THE MYSTERIES OF THE CAVE EXPLAINED--INGENIOUS DEVICES OF THE WILD MAN--
MARCH AND MARY BESIEGED--THE REDSKINS PROCEED TO MAKE THEMSELVES AT HOME
IN THE CAVERN.
There are few things in this world which are not somewhat mysterious, or
that cannot be, by a peculiar combination of circumstances, more or less
invested with mystery; and we hold it to be an unfair and a very paltry
device on the part of an author to seek to mystify his readers by
keeping them in unnecessary ignorance of that which is in itself simple
and commonplace.
Therefore, we beg leave to state that the apparent mystery with which we
concluded the last chapter was not a mystery at all! The loud report
there referred to was caused by a savage discharging his gun, and the
cry that followed was the result of that same savage opening his ugly
mouth and giving vent to a tremendous howl.
That this was a howl of triumph was evident to ears accustomed to the
war-whoop of the redman. That it was destined to be succeeded by an
exclamation of mingled disappointment and surprise was evident, at least
to Mary, who knew the mysteries of the place.
In order to make this plain without further circumlocution, we may as
well inform the reader at once that the Wild Man of the West (perhaps we
should call him Dick, in deference to March Marston's ignorance of his
real character at this time) was not only a subject of terror to the
Indians inhabiting this region of the earth at that particular era in
the world's history, but also a subject of intense curiosity. Hence,
for many years past, it had been an object of ambition, on the part of
the more courageous of the Indian warriors, to trace this terrible
creature to his familiar haunts, and "beard the lion in his den."
Dick soon became fully aware of this, and, _not_ being a mysterious
monster or demon, but a mere mortal (although, doubtless, a singularly
huge and eccentric one), it behoved him to frustrate the amiable
intentions of his savage tormentors. In order to effect this, he first
of all selected, as we have seen, a gloomy, secluded, and almost
inaccessible spot among the Rocky Mountains as his residence, which he
made a point of quitting and returning to only in the dark hours of
night or early morning, as far as was practicable.
Still further to bewilder the savages--against whom he bore no grudge,
and to avoid encountering whom was his chief desire--Dick varied his
costume, appearing sometimes in the dress of a Blackfoot chief, or a
Cree warrior; at other times in the hunting-shirt and cap of a trapper.
But, despite his utmost efforts, he occasionally had to face and fight
the redskins--a necessity which so exasperated his naturally fiery
temper that, on such occasions, he became utterly regardless of his
life, and rushing upon any odds with a terrific roar of his deep bass
voice, so different from the shrill yell of the Indians--would cleave
his way right through their ranks with his long double-edged sword;
then, returning to the charge with increased fury, would so appal and
horrify them that the usual result was a general and precipitate flight.
Perhaps some readers may wonder how it was possible that he could escape
being killed in these encounters; but it must be remembered that in
those days guns were by no means so plentiful among the Indians as they
now are, and arrows are comparatively harmless missiles. Dick always
wore under his leather coat, a vest of thick buffalo leather, which
rendered him arrow-proof in the vital regions of his body, unless shot
at with a strong bow by a powerful arm from a short distance.
This undercoat or piece of armour added a little to his naturally
gigantic proportions, which were still further enhanced by the flying
tags and scalp-locks and fringes of his dress, and the wild masses of
his long hair. He rode, as we have elsewhere mentioned, a magnificent
charger, which he had purchased in Mexico, and whose sire, no doubt, had
been one of those noble barbs which bore the cavaliers of Spain to the
conquest of the New World. The mane and tail of this animal, having
never been cut, were of immense length, and, when violently agitated,
seemed to envelop horse and man. Altogether, the _tout ensemble_ of
Dick and his charger on any of the rencontres above referred to, was
sufficiently awful, and as he was seldom seen near at hand, except in a
condition of blazing fury, there is little wonder that, in the process
of time, he became celebrated throughout the country as the Wild Man of
the West. The white trappers, too, were somewhat curious to know
something about this mysterious brother; but he shunned them even more
determinedly than he did the Indians, though, of course, he never fought
with them, seeing that they did not attempt to murder him or interfere
with his movements as the savages did. But there were one or two bolder
or more inquisitive than their comrades, who dogged the Wild Man, and
tried to force themselves upon him. These he caught and thrashed
soundly, after the fashion of a schoolmaster with a refractory boy, and
turned them adrift with a warning thenceforth to mind their own
business. At last the Indians set him down as a "great medicine-man,"
or a demon, whom it was impossible to slay; and the trappers shook their
heads and touched their foreheads significantly, as if to indicate that
they thought him mad.
Thus Dick, in course of years, freed himself in a great measure from
annoyance, and many good and kind actions which he did both to Indians
and trappers began to be circulated and exaggerated, so that he became a
greater mystery than ever, especially to the savages, who naturally
misconstrued the spirit in which he made his furious attacks, in
self-defence, just as much as they misunderstood his motives in
performing deeds of kindness. He was a monstrous mystery! the greatest
mystery that had ever been seen or heard of in the Rocky Mountains since
the beginning of time, and no doubt a greater mystery than will ever be
heard of there again.
Having traversed this roundabout pathway, we now come to the explanation
which we intended to have given much earlier in this chapter. But it is
really wonderful how natural it is for the human mind to prose and to
diverge, and how very difficult it is, at any time, to come to the
point! Public speakers know this well. Perhaps their hearers know it
better!
Well, although Dick was thus feared, yet he was not entirely unmolested.
Wandering tribes from distant hunting grounds used to go there, and,
not knowing much about the Wild Man of the West, did not believe in him;
even ventured to go in search of him, and on more than one occasion
almost caught him asleep in his cave. Having an ingenious turn of mind,
and being somewhat fanciful, he devised a curious plan to deceive the
savages and warn him of their approach.
By means of an axe and a knife, he carved a representation of his own
head, and covered it with hair by means of the tail of one of his
light-coloured horses, which he docked for the purpose. (His steeds, by
the way, occupied another chamber of the cavern in which he dwelt.) The
head thus formed, he planted behind a bush that grew on a ledge of rock
about two yards from the bottom of the cliff of the amphitheatre
outside, and directly opposite to the entrance to it. The cave, it will
be remembered, was on the right of that entrance. Thus, the first thing
the savage beheld, on prowling up to the opening of the amphitheatre,
was Dick's image peeping at him over the bush opposite. Of course the
instantaneous result was the firing of a shot or the discharge of an
arrow, which, the Indians being excellent marksmen, invariably alighted
on the bridge of Dick's nose, or in the centre of his forehead, or in
one or other of his eyes. As the head was balanced on the front edge of
a deep narrow hole which happened to be there, it was invariably knocked
into that hole by the blow, and disappeared.
This was the supposed fall of the famous Wild Man that caused the yell
which has taken so long to account for, and the discovery of nothing
behind that bush except a small deep hole, much too small to secrete
even a little man's body in, was the cause of the explanation of
surprise which we asserted would certainly follow.
When an event of this kind happened, Dick had a large blunderbuss in
readiness. It was loaded with a tremendous charge of small shot, and a
small charge of powder, for he did not want to kill. His object was
simply to punish and to terrify. He also had in readiness a curious
machine which we find it rather difficult to describe. Every one has
heard, no doubt, of the wooden wheels, with wooden axles, attached to
the carts in some eastern countries, which groan, and creak, and yell,
and shriek for want of grease, in a manner that is almost maddening to
all but native ears. Dick's invention was founded partly on the
principle of these eastern carts, only it was worked by turning a
handle, and its sounds were much more excruciatingly intense.
On being startled, then, Dick was wont to seize his blunderbuss, rush
into the outer cave where the shrieking-machine was, give the handle
half a dozen turns, and thus awaken, as it were, all the demons of the
Rocky Mountains. Dick came at last to know exactly what state of things
he would find outside. At the first burst of discord the savages,
however numerous, took to their heels, and when Dick emerged from his
cave, they were always within a yard or two of the entrance to the
amphitheatre, every man with outstretched arms, sloped forward at the
acutest possible angle with the ground, rushing on the wings of terror
in a flight of unparalleled precipitancy.
To pour the charge of small shot down into the centre of the flying mass
was the work of a moment; to mount his unsaddled charger, and dash down
the steep rugged path with a clatter equal to that of half a squadron of
dragoons, was the work of two minutes more. To pull up suddenly, when
he had terrified the spirits of the intruders wellnigh out of their
bodies, return slowly to his rude domicile, reload his blunderbuss, and
retire to rest with a grim smile on his bearded mouth, and a lurking
expression of fun in his big blue eyes, as he drew his blanket over him,
was the usual termination of such scenes.
But this was not all. Dick, like a wise man, had prepared for the
worst. In the event of the Indians ever getting the length of the
interior of his den, there were other contrivances ready for them; chief
among which was a large cistern or tank of water, directly over the
fireplace, the front of which was movable, and could be pulled down by
means of a cord passing into the innermost cave of all--namely, the
third cavern which we have alluded to as being Mary's dormitory. By
pulling this cord, the result--instantaneous and hideous--would be, that
a deluge of water would drown the fire black out, fill the cavern with
hot suffocating steam and ashes, and flood the floor.
How the cavern was to be defended when he himself was not there was a
problem which Dick, being a mere man and not a demon, had utterly failed
to solve. Of course, he could easily have set all manner of man-traps
and spring-guns, but as these might have taken effect upon some poor
wretch who had no design upon his life, he could not venture to run the
risk.
On the present occasion--Dick being absent, March being prostrated and
all but helpless, and Mary being unable to turn the handle of the
shrieking-machine or to fire the blunderbuss, which kicked like a small
cannon--the case of the romantic pair was desperate, and their only hope
seemed to be that the savages would go away without examining the
cavern. Vain hope!
But Dick had not left them to take their chance in that way. He had
warned Mary long ago how to act in such circumstances, and she soon
returned to March with the news that there were four Indian warriors
outside, examining the bush behind which the head had disappeared, and
that they would very soon find out the cave.
"That's not pleasant news, Mary," said March, starting up in spite of
pain and giddiness; "you seem to take it very easy!"
"Com, quick," said she, seizing March by the hand; "com with me."
March said, mentally, that he would go with her into the jaws of death,
if need be; but he followed up the mental speech with the audible remark
that he had better take some weapon with him.
"No, no; com! Me git you spear, hatchet very quick; but com."
So saying, she dragged rather than conducted March to the little opening
which led into her dormitory. He had to stoop on entering; and great
was his amazement on finding himself on the brink of a black yawning
gulf, that seemed to descend into the bowels of the earth. The end of a
narrow plank rested on the edge of this gulf, and appeared to bridge it
over, but the other end of the plank, and all beyond, were lost in
impenetrable darkness.
"Com after me," said Mary, passing rapidly across the gulf, and
disappearing--absolutely like a vision.
March hesitated. He tried to steady his somewhat giddy head, but the
single word "Com" issuing from darkness in a very commanding tone
settled the point. He staggered across, held out his hands, and almost
tumbled over his fair guide, on reaching the other end of the plank much
sooner than he had expected.
"Now, wait. I will com agin," said Mary, recrossing.
The view back was a very different thing from the view forward. As he
stood there, on the brink of the yawning gulf, March could see right
through into the cavern he had just left, and could observe everything
that took place there. Mary hastily loaded herself with a rifle and the
blunderbuss, also with powder-horn, bullet-pouch, and a bag containing
buffalo tongues. With these she returned quickly, and, brushing past
her companion, carried them farther into the cave.
"Now, help me pull," she said, laying hold of the end of the plank.
March obeyed; and obedience cost him much, poor fellow, for it seemed as
if, in the act, he had rent asunder every muscle in his right shoulder.
The plank being thus drawn away, an impassable gulf was left between the
inner and middle cavern, which, even in the event of its being
discovered, presented no particular temptation to induce any one to
explore farther. Mary drew the plank into the long natural passage
which led to her private apartment; and as this passage turned abruptly
to the right, there was no possibility of any one on the other side of
the gulf being able to see into it. Indeed, a light in it was not
visible from that point of view, and their voices could not be heard
unless they spoke loudly.
Just as the plank was withdrawn, the Indians discovered the mouth of the
cavern, and in a few minutes the two watchers beheld a painted savage
peep in at the opening of the centre cave. Seeing that it was empty,
and observing at a glance the opening into the inner cave, he drew back
quickly. A minute after, the four Indians darted across, and got out of
range of that opening--evidently fearing that some one was there. They
flitted past so quickly, yet noiselessly, that they appeared more like
shadows than real men.
Presently one of them stepped full in front of the opening with a bow
and arrow in his hand. The light of the fire was strong. March saw him
raise the bow, and had just time to draw back when an arrow whizzed past
him, and was broken to pieces on the rock behind his back. Instantly
after the echoes of the place burst forth as a shot was fired in the
same direction. Having thus made sure that the way was clear, the
boldest of the savages entered with a blazing pine-knot held high above
his head--the others following with bows ready, and arrows fitted to the
string.
On reaching the edge of the yawning chasm, the foremost savage held the
torch over it, and they all gazed in silence into its unfathomable
depths. Satisfied that it was impassable, they consulted for a few
minutes, and then, apparently coming to the conclusion that the place
was untenanted, they returned to the middle cave, and began to rummage
and toss about the things they found there.
"Bring the rifle," whispered March. "I can floor two at a shot as they
now sit."
"No," Mary replied firmly. "Why make blood? They will go 'way soon."
Mary was right; but a circumstance occurred which caused them to go away
sooner than either she or they had anticipated.