THE BLACK GULLY.
NOTE.—The author, fearing that the account of fire springing from
the earth, given in the following story, may be considered by the
reader too improbable for any book but one of Arabian fables,
wishes to say that the fire and the explosion occurred in the
place and manner described.
The Fire Bear had never before been seen in the Blue River
neighbourhood. His former appearances had been at or near the mouth of
Conn’s Creek, where that stream flows into Flatrock, five or six miles
southeast of Balser’s home.
Flatrock River takes its name from the fact that it flows over layers of
broad flat rocks. The soil in its vicinity is underlaid at a depth of a
few feet by a formation of stratified limestone, which crops out on the
hillsides and precipices, and in many places forms deep, cañon-like
crevasses, through which the river flows. In these cliffs and miniature
cañons are many caves, and branching off from the river’s course are
many small side-cañons, or gullies, which at night are black and
repellent, and in many instances are quite difficult to explore.
One of these side-cañons was so dark and forbidding that it was called
by the settlers “The Black Gully.” The conformation of the rocks
composing its precipitous sides was grotesque in the extreme; and the
overhanging trees, thickly covered with vines, cast so deep a shadow
upon the ravine that even at midday its dark recesses bore a cast of
gloom like that of night untimely fallen. How Balser happened to visit
the Black Gully, and the circumstances under which he saw
it—sufficiently terrible and awe-inspiring to cause the bravest man to
tremble—I shall soon tell you.
The country in the vicinity of Flatrock was full of hiding-places, and
that was supposed to be the home of the Fire Bear.
The morning after Polly and Balser had seen the Fire Bear, they went
forth bright and early to follow the tracks of their fiery enemy, and if
possible to learn where he had gone after his unwelcome visit.
They took up the spoor at the point where the bear had crossed the river
the night before, and easily followed his path three or four miles down
the stream. There they found the place where he had crossed the river to
the east bank. The tracks, which were plainly visible in the new-fallen
snow, there turned southeast toward his reputed home among the caves and
gullies of Flatrock and Conn’s Creek.
The trackers hurried forward so eagerly in their pursuit that they felt
no fatigue. They found several deer, and at one time they saw at a great
distance a bear; but they did not pursue either, for their minds were
too full of the hope that they might discover the haunts of the monster
upon whose death depended, as they believed, their lives and that of
Liney Fox. When Balser and Polly reached the stony ground of Flatrock
the bear tracks began to grow indistinct, and soon they were lost
entirely among the smooth rocks from which the snow had been blown away.
The boys had, however, accomplished their purpose, for they were
convinced that they had discovered the haunts of the bear. They
carefully noticed the surrounding country, and spoke to each other of
the peculiar cliffs and trees in the neighbourhood, so that they might
remember the place when they should return. Then they found a dry little
cave wherein they kindled a fire and roasted a piece of venison which
they had taken with them. When their roast was cooked, they ate their
dinner of cold hoe-cake and venison, and then sat by the fire for an
hour to warm and rest before beginning their long, hard journey home
through the snow. Polly smoked his after-dinner pipe,—the pipe was a
hollow corn-cob with the tip of a buck’s horn for a stem,—and the two
bear hunters talked over the events of the day and discussed the coming
campaign against the Fire Bear.
“I s’pose we’ll have to hunt him by night,” said Polly. “He’s never seen
at any other time, they say.”
“Yes, we’ll have to hunt him by night,” said Balser; “but darkness will
help us in the hunt, for we can see him better at night than at any
other time, and he can’t see us as well as he could in daylight.”
“Balser, you surprise me,” answered Polly. “Have you hunted bears all
this time and don’t know that a bear can see as well after night as in
the daytime—better, maybe?”
“Maybe that’s so,” responded Balser. “I know that cats and owls can see
better by night, but I didn’t know about bears. How do you know it’s
true?”
“How do I know? Why, didn’t that there bear make a bee-line for this
place last night, and wasn’t last night as dark as the inside of a
whale, and don’t they go about at night more than in the daytime? Tell
me that. When do they steal sheep and shoats? In daytime? Tell me that.
Ain’t it always at night? Did you ever hear of a bear stealing a shoat
in the daytime? No, sirree; but they can see the littlest shoat that
ever grunted, on the darkest night,—see him and snatch him out of the
pen and get away with him quicker than you or I could, a durned sight.”
“I never tried; did you, Polly?” asked Balser.
Polly wasn’t above suspicion among those who knew him, and Balser’s
question slightly disconcerted him.
“Well, I—I—durned if that ain’t the worst fool question I ever heerd a
boy ask,” answered Polly. Then, somewhat anxious to change the
conversation, he continued:—
“What night do you propose to come down here? To-morrow night?”
“No, not for a week. Not till seven nights after to-night,” answered
Balser, mindful of the charm which he hoped Liney’s prayers would make
for him.
“Seven nights? Geminy! I’m afraid I’ll get scared of this place by that
time. I’ll bet this is an awful place at night; nothing but great chunks
of blackness in these here gullies, so thick you could cut it with a
knife. I’m not afraid now because I’m desperate. I’m so afraid of dyin’
because I saw the Fire Bear that I don’t seem to be afraid of nothin’
else.”
Polly was right. There is nothing like a counter-fear to keep a coward’s
courage up.
After they were warm and had rested, Balser and Polly went out of the
cave and took another survey of the surrounding country from the top of
the hill. They started homeward, and reached the cozy cabin on Blue
River soon after sunset, tired, hungry, and cold. A good warm supper
soon revived them, and as it had been agreed that Polly should remain at
Mr. Brent’s until after the Fire Bear hunt, they went to bed in the loft
and slept soundly till morning.
After Balser announced his determination to hunt the Fire Bear, many
persons asked him when he intended to undertake the perilous task, but
the invariable answer he gave was, that he would begin after the seventh
night from the one upon which the Fire Bear had visited Blue River. “Why
after the seventh night?” was frequently asked; but the boy would give
no other answer.
Balser had invited Tom Fox to go with him; and Tom, in addition to his
redoubtable hatchet, intended to carry his father’s gun. Polly would
take Mr. Brent’s rifle, and of course Balser would carry the greatest of
all armaments, his smooth-bore carbine. Great were the preparations made
in selecting bullets and in drying powder. Knives and hatchets were
sharpened until they were almost as keen as a razor. Many of the men and
boys of the neighbourhood volunteered to accompany Balser, but he would
take with him no one but Tom and Polly.
“Too many hunters spoil the chase,” said Balser, borrowing his thought
from the cooks and the broth maxim.
Upon the morning of the eighth day Balser went over to see Liney, and to
receive from her the precious charm redolent with forty-nine prayers
from her pure heart. When she gave it to him he said:—
“It’s a charm; I know it is.” And he held it in his hand and looked at
it affectionately. “It looks like a charm, and it feels like a charm.
Liney, I seem to feel your prayers upon it.”
“Ah! Balser, don’t say that. It sounds almost wicked. It has seemed
wicked all the time for me to try to make a charm.”
“Don’t feel that way, Liney. You didn’t try to make it. You only prayed
to God to make it, and God is good and loves to hear you pray. If He
don’t love to hear you pray, Liney, He don’t love to hear any one.”
“No, no, Balser, I’m so wicked. The night we saw the Fire Bear father
read in the Bible where it says, ‘The prayers of the wicked availeth
not.’ Oh, Balser, do you think it’s wicked to try to make a charm—that
is, to pray to God to make one?”
“No, indeed, Liney, God makes them of His own accord. He made you.” But
Liney only half understood.
The charm worked at least one spell. It made the boy braver and gave him
self-confidence.
Balser, Tom, and Polly had determined to ride down to Flatrock on
horseback, and for that purpose one of Mr. Fox’s horses and two of Mr.
Brent’s were brought into service. At three o’clock upon the famous
eighth day the three hunters started for Flatrock, and spent the night
in the vicinity of the mouth of Conn’s Creek; but they did not see the
Fire Bear. Four other expeditions were made, for Balser had no notion of
giving up the hunt, and each expedition was a failure. But the
fifth—well, I will tell you about it.
Upon the fifth expedition the boys reached Flatrock River just after
sunset. A cold drizzling rain had begun to fall, and as it fell it froze
upon the surface of the rocks. The wind blew and moaned through the
tree-tops, and the darkness was so dense it seemed heavy. The boys had
tied their horses in a cave, which they had used for the same purpose
upon former visits, and were discussing the advisability of giving up
the hunt for that night and returning home. Tom had suggested that the
rain might extinguish the Fire Bear’s fire so he could not be seen. The
theory seemed plausible. Polly thought that a bear with any sense at all
would remain at home in his cave upon such a night as that, and all
these arguments, together with the slippery condition of the earth,
which made walking among the rocks and cliffs very dangerous, induced
Balser to conclude that it was best to return to Blue River without
pursuing the hunt that night. He announced his decision, and had given
up all hope of seeing the Fire Bear upon that expedition. But they were
not to be disappointed after all, for, just as the boys were untying
their horses to return home, a terrific growl greeted their ears,
coming, it seemed, right from the mouth of the cave in which they stood.
“That’s him,” cried Polly. “I know his voice. I heerd it for one mortal
hour that night when he was a chasin’ me, and I’ll never furgit it. I’d
know it among a thousand bears. It’s him. Oh, Balser, let’s go home! For
the Lord’s sake, Balser, let’s go home! I’d rather die three months from
now than now. Three months is a long time to live, after all.”
“Polly, what on earth are you talking about? Are you crazy? Tie up your
horse at once,” said Balser. “If the bear gets away from us this time,
we’ll never have another chance at him. Quick! Quick!”
Polly’s courage was soon restored, and the horses were quickly tied
again.
Upon entering the cave a torch had been lighted, and by the light of the
torch, which Polly held, the primings of the guns were examined, knives
and hatchets were made ready for immediate use, and out the hunters
sallied in pursuit of the Fire Bear.
On account of the ice upon the rocks it was determined that Polly should
carry the torch with him. Aside from the dangers of the slippery path,
there was another reason for carrying the torch. Fire attracts the
attention of wild animals, and often prevents them from running away
from the hunter. This is especially true of deer. So Polly carried the
torch, and a fatal burden it proved to be for him. After the hunters had
emerged from the cave, they at once started toward the river, and upon
passing a little spur of the hill they beheld at a distance of two or
three hundred yards the Fire Bear, glowing like a fiery heap against the
black bank of night. He was running rapidly up the stream toward Black
Gully, which came down to the river’s edge between high cliffs. This was
the place I described to you a few pages back. Balser and Polly had seen
Black Gully before, and had noticed how dark, deep, and forbidding it
was. It had seemed to them to be a fitting place for the revels of
witches, demons, snakes, and monsters of all sorts, and they thought
surely it was haunted, if any place ever was. They feared the spot even
in the daytime.
Polly, who was ingenious with a pocket-knife, had carved out three
whistles, and in the bowl of each was a pea. These whistles produced a
shrill noise when blown upon, which could be heard at a great distance,
and each hunter carried one fastened to a string about his neck. In case
the boys should be separated, one long whistle was to be sounded for the
purpose of bringing them together; three whistles should mean that the
bear had been seen, and one short one was to be the cry for help. When
Balser saw the bear he blew a shrill blast upon his whistle to attract
the brute’s attention. The ruse produced the desired effect, for the
bear stopped. His curiosity evidently was aroused by the noise and by
the sight of the fire, and he remained standing for a moment or two
while the boys ran forward as rapidly as the slippery rocks would
permit. Soon they were within a hundred yards of the bear; then fifty,
forty, thirty, twenty. Still the Fire Bear did not move. His glowing
form stood before them like a pillar of fire, the only object that could
be seen in the darkness that surrounded him. He seemed to be the
incarnation of all that was brave and demoniac. When within twenty yards
of the bear Balser said hurriedly to his companions:—
“Halt! I’ll shoot first, and you fellows hold your fire and shoot one at
a time, after me. Don’t shoot till I tell you, and take good aim. Polly,
I’ll hold your torch when I want you to shoot.” Polly held the torch in
one hand and his gun in the other, and fear was working great havoc with
his usefulness. Balser continued: “It’s so dark we can’t see the sights
of our guns, and if we’re not careful we may all miss the bear, or still
worse, we may only wound him. Hold up the torch, Polly, so I can see the
sights of my gun.”
[Illustration: “’Now, hold up the torch, Polly.’”]
Balser’s voice seemed to attract the bear’s attention more even than did
the torch, and he pricked up his short fiery ears as if to ask, “What
are you talking about?” When Balser spoke next it was with a tongue of
fire, and the words came from his gun. The bear seemed to understand the
gun’s language better than that of Balser, for he gave forth in answer a
terrific growl of rage, and bit savagely at the wound which Balser had
inflicted. Alas! It was only a wound; for Balser’s bullet, instead of
piercing the bear’s heart, had hit him upon the hind quarters.
“I’ve only wounded him,” cried Balser, and the note of terror in his
voice seemed to create a panic in the breasts of Tom and Polly, who at
once raised their guns and fired. Of course they both missed the bear,
and before they could lower their guns the monster was upon them.
Balser was in front, and received the full force of the brute’s
ferocious charge. The boy went down under the bear’s mighty rush, and
before he had time to draw his knife, or to disengage his hatchet from
his belt, the infuriated animal was standing over him. As Balser fell
his hand caught a rough piece of soft wood which was lying upon the
ground, and with this he tried to beat the bear upon the head. The bear,
of course, hardly felt the blows which Balser dealt with the piece of
wood, and it seemed that another terrible proof was about to be given of
the fatal consequences of looking upon the Fire Bear. Tom and Polly had
both run when the bear charged, but Tom quickly came to Balser’s relief,
while Polly remained at a safe distance. The bear was reaching for
Balser’s throat, but by some fortunate chance he caught between his jaws
the piece of wood with which Balser had been vainly striking him; and
doubtless thinking that the wood was a part of Balser, the bear bit it
and shook it ferociously. When Tom came up to the scene of conflict he
struck the bear upon the head with the sharp edge of his hatchet, and
chopped out one of his eyes. The pain of the wound seemed to double the
bear’s fury, and he sprang over Balser’s prostrate form toward Tom. The
bear rose upon his haunches and faced Tom, who manfully struck at him
with his hatchet, and never thought of running. Ah! Tom was a brave one
when the necessity for bravery arose. But Tom’s courage was better than
his judgment, for in a moment he was felled to the ground by a stroke
from the bear’s paw, and the bear was standing over him, growling and
bleeding terribly. Polly had come nearer and his torch threw a ghastly
glamour over the terrible scene. As in the fight with Balser, the bear
tried to catch Tom’s throat between his jaws; but here the soft piece of
wood which Balser had grasped when he fell proved a friend indeed, for
the bear had bitten it so savagely that his teeth had been embedded in
its soft fibre, and it acted as a gag in his mouth. He could neither
open nor close his jaws. After a few frantic efforts to bite Tom, the
bear seemed to discover where the trouble was, and tried to push the
wood out of his mouth with his paws. This gave Tom a longed-for
opportunity, of which he was not slow to take advantage, and he quickly
drew himself from under the bear, rose to his feet, and ran away. In the
meantime Balser rose from the ground and reached the bear just as Tom
started to run. Balser knew by that time that he had no chance of
success in a hand-to-hand conflict with the brute. So he struck the bear
a blow upon the head with his hatchet as he passed, and followed Tom at
a very rapid speed. Balser at once determined that he and Tom and Polly
should reach a place of safety, quickly load their guns, and return to
the attack. In a moment he looked back, and saw the bear still
struggling to free his mouth from the piece of wood which had saved two
lives that night. As the bear was not pursuing them, Balser concluded to
halt; and he and Tom loaded their guns, while Polly held the torch on
high to furnish light. Polly’s feeble wits had almost fled, and he
seemed unconscious of what was going on about him. He did mechanically
whatever Balser told him to do, but his eyes had a far-away look, and it
was evident that the events of the night had paralyzed his poor, weak
brain. When the guns were loaded Balser and Tom hurried forward toward
the bear, and poor Polly followed, bearing his torch. Bang! went
Balser’s gun, and the bear rose upon his hind feet, making the cliffs
and ravines echo with his terrible growls.
“Take good aim, Tom; hold up the torch, Polly,” said Balser. “Fire!” and
the bear fell over on his back and seemed to be dead. Polly and Tom
started toward the bear, but Balser cried out: “Stop! He may not be dead
yet. We’ll give him another volley. We’ve got him now, sure, if we’re
careful.” Tom and Polly stopped, and it was fortunate for them that they
did so; for in an instant the bear was on his feet, apparently none the
worse for the ill-usage the boys had given him. The Fire Bear stood for
a little time undetermined whether to attack the boys again or to run.
After halting for a moment between two opinions, he concluded to
retreat, and with the piece of wood still in his mouth, he started at a
rapid gait toward Black Gully, a hundred yards away.
“Load, Tom; load quick. Hold the torch, Polly,” cried Balser. And again
the guns were loaded, while poor demented Polly held the torch.
The bear moved away rapidly, and in a moment the boys were following him
with loaded guns. When the brute reached the mouth of Black Gully he
entered it. Evidently his home was in that uncanny place.
“Quick, quick, Polly!” cried Balser; and within a moment after the bear
had entered Black Gully his pursuers were at the mouth of the ravine,
making ready for another attack, Balser gave a shrill blast upon his
whistle, and the bear turned for a moment, and deliberately sat down
upon his haunches not fifty yards away. The place looked so black and
dismal that the boys at first feared to enter, but soon their courage
came to their rescue, and they marched in, with Polly in the lead. The
bear moved farther up the gully toward an overhanging cliff, whose dark,
rugged outlines were faintly illumined by the light of Polly’s torch.
The jutting rocks seemed like monster faces, and the bare roots of the
trees were like the horny fingers and the bony arms of fiends. The boys
followed the bear, and when he came to a halt near the cliff and again
sat upon his haunches, it was evident that the Fire Bear’s end was near
at hand. How frightful it all appeared! There sat the Fire Bear, like a
burning demon, sullen and motionless, giving forth, every few seconds,
deep guttural growls that reverberated through the dark cavernous place.
Not a star was seen, nor a gleam of light did the overcast sky afford.
There stood poor, piteous Polly, all his senses fled and gone,
unconsciously holding his torch above his head. The light of the torch
seemed to give life to the shadows of the place, and a sense of fear
stole over Balser that he could not resist.
“Let’s shoot him again, and get out of this awful place,” said Balser.
“You bet I’m willing to get out,” said Tom, his teeth chattering,
notwithstanding his wonted courage.
“Hold the torch, Polly,” cried Balser, and Polly raised the torch. The
boys were within fifteen yards of the bear, and each took deliberate aim
and fired. The bear moaned and fell forward. Then Balser and Tom started
rapidly toward the mouth of the gully. When they had almost reached the
opening they looked back for Polly, who they thought was following them,
but there he stood where they had left him, a hundred yards behind them.
Balser called, “Polly! Polly!” but Polly did not move. Then Tom blew his
whistle, and Polly started, not toward them, alas! but toward the bear.
“Don’t go to him, Polly,” cried Balser. “He may not be dead. We’ve had
enough of him to-night, for goodness’ sake! We’ll come back to-morrow
and find him dead.” But Polly continued walking slowly toward the bear.
[Illustration: “Polly continued slowly toward the bear.”]
“Polly! Polly! Come back!” cried both the boys. But Polly by that time
was within ten feet of the bear, holding his torch and moving with the
step of one unconscious of what he was doing. A few steps more and Polly
was by the side of the terrible Fire Bear. The bear revived for a
moment, and seemed conscious that an enemy was near him. With a last
mighty effort he rose to his feet and struck Polly a blow with his paw
which felled him to the ground. When Polly fell, the Fire Bear fell upon
him, and Balser and Tom started to rescue their unfortunate friend. Then
it was that a terrible thing happened. When Polly’s torch dropped from
his hand a blue flame three or four feet in height sprang from the
ground just beyond the bear. The fire ran upon the ground for a short
distance like a serpent of flame, and shot like a flash of chain
lightning half-way up the side of the cliff. The dark, jutting
rocks—huge demon faces covered with ice—glistened in the light of the
blaze, and the place seemed to have been transformed into a veritable
genii’s cavern. The flames sank away for a moment with a low, moaning
sound, and then came up again the colour of roses and of blood. A great
rumbling noise was heard coming from the bowels of the earth, and a
tongue of fire shot twenty feet into the air. This was more than flesh
and blood could endure, and Balser and Tom ran for their lives, leaving
their poor, demented friend behind them to perish. Out the boys went
through the mouth of the gully, and across the river they sped upon the
ice. They felt the earth tremble beneath their feet, and they heard the
frightful rumbling again; then a loud explosion, like the boom of a
hundred cannons, and the country for miles around was lighted as if by
the midday sun. Then they looked back and beheld a sight which no man
could forget to the day of his death. They saw a bright red flame a
hundred yards in diameter and two hundred feet high leap from the Black
Gully above the top of the cliffs. After a moment great rocks, and
pieces of earth half as large as a house, began to fall upon every side
of them, as if a mighty volcano had burst forth; and the boys clung to
each other in fear and trembling, and felt sure that judgment day had
come.
After the rocks had ceased to fall, the boys, almost dead with fright,
walked a short distance down the river and crossed upon the ice. The
fire was still burning in the Black Gully, and there was no need of
Polly’s torch to help them see the slippery path among the rocks.
The boys soon found the cave in which the horses were stabled. They lost
no time in mounting, and quickly started home, leading between them the
horse which had been ridden by Polly. Poor Polly was never seen again.
Even after the fire in the Black Gully had receded into the bowels of
the earth whence it had come, nothing was found of his body nor that of
the Fire Bear. They had each been burned to cinder.
Many of the Blue River people did not believe that the Fire Bear derived
its fiery appearance from supernatural causes. They suggested that the
bear probably had made its bed of decayed wood containing foxfire, and
that its fur was covered with phosphorus which glowed like the light of
the firefly after night. The explosion was caused by a “pocket” of
natural gas which became ignited when Polly’s torch fell to the ground
by the side of the Fire Bear.