A HOLIDAY AMONG THE OJIBEWAS
We have already spoken, in Chapter VIII, of the Algonquin branch of
the red race. This vast family, comprising Ojibewas, Shawnees, Crees,
Araphoes, Blackfeet, etc., once owned practically the whole of South
Canada, as well as the eastern portion of the States as far down as
Kentucky. The territory peculiar to the Ojibewas ran in a rough curve
from Saratoga to Winnipeg, and round about the lake district; but as
the construction of the railway from New York to Montreal seemed to
establish the definite claim of the white men, the Indians retreated
farther north, some taking service under the farmers, or settling down
to farm for themselves; others wandering in what was left of the
prairie and forest land, and turning an occasional dishonest penny by
robbing unprotected travellers.
When Charles Richard Weld made his tour from Boston into and through
Southern Canada in 1854, only a part of the railway was made, and the
greater portion of the journey had to be accomplished by coach, by
canoe, or on horseback. Mr. Weld (who must not be confused with Isaac
Weld, the explorer, his half-brother) was a barrister and literary
man, in whom a close personal friendship with many great travellers,
including Sir John Barrow and Sir John Franklin, had bred a strong
ambition to see the world and make discoveries on his own account. But
a busy man, who adds to his other duties the secretaryship of the
Royal Society, must perforce stay at home, and it was not till 1850,
when he was a man of thirty-seven, that he saw his way to travelling;
and that only by devoting the long vacation of each year to visiting
some special quarter of the globe.
It was while journeying northwards on this railway that he encountered
his first real "sight," which was a prairie-fire: a swiftly-moving
mass of flame and smoke that rolled almost up to the very rails,
making the occupants of the cars feel as though they were in an oven.
The fire raged for a good many days, for long after Weld had left the
railroad and transferred himself to the coach for Lake George, he
could still see the smoke and flare in the distance.
The major part of the coach-route lay along a plank road, bounded on
either side by miles of monotonous prairie, or by dark patches of
pine-wood, where squirrels, deer, and red foxes abounded. The "coach"
was an open arrangement--a _char-a-bancs_, in fact; and Mr. Weld's
travelling companions consisted of three farmers, a couple of French
trappers, a wheezy old Irishwoman and her two granddaughters. On the
last stage of the journey, when they were within a few miles of the
lake-shore, the Englishman's attention was attracted by the driver to
a dark mass that was moving rapidly through the long grass, towards
the road.
"Injuns; see em?"
About a score of Ojibewas in full war-dress were riding at the top of
their speed, with the apparent intention of cutting off the vehicle.
"Well; I suppose they won't hurt _us_?" said Weld.
The coachman whipped up his horses. "I reckon they hadn't better."
As nobody seemed in the least alarmed, the tourist watched the
approach of the Indians rather with interest than with anxiety.
Nevertheless, as the redskins, on coming within a hundred yards,
suddenly set up an inharmonious howling, and brandished spears or
tomahawks, he thought it time to produce and examine his revolver.
Just then the horses were pulled up short, and the driver took from
beneath his feet a very workmanlike double-barrelled gun; and, looking
round him, Weld saw that the other men were doing the same; while even
the old woman and the two girls, albeit without a sign of undue
excitement, had each brought out a revolver from her reticule.
"That's the way to let 'em have it," said the driver, having fired off
both barrels at the advancing mob. Before a second gun could be fired,
the whole troop had wheeled about, and were riding away as quickly as
they had come. The coachman reloaded as though nothing unusual had
happened, put away his rifle, and started the horses again.
"Biggest cowards on the yearth," he mumbled to Weld. "That was only a
couple o' charges o' birdshot I give 'em. Bless ye, we know 'em by
heart now. Years ago they'd put-up a mail, and tomahawk everybody; but
nowadays they seem to run away as soon as they see a gun. If there'd
only been you an' me, or nobody but women, they'd ha' tried to bluff
_something_ out of us, if 'twas only a keg o' spirits, or a bit of
tobacker; but half a dozen men'll frighten the lives out of 'em. One
time o' day they'd send a charge of arrows first; but they're shy of
that if they see any rifles waiting for 'em."
This was Weld's first and only experience of an Indian assault, for
the few wild tribes with which he came in contact were quite
disorganised, had lost confidence in their traditional weapons of war,
and had as yet a wholesome horror of gunpowder. But this absence of
hostilities enabled him to get a good insight into Ojibewa forest and
river life, and afforded him plenty of interesting adventure where
hunting was concerned. At the lake-side inn, where he stayed for a few
days, the host invited him to attend an Ojibewa rattlesnake-hunt, a
form of sport of which he had never before heard.
"What weapons must I take?" he asked before starting.
"Oh, nothing. Put a gun (revolver) in your pocket if you like," was
the careless reply.
A small party of redskins were squatting outside the inn, and seeing
that the two white men were ready to accompany them, they led the way
to a hilly and well-wooded spot, just on the eastern shore of the
lake. Weld noticed that the only arms carried by them were a knife and
a long, slender stick, and from all he had heard of the terrible
rattlesnake, this appeared a poor equipment indeed wherewith to kill
reptiles which might be any length up to eight or even ten feet. Being
prepared for a very great deal of wariness and of elaborate
preliminary on the part of the Indians, he was, of course, _not_
prepared for the entire absence of such preliminary. One of the
hunters who walked beside him stooped unconcernedly, picked up a strip
of something, gave it a shake, and put it in his game-bag.
"_He_ always seems to find the first one," remarked the innkeeper.
"The first _what_?" queried Weld. "And what on earth is this awful
stench?"
"Rattlesnake," chuckled the Yankee. "See'd him pick it up, didn't ye?
Come on; here's a chance for _you_, now.--Bah! What in the 'nation did
ye want to do _that_ for?"
For, without any hesitation, Weld had pulled out his revolver and sent
two bullets into the body of a snake which, coiled up like a wire
spring, had placed itself across a narrow path, and was rearing its
head in an uncomfortably suggestive manner.
"What did you expect me to do?" asked Weld with some impatience.
"Why, _this_.--Stand clear!"
But the Yankee was too "cocksure," as the boys say; and was only too
glad to spring back again to the side of his guest. What he had
_tried_ to do was to seize another snake by the tail and "snap" it, as
a carter cracks a whip; but the creature's mouth and poison-fangs
happened to be very much in the way just then, and the innkeeper left
the task to the more expert Ojibewas.
Now that he knew what to expect, Weld retired to a safe distance and
began to note all that took place. The overpowering smell of which he
had complained arose from the snakes themselves. The rats, rabbits,
squirrels, etc., on which they feed begin to putrefy as soon as they
are swallowed, owing to the action of the poison, and one snake is
often enough to make a whole neighbourhood intolerable.
The majority of those captured were small, averaging about three and a
half feet long, and the activity of the Indians in detecting, seizing,
and killing them was almost incredible. In most cases the snake was
lying, straight or coiled as the case might be, in the tracks usually
followed by small animals in their periodical path to the water, for
rattlesnakes are singularly slow in their movement, and so are forced
to rely more on their proverbial "wisdom." The moment one of them was
discovered it was whisked off the ground so rapidly that it seemed to
fly up; one deft jerk, or whip-like flick, dislocated its backbone and
it was dead. To an Englishman the process sounds about as sane and as
safe as lifting a bull-terrier by the tail; but the Indians did their
work unmovedly, not a man was bitten, and Weld learned later that not
once in ten years was such hunting attended with fatal results to
anyone; for should a man be bitten a rough sort of cautery, or the
sucking of the wound, together with drugs taken internally, generally
gave the lie to the popular belief that a rattlesnake's bite is
incurable.
Where a captive was inconveniently large or long, or where he refused
to uncoil himself, the savages used their sticks, either to rap him on
the head, or to "straighten-out" his coils. The object in killing was
to obtain the oil and gall, which were highly valued for medicinal
and other virtues; therefore, any blow that might wound the body was
avoided if possible. In Weld's opinion the "rattle" of the animal has
been much exaggerated by travellers; "creaking" or "rustling" would be
a better term, for the noise resembles that made by stiff paper, or
parchment, when crumpled in the hand. A few days later, when
travelling up-country by canoe, he realised that these snakes can swim
with perfect ease, for the Ojibewa guides whom he had engaged more
than once drew his attention to one of them gliding down the bank and
into the water in determined pursuit of a rat that had refused to
become a victim to its supposed (and very doubtful) powers of
fascination.
For the first time in his life, Mr. Weld now found himself completely
cut off from association with white men, for he had before him a
lonely journey by river and lake to a backwoods settlement, where an
old friend, Major Strickland, had set up a model farm. Fortunately,
one of the Ojibewas spoke English fluently, and the other three had at
least a smattering of French. Perhaps they were not remarkable for
their intelligence, save where canoeing and hunting were concerned,
but at least they were amiable, obliging, and contented.
His first acquaintance with rapids was worthy of remark, for it came
without a moment's warning or preparation. He and two Indians
travelled in one canoe, while the other two followed, in a second,
with his baggage. Weld was lying back, idly smoking, and probably lost
in admiration of the solemn, rugged beauty of the steep banks, fringed
with pine and cedar trees, when all in a moment the world seemed to
turn over and slip from under him; his head struck the gunwale
smartly, and he gradually got a dim notion that he was standing with
his back against something hard and his body at right angles to that
of the Indian in the bows, who nevertheless continued to ply his
paddle stolidly, and without a smile or a word. For a few seconds the
boat trebled her speed in some unaccountable manner, then followed
another jerk, another knock on the head, and once more he was lounging
in his former position, and the canoe moving along as before.
He now threw a glance behind him, and shuddered, for what he saw was a
sheer fall of water, apparently about sixteen feet high, studded
everywhere with ugly-looking rocks. He began an angry remonstrance
with the Indians for not having warned him, but just then a weird cry,
something between the bray of a jackass and the wail of a peacock,
echoed through the forest. One second a large white body was seen
flapping over their heads; the next, the same body lay fluttering on
the water near the boat. One of the Ojibewas had dropped his paddle
and, like lightning, sent an arrow through the noisy creature, which
turned out to be a pelican that they had disturbed from its evening
fishing.
On the following morning, as Weld was finishing his breakfast over his
camp fire, he was aroused from his meditations by one of the Indians
pointing significantly towards the thicket behind him.
"'Morning! Have you got a drop of tea left; we're thirsty," cried a
voice as he turned his head, and a second added, "Well, Peter; what
are you doing round our neighbourhood?"
The Indian who spoke English jumped up delightedly, and greeted with
much respect three strapping young fellows who suddenly stepped out
from among the bushes.
"I don't know who you are, gentlemen," said Weld as he rose to welcome
them, "but it's good to hear one's own language spoken again."
The lads introduced themselves as farm pupils of Major Strickland's,
and, leaving the Indians to bring Weld's luggage by water, they showed
him a short cut to his friend's house, which, in a straight line, was
but seven miles away.
At the farm he was surprised to find Indians performing all the
domestic offices of a civilised household, and dressed more or less in
European garb; for, tired of the ingrained laziness of negro servants,
the Major had long had all the menial work of his house and estate
done by redskins, and these, as far as Weld could see, worked
diligently and honestly. One small body of them were kept constantly
employed as hunters, and instructors in woodcraft to the pupils, and,
judging from their abilities as deer-trackers, the lads could have had
no better tutors.
An animal much coveted for the sake both of its skin and its flesh was
the _cabrit_, prong-buck, or prong-horned antelope, as it is variously
called; and the stalking of this creature was Weld's principal
amusement during his stay. In spite of frequent slaughter among them,
large herds were often to be seen in the neighbourhood, and one day no
less than a hundred carcases were brought home, to be dried for
winter food.
The hunting party on this occasion consisted of Weld, Strickland, and
six other Englishmen, together with about thirty Ojibewas, a dozen of
whom were given a start of five hours. These, leaving the farm at
daybreak, moved swiftly through the sparse forest to the hills beyond,
and started a herd of over two hundred. Taking up positions at wide
intervals from each other, the Indians succeeded in frightening and
mystifying the bucks, and gradually driving them towards the spot for
which the main body of the hunt was now making. This was some ten
miles from the farm, and so rapidly did all his companions cover the
distance, that Weld had great difficulty in keeping up with them,
though himself a strong and athletic man.
One old Ojibewa was always a few yards ahead of the party, and Weld
was instructed to watch and obey every signal made by him. Sometimes
he came to a dead halt, and the whole troop followed his example, not
so much as a whisper being uttered; then again, he would lead the way
at a good swinging pace, often talking freely and even loudly with
those behind. All of a sudden, however, he broke off his conversation;
a gun-shot had sounded from some three miles away. He held up his
hand, and everyone stood breathless. Presently he moved on again, but
more slowly, for several hundred yards, the rest gliding along in his
wake, and at last he stopped dead again. This was the most irksome, or
the most disciplinary, period of the hunt, for the tyrannical leader
kept everyone standing motionless for quite ten minutes; and when
Weld merely took out his handkerchief to mop his brow, the Indians
nearest him eyed him as reproachfully as though this were a penal
offence.
The next thing the guide did was to fall flat on his face, and each
man mechanically imitated him--except Weld, who had visions of a
dislocated shoulder, if not of a self-discharging gun, and who
consequently performed the manoeuvre by degrees.
Now that his ear was so close to the ground, he could plainly detect
the uniform tread of a large body of light-stepping animals, but he
dared not risk spoiling sport by raising his head to peer among the
tree-trunks in front of him. In a few minutes a gun went off, half a
mile to their left front, and was immediately echoed by one to the
right, and another well ahead, whereat the trampling increased in
speed and volume. Immediately the leader raised his hand to a
perpendicular, and the redskins began to crawl on, worm-fashion, in
two diverging lines. Weld started awkwardly to imitate them, but a
strong hand caught him by the ankle and held him still. Screwing his
head round, he saw that Strickland was his captor.
"Hold on," whispered the Major. "We get our fun from this side."
Another three minutes' silence followed, only broken by the tramp of
the approaching herd, slower now, and more hesitating.
"Now then; roll away or crawl away to your right, as far as you can,
and as sharp as you can; and jump up when I open fire," whispered the
old soldier, and Weld could see that, at a wave of his friend's arm,
all the Englishmen were swiftly separating. He obeyed; but by the
time he had covered a dozen yards, he became convinced that the
Indians had all gone suddenly demented, for from every direction there
arose a succession of demoniacal yells that almost drowned the
crack-crack of the rifles that now sounded on his left.
He leapt to his feet; not an Indian was in sight. The white men, all
standing up, were blazing away as hard as they could, into an immense
herd of bucks, which were falling in numbers out of all reasonable
proportion to the shots fired. Then he discovered that, from the other
three sides, the Ojibewas, lying in the long grass or crouching behind
trees, were pouring volley after volley of arrows at the bewildered
beasts, which, butting each other, were starting hither and thither,
completely panic-stricken.
"'Ware horns!" shouted the Major's son as, hurriedly butting his
rifle, he felled an antelope that had charged despairingly at him; and
very soon Weld was glad enough to follow the example, as a stout young
buck rushed, head down, in his direction.
More terrified now by the noise of the guns and the sight of the white
men than by the arrows and shouts that proceeded from the other three
points of the compass, the herd turned to flee back towards the hills.
But this was only the signal for every Indian to spring erect and
brandish his long spear. That effectually broke up the herd; the
distracted creatures squeezed a passage for themselves wherever they
could, and fled out of sight, leaving a good half of their number to
be carried back to the farm in the waggons which were now on their way
to the scene of the battue.