The young hunters now laid aside their guns, drew their knives, and
skinned the cimmarons with the dexterity of practised "killers." They
then cut up the meat, so as the more conveniently to transport it to
their camp. The skins they did not care for; so these were suffered to
remain on the ground where they had been thrown.
As soon as the "mutton" was quartered, each shouldered a piece, and
commenced carrying it toward the ravine, intending to return and bring
the rest at another load or two. On reaching the point where the path
came up on the table, they saw that it would be difficult for them to
descend with their burdens--as it is more easy to climb a precipice than
to get down one. Another plan suggested itself; and that was, to pitch
the pieces down before them to the bottom of the ravine. This they
could accomplish without difficulty. It would do the meat no harm--as
they intended to cut it up for jerking--and they could easily wash out
the dirt and gravel at the spring, when they had got it all there.
This plan was at once adopted; and, taking up piece by piece they flung
them down the chasm, and could see them lying among the rocks at the
bottom. They then went back to the carcasses, took up fresh loads, and
returned with them to the ravine.
As they stepped forward to fling them over, a sight met their eyes that
caused each one to drop his load upon the spot. Down near the bottom of
the ravine, and moving among the pieces of meat, was a hideous object--a
huge and ill-shaped animal. Its great size--its long shaggy hair and
greyish brown colour--but, above all, its fierce aspect, left no doubt
upon the minds of our hunters as to what sort of animal it was. There
was no mistaking the dreaded monster of the mountains--the _grizzly
bear_!
It was nearly twice the size of the common bear; and it differed from
the latter in other respects. Its ears were more erect; its eyes, of
burnt sienna colour, looked more fiery and glaring; its head and muzzle
were broader--giving it an appearance of greater boldness and strength--
and its long crescent-shaped claws, protruding from the shaggy covering
of its feet, could be distinctly seen from the top of the cliff. With
these it had just torn one of the pieces of mutton into smaller
fragments, and was eagerly devouring it as the boys arrived on the
height above. It was so busily engaged that it did not notice them.
All three, as we have said, dropped their loads on the ground; and,
after pausing for a moment to look down, ran precipitately back for
their guns. These they got hold of, and examined with care, looking to
their caps and nipples. They had already loaded them, before commencing
to skin the cimmarons. They now stole cautiously back to the ravine,
and again looked over its edge. To their consternation, _not one bear,
but three of these horrid animals_ were busy with the meat below! One
was smaller than either of the others, and differed from them in colour.
It was quite black; and might have passed for a full-grown bear of the
black species. It was not that, however; but a large cub, of which the
other two were the parents.
All three were tearing away at the fresh meat, evidently in high glee,
and not caring to consider whence such a windfall had come, so long as
they were getting the benefit of it. They occasionally uttered loud
snorts--as if to express their gratification--and at intervals the old
male one growled as the cub interfered with his eating. The female, on
the contrary, as she tore the mutton into fragments, kept placing the
daintiest morsels before the snout of her black progeny; and with
playful strokes of her paw admonished it from time to time to fall to
and eat. Sometimes they ate standing erect, and holding the meat
between their fore-paws. At others they would place the piece upon a
rock, and devour it at their leisure. Their jaws and claws were red
with the blood--that still remained in the hastily-butchered meat--and
this added to the ferocious aspect of the trio.
Our adventurers gazed down upon the scene with feelings of the utmost
terror; and no wonder. They had heard such stories of the grizzly bear,
as would have inspired stouter hearts than theirs with feelings of the
kind. They knew that no hunter, when dismounted, ever dares to attack
this animal; and, even when on horseback and armed with his trusty
rifle, he will only venture to do so when the ground is open, and he is
sure of escape through the fleetness of his horse. They knew that
hunters, even when in large parties, are often chased by a single bear
of this kind, after each of them had given him a shot; for as many as
twenty bullets have been fired into the body of a grizzly bear without
bringing him to the ground. All these facts came into the minds of our
boy hunters at the moment. No wonder they felt fear.
They were in a most perilous situation. The bears occupied the ravine.
There was no other path by which they could get down to their horses.
They had gone almost quite round the butte in their morning search.
They had seen that it was precipitous on all sides, and they had since
observed that the space between the ravine and their point of starting
was the same. How, then, were they to get back to camp? There was no
way but one--_down_ the ravine--and the bears would be certain to attack
them should they attempt to descend that way.
The boys gazed at each other with terrified looks, repeating what they
had to say in muttered whispers. All three well understood the danger
of their position. Would the bears, after they had satisfied their
hunger, go off and leave the ravine? No. The cave, which had been
noticed, was their lair, beyond a doubt. Even if they should enter it,
what certainty was there that they would not rush out upon the boys as
they were clambering down? If so, they would easily overcome the latter
among the loose rocks and bushes. One or all would fall a sacrifice
should they attempt to descend. Might the bears not go out upon the
plain? Perhaps they might go out as far as the spring, either for
water, or led by some other want. But even so, they would then be able
to see the hunters coming down, and could easily overtake them before
the latter could reach the camp, or their horses. The horses had been
set loose, and were now a good distance off upon the prairie. There was
but little consolation in this thought, and less in that which occurred
to them next; which was that the fierce brutes might not be satisfied at
what they had eaten, but might take it into their heads to clamber up to
the summit in search of more! This apprehension was the most fearful of
all--as the boys knew that there was no place upon the table where they
could long conceal themselves; and to get down, if once discovered and
pursued, would be utterly impossible.
Filled with these appalling thoughts, they crouched upon their hands and
knees, now peering cautiously through the leaves of the aloes, and now
whispering to each other the various plans of escape that suggested
themselves. But all these plans ended in the faint hope that the bears
might make a temporary absence from the ravine, and give them a chance
to pass down. They could think of no other mode of extricating
themselves from their dilemma.
At times the idea occurred to Basil, of taking good aim, and firing at
one or other of the huge animals. Francois applauded this idea, while
Lucien as strongly opposed it. The latter argued that it would only
irritate the bears, and bring them up at once--that there was no chance
of killing any of them by a single bullet, unless it passed through the
brain or the heart; and this, aiming, as they must do, over a cliff, was
a very problematical affair. Even should one fall, the others would
avenge the death of their comrade. A volley would not be likely to kill
them all.
Lucien's arguments prevailed; and the less prudent brothers gave up
their idea of firing, and remained, silently gazing down as before.
They lay for nearly half-an-hour watching and waiting. The bears
finished their meal, having devoured every bit of the meat. Were they
satisfied? No. A shoulder of mutton is but a morsel to the ravenous
appetite of a grizzly bear; and it seemed only to have set theirs upon
edge. They guessed whence their lunch had come--from above--and there
was the place to go in search of their dinner. They looked up. The
boys suddenly drew back their heads, hiding them behind the leaves. It
was too late. The bears had seen them, and the next moment were
galloping upward!
The first thought of our hunters was to fly, and with this intention
they all sprang to their feet. But Basil, with a feeling of rage, was
determined to try whether a rifle-bullet might not serve as a check to
the advancing enemy. He levelled down the pass, and fired. His
brothers, seeing him do so, followed his example--Francois emptying both
barrels that had been loaded with buck-shot. One of the bears--the cub
it was--tumbled back down the ravine but after the volley the largest of
all was seen clambering up, growling fiercely as he came. The hunters,
not having time to reload, ran off over the table--scarcely knowing what
direction to take.
When they had got half-way across it, all three stopped and looked back.
The foremost bear was just rising above the cliff; and the next moment
his long body was stretched out in pursuit of them. They had been in
hopes that the pieces of meat might have attracted his attention, and
drawn him aside. This did not happen. The meat was not directly upon
his path; moreover, the animal appeared infuriated as he approached. He
had been stung by the shot, and was bent upon revenge.
It was a terrible moment. The angry monster was within three hundred
yards of them. In a few seconds he would be upon them, and one or the
other must become his victim.
In crises like these, bold minds are the most apt to conceive
expedients. So it was with that of Basil. On other occasions he was
rash and often imprudent, but in moments of extreme danger he became
cool and collected, even more so than his philosophic brother, Lucien.
A thought, which hitherto had strangely been overlooked both by himself
and his brothers, now in the hour of peril came into his mind. He
remembered that the grizzly bear is _not a tree-climber_! With the
thought he shouted out,--
"To the trees! to the trees!" at the same time embracing one of the
pines, and sprawling upwards as fast as he could climb.
Both Lucien and Francois imitated his example, each taking to the tree
that grew nearest him--for the bear was not twenty paces behind them,
and there was no time to pick and choose. Before the latter could come
up, however, all three were perched in the pines, as high among the
branches as they could safely get.
The bear galloped forward, and seeing where they had gone, ran from tree
to tree, growling with rage and disappointment. He rose upon his
hind-legs, and endeavoured to reach the lowermost branches with his
fore-paws--as if he intended to draw himself up, or drag the tree down.
One by one he assailed the pines, shaking them with violence, and with
his claws making the bark fly off in large pieces. One in particular--
that upon which Francois had taken refuge--being a small tree, vibrated
so rapidly under the powerful efforts of the brute, that its occupant
was in danger of being dashed to the ground. But the fear of such an
event caused Francois to put forth all his energies; and, encouraged by
the shouts of Basil and Lucien, he held on manfully. The bear, after a
while, seeing he could not shake him off, gave it up; and again tried
his strength upon the trees that had been climbed by the others. This
ended as before; except that the bear completely skinned off the bark as
high as he could reach, and made such an impression upon the trunks with
his teeth and claws, that the boys feared he might take it into his head
to cut down the trees altogether. He could easily have accomplished
this; but, fortunately for them, the grizzly bear is not gifted with
reasoning faculties, else their fate would have been a terrible one
indeed.
When he found, at length, that he could neither drag down the trees, nor
shake the boys out of them, he gave up the attempt; and for a time
walked from one to the other, backwards and forwards, like a sentry, now
and then uttering a loud "sniff," and at intervals growling fiercely.
At length he stretched his huge body along the ground, and appeared to
sleep!
What had become of the female and the cub? Had both fallen by the shots
fired at them? Neither had as yet made their appearance on the summit--
for the boys from their perch could see every inch of its surface. They
were still in the ravine then; but whether dead or alive could not be
determined. The dog Marengo, by a wise instinct, had not attacked the
bear, but had escaped to one edge of the table, where he was crouching
and cowering with fear, taking care not to put himself in the way of
being seen.
The young hunters were now in a worse situation than ever. They dared
not venture out of the trees without the certainty of dropping into the
jaws of the monster; and they were suffering pain as they sat straddled
across the slender branches of the pines. Besides, they were thirsty--
thirsty to an extreme degree. They had taken no water with them in the
morning. The sun was fiercely hot; and, even while engaged in skinning
the big-horns, they had been complaining for want of water. They now
began to suffer from thirst, more than from any other cause. Should the
bear remain for any length of time, what would become of them? They
must either drop down to be at once torn to pieces, or perish slowly
where they sat. These were the alternatives!
They could make no change in their situation. Their guns were upon the
ground, where in their haste they had flung them. They dared not
descend to recover them. They were utterly helpless; and could do
nothing but await the result. As if to tantalise them, they now beheld
for the first time the objects of their far expedition--the animals they
had so long desired to come up with--_the buffaloes_! Away to the
south-west a multitude of black bodies were seen upon the plain, like
crowds of men in dark clothing. They were moving to and fro, now
uniting in masses, and now separating like the squadrons of an irregular
army. Miles of the green prairie were mottled by their huge dark forms,
or hidden altogether from the view. They seemed to be moving northward,
along the level meadows that stretched between the butte and the Llano
Estacado. This proved to be the case; for in a few minutes the headmost
had pushed forward on a line with the butte; and our young hunters could
distinguish the shaggy, lion-shaped bodies of the bulls that formed the
vanguard of the "gang." Under other circumstances this would have been
a glad sight indeed. As it was, it only served to render their
situation more intolerable. The buffaloes were passing to the north.
Even should they themselves escape, after a time they might not be able
to overtake them; and although they could distinguish none that were
_white_--for the main body was a great way off--it was highly probable
that in so large a herd one or more of these would be found.
As all three continued to watch the black multitudes rolling past, an
exclamation, or rather a _shout_ of joy, was uttered by Basil. He was
upon a tree that stood apart from the others and gave him an
unobstructed view of the plains to the west.
"_Voila_! yonder! yonder!" he cried: "see! in the middle of the drove!
See, brothers!--it shines in the sun--white--white! Huzza!--huzza!"
Basil's speech was scarcely coherent. Neither was that of his brothers,
when they beheld the object to which he had alluded. It could be
nothing else, all believed, than the object of their long wild hunt--a
_white buffalo_. All three huzzaed loudly, and for a moment forgot the
peril of their position. Their shouts started the grizzly monster
below, who, lazily rising to his feet, once more commenced growling and
shuffling about among the trees. The sight of him soon restored the
hunters to a sense of the fearful realities that surrounded them.