"We were all soon engaged in different occupations. Mary was preparing
the dried meat, which she intended to boil along with the locust-beans
in our tin-pot. Fortunately, it was a large one, and held nearly a
gallon. Cudjo was busy kindling the fire, which already sent up its
volumes of blue smoke. Frank, Harry, and the little ones, were sucking
away at the natural preserves of the acacia, while I was dressing my
armadillo for the spit. In addition to this, our horse was filling out
his sides upon the rich buffalo-grass that grew along the stream; and
the dogs--poor fellows! they were like to fare worst of all--stood
watching my operations, and snapped eagerly at every scrap that fell
from my knife. In a very short while the fire was blazing up, the beef
and beans were bubbling over it in the tin-pot, and the armadillo was
sputtering on the spit beside them. In another short while all things
were cooked and ready to be eaten.
"We now remembered that we had neither plates, glasses, knives, forks,
nor spoons--yes, Cudjo and I had our hunting-knives; and, as it was no
time to be nice, with these we fished the pieces of meat and some of the
beans out of the soup-pot, and placed them upon a clean, flat stone.
For the soup itself, we immersed the lower part of the pot into the cool
water of the stream, so that in a short time Mary and the children could
apply the edge of it to their lips, and drink of it in turn.
"As for Cudjo and myself, we did not want any of the soup. We were
altogether for the `substantials.'
"I thought, at first, I should have all the armadillo to myself. Even
Cudjo, who in `ole Vaginny' had bolted 'coons, 'possums, and various
other `varmints,' for a long time hung back. Seeing, however, that I
was eating with evident relish, he held out his sable paw, and desired
me to help him to a small piece. Having once tasted it, the ice of his
appetite seemed to be all at once broken, and he kept asking for more,
and then for more, until I began to fear he would not leave me enough
for my own support.
"Neither Mary nor the boys, however, would consent to share with us,
although I assured them, what was positively the fact, that what I was
eating was equal in delicacy of flavour to the finest roast pig--a dish,
by the way, to which the armadillo bears a very great resemblance.
"The sun was now setting, and we began to think how we were to pass the
night. We had left all our blankets in the wagon, and the air was fast
becoming cold, which is always the case in the neighbourhood of snowy
mountains. This is easily explained. The atmosphere getting cool upon
the peak, where it envelopes the snow, of course becomes heavier, and
keeps constantly descending around the base of the mountain, and pushing
up and out that air which is warmer and lighter. In fact, there was a
sensible breeze blowing down the sides of the mountain--caused by these
natural laws--and it had already made us chilly, after the burning heat
through which we had been travelling. Should we sleep in this cold
atmosphere--even though we should keep up a fire during the whole
night--I knew that we must suffer much.
"The thought now entered my mind, that I might go back to the wagon--
which was only five miles off--and bring up our blankets. Should I go
myself, or send Cudjo, or should both of us go? All at once the idea
came into my head that one of us might ride there, and bring back a load
of other articles, as well as the blankets. Our horse, who had been
filling himself for the last hour and a half with good grass and water,
already began to show symptoms of life and vigour. Animals of this kind
soon recover from fatigue, when their food and drink are restored to
them. I saw that he would be quite able to do the journey, so I gave
Cudjo directions to catch him. There happened to be a piece of rope
around his neck, and this would serve for a bridle. I hesitated for
some time, whether both Cudjo and I should leave Mary and the children;
but my wife urged us to go, telling us she would have no fear, as long
as Harry and Frank with their rifles remained with her. The dogs, too,
would stay. Indeed, there was not much danger of their leaving her,
while she held in her arms the little Luisa, whom both these animals
seemed to watch over.
"Influenced by her advice, I consented to leave her alone with the
children; and, giving directions that they should fire off one of the
rifles, in case of any alarm, I set forth, with Cudjo and the horse.
"We could see the white tilt of the wagon from the very start; and we
had no difficulty in guiding ourselves to it.
"As we passed onward, I was reflecting whether the wolves had not
already made a meal of our poor ox that we had left by the wagon. If
not, it was my intention to skin him, and save the meat, lean and tough
as it must be--for the animal, when we left him, looked like some dry
skeleton to be preserved in a museum. Still I saw before us no prospect
of a better breakfast, and I began to grow very anxious as to whether we
might find a bit of him left. At this moment, I was startled from my
reflections by an exclamation from Cudjo, who had stopped suddenly, and
was pointing to some object directly ahead of us. I looked forward; and
saw in the dim light something that very much resembled a large
quadruped.
"`P'raps, Massa,' whispered Cudjo, `him be de buffler.'
"`Perhaps it is a buffalo; but what is to be done? I have left my
rifle. Here! take the horse, and I will endeavour to get near enough to
kill it with my pistols.'
"Giving Cudjo the horse, and cautioning him to be silent, I drew the
largest of my pistols, and crept silently forward. I went upon my hands
and knees, and very slowly, so as not to give the animal an alarm. As I
got nearer, I felt sure it was a buffalo; but the moon had not yet
risen, and I could see its form but very indistinctly. At length, I
believed I had it within range of my pistol; at least, thought I, if I
go any nearer it will make off; so I halted--still upon my knees--and
made ready to fire. As I raised my weapon, the horse suddenly neighed;
and, in answer to his neigh, the strange animal uttered a loud roar,
which I knew to be nothing else than the bellowing of an ox! And so it
proved, as it was neither more nor less than our own ox, who had left
the wagon, and was slowly making his way for the mountain. The cool air
had somewhat revived him, and instinct, or a knowledge of the way we had
gone, was guiding him in that direction.
"I know not whether I was more pleased or disappointed at meeting our
old companion. A good fat buffalo would have been more welcome at the
time than a famished ox; but when I reflected that he might yet help us
to get out of the Desert, I felt that we were fortunate in finding him
still alive. The horse and he put their noses together, evidently
pleased at again meeting each other; and I could not help thinking, as
the ox shook his long tail, that the horse must have whispered to him
about the nice grass and water that were so near. The ox had his reins
upon him; and lest he might stray from the track, we tied him to a
sage-bush, so that we might take him with us on our way back.
"We were about leaving him, when it occurred to me, that if the ox only
had a little water, he might, along with the horse, enable us to bring
the wagon up to the mountain. What a delightful surprise it would be to
Mary, to see us return with ox, wagon, and all;--not only the blankets,
but also our cups, pans, and cooking-pots, besides some coffee, and
other little luxuries, that were stored away in our great chest! Ha!
thought I, that would be delightful; and I immediately communicated the
idea to Cudjo. My companion fully agreed with me, and believed it quite
possible and practicable. We had brought along with us the tin-pot fall
of cool water from the stream; but it was too narrow at the mouth, and
the ox could not possibly drink out of it.
"`Let us gib it, Massa Roff,' advised Cudjo, `in de ole hoss-bucket,
once we gets 'im back to de wagon. Ya! ya! we gib Missa an
abstonishment.' And my light-hearted companion laughed with delight, at
the prospect of making his mistress happy on our return.
"Without farther parley, we unloosed the rein from the sage-bush, and
led the ox back towards the wagon. Neither of us rode the horse, as we
knew he would have enough to do in dragging up his share of the load.
"On reaching the wagon, we found everything as we had left it; but
several large white wolves were prowling around; and, no doubt, it had
been the sight of them that had roused the ox, and imparted to him the
energy that had enabled him to get away from the spot.
"We soon found the bucket; and, pouring the water into it, set it before
the ox, who drank every drop of it, and then licked the sides and
bottom, of the vessel until they were quite dry. We now `hitched to'
both the animals; and, without more ado, drove off towards our little
camp at the mountain.
"We guided ourselves by the fire, which we could see burning brightly
under the dark shadow of the cliffs. Its blaze had a cheering effect on
the spirits both of my companion and myself; and even the horse and ox
seemed to understand that it would be the end of their journey, and
pressed forward with alacrity to reach it.
"When within about half a mile, I heard the report of a rifle ringing
among the rocks. I was filled with alarm. Were Mary and the children
attacked by Indians?--perhaps by some savage animal?--perhaps by the
grizzly bear?
"I did not hesitate a moment, but ran forward--leaving Cudjo with the
wagon. I drew my pistol, and held it in readiness as I advanced, all
the while listening eagerly to catch every sound that might come from
the direction of the fire. Once or twice I stopped for short intervals
to breathe and listen; but there were no noises from the camp! What
could be the meaning of the silence? Where were the dogs? I knew that,
had they been attacked by a grizzly bear, or any other animal, I should
have heard their barks and worrying. But there was not a sound. Had
they been killed all at once by Indian arrows, so silent in their deadly
effect? O God! had my wife, and children too, fallen victims?
"Filled with painful apprehensions, I ran forward with increased energy,
determined to rush into the midst of the enemy--whoever they might be--
and sell my life as dearly as possible.
"At length, I came within full view of the fire. What was my
astonishment, as well as joy, on seeing my wife sitting by the blaze,
with little Luisa upon her knee, while Mary was playing upon the ground
at her feet! But where were Harry and Frank? It was quite
incomprehensible. I knew that they would not have fired the rifle to
alarm me unnecessarily, yet there sat Mary as though no rifle had been
fired!
"`What was it, dear Mary?' I cried, running up. `Where are the boys?--
they discharged the rifle, did they not?'
"`They did,' she replied; `Harry fired at something.'
"`At what?--at what?' I inquired.
"`At some animal, I know not what kind; but I think they must have
wounded it, for they all ran out, dogs and all, after the shot was
fired, and have not yet come back.'
"`In what direction?' I asked hurriedly.
"Mary pointed out the direction; and, without waiting further, I ran off
into the darkness. When about an hundred yards from the fire, I came
upon Harry, Frank, and the mastiffs, standing over some animal which I
saw was quite dead. Harry was not a little proud of the shot he had
made, and expected me to congratulate him, which of course I did; and
laying hold of the animal by one of its hind-legs--for it had no tail to
lay hold of--I dragged it forward to the light of the fire. It appeared
to be about the size of a sucking calf, though much more elegantly
shaped, for its legs were long and slender, and its shanks not thicker
than a common walking-cane. It was of a pale red colour, whitish along
the breast and belly, but its large, languishing eyes and slender
forking horns told me at once what sort of animal it was; it was the
prong-horned antelope,--the only species of antelope found in North
America.
"Mary new related the adventure. While they were sitting silently by
the fire, and somewhat impatiently awaiting our return--for the wagon
had delayed us considerably--they saw a pair of large eyes glancing in
the darkness like two candles, and not many yards from where they sat.
They could see nothing but the eyes; but this of itself was sufficient
to alarm them, as they fancied it might be a wolf, or, perhaps still
worse, a hear or panther. They did not lose presence of mind, however;
and they knew that to escape by running away would be impossible; so
both Frank and Harry took hold of their rifles--though Harry was
foremost with his. He then aimed, as well as he could, between the two
glancing eyes, and pulled trigger. Of course the smoke blinded them,
and in the darkness they could not tell whether the bullet had hit the
animal or not; but the dogs--who up to this time had been sleeping by
the fire--sprang to their feet, and ran out in pursuit. They could hear
them running for some distance, and then they heard a scramble and a
struggle, and then they were silent; so they concluded--what afterwards
proved to be the case--that Harry had wounded the animal, and that the
dogs had caught, and were worrying it. And so they were, for as the
boys got to the spot they had just killed it; and--hungry as they were--
would soon have made a meal of it had Frank and Harry not got up in good
time to prevent them. The antelope had been shot in the shoulder, and
had only run for a short distance before it fell.
"Although Harry did not boast of his prowess, I saw that he had a
triumphant look,--the more so as this fine piece of venison would ensure
us all against hunger for three days at the least; and, considering that
only an hour before we did not know where the next meal was to come
from, it was certainly no small matter to be proud of. I thought just
then of the surprise I had prepared for them, not only in bringing up
the wagon which contained all our utensils and comforts, but in the
recovery of our best ox.
"`Where is Cudjo?' asked my wife. `Is he bringing the blankets?'
"`Yes,' said I, knowingly, `and a good load besides.'
"At that moment was heard the creaking of wheels, and the great tilt of
white canvass was seen, far out, reflecting back the blaze of the fire.
Frank leaped to his feet, and, clapping his hands with delight, cried
out,--
"`Mamma! mamma! it is the wagon!'
"Then was heard the loud voice of Cudjo in a joyous `Wo-ha!' and the
moment after, the horse and ox stepped up to the fire as lightly as if
the pull had been a mere bagatelle; and they could have stood it an
hundred miles farther without flinching. We were not slow in relieving
both of them from their traces, and giving them a full swing at the
grass and water.
"As it was now late in the night, and we were all very tired, from the
fatigues we had undergone, we determined to lose no time in going to
rest. Mary went to prepare a bed in the wagon,--for this was our only
tent, and a very excellent tent it was, too. At the same time, Cudjo
and I set about skinning the antelope, so that we might have it in fine
order for our breakfast in the morning. The dogs, too, were interested
in this operation,--for they, poor brutes, up to this time, had fared
worse than any of us. However, the head, feet, and intestines, fell to
their share; and they soon had a supper to their hearts' content.
Having finished skinning the antelope, we tied a rope to its legs, and
slung it up to the branch of a tree--high enough to be out of the reach
of wolves, as well as our own dogs, during the night.
"Mary had by this time completed the arrangements for our sleeping; and
but one thing more remained to be done before retiring to rest. That
was a duty which we never neglected when circumstances admitted of its
being performed. Mary knew this, and had brought out of the wagon the
only book which it contained--the Bible. Cudjo turned up the pine logs
upon the fire; and, seating ourselves around the blaze, I read from the
Sacred Book those passages which were most appropriate to our own
situation,--how God had preserved Moses and the children of Israel in
the Desert Wilderness.
"Then, with clasped hands and grateful hearts, we all knelt, and offered
thanks for our own almost miraculous deliverance."