STALKING THE BUFFALO
ON the following day orders were given to prepare to start once more
in the direction of the beckoning West. There was not much to be done,
for, knowing that their departure would soon be ordered, the men had
for some time past been getting things in readiness.
Dick and Roger had looked their few possessions over, and were ready
to move on short notice. It gave the boys a little feeling of distress
to realize that they would be thus placing additional ground between
themselves and those dear ones left at home near the mouth of the
Missouri.
"But we have embarked on the trip," said Dick, when his chum was
speaking of this as something he did not like very much, "and must see
it through now. When we do get back home again, if we are so fortunate,
think of all the wonderful things we shall be able to describe."
The coming of Captain Lewis just then interrupted their confidential
talk. Dick expected that their leader had something of importance to
communicate, and he could give a pretty accurate guess concerning its
nature.
Sure enough, the first words spoken by the President's private
secretary explained the nature of his visit to the cabin of the
Armstrong boys.
"I had an opportunity to examine your canoe, and there can be no reason
to doubt that some unknown miscreant planned to have you lose your
lives in the rapids. It was cleverly done, and at night-time doubtless,
when no one would be apt to notice him working with your boat. The
knife went in just deep enough to weaken the whole skin of the bottom,
and only a slight blow was needed to finish the treacherous work."
"Of course you have not been able to place your hand on the guilty
party, Captain, have you?" asked Roger, eagerly.
"Nothing has been found out so far," came the reply. "One of my
reasons for joining you just now is to ask if either of you have any
suspicions. Although of course we could not accuse any one on such
grounds alone, at the same time it might narrow our search, and focus
attention on the guilty one, so that he could be watched, and caught
in the act."
"We do not feel able to say positively, Captain Lewis," said Dick,
"but when we came to look over the entire membership of the company
we finally figured it out that it must lie between three men. All the
others seemed to be above suspicion in our eyes."
"Tell me who they are, so that I can have them watched," demanded the
commander.
"There is, first of all, Drewyer, the Canadian scout. He never seemed
to be very friendly with us, for some reason or other, though we have
had no quarrel. You are surprised to hear me mention his name, because
you have always trusted him fully. And the chances are, Captain, that
Drewyer is as faithful as the needle to the pole. I only include him
because we know so little about him."
"Who is the next one you have on your list?" asked Captain Lewis. "I
count considerably on your natural sagacity to help in running this
traitor to earth. You boys have learned pretty well how to judge men
from their actions and looks, rather than from their fair speech. Tell
me the other names, please, Dick."
"Fields is the second man. I base my right to include him in the group
from the fact that there was a time when my cousin, here, and Fields
had hot words over something the trapper had been doing in the village,
and which Roger took him to task for. Since that time they have been on
speaking terms, but I do not think Fields likes us over much."
"I should regret very much to learn that Fields had turned traitor, for
I have in the past been ready to trust him to any extent," remarked
Captain Lewis.
"The third and last man is Andrew Waller," continued Dick. "Now, we
have never had a word with Andrew except in the best of ways. We have
always looked on him as a loyal friend, and faithful to the trust you
put in him. It has only been of late that both of us noticed that
Andrew seems to try to avoid us, and when we do meet face to face he
lets his eyes drop."
"That is indeed a suspicious fact," commented the other, quickly. "If
money has tempted him to play the part of a traitor it is easy to
understand how he cannot look you squarely in the eye. Conscience flays
him every time he sees you near by. I shall certainly bear in mind what
you have told me, and in due time results may spring from keeping a
close watch on the movements of these three men."
With that Captain Lewis left the boys, but they felt sure he would
not allow the matter to drop. The man whom President Jefferson had
personally selected to manage this big enterprise, and who had been his
own private secretary, was accustomed to getting results whenever he
attempted anything.
It was on the following morning that camp was broken, and the
expedition once more started forward--down the Yellowstone to the
Missouri, and up that muddy stream again. That was an event of vast
importance in the lives of those daring souls who were thus venturing
to plunge deeper into the mysteries of the country that up to then had
never known the imprint of a white man's foot.
Although filled with exultation, as were the rest of the travelers,
Dick and his cousin looked back to see the last of the weird Mandan
village which had long been a source of delight to their eyes. It was
with considerable regret that they took their farewell view of the
painted lodges, as well as the Indian cemetery on the side of the hill,
where all those platforms, bearing their mummy-like burdens wrapped in
buffalo hides, told of superstitions that were a part of the Mandan
nature.
During that day they made considerable progress, and the first camp
of the new trail was pitched on a ridge close to the river. Here the
horses were put out to graze, and the boats drawn up on the shore,
though a guard was constantly kept to insure against treachery.
Despite the apparent friendship shown by many of the Indian tribes
they encountered on their long journey of thousands of miles, the two
captains never fully put their trust in the red men. They believed
them as a rule to be treacherous, and unable to resist pilfering if
the opportunity offered. Especially was this true when the coveted
object was a horse or a "stick that spat fire," as the wonderful
"shooting-irons" of the explorers were generally called.
Several days passed with nothing to break the monotony of the journey.
Of course they often met with minor difficulties, but these were
speedily overcome by a display of that generalship which had so far
made the trip a success.
All this while the boys had not forgotten about the spy in the camp.
Without appearing to do so, they kept a watch upon the three men upon
whom suspicion had fallen. Had any one of them offered to leave camp
after nightfall, he would have been trailed by Dick and Roger, bent on
learning what could be the object of his wandering, and whether he had
an appointment with François Lascelles, the Indian trader.
But, as the days drifted along, and nothing happened, they began to
cherish hopes that perhaps the accident to their canoe had been rather
an act of vandalism and malice than part of a deep plan to bring about
their death.
A week after leaving the winter camp the party found itself on the
border of a wide plain. Dick and Roger were mounted and were on a
slight elevation down which they expected to pass to the level ground
near the river, and await the coming of the boats. From here they could
see for a considerable distance around.
"Look at the herds of buffaloes feeding here and there, Dick!"
exclaimed Roger, whose hunting instincts were easily aroused. "It
strikes me we heard Captain Clark say the fresh meat was getting low
again. What do you say to trying to knock over one or two of those fine
fellows?"
"We would have to go a considerable distance to do it, then," the other
told him, "and leave our horses in the bargain, because they are not
used to approaching such fierce-looking animals as buffalo bulls."
"But we might be lucky enough to get one or two yearlings," persisted
Roger, who dearly loved the excitement of the hunt, as well as the
taste of the well-cooked meat when meal time came. "I think we could
manage to load our animals down with the spoils, and easily reach the
place where our friends mean to camp for the night."
Dick looked around him before replying to this tempting proposal. He
remembered that they had need to use particular care while away from
the main body of explorers; but so far as indications went he could
not discover the slightest sign of danger. Certainly there was nothing
to be feared from François Lascelles out there on that wide stretch
of plains, where in various places they could see timid antelopes and
clumsy buffaloes feeding amidst the isolated stands of timber which
dotted the landscape.
"I see nothing to hinder our making the attempt, Roger," he finally
remarked.
"Then you agree, do you, Dick?" eagerly demanded the other young
explorer, as he caressed his gun, and cast a happy look over the
panorama that was spread in front of them.
"Let's figure out just where our best chance lies, before we make a
start," he was told. "We have to keep in mind that it's necessary to
hide our mounts, so we can creep up on the herd close to some motte of
timber."
The boys had more than once shot the great, shaggy animals that in
those early days abounded in countless thousands on the prairies of
the Far West. Their fathers had hunted buffaloes while on the trail
from Virginia to the banks of the Ohio when boys no older than Dick and
Roger. Hence they were familiar with the habits of the animals which
they now meant to stalk.
Choosing their course so as to keep a patch of cottonwoods between
themselves and the small herd they had picked out as their prey, the
two boys urged their horses on at a smart pace. In several quarters
they could see the swift-footed antelopes vanishing at a surprising
pace, frightened by the approach of these strange animals, bearing
riders on their backs, the like of which they possibly had never beheld
before that day.
The buffaloes, however, were not so easily alarmed. Unless they saw
an enemy for themselves, or scented something that caused them
uneasiness, they were likely to hold their ground where they chanced to
be feeding. (Note 5.)
Finally the boys decided it was no longer safe to take their horses
with them. The animals were accordingly secured in a patch of timber,
and the lads, still screened by the other motte, set forth on foot.
They had possibly a quarter of a mile to walk before reaching their
intended shelter, from the other side of which they hoped to be able
to fire upon some of the nearest of the herd. The old grass still lay
on the ground, dead and brown; but shoots of the new spring crop had
begun to thrust their heads up between. It was on this tender green
stuff that the buffaloes were browsing, and, as it grew more freely in
certain places, such a fact would account for their presence near the
timber.
The one thing Dick and Roger had to be careful about was the chance of
any straggler from the herd discovering them, and with a bellow giving
the alarm. In order to avoid this if possible, Dick and his chum bent
low as they advanced, and kept a wary lookout on either side of the
timber.
The breeze blew from the trees toward them. This fact they had made
sure of before starting, because, otherwise, such is the sense of
smell in the buffaloes they would not have had the least chance of
getting within shooting distance of the wary animals, who generally
feed facing the wind.
When finally the boys arrived at the edge of the timber they believed
everything was working as well as they could wish. As yet no sound
had come to their ears that would indicate alarm on the part of their
intended quarry; and Roger allowed himself to indulge in high hopes of
a hunters' feast that night, with buffalo meat in plenty as the main
dish.