"I know that the Indians were beaten off," he answered; "but whether any
of the emigrants were killed or wounded, I cannot say. They continued
their course, and must have encamped shortly afterwards by the side of
the river. They will there have formed a strong camp, which the Indians
will not venture to attack. Their road will lead them not far from
this, when you can rejoin them, and I will pay them a visit."
"But I could not show my face among them without Reuben and Mike. I
should feel as if I had deserted my friends, without attempting to
rescue them," I said.
"A very right spirit, my lad," answered old Samson; "but you could have
done nothing, and would only have lost your life if you had made the
attempt. Sandy has a long head on his shoulders, and a brave heart; and
if any man can circumvent the Redskins, he can. He has a good drop of
their blood in his veins, with the brains of a white man, and knows all
their ways."
These assurances somewhat relieved my mind. The exertions I had made,
however, had brought on the pain in my foot; and after having eaten some
food which Samson gave me, I was thankful, by his advice, to lie down in
Sandy's bunk. I slept, but not soundly, for I fancied that I heard the
voices of the Indians consulting as to our fate; and then, in my dreams,
I saw them approaching with their scalping-knives to take the hair off
my head. Such being the character of my dreams, I was glad to awake and
find myself in comparative safety.
Old Samson was listening at the entrance of the cave. He had, I found,
the means of barricading it with stout timbers, so that no foes could
force their way in without paying dearly for the attempt. I rose from
the bunk, intending to join him, but he told me to lie quiet. I obeyed,
and was soon asleep; and when I again awoke daylight was streaming
through the entrance. I looked round, but Samson was not to be seen.
On attempting to get up, I found that my ankle was much swollen, and
that I could not walk. With a groan I sank back again on the bunk, and
waited anxiously for Samson, wondering what had become of him. The
horses were still there, munching their fodder, so he was not likely to
have gone far. At last I saw him at the entrance.
"Well, lad, you may get up now, and have some breakfast," he said.
I told him that I could not walk, as I was suffering severely from my
ankle.
"That's a bad job," he observed; "I intended to have moved away from
this. There are more Redskins in the neighbourhood than I like, as no
game can be got while they are here."
I asked if Sandy had appeared, and brought any tidings of Reuben and
Mike.
"No," he answered; "for the reason I have given, they could not make
their way across the country in daylight. But that is no reason why
Sandy should not have succeeded. He may have set them at liberty, and
concealed them and himself in some other place. There are several caves
like this in different directions, which seem to be made by nature as
refuges from the Indians. The only difficulty is to get to them without
being tracked, as it is always a hard job to escape the keen eyes of the
Redskins, although the horsemen of the plains are not so clever in
tracking a foe as those who go on the war-path on foot. That makes me
hope that we shall hear of our friends, though it may be some time
hence."
These remarks of old Samson again somewhat relieved my mind. I then
asked him when he thought that the emigrant-train would pass by; and
whether he could manage to let me join it on horseback, for I thought
that I could ride although I could not walk.
"I much doubt whether it will pass this way at all," he answered. "It
will either turn back, or, if the leader is a man of judgment, he will
conduct it by a different route, further to the south. Your uncles, Mr
Claxton, and their companions are brave men, but they will not wish to
encounter the savage hordes who have assembled to stop their progress on
the road they intended taking."
I was very glad to hear this opinion from one who was so well able to
judge rightly, and I felt more reconciled than I otherwise should have
been at remaining inactive; for, as to moving, unless I was placed on
horseback, I knew that was impossible. As far as I could tell, it might
be many days before I could recover, as a sprain, I was aware, is
frequently as difficult to cure as a broken bone; still, I did not like
to keep old Samson in the cave, should he wish to go out for the purpose
of ascertaining what had become of Sandy. I told him that I should not
be at all afraid of staying by myself, if he could manage to close the
entrance behind him.
"I have no desire to show myself on the plain, or I should have a dozen
Redskins galloping after me; and though I should not fear to meet twice
as many, provided I could take shelter behind some big trees, I would
rather not meet them where I should be exposed to their arrows," he
answered. "We must make up our minds to be prisoners for some days to
come; and keep a constant watch, too, lest they should get upon our
trail, and find their way up here."
"But how can you manage to keep watch alone? You will require some
sleep," I observed.
"Two or three hours are quite sufficient for me; and they are not likely
to attack us for the first hour or two before and after midnight," he
answered. "If they come at all during the night, it will be soon after
dark, or just before dawn. I know their ways, and have thus been
frequently enabled to get some necessary rest, even when I knew that
they were on my trail."
"But you would surely be better for more than two or three hours of
sleep; and if you will drag my bunk to the door, I will keep watch while
you rest."
To this he would not agree. "You require all the sleep that you can
get," he said. "No enemy, either, is able to break in on us unawares.
I have made arrangements in case of an attack, as you would have seen,
had you examined the entrance. There is a thick door which can be slid
across it; and in the door several loopholes, so that Sandy and I could
hold it against any number of Indians who might manage to make their way
up the hill."
From what old Samson had said, I fully expected that the cave would be
attacked; for I did not suppose that the Indians, scouring the country,
would fail to observe our tracks.
The entrance was always kept closed, and we should have been in darkness
had it not been for a rude lamp, fed by bear or deer fat, which stood on
the table. The old hunter and his companion had stored up a large
supply of dried grass for the horses, so that it was not necessary to
turn them out to feed. He allowed me to sleep as much as I could, and
when I was awake he generally seemed disposed to enter into
conversation. He told me many of his adventures and escapes from
Indians, and appeared to like to have me talk to him, and to hear all
about my uncles, Aunt Hannah, and Lily.
One day I began repeating to him the history Uncle Mark had given me of
his and Uncle Stephen's arrival in America. As I went on, I saw that he
was listening with more and more interest; and when I described how, on
reaching the village where my parents had lived, they found it burnt to
the ground, and discovered Lily and me, and our murdered mothers, he
exclaimed--
"Did your uncles learn the name of the little girl's mother?"
"No," I answered; "she died before she had time to utter it, and could
only commit her infant to their charge."
"Strange!" exclaimed the old man. "I had a daughter, my only child,
living in that village; and she, with her husband and babe, were, I had
every reason to suppose, slaughtered by the savages who attacked the
place. Yet it is possible that their infant may be the very one your
uncles saved; but, alas! I can never be sure of that."
"But I think that you may have very satisfactory proofs whether or not
Lily is your daughter's child," I answered, "for Aunt Hannah has
carefully preserved her clothing, and some ornaments which her mother
wore, and which you may be able to recognise."
"That I certainly should," said old Samson, "for I had but a few days
before parted from my daughter to proceed eastward. On hearing of the
massacre, I returned; but finding the whole village a mass of blackened
ashes, and being unable to gain any tidings of the beings I loved best
on earth, I had no doubt left on my mind that they had all perished.
Having thus no one to care for, I took to the life I have since led--
which I had before only occasionally followed, after the death of my
wife and the marriage of my daughter, for the sake of the sport it
afforded me."
From this time forward old Samson constantly spoke about Lily; and,
persuaded by his own hopes that she was his grand-daughter, he seemed to
be fully convinced that such was the case. His anxiety to see her, and
to examine the clothes and ornaments which Aunt Hannah had preserved,
increased every day; but how were we to find Lily and Aunt Hannah? Had
our friends turned back; or had they pushed forward, fighting their way
successfully towards the fertile region to which they were bound?
Neither he nor I could bring ourselves to contemplate what might
otherwise have happened--had they been overwhelmed by the hordes of
savages, and met the fearful fate which had overtaken the smaller band
whose remains we had discovered?
The old trapper went out every day to ascertain if the Indians had moved
away from the plain below us--should he find the country open, he
intended, he said, to go in search of Sandy, and those he might have
rescued--but he as often returned with the information that the Indians
still occupied the country. I, of course, greatly hampered him, for he
would not leave me in the cavern for long together. Had he been by
himself, he could easily have started at night and made his escape.
Gradually my ankle regained strength, and Samson now made me get up and
walk about to try it. Unwilling longer to detain him, I at last
declared that it was quite well, making light of the pain I still felt
when I walked, and begged to accompany him the next time he went out.
He consented. "But you must not go without a weapon; and you can use it
well, I know," he observed, as he drew a rifle from under his bunk. He
produced also a powder-horn, which I slung over my shoulder, and a bag
of bullets. The great drawback to our place of concealment was, that
although well hidden from the sight of those in the plain, we had to go
some distance before we could obtain a view of the surrounding country.
Leaving the horses in the stable, and the entrance open, we set out.
Then going some distance down the hill, we made our way through the
thick wood which covered its sides, and were just emerging into the open
space, when, through the bushes, I caught sight of several horsemen
galloping across the country. I made a sign to my companion to keep
concealed, and crept forward on my hands and knees. As I looked out, I
discovered the object of the Indians. A solitary waggon had just come
into view, and they were about to attack it.
I drew cautiously back, for though the Indian warriors were probably
intent on the business in hand, their keen eyes might have detected me.
I asked Samson if we could assist the unfortunate people in the waggon.
"I fear not," he answered. "We might kill a few of the Redskins; but
unless the travellers possess a number of rifles, and make a bold stand,
we cannot help them. We will, however, be ready to take a part if we
have opportunity."
As the horsemen approached, three rifles alone opened fire upon them
from behind the waggon. One of their number fell, but several dashed
forward; while others, circling round, prepared to attack the devoted
emigrants from the opposite side. The affair, which was a short one,
was dreadful to witness. We should, I saw well enough, lose our lives
did we show ourselves. Indeed, before we could have got up to the
waggon, all its defenders were killed by the savages surrounding it; and
we knew too well that those inside must, according to their cruel
custom, have been put to death, whether women or children. The Indians
of the plains have no compassion either for age or sex. The dreadful
thought occurred to me that those we had seen slaughtered might be our
own friends. It was evident, however, from his calmness, that the idea
of such a thing had not crossed old Samson's mind.
After plundering the waggon of everything they considered of value, the
savages set it on fire. While it was burning, and they were still
gathered round it, a dreadful explosion took place, scattering
destruction among them. Panic-stricken, and not knowing what might next
happen, the survivors mounted their horses and galloped off. A keg of
powder, which they must have overlooked, had probably exploded.
"They deserve their punishment," said the old man, "and they will not
come back again in a hurry; so we may now descend into the plain, and
see if we can learn who the unfortunate people were."
This was what I was wishing to do. We accordingly left the wood and
made our way down the hill, towards the remains of the waggon. We had
not got far, however, when we caught sight of three horsemen galloping
across the plain towards us. My companion scrutinised them narrowly.
"If they are friends, they have reason for their hurry; and if enemies,
the sooner we get under cover the better," he observed. "We must not
now attempt to reach the waggon. Ah! I understand all about it. See!
out there come a dozen or more horsemen. They must be Indians in
pursuit of the first--who, if I mistake not, are our friends. Come on,
Roger! they will reach the hill as soon as we do."
As he said this we retreated to the foot of the hill, and began to climb
it as rapidly as we could.
"But, if these are our friends, will they find their way to the cave?"
I asked.
"Yes, yes! Sandy knows it as well as I do," he answered, without
stopping.
We were just approaching the entrance of the cave, when the war-whoops
of the Indians, and their loud cries, as they shouted to each other,
reached our ears.
"They are making their way up the hill," said Samson. "Get inside, lad,
and prepare to close the entrance when I tell you."
The loud rustling sound of persons making their way through the
brushwood was heard, and presently Sandy, accompanied by Reuben and
Mike, sprang out from among the trees, and rushed towards the mouth of
the cavern.
"No time to be lost," sang out Sandy. "The Redskins are at our heels!"
In a moment they were all three within the cave. Old Samson was still
outside, and I saw him lift his rifle and fire. At the same moment two
arrows flew past his head--one sticking in the woodwork, the other
entering the cavern--and just then I caught sight of the fierce
countenances of half-a-dozen red warriors who were making their way
between the trees. Their leader, springing forward tomahawk in hand,
nearly reached Samson; when, with the agility of a far younger man, he
sprang through the opening, and I immediately closed the door--the sharp
blade of the weapon burying itself deep in the wood.
"Now, we'll give it them!" exclaimed Samson, as he and Sandy opened
three of the concealed loopholes, through which we thrust the barrels of
our rifles and fired on our assailants. Their leader fell dead, shot
through the heart by Samson. Two others were severely wounded, but
numbers were following them, and rushing forward with their hatchets,
dealt desperate blows on the door.
"You may cut away pretty hard, my laddies, before you break that in,"
observed Sandy, as he reloaded his rifle. Samson and I were doing the
same, and again we fired; but most of the Indians, knowing the time we
should take to do that, sprang aside, and only one of them was hit.
"You will find two more rifles in yonder chest," said Samson to Reuben
and Mike. "Quick! load them, and we'll astonish the Redskins."
While he was speaking, the blows on the door were redoubled, and in
spite of its strength it appeared every instant as if it would give way.
Samson was, in the meantime, ramming down his charge, and again his
rifle sent forth its deadly contents. Instead of firing together, we
now followed each other, allowing a few seconds to elapse between each
shot, thus making our assailants afraid of approaching the door. We
guessed that they were collected on either side, where our rifles could
not reach them.
In a couple of minutes or so Reuben and Mike had found the rifles, and
loaded them.
"Now!" said Samson, "you two and Roger fire together; and then Sandy and
I will take your places, and try what we can do."
We waited till the savages, losing patience, again attacked the door
with their axes, in a way which threatened each instant to bring it
down, when we all three ran out the muzzles of our rifles and fired.
Another savage was, at all events, hit; but they had been on the watch,
and had actively sprung, some on one side and some on the other, so that
we could not be certain what execution had been done. The moment,
however, that our rifles were withdrawn, as many as could attack the
door leaped forward, and began hacking away with greater fury than
before. Scarcely had the first strokes been given when Samson and Sandy
fired into their midst, killing two of the most determined--the bullets
passing through the bodies of the first and wounding others behind them.
Five rifles, however, were more than they were prepared to encounter.
They must have guessed that we had increased our number, for, with cries
of rage and disappointment, they deserted the door and got under
shelter.
"Hurrah! we have beaten them," I cried out, and was turning to Reuben to
shake hands, and to ask how he and Mike had escaped, when Samson
observed--
"We must not be too sure that they will not make another attempt, for
they are up to all sorts of tricks, and will not give in so easily."
"What are they likely to do?" I asked.
"Try to burn us out," answered Samson. "But we must be prepared, and
show them that five well-handled rifles can cope with all the arrows and
hatchets among them. We do not lack ammunition, and might stand the
siege for a month or more."
Samson's surmises were correct. Though we could not see the Indians, we
heard their voices, and the sound of chopping, and presently a bundle of
fagots was thrown down in front of the door.
"Stand ready," said Samson, "and fire, if we can catch sight of one of
them through the loopholes."
Another and another fagot followed, but as yet so carefully had they
been thrown that we could not get a shot. It appeared to me that they
were dropped from above. The pile was increasing, and soon rising
higher than the loopholes, prevented us from seeing any one. Presently
we heard the sound of crackling, and the flames rapidly caught the pile.
"Close the loopholes," said Samson. "We'll keep out the smoke as long
as we can. The door is tough, too, and will stand the flames better
than our enemies suppose."
We all stood with our rifles in our hands, ready for any emergency.
"Should the door burn through and the cavern fill with flames, we must
rush out, lads, rather than be stifled; and we may be pretty sure of
knocking over four or five Redskins, if they stop to give us the
chance," said Samson, who had not for a moment lost his calm manner.
"It may be the smoke won't be more than we can bear. See! I am
prepared for everything." He pointed to a mass of woodwork, which leant
against the wall of the cavern. It was longer than the width of the
door, and of a height which would enable us to fire over it. "This will
serve as a barricade," he said. "When the Indians fancy that they are
going to get in without difficulty, they will find themselves stopped in
a way they little expect."
The crackling sound of the flames increased, and thin wreaths of smoke
found their way in through the crevices between the woodwork and the
rock; still the stout door resisted the fire, which we began to hope
might burn itself out without igniting our defences. We could hear the
voices of the Indians outside. They were, we guessed, piling up more
fagots, as the others had burned down.
Sandy put his hand to the door. "It's getting very hot," he said.
"Well, then," exclaimed old Samson, "we must get our barricade ready,
should the door give way, and then crouch down behind it. The nearer we
are to the ground, the less we shall suffer from the smoke."
We accordingly dragged the heavy piece of woodwork from the place where
it had been standing, to the position it was to occupy, where we laid it
flat on the ground. It was at the proper moment to be lifted up, and
supported by stout pieces of timber, serving as props, on the inner
side. It would thus shelter us, and prevent our enemies from entering.
The door took even longer than we had expected to burn through; but at
last, here and there, the forked flames were seen making their way
through it, and after this its complete destruction was rapid. Down the
upper part came with a crash, followed by the shouts of the Indians, and
a shower of arrows--which, however, flew over our heads. No further
attempts were made to increase the pile of fagots; our foes supposing
that their work was accomplished, and that, even were we not suffocated
by the smoke, we should speedily become their victims. We knew that the
Indians were not likely to rush through the flames; we therefore waited
concealed on either side, behind the rock, till they had somewhat
subsided.
Old Samson listened eagerly for any sounds which might indicate that the
attack was about to be recommenced.
"Now, lads! up with the barricade!" he shouted out; and with one united
effort we lifted it from the ground, directly across the doorway.
Scarcely was it securely fixed before the Indians, who had not perceived
what we were about, leaped over the burning embers and came rushing on.
Our five rifles rang out together, and as many Redskins bit the dust.
The rest found themselves stopped by the barricade; and with the
crowbars which we had used to get it in position we struck furiously at
their heads, beating them back into the hot embers, where several of
them, stunned by our blows, were quickly suffocated, or burned to death.
The remainder, believing success hopeless, fled from the spot, and made
their way down the hill to where they had left their horses. On this we
dashed out and followed them, picking off several more. We should have
pursued them further, had not their numbers made it prudent for us to
remain under shelter of the wood.
On reaching their steeds they mounted and galloped off. In their haste
to attack us, they had not taken the trouble to destroy the horses which
Sandy, Reuben, and Mike had ridden, and which were grazing at a little
distance. Having caught them without much difficulty, we returned with
them to the cave.
"This will no longer be a secure hiding-place for us," observed Samson,
"for the Indians are sure ere long to come back and attempt to revenge
themselves. They will watch day after day for weeks together, till they
see some of us go out in search of game; and they will then manage to
get between us and the cave, so as to cut us off. I can pretty well
guess the sort of tricks they will try to play us; and it is not always
easy to circumvent them."
Samson's advice was not to be despised. The Indians, however, were not
likely to come back that day, so that we might take some hours' rest
before preparing for our departure--our wish being to try and ascertain
the course followed by the emigrant-train, which we would then endeavour
to overtake. This, as we had horses, we might hope to do in the course
of a week or ten days, even supposing that it had pushed forward without
any stoppages.
With such ammunition and provisions as we could carry, we started on our
journey just after the sun had gone down, as Samson thought it prudent
to get some distance ahead during the hours of darkness, so that, should
our enemies be on the look-out for us, we might escape unobserved.
Well-armed and well mounted as we were, we did not fear any ordinary
band, possessed only of bows and arrows, we were likely to encounter
while on the road. Our chief danger would lie in being attacked while
encamped at night. To guard as much as possible against surprise, we
chose a spot difficult of access, or one by the side of a broad stream,
with a few trees which might afford us shelter, without concealing the
approach of our foes; or else we threw up a breastwork of logs and
branches, behind which we could be protected from the arrows of our
assailants. The old trapper and Sandy were adepts at making
arrangements of this kind, and were never at a loss. Of course, one of
the party, or sometimes two, kept guard; our horses being hobbled near,
as we always chose localities where there was an abundance of grass. We
could thus, in case of alarm, immediately bring them in under such
protection as we had formed for ourselves. They, of course, ran a
greater risk of being shot than we did, but that could not be helped.
I had naturally been curious to know how Reuben and Mike had escaped
from the Indians. Reuben told me that he had given himself up for lost
when he heard the chiefs discussing, as he supposed, what they should do
with us. Each in succession made a long speech, becoming more vehement
as they proceeded. He fully expected to be flayed alive, or roasted
over a slow fire, or shot to death with arrows aimed so as to avoid
vital parts. He had not recognised Manilick, and was therefore not
aware that we had a friend in the council. The warriors at last ceased
speaking, when he saw one approaching with uplifted tomahawk, which he
fully expected would be buried in his brain. What was his surprise to
find, instead, the thongs which bound him severed, and to feel himself
at liberty! He stood for a moment or two irresolute, not knowing what
to do.
"Run! my friend, run!" said the Indian; "make for the river, and you
will escape."
He was not slow to obey the command, but before doing so he looked
wistfully at Mike, whose bonds were also cut, as his had been, and by
the same friendly Indian. Mike immediately started off with him, but
they had not got far when they met Sandy, who had been on the watch for
them; and all three slipping noiselessly into the stream, swam across
it. On landing, Sandy led them on foot at a rapid pace to a rocky hill
some five or six miles away from the river. Having proceeded along it,
the nature of the ground being such that even an Indian could not
discover their trail, Sandy led them to a cave very similar to the one
we had occupied. Here, he assured them, they would run little risk of
being discovered. Sandy supplied them with game, and finally succeeded
in getting possession of three horses, which he managed to carry off
from the Indians. He did not call it "stealing" them, observing that
they had all doubtless been taken from white men. On these they had
finally made their escape and joined us, though, as we had seen, hotly
pursued.