THE DACOTAHS ARE AGAIN UPON US--WE HURRY TO THE RESCUE--WE PRESERVE THE
LIFE OF THE STRANGER--SAM SHORT, THE TRAPPER--HIS ADVENTURES--ESCAPE
FROM THE RED-SKINS--DESPERATE COMBAT IN THE CANOE--SAM'S SEARCH FOR HIS
COMPANIONS--DISCOVERS ONE IN THE HANDS OF THE INDIANS--THEY DISCOVER
SAM, AND HE FLIES--FINDS BLOUNT, AND TOGETHER THEY GO IN SEARCH OF
NOGGIN--AGAIN GET SIGHT OF NOGGIN, BUT HE IS FASTENED TO A STAKE--NOGGIN
SHOWS THAT IN SPITE OF HIS NAME HE IS A HERO.
"Those vermin the Dacotahs are upon us again, and have taken the scalp
of one of our scouts," cried Obed, when he heard that piercing shriek.
My experience of the previous night taught me too well also what it
meant. Surrounded as we were by the rocks and thick shrubs on the top
of the mound, we were probably not perceptible from the ground below.
Presently, as the stranger approached us, we saw emerging from the
darkness a dozen or more figures following one after the other slowly
and stealthily, evidently fancying that they were not perceived. We had
no doubt that they were a party of our late opponents the Dacotahs, but
what was their purpose it was difficult to say; they must have known
that we had heard the death-shriek of the murdered man, and they could
not but have supposed that we should be on the watch for them. Perhaps
this only precipitated a previously formed plan. The stranger
approached us rapidly; we could hear aimed at him more than one shaft as
it flew hissing through the air. Several axes also were thrown in
savage fury, as the Indians saw that their hoped-for victim was about to
escape them. The stranger came rushing on; he had good need of speed.
"Obed, my boy," said I, "let us sally out and protect that poor fellow.
If we do not, the red-skins will be up to him before he reaches this
hill!"
Obed was not a man it was necessary to ask twice to do a thing of the
sort, nor were his brothers or their followers. The order was sent
rapidly round to assemble together; not a word was uttered above a
whisper--the sentries were left standing at their posts as if
unconscious of what was going on in the plain below. But a few seconds
were expended in preparations.
"Now, my boys, down upon them!" exclaimed Obed, and at the word we
sprang over our entrenchments as quick as lightning; we were up to the
stranger, who for a moment was somewhat startled at our sudden
appearance, but soon, comprehending the state of affairs, took shelter
behind us while we sprang on to meet the Indians. We halted within ten
yards of them, and poured in a volley from our rifles which brought
nearly one-half of them to the ground.
The remainder hesitated an instant, then hearing our loud shouts and
huzzas, and seeing us come on with our axes gleaming in our hands, they
turned tail and scampered off as fast as they could go. To pursue them
would have been dangerous with so large a number of their tribe in the
neighbourhood, and it was very probable that they had an ambush near at
hand ready to cut us off. The sound of our fire-arms brought up two of
our scouts, who joined us as we were returning to our camp, but the
third did not make his appearance, and we had too much reason to fear
that he had fallen a victim to the Dacotahs. By the time we got back to
camp we found Waggum-winne-beg and all his people, both men and women,
turned out and ready to resist any attack which might be made on us. We
waited under arms for some time, and then finding that the enemy did not
seem inclined to approach, we posted sentries all round, with directions
to keep a strict lookout, and to give notice directly they perceived any
suspicious movement below, and then we once more sat down round our
fire. Our number was increased by the stranger, of whom we had not till
then had time to take any notice beyond observing that he was a white
man, and that he was dressed in the usual rough costume of a trapper.
We now perceived, as he sat close up to the fire with the palms of his
hands spread out before it, that he looked famished and weary.
"Friend, thou art hungry," said Obed, placing before him some dried
deers' flesh and biscuit, and filling him up a cup of spirits-and-water.
"Eat that while we cook a more savoury mess."
"Thank you," said the stranger; "you have discovered my chief want."
He showed that he spoke the truth by setting to work silently and
heartily on the food like a man who had fasted long, and was in no way
fastidious as to the nature of his provender, so that it was fit to
support life. I have often felt ashamed of my civilised and refined
friends as well as of myself, when I have watched the abstemious habits
of those inhabitants of the backwoods. However varied, or however
delicate, or highly flavoured the food placed before them, I have seen
them over and over again sit down and help themselves to the nearest
dish, eat as much as they required, and generally a very moderate
quantity, and then perhaps, after taking a glass of cold water, get up
and leave the table. We waited till the stranger had somewhat recovered
his strength before asking him any questions. At last he stopped
eating, gave his hunting-knife a turn or two over his legging, replaced
it in its sheath, and looking up, said--"Well, friends, you've saved my
life; I've to thankyou for that--not that I know that it is worth much;
and now I guess you'd like to know where I come from, and what I've been
about."
We all told him that we should particularly like to hear something about
him.
"Then I'll tell," he replied. "My name is Sam Short; I'm a free
trapper; I've hunted this country, man and boy, for pretty well fifty
years, and that's a good slice in a man's life. It was at the end of
last fall that I and two companions started westward to trap beavers and
shoot bears, or any other game which came in our way. We'd left our
horses and taken to a canoe to paddle up the Kansas river. Both my
companions, Tom Noggin and Silas Blount, were staunch fellows. It
doesn't do to have a man in our way of life one can't depend on. We had
passed several beaver dams, which we settled to visit on our return, and
as long as the season would allow to push higher up the stream. There's
no pleasanter life than that we led. We landed when we felt inclined to
stretch our legs and take a shot at a deer or a bear. We killed more
deer than we could eat, so we only kept the tenderest parts; but the
skins were of no little value.
"One evening we landed at an open spot, with plenty of thick trees
though growing round, intending to camp there. We had lighted a small
fire, and we took care that the wood was dry, so that it should send up
no smoke to show our whereabouts to any lurking red-skins; Silas and
Noggin took their guns, and said they would go and have a look for a
deer, or a bear, or a turkey, while I sat over the fire and cooked the
venison. I cut some right good steaks, and had dressed them to a turn,
and was thinking that it was time my companions were back, when I heard
Blount's voice singing out merrily as he came through the wood towards
me. We had no fear of red-skins, for we had met with no traces of them
as we came up the river, and the first thing we had done that day on
landing was to look about for them in every direction. Blount sat
himself down by my side and showed me a fat turkey he had just killed,
when we heard a shot at some distance from us. We waited some time,
thinking Noggin would be coming back; but, as he did not make his
appearance, I asked Blount to climb a tree and see if he could make him
out anywhere. Curiously enough, he slung his rifle on his back--he had
already his shot belt and powder-horn about him--and up a high tree, a
little way off, he went. Scarcely had he got to the top, when I heard
him cry out, `Fly, man, fly; the red-skins are on us!'
"I did not want a second warning. Seizing my rifle, I sprang to the
riverside, and as I did so, a band of Indians burst through the woods
brandishing their tomahawks, and uttering their hideous war-cries. I
threw myself into the canoe, and with a kick of my foot shoved it off
from the bank towards the middle of the stream. I looked for the
paddles; there was only one in the canoe; I seized it, and began to
paddle away down the stream with all my might. The Indians followed me
some way, and seeing that I had but one paddle, and made but slow
progress, three of them, running on ahead, plunged into the stream, for
the evident purpose of cutting me off. I watched them as they
approached. If either of them should succeed in getting hold of the
canoe, I knew that my life would be lost. Fortunately they had
separated somewhat, and were some fathoms distant from each other down
the stream. I saw that my only chance was to destroy them in detail. I
dropped my paddle and seized my rifle. It was of course loaded. I had
no time to lose, for I had to fire and to load again to be ready for
another enemy. I took a steady aim. The savage leaped out of the
water, casting a look at me of the most intense hatred, and then down he
went like a shot, leaving a red streak on the water to mark the spot. I
loaded rapidly; the next fellow darted on, hoping to catch hold of the
canoe before I was ready to fire; but I was too quick for him. When he
saw this, he dived, thinking to escape my bullet. I was surprised at
the length of time he kept under water. I thought that he would never
come up again.
"I dared not exchange my rifle for my paddle, or I would have got over
farther to the opposite bank. All my attention was fixed on the spot
where I knew that his head would appear. The instant I caught sight of
his savage countenance grinning up at me, my bullet entered his brain,
and he sank like his comrade. I had not time to finish loading before
the third fellow, by desperate exertion, had got hold of the bow of the
canoe with one of his hands, while with the other he attempted to seize
my right arm, which was employed in ramming down the bullet into my
rifle. He had his knife in his teeth, and I saw that the moment he had
grasped my arm, he would seize it with his other hand, and plunge it
into my side. My great fear was that he would upset the canoe, so that
I had to lean back on the opposite side to prevent him from so doing.
There is no more cunning or treacherous a varmint than a true-bred
red-skin. When he found that I saw what he was at, he pretended to fall
backwards, and as I stretched over to unloosen his hand from the gunwale
of the canoe, he sprang up by a sudden stroke of his feet, and clutched
me by the throat.
"So tight did he press my windpipe, that I felt I had but a slight
chance of escaping with my life; still, I had lived too long a hunter's
life to think of giving in while a hope of escape existed. I caught
hold of the side of the canoe with one hand, and with the other, letting
go my rifle, I felt about for my knife, which, with my powder-flask and
other things, I had thrown into the bottom of the canoe. If I could
find it, I had little fear that I should know how to use it.
"The Indian guessed what I was about, and pressed my throat tighter and
tighter, till I felt myself growing black in the face. He saw his
advantage; the time was come, he thought, to gain the victory. Letting
go his hold of the canoe, he seized his knife with his right hand, and
attempted to haul himself on board by means of my throat. His naked
knee was on the gunwale, when at the same moment my fingers discovered
my knife. I clutched the handle. My enemy's knee slipped off the
smooth wood--his weapon missed its aim, scarcely grazing my side, and I
plunged mine up to the hilt in his breast. His hand relaxed his hold of
my throat, and he dropped back lifeless into the stream.
"I cannot describe my sensations; there was no time to think about them,
at all events. I finished ramming down the bullet into my rifle, and
while the rest of the Indians were hesitating whether to follow me or
not, I pointed it at them, to show them what the first who might venture
into the stream would have to expect. They watched me for some time,
uttering howls of the most intense rage and hatred; and then, seeing
that I was a good match for them, they turned back up the stream again,
to wreak their vengeance, as I feared, on my companions. I pretended to
be paddling down the stream, till I was certain they were out of sight;
but I was not going to desert my friends in that way; such is not the
backwoodsman's law. When I knew that they were well ahead, I ceased
descending the stream, and, pulling to the south bank, I made fast my
canoe to some bushes, and waited till dark.
"I thought about all that had occurred; Blount, I hoped, might possibly
have escaped, but I greatly feared that Noggin would have fallen into
the power of our enemies. Waiting till I could not be seen from the
north shore, keeping on the opposite side, I paddled cautiously and
slowly up the stream. I kept as much as possible in the eddies and
little bays, and thus avoided the strength of the current, against which
I could not otherwise have pulled. The nearer I got to the spot where I
had left my companions, the more cautiously I proceeded; I knew that if
the Indians had not killed them at once, they would not destroy them for
three or four days, but would keep them alive to torture them, and to
exhibit them to their old men and squaws at home. It was very necessary
to be cautious how I proceeded; the slightest carelessness would betray
me to the cunning varmints, and I should not only risk my own life, but
be unable to help my friends.
"At last, about two hours after dark, I got directly opposite the spot
where we had encamped; I watched, but could see no light to indicate
that the red-skins were there; I pulled up a little farther, and then in
perfect silence paddled across. Unless the red-skins had been on the
lookout for me, I did not think that there was much chance of my being
seen. I did not venture to let the bow of the canoe touch the bank,
lest even the slight noise I might make against the grass should be
heard, but allowed it to drop slowly down with the current, while I
peered eagerly into every opening of the forest which presented itself.
I began to fear that the Indians had gone away, and carried off Blount
and Noggin with them, when my eye caught a glimmer of light a
considerable distance off among the bushes. I had little doubt that the
light proceeded from the camp-fire of my enemies: I resolved to
ascertain whether this was so, and whether my friends were in their
power. I carefully pushed my canoe alongside the bank, and securing her
to a bush, stepped out with my hunting-knife in my belt, and my rifle in
my hand. I know as well as a native-born Indian how to move silently
through the woods, not allowing my feet to tread on a dry stick, or my
shoulders to touch a rotten branch.
"Step by step, feeling my way with the greatest care, I approached the
spot where I had seen the fire; at last I got close to the boundary of
an open glade, and by looking through the bushes, I saw at the farther
end of it some dozen or more Indians, decked in their war-paint and
feathers, squatted round a fire. One was, I saw, speaking, while the
others were listening to him with the deepest attention. I looked
around, but could distinguish nothing beyond the immediate circle of the
fire. At length the orator ceased, and one of the band threw a small
quantity of fresh fuel on to the fire. This made it blaze up; and the
glare from the bright flames extending to some distance, it fell upon
the stump of a tree to which was bound a human figure. I watched to try
and make out who it was, for the light was not at first sufficient to
enable me to distinguish objects at a distance. I had long to wait. I
should have to guide my movements according to which of my friends was
in captivity. If it should prove to be Noggin, I might hope that Blount
had escaped their vigilance; but if he himself was the prisoner, I
should have to fear that Noggin had already fallen a victim to their
ferocity.
"I had long to wait. One warrior after another got up, and made a
vociferous speech, till at last one of them threw a large handful of
sticks into the fire. At the same moment it was fanned by a fresh blast
of wind which rustled through the forest, and flames darting upwards for
a few moments, by their light I recognised the features of Noggin. His
eyes were fixed on the group of warriors, as if he was trying to make
out what they were saying. There was an expression of horror and
despair on his countenance, for he knew full well that a death of
torture was prepared for him. I observed, however, that his lips were
firmly pressed together, as if he had made up his mind not to flinch,
however much he might be called to suffer, while life might last. I
looked round for Blount; he was nowhere to be seen; and as I could not
discern any bloody scalp hung up on a pole as a trophy of their prowess,
I began to hope that he might have escaped the vigilance of our enemies,
and that I might still fall in with him.
"My great desire was, in the first place, to rescue Noggin; but how to
do so was the question. Succour might almost seem hopeless. Even
should Blount be alive and at large, he and I together could scarcely
hope to succeed. I counted our enemies; there were twenty altogether.
Three of these, from their costume and the way they talked, I judged to
be chiefs or principal men. Three more, one of whom certainly was a
chief, I had sent to their long home. As I could do no more good by
staying in so dangerous a neighbourhood, I waited till another long
speech was begun, and then crept back as carefully as I had approached,
towards my canoe. I reached it in safety, and pushing off I crossed to
the opposite side of the stream.
"I hunted about till I discovered a point with bushes growing thickly on
it. Here I landed; and hauling up my canoe, hoped that I might remain
concealed, should the red-skins again come down to the side of the river
to look for me. After I had done this, so fatigued was I, that no
sooner did I lie down by the side of my canoe than I fell fast asleep.
It was daylight when I awoke. I sprang to my feet, rifle in hand, and
peered through the bushes which effectually concealed me. I could
distinguish in the distance the Indians, who had likewise just risen,
and appeared to be in a state of no little excitement. They had
discovered my trail, and were hunting about to ascertain in which
direction I had gone.
"`Ah, ah!' I thought, `I have crossed an element which allows no trail
to be left on it. They will scarcely believe that I am still so near
them; or should they even suspect it, they will not attempt to follow
me, for they know the effects of my rifle, and that if they do, three or
four of their number will probably have to pay the penalty of their
lives.'
"On Noggin's account I did not want to exasperate them more than they
were already, or I might have picked two or three of them off, when,
having discovered my trail, they followed it to the banks of the river.
I saw them peering about in every direction--now down the stream, now up
it; but, clever as they were, they could not guess what way I had gone.
They examined the bushes all round, but they told no tale which they
could read. They were evidently not a little astonished at my audacity
in having ventured so close to them as to watch their movements. It
made them look upon me as a mighty brave, and they would, I doubted not,
have tried their most exquisite tortures on me to prove my heroism had
they been able to catch me. I knew that there was a possibility of
their so doing, for I was resolved not to leave my friends to their fate
without trying to rescue them, great as I knew the risk was that I was
running. When they could not, with all their ingenuity, discover what
had become of me, they stamped on the ground, and dashed their hatchets
into it, and gnashed their teeth, and performed many other frantic
gestures. I was pleased at this, because it showed that they had
abandoned their search after me.
"Once more they came to the edge of the water, and spat, and grinned at
it to show their rage at its having disappointed them of their prey, and
then they turned tail and went off back to their camp. I feared poor
Noggin would be the sufferer, but I could not help that. I waited
hidden away for three or four hours, till I thought that they would to a
certainty have taken their departure, before I even stirred from my
place of concealment. I knew the tricks they were up to, and that very
likely they would have remained in ambush in the hope of my coming back
to look after my friends. If they had killed Blount, then I felt sure
they would not have stopped, but if they had found out that there were
three of us, and he was still at large, then I considered it probable
that they would be endeavouring to catch us, and that the very greatest
caution would be necessary in my proceedings. Still I could not delay
till night to commence my progress, which would have been the safest
plan; for, in the first place, the Indians, if they had moved, would
have got too much the start of me, and I was already so hungry that I
was ready to run any risk to procure food to appease my appetite.
"At last I could wait no longer. I slipped into my canoe, and emerging
from my hiding-place, went across the stream as fast as my one paddle
could urge me. When I was about half-way over I saw something moving
among the bushes. I stopped paddling and seized my rifle. It might be
an Indian, or it might be a bear, or a stag. I was ready for anything.
Just as I brought my rifle to my shoulder I heard a voice sing out,
`Hollo, Short! don't fire, old feller.'
"I knew at once that it was Blount who spoke, and right glad I was to
hear him. Down went my rifle, and I paddled away, you may be sure, as
hard as I could till I reached the shore where he, as big as life, stood
ready to receive me. We shook hands warmly, and then he told me that he
had been up the tree all the time; that he had watched the Indians
pursuing me along the banks of the river, but could not tell whether or
not they had killed me, though he saw them return with diminished
numbers, and guessed that at all events I had not died without a
desperate fight.
"When they came back they hunted about all round our camp, carried off
or destroyed all our property, and at last retired farther into the
woods to join their comrades. All the night he had spent in a state of
uncertainty about me, and it was not till the following morning, when he
saw the Indians come down to the river, and watched their movements,
that he guessed I was alive and had paid them a visit. He saw them go
away, and he then descended the tree, and like a cat in pursuit of a
bird, crept after them. To his great satisfaction he saw them breaking
up their camp, and then they moved off towards the north-west. Still he
followed them till he had assured himself that they really were going in
that direction. When he had done this he turned back and looked out for
me. We agreed at once that we would set off and try to rescue Noggin as
soon as we had killed a sufficient quantity of game to satisfy our
hunger.
"We calculated that the red-skins were quite far enough off by this time
not to hear the report of our rifles. Hunger, when not too long
endured, sharpens men's wits. We soon killed a couple of wild turkeys
and a deer, which we fell in with in great numbers on their way south.
We hid away our canoe in the bank of the river, and so covered her with
branches that even an Indian's sharp eyes were not likely to discover
her. Having lighted a fire, we smoked, in a hurried way, as much food
as would last us for several days, and then, taking a good meal of
toasted venison, we set off on our perilous adventure.
"We soon found our way up to the Indian camp, and we observed that they
took no pains to hide their trail, by which we judged that they did not
suppose any of their enemies to be in the neighbourhood. There were no
women or children, which showed that they had been on a hunting or war
expedition, and also that their chief camp was at no great distance.
This gave us the greatest concern, because if once they reached it we
could scarcely hope to rescue Noggin from their power. We calculated
that there were twenty warriors altogether. They were on foot. They
were dragging Noggin on, but he evidently delayed them as much as
possible. Perhaps, poor fellow, he suspected that Blount and I were
following him. We travelled faster than they did, and towards the
evening of the fifth day of our journey we saw, from the freshness of
the trail, that we were not far from them. We examined our rifles to be
ready for an emergency; but we knew that we could do nothing to help our
friend before night. We supposed that we were about half a mile or so
from our enemies, and not deeming it wiser to get much nearer, we
continued to follow at the same pace at which they were going.
"At last we came to more open ground, and several times we caught sight
of them. We were near enough indeed to count their numbers, and we
found that we had made an exact estimate of them. Evening at last came,
and we knew that they were encamped. It was now, therefore, necessary
to be more careful than ever, for some of the warriors might be prowling
about, and should they discover us, even though we might escape them or
come off victorious, we should have to abandon all hopes of saving
Noggin. We accordingly lay down in some thick cover where no one was
likely to find us, and waited till they were likely to have gone to
sleep for the night. We talked over all sorts of plans. Blount
proposed going boldly into the camp himself dressed as a medicine-man;
but then the difficulty was to find the wherewithal to fit himself out.
I, too, opposed the scheme; for they would naturally be suspicious, and,
come from whatever quarter he might, they would be apt to question him
very narrowly before letting him range their camp at liberty.
"`Well, Short, it's all very well for you to say this plan won't do, or
that won't do, but do you just tell me what will do.'
"This was a poser; I could not. We had our deerskin coats. They had
been saved in the canoe. He proposed cutting his into strips, and with
the aid of a red pocket-handkerchief he judged that he could turn
himself into a very good white medicine-man. I at last consented to let
him try the scheme, provided no opportunity occurred during the night of
helping poor Noggin. When the plan was arranged, we crept nearer and
nearer to the savages. They had camped in an open part of a green
valley, the sides of which were clothed with trees. They were far
enough from any trees not to be taken by surprise from any enemies
except those armed with rifles. We climbed one of the trees, whence we
could look down on them and watch their proceedings. We might indeed
have picked several of them off had revenge alone been our object; but
that would have done no good to poor Noggin, unless he could have
managed to escape in the confusion.
"Hour after hour passed away. The savages sat up talking over their
fire. Several of them at last lay down, but a party went out to examine
the neighbourhood of the camp, and when they returned four of those who
had previously gone to sleep got up and sat watching their prisoner,
evidently with malignant pleasure. This vigilance of the enemy made us
almost despair of being able to deliver our friend. Whenever we turned
our eyes in the direction of the camp, there were the four wretches
gazing up into the countenance of their victim, and he, poor fellow,
already looked more dead than alive. Thus we lay stretched out at our
length watching them hour after hour. No one moved. Our hearts sank
within us. After about four hours the guards gave some loud grunts, and
some of their companions starting up took their places. They seemed to
watch the countenance of their victim with intense gratification. If,
in spite of the bodily pain and mental suffering he was enduring, he
dropped asleep, one of them would throw a burning brand at him, to rouse
him up again to a full consciousness of his position. It was with the
greatest difficulty that I could refrain from knocking over one of the
scoundrels, when I saw him treating the poor fellow in that way.
"Daylight was now approaching; with heavy hearts we had to withdraw for
fear of being discovered when the Indians should break up their camp in
the morning. We feared, too, that we should not have another
opportunity, for we judged that the Indians were close upon their
village from the way in which they had feasted, leaving scarcely any
food for the next day. A hunter is obliged to observe everything, and
to make what he observes speak a plain language to him. We crept away
from the camp to our former hiding-place, and then, overcome with
fatigue, we both fell asleep. We were protected during these hours of
helplessness by a power greater than man's.
"When we awoke the sun was already high in the heavens; we ate our
frugal meal, and then set forward to overtake the Indians. They had
started early, and had got much ahead of us. We pushed on, but still
did not overtake them. We had been travelling some eight or nine hours,
when, being on the top of some rising ground, we saw in the distance
several curling wreaths of smoke rising up amid the forest. We guessed
that without doubt they proceeded from the village of our enemies. Our
chief chance of rescuing Noggin was gone. To get him out from among a
village full of men, women, and children, all thirsting for his blood,
was next to impossible. Still Blount said he would try it. We crept
carefully in the track of the red-skins, stopping at every spot from
which we could have a clear look ahead, and occasionally climbing trees
whence we might hope to get a sight of the village. This was in one
respect a dangerous proceeding, for should the Indians cross our trail,
they would very likely discover us, although we took care to obliterate,
as far as we are able, all marks of our progress. In this way we went
on till Blount and I having got to the top of a thick-branched and
wide-spreading fir, we saw, scarcely the eighth of a mile off, the
conical-shaped wigwams of our enemies. Loud shouts and shrieks reached
our ears; the old men, women, and children had gone out to welcome their
warriors and their unfortunate captive. We could see him in the middle
of them, and the women and children rushing up and hissing at him, and
abusing him, and pinching him, and spitting at him, treating him,
indeed, with every indignity. He stood quiet, as far as we could see,
without flinching. At last he was led on and secured to a tree, close
to one of the principal lodges. There the savages let him remain while
they retired to their homes, and the women set to work to prepare them a
feast.
"We now judged it time to get farther off to take some rest which we so
much needed. We knew that the savages were not likely to put him to
death that night, probably not till the following evening. We chewed
some dried venison, and then fell asleep. It was pitchy dark when we
awoke, but the noise from among the Indian lodges was louder than ever.
Once more we approached the spot, fires were blazing brightly in the
centre of the village, and the savages were dancing madly round them,
leaping, and shrieking, and howling, in the most terrific manner. A
stake had been run into the ground, and poor Noggin, stripped to the
waist, was tied to it. His face was turned towards us; despair sat upon
it, it was already as pale as death, indeed he did not look as if he had
many minutes to live. The cruel savages thought so likewise, and,
afraid of losing their victim, they had resolved at once, it appeared,
to commence that series of tortures which would terminate with his
death. With horrid cries the women approached him, and ran into his
flesh the burning ends of sticks, which they flourished in their hands,
and they hallooed and shouted in his ears, to rouse him up to feel the
more acutely his sufferings. Talk of the noble qualities of savages,
I've seen a good deal of human nature, and to my mind, left to itself
without anything to improve or correct it, there is nothing too bad or
abominably cruel which it will not do."
"There, I have told you enough of the old fellow's story for the
present," exclaimed Dick Onslow, throwing himself back in his chair and
stretching out his legs. "I know that I am very thankful that I had not
to share poor Noggin's fate."
"You are a pretty fellow for a story-teller," cried one of his hearers
(I believe it was I, his humble amanuensis, Barrington Beaver). "You
leave the honest Delaware in the clutches of the bear; you leave
yourself surrounded by a band of fierce Dacotahs thirsting for your
blood; and poor Noggin even in a worse predicament; indeed, I would not
wish to be in the skins of either Short or Blount; and now you suddenly
stop short, and leave us all lost in a labyrinth of doubt as to how they
got out of their various dilemmas."
"Not a word more just now, not a word more," answered Dick, laughing.
"You'll all do your best to keep me alive, and I promise you I will go
on with my tale another day."