THE STRANGE WOMAN.
We are now obliged to return to the Americans' camp. As we have said,
Black and his son were mounting guard, and the pioneer was far from
easy in his mind. Although not yet possessed of all the experience
required for a desert life, the four months he had spent in fatiguing
marches and continued alarms had endowed him with a certain degree
of vigilance, which, under existing circumstances, might prove very
useful; not, perhaps, to prevent an attack, but, at least, to repulse
it. The situation of his camp was, besides, excellent; for from it he
surveyed the prairie for a great distance, and could easily perceive
the approach of an enemy.
Father and son were seated by the fire, rising from time to time, in
turn, to cast glances over the desert, and assure themselves that
nothing menaced their tranquillity. Black was a man gifted with an iron
will and a lion's courage; hitherto his schemes had been unsuccessful,
and he had sworn to make himself an honourable position, no matter at
what cost.
He was the descendant of an old family of squatters. The squatter being
an individuality peculiar to America, and vainly sought elsewhere, we
will describe him as he is, in a few words. On the lands belonging to
the United States, not yet cleared or put up for sale, large numbers
of persons have settled, with the desire of eventually _purchasing_
their lots. These inhabitants are called squatters. We will not say
that they are the pick of the western emigrants, but we know that,
in certain districts, they have constituted themselves a regular
Government, and have elected magistrates to watch over the execution
of the Draconian laws they have themselves laid down to insure the
tranquillity of the territories they have invaded. But by the side of
these quasi-honest squatters, who bow their necks beneath a yoke that
is often harsh, there is another class of squatters, who understand
the possession of land in its widest sense; that is to say, whenever
they discover, in their vagabond peregrinations, a tract of land that
suits them, they instal themselves there without any further inquiry,
and caring nothing for the rightful owner, who, when he arrives with
his labourers to till his estate, is quite annoyed to find it is in the
hands of an individual who, trusting to the axiom that possession is
nine points of the law, refuses to give it up, and if he insist, drives
him away by means of his rifle and revolver.
We know a capital story of a gentleman, who, starting from New York
with two hundred labourers, to clear a virgin forest he had purchased
some ten years previously, and never turned to any use, found, on
arriving at his claim, a town of four thousand souls built on the site
of his virgin forest, of which not a tree remained. After numberless
discussions, the said gentleman esteemed himself very fortunate in
being able to depart with a whole skin, and without paying damages to
his despoilers, whom he had momentarily hoped to oust. But there is no
more chance of ousting a squatter, than you can get a dollar out of a
Yankee, when he has once pocketed it.
John Black belonged to the former of the two classes we have described.
When he reached the age of twenty, his father gave him an axe, a rifle
with twenty charges of powder, and a bowie knife, saying to him--
"Listen, boy. You are now tall and strong; it would be a shame for you
to remain longer a burden on me. I have your two brothers to support.
America is large; there is no want of land. Go in God's name, and
never let me hear of you again. With the weapons I give you, and the
education you have received, your fortune will soon be made, if you
like: before all, avoid all disagreeable disputes, and try not to be
hanged."
After this affectionate address, the father tenderly embraced his son,
put him out of the cabin, and slammed the door in his face. From that
moment John Black had never heard of his father--it is true that he
never tried to obtain any news about him.
Life had been rough to him at the outset; but owing to his character,
and a certain elasticity of principle, the sole inheritance his family
had given him, he had contrived to gain a livelihood, and bring up his
children without any great privations. Either through the isolation in
which he had passed his youth, or for some other reason we are ignorant
of, Black adored his wife and children, and would not have parted from
them on any account. When fatality compelled him to give up the farm he
occupied, and look for another, he set out gaily, sustained by the love
of his family, no member of which was ungrateful for the sacrifices he
imposed on himself; and he had resolved to go this time so far, that
no one would ever come to dispossess him, for he had been obliged to
surrender his farm to its legitimate proprietor, which he had done on
the mere exhibition of the title deeds, without dreaming of resistance
--a conduct which had been greatly blamed by all his neighbours.
Black wished to see his family happy, and watched over it with the
jealous tenderness of a hen for its chicks. Thus, on this evening,
an extreme alarm had preyed on him, though he could not explain the
cause: the disappearance of the Indians did not seem to him natural;
everything around was too calm, the silence of the desert too profound:
he could not remain at any one spot, and, in spite of his son's
remarks, rose every moment to take a look over the intrenchments.
William felt for his father a great affection, mingled with respect:
the state in which he saw him vexed him the more, because there was
nothing to account for his extraordinary restlessness.
"Good gracious, father!" he said, "do not trouble yourself so much; it
really causes me pain to see you in such a state. Do you suppose that
the Indians would have attacked us by such a moonlight as this? Look,
objects can be distinguished as in broad day; I am certain you might
even read the Bible by the silvery rays."
"You are right for the present moment, Will. The Redskins are too
crafty to face our rifles during the moonshine; but in an hour the moon
will have set, and the darkness will then protect them sufficiently to
allow them to reach the foot of the barricade unnoticed."
"Do not imagine they will attempt it, my dear father! Those red devils
have seen us sufficiently close to know that they can only expect a
volley of bullets from us."
"Hum! I am not of your opinion; our beasts would be riches to them: I
do not wish to abandon them, as we should then be compelled to return
to the plantations to procure others, which would be most disagreeable,
you will allow."
"It is true; but we shall not be reduced to that extremity."
"May Heaven grant it, my boy; but do you hear nothing?"
The young man listened attentively.
"No," he said, at the end of a moment.
The emigrant proceeded with a sigh: "I visited the river bank this
morning, and I have rarely seen a spot better suited for a settlement.
The virgin forest that extends behind us would supply excellent
firewood, without reckoning the magnificent planks to be obtained from
it: there are several hundred acres around, which, from their proximity
to the water, would produce, I am certain, excellent crops."
"Would you feel inclined to settle here, then?"
"Have you any objection?"
"I--none at all! provided we can live and work together. I care little
at what place we stop: this spot appears to me as good as another, and
it is far enough from the settlements to prevent our being turned out,
at least for a great number of years."
"That is exactly my view."
At this moment a gentle quivering ran along the tall grass.
"This time I am certain I am not mistaken," the emigrant exclaimed; "I
heard something."
"And I too!" the young man said, rising quickly, and seizing his rifle.
The two men hurried to the entrenchments, but they saw nothing of a
suspicious nature: the prairie was still perfectly calm.
"'Tis some wild beast going down to drink, or returning," Will said, to
reassure his father.
"No, no," the latter replied, with a shake of the head; "it is not the
noise made by any animal--it was the echo of a man's footfall, I am
convinced."
"The simplest way is to go and see."
"Come then."
The two men resolutely climbed over the intrenchments, and with rifles
outstretched, went round the camp, carefully searching the bushes, and
assuring themselves that no foe lurked in them.
"Well!" they exclaimed, when they met.
"Nothing--and you?"
"Nothing."
"It is strange," John Black muttered, "and yet the noise was very
distinct."
"That is true; but I repeat, father, that it was nothing but an animal
leaping somewhere near. In a night so calm as this, the slightest sound
is heard for a great distance; besides, we are now certain that no one
is concealed near us."
"Let us go back," the emigrant said, thoughtfully. They began climbing
over the entrenchments; but both stopped suddenly, by mutual agreement,
hardly checking a cry of amazement, almost of terror. They had just
perceived a human being, whose outline it was impossible to trace at
such a distance, crouched over the fire.
"This time I will have it out," the emigrant exclaimed, taking a
prodigious bound into the camp.
"And I, too," his son murmured, as he followed his example.
But when they came opposite their strange visitor, their surprise
was redoubled. In spite of themselves, they stopped to gaze on the
stranger, without thinking to ask how he had entered their camp, and by
what right he had done so.
As far as they could form a judgment, they soon began to consider
the extraordinary being before them--a woman; but years, the mode of
life she led, and perchance cares, had furrowed her face with such a
multitude of cross hatchings, that it was impossible to conjecture her
age, or whether she had formerly been lovely. The large black eyes,
surmounted by thick brows crossing her curved nose, and deep sunk,
flashed with a gloomy fire; her salient and empurpled cheekbones, her
large mouth studded with dazzling teeth, and her thin lips and square
chin, gave her at first an appearance which was far from arousing
sympathy and exciting confidence; while her long black hair, matted
with leaves and grass, fell in disorder on her shoulders. She wore a
costume more suited for a man than a woman. It was composed of a long
robe of buffalo hide, with short sleeves, fastened on the hips by a
girdle bedizened with beads. This robe had the skirt fringed with
feathers, and only came down to the knee. Her _mitasses_ were fastened
round the ankles, and reached slightly above the knee, where they were
held up by garters of buffalo hide. Her _humpis_ or slippers were plain
and unornamented. She wore iron rings on her wrist, two or three bead
collars round her neck, and earrings. From her girdle hung on one side
a powder flask, an axe, and a bowie knife; on the other, a bullet pouch
and a long Indian pipe. Across her knees lay a rather handsome gun, of
English manufacture.
She was crouching over the fire, which she gazed at fixedly, with her
chin on the palm of her hand.
On the arrival of the Americans, she did not rise, and did not even
appear to notice their presence. After examining her attentively for
some time, Black walked up, and, tapping her on the shoulder, said--
"You are welcome, woman; it seems as if you were cold, and the fire
does not displease you."
She slowly raised her head on feeling the touch, and, fixing on her
questioner a gloomy glance, in which it was easy to perceive a slight
wildness, she replied in English, in a hollow voice, and with guttural
accent--
"The Palefaces are mad; they ever think themselves in their towns; they
forget that in the prairie the trees have ears and the leaves eyes to
see and hear all that is done. The Blackfeet Indians raise their hair
very skilfully."
The two men looked at each other on hearing these words, whose meaning
they were afraid to guess, though they seemed somewhat obscure.
"Are you hungry? Will you eat?" John Black continued, "or is it thirst
that troubles you? I can, if you like, give you a good draught of
firewater to warm you."
The woman frowned.
"Fire-water is good for Indian squaws," she said, "what good would it
do me to drink it? Others will come who will soon dispose of it. Do you
know how many hours you still have to live?"
The emigrant shuddered, in spite of himself at this species of menace.
"Why speak to me thus?" he asked; "have you any cause of complaint
against me?"
"I care little," she continued. "I am not among the living, since my
heart is dead."
She turned her head in every direction with a slow and solemn movement,
while carefully examining the country.
"Stay," she continued, pointing with her lean arm to a mound of grass a
short distance off, "'twas there he fell--'tis there he rests. His head
was cleft asunder by an axe during his sleep--poor James! This spot is
ill-omened: do you not know it? The vultures and the crows alone stay
here at long intervals. Why, then, have you come here? Are you weary of
life? Do you hear them? They are approaching; they will soon be here."
Father and son exchanged a glance.
"She is mad. Poor creature!" Black muttered.
"Yes; that is what they all say on the prairies," she exclaimed, with
some accusation in her voice. "They call me _Ohucahauck Chiké_ (the
evil one of the earth), because they fear me as their evil genius. You,
also, fancy me mad, eh? ah! ah! ah!"
She burst into a strident laugh, which ended in a sob; she buried
her face in her hands, and wept. The two men felt awed in spite of
themselves; this strange grief, these incoherent words, all aroused
their interest in favour of this poor creature, who appeared so
unhappy. Pity was at work in their hearts, and they regarded her
silently without daring to disturb her. In a few moments she raised her
head, passed the back of her hand over her eyes to dry them, and spoke
again. The wild expression had disappeared; the very sound of her voice
was no longer the same; as if by enchantment, a complete change had
taken place in her.
"Pardon," she said mournfully, "the extravagant words I have uttered.
The solitude in which I live, and the heavy burden of woe which has
crushed me so long, at times trouble my reason; and then the place
where we now stand reminds me of terrible scenes, whose cruel memory
will never be erased from my mind."
"Madam, I assure you--," John Black continued, not knowing what he
said, so great was his surprise.
"Now the fit has passed away." She interrupted him with a gentle
and melancholy smile, which gave her countenance a very different
expression from that the Americans had hitherto remarked; "I have been
following you for the last two days to come to your help; the Redskins
are preparing to attack you--"
The two men shuddered: and, forgetting all else to think only of the
pressing danger, they cast a restless glance around them.
"You know it?" Black exclaimed.
"I know all," she answered; "but reassure yourselves. You have still
two hours ere their horrible war cry will sound in your ears; that is
more than enough to render you safe."
"Oh! we have good rifles and keen sight," said William, clutching his
weapon in his nervous hands.
"What can four rifles, however good they may be, do against two or
three hundred tigers thirsting for blood, like those you will have to
fight? You do not know the Redskins, young man."
"That is true," he answered; "but what is to be done?"
"Seek a refuge?--where find help in these immense solitudes?" the
father added, casting a despairing glance around him.
"Did I not tell you I wished to help you?" she said, sharply.
"Yes; you told us so; but I try in vain to detect of what use you can
be to us."
She smiled a melancholy smile.
"It is your good angel that brought you to the spot where you now are.
While I was watching you all the day, I trembled lest you might not
encamp here. Come!"
The two men, surprised by the ascendancy this strange creature had
gained over them in a few minutes, followed her without reply. After
walking about a dozen steps, she stopped, and turned toward them.
"Look," she said, stretching out her thin arm in a north-west
direction, "your enemies are there, scarce two leagues off, buried in
the tall grass. I have heard their plans, and was present at their
council, though they little suspected it. They are only waiting for the
moon to set, ere they attack you. You have scarce an hour left."
"My poor wife!" Black murmured.
"It is impossible for me to save you all: to fancy it would be madness;
but I can, if you wish it, attempt to save your wife and daughter from
the fate that menaces them."
"Speak! speak!"
"This tree, at the foot of which we are now standing, although
apparently possessing all the vigour of youth, is internally hollow,
so that only the bark stands upright. Your wife and daughter, supplied
with some provisions, will get into the tree and remain there in safety
till the danger has passed away. As for ourselves--"
"As for us," Black quickly interrupted her, "we are men accustomed to
danger: our fate is in the hands of God."
"Good; but do not despair: all is not lost yet."
The American shook his head.
"As you said yourself, what can four men do against a legion of demons
like those who menace us? But that is not the question of the moment. I
do not see the hole by which my wife and daughter can enter the tree."
"It is twenty to twenty-four feet up, hidden among the branches and
leaves."
"The Lord be praised! they will be sheltered."
"Yes; but make haste and warn them, while your son and I make all the
preparations."
Black, convinced of the necessity of haste, ran off, while the stranger
and William constructed, with that dexterity produced by the approach
of danger, a species of handy ladder, by which the two women could not
merely ascend the tree, but go down into the cavity. Black waked the
ladies, and called the servants; in a few words he explained to them
what was passing; then, loading his wife and daughter with provisions,
furs, and other indispensable objects, he led them to the spot where
the stranger was expecting them.
"This is my most precious treasure," Black said; "if I save it, I shall
be solely indebted to you."
The two ladies began thanking their mysterious protectress; but she
imposed silence on them by a peremptory gesture.
"Presently, presently," she said; "if we escape, we shall have plenty
of time for mutual congratulations; but at this moment we have
something more important to do than exchange compliments. We must get
into a place of safety."
The two ladies fell back, quite repulsed by this rough reception, while
casting a curious and almost alarmed glance on the strange creature.
But the latter, perfectly stoical, seemed to notice nothing. She
explained in a few clear words the means she had found to conceal them:
recommended them to remain silent in the hollow tree, and then ordered
them to mount. The two ladies, after embracing Black and his son, began
resolutely ascending the rungs of the improvised ladder. They reached
in a few seconds an enormous branch, on which they stopped, by the
orders of the stranger. Black then threw down into the interior of the
tree the furs and provisions, after which the ladder was placed inside,
and the ladies glided through the hole.
"We leave you the ladder, which is useless to us," the stranger then
said. "But be very careful not to come out till you have seen me again;
the least imprudence, under the circumstances, might cost your lives.
However, keep your minds at rest. Your imprisonment will not be long, a
few hours at the most: so be of good cheer."
The ladies once again tried to express their gratitude; but, without
listening, the stranger made Black a sign to follow her, and rapidly
descended from the tree. Aided by the Americans, she then began
removing every trace that might have revealed where the ladies were
bestowed. When the stranger had assured herself, by a final glance,
that all was in order, and nothing could betray those who were so
famously hidden, she sighed, and followed by the two men, walked to the
intrenchments.
"Now," she said, "let us watch attentively around us, for these demons
will probably crawl close up in the shadows. You are free and honest
Americans, show these accursed Indians what you can do."
"Let them come!" Black muttered hoarsely.
"They will soon do so," she replied, and pointed to several almost
imperceptible black dots, which, however, grew larger, and were
evidently approaching the encampment.