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twg_000012583400 | did Dick think, when the flood of horses swept past him, that his own good steed was there, rejoicing in his recovered liberty. But Crusoe knew it. Ay, the wind had borne down the information to his acute nose before the living storm burst upon the camp, and when Charlie rushed past with the long tough halter trailing ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583401 | heels, Crusoe sprang to his side, seized the end of the halter with his teeth, and galloped off along with him. It was a long gallop and a tough one, but Crusoe held on, for it was a settled principle in his mind _never_ to give in. At first the check upon Charlie's speed was imperceptible, but by degrees the | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583402 | weight of the gigantic dog began to tell, and, after a time, they fell a little to the rear; then, by good fortune, the troop passed through a mass of underwood, and the line, getting entangled, brought their mad career forcibly to a close; the mustangs passed on, and the two friends were left to keep each other compan... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583403 | the dark. How long they would have remained thus is uncertain, for neither of them had sagacity enough to undo a complicated entanglement; fortunately, however, in his energetic tugs at the line, Crusoe's sharp teeth partially severed it, and a sudden start on the part of Charlie caused it to part. Before he could esca... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583404 | of it and led him slowly but steadily back to the Indian camp, never halting or turning aside until he had placed the line in Dick Varley's hand. "Hallo, pup! where have ye bin. How did ye bring him here?" exclaimed Dick, as he gazed in amazement at his foam-covered horse. Crusoe wagged his tail, as if to say, "Be | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583405 | thankful that you've got him, Dick, my boy, and don't ask questions that you know I can't answer." "He must ha' broke loose and jined the stampedo," remarked Joe, coming out of the chief's tent at the moment; "but tie him up, Dick, and come in, for we want to settle about startin' to-morrow or nixt day." Having fastene... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583406 | to a stake, and ordered Crusoe to watch him, Dick re-entered the tent where the council had re-assembled, and where Pee-eye-em--having, in the recent struggle, split the blue surtout completely up to the collar, so that his backbone was visible throughout the greater part of its length--was holding forth in eloquent st... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583407 | peace with the Blackfeet, the ancient enemies of the Shirry-dikas, in particular. CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. PLANS AND PROSPECTS--DICK BECOMES HOME-SICK, AND HENRI METAPHYSICAL--THE INDIANS ATTACK THE CAMP--A BLOW-UP. On the following day the Indians gave themselves up to unlimited feasting, in consequence of the arrival of ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583408 | a regular day of rejoicing. Upwards of six hundred buffaloes had been killed, and as the supply of meat before their arrival had been ample, the camp was now overflowing with plenty. Feasts were given by the chiefs, and the medicine-men went about the camp uttering loud cries, which were meant to express gratitude to t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583409 | bountiful supply of food. They also carried a portion of meat to the aged and infirm who were unable to hunt for themselves, and had no young men in their family circle to hunt for them. This arrival of the hunters was a fortunate circumstance, as it put the Indians in great good-humour, and inclined them to hold frien... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583410 | with the trappers, who for some time continued to drive a brisk trade in furs. Having no market for the disposal of their furs, the Indians of course had more than they knew what to do with, and were therefore glad to exchange those of the most beautiful and valuable kind for a mere trifle, so that the trappers laid | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583411 | aside their traps for a time and devoted themselves to traffic. Meanwhile Joe Blunt and his friends made preparations for their return journey. "Ye see," remarked Joe to Henri and Dick, as they sat beside the fire in Pee-eye-em's lodge, and feasted on a potful of grasshopper soup, which the great chiefs squaw had just ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583412 | calc'lations is as follows. Wot with trappin' beavers and huntin', we three ha' made enough to sot us up, an it likes us, in the Mustang Valley--" "Ha!" interrupted Dick, remitting for a few seconds the use of his teeth in order to exercise his tongue,--"ha! Joe, but it don't like _me_! What, give up a hunter's life an... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583413 | a farmer? I should think not!" "Bon!" ejaculated Henri, but whether the remark had reference to the grasshopper soup or the sentiment, we cannot tell. "Well," continued Joe, commencing to devour a large buffalo steak with a hunter's appetite, "ye'll please yourselves, lads, as to that; but, as I wos sayin', we've got a... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583414 | big pack o' odds and ends for the Injuns we chance to meet with by the way, an' powder and lead to last us a twelve-month, besides five good horses to carry us an' our packs over the plains; so if it's agreeable to you, I mean to make a bee-line for the Mustang Valley. We're pretty sure to meet | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583415 | with Blackfeet on the way, and if we do we'll try to make peace between them an' the Snakes. I 'xpect it'll be pretty well on for six weeks afore we git to home, so we'll start to-morrow." "Dat is fat vill do ver' vell," said Henri; "vill you please donnez me one petit morsel of steak." "I'm ready for | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583416 | anything, Joe," cried Dick, "you are leader. Just point the way, and I'll answer for two o' us followin' ye--eh! won't we, Crusoe?" "We will," remarked the dog quietly. "How comes it," inquired Dick, "that these Indians don't care for our tobacco?" "They like their own better, I s'pose," answered Joe; "most all the wes... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583417 | o' the dried leaves o' the shumack and the inner bark o' the red-willow, chopped very small an' mixed together. They call this stuff _Kinnekinnik_, but they like to mix about a fourth o' our tobacco with it, so Pee-eye-em tells me, an' he's a good judge; the amount that red-skinned mortal smokes _is_ oncommon." "What a... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583418 | inquired Dick, pointing to a group of men who had been feasting for some time past in front of a tent within sight of our trio. "Goin' to sing, I think," replied Joe. As he spoke, six young warriors were seen to work their bodies about in a very remarkable way, and give utterance to still more remarkable sounds, which | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583419 | gradually increased until the singers burst out into that terrific yell, or war-whoop, for which American savages have long been famous. Its effect would save been appalling to unaccustomed ears. Then they allowed their voices to die away in soft, plaintive tones, while their action corresponded thereto. Suddenly the f... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583420 | condition little short of madness, while their yells rung wildly through the camp. This was too much for ordinary canine nature to withstand, so all the dogs in the neighbourhood joined in the horrible chorus. Crusoe had long since learned to treat the eccentricities of Indians and their curs with dignified contempt. H... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583421 | lay sleeping by the fire until Dick and his companions rose to take leave of their host, and return to the camp of the fur-traders. The remainder of that night was spent in making preparations for setting forth on the morrow, and when, at grey dawn, Dick and Crusoe lay down to snatch a few hours' repose, the yells and | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583422 | howling in the Snake camp were going on as vigorously as ever. The sun had arisen, and his beams were just tipping the summits of the Rocky Mountains, causing the snowy peaks to glitter like flame, and the deep ravines and gorges to look sombre and mysterious by contrast, when Dick, and Joe, and Henri mounted their gal... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583423 | with Crusoe gambolling before, and the two pack-horses trotting by their side, turned their faces eastward, and bade adieu to the Indian camp. Crusoe was in great spirits. He was perfectly well aware that he and his companions were on their way home, and testified his satisfaction by bursts of scampering over the hills... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583424 | Dick Varley's cottage, and of Dick's mild, kind-hearted mother. Undoubtedly, too, he thought of his own mother, Fan, and felt a glow of filial affection as he did so. Of this we feel quite certain. He would have been unworthy the title of hero if he hadn't. Perchance he thought of Grumps, but of this we are not quite s... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583425 | sure. We rather think, upon the whole, that he did. Dick, too, let his thoughts run away in the direction of _home_. Sweet word! Those who have never left it cannot, by any effort of imagination, realise the full import of the word "home." Dick was a bold hunter, but he was young, and this was his first long expedition... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583426 | Oftentimes, when sleeping under the trees and gazing dreamily up through the branches at the stars, had he thought of home, until his longing heart began to yearn to return. He repelled such tender feelings, however, when they became too strong, deeming them unmanly, and sought to turn his mind to the excitements of th... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583427 | were in vain. He became thoroughly home-sick, and, while admitting the fact to himself, he endeavoured to conceal it from his comrades. He thought that he was successful in this attempt. Poor Dick Varley! as yet he was sadly ignorant of human nature. Henri knew it, and Joe Blunt knew it. Even Crusoe knew that something... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583428 | master, although he could not exactly make out what it was. But Crusoe made memoranda in the note-book of his memory. He jotted down the peculiar phases of his master's new disease with the care and minute exactness of a physician; and, we doubt not, ultimately added the knowledge of the symptoms of homesickness to his... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583429 | erudition. It was not till they had set out on their homeward journey that Dick Varley's spirits revived, and it was not till they reached the beautiful prairies on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, and galloped over the green sward towards the Mustang Valley, that Dick ventured to tell Joe Blunt what his feel... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583430 | Joe," he said confidentially, reining up his gallant steed after a sharp gallop, "d'ye know I've bin feelin' awful low for some time past." "I know it, lad," answered Joe, with a quiet smile, in which there was a dash of something that implied he knew more than he chose to express. Dick felt surprised, but he continued... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583431 | what it could have bin. I never felt so before." "'Twas homesickness, boy," returned Joe. "How d'ye know that?" "The same way as how I know most things, by experience an' obsarvation. I've bin home-sick myself once--but it was long, long agone." Dick felt much relieved at this candid confession by such a bronzed vetera... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583432 | having been struck, he opened up his heart at once, to the evident delight of Henri, who, among other curious partialities, was extremely fond of listening to and taking part in conversations that bordered on the metaphysical, and were hard to be understood. Most conversations that were not connected with eating and hu... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583433 | he cried, "veech mean bein' sik of hom'! hah! dat is fat I am always be, ven I goes hout on de expedition. Oui, vraiment." "I always packs up," continued Joe, paying no attention to Henri's remark,--"I always packs up an' sots off for home when I gits home-sick; it's the best cure, an' when hunters are young like you, | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583434 | Dick, it's the only cure. I've know'd fellers a'most die o' homesickness, an' I'm told they _do_ go under altogether sometimes." "Go onder!" exclaimed Henri; "oui, I vas all but die myself ven I fust try to git away from hom'. If I have not git away, I not be here to-day." Henri's idea of homesickness was so totally op... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583435 | to theirs, that his comrades only laughed, and refrained from attempting to set him right. "The fust time I was took bad with it wos in a country somethin' like that," said Joe, pointing to the wide stretch of undulating prairie, dotted with clusters of trees and wandering streamlets, that lay before them; "I had bin o... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583436 | an wos makin' a good thing of it, for game wos plenty, when I began to think somehow more than usual o' home. My mother wos alive then." Joe's voice sank to a deep, solemn tone as he said this, and for a few minutes he rode on in silence. "Well, it grew worse and worse, I dreamed o' home | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583437 | all night, an' thought of it all day, till I began to shoot bad, an' my comrades wos gittin' tired o' me; so says I to them one night, says I, `I give out, lads, I'll make tracks for the settlement to-morrow.' They tried to laugh me out of it at first, but it was no go, so I packed | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583438 | up, bid them good-day, an' sot off alone on a trip o' five hundred miles. The very first mile o' the way back I began to mend, and before two days I wos all right again." Joe was interrupted at this point by the sudden appearance of a solitary horseman on the brow of an eminence not half a mile | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583439 | distant. The three friends instantly drove their pack-horses behind a clump of trees, but not in time to escape the vigilant eye of the Red-man, who uttered a loud shout, which brought up a band of his comrades at full gallop. "Remember, Henri," cried Joe Blunt, "our errand is one of _peace_." The caution was needed, f... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583440 | of the moment Henri was making preparation to sell his life as dearly as possible. Before another word could be uttered, they were surrounded by a troop of about twenty yelling Blackfeet Indians. They were, fortunately, not a war-party, and, still more fortunately, they were peaceably disposed, and listened to the prel... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583441 | which the two parties encamped on the spot, the council-fire was lighted, and every preparation made for a long palaver. We will not trouble the reader with the details of what was said on this occasion. The party of Indians was a small one, and no chief of any importance was attached to it. Suffice it to say that the | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583442 | pacific overtures made by Joe were well received, the trifling gifts made thereafter were still better received, and they separated with mutual expressions of good will. Several other bands which were afterwards met with were equally friendly, and only one war-party was seen. Joe's quick eye observed it in time to enab... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583443 | some trees, where they remained until the Indian warriors were out of sight. The next party they met with, however, were more difficult to manage, and, unfortunately, blood was shed on both sides before our travellers escaped. It was at the close of a beautiful day that a war-party of Blackfeet were seen riding along a... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583444 | It chanced that the prairie at this place was almost destitute of trees or shrubs large enough to conceal the horses. By dashing down the grassy wave into the hollow between the two undulations, and dismounting, Joe hoped to elude the savages, so he gave the word,--but at the same moment a shout from the Indians told t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583445 | discovered. "Look sharp, lads, throw down the packs on the highest point of the ridge," cried Joe, undoing the lashings, seizing one of the bales of goods, and hurrying to the top of the undulation with it; "we must keep them at arm's length, boys--be alive. War-parties are not to be trusted." Dick and Henri seconded J... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583446 | that in the course of two minutes the horses were unloaded, the packs piled in the form of a wall in front of a broken piece of ground, the horses picketted close beside them, and our three travellers peeping over the edge, with their rifles cocked, while the savages--about thirty in number--came sweeping down towards ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583447 | them to palaver," said Joe Blunt, "but keep yer eye on 'em, Dick, an' if they behave ill, shoot the _horse_ o' the leadin' chief. I'll throw up my left hand as a signal. Mind, lad, don't hit human flesh till my second signal is given, and see that Henri don't draw till I git back to ye." So saying, | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583448 | Joe sprang lightly over the slight parapet of their little fortress, and ran swiftly out, unarmed, towards the Indians. In a few seconds he was close up with them, and in another moment was surrounded. At first the savages brandished their spears and rode round the solitary man, yelling like fiends, as if they wished t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583449 | Joe stood like a statue, with his arms crossed, and a grave expression of contempt on his countenance, they quickly desisted, and, drawing near, asked him where he came from, and what he was doing there. Joe's story was soon told; but instead of replying, they began to shout vociferously, and evidently meant mischief. ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583450 | speak to the Pale-face, he will go back to his braves," said Joe, passing suddenly between two of the warriors and taking a few steps towards the camp. Instantly every bow was bent, and it seemed as if our bold hunter were about to be pierced by a hundred arrows, when he turned round and cried:-- "The Blackfeet must no... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583451 | advance a single step. The first that moves his _horse_ shall die. The second that moves _himself_ shall die." To this the Blackfoot chief replied scornfully, "The Pale-face talks with a big mouth. We do not believe his words. The Snakes are liars, we will make no peace with them." While he was yet speaking, Joe threw ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583452 | there was a loud report, and the noble horse of the savage chief lay struggling in death agony on the ground. The use of the rifle, as we have before hinted, was little known at this period among the Indians of the far west, and many had never heard the dreaded report before, although all were aware, from hearsay, of | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583453 | its fatal power. The fall of the chief's horse, therefore, quite paralysed them for a few moments, and they had not recovered from their surprise when a second report was heard, a bullet whistled past, and a second horse fell. At the same moment there was a loud explosion in the camp of the Pale-faces, a white cloud en... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583454 | and from the midst of this a loud shriek was heard, as Dick, Henri, and Crusoe bounded over the packs with frantic gestures. At this the gaping savages wheeled their steeds round, the dismounted horsemen sprang on behind two of their comrades, and the whole band dashed away over the plains as if they were chased by evi... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583455 | Joe hastened towards his comrades in a state of great anxiety, for he knew at once that one of the powder-horns must have been accidentally blown up. "No damage done, boys, I hope?" he cried on coming up. "Damage!" cried Henri, holding his hands tight over his face. "Oh! oui, great damage--moche damage, me two eyes be ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583456 | dere holes." "Not quite so bad as that, I hope," said Dick, who was very slightly singed, and forgot his own hurts in anxiety about his comrade. "Let me see?" "My eye!" exclaimed Joe Blunt, while a broad grin overspread his countenance, "ye've not improved yer looks, Henri." This was true. The worthy hunter's hair was ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583457 | extent that his entire countenance presented the appearance of a universal frizzle. Fortunately the skin, although much blackened, was quite uninjured, a fact which, when he ascertained it beyond a doubt, afforded so much satisfaction to Henri, that he capered about shouting with delight, as if some piece of good fortu... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583458 | of Henri having omitted to replace the stopper of his powder-horn, and when, in his anxiety for Joe, he fired at random amongst the Indians, despite Dick's entreaties to wait, a spark communicated with the powder-horn and blew him up. Dick and Crusoe were only a little singed, but the former was not disposed to quarrel... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583459 | had sent their enemies so promptly to the right-about. This band followed them for some nights, in the hope of being able to steal their horses while they slept; but they were not brave enough to venture a second time within range of the death-dealing rifle. CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE. DANGERS OF THE PRAIRIE--OUR TRAVELLERS A... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583460 | A REMARKABLE MANNER. There are periods in the life of almost all men when misfortunes seem to crowd upon them in rapid succession, when they escape from one danger only to encounter another, and when, to use a well-known expression, they succeed in leaping out of the frying-pan at the expense of plunging into the fire.... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583461 | our three friends upon this occasion. They were scarcely rid of the Blackfeet, who found them too watchful to be caught napping, when, about daybreak one morning they encountered a roving band of Camanchee Indians, who wore such a warlike aspect that Joe deemed it prudent to avoid them if possible. "They don't see us y... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583462 | as he and his companions drove the horses into a hollow between the grassy waves of the prairie, "any if we only can escape their sharp eyes till we're in yonder clump o' willows, we're safe enough." "But why don't you ride up to them, Joe," inquired Dick, "and make peace between them and the Pale-faces, as you ha' don... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583463 | with other bands?" "Because it's o' no use to risk our scalps for the chance o' makin' peace wi' a rovin' war-party. Keep yer head down, Henri! If they git only a sight o' the top o' yer cap, they'll be down on us like a breeze o' _wind_." "Hah! let dem come!" said Henri. "They'll come without askin' yer | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583464 | leave," remarked Joe drily. Notwithstanding his defiant expression, Henri had sufficient prudence to induce him to bend his head and shoulders, and in a few minutes they reached the shelter of the willows unseen by the savages. At least so thought Henri, Joe was not quite sure about it, and Dick hoped for the best. In ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583465 | an hour the last of the Camanchees was seen to hover for a second on the horizon, like a speck of black against the sky, and then to disappear. Immediately the three hunters bolted on their steeds and resumed their journey; but before that evening closed they had sad evidence of the savage nature of the band from which... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583466 | had escaped. On passing the brow of a slight eminence, Dick, who rode first, observed that Crusoe stopped and snuffed the breeze in an anxious, inquiring manner. "What is't, pup?" said Dick, drawing up, for he knew that his faithful dog never gave a false alarm. Crusoe replied by a short, uncertain bark, and then bound... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583467 | little wooded knoll. In another moment a long, dismal howl floated over the plains. There was a mystery about the dog's conduct which, coupled with his melancholy cry, struck the travellers with a superstitious feeling of dread, as they sat looking at each other in surprise. "Come, let's clear it up," cried Joe Blunt, ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583468 | and galloping forward. A few strides brought them to the other side of the knoll where, scattered upon the torn and bloody turf, they discovered the scalped and mangled remains of about twenty or thirty human beings. Their skulls had been cleft by the tomahawk, and their breasts pierced by the scalping-knife; and from ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583469 | them lay, it was evident that they had been slain while asleep. Joe's brow flushed, and his lips became tightly compressed, as he muttered between his set teeth, "Their skins are white." A short examination sufficed to show that the men who had thus been barbarously murdered while they slept had been a band of trappers... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583470 | their errand had been, or whence they came, they could not discover. Everything of value had been carried off, and all the scalps had been taken. Most of the bodies, although much mutilated, lay in a posture that led our hunters to believe they had been killed while asleep; but one or two were cut almost to pieces, and... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583471 | the blood-bespattered and trampled sward around, it seemed as if they had struggled long and fiercely for life. Whether or not any of the savages had been slain, it was impossible to tell, for if such had been the case, their comrades, doubtless, had carried away their bodies. That they had been slaughtered by the part... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583472 | been seen at daybreak, was quite clear to Joe; but his burning desire to revenge the death of the white men had to be stifled, as his party was so small. Long afterwards it was discovered that this was a band of trappers who, like those mentioned at the beginning of this volume, had set out to avenge the death | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583473 | of a comrade; but God, who has retained the right of vengeance in His own hand, saw fit to frustrate their purpose, by giving them into the hands of the savages whom they had set forth to slay. As it was impossible to bury so many bodies, the travellers resumed their journey, and left them to bleach there in the | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583474 | wilderness; but they rode the whole of that day almost without uttering a word. Meanwhile the Camanchees, who had observed the trio, and had ridden away at first for the purpose of deceiving them into the belief that they had passed unobserved, doubled on their track, and took a long sweep in order to keep out of sight... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583475 | could approach under the shelter of a belt of woodland towards which the travellers now approached. The Indians adopted this course instead of the easier method of simply pursuing so weak a party, because the plains at this part were bordered by a long stretch of forest into which the hunters could have plunged, and re... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583476 | not almost useless. The detour thus taken was so extensive that the shades of evening were beginning to descend before they could put their plan into execution. The forest lay about a mile to the right of our hunters, like some dark mainland, of which the prairie was the sea, and the scattered clumps of wood the island... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583477 | lack o' game here," said Dick Varley, pointing to a herd of buffaloes which rose at their approach, and fled away towards the wood. "I think we'll ha' thunder soon," remarked Joe. "I never feel it onnatteral hot like this without looking out for a plump." "Hah! den ve better look hout for one goot tree to get b'low," s... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583478 | Henri. "Voila!" he added, pointing with his finger towards the plain; "dere am a lot of wild hosses." A troop of about thirty wild horses appeared, as he spoke, on the brow of a ridge, and advanced slowly towards them. "Hist!" exclaimed Joe, reining up; "hold on, lads. Wild horses! my rifle to a pop-gun there's wilder ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583479 | side o' them." "What mean you, Joe?" inquired Dick, riding close up. "D'ye see the little lumps on the shoulder o' each horse?" said Joe. "Them's Injun's _feet_; an' if we don't want to lose our scalps we'd better make for the forest." Joe proved himself to be in earnest by wheeling round and making straight for the th... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583480 | as fast as his horse could run. The others followed, driving the pack-horses before them. The effect of this sudden movement on the so-called "wild horses" was very remarkable, and to one unacquainted with the habits of the Camanchee Indians, must have appeared almost supernatural. In the twinkling of an eye every stee... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583481 | before the hunters had taken five strides in the direction of the forest, the whole band were in hot pursuit, yelling like furies. The manner in which these Indians accomplish this feat is very singular, and implies great activity and strength of muscle on the part of the savages. The Camanchees are low in stature, and... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583482 | In their movements on foot they are heavy and ungraceful, and they are, on the whole, a slovenly and unattractive race of men. But the instant they mount their horses they seem to be entirely changed, and surprise the spectator with the ease and elegance of their movements. Their great and distinctive peculiarity as ho... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583483 | acquired of throwing themselves suddenly on either side of their horse's body, and clinging on in such a way that no part of them is visible from the other side save the foot by which they cling. In this manner they approach their enemies at full gallop, and without rising again to the saddle, discharge their arrows at... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583484 | their horses' backs, or even under their necks. This apparently magical feat is accomplished by means of a halter of horsehair, which is passed round under the neck of the horse, and both ends braided into the mane, on the withers, thus forming a loop which hangs under the neck and against the breast. This being caught... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583485 | makes a sling, into which the elbow falls, taking the weight of the body on the middle of the upper arm. Into this loop the rider drops suddenly and fearlessly, leaving his heel to hang over the horse's back, to steady him, and also to restore him to his seat when desired. By this stratagem the Indians had approached o... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583486 | the present occasion almost within rifle range before they were discovered, and it required the utmost speed of the hunters' horses to enable them to avoid being overtaken. One of the Indians, who was better mounted than his fellows, gained on the fugitives so much that he came within arrow range, but reserved his shaf... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583487 | the margin of the wood, when, being almost alongside of Henri, he fitted an arrow to his bow. Henri's eye was upon him, however; letting go the line of the pack-horse which he was leading, he threw forward his rifle, but at the same moment the savage disappeared behind his horse, and an arrow whizzed past the hunter's ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583488 | fired at the horse, which dropped instantly, hurling the astonished Camanchee upon the ground, where he lay for some time insensible. In a few seconds pursued and pursuers entered the wood, where both had to advance with caution, in order to avoid being swept off by the overhanging branches of the trees. Meanwhile the ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583489 | formerly spoken increased considerably, and a rumbling noise, as if of distant thunder, was heard; but the flying hunters paid no attention to it, for the led horses gave them so much trouble, and retarded their flight so much, that the Indians were gradually and visibly gaining on them. "We'll ha' to let the packs go,... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583490 | as he looked over his shoulder. "Our scalps 'll pay for't if we don't." Henri uttered a peculiar and significant _hiss_ between his teeth, as he said, "P'raps ve better stop and fight!" Dick said nothing, being resolved to do exactly what Joe Blunt bid him; and Crusoe, for reasons best known to himself, also said nothi... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583491 | beside his master's horse, casting an occasional glance upwards to catch any signal that might be given. They had passed over a considerable space of ground, and were forcing their way, at the imminent hazard of their necks, through a densely-clothed part of the wood, when the sound above referred to increased, attract... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583492 | few seconds the air was filled with a steady and continuous rumbling sound, like the noise of a distant cataract. Pursuers and fugitives drew rein instinctively, and came to a dead stand, while the rumbling increased to a roar, and evidently approached them rapidly, though as yet nothing to cause it could be seen, exce... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583493 | dark cloud overspreading the sky to the southward. The air was oppressively still and hot. "What can't be?" inquired Dick, looking at Joe, who was gazing with an expression of wonder, not unmixed with concern, at the southern sky. "Dunno, boy. I've bin more in the woods than in the clearin' in my day, but I niver heerd... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583494 | o' that." "It am like t'ondre," said Henri; "mais it nevair do stop." This was true. The sound was similar to continuous, uninterrupted thunder. On it came with a magnificent roar that shook the very earth, and revealed itself at last in the shape of a mighty whirlwind. In a moment the distant woods bent before it, and... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583495 | grass before the scythe. It was a whirling hurricane, accompanied by a deluge of rain such as none of the party had ever before witnessed. Steadily, fiercely, irresistibly, it bore down upon them, while the crash of falling, snapping, and uprooting trees mingled with the dire artillery of that sweeping storm like the m... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583496 | shouted Joe, turning his horse and dashing at full speed towards a rocky eminence that offered shelter. But shelter was not needed. The storm was clearly defined. Its limits were as distinctly marked by its Creator as if it had been a living intelligence sent forth to put a belt of desolation round the world; and, alth... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583497 | devastation was not five hundred yards from the rock behind which the hunters were stationed, only a few drops of ice-cold rain fell upon them. It passed directly between the Camanchee Indians and their intended victims, placing between them a barrier which it would have taken days to cut through. The storm blew for an... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583498 | in its might, and was lost in distance. Whence it came and whither it went none could tell; but, far as the eye could see on either hand, an avenue a quarter of a mile wide was cut through the forest. It had levelled everything with the dust; the very grass was beaten flat, the trees were torn, shivered, snapped | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012583499 | across, and crushed; and the earth itself in many places was ploughed up and furrowed with deep scars. The chaos was indescribable, and it is probable that centuries will not quite obliterate the work of that single hour. While it lasted, Joe and his comrades remained speechless and awe-stricken. When it passed, no Ind... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
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