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twg_000012582300 | sulkily, with his tail very much between his legs. Little wonder, then, that Crusoe was beloved by great and small among the well-disposed of the canine tribes of the Mustang Valley. But Crusoe was not a mere machine. When not actively engaged in Dick Varley's service, he busied himself with private little matters of h... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582301 | excursions into the woods or along the margin of the lake, sometimes alone, but more frequently with a little friend whose whole heart and being seemed to be swallowed up in admiration of his big companion. Whether Crusoe botanised or geologised on these excursions we will not venture to say. Assuredly he seemed as tho... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582302 | poked his nose into every bush and tuft of moss, and turned over the stones, and dug holes in the ground--and, in short, if he did not understand these sciences, he behaved very much as if he did. Certainly he knew as much about them as many of the human species do. In these walks he never took the slightest | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582303 | notice of Grumps (that was the little dog's name), but Grumps made up for this by taking excessive notice of _him_. When Crusoe stopped, Grumps stopped and sat down to look at him. When Crusoe trotted on, Grumps trotted on too. When Crusoe examined a bush Grumps sat down to watch him, and when he dug a hole Grumps look... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582304 | into it to see what was there. Grumps never helped him; his sole delight was in looking on. They didn't converse much, these two dogs. To be in each other's company seemed to be happiness enough--at least Grumps thought so. There was one point at which Grumps stopped short, however, and ceased to follow his friend; and... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582305 | he rushed headlong into the lake and disported himself for an hour at a time in its cool waters. Crusoe was, both by nature and training, a splendid water-dog. Grumps, on the contrary, held water in abhorrence, so he sat on the shores of the lake disconsolate when his friend was bathing, and waited till he came out. Th... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582306 | time when Grumps was thoroughly nonplussed, was when Dick Varley's whistle sounded faintly in the far distance. Then Crusoe would prick up his ears, and stretch out at full gallop, clearing ditch, and fence, and brake with his strong elastic bound, and leaving Grumps to patter after him as fast as his four-inch legs wo... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582307 | arrived at the village, to find both dog and master gone, and would betake himself to his own dwelling, there to lie down and sleep, and dream, perchance, of rambles and gambols with his gigantic friend. CHAPTER FIVE. A MISSION OF PEACE--UNEXPECTED JOYS--DICK AND CRUSOE SET OFF FOR THE LAND OF THE RED-SKINS, AND MEET W... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582308 | AS A MATTER OF COURSE--NIGHT IN THE WILD WOODS. One day the inhabitants of Mustang Valley were thrown into considerable excitement by the arrival of an officer of the United States army and a small escort of cavalry. They went direct to the block-house, which, since Major Hope's departure, had become the residence of J... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582309 | general consent, been deemed the fittest man in the settlement to fill the major's place. Soon it began to be noised abroad that the strangers had been sent by Government to endeavour to bring about, if possible, a more friendly state of feeling between the whites and the Indians, by means of presents, and promises, an... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582310 | remained all night in the block-house, and ere long it was reported that Joe Blunt had been requested, and had consented, to be the leader and chief of a party of three men who should visit the neighbouring tribes of Indians, to the west and north of the valley, as Government agents. Joe's knowledge of two or three dif... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582311 | dialects, and his well-known sagacity, rendered him a most fitting messenger on such an errand. It was also whispered that Joe was to have the choosing of his comrades in this mission, and many were the opinions expressed and guesses made as to who would be chosen. That same evening Dick Varley was sitting in his mothe... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582312 | rifle; his mother was preparing supper and talking quietly about the obstinacy of a particular hen that had taken to laying her eggs in places where they could not be found; Fan was coiled up in a corner sound asleep, and Crusoe was sitting at one side of the fire looking on at things in general. "I wonder," remarked M... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582313 | Varley, as she spread the table with a pure white napkin; "I wonder what the sodgers are doin' wi' Joe Blunt." As often happens when an individual is mentioned, the worthy referred to opened the door at that moment and stepped into the room. "Good-e'en t'ye, dame," said the stout hunter, doffing his cap, and resting hi... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582314 | corner, while Dick rose and placed a chair for him. "The same to you, Master Blunt," answered the widow; "you've jist comed in good time for a cut o' venison." "Thanks, mistress, I s'pose we're beholden to the silver rifle for that." "To the hand that aimed it, rather," suggested the widow. "Nay, then, say raither to t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582315 | turned it," said Dick Varley. "But for Crusoe that buck would ha' bin couched in the woods this night." "Oh! if it comes to that," retorted Joe, "I'd lay it to the door o' Fan, for if she'd niver bin born nother would Crusoe. But it's good an' tender meat, whativer ways ye got it. Howsiver, I've other things to | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582316 | talk about jist now. Them sodgers that are eatin' buffalo tongues up at the block-house as if they'd niver ate meat before, and didn't hope to eat agin for a twelve-month--" "Ay, what o' them?" interrupted Mrs Varley; "I've bin wonderin' what was their errand." "Of coorse ye wos, Dame Varley; and I've comed here a' pur... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582317 | They want me to go to the Red-skins to make peace between them and us; and they've brought a lot o' goods to make them presents withal,-- beads, an' knives, an' lookin'-glasses, an vermilion paint, an' sich-like, jist as much as'll be a light load for one horse--for, ye see, nothin' can be done wi' the Red-skins withou... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582318 | a blessed mission," said the widow, "I wish it may succeed. D'ye think ye'll go?" "Go? ay, that will I." "I only wish they'd made the offer to me," said Dick with a sigh. "An' so they do make the offer, lad. They've gin me leave to choose the two men I'm to take with me, and I've comed straight | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582319 | to ask _you_. Ay or no, for we must up an' away by break o' day to-morrow." Mrs Varley started. "So soon?" she said, with a look of anxiety. "Ay; the Pawnees are at the Yellow Creek jist at this time, but I've heer'd they're 'bout to break up camp an' away west; so we'll need to use haste." "May | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582320 | I go, mother?" asked Dick, with a look of anxiety. There was evidently a conflict in the widow's breast, but it quickly ceased. "Yes, my boy," she said in her own low, quiet voice, "an' God go with ye. I knew the time must come soon, an' I thank Him that your first visit to the Red-skins will be on | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582321 | an errand o' peace. `Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.'" Dick grasped his mother's hand and pressed it to his cheek in silence. At the same moment Crusoe, seeing that the deeper feelings of his master were touched, and deeming it his duty to sympathise, rose up and thrust his no... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582322 | "Ah! pup," cried the young man hastily, "you must go too. Of course Crusoe goes, Joe Blunt?" "Hum! I don't know that. There's no dependin' on a dog to keep his tongue quiet in times o' danger." "Believe me," exclaimed Dick, flashing with enthusiasm, "Crusoe's more trustworthy than I am myself. If ye can trust the maste... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582323 | trust the pup." "Well, lad, ye may be right. We'll take him." "Thanks, Joe. And who else goes with us?" "I've bin castin' that in my mind for some time, an' I've fixed to take Henri. He's not the safest man in the valley, but he's the truest, that's a fact. And now, younker, get yer horse an' rifle ready, | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582324 | and come to the block-house at daybreak to-morrow. Good luck to ye, mistress, till we meet agin." Joe Blunt rose, and taking up his rifle,--without which he scarcely ever moved a foot from his own door,--left the cottage with rapid strides. "My son," said Mrs Varley, kissing Dick's cheek as he resumed his seat, "put th... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582325 | I made for it in your hunting shirt." She handed him a small pocket Bible. "Dear mother," he said, as he placed the arefully within the breast of his coat, "the Red-skin that takes that from me must take my scalp first. But don't fear for me. You've often said the Lord would protect me. So He will, mother, for | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582326 | sure it's an errand o' peace!" "Ay, that's it, that's it," murmured the widow in a half-soliloquy. Dick Varley spent that night in converse with his mother, and next morning at daybreak he was at the place of meeting mounted on his sturdy little horse, with the "silver rifle" on his shoulder, and Crusoe by his side. "T... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582327 | that's right. Nothin' like keepin' yer time," said Joe, as he led out a pack-horse from the gate of the block-house, while his own charger was held ready saddled by a man named Daniel Brand, who had been appointed to the charge of the block-house in his absence. "Where's Henri?--oh! here he comes," exclaimed Dick, as t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582328 | came thundering up the slope at a charge, on a horse that resembled its rider in size, and not a little in clumsiness of appearance. "Ah! mes boy. Him is a goot one to go," cried Henri, remarking Dick's smile as he pulled up. "No hoss on de plain can beat dis one, surement." "Now then, Henri, lend a hand | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582329 | to fix this pack, we've no time to palaver." By this time they were joined by several of the soldiers and a few hunters who had come to see them start. "Remember, Joe," cried one, "if you don't come back in three months we'll all come out in a band to seek you." "If we don't come back in less | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582330 | than that time, what's left o' us won't be worth seekin' for," said Joe, tightening the girth of his saddle. "Put a bit in yer own mouth, Henri," cried another, as the Canadian arranged his steed's bridle; "ye'll need it more than yer horse when ye git 'mong the red reptiles." "Vraiment, if mon mout' needs one bit your... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582331 | need one padlock." "Now, lads, mount!" cried Joe Blunt as he vaulted into the saddle. Dick Varley sprang lightly on his horse, and Henri made a rush at his steed and hurled his huge frame across its back with a violence that _ought_ to have brought it to the ground; but the tall, raw-boned, broad-chested roan was accus... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582332 | eccentricities of its master, and stood the shock bravely. Being appointed to lead the pack-horse, Henri seized its halter; then the three cavaliers shook their reins, and, waving their hands to their comrades, they sprang into the woods at full gallop, and laid their course for the "far west." For some time they gallo... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582333 | occupied with his own thoughts, Crusoe keeping close beside his master's horse. The two elder hunters evidently ruminated on the object of their mission and the prospects of success, for their countenances were grave and their eyes cast on the ground. Dick Varley, too, thought upon the Red-men, but his musings were dee... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582334 | _first_ adventure. The mountains, the plains, the Indians, the bears, the buffaloes, and a thousand other objects, danced wildly before his mind's eye, and his blood careered through his veins and flushed his forehead as he thought of what he should see and do, and felt the elastic vigour of youth respond in sympathy t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582335 | active little steed. He was a lover of nature, too, and his flashing eyes glanced observantly from side to side as they swept along,--sometimes through glades of forest trees; sometimes through belts of more open ground and shrubbery; anon by the margin of a stream, or along the shores of a little lake, and often over ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582336 | prairie-land,-- while the firm, elastic turf sent up a muffled sound from the tramp of their mettlesome chargers. It was a scene of wild, luxuriant beauty, that might almost (one could fancy) have drawn involuntary homage to its bountiful Creator from the lips even of an infidel. After a time Joe Blunt reined up, and t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582337 | ambling pace. Joe and his friend Henri were so used to these beautiful scenes that they had long ceased to be _enthusiastically_ affected by them, though they never ceased to delight in them. "I hope," said Joe, "that them sodgers 'll go their ways soon. I've no notion o' them chaps when they're left at a place wi' not... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582338 | do but whittle sticks." "Why, Joe!" exclaimed Dick Varley in a tone of surprise, "I thought you were admirin' the beautiful face o' nature all this time, and yer only thinkin' about the sodgers. Now, that's strange!" "Not so strange after all, lad," answered Joe. "When a man's used to a thing he gits to admire an' enjo... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582339 | speakin' much about it. But it _is_ true, boy, that mankind gits in coorse o' time to think little o' the blissins he's used to." "Oui, c'est _vrai_!" murmured Henri emphatically. "Well, Joe Blunt, it may be so; but I'm thankful _I'm_ not used to this sort o' thing yet," exclaimed Varley. "Let's have another gallop--so... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582340 | shouted the youth, as he shook his reins, and flew over a long stretch of prairie on which at that moment they entered. Joe smiled as he followed his enthusiastic companion, but after a short run he pulled up. "Hold on, youngster," he cried, "ye must larn to do as yer bid, lad; it's trouble enough to be among wild | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582341 | Injuns and wild buffaloes, as I hope soon to be, without havin' wild comrades to look after." Dick laughed and reined in his panting horse. "I'll be as obedient as Crusoe," he said, "and no one can beat him." "Besides," continued Joe, "the horses won't travel far if we begin by runnin' all the wind out o' them." "Wah!"... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582342 | Henri, as the led horse became restive; "I think we must give to him de pack-hoss for to lead, eh!" "Not a bad notion, Henri. We'll make that the penalty of runnin' off again; so look out, Master Dick." "I'm down," replied Dick with a modest air, "obedient as a baby, and won't run off again--till--the next time. By the | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582343 | way, Joe, how many days' provisions did ye bring?" "Two. That's 'nough to carry us to the Great Prairie, which is three weeks distant from this; our own good rifles must make up the difference, and keep us when we git there." "And s'pose we neither find deer nor buffalo," suggested Dick. "I s'pose we'll have to starve.... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582344 | cumfer'able to tink upon," remarked Henri. "More comfortable to think o' than to undergo," said Dick, "but I s'pose there's little chance o' that." "Well, not much," replied Joe Blunt, patting his horse's neck; "but d'ye see, lad, ye niver can count for sartin on anythin'. The deer and buffalo ought to be thick in them... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582345 | when the buffalo _are_ thick they covers the plains till ye can hardly see the end o' them; but, ye see, sometimes the rascally Red-skins takes it into their heads to burn the prairies, and sometimes ye find the place that should ha' bin black wi' buffalo, black as a coal wi' fire for miles an' miles on end. At | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582346 | other times the Red-skins go huntin' in 'ticlar places, and sweeps them clean o' every hoof that don't git away. Sometimes, too, the animals seems to take a scunner at a place and keeps out o' the way. But one way or another men gin'rally manage to scramble through." "Look yonder, Joe," exclaimed Dick, pointing to the ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582347 | distant ridge, where a small black object was seen moving against the sky, "that's a deer, ain't it?" Joe shaded his eyes with his hand and gazed earnestly at the object in question. "Yer right, boy; and by good luck we've got the wind of him. Cut in an' take your chance now. There's a long strip o' wood as'll | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582348 | let ye git close to him." Before the sentence was well finished, Dick and Crusoe were off at full gallop. For a few hundred yards they coursed along the bottom of a hollow; then turning to the right they entered the strip of wood, and in a few minutes gained the edge of it. Here Dick dismounted. "You can't help | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582349 | me here, Crusoe. Stay where you are, pup, and hold my horse." Crusoe seized the end of the line, which was fastened to the horse's nose, in his mouth, and lay down on a hillock of moss, submissively placing his chin on his fore-paws, and watching his master as he stepped noiselessly through the wood. In a few minutes D... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582350 | emerged from among the trees, and, creeping from bush to bush, succeeded in getting to within six hundred yards of the deer, which was a beautiful little antelope. Beyond the bush behind which he now crouched all was bare open ground, without a shrub or hillock large enough to conceal the hunter. There was a slight und... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582351 | however, which enabled him to advance about fifty yards further, by means of lying down quite flat and working himself forward like a serpent. Further than this he could not move without being seen by the antelope, which browsed on the ridge before him in fancied security. The distance was too great even for a long sho... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582352 | of a weak point in this little creature's nature which enabled him to accomplish his purpose--a weak point which it shares in common with animals of a higher order,--namely, curiosity. The little antelope of the North American prairies is intensely curious about everything that it does not quite understand, and will no... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582353 | up the mystery. Availing himself of this propensity, Dick did what both Indians and hunters are accustomed to do on these occasions,--he put a piece of rag on the end of his ramrod, and, keeping his person concealed and perfectly still, waved this miniature flag in the air. The antelope noticed it at once, and, prickin... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582354 | to advance, timidly and slowly, step by step, to see what remarkable phenomenon it could be. In a few seconds the flag was lowered, a sharp crack followed, and the antelope fell dead upon the plain. "Ha, boy! that's a good supper, anyhow," cried Joe, as he galloped up and dismounted. "Goot! dat is better nor dried meat... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582355 | "Give him to me; I will put him on my hoss, vich is strongar dan yourn. But ver is your hoss?" "He'll be here in a minute," replied Dick, putting his fingers to his mouth and giving forth a shrill whistle. The instant Crusoe heard the sound he made a savage and apparently uncalled-for dash at the horse's heels. This | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582356 | wild act, so contrary to the dog's gentle nature, was a mere piece of acting. He knew that the horse would not advance without getting a fright, so he gave him one in this way which sent him off at a gallop. Crusoe followed close at his heels, so as to bring the line alongside of the nag's body, and | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582357 | thereby prevent its getting entangled; but despite his best efforts the horse got on one side of a tree and he on the other, so he wisely let go his hold of the line, and waited till more open ground enabled him to catch it again. Then he hung heavily back, gradually checked the horse's speed, and finally trotted him | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582358 | up to his master's side. "'Tis a cliver cur, good sooth," exclaimed Joe Blunt in surprise. "Ah, Joe! you haven't seen much of Crusoe yet. He's as good as a man any day. I've done little else but train him for two years gone by, and he can do most anything but shoot--he can't handle the rifle nohow." "Ha! then, | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582359 | I tink perhaps hims could if he wos try," said Henri, plunging on to his horse with a laugh, and arranging the carcase of the antelope across the pommel of his saddle. Thus they hunted and galloped, and trotted and ambled on through wood and plain all day, until the sun began to descend below the tree-tops of the bluff... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582360 | on the west--then Joe Blunt looked about him for a place on which to camp, and finally fixed on a spot under the shadow of a noble birch by the margin of a little stream. The carpet of grass on its banks was soft like green velvet, and the rippling waters of the brook were clear as crystal--very different from | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582361 | the muddy Missouri into which it flowed. While Dick Varley felled and cut up firewood, Henri unpacked the horses and turned them loose to graze, and Joe kindled the fire and prepared venison steaks and hot tea for supper. In excursions of this kind it is customary to "hobble" the horses; that is, to tie their fore-legs... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582362 | they cannot run either fast or far, but are free enough to amble about with a clumsy sort of hop in search of food. This is deemed a sufficient check on their tendency to roam, although some of the knowing horses sometimes learn to hop so fast with their hobbles as to give their owners much trouble to recapture them. | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582363 | But when out in the prairies where Indians are known or supposed to be in the neighbourhood, the horses are picketed by means of a pin or stake attached to the ends of their long laryats, as well as hobbled-- for Indians deem it no disgrace to steal or tell lies, though they think it disgraceful to be found out | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582364 | in doing either. And so expert are these dark-skinned natives of the western prairies, that they will creep into the midst of an enemy's camp, cut the laryats and hobbles of several horses, spring suddenly on their backs, and gallop away. They not only steal from white men, but tribes that are at enmity steal from each... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582365 | boldness with which they do this is most remarkable. When Indians are travelling in a country where enemies are prowling, they guard their camps at night with jealous care. The horses in particular are both hobbled and picketed, and sentries are posted all round the camp. Yet, in spite of these precautions, hostile Ind... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582366 | creep into the camp. When a thief thus succeeds in effecting an entrance, his chief danger is past. He rises boldly to his feet, and, wrapping his blanket or buffalo robe round him, he walks up and down as if he were a member of the tribe. At the same time he dexterously cuts the laryats of such horses as | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582367 | he observes are not hobbled. He dare not stoop to cut the hobbles, as the action would be observed, and suspicion would be instantly aroused. He then leaps on the best horse he can find, and uttering a terrific war-whoop darts away into the plains, driving the loosened horses before him. No such dark thieves were suppo... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582368 | the camp under the birch-tree, however, so Joe, and Dick, and Henri ate their supper in comfort, and let their horses browse at will on the rich pasturage. A bright ruddy fire was soon kindled, which created, as it were, a little ball of light in the midst of surrounding darkness for the special use of our hardy hunter... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582369 | this magic circle all was warm, comfortable, and cheery. Outside all was dark, and cold, and dreary by contrast. When the substantial part of supper was disposed of, tea and pipes were introduced, and conversation began to flow. Then the three saddles were placed in a row; each hunter wrapped himself in his blanket, an... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582370 | saddle, stretched his feet towards the fire and went to sleep, with his loaded rifle by his side and his hunting-knife handy in his belt. Crusoe mounted guard by stretching himself out _couchant_ at Dick Varley's side. The faithful dog slept lightly and never moved all night, but had any one observed him closely he wou... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582371 | fitful flame that burst from the sinking fire, every unusual puff of wind, and every motion of the horses that fed or rested hard by, had the effect of revealing a speck of glittering white in Crusoe's watchful eye. CHAPTER SIX. THE GREAT PRAIRIES OF THE "FAR WEST"--A REMARKABLE COLONY DISCOVERED, AND A MISERABLE NIGHT... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582372 | of the night or day the hour that succeeds the dawn is the purest, the most joyous and the best. At least so think we; and so think hundreds and thousands of the human family; and so thought Dick Varley, as he sprung suddenly into a sitting posture next morning, and threw his arms with an exulting feeling of delight | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582373 | round the neck of Crusoe, who instantly sat up to greet him. This was an unusual piece of enthusiasm on the part of Dick, but the dog received it with marked satisfaction, rubbed his big hairy cheek against that of his young master, and arose from his sedentary position in order to afford free scope for the use of his | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582374 | tail. "Ho! Joe Blunt! Henri! Up, boys, up! The sun will have the start o' us. I'll catch the nags." So saying Dick bounded away into the woods with Crusoe gambolling joyously at his heels. Dick soon caught his own horse and Crusoe caught Joe's. Then the former mounted and quickly brought in the other two. Returning to ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582375 | he found everything packed and ready to strap on the back of the pack-horse. "That's the way to do it, lad," cried Joe. "Here Henri, look alive and git yer beast ready. I do believe yer goin' to take another snooze!" Henri was indeed, at that moment, indulging in a gigantic stretch and a cavernous yawn, but he finished... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582376 | hastily, and rushed at his poor horse as if he intended to slay it on the spot. He only threw the saddle on its back, however, and then threw himself on the saddle. "Now then, all ready?" "Ay,--oui, yis!" And away they went at full stretch again on their journey. Thus day after day they travelled, and night after night | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582377 | they laid them down to sleep under the trees of the forest, until at length they reached the edge of the Great Prairie. It was a great, a memorable day in the life of Dick Varley, that on which he first beheld the prairie,--the vast boundless prairie. He had heard of it, talked of it, dreamed about it, but he | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582378 | had never,--no, he had never realised it. 'Tis always thus. Our conceptions of things that we have not seen are almost invariably wrong. Dick's eyes glittered, and his heart swelled, and his cheeks flushed, and his breath came thick and quick. "There it is," he gasped, as the great rolling plain broke suddenly on his e... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582379 | uttered a yell that would have done credit to the fiercest chief of the Pawnees, and, being unable to utter another word, he swung his cap in the air and sprang like an arrow from a bow over the mighty ocean of grass. The sun had just risen to send a flood of golden glory over the scene; the horses | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582380 | were fresh, so the elder hunters, gladdened by the beauty of all around them, and inspired by the irresistible enthusiasm of their young companion, gave the reins to the horses and flew after him. It was a glorious gallop, that first headlong dash over the boundless prairie of the "far west!" The prairies have often be... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582381 | the ocean. There is the same wide circle of space bounded on all sides by the horizon; there is the same swell, or undulation, or succession of long low unbroken waves that marks the ocean when it is calm; they are canopied by the same pure sky, and swept by the same untrammelled breezes. There are islands, too--clumps... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582382 | and willow-bushes,--which rise out of this grassy ocean to break and relieve its uniformity; and these vary in size and numbers as do the isles of ocean--being numerous in some places, while in others they are so scarce that the traveller does not meet one in a long day's journey. Thousands of beautiful flowers decked ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582383 | of little birds hopped about among them. "Now, lads," said Joe Blunt, reining up, "our troubles begin to-day." "Our troubles! our joys, you mean!" exclaimed Dick Varley. "P'raps I don't mean nothin' o' the sort," retorted Joe. "Man wos never intended to swaller his joys without a strong mixtur' o' troubles. I s'pose he... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582384 | we've got to the prairie now--" "One blind hoss might see dat!" interrupted Henri. "An' we may or may not diskiver buffalo. An' water's scarce, too, so we'll need to look out for it pretty sharp, I guess, else we'll lose our horses, in which case we may as well give out at once. Besides, there's rattlesnakes about in s... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582385 | places--we'll ha' to look out for them; an' there's badger holes--we'll need to look sharp for them lest the horses put their feet in 'em; an' there's Injuns, who'll look out pretty sharp for _us_ if they once get wind that we're in them parts." "Oui, yis, mes boys, and there's rain, and tunder, and lightin'," added He... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582386 | a dark cloud which was seen rising on the horizon ahead of them. "It'll be rain," remarked Joe, "but there's no thunder in the air jist now; we'll make for yonder clump o' bushes and lay by till it's past." Turning a little to the right of the course they had been following, the hunters galloped along one of the | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582387 | hollows between the prairie waves before mentioned, in the direction of a clump of willows. Before reaching it however, they passed over a bleak and barren plain where there was neither flower nor bird. Here they were suddenly arrested by a most extraordinary sight--at least it was so to Dick Varley, who had never seen... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582388 | a colony of what Joe called "prairie-dogs." On first beholding them Crusoe uttered a sort of half growl, half bark of surprise, cocked his tail and ears, and instantly prepared to charge, but he glanced up at his master first for permission. Observing that his finger and his look commanded "silence" he dropped his tail... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582389 | the rear. He did not, however, cease to regard the prairie-dogs with intense curiosity. These remarkable little creatures have been egregiously misnamed by the hunters of the west, for they bear not the slightest resemblance to dogs, either in formation or habits. They are, in fact, the marmot, and in size are little l... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582390 | in some degree. They burrow under the light soil and throw it up in mounds like moles. Thousands of them were running about among their dwellings when Dick first beheld them, but the moment they caught sight of the horsemen rising over the ridge, they set up a tremendous hubbub of consternation; each little beast insta... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582391 | top of his house and prepared, as it were, to "receive cavalry." The most ludicrous thing about them was, that although the most timid and cowardly creatures in the world, they seemed the most impertinent things that ever lived! Knowing that their holes afforded them a perfectly safe retreat they sat close beside them,... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582392 | they elevated their heads, wagged their little tails, showed their teeth, and chattered at them like monkeys. The nearer they came the more angry and furious did the prairie-dogs become, until Dick Varley almost fell off his horse with suppressed laughter. They let the hunters come close up, waxing louder and louder in... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582393 | was raised to throw a stone or point a gun, a thousand little heads dived into a thousand holes, and a thousand little tails wriggled for an instant in the air--then, a dead silence reigned over the deserted scene. "Bien, them's have dive into de bo'-els of de eart'," said Henri with a broad grin. Presently a thousand ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582394 | and nervously disappeared like the wink of an eye. Then they appeared again, and a thousand pairs of eyes followed. Instantly, like Jack in the box, they were all on the top of their hillocks again, chattering and wagging their little tails as vigorously as ever. You could not say that you _saw_ them jump out of their ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582395 | as if by magic, they _were_ out; then Dick tossed up his arms, and, suddenly, as if by magic, they were gone! Their number was incredible, and their cities were full of riotous activity. What their occupations were the hunters could not ascertain, but it was perfectly evident that they visited a great deal and gossiped... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582396 | about from house to house, and sat chatting in groups; but it was also observed that they never went far from their own houses. Each seemed to have a circle of acquaintance in the immediate neighbourhood of his own residence, to which in case of sudden danger he always fled. But another thing about these prairie-dogs (... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582397 | we should call them prairie-doggies), another thing about them, we say, was that each doggie lived with an owl, or, more correctly, an owl lived with each doggie! This is such an extraordinary _fact_, that we could scarce hope that men would believe us, were our statement not supported by dozens of trustworthy travelle... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582398 | these regions. The whole plain was covered with these owls. Each hole seemed to be the residence of an owl and a doggie, and these incongruous couples lived together apparently in perfect harmony. We have not been able to ascertain from travellers _why_ the owls have gone to live with these doggies, so we beg humbly to... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012582399 | private opinion to the reader. We assume, then, that owls find it absolutely needful to have holes. Probably prairie-owls cannot dig holes for themselves. Having discovered, however, a race of little creatures that could, they very likely determined to take forcible possession of the holes made by them. Finding, no dou... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
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