AN ADVENTURE ON SNOWSHOES
The boys had talked bear for a long time--in fact ever since they had
heard of two other boys of the settlement bringing in a pair of cubs
they had found in a hollow tree in the forest. They had not said much
in Mrs. Parsons’ presence, but they had told the girls that they meant
to get a bear, big or little, before the winter was over.
At the fort they had fallen in with a French-English trapper named
Marquette. Marquette was a happy-go-lucky fellow who loved hunting and
fishing better than he did eating and sleeping. He was on good terms
with everybody, and all of the pioneers thought a good deal of him.
Marquette came to the log cabin one day bringing in some sweet herbs
that Mrs. Parsons desired very much, and in return was given his supper
and a place to sleep. From this meeting the boys were much interested
in the hunter and he in the boys.
“I will show you how to make snowshoes and how to wear them,” he said
one day. “Then you can go anywhere, no matter how deep the snow is.”
He was as good as his word, and when the French-Englishman went away
both Joe and Harry were provided with a substantial pair of snowshoes
and had been out on them three times and could use them fairly well.
It was about Christmas time that there came an extra heavy fall of
snow--for in those days the snow fell heavier in Kentucky than it does
to-day--why, nobody can tell, exactly. Then followed a day of thawing
and then more cold weather, so the surface of the snow was covered with
a thick crust.
“Just the thing for snowshoes!” cried Joe. “We can travel almost
anywhere and not break through.”
“Yes; and a deer will break through at every step and so will a bear,”
returned Harry. “Just the right snow for hunting.”
“If we can only find the deer and the bear.”
It took several days of hard talking on the part of both boys to bring
Mrs. Parsons and the girls over to the point of letting them go off
on a hunt which was to last at least three days. But at last the lady
of the cabin learned from Colonel Boone that there was no danger from
Indians just then, and she consented and the girls followed suit.
“But you must be sure and keep out of danger, Joe,” said Cora.
“Yes, better let the bear go than have him eat you up,” added Harmony.
“Thee must be very careful,” said Mrs. Parsons to Harry. “Remember,
with thy father gone I rely much upon thee, my son.” And she kissed him
affectionately.
Each of the young pioneers went out provided with a rifle and plenty
of ammunition, a hunting knife, and a tomahawk, and also a game bag
containing some provisions, and a tinder box with an extra flint and
steel. Their snowshoes were donned in the living room, and everybody
turned out to see them off.
They had already decided in what direction to strike out--up the
brook where they had brought down the two deer and the old buck. The
watercourse was now deeply covered with snow. They walked on the top of
this snow with care, determined not to take a tumble while in sight of
those left behind.
Quarter of an hour’s walking took them around a curve of the stream,
and looking back they saw that the homestead was no longer to be seen.
“Now we can strike out more boldly,” came from Harry, and he did so,
followed closely by Joe. But their pride soon had a fall, and one went
down directly after the other, Joe forwards and Harry backwards. There
was a great floundering, and several shrieks of laughter, and both boys
got up sadder and wiser.
“No use of talking, snowshoes are tricky things,” said Joe. “The very
moment you think you are safe you aren’t at all.”
“We have got to get used to them, Joe. Remember, Marquette has used
snowshoes for years--probably ever since he was a little boy.”
After this they walked on with more caution. The day was a perfect one,
the sun being clouded just enough to take away the dazzling glare of
the snow’s crust. On every side arose the tall, gaunt trunks of the
leafless trees, with here and there the tops of bushes and the sharp
points of windswept rocks.
As they advanced they kept their eyes open for the appearance of game.
The first thing to come to view was a partridge sitting low on a
hemlock.
“Don’t fire!” cried Joe, as Harry caught hold of his gun.
“Why not?”
“We are out for big game this trip, and if you fire you may scare away
something much better.”
“That’s true,” said Harry, and let the gun down. “But it was a fine
chance,” he grumbled.
“When a gambler plays for pounds he doesn’t mind the pennies, Harry.
Come on after those deer and that bear.”
The partridge flew away, and the landscape became as lonely as before.
At a great distance they saw some birds circle in the air, but the game
did not pass anywhere near them.
“Oh, you needn’t be afraid,” growled Harry, “we are not going to harm a
feather of you to-day. Sir Joseph is after six deer and nine bear.”
“See here, Harry, do you want the birds?” demanded Joe sharply; “if you
do, blaze away.”
“No, Joe, I was only fooling. But I believe the little beggars know we
won’t hurt them, and that is why they show themselves. If we wanted
birds or a partridge we wouldn’t see a feather of either.”
“It is tantalizing, but we--oh!”
Joe’s talking came to a sudden end. He was walking along a windswept
ridge, where the surface was covered with a thin icy snow. He had taken
a misstep and now he rolled over and over into a hollow twenty or more
feet deep. The force of the tumble broke the crust of the snow, and
with a shout for help he suddenly disappeared from view.
At first Harry was inclined to roar with laughter, for it was a comical
sight to see Joe go down, head first, dragging the snowshoes after
him. But suddenly Harry’s mirth came to an end, for Joe did not
reappear as he had expected.
“Joe! Joe!” he called out; “Joe, what’s the matter?”
No answer came back, and in increased alarm Harry commenced to climb
down into the hollow, taking care, however, not to pitch over as his
companion had done.
When he reached the bottom he caught sight of a snowshoe and began to
pull upon it. This nearly threw him over, but he continued to pull, and
presently uncovered one of Joe’s lower limbs. Then Joe turned around,
his head came up, and he uttered a cry.
“Wouw!” came from his lips. “Gosh! I thought I was going straight down
to kingdom come.”
“I thought you were buried alive,” returned Harry.
The loose snow had gone down Joe’s back and up his sleeves, and it took
a deal of shaking to free himself from a feeling that he declared was
the very opposite of comfortable. He got upon his feet with difficulty,
and then both boys wondered how they were to get to the top of the
ridge again.
“We can’t climb up here,” said Harry, in dismay. “If we do we’ll both
take a tumble.”
“Let us walk along near the foot of the ridge,” answered Joe. “This is
as good a spot to hunt as it is higher up.”
The foot of the ridge led to something of a hollow. Here was a long
stretch of high brush, the tops sticking out of the snow for several
feet.
An hour’s tramp brought them to a still deeper hollow where even the
small trees were mostly covered with snow. Here they had to walk with
extra care, for they knew the snow must be at least ten feet deep, and
neither had any desire to fall once more and go floundering to the
bottom under the crust.
“I don’t like this,” said Joe presently. “It worries me. Let us get to
higher ground.” And so they made their way back to the ridge and then
began, with extreme caution, to climb something of a hill.
Noon found them in the shelter of a clump of walnut trees. Their tramp
had made them as hungry as bears, and both willingly sat down to rest
on a fallen tree and to eat a portion of the provisions their game bag
contained.
“If we were depending on bear’s meat or venison we’d go hungry,” was
Joe’s comment, as he munched a biscuit.
“Oh, don’t worry, Joe. A half a day isn’t three days, you know.
Besides, we could have had that partridge if we had wanted it.”
“I haven’t seen the first sign of a deer or a bear yet.”
“Neither have I; but we are bound to strike luck sooner or later,”
answered Harry cheerfully.
Having rested themselves and eaten as much of the provisions as they
deemed advisable, they went on their way once more. The timber now
became thicker, and at certain points the undergrowth looked much
greener than it had further back.
“Just the spot for deer to come,” said Joe.
“Yes, and there are the signs,” answered Harry, somewhat excitedly, and
pointed to a number of bushes that had been stripped of the tenderest
of their bark.
Back of the bushes the hoofprints of at least three deer were plainly
to be seen. How old the trail was there was no means of telling, but
for the want of something better to do the two young pioneers agreed to
follow the marks, at least for a mile should the traveling permit.
They now moved forward in utter silence, each with his gun in his hand
and eyes on the alert in first one direction and then another. The
trail was by no means a straight one, and this gave them encouragement.
“It shows that the deer took their time in moving along,” said Joe.
“You can see where they stopped to nibble at every soft bush or tree
that showed itself.”
Just ahead was a heavy belt of timber not over a hundred feet in width.
Thinking that the game might be on the other side they advanced with
greater caution than ever.
“I see one!” cried Harry softly.
“And I see another,” answered Joe.
They rushed forward and were almost on top of the deer before they were
discovered by the animals. Then the deer tried to break away through
the snow, but soon came to a halt, panting for breath.
“We could almost kill them with our hunting knives,” said Harry, for he
had heard of such things being done. But the boys took no chances. Each
aimed for the eye and fired, and each shot proved true, and the game
was their own.
In the meantime the third deer of the party had been lost to view in
the thickets, and they did not attempt to go after it. Now they had
been so successful they realized that they were “dog tired,” as Joe
expressed it.
“I move we build some sort of shelter and go into camp for the night,”
said he, and Harry readily agreed.
In the timber belt they easily found several trees growing in a rough
semicircle. Here they cut boughs, and laced them together, and over
all packed the snow and slabs of ice. They also chopped some wood for a
fire and soon had a comforting blaze in front of the shelter. By this
time it was dark, and both were hungry again, and they proceeded to
cook themselves some venison steaks for the evening meal.