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Transcriber's note:
Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
[Illustration: _Front._ ZAC WINS THE PIG-RACE.--P. 57]
UNCLE JOE'S STORIES
by
THE RIGHT HON. E. H. KNATCHBULL-HUGESSEN, M.P.
With Illustrations by Ernest Griset
London
George Routledge and Sons
Broadway, Ludgate Hill
New York: 416 Broome Street
1879
CONTENTS.
PAGE
UNCLE JOE 1
ZAC'S BRIDE 40
EVELYN WITH THE FAIRIES 106
CAT AND DOG 183
OPHELIA 223
THE CRONES OF MERSHAM 285
TO ALL NAUGHTY CHILDREN
(IF THERE BE ANY SUCH LEFT IN ENGLAND)
This Book
IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED.
MY DEAR CHILDREN--
Yes--you are "dear," and will be very "dear" to your parents and
friends if you continue to be naughty. I dedicate this little book to
you because I have been told (though it is scarcely possible to believe
it) that I was once a naughty child myself. If it be true, it was a
_very_ long time ago; and then there were not nearly so many pretty
"children's books" as there are now, so I had not the same chance as
you have of knowing how much best it is to be good. As soon as I found
this out, I began to be good directly, and now I advise you all to do
the same.
Whilst you are thinking how to manage it, you cannot do better than
read a few stories about Fairies, Pigmies, Witches, and such-like
interesting creatures. In these stories you will find that the good
people always come out right at last, and the naughty people get into
the most disagreeable scrapes. Well, this is just the same with
creatures who are not Fairies nor Pigmies, nor anything of the sort. So
as soon as you have read these stories--or even before doing so if you
can--leave off being naughty and be good as fast as possible. By so
doing you will make everybody about you happy, will become more and
more happy yourselves, and will show that Fairy stories are really of
some use. In this case we must have another book next year, and
meanwhile I remain your affectionate friend,
E. H. KNATCHBULL-HUGESSEN.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
ZACK WINS THE PIG-RACE (_Zac's Bride_) 57
EVELYN MEETS THE FAIRIES (_Evelyn with the Fairies_) 122
THE CAT'S LAST MUSIC-LESSON (_Cat and Dog_) 212
END OF FAMCRAM (_Ophelia_) 280
MARY AND BILLY MEET THE CRONES (_The Crones of Mersham_) 305
SIMPLE STEENIE AND THE GRAY MAN ON THE STROLL (_The Crones
of Mersham_) 344
PREFACE.
I had almost made up my mind to write no more Fairy Tales, to let
sprites and elves alone for ever, and to refrain from any further
research into the dark and mysterious doings of warlocks and witches
in the olden time. But fate is stronger than the will of man, and I
am powerless to resist the influences brought to induce--nay, to
compel--me to alter my determination. It is not only that verbal and
written requests have come to me from many quarters which it is
difficult to resist; it is not only that I am tired of being asked when
my new book is coming out, and of being generally disbelieved when I
answer "never." There is a stronger influence still. Fairies and elves
have an extraordinary power which they exercise over those who have
once sought to pry into their mysteries. If once you have dealings with
such creatures, you can rarely, if ever, leave them. There is a
fatality which urges you on--an irresistible fascination in the subject
which brings you back to it again and again, and obliges you to recur
to it in spite of yourself. When I walk out in the woods, or ramble
through the fields alone, the objects which appear ordinary and
commonplace to people who have, unhappily for themselves, neglected to
study Fairy Lore, bear to me quite a different appearance. I see traces
of the little beings which are not visible to the careless, still less
to the unbelieving eye. I hear voices which are inaudible to the ear
of the incredulous; and even without this, Fancy--free, glorious
Fancy--clothes the grass, the flowers, the bushes, the trees, with a
beauty of her own, and peoples every fairy haunt with a spirit company.
Is it only Fancy? Ah! that is just what nobody knows. Only how could I
tell so many different stories if nobody told them to me first?
That is a question I should like people to put to themselves calmly and
quietly, and if they think, after full consideration, that some person
or persons must have told me these curious stories, I hope they will
come to the conclusion that I am only doing what is right and fair in
passing them on to other people, so that the world may know as much as
I do about the strange and wonderful beings to whom these stories
relate.
UNCLE JOE'S STORIES.
UNCLE JOE.
I do not think that I ever met so extraordinary a man as Uncle Joe in
all my life. We children were all very fond of him, because he had an
inexhaustible supply of stories, and those, too, of a kind which are
especially popular with children. He had exciting stories of almost
every sort: of thrilling adventures by land and sea, of captures by
pirates, hair-breadth escapes from Red Indians; fearful conflicts with
robbers; terrible struggles with wild animals; and strange encounters
with sea-serpents or similarly wonderful creatures. Then he knew an
immense deal about giants and dwarfs, witches and wizards, ogres and
vampires, and he also possessed no little insight into all that
concerned fairies and fairy-land. He could tell of the little sea fairy
that rode on the crest of the wave, basking pleasantly when the sun
shone down on a calm still ocean, and shrieking madly with frenzied
delight when the winds lashed the waves into fury, and carried her
forward on the great flakes of snow-like foam; of the fairy who looked
after some particular house or family, and always appeared to warn them
of danger just at the right moment, or to disclose a buried treasure,
exactly in time to save them from ruin; and of the happy little
woodland fairies, who are to be found in the deep glades and dark
ravines of the wild forest, and about whom such innumerable legends
have from time to time been written by some of those fortunate mortals
who have visited and been aided by them in time of sickness or danger,
and who have in gratitude chronicled their power.
Nothing delighted Uncle Joe so much as to tell one of his charming
stories to us, eager listeners as we always were. He liked to get one
child on each knee, and to have the others clustering round as near as
possible, and then he would start off and go on just for all the world
as if he was only reading from a book.
Looking back now, with the calmer judgment of riper years, I hardly
know which was most wonderful, the unlimited power of invention of
Uncle Joe, or the boundless credulity of us children. Because no man
could by any possibility have gone through half the wonderful
adventures of which he pretended to have been the hero, if he had lived
to twice the ordinary age of man, and kept on searching for adventures
all the time. Besides, it would have been five hundred to one against
his escaping every time, as Uncle Joe always did, "by the skin o' his
teeth."
Once he was tied to the stake, and just going to be scalped by the
Indians, when some miraculous thing (I forget what at this moment)
occurred to save him; once he was in the very coils of an enormous
snake, and was yet preserved; and at another time, he was actually
swallowed by a crocodile, (I am sure I don't know how he got down its
throat without a disabling nip from some of those teeth which I have
noticed in the mouths of stuffed crocodiles in museums,) and escaped by
means of employing his penknife in a manner too disagreeable to
describe. In short, there never was a man who, according to his own
account, had gone through such a series of remarkable adventures as
Uncle Joe, and I am therefore quite justified in pronouncing him to
have been a most extraordinary man.
I have never discovered what really was Uncle Joe's profession or
occupation. For anything I know, he may have been a soldier, a sailor,
or a horse-marine; though, for the matter of that, I have so little
conception of what may be the duties of persons engaged in the latter
profession, that I should dispute the claims of nobody who averred that
he had belonged to it. All I know is, that he wore a blue coat with
brass buttons, had a hooked nose and a bright eye, and only possessed
one arm; the other I solemnly declare I have heard him state, on
different occasions, to have been shot off in battle, lost in saving
life from a shipwreck, when it got jammed between two planks of the
sinking ship, and bitten off by a tiger, under circumstances the
details of which I do not happen to remember--it was gone, however,
anyhow, was that left-arm of Uncle Joe's, and its loss must have had
this great consolation, that it furnished a foundation upon which he
built many a romance, pleasing to himself, and interesting to his
listeners.
He had been a mighty traveller, had Uncle Joe. From Canada to the
farthest extremity of South America, from Constantinople to Hong-Kong,
from the Straits of Gibraltar to the Cape, all was familiar to him;
whilst, as to continental Europe, there seemed to be no hole or corner
which he had not explored. England was like his own house to him; that
is to say, he knew every county and town in one as well as he knew
every room in the other. In fact, to hear him talk on these subjects,
you never would for a moment have guessed that which was the real
truth, namely, that he had never been further from England than Paris,
and had been so particularly ill in crossing the channel that nothing
but the fear of the laughter of his friends, coupled with his total and
entire ignorance of the French language, prevented his settling in
France for the rest of his life, sooner than again undergo the ordeal
of that terrible passage.
Happily for us children, (for this occurred before we were at the age
of story-hearing, or indeed at any age at all,) he _did_ face the
channel once more, and never sought to tempt it again. But all this I
only learned many years after, and during the whole of the early
portion of my life, I (in common, I am sure, with the great majority of
his acquaintance) set Uncle Joe down as a man who had seen more of the
world than most living men, and knew more of the geography of foreign
lands, as well as of the customs and manners of their inhabitants, than
anyone whom I ordinarily met.
With all this sin, if sin it be, of exaggeration, (one wishes to use a
mild word in speaking of a relative,) Uncle Joe's virtues greatly
predominated over any defects which he may have possessed. He was
good-natured to a fault--forgiving beyond most men--tender-hearted--a
faithful friend--and full of sympathy for the woes and sorrows of
others. I believe he lost a large sum of money in early life by
becoming surety for some one whom he thought to be a friend, and who
turned out to be an arrant scoundrel. Anyhow, he was far from rich, and
was not one of those uncles who have always got a sovereign ready for a
nephew going to school, or for spending at the confectioner's, if he
comes to see a young relative during school-time. Still, Uncle Joe was
the most popular of all our relations so far as the public opinion of
the school-room was concerned, and every juvenile heart rejoiced when
we were told that he was coming to spend Christmas at our home.
Upon one occasion he was expected to arrive upon the day before
Christmas Eve, and we were all greatly delighted at the prospect. Fanny
and Kitty, my two eldest sisters, were looking forward with much
pleasure to the visits to the school-room which Uncle Joe always paid
about tea-time, not only on account of the stories we were sure to
hear, but because it was so very amusing to see the violent efforts
which Miss Crinkles, the governess, used to make in order to avoid
going into fits of laughter at some of our uncle's jokes, and the
entire--though only temporary--loss of dignity which followed her
inevitable failure to keep her countenance. Tom and Gerald and I (Harry
is my name, and I was about twelve at the time of this story) were
equally interested, and little Lucy and Mary were employed for several
days beforehand in putting on their dolls' best dresses, that they
might be in a fit state to receive this honoured relation.
Well, the day before Christmas Eve came--as it always comes every year,
if you only look out for it--and our hearts beat high with expectation
of Uncle Joe. But no Uncle Joe appeared at luncheon time (he often
turned up about that time) and when tea-time had arrived, the hoped-for
visit was not paid. Presently the dressing-bell rang, half-an-hour
before dinner, and still no Uncle Joe. Even my father began to fidget
now, and to wonder where the expected guest could be, and my mother
became positively uneasy. If there was one thing rather than another
about which our uncle was particular, it was the important point of
being in time for dinner. The reason he always gave for this
particularity was his sense of the unfairness to the cook which was
occasioned by unpunctuality. No cook, he said, could contend against
it, and you had no right to expect a good dinner unless you were ready
to eat it at the hour for which it had been ordered.
The knowledge of this opinion on the part of Uncle Joe, and of the
firmness--not to say obstinacy--with which he always maintained
it--increased the uneasiness of my parents as the dinner hour grew
nearer and nearer without his appearance, and when half-past seven
arrived, and still no Uncle Joe, matters were held to be so serious
that messengers were despatched in several directions to make inquiries
whether anything had been heard or seen of the expected visitor. It was
fortunate that this step was taken, because otherwise there exists a
violent probability that this story might never have been told, and we
children should have had to mourn over the loss of our favourite
relative.
Uncle Joe was found lying by the roadside, barely a mile from our gate,
at a spot where a path ran parallel with the road, but some twelve feet
above it. His head was bruised and his left-arm broken, and, when
found, he was insensible. There was snow on the ground: it had frozen
during the day, and, about seven o'clock, light flakes of snow had
begun to fall again, so that if my poor uncle had lain where he was
much longer, he would either have been covered with snow, or frozen,
and could in no case have come well out of the business. His story was,
that, finding that he was at the station, some five miles off, in good
time, he thought he would walk over to our house and have his
portmanteau sent for from thence.
Some two miles from home there stood (and still stands) a convenient
public-house by the road-side, bearing the respectable sign of "The
Duke's Head," a staring picture of the head and shoulders of a man,
displaying the prominent nose and distinctive features of the great
Duke of Wellington, swinging gaily in front of the said inn. I believe
it is a very old inn, and was originally named after the great Duke of
Marlborough, and if England ever has another "great" Duke, I do not
doubt that _his_ picture will replace the present one, and the sign
will do equally well for _him_.
At this hostelry, said Uncle Joe, he had pulled up to have a glass of
hot brandy-and-water to cheer him on his way, and remembered to have
observed several rough-looking characters hanging about the place at
the time. He journeyed on, and at the spot at which he was found had
been attacked by three foot-pads, whom he declared that he had resisted
stoutly, but a blow with a short stick delivered by one of them had
felled him to the earth with a broken arm, while he had been rendered
insensible by a similar blow upon the head. The robbers seemed to have
had some object other than that of mere plunder, for although Uncle Joe
declared that they had taken all his money but half-a-crown, which was
found in his waistcoat-pocket, yet it was so seldom that he had much
more cash about him, that no one imagined that the robbers' booty could
have been great, whilst they had left his big silver watch and chain
untouched, and also the large old-fashioned silver pencil-case, which
he always carried about with him. This he attributed to the
stubbornness of his resistance, which had made the thieves glad to get
away from the neighbourhood of so desperate a fellow as quickly as
possible.
They were never traced, and as the snow soon afterwards came on more
heavily, their footsteps could have been scarcely seen after the space
of a very short time, and no one could tell in which direction they had
fled. There were some people, indeed, who winked their eyes wickedly,
and laid their fore-finger waggishly against the side of their noses
whenever allusion was made to the attack upon Uncle Joe. They were
unkind enough to declare that our good relative's story was true enough
up to the time of his stopping at the "Duke's Head," but that at that
point he had quitted the limits of strict veracity. They pretended to
have the authority of the landlord of that highly respectable inn for
the fact, that Uncle Joe, soon after six o'clock, came in and had, not
one glass, but three good "stiff" tumblers of brandy-and-water before
resuming his journey. They further maintained that he had gone on
merrily for a while after this, but that it had had sufficient effect
upon him to have rendered it very desirable that he should have kept in
the road instead of following the pathway above it. Choosing the
latter, however, he had lost his equilibrium at the spot near which he
was found, tumbled down the steep bank into the road, and in this
manner received the injuries to head and arm which he had undoubtedly
sustained. The landlord, moreover, said these unbelievers, indignantly
denied that any "rough-looking characters" had been near his house upon
that day, and declared that the only people there at or about the time
of Uncle Joe's visit were some Christmas ringers and singers preparing
for, or proceeding with, their visits to the neighbouring villages,
with the view of exchanging carols and hymns for pence and half-pence
wherever they found Christian people ready for such a transaction.
These reports and doubts, however, about Uncle Joe's misfortune never
reached us children at the time, and, if they had, we should not for a
moment have attached the smallest weight to them. In our eyes the
matter was one which placed our esteemed relative still higher in the
rank of heroes to which our childish thoughts had long since raised
him. Nor were we frightened at the idea of foot-pads or highwaymen
having suddenly made their unwonted appearance in our happy and
tranquil neighbourhood. It seemed to us only natural that curious and
unusual things should attend Uncle Joe wherever he went, and it was
with him and his life, and not with our home and its surroundings, that
we connected the circumstance of this new feature in the locality.
However, the truth or falsehood of the story mattered little to us, so
long as we had got our uncle safe and sound after all. There he was,
and there he continued for several weeks; for a broken head and arm
required attention, and he was nowhere so likely to receive it as at
our house. During this long visit we saw more of Uncle Joe than we had
ever done before, and it soon became an established practice that,
after our tea and before dressing-time, he should narrate to us some of
those wonderful stories of which I have spoken.
One of these I will relate, as nearly as possible in the words of my
revered uncle, in order that my readers may be able to imagine the kind
of way in which all his stories were told. But the other tales which I
propose to chronicle I will tell after a different fashion, relating
the substance of Uncle Joe's narrative, but leaving out the personal
allusions to his own prowess with which it was embellished. Those who
read have only to imagine that in the chief personage in every story
they discern Uncle Joe, and they will easily discover the little
alterations which I have thought it well to make in order to vary the
form of each tale. The one which I am now going to tell was a favourite
one with us boys, but the girls did not like so much killing, and
rather thought Uncle Joe must have been a more cruel man in the days
when these adventures happened to him than at the time he recounted
them. Since then I have read a great many books from the pen of Cooper,
Captain Mayne Reid, and Gustave Aimard, all dealing with the doings of
Red Indians, their subtlety, their treachery, their implacable revenge,
and other pleasing characteristics, and I have often thought that Uncle
Joe must have intended a parody upon some of their most stirring
recitals of Indian adventure in the following story. But, most
certainly, he told it as having happened to himself, and threw so much
vehemence into his manner of telling it, that we children never for a
moment doubted that such was the case.
I remember quite well the day he first told it to us; and how intensely
interested in it we all were. He began it at tea-time: I think he liked
to tell his most extraordinary and unlikely stories at tea-time for the
benefit of Miss Crinkles, and I sometimes wonder that the questions she
occasionally asked him did not create a suspicion in our minds that
there was some doubt as to the truth of some of his facts. But no such
suspicion, as far as I can recollect, ever dawned upon our childish
imaginations, and the only result of Miss Crinkles' questions was to
imbue us with increased awe and respect for our uncle, whom even our
governess could not readily understand without asking for further
information. It was, I say, at tea-time that this story was begun, and,
I think, finished. One of us boys had expressed a great desire to hear
of some Indian adventures, and Uncle Joe, ever ready to oblige, at once
commenced the following narrative, perhaps one of the least likely of
the many marvellous tales with which he ever favoured us.
"It was during the time which I passed in America that some of the
strangest and wildest adventures of my life happened. Perhaps none of
these was more remarkable than that which I am about to relate to you,
and indeed I question whether many people exist who have ever
encountered an adventure so extraordinary. I had roamed some way
through the dense forest, far from any human habitation, accompanied
only by my faithful dog "Jumbo," a magnificent Cuban bloodhound, who
never left my side, and was the cleverest as well as the bravest animal
I ever possessed. I had with me my trusty double-barrelled rifle, a
revolver, and a hunting-knife, and had for many days depended for my
supply of food upon my skill as a marksman. I remember that it was a
lovely day, and as the dense foliage of the woods protected me from the
heat of the sun, I rambled on and on in pleasant and listless security
for many a mile. At length it happened that I approached a large tree,
standing rather apart from its forest companions, and conspicuous not
only by the size of its trunk, but by the magnificent limbs which it
threw out on every side. I was already within a few yards of this tree
when I observed something which caused me to stand still and gaze upon
it before I advanced further. One large branch hung across my line of
march, and in a few seconds I should have passed immediately beneath
it; but it was something in connection with this very branch which
arrested my footsteps. The day was perfectly calm and still; not a
breath of wind was to be perceived, and yet I fancied that I saw the
leaves with which this branch was thickly covered, tremble and rustle
just as if a breeze was blowing through them. As I stood wondering what
could be the cause of this strange occurrence, and doubtful whether or
not to proceed, my doubts were cleared away in a manner more alarming
than agreeable. Suddenly I perceived, rearing itself among the leaves,
the hideous head of a gigantic snake. In another instant, whether to
re-arrange its position or for what other reason I know not, the
reptile dropped down from the branch to the length of some three or
four feet, and swing for a moment or two like the pendulum of a clock,
from the branch around which its tail and part of its body remained
curled. I could not tell how long or large it might be, but I saw quite
sufficient to assure me that it was a snake of very great size, and I
shuddered to think of my possible fate had I passed beneath the branch
in ignorance of its terrible tenant.
"I hastily retraced my steps for a few yards, and passing the tree at
some little distance, determined to quit the neighbourhood of so
dangerous a creature. The tree upon which it had taken up its position
was upon the side of a somewhat steep hill, and it so happened that I
had walked some way along the said hill very much lower down, and was
now working my way back in a line parallel to my previous passage.
"I had not gone many yards beyond the snake's tree, before the manner
of my dog attracted my attention. He threw up his head, sniffed the air
uneasily, and then gave vent to a low whine which, from previous
experience, I knew full well to betoken the presence of danger. At the
same moment, listening with eager attention, and with an acuteness of
hearing which those only possess who live such a life of wild,
dangerous activity as mine was at that time, I fancied that I heard the
cracking of a stick under the foot of man. It seemed to be at some
distance off, and apparently far below where I was standing. The trees
were too thick to enable me to see far, but creeping forward a little,
and standing on the trunk of a fallen tree, I endeavoured to look down
the hill as much as the fall of the ground permitted. It so happened
that there was a space of ground somewhat less thickly surrounded by
trees than the rest of the forest, over which I had passed in my
previous journey, and it was upon this space that I looked, being many
feet above it. You may imagine my feelings when I caught sight of an
Indian, fully armed and decked in his war-paint, just crossing this
space, and evidently examining the ground before him with the greatest
care. I should have thought but little of this, indeed, but for that
which followed. He crossed the space, and immediately after him came
nine of his companions, horrible-looking creatures, travelling in
single file and closely following in their leader's footsteps. Horror
of horrors! they were upon my track. I knew it but too well! there was
I, alone in the wild forest, with no less than ten deadly foes after
me, whose object undoubtedly was to take my life, and not improbably
with some of those tortures with which Indians delight to amuse
themselves at the expense of their captives.
"Now I happened to have a decided preference for living, if I could,
and, if I _must_ die, for dying in a respectable manner. The idea
of having my scalp torn from my head, and hung up in the wigwam of a
wild savage, was extremely repugnant to me, and I determined at once to
avoid such an unpleasant catastrophe if I possibly could. The question
was, however, as to the best way in which this could be accomplished.
If I pushed on through the forest, it could not be long before these
enemies, hardy and used to the woods, and animated with their savage
desire for my life, would overtake me, when, perhaps, I might be too
fatigued to offer any real resistance. If I stood firm where I was,
what could I hope to do against ten men? If, on the other hand, I
assumed a friendly air and advanced to meet them, I knew their
treacherous nature too well to harbour for an instant the thought that
they would treat me otherwise than as a captive taken in war. Indeed,
should it be otherwise, my best fate would probably be to be obliged to
join their tribe, very likely to marry several very unpleasant squaws,
and to drag out my weary existence far away from scenes into which
christianity or civilisation had penetrated. My aim, then, must be to
escape from the clutches of these savages by some method or another,
and I was indeed puzzled what to do. I had not much time to deliberate,
and after a moment's thought, I decided to lie down flat behind the
trunk of the tree on which I had been standing, and calmly await the
event. I looked carefully to my rifle and revolver, both of which I
ascertained to be loaded and ready for action, I bid my brave Jumbo lie
down at my feet, which the intelligent animal immediately did,
crouching quite close to the fallen tree, and then, having so disposed
my body that I could see under one of the branches of the tree, and
watch the approach of my enemies, I remained still and hoped for the
best. It seemed to me hours before they came near. In reality it could
not have been much more than half an hour, for the spot at which I had
seen them could have been barely three miles, even by the zig-zag line
which I had followed, and as I, having had no suspicion of the presence
of a foe, had taken no precaution to conceal my track, they were not
delayed in their pursuit by any trouble in discovering my footsteps. On
they came, steadily and silently, and I saw them from my hiding-place
rapidly approaching me. The foremost Indian had already arrived at the
spot from which I had gazed at the overhanging branch and its fearful
occupant, and stopped for an instant at the place where my footsteps
ended, evidently puzzled as to what I had done, and where I had gone
from that point.
"Not long, however, did he hesitate, but, casting a glance right and
left, moved rapidly forward towards the tree, to discover whether any
traces were to be found in that direction. Three or four of his rapid,
noiseless strides brought him beneath the fatal branch: enemy as he
was, I longed to warn him, despite the danger to myself, but it was
more than I dared venture to do, and in another instant it was too
late. With sudden and awful rapidity the snake darted downwards from
the branch and struck the unfortunate wretch--a piercing yell rang
through the woods, but the victim cried in vain. Encircled by the coils
of the mighty reptile, his doom was sealed beyond hope, and I turned my
head from the horrible sight of the last struggles of my miserable foe.
His companions rushed hastily back as they saw their leader's fate, and
I earnestly hoped that this misfortune would have induced them to
desist from their pursuit. It was not so, however, but after the lapse
of a few moments only, I saw them making casts like hounds directed by
a huntsman, and presently they discovered the place where I had turned
aside, and came eagerly forward on my track. There was no time to be
lost: they were little more than twenty yards from my tree, and I had a
full view of them. Nine more savage-looking rascals you never saw.
Their war-paint made them appear even more ugly than nature had made
them, although that was somewhat difficult. Only three of them carried
rifles, the rest being armed, as far as I could see, only with
tomahawks and hunting-knives. They were evidently "braves," or
warriors, all of them, and by their appearance and the expression upon
their faces, I felt very sure that they were in that excited state that
my chance of mercy would be but small if I should be so unfortunate as
to fall into their hands. I determined, therefore, to act with vigour
and decision, and, if the worst came to the worst, to sell my life
dearly at all events. When, therefore, my enemies were barely fifteen
yards from me, I suddenly sprang to my feet, uttering at the same time
the loudest and most outlandish howl I could command, by way of a
war-cry, which Jumbo echoed by a bark more like the roar of a lion than
the sound made by an ordinary dog. As I had expected, this sudden
movement on my part took the Indians entirely by surprise, and caused
them to come to a halt on the instant. Whilst they were thus stationary
I fired both barrels of my rifle as quickly as possible, selecting as
their object two of those who had firearms in their hands. The foremost
man threw up his arms and dropped like a log, whilst the bullet of the
second barrel, fired somewhat hastily, only struck an Indian in the
shoulder. Scarcely waiting, however, to see the result, I had no sooner
fired than I bounded down the hill, reloading as fast as I could, and
closely followed by the faithful Jumbo. The Indians, disconcerted by
the suddenness of my appearance and attack, stood still for a moment
without any effort to pursue me. Not long, however, was this the case,
for a wild yell of anger and revenge rang through the air, and I knew
that my relentless foes were again upon my track. I did not run far,
for being expert at loading, my rifle was soon ready, and I well knew
that all depended upon my speedy and effective use of the trusty
weapon. Not fifty yards from the spot whence I had fired my first shot,
I reached an open space, across which I bounded like a deer, and placed
myself behind a large tree upon the further side. A few seconds after,
and the enemy rushed into the space, and at a glance I perceived that
there were only seven. My shots, then, had both told! Inspirited by
this good fortune, I felt my nerves grow steadier on the instant, and
as the foremost savage bounded towards me, I fired upon him with deadly
effect. He fell; and his six comrades immediately sought shelter in the
bushes, but not before the shot from my second barrel reduced their
number to five. Without an instant's delay, I darted down the hill
again, at the base of which flowed a stream which I desired to reach,
hoping to find some place on the opposite bank where I might make a
stand. But my pursuers, grown wise by experience, no longer followed me
together, but, spreading out right and left ran silently yet swiftly
towards me. Full well did I know that they would do so, and that I must
use every stratagem within my power if I desired to escape with my
life.
"Accordingly, after I had gone a short distance, I seized the branch
of a tree, and swung myself up as quietly and quickly as I could,
motioning to Jumbo with my hand to continue his course, which the
clever animal did for some little way, and then stopped. It fell out as
I had hoped. Presently a light footstep came nearer and nearer to the
tree upon which I sat, and an Indian, creeping softly forward, stole
actually within three yards of the spot. He passed me and went silently
forward for a few steps, when again the report of my rifle rang through
the woods, and I had but four foemen to contend with. But I knew only
too well the risk I had run in order thus to diminish their number.
_I was no longer certain that all my enemies were behind me._ All I
_did_ know was, that four active, unwounded, ferocious men were
somewhere near at hand, thirsting for my blood, and that I had but my
rifle and my trusty hound to depend on to save me from their clutches.
"I remained perfectly still, not venturing even to reload my rifle, and
listened with an eagerness which became agony. Not a sound could I hear
of any sort or description. The Indians had evidently become alive to
their danger, and were employing all the cunning of their race in order
to avoid their own destruction and compass mine. Jumbo also was
certainly aware that he had a part to play, and was in all probability
lying still until I should summon him to my side. The suspense was
awful, and all the more so as I knew perfectly well that a false
move--or perhaps any move at all--might be fatal to my hopes of escape.
"How long this state of things endured I can hardly tell you, for my
nerves were strung to that tension that I could take no account of
time. It might have been, for aught I knew, five minutes or five hours,
but probably the former is more nearly correct. As soon as I had shot
the last Indian, I had drawn myself back to the thickest part of the
branch on which I sat, and believed that I was invisible to the eyes of
anyone below. I soon discovered my mistake, however, and that in a
manner which very nearly put an end to me and my adventure together. As
I waited anxiously for the next scene in this exciting drama, I
suddenly felt my hunting cap struck from my head, whilst the sound of a
rifle-shot rang unpleasantly near to my ears: a bullet had passed
through my cap within an inch of my head!
"One of the Indians had certainly caught sight of me, and, aiming from
some hiding-place hard by, had fired the shot which had so nearly
proved fatal.
"Of course it would have been sheer madness to remain where I was for
one moment longer, for another shot might, and probably would, prove
more successful. Quick as lightning the thought flashed through my
brain, that my only chance was to deceive my enemy into the belief that
he had accomplished his purpose. Accordingly, in an instant I dropped
heavily to the ground. Fortunately I had no great distance to fall, and
as I did so, I kept my rifle clasped closely to my breast. It happened
as I had anticipated, and even better than I had ventured to hope, for
the next moment all four of my foes came rushing through the wood from
different points, the man who had fired brandishing his rifle over his
head as he approached. He was within three or four yards of me when I
sprang suddenly to my feet, and fired directly into his breast, with
the natural result of checking his career for ever. No sooner had I
fired than I rushed again down the hill at full speed, calling to my
hound as I ran.
"The three remaining Indians did not stop with their slain friend for
an instant, but, incensed beyond measure at his death and the success
of my stratagem, followed me at best speed, much too closely to be
pleasant. I determined, however, to reach and cross the stream if
possible, and made every effort to do so. There was a small space
nearly clear of trees and bushes between the edge of the wood and the
stream, beyond which the wood again stretched away far and wide. I
reached this space, and was within a couple of yards of the stream when
my foes were upon me. Fearing that they might take me at disadvantage,
I turned and suddenly confronted them--three horrid looking ruffians
they were--their eyes gleaming with fury, and their appearance
altogether enough to frighten any civilised person out of his wits.
"When I turned they were four or five yards from me--most fortunately
none of them had firearms, not having stayed their pursuit to pick up
the rifles of their deceased companions--each of them, however, had his
tomahawk, and each hurled it at my head as I turned to face them.
Dropping suddenly on one knee, I was fortunate enough to escape these
weapons, which all whizzed harmlessly over my head: the three men were,
however, close at hand, and I had no time to escape them. At this
moment, however, I recollected an old trick of which I had read
somewhere or other, and which I instantly resolved to put in practice.
Rising from my knee, I rushed to meet one of the Indians, and as he
furiously came upon me, I suddenly stooped quite low, evaded the blow
which he struck over me, and seizing him by both ankles, lifted him by
sheer muscular strength over myself, so that he fell with great
violence upon his head several yards behind me, carried forward by the
force of his own weight and impetus. The other two were so confused at
this occurrence, that they lost the single moment in which they might
have struck me a deadly blow without the possibility of my warding it
off. The next moment Jumbo sprang upon one of them, whilst I confronted
the other.
"My first object was to seize the wrist of the hand which held his
hunting knife. I had no time to draw my own, and my only hope was to
deprive my enemy of his weapon. In an instant we closed and grappled
furiously. I kept firm hold of his wrist, however, well knowing that
this was my safety. After a short struggle we rolled on the ground
together, and the Indian's hand coming in contact with something hard,
he dropped the fatal knife. We were now upon more equal terms, but
still there were many chances against me. My foe was a tall, brawny,
muscular man, a hardy son of the woods, and, like myself, now fighting
for his life. Never shall I forget that moment. In the midst of that
terrible struggle, when I was putting forth all my strength and
concentrating every effort in order to gain the mastery, the pleasant
meadows of dear old England came up in a vision, as it were, before my
eyes, and familiar home scenes flashed like lightning across my sight.
I redoubled my efforts, but the savage had succeeded in grasping my
throat with one of his hands, and it was with the greatest difficulty I
could draw my breath. My eyes seemed to grow dull and heavy, there was
the roar of ten thousand surges in my ears, my temples throbbed as if
they would burst, and I felt creeping over me a terrible sensation of
despair, which I shall never forget whilst I have power to remember
anything.
"All at once there came upon my hearing the sound as of a short, sharp
roar of fury--the Indian's grasp was loosened--my sight came back to
me, again I heard, I recovered consciousness just sufficiently to see
my faithful Jumbo with his mighty teeth fixed in the throat of my dying
enemy, and then I sank back in a dead faint.
"How long I remained in this state it is impossible for me to say. I
was awakened by a soft, cooling sensation on my forehead, and opening
my eyes, regained sufficient consciousness to be aware that an Indian
maiden was bathing my feverish brow with cold water from the
neighbouring stream, whilst my dog, usually so ferocious, was couched
near, regarding her with friendly eyes, and evidently quite aware that
she was performing a kindly office, and was not to be interrupted. I
strove to speak; but my benefactress forbade me with an expressive
gesture, placing her finger lightly upon my lips.
"'White broder no speak,' she said, in the low guttural accents of her
race; 'no open him lips. Silence berry good. Talkee hurt.'
"I was too confused and, I hope, too grateful to disobey, and remained
perfectly quiet whilst the maiden continued her interesting occupation
for several minutes, during which time I had an opportunity of
attentively observing her. She was certainly one of the loveliest--nay,
_the_ loveliest of Indian maidens. Although she had not quite as
many clothes on as an European damsel would consider necessary, their
absence only served to disclose the perfect symmetry of her form, the
graceful rounding of her limbs, and the natural dignity of her every
movement. Her eyes, large and soft as those of the gazelle, were
fringed with the most magnificent eye-lashes you can imagine, and when
she cast them down, she presented an ideal of female modesty and
refinement, which could not be surpassed by the most fashionable young
lady that ever graced a London drawing-room. When she smiled, her face
lighted up like that of a lovely child when, just awakened, it sees the
loving face of its mother bending over it, and, in a word, purity,
innocence, and natural beauty seemed all concentrated in the form,
features, and expression of this child of the woods. Such at least was
the thought which occupied my breast as I lay still and gazed upon the
gentle being who was ministering to my wants in so agreeable a manner,
and I think I could have stayed in the same position some time longer
without any great desire to move. But, after a little while, the maiden
ceased to bathe my brow, and addressing me in the same tones as before,
said, 'White broder sit up now. Him better. Him no die dis time.' I
mechanically obeyed, sat up, and felt much better already. In fact,
there was no reason why I should not be so, for, save and except the
exertion and excitement which I had undergone, and the near approach to
strangulation from which Jumbo had providentially saved me, I had
really received no bodily injury. It really seems a strange thing to
look back upon, but here had been ten men against one poor wayfarer,
and yet the ten had perished, and he was left alive. I did not think,
however, of looking back at that moment; my thoughts were fixed upon my
new friend: who or what was she,--where did she come from,--could she
possibly be one of the tribe who had been upon my trail? If so, why
did she not kill and scalp me whilst I lay senseless on the ground?
Horrible thought! my head seemed to feel the knife, and I could fancy
the awful wrench with which one's scalp would go; but I had no need for
such thoughts. My scalp was safe and sound, and the maiden evidently
could not belong to my enemies. The only way to find out the truth
about her was to ask, so, adopting my style to her own, I began without
loss of time.
"'My sister very good;--kind to poor white broder. Where my sister come
from? How she happen to be in woods? Is she far from her home? And what
my sister's name?'
"The girl laughed, and looked down upon the ground as she replied at
once:
"'White broder ask many questions. Pale-face always much talkee.
Moon-eye not tell eberything. No good too much talkee.'
"I doubted what to say next. I had gained one piece of information
certainly, since the damsel evidently referred to herself as 'Moon-eye,'
which was undoubtedly an appropriate name for her, and had been given
by someone who was no bad judge of eyes in general, and hers in
particular. But I wanted to know a great deal more, whilst at the same
time I was anxious not to appear rude or inquisitive. So I remained
silent for a little while, when presently she rose to her feet and
addressed me in the following words:
"'Pale-face broder come now. "Moon-eye" show way.'
"I obeyed without hesitation, and prepared to go wherever she led, for
in fact I had no alternative. It was very unlikely that the girl was
alone in the forest, and if not, the eyes and ears of her friends might
even at this moment be within sight and hearing, in which case my
policy, as well as my inclination, would be to appear to be upon the
best possible terms with her, and to approach them in her company and
under her guidance. I felt somewhat weak when I attempted to walk, but
as it was only weakness, I knew it would soon pass away, and so said
nothing, but quietly followed my guide. She walked down to the little
stream before mentioned, then turned along its bank and proceeded for
several hundred yards until she came to a place where the water was so
shallow as to enable us easily to wade over, which we did, and plunged
into the woods on the other side. By this time, I thought I might as
well try to get a little more conversation out of my friend, and
therefore accosted her with some ordinary question, but she immediately
turned round and, placing her finger on her lips, said, in a voice so
low as to be little more than a whisper:
"'No talkee--enemy in woods. Moon-eye prisoner once. No want catchee
again.'
"For the first time the truth now dawned upon me, and I understood the
reason of the exceeding kindness bestowed upon me by the Indian damsel,
which I had previously attributed either to her own natural humanity,
or to admiration for my noble and prepossessing appearance. But, as I
afterwards discovered,'Moon-eye' had been carried off from her tribe by
a party of thieving Indians, who, in order to elude pursuit, had
divided in their journey, ten of them being entrusted with the captive
maiden. While passing through this part of the woods, they had struck
my trail, and, seeing it to be recent, had left the prisoner bound, and
hastily followed, intending to finish me off before they continued
their journey. Fortunately for me it had turned out otherwise, but it
might not have been fortunate for 'Moon-eye' had she not succeeded in
freeing herself from the bonds in which she had been left. They must
have been less carefully tied than most Indian fastenings that I have
seen; but I fancy the girl had rather deceived her captors by
pretending to go with them more willingly than was really the case, and
perchance a desire to avoid injuring her in any way had induced the
Indians to fasten her less tightly and securely than they might
otherwise have done. Anyhow, she contrived to get loose, and also to
find her way to the spot where I lay senseless, and where, as we have
seen, she treated me with a care and tenderness which I little expected
to encounter in the depth of the forest.