PELEG'S ENCOUNTER
The following morning dawned clear and warm, and as no signs of Indians
had been seen the two scouts renewed their journey with lighter hearts.
At least a part of Peleg's fear was gone, though it was impossible for
him to determine by anything his companion said whether or not he shared
his feeling.
Without an open declaration of war, the Shawnees, Wyandottes, Cherokees,
and Delawares were working more or less together at this time and were
untiring in their determination to prevent the whites from entering and
establishing homes in the region which the Indians believed was entirely
their own.
The second day passed, and the progress of the two scouts was unbroken.
Still Daniel Boone was using great caution, forbidding the discharge of
guns except when food was required, and insisting upon the fire being
extinguished as soon as the meals had been prepared.
On the fourth day of their journey the anxiety of the great scout
became more manifest. "I have seen some things," he explained to his
companion, "which are troubling me."
"Are the Indians near us?"
"I have been convinced that they have been near us all our journey, but
I fear now they are approaching still nearer. My suggestion is that we
separate, and I will go to the south and you to the north of the path we
would have taken and meet again in our camp here a few hours from this
time. We may throw them off our trail."
"Shall we start now?" inquired Peleg, rising at once as he spoke.
"'Twill be well to do so. The sun is now two hours high, and we must
both be back here in camp by noon."
As he finished speaking, Daniel Boone departed silently into the forest
and his example was promptly followed by the younger scout.
The young hunter had been gone almost an hour and as yet had discovered
only a few signs of the presence of their enemies. He was near the bank
of a stream some twenty feet or more in width when, glancing behind him,
he saw two Indians swiftly approaching.
His first impulse was to fire upon them, but holding his rifle in
readiness he waited for them to come nearer. Suddenly one of the red men
raised his gun and fired at Peleg. The young scout heard the bullet
whistling close to his head, and, instantly taking aim, returned the
fire, causing one of the Indians to fall forward upon his face. The
other warrior, however, was armed, and was swiftly approaching.
Peleg's first impulse to use his gun as a club and strive to defend
himself was quickly abandoned when in some consternation he became aware
of the size of the advancing red man. Never before had he seen an Indian
so large as the one who was now approaching. Not merely was the man
tall, but his breadth of shoulder and every movement alike showed the
great strength which he possessed.
Thinking this was a case where discretion was the better part of valor,
Peleg darted swiftly into the woods. As he did so his enemy fired at
him, but fortunately the boy escaped unhurt. He ran at his utmost speed,
but as he glanced over his shoulder he saw that his pursuer was speedily
gaining upon him. Peleg Barnes was considered the best wrestler and the
strongest of the younger men in the little settlement on the Clinch
River. He now was more than six feet tall and the muscles in his arms
and legs were marvellously developed. If the man behind him had not been
of such gigantic and ferocious aspect, the young hunter would have
ventured a single combat; but Peleg had decided that flight was the
safer course.
For several hundred yards he ran at his utmost speed, but every glance
backward showed him that, swiftly as he was running, his pursuer was
steadily gaining upon him.
The woods through which they were speeding consisted almost entirely of
small trees, few of which were large enough to provide protection or
even shelter.
Peleg had passed a large walnut tree, which he had noticed standing like
a patriarch among the surrounding saplings, and suddenly he paused in
his flight and ran back ten steps to gain it. This action of the young
scout plainly startled the Indian, who halted a moment, thereby giving
his adversary the advantage of reaching the shelter he was seeking.
If Peleg's gun had been loaded the solution of his troubles would not
have been difficult. As it was, the huge warrior resumed his rapid
advance. Again Peleg fled, but he was well aware that sooner or later he
must stop and strive to defend himself by using his rifle as a club.
The moment for such action soon came, and, abruptly halting, Peleg
seized his rifle by the barrel and raised it above his head. The Indian
dropped his empty gun and advanced upon his victim with his tomahawk.
Instead of waiting to receive the attack, Peleg suddenly leaped forward
and struck with the stock of his gun. The warrior at the same moment
whirled his tomahawk and threw it.
In a manner both blows took effect. The stock of the rifle was
dislocated by the blow which Peleg struck the Indian's skull, and at the
same time the vicious blow of the tomahawk was deflected by the barrel
of the rifle, though it cut deeply into Peleg's hand between his thumb
and forefinger as it glanced.
As the Indian attempted to draw his knife, Peleg seized him and together
both fell to the ground.
For a time the efforts of the Indian were by no means violent, and Peleg
was hopeful that the blow which the warrior had received had partly
disabled him; but it was soon manifest that the Indian had recovered,
for, wrapping his long arms around Peleg's body, he pressed him to his
breast with well-nigh crushing force.
[Illustration: "The Indian had been able to draw his knife and struck at
her again and again, while the bear held him in one of her most fervent
hugs"]
Peleg, powerful young scout that he was, had never felt an embrace like
that of the huge warrior. Relaxing his efforts for a moment, he
endeavoured to convince his enemy that his strength was well-nigh gone.
The Indian apparently was deceived by his trick and made an attempt to
reach for Peleg's gun, which had fallen on the ground nearby. The young
hunter at the same moment made a sudden and desperate attempt to free
himself from the arms of the giant.
Success crowned his efforts, but before he was able to escape from the
place the Indian leaped to his feet, and, seizing Peleg with one hand
and grasping the collar of his hunting shirt with the other, he drew his
enemy steadily to his hip, and then by a sudden effort threw him at
least ten feet into the air, much as he might have tossed a little
child. Peleg fell upon his back at the edge of the stream, but before
the savage could spring upon him, he was again upon his feet, and, stung
with rage as well as desperation, instantly, and with a violence which
for a time made up for his lack of strength, he renewed his attack upon
his gigantic enemy.
The Indian, however, closed again with Peleg and hurled him to the
ground, though the young hunter still doggedly clung to his foe.
Together they rolled into the water, where the struggle continued
unabated for a time, as each did his utmost to thrust and hold the head
of his opponent beneath the surface.
It soon was plain that the Indian was unused to such long-continued and
violent exertion, and Peleg felt sure that his enemy was weaker than
when the struggle began.
Suddenly the young hunter by a supreme effort seized the warrior by his
scalp-lock and thrust his head under the water, where he succeeded in
holding it until the struggles of the Indian became faint and convinced
Peleg that the contest was ended.
The cunning warrior, however, had been shamming, and as soon as Peleg
released his hold he quickly regained his foothold and in turn forced
Peleg under the water. In the struggle which followed both contestants
were carried into the current of the stream beyond their depth, and were
compelled to let go their hold and swim for their lives.
Peleg was the first to gain the shore. A low hill, partly wooded, was
directly before him, and he ran as swiftly as his strength permitted up
the long, sloping ridge. In a brief time he discovered that the Indian
was gaining upon him so rapidly that all hope of escape departed.
At that moment the young scout saw at his side a large tree, which in
some storm had been torn up by its roots and was lying prostrate on the
ground.
Instantly he ran along the side of the tree, aware that his enemy was
following upon the opposite side. Doubtless the red man expected to
seize him when the huge roots of the tree had been gained.
On the warm ground at the roots of the tree, all unknown to the pursuer
and the pursued, a huge she-bear was lying with her two cubs. The Indian
was the first to arrive at the spot, and as he darted around the roots
the savage animal with a snarl of rage instantly sprang upon him. The
growls of the bear and the cries of the warrior instantly produced a
deafening uproar.
The Indian had been able to draw his knife, and struck at her again and
again while the bear held him in one of her most fervent hugs. Peleg,
without waiting to learn the result of the startling and noisy contest,
instantly turned and ran back over the way he had come.