THE "OLE SETTLER".
It was dark before they reached the cabin, but they found a good
supper waiting for them. After they had eaten heartily, they drew
their chairs up around the fireplace, and Uncle Joe inquired:
"Wal, youngsters, how do you like Injun-huntin'?"
"I don't believe we like it well enough to try it again," said Harry.
"I never was so completely tired out in my life."
"O, that wasn't nothin' at all," said Dick. "Such Injun-huntin' as
that we had to-day is fun. What would you have thought if we had
follered them thieves for a week afore we found 'em? But, I must say,
that you youngsters done very well. I'll own up, that when we
started, I thought I would see what sort o' stuff you wur made of; an'
I thought I'd stretch your legs for you in a way that would make you
give in. But you fellers are purty good shakes at runnin', for boys of
your age. But this reminds me o' a scrape I onct had near the Colorado
River. Do yer see this? If you can ketch as many grizzly bars in your
lifetime as this trap has, you are smarter nor I think you are. This
is what I call the 'Ole Settler!'"
And, as the trapper spoke, he raised from the floor the object of his
admiration, and held it up to the view of the boys. It was an ordinary
bear-trap, with double springs, and huge jaws, which were armed with
long, sharp teeth. It had received a thorough rubbing and greasing,
and shone in the fire-light like silver; but, after all, there was
nothing uncommon in its appearance. There were plenty of traps in the
cabin that were quite as well made, and could, probably, do quite as
much execution. In the trapper's mind, however, the "Ole Settler" was
evidently associated with some exciting event.
"The reason why I call this trap the 'Ole Settler'" continued Dick,
"is, 'cause it has been in the service so long. My gran'father bought
it, when he war only a boy, of a Mexikin trader, an' he give two
ten-dollar bar-skins for it. When he got too ole to trap, he give it
to my father, an' he give it to me. It has been stole from me a good
many times; but I allers made out to get it back agin. Onct a
yaller-hided Mexikin Greaser bagged it, an' I didn't set eyes on it
for more 'n a year; but I knowed it in a minit when I did see it; an',
arter a little brush with the Greaser, I made him give it up. The last
time I lost it war while I war trappin' in Utah. It war stole from me
by a Blackfoot Injun; and the way it happened war this:
"I allers had the name of bein' able to bring into market jest as
many an' jest as fine furs as any trapper in the mountains. But I
had a good many good trappers to go agin, and arter awhile my
huntin'-grounds begun to give out; so, one summer, I packed my
plunder, an' moved to the west side of the mountains. I war right in
the heart of the Pawnee region, the wust Injun country in the world;
but I kalkerlated to get all my trappin' done arly in the spring, an'
move out; 'cause as soon as the ice breaks up in the spring, the
red-skins allers come round on a grand hunt, an' I didn't care to have
the rascals near me. I never yet see the Injun that I war afeared of,
but it's mighty onpleasant to have them around; they go screechin'
through the woods, shootin' at a feller, when he can't see 'em, an'
steal his traps an' other plunder in a mighty onfriendly way.
"Wal, in less than a week arter I got to my new quarters, I war
settled. I had all my traps sot in the best places, an' had mighty
good luck. The streams war full of beaver, otter, an' mink, an' I used
to have a fight with the grizzlies in the mountains every day. In this
way the winter passed; an' about the time that spring come, I had
well-nigh trapped every thing in the valley. It war gettin' about time
for the Injuns to come round on their reg'lar hunts; so one mornin,'
arter a good breakfast on buffaler hump, I started out an' begun to
gather up my traps. A'most every one had some kind o' game in it, an'
I soon got as big a load as I could wag under. So I started back for
camp. I war goin' along mighty keerless like, an' wasn't thinkin' o'
nothin', when all to onct I seed something that made me prick up my
ears, an' step a little lighter. I see that something had been
passin' through the bushes. You, in course, wouldn't have noticed it,
but I knowed in a minit that an Injun had been along; an', arter
lookin' around a little, I found his track. It wasn't a Pawnee; but,
arter examinin' the trail, I found that it war a Blackfoot. What one
of them should be doin' so far from home I didn't know, but most
likely he war layin' around for scalps.
"'Wal,' thinks I, 'Dick Lewis, you had better be lookin' out for them
traps o' yourn;' so I hid my spelter in the bushes, an' started up
toward the mountains. I had sot the Ole Settler the day before, to
ketch a grizzly that had been botherin' me a good deal, an' I war
afeared the Injun would come acrost it an' bag it. I saw plenty of
Injun signs all the way, but the tracks had all been made by the same
feller. I could see, by the way the rascal had moved, that he knowed I
war in the valley; for he took mighty good care to cover up his trail
as much as possible. Arter a few minits' walk, I come to the place
where I had set the Ole Settler; but, just as I had expected, the trap
war gone. The Blackfoot had been there afore me, an' I knowed that if
I wanted my trap, I must look for it; an' I made up my mind that I
did want it, an' that I would have it, if I had to foller the Injun
clar to his home. So I started arter him, an', for a mile or so, the
trail was toler'ble plain, an' I got along first-rate. I made up my
mind that if the thief got away from me he would have to be smarter
nor I thought he war. But, at last, I come to where he had tuk to a
swamp, an' two or three times I come mighty nigh losin' the trail. The
swamp war full o' logs, an' the Injun had walked on them, an', in
course, he didn't leave no trail. I follered him more 'n a mile by the
marks on the bushes, an' finally I couldn't see a single sign. There
war the print of one of his moccasins in the mud as plain as daylight;
an' there the trail ended. I couldn't tell which way the rascal had
gone. I looked around, examinin' every bush an' twig, but it war no
use. Now, I s'pose you think I war beat at the Injun's own game, don't
you? Wal, I wasn't. In course, I couldn't find the trail in the swamp;
but I knowed which way the Blackfoot war goin', an' if I crossed the
swamp, I knowed that I would find it on the other side. So I started
out, an' as it war gettin' late, I wanted to find the trail agin
afore dark. I guess I made purty good time. I done my best, an' the
way I got through that swamp war a thing to look at. The runnin' you
see to-day wasn't a patchin' to the runnin' I done that night. But I
tuk mighty good care to keep my ears open, an' to make no more noise
than I could help; for, just as like as not, there war Injuns in the
swamp, an' one of 'em might take it into his head to send a chunk of
lead into me when I couldn't see him.
"About an hour afore dark, I reached the other side of the swamp; an'
in less nor ten minits more I had found the trail, and wur follerin'
it up as fast as my legs could carry me. But afore I had gone a mile
it begun to grow dark. In course, I couldn't foller the trail no
further; an' the only thing I could do, war to camp down where I war,
an' wait for daylight. So, arter makin' my supper out o' parched corn,
I picked out a nice place by the side of a log, and settled myself
down to sleep.
"The next mornin', bright and arly, I war up, an' on the trail agin. I
follered it all day, without onct stoppin' or losin' sight of it, an'
about night it begun to grow fresher; but it came on dark agin, and I
had to camp. Long about midnight I heerd a sort of rustlin' like in
the bushes. I war wide awake in a minit; for a feller that lives in
the woods larns to keep his ears about him. I lifted my head an'
listened. Yes, thar war no mistake--I could hear something steppin'
keerfully over the leaves, an' I thought it war comin' right toward
me. At first I thought it war some wild varmint; but, as it come
nigher, I found that it war a two-legged critter; so I cocked my rifle
an' waited for the Injun--for I knowed by the step that it war a
red-skin--to come in sight. The steps sounded nigher an' nigher, an'
all to onct the bushes parted without any noise, an' out come the
biggest Blackfoot that it ever war my luck to set eyes on. He didn't
seem to know that me an' my rifle war around; if he had, I reckon it
wouldn't have made him feel very pleasant; but he walked past, within
ten foot of me, an' disappeared in the darkness.
"Now, perhaps you would like to know why I didn't up and shoot him.
Wal, I'll tell you. That would have jest knocked the hul thing in the
head, an' I should have had all my trouble for nothin'. I knowed that
the Injun that stole my trap wasn't a great way off, and I knowed,
too, that the feller that jest passed war a sort of friend of his'n,
an' that they war goin' to meet somewhere in the woods close by. So I
thought that perhaps, if I took matters easy, I could rub out both of
the rascals.
"As soon as the Injun wur out o' hearin', I picked myself up, an'
started along arter him, purty certain that before long I would come
in sight of their camp-fire; an' I wasn't mistaken I hadn't gone half
a mile afore I see a light shinin' through the trees; an' droppin' on
all-fours, I begun to crawl along through the bushes, until I come to
a place where I had a full view of the fire. As I had expected, there
war two Injuns settin' by it. One of them--the one that had just
passed me--war eaten' his supper, an' the other lay stretched out on
his blanket, and war showin' his friend the trap he had stole from me;
an' they war both laughin' over it, as though they thought it war a
mighty good joke. This kinder riled me, an' I knowed that I could soon
put an end to their skylarkin'. I might have shot one of them where he
sot easy enough, but that wouldn't do, for the other would have
escaped, an' I wanted to make sure of both of 'em. I wasn't fool
enough to think of walkin' into their camp an' tacklin' both of 'em to
onct; they would have made an end of me in the shake of a buck's tail.
The only way I could work it war to get 'em apart, an' take 'em one at
a time. So I dropped my rifle an' drawed my knife, an' gave two loud
yells, which war a signal to let the Injuns know that one of 'em war
wanted. They both sprang to their feet an' listened for a moment, an'
one of 'em--the one that had stole my trap--picked up his rifle and
come toward me; an' the other went on eatin' his supper.
"I waited until the Injun had come within ten foot of me, then all to
onct I stepped out from behind my tree an' stood before him. Bar an'
buffaler! how the rascal started! He looked at me for a minit, as if
to make sure that I war a human critter, an' then, givin' an unarthly
yell, he dropped his rifle, an' made at me with his tomahawk. But I
met him half way, an' ketchin' hold of the hand that held the
tomahawk, I give him a stab with my knife that settled his business
for him. He fell to the ground like a log, an' I had hardly time to
grab my rifle afore I seed the big Injun comin' toward me. But he
hadn't made more'n two steps, afore a chunk of lead brought him to the
ground.
"I then walked up to the camp, and stretched myself out on one of the
Injuns' blankets; and arter makin' a good supper on a piece of venison
I found hung up on a tree close by, I covered myself up, an' in a few
minits war fast asleep.
"The next mornin' I war up bright an' arly, an' pickin' up my trap,
an' all the Injuns' plunder I wanted, I drew a bee-line for camp. In
another day I had gathered up all the rest of my traps, without seein'
any more Injun signs; but I knowed they would soon be around. As I
didn't care about bein' in their company, an' as game war gettin'
scarce, I tumbled all my spelter into my canoe, an' started down the
river."