THROUGH THE HEART OF THE FOREST
We lingered long over the wine,--for that which De Croix had furnished
proved excellent, and greatly stimulated our discourse. Yet, I must
confess, it was drunk chiefly by the Frenchman and Jordan; for Wells
barely touched his glass, while I had never acquired a taste for such
liquor. De Croix waxed somewhat boastful, toward the last; but we paid
small heed to him, for I was deeply interested in Captain Wells's
earlier experiences among the savages, which he related gravely and
with much detail. Jordan proved himself a reckless, roistering young
fellow, full of high spirits when in liquor; yet I formed an impression
that he stood well in his commander's favor, for the latter warned him
kindly to be more abstemious.
However late it may have been when we finally sought rest, we were
early astir the next morning. I despatched Seth upon his return
journey to the farm, bearing under his girdle as cheerful a note of
farewell as I could frame; and then, though it was scarce later than
sun-up, the rest of us were fairly upon the westward trail. There were
in the party thirty Miami Indians, strong, lusty-looking warriors, most
of them. The larger portion of them travelled in our advance, under
command of one of their chiefs; a smaller detachment acting in similar
manner as a rear-guard. The white men, as well as the negro, who
controlled a pack animal heavily laden with his master's baggage, were
on horseback; and it pleased me greatly,--for I was young and easily
flattered,--to have Captain Wells rein in his horse at my side as soon
as we were safely across the ford, leaving the Frenchman either to
companion with Jordan or ride alone.
I looked at De Croix curiously, as he moved forward with slow
carelessness in our front, for he had kept the entire company waiting
outside the house for half an hour in the gray dawn while he curled and
powdered his hair. Doubtless this was what so disgusted Wells, whose
long black locks were worn in a simple queue, tied somewhat negligently
with a dark cord. I almost smiled at the scowl upon his swarthy face,
as he contemplated the fashionably attired dandy, whose bright-colored
raiment was conspicuous against the dark forest-leaves that walled us
round.
"I have heard it claimed these gay French beaux fight well when need
arises," he commented at last, thoughtfully; "but 't is surely a poor
place here for flaunting ribbons and curling locks. Possibly my fine
gentleman yonder may have occasion to test his mettle before we ride
back again. Sure it is that if that time ever comes he will not look
so sweet."
"You make me feel that we go forward into real peril," I said,
wondering that he should seem so fearful of the outcome. "Have you
special reason?"
"The Miamis have already been approached by Indian runners, and their
young men are restless. It was only because I am the adopted son of
Big Turtle, and a recognized warrior of their tribe, that these have
consented to accompany me; and I fear they may desert at the first sign
of a hostile meeting," he answered gravely. "There is an Indian
conspiracy forming, and a most dangerous one, involving, so far as I
can learn, every tribe north of the Ohio. Now that war with England
has actually been declared, there can no longer be doubt that the
chiefs will take sides with the British. They have everything to gain
and little to lose by such action. The rumor was at Fort Wayne, even
before we left, that Mackinac had already fallen; and if that prove
true, every post west of the Alleghanies is in danger. I fear that
death and flame will sweep the whole frontier; and I frankly
acknowledge, Wayland, my only hope in this expedition is that, by hard
travel, we may be able to reach Chicagou and return again before the
outbreak comes. Tom Burns, an old scout of Wayne's, and a settler in
that country, was at Fort Wayne a month since with an urgent message
from the commandant at Dearborn. I tell you frankly, it will be touch
and go with us."
"Chicagou?" I questioned, for the word was one I had heard but once
before and was of an odd sound.
"Ay! old Au Sable called it the Chicagou portage long before the fort
named Dearborn was ever established there. 'T is the name the French
applied to a small river entering the Great Lake from the west at that
point."
"Have you journeyed there before?"
"Once, in 1803. I held Indian council on the spot, and helped lay out
the government reservation. 'T is a strange flat country, with much
broken land extending to the northward."
Little by little our conversation lapsed into silence; for the narrow
trail we followed was a most difficult one, and at times taxed our
ingenuity to the utmost. It led through dense dark woods, fortunately
free from underbrush, skirted the uncertain edges of numerous marshes
in the soft ooze of which the hoofs of our horses sank dangerously, and
for several miles followed the sinuous course of a small but rapid
stream, the name of which I have forgotten. There were few openings in
the thick forest-growth, and the matted branches overhead, interlaced
with luxuriant wild vines, so completely shut out all vestige of the
sun that we toiled onward, hour after hour, in continuous twilight.
What mysterious signs our guides followed, I was not sufficiently
expert in woodcraft to determine. To my eyes,--and I sought to observe
with care,--there was nowhere visible the slightest sign that others
had ever preceded us; it was all unbroken, virgin wilderness, marked
only by slow centuries of growth. The accumulation of moss on the
tree-trunks, as well as the shading of the leaves, told me that we
continued to journey almost directly westward; and there was no
perceptible hesitancy in our steady progress, save as we deviated from
it here and there because of natural obstacles too formidable to be
directly surmounted.
We skirted immense trees, veritable monarchs of the ages, hoary with
time, grim guardians of such forest solitudes; climbed long hills
roughened by innumerable boulders with sharp edges hidden beneath the
fallen leaves, that lamed our horses; or descended into dark and gloomy
ravines, dank with decaying vegetation, finally halting for a brief
meal upon the southern edge of a small lake, the water of which was as
clear and blue as the cloudless August sky that arched it. The sand of
the shore where we rested was white as snow, yet De Croix had his man
spread a cloak upon it before he ventured to sit down, and with care
tucked a lace handkerchief about his throat to prevent stray crumbs
from soiling the delicate yellow of his waistcoat.
"One might fancy this was to be your wedding day, Monsieur," observed
Wells, sarcastically, as he marked these dainty preparations, and noted
with disgust the attentive negro hovering near. "We are not perfumed
courtiers dancing at the court of Versailles."
De Croix glanced about him carelessly.
"_Mon Dieu_, no," he said, tapping the lid of a richly chased silver
snuff-box with his slender fingers. "Yet, my dear friend, a French
gentleman cannot wholly forget all that belongs to the refinements of
society, even in the heart of the wilderness. Sam, by any foul chance
did you overlook the lavender water?"
"No, sah; it am safe in de saddle-bags."
"And the powder-puff, the small hand-mirror, and the curling-iron?"
"I saw to ebery one ob dem, sah."
De Croix gave a deep sigh of relief, and rested back upon the cloak,
negligently crossing his legs.
"Captain," he remarked slowly and thoughtfully, "you 've no idea the
trouble that negro is to me. Would you believe it? he actually left my
nail-brush behind at Detroit, and not another to be had for love or
money this side of Montreal! And only last night he mislaid a box of
rouge, and, by Saint Denis! I hardly dare hope there is so much as an
ounce of it in the whole party."
"I rather suspect not," was the somewhat crusty reply; "yet if a bit of
bear's grease could be made to serve your turn, we might possibly find
some among us."
"I know not its virtue," admitted the Frenchman gravely; "yet if it
reddens the lips it might be useful. But that which I had came from
the shop of Jessold in Paris, and is beyond all price."
We were ten days upon this forest journey, from the time of our
crossing the Maumee; and they were hard days, even to those of us long
habituated to the hardships of border travel. Indeed, I know few forms
of exertion that so thoroughly test the mettle of men as journeying
across the wilderness. There are no artificial surroundings, either to
inspire or restrain; and insensibly humanity returns to natural
conditions, permitting the underlying savage to gain ascendency. I
have seen more than one seemingly polished gentleman, resplendent with
all the graces of the social code, degenerate into a surly brute with
only a few hours of such isolation and the ceaseless irritation of the
trail. Yet I must acknowledge that De Croix accepted it all without a
murmur, and as became a man. His entire plaint was over the luxuries
he must forego, and he made far more ado about a bit of dust soiling
his white linen than about any real hardship of the march. 'T is my
memory that he rather grew upon us; for his natural spirits were so
high that he sang where others swore, and found cause for amusement and
laughter in much that tested sorely even the Indian-like patience of
Wells. He was like a boy, this gayly perfumed dandy of the French
court; but beneath his laces and ribbons, his affectations and
conceits, there hid a stout heart that bade him smile where other men
would lie down and die. He companioned mostly with Jordan as we
journeyed, for Wells never could become reconciled to his mincing ways;
yet I confess now that I began to value him greatly, and longed more
than once to join with the two who rode in our advance, cheering their
wearisome way with quips of fancy and snatches of song. He knew it
too, the tantalizing rascal, and would frequently send back a biting
squib over his shoulder, hoping thus to draw me away from the silent
grim-faced soldier beside whom I held place.
It was truly a rough and wild journey, full enough of hardship, and
without adventure to give zest to the ceaseless toil. I know now that
we made a wide detour to the southward, trusting thus to avoid any
possible contact with prowling bands of either Pottawattomies or
Wyandots, whom our friendly Miamis seemed greatly to dread. This took
us far from the regular trail, rough and ill-defined as that was, and
plunged us into ah untrodden wilderness; so that there were times when
we fairly had to cut our way through the twisted forest branches and
tangled brakes of cane with tomahawks and hunting-knives. We skirted
rocky bluffs, toiled painfully over fallen timber, or waded ankle deep
in softened clay, in the black gloomy shadows of dense woods which
seemed interminable, meeting with nothing human, yet constantly
startling wild game from the hidden coverts, and feeling more and more,
as we advanced, the loneliness and danger of our situation,--realizing
that each league we travelled only added to the length and peril of our
retreat if ever disaster came or Fort Dearborn were found deserted.
Captain Wells, naturally grave and silent from his long training among
savages, grew more and more reticent and watchful as we progressed,
riding often at my side for hours without uttering a word, his keen
eyes warily searching the dark openings upon every hand as if
suspecting that each spot of gloom might prove the chosen place for an
ambuscade. Our Indian allies moved like shadows, gliding over the
ground noiselessly; and the occasional outbursts of merriment from De
Croix and his equally reckless companion grew gradually less frequent,
and appeared more forced. The constant and never-ending toil of our
progress, the depressing gloom of the sombre primeval forest on every
side of us, the knowledge of possible peril lurking in each league of
this haunted silence, weighed upon us all, and at last closed the lips
of even the most jovial of our number.
It was the tenth day, as I remember,--though it may have been later,
for I have no writing to guide me concerning dates,--when we emerged
into a broad valley, treeless save for a thin fringe of dwarfed growth
skirting the bank of a shallow stream which ran almost directly
westward. I cannot describe how sweet, after our gloomy journey, the
sunlight appeared, as we first marked it play in golden waves over the
long grass; or the relief we felt at being able to gaze ahead once more
and see something of the country that we were traversing. 'Twas like a
sudden release from prison. Our jaded horses felt with us the
exhilaration of the change, and moved with greater sprightliness than
they had shown for days. As the sun began its circle downward, vast
rolling hills of white and yellow sand arose upon the right of our line
of march,--huge mounds, many of them, glistening in the sunshine, some
jagged at the summit, others rounded as if by art, so unusual in form
and presence that I ventured to address our leader regarding them, as
he rode with his head bent low and a far-off look in his eyes.
"The sand?" he questioned, glancing up as if startled at the sound of
my voice. "Why, it has been cast there by the stormy waves of the
Great Lake, my lad, and beaten into those strange and fantastic shapes
by the action of the wind. Doubtless 'tis the work of centuries of
storms."
"Are we, then, so close to the lake?" I asked eagerly,--for I had never
yet seen so large a body of water, and his description fired my
imagination.
"'T is but just beyond those dunes yonder, and will be still nearer
when we come to camp. Possibly you might reach the shore before dark
if you exercise care,--for there is danger of becoming lost in that
sand desert. Those hills seem all alike when once you are among them."
"What is it that so greatly disturbs your Miamis?" I ventured to ask,
for I had been noticing for some time that they were restless and
travelling poorly. "They have been counselling now for two hours."
He glanced aside at me in apparent surprise.
"Why, boy, I thought you were bred to the border; and can you ask me
such a question? Do you observe nothing, like that fine gentleman
yonder? What have we been following since first we entered this
valley?"
"An old Indian trail."
"True," he exclaimed, "and one that has been traversed by a large
war-party, bound west, within twelve hours."
"How know you this?"
"By a hundred signs far plainer than print will ever be to my eyes. In
faith, I thought those fellows out yonder would have summoned me to
council long ere this, instead of threshing it out among themselves.
They are bolder warriors than I deemed, though they will doubtless
revolt in earnest when we camp. We shall have to guard them well
to-night."
As he paused, his eyes fixed anxiously upon our Indian allies, De Croix
began to hum a popular tune of the day, riding meanwhile, hat in hand,
with one foot out of the stirrup to beat the time. Then Jordan caught
up the refrain, and sang a verse. I saw one or two of the older
Indians glance around at him in grave displeasure.
"The young fools!" muttered Wells, uneasily. "I shall enjoy seeing if
that French popinjay keeps all of his fine airs when the hour for stern
work comes."
He lifted his voice.
"Jordan!"
The young soldier instantly ceased his song, and turned in his saddle
to glance back.
"The time has come when I must insist on less noise, and more decorum
upon the march," Wells said sternly. "This is not Fort Wayne, nor is
our road devoid of danger. Captain de Croix, I shall have to request
you also to cease your singing for the present."
There was that in his voice and manner which forbade remark, and we
rode on silently. I asked:
"But you have not explained to me how you learned all this of which you
spoke?"
"By the use of my eyes, of course. It is all simple; there are marks
beside the beaten trail, as well as in its track, which prove clearly
the party ahead of us to be moving westward, that it travelled rapidly,
and was certainly not less than a hundred strong, with ponies and
lodge-poles. Not more than a league back we passed the evidences of a
camp that had not been deserted longer than twelve hours; and when we
crossed the river, a feather from a war-bonnet was lying in the grass.
These are small details, yet they tell the story. That feather, for
instance, was dropped from a Pottawattomie head-dress, and no doubt
there are warriors among those Indians yonder who could name the chief
who wore it. It simply means, my lad, that the savages are gathering
in toward Dearborn, and we may reach there all too late."
"Is the way yet long?" and my eyes sought the horizon, where the sun
hung like a red ball of fire.
"We should be there by the morrow," he answered, "for we are now
rounding the head of the Great Lake. I wish to God I might see what
fate awaits us there."
Young and thoughtless as I was in those days, I could not fail to
realize the depth of feeling which swayed this stern, experienced man;
and I rode on beside him, questioning no more.