The Dog Crusoe and His Master: A Story of Adventure in the Western Prairies, - [books for new readers .TXT] 📗

the fur-trade in that country
was carried on in a very different way from the manner
in which it is now conducted. These wild regions, indeed,
are still as lonesome and untenanted (save by
wild beasts and wandering tribes of Indians) as they
were then; but the Indians of the present day have
become accustomed to the "Pale-face" trader, whose
little wooden forts or trading-posts are dotted here and
there, at wide intervals, all over the land. But in the
days of which we write it was not so. The fur-traders
at that time went forth in armed bands into the heart
of the Indians' country, and he who went forth did so
"with his life in his hand." As in the case of the
soldier who went out to battle, there was great probability
that he might never return.

The band of which Walter Cameron was the chief
had, many months before, started from one of the distant
posts of Oregon on a hunting expedition into the
then totally unknown lands of the Snake Indians. It
consisted of about sixty men, thirty women, and as
many children of various ages--about a hundred and
twenty souls in all. Many of the boys were capable of
using the gun and setting a beaver-trap. The men were
a most motley set. There were Canadians, half-breeds,
Iroquois, and Scotchmen. Most of the women had
Indian blood in their veins, and a few were pure
Indians.

The equipment of this strange band consisted of upwards
of two hundred beaver-traps--which are similar to
our rat-traps, with this difference, that they have two
springs and no teeth--seventy guns, a few articles for
trade with the Indians, and a large supply of powder
and ball; the whole--men, women, children, goods, and
chattels--being carried on the backs of nearly four
hundred horses. Many of these horses, at starting, were
not laden, being designed for the transport of furs that
were to be taken in the course of the season.

For food this adventurous party depended entirely on
their guns, and during the march hunters were kept
constantly out ahead. As a matter of course, their
living was precarious. Sometimes their kettles were
overflowing; at others they scarce refrained from eating
their horses. But during the months they had already
spent in the wilderness good living had been the rule,
starvation the exception. They had already collected a
large quantity of beaver skins, which at that time were
among the most valuable in the market, although they
are now scarcely saleable!
Having shot two wild horses, seven elks, six small
deer, and four big-horned sheep the day before they
met Dick Varley, the camp kettles were full, and the
people consequently happy.

"Now, Master Dick Varley," said Cameron, touching
the young hunter on the shoulder as he stood ready
equipped by one of the camp-fires, "I'm at your service.
The people won't need any more looking after to-night.
I'll divide my men--thirty shall go after this rascally
band of Peigans, for such I believe they are, and thirty
shall remain to guard the camp. Are you ready?"

"Ready! ay, this hour past."

"Mount then, lad; the men have already been told
off, and are mustering down yonder where the deer gave
you such a licking."

Dick needed no second bidding. He vaulted on
Charlie's back, and along with their commander joined
the men, who were thirty as fine, hardy, reckless looking
fellows as one could desire for a forlorn-hope. They
were chatting and laughing while they examined their
guns and saddle-girths. Their horses were sorry looking
animals compared with the magnificent creature
that Dick bestrode, but they were hardy, nevertheless,
and well fitted for their peculiar work.

"My! wot a blazer!" exclaimed a trapper as Dick
rode up.

"Where you git him?" inquired a half-breed.

"I caught him," answered Dick.

"Baw!" cried the first speaker.

Dick took no notice of this last remark.

"No, did ye though?" he asked again.

"I did," answered Dick quietly. "I creased him in
the prairie; you can see the mark on his neck if you
look."

The men began to feel that the young hunter was
perhaps a little beyond them at their own trade, and regarded
him with increased respect.

"Look sharp now, lads," said Cameron, impatiently,
to several dilatory members of the band. "Night will
be on us ere long."

"Who sold ye the bear-claw collar?" inquired another
man of Dick.

"I didn't buy it. I killed the bear and made it."

"Did ye, though, all be yer lone?"

"Ay; that wasn't much, was it?"

"You've begun well, yonker," said a tall, middle-aged
hunter, whose general appearance was not unlike that of
Joe Blunt. "Jest keep clear o' the Injuns an' the grog
bottle, an' ye've a glor'ous life before ye."

At this point the conversation was interrupted by the
order being given to move on, which was obeyed in
silence, and the cavalcade, descending the valley, entered
one of the gorges in the mountains.

For the first half-mile Cameron rode a little ahead of
his men, then he turned to speak to one of them, and
for the first time observed Crusoe trotting close beside
his master's horse.

"Ah! Master Dick," he exclaimed with a troubled
expression, "that won't do. It would never do to take a dog on an
expedition like this."

"Why not?" asked Dick; "the pup's quiet and peaceable."

"I doubt it not; but he will betray our presence to
the Indians, which might be inconvenient."

"I have travelled more than a thousand miles through
prairie and forest, among game an' among Injuns, an'
the pup never betrayed me yet," said Dick, with suppressed
vehemence. "He has saved my life more than
once though."

"You seem to have perfect confidence in your dog,
but as this is a serious matter you must not expect me
to share in it without proof of his trustworthiness."

"The pup may be useful to us; how would you have
it proved?" inquired Dick.

"Any way you like."

"You forgot your belt at starting, I think I heerd
ye say."

"Yes, I did," replied the trader, smiling.

Dick immediately took hold of Cameron's coat, and
bade Crusoe smell it, which the dog did very carefully.
Then he showed him his own belt and said, "Go back
to the camp and fetch it, pup."

Crusoe was off in a moment, and in less than twenty
minutes returned with Cameron's belt in his mouth.

"Well, I'll trust him," said Cameron, patting Crusoe's
head. "Forward, lads!" and away they went at a brisk
trot along the bottom of a beautiful valley on each side
of which the mountains towered in dark masses. Soon
the moon rose and afforded light sufficient to enable
them to travel all night in the track of the Indian
hunter who said he had seen the Peigans, and who was
constituted guide to the party. Hour after hour the
horsemen pressed on without check, now galloping over
a level plain, now bounding by the banks of a rivulet,
or bending their heads to escape the boughs of overhanging
trees, and anon toiling slowly up among the
rocks of some narrow defile. At last the moon set, and
the order was given to halt in a little plain where there
were wood and water.

The horses were picketed, a fire kindled, a mouthful
of dried meat hastily eaten, the watch was set, and then
each man scraped away the snow, spread some branches
on the ground, and wrapping himself in his blanket,
went to sleep with his feet presented towards the fire.

Two hours were allowed for rest; then they were
awakened, and in a few minutes were off again by the
gray light of dawn. In this way they travelled two
nights and a day. At the end of that time they came
suddenly on a small party of nine Indians, who were
seated on the ground with their snow-shoes and blankets
by their sides. They had evidently been taken by surprise,
but they made no attempt to escape, knowing
that it was useless. Each sat still with his bow and
arrows between his legs on the ground ready for instant
use.

As soon as Cameron spoke, however, in their own
language they felt relieved, and began to talk.

"Where do you come from, and what are you doing
here?" asked the trader.

"We have come to trade with the white men," one
of them replied, "and to hunt. We have come from
the Missouri. Our country is far away."

"Do Peigans hunt with war-arrows?" asked Cameron,
pointing to their weapons.

This question seemed to perplex them, for they saw
that their interrogator knew the difference between a
war and a hunting arrow--the former being barbed in
order to render its extraction from the wound difficult,
while the head of the latter is round, and can be drawn
out of game that has been killed, and used again.

"And do Peigans," continued Cameron, "come from a
far country to trade with the white men with nothing?"

Again the Indians were silent, for they had not an
article to trade about them.

Cameron now felt convinced that this party of
Peigans, into whose hands Joe Blunt and Henri had
fallen, were nothing else than a war party, and that
the men now before him were a scouting party sent out
from them, probably to spy out his own camp, on the
trail of which they had fallen, so he said to them:--

"The Peigans are not wise men; they tell lies to the
traders. I will tell you that you are a war party, and
that you are only a few warriors sent out to spy the
traders' camp. You have also two Pale-face prisoners
in your camp. You cannot deceive me. It is useless
to try. Now, conduct me to your camp. My object
is not war; it is peace. I will speak with your chiefs
about trading with the white men, and we will smoke
the pipe of peace. Are my words good?"

Despite their proverbial control of muscle, these Indians
could not conceal their astonishment at hearing
so much of their affairs thus laid bare; so they said
that the Pale-face chief was wise, that he must be a
great medicine man, and that what he said was all true
except about the white men. They had never seen any
Pale-faces, and knew nothing whatever about those he
spoke of.

This was a terrible piece of news to poor Dick, and
at first his heart fairly sank within him, but by degrees
he came to be more hopeful. He concluded that if
these men told lies in regard to one thing, they would
do it in regard to another, and perhaps they might
have some strong reason for denying any knowledge of
Joe and Henri.

The Indians now packed up the buffalo robes on
which they had slept, and the mouthful of provisions
they had taken with them.

"I don't believe a word of what they say about your
friends," said Cameron to Dick in a low tone while the
Indians were thus engaged. "Depend upon it they
hope to hide them till they can send to the settlements
and get a ransom, or till they get an opportunity of
torturing them to death before their women and children
when they get back to their own village. But
we'll balk them, my friend, do not fear."

The Indians were soon ready to start, for they were
cumbered with marvellously little camp equipage. In
less than half-an-hour after their discovery they were
running like deer ahead of the cavalcade in the direction
of the Peigan camp.



CHAPTER XIX.


Adventures with the Peigans--Crusoe does good service as a
discoverer--The savages outwitted--The rescue.


A run of twenty miles brought the travellers to a
rugged defile in the mountains, from which they
had a view of a beautiful valley of considerable extent.
During the last two days a steady thaw had been rapidly
melting away the snow, so that it appeared only here
and there in the landscape in dazzling patches. At the
distance of about half-a-mile from where they halted to
breathe the horses before commencing the descent into
this vale, several thin wreaths of smoke were seen
rising above the trees.

"Is that your camp?" inquired Cameron, riding up
to the Indian runners, who stood in a group in front,
looking as fresh after their twenty miles' run as though
they had only had a short walk.

To this they answered in the affirmative, adding that
there were about two hundred Peigans there.

It might have been thought that thirty men would
have hesitated to venture to attack so large a number
as two hundred; but it had always been found in the
experience of Indian life that a few resolute white men
well armed were more than a match for ten times their
number of Indians. And this arose not so much from
the superior strength or agility of the Whites over their
red foes, as from that bull-dog courage and utter recklessness
of their lives in combat--qualities which the
crafty savage can neither imitate nor understand. The
information was received with perfect indifference by
most of the trappers, and with contemptuous laughter
by some; for a large number of Cameron's men were
wild, evil-disposed fellows, who would have as gladly
taken the life of an Indian as that of a buffalo.

Just as the word was given to resume the