OUR DELIVERERS PURSUE THE COMANCHES, BUT FAIL TO RETURN--I AM
CONVALESCENT AND HEAD A PARTY IN SEARCH--THERE IS A LADY IN THE CASE--
STORES FOR CAMP--TONY FLACK'S TALE OF THE "INJUNS."
Day after day passed away, and no tidings of the expedition. Under the
care of my kind hostess I quickly recovered from the effects of my
wound, from which I suffered wonderfully little, and I began to hope
that in another day or two I might be fit to mount a horse, and set off
to the assistance of the settlers. While I lay on my bed I had plenty
of time for thinking. Among other things, I began to regret that I had
been turned aside from my original purpose of ascending the Mississippi.
I never like to be thwarted in anything I undertake, and on this
occasion I felt that I had allowed fear to influence me. I thought this
so unworthy of me that, "so soon as I have brought my present adventure
to a conclusion," I said to myself, "I will go back and steam up the
mighty river; and any slave-owner or slave-dealer who dares to stop me
shall pay dear for his temerity." I told Peter and Ready of my
determination. The latter wagged his tail and seemed highly pleased,
though I suspect he thought I was speaking of going home. The former
said that he was willing to go wherever I wished, and, if needs be,
would fight by my side as long as he could stand up.
"I know you would, Peter," said I. "Indeed we shall probably have
something to try your courage before then."
I was right in this conjecture. The party which had gone in pursuit of
the Comanches did not return, and their friends becoming anxious about
them, began to assemble from all directions on horseback, and
well-armed. By this time I was able to leave my room, and when they
heard that an Englishman was ready to take the command of the party,
they all expressed a wish to have me at their head, and to set out
immediately. Weak as I was I determined to go. My kind hostess
showered blessings on my head when I told her so. I could only reply
that I should better merit them if I returned successful.
We were to set off the next morning. Another night's rest would
increase my strength, or might perhaps see the return of the former
expedition. I went to see. Silas Slag before starting.
"Well, you Britishers can sometimes put the best leg foremost, I see,"
he observed as he took my hand, and pressed it with a warmth I did not
expect. "You ain't far behind us free and independent Americans, I
guess. I wish I could go with you; and so I would, if it wasn't for the
big hole which that Comanche made between my ribs. I'd like to go for
your sake, and to help to find the young gal those varmint have carried
off."
I thanked Silas heartily for his friendly feelings, and assured him that
I shouldn't wish to have a better man by my side. In truth, I have
seldom found Americans wanting in bravery or generosity.
Daybreak found me in the saddle, surrounded by fifty well-armed men;
young and old, white, brown, and black; with Peter mounted on a
raw-boned steed at my side, and Ready--looking as if he well knew what
was in the wind--at my heels. My army was somewhat variously armed:
some had muskets, others rifles, others blunderbusses, and others only
spears and pistols; while the swords were of all shapes, from Spanish
Toledos, to English cutlasses and broadswords. The costumes of my
followers were of the same diversified character, as were the
accoutrements of the horses and the steeds themselves, but as the men
mostly looked ready for work I was satisfied. We had secured a
half-caste Indian for a guide, whose parents had been killed and scalped
by the Comanches; so he was anxious that we should fall in with them. I
must own that I chiefly thought about the young woman who had been
carried off, and I hoped that no disaster might have happened to the
brave men who had preserved my life and that of my companions at the
moment we were almost overpowered. Each of us carried his provisions
and cooking utensils at his saddle-bow, as well as a cloak or blanket in
which to sleep at night. Every man had his axe in his belt, and a long
knife for cutting grass, so that we were provided for a campaign even
should it take a month or more.
We pushed on as fast as we could move, making, through the open prairie,
full thirty miles each day. We thus travelled a hundred miles; but
still there was no sign of our friends or the Comanches. Our guides
assured us that the former must be ahead, but, as to the Indians, it was
impossible to say where they were. Any moment they might appear on our
flanks or rear, and, unless we were well prepared, overwhelm us by their
numbers. We, of course, kept a careful watch at night, and sent out
scouts as we advanced.
We were soon completely in the desert, and might at any moment be
attacked by our enemies. Had our animals been capable of pushing on
without stopping, I believe that we should have done so, from the
intense eagerness all felt to ascertain what had become of their
friends; but my companions were too practical to attempt this. They
well knew that "the more haste the less speed." We therefore camped
regularly, and only travelled at stated hours, as if we were in no way
in a hurry. This somewhat slow progress was very trying to my temper,
although, had we attempted to go faster, we should have knocked up our
steeds, and been unable to progress at all.
The time, however, spent while camping, was not occupied unpleasantly.
Most of the party had led wild, roving lives, had followed various
vocations, and gone through strange adventures, which they were not
prevented by bashfulness from recounting. They were not in a mood to
sing, but one after the other narrated the most wonderful events, in
which, as a rule, they were the chief actors,--grizzly bears, panthers,
buffaloes, and rattlesnakes being part of the _dramatis persona_.
We had several articles of food which were new to me, all as little
bulky as possible, and qualified to keep a long time. We had some dried
meat, procured from the Mexicans. They prepare it by cutting the meat
while fresh into long strips, when it is hung on a line to dry in the
sun and wind until it becomes thoroughly hardened. Sometimes it is
smoked and dried, with a slow fire underneath, as are dry fish in
England. It will, when prepared in either of these ways, keep for a
long time. We had another article of food called _Penole_, which is
made by parching Indian corn, then grinding it, and mixing it with
cinnamon and sugar. A third, called _Atole_, is also worthy of mention.
It is a kind of meat which, when prepared in a peculiar way, appears
and tastes very like what the Americans call Mush. Mush, again, is
simply maize, or Indian corn, boiled in water. Penole is especially
valuable for travellers, as it requires no fire to cook it, being
prepared in a minute by simply mixing it with cold water. In proportion
to its weight it occupies very little space, but when prepared for use,
swells to twice its former bulk. A very small quantity at a time is
therefore sufficient to satisfy hunger. We had, besides, coffee and
brown sugar as our chief beverage. I mention these things to show that
some forethought had been exercised before starting.
As I said, we were attired in a variety of costumes, but the most common
dress was a check or "hickory" shirt, buck-skin pants, a fringed
hunting-shirt of the same material, gaily lined with red flannel, and
ornamented with brass buttons. A coarse broad-brimmed straw hat covered
the head, while the feet and legs were cased in strong cow-hide boots,
reaching to the knee. Each man carried at his saddle-bow a porous
leathern water-bottle. When hung up in the sun just enough of the
liquid exuded deliciously to cool the rest, and in that climate this was
a great luxury.
Our progress was in part directed by the places at which water could be
procured. Before nightfall we prepared to camp. We first turned our
horses out to feed, but as soon as it grew dark they were brought in and
picketed in the centre, while we, with our saddles as pillows, lay down
in the form of a square outside them, eight or ten men on each side,
while the rest watched as scouts in advance. Thus several nights passed
away. Our chief apprehension arose from the possibility that the
Comanches, discovering our camp, might make an attack during the night
on it with overwhelming numbers, and ride over us before we were
prepared to receive them.
An old hunter who accompanied us gave me a vivid description of such a
scene, when he was one of the few of his party who had escaped. He went
by the name of Tony Flack. He was a gaunt, parchment-skinned, wizened
individual, with a most lachrymose expression of countenance, which,
however, did not exhibit his real character, for he was rather a merry
fellow at bottom, but his jollity took some time in appearing. As a
Yankee remarked, "I guess he takes a long time to pump it up." He, in
fact, did not begin to laugh till the subject of the conversation had
been changed.
"I guess that was an awful time," he began. "We'd just got into the big
sandy desert, not far off from here; there was fifty of us at least, and
we were all a-lying down, having no more fear of Injuns than of so many
heffers, when there was a whirl and a rush just as if the Falls of
Niagara and St. Anthony was running a race.
"`It's a stampede!' shouted one. I looked up. There I saw in the
moonlight a thousand warriors, their white shields and spears glistening
in the moonbeams, as they galloped right down upon us. Some of our men
sprang to their feet, and attempted to defend themselves; but the
savages darted on and cut them down, and ran them through in a moment.
I was so much astonished that I rolled over with my saddle above my
head, and this, I guess, saved my scalp, for most of my companions lost
theirs. I thought the mass of warriors would never have done passing.
Not one of their horses touched my body, but the loud trampling
continued, and the shrieks and cries of my companions rang in my ears as
the spears of our assailants went through them, or they were trampled on
by their mustangs. At last the noise of the tramping ceased, though I
could hear the shouts of the Indians in the distance as they drove off
our horses. I knew their ways, and that some of them would certainly
return before long to take our scalps. I lifted my head up from under
my saddle, and seeing no one moving, I crept away towards some rocks
which I had observed before night closed in at a little distance from
the camp. I was afraid of speaking, lest any Indians might have
remained near--indeed, I thought that all my companions were killed. On
I crept, scarcely daring to lift my head above the ground, lest I should
be seen. I endeavoured also not to move a stone, or a bush, for fear of
being heard. More than once I stopped to listen, fancying that some one
was approaching. I did, however, reach the rock, and scarcely had I got
behind it, than I again heard the trampling of horses, and then once
more arose the fearful shrieks of some of my companions who had remained
alive, and whom the savages had now returned to scalp. I wasn't much
given to fainting, even in those days, but I nearly lost my senses as I
heard the dreadful cries of my friends, and thought how narrowly I had
escaped from the same fate, and that even now it might overtake me. I
dared scarcely to breathe till I heard the Indians once more retreating.
At daylight I crept out cautiously from my shelter; no one was moving.
I advanced towards our camp. I have seen many dreadful sights, but
never one more horrid than I then gazed upon. There lay the bodies of
my companions; the heads of all of them had been robbed of their hair
scalps, while the ground was stained with blood from their wounds. Most
of the arms and property had been carried off, but there was food enough
and to spare. I loaded myself with as much as I could carry, and, to my
great satisfaction, I found a rifle with ammunition, which had been
dropped. I must now, I concluded, find my way back to the States as
best I could. I had begun my march eastward, when I heard a foot-fall.
I started, expecting to see a scalping-knife whirling over my head. My
heart leaped with joy when I saw one of my friends. He, like me, had
escaped and hid himself before the return of the Indians. We trudged on
together across the desert, often thinking that we should never get back
to our friends; but we succeeded at last. For some months I fancied
that I should never again set my face to go westward, but in time I got
tired of a quiet life, and have lived out in these parts pretty well
ever since."
Just as the speaker ceased a cloud of dust was seen in the distance, and
out of it emerged our scouts galloping at headlong speed.