feet. The sun, now
well advanced, gave me the points of the compass, and, holding the
rifle-stock before my face, I cleared a path through the dense growth,
and emerged from the low marsh land upon smooth turf, where some brush
found foothold, yet not so thickly as to impede the walking.
I discovered myself near the bottom of a steep bank, which, curving
with the line of the shore, extended forward for probably fifty feet,
crowned along its ridge with numerous stunted trees. Trusting thus to
obtain a firmer foothold and more extended view, I breasted the steep
ascent and found the summit a narrow plateau, only a few yards in
width, with a still more extensive morass upon the opposite side, which
stretched away some distance in a desolate sea of cane and drooping
grass. Fortunately it proved easy travelling along the ridge, which
appeared of stone formation, probably having a terminus at the big
rock, toward which I proposed extending my investigation.
I moved forward slowly and with caution, not because I expected to meet
enemies in this lonely spot, but rather from an instinct of long
frontier training. I had advanced possibly a hundred yards, when I
approached a small clump of stunted evergreens, so closely woven
together I could not wedge a passage between. Rounding their outer
edge, my footsteps noiseless on ground thickly strewn with their soft
needles, I came to a sudden halt within five paces of a man.