CHILDREN'S FOOTSTEPS AND BEARS' TRACKS--CHILDREN IN THE CUSTODY OF THE
BEARS--THE PLAN OF RESCUE--THE BOYS' PART--THE BIRD CALL--SUCCESS.
This was terrible news; and only Indians that have such perfect control
over themselves could have heard it without making an outcry. As it
was, Mustagan had to utter some warning words to maintain the perfect
silence that was desired. In a few sentences he quietly stated that the
children were not then running, and, judging by their footsteps, and the
broken branches of berry-bushes, from which they had been picking the
fruit, they were not frightened. He judged, also, from the tracks that
there were four bears, two large ones and two that were quite small.
What astonished him most of all was that the tracks were so numerous,
and seemed to say to him that both the bears and the children had
crossed and recrossed the place several times. When he made this
discovery he hid himself at once, for fear his presence might anger the
bears and cause them to destroy the children; he listened, but could
hear no sound.
After waiting quietly for a time he returned to the trail and followed
it until it entered among the dense bushes and great rocks. If the
light had not so quickly faded he could have easily followed them; as it
was, he was perplexed to know what to do. If he should come up to them
in such company, he was not sure how he would be received. So he
thought the best thing he could do was not to anger the bears, who were
evidently not disposed to hurt the children, and so he quietly withdrew
and came back to the camp.
Old hunters as they were, here was a new experience to almost every one
of them. Big Tom was the first to speak.
"My words are," said he, "that we go and tell the master and mistress at
once. It will comfort them to know the little ones are alive, even if
they are in such company. We shall yet get the children. As the bears
did not kill them at first, and there are plenty of berries, they will
not kill them soon."
To this suggestion of Big Tom's they all agreed, and immediately after
returned to the camp fire, where Mustagan, in his simple yet picturesque
way, told the story of his discovery.
The poor mother could only say:
"Thank God! He will yet restore to me my children."
Mr Ross's lips quivered, but crushing down his own fears he said, as he
comforted his sorrow-stricken wife:
"Yes, thank God! Perhaps he has made even the wild animals of the
forest to be their guardian angels."
Frank, Alec, and Sam had listened to Mustagan with bated breath. As
Alec said afterward:
"My heart seemed to stop beating while I listened."
When it came out that the bears were friendly, and not disposed to
injure the children, the lads could hardly restrain the hearty cheers
that somehow, in spite of themselves, would try to burst out.
There was no more sleep that night. As it was at least five miles to
the spot where the tracks had been discovered, the strict orders of
silence were cancelled, and soon there were noise and activity. Food
was prepared and eaten with an appetite unknown since Wenonah and
Roderick were of the happy party.
The absorbing question with Mr and Mrs Ross, in consultation with
Mustagan and Big Tom, was how they were to proceed when the morning
came.
To follow them up and rush in upon them might anger the bears, and the
children might suffer. To stalk them so quietly as to be able to get
within range and shoot the bears might terrify the children, or they
might be wounded by the bullets. There was much talking and many
suggestions. A remark from Mustagan gave Mrs Ross a hint, and so a
woman's quick intuition solved the perplexing question.
Mustagan had said that, as he carefully examined the tracks, he found
where the children had evidently filled their birch dishes with berries
and fed them to the little bears, whose many tracks had shown that, like
young dogs, they had gambolled and played around them.
Said Mrs Ross as she heard this:
"Those bears seem well disposed toward children, so the brave boys will
go on ahead with similar dishes of berries, and they will find that the
animals will rather eat the fruit than do the lads any harm."
This suggestion so delighted the boys that, without a moment's thought
of the risks they would run, they gladly consented, and were eager to
carry out the suggestion.
Mr Ross and the Indians were old bear hunters, and they could not at
first think that any such plan would be at all possible. However, think
or plan as much as they would, they found it utterly impossible to
settle on any other scheme that appeared to them either safe or
suitable. The result was that daylight found them still in perplexity,
and altogether undecided as to the correct method to adopt in this novel
expedition, so unique in all of their experiences.
Mrs Ross, however, and the boys, stuck to her suggestion, and pleaded
that it be attempted. As nothing else was suggested the Indians and Mr
Ross at length consented. However, they took many precautions to save
the lads and prevent disaster, either to them or to the children.
The preparations were soon made, even to the rogans of berries, and
heavily armed with their guns the party set out under the guidance of
Mustagan. Mrs Ross went with them, as her anxieties were so great for
the rescue of her darlings.
When within a half mile or so of the spot where the tracks had been seen
they halted, and, after some final consultation, Mustagan and Big Tom
decided to go on and see if there were any further developments. Very
cautiously and yet rapidly did they advance from covert to covert, until
they were so close to the sand of the dried-up stream that it was quite
visible to them, although they themselves were well hid from
observation.
Here for a time they waited, for they shrewdly conjectured from
Mustagan's description of the numerous tracks, crossing and recrossing,
that for the present, at least, the bears were abiding in that vicinity.
Not long had they to wait ere they were convinced of the correctness of
these conjectures, for coming out of the forest on the other side of the
dried-up stream were to be seen four bears and the two lost children.
Crouching down low on the ground, and peering through the dense bushes
behind which they were hidden, did our two Indians watch them for a
time, that they might decide on the best method of rescuing the little
ones. The wind was blowing from the bears toward the Indians, and so
there was little fear of the animals scenting danger at that distance,
which was still a good quarter of a mile away.
Why the children had remained so long with the bears was perplexing to
these hunters until the mystery was solved by the fact that was now
evident to their eyes, that the children were really prisoners and the
bears would not let them escape. As the men watched they saw Wenonah
seize Roderick's hand in hers, and, starting on a run, she tried to go
up the channel on the sands. This movement was stopped by one of the
large bears as speedily as possible by putting himself in the children's
way. Then children, still hand in hand, turned to the opposite
direction, and when trying there to escape were stopped by the other
large bear. In the meantime the little ones played around them like
lively young dogs.
Foiled in their efforts to go either up or down in the dried-up channel
of the stream, after some time spent on the sands the children and bears
came up, and, entering among the berry-bushes, began to eat of the
abundant fruit.
They were now much nearer to the Indians, and it was evident that the
young bears were looking to the children to help them in picking their
breakfast of berries.
When convinced of this the Indians' eyes brightened, and they said:
"The mistress is right; the boys will feed the young bears, and we will
shoot the old ones."
Noiselessly they withdrew from their hiding place and rejoined the rest
of the party, who had with almost feverish impatience awaited their
return. Quietly and rapidly they reported what they had seen, and then
the final preparations were made.
Quickly they all moved on, and soon were at the brow of the last hill,
from the top of which the whole of the great plain, densely covered with
the berry-bushes, could be seen, with the thread of shining sand in the
distance, already referred to.
Here on the hilltop Mr and Mrs Ross were seated behind some dense
bushes, through which they could look without creating suspicion. Then
the Indians, taking the boys along with them, started on their dangerous
course. Like panthers they moved quietly along, keeping as close to the
ground as possible, until they reached a ledge of rocks. Here the
Indians, with their guns loaded with ball, were placed, while the boys,
with nothing but their baskets of berries, in company with Mustagan went
on a little farther. Then Mustagan, giving the boys their final
instructions and charging them to keep cool and be brave, no matter what
might occur, withdrew with his gun, and hid himself behind a rock, a
little way in the rear of them.
It was an exciting time for the boys, but they had learned to have such
confidence in these grand old red men that such a thing as fear was now
about unknown in any of them, even at the most trying moments.
While there sitting they were startled by a shrill bird call from not
far behind them. They could hardly believe their ears when they found
it came from the lips of Mustagan. In a minute or two it was repeated,
and then again and again, with short intervals between.
To their surprise another bird call some hundreds of yards ahead of them
was heard, and after a time it was repeated. Then the blackbird's notes
rang out from behind, and then another note came from the front. Ere
the voice behind could again reply a solemn "Hoot-a-hoot-a-hoo" came
from the front.
For a time all was still, and then the song of the robin was heard in
front, and only a chirp was heard in the rear.
Sharp and quick was the ending.
Soon after this chirp the boys heard the bushes rustling in front of
them not fifty yards away. Then they saw in the opening the two
children, closely followed by two young bears. As the children slowly
moved along they kept plucking the berries and feeding them to the
greedy young animals. The children were ragged and sadly changed as,
from their still hidden position, the boys watched them; they could see
that Wenonah, at least, seemed to know that they must act cautiously,
and they observed that frequently she spoke to the little fellow at her
side.
It was her bird notes that had answered Mustagan. Little did they
realise, a year or so before, as he taught Wenonah these calls of the
birds and what they meant, that her very life would so soon depend upon
her knowledge of them.
Still cautiously advancing with little Roderick at her side, and both of
them feeding the little bears, she at length reached a spot where she
caught a glimpse of the boys. Without at all raising her voice she
said:
"Crouch down as well as you can and bring the berries."
This they quickly did.
"Feed these greedy young ones while I give a basket to the old ones, so
that while they are eating them we can get away."
Poor girl! She knew not of the number of guns that were now within
range of anything that would dare to harm her, and the boys were warned
not to speak.
Taking one of the baskets of berries, she quickly disappeared among the
dense bushes, while the boys, with the other full baskets, had made
friends with the young bears. When Wenonah returned, she found the
young bears were filling themselves with the fruit. So thoroughly
terrified had the children become, through fear of the bears, that
although the boys by expressive signs urged them at once to hurry in the
direction of safety and deliverance, they hesitated, and even when they
started kept fearfully looking back.
The instant they reached Mustagan he shouted to the boys to return, and
not a moment too soon, for crashing through the bushes came the two old
bears, fierce and savage, and showing that in some way they had become
suspicious of danger.
Coolly picking up the two baskets which the two young bears had upset,
the boys, keeping their faces to the fierce, savage brutes, slowly
retreated. The bears, at first only seeing the boys, came rushing
toward them, but when they reached their young ones they stopped for a
time, and then came on to attack the boys.
To the ledge of rocks Mustagan had carried the now happy children. They
had nearly smothered "dear old Mustagan," as they loved to call him,
with their kisses. Wild, indeed, were they with joy as father and
mother rushed forward and received them as from the dead. They could
only lie clinging to them while they wept out their bliss.
From it they were startled, as out rang a volley from the guns, and two
great, fierce bears rolled over each other, each shot through more than
one vital spot.
"Capture the little fellows alive!" was the cry.
And soon, after a lively chase and some sharp struggling, two four
months' old cubs were so tied up as to be unable to do any injury either
with teeth or claws.
Very anxious had the boys been during the search for the lost children.
Their only regret was that they were so powerless as to be unable to
join in the search. Very proud, however, were they to have had some
share in the exciting events of the last hours of their strange
deliverance. Tears were in their eyes and dimmed their vision as they
first saw them in the company of the wild beasts, showing by their
appearance what they must have suffered during the long days and nights
of such hardships.
The story of the children's account of their adventures and hardships
will be given in another chapter. Suffice here to say that very quickly
was the march taken up, after the half-famished little ones had been
fed, for they had had nothing but berries to eat, and, as Roderick put
it:
"Naughty bears, they kept me all the time picking berries for them."
The return to the camp on the banks at Sea River Falls, and then to
Sagasta-weekee, was soon made.
Great were the rejoicings there as well as at the mission, and at the
Hudson's Bay Company's fort, when the news of the finding of the lost
ones reached them. A special thanksgiving service was held the next
Sabbath at the mission church, at which whites and Indians from near and
far gathered, and entered heartily into the spirit of the service.