BALDY BICKNELL was a hunter and trapper who, at the time we bring him
to the notice of the reader, had spent something over ten years among
the mountains and prairies of the West.
He was a brave, skillful hunter, who had been engaged in many
desperate affrays with the red-skins, and who, in addition to the loss
of the hair upon the crown of his head, bore many other mementos on
his person of the wild and dangerous life that he had led.
Like most of his class, he was a restless being, constantly flitting
back and forth between the frontier towns and the western wilds. He
never went further east than St. Louis, while his wanderings, on more
than one occasion, had led him beyond the Rocky Mountains.
One autumn he reached the Yellowstone, near the head of navigation,
just as a small trading propeller was descending the stream. As much
from the novelty of the thing, as anything else, he rode on board,
with his horse, with the intention of completing his journey east by
water.
On board the steamer he first met Ethan Hopkins and Mickey McSquizzle,
who had spent ten years in California, in a vain hunt for gold, and
were now returning to their homes, thoroughly disgusted with the
country, its inhabitants and mineral resources.
Baldy was attracted to them by their peculiarities of manner; but it
is not probable that anything further would have resulted from this
accidental meeting, but for a most startling and unforeseen
occurrence.
While still in the upper waters of the Yellowstone, the steamer
exploded her boiler, making a complete wreck of the boat and its
contents. The hunter, with the others, was thrown into the water, but
was so bruised and injured that he found it impossible to swim, and he
would assuredly have been drowned but for the timely assistance of his
two acquaintances.
Neither the Yankee nor Irishman were hurt in the least, and both
falling near the trapper, they instantly perceived his helplessness
and came to his rescue. Both were excellent swimmers, and had no
difficulty in saving him.
'Do ye rist aisy!' said Mickey, as he saw the hunter's face contorted
with pain, as he vainly struggled in the water, 'and it's ourselves
that 'll take the good care of yees jist.'
'Stop yer confounded floundering,' admonished Hopkins; 'it won't do no
good, and there ain't no necessity for it.'
One of them took the arm upon one side, and the other the same upon
the opposite side, and struck out for the shore. The poor trapper
realized his dire extremity, and remained motionless while they towed
him along.
'Aisy jist-aiey now!' admonished Mickey: 'ye're in a bad fix; but by
the blessin' of Heaven we'll do the fair thing wid yees. We understand
the science of swimmin', and--'
At that moment some drowning wretch caught the foot of the Irishman,
and he was instantly drawn under water, out of sight.
Neither Hopkins nor Baldy lost presence of mind in this fearful
moment, but continued their progress toward shore, as though nothing
of the kind had happened.
As for the Irishman, his situation for the time was exceedingly
critical. The man who had clutched his foot did so with the grasp of a
drowning man; in their struggle both went to the bottom of the river
together. Here, by a furious effort, Mickey shook him free, and coming
to the surface, struck out again for the suffering hunter.
'It is sorry I am that I was compelled to leave yees behind,' he
muttered, glancing over his shoulder in search of the poor fellow from
whom he had just freed himself; 'but yees are past helpin', and so
it's maeself that must attend to the poor gentleman ahead.'
Striking powerfully out, he soon came beside his friends again and
took the drooping arm of Baldy Bicknell.
'Be yees sufferin' to a great extent?' inquired the kind-hearted
Irishman, looking at the white face of the silent hunter.
'Got a purty good whack over the back,' he replied, between his
compressed lips, as he forced back all expression of pain.
''Ye'll be aisier when we fotch ye to the land, as me uncle obsarved
whin he hauled the big fish ashore that was thrashing his line to
pieces jist.'
'Twon't take you long to git over it,' added Hopkins, anxious to give
his grain of consolation; 'you look, now, like quite a healthy young
man.'
The current was quite rapid, and it was no light labor to tow the
helpless hunter ashore; but the two friends succeeded, and at length
drew him out upon the land and stretched him upon the sward.
The exertion of keeping their charge afloat, and breasting the current
at the same time, carried them a considerable distance downstream, and
they landed perhaps an eighth of a mile below where the main body of
shivering wretches were congregated.
'Do yees feel aisy?' inquired Mickey, when the hunter had been laid
upon the grass, beneath some overhanging bushes.
'Yes, I'll soon git over it but woofh! that thar war a whack of the
biggest kind I got. It has made me powerful weak.'
'What might it have been naow!' inquired Hopkins.
'Can't say, fust thing I know'd, I didn't know nothin', remember suthin'
took me back the head, and the next thing I kerwholloped in the
water.'
The three men had lost everything except what was on their bodies when
the catastrophe occurred. Their horses were gone, and they hadn't a
gun between them; nothing but two revolvers, and about a half dozen
charges for each.
Of the twenty odd who were upon the steamer at the time of the
explosion, nearly one-half were killed; they sinking to the bottom
almost as suddenly as the wrecked steamer, of which not a single trace
now remained.
The survivors made their way to land, reaching it a short distance
below their starting-point, and here they assembled, to commiserate
with each other upon their hapless lot and determine how they were to
reach home.
Our three friends had remained upon shore about half an hour, the two
waiting for the third to recover, when the latter raised himself upon
his elbow in the attitude of listening. At the same time he waved his
hand for the others to hold their peace.
A moment later he said:
'I
hear Injins.''
'Begorrah! where bees the same?' demanded Mickey, starting to his
feet, while Ethan gazed alarmedly about.
'Jist take a squint up the river, and tell me ef they ain't pitchin'
into the poor critters thar.'
Through the sheltering trees and undergrowth, which partly protected
them, the two men gazed up-stream. To their horror, they saw fully
fifty Indians massacring the survivors of the wreck, whooping,
screeching and yelling like demons, while their poor victims were
vainly endeavoring to escape them.
'Begorrah, now, but that looks bad!' exclaimed the Irishman. 'Be the
same towken, what is it that we can do?'
'Jerusalem! They'll be sure to pay us a visit. I'll be gumtued if they
won't,' added the Yankee, in some trepidation, as he cowered down
again by the side of the hunter, and said to him in a lower Voice:
'The worst of it is, we haven't got a gun atwixt us. Of course we
shall stick by you if we have to lose our heads fur it. But don't you
think they'll pay us a visit?'
'Like 'noughtin',' was the indifferent reply of the hunter, as he laid
his head back again, as if tired of listening to the tumult.
'Can't we do anything to get you out of danger!'
'Can't see that you kin; you two fellers have done me a good turn in
gittin' me ashore, so jist leave me yere, and it don't make no
difference about me one way or t'other, Ef I hear 'em comin' I'll jist
roll into the water and go under in that style.'
'May the Howly Vargin niver smile upon us if we dissart you in this
extremity,' was the reply of the fervent-hearted Irishman.
'And by the jumpin' jingo! if we was consarnedly mean enough to do it,
there ain't no need of it.'
As the Yankee spoke, he ran down to the river, and walking out a short
distance, caught a log drifting by and drew it in.
'Naow, Mr. Baldy, or Mr. Bicknell, as you call yourself, we'll all
three git hold of that and float down the river till we git beyond
fear of the savages.'
The plan was a good one, and the hunter so expressed himself. With
some help he managed to crawl to the river bank, where one arm was
placed over the log, in such a manner that he could easily float,
without any danger of sinking.
'Keep as close to shore as you kin,' he said, as they were about
shoving off.
'We can go faster in the middle,' said Hopkins.
'But the reds'll see us, and it'll be all up then.'
This was the warning of prudence, and it was heeded.