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FOOTPRINTS IN THE FOREST.
"LOG CABIN SERIES." NO. 8.
BY EDWARD S. ELLIS
AUTHOR OF "NED IN THE BLOCK-HOUSE," "NED IN THE WOODS," "NED ON THE
RIVER," "THE LOST TRAIL," ETC.
PHILADELPHIA:
PORTER & COATES.
COPYRIGHT, 1886,
BY PORTER & COATES.
[Illustration: AN UNWELCOME SUMMONS.]
CONTENTS.
I.--RETROSPECTIVE
II.--A VALUABLE ALLY
III.--THE CAMP OF THE STRANGERS
IV.--THE QUARREL
V.--SHAWANOE VS. PAWNEE
VI.--A DOUBLE FAILURE
VII.--A DISAPPOINTMENT
VIII.--THE FLIGHT OF DEERFOOT
IX.--THE PAWNEES ARE ASTONISHED
X.--SAUK AND PAWNEE
XI.--A REVERSAL OF SITUATION
XII.--INDIAN HONOR
XIII.--THE TWINKLE OF A CAMP-FIRE
XIV.--IN THE TREE-TOP
XV.--AN UNEXPECTED CALL
XVI.--A STARTLING CONCLUSION
XVII.--OTHER ARRIVALS
XVIII.--WITH THE RIVER BETWEEN
XIX.--JACK AND HAY-UTA
XX.--UNCONGENIAL NEIGHBORS
XXI.--JACK CARLETON MAKES A MOVE ON HIS OWN ACCOUNT
XXII.--A CLEW AT LAST
XXIII.--RECROSSING THE RIVER
XXIV.--A SUMMONS AND A SURRENDER
XXV.--LONE BEAR'S REVELATION
XXVI.--AN INTERESTING QUESTION
XXVII.--A STRANGE STORY
XXVIII.--A STARTLING INTERRUPTION
XXIX.--A FIGHT AND A RETREAT
XXX.--A SURPRISING DISCOVERY
XXXI.--A FATAL FAILURE
XXXII.--THE PRAYER OF HAY-UTA IS THE PRAYER OF DEERFOOT
XXXIII.--CONCLUSION
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
AN UNWELCOME SUMMONS.
A DISPUTED POINT.
A CRITICAL SITUATION.
THE DEATH OF HAY-UTA.
FOOTPRINTS IN THE FOREST.
CHAPTER I.
RETROSPECTIVE.
Those of my friends who have done me the honor of reading "Campfire and
Wigwam," will need little help to recall the situation at the close of
that narrative. The German lad Otto Relstaub, having lost his horse,
while on the way from Kentucky to the territory of Louisiana (their
destination being a part of the present State of Missouri), he and his
young friend, Jack Carleton, set out to hunt for the missing animal.
Naturally enough they failed: not only that, but the two fell into the
hands of a band of wandering Sauk Indians, who held them prisoners.
Directly after the capture of the lads, their captors parted company,
five going in one direction with Jack and the other five taking a
different course with Otto. "Camp-Fire and Wigwam" gave the particulars
of what befell Jack Carleton. In this story, I propose to tell all about
the hunt that was made for the honest lad, who had few friends, and who
had been driven from his own home by the cruelty of his parents to
engage in a search which would have been laughable in its absurdity, but
for the danger that marked it from the beginning.
The youth, however, had three devoted friends in Jack Carleton, his
mother, and Deerfoot, the Shawanoe. But for the compassion which the
good woman felt for the lad, she never would have consented that her
beloved son should enter the wilderness for the purpose of bringing him
home.
One fact must be borne in mind, however, in recalling the two
expeditions. In the former Jack and Otto were the actors, but now the
hunters were Jack and Deerfoot, and therein lay all the difference in the
world. Well aware of the wonderful woodcraft of the young warrior, his
courage and devotion to his friends, the parent had little if any
misgivings, when she kissed her boy good-by, and saw him enter the
wilderness in the company of the dusky Shawanoe.
Something like a fortnight had gone by, when Deerfoot and Jack Carleton
sat near a camp-fire which had been kindled in the depths of the forest,
well to the westward of the little frontier settlement of Martinsville.
The air was crisp and cool, and two days had passed since any rain had
fallen, so the climate could not have been more favorable.
The camp was similar to many that have been described before, and with
which the reader has become familiar long ago. It was simply a small
pile of blazing sticks, started close to a large tree, with a little
stream of water winding just beyond. More wood was heaped near, and Jack
was lolling lazily on the blanket which he had brought with him, while
his friend sat on the pile of sticks opposite.
"Deerfoot, you remember I told you that while I was in the lodge of
Ogallah, an Indian came in who was one of the five that had taken Otto
away?"
The Shawanoe nodded his head to signify he recalled the incident.
"He made some of the queerest gestures to me, which I could no more
understand than I could make out what his gibberish meant, but when I
described his actions to you, you said they meant that Otto was still
alive--that is, so far as the Indian knew?"
"My brother speaks the truth: such was the message of the Sauk warrior."
"They say all the red men can talk with each other by means of signs,
but, without asking you to explain every word of the Sauk, I would like
to hear again what it was he meant to tell me."
"He said that Otto had been given to a party of Indians, and they had
started westward toward the setting sun with him."
"But why did they turn him over to the strangers?"
"Deerfoot was not there to ask the Sauk," was the reply of the young
Shawanoe.
"That is true, for if you had been, you would have known all about it;
but, old fellow, you can explain one thing: why do you not make your way
to the Sauk village and get those warriors to give you the particulars?"
Such it would seem was the true course of the dusky youth, on whom it
may be said the success or failure of the enterprise rested. He was
silent a minute as though the question caused him some thought.
"It may be my brother is right, but it is a long ways to the lodges of
the Sauks, and when they were reached it may be they could tell no more
than Deerfoot knows."
Jack Carleton did not understand this remark.
He knew how little information he had given his friend, and it seemed
idle to say that the real captors of Otto Relstaub could not tell more
of him.
Strange things happen in this life. Several times during the afternoon
Deerfoot stopped and glanced about him, just as Jack had seen him do
when enemies were in the wood. He made no remark by way of explanation,
and his friend asked him no question.
"It seems to me the Sauks can tell a good deal more than I; for
instance--"
Deerfoot suddenly raised his forefinger and leaned his head forward and
sideways. It was his attitude of intense attention, and he had signaled
for Jack to hold his peace. The tableau lasted a full minute. Then
Deerfoot looked toward his friend, and smiled and nodded, as if to say
it had turned out just as he expected.
"What in the name of the mischief _is_ the matter?" asked Jack, unable
longer to repress his curiosity; "you've been acting queer all the
afternoon."
"Deerfoot and his friend have been followed by some Indian warrior for
many miles. He is not far away; he is now coming softly toward the camp;
I have heard him often; he is near at hand."
"If he wants to make our acquaintance, there is no reason why he should
feel so bashful," remarked Jack, glancing at different points in the
darkening woods; "I don't see any reason why he should prowl around in
that fashion."
The lad's uneasiness was increased by the fact that Deerfoot was
manifestly looking over his head and into the forest behind Jack, as
though the object which caused his remarks was coming from that
direction.
"The Indian is not far off--he is coming this way--he will be in camp in
a breath."
"And, if I stay here, he will stumble over me and perhaps break his
neck," remarked Jack, who caught the rustle of leaves, and springing to
his feet, faced toward the point whence the stranger was approaching.
It can not be said that the youth felt any special alarm, for he knew
the sagacious Deerfoot would take care of him, but the knowledge that an
armed stranger is stealing up behind a person, is calculated to make him
nervous.
At the moment Jack faced about, he caught the outlines of a middle-aged
warrior, who strode noiselessly from the wood and stepped into the full
glare of the camp light. Without noticing Jack, he advanced to Deerfoot,
who shook him by the hand, while the two spoke some words in a tongue
which the lad did not understand.
But when the visitor stood revealed in the firelight, the boy looked him
over and recognized him. He was the Indian who came into the hut of
Ogallah, the Sauk chieftain, when Jack was a captive, and who went
through the odd gesticulations, which the lad remembered well enough to
repeat to Deerfoot, who, in turn, interpreted them to mean that Otto
Relstaub had not been put to death, as the two youths had feared.
It was strange indeed that he should come to the camp of the lads, at
the very time they were in need of such information as he could give.
While Jack identified the visitor as that personage, Deerfoot recognized
him even sooner as Hay-uta, the Man-who-Runs-without-Falling. It was he
who, while on a hunt for scalps, came upon the young Shawanoe and
engaged him in a hand-to-hand encounter. You will recall how he was
disarmed and vanquished by the younger warrior, and how the latter read
to him from his Bible, and told him of the Great Spirit who dwelt beyond
the stars, and whose will was contained in the little volume which was
the companion of the Shawanoe. Hay-uta showed he was deeply impressed,
and abruptly went away.
It will be remembered, therefore, that there were peculiar circumstances
which caused the two red men to feel friendly toward each other and
which led them to spend several minutes talking with such earnestness
that neither seemed aware that another party was near. Jack did not
object, but busied himself in studying the two aborigines.
Hay-uta has been already described as a middle-aged warrior. He was
strong, iron-limbed and daring, but was not to be compared as respects
grace, dignity and manly beauty to Deerfoot. What specially attracted
Jack's attention was the rifle which he idly held with one hand while
talking, the stock resting on the ground. It was the finest weapon the
lad had ever seen--that is so far as appearance went. The stock was
ornamented with silver, and the make and finish were as complete as was
ever seen in those days. It was a rifle that would awaken admiration
anywhere.
"I shouldn't wonder if he shot the owner so as to get it," thought the
lad.
But therein he did the Sauk injustice. The savage gave all the furs and
peltries that he was able to take during an entire winter to a white
trader from St. Louis, who with a similar weapon bought enough more
supplies to load him and his animal for their return trip to that
frontier post.
While Hay-uta and Deerfoot talked, they smiled, nodded and gesticulated
continually. Of course the watcher could not guess what they were
talking about, until he noticed that Hay-uta was making the same motions
that he saw him use in the lodge of Ogallah, adding, however, several
variations which the youth was unable to recall.
"By George!" muttered Jack, "they're talking about Otto; now I shall
learn something of him."
When the conversation had lasted some minutes, the talkers appeared to
become aware that a third party was near. A remark of Deerfoot caused
Hay-uta to turn and look at the young man, as though uncertain that he
had ever met him before.
"Hay-uta has traveled a long ways since my brother saw him," said
Deerfoot, who did not deem it worth while to explain why it was he had
made such a journey: "he followed us a good while before he knew I was
his friend; then he came to the camp that he might talk with me."
Hay-uta, though unable to understand these words, seemed to catch their
meaning from the tone of Deerfoot, for they were scarcely spoken, when
he extended his hand to Jack, who, of course, pressed it warmly and
looked the welcome which he could not put into words that would be
understood.
These ceremonies over, all three sat on the ground, Hay-uta lit his pipe
and the singular conversation continued, Deerfoot interpreting to his
friend, when he had any thing to tell that would interest him.
"What does he know about Otto?" asked Jack.
"He cannot tell much: the warriors who made him prisoner walked slowly
till the next morning; they took another path to their lodges; on the
road they met some strange Indians, and they sold our brother to them
for two blankets, some wampum, a knife and three strings of beads."
"How many Indians were there in the party that bought Otto"
Deerfoot conferred with Hay-uta before answering.
"Four: they were large, strong and brave, and they wanted our brother;
so he was sold, as the young man was sold by his brothers and taken into
a far land, and afterward became the great chief of the country, and the
friend of his brethren and aged father."
Astonished as was Jack Carleton to hear these tidings, he was more
astonished to note that the young Shawanoe was comparing the experience
of Otto Relstaub with that of the touching narrative told in the Old
Testament of Joseph and his brethren.