Reach a hunter's cabin on the outskirts of the wilderness--He agrees
to accompany us--Enter the Ozark Hills--Encounter an encampment
of the Delaware Indians--Character of the country--Its alpine
air, and the purity of its waters.--Ascend to the source of the
Merrimack--Reach a game country--Deserted by the hunter and guide,
and abandoned to individual exertions in these arts.
Every joint labour, which proceeds on the theory, that each person
engaged in it is to render some personal service, must, in order that it
may go on pleasantly and succeed well, have a definite order, or rule of
progress; and this is as requisite in a journey in the wilderness as any
where else. Our rule was to lead the pack horse, and to take the compass
and guide ahead, alternately, day by day. It was thought, I had the best
art in striking and making a fire, and when we halted for the night,
always did this, while my companion procured water and put it in a way
to boil for tea. We carried tea, as being lighter and more easy to make
than coffee. In this way we divided, as equally as possible, the daily
routine of duties, and went on pleasantly. We had now reached the last
settlement on the frontier, and after a couple of hours' walk, from our
last place of lodging, we reached the last house, on the outer verge of
the wilderness. It was a small, newly erected log hut, occupied by a
hunter of the name of Roberts, and distant about 20 miles from, and
south-west of Potosi. Our approach here was also heralded by dogs. Had
we been wolves or panthers, creeping upon the premises at midnight, they
could not have performed their duty more noisily. Truly this was a very
primitive dwelling, and as recent in its structure as it was primitive.
Large fallen trees lay about, just as the axeman had felled them, and
partly consumed by fire. The effect of this partial burning had been
only to render these huge trunks black and hideous. One of them lay in
front of the cottage. In other places were to be seen deer skins
stretched to dry; and deers' feet and antlers lay here and there. There
was not a foot of land in cultivation. It was quite evident at first
sight, that we had reached the dwelling of a border hunter, and not a
tiller of the ground. But the owner was absent, as we learned from his
wife, a spare, shrewd dark-skinned little woman, drest in buckskin, who
issued from the door before we reached it, and welcomed us by the term
of "Strangers." Although this is a western term, which supplies the
place of the word "friend," in other sections of the union, and she
herself seemed to be thoroughly a native of these latitudes, no Yankee
could have been more inquisitive, in one particular department of
enquiry, namely the department relative to the chace. She inquired our
object--the course and distance we proposed to travel, and the general
arrangements of horse-gear, equipage, &c. She told us of the danger of
encountering the Osages, and scrutinized our arms. Such an examination
would indeed, for its thoroughness, have put a lad to his trumps, who
had come prepared for his first quarter's examination at a country
academy. She told us, con amore, that her husband would be back
soon,--as soon indeed as we could get our breakfast, and that he would
be glad to accompany us, as far as Ashley's Cave, or perhaps farther.
This was an opportunity not to be slighted. We agreed to wait, and
prepare our morning's meal, to which she contributed some well baked
corn cakes. By this time, and before indeed we had been long there,
Roberts came in. It is said that a hunter's life is a life of feasting
or fasting. It appeared to be one of the latter seasons, with him. He
had been out to scour the precincts, for a meat breakfast, but came home
empty handed. He was desirous to go out in the direction we were
steering, which he represented to abound in game, but feared to venture
far alone, on account of the rascally Osages. He did not fear the
Delawares, who were near by. He readily accepted our offer to accompany
us as hunter. Roberts, like his forest help-mate, was clothed in deer
skin. He was a rather chunky, stout, middle sized man, with a ruddy
face, cunning features, and a bright unsteady eye. Such a fellow's final
destination would not be a very equivocal matter, were he a resident of
the broad neighbourhood of Sing Sing, or "sweet Auburn:" but here, he
was a man that might, perhaps, be trusted on an occasion like this, and
we, at any rate, were glad to have his services on the terms stipulated.
Even while we were talking he began to clean his rifle, and adjust his
leathern accoutrements: he then put several large cakes of corn bread in
a sack, and in a very short time he brought a stout little horse out of
a log pen, which served for a barn; and clapping an old saddle on his
back and mounting him, with his rifle in one hand, said, "I am ready,"
and led off. We now had a guide, as well as a hunter, and threw this
burden wholly on him. Our course lay up a long ridge of hard bound clay
and chert soil, in the direction of the sources of the Marameg, or, as
it is now universally called and written, Merrimack. After travelling
about four miles we suddenly descended from an acclivity into a grassy,
woodless valley, with a brisk clear stream winding through it, and
several lodges of Indians planted on its borders. This, our guide told
us, was the Ozaw Fork of the Merrimack, (in modern geographical parlance
Ozark.) And here we found the descendants and remainder of that once
powerful tribe of whom William Penn purchased the site of Philadelphia,
and whose ancient dominion extended, at the earliest certain historical
era, along the banks the Lennapihittuck, or Delaware river. Two of them
were at home, it being a season of the year, and time of day, when the
men are out hunting. Judging from peculiarity of features, manners and
dress, it would seem to be impossible that any people, should have
remained so long in contact with or juxtaposition to the European races
and changed so little, in all that constitutes national and personal
identity. Roberts looked with no very friendly eye upon these ancient
lords of the forest, the whole sum of his philosophy and philanthropy
being measured by the very tangible circle of prairie and forests, which
narrowed his own hunting grounds. They were even then, deemed to have
been injudiciously located, by intelligent persons in the west, and have
long since removed to a permanent location, out of the corporate limits
of the States and Territories, at the junction of the river Konga with
the Missouri. I should have been pleased to have lengthened our short
halt, but the word seemed with him and Enobitti to be "onward," and
onward we pushed. We were now fairly in the Ozark chain--a wide and
almost illimitable tract, of which it may be said, that the vallies only
are susceptible of future cultivation. The intervening ridges and
mountains are nearly destitute of forest, often perfectly so, and in
almost all cases, sterile, and unfit for the plough. It is probable
sheep might be raised on some of these eminences, which possess a
sufficiency of soil to permit the grasses to be sown. Geologically, it
has a basis of limestones, resting on sand-stones. Unfortunately for its
agricultural character, the surface has been covered with a foreign
diluvium of red clay filled with chips of horstone, chert and broken
quartz, which make the soil hard and compact. Its trees are few and
stunted; its grass coarse. In looking for the origin of such a soil, it
seems probable to have resulted from broken down slates and schists on
the upper Missouri and below the range of the Rocky Mountains, in which
these broken and imbedded substances originally constituted veins. It is
only in the vallies, and occasional plains, that a richer and more
carbonaceous soil has accumulated. The purest springs, however, gush out
of its hills; its atmosphere is fine and healthful, and it constitutes a
theatre of Alpine attractions, which will probably render it, in future
years, the resort of shepherds, lovers of mountain scenery, and
valetudinarians. There is another remark to be made of the highland
tracts of the Ozark range. They look, in their natural state, more
sterile than they actually are, from the effects of autumnal fires.
These fires, continued for ages by the natives, to clear the ground for
hunting, have had the effect not only to curtail and destroy large
vegetation, but all the carbonaceous particles of the top soil have been
burned, leaving the surface in the autumn, rough, red, dry and hard.
When a plough comes to be put into such a surface, it throws up quite a
different soil; and the effects of light, and the sun's heat are often
found, as I have noticed in other parts of the west, to produce a dark
and comparatively rich soil.
We occupied the entire day in ascending and crossing the ridge of land,
which divides the little valley of the Oza from that of the Merrimack.
When getting near the latter, the soil exhibited traces of what appeared
to be iron ore, but somewhat peculiar in its character, and of dark
hue. This soon revealed itself, in passing a short distance, in an
abundant locality of black and coloured oxide of manganese--lying in
masses in the arid soil. The Indian trail which we were pursuing led
across the valley. We forded the river on foot. No encampments of
Indians were found, nor any very recent traces of them; and we began to
think that the accounts of Osage depredations and plundering, must be
rather exaggerated. The river pours its transparent mountain waters over
a wide bed of pebbles and small boulders, and, at this season, offered
but little impediment to the horses or ourselves in crossing it. The sun
was getting low, by the time we reached the opposite side of the valley,
and we encamped on its borders, a mile or two above. Here we took due
care of our horses, prepared our evening's meal, talked over the day's
adventures, enjoyed ourselves sitting before our camp fire, with the
wild wide creation before us and around, and then sank to a sound repose
on our pallets.
Novices in the woodman's art, and raw in the business of travelling, our
sleep was sounder and more death-like, than that of Roberts. His eye had
shown a restlessness during the afternoon and evening. We were now in a
game country, the deer and elk began to be frequently seen, and their
fresh tracks across our path, denoted their abundance. During the night
they ventured about our camp, so as to disturb the ears of the weary
hunter, and indeed, my own. He got up and found both horses missing.
Butcher's memory of Mine a Burton corn fodder had not deserted him, and
he took the hunter's horse along with him. I jumped up, and accompanied
him, in their pursuit. They were both overtaken about three miles back
on the track, making all possible speed homeward, that their tethered
fore legs would permit. We conducted them back, without disturbing my
companion, and he then went out with his rifle, and quickly brought in a
fine fat doe, for our breakfast. Each one cut fine pieces of steaks, and
roasted for himself. We ate it with a little salt, and the remainder of
the hunter's corn cakes, and finished the repast, with a pint cup each,
of Enobitti's best tea. This turned out to be _a finale_ meal with our
Fourche a Courtois man, Roberts: for the rascal, a few hours afterwards,
deserted us, and went back. Had he given any intimation of
dissatisfaction, or a desire to return, we should have been in a measure
prepared for it. It is probable his fears of the then prevalent bug-bear
of those frontiersmen, the Osages, were greater than our own. It is also
probable, that he had no other idea whatever, in leaving the Fourche a
Courtois, than to avail himself of our protection till he could get into
a region where he could shoot deer enough in a single morning to load
down his horse, with the choicest pieces, and lead him home. This the
event, at least, rendered probable; and the fellow not only deserted us
meanly, but he carried off my best new hunting knife, with scabbard and
belt--a loss not easily repaired in such a place.
To cloak his plan, he set out with us in the morning: it had rained a
little, during the latter part of the night, and was lowering and dark
all the morning. After travelling about ten miles, we left the Osage
trail, which began to bear too far north-west, and struck through the
woods in a south course, with the view of reaching Ashley's Cave on one
of the head streams of the river currents. Soon after leaving this
trail, Roberts, who was in advance on our left, about half a mile, fired
at, and killed, a deer, and immediately re-loaded, pursued and fired
again; telling us to continue on our course, as he, being on horseback,
could easily overtake us. We neither heard nor saw more of him. Night
overtook us near the banks of a small lake, or rather a series of little
lakes or ponds, communicating with each other, where we encamped. After
despatching our supper, and adjusting, in talk, the day's rather
eventful incidents, and the morrow's plan of march, we committed
ourselves to rest, but had not sunk into forgetfulness, when a pack of
wolves set up their howl in our vicinity. We had been told that these
animals will not approach near a fire, and are not to be dreaded in a
country where deer abound. They follow the track of the hunter, to share
such part of the carcass as he leaves, and it is their nature to herd
together and run down this animal as their natural prey. We slept well,
but it is worthy of notice, that on awaking about day break, the howling
of the wolves was still heard, and at about the same distance. They had
probably serenaded us all night. Our fire was nearly out; we felt some
chilliness, and determined to rekindle it, and prepare our breakfast
before setting forward. It was now certain, that Roberts was gone.
Luckily he had not carried off our compass, for _that_ would have been
an accident fatal to the enterprise.